Dangerous by Shannon Hale

Hale, Shannon. Dangerous. Bloomsbury Publishing, 4/2014. 416p. $17.99. 9781599901688.

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Genre: Science Fiction (aliens taking over, superheroes created)
Cover Appeal: Nothing sets this apart from any other science fiction title out now. I do like the purple and gray though. I also like the font used for the title.

Maisie Danger Brown is tired of her boring life. She's homeschooled with her best friend, Luther and both her parents work from home.  They never go any where or do anything exciting.  She figures it's because they don't have enough money.  Along comes a sweepstakes to win a trip to astronaut camp. Now Maisie has a chance to live up to her middle name. She becomes part of an elite team who isn't sure what their purpose is but are sure they need to work together.

For the most part  the book is all about the science of space travel and gadget building with moments of romance and intrigue thrown in.  I was happy to see Maisie pull herself from the brink of losing her sense of self over a boy though she was aware that it could happen and she fought it. She was a strong character who thought carefully about how her actions affect others. I enjoyed seeing her thought process. The aliens were bit underwhelming and the rest of the characters, Jacques, Mi-sun, and Ruth, could have used a bit more depth. Luther, even though he was only in the book a short time, was one of my favorite characters.

I recommend this one for 7th Gr and above.

New Book Arrived - Austenland by Shannon Hale

Austenland
Shannon Hale
Bloomsbury

From Bloomsbury USA:

Jane Hayes is a seemingly normal young New Yorker, but she has a secret. Her obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, is ruining her love life: no real man can compare. But when a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-crazed women, Jane's fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become realer than she ever could have imagined.

Decked out in empire-waist gowns, Jane struggles to master Regency etiquette and flirts with gardeners and gentlemen-or maybe even, she suspects, with the actors who are playing them. It's all a game, Jane knows. And yet the longer she stays, the more her insecurities seem to fall away, and the more she wonders: Is she about to kick the Austen obsession for good, or could all her dreams actually culminate in a Mr. Darcy of her own?

The Amazing Dancer and I are both reading this for the Everything Austen Challenge!

Friday Five - June 12

Happy Friday! I'm sorta kinda but not really finished at work this week. I still have to type up my report and clean things up. I've decided to go in when the Amazing Dancer girl goes to visit her cousins for a week! Let's get right to it shall we?

1. Viola in Reel Life by Adriana Trigiani - last week I raved that I wanted to read this because it's set in my present hometown. Guess what? HarperTeen sent me an ARC! I received and read it all last night. I loved it. Look for my review during the Bloggiesta! What is the Bloggiesta?

2. Bloggiesta - @mawbooks will be hosting a bloggiesta next weekend. This is to give us bloggers the chance to catch up on blog-related items - reviews, interviews, backup posts, feature fixes, icon making, any blog items that you are behind on really. Personally, I need to work on reviews, fix some slow-loading problems, get some interview questions together, find out what happened to my favicon, etc. You can do anything except read! Sign up if you're interested.

3. I Heart Daily - i love this newsletter. They introduced me to Fred Flare where I got a cool LIBRARIAN pin. Please sign up. Cute and cool. Just like me. j/k

4. Audiobooks - getting my HP fix by listening to HP and the Deathly Hallows. Been awhile since I read this one. Wish it was on Itunes so I could put it on my Itouch. Harder to remember to bring the CDs with me but well worth the effort!

5. National Give a Girlfriend A Book Day - a group of authors and others on Facebook are sponsoring this day. Not only are you encouraged to give a book to someone but you can join the group and win a book. Check them out and answer the question: Which story have you loved that a girlfriend might love?

Bonus: Answer the question here and be entered for a chance to win Shannon Hale's new book - The Actor and The Housewife. This book made me laugh and cry. I read it in two nights - staying up way later than I should have but it was hard to put down. When I finished, I just wanted to read it again! I'll give you until 11:59 pm, June 14th to enter! 1 entry per person. US Residents only. Not a lot of time so enter now! Contest Extended until 11:59pm June 15th!!