Green Witch

AUTHOR: Alice Hoffman
PAGES: 135
WEBSITE: http://www.alicehoffman.com/index.htm
GENRE: YA

SUMMARY: (from book jacket)
Green lives every day with feelings of loss. Her family is gone, the boy she loves is missing, and the world she once knew has been transformed by tragedy. In order to rediscover the truth about love, hope and magic, she must venture away from her home, collecting the stories of a group of women who have been branded as witches because of their mysterious powers. Only through their stories will Green find her own heart's desire.

OPINION:
Loved it. Green Witch is the continuation of Green's story from Green Angel. It's a whimsical dark fable about a girl named Green. Green finds the strength not to let the deep sadness, that is her life, consume her as she tries to find her best friend and the boy she loved. With the help of the "witches" Green finds her way. Each woman has a story to tell, a story of sadness, a story of hope. With the help of these enchanted, Green discover who she is. Who she is beyond: Green full of grief.
It's lyrical and fast paced. It's a vivid story that comes to life as you read. It's a magical little book.

What you dream, you can grow.
"Someone told me that, but I didn't believe it. I said I had nothing and that people with nothing are unable to dream. But I was wrong. Dreams are like air. They never leave you. It takes less than nothing to begin. Start with a pile of rocks. Moonstones, night stones, stones the color of snow. Start with heartache, thorns vines. Let there be mud on your clothes, nails in your boots, ink on your skin, pain deep inside you. Let it grow and don't be afraid."

Be sure to read Green Angel first, you really need to know Green's back story before starting Green Witch. The two books put together aren't even 300 pages. Short but memorable series.

After You

AUTHOR: Julie Buxbaum
PAGES: 336
WEBSITE: http://www.juliebuxbaum.com/
TWITTER: @juliebux

A moving story about dealing with loss and moving forward. When Ellie gets the news her best friend Lucy has been murdered she uproots from the life she shares with her husband in America to go and be with Lucy's daughter Sophie and husband Greg in Notting Hill.
Ellie's refusal to come back home creates tension in her own marriage. She decides its more important to devote herself to helping Lucy's eight year old daughter heal.
"I wish I were really young, like you. Eight is, like the best age."
"Really?"
"I don't know. To be honest, I don't remember being eight."
"That's good."
"Why?"
"I don't want to remember being eight either."

Ellie discovers Lucy's life was not as perfect as she had be letting on and Lucy was definitely not the perfect person she had always thought. They had been best friends since they were children and now Ellie is discovering she didn't know this Lucy, this Lucy that was capable of such horrible things, this Lucy that would be willing to destroy the people she loved to get what she wanted.
Ellie had not planned on staying in London so long but the longer she stays the more distance she is creating in her marriage. She had ran to London without a second thought. Had she come to help or escape?
Ellie has to look honestly at the person she is/was and decide if she wants to try and save her marriage. She must take responsibility for the past and try and see through her husbands eyes, see his pain and loss.
But she could always chose to live in this other world, Lucy's world, with Sophie and Greg.
"Maybe we need to eat and digest and sh!t out all of the ugly things in the world and leave the cute to frolic and nibble on leaves."

read-a-thon end of the event

1. Which hour was most daunting for you?
Hour 21
2. Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year?
Shiver, Hush,Hush, The Forest of Hands and Teeth
3. Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year?
This was my first one, I thought it was great.
4. What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon?
The support
5. How many books did you read?
2
6. What were the names of the books you read?
After You by Julie Buxbaum & The Secret Circle by L.J. Smith
7. Which book did you enjoy most?
They are two totally different books one chick lit. one YA I enjoyed them both.
8. Which did you enjoy least?
Same answer from 7.
9. If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders?
I thought they were great and appreciated them a lot. My advice would be just to know that you're important part of the read-a-thon so try and visit as many as you can.
10. How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time?
I wasn't able to read as much as I wanted to. I would definitely do it again but I think next time I do Cheerleader instead of Reader.

Read-A-Thon mini Challenge

Book made into a movie: ok I'd pick Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick but I would cast it with teenage stars from the 90's. Now I know its not possible to do that but I think they would be perfect actors for the part if it were let's say 20 years ago.
Nora: Keri Russell
Patch: Johnny Depp

Dewey's Read-a-Thon

Hi Everyone. This is my first read-a-thon!!!!
I don't know how long I will actually read, but I know I won't be doing the whole 24 hrs. straight. In between reading I'll update on here and on twitter, so please stop by and say hi.
My plan:(I have good intentions but lets see) Get up @5am, because I'm in Las Vegas, do a twitter update then begin reading. I will update periodically, not sure how often.
Above is a few books I will be reading. I don't know how many I'll finish but I wanted to have options encase reading one gets stale. I ordered Her Sanctuary and it hasn't arrived as of yet, but it might get here today or tomorrow. And Green Witch is in transit from the library so I hope it will make it in time.
My goal would be to finish book 1 of The Secret Circle and start book 2. Finish After You and Green Witch. These are probably not realistic goals for me because I'm a slow reader for one, and I won't be able to participate all 24 hours.
I'll list some mundane things like what I'm snacking on, what page I'm on and how I'm progressing. I hope you stop by and leave a comment :) Good luck to everyone who is also participating :)

IT BEGINS:
5 am: Ok I'm up. I started the coffee which the thought of is making me sick. Is that even possible?
I'm starting with After You by Julie Buxbaum I was already on page 28.
Morning everyone. :)

Hour 1: Reading time= 40 min. Pages=20
Hour 2: Reading time= 30 min. Pages=17 Snacks=coffee & donuts
Hour 3: Visiting readers websites wishing them well.
Hour 4-5: Reading time= 45 min. Pages=31
Hour 6: Reading time= 40 min. Pages: 29
Hour 7: Reading time= 26min. Pages= 13 Still reading: After You by Julie Buxbaum going to take a break now for a bit.
Hour 8: Spent time wishing others well on their blogs :) and did a mini challenge. Time for lunch and a break.
Hour 9-12: Break
Hour: 13 Reading time= 60min. Pages= 47 Snacks: Strawberries Got a book I ordered today int the mail, so that will be good for tonight.
Hour 14: Reading time= 20 min. Pages= 15 Snacks: water & Crunch'n Munch Did a mini challenge.
I'm on about page 200 of After You by Julie Buxbaum. I have to re-adjust my goals a bit. I hope to finish this book and half way through another. I'm amazed at how fast some of the read-a-thon readers read. From 7pm-10pm I won't be reading as much, but I hope late tonight to be able to read a lot without distractions. Good luck everyone :)
Hour 15-16: Break
Hour 17: Reading Time= 24min. Pages= 15
Hour 18: Reading Time= 28min. Pages= 13
Hour 19: Reading Time= 24min. Pages= 15 I'm getting distracted, need to be reading more. My goal might change again to just be able to finish one book.
Hour 20: Goal is to read most of this hour. It's hour 20!!!!
Reading Time= 45min. Pages= 28
Hour 21: I'm getting tired. Reading Time= 45min. Pages= 26
Hour 22: Reading Time= 60min. Pages= 40 Finished the book!
Hour 23: Reading Time= 15min. Pages= 10
Hour 24: Reading Time= 18 min. Pages= 20
I'm reading The Secret Circle by L.J. Smith. This is my first time reading a L.J. Smith book it's kind of cheesy but I'm liking it a lot. I was on about page 78 before the read-a-thon. I since have ordered book 2 of this series and since I enjoy watching The Vampire Diaries so much I ordered book 1 of that series.

The Swimming Pool

AUTHOR: Holly LeCraw
PAGES: 320
WEBSITE: http://hollylecraw.com/
TWITTER: @hollylecraw
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Holly LeCraw lives outside of Boston with her husband, who is a journalist, and three kids. Her short fiction and book reviews have appeared in a range of publications, including the
Edge City Review and the Boston Book Review. Her short fiction was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Though a newcomer as a novelist, she grew up in the book industry.
ACQUIRED: ARC courtesy of publisher DOUBLEDAY

SUMMARY: (from book jacket)
Seven summers ago, Marcella Atkinson fell in love with Cecil McClatchey, a married father of two. But on the same night their romance abruptly ended, Cecil's wife was found murdered. The case was never solved, and Cecil died soon after, an uncharged suspect.

Now divorced and estranged from her only daughter, Marcella lives alone, mired in grief and guilt. Meanwhile, Cecil's grown son, Jed, returns to the Cape with his sister for the first time in years. When he finds a woman's bathing suit buried in a closet-a relic, unbeknownst to him, of his father's affair-he decides to confront Marcella on a hunch.

When, to their deep surprise, they fall into an affair of their won, passion temporarily masks their shared pain. But as we are left to believe on the last stunning page, the betrayals of the past cannot be ignored and will have a ripple effect on these two families for years to come.

OPINION:
Holly LeCraw is a mastermind at creating characters. The loneliness, the innocent, the lusting, the betrayed and hurting characters are so well written you can't hate them. You sense what has driven each character to the place they are today and even though you might find some of them morally wrong it is hard to pass judgment on them when you hear how tortured they are within their own minds and how they just long to be punished.
Jed's sister, Callie, I found particularly interesting. She was in college, just as Jed, when she lost her mother. Now with the lose of both parents and the arrival of a new baby, life has just swallowed her whole. This is a character I would normally hate but Holly wrote her so well I could understand her maddening world she was living in.
A book of mystery. Just when every character seems to have gotten their answers and some sort of peace the book takes a twist and nothing is what it seems.
Perfect beach and summer read full of mystery, love, desperation and believable characters.