Weekly wrap-up: September 21-27

Originally, I was planning to read a bunch of first-in-a-series books this week, but after The Young Elites, I really just needed to keep it contemporary. Oddly, I was apparently big on road tripping this week. Also, I got to moderate another panel this week which was awesome! How was your week?

Completed:

Let's Get Lost - Adi Alsaid: 4.5 stars. Really enjoyed this, but there were just a couple minor complaints that kept it from being a total 5 for me.
The Fine Art of Pretending (Fine Art of Pretending #1) - Rachel Harris: 4 stars. I loved the first half of this so much more than the second half, but overall, this is a Rachel Harris novel: it's sweet, funny, emotional, and relatable. And if you're not in love with Brandon by page 10, I don't believe you.
The Young Elites (Young Elites #1) - Marie Lu: ?? stars. I'm going to be honest. I don't really know WHAT to rate this book. I enjoyed it, but it's so unexpectedly dark (well, not entirely unexpected because I heard reviews mentioning said darkness, but I was not expecting the extent of said darkness) that I felt my enjoyment lessen. Also, this is pure speculation on my part, but there's an epilogue that leads me to believe that book two will be going in a certain direction, and that makes me nervous. But to alleviate any fears, Marie is a masterful writer and world-builder. The prose is gorgeous.
Amy & Roger's Epic Detour - Morgan Matson: 5 stars. OH MY GOSH WHY DIDN'T YOU PEOPLE TELL ME TO READ THIS SOONER?????

Reread:

Ella Enchanted - Gail Carson Levine & Eden Riegel: 2 stars. This is one of my favorite books, and I got a real craving to reread it after I watched the movie a couple weeks ago. However, when I realized the narrator was a child, I said some REALLY bad words. Does Eden do a good job of reading the book? Sure, I guess. Does she do a good job of keeping characters' voices distinct and individual? She tries. Are those different vocies and tones tolerable? Not really. Also, I don't want a CHILD NARRATOR while I'm over here cheering for Ella and Char to make adorable babies! Also also, in a complaint that actually has nothing to do with Eden's narration, I often wonder the wisdom of audio adaptations of books with fictional languages. That (the attempt to read gnomish and ogrese, not the book as a whole) was painful to listen to, truly (not that the book as a whole was fantastic either, much to my utter dismay).

Currently Reading:

The Iron Trial - Holly Black & Cassandra Clare. I know, I know. I started this ages ago. I just keep having to put it on hold for other books!
The 5th Wave audiobook - Rick Yancey. YAY DUAL NARRATORS!!!! Liking this so far!

New to my bookshelf this week:

Library:

The 5th Wave audiobook - Rick Yancey. I wanted to reread before I start The Infinite Sea, and I heard the narration is fantastic. Here's to hoping!
Fire (Graceling #2) - Kristin Cashore. I just finished the audio and LOVED it. To right a review, I wanted to have the actual book on hand.

Bought:

B&N:
The Beautiful and the Cursed (The Dispossessed #1) - Page Morgan
The Lovely and the Lost (The Dispossessed #2) - Page Morgan 
Winterspell - Claire Legrand x2. I usually try not to buy books before their official release date because that actually can affect sales numbers, but I really could not resist when I saw two copies. I had a huge B&N coupon available for this weekend only and only in stores. B&N coupons are not available for preorders either. PLUS now I can ship them off to be signed!!!
Afterworlds - Scott Westerfeld
Rumble - Ellen Hopkins

Amazon:
"Lie for Me: Griff's Story" (Find Me #0.5) - Romily Bernard
I went a bit bananas this week and preordered a veritable butt-ton (a unit of measure common in the American South, just fyi) of novellas and short stories

Gifts:
Afterworlds - Scott Westerfeld. My dear friend Karen of Teen Librarian Toolbox gave me this beauty just because she saw I tweeted that I couldn't wait to read it. <3

Giveaways & Contests:
For Real - Alison Cherry. Alison did a quick giveaway on her Twitter for this one, and miracle of miracles, I won! I'm super excited for it because I LOVE sister books AND romance AND reality tv! This book and I are a match made in heaven! Thank you, Alison!

Events Attended: 
Let's Get Lost tour with Adi Alsaid. Harlequin Teen & Irving Public Library let me moderate this awesome panel with Adi. We had a lot of fun! Giveaway coming soon!