You know, I was beginning to think I was getting over buying new books, and then I got a package in the mail today. The package contained a book that I had pre-ordered back in July that was only released a few days ago. Once I checked back through my pile of emails, I saw that I actually saved about 4 dollars from pre-ordering. (Instead of paying $17.99 for a brand new hardcover, I spent $8.99)

The book is Crossed, by Ally Condie. Sequel to her debut novel Matched, one of these strong-female-protagonist-driven-dystopias that have been so popular in Young Adult literature today. The first book didn’t take me too long to get through so hopefully I can whiz through this one before too long. Just in flipping through the pages of this book, I can tell the author has taken the book in a different direction. She’s switching off narrators every other chapter and now there’s a rather pitiful looking… well… not a ‘map’… but more of a landscape with words over it… between the book’s dedication and epigraph. I’m hoping the success of the first book hasn’t gone to the author’s head too quickly… There’s still one more expected book in this trilogy, and it’ll be interesting to see where this volume takes us.

What’s really sad (as in pathetic) is that I had looked online just a few days ago and thought “Gosh, that book just came out… I really wish I could order it, but I’m trying to keep up with the blog… I really shouldn’t…” Hmm.

Since then, I’ve looked back through my history on Amazon.com and there are no more hidden pre-orders waiting to be shipped out (drats!) but with all the school work that I have, I will be hard-pressed to finish reading this month’s book club book — Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close… but so far so good!