Thirteen Reasons Why meets The Perks of Being a Wallflower: Playlist for the Dead by Michelle Falkoff

Playlist for the Dead
by Michelle Falkoff

Genre: Music, Romance, Contemporary, Young Adult
Release Date: January 27, 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: ARC from HarperCollins and NBS! 
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | iBooks

SYNOPSIS

A teenage boy tries to understand his best friend's suicide by listening to the playlist of songs he left behind in this smart, voice-driven debut novel.

Here's what Sam knows: There was a party. There was a fight. The next morning, his best friend, Hayden, was dead. And all he left Sam was a playlist of songs, and a suicide note: For Sam—listen and you'll understand.

As he listens to song after song, Sam tries to face up to what happened the night Hayden killed himself. But it's only by taking out his earbuds and opening his eyes to the people around him that he will finally be able to piece together his best friend’s story. And maybe have a chance to change his own.

Part mystery, part love story, and part coming-of-age tale in the vein of Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Tim Tharp’s The Spectacular Now, Playlist for the Dead is an honest and gut-wrenching first novel about loss, rage, what it feels like to outgrow a friendship that's always defined you—and the struggle to redefine yourself. But above all, it's about finding hope when hope seems like the hardest thing to find.

Tunes of Two Ends (5)

Tunes of Two Ends is a weekly meme hosted by none other than Two Ends of a Bookshelf, wherein we share our  playlist that calls to mind a book or series that we have recently read and is currently the focal point of our thoughts. 

This week's playlist is dedicated to:

Legendary: Marie Lu's (much awaited) Book Signing in Manila! (11/23/2014)

There's an introductory fact that I should impart to you right away and it's that I LOVE MARIE LU. No kidding, I really do. She's part of the "Elyssa's Authors to camp out for" list. Having said that, we arrived at the venue at 8AM, if I'm not mistaken, and we walked from PowerBooks to National and vice versa just to kill time (and my feet as well). The registration for Marie Lu's signing was around 9 o'clock, so Celine and I, together with the other bloggers, waited outside PowerBooks for it to open. I, honestly, had sweaty hands while standing outside (TMI?) because, damn, I was so excited to meet Marie Lu. Like I said earlier, I'm a big fan and so is Celine. Thanks, National for making the dreams of hundreds of bookworms come true!

Blog Tour: The Young Elites by Marie Lu (Review + Giveaway)

The Young Elites

by Marie Lu

Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi, Dystopia, Romance
Release Date: October 7, 2014
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Source: Borrowed
Links: Goodreads 

SYNOPSIS

I am tired of being used, hurt, and cast aside.

Adelina Amouteru is a survivor of the blood fever. A decade ago, the deadly illness swept through her nation. Most of the infected perished, while many of the children who survived were left with strange markings. Adelina’s black hair turned silver, her lashes went pale, and now she has only a jagged scar where her left eye once was. Her cruel father believes she is a malfetto, an abomination, ruining their family’s good name and standing in the way of their fortune. But some of the fever’s survivors are rumored to possess more than just scars—they are believed to have mysterious and powerful gifts, and though their identities remain secret, they have come to be called the Young Elites.
Teren Santoro works for the king. As Leader of the Inquisition Axis, it is his job to seek out the Young Elites, to destroy them before they destroy the nation. He believes the Young Elites to be dangerous and vengeful, but it’s Teren who may possess the darkest secret of all.  

Enzo Valenciano is a member of the Dagger Society. This secret sect of Young Elites seeks out others like them before the Inquisition Axis can. But when the Daggers find Adelina, they discover someone with powers like they’ve never seen. 

Adelina wants to believe Enzo is on her side, and that Teren is the true enemy. But the lives of these three will collide in unexpected ways, as each fights a very different and personal battle. But of one thing they are all certain: Adelina has abilities that shouldn’t belong in this world. A vengeful blackness in her heart. And a desire to destroy all who dare to cross her. 

It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt.

Esoteric and Pure Genius: I Wrote This For You by pleasefindthis (Iain S. Thomas)

I Wrote This For You

by Iain S. Thomas

Genre: Poetry, Romance, Contemporary, Young Adult
Release Date: December 14, 2011
Publisher: Central Avenue Publishing
Source: Bought from iTunes
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Author's Blog

SYNOPSIS

I need you to understand something. I wrote this for you. I wrote this for you and only you. Everyone else who reads it, doesn’t get it. They may think they get it, but they don’t. This is the sign you’ve been looking for. You were meant to read these words.

Blog Tour: Free to Fall by Lauren Miller

Free to Fall

by Lauren Miller

Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi, Dystopia, Romance
Release Date: May 14, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Gifted by NBS (Thank you, NBS!)
Links: Goodreads | Amazon |Author's Blog

SYNOPSIS

What if there was an app that told you what song to listen to, what coffee to order, who to date, even what to do with your life—an app that could ensure your complete and utter happiness? What if you never had to fail or make a wrong choice?

What if you never had to fall?

Fast-forward to a time when Apple and Google have been replaced by Gnosis, a monolith corporation that has developed the most life-changing technology to ever hit the market: Lux, an app that flawlessly optimizes decision making for the best personal results. Just like everyone else, sixteen-year-old Rory Vaughn knows the key to a happy, healthy life is following what Lux recommends. When she’s accepted to the elite boarding school Theden Academy, her future happiness seems all the more assured. But once on campus, something feels wrong beneath the polished surface of her prestigious dream school. Then she meets North, a handsome townie who doesn’t use Lux, and begins to fall for him and his outsider way of life. Soon, Rory is going against Lux’s recommendations, listening instead to the inner voice that everyone has been taught to ignore — a choice that leads her to uncover a truth neither she nor the world ever saw coming.

Blog Tour: Say What You Will by Cammie McGovern

Say What You Will

by Cammie McGovern

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Release Date: June 3, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: ARC given by the publisher (Thank you, HC!)
Links: Goodreads | Author's Blog

SYNOPSIS

John Green's The Fault in Our Stars meets Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor & Park in this beautifully written, incredibly honest, and emotionally poignant novel. Cammie McGovern's insightful young adult debut is a heartfelt and heartbreaking story about how we can all feel lost until we find someone who loves us because of our faults, not in spite of them.

Born with cerebral palsy, Amy can't walk without a walker, talk without a voice box, or even fully control her facial expressions. Plagued by obsessive-compulsive disorder, Matthew is consumed with repeated thoughts, neurotic rituals, and crippling fear. Both in desperate need of someone to help them reach out to the world, Amy and Matthew are more alike than either ever realized.

When Amy decides to hire student aides to help her in her senior year at Coral Hills High School, these two teens are thrust into each other's lives. As they begin to spend time with each other, what started as a blossoming friendship eventually grows into something neither expected.