Review: Mosquitoland by David Arnold

Title: Mosquitoland

Author: David Arnold

Publisher: Viking Books for Young Readers

Publishing Date: March 3, 2015

Pages/Format: 352, Hardcover
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"I am a collection of oddities, a circus of neurons and electrons: my heart is the ringmaster, my soul is the trapeze artist, and the world is my audience. It sounds strange because it is, and it is, because I am strange." 

After the sudden collapse of her family, Mim Malone is dragged from her home in northern Ohio to the "wastelands" of Mississippi, where she lives in a medicated milieu with her dad and new stepmom. Before the dust has a chance to settle, she learns her mother is sick back in Cleveland. 

So she ditches her new life and hops aboard a northbound Greyhound bus to her real home and her real mother, meeting a quirky cast of fellow travelers along the way. But when her thousand-mile journey takes a few turns she could never see coming, Mim must confront her own demons, redefining her notions of love, loyalty, and what it means to be sane. 

Told in an unforgettable, kaleidoscopic voice, Mosquitoland is a modern American odyssey, as hilarious as it is heartbreaking.

Book in One Word: Trippy

Review: The Martian by Andy Weir

Title: The Martian

Author: Andy Weir

Publisher: Crown

Publishing Date: February 11, 2014

Pages/Format: 369, Hardcover
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Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there.

After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate the planet while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded on Mars' surface, completely alone, with no way to signal Earth that he’s alive — and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone years before a rescue could arrive.

Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment or plain-old "human error" are much more likely to kill him first. But Mark's not ready to quit. Armed with nothing but his ingenuity and his engineering skills — and a gallows sense of humor that proves to be his greatest source of strength – he embarks on a dogged quest to stay alive, using his botany expertise to grow food and even hatching a mad plan to contact NASA back on Earth.

As he overcomes one seemingly insurmountable obstacle after the next, Mark begins to let himself believe he might make it off the planet alive – but Mars has plenty of surprises in store for him yet.

Grounded in real, present-day science from the first page to the last, yet propelled by a brilliantly ingenious plot that surprises the reader again and again, The Martian is a truly remarkable thriller: an impossible-to-put-down suspense novel that manages to read like a real-life survival tale. 

Book in One Word: *Shrugs*

Waiting on Wednesday (161)

is a weekly feature hosted by Breaking the Spine that 
showcases upcoming releases people are very much anticipating.

This week I'm waiting on a book that I heard about what feels like forever ago. But the publishing process is long and this and that happened and this book's pub date kept getting pushed back. BUT NEVER FEAR. Finally, it is almost here. And there's a reason I've been waiting for this: it sounds so good.

Top Ten Tuesday (161)

is a weekly feature created by The Broke and the Bookish.

This Tuesday's theme is...

Get Unhooked with Lisa Maxwell

Ahoy, mateys! Lisa Maxwell is on the blog today to tell you all about her novel Unhooked (and there's a little giveaway, if that floats your boat). This Peter Pan retelling is all about a darker, more monstrous side of Neverland, which is positively and wondrously wicked. But never fear: Unhooked still features a bunch of characters you know and love and can't help but hate...they just may be acting a little different. All the details are below, but I can give you a heads up: you're going to want this book (I know I do).

For the Tote: Howl's Moving Castle

 

For the Tote is a sporadic feature here on Beauty and the Bookshelf where I, in short, post about a few things (or more!) I would like to fill a tote up with.

Today's theme is...Howl's Moving Castle!

Blog Tour: The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig

'Ello mateys! I'm very excited because today I get to tell you all about Heidi Heilig's fantasmical debut The Girl from Everywhere. This is a book filled with MAPS (yes, plural), a time traveling ship, a ship it ship (or two), interesting characters, and wonderful writing. Oh, and a PRETTY COVER. I'll be sharing my review with you today, letting you know where you can find Heidi around the internet (she's pretty cool even though she'll tell you to eat your vegetables), and there's a giveaway worth all the treasures in all the worlds, so please prepare to board the Temptation.

Blackhearts Has Set Sail

TODAY TODAY TODAY. Blackhearts has finally set sail into the world! Nicole Castroman's debut novel about Blackbeard pre-Blackbeard--when he's best known as Teach--is hereee, and trust me, YOU WANT IT (you can read my review here if you're interested). In fact, I'm going to give you five reasons why you want need it, and there's a giveaway. Prep the sails, mateys!

Review: The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand

Title: The Last Time We Say Goodbye

Author: Cynthia Hand

Publisher: Harper Teen

Publishing Date: February 10, 2015

Pages/Format: 386, Hardcover
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There's death all around us.
We just don't pay attention.
Until we do.

The last time Lex was happy, it was before. When she had a family that was whole. A boyfriend she loved. Friends who didn't look at her like she might break down at any moment.

Now she's just the girl whose brother killed himself. And it feels like that's all she'll ever be.

As Lex starts to put her life back together, she tries to block out what happened the night Tyler died. But there's a secret she hasn't told anyone-a text Tyler sent, that could have changed everything.

Lex's brother is gone. But Lex is about to discover that a ghost doesn't have to be real to keep you from moving on.

From New York Times bestselling author Cynthia Hand, The Last Time We Say Goodbye is a gorgeous and heart-wrenching story of love, loss, and letting go.

Book in One Word: SAD

Blog Tour: Blackhearts by Nicole Castroman

Hello, my scallywag readers! Welcome to my stop on the blog tour for Nicole Castroman's debut novel Blackhearts! I first added this book to Goodreads almost two years ago, so to say I've been waiting for it is a bit of understatement. I mean, it's an origin story about Blackbeard, and let me tell you: it's one-hundred percent worth reading. I'll tell you all about its worth in my review, and there's a giveaway for Blackhearts that you really want to win, so please board the ship and prepare to set sail!

Blog Tour: Remembrance by Meg Cabot

Hello, kickass readers! I'm very excited about today's post because I am on the blog tour for Meg Cabot's Remembrance! I love the Mediator series, and to get a surprise seventh installment--set in the future!--is so freaking cool. My review for Remembrance--and why you should jump on this series if you haven't already--is below, and there's a giveaway for the very first book in the Mediator series--which you really, really want, I promise. So take a break from kicking some ghost ass and check it out!