REVIEW: My Dream of Freedom by Helen Colin

My Dream of Freedom by Helen Colin

Publication Date: April 8, 2013

Publisher: SkipJack Publishing 

Source: Book Purchased by Reviewer

Buy it at: Amazon 

My rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Summary (from Amazon):

Despite great personal pain, Helen Colin chose to share her story of survival during the Holocaust from the first day of her liberation from Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp, where she addressed German civilians. Presently, she continues to share her history with all who are willing to listen, enduring the pain of recounting because she wishes that her struggles during this time of Nazism be seen as epitomizing hope against despair and compassion against hatred, bias and bigotry.

Helen wants others to see her not as a victim, but as a survivor. She feels boundless gratitude to her beloved America for providing her, her family and future generations with the opportunities afforded to those who are ready and willing to cherish the precious freedom she had all but lost. She wants only that the world embrace one promise: Respect one another.

“Butterflies are free and so am I.” Helen Colin

Helen Colin does a beautiful job at sharing her story of survival with readers. Of course we all know that it's such a sad story, as they all are, but Helen does such a great job at showing us her happy memories before the war and after the war. My heart has always held a special place for all Holocaust related stories ever since childhood. I can remember the first time I learned about the Holocaust and the effect it had on me. To this day, it is the only piece of history that I have ever truly cared about. 

I truly admire Helen for the inspiration she gives people just by being near them. Even in her book, she chose to focus on the happiness that her freedom brought rather than linger on the pain from her past, all while still sharing her message of hope, peace and respect. 

I was lucky enough to have met Helen at her book signing in Houston, Texas, her hometown, in November 2013. Meeting her was such a wonderful experience that I know I will always cherish. Her words and message were inspiring in ways that one could never truly understand until you meet her, or other survivors like her. This book is truly one of my most prized possessions. 

Helen Colin and myself at her book signing in Houston, TX- November 2013

FEATURE: Waiting on Wednesday (#15)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Hi Swooners :-)

This week my "can't-wait-to-read" pre-publication selections are:

Faking Normal by Courtney  C. Stevens

Expected release date: February 25, 2014

Links: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Summary from Goodreads:

Alexi Littrell hasn’t told anyone what happened to her over the summer. Ashamed and embarrassed, she hides in her closet and compulsively scratches the back of her neck, trying to make the outside hurt more than the inside does.

When Bodee Lennox, the quiet and awkward boy next door, comes to live with the Littrell, Alexi discovers an unlikely friend in “the Kool-Aid Kid,” who has secrets of his own. As they lean on each other for support, Alexi gives him the strength to deal with his past, and Bodee helps her find the courage to finally face the truth.

Death Sworn  by Leah Cypess

Expected release date: March 4, 2014

Links: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Summary from Goodreads:

When Ileni lost her magic, she lost everything: her place in society, her purpose in life, and the man she had expected to send her life with. So when the Elders sent her to be magic tutor to a secret sect of assassins, she went willingly, even though the last two tutors had dies under mysterious circumstances.

But beneath the assassins’ caves, Ileni will discover a new place and a new purpose…and a new and dangerous love. She will struggle to keep her lost magic a secret while teaching it to her deadly students, and to find out what happened to the two tutors who preceded her. But what she discovers will change not only her future, but the future of her people, the assassins…and possibly the entire world.

So i'm sure you can figure out why these books appeal to me. Both these book sound sooooooo amaze-balls to me. Can't wait to get my hands on these bad boys!!!

BLOG TOUR: Grasshopper Jungle by Andrew Smith (REVIEW + GIVEAWAY)

Grasshopper Jungle  by Andrew Smith

Publication Date: February 11, 2014

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Buy it at: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

*ARC provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review *

My rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Summary (from Goodreads):

Sixteen-year-old Austin Szerba interweaves the story of his Polish legacy with the story of how he and his best friend, Robby, brought about the end of humanity and the rise of an army of unstoppable, six-foot tall praying mantises in small-town Iowa.

To make matters worse, Austin’s hormones are totally oblivious; they don’t care that the world is in utter chaos: Austin is in love with his girlfriend, Shann, but remains confused about his sexual orientation. Hes stewing in a self-professed constant state of maximum horniness, directed at both Robby and Shann. Ultimately, it’s up to Austin to save the world and propagate the species in this sci-fright journey of survival, sex, and the complex realities of the human condition.

So I have to start by saying that this book was ALL KINDS OF CRAZY!!! I have to admit that, though the book was jaw dropping in a beautiful way, the story itself did not entirely satisfy me. I had a hard time getting into the story in the beginning and it took me a few chapters to realize the true artistic beauty of it.

That being said, there were definitely a few things that I did like about the book. For one, I really liked the relationship between Robby and Austin. The author did a great job at showing their true friendship, but also highlighting the "attraction" between them. Bouncing off of that note, I also loved that this book talked a lot of about homosexual feelings and bisexuality. I feel like the author gave the readers a look inside the mind of a real "confused" teenage boy, unsure of where his heart lies. Austin's feelings and thoughts about his feelings felt very believable and I think we need to read more stories on that topic.

The number one thing that I just did not like, aside from the overall weirdness, is the fact that all Austin can manage to talk about is how horny he is. I mean, I get that teenage boys are horny all the time but he just talked about it waaayyyy too much. Also, Austin came off as extremely selfish. At one point, even Robby points how selfish he really is.

Overall, I think this is one of those books where one opinion will never matter. People read and see things as they want and what one person believes about a book could be totally off for another person. So that being said, go out there and READ THIS BOOK!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Andrew Smith is the award-winning author of several Young Adult novels, including the critically acclaimed Winger (Starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, Kirkus, Booklist, and Shelf Awareness - an Amazon "Best of the Year") and The Marbury Lens (A YALSA BFYA, and Starred reviews and Best of the Year in both Publishers Weekly and Booklist). He is a native-born Californian who spent most of his formative years traveling the world. His university studies focused on Political Science, Journalism, and Literature. He has also published numerous short stories and articles. Grasshopper Jungle, coming February 11, 2014, is his seventh novel. He lives in Southern California.

Find Andrew:

Twitter / Facebook / Goodreads / Website

Find A Grasshopper Jungle:

Barnes and Noble / IndieBound / Goodreads / Amazon

GIVEAWAY:

Thanks to the awesome folks over at Penguin Teen, one lucky winner will receive a finished copy of GRASSHOPPER JUNGLE and an #UNSTOPPABLECORN T-SHIRT

Enter using the Rafflecoper below

Note: Lexi Swoons is not responsible for items lost or stolen in the mail.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

FEATURE: Waiting on Wednesday (#14)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

Hi Swooners :-)

This week my "can't-wait-to-read" pre-publication selection is:

Maybe One Day by Melissa Kantor

Expected release date: February 18, 2014

Links: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Summary from Goodreads:

Zoe and her best friend, Olivia, have always had big plans for the future, none of which included Olivia getting sick. Still, Zoe is determined to put on a brave face and be positive for her friend.

Even when she isn’t sure what to say.

Even when Olivia misses months of school.

Even when Zoe starts falling for Calvin, Olivia’s crush.

The one thing that keeps Zoe moving forward is knowing that Olivia will beat this, and everything will go back to the way it was before. It has to. Because the alternative is too terrifying for her to even imagine.

Ummmm, so yea! This book sounds so good! Best friends, love interest, illness, and tons of drama in between?! Can't wait to get my hands on it!!!

FEATURE: Teaser Tuesday (#5)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists of they like your teasers!

Hi Swooners! Here's my "teaser" for this week...

“Hardly anyone recognized me in casual clothes, with my hair falling loose past my shoulders. The dense crowd pressed in, an elbow knocking me hard in the side. I kept fighting through the great swarm of people. A massive oaf of a man leaned on me, and I leaned back, maneuvering in front of him. 

‘“What is the matter with all of you?”’ I screamed. ‘“Why won’t someone stop this?”’

Pg. 106, Rise (Eve #3) by Anna Carey