[Review] Amplified by Tara Kelly

Title: Amplified {goodreads}

Authors: Tara Kelly

Publication (dd/mm/yy): 25/10/11

Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
RRP: US$16.95

Source: Bought
Age: 15+ Sexual references and alcohol.

Pages: 290

My Rating:

Summary:

When privileged 17-year-old Jasmine gets kicked out of her house, she takes what is left of her savings and flees to Santa Cruz to pursue her dream of becoming a musician. Jasmine finds the ideal room in an oceanfront house, but she needs to convince the three guys living there that she's the perfect roommate and lead guitarist for their band, C-Side. Too bad she has major stage fright and the cute bassist doesn't think a spoiled girl from over the hill can hack it. . .

In this fresh new novel by critically acclaimed author Tara Kelly, Jasmine finds out what happens when her life gets Amplified.

My thoughts: 

One word: Badass!

Tara Kelly strikes again! I loved this as much as I loved 'Harmonic Feedback', just in different ways. We've heard the story before: Teen gets kicked out of home because they're a disappointment to their parent/s. Teen goes off to fulfill their dream, whatever that may be. What really appealed to me though, was the musical aspects and the band and what the band brings to Jasmine, the protagonist.

'Amplified' is super atmospheric; Kelly really describes music perfectly. When I first started reading books with music in them, I was concerned that I wouldn't be able to 'hear the music', but so far I haven't had such a problem. It would be really cool if some of C-Side's tracks got recorded somehow, but that's probably wishful thinking. There are a few terms that, should you not be so musically inclined, you might need to look up. A little research on industrial rock also wouldn't hurt. I'll admit I'd never actually heard of the sub-genre before, but that's exactly what I love about reading. New stuff.

The band members of C-Side are eccentric and they each have their own distinct personalities that just magically drew me to them. I adored Felix's wicked fashion sense, Bryn's biting wit, Sean's quiet allure and Veta's spunk and sense of pride. I found myself chuckling and laughing way too much. They just have way too much fun together and their dialogue and actions with each other are so natural that I was able to believe they were real people.

What I most loved about AMPLIFIED, however, is the journey that Jasmine takes. She goes through so much development and has to endure quite a few obstacles in order to actually get where she does at the end. She suffers from intense stage fright, which is a big deal when she's going to be filling in for one of the hottest lead guitarists in the local industrial rock scene. What shines through with her is her innate ability to rock out and make things work, make them different and innovative. Like I said before, I could actually HEAR what was playing.

There is a romance, and one that I enjoyed a lot. The guy and Jasmine just get off to a really bad start, and first impressions make quite the impression. But over time they just start warming to each other and before we all know it, they're friends and leaning into something more. They had great chemistry; they're safely one of my top 5 fave couples for this year. Realistic - no insta-love going on ANYWHERE in here.

AMPLIFIED is fired-up and passionate, and is sure to catch interest of musically inclined readers. Kelly's sophomore release plays a familiar tune to her debut, but is a much lighter read - you might even chuckle a couple times. Jasmine is a great heroine whose endurance and strength of will persist time and time again.

Quotes:

""Are you waiting for the bathroom? 'Cause it looks open."
"I need to talk to Sean. I'm just waiting for a good time . . ."
Bryn walks past me and slammed his fist into Sean's door. "Hey!" The music inside cut off.
Sean answered, crinkling his brow at Bryn. He was already dressed for work--blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up, cargo pants, and boots. "What?"
"Jasmine said she's waiting for a good time. Does now work for you?" Bryn slapped Sean in the chest and sauntered off, chuckling his way down the stairs.
Sean's eyes widened at me, his lips parting. This was not the opening I had in mind. (pp. 118-119)

Buy:

* cheapest Australian e-store price

AUSTRALIAN RESIDENTS

Fishpond * | Readings | Dymocks | Angus & Robertson | Borders | The Nile

INTERNATIONAL READERS

Amazon | The Book Depository

All links from Booko, because I'm too lazy to search each individual store anymore.

I have received this review copy in return for an honest review.

Challenge: ---

In My Mailbox (51-58): Catch up time!!

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi of The Story Siren, and inspired by Alea at Pop Culture Junkie! Participants are required to tell all about what they've received in the mail--anything bookish!

~~~~~

In case you missed it, I had another IMM, for the review copies I'd received lately. [click here] The sequels just keep on pouring in! Now that I've finished university for the year, I can hopefully have a 3 day (at least) book turnover! Hope the holidays serve you well as well. ;)


Ahem.

Continue! :D

[Review] Audition by Stasia Ward Kehoe

Title: Audition {goodreads}

Authors: Stasia Ward Kehoe

Publication (dd/mm/yy): 31/10/11

Publisher: Penguin Australia
RRP: $19.95

Source: For review (thanks Penguin!)
Age: 15+ Sexual content, but otherwise clean.

Pages: 450 [verse novel]

My Rating:

Summary:

Once you've been chosen,
what step can you take...?

Seventeen-year-old Sara's dream of becoming a star ballerina is challenged when she falls for Remington, an older choreographer. Instead of success onstage, she becomes Rem's muse, which is a future she never considered--and one that threatens to break her heart.

My thoughts: 

I was so excited to read AUDITION! I jump to the chance to read any dancing YA novel. I admit, I was worried that my expectations wouldn't be met, but for the most part I was quite pleased with what I found.

This cover is also beautiful as anything, and I can definitely picture both models as Sara and Rem. The pose is intimate, and pretty dead-on. The cover could almost be a bit busy - if the quote wasn't blurred in like it is. The title & quote fonts are nice, and the title itself is simple yet speaks volumes, especially since Sara alludes to auditions a couple times throughout the novel. 

My Synopsis

AUDITION is the story of a budding ballerina [Sara] from the country who gets swept away into the world of the Jersey Ballet. Not only is she far away from home, from her best friend Bess and her family. She's living with her Spanish dancing instructor, an older man [Remington] is using her as a muse, she's stuck with younger girls in her class due to her country-bumpkin-ness. The girls at her new high school are pretentious and rich and look down at Sara's humble upbringing, and dreams of dancing in the future.

As Sara climbs up her ballet class ladder and develops from hunter green leotard to grey, Snowflake to Aurora, so too does her poisonous relationship with Remington.

I have to say, I LOVE the writing of this book! It's poetic and lyrical and just so easy to read. My favourite quotes are actually the ones that are on the front and back covers. Especially the front. I actually find it fitting that this book was written in verse, since the sequences and choice of words and rhythms and moves . . . it's like a different kind of dance. The writing is equal parts dancing, equal parts romance, equal parts anguish and inner-turmoil and self-discovery.

Sara is just your average girl. She gets pretty average grades, has a couple good friends back home, deals with trying to fit in with the rich and glamorous at Upton Academy, and catch up to the talented and esteemed prima ballerinas (especially Lisette) at the Jersey Ballet. She's always wanted to be a prima ballerina, but she has doubts. I liked that she doesn't just magically become amazing. There's a progression towards her improvement.

And then there's Remington. I have conflicted feelings about him and his behaviour through the course of the book. First off, Sara and him get intimate preeeeetty quickly. At the beginning, it's all really sweet, but slowly the cracks let out and we see Rem's true colours, and his true intentions. I actually love that their relationship seemed realistic, and I have no doubt that such a one exists somewhere. Their relationship is dysfunctional, and it's not all sunshine and rainbows. Sara needed this though, to finally realise what's important to her and why she got into ballet. She grows and begins to understand herself after being with Rem, and the revelations and in-betweens are what would push me to re-read this.

There isn't too much room to develop the secondary characters too much, considering AUDITION's format. I would have liked to have seen more of Julio, the Spanish dance instructor's son, who is pursuing music. He and Sara share an almost brother-sister-like bond, which I enjoyed. Also, her dancer girl friends kind of morphed together for me. None of them stood out particularly. To me, they were just names. Lisette is a different story, since she is the cause of much of Sara's distress. Even then, I would have liked more development, of at least one of them. Probably Lisette. They barely even talked, which was a shame.

That said, I did like the dancing descriptions. It's all so foreign to me, but I was able to imagine it - once I searched up the terminology. :P All in all, AUDITION is a satisfying debut novel that centralises the problems that can befall a budding ballerina, and her actions in trying to escape these problems. AUDITION is adorned with beautiful, romantic and illustrative writing, though lacking in secondary character development.

Recommended for people with an interest in dance, those looking for a dark relationship in the contemporary YA genre and fans of verse novels.

Quotes:

#1

"'No. No. Like this, ballerina.'
His chuckling words waft through
The smoke in my ears.
I let him show me
Steps I have not seen in ordinary classes,
His expression all fire
As he shares his pas de deaux. (p. 174)

#2

"I stand up slowly,
In the aftermath
Of Remington's words.
Knees weak.
Breath fast.
Furious

At Rem for thinking
This could all be so easy,
At Jane for her power,
At Lisette for her pirouettes,

At myself
For nodding again,
For decisions that are always off count,
For not knowing the question
I would want him to answer
If I ever had the courage to ask. (pp. 344-345)

Buy:

* cheapest Australian e-store price

AUSTRALIAN RESIDENTS

Fishpond | Readings | Dymocks | Angus & Robertson * | Borders | The Nile

INTERNATIONAL READERS

Amazon | The Book Depository

All links from Booko, because I'm too lazy to search each individual store anymore.

AUDITION in a song
* links to a dance

1. "Ghost" - Ingrid Michaelson (Ingrid's newest song, and is perfect for AUDITION.)
2. "Cold As You" - Taylor Swift
3. "Dancing" - Elisa *
4. "Corner of your Heart" - Ingrid Michaelson *
5. "Gravity" - Sara Bareilles (Watching this dance always gives me the chills) *
6. "You Don't Know Me" - Ben Folds Feat. Regina Spektor
7. "Foolish Games" - Jewel
8. "You Outta Know" - Alanis Morisette (Sara's INNER thoughts to Remington, especially at one point of the book, when he's with Jane.)
9. "The Silence" - Mayday Parade
10. "Stupid" - Sarah McLachlan *

But *ahem* don't get me started with SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE. We'd probably be here a while. Please do comment with additions to this 'playlist' (and more dances, please!) for AUDITION.

I have received this review copy in return for an honest review.

Challenge: YA Debut 2011 Challenge

The. Hunger. Games.

Source: we ♥ it

I'm sure most readers will have seen this trailer already (and probably a couple of times, if not more), but I thought I'd mention it here on the blog too.

I watched it. Though I haven't read the book yet. Since the new trailer has reminded me that the movie DOES have a release date, I've strewn this near the top of my TBR list. After I read a couple of ARCs and review copies that I've really wanted to read, I'll be moving on to my "summer pile". From then on, I'll be asking YOU to choose what I should read next, from my "summer pile". Which includes THE HUNGER GAMES. Which probably means I'll be reading that first. :P

Anyway, here's the trailer if you haven't seen it yet (or want to see it again)

It looks amazing, and though I had an idea what the book was about, now I'm a bit more clued in. Can't wait to read the book, and I'll probably be ordering CATCHING FIRE when I'm done with it.

Source: we ♥ it

Q: Which is your favourite book in the series?

• 'The Hunger Games'
• 'Catching Fire'
• Mockingjay' 

Comment with your answer; I really want to know!

Finally read Tomorrow, When the War Began!

I just finished reading the book last night, and about 20 minutes afterward I re-watched the film adaptation. Just brilliance - a new kind of appreciation and love for the series and movie just spawned because of my having read the book. I was a bit too young (the first book came out the year I was born, so...) to read the books the first time around, back in its hey-day, but it's still so relevant and it doesn't feel dated at all.

This post will serve as a 'review' on the blog. I'm not sure how long it will be, but I'll just ramble on and add whatever I want to it. I'm sure you've heard of it already, so I don't feel the need to provide a review when either you've read it, want to read it, or you watched the movie or whatever.

TOMORROW, WHEN THE WAR BEGAN has got nearly everything - action, adventure, romance, comedy, drama. There's more added comedy in the movie - little things like when Homer shakes it like Beyonce, or when Chris is telling his story of events. Overall I preferred the book, but they both complement each other - fans of the books will love the movie! Not too many changes have been done, though the whole Hermit's Hut side-plot thing was completely removed, as well as the effects those revelations has on Ellie.

Ellie is a phenomenal main character - she's just such a teenager, they all are. She's just your average girl, and that's what readers will appeal to, the fact that she's not entirely special - she has flaws, she can be stubborn and a bit all over the place, especially when her emotions are involved. She's totally kickass though and just values her family and friends so much that it's admirable how far she goes at times.

The enemies are never described, because this is first-person narrated and Ellie doesn't know herself. I can't wait to read the next one and see how things progress. All I know (from the chapter preview at the end of the 1st book) is that the gang go into hiding and then decide to go and (spoilers) bust Corrie and Kevin out of the hospital. It's going to get good!!

I wish there was something this big right now, that is literary and thought-provoking and appealing to the YA age group. I mean, for what I know, this was HUGE. At least in Australia. Now, we've got paranormal creatures and such, but nothing that really speaks to you. Or at least, to me.

I don't know. I'm just procrastinating. I've got an assignment due today at midnight (in 10 hours). I can get it done in 2-3, so I should be good. I actually cleaned my room, my level of dedication for putting off my assignment. And then on Monday I have my second (and last for the year) week of clinical placement. I'm getting sick of the hospital, actually. After that, on Friday, I'll be free to study for my exams. My uni is the only one that has the clinical placement BEFORE exams and results, which is pretty annoying. It would be nice to go to the hospital and not have the impending exams at the back of mind all the time...

[Read my semi-review on Goodreads]

Fan-song ~ Beautifully written

Lyrics I cant stand, this silence my heart is beating like a drum I used to, know how it felt to be, pure and young I close my eyes to erase these bloody hands but nothing can truly take away this pain i feel God, save my soul from destruction, this nightmare we're living a war Hope, is in our hands so forgive all my sins but i can't stop now We may have the freedom, but they've taken our lives away All thats left we fight back, until our last day (pre chorus) (chorus) Hold this gun to my head (get it over) Cause these thoughts i will never forget but when the day breaks i pray that tomorrow will come (Chorus) When this war began our lives had changed, We will rise from hell and live again x2 Forgive all my sins but i cant stop now

So I want to ask all of you:

HAVE YOU READ THE BOOKS? 

Which is your favourite in the series?

HAVE YOU WATCHED THE MOVIE? 

What did you think of it? Favourite scenes/moments?

~~~

When is the second film coming out? 

I implore you to go out, grab a copy of the movie somehow, or the books. See for yourself, support the film. It would be awesome if they could keep making them right up until the end.