Wolves, Boys, and Other Things That Might Kill Me

Wolves, Boys and Other Things That Might Kill Me was a book who's cover really drew me in. I honestly didn't know what to expect from this book but what I got was a really wonderful story that had me engrossed from page one.

Summary from Goodreads:

 KJ Carson lives an outdoor lover’s dream. The only daughter of a fishing and wildlife guide, KJ can hold her own on the water or in the mountains near her hometown outside Yellowstone National Park. But when she meets the shaggy-haired, intensely appealing Virgil, KJ loses all self-possession. And she’s not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing that they’re assigned to work together on a school newspaper article about the famous wolves of Yellowstone. As KJ spends time with Virgil, she also spends more time getting to know a part of her world that she always took for granted . . . and she begins to see herself and her town in a whole new light.

KJ Carson lives in Montana where the wolves have recently been reintroduced into Yellow Stone National Park. She finds herself writing an article in her school paper about the wolves and it causes an uproar in her small little town. Not to mention she's socially awkward and trouble seems to be her specialty.

I had a vague idea of what this book was about but it had been a long time since I'd read what exactly this book entailed. I was looking for books to bring with me to the barn that could keep me busy for two weeks and this happened to be one of the ones I picked. The cover sucked me in every time I looked at it. Turns out the story inside is just as good!

KJ Carson I found so real. She was totally clumsy, at times down right awkward and when she got nervous her neck broke out. I could relate to all of that! I loved that about this book! There is nothing better than a character who feels real and you're not constantly thinking why in the world would she do that? You just get it because you can relate so much to her.

Virgil was such an odd character to me. He wasn't the typical YA boy and at points it was refreshing to have such a different character but at the same time it was hard to understand Virgil. I don't even know where to begin to discuss him other than I thought it was great he was a vegetarian. He was a great character but he didn't have my heart fluttering or leave all that much of an impression.

The only way I can think to describe Virgil's relationship with KJ is...well complicated. They bicker more than they do get along yet they some how at the end of the day care for each other. It felt realistic to me how things went with these two. Things didn't move quick with these two and I liked that. I also loved that the book wasn't focused on the love interest but rather the story at hand: the wolves.

I love wolves. They are beautiful animals and I loved how the story revolved around them. The way KJ admired the wolves was wonderful. I could understand where she was coming from. This whole book is full of nature and animals and I adored every bit of it! There was something so unexpected with each turn of the pager. I never knew what was coming and not once did I go that was so predictable. This book kept me on my toes wondering how things would end. It's been a long time since that happened.

Kristen Chandler has a beautiful writing style. The voice she created for KJ was fresh and realistic. I can't wait to read another book by her! Wolves, Boys, and Other Things That Might Kill me is getting 4 out of 5 birds from me! I really enjoyed this book and would definitely recommend people read it. The imagery is vivid and anyone who loves the outdoors or even the idea of it will enjoy this book. It was a beautiful story!

Just Read It! Book Club: Discussion Questions

So it's the middle of the month, so that means only one thing!

It's time to post the questions based on our book of the month, How My Summer Went Up In Flames!

If you're not aware of what this is, then here's some introduction posts for you. One can be found on Lexi's blog or my blog.

So here's what you do. If you've read How My Summer Went Up In Flames, then you should copy these questions and schedule your post for sometime between June 23th - June 30th. Along with these questions, you can do a review if you wish.

If you haven't read the book yet, then you have a week or so to read the novel and join us in our first month of the book club!

Here's the questions:

• What did you think about the relationship between Rosie and each of the boys?
• What were your thoughts on the author's style of writing? 
• If you had to be stuck in that car with Spencer, Matty, and Logan, which boy would you prefer the most to have to go on a road trip with and why? 
• What were your thoughts on how the book ended? 
• What was your favorite stop the group made during their road trip?
• What was your impression on Rosie at first? 
• What do you think of Rosie? 
• What were your thoughts on all the romantic interests Rosie had?
• What was your favorite part of the novel?
• What was your least favorite part of the novel?

Can't wait to see all of your answers in the last week of June! We will have a Linky for you to link up your posts so we can all talk about the book together! Also, if you have any additional questions that you want others to answer, then post them in the comments and we will add them!

Thanks for joining us!

Where I Belong

Ever since seeing Where I Belong on amazon and instantly falling in love with it's cover I knew I had to read this book. After being excited for the longest time about this book I'm glad I finally read it. I really enjoyed it but at the same time it wasn't what I expected.

Summary from Goodreads:

Meet Corrinne. She's living every girl's dream in New York City—shopping sprees at Barneys, open access to the best clubs and parties, and her own horse at the country club. Her perfect life is perfectly on track. At least it was. . . .

When Corrinne's father is laid off, her world suddenly falls apart. Instead of heading to boarding school, she's stripped of her credit cards and shipped off to the boonies of Texas to live with her grandparents. On her own in a big public school and forced to take a job shoveling manure, Corrinne is determined to get back to the life she's supposed to be living. She doesn't care who she stomps on in the process. But when Corrinne makes an unlikely friend and discovers a total hottie at work, she begins to wonder if her life B.R.—before the recession—was as perfect as it seemed.

Corrinne is a city girl living the privileged life in New York city. She does what she wants and doesn't really care about the consequences.  Her life is ending in her eyes when her parents break the news they are moving to Broken Spoke Texas. Corrinne is in for a rude awakening...


The moment I started Where I Belong I got something completely different then I was expecting and I really enjoyed that about this book. Sometimes the unexpected is good and it was with this one. In the beginning I couldn't stand Corrinne. She was a city girl with a bad attitude. It seemed like all she did was whine and bitch about things. She was self-centered and plan nasty. Little by little she started to change. I started to like her and her attitude was getting better. By all means she wasn't perfect but that was good. No one is perfect. I turned out to really love Corrinne and I'm glad I didn't give up within those first couple chapters of her New York attitude.

Where I Belong had the perfect setting. I love anything country and this book was full of the finest things. Cowboys, horses, rodeos, and old trucks. I fell in love with the little ole town of Broken Spoke. Sure it's a small little town in Texas and only has one restaurant but I loved the community they seemed to have and of course the Cowboys weren't bad either. There seriously needs to be more YA books with cowboys. They are the best.

Since I'm on the topic of Cowboys I should talk about Bubby because I adored this guy. Right off the bat you can tell he's sweet on Corrinne and right off the bat I was sweet on him. He liked to poke and pick on Corrinne and it cracked me up. It was the kind of picking that made it obvious the guy had a thing for her. Corrinne was just to stuck up to care. I was ready to slap her a few times for not realizing the nice guy who was right in front of her.

"Manhattan, Grandma and Grandpa want you home before it's dark. Hurry before you turn back into a stiletto." 

Rider has to be one of the most awful love interests. He's self-centered and all he thinks about is his music. He's the guy who uses you to get what he wants. I disliked him right off the bat. Throughout the book I couldn't understand Corrinne's obsession with him. He was just so...blah.

This book is full of characters who I really enjoyed. From Kitsy who I would want as a friend to Tripp the most adorable little brother on the planet of YA siblings. And don't even get me started on Corrinne's grandparents. I absolutely loved them! Especially loved when her grandpa was teaching her to drive stick shift. Gwendolyn Heasley did a really good job creating likeable and hateable characters.

Where I Belong is getting 4 out of 5 birds from me. It's a cute and fun summer read. Once you get past Corrinne's terrible attitude and she arrives in Texas the book gets good to the point you stay up until one in the morning to finish it. I really adored this book despite it not being at all what I expected. It ended perfectly and I can't wait to read another book by this author. I'd definitely recommend this one to people. It's just so adorable!

Divergent

I'd heard quite about about Divergent by Veronica Roth and I've had it on my to-be-read list for a while now. Once I finally bought the book it just sat on my bookshelf collecting dust. Dystopian books have never been my favorite but this one sounded good and I wanted to have it read before the movie got released. I'm glad I finally read it because I did enjoy the story that Veronica created.

 Summary from Goodreads:

 In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Tris lives in dystopian Chicago. There are five factions and when you turn sixteen you get to choose the faction you want to spend the rest of your life in. The choice Tris makes changes her life for good. It brings light to herself and the society she lives in.

Tris is an interesting character. I had very complicated feelings about her throughout the book. I never really disliked her but more I felt like at moments in the book she was really cold. But then there would be moments and her sense of humor would shine or she'd feel empathy for someone. Tris felt very complicated to me. I don't think I ever really came to fully understand her thought process but I did love how she turned out in the end of the book. The girl's tough and she isn't afraid to put her own life on the line for someone she cares about.

Oh, Four. He is not the typical YA boy that's for sure. If anything he's better. He'll go to your funeral if there's cake. That whole cake line made me laugh so hard! I adored this character. He was multilayered, blunt and so fresh! He strayed away from the typical love interest. He told it how it was and sometimes wasn't very nice. But he wasn't always aware of it. The thing about Four is he was never mean to be an ass. He just said what was true.

Veronica Roth did a superb job at her world building. Everything was clear and creative. The factions were well created and thought out. I've said this before about Dystopians and I'll say it again. They often confuse me. The worlds get all funky and it's like "Hold up! Take a step back." That wasn't the case with Divergent. There was one point in the book where I got a bit confused and that was towards the ending when everything started unraveling. It seemed very sudden to me and my first thought was is this really happening or is she dreaming? Other than that one point I really loved Veronica's style of writing!

There are two many characters in this book to all get mentioned but I felt like there was a good balance of character to love and characters to hate. I also loved that Veronica Roth wasn't afraid to kill some off. There was one death I was not expecting at all and it honestly made me gasp. I felt so bad for Tris in that moment.

As I write this review I find myself loving the book a bit more. Originally I had all intentions of only giving this book 3 birds. I knew that I enjoyed the book but I didn't feel that spark and adoration that I do with some books. But I find myself loving it a bit more after I sit here and think more about it. That being said Divergent is getting 4 out of 5 birds from me! I enjoyed this book and the twists and turns that it had. It was creative, action packed, and an all around good read! I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who loves a good story!

Teaser Tuesday

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted over at Should Be Reading were you grab a book, open it up, find something that isn't going to spoil the book and share it. You do this twice from any random page just make sure the teasers are not SPOILERS! This week I will be sharing two teasers from Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley!

"Entering the barn, I think about how many times I've done this exact routine. The smell of the hay, the horses and even the manure heightens all my senses, and I start to breath heavy." (from pg. 22)


"I smile at Tripp as I imagine shaking him, and I think the only place that I am heading if I get my license is due northeast. There will be no stops at Sonic." (from pg. 65)














Ok...so I'm not really reading this one yet I'm actually reading Divergent by Veronica Roth but I have been dying to read this book ever since I first found it on Amazon and well I had to peek inside. It sounds like such a cute book and THAT COVER! Oh my gosh. It's my all time favorite. I want the cowboy and the girls outfit asap please! I'm even more eager now that I've looked inside for some teasers. This book will sit on my desk until I can read it along with Catching Jordan which I am also dying to read. Thanks Lexi!! She sent me both books and as you can tell I'm a little bit eager to read them...just a little bit. ;)