Divergent is just days away from hitting theaters and we wanted to help everyone get excited! So we’re devoting this week to some Divergent fun! Don’t miss out on our awesome giveaway that’s currently taking place- if you haven’t read Divergent yet, we’re giving away four copies! If you have there’s tons of other great books!

Well, since it’s Tuesday, we thought we’d make this Top Ten Tuesday all about fun Divergent things that you might have missed =) Enjoy!

1.) Divergent Dolls! Did you know that there are Divergent Dolls, tattoos and all!? Dolls depicting the two lead characters in the Divergent movie, Shailene Woodley and Theo James, as opposed to descriptions from the book, have hit the shelves courtesy of Mattel. They are retailing for about $25 each! Would you ever consider owning one?

 

2). Divergent Inspired MakeUp! Sephora has partnered with Lionsgate for their debut in film-inspired makeup. This limited-edition makeup line is based on the colors of each “faction” (five cities separated based on specific traits) in the novel. “This enormous multi-piece kit allows you to be brave, selfless, intelligent, honest, and kind all at once,” describes Sephora’s website on the Divergent Multi-Piece Collector’s Kit, featuring eye shadow, bronzer, blush and lip gloss. The kits include: Divergent Multi-Piece Collector’s Palette ($32.50), Divergent 7-piece Nail Art Kit ($27.50) and the Divergent Multi-Piece Collector’s Kit for $59.90.

3). Divergent Fashion! Some people are just so clever! And there are plenty of them out there creating the perfect outfits inspired by the Divergent Series Books. Here’s just one example, but you can find many others, who have their own take on things!

 

4). Divergent Tattoos! These temporary tats would be so fun to wear to the movie or for a Divergent party! At just 5$, why not!?

 

Or you could be brave like this person and get a real one lol!

5). Divergent Nails! Such talent (that I don’t have)! Tons of people have come up with such fun things! I’ll be honest, I’d have to go to a nail salon to make anything happen and if I’m going to pay for a manicure, I’d probably go with something safe and boring!

6). Divergent Party Decor! We’ve been looking for fun party ideas all week and haven’t had much luck- I’m expecting tons of things to be popping up on the good ol’ world wide web as the Divergent Movie parties actually start happening!

 

7). Divergent Hair- Man-o-man are some of these hair style awesome and wonderful! I wish I could do any of them just to be able to say I could do them!

 

8). Divergent Jewelry! I’m not going to lie, I can fall down an Etsy hole and be lost there for days! This is just one of the many beautiful and creative jewelry pieces that I found, inspired by Divergent. But you should check out some more if you have time!

9). Divergent Inspired Food! I really wish I could bake! I mean, I really suck at it!

10). Divergent Album: Tons of awesome stars came together to make this CD! The soundtrack features the film’s original score composed by Junkie XL (300: Rise of an Empire, Paranoia) and executive produced by Hans Zimmer. Ellie Goulding is featured as a vocalist. But other artists include, Snow Patrol, M83, Woodkid and more (see full list below).

1. “Find You” – Zedd feat. Matthew Koma & Miriam Bryant
2. “Beating Heart” – Ellie Goulding
3. “Fight For You” – Pia Mia feat. Chance The Rapper
4. “Hanging On” (I See MONSTAS Remix) – Ellie Goulding (from Halcyon Days)
5. “I Won’t Let You Go” – Snow Patrol
6. “Run Boy Run” – Woodkid
7. “Backwards” – Tame Impala & Kendrick Lamar
8. “I Need You” – M83
9. “In Distress” – A$AP Rocky feat. Gesaffelstein
10. “Lost And Found” (ODESZA Remix) – Pretty Lights
11. “STRANGER” – Skrillex feat. KillaGraham From Milo & Otis & Sam Dew
12. “Dream Machines” – Big Deal
13. “Dead In The Water” – Ellie Goulding (from Halcyon Days)
Bonus songs for Target album editions:
14. “I Love You” – Woodkid
15. “Waiting Game” – BANKS
16. “My Blood” – Ellie Goulding (from Halcyon Days)

As most of you know, February is Black History Month and we wanted to do something to celebrate this part of America’s heritage. So we’re joining the conversation about the black authors, celebrities, activists, teachers, inventors, advocates and religious figures who have helped shape this country. Since this is primarily a Young Adult Book Blog, we’ve created a list of 10 contemporary YA books worth checking out, written by black authors or featuring African American main characters.

I’m really thankful that I had the chance to explore this topic because it forced me to acknowledge the blatant lack of diversity in YA literature. It reminded me of a conversation that Kathryn and I had last year, after reading an article about what we (as readers) picture when we envision book characters. Kathryn (who is from Korea), remarked that she’d never realized before, but she usually pictures all the characters as white, regardless of the description. We decided that this must be because most books that we read feature white characters. But that led to a very long and interesting conversation about what it’s like to never envision someone like yourself, as the main character in a book. Maybe we should do a blog discussion on that one day. Anyway, I put that conversation out of my mind until I started researching books for this list, featuring black lead characters (my first clue should have been that out of all the best selling books I’ve been reading, I couldn’t think of one- geesh). Wow- it took me a lot longer to make this list than I wished it had, and not because it consumed so much time but because diversity in YA books should be/needs to be so much more prevalent. Why isn’t it? I mean, just take a glance down the top YA books at the moment and notice how much the main characters look the same, not just in color, but in many other ways. And this may just be me, but it seems like YA authors embrace the topic of sexuality more often than they offer us a cast of diverse characters, which got me wondering if it’s just simply because one is more trendy to write about at the moment than the other? It would be a shame if the motivation came from a place of popularity-hunting.

Since I’m by no means an expert on the subject, I found some really great articles that discuss the issue, by people with much more authority to do so than me. This article from The Wire, looks at the history and ongoing problem of race in YA lit (did you know that this discussion started in 1965, and apparently hasn’t moved very much forward in all these years?).

YA authors Cindy Pon and Malinda Lo have become two of the biggest voices, advocating diversity in teen lit, even running the site Diversity in YA . Check out this interview they did with Hello Giggles, where they talk about their mission and what needs to be done to make change happen.

Another topic that I was made aware of a few months ago is a bit of overt racism taking place on YA book covers. Our book club had lunch with author Diana Peterfreund and she was telling us that one of her covers (For Darkness Shows the Stars), unfairly came under fire for presenting a very white female model, representing what some believed was a not-so-white female main character. She felt that the cover was not only beautiful, but that her character is meant to be a tanned-white girl from futuristic New Zealand, and while this model might not have been perfect, it certainly wasn’t a racist gesture. Nonetheless, I became aware that “Whitewashing” is something that does in fact happen on YA covers, more often than you’d want to believe. Check out this ALA article, which looks at several examples of Whitewashing (I would like to make a quick note that book covers are often at the discretion of the Publishers, not the authors, and it is a bit unfair and presumptuous to place the blame on authors who might not have had a single voice in choosing their book cover- gag, can you imagine letting someone else choose this for you!?). Huffington Post also took a look at this issue- you should check out their pretty handy slide show!

Well, anyway, this is an important part of Black History Month, having these discussions and not only thinking about how far we’ve come, but also how far we can still go. So now, for our Top Ten Tuesday- drum roll please- check out these 10 awesome books! (All book descriptions came from Goodreads).

1. The Girl Who Fell From the Sky, by Heidi W. Durrow (p. 2010)

This debut novel tells the story of Rachel, the daughter of a Danish mother and a black G.I. who becomes the sole survivor of a family tragedy. With her strict African American grandmother as her new guardian, Rachel moves to a mostly black community, where her light brown skin, blue eyes, and beauty bring mixed attention her way. Growing up in the 1980s, she learns to swallow her overwhelming grief and confronts her identity as a biracial young woman in a world that wants to see her as either black or white. In the tradition of Jamaica Kincaid’s Annie John and Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye, here is a portrait of a young girl - and society’s ideas of race, class, and beauty.

2. Panic, by Sharon M. Draper (p. 2013)

This gripping and chillingly realistic novel from New York Times bestselling author Sharon Draper shows that all it takes is one bad decision for everything to change.

Diamond knows not to get into a car with a stranger.

But what if the stranger is well-dressed and handsome? On his way to meet his wife and daughter? And casting a movie that very night—a movie in need of a star dancer? What then?

Then Diamond might make the wrong decision.

It’s a nightmare come true: Diamond Landers has been kidnapped. She was at the mall with a friend, alone for only a few brief minutes—and now she’s being held captive, forced to endure horrors beyond what she ever could have dreamed, while her family and friends experience their own torments and wait desperately for any bit of news.

From New York Times bestselling author Sharon Draper, this is a riveting exploration of power: how quickly we can lose it—and how we can take it back.

3. The Summer Prince, by Alaya Dawn Johnson (p. 2013)

A heart-stopping story of love, death, technology, and art set amid the tropics of a futuristic Brazil.

The lush city of Palmares Três shimmers with tech and tradition, with screaming gossip casters and practiced politicians. In the midst of this vibrant metropolis, June Costa creates art that’s sure to make her legendary. But her dreams of fame become something more when she meets Enki, the bold new Summer King. The whole city falls in love with him (including June’s best friend, Gil). But June sees more to Enki than amber eyes and a lethal samba. She sees a fellow artist.

Together, June and Enki will stage explosive, dramatic projects that Palmares Três will never forget. They will add fuel to a growing rebellion against the government’s strict limits on new tech. And June will fall deeply, unfortunately in love with Enki. Because like all Summer Kings before him, Enki is destined to die.

4. Orleans, by Sherri L. Smith (p. 2013)

First came the storms.Then came the Fever. And the Wall.

After a string of devastating hurricanes and a severe outbreak of Delta Fever, the Gulf Coast has been quarantined. Years later, residents of the Outer States are under the assumption that life in the Delta is all but extinct… but in reality, a new primitive society has been born.

Fen de la Guerre is living with the O-Positive blood tribe in the Delta when they are ambushed. Left with her tribe leader’s newborn, Fen is determined to get the baby to a better life over the wall before her blood becomes tainted. Fen meets Daniel, a scientist from the Outer States who has slipped into the Delta illegally. Brought together by chance, kept together by danger, Fen and Daniel navigate the wasteland of Orleans. In the end, they are each other’s last hope for survival.

5. Charm & Strange, by Stephanie Kuehn (p. 2013)

When you’ve been kept caged in the dark, it’s impossible to see the forest for the trees. It’s impossible to see anything, really. Not without bars . . .

Andrew Winston Winters is at war with himself.

He’s part Win, the lonely teenager exiled to a remote Vermont boarding school in the wake of a family tragedy. The guy who shuts all his classmates out, no matter the cost.

He’s part Drew, the angry young boy with violent impulses that control him. The boy who spent a fateful, long-ago summer with his brother and teenage cousins, only to endure a secret so monstrous it led three children to do the unthinkable.

Over the course of one night, while stuck at a party deep in the New England woods, Andrew battles both the pain of his past and the isolation of his present.

Before the sun rises, he’ll either surrender his sanity to the wild darkness inside his mind or make peace with the most elemental of truths—that choosing to live can mean so much more than not dying.

6. Noble Conflict, by Malorie Blackman (p. 2013)

Years after a violent war destroyed much of the world, Kaspar has grown up in a society based on peace and harmony. But beyond the city walls, a vicious band of rebels are plotting to tear this peace apart. It is up to the Guardians - an elite peacekeeping force - to protect the city, without ever resorting to the brutal methods of their enemy.

When Kaspar joins the Guardians, he has a chance encounter with a rebel - a beautiful girl named Rhea. Haunted from that moment on by strange visions and memories - memories that could only belong to Rhea - he realizes he hasn’t been told the truth about what the rebels really want, and what he’s really fighting for.

 

7. The Last Station Master A Boy A Terrorist A Secret, by S.A.M Posey (p. 2013)

On his grandparents’ remote North Carolina farm for the summer, Nate discovers there’s more happening on the rambling property than anyone realizes. To stop a terrorist’s plot and prevent a military disaster, he must unravel the clues around him and use what he learns about the farm, the Underground Railroad, and the lost secrets of an old ghost to become the Last Station Master.

 

 

8. Darius & Twig, by Walter Dean Myers (p. 2013)

New York Times bestselling author and Printz Award winner Walter Dean Myers once again connects with teenagers everywhere in Darius & Twig, a novel about friendship and needing to live your own dream.

Darius and Twig are an unlikely pair: Darius is a writer whose only escape is his alter ego, a peregrine falcon named Fury, and Twig is a middle-distance runner striving for athletic success. But they are drawn together in the struggle to overcome the obstacles that Harlem life throws at them.

The two friends must face down bullies, an abusive uncle, and the idea that they’ll be stuck in the same place forever in this touching and raw new teen novel from Walter Dean Myers, award-winning author of Monster, Kick, We Are America, Bad Boy, and many other celebrated literary works for children and teens.

9. Cy in Chains, by David L. Dudley (p. 2013)

Cy Williams, thirteen, has always known that he and the other black folks on Strong’s plantation have to obey white men, no question. Sure, he’s free, as black people have been since his grandfather’s day, but in rural Georgia, that means they’re free to be whipped, abused, even killed. Almost four years later, Cy yearns for that freedom, such as it was. Now he’s a chain gang laborer, forced to do backbreaking work, penned in and shackled like an animal, brutalized, beaten, and humiliated by the boss of the camp and his hired overseers. For Cy and the boys he’s chained to, there’s no way out, no way back.

And then hope begins to grow in him, along with strength and courage he didn’t know he had. Cy is sure that a chance at freedom is worth any risk, any sacrifice. This powerful, moving story opens a window on a painful chapter in the history of race relations.

10. Perfect Peace: A Novel, by Daniel Black A Novel (p. 2010)

The heartbreaking portrait of a large, rural southern family’s attempt to grapple with their mother’s desperate decision to make her newborn son into the daughter she will never have.

When the seventh child of the Peace family, named Perfect, turns eight, her mother Emma Jean tells her bewildered daughter, “You was born a boy. I made you a girl. But that ain’t what you was supposed to be. So, from now on, you gon’ be a boy. It’ll be a little strange at first, but you’ll get used to it, and this’ll be over after while.”

From this point forward, his life becomes a bizarre kaleidoscope of events. Meanwhile, the Peace family is forced to question everything they thought they knew about gender, sexuality, unconditional love, and fulfillment.

 

 

 

Best Books of 2012

As the year is quickly coming to an end, we decided to take a look at the best 12 books of 2012. To compile our list, we compared seven different lists from six different companies who use professional book critics to pick the best-of-the-best each year. The following books were chosen by us based on the frequency they appeared on these lists; Amazon’s Editors’ Picks, The Huffington Post, The New York Times, Publishers Weekly, Washington Post and Vogue Magazine. These are the ONLY books that appear on more than one of these lists, meaning that we were able to include every book that appeared at least twice on all seven of lists! That means two things- there were ALOT of great books in 2012 and these 12 books must be extra special =) It is worth noting, if we were to pick the best book of 2012, it would have to be Hilary Mantel’s, “Bring Up the Bodies”. This book appeared on all but one of these lists and was also featured in several other lists we didn’t use to make our picks. Then coming up closely behind would be “Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity”, by Katherine Boo; and “The Yellow Birds“, by Kevin Powers- both of which appeared on at least three of the seven lists. Finally, “Fifty Shades of Grey“, by E.L James was included on this list, not only because it showed up on two of these editors’ choice lists’, but also because it won the best selling book of the year in the U.S and in the U.K, where it won a National Book Award for being so. James also won Publishers Weekly “Publishing Person of Year“. So, while we can’t say that 50-Shades made this list for its’ literary acclaim, it certainly earned it’s spot through sales. It also earned Random House employees $5000 Christmas bonuses this year… COMPANY WIDE! We think it deserves a spot on this list just for that =)

Let us know if you’ve read any of these and what you think? And feel free to let us know what your favorite books of 2012 were, even if they’re not on here!!

Top Ten Tuesday

Top Ten- Almost (but not-so-much)- Romantic Book Moments

Well Happy Valentine’s Day!!!! Okay… okay… we all have a hate-love relationship with the over marketed not-so-much-‘holiday’ Day- but whether you love it or hate it, it’s here! And so is Top Ten Tuesday. So, in effort to save you from just another mushy-gushy reminder that today is today, we decided to look at the “not-so-romantic-moment” moments in the books we’ve recently read =)

	Tiff’s Four (♥And her One Romantic Moment♥) In No Certain Order 1). The ‘It’s Okay bc I’m Cold’ Logic: in “Eclipse” (“Twilight Saga”) 2). The ‘I Dream of Kissing a Bird’ Scene: from “Burned” (“House of Night”) 3). The ‘Love Confessions: Scottish Style’: in “Awakened” (“House of Night”) 4). The ‘Incest is Incest’ Overlook: from Mortal Instruments (“City of Ashes”); ♥♥5). The ‘Dandelion Choice’: In “Mockingjay” (“Mortal Instruments”)		Kat’s Four (♥And her One Romantic Moment♥) In No Certain Order 1).The ‘Beg until she Caves’ style: From “Stray” (“Shifter”) 2). The ‘Too Blind to See the Truth’ type: In “Game of Thrones” (“Song of Ice and Fire”) 3).The ‘Thou Shall Not Imprint on Your ex-lover’s Daughter’ Logic: In “Breaking Dawn” (“Twilight Saga”) 4).The ‘Don’t Believe in Monogamy’ style: In “Infinite Days” (“Vampire Queen”) ♥♥5).The “Ultimate Choice Between Love and Death”: from “If I Stay” (“If I Stay”)

The Breakdown

Tiff’s List

1). “Eclipse” (“Twilight” Saga); The Tent Scene: It was meant to be this super romantic moment; Edward, despite his jealousy and protective feelings against Jacob (who has made very clear his intentions and feelings towards Bella), asks for his help because Edward fears for Bella’s life. Ehhh. Not so much. There’s just nothing believable about the neediness and desperation on behalf of any of the characters here. I get it- we’re not dealing with humans. But it wouldn’t hurt if you’d appeal a bit more to my human nature. Being a bit cold (after all Bella, you’re wanting to marry him, an eternal glacier!?!) just doesn’t justify it enough..

 

2). “Burned” (“House of Night” Series); I Dream of a Bird Kisses: Well, we all saw it coming… the tension building between Stevie Rae (she is the best friend of Zoey, the House of Nights lead character) and Rephaim; a Raven Mocker (a half-raven, half- human being). As much as I love Stevie Rae’s ‘ohmygoodness’ attitude and want to empathize with her falling in love- there’s just nothing sexy about wanting to make-out with a human body with a crow face. He’s got a beak for crying out loud! Gross.

 

 

 

3). “Awakened” (“House of Night” Series); Scottish Style Love Confessions: On the same note of this grossly romantic series… I couldn’t wait for Zoey to get a grip and finally fall in love with Stark. However, when it finally happened, at the beginning of this book, I found myself nauseated and bored. Three chapters of them gazing into each other’s eyes and confessing their undying love = failed romantic moment (and -yawn- boring).

 

4). “City of Ashes” (“Mortal Instruments” Series); The Siblings Kiss: Yeah, yea, ya .. I know we all knew (or for God’s sakes HOPED we knew) that Jace and Clary weren’t really going to turn out siblings. BUT STILL! I felt uncomfortable with this ‘forbidden love’ continuing to stir, under even an inkling of possibility, that they might ultimately be related. This is something we should never have to wonder; Will they be able to act upon their obvious love for each other or will they just end up being the aunt and uncle of each other’s kids?! Geeze. But still, I could have let that slide. HOWEVER, and seriously folks, there is a make-out scene in “City of Ashes” before they found out they weren’t really brother and sister. That’s just weird and totally not okay. Incest = Failed Romantic Moment!!!!

 

 

5). ♥Hunger Games♥ (“Mockingjay”); The Final Choice: I’m not the biggest fan of over-the-top love scenes, but for me, this moment takes the cake; As Katniss explains: “What I need to survive is not Gale’s fire, kindled with rage and hatred. I have plenty of fire myself. What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again. And only Peeta can give me that”. Up until this moment I was completely unbiased about whether Katniss would choose Peeta or Gale… but (in all the glory of Collins writing), I couldn’t imagine it any other way!

Kat’s List

1. “Stray” (“Shifters”);Beg until she caves: Having read this book very recently, I can tell you exactly why I did not like the relationship between these two. Faythe started off as a revel, independent woman who ran off from the safety of her own home to lead a life that was different from hers. But as it turned out, she was mostly running away from her responsibilities and a marriage proposal from her long term boyfriend Marc. Now, to any other person with a “right” mind, this would mean the end of the relationship, however as soon as Faythe was pulled back to her family for her own good, Marc started to ‘mark’ his territory and ownership over her again. It was pretty pathetic and clingy at the same time. After one drunken night of misery and some bad judgment, Faythe started to see things anew (as if the five years they have spent apart was no big deal). It turns out that her father, the Alpha of the pack, has arranged for his only daughter to fall in love with Marc, who he intended to pass along the leadership of the pack to. There was betrayal and manipulation written all over it, but of course Marc, being the hopeless romantic that he is, didn’t find this appalling and Faythe miraculously understood the life that her father has set ahead for her and complied. It is one of the unhealthiest relationships that I have ever read. It is completely based on lies (and not to mention that Faythe had a “human” boyfriend at the time). I think it felt sadder since the two of them were actually in love. Love comes in all shapes and sizes but I do not agree with this one.

 

2. ” Game of Thrones” (“Song of Ice and Fire”); Too Blind to see the Truth: Of all the couples that appear in this book, I found Sansa’s version of prince charming most troubling. As a little girl, even I dreamed that one day I would live a fairy tale come true… but not to the extent that it would blind me from everything else. This is why the relationship between Sansa and Joffery kills me! It’s also why I choose this moment as a romantic failure: Joffery frightens Sansa’s little sister, Arya (when she is playing with a friend) and subsequently Arya’s wolf attacked and injured him (which I know we all enjoyed a little bit). But even at this moment Sansa refuses to see that her prince charming is an unlovable bully (and quite frankly deserved what he got), but she has the nerve to blame Arya.

 

3. “Breaking Dawn”(“Twilight Saga”); Thou Shall Not Imprint on your Ex-Lover’s Daughter: Okay- yes. We all got a bit weary of the love triangle between Bella, Edward and Jacob by the end. We all also knew where her heart really was. This left us hoping beyond hope that there would still be a perfect ending for Jacob; one which also allowed for Bella and Edward to be peacefully together once and for all. HOWEVER, Jacob ‘imprinting’ on the daughter of the woman he was (only moments before) in love with is just a bit of a stretch. This is convenient writing at best. Yes, this provided a easy solution for Jacob, who we all sympathized with, but this is just a huge stretch (and a bit too high on the pedophile scale for my taste). She’s a baby for crying out loud! Imprint or not, it’s a pinch too close to creep = Fail.

 

4. “Infinite Days” (“Vampire Queen”); Don’t Believe in Monogamy: How can any relation between a girl and three boys be good? Lenah is the vampire queen that has lived for more than 400 years. Rhode, her maker, has given his life to make Lenah human again. Their love is touching and, at the same time, devastatingly sad but he is soon out of the equation. Not a day after being made human, she finds someone of her ‘taste’, Justin. Of course, Justin can’t resist noticing the mysterious and irresistible Lenah. Along the process, Lenah succeeds in bringing down two other men in her life. Supposedly, she either tried to avoid it or “didn’t see it coming”. Next to “Twilight”, it was one of the most ridiculous vampire-human relationships I have ever read. It was based on loneliness and desperation which is a tell-tale sign of a bad breakup in real life but on the other hand, I guess it is satisfying to read about a couple who gets through this mess with love, no matter how unrealistic it might be.

 

5. ♥“If I Stay”♥ (“If I stay”); Ultimate Choice between Love and Death: A horrible car crash causes Mia to lose all of her family. Just when she thought she had nothing else to live for, she journeys through her entire life in a flash. On the edge of death she remembers that, not only would her family want her to continue her life, but there are others who care for her and love her just as much they once did. When she finds the courage to finally open her eyes again, she see’s them there right by her side waiting for her to be whole again.