Awkwordly Emma

December 22, 2014

Review: Absolutely Truly

Absolutely Truly by Heather Vogel Frederick
Grade: B
Summary: An unsent letter in a first edition copy of Charlotte's Web leads to a hunt for treasure in this heartwarming middle grade mystery from the author of The Mother-Daughter Book Club.

Now that Truly Lovejoy's father has been injured by an IED in Afghanistan and is having trouble finding work back home, the family moves from Texas to tiny Pumpkin Falls, New Hampshire, to take over Lovejoy's Books, a struggling bookstore that';s been in the family for one hundred years.

With two older brothers and two younger sisters clamoring for attention, her mother back in school, and everyone up to their eyebrows trying to keep Lovejoy's Books afloat, Truly feels more overlooked than usual. So she pours herself into uncovering the mystery of an undelivered letter she finds stuck in a valuable autographed first edition of Charlotte's Web, which subsequently goes missing from the bookshop. What's inside the envelope leads Truly and her new Pumpkin Falls friends on a madcap treasure hunt around town, chasing clues that could spell danger.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: I didn't start reading a ton of YA until the middle of 2013. But when I look back and consider things, there were a few books that were gateways to my YA addiction. One is Princess Academy by Shannon Hale. The other? The Mother-Daughter Book Club by Heather Vogel Frederick (it's MG at first, but since the characters are 16 by the last book I'd consider the series lower YA as well). So Heather is now one of those authors who are on auto-buy for me.
Absolutely Truly is firmly middle grade. Its main characters are all about 12. They don't really worry about romance or college. Truly Lovejoy's main concerns are her families, the mystery, and pre-algebra. Frederick's latest story is one full of quirky names and small town charm. She has woven a tale of realistic emotions and worries, but it's one that also contains fun. At times, I felt like things were a bit too easy for Truly and her friends in the process of solving the mystery, but that didn't ruin the book for me. One of my favorite parts was a cameo by a character quite familiar to fans of The Mother-Daughter Book Club (and no, it's not one of the protagonists or primary secondary characters).
Overall, Absolutely Truly is quite clean. Perhaps the "worst" moment is when Truly talks about Toot Soup (what her family has come to call bean soup).

The Verdict: As a fan of pretty much everything Frederick writes, I highly recommend Absolutely Truly.

Buy: Read Between the Lynes Barnes & Noble

December 20, 2014

My Extra Special Collection

Let's talk about signed books. Up until I became a book blogger, I had a grand total of one. It was one of the Main Street books by Ann M. Martin. Then last fall, I started acquiring more and more through author events and giveaways. From my collection, eleven are just signed and twenty are personalized. Here are my personalized books.

And then here are the rest of my signed books. :)

I also thought it would be cool to take a look at signatures and personalizations.

I love that United We Spy says "happy spying," and Liz's signature in Ask Again Later is beautiful. Additionally, A.G. Howard's personalizations are so much fun. Splintered has "Down the rabbit hole..." and Unhinged has "Embrace the madness."
And now for more fun personalizations.

So do you have any signed books? Do you consider your signed book collection to be impressive? What do you think of these author's signatures?

December 19, 2014

Random Friday: Best Movies of 2014

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Time to discuss what we each think the best movies of 2014 were! I didn't get to the movies as much as I hoped this year, but I did have some favorites.

Captain America: the Winter Soldier

It's no secret that Captain America is my favorite Avenger, and the latest installment of The Avengers Phase Two was great. Plus, those post-credit scenes...

The Fault in Our Stars

This was a great adaptation. I wasn't the biggest fan of Shailene as Hazel (she didn't feel like Hazel to me until the eulogy scene), but I think John Green's story became a good screenplay. I was surprised by how well Ansel and Nat did.

Big Hero 6

This movie was so adorable, guys! I love Disney films, and this one was perfect. The animation was cool, it was very science/technology-focused, there were strong female characters (Honey Lemon, GoGo, and Aunt Cass). I would've liked more background and character development for most of the hero team, but hey, it was great overall. Plus, it was worthwhile to see in theaters twice!

Mockingjay Part 1
I still don't think they needed to split Mockingjay but it worked well! "The Hanging Tree" created an emotional scene, my heart ached for Peeta, and the stark contrast between industrial, cold, gray District 13 and the bright capital is astounding. There were a couple omissions I was surprised at (one is rather big), but I thoroughly enjoyed seeing Mockingjay.

Movies I Missed Out On

There was a block of YA adaptations that I didn't get to see because they released right as I was settling in at school. Hopefully I'll be able to see them on DVD over my break or some time soon.

The Giver

If I Stay

The Maze Runner

Can't wait to see everyone else's posts!

December 17, 2014

So You Like... #9

This is a special So You Like... post. I'm one of those people who really loves the holiday season. I'll start playing Christmas music on November 1st (go ahead and judge me), and I love shopping for everyone's gifts. That means this post is all about Christmas.

SO YOU LIKE...

(as usual, clicking on a book cover will take you to its Goodreads page)

books set entirely or books with scenes at Christmas.

Home for the Holidays (Mother-Daughter Book Club Series #5)

Happy bookish holidays to all of you!

December 16, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Books of 2014

Hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Ah, my now annual tradition of breaking the top ten rule by many. There is no way I can limit myself to just ten books. Note: if I just read the series for the first time this year, I only included either the first or my absolute favorite of the series.

But, without further ado, here are my favorite books of 2014.