The Ocean at the End of the Lane, by Neil Gaiman [AB]

Release Date: June 18th, 2013
Age Group: Adult (All Ages, really)
Publisher: HarperAudio
Narrated by Neil Gaiman
Source: Bought
Overall: 5 Monkeys
Interest: Fantasy, Neil Gaiman
Categories: Fantasy, Child's POV
Goodreads - Amazon  - Neil Gaiman's Website
Read in July 2013

Summary:

It began for our narrator forty years ago when the family lodger stole their car and committed suicide in it, stirring up ancient powers best left undisturbed. Dark creatures from beyond the world are on the loose, and it will take everything our narrator has just to stay alive: there is primal horror here, and menace unleashed - within his family and from the forces that have gathered to destroy it. His only defense is three women, on a farm at the end of the lane. The youngest of them claims that her duckpond is ocean. The oldest can remember the Big Bang.

My Opinion:

I had never read a Gaiman book. I had no idea what all the fuzz was about. I have friends who love him, and they were all really excited to see Ocean hit the stores. So, when it came out, I had to have a copy for myself (thank God for online shopping, because it hasn't made it to Argentina yet). 

I started listening to it one day while cleaning, early in the morning. Neil's voice instantly caught me. It is such a deep and soothing voice, I would have listened to it even if the book was about advanced chemistry. I had finished listening to the entire thing by that same night. 

Neil's voice brings his narrator to life, a middle aged man coming back home for a funeral. His home town brings back memories he thought he'd lost, and suddenly he finds himself walking towards a familiar place, from when he used to live there. 

From then on, he remembers his childhood and we see it all through a kid's perspective. Everything that surrounds this little kid, his family and the friendships he makes, it's all told beautifully. 

I remember smiling a lot while listening to the ab. This seven(?)-year-old who sees everything clearly, who loves his new friends and who has no trouble believing in magic. I want to know more kids like him.

You really don't need me to tell you more about its plot (only that it involves a lot of magic, dark forces trying to rule over a piece of land that is not theirs, and a pair of kids trying to fight it off). You just need to know that this is a book that will rock you to the core, make you grin like a fool a lot, and just leave you feeling good about life. 

It is a masterpiece, and I'm so glad it was my first Gaiman novel. I'm currently reading American Gods and it is great, too. Diferent, but great. Ocean is already in my All-Time Favourites list. 

"Whisper Stories in my Ear" Challenge [Audiobook Challenge] 2011

I LOVE listening to audiobooks: when I don't want to turn on the light to read, when I'm walking to uni, on the bus somewhere, anywhere... So, I when heard about this international challenge, I knew it was for me!

The goal is to listen to 12+ audiobooks. Here's my list (I reserve the right to change it as I please):

1. Paranormalcy, by Kiersten White. Narrated by Emily Eiden.
2. Incarceron, by Catherine Fisher. Narrated by Kim Mai Guest. 
3. Saving Francesca, by Melina Marchetta. Narrated by ---.
4. The Piper's Son, by Melina Marchetta. Narrated by ---.
5. Linger, by Maggie Stiefvater. Narrated by Jenna Lamia, Dan Bittner, Pierce Cravens, Emma Galvin.
6. Infinite Days, by Rebecca Maizel. Narrated by Justine Eyre.
7. Personal Demons, by Lisa Desrochers. Narrated by Sara Barnett, Michael Nathanson.
8. The Last Song, by Nicholas Sparks. Narrated by Scott Sowers, Pepper Binkley.
9. Storm Glass, by Maria V. Snyder. Narrated by Jennifer Van Dyck.
10. The Dead of Night, by John Marsden. Narrated by Suzi Dougherty. 
11. Blue Bloods, by Melissa de la Cruz. Narrated by Christina Moore.
12. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, by J. R. R. Tolkien. Narrated by Richard Inglis.
13. The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman. Narrated by Neil Gaiman.
14. Crusade, by Nancy Holder and Debbie Viguié. Narrated by ---.

This challenge is hosted by Bewitched Bookworms.
*Edit: Thanks to Diana Peterfreund, for bringing to my attention the fact that her book is not an AB. I can use the time I'd have used looking for Rampant, for something else, like reading another book!

Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #1), by Maggie Stiefvater. [Audiobook]

Shiver (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #1), by Maggie Stiefvater. Narrated by Jenna Lamia and David LeDoux.

Release Date: August 1st, 2009

Publisher: Scholastic Audio

Age Group: Young Adult

Overall: 5 Monkeys

Source: Borrowed

Interest: Series

Other Titles in the Series: Linger (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #2), Forever (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #3).

Summary from Goodreads:

the cold.
Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—watches back. He feels deeply familiar to her, but she doesn't know why.

the heat.
Sam has lived two lives. As a wolf, he keeps the silent company of the girl he loves. And then, for a short time each year, he is human, never daring to talk to Grace...until now.

the shiver.
For Grace and Sam, love has always been kept at a distance. But once it's spoken, it cannot be denied. Sam must fight to stay human—and Grace must fight to keep him—even if it means taking on the scars of the past, the fragility of the present, and the impossibility of the future.

My Opinion:

Why did I wait this long to read this? Well, hear it. Everyone who's said this book is amazing was right. It has everything a reader wants in a YA book: action, romance, mystery, suspense...

I'm not going to make this long, because I'm sure most of you have read this already.

When Grace was a little girl, she was dragged to the woods by wolves and they attacked her. They bit her. But one of them, a yellow eyed wolf, saved her. And he's been watching her in silence for years. But Grace has been watching too.

So, if they bit her, why isn't she changing with the seasons, like the others?

The pace of the book was perfect, fast, but not rushed. The way Grace and Sam fall in love is the sweetest I've read in a while: the attack on Grace, something terrible, is what brings them together. He saved her, and they've had a connection ever since. How Grace talked about her wolf, Sam, and his yellow eyes, was great. It was very posessive, but it didn't cross the line and made her look crazy. She had all the right to call Sam her wolf.

Jenna did an awesome job narrating Grace's chapters. All of Grace's emotions were transmited perfectly. Same with David, narrating Sam's chapters. Both narrators were excellent.

And Sam, oh, Sam! Why do you have to be so sweet? With your songs about your Summer Girl, and your poems. I want a Sam of my own. Maybe I'll ask one for Christmas.

Free Tell Me a Secret Audiobook Podcast!

Some of you may already know, but to those of you who don't, here's a piece of interesting news:
You can subscribe for free to the audiobook podcast of Holly Cupala's Tell Me a Secret on iTunes! Or, if you don't use iTunes, you can subscribe to the RSS feed and download the mp3 files.
This is great, I've wanted to read this book ever since seeing that amazing trailer.
So, just click on this link and start listening to the audiobook. I'll do the same and tell you what I think about it.