Waiting on Wednesday: The Day Before

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

 

The Day Before
by Lisa Schroeder
Published by: Simon Pulse
June 28, 2011








Sometimes there's no turning back.

Amber's life is spinning out of control. All she wants is to turn up the volume on her iPod until all of the demands of her family and friends fade away. So she sneaks off to the beach to spend a day by herself.

Then Amber meets Cade. Their attraction is instant, and Amber can tell that he's also looking for an escape. Together they decide to share a perfect day: no pasts, no fears, no regrets.

The more time that Amber spends with Cade, the more she's drawn to him. And the more she's troubled by his darkness. Because Cade's not just living in the now--he's living each moment like it's his last. (from Goodreads)

I first found out about this book when I signed up for The Contemps Challenge. I've read Lisa's first two books and I have Chasing Brooklyn on my bookshelf right now. I've been waiting to read it but knowing that a new novel is on the way - I may read it sooner than later. It sounds so good and the I love the cover. I can't wait to read it and add it to my bookshelves.

100 and 150+ Followers Giveaway

I can't believe how wonderful my blogging experience has been so far. In just five months, I have a readership larger than I ever imagined. So to thank my readers for stopping by, reading, commenting and telling others about my blog, I am having a giveaway! This year I have read some amazing books and I want to give away one of my favorite reads of 2010. It was difficult to narrow it down to just one title. But I have, and it is:

Freefall by Mindi Scott. Wondering why you are seeing double? That is because I will be giving away 2 copies! Since I didn't have a 100 follower giveaway and now that I have over 150 followers, I think that 2 of you deserve Mindi's breathtaking debut novel. If you missed it, you can read my review of Freefall here.

I don't require readers to follow my blog to enter my giveaways, but if you do, you will receive an extra entry. I just ask that you complete the form below and tell me what was your favorite book of 2010. Again, thank you for stopping by Actin' Up with books.

Giveaway is now CLOSED.

Challenges Everywhere

As this year is starting to wind down, even though we still have December, I am seeing all of these new reading challenges pop up. (They may not be new, but they are new to me) I am so tempted to sign up because I know I will be introduced to new books, new authors and more bloggers and their interesting ideas. But my TBR list is already out of control and my wishlist is out of control. I mean I have at least 200 books on my shelves that I've never read. I am not kidding.

I am currently participating in The Contemps Challenge and the 2011 Debut Author Challenge where I plan to read at least 33 books. I've read some really amazing books through The Contemps Challenge and know that many more are in store in the next year. But again I am tempted to do another challenge and there are so many to choose from.

Which challenges are you signed up for? What made you pick one over another? I'd like to know what you think. Maybe it will help me decide if I should sign-up for another challenge and which one.

A Confession: The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn’t think she’s the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She’s also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her “the Duff,” she throws her Coke in his face. But things aren’t so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.
Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out Wesley isn’t such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she’s falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.
 
My confession: I was the DUFF, or at least I thought I was. Like Bianca, I had boys that would point that out to me as Wesley had to her. I'm not saying that they would call me the DUFF, but they would point out that I was too tall. That if  I was shorter, they may would have dated me. Then they would try to convince me to convince my friends to date them, just as Wesley did in their first encounter in The Designated Ugly Fat Friend. Didn't they know I was the one that wanted to date them? But I never found it possible. I was too tall, too awkward, too guarded to completely be myself. I am just thankful that I had awesome friends that didn't make me feel that way. I'm still friends with those same girls today.

I really enjoyed reading The DUFF, it was a lot of fun and the makeout scenes were super steamy! When Wesley would kiss Bianca's neck I could feel the shivers go up my spine. One of my favorite scenes was when Bianca's friend Casey came to pick her up after staying the night with Wesley. Unable to hide her lies, Bianca had to confess what had been going on between her and Wesley. I loved that Casey wasn't going to let Bianca off the hook so easily, but like a true friend, she didn't put her through the wringer either. While the strain in Bianca and Casey's relationship was easily resolved, there were other dramatic situations that I thought were resolved too easily. Especially the incident after Bianca's father started drinking again. There were some situations where I wanted to story to be developed more and this was one of them. For the most part, I liked the story and am excited to read more from Keplinger.

I read The DUFF as part of The Contemps Challenge. 

Review: Freefall by Mindi Scott

Freefall

by Mindi Scott

Publication Date: October 5, 2010

Published by Simon Pulse

Pages: 315

Source: Purchased

Add to Goodreads

Purchase Amazon / Indiebound

 (from Goodreads)
Seth McCoy was the last person to see his best friend Isaac alive, and the first to find him dead. It was just another night, just another party, just another time where Isaac drank too much and passed out on the lawn. Only this time, Isaac didn’t wake up.

Convinced that his own actions led to his friend’s death, Seth is torn between turning his life around . . . or losing himself completely. Then he meets Rosetta: so beautiful and so different from everything and everyone he's ever known. But Rosetta has secrets of her own, and Seth will soon realize he isn’t the only one who needs saving . . .


My Thoughts

I first learned about this book from The Contemps Challenge that I signed up for back in September.  Looking at the list of books and reading the synopsis of each book, I was looking forward to reading this book the most. It is the second book of the challenge that I've read, but it is the first I am reviewing.

Freefall is the debut novel of author Mindi Scott. Scott took me on the highest of highs and lowest of lows all throughout the novel. My heart still fluttered and my breath was still caught long after I read the last sentence.

 

It is the story of 16 year old Seth McCoy who is dealing with the aftermath of his best friend, Isaac's death. The book starts out 2 months after Isaac's death and at the beginning of the new school year. On the brink of not graduating with his class, Seth's guidance counselor overloads his class schedule and signs him up for tutoring classes and an experimental elective to help his GPA (among other things). 

From the very beginning, I was rooting for Seth. Mindi Scott has written a lovable character, from the wrong side of town, who is searching how to move on, or even if he can move on after the death of his friend. My heart broke over and over again for Seth and for Rosetta as they were learning about each other in spite of their own personal tragedies.

I loved this book so much and I will recommend it to anyone and everyone. It may even be the best book that I have read this year. I'm definitely a fangirl of Mindi Scott, and anxiously wait to see what she writes next.

Teaser Tuesday (7)

This is a weekly bookish meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.

Grab your read. Open to a random page. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page.
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title and the author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR lists if they like your teasers. 

From Freefall by Mindi Scott (page 39) - currently reading for The Contemps Challenge

Then she let loose with that scary laugh again.

Just great. What could be worse than being forced to write my thoughts in some stupid book?

 

The Friday Five (8)

Here, I recap my week with connections to books I am reading, have read, want to read and other random musings.

1. The movie I Love You, Beth Cooper started showing this week on HBO. As much as I want to like the movie, I just can't. Larry Doyle's novel is just so awesome that the movie adaptation just ruins it. Now, if  I hadn't read the book first, maybe I could appreciate the few chuckles I emitted. But it pales in comparison to the full-on belly laughs, and OMG moments I had while reading the book. I Love You, Beth Cooper - read the book, skip the movie. 

2. If you haven't yet, please check out my poll asking What Do You Purchase Books I am getting ready to host my first giveaway and the information gathered from the poll will help!

3. Currently Reading: Perfect World by Brian James

4. Soon to leave the shelf: Freefall by Mindi Scott - This is the next book I am reading for The Contemps Challenge which you can still sign up for here

5. Random Musings: How much time do you spend blogging? Writing blogs, reading blogs, thinking about what you are going to write or present on your blog. I'm just curious.

Thanks for visiting and have a happy Friday!

The Friday Five is inspired by Sarah Dessen's blog on LiveJournal. I've been following this blog the longest and love how she recaps her week with the Friday Five, now called The Five.