Blog Tour: I Remember You by Cathleen Davitt Bell {Review + Favorite Quotes + Giveaway}

Release date: February 10, 2015
Author info: Website | Twitter | Facebook
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Pages: 320
Format: Egalley
Source: Publisher provided for review through Netgalley
Buy the book: Barnes & Noble | Amazon | The Book Depository

For fans of THE FUTURE OF US comes an engrossing story of two teens, whose love for each other is tested by time and fate.

Lucas and Juliet couldn’t be more different from each other. But from the moment Lucas sees Juliet, he swears he remembers their first kiss. Their first dance. Their first fight. He even knows what’s going to happen between them—not because he can predict the future, but because he claims to have already lived it.

Juliet doesn’t know whether to be afraid for herself or for Lucas. As Lucas’s memories occur more frequently, they also grow more ominous. All Juliet wants is to keep Lucas safe with her. But how do you hold on to someone you love in the present when they’ve begun slipping away from you in the future?

I couldn't begin to figure out what I'd compare I Remember You to--since we seem to love labeling books with X meets Y. Yes, The Future of Us, as the blurb says, ties in nicely with the knowledge of the future, but I still think I Remember You is a very different animal. It's so simple, yet so complicated, and sheer curiosity drives you forward in the book, desperate to come to the end.

And here's the thing: We know something bad has happened, and soon. Juliet is remembering these instances, telling them back with hints here and there. It's so hard to appreciate the love story being told because all you want to do is fly through the pages and get to the end, to find out just what's up with Lucas. But, to do so would be missing so much. Yes, the mystery of Lucas' dreams and knowledge of the future is the driving factor of the book, but Juliet and Lucas' relationship is the heart. It's a first love, yet it's so strong and genuine that you can't help but think it's the real deal. It makes for a slow book plot-wise, but one that was still a pleasure to read.

I Remember You is both a treat to read in its sweetness and akin to a thriller in how quickly I wanted to get through it, desperate for answers. With an ending unlike so much of YA, it's not one I'll easily forget.

About the author:

I was born in Princeton, NJ in 1971 and lived there until I was twelve, when we moved with my mom moved to West Hartford, CT.

My dad and mom had been divorced when I was two, and my dad lived in Williamstown, MA. I spent summers and school vacations with him.

I went to college in New York, at Barnard, and stayed in New York after I graduated. I worked as a newspaper reporter for three months, as a salesperson for a multimedia publisher for three years, and as a market researcher, and finally a copywriter.

I’m married and have two awesome kids ages two and five. I lived in Manhattan for sixteen years, but now am in Brooklyn, living downstairs from my sister and her family. I have two dogs named Oscar and Oprah. My favorite food is pizza and, strangely, in my thirties, I’ve developed a great love for playing catch. Slipping is my first book.

Now I think back to seeing Lucas with the lawn mower--there was actually a whole crew of landscapers doing the bushes and the edging, laying mulch--and I wish I'd never gone inside. I wish I could freeze time, go back and take a picture, write it all down, the way I'm trying to do now. Had he shaved, or was the line of blond stubble he got at the end of the day already there? Had he bunched up the gray T-shirt he wasn't wearing and tucked it into the back of his shorts? I remember that his chest and back were shining, but like I said, I was trying not to notice. They didn't belong to me then. They would.

-----

"What do you want from me?" I said. "I don't know. But I want something."

-----

Are the memories we recall governed by the feelings attached to them? Is that why they stay with us? Or do we remember only what we remind ourselves of over and again as they years go by? How is it possible that some memories you'd like to hold on to slip away and others--mundane and sad alike, the memories you'd just as soon forget--stay, bubbling to the surface of your brain for no reason at all?

-----

His voice broke. "I would give anything. To keep this. To keep the dream."

-----

I still felt dizzy, like my brain no longer trusted the orientation of the floor, like I was standing on a wildly rocking boat. But it didn't matter. I didn't have to feel confident in the ground beneath my feat, because I was about to fly.

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Stacking the Shelves {104}

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews where we get to share the books we've bought, been gifted, or received for review!

How was everybody's week? Mine's been pretty darn good! I think I'm out of my slump! Juliet Marillier worked her magic, as I hoped she would, and I devoured Shadowfell (after the first hundred pages, at least). I've already ordered book two, so hopefully I'll be flying through that this week. :)

For review: 

Most Likely to Succeed (Superlatives #3) by Jennifer Echols

Thank youuuu Simon Pulse!!

Purchased: 

Never Never by Colleen Hoover and Tarryn Fisher

A recap of the week here on Paper Cuts:
Tuesday - Teaser Tuesday: Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier
Wednesday - Waiting on Wednesday: A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis
Thursday - Movie Musical Challenge: Intro
Friday - Blog Tour: Tuck Everlasting, 40th Anniversary Edition by Natalie Babbitt

Books I read this week:
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier
I Remember You by Cathleen Davitt Bell

I'm currently reading:
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard

So that's been my week! Hopefully I'll have a good bunch to show y'all next week, as I ordered two books and have several packages coming Monday... Mail is my favorite thing in the world. :) Have a lovely Sunday and a fabulous week!

Blog Tour: Tuck Everlasting 40th Anniversary Edition by Natalie Babbitt

I'm so excited to be helping celebrate the fortieth anniversary of Tuck Everlasting, which was one of my favorite books--and one that left an indelible mark--growing up. It was such a treat to revisit the book, because it's been ages since I first read it. Time and age have done nothing to smirch my opinion; it's just as delightful and thoughtful as an adult as it was when I was in elementary school--if not more so. For the tour, we've been asked to discuss the question "What if you could live forever?"

About the book:

Blessed with—or doomed to—eternal life after drinking from a magic spring, the Tuck family wanders about trying to live as inconspicuously and comfortably as they can. When ten-year-old Winnie Foster stumbles on their secret, the Tucks take her home and explain why living forever at one age is less of a blessing than it might seem. Complications arise when Winnie is followed by a stranger who wants to market the spring water for a fortune.

A brand-new introduction from Gregory Maguire, the author of Wicked, and additional bonus materials make this special edition of Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting a must-have for lovers of the book and a great way to introduce a new generation to a classic.

Buy the book: Macmillan | Barnes & Noble | Amazon

What If You Could Live Forever?

I think we all entertain the idea of living forever at some point, be it seriously or hypothetically. As a kid, I know I thought it'd be great. I mean, how could you not? But when you're young, you can't really understand the ramifications of something so limitless--I know that was the case for me.

What changed my mind, and I can remember it clearly, was Tuck Everlasting. Suddenly, the idea of living forever was inconceivable. If everyone you love hasn't somehow gotten to enjoy this everlasting life, you get to spend the next hundred years watching every person you love age and die, while you remain young. You see the world you were once so familiar with and comfortable in become a strange place. What seemed advanced to you as a child is now ancient technology. 

In some ways, this idea is still appealing. I think it'd be amazing to watch the world change in front of your eyes on a larger scale than we can see in our short lifetimes. I could spend my days reading every book that catches my fancy, watch movies, travel--all the things there's never enough time for. But is the idea of living to see the technology of the future or spending years reading worth outliving everyone you know and seeing the places you love become unrecognizable? It certainly wouldn't be to me, and it was such a joy to reread Tuck Everlasting not remembering what choice Winnie makes. 

I know my view coming into the book was certainly different this time around, nearly fifteen years after I first read the book, and I hope it'll have changed even more the next time I sit down to revisit the Tucks--wiser, and certainly older.

About the author:

NATALIE BABBITT is the award-winning author of Tuck Everlasting, The Eyes of the Amaryllis, Knee-Knock Rise, and many other brilliantly original books for young people. She began her career in 1966 as the illustrator of The Forty-Ninth Magician, a collaboration with her husband. When her husband became a college president and no longer had time to collaborate, Babbitt tried her hand at writing. Her first novel, The Search for Delicious, established her gift for writing magical tales with profound meaning. Knee-Knock Rise earned her a Newbery Honor, and in 2002, Tuck Everlasting was adapted into a major motion picture. Natalie Babbitt lives in Connecticut, and is a grandmother of three.

Join in the conversation using #Tuck40th.

Movie Musical Challenge: Intro

I don't know how much I've shared it here, but I LOVE MUSICALS. In high school, I did quite a bit of theatre, and it was absolutely my favorite experience. So, when Charlene said she was challenging herself to watch the American Film Institute's Top 25 Greatest Musicals list, I jumped at the chance to do so as well. 

I don't think I've got the greatest record when it comes to challenges for myself, but this is one I think I can do. I'll be watching throughout the year, in the list's reverse order--as Charlene is doing, because I like the sound of that (It'll end with Singin' In the Rain, which is hands down my favorite movie musical of all time. YAY!) and posting a bit about my likes and dislikes--probably one post a month, with more than one movie featured--and then wrap it up in December! 

AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals of All Time

1. Singin' In the Rain (1952)

2. West Side Story (1961)

3. The Wizard of Oz (1939)

4. The Sound of Music (1965)

5. Cabaret (1972)

6. Mary Poppins (1964)

7. A Star Is Born (1954)

8. My Fair Lady (1964)

10. Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)

11. The King and I (1956)

12. Chicago (2002)

13. 42nd Street (1933)

14. All That Jazz (1979)

15. Top Hat (1935)

16. Funny Girl (1968)

17. The Band Wagon (1953)

18. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

19. On the Town (1949)

20. Grease (1978)

21. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)

22. Beauty and the Beast (1991)

23. Guys and Dolls (1955)

24. Show Boat (1936)

25. Moulin Rouge! (2001)

I've seen about half this list, and there are a bunch I've always wanted to see, so I'm very excited to have a reason to seek them out. I really can't wait to start with Moulin Rouge!. It's a favorite. :)

If this sounds like something you'd like to do, head on over to Charlene's post and let her know! I know I'd love to read more people's thoughts on the movies listed--the more, the merrier!

Waiting on Wednesday: A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis {79}

Title: A Madness So Discreet
Author: Mindy McGinnis
Release date: October 6, 2015

Grace Mae knows madness. She keeps it locked away, along with her voice, trapped deep inside a brilliant mind that cannot forget horrific family secrets. Those secrets, along with the bulge in her belly, land her in a Boston insane asylum.

When her voice returns in a burst of violence, Grace is banished to the dark cellars where her mind is discovered by a visiting doctor who dabbles in the new study of criminal psychology. With her keen eyes and sharp memory, Grace will make the perfect assistant at crime scenes. Escaping from Boston to the safety of an ethical Ohio asylum, Grace finds friendship and hope, hints of a life she should have had. But gruesome nights bring Grace and the doctor into the circle of a killer who stalks young women. Grace, continuing to operate under the cloak of madness, must hunt a murderer while she confronts the demons in her own past.

In this beautifully twisted historical thriller, Mindy McGinnis, acclaimed author of Not a Drop to Drink and In a Handful of Dust, explores the fine line between sanity and insanity, good and evil—and the madness that exists in all of us.

The moment I saw that cover I was obsessed. Just look at it! There's also the fact that it sounds awesome, but I really can't get over the cover.

 So what are you guys waiting on this week? :)

Teaser Tuesday: Shadowfell by Juliet Marillier {105}

Title: Shadowfell
Author: Juliet Marillier

Release date: September 11, 2012

Sixteen-year-old Neryn is alone in the land of Alban, where the oppressive king has ordered anyone with magical strengths captured and brought before him. Eager to hide her own canny skill--a uniquely powerful ability to communicate with the fairy-like Good Folk--Neryn sets out for the legendary Shadowfell, a home and training ground for a secret rebel group determined to overthrow the evil King Keldec. 

During her dangerous journey, she receives aid from the Good Folk, who tell her she must pass a series of tests in order to recognize her full potential. She also finds help from a handsome young man, Flint, who rescues her from certain death--but whose motives in doing so remain unclear. Neryn struggles to trust her only allies. They both hint that she alone may be the key to Alban's release from Keldec's rule. Homeless, unsure of who to trust, and trapped in an empire determined to crush her, Neryn must make it to Shadowfell not only to save herself, but to save Alban.

My teaser, from p.89  in the paperback:

I could almost feel glad that she was gone, for the Alban of now was not the peaceable land of my early childhood, and if she had survived, she might have found little cause for joy.

My thoughts on Mother and what might have been, I rounded a corned and walked straight into a man coming the other way.

Juliet Marllier is one of my favorite authors, so who better to get me out of a slump? I've heard this isn't her best, but so far so good!

I'll be visiting around and visiting back, so leave me links to your teasers! :) Happy Tuesday!

Stacking the Shelves {103}

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews where we get to share the books we've bought, been gifted, or received for review!

How was everybody's week? Mine's been good! If you can believe it, I've really got nothing to say here this week. My days are kind of unexciting, and I've been really slumpy when it comes to reading. My Goodreads challenge is looking sad and intimidating right now. If I read a book, I pretty much sit down and read the whole thing, but I'm picking up and putting a lot down in between each. BLERG. 

For review: 

The Heart of Betrayal (Kiss of Deception #2) by Mary E. Pearson
There might have been actual jumping up and down and screams when I opened this package...
Rebel Mechanics by Shanna Swendson
Bright Lights, Dark Nights by Stephen Emond

Mistress Firebrand by Donna Thorland

Gifted:

The Conspiracy of Us by Maggie Hall
Thank you, thank you to Becky!! :D

A recap of the week here on Paper Cuts:
Monday - Review: Beastkeeper by Cat Hellisen
Tuesday - Teaser Tuesday: The Winner's Crime by Marie Rutkoski
Wednesday - Waiting on Wednesday: Shadow Study by Maria V. Snyder
Thursday - Baking By the Book: Cinnamon Bookbinder Bread from Stray

Books I read this week:
When Joss Met Matt by Ellie Cahill

I'm currently reading:
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

So that's been my week! I'm really considering throwing out plans and whatnot and reading some review books wayyy early--which is not something I do, but nothing that needs to be read right now is sticking... Booo. :) Have a lovely Sunday and a fabulous week!