A Teenager's Bookclub

Red Riding Hood

2011-06-29T15:51:00.005-05:00

Valerie's sister was beautiful, kind, and sweet. Now she is dead. Henri, the handsome son of the blacksmith, tries to console Valerie, but her wild heart beats fast for another: the outcast woodcutter, Peter, who offers Valerie another life far from home.

After her sister's violent death, Valerie's world begins to spiral out of control. For generations, the werewolf has been kept at bay with a monthly sacrifice. But no one is safe. When an expert wolf hunter arrives, the villagers learn that the creature lives among them - it could be anyone in town.

It soon becomes clear that Valerie is the only one who can hear the voice of creature. The Wolf says she must surrender herself before the Blood Moon wanes . . . or everyone she loves will die.

Red Riding Hood was actually written after Catherine Hardwick received the screenplay from the movie. She felt like the story was too good not be be more in depth. I really would like to watch the movie and see if it was set up differently than the book. Not to say the book was horrible, it just wasn't that good. I really liked Valerie,the narrator, but she was very indecisive and when she did make decisions they were confusing. She would spend a large amount of time talking herself in one direction and then actually go against everything she had just said. The ending was also a little haphazard and kind of thrown together. It could have been a whole lot better if the plot would have been clearer and not so confusing. Overall it was an easy read, but not very original. One thing the book did fairly decent was hide who the wolf was. Even in the ending it wasn't officially announced, which was a bit annoying since the reader had been lead in circles. I will probably post again once I see the movie.

Review/Description

The sleepy village of Daggorhorn has been plagued by werewolves for many moons. Animal sacrifices have proved effective in keeping the Wolf at bay, but now human blood has been spilled. Valerie's beautiful sister is dead, killed by the werewolf who is terrorizing the village. Valerie knows that the Wolf wants her; she has known it since she was a small child. She is somehow attached to the creature, enabling her to communicate with the beast. The village is desperate to rid themselves of the monster, and decide that Valerie can be used as bait. Valerie is a willing sacrifice; blaming herself for her sister's death. She hopes that the Wolf will be placated by her willingness to surrender; however, nothing is certain. Blakely-Cartwright has the basis for a wonderful novel; suspense, romance, adventure...but somehow, it falls short. The characters are two-dimensional, making it difficult to find a reason to care about them from the very beginning. There are also elements of the plot that are not explained well in the narrative, including how the houses are built on stilts to help protect them from the Wolf. The third person perspective is annoying at times, especially when trying to figure out which character is being focused upon. Look for the movie version of the novel, released on March 11th. Perhaps watch the film first and then pick up the novel.

Awakened

2011-01-20T18:08:00.002-06:00

“My love, speak to me. Tell me everything.” Neferet went to Kalona, kneeling before him, stroking the soft, dark wings that unfurled loosely around the immortal.
“What would you have me say?” He didn’t meet her eyes.
“Zoey lives.” Neferet’s voice was flat, cold, lifeless.
“She does.”
“Then you owe me the subservience of your immortal soul.” She started to walk away from him.
“Where are you going? What will happen next?”
“It is quite simple. I will ensure Zoey is drawn back to Oklahoma. There, on my own terms, I will complete the task you failed.”

Awakened is the 8th book in the House of Night series, and I thought it was actually pretty good. The authors are starting to run a little low on material, so to me it seems like the conflicts are starting to repeat themselves a bit. However, Zoey finally has only one boyfriend, Stark, who she is now devoted to and in love with. The book starts out with them dealing with being back from the Otherworld and then, they sleep together for the first time. Neferet has control over Kalona who now hates her. Neferet has to repay her debt to darkness and to get Zoey to come back to school so she has Jack killed. The rest of the book is about Stevie Rae and Rephraim and Zoey and Stark. I liked the ending because it worked out for Rephraim, Nyx rewarded him with the ability to be human during the night. I didn't like the part about Heath becoming part of the vessel of evil.

Review/Description

Exonerated by the Vampyre High Council and returned to her position of High Priestess at Tulsa’s House of Night, Neferet has sworn vengeance on Zoey. Dominion over Kalona is only one of the weapons she plans to use against Z. But Zoey has found sanctuary on the Isle of Skye and is being groomed by Queen Sgiach to take over for her there. Being Queen would be cool, wouldn’t it? Why should she return to Tulsa? After losing her human consort, Heath, she will never be the same – and her relationship with her super-hot-warrior, Stark, may never be the same either…
And what about Stevie Rae and Rephaim? The Raven Mocker refuses to be used against Stevie Rae, but what choice does he have when no one in the entire world, including Zoey, would be okay with their relationship? Does he betray his father or his heart?
In the pulse-pounding 8th book in the bestselling House of Night series, how far will the bonds of friendship stretch and how strong are the ties that bind one girl’s heart?

Shiver

2011-01-17T13:56:00.003-06:00

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf--her wolf--is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again.
Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human--or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

I really like the theme of Shiver. I aslo like the characeters personallities. Sam was awesome and I thought he balanced Grace out perfectly. However, I thought the plot was a little lacking in exceitement. It got better toward the end when Grace is trying to save Sam, but during the middle it was just about them being in love. All the information about wolves was cool too. It was interesting that Grace's attack played such a large part and I liked it. The ending was extremely good, since I'm all about how books end and I like happily ever-after. I kind of don't want to read the sequels because I think they are going to make me mad, but I will probably read them anyway.

Review/ Description

Stiefvater leaves the faeries of Lament and Ballad for a lyrical tale of alienated werewolves and first love. For years, Grace has been fascinated by the yellow-eyed wolf that saved her from its pack when she was a child. Sam, bitten by a wolf as a boy, is that wolf. Long obsessed with each other at a distance, they finally meet after a wolf hunt (inspired by the apparent death of a local teen) sends a wounded and temporarily human Sam into Grace's arms. Their young love is facilitated by Grace's hands-off parents (“Once upon a time, I would've leaped at the rare opportunity of curling up with Mom on the couch. But now, it sort of felt like too little, too late,” Grace muses), but threatened by two linked crises: the fact that Sam will soon lose the ability to become human and the instability of a new lycanthrope.

Animal Farm

2010-12-29T19:33:00.003-06:00

I actually read this book for english class a few months ago and forgot to post it. I really like it though, and I definetely reccomend it for any book report. Discussing the Russian revolution in the form of animals, it showed how power slowly corrupts those who possess it. The animals of Mr. Jones's farm decide to hold a revolution in which they assume all power of the farm. Once they run off the farmer, the pigs assume a leadership position. The pigs in general represented the Bolsheviks, but Napoleon represented Joseph Stalin. Snowball represented Leon Trotsky and Boxer the hard working horse epitimized the working class. In the end, the animals couldn't tell the difference between the pigs and the other farmers.

Review/Description

When you open up to the first page, you read about a farmer who owns a farm, animals, and has hired helpers to work on the farm. Typical farm, right? Wrong. There is something majorly different about this one compared to others you may visit. The animals here can talk, and even more, they are plotting to take over the farm. Throughout the story, read about the many difficulties that result from this action on their part. Read of the changes that happen because of this shift of power. When George Orwell wrote this book, many people were willing to accept the Communist ideals held by the Soviet Union. The Soviets had earned a lot of friends after they helped give the Allies an edge against the Nazis. However, others like George Orwell saw that a totalitarian government had actually risen behind the scenes. That is why he wrote Animal Farm, to show people the real situation and threat behind the Soviet government. In the story, Orwell emphasized the factor of too much power. As you read the book, watch to see what happens to those who are given the power of leadership. Watch to see the way they use and misuse it. Orwell also uses many symbols that relate to the real world situations. He used many of the animals to represent things like the workers in Russia, the religion, propaganda, and the influences of power. In the story, the animals build a windmill as a symbol of their ability to accomplish things on their own. This was Orwell's representation of the Communist ideals that were initially made to benefit the Russian people. This book is very valuable in its ability to show the consequences that come from abusing power. Orwell makes it very clear where his standing is on the issue of absolute power and influence. As you read Animal Farm, look for the instances where he shows how propaganda can influence people to do things only from the viewpoint of the person that it solely benefits. Why not try to look for ways that show the similarities between the story and the Russian Revolution? If you do, you could get a better understanding of the way Animal Farm plays out. Will the animals and their ideals hold true? Or will the humans take back the farm? Will the conditions get better on the farm after the animals take over?

Imposssible

2010-12-24T21:45:00.005-06:00

I didn't think this book was as good as i thought it was going to be. The story was about a girl who was born into a curse. The whole line of women in her family has been doomed to have a daughter at 18 and then go crazy during which time they belong to the evil Elfin Knight, to get out of the curse they must accomplish three impossible tasks. Lucy lives with her foster parents, and her next door neighbor Zach lives with them. The whole book is about the relationship between Lucy and Zach and how their love helps Lucy achieve her goals. The end is good, but the whole plot just seemed a little lacking. The three tasks only counted for a small portion of the book and kind of lost focus throughout the middle. Overall, the book was ok and I don't think it was a waste of time.

Review/Description

Werlin (TheRules of Survival) melds fantasy and suspense in a contemporary setting for a romance with plenty of teen appeal. Lucy Scarborough, raped on prom night, is pregnant. Committed to keeping the baby, she nonetheless sees disturbing parallels to her mentally ill mother, Miranda, who had Lucy as a teen, then left her in the care of the Markowitzes-Soledad, a nurse-midwife, and her husband, Leo. Boy-next-door-type Zach, home from college and living with the Markowitzes, happens upon Miranda's teenage diary, which outlines a curse placed on Lucy's family generations earlier by the evil Elfin Knight: the women all give birth as teens before descending into madness. Lucy can break the curse only by performing three impossible tasks set forth in a variant of the ballad "Scarborough Fair." None of her forebears have come even close, but then none of them had help from the selfless Markowitzes, the love-struck and self-sacrificing Zach or the Internet, where items like goat horns can be easily located: Lucy is the luckiest accursed girl ever.

A Bride in the Bargain

2010-08-22T14:35:00.002-05:00

In 1860s Seattle, a man with a wife could secure himself 640 acres of timberland. But because of his wife's untimely death, Joe Denton finds himself about to lose half of his claim. Still in mourning, his best solution is to buy one of those Mercer girls arriving from the East. A woman he'll marry in name but keep around mostly as a cook.

Anna Ivey's journey west with Asa Mercer's girls is an escape from the griefs of her past. She's not supposed to be a bride, though, just a cook for the girls. But when they land, she's handed to Joe Denton and the two find themselves in a knotty situation. She refuses to wed him and he's about to lose his land. With only a few months left, can Joe convince this provoking--but beguiling--easterner to be his bride?

In keeping with the other Deeanne Gist books I've read this one was exquisite. A Bride in the Bargain had characters that by the end of the book it seems like you know them personally. I loved Anna and Joe, they were so perfect for each other. Joe was every girls fantasy he had sensitivitey, strenth, and sex appeal. The plot always has challeneges and towards the end I was afraid it wasn't going to work out the way I had hoped, but then it twisted and did. This book will make you fall in love with Seattle and wish it went on longer when it was finished. I recommend every true romantic read this book.

Review/Description

In the land replete with timber but few women, widower Joe Denton signs a contract with Asa Mercer to deliver the wife he needs to ensure his land rights. Unfortunately, 19-year-old Anna Ivey doesn't realize she's signed on for marriage; she only wants passage out West and a job. Sparks fly as tempers flare when Joe and Anna discover they are at cross-purposes. Acquiescing to common sense as well as a sense of desperation, the two agree to work together temporarily. As Anna cooks up a storm in payment for the traveling debt Joe incurred on her behalf, Joe cooks up his own scheme for wooing Anna into marriage.

Beastly

2010-08-18T17:04:00.002-05:00

A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright—a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster.
You think I'm talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It's no deformity, no disease. And I'll stay this way forever—ruined—unless I can break the spell.
Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night?

I'll tell you. I'll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I'll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.

Beastly as the name probably implies is about a Beast. Well, it's the classic story of Beauty and the Beast with a modern day twist. I think Alex Flinn did a really good job of adding in the technology without belittling the actual story. And it wasn't boring either. I actually enjoyed it a lot even though I've seen the disney version of this story a hundred times. He added a few plot twists and some background history on Kyle(the beast) A.k.a Adrian and on Lindy(Beauty). I think this is a good story for all romance, happy ending, fairytale addicts like me.

Review/ Description

Kyle Kingsbury is a gorgeous high school freshman, spoiled rotten by his famous anchorman father, a man who'd rather dole out cash than affection. Kyle attends the exclusive Tuttle School in New York City and torments those poor unfortunates who lack his looks and wealth. When he humiliates a girl at school, she transforms him into a horrific-looking creature. Kyle's only hope for breaking the spell lies in finding true love-as he reports online in meetings of the Unexpected Changes chat group (other members include Froggie and the mermaid Silent Maid). Flinn follows the fairy tale's original plot points closely, but falters in her depiction of the story's bad guys, over-the-top caricatures that simply ring false in her up-to-date setting. Kyle's father, for example, spends literally three minutes with him each day, the time it takes him to heat his dinner in the microwave

Deep in the Heart of Trouble

2010-07-31T12:18:00.006-05:00

Deep in the Heart of Trouble was another wonderful book by Deanne Gist. I read A Bride Most Begrudging a little while ago and I loved it, and this one was no different. Apparently though it is actually the sequel to Courting Trouble, I didn't read the first but they are only tied together by characters I didn't really miss anything by not reading the first book.With charming characters and a lovely storyline I really enjoyed this book. The main character Essie reminds me of an Austen character with all her spunk and vitality. I loved her independence and individuality, as well as all her riding outfits and unique hats. The murder of Darius, Tony's brother made the story more intriguing. With romance and secrets, but also a happy ending this book is any girls fairytale.

Review/Description

Deeanne Gist has written a romance that will touch your heart. Her research into the early oil industry is impeccable. Essie and Tony's story has inspiration, a little mystery and a lot of romance. The characters struggle between being human and waiting on God's direction. This is the same struggle that most of us have when our human emotions get in the way of God's plans. Deep in the Heart of Trouble wraps up Essie's story very nicely. It has a little bit of everything, a well rounded story that will make you laugh, cry and cheer for Tony and Essie.

City of Bones

2010-07-13T17:32:00.002-05:00

City of Bonesw is the first book in the mortal instuments series. I really liked it up until the last 50 pages when everything twisted and weird. Throughout the story Clary finds out about the world of shadowhunters and the beings they hunt, demons. She finds out about the existence of vampires, werewolves, faeries, and warlocks. And in the end she finds out the existence of her Brother. Also throughout the story a relationship is building between Clary and Jace, who protects her. Jace, A.ka Jonathan, is also her brother, which is not realized until they are in love with each other. There father is the definition of evil and they are siblings in love, what else could go wrong. I really just wanted the series to end there, but I guess now I have to read the other books and see how everything turns out.

Review/ Description

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder — much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Clary knows she should call the police, but it's hard to explain a murder when the body disappears into thin air and the murderers are invisible to everyone but Clary.
Equally startled by her ability to see them, the murderers explain themselves as Shadowhunters: a secret tribe of warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. Within twenty-four hours, Clary's mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a grotesque demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know....

Burned

2010-07-10T15:06:00.004-05:00

So this is the seventh book in the House of Night series and it was a little different than the others. For one it was broken into chapters based on the perspectives of the different characters. There were chapters based on Zoey, Heath, Stark, Aphrodite, Kalona, Stevie Rae, and Rephaim's perspectives. It was also different because it wasn't about Zoey exactly. .It was mostly about how the others were trying to rescue her and also it was about Stevie Rae and her problems. I did really like the parts when she and Rephaim were together and I think that it will be interesting to see how everything turns about between them. I also liked that for once it didn't really meantion all of Zoey's boyfriend problemsThis was actually one of my favorites of this series since the first book.

Review/Description

When friends stop trusting each other, Darkness is there to fan the flames…. Things have turned black at the House of Night. Zoey Redbird’s soul has shattered. With everything she’s ever stood for falling apart, and a broken heart making her want to stay in the Otherworld forever, Zoey’s fading fast. It’s seeming more and more doubtful that she will be able pull herself back together in time to rejoin her friends and set the world to rights. As the only living person who can reach her, Stark must find a way to get to her. But how? He will have to die to do so, the Vampyre High Council stipulates. And then Zoey will give up for sure. There are only 7 days left… Enter BFF Stevie Rae. She wants to help Z but she has massive problems of her own. The rogue Red Fledglings are acting up, and this time not even Stevie Rae can protect them from the consequences. Her kinda boyfriend, Dallas, is sweet but too nosy for his own good. The truth is, Stevie Rae’s hiding a secret that might be the key to getting Zoey home but also threatens to explode her whole world. In the middle of the whole mess is Aphrodite: ex-Fledgling, trust-fund baby, total hag from Hell (and proud of it). She’s always been blessed (if you could call it that) with visions that can reveal the future, but now it seems Nyx has decided to speak through her with the goddess’s own voice, whether she wants it or not. Aphrodite’s loyalty can swing a lot of different ways, but right now Zoey’s fate hangs in the balance. Three girls… playing with fire… if they don’t watch out, everyone will get Burned.

On the NIght of the Seventh Moon

2010-06-07T16:06:00.002-05:00

I have become an avid Victoria Holt reader. Her books are delightful with wonderful endings, but full of twists and mysteries. On the night of the seventh moon was very different from the mistress of mellyn. It started out kind of slow and was very odd until the middle when it started to get better. It was the story of a girl who met a mysterious man in the forest of germany and then met him by chance again and was married to him. But an untruthful act by those closest to her makes her believe she imagined the romance. It took her nine years to discover the truth and finally live her happily ever after. Betrayal, mystery, and chance all come together to make a book full of twists that will suprise you till the end. I did however guess at some of the things that were going to happen and proved myself correct. This was a good read and i recommend it to any romantic.

Review/Description

On the night of the seventh moon, according to ancient Black Forest legend, Loke, the god of mischief, is abroad in the world. It is a night for singing and dancing. And it is a night for love.
Helena Trant was enchanted by everything she found in the Black Forest—its people, its mysterious castles, its legends and lore. Especially its legends of love. Until the day she started to live one of them and the enchantment turned suddenly into a terrifying nightmare….

Nine Coaches Waiting

2010-05-05T19:28:00.003-05:00

This book reminded me alot of the Mistress of Mellyn, but it was a little more difficult to understand. The book is based in France so there are a variety of different french words, or conversations that aren't translated into English. It had a very interesting plot, but it took a while to get going. The romance through a loop, with the book trying to convince you that Raul is a bad guy, but Linda reassuring herself until the end that he isn't despite all the evidence. The ending was surprising, but I liked it very much. It is a slower read, howver it is still a decent book.

Review/Description

A governess in a French château encounters an apparent plot against her young charge's life in this unforgettably haunting and beautifully written suspense novel. When lovely Linda Martin first arrives at Château Valmy as an English governess to the nine-year-old Count Philippe de Valmy, the opulence and history surrounding her seems like a wondrous, ecstatic dream. But a palpable terror is crouching in the shadows. Philippe's uncle, Leon de Valmy, is the epitome of charm, yet dynamic and arrogant—his paralysis little hindrance as he moves noiselessly in his wheelchair from room to room. Only his son Raoul, a handsome, sardonic man who drives himself and his car with equally reckless abandon, seems able to stand up to him. To Linda, Raoul is an enigma—though irresistibly attracted to him, she senses some dark twist in his nature. When an accident deep in the woods nearly kills Linda's innocent charge, she begins to wonder if someone has deadly plans for the young count.

Mistress of Mellyn

2010-04-13T20:35:00.003-05:00

Mistress of Mellyn was a very surprising book. It surprised me that I like it so much and had an interesting twist in the end. Everyone isn't as they seem. It was similar in plot to that of Jane Eyre, and the main characters had similar personalities. However, I like this book a lot better and it was easier to read,lacking all the old language styles. It is an older book that you would probably not usually pick up, but I definitely recommend that you do. It has some plot flaws, but is still interesting throughout in my opinion.

Review/Description

Mount Mellyn stood as proud and magnificent as she had envisioned...But what bout its master—Connan TreMellyn? Was Martha Leigh's new employer as romantic as his name sounded? As she approached the sprawling mansion towering above the cliffs of Cornwall, an odd chill of apprehension overcame her.
TreMellyn's young daugher, Alvean, proved as spoiled and difficult as the three governesses before Martha had discovered. But it was the girl's father whose cool, arrogant demeanor unleashed unfimiliar sensations and turmoil—even as whispers of past tragedy and present danger begin to insinuate themselves into Martha's life.
Powerless against her growing desire for the enigmatic Connan, she is drawn deeper into family secrets—as passion overpowers reason, sending her head and heart spinning. But though evil lurks in the shadows, so does love—and the freedom to find a golden promise forever...

The Lovely Bones

2010-04-01T17:31:00.004-05:00

Lovely Bones was not exactly what I expected it would be. I thought it would be the typical murder mystery kind of book, which it wasn't really. Suzie, the narrator starts off telling how she died and who killed her. The rest of the book is aobut her family coping with her death and her coping with letting them go in her heaven. She basically watches their progressing lives from her own heaven world. The story is slightly interesting, but a bit confusing at times because it bounces around to what she is seeing different people doing. The ending kind if surprised me, it didn't end how I expected it to. I guess it was a fairly decent read and is now made into a movie.

Review/Description

When we first meet 14-year-old Susie Salmon, she is already in heaven. This was before milk carton photos and public service announcements, she tells us; back in 1973, when Susie mysteriously disappeared, people still believed these things didn't happen. In the sweet, untroubled voice of a precocious teenage girl, Susie relates the awful events of her death and her own adjustment to the strange new place she finds herself. It looks a lot like her school playground, with the good kind of swing sets. With love, longing, and a growing understanding, Susie watches her family as they cope with their grief, her father embarks on a search for the killer, her sister undertakes a feat of amazing daring, her little brother builds a fort in her honor and begins the difficult process of healing.

Tempted

2010-02-01T12:44:00.002-06:00

Tempted is the sixth book in the HoN series. It was like all the others, meaning same circumstances just different situations. Zoey has too many boyfriends still and has to save the world again. However, Zoey and Eric break up realtaively early and I think they might actually be over this time. Stevie Rae and Aphrodite's imprint gets broken. Stevie rae finally reveals what she has been keeping from Zoey. While she develops a new secret when she saves Rephraim the head Raven Mocker. Zoey and the gand go to Venice to appear in front of the Vampyre High Council, to prove Kalona and Neferet are bad. The end has a suprising and very upsetting twist.

Review/Description

So…you’d think after banishing an immortal being and a fallen High Priestess, saving Stark’s life, biting Heath, getting a headache from Erik, and almost dying, Zoey Redbird would catch a break. Sadly, a break is not in the House of Night school forecast for the High Priestess in training and her gang. Juggling three guys is anything but a stress reliever, especially when one of them is a sexy Warrior who is so into protecting Zoey that he can sense her emotions. Speaking of stress, the dark force lurking in the tunnels under the Tulsa Depot is spreading, and Zoey is beginning to believe Stevie Rae could be responsible for a lot more than a group of misfit red fledglings. Aphrodite’s visions warn Zoey to stay away from Kalona and his dark allure, but they also show that it is Zoey who has the power to stop the evil immortal. Soon it becomes obvious that Zoey has no choice: if she doesn’t go to Kalona he will exact a fiery vengeance on those closest to her. Will Zoey have the courage to chance losing her life, her heart, and her soul?

Hunted

2009-12-08T19:29:00.002-06:00

So I think there are way too many books in this series, this is the fifth, it's just getting ridiculous. Zoey is still dealing with all her boy drama, and the plot keeps circiling around the same old themes. Yes, Neferet is evil, yes she has too many boyfriends, and yes Stevie Rae is undead. I wish she would hurry up and end the series before it becomes a trashy soap opera sort of book, even though it already is a little. I mean the book wasn't bad it was just monotonous. So I would suggest you keep trudging through the series until it comes to a close.

Review/Description

Zoey is a powerful fledging who is training for her conversion to vampyrism at a private boarding school. Zoey and her circle are currently battling evil high priestess Neferet and fallen angel Kalona, who have taken over the Oklahoma House of Night. She is also dealing with power struggles among the other fledglings along with the usual teenage angst that accompanies multiple boyfriends. The plot is zingy and so, for the most part, is the dialogue. The authors go out of their way to recap previous events, which is great for listeners new to the series, but may be annoying to those who already know the back story. They also unnecessarily emphasize gay characters by attaching the adjective "gay" to all of their actions. Narrator Jenna Lamia does a good job, giving each character a distinctive voice and personality, especially Stevie Rae's Oklahoma twang and Aphrodite's very bored delivery.

Along for the Ride

2009-11-23T19:20:00.002-06:00

So, Along for the Ride was actually a good book, not on the same level as The Truth About Forever or Just Listen, but good none the less. It actually had a nice ending, which I don't say a lot, becuase it answered most of the questions posed throughout the story. The main characters were complex, but Auden seemed kind of uncaring until the end. There was a lot of personal development from all the characters, although they kind of all had the same problem. All in all it was a good read, and written in the typical Sara Dessen style.

Review/ Description

Studious good girl Auden, named for the poet, makes a snap decision to spend her summer before college at her father's beach house rather than with her mother, a professor whose bad habits include male grad students. Auden's parents divorced three years earlier, a split she's not yet over. Her remarried father has already produced another heir, a colicky baby named Thisbe (after a tragic figure from Shakespeare), with his young wife, Heidi, who owns a boutique. Feeling sympathy for stressed-out Heidi, Auden agrees to do the shop's bookkeeping, providing her with an instant social circle-the teenage clerks plus the boys from the neighboring bike rental, including hunky, wounded Eli. Both night owls, Auden and Eli bond when he coaxes her to experience childhood activities-bowling, food fights, learning to ride a bike-that her insufferable parents never bothered to provide.

Jane Eyre

2009-11-10T17:19:00.004-06:00

Jane Eyre was a ver unusual sort of book, in my opinion. Not in the sense of its material being unusual just the characters. Really there were three stories going on throughout the book. The story of Jane's childhood, the story of Jane and Mr. Rochester, and the story of Jane's life after Mr. Rochester. In the end everything sort of works out, but a few characrers had some life changing events happen. I didn't agree with everything that happened, but I did like the book for the most part. It wasn't a Pride and Prejudice or anything, however it was worthy of being a classic.

Review/Description

Orphaned at an early age, Jane Eyre leads a lonely life until she finds work as a governess at Thornfield Hall, where she meets the mysterious Mr. Rochester and sees a ghostly woman who roams the halls by night. This is a story of passionate love, travail and final triumph. The relationship between the heroine and Mr. Rochester is only one episode, albeit the most important, in a detailed fictional autobiography in which the author transmuted her own experience into high art. In this work the plucky heroine is outwardly of plain appearance, but possesses an indomitable spirit, a sharp wit and great courage. She is forced to battle against the exigencies of a cruel guardian, a harsh employer and a rigid social order which circumscribes her life and position.

Generation Dead

2009-09-13T13:48:00.002-05:00

Basically teenagers across the country are dying, but they aren't staying dead. In the United States, zombies are walking around acting like the living, except a little slower. This was a rather weird book, in the zombie fact and that the main girl Phoebe likes a zombie. The ending really made me mad because Phoebe is such an idiot and doesn't realize Adam loves her until it's too late. Adam isn't a zombie by the way. There is a sequel I haven't decided to read it yet.

Review/Description

Phoebe Kendall is just your typical Goth girl with a crush. He's strong and silent.and dead. All over the country, a strange phenomenon is occurring. Some teenagers who die aren't staying dead. But when they come back to life, they are no longer the same. Feared and misunderstood, they are doing their best to blend into a society that doesn't want them. The administration at Oakvale High attempts to be more welcoming of the "differently biotic." But the students don't want to take classes or eat in the cafeteria next to someone who isn't breathing. And there are no laws that exist to protect the "living impaired" from the people who want them to disappear-for good. When Phoebe falls for Tommy Williams, the leader of the dead kids, no one can believe it; not her best friend, Margi, and especially not her neighbor, Adam, the star of the football team. Adam has feelings for Phoebe that run much deeper than just friendship; he would do anything for her. But what if protecting Tommy is the one thing that would make her happy?

The Princess and the Hound

2009-09-01T20:12:00.003-05:00

He is a prince, heir to a kingdom threatened on all sides, possessor of the animal magic, which is forbidden by death in the land he'll rule.
She is a princess from a rival kingdom, the daughter her father never wanted, isolated from true human friendship but inseparable from her hound.
Though they think they have little in common, each possesses a secret that must be hidden at all costs. Proud, stubborn, bound to marry for the good of their kingdoms, this prince and princess will steal your heart, but will they fall in love?

A classic love story that isn't really sappy. The prince, which can understand and talk to animals even though animal magic is considered evil, is going to marry Princess Beatrice who loves her hound more than anything. In a lot of eventful situations the true nature of everyone and everything comes into play, and people aren't really who you think they are or what you think they are for that matter. A really good storyline and ending. Both prince and princess realize their true potential and their love for each other at the same time.

Review/Description

Prince George must keep his ability to talk to animals a secret. In Kendel, animal magic is punishable by death, and the fear and loathing toward practitioners is reminiscent of the witch hunts of medieval Europe. Even as royalty, George cannot reveal his secret. Lonely and isolated, George accepts his betrothal to Princess Beatrice as a political alliance, expecting never to trust enough to find love. But when George and Beatrice meet, George is drawn to Beatrice and the beautiful hound, Marit, who is her constant companion. In the pair, George finds not only trust but also others whose lives have been touched by animal magic. George is not a typical Prince Charming, but Beatrice has the feel of a damsel in distress. Both need rescuing in their own ways, and Harrison sets up a story that draws readers into their growing relationship. George, the infatuated prince, is an atypical fairy-tale narrator. His perspective adds depth and insight to his character, but Beatrice's chilly personality is less developed. Her isolation is just as apparent as George's, and he is drawn to her through their shared loneliness. George's growth from prince to king is admirable, especially as he learns to accept his shortcomings and his secret abilities and forgive himself his past mistakes.

Bride Most Begrudging

2009-07-31T14:26:00.004-05:00

This book really surprised me. I don't generally like books set back in the 1800s, but it was funny and had sarcasm in it. It was written really well and the story was really interesting too. I loved the ending, it was a true romance book and had a fairly happy ending. The main character, Constance, was hilariously difficult to deal with. Drew was a good man and was able to put up with her most of the time. I would absolutely reccomend this book.

Review/Description

Any ship arriving from England means good news for Virginia colony farmers. The "tobacco brides" would be on board--eligible women seeking a better life in America, bartered for with barrels of tobacco from the fields.
Drew O’Connor isn’t stirred by news of a ship full of brides. Still broken-hearted from the loss of his beloved, he only wants a maid to tend his house and care for his young sister.
What he ends up with is a wife--a feisty redhead who claims she is Lady Constance Morrow, daughter of an Earl, brought to America against her will. And she want to go straight back to England as soon as she possibly can. She hasn’t the foggiest notion how to cook, she dares to argue with her poor husband, and spends more time working on mathematical equations than housework. What kind of a wife is that? Drew's Christian forbearance is in for some testing.
Headstrong and intelligent, deeply moral but incredibly enticing, Constance turns what was supposed to be a marriage of convenience into something most inconvenient, indeed.

Salem Falls

2009-05-12T18:09:00.003-05:00

So I haven't really been in a readin mood lately. it took me almost a month to read Salem Falls because I got into it,but I couldn't really stay into it that long. In the beginning it starts out a little confusing; all the characters are introduced separately and it tells a bit about their pasts. Eventually they all tie together. Jack has just gotten out of jail for sexual assualt, Addie runs the Do-or-Diner like her life depends upon it since her daughter died, and everyone just falls into their story. By accident and on purpose. it seems like everything in the world is against Jack, just an ordinary guy who raped one of his students; or so everyone believes. But in Jodi Picoult's world nothing is as it seems until the very end, when you begin to find out what really happened.

Review/Description

Jack St. Bride comes to Salem Falls, after his release from prison. The former teacher and soccer coach wants to start a new life following a wrongful conviction for statutory rape. Unfortunately, Salem Falls turns out to be the wrong place to do it. He has no trouble landing a job at the local diner and winning the trust of the diner's eccentric owner, Addie, but the rest of the town is suspicious. Things get dangerous when manipulative 17-year-old Gillian Duncan, whose father owns half the town, gets interested in Jack and tries to seduce him with Wiccan love spells. Then Gillian is assaulted in the woods, and Jack is accused of the crime. As the courtroom battle unfolds, many secrets are revealed, and Picoult's characters are forced to confront the difference between who people are and who they say they are. The difference is considerable: despite the townspeople's aura of virtue, by the end of the book we're hard pressed to find any women who have never been raped or threatened, or any men who are really innocent of violence.

Until We Meet Again

2009-03-09T13:58:00.003-05:00

A True Story of Love and Survival in the Holocaust

This was a really good nonfiction book. It reads just like a novel. Most holocaust stories are really depressing, but this one even though it has some really sad parts and the characters have to go through so many struggles, their love for each other lightens up the story a little. it shows how even though you may be all alone memories can keep you going. it even has a happy ending. If you have to read a nonfiction book for school I definitely recommend this book. What happened to the Jewish people was horrible, and i had never really read anything that detailed what they went through like this book.

Review/Description

In 1942, Korenblit's parents, Manya and Meyer, were teenagers in love in Hrubieszow, Poland. But they were also Jewish and soon found themselves torn from their families and each other as they were shifted from camp to camp. Before they were separated, though, the two promised to meet in their hometown at the end of the war, which they did--two of the fewer than 200 surviving members of the 8000-strong Jewish community that had lived in Hrubieszow before the war. The writing here just is not as powerful as the facts, however. One strategic choice depletes much of the suspense: Korenblit reveals in an introduction that while researching the book, he discovered one of his mother's brothers living in England. It's a fantastic detail, initially well told, but by the end, when it is repeated, it sounds pedestrian. Other techniques lessen dramatic effect. For example: while in the camps, Manya kept an ersatz diary, jotting down daily events in terse lists such as ``Cyvia, joy, horrible condition, no hair, Cyvia better, new friend, replaced shoe, washed dress, farmwork'' which she rolled into tight cylinders and concealed in her hair. Rather than relying on the lucidity of those original notes, Korenblit and Janger imagine what Manya would have written had she had the paper and the time.

Lock and Key

2009-02-01T14:09:00.002-06:00

Dessen inverts a familiar fairy tale:

What if Cinderella got the prince,

the castle and all its accoutrements,

but wasn’t remotely interested?

Lock and Key was ok, but it didn't measure up to some of her other novels. It fell into about the middle of them. The ending was what made it a little less apealing, even though the story was good. It didn't ever really say if Ruby and Nate got back together in college, but I guess a story can't end exactly the way I want it to. It is a pretty good book to read with a lot of family problems for the characters to overcome, which makes it a good character realization book. It deals with some parental abuse in Nate's case but not that much. I would say this book was good enough to recommend but definitely doesn't beat Just Listen or the Truth About Forever.

Review/ Description

]After her mother abandons her, Ruby Cooper is flying below the radar of officialdom and trying to make it to her 18th birthday, when she’s busted by the landlord and turned over to social services. Ruby gets taken in by her estranged sister, Cora, who left for college a decade earlier and never looked back, and Cora’s husband, Jamie, the wealthy founder of a ubiquitous social networking site. Resentful, suspicious and vulnerable, she resists mightily, refusing the risky business of depending on anybody but herself, and wearing the key to her old house around her neck. All the Dessen trademarks are here—the swoon-worthy boy next door who is not what he appears to be; and the supporting characters who force Ruby to rethink her cynical worldview, among them the frazzled owner of a jewelry kiosk at the mall. The author again defines characters primarily through dialogue, and although Ruby and her love interest, Nate, sound wiser than their years, they talk the way teens might want to—from the heart.

Persuasion

2009-02-01T14:03:00.002-06:00

So like Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion started out really dull, but got better towards the middle of the story. In the begginng it's hard to determine the main character, but then Anne emerges and takes over. I really liked Anne's character, even though she was a little suttle. The ending was wonderful and the story was really touching about how love could wait eight years and be revived. It takes awhile to get used to the language, and understand the story. I recommend this book to anyone who had read Pride and Prejudice and even anyone who hasn't.

Review/Description

Persuasion follows the unfolding of the relationship between Anne Elliot and Frederick Wentworth. Anne is persuaded by a close friend and mentor to reject the marriage proposal from Wentworth. Seven years later the two are reunited and discover the mutual feelings they still have for each other. Circumstances have changed on both sides though and it's left to be discovered whether Anne marries Wentworth or is persuaded to marry William Elliot, her cousin and heir to the Elliot estate. Persuasion is charming, though the plot lags a bit at times. Through the different class distinctions of her diverse set of characters, Austen illustrates the abundant snobbishness in the nineteenth century. Anne, though, is lovable in her humbleness and lack of pretension.

A Great and Terrible Beauty

2009-02-01T13:56:00.003-06:00

This book really disappointed me because the story had the potential to be really good, but the direction the author went just really made the book suck. You can figure out what is going to happen before it does and I got really aggravated at how easily she let the main character get mainipulated. Overall it was a waste of my time to read and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. Even though the ending made up for a little bit of the story it didn't overthrow the way it unfolded. Apparently there are more in the series but I don't know if I'm going to read them.

Review/Description

It’s 1895, and after the suicide of her mother, 16-year-old Gemma Doyle is shipped off from the life she knows in India to Spence, a proper boarding school in England. Lonely, guilt-ridden, and prone to visions of the future that have an uncomfortable habit of coming true, Gemma’s reception there is a chilly one. To make things worse, she’s been followed by a mysterious young Indian man, a man sent to watch her. But why? What is her destiny? And what will her entanglement with Spence’s most powerful girls—and their foray into the spiritual world—lead to?

Identical

2009-01-20T10:18:00.002-06:00

Do twins begin in the womb? Or in a better place?

Ok so this book was extremely weird. Usually I like Ellen Hopkins books even though the ending suck, but this book twisted so bad at the end I was in shock. Besides having odd content it was ok until the end when it took a major turn. Being a story narrated by two different people I assumed it was two different people.......I was rather shocked. Dealing with touchy subject like molest, drugs, and cutting it isn't appropriate for anyone younger than probably 13 at least. If you like stories that suprise you this is something you'd like.

Review/Description

Kaeleigh and Raeanne are identical down to the dimple. As daughters of a district-court judge father and a politician mother, they are an all-American family—on the surface. Behind the faÃ§ade each sister has her own dark secret, and that's where their differences begin. For Kaeleigh, she's the misplaced focus of Daddy's love, intended for a mother whose presence on the campaign trail means absence at home. All that Raeanne sees is Daddy playing a game of favorites—and she is losing. If she has to lose, she will do it on her own terms, so she chooses drugs, alcohol, and sex. Secrets like the ones the twins are harboring are not meant to be kept—from each other or anyone else. Pretty soon it's obvious that neither sister can handle it alone, and one sister must step up to save the other, but the question is—who?

Marley & Me

2009-01-20T10:10:00.003-06:00

The heartwarming and unforgettable story

of a family in the making and the wondrously neurotic dog

who taught them what really matters in life.

This was a really good book especially if you are a dog lover. Of course the ending is sad, but all the classic dog books are. At times Marley and Me was hilarious, touching, and devastating. It was written really well and an overall enjoyable read. It has a few parts that aren't that bad, but possibly not suitable for younger readers. I watched the movie before I read the book and it did a pretty good job sticking to the story. I recommend this book to everyone.

Review/Description

John and Jenny were young and in love, with a perfect little house and not a care in the world. Then they brought home Marley, a wiggly yellow furball of a puppy—and their life would never be the same. Marley quickly grew into a barreling, ninety-seven-pound steamroller of a Labrador retriever who crashed through screen doors, flung drool on guests, stole women's undergarments, devoured couches and fine jewelry, and was expelled from obedience school. Yet Marley's heart was pure, and he remained a steadfast model of love and devotion for a growing family through pregnancy, birth, heartbreak, and joy, right to the inevitable goodbye.

All We Know of Heaven

2008-12-19T13:45:00.002-06:00

So this book is really good for the first half, but the end is a little disappointing. It is drawn out way too long. The story is about two best friends who look almost identical. When they get in a car accident the hospital mixes them up because they are so badly damaged. They thought one girl had died when it was really the other. In a story of mistaken identity one family rejoices and the other weeps. The life of Maureen will never be the same.

Review/ Description

Bridget Flannery and Maureen O'Malley have been BFFs since forever. Then a brief moment of inattention on an icy road leaves one girl dead and the other in a coma, battered beyond recognition. Family and friends mourn one friend's loss and pray for the other's recovery. Then the doctors discover they have made a terrible mistake. The girl who lived is the one who everyone thought had died.

The Scarlet Letter

2008-12-19T13:40:00.002-06:00

The Scarlet Letter was an ok book, of course it's an American classic and has an intersting point about society. It is a little hard to get interested in, but Hester Prynne is a character you want to be happy. Even though she was charged with adultery she doesn't give up, she raises her daughter to a hypocritcal society in which they are outcast. To get the whole story you have to read the book it's really too much information to try and explain.

Review/Description

Roger Chillingworth, an aging scholar, arrives in New England after two years' separation from his wife Hester to find her on trial for adultery. For refusing to reveal her lover's identity, she is condemned to wear a letter 'A' sewn onto her clothes. Roger resolves to discover and destroy the man who has stolen his honor.For the next seven years the participants in this bizarre love triangle privately suffer the consequences of betrayal, cowardice, and humiliation. Slowly but surely, the need for redemption grows in each as the story hastens toward its dramatic close.

Pride and Prejudice

2008-12-19T13:34:00.003-06:00

This was an excelent book. It takes awhile to get used to the language and it starts off a little slow, but it's totally worth it in the end. The movie is also really good, although not as good as the book. Mr. Bennet was one of my favorite characters, along with Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. Truely Mr. Darcy is a wonderful person once he got past his pride, which takes him over half the book to accomplish. I really suggest you read this book if you like love stories.

Review/ Description

This novel tells the tale of the convoluted romance of Mister Fitzwilliam Darcy and Miss Elizabeth `Lizzy? Bennet. Basically, Darcy?s pride prevents him from showing his true feelings for Elizabeth, and Lizzy?s prejudice against men keeps her from truly falling in love. The protagonists of the story are Charles Bingley, Fitzwilliam Darcy, and the Bennet family. The leaders of the Bennet family are rational Mr. Bennet and foolish Mrs. Bennet, who thinks only of finding wealthy men for her daughters to marry. This is the tale of the courtships of the Bennet girls: beautiful and gentle Jane, clever Lizzy, reclusive Mary, silly Kitty, and headstrong Lydia. The story begins with the incorrigible Mrs. Bennet demanding that her husband introduce the family to wealthy Mr. Bingley, who has just moved to Netherfield Park, in the village of Longbourn, where the Bennet residence can also be found. Mrs. Bennet hopes that Bingley will marry one of her daughters. The Bennet family forms a friendship with Mr. Bingley, his sister Caroline, and their friend, Mr. Darcy. In the mean time, the Bennets also become acquainted with one George Wickham, Darcy?s estranged childhood friend.

Fahrenheit 451

2008-12-19T13:28:00.002-06:00

So I had to read this book for English class, but it was good. It was about a society where books were burned if they were found. The ending is a little depressing but if fits the story. It has a lot of good characters but leaves a few unanswered questions about what happens to Clarice. I would suggest if you had to do a paper for English class this would be a good book to choose.

Review/ Description

Nowadays firemen start fires. Fireman Guy Montag loves to rush to a fire and watch books burn up. Then he met a seventeen-year old girl who told him of a past when people were not afraid, and a professor who told him of a future where people could think. And Guy Montag knew what he had to do....

The God of Animals

2008-10-17T16:10:00.003-05:00

Talk about a serious reality check. This story seems so real it could be the life of your neighbor. Most books have happy endings, well not this one. It's all about broken promises and dreams that don't come true, the real hardships of life. Not full of fairytales and princesses. Set in the life of a preteen girl living on her family's horse stable. The ending wasn't to be admirered but that was just because it ended like real life story not one out of a story book. Everyone has reasons to lie and lives that get torn apart, nothing is ever what it seems.

Review/Description

When her older sister runs away to marry a rodeo cowboy, Alice Winston is left to bear the brunt of her family's troubles -- a depressed, bedridden mother; a reticent, overworked father; and a run-down horse ranch. As the hottest summer in fifteen years unfolds and bills pile up, Alice is torn between dreams of escaping the loneliness of her duty-filled life and a longing to help her father mend their family and the ranch. To make ends meet, the Winstons board the pampered horses of rich neighbors, and for the first time Alice confronts the power and security that class and wealth provide. As her family and their well-being become intertwined with the lives of their clients, Alice is drawn into an adult world of secrets and hard truths, and soon discovers that people -- including herself -- can be cruel, can lie and cheat, and every once in a while, can do something heartbreaking and selfless. Ultimately, Alice and her family must weather a devastating betrayal and a shocking, violent series of events that will test their love and prove the power of forgiveness.

Story of a Girl

2008-10-07T00:13:00.004-05:00

Story of a Girl was surprisingly good. It was about a girl trying to overcome a past mistake that fro three years was controlling how her life and her family's was developing. She makes quite a few more mistakes during the course of the book, but eventually she resolves those and the one big mistake that was controlling her life. In learning to forgive and overcome, she finally takes control of her life. The ending was ok it left off a little abruptly though.

Review/Description

When she is caught in the backseat of a car with her older brother's best friend - Deanna Lambert's teenage life is changed forever. Struggling to overcome the lasting repercussions and the stifling role of "school slut," she longs to escape a life defined by her past.

Untamed

2008-09-30T22:24:00.003-05:00

Untmamed was the fourth book in the House of Night series. Personally, I think the authors are sort of drawing out the series a little bit. They basically resolved everything that happened in the last book in the first fifty pages, it as a bit too easy. Zoey even got involved with another guy.Then, something totally different basically happened than what was set up in the last book. It was ok towards the end and it left off setting up for the next book. That I hope will be better.

Review/Description

Life sucks when your friends are pissed at you. Just ask Zoey Redbird – she’s become an expert on suckiness. In one week she has gone from having three boyfriends to having none, and from having a close group of friends who trusted and supported her, to being an outcast. Speaking of friends, the only two Zoey has left are undead and unMarked. And Neferet has declared war on humans, which Zoey knows in her heart is wrong. But will anyone listen to her? Zoey's adventures at vampyre finishing school take a wild and dangerous turn as loyalties are tested, shocking true intentions come to light, and an ancient evil is awakened in PC and Kristin Cast's spellbinding fourth House of Night novel.

Body Surfing

2008-09-22T20:52:00.003-05:00

Body Surfing was pretty goo, it was very surprising and written well. The main woman of the sstory has a hard time with love and life, being once divorced and once widowed. The ending fit the story pretty well, it was sad at times and funny at others. It was a more adult type romance novel,but not graphic or anything. At times it was a bit confusing. It makes you want to go to the ocean and try body surfing. It teaches you a lesson that sometimes people aren't really who you think they are and you shouldn't make assumptions.

Review/Description

At the age of 29, Sydney has already been once divorced and once widowed. Trying to regain her footing, she has signed on to tutor the teenage daughter of a well-to-do couple as they spend a sultry summer in their oceanfront New Hampshire cottage. But when the Edwardses' two grown sons arrive at the beach house, Sydney finds herself caught up in a destructive web of old tensions and bitter divisions. As the brothers vie for her affections, the fragile existence Sydney has rebuilt is threatened.

Deep Down Popular

2008-09-18T18:10:00.002-05:00

Deep Down Popular was ok when I bought it I didn't know it was about sixth graders. It was written kind of simply, not alot of big words. The feel of the book was very down home in the south kind of book. Since it was based in Virginia, they say Ya'll alot. True friendship and childhood love is the main point in thi story. Bascially enjoying life and realizing what deep down popular truly means.

Review/Description

6th-grader Jessie Lou is deeply, madly, passionately in love with Conrad Parker Smith. Too bad she's a tomboy with only one on-again, off-again friend, and hair so short you can't spit on it. Too bad he's the most popular boy in their small-town school. But then Conrad hurts his leg and suddenly can't keep up with his old pursuits anymore. Jessie Lou and Conrad start spending a lot more time together, but she can't help wonder -- is she just a substitute friend? And will Conrad forget her when his leg brace comes off and he's king of the school once again?

This I Believe...

2008-09-13T17:01:00.003-05:00

This I believe was ok. It's a collection of essays about what people believe in, their opinions, and their ways of life. Some of the essays were really interesting, while others not so much. if you like to see how other people look at life this is a good book for you to read. The first half of the book wesn;t that great, there were alot of stories about religion. You might read this book if you had to write an essay yourself, it would be good inspiration. The only problem is the essasy are mostly from famous people, professors, or jounalists. Few teenagers.

Review/Description

An inspiring collection of the personal philosophies of a group of remarkable men and women
Based on the National Public Radio series of the same name, This I Believe features eighty essayists-from the famous to the unknown-completing the thought that begins the book's title. Each piece compels readers to rethink not only how they have arrived at their own personal beliefs but also the extent to which they share them with others.
Featuring a well-known list of contributors-including Isabel Allende, Colin Powell, Gloria Steinem, William F. Buckley Jr., Penn Jillette, Bill Gates, and John Updike-the collection also contains essays by a Brooklyn lawyer; a part-time hospital clerk from Rehoboth, Massachusetts; a woman who sells Yellow Pages advertising in Fort Worth, Texas; and a man who serves on the state of Rhode Island's parole board.
The result is a stirring and provocative trip inside the minds and hearts of a diverse group of people whose beliefs-and the incredibly varied ways in which they choose to express them-reveal the American spirit at its best.

Thirteen Reasons Why

2008-09-06T15:09:00.002-05:00

Th1rteen R3eaons Why was a really good book. It shows how alot of little things add up to alot. And how no matter how big you think something is anothere person could take it totally different. People are contected to each othere by their actions. Throughout this whole story people see the connections that wouldn't have really been noticed if they weren't pointed out. It makes you think twice about how you treat people. The ending could have been better, it wasn' quite what i wanted to happen.

Review/Descritption

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker–his classmate and crush–who committed suicide two weeks earlier. On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.

When it Happens

2008-08-30T10:06:00.002-05:00

This was a decent book. It was a true teenage romance kind of book. With soulmates and finding something real. The story ispredictable, you know what is basically going to happen, but it was good anyway. The characters were realistic and very easy to like, or not like. It was a good book to read if you like books about finding the person for you, even if there are a little different than you imagine. Also a girl learns to be herself and a boy learns to work harder. It has a happy ending.

Review/Description

Sara and Tobey couldn't be more different. She is focused on getting into her first-choice college; he wants to win Battle of the Bands. Sara's other goal is to find true love, so when Dave, a popular jock, asks her out, she's thrilled. But then there's Tobey. His amazing blue eyes and quirky wit always creep into her thoughts. It just so happens that one of Tobey's goals is also to make Sara fall in love with him. Told in alternating points of view, Sara and Tobey's real connection will have everyone rooting for them from the minute they meet!

Blood and Chocolate

2008-08-15T21:44:00.003-05:00

So Blood and Chocolate surprised me. I had seen the movie, but the book is totally different. The basics are the same and everything, but the ending of the book is actually opposite of the movie. Personally I like the book better than the movie. Most books usually are better than there movies, although there are some exceptions. This book is good to read if you like werewolves or supernatural things. It ends up like the movie in being a romance except she ends up with a different person. It was a decent book to read.

Review/Description

Vivian Gandillon relishes the change, the sweet, fierce ache that carries her from girl to wolf. At sixteen, she is beautiful and strong, and all the young wolves are on her tail. But Vivian still grieves for her dead father; her pack remains leaderless and in disarray, and she feels lost in the suburbs of Maryland. She longs for a normal life. But what is normal for a werewolf?Then Vivian falls in love with a human, a meat-boy. Aiden is kind and gentle, a welcome relief from the squabbling pack. He's fascinated by magic, and Vivian longs to reveal herself to him. Surely he would understand her and delight in the wonder of her dual nature, not fear her as an ordinary human would.Vivian's divided loyalties are strained further when a brutal murder threatens to expose the pack. Moving between two worlds, she does not seem to belong in either. What is she really--human or beast? Which tastes sweeter--blood or chocolate?

Hidden

2008-08-11T15:29:00.002-05:00

This book in my opinion was really good. It was a love story, that was really touching, but it didn't take up the whole story. It was about a woman who runs away from her abusive boyfriend and seeks refuge with her old friend, who is Amish. I recommend this book very highly. I can't wait to read the second book when it comes out.

Review/Description

When Anna decides it's time to leave her abusive boyfriend, she doesn't know where to turn. Rob has completely won over her parents, and the entire community, with his good looks and smooth charm. Only Anna has seen his dark side.
Desperate, she runs to the only place she's ever felt completely safe—the Amish Brenneman Bed and Breakfast, where Anna met life-long friend Katie Brenneman. The family welcomes her in, and with few questions asked allows her to stay, dressed in Plain clothing, and help around the inn.
Katie's older brother Henry is the only one who doesn't take too kindly to the intrusion. He tries to ignore Anna, knowing no good would ever come from caring for an Englisher like her. But as he gets to know Anna, he discovers her good heart and is surprised with her readiness to accept their lifestyle.
The more time Anna spends with the Amish, the more she feels she's found a true home. But how can she deny the life she left behind? And will her chance for happiness be stolen away by the man from her past?

Breaking Dawn

2008-08-09T15:37:00.002-05:00

Ok so the final book in the Twilight series. It was not what I expected it to be. I mean if you have any ideas of what you think this book is going to be about then you're wrong. I was totally surprised. Personally this wasn't as good as the other three books. It just seemed different for some reason. The ending was good though and if it wasn't for the ending I would have been supremely ticked off. It was a little strange in some parts, but good in others. Jacob was hilarious! His sense of humor is awesome. I really like his portion of the book. In a way it was good that the series ended, but then again I'm a little disappointed.

Review/Description

It might seem redundant to dismiss the fourth and final Twilight novel as escapist fantasy—but how else could anyone look at a romance about an ordinary, even clumsy teenager torn between a vampire and a werewolf, both of whom are willing to sacrifice their happiness for hers? Flaws and all, however, Meyer’s first three novels touched on something powerful in their weird refraction of our culture’s paradoxical messages about sex and sexuality. The conclusion is much thinner, despite its interminable length. Everygirl Bella achieves her wishes quickly (marriage and sex, in that order, are two, and becoming an immortal is another), and once she becomes a vampire it’s almost impossible to identify with her. But that’s not the main problem. Essentially, everyone gets everything they want, even if their desires necessitate an about-face in characterization or the messy introduction of some back story. Nobody has to renounce anything or suffer more than temporarily—in other words, grandeur is out. This isn’t about happy endings; it’s about gratification.

Truth About Forever

2008-08-03T12:15:00.002-05:00

Ok so I have read all of Sarah Dessens Books except for one. This book tied with Just Listen as one of my favorites. It had a good story and was interesting. I really liked the main guy in the story. It was a romance sort of book much like the others. Macy was all about perfection, until she meets the Wish crew who love imperfections. It really holds the point that everything happens for a reason and a little chaos never hurt anyone. I recommend this book to anyone.

Review/Description

Sixteen-year-old Macy Queen is looking forward to a long, boring summer. Her boyfriend is going away. She’s stuck with a dull-asdishwater job at the library. And she’ll spend all of her free time studying for the SATs or grieving silently with her mother over her father’s recent unexpected death. But everything changes when Macy is corralled into helping out at one of her mother’s open house events, and she meets the chaotic Wish Catering crew. Before long, Macy joins the Wish team. She loves everything about the work and the people. But the best thing about Wish is Wes—artistic, insightful, and understanding Wes—who gets Macy to look at life in a whole new way, and really start living it….

Dreamland

2008-07-26T20:14:00.002-05:00

Dreamlnad actually surprised me by being pretty good. It reminds me alot of Breathing Underwater which was also a book about a controlling and abusive realtionship. Except Dreamland was about the victim of the abuse instead of the one being abusive. It helps you undestand what someone goes through and what it does to them emotionally and physically. The girl still loved the guy even after he hurt her. She couldn't see how this awesesome guy could be so mean. Throughout most of the book she talked about how she felt she was underwater, not really there (which again reminds me of Breathing Underwater). In the end though she goes to rehab, after she conseaved a drug problem, and makes her way to the surface.

Review/Description

After her older sister runs away, sixteen-year-old Caitlin decides that she needs to make a major change in her own life and begins an abusive relationship with a boy who is mysterious, brilliant, and dangerous. Rogerson Biscoe, with his green eyes and dark curly hair, is absolutely seductive. Before long, sixteen-year-old Caitlin finds herself under his spell. And when he starts to abuse her, she finds she's in too deep to get herself out...

Someone Like You

2008-07-26T20:06:00.002-05:00

This book was pretty good. It wasn't really what I was expecting. Friendship Played a main role in this book. And how friends are there with you through everything, good times and bad. In theis book the times are mostly bad. Someone Like You and That Summer were the basics for the movie How to Deal starring Mandy Moore. Personally I think the movie had a better story than both the books.

Review/Description

Halley and Scarlett have been friend for years. People know Scarlett as the popular, flamboyant one; Halley's just the quiet sidekick, but she doesn't mind. The two of them balance each other perfectly–until the beginning of their junior year, when Scarlett's boyfriend is killed in a motorcycle accident. Soon afterward, she learns that she is carrying his baby. For the first time, Scarlett really needs Halley. Their friendship may bend under the weight of these struggles, but it will never break–because a true friendship is a promise you keep forever.

That Summer

2008-07-15T21:12:00.006-05:00

This book wasn't reallyy interesting. Not much happened except that the main character stopped taking crap from everyone and became more herself. I wasn't impressed with it at all. It was one of the bokos that the movie How To Deal was based on. It ended up not being romantic at all which disappointed me .You might read it if your bored but besides that there isn't much point.

Review/Description

For fifteen-year-old Haven, life is changing too quickly. She's nearly six feet tall, her father is getting remarried, and her sister the always perfect Ashley is planning a wedding of her own. Haven wishes things could just go back to the way they were. Then an old boyfriend of Ashley's reenters the picture, and through him, Haven sees the past for what it really was, and comes to grips with the future.

The Host

2008-07-14T21:20:00.002-05:00

ok I have one thing to say this book was.....Extemely Awesome! Almost close to Twilight which of course is understandable since it was a Stephenie Meyer book also. I startewd this book thinking how awful it was going to be since I didn't understand anything going on until after the first hundred pages. So if your confused don't give up it gets better. The characters remind me of some of the Twilight people especially Jamie he reminds me of Jacob. This book had me crying and laughing because of Wanderer, I really liked her. I definetely recommend that you read this book.

Review/Description

Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed.Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of the man Melanie loves-Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer yearns for a man she's never met. As outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off to search for the man they both love.

Fell

2008-07-04T23:01:00.002-05:00

Ok this book was alot better than the first one in my opinion. It was the sequel to the book The Sight. It ened alot better as well. It finished off where the first book left off and tied up most of the loose ends. It left open the future for Fell and it least it gave him a happy future. This book was more involved with humans and a human girl (Alina) was one of the main characters. I liked her alot along with Catalin her somewhat boyfriend. It really made the impact if humans in the world a big issue.

Review/Description
The sequel to The Sight (2002) is another mesmerizing page-turner set in Transylvania, in which the author again draws on old legends and tales, including those about Baba Yaga and Dracula. Fell, the black wolf who wanders without a pack, and Alina, a 15-year-old human, are both gifted with the Sight, which enables them to communicate, and both haunted by frightening visions, dreams, and inner demons. The companions join forces to fulfill a prophecy indicating that Alina willrescue nature itself from doom. Their trek is fraught with perils introduced by the evil Lord Vladeran, who tried to have Alina killed asa very little girl and has recently learned that she still lives. Vladeran's arsenal includes the spirit of the cunning wolf Morgra, called up to exert dark powers over Fell. Despite some minor discrepancies and an ending that feels way too pat, this book will be deemed worth the trip by returning readers as well as some newcomers, who will find sufficient back story to illuminate this adventure and to pique interest in the earlier one.

The Sight

2008-06-21T00:19:00.002-05:00

I love wolves so of course when I saw this book in the store I was like OMG. So I got it and finally read it. I liked it but someone who doesn't like wolves might not. It kind of reminded me of the anime Wolf's Rain. The ending really made me mad. Besides that it was pretty good. It talked about the struggle betweeen wolves and man. Which I find really interesting. Now I have to read the sequel. I don't know if it's going to be good or not.

Review/Description
In the shadow of an abandoned castle, a wolf pack seeks shelter. the she-wolf ’s pups will not be able to survive the harsh transylvanian winter. And they are being stalked by a lone wolf, Morgra, possessed of a mysterious and terrifying power known as the sight. Morgra knows that one of the pups born beneath the castle holds a key to power even stronger than her own—power that could give her control of this world and the next. but the pack she hunts will do anything to protect their own, even if it means setting in motion a battle that will involve all of nature, including the creature the wolves fear the most—Man.

Valiant

2008-06-21T00:13:00.003-05:00

I really like this book and my interest in faerie books is growing extremely. It ened up being slightly romantic which actually surprised me but made me like the book even more. It wasbasedon faeries but this time the faeries are even more evilo than before and Val gets caught up in the struggle. After she finds her boyfriend and her mom together which is really sick, she runs away and right into the world of the faeries. Thanx Night for giving me this awesome book.

Review/Description

When seventeen-year-old Valerie Russell runs away to New York City, she’s trying to escape a life that has utterly betrayed her. Sporting a new identity, she takes up with a gang of squatters who live in the city’s labyrinthine subway system.
But there’s something eerily beguiling about Val’s new friends. Impulsive Lolli talks of monsters in the subway tunnels they call home and shoots up a shimmery amber-colored powder that makes the shadows around her dance. Severe Luis claims he can make deals with creatures that no one else can see. And then there’s Luis’s brother, timid and sensitive Dave, who makes the mistake of letting Val tag along as he makes a delivery to a woman who turns out to have goat hooves instead of feet.
When a bewildered Val allows Lolli to talk her into tracking down the hidden lair of the creature for whom Luis and Dave have been dealing, Val finds herself bound into service by a troll named Ravus. He is as hideous as he is honorable. And as Val grows to know him, she finds herself torn between her affection for an honorable monster and her fear of what her new friends are becoming.

The Silver Kiss

2008-06-21T00:05:00.006-05:00

This book was better than I expected it to be. It was somewhat tragic and I almost cried through out the whole book especially in the end. It was truly alovestory between a human and a vampire, ofcourse not nearly as good as Twilight, but if you liked Twilight you should like this book.I do suggest you read it if you like vampires.

Review/Description

Zoe is wary when, in the dead of night, the beautiful yet frightening Simon comes to her house. Simon seems to understand the pain of loneliness and death and Zoe's brooding thoughts of her dying mother.

Simon is one of the undead, a vampire, seeking revenge for the gruesome death of his mother three hundred years before. Does Simon dare ask Zoe to help free him from this lifeless chase and its insufferable loneliness?

Uninvited

2008-06-10T14:20:00.003-05:00

He'll enter at her own risk...

This book was ok I really didn't think it was that interesting. It wasn't a very gopod vampire book either. The vampire was really generic and not really the main point of the book. I just don't like books that much when the main vampire is evil probably a side effect of reading Twilight. The only reason I read it was because the main characters name was Jordan and her life sucked so I was intrigued. Her boyfriend turns into a vampire after he dies and comes back to haunt her so I guess of course her life would suck. I guess if your bored this would be a good book to read but besides that it's not.

Review/Description

Jordan's life sucks. Her boyfriend, Michael, dumped her, slept his way through half the student body, and then killed himself. But now, somehow, he appears at her window every night, begging her to let him in.

Jordan can't understand why he wants her, but she feels her resistance wearing down. After all, her life -- once a broken record of boring parties, meaningless hookups, and friends she couldn't relate to -- now consists of her drinking alone in her room as she waits for the sun to go down.

Michael needs to be invited in before he can enter. All Jordan has to do is say the words....

Wicked Lovely

2008-06-05T17:14:00.003-05:00

This book was actually really good, far better than I expected. It was about faeries. This girl named Aislinn who has the *sight* meaning she can see the faeries. She already hated her ability and it totally controlled her life. It became even more annoying when she maent Keenan and after that her whole life changed. This guy named Seth in the book is absolutely awesome. It takes about 30 pages for the book to get interesting. The beginning is slightly boring and hard to understand, but way worth it in the long run. I highly recommend it unless you don't like faerie books then your out of luck.

Review/Description

Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries.

Aislinn has always seen faeries. Powerful and dangerous, they walk hidden in mortal world. Aislinn fears their cruelty—especially if they learn of her Sight—and wishes she were as blind to their presence as other teens.

Rule #2: Don't speak to invisible faeries.

Now faeries are stalking her. One of them, Keenan, who is equal parts terrifying and alluring, is trying to talk to her, asking questions Aislinn is afraid to answer.

Rule #1: Don't ever attract their attention.

But it's too late. Keenan is the Summer King who has sought his queen for nine centuries. Without her, summer itself will perish. He is determined that Aislinn will become the Summer Queen at any cost—regardless of her plans or desires.

Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working anymore, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; her life; everything.

But Inside I'm Screaming

2008-05-29T17:43:00.005-05:00

This book had the typical mental institution setting. And told the story of a woman trying to get her life back together and to get out of Three Breezes. Mental Institutions always have names like that. I enjoyed this book. It wasn't all that interesting but it was a good story. That's basically all it was was telling the story of an overstressed woman who couldn't deal with her life anymore. She tried to kill herself and failed. It seemed like she failed at everything though her eyed. She kept getting into controlling and abusive relationships who also influenced her opinion of herself. This book described how she came to love herself and accept that she wasn't perfect.

Review/Description
But inside I'm screaming is one woman's unforgettable story about what it is to lose control as the world watches, to figure out what went so very wrong and to accept an imperfect life in a world that demands perfection.

While breaking the hottest news story of the year, broadcast journalist Isabel Murphy falls apart on live television in front of an audience of millions. She lands at Three Breezes, a four-star psychiatric hospital nicknamed the "nut hut," where she begins the painful process of recovering the life everyone thought she had.

But accepting her place among her fellow patients proves difficult. Isabel struggles to reconcile the fact that she is, indeed, one of them, and faces the reality that in order to mend her painfully fractured life she must rely solely on herself.

The Shining by Stephen King

2008-05-29T04:43:00.002-05:00

I finally finished it!!! There are about 683 pages including the epilogue. The Shining was phenominal. I highly recommend it. The book is almost NOTHING like the movie. The ending was COMPLETELY different and the events throughout the story were way different too. Oh, and the dog-mask-thingy does have a little importance in the book. Basically, it's about the Torrance family-Jack, Wendy, and Danny. Danny has a special gift (shining) which allows him to see things that have or will happen. Jack has a drinking problem and loses his job... He snags a job at the Overlook hotel as the caretaker and lives in the hotel with his family. As the days pass, the hotel tightens its grip on Jack... I can't give away too much cuz I want you guys to read it! Stephen King has a REALLY good writing style; he actually puts the characters' thoughts in between some of the lines. DO NOT BELIEVE THE MOVIE AT ALL!!! IT LIES!!! IT DIDN'T RUIN THE BOOK AT ALL!

The Greatest Haunted Hotel Story Ever Written!!, June 17, 2004
By
Robert J. Schneider (Tacoma, WA USA) - See all my reviews Throughout the last century, there were many authors who wrote haunted house stories. In 1977, Stephen King beat 'em all with a haunted hotel story. You see, this is not just *any* haunted hotel story; this is THE SHINING.
THE SHINING is about several things, all tied up into one complex and multilayered whole. It is about a five-year-old boy who is impossibly mature and wise beyond his years, and who has a terrifying gift that seems as much a curse. It is about his father, a recovering alcoholic with demons in his soul and skeletons in his closet, who is battling both in order to keep his family financially afloat. It is about his wife, a doting mother who has braved the ups & downs of her husband's turbulence, who loves him, and who wants to trust him beyond his past mistakes but is just on this side of being unable to do so. It is about a classic, Art Deco hotel tucked deep within the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, whose name is respected but nevertheless has a mysteriously chequered past. It is about the ghosts that occupy this hotel, that wish to possess the above family but can only be seen by the boy and the head cook. It is about the head cook, an older black man who shares the same gift with the boy, and who develops a special friendship with him as a result. It is about a family who begin at their last chance for hope & unity, who end up fighting for their last chance at survival. This is THE SHINING.
THE SHINING is a true gestalt entity: it is more than the sum of its parts. Stephen King masterly intertwines all of the above elements, plus some truly frightening imagery, to create a novel of several hundred compulsively-turning pages that add up to one of the greatest experiences that I've ever had as a reader of fiction.
MOST RECOMMENDED; AGES 15 & UP

Cirque Du Freak book 1 (A Living Nightmare)

2008-05-29T04:34:00.002-05:00

Okay, so I've seen these "Cirque du Freak" books everywhere... So I decided to pick up the first book and try it out... It's about a boy named Darren Shan (also the name of the author...) who loves spiders. His friend scores tickets to a freak show where he sees all kinds of stuff. He decides to steal a spider from this one performer (later, we find out he's a vampire...muhaha) and one of his friends gets bitten. Darrent has to find the vampire to get the cure for his friend... What he pays in return? I can't say. It was a decent book...if you're bored. It's mainly aimed for 10 year old ish boys... so yeah, it's a read if you wanna thing... I'm not gonna get the review off Amazon cuz this book doesn't deserve it... but I may read the second just cuz I'mma geek :P

PS: I saw 27 Dresses... I liked it!

Looking for Alaska

2008-05-23T14:55:00.003-05:00

This was actually a really good book. I started reading it and was like this isn't going to be very good, but in the middle it got interesting and it ended good. It was about this boy who meets this girl called Alaska and she changes his life. It talks about his life while he new her before she died and then what it was like after she died. About page 100 I figured out Alaska was going to die. It actually proved a good point about life after death. That we never are really born or die because energy can never be destroyed.

Review/Description

Before.Miles "pudge" Halter is done with his safe life at home. His whole xsistence has been one nonevent, and his obsession with famous last words has only made him crave the "Great Perhaps" even more. He heads off to sometimes crazy, poossibly unstable, and anything-but-boring world of Culver Creek Boarding School, and his life becomes the opposite of safe. Because down the hall is Alska Young. The gorgeous, clever, sexy, self-destructive,screwed-up, and utterly fascinating Alska Young, who is an event unto herself. She pulls Pudge into her world, launches him into the Great Perhaps, and steals his heart.

After. Nothing is ever the same.

Phantom of the Opera

2008-05-10T15:11:00.002-05:00

Sorry I haven't checked back in a while...I'm a bad person :(...jk . Well, this is off-topic, but I finally watched Phantom of the Opera (POO...I could've called it PO or PTO...but POO sounds so much funnier). I thought POO was brilliant! I, of course, cried cuz I cry at anything sad-ish. I had to watch it twice to understand it... I felt so sorry for the Phantom at the end... I wanted to give him a hug or something... I thought Christine looked like she was 14...so it was kinda creepy watching her make out with 30 year old looking dudes. but anyways, the setting was so pretty... I would love to see an opera house like that... Christine is getting singing lessons from a mysterious tutor...who later reveals himself to her as the POO. Well, the Phantom later falls in love with her...but Christine is in love with a childhood sweetheart that later comes back into her life...his name is Raoul... The Phantom is basically driven mad due to his childhood and from seeing Christine being in love with Raoul... I can't give away too much, but it's definately a Must-Watch.

Thank you for allowing me to waste a moment of two of your life... Now go read something productive :P

Sound of Silence lyrics

2008-05-02T14:02:00.002-05:00

Hello darkness, my old friend,Ive come to talk with you again,Because a vision softly creeping,Left its seeds while I was sleeping,And the vision that was planted in my brain Still remains Within the sound of silence.In restless dreams I walked alone Narrow streets of cobblestone,neath the halo of a street lamp,I turned my collar to the cold and damp When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of A neon light That split the night And touched the sound of silence.And in the naked light I saw Ten thousand people, maybe more.People talking without speaking,People hearing without listening,People writing songs that voices never share And no one deared Disturb the sound of silence.Fools said i,you do not know Silence like a cancer grows.Hear my words that I might teach you,Take my arms that I might reach you.But my words like silent raindrops fell,And echoed In the wells of silence And the people bowed and prayed To the neon God they made.And the sign flashed out its warning,In the words that it was forming.And the signs said, the words of the prophets Are written on the subway walls And tenement halls.And whisperd in the sounds of silence.

TAD( HERE THEY ARE WOLF)

The Five People You Meet in Heaven

2008-04-25T21:07:00.002-05:00

I liked this book it wasn't really action packed or anything but it taught a lesson and made you think about life and heaven. It was semi-God related. It talked about Heaven in a different view. That it teaches you what your life was for basically. In the end I actually started to believe that all lives are connected in a way. That when one person dies another person is spared and in turn when that person dies another person will be affected. I recommend it to anyone.

Review/Description
"At the time of his death, Eddie was an old man with a barrel chest and a torso as squat as a soup can," writes Albom, author of the bestselling phenomenon Tuesdays with Morrie, in a brief first novel that is going to make a huge impact on many hearts and minds. Wearing a work shirt with a patch on the chest that reads "Eddie" over "Maintenance," limping around with a cane thanks to an old war injury, Eddie was the kind of guy everybody, including Eddie himself, tended to write off as one of life's minor characters, a gruff bit of background color. He spent most of his life maintaining the rides at Ruby Pier, a seaside amusement park, greasing tracks and tightening bolts and listening for strange sounds, "keeping them safe." The children who visited the pier were drawn to Eddie "like cold hands to a fire." Yet Eddie believed that he lived a "nothing" life-gone nowhere he "wasn't shipped to with a rifle," doing work that "required no more brains than washing a dish." On his 83rd birthday, however, Eddie dies trying to save a little girl. He wakes up in heaven, where a succession of five people are waiting to show him the true meaning and value of his life. One by one, these mostly unexpected characters remind him that we all live in a vast web of interconnection with other lives; that all our stories overlap; that acts of sacrifice seemingly small or fruitless do affect others; and that loyalty and love matter to a degree we can never fathom. Simply told, sentimental and profoundly true, this is a contemporary American fable that will be cherished by a vast readership. Bringing into the spotlight the anonymous Eddies of the world, the men and women who get lost in our cultural obsession with fame and fortune, this slim tale, like Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol, reminds us of what really matters here on earth, of what our lives are given to us for.

Crank

2008-04-22T22:55:00.002-05:00

This book was pretty good. I like her style of writing and love all her books so far. I still need to read the sequel to this book, but I bet it will be good too. The book mainly focuses on drugs and addiction and a person's life involved with them. The ending I can't say much about because there is a sequel, but it ended well enough there really wasn't a whole lot of need for a sequel. I will say this book is a good read but still not my favorite of hers.

Review/Description
Seventeen-year-old Kristina Snow is introduced to crank on a trip to visit her wayward father. Caught up in a fast-paced, frightening, and unfamiliar world, she morphs into "Bree" after she "shakes hands with the monster." Her fearless, risk-taking alter ego grows stronger, "convincing me to be someone I never dreamed I'd want to be." When Kristina goes home, things don't return to normal. Although she tries to reconnect with her mother and her former life as a good student, her drug use soon takes over, leaving her "starving for speed" and for boys who will soon leave her scarred and pregnant. Hopkins writes in free-verse poems that paint painfully sharp images of Kristina/Bree and those around her, detailing how powerful the "monster" can be. The poems are masterpieces of word, shape, and pacing, compelling readers on to the next chapter in Kristina's spiraling world.

AN ANOTHER TAD UPDATE!

2008-04-18T11:54:00.002-05:00

Sorry been busy. Add new books soon. Loved Edward Kayla! Wolf, Kayla, and TAD survived a bus wreck. We can say "I survived State of '08"!
TAD

Poetry Blog

2008-04-18T11:34:00.000-05:00

This is the link to my poetry blog:

http://thelanguageofpoetry.blogspot.com/

A sketch of Edward Cullen

2008-04-18T09:09:00.001-05:00

Hey you guys! I found this awesome sketch of Edward!

here's the link:

http://testriffic.com/art/smighter2/74116

Covenant Child

2008-04-13T23:42:00.001-05:00

Beautiful, three-year-old twins Kara and Lizzie Holbrooke live a charmed life with their widowed but doting father, Jack. When Jack finds love and marries again, it seems all their lives will finally be "happy ever after." That new life shatters when Jack and his wealthy parents are killed in a plane crash. Jack's new wife, Amanda, inherits the family's estate but fails to gain custody of the twins.

Devastated but bound by her covenant to care for the girls, Amanda manages the estate, hopeful she'll be able to return it to Kara and Lizzie one day. Meanwhile, the twins grow up in an abysmal home environment with distant family members and become hard-drinking, shoplifting, promiscuous teenagers.

After years of trying to reach them, Amanda is finally able to offer them love, comfort, wealth--the life they have always wanted. But when all you've known is deprivation, how can you believe a gift of grace? When you've been lied to for so long, how can you ever know the truth?

This book was ok, I thought it was going to be more interesting though. The story is kind of hard to explain without taking up a lot of space. Basically these twins get taken away from their step-mother when they were three and grow up in poverty when they are supposed to be “million dollar babies”. The ending was good, but the story altogether wasn’t that great to me. It was still an ok book to read though.

Review/Description
In a contemporary spin on the concept of biblical "covenant" that also functions as a parable of accepting and rejecting faith, Blackstock offers a smooth though somewhat improbable tale of one woman's promise to her husband to care for her stepchildren. Kara Holbrooke and her twin sister, Lizzie, lived a middle-class existence with their doting father, Jack, who nixed a life of moneyed pleasure despite his father's wealth. Shortly after their birth, the twins' mother, Sherry, died in a car accident. When the girls were three, Jack married Amanda, but six months after the wedding, he and his parents were killed in a plane crash. The twins are easy prey maybe too easy for Sherry's redneck parents, Eloise and Deke Krebbs, who smell money and go to court to claim the girls as their own. Amanda is the beneficiary of her in-laws' billion-dollar-plus estate, but she loses custody of the twins. Bound by her promise to Jack, she manages the estate with an eye to returning it to the girls. But brought up in the ghastly home environment of the Krebbs, the twins grow into hard-drinking, shoplifting, promiscuous teenagers who are taught to hate Amanda. At age 18, the girls must decide if they will accept or reject an offer from Amanda that could change the course of their lives.

Keeper of the Night

2008-04-13T23:39:00.003-05:00

This book started out really boring and it bounced around from topic to topic. It was basically about a girl's life in Guam and her family after her mother killed herself. Around the middle it got more interesting and it ended decently. It still wasn't that great of a book and I don't recommend it.

Review/Description
In a fascinating departure from her usual folksy Southern fiction, award-winning author Kimberly Willis Holt transports her readers to the island of present-day Guam, where thirteen-year-old Isabel’s family is broken by her mother’s suicide. Numbed by her mother‘s death, Isabel grimly plods through each day, while scribbling in her ever-present notebook. But existence on the colorful, richly cultured island hasn’t ended, and life keeps interrupting Isabel’s sorrow. Her best friend Terecita needs help in becoming the best female cock-fighter on Guam, her father’s fishing assistant, Roman, appears to be flirting with her, and Auntie Bernadette, the local healer, keeps trying to school her in the art of herbs. Meanwhile, Isabel is disturbed by the fact that her father has practically stopped speaking, and her brother Frank is beginning to cut himself when he thinks no one is looking. But Isabel sees, and her heart is hardened: "I may look like my mother, but I’m not like her...I’m not like my mother at all. I am here." Isabel’s challenge will be to learn how to heal, and with the help of her vibrant community, she will. Holt is a masterful plotter--each strand of Isabel’s story comes together beautifully. But that doesn’t mean Holt sacrifices description or character for storyline. Every nuance of the Guam landscape and culture is seen and heard, from the quirky native "eyebrow language," to the illegal thrill of cock fighting.

Light Years

2008-04-08T20:35:00.002-05:00

This was a really good book.It was about an Israeli girl who loses her boyfriend to a suicide bomber and her life coming to deal with it. The chapters jump back and forth between her past life in Israel and her present life in Virginia. It was a really good book for anyone to read. I recommend it highly.

Review/Description
Maya, 20, blames herself for the death of her boyfriend, who is killed by a suicide bomber in a Tel Aviv restaurant. Haunted by grief and guilt, she leaves Israel for college in the U.S., but although she makes friends, studies, and even begins to fall in love and have sex again, she can't forget. The first-person narrative moves eloquently back and forth between Maya's American present and her Israeli past: growing up in Israel, serving in the army, working in a Tel Aviv office, falling in love, and finally, losing someone in a shocking bombing. Most characters in this novel, one of the first about a contemporary Israeli young woman in a high-tech, secular world, are drawn with some complexity. Maya's "healing" seems a little preachy, but there's depth to her character: she's needy and angry, sarcastic and warm. She also loves her country, yet she doesn't talk politics. Though she considers the Palestinians as "those" people over the border ("They hated us"), she doesn't always focus on herself as living in a war-torn place.

Just Listen

2008-04-06T16:26:00.002-05:00

I really like this book. I have started reading Sara Dessen books and I lie them alot. This book was very interesting through the whole book, or it seemed that was to me. It deals with alot of different drama's including rape and eating disorders. Sometimes it went a little too into detail with some things that were kind of boring and unimportant to me, but otherwise it was really good. One of the main characters, Owen, was really into music just like me. Except I don't listen to some of the weird stuff he does.

Review/Description
Annabel Greene seemingly had everything: cool friends, close family, good grades, and a part-time modeling career in town. But it all came crashing down, and Annabel has spent the summer in shaky, self-imposed exile. She finds herself dreading the new school term and facing, well, everyone again. The last thing she wants to do is revisit old friendships while the losses are painful, the secrets behind the rifts are almost unbearable. Her solid family seems fragile, too. What happened to cause the stiff silences and palpable resentments between her two older sisters? Why is no one in her loving but determinedly cheerful family talking about her middle sister's eating disorder? Annabel's devastating secret is revealed in bits and snatches, as readers see her go to amazing lengths to avoid confrontation. Caught between wanting to protect her family and her own struggles to face a devastating experience, Annabel finds comfort in an unlikely friendship with the school's most notorious loner. Owen has his own issues with anger, but has learned to control it and helps her realize the dangers of holding in her emotions. Dessen explores the interior and exterior lives of her characters and shows their flaws, humanity, struggles, and incremental successes.

Prey

2008-04-06T16:21:00.002-05:00

I thought this book was actually pretty good.Being that it was about a female teacher who has an affair with a male student. I was surprised how well I liked it. I had heard that the ending wasn't very good, but I actually thought it ended pretty decent. Even though the the ending was a little weird but so was the whole book considering the topic. This book wouldn't be appropriate for young or immature readers though because sometimes it gets alittle graphic.

Breathing Underwater

2008-04-06T16:18:00.002-05:00

This book wasn't as good as I thought i was going to be, I really didn't like the topic and the writing style was a below my level.The end kind of made up for the rest of the book though. It talked alot about controlling relationship and abuse, which made me understand a little bit better why people act that way.

Prey by Lurlene McDaniel

2008-04-05T12:18:00.003-05:00

I though this book was pretty good. It's less than 200 pages. I think there should have been just a little more exposition in the beginning...because a teacher's not just gonna invite you over on the fly. I really like the writing style. It shows you Honey, Ryan, and Lori's perspective. Over the course of the book, they expose many secrets. This book makes you put two and two together. It's got some sex in it...but that's probably a given because it's a book about a teacher and student who get involved in a sexual relationship. I feel really sorry for Honey. Every girl can relate to her and probably would've done the same thing she did in her position. It's a great read and I reccomend it to everyone. The ending isn't good or bad, it's really just all about how YOU see it.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Courtesy of Teens Read Too, February 12, 2008
By
TeensReadToo.com "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviewsBestselling author Lurlene McDaniel has taken a turn from her normally heartbreaking inspirational novels to write something completely different with PREY. This time around, she tackles a once taboo subject head-on -- that of the skewed relationship between a female teacher and her young male student. Ryan Piccoli is a typical teen. He's fifteen, a freshman in high school, has a close knit group of friends that include Joel and Honey, and a fairly average student. Although his mother died when he was still a toddler, he has a father that, although gone most of the time as part of his job, still tries to connect with him as much as he can. Things are going pretty well; he's hoping for a car for Christmas for his sixteenth birthday, he's both excited and anxious to be starting high school, he's wondering if he'll get a girlfriend. And then the unthinkable happens: he meets Miss Lori Settles, the knew World History teacher. Miss Settles is an immediate hit at McAllister High School, at least with the male population (you'd probably get a different response from the females). She's young, she's gorgeous, she seems to understand teenagers, and she has the most important attribute that any normal male can ask for -- she's got a body to die for, and she dresses for school each day in a way that will show it to its best advantage. Suddenly, every guy in the building, from students to faculty, wants to find a way to spend time with Miss Settles. Only Ryan gets to spend time with her in a way that no one else would ever expect. What starts off innocently enough as a request to help his teacher move furniture soon evolves into trips to a coffee shop late at night. And when those trips then turn into visits at her apartment, Ryan figures it's only right, since they obviously are in love with each other. What follows is a sexual affair that, although high in intensity, might end up burning them both in the end. Ms. McDaniel has written a real page-turner with PREY. Once you start reading, you'll not want to stop until the last word is read. This is a book that has no clear-cut answers and, actually, has no clear sense of who has done right and who has done wrong. Pick up a copy -- you'll be glad you did.

A TAD UPDATE!

2008-03-28T02:49:00.002-05:00

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

2008-03-28T02:36:00.005-05:00

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

2008-03-25T22:06:00.002-05:00

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

2008-03-22T15:17:00.004-05:00

"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

2008-03-17T14:48:00.002-05:00

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

2008-03-16T00:38:00.002-05:00

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.

_______________________________________________

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

2008-03-13T20:54:00.001-05:00

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

2008-03-13T20:44:00.005-05:00

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

2008-03-12T07:11:00.003-05:00

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.

____________________________

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

2008-03-07T23:05:00.004-06:00

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!

2008-03-05T07:33:00.001-06:00

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

2008-03-04T21:03:00.003-06:00

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

2008-03-04T21:02:00.000-06:00

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

Jello's Ode

2008-03-04T15:52:00.002-06:00

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!

2008-03-04T01:58:00.002-06:00

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!

2008-03-02T21:20:00.005-06:00

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

2008-03-02T20:44:00.005-06:00

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

2008-03-01T23:28:00.003-06:00

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

2008-03-01T23:18:00.006-06:00

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

2008-03-01T23:09:00.006-06:00

"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

2008-03-01T22:46:00.005-06:00

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

2008-03-01T21:35:00.003-06:00

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.

Moccasin Thunder

2008-02-29T19:20:00.003-06:00

This is a book of modern Native Americans. It is a collection of stories from ten different people's lives. Some of the stories are ok while others are completely boring and hard to understand. I didn't really like this book all that well. Unless you are just really into Indian books I don't think you'll like this book very well either.

Review/Description
The young people's experiences in these 10 short stories will resonate with Native readers and inform and affect non-Natives as well. Joy Harjo writes about a boarding-school experience. Sherman Alexie talks about the slow painful separation and divorce of parents, and the needs of a boy to be seen/heard/taught by his father. Cynthia Leitich Smith shows an example of the everyday struggles Native people have with stereotypes, and the pain it causes on all sides. Richard Van Camp offers a glimpse into a life of addiction, loss, and the struggle to overcome poverty. Linda Hogan demonstrates the pride, generosity, and determination of an elder living on the reservation selling eggs and grain to make ends meet. Lee Francis shares a story of self-realization, oral tradition, and ways things are passed from one generation to the next. This distinguished anthology offers powerful, beautifully written stories that are thoughtful and important for teens to hear

All that Glitters

2008-02-29T19:14:00.003-06:00

This book was pretty good, it wasn't that interesting though. The characters lack personality in my opinion. The ending fits the story pretty well I don't really know how I would change it. It's not a necessary book to read, but it's ok if your bored. I don't really like books that a guy is the main character and narrator. It just lacks the emotion I guess you could say. Except for the narrator in twisted, he had plenty of emotion.

Review/Description
Brian, 16, is not looking forward to spending an entire summer with his divorced, uncommunicative, and seemingly uninterested father. Almost as soon as he arrives at Leo's place in the Florida Keys, he discovers that Leo; his friend Nathan; and a beautiful but sullen teenage girl, Tia, are going to help an eccentric underwater archaeologist dive for sunken treasure. As the summer wears on, Brian becomes adept at scuba diving and develops a stormy friendship, then a tentative romance with the enigmatic Tia. He is unable to understand his father, and finds more in common with Nathan and the archaeologist. The plot gains momentum when the group begins to suspect that thieves are raiding a site that they believe holds a sunken Spanish galleon. A hurricane provides the climactic confrontation between Brian and Leo, which finally clarifies the man's behavior toward his son. Several major issues drive this story. Nathan and Tia are black and are forthright in talking about racism and its effect on their lives. Nathan also articulates the need in our society for strong male role modes, or as he puts it, "good men." Clearly Brian doesn't think his father fills this bill, but learns that people are not always what they seem.

Both Sides of Time

2008-02-29T19:01:00.004-06:00

I liked this book it was really good up until the end. The end really really sucked, and I mean really bad. I was so mad after I finished. I was like all that for nothing. The characters were ok. Their personalities weren't that brought out since a specific character wasn't the narrator the whole time. It kind of bounces around a little bit. Overall it was a good book. though. It is set in two different time periods which is cool. Oh and I just found out that it has three sequels which I'll have to read.

Review/Description
Disturbed by her parents' marital discord and completely taken for granted by Sean, her mechanically inclined boyfriend, Annie Lockwood is ripe for romance. And where better to find it than in the past--a past epitomized by the once elegant mansion about to be razed in her hometown. At the mansion during a storm, Annie finds herself falling 100 years back in time to a point, where she encounters the romantic idyll she has yearned for and where she alters the lives of several people when she and Hiram Stratton Jr. fall in love. But she realizes that the 1890s are not her time and makes the transition back to the present, only to realize that she has to return to prevent a miscarriage of justice because a ladies' maid has been wrongfully accused of murder. Life among the wealthy in the 1890s is nicely rendered, as are Annie's bittersweet experiences. However, after the first time, Annie's time shifting loses credibility, and her ready acceptance by the Strattons is forced.

Yay!

2008-02-29T18:59:00.001-06:00

It makes me very happyful that all my friends are joining my blog now just to recruit a few more peoples and we'll be set!!!

It's Kayla.

2008-02-29T16:42:00.003-06:00

Hey it's Kayla (Pleasant_Nightmare...call me Night for short)

Some other really good books are the Riley Jenson Guardian Series by Keri Aurthur...at least I think that's her name :P. They're about a woman who's half vamp, half werewolf...theyre a bit...um..sexful...but theyre pretty good.

also. Hawksong is wonderful. It's by the same person who wrote Shattered Mirror. Dont read the sequels...except for maybe Snakecharm...they'll disappoint you.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury is pretty good too... the ending is blah though....

quick about me section: I too am in band. I play in the percussion section on mallets, chimes, and bells. I have a strange obsession with Papa Roach... And I love kittehs ^_^.

I'll post more later. It's Friday. School has drained me of sanity.

My Life in Dog Years

2008-02-28T18:11:00.003-06:00

I read this book a few years ago so my memory of it is kind of vague. It is just a short collection of stories but the stories are touching. They are all based on his experiences with his dogs through the years. It is amazing how he came to be acquainted with some of them and how close he got to them. If you really like dog stories you should read this book.

Review/Description
Paulsen reveals bits and pieces of his own life story through his experiences with eight of his dogs. After a heartfelt dedication to Cookie, the sled dog who saved his life, the author introduces readers first to Snowball, the puppy he acquired when he was seven years old and living in the Philippines, and then follows chronologically with profiles of other canine companions. He concludes with tales about Josh, the border collie with whom he currently shares a home. Paulsen is a master storyteller with a dry wit. His description of his dog Fred, whom he claimed was actually "nuclear in his capacity for destruction," and his account of his Great Dane Caesar, who was so petrified of trick-or-treaters that he would hide in the bedroom closet every Halloween with a housecoat over his eyes, are sure to elicit smiles. Paulsen can also make readers sigh when he relates how Snowball saved him from being bitten by a poisonous snake and how Cookie pulled him out of the water when he fell through the ice while trapping beaver. The statement, "Josh...is a person. I do not think in my heart that he is a dog," gives youngsters a real sense of how the man looks at these animals. An attractive pen-and-ink sketch of the profiled animal opens each chapter.