A TAD UPDATE!

What's up? I know it has been awhile. I have been busy Stock show, Easter, and reading new books. I read The Pigman's Legacy, Speak, and Chosen. I also added something to my posts. I now have a rated system. I rate a book 1-10(with 10 being the highest) based on my opinion. That way you can see how well I think a book is!
Chow! TAD

The Pigman's Legacy: Paul Zindel

This is the sequel to The Pigman. I kinda liked it better. It was a little more romantic. I would rate it as a 8. TAD


Four months after the Pigman died, John and Lorraine are passing by their old friend's empty house when they receive the shock of their lives: An elderly man has taken up residence in the abandoned home. Convinced this down-and-out recluse is a sign from beyond the grave, John and Lorraine decide they've been given a chance to make up for what happened to the Pigman -- a chance to make things right, once and for all.

Keeping The Moon

This book was pretty good, alot better than I expected. The main character reminded me kind of myself just a little. It made me want to get my lip pierced. The ending was good, it left me wondering things but all books do. Like what happens in the future , but no book could tell something all the way to the end. I would reccomend this book to anyone. It doesn't have anything bad in it at all. And over all it was interesting.

Review/Description
Because her aerobics-star mother is taking her famous weight-loss program to Europe, 15-year-old Colie leaves her home in Charlotte to spend the summer with her endearing but uncompromisingly unusual Aunt Mira in coastal Colby, NC. Colie has recently dropped 45 pounds, but unlike her positive-thinking mother, the teen has not succeeded in shedding her negative self-image. With this change of scene, she hopes to escape her role as social victim. Unfortunately, Mira attracts lots of negative gossip. Worse still is the reappearance of Colie's hometown nemesis who continues to spread slanderous rumors about her. Colie feels hopeless until she accepts a job in a restaurant, where two fellow waitresses, both past their high school angst, share their beauty, boy, and life-management secrets with her. Sincere, perfectionist Morgan and the more flamboyant Isabel are great characters and the workings of their friendship is smooth, insightful, and just fun to read. The nifty and not-so-nifty relationships between men and women are observed through the eyes of a teen just on the verge of exploring such things on her own level. The love interests are varied, from a deceitful professional athlete for Morgan to a sincere artist surviving as a short-order cook for Colie.

This Lullaby

"I had no illusions about love... It came, it went, it left casualties or it didn't. People weren't meant to be together forever, regardless of what the songs say."


This book was alright it wasn't really what I was expecting. I guess I thought it was going to be more romantic or something. It did involve a good deal of realtionships stuff but not so much real romance. The ending kind of left it open. I thought in the last 50 pages the ending was going to make me really mad, but it changed alittle so I didn't get that dissapointed. It would be an ok read since it was kind of interesting. The characters reminded me of my friends though.

Review/Description
Remy doesn't believe in love. And why should she? Her romance novelist mother is working on her fifth marriage, and her father, a '70s hippie singer, left her with only a one-hit wonder song to remember him by. Every time Remy hears "This Lullaby," it feels like "a bruise that never quite healed right." "Wherever you may go / I will let you down / But this lullaby plays on..." Never without a boyfriend, Remy is a compulsive dater, but before a guy can go all "Ken" on her (as in "ultra boyfriend behavior") she cuts him off, without ever getting close or getting hurt. That's why she's stunned when klutzy, quirky, alterna-band boy Dexter inserts himself into her life and refuses to leave. Remy's been accepted to Stanford, and she plans on having her usual summer fling before tying up the loose ends of her pre-college life and heading for the coast. Except Dexter's not following Remy's tried-and-true rules of break-up protocol. And for the first time, Remy's questioning whether or not she wants him to.

Head Above Water

This book really surprised me. i ended up really liking it. I think it was the only book I've ever actually cried in the end and not because it was sad ,but because it was so touching. The story is about a girl who has to deal with her life and trying to take care of her older brother Sunny who has downsyndrome. In the end she realizes that her life is better off with Sunny in it even though he's hard to deal with sometimes.

Review/Description
A high school junior from a single-parent home, is largely responsible for the care of her older brother Sunny, who has Down's syndrome. She strives to maintain a straight-A average in her schoolwork and is determined to qualify for "States," the statewide swim competition. When the school's football star, Mike Banner, deems her worthy to date, Skye's already complex world becomes almost overwhelming. Responding to pressure from him to spend more time together, she ditches her brother and uses her newfound freedom to meet with her boyfriend. Predictably, he pressures her into sex and finally forces himself on her. She narrowly escapes, but the angry boyfriend continues to badger her and the confrontation between the two ultimately costs her the opportunity to go to States. In the end, Skye begins to mature and to think for herself. Unfortunately, the conclusion is a little too neat. Although the protagonist faces myriad problems, they are all resolved happily.

Vampire Academy

I really enjoyed this book. Well, that is, after reading the first 200 pages. The last hundred or so pages was really good. The first 200 are just eh. It's well worth it though. I liked the ending. I love Rose, the main character. She's really in-your-face. I really didn't like the fact that they were um, close. Not sexually, but even still, they seemed kinda lesbian-ish. Enough of my rambling, lets get down to business.
The book starts out as the two girls being captured and taken back to their old school, which they ran away from. Rose does lots of guardian work and Lissa becomes popular again, with a little help from her powers. I can't really say much, because the book has a lot of secrets that I can't give away (it ruins the story. its all about finding out secrets and putting two and two together). Anyway, it's a good read...after the first 200 pages.


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From BooklistAfter two years on the run, best friends Rose, half-human/half-vampire, and Lissa, a mortal vampire princess, are caught and returned to St. Vladimir's Academy. Up until then, Rose had kept Lissa safe from her enemies; school, however, brings both girls additional challenges and responsibilities. How they handle peer pressure, nasty gossip, new relationships, and anonymous threats may mean life or death. Likable narrator Rose hides doubts about her friend behind a tough exterior; orphan Lissa, while coping with difficult emotional issues such as depression and survivor's guilt, uses her emerging gifts for good. Mead's absorbing, debut YA novel, the first in a new series, blends intricately detailed fantasy with a contemporary setting, teen-relevant issues, and a diverse, if sometimes sterotyped, cast of supporting characters. Occasional steamy sex and a scattering of vulgar language demand mature readers, but teens able to handle the edgy elements will speed through this vamp story and anticipate the next installment. Rosenfeld, Shelle

Impulse

Impulse reminded me alot of sut except that Impulse had a little romance in it and cut really didn't. This book wasn't as depressing as Burned, but it did deal with suicide.It left off like Burned, in that you pretty much know the furute it just didn't make it definite.Ellen Hopkins is a good writer and I like her style, now I need to read Crank and Glass. I think Impulse was a really good boosk for anyone to read, unless you don't like books about suicide,then I'm not so sure.

Reveiw/Description
Three teens tell their stories, in free verse, from a psychiatric hospital after failed suicide attempts. Their lives unfold in alternating chapters, revealing emotionally scarred family relationships. An absent father, a bipolar mother, and a secret abortion have caused Vanessa to slash her wrists. As a compulsive cutter, she hides a paper clip to dig into her skin. Tony's drug overdose was triggered by an addiction in which he exchanged sex for money. Abused as a child, he is confused about his sexuality. Connor is the son of rich, controlling parents, and he survives a self-inflicted gunshot wound after a doomed affair with a female teacher. Initially, the narrators are inwardly focused, having arrived at "level zero," the beginning of their treatment. As they become acquainted with one another, the story, told in spare verse and colorful imagery, becomes more plot-driven and filled with witty dialogue. Both boys value Vanessa's friendship and there is an inkling of competition for her affection, although she assumes that Tony is gay. During a wilderness camping trip with other patients and staff, which would graduate the trio to the final level of treatment, it becomes apparent that one of them is mentally backsliding at the thought of returning home and has stopped taking meds. The consequences are played out, leaving the others to grapple with an additional loss and a newfound appreciation for life.

Chosen

This book was in following with Marked and Betrayed, meaning it was awesome. I can't wait for Untamed the fourth book to come out in the fall. Zoey is still High priestess in training even though her mentor is a total B word. And her life basically sucked really bad by the end of the book. The only good was she brought back one of her friends from being unded but besides that everythingthat could possibly go go went wrong. She went from having four really good friendsto them all being mad at her. Also she went from having three boyfriends to having none. The next book is going to be really interesting. I'm so pysched!

Review/Description
Dark forces are at work at the House of Night and fledgling vampyre Zoey Redbird’s adventures at the school take a mysterious turn. Those who appear to be friends are turning out to be enemies. And oddly enough, sworn enemies are also turning into friends. So begins the gripping third installment of this “highly addictive series” (Romantic Times), in which Zoey’s mettle will be tested like never before. Her best friend, Stevie Rae, is undead and struggling to maintain a grip on her humanity. Zoey doesn’t have a clue how to help her, but she does know that anything she and Stevie Rae discover must be kept secret from everyone else at the House of Night, where trust has become a rare commodity. Speaking of rare: Zoey finds herself in the very unexpected and rare position of having three boyfriends. Mix a little bloodlust into the equation and the situation has the potential to spell social disaster. Just when it seems things couldn’t get any tougher, vampyres start turning up dead. Really dead. It looks like the People of Faith, and Zoey’s horrid step-father in particular, are tired of living side-by-side with vampyres. But, as Zoey and her friends so often find out, how things appear rarely reflects the truth…

Breathing Underwater

Breathing Underwater was pretty good. It's about a boy that beat his girlfriend and ends up in a helping place thing. (its 7 am. give me a break) He meets all kinds of guys that are like him-abusive, hurt, emotionally struggling, and that have problems at home. Over all, the book was a good read.





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By
E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews Nick Andreas has just been served a restraining order from the person he loves the most in the world. After beating his girlfriend, the sixteen-year-old offender finds himself attending group therapy and writing in a journal about the things he's done. He's the son of an abuser, and it looks like that abuse has surfaced within himself. The question is, can Nick recognize what he's done? More importantly, can he change?
The premise is a complex one. Author Alex Flinn set out to write about an abusive relationship from the abuser's point of view. Now how do you go about doing that, exactly? How do you write a story in which the reader has to simultaneously empathize with and abhor the protagonist? The fact of the matter is, Flinn is so adept with her writing skills that she gets away with it. The result is phenomenal.
The real strength of this story is the way in which the plot arcs and fools the reader. Nick is hardly a reliable narrator (a fact that becomes painfully clear by the end of the story). Yet when he writes in his journal, he feels unaccountably unable to lie about anything that happened. Flinn slowly brings the plot in the journal, and the story of how Nick lives in the aftermath of his own violence, together by the book's end. She does not compromise her position either. As a woman who served as a lawyer trying domestic violence cases and as a volunteer at the Inn Transition facility for battered women and their kids, she knows from whence she speaks. This isn't an author who is speculating on what violence does to families and friends. She knows. Better still, she can write about it.
This isn't a perfect book, I suppose. Some jumps in the plot are implausible. Some characters inconsistent. But what flaws it has only serve to show how strong the story itself is. There is no book on how abusers feel that is as available and accessible to young adults as "Breathing Underwater". You will never regret having read it.

Burned

I really like this book up until the last like 15 pages, then it got all depressing. It's written in a relly weird format. The main character is Mormon and struggles with her reiligion throughout the book. The ending kind of leaves of but you know what's going to happen it just doesn't state it. I think it would be a good book for someone to read thought. I plan on reading some of her other books.

Review/Description

Full of anger at her father, an alcoholic who abuses her mother, Pattyn begins to question her Mormon religion and her preordained, subservient role within it. She is confused by her mother's acceptance of the brutal abuse, and although she is furious at and terrified of her father, she still longs for his love and approval. As the consequences of her anger become more dramatic, her parents send her to spend the summer with her aunt on a Nevada ranch. There she finds the love and acceptance she craves, both from her aunt and from a college-age neighbor, Ethan. Told in elegant free verse, Burned envelopes the reader in Pattyn's highs and lows, her gradual opening to love, and her bouts of rage, confusion, and doubt.

aww you guys!

Aww thanks for all the love...You both are wonderful :). And I really wanna read Speak and Chosen soon...and spring break's comming up so I'll probably read em then ;)

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You

This book almost sucked. I said almost because after the first half of the book it kind of gets better. There is a second book, but I don't know if I'm going to read it or not. I wouldn't really recommend it unlessyour really really bored. It is a spy book, but it's not very action packed and by the description you think it would be a good book.

Review/Description

Cammie Morgan, 15, is a student at Gallagher Academy, a top-secret boarding school for girls who are spies-in-training. She studies covert operations, culture and assimilation, and advanced encryption, and has learned to speak 14 languages. Her troubles begin when she falls for Josh, a local boy who has no clue about her real identity. Keeping her training secret forces her to lie to her new love, which leads to comic complications. Subplots include Cammie's relationship with her mother–the headmistress at Gallagher–and her grief over the loss of her father, who died while on a spying assignment. The teen's double life leads to some amusing one-liners, and the invented history of the Gallagher Girls is also entertaining, but the story is short on suspense. The stakes never seem very high since there are no real villains, and the cutesy dialogue quickly becomes grating. However, the novel has been optioned for a film and will likely attract readers who enjoy lighthearted, frothy tales and squeaky-clean romances.

OMG

You actually posted it. Oh my could you get any dorkier.

Jello's Ode

Jell-o's Ode

Fruit-flavored lights!

Shivering, quivering, edible sights!

Spooned up suns of chewable mood-Plasmic, prismic, rhythmic, food.

Cool-jeweled pools of swimming sliced fruits:

Crisp apple crayfish and mandarin newts.

Mellifluous, drift-through-us, cubical, spherical,

Sinuous swallows of transparent miracle.

Percy Dovetonsils

I love this poem!

TAD

Welcome Kayla!

I meant to do this the other day, but I had
summaries to do. I'm very glad Kayla joined us.
She is one of the smartest, prettiest, most awesomest,
coolest, and funniest people I know. So , welcome
Kayla! I heart you!

TAD
P.S. I loved your poem!

Thanx Kayla!

Thanx so much for the really awesome poem kayla(night). If you didn't read the comment I left on it, I really liked it. It's my feelings exactly. If you haven't yet you might check out my other blog about my life. I posted a sort of tribute to my friends.

Ruby Holler

I read this book a long time ago so I don't remember it very well. It was a really good book from what I rememeber. It was about two orphans that changed the lives of an elderly couple. It's really quite toching. I recommend you read it. Although my opinion ofbooksmight have been different in fifth grade.

Review/Description

The characters introduced here two abandoned children, their villainous guardians and a kindly country couple might have stepped out of a Dickens novel, but as Creech (Love that Dog) probes beneath their facades, the characters grow more complex than classic archetypes. Florida and her brother Dallas, raised in an orphanage run by the cold-hearted Trepids, rely on each other rather than grownups for support. They become suspicious when Mr. Trepid informs them that they are going to a place called Ruby Holler to accompany old Mr. and Mrs. Morey on separate vacations. Florida is to be Mr. Tiller Morey's companion on a canoe trip; Dallas is to help Mrs. Sairy Morey hunt down an elusive bird. Readying for the trips proves to be a journey in itself as the Moreys, Florida and Dallas make discoveries about one another as well as themselves in a soothing rural environment. This poignant story evokes a feeling as welcoming as fresh-baked bread. The slow evolution of the siblings who are no angels parallels the gradual building of mutual trust for the Moreys. The novel celebrates the healing effects of love and compassion.

The Pigman: Paul Zindel

This book wasn't what i was expecting. It was pretty good though. It is a 7.
TAD

For sophomores John and Lorraine, the world feels meaningless; nothing is important. They certainly can never please their parents, and school is a chore. To pass the time, they play pranks on unsuspecting people. It's during one of these pranks that they meet the "Pigman"--a fat, balding old man with a zany smile plastered on his face. In spite of themselves, John and Lorraine soon find that they're caught up in Mr. Pignati's zest for life. In fact, they become so involved that they begin to destroy the only corner of the world that's ever mattered to them. Originally published in 1968, this novel by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Paul Zindel still sings with sharp emotion as John and Lorraine come to realize that "Our life would be what we made of it--nothing more, nothing less."

Where the Red Fern Grows : Wilson Rawls

This is the only book that has made me cry. It was sad but very good. Definitely a 10!
TAD

In Where the Red Fern Grows, Billy and his precious coon hound pups romp relentlessly through the Ozarks, trying to "tree" the elusive raccoon. In time, the inseparable trio wins the coveted gold cup in the annual coon-hunt contest, captures the wily ghost coon, and bravely fights with a mountain lion. When the victory over the mountain lion turns to tragedy, Billy grieves, but learns the beautiful old Native American legend of the sacred red fern that grows over the graves of his dogs.

The Tale of Despereaux:by Kate Dicamillo

"Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread"

This was a cute book. I read it as a school project. I love theme "the most unlikely can become heroes" I would say a 9. TAD

DespereauxTilling, the new baby mouse, is different from all other mice. Sadly, the romantic, unmouselike spirit that leads the unusually tiny, large-eared mouse to the foot of the human king and the beautiful Princess Pea ultimately causes him to be banished by his own father to the foul, rat-filled dungeon.
The first book of four tells Despereaux's sad story, where he falls deeply in love with Princess Pea and meets his cruel fate. The second book introduces another creature who differs from his peers--Chiaroscuro, a rat who instead of loving the darkness of his home in the dungeon, loves the light so much he ends up in the castle& in the queen's soup. The third book describes young Miggery Sow, a girl who has been "clouted" so many times that she has cauliflower ears. Still, all the slow-witted, hard-of-hearing Mig dreams of is wearing the crown of Princess Pea. The fourth book returns to the dungeon-bound Despereaux and connects the lives of mouse, rat, girl, and princess in a dramatic denouement.

My Darling, My Hamburger: Paul Zindel

I really liked this book. It is different from want i mostly read. It deals with real high school issues. I like the name. It is a 8.
TAD


"As senior year rolls around, two unlikely couples find themselves caught between desire and the fear of intimacy. Liz and Sean, misunderstood by their parents, confused but certain they are in love, have an affair that ends shatteringly. Maggie and Dennis, just as confused, take their first steps toward understanding the demands life makes on everyone. Faced with real-life dilemmas that have no easy answers, Maggie, Dennis, Liz, and Sean must make choices that will affect the rest of their lives."

Suffocation

Wolf, I wrote this for you... It's my perspective of... well you know. I was on the phone and started writing words and was like "Hey, this sounds like something she might like" so here ya go. I hope you like it!!!

Cut off my breathing,

Leave me to die.

Slit my wrists

Bleed me dry.

Take my sanity,

Make me insane.

Take me for a fool

'Cause I played your game.

Leave me here in the dark

To pick up the pieces.

I can't stop the pain,

My heartbeat ceases.

There's nothing left for you to take,

Now in my grave I lie.

You caused my heart to break

And you can't see the tears I cry.