This greeted me one afternoon. That's a magazine there to the left, for size comparison.

SO. MANY. BOOKS!

SO. MUCH. SWAG! (and the loveliest card :))

Reunited by Hilary Weisham Graham
Simon & Schuster BYR, 336 Pages
US Release Date: June 12, 2012
Challenges: Local Library Challenge, Contemporary Challenge

1 Concert
2000 Miles
3 Ex-Best Friends

Alice, Summer, and Tiernan are ex-best friends.

Back in middle school, the three girls were inseparable. They were also the number one fans of the rock band Level3.

But when the band broke up, so did their friendship. Summer ran with the popular crowd, Tiernan was a rebellious wild-child, and Alice spent high school with her nose buried in books.

Now, just as the girls are about to graduate, Level3 announces a one-time-only reunion show.

Even though the concert’s 2000 miles away, Alice buys three tickets on impulse. And as it turns out, Summer and Tiernan have their own reasons for wanting to get out of town. Good thing Alice’s graduation gift (a pea-green 1976 VW camper van known as the Pea Pod) is just the vehicle to get them there.

But on the long drive cross-country, the girls hit more than a few bumps in the road. Will their friendship get an encore or is the show really over?
---------------------Goodreads summary

It has been KILLING me keeping this in for the past month it has been in the works - I'm SO so pleased to have a contributor come on board at Ashley Loves Books. Even before I started working full time again and got lost in that time suck, I was thinking that I wanted a guest reviewer to join me - it's invigorating to have another opinion and entire other presence on a blog. And trust me, who I've got? She's incredible.
Shanon's been one of my best friends for years...it seems like forever because I'm fairly convinced we're soul sisters on so many levels, but still. Officially, we met in high school...sophomore year, I think? Maybe? All I know is, she made high school a better place. She's whip-smart, well-read, has creativity oozing out her ears, and is hilariously sarcastic in all the best ways. Unfortunately we haven't seen each other since 2005 when we graduated high school (aw crap I just dated us...) - she currently lives in Texas and I'm still in California - but not a day goes by I don't miss her presence or think about her.

And now I get to call her an official contributor to my blog! She'll be adding her awesome reviews, maybe taking on a meme or two...it'll be a ton of fun, I promise :) For now, how about a little interview to get to know her better? Make sure you leave a comment to welcome her, and help me marvel in what fabulous bookish taste she has!

Let’s start with the usual: briefly introduce yourself!
I’m an eternal student. I love to learn about new things and usually at random. That makes for great reading and an advisory plan that will never get me out of college. Books are my sanctuary and I’m probably a born librarian in the wrong field…should probably correct that. ..

Tell us something surprising about yourself.
Mokrah! (If you get it, you know…if you don’t…google it. ;) [Ashley's note: I had to google it...]

What’s your earliest bookish memory?
Reading Dr. Seuss during an asthma breathing treatment in my parent’s old recliner. Couldn’t have been more than three.

What’s your favourite bookish memory?
Reading in the grocery store while my mom would shop. I’m terrible at grocery shopping; actually, I’m not leisurely strolling while I shop. My mom used to page me at the checkout with the cutest cashier she could find. That only started being funny now…10 to 12 years later. She knew where I was!

What type of books do you mainly read? (YA, sci fi, classics, Middle Grade, anything!)
I read a lot of sci-fi, fantasy and a fair amount of YA. Not so much into MG but I am an unashamed historical romance junkie…bring on the wooing!

Why do you read YA books?
Because they are honest and memory is fickle. Everything you felt at that age was magnified and on an extreme. Sarah kissed someone?! World-changing. Tommy was a jerk? You’ll hate that guy until you’re thirty. Those are the most real experiences I think we have and I think they can be undervalued in the rush to grow up. (Growing up includes things such as: car payments, student loan bills and jury duty…what were we in a hurry for again?)

Describe to (or show!) us your usual reading spot!
My office! Two desktop monitors, a HUGE tea cup that says “Keep Calm and Drink More Tea”, an unfinished baby blanket, a usually ringing phone…and three tall cabinets…mostly filled with books.

Have you ever met any authors? Do you have a favourite encounter?
I haven’t! It’s shameful to me now that I lived in San Diego and NEVER WENT to CC. *shame!* However…while working for A Certain Coffee Company, I did get to make coffee for Sheryl Crow and meet Alan Tudyk (again, if you don’t know…ASK SOMEBODY)!

What are your feelings on e-readers vs. print books? 
I used to be a print book snob. Hands down e-readers were for philistines. You missed out on sweet, glorious book smell…and who would trade in for that? Apparently I would, partially. My boyfriend bought me a Nook Color for my birthday a couple of years back…and my heart, life and paycheck were substantially altered. Holy Wombats Batman! Instant gratification with books! So now, I’m usually wandering about armed with a Nook and a few purse books. And my doctor said my shoulders should be recovering from book bend quite nicely.

How do you feel about insta-love in books? Hate it? Love it? Neutral?
I believe in insta-like. Insta-love is too immediate to be so real. That deep, abiding “I will not be like that heifer Rose and I will move over on the door the size of Montana so you can LIVE” love? That takes time to develop.

Thoughts on book-to-movie adaptations?
So torn. The books are always better, the movies can be close adaptations and when done with faithful casting and endings (I’m looking at you My Sister’s Keeper…WTF) can be enjoyable. An example: I’m thrilled for Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series being optioned for TV. I am horrified to think that with some serious miscasting and editing for TV…this could be a gigantic mess and that would be devastating.

We have to know…50 Shades of Grey. Did you go there?
Yeah. I did. In the original…yes, I know. I know! I was thoroughly amused (never shocked, oddly enough) by the story and appalled by the amount of red pen it would take for me to edit it properly. Dear Ms. James- get a damn thesaurus!

What’s one book you thought you’d love, but didn’t in the end? What about one you weren’t too keen on, but ended up loving?
> I thought I would love Stephen King’s Dark Tower series. The premise was interesting and my boyfriend, not much of a reader, recommended it. I figured it had to be awesome for him to be so interested in books that increased a la Harry Potter. HOWEVER. I’ve slogged my way through seven books and got to the last paragraph. I read it…blinked…read it again and heaved it across the room.
> I picked up Code Name: Verity under a bout of coverlust. It was so intriguing that I had to buy it. (Yes, I am one of those people). I wasn’t sure I would like it and initially the format of the story took me a few pages to wrap my head around. That book changed the way I think about friendship and that’s really all I can tell you without spoiling too much.

What’s one book you’re ashamed to say you haven’t read yet?
I haven’t read The Book Thief. STOP THROWING THINGS AT ME! *ducks and weaves* [Ashley's note: don't worry Shanon, I haven't either! Maybe I shouldn't admit that, people will shun the blog...]

What’s your reading pet peeves? 
There is a difference between what they’re doing and what their punishment will be.

Though we know nothing in life is better than reading (haha…not joking.), what are some of your other non-bookish interests?
Writing and playing music. Camping. Singing loudly in my car. Dancing around my house. Movie marathons, road trips and eye makeup.

Flash answer section!
Favourite genre? fantasy
Favourite recent read? Entwined
Favourite childhood book? Anne of Green Gables
Favourite word? Ameliorate
Favourite YA series? Jessica Darling!
Current book boyfriend? Marcus Flutie, always. (Seriously, my girlfriend and I tallied it up and aside from their first…encounter…I’m pretty much dating MF.)
Current read? Croak by Gina DaMico
Next read? Enclave by Ann Aguirre
Book you always recommend? The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss and Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Go-To Comfort Read? The Wise Man’s Fear by Rothfuss. It’s like sliding into a bath that’s slightly too hot. By the time you’re all the way in…you couldn’t imagine anything better. And that paper…it’s like reading on silk.

Best of 2012:
Favourite book cover? Entwined by Heather Dixon is so gorgeous.
Least favourite book cover? Storm by Brigid Kemmerer…I was entertained by the story…but the cover looks like a bad boy band album…
Favourite secondary character? Bramble from Entwined. How can you not love someone with these words to her credit? “‘Down with tyranny!’ Bramble cried. ‘Aristocracy! Autocracy! Monocracy! Other ocracy things! You are outnumbered, sir! Surrender!’”

And lastly…your favourite quote from a book:
“It’s like being in love, discovering your best friend.” Code Name: Verity p.55
Did I not tell you she's FANTASTIC?! Seamless Titanic reference worked in, Code Name Verity, Jessica Darling, and admitting to 50 Shades? Sorry, fellow bloggers - she's all mine. Shanon's got some great reviews and content coming up, but for now, leave her some love in the comments, and get ready for ALL THE AWESOME. (On a technical note, please excuse any messes that may occur as we try to work out this contributor thing!)

Ten by Gretchen McNeil
Balzer + Bray, 294 Pages
Expected US Release Date: September 18, 2012
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher at ALA Annual 2012 (thank you Harper Teen!)

And their doom comes swiftly.

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury.

But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?
---------------Goodreads summary
Fair warning, I'm a damn scaredy-cat. I don't watch scary movies, I don't do horror or thriller or any of those. I still jump while watching I Know What You Did Last Summer, I definitely scream during Scream (PUN!), I hid through most of The Ring, and you can tell how long it's been since I've even attempted terrifying movies by how dated those examples are. I read some scary books, but I learned my lesson when I was 11 and reading Stephen King's Misery at 1am (add in that I even wanted to be a writer then, and you can imagine my pure terror) and have not done that since.

So I went into Ten a wee bit scared. I'd heard it was nail-biting, and I wasn't even going to play with that. But I'd also heard great things, I think Gretchen is possibly the most adorable and awesome author I've ever seen (I was so close to meeting her at ALA! We were at the same party! But alas, it shall have to wait until the release party.), and when I realized it was reminiscent of And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie - one of the classic, well-deserved mystery thrillers that everyone needs to have read if they haven't - I knew I'd give it a shot. And I'm so glad I did!

Under the ruse of a party thrown by a popular girl, ten teens gather on a remote island for the weekend of a lifetime - unknowingly the last weekend for most of them. We focus mainly on Meg, who has her own connections to a few of the select ten teens, and only later learn how they are all interconnected. From the moment Meg and Minnie step off the ferry onto the rainy island, I think my heart jumped into my throat and never, ever came back down until I closed the book.

Truthfully, it wasn't as terrifying as I thought it would be. There were definite moments I had to remind myself to breathe, and the entire last 40 pages or so I had to make sure I read in daylight - but the majority is that twisted thriller type, where it's the anticipation and the thinking that messes with you the most.  That half-knowing but whole-wondering that drives a person absolutely mad.

In terms of the characters, I was a bit underwhelmed - they were mostly flat, I found Meg to be a bit forced, and I felt the story lacked a bit of "show." We were told details, told who they were, told everything - and that's fine in a sense, but I never connected with any of them. I just had to take it at face value, and I never believed in any of them. I much prefer seeing their stories, really understand who they are, rather than being presented with details - and I was disappointed, because there was so much potential here! It would have made the book much longer, yes, but done right? That background detail would have been awesome.

However, I do understand that in some ways, the author couldn't give those details because it would detract from how we're taken through the story: through the diary. I can't say much more about it, because it would spoil a lot of the book, but I get why this is written this way. I don't have to like it, but I get it.

The story totally makes up for my disappointment with the character development though. COMPLETELY. This is a classic whodunit type story, where everyone and no one is innocent and guilty. (Schrodinger's cat, WHATUP!) I was questioning, and even though some parts seem a bit predictable to me, I was completely wrapped up in everything. I wanted to scream when I got scared, I held my breathe whenever a chapter ended, and I was totally taken by the story as a whole. Bodies were piling up everywhere, and I kind of loved how quickly kids were dying, in a terribly twisted way. I also loved the creativity behind the book: how people died, why they were dying and why they were chosen to die that way...so good. All of it.

The scary touches of scenery and the DVD and slashes on the wall were a cherry on top of a thrilling novel. Like I said, I don't like scary things, but I do love this book. There's something so engaging and suspenseful about the whole thing, and I absolutely could not put it down or look away. I even may have maybe sorta possibly taken an extra few seconds (or a whole minute, whatever) during my work breaks and lunches just so I could keep reading. (If my bosses or co-workers are reading this: TOTALLY KIDDING NO I DIDNT I SAID MAYBE.)

Read this book. Even if you're like me and hate scary stuff and want to hide in a corner under a blanket and stick the book in the freezer* at the mere mention of darkness and an abandoned mansion and house boat on an island, you will love Ten. It is that good.

PS. Have you seen the trailer? Trust me when I say it portrays the feel of the book PERFECTLY. Plus, that's the author singing! How awesome is that?! (if you can't see the vid below, check out this post for it!)

PPS. Join the Army of Ten!
*if you get this reference, you are my new best friend.