GreenBeanTeenQueen

Please welcome Storyheart, author of Across the Pond. One lucky commentor will win a copy of the book as well as some wonderful English goodies! You have until March 6th to enter. Good luck! You write under the name Storyheart-where did you come up with that pen name? It’s quite a long story. I have been chatting online for around 15 years, going back to the days of the old html chat rooms before you had pretty faces and everything was either in html code or abbreviated letter lol, rofl, *L* etc.. About ten years ago I met my now wife online, she was chatting under the name of “tenderheart” so as I wrote stories I changed my name to “storyheart” to fit with her… think Care Bears *grin* From then on I used that name to write me romance stories, stories that came from the heart, the name of my first book was actually called “Stories from the heart” The book was actually terrible full of mistakes the company that was meant to do the editing actually used the wrong version of the final dra

Don't forget the I LOVE BOOKS Contest ends tomorrow, Feb. 28th I will post the winner on March 2 because I need to a day to count up all the great entries!:) Also, there's an author interview coming tomorrow with another chance to win. I'm off to a wedding shower (for me-yay!), so posting will be a little light this weekend.

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars Genre: Contemporary Release Date: 12/23/08 About the Book: Years have passed since the death of Alice's mother, but Alice can't seem to move on. Her father has re-married and his new wife has just had a baby. Alice doesn't want anything to do with them and finds comfort in her music and her boyfriend. When Alice, her step mom and her new baby sister find themselves trapped in a deadly snowstorm, Alice finds herself having to face issues and feelings she's pushed aside in order to save her life. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: I am a big fan of Lisa Schroeder and she doesn't disappoint! Alice's journey is beautifully written and full of emotion. I loved her boyfriend Blaze, who is such a great example of an awesome boyfriend-I kind of had a book boy crush on him. I also liked the elements of Alice and her faith-it wasn't overt or anything, but it made Alice a more realistic. I did find myself wanting to yell at Alice for being so selfish at tim

Since I picked The Forest of Hands and Teeth as one of my Want It Wednesday picks, I thought I'd let you know about a way you could win an ARC of the book! Maria over at Cupcake Witch is hosting a giveaway. Check it out and you could win one of this week's picks! I should try and coordinate my picks with giveaways more often!:) Update: Carrie Ryan is also giving away a copy of the book, but hurry, her contest ends tonight!

All March releases this week becuase I hate waiting forever for a book! Just One Wish by Janette Rallison About the Book: Seventeen-year-old Annika Truman knows about the power of positive thinking. With a little brother who has cancer, it’s all she ever hears about. And in order to help Jeremy, she will go to the ends of the earth (or at least as far as Hollywood) to help him believe he can survive his upcoming surgery. But Annika’s plan to convince Jeremy that a magic genie will grant him any wish throws her a curveball when he unexpectedly wishes that his television idol would visit him. Annika suddenly fi nds herself in the desperate predicament of getting access to a hunky star actor and convincing him to come home with her. Piece of cake, right? GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: Ok, so I'll probably be laughing and crying while reading this one, but it looks so good and Janette Rallison is awesome! Release Date: 3/5/09 The Kings Rose by Alissa M. Libby About the Book: Life in th

The awesome Amanda Ashby, author of Zombie Queen of Newberry High is hosting a week long release party over at her blog. She's had some great guests stop by like Melissa Walker, Stephanie Hale and Kay Cassidy and that was just day one! Comment on the various posts for the chance to win some awesome prizes. Since I know how much you all love prizes, I had to share!:) Also in case you missed Cynthea Liu's Great Call of China release party, the after party is still going strong over on Cynthea's site , with a chance to win "the great haul of China!" I'm loving this online release party trend! Anyone else like author's who have online release parties? Have you attended any before?

Rating: 5/5 Stars Genre: Contemporary Release Date: 4/1/09 Also Reviewed for TeensReadToo.com About the Book: Kyna hates water. Ever since a boating accident left her orphaned, her fear of water has taken over. She is afraid of walking on the beach. There’s no way she could swim. Even the idea of taking a bath is enough to send Kyna into a panic attack. So when Kyna’s adopted parents announce they’ve rented a lake house for the summer in hopes that Kyna will take more water steps, tasks to get her closer to the water, she is less than pleased. How can she stay in a house surrounded by a body of water? She’d much rather spend time taking photos on dry land. Kyna’s summer starts to look a little brighter when she befriends Tylo. Tylo claims to have seen silkies in the lake and wants Kyna to help him find the truth with her camera. Kyna isn’t thrilled about getting close to the water, but she doesn’t want to lose her new friend. Can she finally push herself to the biggest water step of

Two more books have been added to the I LOVE BOOKS contest: Hot Mess Summer In the City by Julie Kraut & Shallon Lester (ARC Copy) The Lucky Ones by Stephanie Greene (ARC Copy) Good luck-You have one week to enter!!!:)

Rating 3/5 Stars Genre: Contemporary Romance Release Date: 9/25/08 About the Book: Fred is a teen boy from England who is faced with the choice of spending time with his grandmother or heading to America while his parents are on vacation. He chooses to travel Across the Pond to stay with friends of his parents and their daughter Brittney. Brit and Fred quickly share an attraction and a romance between the two begins. Brit and her friends have a secret about Steve Harris, a bully from school, and Fred decides to take it upon himself to put Steve in his place and become Brit's "English Knight." GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: Across the Pond reminded me of an old fashioned story. Even though it's marketed as a YA romance, it's really something any age could pick up and enjoy. My favorite part of this was the project that Fred had to work on while in America. Fred was keeping track of all the language differences he came across between American words and British words, wh

Rating: 5/5 Stars Genre: Contemporary Release Date: 2/3/09 About the Book: This was going to be a great summer for Dave, Curtis and Victor until their dads decided they needed to get summer jobs. Everyone knows that fifteen is the last chance you get to enjoy your summer before sixteen and jobs comes along! So instead of working, the friends decide they are going to have the sweet life. All they need to do is somehow raise the money they would have gotten by working all summer, and once that's done, they get all summer to hang out. But making $7,000 isn't as easy as it seems. Can they make their money without breaking the law or working too hard and still have time to enjoy the sweet life? GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: This was another gem from the ALSC conference I attended several months ago, so thank you HarperTeen for treating us librarians to such great books! When I first read the summary, I immediately thought of my brother. He's fifteen and this sounded exact

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan Release Date: 5/5/09 Here you go Percy fans! It's the cover of the fifth and final (sniff) Percy Jackson book due out in May. I love this series and have given it to so many tweens and teens since The Lightning Thief first came out. It's one of my favorite go-to books when someone asks what book to read. We'll even be hosting a Camp Halfblood party in late April at my library. I'll be sad to see this series end, but hopefully we'll get to hear more from Percy and Camp Halfblood! Be sure to check out Rick Riordan's blog for a fun interview about the cover!

Two picks this week-one a long wait and one a short wait. Enjoy! Going Bovine by Libba Bray Release Date: 9/22/09 About the Book (From GoodReads): A dark comedy about a 16 year old boy named Cameron who has mad cow disease and a 16 year dwarf named Gonzo who he met in the hospital. Gonzo is a video gamer who thinks that everything is trying to kill him. Cameron has visitation from a punkish angel named Dulcie who has a propensity for spray-painting her wings. They are all on a mission to get to Disneyworld. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: Ok, I might get yelled at by a lot of people, but I wasn't in love with A Great and Terrible Beauty . I liked it, but it wasn't my favorite. I'm interested in seeing what Libba Bray does with a contemporary setting. Marcelo in the Real World by Francisco Stork Release Date: 3/1/09 About the Book (From Amazon): Marcelo Sandoval hears music no one else can hear--part of the autism-like impairment no doctor has been able to identify--and he's

Sometimes I think it's so sad just how much my life has become connected to being online. The Internet went down over the weekend and I have been sadly missing it's appearance in my life since Friday. Luckily I was able to head to the library on Saturday and work on stuff like homework, reading blogs and checking Facebook-which is always important, right? But trying to watch a movie Saturday night without the help of IMBD? My fiance and I couldn't take it! We pretty much watch movies with the laptop nearby, looking up people whenever we have that "what were they in" question that always bugs us! And when I needed directions to take the computer to the wireless place-I couldn't Google Map it! (And I desperately need Google Maps to help me get around!) It should be working again this week (hopefully) so reviews and other posts might be a little sparse. And if you think about, send happy thoughts to my laptop!:)

Happy Valentine's Day! I thought I'd share some of my favorite romances today. (This is in no way a final list-this is just what happen to my favorites right now that I could think of. I have many many more!) 1. P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern -Ok, yes the husband is no longer around due to a brain tumor that ended his life early, but what he does for Holly is so romantic. I don't often cry at books, but this one had me sobbing. (And the book is way better than the movie!) 2. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery -The romance between Anne and Gilbert has always been one of my favorites. As a kid I loved pretending I was Anne. She was firey and spunky, yet GIlbert always loved her. 3. What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones -This was one of the first (more current) YA books I read and I fell in love with Sophie and Robin. I remembered what it felt like to be 15, falling in love, and all the confusion that comes with it. The sequel, What My Girlfriend Doesn't K

Thanks for all the great 2009 YA suggestions. My TBR pile is even longer now!!! The winner of a copy of Evermore by Alyson Noel is: Carol(ina) Congrats!!

What do you think of the new layout? I wanted something that looked a little cleaner and fun, so I hope you like it!:) Since I can't seem to keep up with my audiobooks, so Audiobook Friday is going to be a monthly feature I think. Also, don't forget that if you want to win a copy of Evermore, leave a comment on my Most Anticipated YA of 2009 post for a chance to win-winner will be announced Valentine's Day! And of course, the I LOVE BOOKS Contest is going until Feb. 28th, so keep those comments coming!:)

Rating: 4 Stars Genre: Contemporary Release Date: 9/1/2008 Freefall is part of my I LOVE BOOKS Contest Giveaway ! About the Book: What would you do if you were required to serve two years in the military once you’ve turned 18? Aggie’s eighteenth birthday is approaching, and as a teen in Israel, she must serve her time in the Israel Defense Force. Aggie doesn’t want a boring job stuck in an office filing paperwork for two years. So she decides to try for a combat unit. Aggie’s mother is scared and sees her as weak, her friends aren’t quite sure about her decision, and Aggie herself has her doubts about if she can really make it hauling sandbags, sleeping in a tent, and gaining enough weight to be considered. She’s also developing a crush on her best friend’s brother, and life is getting more and more confusing by the minute. When war breaks out and rockets destroy a friend’s house, Aggie decides she needs to be there to help out. But will she be brave enough and strong enough t

Rating: 4 Stars Genre: Mythology/Romance Release Date: 4/28/09 About the Book: Remember that myth about Persephone being taken away by Hades and forced to live as his queen underground? Everyone got it all wrong-and Persephone is going to set the story straight. Demeter is a strict controlling mother who makes Persephone stay in the vale. She sees Persephone as a child and would never ever allow a man to visit! So when Hades manages to make his way into the vale, Persephone is intrigued. The two start having secret meetings and begin a forbidden romance. When Hades asks Persephone to join him in the underworld, she can't wait to escape. Little does she know that her seemingly small decision will have a big impact on Earth. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: The story of Persephone is one of my favorite's in mythology. So when I first heard about this book I knew I had to read it. I was so excited about it, I even did a happy dance in my office when I got it! Emily Whitman&

I'm adding to my prize pack for my I LOVE BOOKS Contest. Here's what's going in this week: Sorcerers & Secretaries #1 by Amy Kim Ganter (Graphic Novel) Stealing Heaven by Elizabeth Scott Check out all the rest of the prize pack, contest info and how you can enter here .

Coffeehouse Angel by Suzanne Selfors Release Date: 7/21/09 About the Book: (From Amazon): When Katrina spots a homeless guy sleeping in the alley behind her grandmother’s coffee shop, she decides to leave him a cup of coffee, a bag of chocolate-covered coffee beans, and some pastries to tide him over. Little does she know that this random act of kindness is about to turn her life upside down. Because this adorable vagrant, Malcolm, is really a guardian angel on a break between missions. And he won’t leave until he can reward Katrina’s selflessness by fulfilling her deepest desire. Now if only she could decide what that might be . . . GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: I love romances, and this one has such a great twist, I can't wait to read it! Plus, so many of my teens have raved about Saving Juliet that I'm sure this one will be another hit with my readers. A Map of the Unknown World by Lisa Ann Sandell Release Date: 4/15/09 About the Book: (From Amazon:) Cora Bradley dreams of

Rating: 3 Stars Genre: Horror/Scary Story Release Date: 2/10/2009 About the Book: Something mysterious is happening in Skeleton Creek. Friends Ryan and Sarah are close to finding out, but ever since the accident, they are forbidden to see each other. Ryan is isolated at home, writing everything down in his journal. Sarah is taking videos of what she finds and sending them to Ryan. Together they're about to find something very haunting... GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: First off, I love the format of this book. It's told through Ryan's journal entries mixed in with videos from Sarah, which readers can access online with the passwords given in the book. The mystery itself is plenty scary and will give readers a good fright. I've been booktalking this to my middle schoolers and they get so excited when I say they get to watch videos along with reading. I have a group of students that are eager to get their hands on this one, so I'm sure it will be a hit with younger rea

As many of you know, I work as a teen librarian. One thing I'm working on now is coming up with a list of the most anticipated YA books for 2009 so that my library can hopefully pre-order them. I love looking for new books and have a big long list to pass on, but I'm interested in knowing what you're looking forward to reading this year. Anything I should add to my 2009 wish list? I'll even make this a contest too, since I love finding out new books, so one random commenter will win a copy of EVERMORE by Alsyon Noel , since that was one of my top 2009 picks this year. (And, how cool is this, but my TeensReadToo.com review is listed on the back on the book!!) Winner will be posted on Valentine's Day. (And yes, these comments count toward the I LOVE BOOKS Contest too!)

Rating: 4 Stars Genre: Romantic Comedy Manga Release Date: Series Ongoing About the Series: Risa is the tallest girl in class and Otani is the shortest guy. Everyone thinks it's hilarious to pair them up together, but they hate it. When they need each other's help to hopefully win over some crushes, they decide to forget the fighting and work together. This starts an unlikely friendship between the mismatched duo. Everyone around them thinks Risa and Otani are a perfect pair, but when will they finally see that? GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: When I started working with teens a little over a year ago, one of the first things I knew I had to do was start reading manga. Since I'm usually drawn to romance and fun, I of course ended up picking up romancey and fun manga! This series continually cracks me up and I love the friendship (and hopefully relationship) of Risa and Otani. Every volume I've read adds more to the story and I've never thought the story got stale. Even if

Rating: 4 Stars Genre: Horror/Romance/Mystery Release Date: 9/2/2008 About the Book: Trinity is a dream walker. She can see into people's dreams and knows their secrets. She even helped find Rafe Stevens, who murdered Trinity's friend Kiri. But now the murder trial is over and Rafe's got everyone convinced he's unstable, so he gets locked up in a mental hospital. It's there Rafe learns to dream walk too and this time he's after Trinity. She needs to stay awake to stay alive. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: When I first saw a picture of this cover, I had now idea it was a suspense story, I thought it was another cute romance. So when I actually saw the book trailer, I was surprised. The book looked so good I had to give it a try, even though scary stories aren't my favorite. (Plus, there was a promise of romance, so I knew it had to have something I'd like!) I ended up loving it! It was a quick read that kept me up-(in a good way wanting to read more, not in a

Sucks to Be Me: The All-True Confessions of Mina Hamilton Teen Vampire, (Maybe) Rating: 4 Stars Genre: Contemporary/Paranormal Release Date: August 28, 2008 About the Book: Mina's parents are vampires, only she's not supposed to know that. It's not like she'd say anything. Plus, they're really pretty normal and all those stories you hear about vampires are so untrue. But now the vampire council (yep, there's a council) wants Mina to decide if she's going to become a vampire or not. She even has to take classes and learn about vampire culture. How's a girl supposed to deal with vampires and high school? GreenBeanTeenQueen Says: With all the vampire books out there, I found Sucks to Be Me to be such a refreshing change of pace! Mina is a normal girl with normal issues and even though her parents are vampires, they're just like any parent. There was a lot of humor, which I also enjoyed and I loved how author Kimberly Pauley took every vampire myth a

Since January ended up fizzling out and I didn't get to do my grand prize contest, I'm moving it into February and making it even bigger and better! February is the month of love, and I love books, especially books about love. So I'm celebrating with an I love books contest. Contest Details: Contest runs Feb. 5th-Feb. 28. Winner will be picked March 1st. What's Included: A prize pack of books, which I'll be adding to throughout the month and a $20 gift card to Amazon.com! Open To: Sorry, U.S. Residents only How to Enter: There's lots of ways to enter! +1 entry for commenting on this post with your favorite romance book (for any age) +2 entries for every comment you leave on my blog between now and Feb. 28 +3 entries for becoming a follower (or already following) +4 entries for spreading the word via blogs, e-mail, twitter, anything just send me a link to where/how you spread the word to greenbeanteenqueen (at) gmail (dot) com or leave a comment with info

Here's what I was busy reading in January: 1. The Possibilities of Sainthood by Donna Freitas (my review) 2. The Big Splash by Jack D. Ferraiolo (my review) 3. Durinda's Dangers by Lauren Baratz Logsted with Greg and Jackie Logsted ( my TeensReadToo.com Review ) 4. The Year the Swallows Came Early by Kathryn Fitzmaurice (my review)- watch for an author interview coming soon!! 5. Sleepless by Terri Clark ( my review ) 6. Sucks to Be Me: The All True Confessions of Mina Hamilton, Teen Vampire, Maybe by Kimberly Pauley ( my review ) 7. Lyddie by Kathrine Patterson-this one I had to read for class, so I'm not sure if I'll be posting a review, since it is an older title, but I just might. Plus, it still counts, cause I read it in January!:) So I got seven YA/Tween books read, plus school stuff read, so I'm feeling pretty good. February brings less traveling-yay-which means more reading time, so we'll see if I get more than seven in this short month! What did you read

I'm picking one book for this week's Want It Wednesday, because I really really want to read it! Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins is the second book in the Hunger Games Trilogy and it comes out September 8, 2009. I can not wait until September!!! I'm especially excited because I've gotten my co-workers and even my fiance addicted and it's so much fun to talk about with them. I won't post any summaries, because I don't wait to spoil anything for those who haven't read Hunger Games. If you haven't read it, you need to get out and read it! My other Want It Wednesday isn't a book, but a movie that I'm really hoping and wishing gets made, but from this article , it looks like my wish just might be granted! I got into Veronica Mars after the show was over and all on DVD, but I was addicted and it was one show that every episode left me wanting more-and several times gasping because the twists and mysterys were just so good! A Veronica Mars movi

Rating: 5/5 Stars Genre: Contemporary Release Date: 2/3/2009 About the Book: Eleanor “Groovy” Robinson dreams of going to cooking school. She plans menus and tries recipes and hopes to be like Betty Crocker. But the year Groovy turns eleven is the year everything changes. Her daddy is suddenly taken away to jail, her best friend’s long-lost mother makes a return, and the trusty faithful swallows that migrate through her town appear early. Growing up is hard and families can be difficult - and Groovy is learning to expect the unexpected. GreenBeanTeenQueen Says : Way back in September, I attended a conference given by the children's division of ALA. HarperCollins was nice enough to pass out a handful of Arc's to all us book hungry librarians and The Year the Swallows Came Early was one of them. I stuffed the books in my new "I Can Read" bag (also from the conference-gotta love free stuff!) and carried them home on the plane, only to not really look at the books for