review: Someone Else's Life by Katie Dale

pub date: Feb 14, 2012
publisher: Random House Children's Books
pages: 464
source: for review at Kiss the Book
appeals: romance, family, mystery, travel
content: off page sex, swearing

summary:
When 17-year-old Rosie's mother, Trudie, dies from Huntington's Disease, her pain is intensified by the knowledge that she has a fifty percent chance of inheriting the crippling disease herself. Only when Rosie tells her mother's best friend, "Aunt Sarah," that she is going to test for the disease does Sarah, a midwife, reveal that Trudie wasn't her real mother after all. Rosie was swapped at birth with a sickly baby who was destined to die.thoughts:


Devastated, Rosie decides to trace her real mother, joining her ex-boyfriend on his gap year travels, to find her birth mother in California. But all does not go as planned. As Rosie discovers yet more of her family's deeply buried secrets and lies, she is left with an agonizing decision of her own, one which will be the most heart breaking and far-reaching of all.
 

I read this book a few weeks ago, so I'm a little fuzzy on the details. But I will start off with: The cover is BORING. I like the UK cover much better--they have some color and personality. With the US cover, just blah. 

And now the story...

I was impressed with how surprising this novel was. When I began, I expected the story to go in one direction, and then it went in a new direction and took a few twists along the way. I liked the originality.

There were really two stories being told, Rosie's and an unnamed girl who had a page here and there between Rosie's narrative. It was interesting how the two girls and their stories met up and how they were resolved.

I thought the writing was interesting, the character's and their stories interesting, and the how twisted it all was.

I will say that Rosie and the mystery girl did get on my nerves at times. Mostly because I wanted them to behave in a different manner then they did. But, not everyone is me so they did their own thing and it worked for the story being told.

I liked.

review: Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos

pub date: September 13, 2011
publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
pages: 341
appeals: historical fiction, based on fact, mystery, murder, small town, Newbery Winner
source: library
content: some fart humor, hunting, lots of blood(-y noses)

thoughts:
As you most likely know by now, this book won the Newbery Award this year. I was lucky enough to already have it checked out when the award was announced, so I missed out on the long hold list at the library. Lucky!

I went on a road trip to California last week with my sisters and ten-year-old nephew and we stuck the audio of this book in. My nephew LOVED it. We listened to about half of it on the way there, the rest on the way home. It might have been the potty humor (he is ten and thinks that sort of thing HILARIOUS), but for what ever reason while we were in California, any time we were in the car, even for three minutes, he'd say, "Can you turn the book on now?" It was really cute.

As for me, I enjoyed it, but I didn't love it. I'm surprised it won the Newbery (especially when there was Okay for Now by Gary Schmidt which I loved and enjoyed so much more and wanted to win--a lot). It had it's moments of humor, it was peppered with entertaining characters, the plot was exciting at points (meandered at other points) but as I think back on the story, nothing really sticks out.

And as for the audio aspect of this book--kind of blah. The author read it, which is cool. But he has kind of a boring voice. A lot of the funny situations would have been funnier if a more expressive reader had read them instead. Just my opinion.
It was enjoyable. But for me, not phenomenal. For a ten-year-old boy, it will probably pass muster.

summary:
Melding the entirely true and the wildly fictional, Dead End in Norvelt is a novel about an incredible two months for a kid named Jack Gantos, whose plans for vacation excitement are shot down when he is "grounded for life" by his feuding parents, and whose nose spews bad blood at every little shock he gets. But plenty of excitement (and shocks) are coming Jack's way once his mom loans him out to help a fiesty old neighbor with a most unusual chore—typewriting obituaries filled with stories about the people who founded his utopian town. As one obituary leads to another, Jack is launced on a strange adventure involving molten wax, Eleanor Roosevelt, twisted promises, a homemade airplane, Girl Scout cookies, a man on a trike, a dancing plague, voices from the past, Hells Angels . . . and possibly murder. Endlessly surprising, this sly, sharp-edged narrative is the author at his very best, making readers laugh out loud at the most unexpected things in a dead-funny depiction of growing up in a slightly off-kilter place where the past is present, the present is confusing, and the future is completely up in the air. Dead End in Norvelt is a Publishers Weekly Best Children's Fiction title for 2011. One of Horn Book’s Best Fiction Books of 2011.

review: Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore

pub date: July 12, 2011
publisher: Random House Children's Books
pages: 416
appeals: ghosts, mystery, romance, magic, witches, family, romance, Texas, ranching, romance :)
content: some swearing, a make-out scene

thoughts:
What a fun book. Really, quite delightful.

I liked Amy, our main character, and her snarky, sarcastic, highly entertaining personality. From the very first page, she grabbed my interest and kept me reading. Her family, especially sister Phin, were great, too. Is this a series? I kind of hope so because I really enjoyed the characters and would love more of them.

I must make a separate paragraph to make mention of the "hot neighbor cowboy." He is hot! He's her neighbor! and he's a cowboy! What isn't to love? He has a great personality, too. Amy meets while wearing only her underwear which makes for a great scene. From the onset, they hate each other, but Clement-Moore is so great at building the romantic tension in the mist of all their arguing. It was sublime romance. Seriously. But also rather nice that it was just attraction, and not all consuming, I-love-you-though-I-met-you-three-minutes-ago-and-I'll-die-without-you kind of thing. It was just a sweet, nice, realistic attraction. A really good one.

The overall story was fun. It's a mystery surrounding a ghost, with a good dose of denial and witchery, and some great snarky attitude. On a Texas ranch! Really fun stuff. And a quick read, for all it's pages.

You should give this one a try. It's good.

summary:
Amy Goodnight's family is far from normal. She comes from a line of witches, but tries her best to stay far outside the family business. Her summer gig? Ranch-sitting for her aunt with her wacky but beautiful sister. Only the Goodnight Ranch is even less normal than it normally is. Bodies are being discovered, a ghost is on the prowl, and everywhere she turns, the hot neighbor cowboy is in her face.

review: Gypsy Knights by Two Brothers Metz

pub date: May 19, 2011
publisher: LoudCloud Publishing
source: author
format: ebook
appeals: Gypsies, magic, historical fiction, mystery, adventure
content: clean

thoughts:
This was a fun book. It has a lot of mystery, history, some Gypsy magic, and a little bit of romance. I thought it was very well written and had great descriptions. The writing flowed well. As someone who knows nothing about the game (all I know comes from the musical Chess), I loved the roll chess played in this novel and how it became so important to the developing plot.
In the beginning I did have a hard time getting into the story. There was a lot of jumping around in time between 1960 and 1065, and then a lot of flashbacks to other times. It made the story somewhat choppy and confusing. But once I got past that aspect of the novel, I finished the book rather quickly and really enjoyed it.

Also, I thought the clues that Durriken received from his mother seemed rather contrived, but it set Durriken and Dilia on a fun adventure, so I guess it's all good.

summary:
Fourteen-year-old Durriken Brishen has lost his parents, his grandfather, and though he doesn't know it, his Gypsy culture's dangerous gift.

Taken in and raised on the rails by the first woman to pilot a freight train, Durriken has one remaining connection to his Romani roots: a small wooden box that hangs from the hammer loop of his overalls.

The last gift he received from his grandfather, the box contains the world's first chess set. But a piece is missing: the Red Queen. According to Durriken’s family lore, the complete set awakens the power of Tărie, a mercurial gift that confers unique abilities on each new Master.

When a suspicious fire erupts in the Chicago rail yard, Durriken's escape produces an uneasy alliance, though not without its silver lining. Dilia is a few inches taller, several degrees cleverer, and oh yes – very pretty. While Durriken is uneasy allying with a girl whose parents were convicted of sedition, there's no doubt she is a powerful partner. And while it's not immediately clear to either, her own Guatemalan culture and family history are deeply entwined with the ancient Romani mystery.

Jumping box cars, escaping riverboats, deciphering clues, crossing swords with the brilliant madman Radu Pinch – with great American cities as its backdrop – Gypsy Knights is the page-turning saga of Durriken Brishen and his quest to rediscover his past.

review: Variant by Robison Wells

pub date: October 4, 2011
publisher: HarperTeen
source: NetGalley
format: digital
appeals: mystery, boarding school, big-brother-is-watching
content: violence, but it's not graphic violence (for the most part)

thoughts:
Wow, wow, wow. What a great, exciting, wonderful novel! I really love this book.

Benson was a very sympathetic character. He was locked in a boarding school with high walls and lots of security. No one had ever escaped and those that try, die. All Benson wanted was to escape. It was his main focus for the whole book. And I am impressed with Wells, because Benson so easily could have become annoying and whiny. But he wasn't. He was focused and proactive and acted towards his goal.

There are a lot of twists in the plot and wow, how I loved them. I just had to keep reading to find out how Benson would handle everything. Maxfield Academy was a very believable environment, with believable teens dealing with their situation in a believable way.  

What makes it better is that Wells is a Utah author! Yay for Utah!

It reminded me of The Maze Runner by James Dashner, but way better. I wasn't a fan of the Maze Runner, but I so totally am a fan of Variant. 

summary:
Benson Fisher thought that a scholarship to Maxfield Academy would be the ticket out of his dead-end life.

He was wrong.

Now he’s trapped in a school that’s surrounded by a razor-wire fence. A school where video cameras monitor his every move. Where there are no adults. Where the kids have split into groups in order to survive.

Where breaking the rules equals death.

But when Benson stumbles upon the school’s real secret, he realizes that playing by the rules could spell a fate worse than death, and that escape—his only real hope for survival—may be impossible.

review: The Near Witch by Victoria Schwab

pub date: August 2, 2011
publisher: Hyperion
pages: 288
source: publisher for review
appeals: witches, mystery, paranormal-ish, romance
content: clean

thoughts:
It took me two weeks to get through the first 80 pages. Nothing really happened and I was bored. So I made myself sit down and get it read so I could move on to a new book. And happily, it got better. Around page 100 the plot picked up and it just kept picking up. I thought the ending was really exciting and I read the last 50 pages in one sitting, speeding through.

The uncle, and most of Lexi's town were so frustrating! I always respect authors who write annoying and closed minded characters. Because I hate them and they frustrate me and I want to reach into the book and knock their head against a tree. But...such a strong emotional response is because the character, however annoying, is written in a believable way. I don't know that I'd be able to do that myself. So yes, annoying, close-minded uncle, but remarkably written character.

The writing was BEAUTIFUL. Even at the beginning when I was bored with the slowness of the story, I thought the descriptions were amazing. I loved the way Schwab used language. It was stunning.

The romance was fun, but at the same time really quick. Lexi and the boy are suddenly kissing a lot and I wasn't sure where those lovey feelings came from. Though sudden, still fun.

Probably my favorite aspect of the novel was the history of the near witch and how she played into the present time with Lexi. I loved the world building as pertaining to the witches, and that was when the novel really got interesting to me.

I'm not sure what to rate this book. There was a lot I enjoyed about the novel and the ending was strong and exciting. But the beginning so wasn't. I'll go with 3.5 apples. 

summary:
The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.


If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company.

And there are no strangers in the town of Near.

These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.

But when an actual stranger—a boy who seems to fade like smoke—appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.

The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.

As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi’s need to know—about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.

Part fairy tale, part love story, Victoria Schwab’s debut novel is entirely original yet achingly familiar: a song you heard long ago, a whisper carried by the wind, and a dream you won’t soon forget.

review: The Twisted Thread by Charlotte Bacon

pub date: June 14, 2011
publisher: Voice
pages: 352
source: LibraryThing Early Reviewer
appeals: adult, mystery, boarding school, murder, contemporary, realistic fiction
content: swearing, off page sex, bullying,

thoughts:
This is not the kind of book I normally read. It wasn't particularly fast paced, it wasn't focused on just a few characters, and it wasn't told from a teen POV. It was an adult murder mystery. But for all of that, I enjoyed it anyway.  

This is a very dense book. Dense as in the paragraphs are long and packed with detailed information. There is also A LOT of info told about each character--present, past, and hinting into the future--that didn't necessary have anything to do with the murder. It was not a quick read for me.

I figured out who the murderer was a little over half way through. Maybe not the reason behind the murder, that was a surprise, but the who-done-it aspect of it. And the reveal wasn't dramatic at all. It was sort of just there, a bit of information tucked in with all the other bits of information. But that was okay. Sometimes drama at the end of a book is annoying, so it was refreshing when that wasn't the case, like in this book. And the wind down after the reveal went on for a while, tying up all the ends of lives of all the characters we .

But, really, I did enjoy the story. The dynamics of the boarding school, teachers and students, and the schools relations with the town, was fascinating. As each piece of the puzzle was revealed, I loved how the thread got more twisted. I thought the plot was very well thought out and laid down in the novel. And I liked the two main characters. I liked how the book ended.

A solid 3 apple book.
summary:
When beautiful but aloof Claire Harkness is found dead in her dorm room one spring morning, prestigious Armitage Academy is shaken to its core. Everyone connected to school, and to Claire, finds their lives upended, from the local police detective who has a personal history with the academy, to the various faculty and staff whose lives are immersed in the daily rituals associated with it.

Everyone wants to know how Claire died, at whose hands, and more importantly, where the baby that she recently gave birth to is a baby that almost no one, except her small innermost circle, knew she was carrying.

At the center of the investigation is Madeline Christopher, an intern in the English department who is forced to examine the nature of the relationship between the school s students and the adults meant to guide them. As the case unravels, the dark intricacies of adolescent privilege at a powerful institution are exposed, and both teachers and students emerge as suspects as the novel rushes to its thrilling conclusion.

review: The Killer's Cousin by Nancy Werlin

pub date: originally 1998 (republished 2009?)
publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
pages: 240
appeals: mystery, suspense, realistic fiction, contemporary
content: there is violence off page and some references to sex

thoughts:
Wow. I loved this book.

I began by listening to the audio in my car. By the middle of the fourth disc (it was only five discs long) I couldn't deal with the suspense any longer. Each time I turned on my car (which is where I was listening to it) my heart rate would speed up, my stress levels would rise, and I'm sure my blood pressure did, too. So I got the book from the library and read it during my lunch break on Friday. The suspense was killing me.

What I loved about this book:

1) the characters. They were so well drawn! David, his cousin, his parents, his aunt and uncle. They all frustrated me at different times and for different reasons, but I totally understood why they behaved they way they did. I felt empathy for them, even when I really didn't want to. And I really, really, liked David.

2) the story. I don't do horror, but wow do I love suspense. Especially when it's so well done. Like I wrote above, I was freaking out while listening. I was so worried for David--the possibilities of what would happen with him kept running through my mind and they just got worse and worse. Which is why I finally just read it.

3) the end. That is all I will say on that.

4) it's retro! Okay, so it was only written in the later 90s and I don't think that really qualifies as retro, but I loved the mention of CDs (no digital!) and his VCR and only being able to call on land lines.

summary:
After being accused and acquitted in the death of his girlfriend, seventeen-year-old David is sent to live with his aunt, uncle, and young cousin to avoid the media frenzy. But all is not well at his relatives' house. His aunt and uncle are not speaking, and twelve-year-old Lily seems intent on making David's life a torment. And then there's the issue of his older cousin Kathy's mysterious death some years back. As things grow more and more tense, David starts to wonder - is there something else that his family is trying to hide from?

review: Hourglass by Myra McEntire

pub date: May 24, 2011
publisher: EgmontUSA
pages: 397
challenges: Debut author, 350 page challenge
appeals: supernatural, science fiction, time-travel, romance,
content: swears once or twice, thats it

thoughts:
Fun, awesome, exciting, and surprising. I liked this book a lot.

So, it starts out pretty straight forward--Myra can see ghosts. Michael is going to help her deal. There's some romantic chemistry. But then...there's more to the story. A whole new level of plot and intrigue. Which is cool, so I think that the story is going to go in this new direction when a little later there's revealed another aspect of the story, which changes where it is actually going. And then another surprise and another. All the way up until the very end McEntire kept me guessing about what else she hadn't told me yet. Which is so COOL.

There were a lot of characters but they were all developed and interesting. Well, some of the others at the Hourglass are barely seen, so they aren't so well developed, but they are interesting! It's very well written. There weren't awkward places, or even slow parts, which I love, especially in long books. I loved it all.

This is the kind of book that should be discussed. There are a lot of unexplained aspects of the story (still!) that will (hopefully!) come out in later books. I want to talk to someone about them! I want to make guesses at what it all means! So my advice is to read this book with some friends.

Seriously, this is an awesome book.

goodreads:
For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn’t there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents’ death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She’s tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.


So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson’s willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past.

Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he’s around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?

Full of atmosphere, mystery, and romance, Hourglass merges the very best of the paranormal and science-fiction genres in a seductive, remarkable young adult debut.

review: Shine by Lauren Myracle

pub date: May 1, 2011
publisher: Amulet
pages: 376
source: NetGalley
appeals: mystery, friendship, contemporary, realistic fiction
content: quite a bit of swearing including the f-word, sexual assault, bigotry, hate crime, alcohol and drug abuse, some other stuff -- Definitely for older teens.


thoughts:
This is a powerful, harsh, realistic, sad, amazing novel. So well written. And interesting. So much of it broke my heart. But there was good mixed in with the bad and the sad. By the end I did feel there was hope, whereas at the beginning not so much. Seriously, broke my heart.

The writing was beautiful. Which was nice since so much of what happened to Cat and her friends wasn't beautiful. I really loved reading how Cat grew during the two weeks or so of the novel. Left on her own she wouldn't have been able to do it. But because of what happened to Patrick, she found the strength to do what she needed to help him.  

I guessed who had hurt Patrick and why, but I still liked the reveal.


blurb:
When her best guy friend falls victim to a vicious hate crime, sixteen-year-old Cat sets out to discover who in her small town did it. Richly atmospheric, this daring mystery mines the secrets of a tightly knit Southern community and examines the strength of will it takes to go against everyone you know in the name of justice.


Against a backdrop of poverty, clannishness, drugs, and intolerance, Myracle has crafted a harrowing coming-of-age tale couched in a deeply intelligent mystery. Smart, fearless, and compassionate, this is an unforgettable work from a beloved author.

review: Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

pub date: May 10, 2011
publisher: Henry Holt and Co
pages: 336
source: ALA Midwinter
appeals: time travel, humor, romance, England, mystery, contemporary
content: clean



thoughts:
I loved this book! It was wonderful! It was adventurous, really quick to read, with never a dull moment. I really enjoyed the time travel. The translator did an excellent job.

The characters were great. I liked Gwen an awful lot. She had such an endearing personality and attitude. Her family members were quirky and very entertaining. Though some were more likable than others. I especially loved Gwen's friend Lesley. Their movie addiction was great. It kept me smiling.

There was a little romance in her relationship with Gideon, though it was very abrupt, I'm glad something romantic happened before the end. Because end was rather abrupt, too. The last page was the middle of a scene.  Which made me really want to read the next book in the series. But sadly, I don't read German.

I actually like the German covers much better than the US. Aren't they wonderful?

I love how Gwen and Gideon are arguing in the first, flirting and in the second, and dancing and smiling in the third. There's their relationship illustrated with shadow puppets! (or so I assume since I've only actually read the first). I think the US cover doesn't really reflect the story inside, which is quirky and fun. Though it is pretty, the US cover looks too serious to me.

blurb:
Gwyneth Shepherd's sophisticated, beautiful cousin Charlotte has been prepared her entire life for traveling through time. But unexpectedly, it is Gwyneth, who in the middle of class takes a sudden spin to a different era! Gwyneth must now unearth the mystery of why her mother would lie about her birth date to ward off suspicion about her ability, brush up on her history, and work with Gideon, the time traveler from a similarly gifted family that passes the gene through its male line, and whose presence becomes, in time, less insufferable and more essential. Together, Gwyneth and Gideon journey through time to discover who, in the 18th century and in contemporary London, they can trust.

review: Across the Universe by Beth Revis

pub date: January 11, 2011
publisher: Razerbill
pages: 398
source: librarything Early Reviewer
audience: upper teen
appeal: space, future, dystopian, romance, mystery
challenges: debut author challenge, 350 page challenge
content: a very few swear words, an incident of sexual assault, rather disturbing attitude towards sex that ties into the plot


goodreads blurb:
Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone-one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship-tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

me:
I've had this book since November and waited this long to read it. Why?!?!? It was fantastic. The plot was not what I was expecting, but then when I think back to before I read the book, I'm not really sure what I was expecting. But whatever it was, it wasn't what I got.

There were so many surprises in the plot. A lot about how life on Godspeed had evolved into something rather disturbing. Then there were the lies and secrets and the mystery of the murders. I liked Elder and am curious who he will be in the next book. And Amy was a strong, likable character.

And that is it. I'm feeling rather lazy at the moment and so many other people have raved about this book, that I'm not going to write more. Which makes this not so much a review as it is a recommendation...it's a fantastic adventure, you should pick it up!

review: Clarity by Kim Harrington

pub date: March 1, 2011
publisher: Scholastic Point
pgs: 256
source: ALA Midwinter
appeals: mystery, contemporary, romance, supernatural
challenge: Debut Challenge

blurb from goodreads:
Clarity "Clare" Fern sees things. Things no one else can see. Things like stolen kisses and long-buried secrets. All she has to do is touch a certain object, and the visions come to her. It's a gift.

And a curse.

When a teenage girl is found murdered, Clare's ex-boyfriend wants her to help solve the case--but Clare is still furious at the cheating jerk. Then Clare's brother--who has supernatural gifts of his own--becomes the prime suspect, and Clare can no longer look away. Teaming up with Gabriel, the smoldering son of the new detective, Clare must venture into the depths of fear, revenge, and lust in order to track the killer. But will her sight fail her just when she needs it most?


me:
I didn't know much about this book when I started reading it. I picked it up because I thought the cover was awesome. Once I began, I thought the story was awesome, too. Though it's a murder that Clare is helping to investigate, it was really fun. It wasn't too heavy or dark.  

The very first chaper is just one page, a flash forward to near the end of the book. A boy has been shot and is bleeding next to Clarity, while other person (who I just assumed was a boy) has a gun pointed at her head. Chapter two begins nine days before this event. So it's kind of a countdown to the Big Reveal. And the whole countdown I'm keeping track of all the boys that Clarity comes into contact with. The list kept growing...and growing...and growing. Wow, she knows a lot of boys. So I'm guessing which boy was shot and which boy was the one with the gun...and I don't know. It was fun trying to guess.

I liked the different characters, especially Clare. There is a boy that I'm totally rooting for her to get with...but it'll have to wait until the next book. I'm crossing my fingers. 

I also liked the supernatural abilities Clare and her family have. How they play off each other and use their skills in different ways. Clare helping out the police...super cool. Really, I'm glad this is going to be a series. I want to read more.

I did think that Clare was rather stupid at one point in the story. So much so that I almost stopped reading, but I'm glad I didn't. And I really, really did not like her brother. He was a pig. And I'm just glad Clare recognized that. She still loved him and wanted to help him, but she knew he was a pig. I'll be okay if he isn't in the next book. But maybe he'll clean up his act by then?

Anyway, a fun, quick, quirky, murder mystery. I look forward to the rest of the series!