Saturday, December 22, 2012

My Favorite Books of 2012

What's this? A post about books? But, you say, this blog is supposed to be about baking and TV! What is this randomness?!

The answer is: I can do what I want! Muahaha!

In all seriousness, though, here is something readers of this blog who do not know me on a personal level may not know... 1) I love to read. 2) I'm writing a book. I recently finished the first draft of said book (hooray!), so why not celebrate the books that have inspired me over this past year?

Caveat: most, if not all, of these books are going to be of the young adult variety. That's what I'm writing, and what I tend to love to read the most, so if you are a pretentious type who looks down upon such things, off with you right now! Really, these are good books regardless of being labeled as young adult. So there!

As a note, these are just my favorite books I've read this year. Not necessarily published this year, though many of them were.

legend
Legend by Marie Lu
Synopsis:  What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem. From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths--until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect.

diviners
The Diviners by Libba Bray
Synopsis: Evie O'Neill has been exiled from her boring old hometown and shipped off to the bustling streets of New York City--and she is pos-i-toot-ly thrilled. New York is the city of speakeasies, shopping, and movie palaces! Soon enough, Evie is running with glamorous Ziegfield girls and rakish pickpockets. The only catch is Evie has to live with her Uncle Will, curator of The Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult--also known as "The Museum of the Creepy Crawlies."
When a rash of occult-based murders comes to light, Evie and her uncle are right in the thick of the investigation. And through it all, Evie has a secret: a mysterious power that could help catch the killer--if he doesn't catch her first.

tfios 
The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
Synopsis: Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.

pipers-son-us
The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta
Synopsis: After his favorite uncle was blown to bits on his way to work in a foreign city, Tom watched his family implode. He quit school and turned his back on his music and everyone that mattered, including the girl he can’t forget. Shooting for oblivion, he’s hit rock bottom, forced to live with his single, pregnant aunt, work at the Union pub with his former friends, and reckon with his grieving, alcoholic father. Tom’s in no shape to mend what’s broken. But what if no one else is either? An unflinching look at family, forgiveness, and the fierce inner workings of love and friendship, The Piper’s Son redefines what it means to go home again.

chaoswalking
Chaos Walking series by Patrick Ness
Synopsis: Chaos Walking is a science fiction series set in a dystopian world where all living creatures can hear each other's thoughts in a stream of images, words, and sounds called Noise, and it is named after a line in the first book: "The Noise is a man unfiltered, and without a filter, a man is just chaos walking."

monstercalls
A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
Synopsis: At seven minutes past midnight, thirteen-year-old Conor wakes to find a monster outside his bedroom window. But it isn't the monster Conor's been expecting-- he's been expecting the one from his nightmare, the nightmare he's had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments. The monster in his backyard is different. It's ancient. And wild. And it wants something from Conor. Something terrible and dangerous. It wants the truth. From the final idea of award-winning author Siobhan Dowd-- whose premature death from cancer prevented her from writing it herself-- Patrick Ness has spun a haunting and darkly funny novel of mischief, loss, and monsters both real and imagined.

shadow_bone_sketch_both3
Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Synopsis:
Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.
Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.
Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.

messenger
I Am the Messenger by Marcus Zusak
Synopsis: Ed Kennedy is an underage cabdriver without much of a future. He's pathetic at playing cards, hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey, and utterly devoted to his coffee-drinking dog, the Doorman. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery. That's when the first ace arrives in the mail. That's when Ed becomes the messenger. Chosen to care, he makes his way through town helping and hurting (when necessary) until only one question remains: Who's behind Ed's mission?

lumaterechronicles
Lumatere Chronicles by Melina Marchetta (technically the third one is not out in the US yet)
Synopsis of Finnikin of the Rock:
At the age of nine, Finnikin is warned by the gods that he must sacrifice a pound of flesh in order to save the royal house of his homeland, Lumatere. And so he stands on the rock of three wonders with his childhood friend Prince Balthazar and the prince’s cousin, Lucian, and together they mix their blood. And Lumatere is safe.
Until the ‘five days of the unspeakable’, when the King and Queen and their children are slaughtered in the palace. And an imposter king takes the throne. And a curse is put on Lumatere, which traps those caught inside and forces thousands of others to roam the land as exiles, dying of fever and persecution in foreign camps.
But ten years later Finnikin is led to another rock to meet the young novice, Evanjalin. A girl plagued by dark dreams, who holds the key to their return to the Land of light..

codenameverity
Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein
Synopsis:
Oct. 11th, 1943—A British spy plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France. Its pilot and passenger are best friends. One of the girls has a chance at survival. The other has lost the game before it's barely begun.When “Verity” is arrested by the Gestapo, she's sure she doesn’t stand a chance. As a secret agent captured in enemy territory, she’s living a spy’s worst nightmare. Her Nazi interrogators give her a simple choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution.
As she intricately weaves her confession, Verity uncovers her past, how she became friends with the pilot Maddie, and why she left Maddie in the wrecked fuselage of their plane. On each new scrap of paper, Verity battles for her life, confronting her views on courage and failure and her desperate hope to make it home. But will trading her secrets be enough to save her from the enemy?

acrosstheuniverseamillionsuns
Across the Universe/A Million Suns by Beth Revis
Synopsis of Across the Universe:
Amy is a cryogenically frozen passenger aboard the spaceship Godspeed. She has left her boyfriend, friends--and planet--behind to join her parents as a member of Project Ark Ship. Amy and her parents believe they will wake on a new planet, Centauri-Earth, three hundred years in the future. But fifty years before Godspeed's scheduled landing, cryo chamber 42 is mysteriously unplugged, and Amy is violently woken from her frozen slumber. Someone tried to murder her. Now, Amy is caught inside an enclosed world where nothing makes sense. Godspeed's 2,312 passengers have forfeited all control to Eldest, a tyrannical and frightening leader. And Elder, Eldest's rebellious teenage heir, is both fascinated with Amy and eager to discover whether he has what it takes to lead. Amy desperately wants to trust Elder. But should she put her faith in a boy who has never seen life outside the ship's cold metal walls? All Amy knows is that she and Elder must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets before whoever woke her tries to kill again.

nightcircus
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
Synopsis: The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des RĂªves, and it is only open at night. But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway: a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them both, this is a game in which only one can be left standing. Despite the high stakes, Celia and Marco soon tumble headfirst into love, setting off a domino effect of dangerous consequences, and leaving the lives of everyone, from the performers to the patrons, hanging in the balance.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

My Favorite New Shows of 2012

The year is winding down. Christmas just around the corner. Time for reflection. And stupid, annoying colds. But mostly reflection. Sure.

Like last year, I'm going to share with you my favorite shows that debuted this year. Sadly, this list is much shorter than last year's list. Or maybe that's a good thing. A girl can only handle so many shows at once, after all. I would also like to mention that I became ultra obsessed with the British show Misfits this year, even though it's already on its fourth season, and arguably has not been as good since the end of season two. But that is totally getting into tangent territory. Onto the list!

Arrow cast
Probably my favorite new show, and not just because Stephen Amell looks sort of jaw dropping shirtless. It's actually well done, with a compelling storyline. The best of the new CW shows this season, which maybe isn't saying a lot? But if you are at all into CW shows and haven't watched it, you should.

last-resort-cast 
Granted, this show may not be around much longer, but that doesn't mean it's not any good. It's sort of under the radar, although most people that I talk to have been watching and all have enjoyed it, so I don't know where the disconnect is?

Revolution-cast
Lots of hype around this show, and for the most part, it delivers. It was a little bit slow in the beginning, and I had my doubts, but it has picked up a lot since then. There's mystery, action, family love, and also it's likely to be around for another season.

Nashville Cast
I have to say that I don't feel compelled to watch this show right away when it's on, but I inevitably enjoy it once I do actually watch. It's pretty soapy, but not in an over-the-top way. I'm not the biggest fan of Hayden Panettiere, but her character has sort of grown on me. Sort of.

Honorable Mention: Go On

I feel as though I'm forgetting something, but I can't place my finger on what. Perhaps some summer cable series I've forgotten about? What about you, what are your new favorites? Or old favorites, for that matter.
 

Sunday, December 9, 2012

WINNER of the Supernatural Season 7 Official Companion

Here it is, the moment you've been waiting for, the winner of the Supernatural Official Season 7 Companion book!


THE WINNER IS: Julie, who said, in response to what her favorite episode of season seven is: "I'd say it was Hello, Cruel World. Thanks for the chance to win!"

Fun fact: that is also my favorite episode of season seven! Great minds think alike! :)

Please email me at freshfromjen(at)gmail.com to claim your prize!

Happy Holidays and thanks to everyone for entering!


(Winner was chosen at random)

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Supernatural 8x09 "Citizen Fang"

This season has been interesting. We seem to either have Kevin/Castiel/Crowley episodes or Benny episodes, with a lot of Amelia flashbacks mixed in to both, though those are likely at an end after this week's particular happenings, in the form of a Benny episode!

Recap/review of Supernatural 8x09 'Citizen Fang' by freshfromthe.com
My name is Benny, Roy if you're nasty.
Everyone's favorite southern Vampiman (that's vampire gentleman, duh) has been revisiting his roots, by which I mean he's been working at a gumbo shack with his great granddaughter Elizabeth. How weird would that be? Super weird. Unbeknownst to Dean, however, Sam has hired previously crazy former hunter Martin, the one from the mental institution (you remember - Pudding!), to keep an eye on Benny. And Martin just so happens to witness what he assumes to be Benny eating on a poor innocent humanoid.

Well, Dean is, of course, less than inclined to believe this yarn to be the truth, particularly coming from Martin, and gets Sam to let him have a couple hours to figure out what's going on before they go in all machetes hot. Dean tracks down Benny, who says that he hasn't been munching, oh no, it's just been this other vampire Desmond who wants Benny to join a new nest, so he's been killing people to taunt him. Mind you, Benny is telling him this all while cleaning his hands of blood from another victim.

Recap/review of Supernatural 8x09 'Citizen Fang' by freshfromthe.com
Martin, you little...
Dean heads back to tell Sam and Martin of his findings, and Martin is very much not willing to believe this story, and proceeds to knock Dean out. They handcuff him to the radiator and go off after Benny. But before they find him, Sam gets a text message from Amelia telling him she needs help and to come quick. Which he does in, like, two seconds, leaving Martin all alone in the middle of nowhere.

You see, Sam has been flashing back to more Amelia memories. Lest you forget, last we saw, they had found out that her husband Don, formerly presumed dead, had actually turned back up alive. I think he was in the war or something? I can't remember if we were told this a long time ago or not, but sure. Anyway, basically Amelia has some thinking to do, but when Don actually pays Sam a visit at the bar and is generally nice and tells him he hopes they both can respect Amelia's decision, whatever it is, Sam decides to make it easy on her and take himself out of the equation. Only he isn't over her, clearly, as evidenced by the dramatic racing off. When he gets to her place, though, she's just fine, having a drink and watching TV with ole Don. Wait a minute...

Meanwhile, Dean and Benny team up to take out Desmond, after which Dean tells Benny he's going to have to leave his hometown for good, lay low, that sort of thing that seems like it would make life rather terrible. In any event, he does make to drive off after seeing Elizabeth one last time, but this exit is to be very much short lived, thanks to that pesky Martin, who was surely pissed after not only getting left by Sam but also after getting a talking to from Dean about leaving Benny alone. Because, duh, he decidedly does NOT leave Benny alone, rather taking Elizabeth hostage to get Benny to come back and face him.

Recap/review of Supernatural 8x09 'Citizen Fang' by freshfromthe.com
Let's just pause and take a moment to bask in the beauty.
This decision is ultimately Martin's demise, though for a while there we were lead to believe that maybe Benny was going to let himself be sacrificed. Why we should believe he would willingly go back to Purgatory, I don't know, but whatever. He killed Martin in front of Elizabeth, then presumably hightailed it out of there, leaving poor Elizabeth to call up Dean to help with the bloody mess.

Meanwhile, Sam has grown suspicious about the whole text thing and calls up the number that came up for Amelia. Turns out, the number belongs to one of the cell phones sitting in Dean's glove compartment. He switched out Amelia's number in Sam's phone with the dummy one and sent the fake text to get Sam out of the way while he dealt with the Benny situation. Oh man, Sam is straight pissed about that, he even hangs up on him.

Lest brotherly angst be what we end on, Sam turns around to find himself face to face with Amelia, who apparently saw him lurking outside her window. Ah shizzzzz!

Random Thoughts:

- I enjoy the many random mentions of John Winchester the show has been sprinkling around lately. Perhaps because of this casting announcement?

- Was that a real wound on Jensen's forehead?

- That old dude's ears in the very beginning were so gigantor. Not relevant, you say? These are random thoughts, man, anything goes.

- I kind of hope they don't get Amelia involved in the supernatural shenanigans, I kind of enjoyed that it was all completely normal with her.

- The look on Dean's face when he realized he had flirted with Benny's great granddaughter? Priceless.

- BTW, if any of you are interested in the Supernatural official season 7 companion book, I'm having a giveaway. It ends December 7th, so go enter if you haven't already!

Quotes:
(not a lot of funny stuff this episode!)

Martin: Winchesters. Man.

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