Blog Tour: Ten by Gretchen McNeil

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives--an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school's most eligible bachelor) and look forward to two glorious day of boys, booze, and fun-filled luxury.

But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging outside, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn't scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine? (Book blurb)

Meg Pritchard is a writer, an introvert. For her entire high school life she has lived to take care of her emotionally unstable best-friend Minnie, but Minnie's constant mood changes and possessiveness are beginning to wear on Meg's nerves. She's been accepted into a college thousands of miles away, and Minnie's anxiety at her leaving has only been growing as the time comes closer for Meg to leave. As a sort of last chance to bond, Meg--against her better judgement--agrees to go with Minnie to a house party on a small, ritzy island.

She expected the unchaperoned chaos of a house full of teenagers, but now she'll be lucky if she can make it out alive.

Ten by Gretchen McNeil is a summer thriller. It's a fast read filled with suspense and a creep-factor that will make you want to leave the light on as you read it. Nothing is predictable in McNeil's work as you wait on the booggy-man to jump out of the closet. This isn't your fainting heroine type of horror story though. The closer you are to the end of the book the more you want to shout your encouragement to Meg. Even if there are a few times you want to scream, "DON'T GO IN THERE!!"

I am not a fan of horror movies. However, some of my favorite YA books have turned out to be in that very sub genre. Ten by Gretchen McNeil, however, was a bit too much for me. I literally couldn't read it after nightfall. It was full of suspense and gorey, cold-blooded murders. No, thank you. I also found the narrator, Meg, a bit whiney at the start of the book.

But, despite all of this, I did enjoy it. The last scenes in the book completely redeemed it anywhere else it fell short to my slightly biased taste. Meg turned out to be a kick-ass heroine and even though in the end she's lost nearly everything, you can feel a sort of soldier-like depression but also a hardy resilience, and you know that the character you've been following will be okay.

McNeil's writing was simple throughout most of the book. There wasn't a great deal of profound depth, which makes it a perfect quick-read in the summer time or between hectic classes during the darker half of the year. Her real, shining talent is in writing the suspenseful scenes, like the fight scene at the end. That last fourth of the book blew me away. The words and the actions they portrayed had no awkwardness, they flowed perfectly and kept me on the edge of my seat.

Overall, a wonderful short read for your horror fan, a beyond perfect gift for Halloween, Ten definitely deserves the attention of a suspense-loving reader.

Don't forget to check out the other stops on the TEN Tour! 

Blog Tour: TEN by Gretchen McNeil - Character Interview

Hi, everyone!

Welcome to my first post of the TEN Tour, celebrating the release of the horrific new thriller Ten by Gretchen McNeil. TEN is a wonderfully dark novel as we quickly approach the dark half of the year. I, however, being the wimp that I am, read it over the summer. And ONLY in the daytime. You'll be reading my full review in a few days...

Gretchen McNeil is an opera singer, writer and clown. Her YA horror POSSESS debuted with Balzer + Bray for HarperCollins in 2011. Her follow up TEN – YA horror/suspense about ten teens trapped on a remote island with a serial killer – will be released September 18, 2012, and her third novel 3:59, sci fi horror pitched as The Parent Trap meets Event Horizon, is scheduled for Fall 2013.

Gretchen is a former coloratura soprano, the voice of Mary on G4's Code Monkeys and she sings with the LA-based circus troupe Cirque Berzerk. Gretchen blogs with The Enchanted Inkpot and is a founding member of the vlog group the YARebels where she can be seen as "Monday." 

Now, let's get to know a couple of the characters. Shall we? 

Questions for Minnie:

How did you and Meg become friends?  

We were paired up in gym class in the 7^th grade.  Meg was the new girl and didn't have a lot of friends, but we instantly hit it off!

When did you fall in love with TJ?  

*sigh*  Damn, that boy is HAWT.  I can't remember a time I wasn't in love with him, but I do remember that time in 8^th grade when one of his teammates was saying some nasty crap to me in line at lunch and T.J. told him to cut it out.  I knew then – we were made for each other.

What's your favorite flavor of ice-cream?  

One? I have to pick just one?  Um, oreo cookie.  No wait, cookie dough.  Or can I put them both together and make one giant, unholy flavor?  Crap, I hate choosing!!!

Favorite outfit?  

Oh, that's worse than the ice cream question.  What's wrong with you???  Okay, I'll go with a strapless, flirty summer dress.  And kitten heels.  And a clutch.  And maybe some long dangly earrings that just graze my collarbone.

Questions for Ben:

How do you like high school?  

It's a necessary evil.  I mean, most of the teachers are jerks, but if you have to go, you might as well make the most of it.  Besides, you meet some REALLY cool people.

How did you get invited to the house party?  

Jessica, the host, and I know each other pretty well.  We, er, date sometimes.  It's casual.

Favorite horror movie?  

Texas Chainsaw Massacre.  The original, not that remake crap.

Favorite book?  

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

And their doom comes swiftly.

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives – three days on Henry Island at an exclusive house party. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their own reasons for wanting to be there, both of which involve Kamiak High’s most eligible bachelor, T.J. Fletcher. But what starts out as a fun-filled weekend turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine. 

Suddenly, people are dying and the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?

Happy Easter!

I just wanted to drop in and wish you all a very happy Easter and a bright and beautiful Spring!

A Pirate's Life for Me! -- Awesome Giveaway!

Everyone who knows me knows about my life-long obsession with pirates, and I have found that many of you share that attraction to a swashbuckling way of life. So, when I saw that my very pirate-savvy friend Brielle was hosting a giveaway for one of her gorgeous Tia Dalma inspired wrist cuffs, I had to share!

Click here to enter!


While you're over there, be sure and check out Brielle's other full costumes. The pirate costumes are to die for! As is just about everything else. She's amazingly talented!

Here are some of my favorite costumes of hers to give you an idea:

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins 5 of 5 stars.

SPARKS ARE IGNITING.
FLAMES ARE SPREADING.
AND THE CAPITOL WANTS REVENGE.


Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and her longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol--a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.

Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying. (Book blurb)

Tensions have been rising in the districts of Panem. How could they not with a continuing ceaseless slaughter year after year of their children? As things rise to the boiling point security is tightened to a choking degree even in the middle-of-nowhere District 12. Even in the Capitol things have become shaky with unrest as an audience who has fallen in love with the two star-crossed lovers Katniss and Peeta watch them be continually punished (even if the Capitol big-wigs describe it differently) despite all they've been through. A heart, soul, and strength appear in Panem as the people rich and poor alike begin to adopt Katniss's symbol of the Mockingjay and whispers of full-on rebellion circulate.

It doesn't take long for Katniss to realize she's the face of this rebellion, that her act with the berries in the 74th Annual Hunger Games has been the breath of air that pushed the tense nation over the edge. She also knows that the President and the Peacekeepers will never forgive her for it.

Catching Fire was just as thrilling and heart-wrenching as The Hunger Games showing that same steely will in Katniss too survive and that undying loyalty to those she loves.The danger and suspense that surrounds Katniss after President Snow's visit and her genuine reaction to the things they throw at her makes me love the character all the more.

What I liked best in this book was how Suzanne Collins showed the politics of Panem coming to a head and the ways in which she let Katniss and Peeta see this: with the strange salute in District 11 and the shooting of an innocent man, with the whipping of Gale, and Katniss being unable to cross over the newly electric fence. Even the way she showed Cinna's own form of rebellion and the genuine sorrow of the shallow beauty techs. All of it matched together so real and naturally and formed in our head no likely the same images of what was happening that were forming in Katniss's own.

I loved seeing the dynamics this added to all of the characters. Peeta's steady strength shown under stress, and Haymitch's blatant disregard for the feelings of the two kids in his care when it came down to it. Haymitch was given a chance to help this rebellion fly and he pushed his Mockingjay under the bus for it. Gale's readiness to fight at the first signs of a possible war in Panem was staggering.

Everything seems so natural, which is probably what's hooked me on this novel. I've always liked books that dealt with history in a way I could understand, by showing the actions (some of which you wouldn't expect at all) from the people who surrounded those events, people you can relate with. This futuristic idea of a cruel totalitarian society in North American and how fed-up the people are with it is made real by the characters, their beliefs and their actions. It's a beautifully harmonized story that made me cry like a baby at least twice while reading it and especially at the end.

There's no one in particular I would suggest this too. I think everyone should at least give it a try because it is an amazing series. Mockingjay, here I come!

And may the odds be ever in your favor!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins 5 of 5 stars.

COULD YOU SURVIVE ON YOUR OWN,
IN THE WILD, WITH EVERY ONE OUT TO
MAKE SURE YOU DON'T LIVE TO SEE
THE MORNING?


In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.


Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-- and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender . But if she is to win, she will have start making choices that weight survival against humanity and life against love. (Book blurb)

Katniss Everdeen is strong, she is a survivor. If anyone should be able to win the bloody death match that is Panam's yearly Hunger Games, it is her. But Katniss also has chinks in her armor. One of those chinks is the  boy with the bread, Peeta Mellark. The one person she could possibly owe, the one who she fears she would never be able to kill.

As the two are forced into a sort of alliance and what tenuous bond they may have had is stretched by suspicion and strengthened by friendship, Katniss must decide what's more important: Playing by the Gamemaker's rules and getting home to her family, or risking everything by letting her humanity win over and proving to the Capitol that she is not just a piece in their Games.

The Hunger Games is an epic tale of strength, innocence, and goodness against all that is corrupt and vile. It's a story of courage even in the face of not a single shred of hope. It's the story of a girl who knows what it means to survive, and a boy with a love that shatters every piece of self-preservation and carries with it its own sort of rebellion. The Hunger Games rings of political unrest and a fervent desire for change and resistance against those who kill and oppress so many.


This book blew me away from the moment I cracked open the pages. I have been completely glued to the series these last few days and now though I'm dying to get my hands on Mockingjay, I'm afraid to see it end, especially since I don't expect to see a lot of light in the last book.

Suzanne Collins has done a remarkable job creating this dystopian world. The basic history of Panem is put forward in such natural and easy ways by Katniss's mind and by the things that happen around her. The setting is so perfectly put together, so outrageous at times and yet so real that it sets the stage for everything happening in the story effortlessly. The characters have distinct and strong personalities that do not waver, but neither do they always do what you would expect. This book had everything it needed to grab my attention and hold it until long after I finished the last page.


What really surprised me reading The Hunger Games was that while it was well written, it wasn't written in a way to give it any sort of airs. It isn't particularly lyrical, the prose isn't beautifully turned, and I found myself a bit annoyed by how many things were told rather than shown. And none of this is a bad thing. It was so expertly done as to give us a clear view of the action without always knowing the characters' exact motivations. Despite being in first person from Katniss's point of view and rolling with a kind of internal monologue, we don't always know what Katniss's feelings about certain things are. The only time we get a clear glimpse is when she colors the other characters actions with her own ideas of what those actions mean.

Despite this, and maybe it was just me who saw it that way, there is a tangible intensity to the story that I like. You never really forget all that is at stake for the Tributes or how both Katniss and Peeta are gambling with their actions before and during the games.

I could keep rambling on about how much I adored some of the characters, but I don't think that's necessary for this review. If you read, or have read, the books then the characters speak for themselves. They don't need a lot of coloring or hype, they just are what they are.

I know that if you are a fan of dystopian fantasy or just like a really good, pretty intense book you will love The Hunger Games. And may the odds be ever in your favor!

The Hunger Games Movie Review

I hate trying to write a synopsis for a movie, so I hope that you can all forgive me if I skip this one. I mean, you would have to be living under a rock to have missed all the hype surrounding the much anticipated Hunger Games. (Just in case you have managed to miss the never ending stream of promotion on tv and online, I'll post the trailer below.)

I had been wanting to read the books for a while and something just kind of pushed me away, but I was determined to start reading them and see the movie at the midnight premier. So, not having gotten more than a couple pages into the book, I went to see the Hugner Games sleepy-eyed at midnight on the 22nd. And boy did I get a surprise. I had a feeling this movie would be good, but it was beyond epic, and I haven't stopped thinking about it since. As a matter of fact, the reason I haven't written the reviews is because I've been so wrapped up in the books (I came home at 3:00AM and read myself to sleep!) ever since.

Having read the first book and being almost finished with the second, I can honestly say that the casting was simply remarkable. I loved seeing Josh Hutcherson playing Peeta and couldn't help thinking of the kid who made be cry so many times while watching the movie adaptation of Bridge to Terabithia, another favorite book of mine. And while I have heard some people are a little disgruntled with the casting of Cinna, I couldn't disagree more. He was absolutely perfect in my opinion. As was Haymitch. I don't think any of the character could have been better cast. It was all so perfect and the acting beyond flawless.

The location and special effects where everything such an epic book adaptation should be, surreal and incredibly lifelike. Everything was so perfectly set up it was like stepping into the book for a little while. I was just blown away.

Now, I'm thinking about going to see the movie for a second time, but thankfully I have the books to keep me satiated for a while. I can't remember being this excited for a book series in forever, and I think that the movie being so wonderfully made just gives fans one more thing to delve into and keep the fire for the books burning.

Have you seen it? Written a review? Let me know what you thought!

Trailer!