In My Mailbox (31)

Idea taken from The Story Siren

Some books have just been added to my narrow shelf and here they are...


An Abundance Of Katherines by John Green.

When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton's type is girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact. On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washedup child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an overweight, Judge Judy—loving best friend riding shotgun—but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and finally win him the girl. Love, friendship, and a dead Austro-Hungarian archduke add up to surprising and heart-changing conclusions in this ingeniously layered comic novel about reinventing oneself.


The Lost Summer by Kathryn Wiliams.

"I died one summer, or I almost did. Part of me did. I don't say that to be dramatic, only because it's true."

For the past nine years, Helena Waite has been returning to summer camp at Southpoint. Every year the camp and its familiar routines, landmarks, and people have welcomed her back like a long-lost family member. But this year she is returning not as a camper, but as a counselor, while her best friend, Katie Bell remains behind. All too quickly, Helena discovers that the innocent world of campfires, singalongs, and field days have been pushed aside for late night pranks on the boys' camp, skinny dipping in the lake, and stolen kisses in the hayloft. As she struggles to define herself in this new world, Helena begins to lose sight of what made camp special and the friendships that have sustained her for so many years. And when Ransome, her longtime crush, becomes a romantic reality, life gets even more confusing.


Get Well Soon by Julie Halpern.

Based on Halpern's (Toby and the Snowflakes) experiences, this first novel begins as a run-of-the-mill story about a 16-year-old girl's short stint in a suburban Chicago psychiatric hospital: think sterile hallways, dysfunctional group therapy sessions and foul-mouthed, pissed-off adolescents who have been committed against their will. Before long, however, it evolves into an upbeat story that offers a hype-free, realistic look inside a teen ward. The narrator, Anna Bloom, actually enjoys Lakeland by the end of her stay. She feels more confident in her thinned-out body (although her loss of 12 pounds in 11 days seems a stretch), has opened up to her peers and even had a reciprocated crush on the lanky boy down the hall-none of which would have befallen the pre-Lakeland Anna. The talk about kissing and playing cards could make some forget they're reading about time spent at the loony bin, as Anna sometimes calls it, but Halpern balances these sorts of discussions with Anna's reactions to fellow patients who hear voices or claim to worship "the Dark Lord" and to rules forbidding all physical contact.


Into The Wild Nerd Yonder by Julie Halpern.

Fifteen-year-old Jessie develops the self-confidence to dump her selfish friends and ventures into unfamiliar territory to find new ones in this often hilarious, quirky work of contemporary realism. When her two best friends turn poseur-punk to impress her brother's friend Van, Jessie is left wondering where she, a math star, audiobook addict and accomplished seamstress, fits in. As their rift deepens, Jessie discovers that a group of Dungeons & Dragons-playing peers are not as socially inept as she once might have thought and loses herself in a crush on a sweet, if fashion-challenged, guy at school. The overarching message about being oneself and growing apart from friends is familiar teen-novel territory, and there is never any real doubt as to the end of Jessie's journey.



They look cool aye? This week is a good one for me since I got the books that I'd been waiting forever to get my hands on. I'm not sure which one I want to read most. An Abundance Of Katherines? Heard so many fabulous comments on John Green's writing. The Lost Summer? Just my type of book. Get Well Soon & Into The Wild Nerd Yonder? Too cute to resist!

Thanks Kathryn, Julie and Erin from Penguin Aus for these babies *hugs and kisses*

So what have you got? Which book will you read first?


P.S It is very off topic but I cannot wait to post about this. Check out Living Your Five - an amazing site launched by four amazing authors that you all love to win books and stuff while saving the world. What could be better? Go there RIGHT NOW!