In My Mailbox VII

In My Mailbox is a weekly book-sharing meme hosted at The Story Siren. Each week, you talk about books received the previous week, not necessarily in the mail. Posts can include library books, borrowed books, as well as purchased books. (Book titles link to Goodreads.)

It's been quite a while since I've done one of these. I'm not going to attempt to list everything I've checked out from the library in the meantime (though you can find the full list here). I'll just list library books and such for this week (and last week EDIT: and the week before that - see below).

Due to technical difficulties (read: computer acted up and I decided to just shut it down and let it rest instead of dealing with whatever had gone wrong), I am posting this nearly a week after I started work on it. (Dang stupid computers!) Additions/changes for this week are marked by "EDIT". ^_^

Received Books:

I Quit! by Geri and Peter Scazzero - Review copy from Zondervan.

Ghost of a Chance (ARC) by Simon R. Green - Won this in a contest over at Fiction State of Mind.

Library Books:

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut - Wanted to read this for Banned Books Week last week, but the copy at my local library is checked out and the one at the other nearby library is missing. So I had to request it. I got the notice on Monday, and went to the library on Tuesday.

The Dead-Tossed Waves (Forest of Hands and Teeth, #2) by Carrie Ryan - Just finished The Forest of Hands and Teeth, and was returning it to the library when I went to pick up Slaughterhouse Five. Saw this on the shelf and grabbed it. ^_^

The King's Rose by Alisa M. Libby - A YA novel about one of the wives of Henry VIII? Awesome. ^_^

City of Ashes (The Mortal Instruments, #2) by Cassandra Clare - I had City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments, #1) checked out already - it's due back this coming Monday - so I grabbed this one to read after I finish the first one. EDIT: Finished City of Bones and returned it to the library. While I was there, I checked out three more books:

City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments, #3) by Cassandra Clare - Since I read City of Bones in 2 days, I thought I should probably go ahead and check out the third book in the series. ^_^

Inkspell (Inkheart, #2) by Cornelia Funke - I've been wanting to read this since I finished Inkheart over the summer. Finally checked it out. My husband just read it, and is considering reviewing it, so I may have my first ever guest review coming soon!

Inkdeath (Inkheart, #3) by Cornelia Funke - Technically my husband checked this one out, but I'll be reading it too.

Purchased Books:

Saturday, I went to the mall where I used to work. There was a small discount book store open at center court. It was their last day, so they were running a special: $10 for a paper grocery bag full of books. I only wish I'd had more time to look at all the books. All are trade paperback unless specified otherwise. ^_^

Peanuts Guide to Life by Charles M. Schulz - small gift book, dust jacket missing - My husband picked out this one. Not that I mind; I love Peanuts!

Fractured by Karin Slaughter - hardback, dust jacket missing

College Girl by Patricia Weitz

Lovers and Ladies by Jo Beverley

The Dragon's Village by Yuan-Tsung Chen

T is for Trespass by Sue Grafton - hardback, dust jacket missing

Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin - Did not realize this was #3 in a series...

Thief of Light by Denise Rossetti

The Lurker at the Threshold by H.P. Lovecraft - this is a birthday present for a friend who sometimes reads this blog. Title will be posted *after* I give him the book. EDIT: Added title. I gave him the book Saturday.

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler

Mistress Shakespeare by Karen Harper

The Eternal Kiss: 13 Vampire Tales of Blood and Desire edited by Trisha Talep - I was super excited to find this one! I nearly shrieked... ^_^

PS, I Love You by Cecelia Ahern - massmarket paperback

Soft Focus by Jayne Ann Krentz

The Eleventh Victim by Nancy Grace - We couldn't keep this in stock at Waldenbooks when it first came out.

Mean Streets by Jim Butcher, Simon R. Green, Kat Richardson, and Thomas E. Sniegoski - Another one that almost made me squeal.

Montana Sky by Nora Roberts - Um, it's Nora Roberts. Of course I grabbed it!

True Betrayals by Nora Roberts - see above

Acupuncture Without Needles by J. V. Cerney - My husband picked out this one too. Interesting concept. Poorly written, though, according to the hubs.

Darkborn by Alison Sinclair - I kept seeing this one at Waldenbooks. I would pick it up, read the back, and replace it on the shelf. I nearly bought it multiple times, but never did. So I HAD to grab it! ^_^

In the Courts of the Sun by Brian D'Amato - This is another one I looked at over and over while I was at Waldenbooks. 2012 and Mayan prophecy? Yes, please!

Rescue Ink by Rescue Ink with Denise Flaim - Most. Awesome. Biker. Gang. EVER. ^_^

Went to Books-A-Million last night (only because it's next door to CiCi's Pizza where we had supper with friends) and they were having a sidewalk sale. So I had to look at the $1 books. When I found 2 on that rack, I decided NOT to look at the $2 or the two $3 racks...

Stealing Athena by Karen Essex

The Spy Who Came for Christmas by David Morrell

Review: SPEAK

Speak
Laurie Halse Anderson

Release Date:
Genre: Young Adult Contemporary
Rating: 10/10
Source: Own
Buy the Book: Borders ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Books-A-Million
Content Warning: Foul Language (very little)

Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won’t talk to her, and people she doesn’t even know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that’s not safe. Because there’s something she’s trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth. This extraordinary first novel has captured the imaginations of teenagers and adults across the country.

Blurb from author website.

Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson, is nothing less than an emotional punch to the gut.

My only complaint is the length: less than two hundred pages. Then again, any longer would be more of an emotional gut punch than I can handle.

Okay, in order to properly discuss this book, I'm going to break my own rule of no spoilers. I WILL NOT spoil the ending, however.

The story begins as Melinda starts her freshman year of high school. Now outcast for calling the cops about a party, she floats silent and almost friendless. Only the new girl will speak to her.

Hints are given as to some terrible occurrence at the party - the reason she called the cops. Not until over half-way through the book do we find out what happened.

She was raped.

Hurt and confused, she stayed silent afterwards. Not until a (former) friend of hers started dating the rapist did she tell anyone. And then the girl didn't believe her, accusing her of jealousy.

I don't want to spoil any more of the book, so I'll just say this: Melinda's story ends in a much better place than where it began.

One of the scenes near the end made me want to get up and do a victory dance. (For the sake of my husband sleeping next to me, and the dog[s] sleeping at the foot of my bed, I stayed put.) It did put a huge smile on my face, where I had been crying mere minutes earlier.

This book should be required reading for everyone, most especially teens.

Its message needs to be heard.

Do not stay silent when something bad happens. Speak.