Toronto’s first Fashion’s Night Out – Thurs, Sept 6th!

August 30, 2012 / 1 Comment / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Fashion, Personal
Toronto’s first Fashion’s Night Out – Thurs, Sept 6th!

I know this is a mostly YA lit review site, but that “mostly” allows me to occasionally post some really great stuff that I love.  Some of you might know that I’m kind of obsessed with fashion. I used to be a fashion blogger for TorontoStreetFashion.com, I have an enormous wardrobe, and I’m still a bit of a nonstop shopper. I love beautiful clothes and accessories, and I love finding out about new designers (especially local ones).  This year, Toronto is hosting its first ever Fashion’s Night Out. FNO is a big shopping celebration that happens all over the world. There […]

Waiting on Wednesday: Winter White

Waiting on Wednesday: Winter White

“Waiting On” Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that book bloggers are eagerly anticipating. This week’s pre-publication, “can’t-wait-to-read” book should be no surprise for those of you who read yesterday’s review of BELLES by Jen Calonita. Obviously, I can’t wait to sink my teeth into the next one! Winter White (Belles #2) Author: Jen Calonita  Publication Date: October 9, 2012 From Goodreads:  Isabelle Scott and Mirabelle Monroe are still reeling from the revelation that they share more than just the roof over their heads. The media has pounced on their story and […]

Belles by Jen Calonita

August 29, 2012 / 7 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Review, Uncategorized
Belles by Jen Calonita

Review: Jen Calonita has a way of getting into your head and making her books can’t-put-down-ers. Belles is no exception. While the premise is a predictable fish-out-of-water story (poor girl suddenly gets rich and has to deal with snobby people), Calonita never lets that stop her from creating a rich characters or a world that is easy to believe in. Izzie and Mira feel real even if the Emerald Cove world that they live in is a fantasy for most people. Izzie is smart, determined and fights for what she wants. Mira is smart, sweet, and a little confused about […]

The Selection by Kiera Cass

August 24, 2012 / 19 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Uncategorized
The Selection by Kiera Cass

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon. But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn’t want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by […]

The Future of Us by Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler

August 23, 2012 / 6 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Uncategorized
The Future of Us by Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler

It’s 1996, and Josh and Emma have been neighbors their whole lives. They’ve been best friends almost as long – at least, up until last November, when Josh did something that changed everything. Things have been weird between them ever since, but when Josh’s family gets a free AOL CD in the mail,his mom makes him bring it over so that Emma can install it on her new computer. When they sign on, they’re automatically logged onto their Facebook pages. But Facebook hasn’t been invented yet. And they’re looking at themselves fifteen years in the future. By refreshing their pages, […]

This is So Not Happening by Kieran Scott

July 20, 2012 / 5 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Uncategorized
This is So Not Happening by Kieran Scott

Someone else on Goodreads said that she knew she was going to dislike this book, but she read it anyway and love-hated it. I feel the same way. Kieran Scott really knows how to tug at your heartstrings, and how to realistically portray teenagers. This Is So Not Happening has one of the best portrayals of teen pregnancy I’ve ever read. It wasn’t from the perspective of the mother, which made it unique and interesting. I didn’t like it, I didn’t want to read about it, but Scott did a great job showing how people reacted, and how things changed […]

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

July 19, 2012 / 5 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Review, Uncategorized
Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Check out my review of Divergent, the first book in this series Review: I rushed out to get Insurgent after I stayed up all night reading Divergent, so that tells you something about my state of mind when I started it. That said, I didn’t find Insurgent quite as compelling as Divergent – it was compelling, don’t get me wrong, but the pacing was different as a lot of it had to do with Tris planning and figuring out what was going on around her. I liked this better in a lot of ways, though – I thought it better […]

Divergent by Veronica Roth

July 18, 2012 / 11 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Uncategorized
Divergent by Veronica Roth

What is there to say about Divergent that hasn’t already been said? Like a lot of other readers, I felt the plot was very similar to The Hunger Games, but that the writing and world-building didn’t feel quite as strong. That said, I can’t deny that I was completely drawn into this story. The character of Tris was extremely well drawn, and though there were moments that some of the writing tripped me up (particularly the times when Tris repeats things over and over), I loved her spirit and fighting nature. She was strong-willed and physical without losing her humanity. […]

Unbreak My Heart by Melissa C. Walker

July 17, 2012 / 4 Comments / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Uncategorized
Unbreak My Heart by Melissa C. Walker

This is one of my favorite summer 2012 reads. It has heart, it has depth, it has lightness, and it has the sweetest romance ever. Walker has absolutely triumphed with this book. What really got me was how REAL everything seemed, especially the characters. Clementine, the protagonist, felt very much like me as a teenager. James, the love interest, was the perfect complement to her rawness – he was joyful and jovial, but in a way that felt both masculine and flawed. The secondary characters of her family and the other boating people were so full and rich and authentic […]

The experiment…finally…and some notes

July 16, 2012 / 1 Comment / Posted by Tiff @ Mostly YA Lit in Blogging Life, Personal

After three to five years of saying I should start a book blog, I’m finally doing it. This is, in large part, because Goodreads is super easy to use and I’m basically just cut and pasting my reviews from there to here. Nevertheless, it’s nice to have a pretty place to post my musings on (mostly) YA books with a few adult books, movies, TV shows, and fashion stuff, no? Disclaimer and Mission I don’t purport to have the best reviews on anything, or even to have great thoughts to share, but I do think that the authors I read […]