Stream-It Sunday: How I Live Now (Movie)

Stream-It Sunday: How I Live Now (Movie)

Sarah Moon
Movies

Have I mentioned that I am the unofficial Queen of Streaming?

We don't have cable or satellite television, so the majority of my television consumption is thanks to my beloved Roku box. (Note to self: Write a post about how we don't have cable & manage to watch a crap-ton of television.) I dig pretty deep into the streaming services for my screen time. 

For awhile now I've been meaning to start an irregular series with my recommendations for finds on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Instant, and so on. I thought I'd kick off this series by featuring a movie I watch with week on Netflix, the film adaptation of Meg Roscoff's How I Live Now. 

Links & Things: It's Been Awhile Edition

Links & Things: It's Been Awhile Edition

Sarah Moon
Links + Things, In the News

I haven't posted my link roundups in quite some time and there's a reason for that. I've had a problem with those posts being lifted verbatim or nearly-verbatim and re-published. This has, understandably, been pretty upsetting, so I stepped back from compiling them until I could figure out a way to still share but mitigate the chances of that happening.

Unfortunately, I don't have an answer for that, but I'm hoping that by diversifying my linkage content, it'll be less-appealing to folks who don't understand attribution and plagiarism. *cross fingers*

In Which I Help You Spend Your Ebook Settlement Refund

In Which I Help You Spend Your Ebook Settlement Refund

Sarah Moon
Links + Things

Did you get a nice surprise in your email inbox this morning? I was more than excited that I got a nice Amazon gift card thanks to the Ebook Settlement Refund.

Now I'm faced with the age-old book hoarder's dilemma: Do I maximize the gift card by strategically shopping sale items or do I splurge on some pricey picks?

So, I took one for the team and sifted through way too many pages of the bargain section on Amazon and think I'm going to go with quantity--there are just too many super-cheap options that I've had on my to-read list for ages. Plus! Apparently, we can use our refunds on both ebooks and print books, which is good news, since most of the deals I found are on the old fashioned variety. 

Here are some of my finds. These are all either books I've enjoyed, a CEFS contributor recommends, or I've heard from trusted reviewers are worth checking out.

Please double-check the pricing and format before clicking that buy button, okay? My blog software should update the price if it changes, but you can't trust technology!

Click on the cover image to visit the book's Amazon page.

3rd Annual Verse Novel Week!

3rd Annual Verse Novel Week!

Sarah Moon
Verse Week, Announcements

It's hard to believe, but we're getting ready for our 3rd Annual Verse Novel Week! This year's week of celebrating all of the awesomeness of our beloved verse novels will once again take place in the last week in April, starting on April 28th.

We've already got an extra-special podcast episode planned with an extra-special Guest of Awesome and we're spotlighting some wonderful verse novels from a number of genres. As we did last year, we're opening up Verse Novel Week for guest contributions. 

So, if you'd like to write about your favorite verse novel, sign up to read a verse novel for the first time or if you're a verse novelist, fill out the form below and we'll be in touch to coordinate!

Podcast #21 - On Love, Both Instant and Triangular

Podcast #21 - On Love, Both Instant and Triangular

Sarah Moon
Podcast: Season Two, Podcast

In this episode of the Clear Eyes, Full Shelves podcast, we dig into two sticky subjects: "Instalove" and love triangles. Our thoughts on these two phenomena are... complicated. (Shocking, I know!)

What are your thoughts on these two things? Are there instances where you're okay with love at first site and a complicated romantic entanglements? Or are you in the never, ever camp? We'd love to know, so after you listen to the podcast, drop us a note in the comments!

As always, you can listen to the podcast by streaming on this page, downloading the MP3 below or by subscribing in iTunes. If you're an iTuner, we very much appreciate your rating and reviewing the podcast, as it helps us to show up in iTunes searches and makes us feel special. ;-) We're also now on Stitcher Radio, so if you prefer that app, you can subscribe here. 

Quick(ish) Thoughts on Four Recent(ish) YA Novels

Quick(ish) Thoughts on Four Recent(ish) YA Novels

Sarah Moon
Books

I've been disinclined to write extensively about young adult titles lately, despite that I've been reading quite a few recent releases. I do have a few I want to be sure to write about more extensively (particularly the final novel in Gabrielle Zevin's spectacular Birthright series), but I wanted to share my thoughts on a few I've read recently.

Being Sloane Jacobs by Lauren Morrill

Admittedly, I was nervous about reading Lauren Morrill's new novel, Being Sloane Jacobs. Lauren is one of the few authors I follow on my personal Twitter account and I enjoy her thoughts on publishing and tweets about being an extra on The Originals but I haven't read her debut, Meant to Be, and was worried that I wouldn't like her book. (I've had this happen before, enjoyed someone's online persona and their book didn't work for me--and I always fell badly about it.) 

Fortunately, my worries were completely needless, as I enjoyed Being Sloane Jacobs a bunch. The premise is essentially The Cutting Edge meets The Parent Trap, except without twins. Instead, we have two points-of-view, both girls named Sloane Jacobs. One is a stressed former competitive figure skater from a high-powered Washington, DC political family. The other Sloane Jacobs is a tough hockey player from Philadelphia with a bit of an anger problem.

 

Podcast #20: Diversifying the Shelves (Part 2) with Author Sarah Ockler & Blogger Racquel of The Book Barbies

Podcast #20: Diversifying the Shelves (Part 2) with Author Sarah Ockler & Blogger Racquel of The Book Barbies

Sarah Moon
Podcast: Season Two, Podcast

We're super-thrilled to publish the second half of our discussion with author Sarah Ockler and Racquel, blogger from The Book Barbies, about diversifying our bookshelves, how writers can work to authentically represent people of color in their fiction and recommendations for books and authors that do this successfully. You can find the first half over here. 

In this half, we get down to the nitty-gritty and recommend some novels that really, in our eyes, get it right, and why. It's important to emphasize that this is most definitely not a comprehensive conversation--if anything, it's framing questions and talking about our personal experiences. We hope to continue to explore this topic in future episodes. If you'd like to be involved in a future podcast discussion on this subject, get in touch and let's talk.

 

Evocative Gothic Horror: Between the Devil & the Deep Blue Sea

Evocative Gothic Horror: Between the Devil & the Deep Blue Sea

Sandra
Books

Gothic horror wrapped in mystery, intrigue and the supernatural was just the right blend in April Genevieve’s Tucholke’s Between the Devil & the Deep Blue Sea. And when I finished the final page, I was left tapping my fingers, thinking,

"Sequel, please. Puh-lease. I am not good at waiting. Patience is not a virute."

Well, I'll be waiting for it until August of 2014.

*taps fingers*

 

Twin teens, Violet and Luke, live alone in the once decadent mansion their grandmother dubbed “Citizen Kane.” Built by their fabulously rich and influential ancestors, Citizen Kane could comfortably settle into an Edgar Allen Poe story. Its wine cellar holds a chilling atmosphere perfect for The Cask of Amontillado.

Citizen Kane sits aloof atop a ridge overlooking the Atlantic, a crumbling tribute to a glorious past and a cold reminder of the depth of despair that is the present reality. The town of Echo situated near the dying mansion looks upon the twins' abode with scorn taking comfort in the downfall of a once rich and powerful family.

Violet and Luke's artistic parents leave them for months at a time while they pursue their dreams in vibrant oils and acrylics inspired by the art and history found only in Europe. "Here's some money," they would say on their way out the door. "Make it last until we return."

The money always lasted until it didn't.

The YA Crime Thriller I've Hoped For: Fake ID by Lamar Giles

The YA Crime Thriller I've Hoped For: Fake ID by Lamar Giles

Sarah Moon
Books
“You don’t have to know someone your whole life to know them. Not really. Lonely is the same everywhere.”

I've read a lot--and I mean a lot--of crime fiction, and until I picked up Lamar Giles' Fake ID, I'm certain I haven't encountered a young adult novel that really hit the notes of adult crime fiction. 

Lamar Giles' Fake ID is told from the first-person point-of-view of of Nick Pearson--and yes, that is a fake name. He's been in the federal Witness Protection Program with his parents since his father agreed to testify against the crime boss he worked for. Nick's father is terrible at being in Witness Protection and they're on their last placement--the family has to make this work or else they're out of the program, on their own and in serious danger.

Nick's starting at a new high school in Stepton, Virginia, with yet another new identity, studying his personal "legend" (the fake backstory developed by the U.S. Marshall Service for each family) and trying to stay under the radar. He's quickly befriended by Eli, rabble-rousing editor of the school paper, who's eager to recruit the new kid to his one-man journalism operation.