The Talents (aka Delcroix Academy: The Candidates) by Inara Scott - Short review AND Study Guide Qs

What do you excel in? Would you, could you be a Candidate? Inara Scott nominates population Earth for the chance, the opportunity to be, Talented. America's Got Talent?...Pshh.. Britain's Got Talent?... Pshh... Next American Idol?...Pshh... Dream bigger, dream deeper. You could be a Candidate. *Insert Dramatic Oohs and Ahhs here*

Inara Scott's story of a small town girl hits a homer. The raggedy clothes, sweaty ball cap, and loving grandmother only add more to love about Dancia Lewis. Dancia, the girl who tries to be invisible, is talented but tries to hide it. Yet, everyone knows that you can't hide talent especially from recruiters like Cam and Mr. Judan. Mrs. Scott takes us on a fascinating journey into the life of Dancia as she learns to be accepted and loved for who she really is. A great message to send out to readers of YA. The Talents (aka The Candidates) is one of the best YA fiction novels I have read this year and I highly encourage everyone to buy it for yourselves or your favorite teen. 5/5 Stars!!!

*Apology to Inara Scott for taking so long to get a review of this book up. xoxo

**Read no further if you don't want any spoilers**
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___The Talents (aka The Candidates) Study Guide___

Going to list a few of the study guide questions I really liked and my answers to them.

4.) What kind of person do you think Mr. Judan is? Do you trust him? What clues does the author give that lead you to this conclusion?
I am unsure of what kind of a person Mr. Judan is. He does make me wary. I get this impression from his first apperance when Dancia meets him. Also, the powerful ability we learn he has causes us to be wary of him because it would be very easy for him to use his power for "bad". Examples: pg.4 Comparing his voice to a politician. pg.8 Made Dancia's grandma feel embarrassed about being poor.pg.17 When Dancia wants more time to decide: "Mr. Judan's mouth tightend and his eyes went cold." Cold eyes=bad juju.

5.)What kind of person is Jack? Describe the choices he has made in his life. Do you think he made the right choices? Why or why not?
Jack is a conflicted teen. He wants to be safe, fit in and have friends. Yet, because he understands how this isn't a reality, from his past and knowledge of his powers, he gives up that dream. This causes him to be a darker character but one we can't help but love. I think he made the right choices because they kept him safe and Dancia safe, at least for now. Also, he is in grey area and the choices kept him safe because they were grey too.

8.)Do you know anyone like the characters in the book? In what ways are they similar? In what ways are they different?
I think that Dancia, Jack and Cam are pretty identifiable with people anyone could have known in high school. They represent to me: Dancia-the girl in the middle who can be friends with most people. Jack-the loner, rebellious boy. Cam-the popular, cute, jock, All American boy. Dancia's grandmother reminds me of a Betty White character. ;)


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Ok, those were just a few of my favorites from the study guide. You should check it out on Inara Scott's website which is linked in a couple different places on my blog. :) Tell me what you think. Did you like the review? Do you have different answers/opinions of the study guide questions I answered? Let me know! I love to hear what ya think. xoxo ~T

Update- writing and reading :) yeah!

Hey everyone! SO I figured since I am currently unattached to a book, and not posting a new review yet, that I would update about what I have been up to. If anyone has read my profile bio or who know me personally, you already know that I love to write. Currently I have been bouncing half a dozen ideas around in my head. I have two serious fan fics in the works (photo above is pages I've written for my Dark Angel-tv series- fan fic, other one is a Harry Potter fan fic but it's typed up on the comp) and one original novel still in the works(She Wolf- a paranormal romance). It's hard trying to share my attention between them all. Besides those, I also have several other less serious writing ideas that flash through my head sporadically. I have also been reading some fan fiction still. I have also re-read Inara Scott's Delcroix Academy: The Candidates (recently re-named; The Talents). I re-read it after I won a ARC (Advanced Readers Copy) of the next book of hers called The Marked aka The Watchers. I am planning on doing a blog about Inara Scott's study guide she has provided for readers on her website. I figured to compare my answers from reading it the first time to reading it a second time. We'll see how that goes. Anyways, I was SOOO excited when I won the ARC of The Marked because it had been announced that it's release date was being pushed back from August 2, 2011 to April 2012... *grumble grumble, tear* =( But I'm happy now since I won the ARC and I'll hopefully be receiving it in the mail in a couple of weeks so I can devour it. Between writing and read I have also been busy working my day job and getting things set up for going back to College this fall. My mind has been working over time, aka staying up way too late and getting up way too early. Also dealing with resisting re-reading several other books on my shelf. (The Magicians by Lev Grossman, HP series by J.K. Rowling, Matched by Ally Condie, Divergent by Veronica Roth, etc...) But I can't do that because I feel guilty that my TBR pile is still very large...

I haven't been able to put a dent in my TBR (to be read) pile. My TBR pile still contains: The Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin, The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett, The Glass Books of the Dream Eaters by Gordon Dahlquist, The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima, The Girl Who Heard Dragons by Anne McCaffrey, King's Dragon by Kate Elliott, Witch & Warrior-both by Marie Brennan, Dear John by Nicholas Sparks (actually started this at one point but wasn't into the genre at the time and put it down after a couple chapters), The Passionate Rebel by Helene Lehr, Move Heaven and Earth by Christina Dodd, Mr. Cavendish I Presume by Juila Quiin, Cherokee Storm by Janelle Taylor, Love Me Forever by Johanna Lindsey, The Dreaming Tree by C.J. Cherryh, The Shifter: The Healing Wars-book 1 by Janice Hardy, Cybele's Secret by Juliet Marillier, Skybreaker by Kenneth Oppel, Sapphique by Catherine Fisher, and Flora Segunda by Ysabeau S. Wilce. *Breathes deeply* *sigh* Yeah, it's a very long list. I don't get dents in it because I keep finding books in the story and reading them immediately. Anyways, what do you think I should read next? I'm open for suggestions even if they aren't in my TBR pile. I really enjoy YA sci-fi/fantasy/dystopian, epic fantasy, paranormal romance, historical romance. Anyways, please comment. I feel really stupid writing this when I'm not even sure anyone is reading my blog... Who knows maybe no one is reading... lol. I guess I've always enjoyed talking to myself anyways...*awkward laugh* *long silence w/ cheesy smile*


My TBR PILEs ↓ (not including Game of Thrones and Pillars of the Earth-only cuz I accidentally didn't get them into the pile *OOpps, sorry* =D