Monday, December 28, 2015

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater - January 2016 Chapter Breakdown


This month's theme is all about snowy locales, and the warm hearts that reside within them. As a reminder, we'll be reading Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater!

Below you'll find the chapter breakdown.


January 1st - Chapters 1 - 18
Discussion Post: January 9th


January 11th - Chapters 19-31
Discussion Post: January 16th


January 18th - Chapters 32-44
Discussion Post: January 23rd


January 25th - Chapters 45-67
Discussion Post: January 30th



As a reminder, it's perfectly fine to read ahead. This is just what we'll be discussing each week. The key is to remember to keep the spoilers to yourself! Different people read at different paces, and we don't want to ruin it for someone else.

Also, all discussion posts are open the entire month. So if you're a bit behind, feel free to join in whenever you're ready!

 

Friday, December 11, 2015

Choose January 2016's Book!

Okay ladies and gents, it's time to choose our book for January!

January's theme is all about snowy locales, and it's up to you to decide which one we'll visit. Below you'll find 4 books to choose from. You have until 8pm on 12/14 to vote.

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | AbeBooks

Shiver (Wolves of Mercy Falls #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf--her wolf--is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

YA Fiction - 416 pages






Amazon | Barnes & Noble | AbeBooks

The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon

West Hall, Vermont, has always been a town of strange disappearances and old legends. The most mysterious is that of Sara Harrison Shea, who, in 1908, was found dead in the field behind her house just months after the tragic death of her daughter.

Now, in present day, nineteen-year-old Ruthie lives in Sara’s farmhouse with her mother, Alice, and her younger sister. Alice has always insisted that they live off the grid, a decision that has weighty consequences when Ruthie wakes up one morning to find that Alice has vanished. In her search for clues, she is startled to find a copy of Sara Harrison Shea's diary hidden beneath the floorboards of her mother's bedroom. As Ruthie gets sucked into the historical mystery, she discovers that she’s not the only person looking for someone that they’ve lost. But she may be the only one who can stop history from repeating itself.

Adult Fiction - 400 pages




Amazon | Barnes & Noble | AbeBooks

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Alaska, 1920: a brutal place to homestead, and especially tough for recent arrivals Jack and Mabel. Childless, they are drifting apart--he breaking under the weight of the work of the farm; she crumbling from loneliness and despair. In a moment of levity during the season's first snowfall, they build a child out of snow. The next morning the snow child is gone--but they glimpse a young, blonde-haired girl running through the trees.

This little girl, who calls herself Faina, seems to be a child of the woods. She hunts with a red fox at her side, skims lightly across the snow, and somehow survives alone in the Alaskan wilderness. As Jack and Mabel struggle to understand this child who could have stepped from the pages of a fairy tale, they come to love her as their own daughter. But in this beautiful, violent place things are rarely as they appear, and what they eventually learn about Faina will transform all of them.

Adult Fiction - 389 pages





Amazon | Barnes & Noble | AbeBooks

Breadcrumbs by Anne Ursu

Once upon a time, Hazel and Jack were best friends. But that was before he stopped talking to her and disappeared into a forest with a mysterious woman made of ice. Now it's up to Hazel to go in after him. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen," Breadcrumbs is a stunningly original fairy tale of modern-day America, a dazzling ode to the power of fantasy, and a heartbreaking meditation on how growing up is as much a choice as it is something that happens to us.

In Breadcrumbs, Anne Ursu tells, in her one-of-a-kind voice, a story that brings together fifty years of children's literature in a tale as modern as it is timeless. Hazel's journey to come to terms with her evolving friendship with Jack will deeply resonate with young readers.

Middle Grade Fiction - 336 pages



Vote Now!

Friday, December 4, 2015

Monthly Theme List for 2016!

In an effort to get a jump on next year, as I'm planning on it being altogether amazing, I've compiled a list of all the themes we'll be tackling! See below.


January 2016 - Dashing Through The Snow
* Choose a book that is set in a snowy locale!

February 2016 - Swoon Worthy Protagonists
* Let's steam up February with some HOT protagonists! Yes, girl crushes are allowed.

March 2016 - Books About Books
* Is it set in a library? Is the protagonist an author? Let's read books about books!

April 2016 - Graphic Novels
* We are doing this! I know we skipped it last year. Stories aren't always just words.

May 2016 - Middle Grade Magic
* May is all about amazing Middle Grade characters, and stories steeped in magic.

June 2016 - Road Trips
* Have a favorite book about a road trip? Here's your chance to share!

July 2016 - Independence
* A country, a family, a character. Anyone fighting for independence fits here.

August 2016 - The High Seas
* Arrrr mateys! We be choosing books about Pirates in August.

September 2016 - Banned Books
* So many books are banned every year, which is why we'll put them in the spotlight.

October 2016 - Haunted Houses/Cities
* Things get spooky in October, and we'll celebrate by visiting some haunted dwellings.

November 2016 - Novellas
* We'll slow things down in November, in preparation for the holidays, with a few shorter reads.

December 2016 - THE BIG HOLIDAY GIVEAWAY: TAKE 3!
* December is all about bonding, planning for the new year, and winning awesome stuff!


More information on how our monthly book choice is going to work next year, coming soon!