Top 5 Most Impressive Multicultural YA Novels

Over at the American Book Center Blog is a Top 5 of Most Impressive Multicultural Young Adult Novels, written by..me!
You can read the top 5 by clicking here

Just an addition to the top 5: I just found the trailer of this amazing book I read and reviewed recently, The Indigo Notebook by Laura Resau (I am reading her book What the moon saw now.) The music in this video is just even as awesome as the book..

Nicola and the Viscount by Meg Cabot

Nicola Sparks is a sixteen year old orphan in 1810 She is raised by her sweet grandparents at the family's English land house Beckwell Abbey. It is the start of the London society season and young Nicola is ready to make her entrance and to marry viscount Lord Sebastian Bartholomew. But then she discovers the shady side of this proposal when her best friends brother Nathaniel tells her about Lord Sebastian's plan to sell Beckwell Abbey so his dad who is in the coal business can start with the railroad that will lead criscross to the land of Beckwell Abbey. Is it too late too cancel the wedding to save her family's land and house? And why is Nathaniel so sweet to her?
If you love English historical romance ala Pride and Prejudice, you will certainly love Nicola and the Viscount. I personally think this book is way more understandable than Pride and Prejudice and certainly more fun. This was the second historical romance novel by Meg Cabot that I have read and I think it was one of her best books.

Life's a beach by Claire Cook

The 40 year old Ginger Walsh lives with her cat, who is named Boyfriend, in an apartment above her parents garage. Ginger soon has to move out and find a new place to live and a career that fits her, because her parents are going to sell the house. Ginger's soon to be- boyfriend is glassblower Noah, but Ginger thinks Noah has forget all about her because he lives in his own glassblowing world.
Ginger has an older sister, Geri, who is anxious of turning 50 soon. Geri's young son Riley is cast for a little part in a horror movie wich is filmed at a nearby beach. Ginger has to babysit Riley during the long days on the filmset because Geri is too busy with her job. On the filmset she meets some charming men, and Ginger has to decides if she gets into dating or will she wait for Noah to be her boyfriend.
Life's a beach is a thin story wich misses any form of excitement or interesting story developments. I thought it was just a bot too fluffy. Not my favorite beach read at all.
It had so little interesting facts and just no real story. Overall I like beach reads, mostly they are real fun books. But it seemed that the author just was on the beach herself and made it too easy.

Book Events

Lots of amazingly fun book events this week!
This saturday the 28th of november, Young Adult author Erik Rashke will read and sign his book The book of Samuel from 3 till 6 pm at the American Book Center Treehouse, Voetboogstraat 11, Amsterdam. Eric just has returned from his book tour in the United States, and now the Dutch readers will get the chance to meet him! I will vist this author reading ofcourse and will write about it here!

Later this week, a blog that I wrote will appear on the American Book Center Blog. Just stay tuned there to know what its about..
This week the Boekenfestijn (bookfair) will be hold in the RAI congress center in Amsterdam. (26-29 november)One huge hall filled with millions of books books and...ehm books! I visited the Boekenfestijn two years ago and when I stepped into the hall I just didn't know where to start. Sooo many books..I think I will leave with a full cart..
And then a little personal 'event'. I danced around the room (my neighbours aren't happy with me I guess because it was really late!) when I read this amazing news that I am picked as a winner!Congrats and hurray for Danielle Joseph, because her book Shrinking Violet is In Print again!!

Paula Yoo about her new book The Anna May Wong Story

Heart and Salsa by Suzanne Nelson

Cat wants to escape her new life in Boston, where she just has moved to from Arizona. Away from her new stepdad and house and her biggest hobby:diving, wich she still unsure of if she will continue doing it.
She is going on a student trip with the SASS (students across the seven seas) program, and that brings her to Oaxaca, Mexico. Her best friend back from Arizona, Sabrina, also goes to the same program. But Cat is surprised that Sabrina brought Brian with her,her boyfriend. Is this the end of the best friend times? The girls stay with host families and Cat's new host sister seems a bit crabby. There are a few other american boys and girls too in the same program in Oaxaca, wich includes building on a new orphanage and volunteer at the turtle beach. One of them is Aidan, and he is very nice to Cat and tries to make friends with her. But Cat is afraid that he wants more then be friends and afraid to trust him. But they go on a non-date, and it seems Aidan is worth trusting.. A fun hardworking time in Oaxaca, learning more about the colorful Mexican culture with friends and making new friends too..
Heart and Salsa is a fun quick and cute read, with a big role for Mexican culture and real (and funny!) friends. I enjoyed every minute of this book. I really liked the characters and how the story was unfolding. It was like a fun vacation in Mexico, I absolutely would like the same kind of friends and circumstances on a same trip like this story. Absolutely worth reading!!

The cover of Splendor

Ever wondered how the gorgeous covers of the The Luxe Books are made? Take a look behind the scenes when the cover model is photographed in the dress for the cover of Splendor!

To be reviewed soon..!

Sweethearts by Sara Zarr

What happened to Jennifer's best friend Cameron? Cameron suddenly dissapeared when they where both in primary school. Suddenly he didn't came to school anymore, and some said that he had died, even Jennifer's mom said that he suddenly died. Jennifer goes to high school, and changes her name to Jenna, to make a new start.
But then, one day, there is a new guy in her class. And that guy is Cameron. He is back in to her life and Jenna wants to know what happened in the past, why he had left her, his best friend without a single note. Bit by bit she learns more about Cameron, his family, and the reason why he was suddenly gone.
Cameron stays a bit of a mysterious guy in Sweethearts, and Jenna finds it hard to accept everything. Sweethearts is a real serious and somewhat tragic story. If you want a book that cheers you up, Sweethearts isn't your book of choice. The story is about the bond of friendship and the marks that certain people that come into your life make. The style of writing makes it a read at a very slow pace.But at the end the author leaves the reader with many questions that stay unanswered in Sweethearts, somehow this book misses the point.

In my mailbox..

In my mailbox is my almost weekly blog post about the books I bought/received for review in the previous week(s). In my mailbox is created by Kristi from The Story Siren
This week I bought:

Cuba 15 by Nancy Osa, Heart and Salsa by Suzanne Nelson, and What the moon saw by Laura Resau.
Don't forget to enter my contest to win a copy of Explorer X-Alpha, you can enter down below the guest blog here
And be sure to visit the amazing Readergirlz Rave Homecoming Chat! The 30th of November, every author in the Readergirlz Circle of Stars (that means every author who was or is a readergirlz feature) will be there in one big BIG homecoming chat on the Readergirlz blog, now how cool is that!?

Mediator book 6:Twilight by Meg Cabot

In this final book in the Mediator series, Suze has to help Jesse and find out more about Paul Slater (another Mediator who bothers her, but somehow helps her too..)To help Jesse ''move on'' Suze has to shift herself back to the past, when Jesse was almost murdered by Diego, because Jesse and Diego both wanted to marry Maria back in 1800. But then she maybe has to say farewell forever to Jesse, who was her bedroom ghost and who is the guy she really loves. Because when Jesse wasn't murdered, he wouldn't have been a ghost who is stuck in an in between fase between life and really dead. Suze has to make final and though decisions in Twilight, and if it all would be an happy ending..
I really liked this end of the Mediator series! I think it is one of the better and strongest stories of all the books together. Don't miss this one if you love a real Meg Cabot novel, and love the Mediator series. And the end of this book, well..I don't want to spoil it, but you certainly won't be dissapointed!