Synopsis: The story’s narrator is Paul, who, like most teenagers, is preoccupied with love and its attendant feelings. However, Paul is gay. He has “always known it,” and his kindergarten teacher confirmed it on Paul’s report card: “Paul is definitely gay and has very good sense of self.” But in high school, things are a bit more complicated. No, it’s not what you’re thinking. The world in which Paul lives is utterly devoid of homophobia. It’s Paul’s love life that’s complicated. See, Paul finds himself crazy about a new boy, Noah, but is leery of letting his ex-boyfriend, Kyle, know it. Then there’s Paul’s best friend, Joni, who is dating Chuck, whom everyone hates — especially Infinite Darlene, the drag queen who serves as both homecoming queen and star quarterback at Paul’s high school, which gives a whole new meaning to the term “progressive.”

No, this is not your father’s high school! Levithan has created a kind of utopia, where tolerance reigns and shame is banished. But in other ways, the school feels abundantly familiar. A typical day for Paul involves passing secret notes, a between-class rendezvous, clandestine kisses, friendly misunderstandings — all the machinations of high school that seem much more important than plain old academics.

Review: Paul lives in a near perfect world that completely embraces all sexualities. This book has gay boys in it, lesbians, straight kids, bi kids, and even a transexual football star/homecoming queen named Infinite Darlene.

I liked it’s positivity. I loved how cheery and happy this book was. Paul’s life is pretty easy. He has known he was gay ever since he knew was gay meant in kindergarden. His parents are perfectly accepting and his life is pretty stress free. But not everything in is life is easy - there is lots of drama around him.

Paul’s friend Tony doesn’t quite have the same upbringing as his extremely religious parents aren’t accepting of his lifestyle. However, even they end up being a lot more tolerant towards the end of the book than how they started out.

Joni, Paul & Toni’s friend seems to ditch them when she meets a boy, making them wonder if she’s even their friend anymore.

And then there’s the love triangle between Paul, his ex boyfriend Kyle and his new love interest Noah (who sounds totally cute btw). Kyle is continually trying to get Paul to come back to him. Paul isn’t convinced, even though he still cares very much for Kyle. And Noah, everything seems perfect with Noah until he finds out what Paul has done behind his back… is it too late to fix it?

Whilst I loved this book, I loved the characters also (Infinite Darlene is hilarious!) it’s not exactly realistic. I think it’s a popular lesbian/gay book primarily because it’s a nice book to read if you are gay. It’s positive, no one takes issue with gay people.. you can walk down the street holding your boyfriends hand if you want to, which is perfect escapism from reality. Anything that is still frowned upon in society here, is okay in this book. And that’s why I think it is as popular as it is.

Still, reality aside, the book is highly enjoyable and an easy read as well!

Rating: 4 out of 5

Q. What do I do when I am not reading?

I spend a LOT of time with my gorgeous boyfriend of 6 years, Steve. :) I also enjoy watching movies and trashy television, I love day trips in to the city, shopping and also spending time with my dog Abbie. I also am an aspiring photographer, and my Nikon pretty much goes everywhere I do. :)

I am a HUGE sports fanatic, and my boyfriend is too which helps! I have a membership to the Melbourne Storm (rugby) and we go to a lot of those games. We’re getting memberships this year to the Melbourne Heart (soccer) games so we will go to a lot of those too, and we support Melbourne Ice (ice hockey) (geez guess where I live?! LOL) and I go for Geelong Cats in the AFL. Love the sports! ;)

How/Where do you get your books? Do you buy them or go to the library? Is there a certain website you use like paperbackswap?

Majority of them I buy. I try and buy when they are on sale…. I got 6 books tonight for instance for $30! Always out for a bargain. That being said I am being STRICT now because I am running out of space until I move house, and also because of money so the last couple of months I have been hitting up the library and using that heaps more!

Hey everyone!

Hunger Games shirts are now available at my online store. Each design can also be purchased as a die-cut sticker as well! Check them out (for those of you out there who are nerds like me and LOVE superheroes, I have a massive original collection of those too - not book related I realise!):

More designs at the site! http://www.redbubble.com/people/melissagavin/shop/t-shirts

Happy Thursday readers! (Nearly the weekend!!)

It’s Wednesday! Which means it’s time to tell you what I have been up to for the last week! W..W..W.. Wednesdays is a weekly meme bought to you by MizB from Should Be Reading.

What are you currently reading?

Currently I am reading Uglies by Scott Westerfeld and Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan

What did you recently finish reading?

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

What do you think you’ll read next?

STILL need to get around to reading City of Glass by Cassandra Clare, but I have heaps of library books that need to be read first, so I am trying to get through those! EEK!

Synopsis: the cold.
Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—watches back. He feels deeply familiar to her, but she doesn’t know why.

the heat.
Sam has lived two lives. As a wolf, he keeps the silent company of the girl he loves. And then, for a short time each year, he is human, never daring to talk to Grace…until now.

the shiver.
For Grace and Sam, love has always been kept at a distance. But once it’s spoken, it cannot be denied. Sam must fight to stay human—and Grace must fight to keep him—even if it means taking on the scars of the past, the fragility of the present, and the impossibility of the future.

Review: I loved Shiver. This book was so intense. It pulled you in from the very beginning and left you wanting more at the end.

This is the first book of Maggie Stiefvater’s that I have read, and I was impressed with amount of work she has put in to the character development in this book, which sometimes I find is not always at the same level in some other YA titles.

I really felt the connection that was built between Sam and Grace, and the sense of longing for each other when they couldn’t be together, as well as the urgency when they were. They made the most of every second they had with each other. It really had the same dynamics as a long distance relationship really, but played out in a different way.

I really loved that the book intensified with the situation regarding Jack. I love that there is a bad guy, but I also felt that there might be some hope left for him as well?

The storyline was fantastic, it left you on a little bit of a cliffhanger at the end though, so I am sure I will be starting the second book sooner than I had planned. But everything in the story had relevance and fit together. It was well written and the characters in the story as I mentioned earlier were well developed (not just Sam and Grace - all of them).

And it pulled at your emotions. It was relatable in a strange way, if you can look past the whole wolf factor, I know for myself, my boyfriend lives two hours away so when we see each other you make the most of the time you have. I bonded with that strongly. And I genuinely felt sad when Sam revealed to Grace that it would be his last Winter.

All in all definitely a fantastic read, I look forward to moving on to the next books in this series!

Rating: 5 out of 5

Part 3 - the final part of my best of 2011, again thank you to Inkcrush for coming up with this fantastic 3 part meme! The rest of my answers in my previous posts!

DAY THREE: The Scenes

1. Best first chapter

I really got sucked in by the first chapter of Delirium by Lauren Oliver. It made me continue reading the book then and there.

2. Best climax

The ending of Divergent by Veronica Roth (made me hungry for the second book!) and I loved the build up and finish to Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce. Really good book!

3. Best ending

The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness! My jaw dropped. Dropped!

4. Best plot twist/revelation (no spoilers!)

The Jace/Clary “thing” in City of Bones by Cassandra Clare. OMG!

5. Scariest/most disturbing scene

Most scenes in Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott. Hard.To.Read.

6. Steamiest scene (or sweetest/sexiest kiss award)

There was some pretty steamy scenes in Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma. It’s just a shame they were shared between a brother and a sister, so it was a little bit weird.

7. Best swoon-worthy moment

The moment at the cafe (When Hannah comes back late at night to find Noah there) in Sometimes It Happens by Lauren Barnholdt

8. Biggest nail-biting moment

Lena & Alex’s attempt to break free in Delirium by Lauren Oliver

9. Most hilarious scene

Natalie practicing at being a boy, and not getting the “swagger” right until she stuffs a giant sock in her pants. Babe in Boyland by Jody Gehrman.

10. Most heart-breaking/tear-jerker moment

Ann lying on the ground - Ann & Connors whole relationship for that matter in But I Love Him by Amanda Grace

The Random

1. Fave first sentence

“The first thing you find out when yer dog learns to talk is that dogs don’t got nothing much to say. About nothing.” From The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness…. it intrigued me!

2. Fave book title

Divergent by Veronica Roth and Enclave by Ann Aguirre

3. Fave reading experience (ie: created a great reading memory)

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce.. I had lots of happy things all happening in my life at that moment, and the book takes me back. :)

4. Book with the best food in it (made me so crazy-envious-hungry)

Sometimes It Happens by Lauren Barnholdt. They all worked at a diner so it made me constantly crave pancakes and fries… lol

5. Book with the most sensual weather (made you shiver/sweat)

The prose was very descriptive in The Day Before by Lisa Schroeder

6. Most embarrassing book cover (feeling sheepish in public)

I actually LOVE this book cover, but when I was reading it on the bus I felt a bit self conscious. I’m 27 and felt like maybe I was 10 years too late for the cover. lol

7. Can’t believe you waited this long to read the book (!)

The Knife Of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

It’s that time of week again! In My Mailbox is a weekly meme bought to you by the lovely Kristi at The Story Siren.

REALLY little week for me in terms of buying new books or borrowing or even receiving ARC’s… I have WAY too much to read and so now is my catch up time.

But I still managed to purchase 1 book this week!

And that is all I got for this week! What’s in YOUR mailbox? Leave me your link in the comments!

Q. Let’s step away from besties…What is the worst book that you’ve ever read and actually finished?

I really did not enjoy The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas at all… I decided about half way through that I didn’t enjoy the writing style of the book and the frequent use of the “c” word (It’s not a YA book) but persisted hoping for a great ending that just never happened. *sigh*

This week’s question isn’t a question at all! I thought I would do things a little differently this week and give all of you a chance to promote a giveaway (or two!) from the blogosphere.

The catch?

IT CAN’T BE YOUR OWN GIVEAWAY!

Gotcha!

You have to find another blogger who is having a giveaway and promote their giveaway for them! If possible, promote a giveaway from a blogger doing the Hop (hey, you are visiting other blogs anyway, right?). Have fun with this one! It’s not an easy task this week!

Want to win a $100 Amazon gift voucher? Well it doesn’t matter where in the world you live, you can over at Brag All About it! There are actually 20 sites all sponsoring the competition and it is open until 21/07/2011.

Part 2 of my best of 2011, again thank you to Inkcrush for coming up with this fantastic 3 part meme! The rest of my answers will be posted over this week.

DAY TWO: The Characters

1. Best female POV

Hannah from Sometimes It Happens by Lauren Barnholdt & Deuce from Enclave by Ann Aguirre

2. Best male POV

‘R’ from Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion and Todd Hewitt from The Knife Of Never Letting Go (Chaos Walking series)

3. Best couple <3

Most magical was Enma & Brendan from Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz
I also loved Kate & Vincent from Die For Me by Amy Plum and also finally I have to mention Lena & Alex from Delirium.

4. Who I so want to be best friends with

Tris from Divergent by Veronica Roth

5. Who I fell completely in love with (new literary crush)

I fall in love in most books I read. I am a book slut. :)

• Silas from Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
• Noah from Sometimes It Happens by Lauren Barnholdt
• Vincent from Die For Me by Amy Plum
• Four from Divergent by Veronica Roth
• Jace from the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare

6. Worst (best) villian

• Anthony & Kristen from Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz
• Peter from Divergent by Veronica Roth
• Aaron from The Knife Of Never Letting Go

7. Best character twist (who you loved then hated or vice versa)

• Ava from Sometimes It Happens by Lauren Barnholdt (started off liking her and then thinking she was a high maintenance brat in the end)
• Hodge from City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

8. Best kick-arse female

Scarlett from Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce, Tris from Divergent by Veronica Roth and also Deuce from Enclave by Ann Aguirre

9. Best kick-arse male

Four from Divergent by Veronica Roth and Todd Hewitt from The Knife of Never Letting Go

10. Broke your heart the most

• “Alice” from Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
• Ann & Connors relationship from But I Love Him by Amanda Grace

11. Best/worst character names

Best - Tris from Divergent by Veronica Roth & Deuce from Enclave by Ann Aguirre
Worst - Lochan, Maya, Kit, Tiffin and Willa all from Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

BONUS: 5 fave covers (from books I have read):

It’s Wednesday! Which means it’s time to tell you what I have been up to for the last week! W..W..W.. Wednesdays is a weekly meme bought to you by MizB from Should Be Reading.

What are you currently reading?

Currently I am reading Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, and Leviathan which is also by Scott Westerfeld!

What did you recently finish reading?

Just finished reading Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz

What do you think you’ll read next?

Hoping to finally get around to reading City of Glass by Cassandra Clare, I’ve been meaning to read it for ages. I also have some ARC’s that have to be read in the next couple of weeks and some library books. So the pressure is ON!

Synopsis: What’s a girl to do when meeting The One means she’s cursed to die a horrible death?

Life hasn’t been easy on sixteen-year-old Emma Connor, so a new start in New York may be just the change she needs. But the posh Upper East Side prep school she has to attend? Not so much. Friendly faces are few and far between, except for one that she’s irresistibly drawn to—Brendan Salinger, the guy with the rock-star good looks and the richest kid in school, who might just be her very own white knight.

But even when Brendan inexplicably turns cold, Emma can’t stop staring. Ever since she laid eyes on him, strange things have been happening. Streetlamps go out wherever she walks, and Emma’s been having the oddest dreams: visions of herself in past lives—visions that warn her to stay away from Brendan. Or else.

Review: This was an absolutely charming book.. no pun intended. I was absolutely drawn in to this story from the start. Although I’ve read a number of stories centred around paranormal romances and the like, I can honestly not say I have read a story centred around witches and magic. And this was refreshingly different!

The story centres around Emma, who has had a tough life so far and through a series of events is living with her Aunt and starts attending Vincent Academy, a posh prep school. I really loved her character, she was tough - not afraid to stand up for herself, but at the same time she is fragile.

And Brendan. Oh Brendan… doesn’t every girl dream of a guy like him? Pearcing green eyes, he sounds absolutely gorgeous. AND a total gentleman too. There were a few steamy moments in this book that I was disappointed had to end!

I really enjoyed the story of their relationship. The initial attraction, Brendan turning cold on her, both of them discovering more about who they were and the story that links them together.

And of course the villains in this book are SO well written! Anthony and Kristen are absolutely diabolical… and to think they are this evil and they’re only in high school! I really do enjoy a story with good villains in it though.

Overall a highly enjoyable story, with a highly interesting story line, lots of magic and ultimately a romance. Would definitely recommend this story to anyone who loves a good paranormal romance.

Rating: 4 out of 5

I seriously love this idea - thanks to Inkcrush for coming up with this fantastic 3 part meme! The rest of my answers will be posted over this week.

DAY ONE: The Books

2. Most powerful book
Living Dead Girl - Elizabeth Scott

3. Brilliantly funny

Beauty Queens - Libba Bray

4. Best ache-y, heart-breaking, tear-jerker read

But I Love Him - Amanda Grace
Living Dead Girl - Elizabeth Scott
Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher

5. Most beautiful story

Eh, fair to say I haven’t read any beautiful stories this year - it’s all dark dreary and dystopian! lol But the most beautifully told story would go to The Day Before - Lisa Schroeder

6. Delicious rainy day comfort read

Babe In Boyland - Jody Gehrman & Bad Girls Don’t Die - Katie Alender

7. Adrenalin-fuelled, unputdownable award

Delirium - Lauren Oliver & Divergent - Veronica Roth

8. The beautiful prose award

The Day Before - Lisa Schroeder

9. Most atmospheric and vivid setting

The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare (I’ve only read City of Bones & City of Ashes)

10. I-so-want-to-go-there award

Die For Me - Amy Plum…. France, it sounds LOVELY!

11. Most original and imaginative

Sisters Red - Jackson Pearce - I absolutely loved this re-telling of Little Red Riding Hood (with a MAJOR twist).

12. Best under-appreciated, hidden gem book

Enclave - Ann Aguirre

13. I-had-no-idea-i-would-love this-so award

Forbidden - Tabitha Suzuma

14. Most haunting story

Living Dead Girl - Elizabeth Scott
Thirteen Reasons Why - Jay Asher

15. Outside my comfort zone but gosh how i loved it

The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness

16. Series that i’m loving

The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare

17. Most memorable voice award

Grace from Shiver - Maggie Steifvater

18. Completely awesome premise award

Divergent - Veronica Roth

19. Would make the best movie

Divergent - Veronica Roth & Sometimes It Happens - Lauren Barnholdt

20. Want to re-read already

I never re-read books, but if I did it would be Wither - Lauren De Stefano

Want to win a new release YA book this month? Take a few minutes to enter in our giveaway this month! This giveaway is bought to you by The Book Depository - if they deliver to your country, count yourself in! These are all new release titles. You can pick the one that you would most like!

You can choose one of the following books to win:

Book 1 - Bad Taste In Boys - Carrie Harris

Book 2 - Sometimes It Happens - Lauren Barnholdt

Book 3 - What Happened To Goodbye - Sarah Dessen

Terms and Conditions:

• This giveaway is open internationally (to where Book Depository delivers)
• You must be over 13 years of age to enter
• The contest closes on 31st July 2011
• A winner will be chosen via random.org
• The winner will be contacted via email
• Book Nerd Reviews is not responsible for any issues with delivery

To enter, you need to complete this form - please do not leave details below!