{Book Review} Pandemonium

Pandemonium
Delirium #2
Author: Lauren Oliver
Pages: 375
Format: ARC
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: February 28th 2012
Rating:

I’m pushing aside the memory of my nightmare,
pushing aside thoughts of Alex,
pushing aside thoughts of Hana and my old school,
push,
push,
push, like Raven taught me to do.
The old life is dead.
But the old Lena is dead too.I buried her. I left her beyond a fence, behind a wall of smoke and flame.

It isn’t a secret that I haven’t been the biggest fan of Lauren Oliver's novel’s in the past. Here, before you get all snippy with me….let me Cliff Note’s it for you:

Back before Me, My Shelf and I had started, and the space you are currently viewing was still just my little slice of the net where I kept track of the 104 books I was planning to read last year – I reviewed If I Fall and gave it a 3.5 Bird rating. (See my Review of If I Fall HERE) I cited I couldn't get into the book because I couldn't identify with the MC, but that it had it some very interesting points and scenes that I rather enjoyed.

During this same “pre-real-book-review blog” state, I read Delirium as well. You see, even before I was a “real” book reviewer I found it important to give at least a 2 book nod to an author before making up my mind about not really waning to seek out their novels further. It’s fair. And I’m nothing if not fair. Delirium scored a 3 Bird rating from me, citing that it felt “Dystopian-Lite” and I had a hard time remembering I was even in a government controlled, Dystopian society, from time to time. (See my review of Delirium HERE)

So I bet you’re wondering why, if I completed my 2 book nod to LO, why would I go on and read Pandemonium at all? It’s a complicated answer really, but the simplest way explain it would be: the ending of Delirium was a cliffhanger and with the particular elements that made up said cliffhanger, I felt it nearly impossible for me not to like the next in the series at least a little bit more than the first.

I was right.

Holy shit, where was Lauren Oliver hiding this one? 

Gone is the “Dystopian-Lite” feeling and Lena’s inability to maintain one mood for 40 seconds or more! In their place is rugged self preservation, a truly suffocating government, lies, betrayal, forbidden love, death, rebirth and a gut wrenching, jaw dropping ending. An ending that made me chuck the book onto the couch and grumble under my breath while I went upstairs for a bowl of ice cream to help me through the conflicting emotions. My husband found this hysterical. I was considering therapy.

Lauren Oliver doesn’t hold back in this second novel in the Delirium Series. I am so happy that it not only was better than the first in the series, but that it totally and completely knocked me over with how much I liked it. In the end I’m going with a 4.5 Bird rating. Well done, well done indeed! Can’t wait to see what comes next for Lena and the rest of the gang!

Find Lauren Oliver:

• Twitter
• Blog
• Web Site
• GoodReads
• Facebook

 

Note on the Rating System: before I was a “real-blog” my rating system was a little different, so the 4.5 Bird may not seem like a huge jump from what Delirium got but trust me, it is. My old system can be picked out because the birds are multi-colored neutrals and the new ones are pink.The break down of the system we use now can be found on the right side bar of the blog.

{Guest Post} Emily Danforth

Today we welcome author Emily Danforth to Me, My Shelf and I.  This is all in part for The {Teen} Book Scene book tour of The Miseducation of Cameron Post.  We are the fourth stop on the tour and will be back again next week with a review!  To check out more reviews, author and character interviews, click on the banner below!

The Insistent Gray Muck That Was Pop Culture

In his coming of age novel, Sag Harbor, Colson Whitehead’s protagonist Benji Cooper talks about “…the insistent gray muck that was pop culture. It stuck to our shoes and we tracked it through our lives.” There’s a whole lot of pop culture “stuck to the shoes” of the characters in The Miseducation of Cameron Post—Cameron herself in particular. And while this also is true for many other contemporary YA novels, you won’t find any text messages or tweets, i-phone references or Netflix deliveries in my book, because it take place in the very early 1990s—now, unbelievably, a full two decades ago. As such: below you’ll find my brief and entirely unscientific catalog of just FIVE of the perhaps obscure (to some) pop cultural references in Cameron Post’s world, along with the page numbers on which they are found.

pg. 46, Personal Best: A movie from 1982 about Olympic-hopeful women’s track stars and the intensity of their training and passion—ahem—a passion that bubbles up in unexpected ways between two of the female leads, one of whom was played by the blonde and leggy Mariel Hemingway, and one of whom was played by “real life” Olympic competitor in the 100-meter hurdle, Patrice Donnelly. This was highly controversial and new(ish) territory for a mainstream American movie. Plus, it has that laid-back, natural, Oregon in the 1970’s vibe going for it. Cameron Post “discovers” it in the stacks at the video rental place. Also, this is the movie poster—pure 1980’s gold: Check it out a poster here!

pg. 78-Taco John’s: A “West-Mex” fast food chain founded in 1969 in Cheyenne, Wyoming and now in over 400 (mostly small) towns in the west and midwest, including Miles City, Montana—where The Miseducation of Cameron Post takes place. The chain is mentioned many times throughout my novel, often in reference to one of the most signature items on the menu. I’ll leave it at that. (Except to say that said signature item is both terrible for you and completely delicious.)

pg. 112-Rubyfruit Jungle: Rita Mae Brown’s debut novel, first published in 1973 and now considered a seminal lesbian coming-of-age novel. It concerns the adventures of the feisty, often laugh-out-loud funny, and eminently self-assured Molly Bolt as she boldly navigates childhood, high school, college, and adventures in the wilds of New York City. It’s a great read: I highly recommend it (and Cameron Post would, too). Novel Cover

pg. 114—Salt-n-Pepa: Nope, not just what you season your dinner with, but also an all female hip hop trio from New York consisting of Cheryl "Salt" Renee James, Sandra "Pepa" Denton, and Deidra "DJ Spinderella" Roper. In my novel, Cameron Post was likely listening to selections from their “classic” 1990 album Blacks’ Magic, which featured the very popular (and controversial) single: “Let’s Talk About Sex.” The video is really worth watching again if you haven’t seen it in awhile (or ever); it’s a nice time capsule of the era: Go dance!

pg. 166-Geo: a brand of small, affordable, US made cars built from 1989-1997. You don’t see them around so much anymore, but many a teenager drove them in the 1990s. And often they were unnecessarily teal or fuchsia colored, with decorative stripes, like this one: That's one bright car!

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Emily and The {Teen} Book Scene for presenting a different post for us, especially Emily for getting into the heart of a few of her Pop Culture references!

For more on Emily M. Danforth:

• Goodreads
• Website
• Twitter
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{Where’s Your Stuff?}

Hey everyone – just a fast note for everyone who won stuff from my Blogaversary Giveaways or anything since. I intended to get it out this past weekend, and sadly I’ve had some tragedies to manage through.

I will mail after this next week, and I apologize greatly for the delay. Just way to much emotionally going on here and I know you you all understand – still wanted to make sure I said something so no one worried.

{Guest Post} S.R. Johannes

Today we welcome author S.R. Johannes to the blog as part of The {Teen} Book Scene’s Untraceable tour!  We are the 6th stop on the tour.  To see more, click on the banner below!

So we wanted to know…what some of S.R. Johannes’ favorite books were, and what she’d recommend. We also wanted to know…what kind of books we’d find in her “library.”

I have always loved books. I used to read all the time.
When I was young, I loved the Laura Ingles Wilder series, Nancy Drew, and Hardy Boys. I read Sweet Valley High but only because I wanted to keep reading. Back then there was not a kid’s section like today.
When I was a teen, I would sneak my mom’s thrillers and mysteries. I would stay up late and read books from James Patterson, Stephen King, Sue Grafton and Iris Johansson.
I went through a man’s mystery phase with Dennis Lehane, Robert Parker, Ian Fleming, John D MacDonald, and James Hall. I always wanted girl books like these books. Ones that were pacy, yet still touched on important issues.
I got off adult books when Harry Potter books first came out. I know shocker. Now I read all young adult books because I love it and support my friends in the industry.
Mostly, I am a sucker for suspense and thrillers.
My recent favorites include Kimberly Derting’s The Pledge and Megan Miranda’s Fracture. I also love Carrie Ryan’s Forest of Hands and Teeth series as well as Beth Revis’ Across the Universe, Gretchen McNeil’s new book Ten (which is out next year) and Susanne Young’s Need So Beautiful and of course, Suzanne Collins Hunger Game series.
I like books that can mesh a few different elements: Learning about important topics, watching strong girl characters, nice guys, major suspense, and humor. If a book or voice is funny, I am more forgiving.

Thanks so much for visiting us today and giving us a glimpse into what you enjoy to read!

For more on S.R. Johannes:

• Goodreads
• Website
• Twitter

{Guest Post from CA Kunz) Being A Part of An Indie Author Group

 

We are really excited to be apart of this blog tour for CA Kunz and the Chide Series! We are the 16th stop on the tour and are helping start out the 3rd week of the tour with Insane About Books

 

Author CA Kunz is really excited to be hosting a FANTASTIC contest to go along with this tour…you want to

WIN A KINDLE FIRE!?

All you have to do to enter, is comment on ALL the posts with in the tour – WITH YOUR NAME AND E-MAIL (best to write out your e-mail like mrhuggybear at emailplace dot com) !! Find all the stops by clicking the tour banner above! And Good Luck!

 

With out further ado –

CA Kunz and Being a Part of an Indie Author Group

So before we start we’d just like to thank Amber and Rosmelie for hosting us today on their awesome blog, Me My Shelf and I. We hope you all enjoy our little post about The Paranormal Plumes Society, and remember don’t forget to comment.

- A group of independent Young Adult authors who are dedicated to their craft -

Tiffany King, author of The Saving Angels Trilogy

Abbi Glines, author of Breathe and Existence

M. Leighton, author of the Blood Like Poison Series

Michelle Muto, author of The Book of Lost Souls and Don’t Fear the Reaper

Fisher Amelie, author of The Leaving Series and Callum & Harper
Nichole Chase, author of The Dark Betrayal Trilogy
Laura A. H. Elliott, author of 13 on Halloween and Winnemucca
Amy Maurer Jones, author of the Soul Quest Trilogy
Shelly Crane, author of the Significance Series

Courtney Cole, author of The Bloodstone Saga
C.A. Kunz, mother and son author duo of The Childe Series

We absolutely love being part of this extremely talented group of authors. We really couldn’t be any luckier to be in such great company, and we all have the amazing author of The Saving Angels trilogy, Tiffany King, to thank for bringing us all together. There’s a real sense of camaraderie within this group, and it’s nice to have like-minded people to chat about anything with.

So here’s a little back story on how we became members of this wonderful group of indie authors known at The Paranormal Plumes Society:

Well it was about a year ago when we published our first novel The Childe, and like most first time authors we were at a loss of how to market it. So we began going to local book fairs to gain some face to face exposure, and it was there that we met a truly wonderful person and fellow author, Tiffany King. She immediately took us under her wing and showed us the error of our ways, hahaha! The first thing that she introduced us to was the AMAZING world of Twitter. Being a part of Twitter has truly been an awesome overall experience, and one that has allowed us to meet so many phenomenal people and develop some really great friendships.

Then one day our friend Tiffany asked us if we wanted to join a group of YA (mostly paranormal) indie writers on a trip to Savannah, Georgia (which happened this past October). The decision was a no brainer and we immediately jumped on board. It was actually during the planning stages for the trip when this little group of talented authors came up with our name, The Paranormal Plumes Society. Then came the big day, when we would finally break through the Twitter cyber wall and all meet in person for the first time ever. It truly was an instant bond that was forged between us all and sadly the weekend trip flew by way too fast. It was at that moment, during our farewell, that we wanted to make this a three, four, or even five times a year event. We wanted the Plumes to become this wonderfully great force and take the United States by storm, while still spreading our message to children and young adults about the importance of reading.

Speaking of getting together again, we recently scheduled to gather in Florida at the end of January to visit a middle school and high school. Our main goal: to get more young adults excited about reading. We’re so excited and can’t wait to see all of our Plume sisters once more.

To find out more about The Paranormal Plumes Society visit our website: http://www.theplumessociety.com/

{Author Interview + Giveaway} Courtney Allison Moulton

Join me in welcoming Courtney Allison Moulton to MMSAI today! We are lucky enough to be able to to chat with her about her Angelfire series and the release of the second book in the series Wings of the Wicked, as well as give some stuff away!!!

MMSAI: There’s no question that there are a lot of books about Angels and Demons out there for Young Adults but you have a whole new twist on it, especially with your main character Ellie. Can you let everyone know where the idea came from for such an interesting story line?

CAM: I grew up in a faithful family and was the child of a Roman Catholic and a Protestant. It was interesting—and sometimes very difficult—to have a divided family like that. I remember a family member demanding that the crucifix be taken down from above my bedroom door, and I remember the Sunday when I was dragged out of a Protestant service. Despite these confusing hardships, I developed a strong interest to study both denominations. I became so fascinated with the similarities and differences across all religions both modern and ancient, and when I sat down to write Angelfire, I wanted to incorporate beliefs and ideas from across the globe and time. There is a lot of Eastern lore mixed in with the mostly Christian-Judeo and Islamic world-building.

MSSAI: You have such a knack for impeccable attention detail and it really increases the enjoyment of both Angelfire and Wings of the Wicked, what challenges if any did you face bringing your cast of characters and scenes to life?

CAM: Thank you! When other authors go for the more lyrical writing, I tend to be much more cinematic. I write to entertain and to tell a fun, and sometimes gory, story. I’ve never really had an issue creating and describing characters and sets. I see everything crystal clear in my head. My biggest challenges are of the more internal sort. I stumble over internal monologues and emotions, and I have a hard time explaining the way my world works. I understand it completely in my head, but if it’s not something visual that I can describe, then I have difficulty making it make sense for a reader. My editor is constantly kicking me over it!

{Movie Giveaway} To Kill A Mockingbird 50th Anniversary Edition

Oscar^® Winner Gregory Peck Gives the Performance of His Career in the Timeless Classic Available on Blu-ray™ for the First Time

TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD50^TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

Digitally Remastered and Fully Restored with Over Three Hours of Bonus Materials Including Two Full­Length Documentaries

On Limited Edition Collector’s Series Blu-ray™ Combo Pack,

Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and DVD

Available January 31, 2012

 

To Kill a Mockingbird, one of the screen’s most beloved and critically acclaimed films, celebrates its 50^th anniversary with a commemorative Limited Edition Collector’s Series Blu-ray™ Combo Pack as well as on Blu-ray™ Combo Pack and DVD from Universal Studios Home Entertainment on January 31, 2012. The powerful and poignant adaptation of Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel hits the half-century mark, digitally remastered and fully restored from high resolution 35MM original film elements, plus more than three-and-a-half hours of bonus features chronicling the making of the cinematic masterpiece. 

The Limited Edition Collector’s Series Combo Pack of To Kill a Mockingbird: 50^th Anniversary Edition will include a Blu-ray, DVD and Digital Copy of the film, packaged in a hardcover book featuring exclusive movie memorabilia including script pages with Gregory Peck’s handwritten notes, storyboards, poster art and much more. 

Released theatrically in 1962, To Kill a Mockingbird won instant accolades for its nuanced performances, splendidly crafted narrative and bold endorsement of racial tolerance, fairness and honor, a combination that still resonates with audiences today. It earned eight Academy Award^® nominations and three wins including a Best Actor statuette for Gregory Peck in one of his most iconic roles asthe principled Alabama lawyer Atticus Finch, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Art Direction. The prestigious American Film Institute lists To Kill a Mockingbird as one of the 100 Greatest American Films and also names Atticus Finch as the No. 1 Film Hero of All Time. A timeless, enduring classic that remains as relevant and impactful today as it was at its release, To Kill a Mockingbird’’s appeal continues to span generations. 

In honor of its centennial anniversary, Universal Pictures proudly salutes 100 years of unforgettable films that have entertained audiences and touched the hearts of millions around the globe. In celebration of our first 100 years, Universal Studios Home Entertainment is proud to present a selection of our many beloved movies as part of an extensive year-long program that underscores the studio's rich cinematic history and indelible cultural impact.

Click the HERE  to view the official trailer for the To Kill a Mockingbird 50^th Anniversary Edition Blu-ray™ release:

Want to win a Copy?
Simply fill out the Raffelcopter form below 

- Must have a US or CA mailing address

- Must be 13+ to enter

- Prize will be mailed directly from Fox Home Entertainment