Told through multiple narrators, this book tells the story of how one flood, on one day, changed the course of people's lives forever.

The character that is introduced first and whose voice we hear most is Celestia. She comes from a successful family yet finds herself in love with another voice we hear, Peter, a working boy at South Fork Fishing and hunting club. This is where several of the high socialites go during the summer. Celestia's decision concerning this relationship will either tear her family apart, or draw them closer together.

I had never even heard of the Johnstown Flood prior to reading this novel. Since I love learning about history, that was a welcome bonus.

Three Rivers Rising reads very quickly since it is written in poems. I've only read one other book written this way. The more I read books written in such a way, the more I like them. Richard's writing in this book is clear, and the imagery is great. It is so easy to imagine how everything happened. The new voices in this story are added in such a way that makes the stories flow together evenly, like two rivers joining.

This book will be released on April 13, 2010 and was reviewed as part of One ARC Tours.

*Amazon affiliate link

Posted by Melanie at 8:00 AM View Comments    

Labels: blog tour, Jame Richards, Three Rivers Rising

Let's jump in, shall we?

From Bookmooch:

• Animal Attraction by Jamie Ponti is a Simon Pulse Romantic Comedy. I've been trying to get a few of these together. If you have a few you'd like to swap (or something), email me at melanie@melaniesmusings.net =)
  


• Shopaholic & Baby by Sophie Kinsella is a book I've been waiting on for a while. I find Becky and Luke absolutely hilarious. So glad I was able to snag a copy. \o/


• Bridget Jone's Diary by Helen Fielding is a book I've seen a lot over the years, so I thought I'd give it a try.


• An Assembly Such as This by Pamela Aiden is a book that has been recommended to me a lot! This is the first book in the trilogy, and I have the last, so now all I need is the middle.

• Mirror With a Memory is a book about the history of Canada. I (sadly) know nothing about Canada, so I think this will be a fun way to get educated. It has gorgeous pictures!
  
• I love gift cards! Any suggestions of what I should get? They'd be much appreciated.
  
  
  In My Mailbox is hosted by Kristi from The Story Siren.
  

Book titles are Amazon Affiliate links

Posted by Melanie at 11:06 PM View Comments    

Labels: In My Mailbox

Posted by Melanie at 8:00 AM View Comments    

Lisa Mantchev is having an awesome contest! You should check it out. Here's how to enter, straight from the post.

How to enter: Writing, drawing, vlogging.... I want you to tell me, show me, sing me, dance me, surprise me, as to how Peaseblossom, Moth, Cobweb, and Mustardseed might celebrate the holidays with you. Help you bake? Trim the tree? Light the candles? Burn the house down? It's up to you!

This sounded like so much fun, so I decided to give it a try.


Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house
A small creature was stirring, the size of a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care
Knowing that SOMETHING soon would be there.

The children lay sleeping, snug in their beds
While visions of fairies danced in their heads.
Mamma and Daddy were fast asleep
Hoping in vain that peace they would keep.

When out in the kitchen there arose such a clatter,
Yet no one woke up, to see what was the matter
Straight cross the window, flew a bright flash,
A mischievous fairy, wearing a sash.

Up and around the big tree he flew
he knew he had so much work to do.
This way and that he flew all around
Havoc in his wake sure to be found.

Upon the next morning Mamma awoke
Seeing what was around her, she nearly choked.
Where order and neatness last night was found
This morning things were strewn all around.

And 0n top of the tree where a star once appeared
Now sat a fairy with one huge and long beard.
-----

You can stop laughing now. xD

Original poem written by Clement Clarke Moore. You can read it here.

Posted by Melanie at 8:02 PM View Comments    

I hope you all had a lovely day yesterday. As I said earlier in the week, I now have a review of The Nanny Diaries movie!

Annie has just graduated from college, and is ready to embark upon life. She gets an interview which will give her an opportunity to snag the perfect job. But when she is asked, "Who is Annie Braddock?" She really doesn't know the answer to that question. Determined to discover herself, through a few hilarious turns, she becomes a nanny for Mrs. X. It seems like an easy enough job to her. If only she knew!

This movie was a lot of fun, filled with both hilarious and sweet moments. It actually resolved my biggest irk with the book by giving most of the characters actual names, although you don't necessarily get to know them right away. The biggest change, in my opinion, from novel to screen is that instead of Annie being an experienced nanny, she's learning on the job! It was so much fun to watch.

The only thing I didn't absolutely love in this movie were the times when Annie grabbed onto a red umbrella and went up into the sky. I think it was supposed to give a magical Mary Poppins type feel to the movie, but I just thought it was odd.

I liked the ending to this movie much better than that of the book. It just solved everything the way I had hoped for. The Nanny Diaries* is one of those feel good coming of age stories that I think a lot of people will love.

*Amazon affiliate link

Posted by Melanie at 8:00 AM View Comments    

Labels: movie review, The Nanny Diaries

Black Friday is here, yet again. Although I'm still at home in my pajamas and an old sweatshirt, I'm still hoping to get the majority of my Christmas shopping done today. I'm going to be buying books for the majority of my friends and relatives, and Amazon has some amazing Black Friday Deals for books. I definitely recommend going to check it out.

I'm thinking about buying a boxed set of The Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants for my cousin and maybe a book about cakes for my mother. Amazon has deals on just about everything this weekend, so be sure to check it out!

Posted by Melanie at 7:37 AM View Comments    

Posted by Melanie at 8:00 AM View Comments    

Labels: holiday

Haunted by recurring nightmares since her mother's accidental disappearance over the Indian ocean three years before, fifteen year old California girl Sienna "Sea" Jones reluctantly travels with her father's volunteer team to six months post-tsunami Indonesia. During her stay at the orphanage, she meets scarred and soulful Deni who is more like Sea than anyone she has ever met.

She knows they can't be together, so why can't she stay away from him? And what about her old-best-friend-turned-suddenly-hot Spider who may or may not be waiting for her back home? And why is her psychiatrist father so secretive about her mother's plane crash? The farther she gets from home, the closer she comes to the truth. And Sea's real adventure begins.

Ah, the classic guy you want but can't have. I first heard of Sea* after I started following Heidi R. Kling's twitter. She's a tenner! I think it sounds like a very interesting book, especially the setting. I've never read any books in post-tsunami Indonesia. I also like the simplicity of the title. If I were to see this in a bookstore, that and the cover would definitely pull me in to find out more about the book. It won't be released until June 10, 2010, so it's a bit of a long wait, but I think it will be worth it.

Posted by Melanie at 8:00 AM View Comments    

Labels: waiting on wednesday

Posted by Melanie at 8:00 AM View Comments    

Labels: read-a-thon

Nanny has been through the routine of nannying several times. When she meets Mrs. X, it first appears that she's slightly different than the women Nanny's worked for before. All too soon, she learns that Mrs. X is different all right, she's worse! Nanny wants her life back, but how can she leave Grayer, the young child she's come to love?

The first few chapters of this book confused the heck out of me. I kept searching for the characters' names, but it turns out that that Nanny is really just Nanny, and Mrs. X is really Mrs. X. Oh, and you can't forget Harvard Hottie. The name's irked me throughout the entire book, and I found myself making up name's for them just to keep myself placated.

However, other than that, I really enjoyed The Nanny Diaries! Nanny's character is a lot of fun. She knows that it's a continuous cycle and she needs to get out, but how can she possibly leave such a cute kid? I was rooting for her and Harvard Hottie the entire time. And Mrs. X is the perfect villain. Whenever I pictured her, I thought of Cruella de Vil from 101 Dalmations. Remember her?

After reading the book, I had to watch the movie, so be looking for a review of that soon!

*Amazon affiliate link

Posted by Melanie at 8:00 AM View Comments    

Labels: book review, Emma McLaughlin, Nicola Krause, The Nanny Diaries

In My Mailbox is hosted by The Story Siren. This week was another great week of books, for me.

First off, some awesome Sea swag from Heidi R. Kling. She put out a call on Twitter for those who wanted some. I saw a tweet that said she might be doing it again, so be sure to follow her!

I bought Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell. I was originally planning on borrowing it from my library, but they didn't have it! In fact, they didn't have anything by Gaskell at all. Anyway, I'm going to be a part of The Classics Circuit tour for this author. It will be very cool.

These three books I received from Yan at Books By Their Cover. I love the cover of After Ever After by Jordan Sonnenblick, and I've been wanting to read Hate List by Jennifer Brown and Evermore by Alyson Noel ever since I found out about their existences.

Finally, I took a trip to my library and picked up copies of The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold and Beauty by Robin McKinley. They both sound really, really good.

Posted by Melanie at 7:20 PM View Comments    

Labels: In My Mailbox

Coffeehouse Angel by Suzanne Selfors
Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev

Fade by Lisa McMann
Destined for an Early Grave by Jeaniene Frost

Generation Dead by Daniel Walters
Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater
The Season by Sarah MacLean

Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink
Generation Dead: Kiss of Life by Daniel Walters

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow

What do you think of this list? Personally, the only one I've read so far has been Eyes Like Stars. Many of the others are definitely on my TBR list.

Posted by Melanie at 8:00 AM View Comments    

Labels: reading lists

The sales I've been to line up the books in rows on long tables. No matter where I went there was always someone in front of me, and one of two things usually happened:

1) They went extremely slow. As in ceremoniously checking each book. I'm the type that's itching to get ahead because as I'm standing there waiting, a book I may want is being snatched away before I even lay my eyes on it.

or

2) I'd see a book I wanted being taken by the person right in front of me. The agony!

A couple times someone would come up behind me, and it would go something like this:

They'd look at the books directly in front of them. They'd look at the books in front of me. They would bore holes into my back willing me to move faster, but I couldn't because I was trying to make a decision of whether I wanted a particular book. This was important! A combination of heavy sighing, box-in-arms shifting, and shifting of feet would commence.

By this time, I've generally got the point, and I'm moving to get out of the way as fast as possible.

At every sale I've been to, I've always ended up seeing at least one book I wanted in someone elses hands. It's almost inevitable! One time, this person had a book that I'd been looking for for a few months. If I wasn't so shy, it definitely would have turned into a showdown. xD

It will always be fun!

I've had a lot of fun at book sales this past year, and I can't wait for my local library sales next year. There hasn't been a single time that I've walked out with less than ten books.

So what about you? What have your previous book sale experiences been like?

Posted by Melanie at 8:00 AM View Comments    

Labels: chatter