Paula Review Beyond The Wall

 Published 2012 by BenBella Books, Inc. 

How I got it: got an ARC copy of it from the publisher at BEA last year

My rating: 3.5 stars

Disclaimer: this might be a short review and have some typos- because I have a very intrusive/insistent creature (a 3 year old corgi/german shepard) sitting here next to me and licking my hands and keyboard and computer while I'm trying to type.

This is the first time I've ever felt the need to read a companion book to a series. No matter how head over heels I am with a series- I've never actively gone out to find essays that delve further into the legend and lore of the series. I am usually of the mind set that sometimes fans reach too far and read too into things that the author never intended. With that being said- I finished the latest A Song of Ice and Fire book at the beginning of the year and I was in such a state of "I NEED MORE" that I was excited to remember that I had picked this up at the BEA last year.

First off if you are going to read this book- make sure you have finished all 5 of the currently released books! It reveals pretty much everything that could be considered a spoiler in the series. I had considered reading it right when I got it last year- and I would have been really bummed because there are a lot of Book 5 details in it.

My thoughts: There were a mix of essays I liked (an essay about how magic plays its part in Westeros) and essays that either weren't things I'm interested in (such as an essay about collecting the series and how much certain editions of the book are worth). There were also essays I just did not find compelling or agree with at all (one argued that rape or fear of rape plays an essential part in forming the lives of women in westeros- which just raised my hackles in all the wrong ways).

A few of the essays helped me form my own thoughts about characters and events in the series. However, I do not think that all of the essays in it are created equal. If your library has it and you need a little Westeros in your life- I think that this is a good book to read while waiting for the next installment.

Paula Reviews Sylo by D.J. MacHale

Book: Sylo by D.J. MacHale

Publisher: Razorbill (expected release July 2013)

How I got it: Got an advanced copy at the BEA

Rating 3.5/4 Stars

Hello all! So this year I traveled up to New York for my very first BEA experience. Not to drown you all with too many details except to say that it was a lot of fun. I got to meet our darling leader of The Broke and The Bookish- and let me tell you Jamie is just as sweet in person as she is on the interwebs. I also got to see and meet some of my favorite authors! I tried to keep the fangirling to a minimum- but how are you supposed to tell someone that you grew up with their writing and adventured with their characters without being a little bit gushy. 

This brings me to SYLO- I had to be picky and choosy about books I brought home from the BEA because I limited myself to making it all fit in my carry-on bag. But as soon as I saw that MacHale would be attending- I knew that a prime spot in my suitcase would be dedicated to this book. 

The premise of Sylo is such: Tucker Pierce is an average high school kid who is floating along. He is on the football team but he hates playing. He gets average grades. He doesn't have any idea about what he wants to when he grows up. And as far as he's concerned - that's all fine with him. Unfortunately his peaceful uneventful island life is quickly changed. During the big game of the season the star player drops dead on the field. As the island mourns the player- the military arrives and quarantines the island because of a mysterious virus (the suspected reason of the player's death). Something doesn't sit well with Tucker and his friends and they are thrown into the middle of discovering what the virus is, what the SYLO unit of the military is, and what exactly is going on on Pemberwick Island...

Why I gave it 3.5/4- 

The Pace: I know first books of series tend to be full of exposition... but the SYLO did get a bit slow at points. But even with that being said- I still finished it in three days. And also characteristic of a first book in a series- I did not feel as though there was any sort of resolution. The main question of the book (who is SYLO/Why was Pemberwick locked down) wasn't answered until the last few pages. And now I have to wait a whole year to know just why these things are important.  

The Characters: I can tell that all of these characters have the potential to be really awesome. I am excited to see how the next two books have them grow. Also- without being a spoiler- Tucker was warned not to trust anyone. at all. So now I'm anxiously awaiting and guessing who might be a secret bad guy or girl. I think I have an idea... but again have to wait a whole year ahhh!

Overall it was a very entertaining book. I am excited for next year to get here and read on and find out what happens to Tucker and his friends. If you need a mystery/dystopian/new series to check out, I suggest you go track down a copy of SYLO when it is released. 

ALSO OH MY GOODNESS I GOT TO MEET D.J. MACHALE AND HE WAS REALLY NICE AND WE TALKED ABOUT PENDRAGON AND AND AND Thanks D.J for filling my childhood (and now adulthood) with lots of adventure! Hobey Ho!

Daisy Talks About the BEA Blues

So if you're part of the book blogging community, you might have heard about this thing called Book Expo America, or BEA. You might also know that it's happening right now in NYC. And if you're not there, like me, you might also be feeling some BEA blues: the gloomy thoughts because of all the awesomeness that's happening and wishing you were there instead of at home, staring at your Twitter timeline...

There are some ways in which this can be handled:

1. Avoid all social media and blogs for the duration of the event: so as not to get too envious of your blogging friends meeting each other, the authors they're seeing, the ARCs they're getting...
This doesn't really work for me, but it might for some people.

2. Make a list with all the reasons why it's better to NOT be there: with stuff like 'at least my feet aren't killing me from standing around in line all day'.
Yeah, I kinda blanked after that as well.

3. Participate in Armchair BEA: Armchair BEA is seriously awesome and a good way to meet other people and I love the community feel of participating in stuff like this! We also had a really fun chat yesterday :)
This is actually a valid option, plus you'll be so busy with visiting all the blogs and writing your posts, you won't have time to think about BEA itself (lie, but it does help).

4. Have a #bookishparty: Cass and Judith hosted an AMAZING #bookishparty on Twitter and it was so much fun! And it had drinking games!

5. Buy yourself some books: because buying books can never be a bad thing and it always cheers me up. Plus, I can totally justify it by tallying up all the money I've saved by NOT going to BEA and a couple of books is maybe 5-10% of that.

6. Make plans to go next year: this only works if you're actually going to go next year.

7. Look at a shirtless Gendry: because this makes everything better:

8. If all else fails: have a cocktail and look at other people's pictures till you can pretend you're there yourself.