To Be Mona

To Be Mona by Kelly Easton (November 25th 2008—Margaret K. McElderry)

Grade: 1.5 stars out of 5

Summary: “Sage Priestly is seventeen, and she longs to reinvent herself -- to strip away the fat, the past, the crazy mom, the unpaid bills. She longs to be her own version of the gorgeous and popular Mona Simms.

Sage starts dieting and exercising. She gets blond highlights and throws away all of her black clothes. Bit by bit she transforms herself. This is deeply troubling to her best friend, Vern, who is secretly in love with Sage just the way she is. But the boyfriend Sage wants—the popular jock Roger—suddenly notices her. And when they start dating, Sage thinks her life is turning around.

So why isn't Sage happier? Yes, Roger is a little too controlling and pushy, but isn't that what boys are like when you date them? What is it about the image Sage has created that just doesn't fit?”

Review: After digesting this book for a couple of hours, my opinion of the book is still (insert heavy silence here). I really am not too sure what to think of the book. Was it fabulous? Not really. Was it horrendous? Nope. So where does that leave it? Smack dab in the middle of what the heck did I just read?

It had a great base, a wonderful foundation, if it only kept going. The premise of the book has been done quite many times before so I looked forward to how the author executed the plot and how she morphed it to something of her own. Only I felt that she headed into the wrong direction. Yes, trying to capture the realistic teenage emotion is good; however when you characterize someone completely solely on appearance and how popular they are, you will not gain any emotional support—from me and hopefully from any other readers.

Sage was too focused on the perfect appearance, to be perfect like Mona. Some have even called her shallow—which I cannot completely disagree. Almost every female teen character was shallow in a sense. But if the author had delved fully into the relationship of Vern, she might have created a scenario where Sage develops. Or into the relationship of her mother creating emotional depth. In reality, however, she skimmed both topics leaving me dumbfounded as to why even bring both topics then.

Roger is…an idiot to put it lightly. Not in the sense where I hate his guts, okay maybe I do, but more of his traits that made him an idiot. He is the all American football playing, horny boy, career goal—cop, talking shit with friends, living with his mother forever, type of guy. I just could not see what Sage saw in him! Wait, I think I do understand. His social status but of course. Even as the story progresses, Sage does not appear to be phased by his more than kiss attitude, in the aspect of actually trying to stop him. Only when he actually tries to really force her does she see the light. Dense, thus is Sage or the idiocy to create such a false image of someone. Narrow-mindedness? Stupidity? Or naïve? You be the judge.

Mona was well, nowhere to be seen. More of the idea of her, her essence, of what she represents, is played in the novel. She, herself, comes in for like 3 lines. And she is of course, pretty, nice, and smart all rolled into one. She ticks me off…only because in the sparing 3 lines, she ends up crying because Sage did not want to go to her house. Pathetic! I mean, it is okay to not get your way at least once! Anyone have a spare backbone? Anyway moving on…

The ending was abrupt. Non-cohesive, and leaving so many unanswered questions. For one thing, whatever happened to Vern! I’ll just leave it there. But I am still dumbfounded to this point about the ending.

Overall: If the book still sounds interesting, borrow this from the library first!

Cover C+

Awards Part 2!

I got an award from Krista at Tower of Books! and Stephanie!

Rules:
1) Add the logo of the award to your blog
2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4) Add links to those blogs on your blog
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs

Um...pass? Just e-mail me if you want this ;P


Another PROXIMITY award from Shalonda and Kristi! Whom all received the same award from me. Between you and me, I think they got lazy picking new people. Either that, or they love me! I pick option B because it sounds much sweeter!

Thank you all ladies!

Randomness!

Random contest from me this time! I am giving away an ARC of Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols!

"All Meg wants is to escape her excruciatingly small town after graduation. In the meantime, her above-the-law boyfriend and her wild class trip to Florida coming up over Spring Break are the only things keeping her from imploding. But before she leaves on her trip, one of her boyfriend’s pranks goes too far and turns Southern Gothic nightmare. She finds herself in jail. The only way to avoid prosecution is to spend Spring Break on night patrol with the by-the-book cop who arrested her.

Fine. She did the crime, she’ll do the time. If the cop gets hot under the collar cruising the night with a punky blue-haired girl-felon, that’s his problem, not hers. But her own personal boy in blue is younger, less experienced, and so much sexier than she imagined at first. As she falls for him, she explores why he’s as determined to stay in this town as she is to leave. She pushes him to the edge by questioning every rule in his police academy manual. And when he hits back, demanding to know why she can’t stand this straight-laced Alabama town, he will push her to the edge, and over..."

Rules:
+1 if you comment under this post
+1 if you start following me
+3 if you were already a follower (google reader counts)
+3 if you post about this giveaway (show me the link!)
+2 if you refer someone
+1 to the person who you referred!
+1 if you commented on my Valentine's Day post. Just let me know you want to use that entry here or not.

I am also giving away +1 for every special "thing" a person does...

This is only for US residents or anyone who has access to a US address. Sorry.

It will end...whenever I feel like it or when I remember. Remember to check back to see if you won!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS CLOSED

Play Me

Before everyone reads this review, I just wanted to say that this book was from my own to-read pile. Thus meaning this review sucks. So do not completely trust my opinion right now. My head is pounding and I wrote this when I had like 5 million tests for school...so expect me to definitely go back to this review when I am not so stressed out.

Play Me by Laura Ruby (September 1st 2008—HarperTeen)

Grade: 1.5 stars out of 5

Summary: “Eddy knows how to play the game. Not only has he got a hit online TV show, but in the game of love Eddy knows all the tricks, and who will play with him. The girls who know he doesn’t make any promises. The girls who are cool with it. But as graduation looms, everything starts deviating from Eddy’s master script. Never in a million years did he expect to be facing off with unapproachable Lucinda Dulko. For once, he’s not in control—but to be with Lucinda, he’s willing to get swept up by the game. What happens to a player when the rules change?”

Review: I loved Laura Ruby’s other novel Good Girls so I was so excited to get Play Me. It took me less than three hours for me to gobble it up. And after that I just wanted to throw it back out.

Despite the author trying to justify her reasons about Eddy, in the end I still felt that was a complete bastard. Sure he had his soft spot, like with his mother, but it did not compensate the fact that he was a selfish and narrow-minded guy that was being led by his hormones. He might have thought he loved Lucinda but his actions did not show that. His actions did show that he wanted to get in her pants. But was it really his fault? Not really. Since it takes two people to do the deed.

The relationship between almost everyone in the story was discombobulated. I could not fathom as to why everyone gravitates towards Eddy. He abuses their friendship and does not seem to care for them. The same thing applies to the family relationship. When sound advice was given, he completely ignored it even after his career with MTV collapsed.

The one redeeming factor would have to be Tippi Hedren. This bird makes me crack up like a hyena, okay I exaggerated a bit, but she really did make me laugh.

Overall: Next.

Cover C+

Graceling

Graceling by Kristin Cashore (October 1st 2008—Harcourt)

Grade: 5 stars out of 5

Summary: Katsa can kill a man without even batting an eyelash for she has the Grace of killing. Her uncle, Randa, had taken Katsa under his wing since she was an infant, but he exploits her ability and sends her on various missions to show that the king is always in power—murdering those who stole from the king, broken arms or fingers if you go against the king.

But Katsa has her own missions aside from the king’s orders. During one of theses mission she runs into this a skilled fighter, but not skilled enough to take her down. When she later arrives home she soon discovers that this stranger happens to be Prince Po from Lienid, an island country. While she is shocked about this, she later befriends him in the most extraordinary way.

Together they will go an adventure to discover what has happen in another country that left his sister, the Queen, locked up in her room. And they will also discover something about their feelings along the way…

Review: Graceling was gorgeously put together and packaged with a beautiful bow presenting itself to the lucky readers.

Let’s start with the world that Kristin has created. It is luscious, detailed, and filled with imagery. What is even more helpful is that if you do happen to be troubled, there is a map in the book that shows the countries and has symbols to point out key locations. Think of Eragon if you will. However, I do have to mention that the various names and overly descriptive backgrounds of each country may bog the reader down. I know for me, it forced me stop reading for some time. It was around the first couple of pages, 30 or so, that made me frustrated—it gave too much at one time. I got lost in the details, in the many names, and the situations.

After I got through the muck, Katsa turned out to be a thrilling character. She was a strong female character who can kick almost everyone’s butt. She had strive, devotion, respect, and a clever mind. However, her stubbornness may be a flaw at points, along with some others—which can also give dimensions to her ever expanding character. She desires to bear no children or wedding rings, which later aggravates me especially at the ending with Po. I am all for being independent, but remaining lovers despite equal feelings on both sides kind of does not make sense to me. Okay, it kind of does. Not being chained down, not being forced to think that someone owns you. It just a pet peeve I guess.

Po, weird name I know, was the pretend laidback, but highly sensitive character that played off Katsa very well. He brought out the feminine side of her, her love aspect. He, himself, also plays his own role. He was selfish but also unselfish; he was the sweet gentle man but also filled with anguish. And he can also kick some major booty as well.

Speaking of lovers, I feel that I have to point out that there is indeed sex in this novel. While it may not be explicit, explicit, I have to recommend to mothers who wants to know if their 12 year old daughter can read this or not. Do not unless they are mature enough. So I definitely recommend this book to the older teen group.

Katsa and Po’s relationship develops over a period of time. Nothing too elaborate or fast paced. I definitely felt that this love does not hinder the plotline at all. In fact, I think it may have helped it in some areas. It gave the reason behind Katsa’s decision to leave Po behind a bit of a small heartbreak. But overall more depth, that there truly was a decision behind it all—their reasons and actions. So was it cliché? In some aspects sure. There were twists and surprise, however, which left me smiling at the unexpected events.

Overall: A wonderful and amazing read! I am definitely stalking this new author and cannot wait to see what she has in store!

Cover A+
Gorgeous!

P.S. Me + summaries = Yan pounding head on desk...repetitively

Waiting on Wednesday! (5)

Deadly Little Lies by Laurie Faria Stolarz (December 15th 2009--Hyperion)

"Last fall, sixteen-year-old Camelia fell for Ben, the mysterious new boy at school who turned out to have a very mysterious gift--pyschometry, the ability to sense the future through touch. But just as Camelia and Ben's romance began to heat up, he abruptly left town. Brokenhearted, Camelia has spent the last few months studying everything she can about psychometry, and experiencing her own strange brushes with premonition. Camelia wonders if Ben's abilities have somehow rubbed off on her. Can the power of psychometry be transferred?

Even once Ben returns to school, Camelia can't get close enough to share her secret with him. Despite the romantic tension between them, Ben remains aloof, avoiding contact. Then when an unexpected kiss leads to a frightening argument, Camelia makes the painful decision to let Ben go and move on. Alex, the hot new guy at Knead, seems good for her in ways Ben wasn't. Alex is easy-going, and seems to really care about her.

But when Camelia and Alex start dating, a surprising love triangle results. A chilling sequence of events upturns secrets from Ben's past--and Alex's. Someone is lying, and it's up to Camelia to figure out whom-before it's too late."

This meme is being hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine!

Let's Be Friends!

Alyce @ At Home With Books just gave me this charming award!

Rules:
"These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

I think this is very similar to the other award, the PROXIMITY award, so to those of you who won that award from me, well take this one too! Double cuteness!!

Thank you Alyce! I'm so glad you enjoy reading my blog!

Feeling the Love!

I am so excited to have received more awards! So I can definitely feel the love and passing it along!

First up, Robin Titan gave me this adorable award.

Rules:
1) Add the logo of the award to your blog
2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4) Add links to those blogs on your blog
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs!

I thought that I might happen to skip if that's okay with you? Thanks again Robin!

Next up we have two, count them 2!, shiny, sparkly, drool worthy award given to me by Steph Su! Not only do I judge book covers, I judge award icons too...I have to stop this endless cycle of craziness at one point.

First up, Premio Dardos means ‘prize darts’ in Italian and it is given for recognition of cultural, ethical, literary, and personal values transmitted in the form of creative and original writing. I freaking love this one! It's so colorful and I think I can stare at this one all day!

Rules:

1) Accept the award by posting it on your blog along with the name of the person that has granted the award and a link to his/her blog.

2) Pass the award to another 15 blogs that are worthy of this acknowledgment, remembering to contact each of them to let them know they have been selected for this award.

Sorry but I really am not feeling up to thinking this through. School sucks.

Secondly, this award! So adorable!

"This blog invests and believes in the PROXIMITY-nearness in space, time and relationships. These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement! Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight 11! bloggers who must choose eight! more and include this clever-written text into the body of their award."

This one I am definitely up to doing!

1. Sharon, because she totally tolerates me!
2. Khyrinthia, my online therapist! Who is SPECTACULAR!
3. Alea, who is beyond sweet! But she could be sweeter if she just gave me her gosh darn house key...
4. The Story Siren...I like her? Really, there's a reasonable explanation as to why...oh! There was this time where I poured my heart out to her? I think I did. Or maybe I rambled to her too?
5. Laura, my online mom! lol, I swear she has connections to almost every single author. Project Runway!
6. Kelsey, she helped me with my layout! She practically changed everything!
7. Carol, ...self-explanatory...I think she may be my long lost non-Asian twin whom was born from a different set of parents...and year...GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE!
8. Stephanie, one of my first blogging friends. Which reminds me, we need to start talking again!
9. Shalonda, we anti-social people need to stick together ;P
10. Book Chic, he just rules okay? Plain and simple.
11. Mandy, she's like always there whenever I need someone to chat to.

Again, thanks for these awesome awards!

P.S. No reviews for awhile. Right now I am going over past reviews and adjusting the grades. Reasons to thus are my own right now :)

Free Book!

So in an attempt do spread the love of an upcoming book, Say The Word by Jeannine Garsee, a bunch of bloggers, myself included, are trying to promote this book.

For the first attempt we have a very pleasant surprise! Laura is giving away a hardback copy to one very lucky person! So act now, and click here, because this contest is extremely random. Meaning we have no idea when it closes but I can tell you it's opened WORLDWIDE. No restrictions, no rules, just say you want it.

It's FREE! It's EASY! And it can be YOURS!

New System (1)

After reading all of the comments so far concerning my current state of reviews, I have concluded to leaving the way I review as is, but I will be changing my rating system a bit--I plan to restate what each star means and so forth. This is still an undergoing process so do not expect a drastic change anytime soon.

I did receive a question within my question post about my decimal stars so I feel like I should explain that a bit further. For me, half stars do not cut it. It's too limited. Therefore I plan to continue to the decimal stars but shy away from it if I can, just the hundredth place, the tenths remain always. Right now I am outlining the way I plan to grade books from now on. So far this is all that I have:

Characters
-Depth
-Love relationship if any
-Family relationship
-Relationship to other characters
-Emotional appeal
-Motivation

Secondary characterization
-Depth
-How they support the main character

Plot
-Background information (if they explained everything)
-Great action sequences if any
-Ending
-How overused is the topic? (cliche)
-Surprise factor
-Beginning
-Realistic

Writing Technique
-Transition scenes
-Gorgeous metaphors and sensations (i.e. the detailed scenery)
-Suspense
-Humor

This is all still very tentative. I'll be adding more subcategories, deleting some and expanding on others. So please do not ask what this means and what means, because more often than naught, I am still as lost as you are. If you feel that I am missing anything important let me and I will definitely consider it! Each category is supposed to help me organize my thoughts and help me with my review.

Those of you who asked me to expand more on the better aspect of the book, I try. Really I do. But sometimes, there's only so much I can blab on about before my review becomes a bunch of gibberish. Take for example my review for Going Too Far, complete and utter crap. I am so much better at critiquing than praising, I think many of us are. So I am going to try harder now.

I am also trying to write my own summaries. Trying is the key word. I do not know how others do it, but I sure can't. Nor do I plan to have my entire review about the summary.

Anyway I really would like to thank everyone who left a comment to my quick question. You guys have no idea how much it helped! I was feeling very concerned so I think some of my apprehension have been relieved. Especially to those who wrote like half a page responding to me. I was shocked at so many people who responded! So if you commented, give yourselves a super duper hug for me! THANK YOU!

I think this all I have to say? Just in case, I will title this "New System" Part I...

Oh! But I did want to talk about the picture. This is a metaphor of me reviewing...Eh, don't feel like explaining it. This post is long enough as is :)

Missing Link?

I just wanted everyone to know that my review for Forest of Hands and Teeth is back up again. I am not too sure how many of you have read it yet, but I took it down shortly after it was posted. There were some technical difficulties and a concerned blogger who persuaded me to take it down.

Anyway, I wanted a separate post informing you guys mostly because there was this one comment which I thought was amazing and I did not have the heart to delete it if I should delete my review.

So here is the link to the review and thanks for the comments to the previous post about my reviews! I truly appreciate it!

Quick Question

So for the past couple of weeks I have been getting comments that I am a hard reviewer. Too put it bluntly, anal. Of course I took it into consideration. However, just recently I've discovered that I have only given 8! books a 4 or higher grade. So right now I'm reevaluating my grading system. But first I want to ask you guys, my readers, a question before I do that.

1) Am I an extremely harsh, to the point where I am being mean, grader?
2) Should I continue to give my full response flaws and all about a book?
3) Or should I ease it up a little and grade books more gently?
4) Do you guys even like my reviews?
5) In what areas can I approve on?

I Know It’s Over

I Know It’s Over by C.K. Kelly Martin (September 23rd 2008—Random House)

Grade: 3.5 stars out of 5

Summary: “PURE. UNPLANNED. PERFECT. Those were Nick’s summer plans before Sasha stepped into the picture. With the collateral damage from his parents’ divorce still settling and Dani (his girl of the moment) up for nearly anything, complications are the last thing he needs. All that changes, though, when Nick runs into Sasha at the beach in July. Suddenly he’s neck-deep in a relationship and surprised to find he doesn’t mind in the least. But Nick’s world shifts again when Sasha breaks up with him. Then, weeks later, while Nick’s still reeling from the breakup, she turns up at his doorstep and tells him she’s pregnant. Nick finds himself struggling once more to understand the girl he can’t stop caring for, the girl who insists that it’s still over.”

Review: As many of stated before I Know It’s Over is an explosion of heartbreak and losing yourself in someone else's shoes. The simple tale of a surprise and the way many teenagers now face. In this heartfelt novel, C.K. Kelly Martin explored the wonders of the human relationship and letting it all go.

Nick was the perfect star in this novel. He was the typical boy with the typical hormones. He gave great emotions and great reactions to certain events. The way C.K. wrote through the male perspective was flawlessly done.

Besides Nick, almost every single character was amazing. I could distinguish each one from the other. I felt a connection to each and every one of them.

The family dynamics were compelling. I think the awkwardness in some situations with Nick’s family members as well as Nathan’s or Sasha’s, were true to their characters. It also gave more depth to the persona of each character. Why do they act a certain way, who do they have to gain respect from, and to please.

Juggling family and friends, beginning new relationships and ending the old ones, both in love and sports, C.K. creates a harmonic balance. The way one thing is being affected by the other, and their decisions from that and the emotions brought forth.

I love the way the story was set up. The big opening, the huge shock, which I thought was an ingenious place to put it. Pretend to be in Nick’s shoes, would he not feel the same shock as the reader does when they hear the news? Not only does it catch the readers’ attention, but it also makes the reader want more. Then the story moves on to how this came to be, the pregnancy. I felt that the relationship between Sasha and Nick was realistic to the dot. And the ending. The last few pages were golden to me. That was where I felt Nick finally understood the situation and let go all his feeling—where he cried, where his inner walls finally collapsed.

But I felt that it dragged on a bit towards the middle and some scenes were not needed.

Overall: I Know It’s Over was a beautifully told story about a common issue nowadays. She delivered in every single aspect and obstacle thrown her way, conquering it all gracefully.

Cover C+

Gave Up

So after consulting with some people, it turns out everyone seems to like the background image. Decided to keep that and mess with the header then. After some hours I gave up, so who ever wants to mess with it and tweak it to make to look better be my guest. For now, I am so sick of looking at it! Ugh.

Yet Again...

So I am changing my layout for the third time. I have a new header put in, Kelsey was kind enough to change the background of my posts back to white and the regular text to black. I was getting tired of the dark theme because it made me hard to see sometimes. Plus it was making me gloomy...

Tell me what you guys think of the new header, I wanted something more me so I kind of tweaked it and revamped it myself. Right now I'm in the process of changing the background image because it does not go with the colors of the header. So if anyone can find a burgundy type of background image with hints of brown let me cause so far everything I found sort of sucks.

Bear with me while I yet again change almost everything.

P.S. Now that I'm looking at it again, I kind of don't really like it. So I need some feedback please~

The Forest of Hands and Teeth

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan (March 10th 2009—Delacorte Press)

Grade: 2.5 stars out of 5

Summary: “In Mary's world there are simple truths.
The Sisterhood always knows best.
The Guardians will protect and serve.
The Unconsecrated will never relent.

And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth.

But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness.

When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?”

Review: I had high standards for this book. While the summary less than caught my eye when I first heard about it, I expected it to captivating based off of so many positive reviews and awards. Sadly, I may be the few and the only ones who did not come to love this book. So just tally this up with The Hunger Games, and John Green, because I have a feeling I shall face many comments about my review (or will you all avoid this train wreck waiting to happen?)

The Forest of Hands and Teeth had too much going on at the same time. The romance had no true beginning. It was mentioned that she craved for Travis, but no real background as to why. She later pushes through the story without explaining anything between the two. Mary keeps mentioning how much she loves Travis but yet, I saw no actual development between them. Yes. They had a few scenes where they connect but I feel like I still do not understand why they are so love with each other. Harry was, however, a better match I felt at times. Granted, not always but I got a deeper connection between the two (Mary and Harry) rather than Travis.

This brings us to the characters. I thought that while Mary was the main character, she was one of the weakest. I felt that her drive, her motivation was superficial. She only thought of the ocean, of Travis, of her survival. To me, she was selfish. Granted, she may have some tenderness and care in certain scenes but overall I just was not all that fairly compassion towards her. To say the least, the majority of the character I felt no true sense of connection. They either died too quickly before anything really big started, or they just fell. Hard. However, I did feel like Mary’s brother Jed, was great. I liked his depth, his emotions, and his desire. I love his need to protect Beth but also his reaction to the turn of their mother and how the situation was ironical similar.

The plot in general I had issues with. The plot sounded wonderful but the execution lacked. The author tried to do too many things all at once. She tried romance, thriller, mystery, action, and adventure. This only created an awkward situation together. I felt if she focused on some of these genres then she would have succeeded, but for now, I felt she rambled on at certain areas trying to contain it all. It was only about how way through the novel did the story finally picked up—that the actual Unconsecrated (just a fancy term for zombies…) attacked. Ever now and then, there were golden scenes that was perfect and that was one of the starting points for me. Another was the Sisterhood and Mary’s short time confinement with them. I actually happened to love that. The secrets, the crazy loons, and the secret rendezvous. I guess what I love most about it was that Mary had more dimension while she was there. It was where it was mostly centered on one action or genre which made the most sense in my mind.

The background information that the story provided was in the first half. I felt that it was great she (Carrie Ryan) included it all in there, to inform the reader of the world before. It gave great insight, great detail, and a better understanding of the village and the causes of the entire Forest of Hands and Teeth. However, I did felt that there some things in there that could have been taken off. Again, it was the ramblings that dragged the story on too long.

The ending. It was…I guess it was an ending if you can call it that. I felt it was more of a hastily ending to keep the reader wanting more for the sequel. It was too abrupt, left too many unanswered questions.

Besides all of that, the writing was beautifully done—great analogies, detailed descriptions of scenes, and a brutal and honest tone, albeit sometimes dull. Carrie Ryan created a stunning post-apocalyptic world that fulfills every fantasy lovers dream. With its intricate world, detailed plot, and gruesome action, Forest of Hands and Teeth will captivate many.

Overall: Sad and disappointed. Will still keep this in my bookshelf because it is a series, so that means I will hopefully read the next part and maybe a lot of my questions will be answered. Like the Luxe series, I’m crossing my fingers that this series will progress in a better direction.

Cover B-

I would love to hear your opinions on this book!

Bad Girls Don’t Die

Bad Girls Don’t Die by Katie Alender (April 21st 2009—Hyperion)

Grade: 4 stars out of 5

Summary: “Alexis thought she led a typically dysfunctional high school existence: dysfunctional like her parents' marriage; her doll-crazy thirteen-year-old sister, Kasey—even her own anti-social, anti-cheerleader attitude.

When a family argument results in some tearful sisterly bonding, Alexis realizes that her life is creeping from dysfunction into danger. Kasey is acting stranger than ever—sometimes she just …changes. Her blue eyes go green; she uses odd, old-fashioned language; and she even loses track of chunks of time, claiming to know nothing about her strange behavior. Their old house is changing, too. Doors open and close by themselves; water boils on the unlit stove; and an unplugged air conditioner turns the house cold enough to see their breath in.

Alexis wants to think that it's all in her head, but soon, what she liked to think of as silly parlor tricks are becoming life-threatening—to her, to her family, and to her budding relationship with the class president. Alexis knows she's the only person who can stop Kasey; but what if that green-eyed girl isn't even Kasey anymore?”

Review: Bad Girls Don't Die was a chilling read that had an odd twist of humor. There were moments where my arms were covered in goose bumps and all of a sudden, it wasn't what you had not expected. It was actually somewhat funny, the scenes. However, it comes out more of an awkward—I’m not crazy—laugh. Extraordinary in that sense of way.

“I dreamed I was standing on an island in a swamp full of alligators…I saw Kasey swimming towards me, blissfully unaware of the predators…I pulled out a rifle, and I shot any alligator that got close to her. Then Kasey was with me on the island, braiding my hair and singing me Christmas carols. And a battered doll in a ripped petticoat came out of the water and walked over to us, but Kasey couldn’t see her. And the doll pointed at Kasey and looked at me and said Your sister is crazy.”

What I loved most about this quote was the randomness of it. Seriously, I love random stuff but when you include it with some not so random information, only to you of course, then it makes it only so much more fun. A little giggle to yourself looking crazed to the world through their eyes makes it so much more sweeter.

Aside from that, outside of its original content, this passage may not seem so frightening, but it left me in chills…well until the part about your sister is crazy. The main fear is the dolls, the true demonic force behind it all. Even in real life dolls are creepy to me. I’m talking about the classic porcelain ones, the ones that are so lifelike you just can’t stare them in the eye. So here I was, just anticipating something horrific about to happen, and bam, there goes a funny little surprise. So an awkward, half hilarious, half scared, laugh is elicited.

Almost all the characters are so well done. The secondary characters are of course in the background, but also giving more depth to the main character. But that doesn’t just stop there, some of them even have a bit more life in them. Carter, the male protagonist as well as being a secondary character, gave Alexis more of a girly flare that doesn’t show anywhere else. But he also has a dark past that gave him more depth. Alexis was the older sister, the person who cared for her, as well as the one who’s more than what she appears.

The action was predictable in some areas, but not so in others. The mystery aspect and the road to uncovering it was wonderfully done and left no real questions behind.

Overall: A great book to pick if you’re in the mood for creepy little dolls. Okay so it’s much more than that. Just read this book if it sounds interesting to you, trust me, it’ll be better than you expected. I took it for granted and now I’m in contentment after reading it.

Cover B+

Evermore

Evermore by Alyson Noël (February 3rd 2009—St. Martin’s Griffin)

Grade: 2.5 stars out of 5

Summary: “Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever can see auras, hear people’s thoughts, and know a person’s life story by touch. Going out of her way to shield herself from human contact to suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste…Ever sees Damen and feels an instant recognition. He is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy, and he holds many secrets. Damen is able to make things appear and disappear, he always seems to know what she’s thinking—and he’s the only one who can silence the noise and the random energy in her head. She doesn’t know who he really is—or what he is. Damen is equal parts light and darkness, and he belongs to an enchanted new world where no one ever dies.”

Review: Evermore was an easy read for those wanting to just lounge around.

Ever was a good character, nothing terrible but nothing extraordinary. She portrayed wonderful emotions through her actions, after her death of her family, and she reacted amazingly to the environment. The hardship, the inner thoughts that screamed freak!, and the sudden addiction to that of which is Damen.

Damen I felt had too large of an ego. He knew he was the ever sexy, drop dead gorgeous person. And I just wanted to burst his bubble sometimes more often that not. I understand that he loves Ever, and she him, but I guess I wanted a deeper connection. Like many authors, the journey up love hill was too fast pace and the actual courting never took place. It gets awfully tiring constantly reading that these two characters just suddenly clicked, and bam, you just knew that they were meant for each other. I know that there are some situations like that, but sometimes it’s aggravating. Going back to Damen, I felt that he could have shown his love to Ever in a different light. To cause heartache for her just to see how she reacted though? That was just selfish.

Drina, the main force against Damen and Ever, was a bit too one dimensional for me. Haven, Ever’s best friend, was a great character. I liked how she was the rejected person that needed some type of affection and acceptance that forced her into such highs. While she got annoying at random points, she was acting her part. In general, because they are way too many characters for me to described, I felt that the majority of her characters were so well done.

The plot I guess it was cliché and overdone, with small hints of changes. The action was somewhat forced, but the voice was exquisite.

Overall: Evermore was a good start for a compelling series. Blue Moon is eagerly on my wish list as I cannot wait to read more about Ever’s life.

Cover B

Waiting on Wednesday! (4)

This meme is being hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine!

Girlfriend Material by Melissa Kantor (May 5th 2009--Hyperion)

"If Kate were Lady Brett Ashley, the devastating heroine of Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, she'd spend her summers careering around the Riviera in her coupe, breaking hearts by the dozen--because why not? In reality, Kate's never even had a boyfriend, and she'll be spending the summer abetting her mom's lame ploy to make her dad jealous: running off to Cape Cod and crashing at the seaside home of her wealthy friends, the Cooper-Melnicks. To add to the shame, the Cooper-Melnicks' gorgeous daughter Sarah is a bit like Lady Brett, and she seems less than thrilled to hang out with her new houseguest. Any dreams Kate once had of a perfect summer are ruined.

That is, until Sarah's cute, witty friend Adam starts drawing Kate into the fold--and seems intrigued. With Adam around, Kate feels like she just might have a bit of heartbreaker potential after all. But when a breezy summer romance quickly grows more complicated can Kate keep pretending her relationship with Adam is just a carefree fling? Or will she take the risk and tell him her real feelings? Suddenly Kate is asking herself a question she never thought she'd stoop to: Is she girlfriend material?"

Hunted--House of Night Series!

I was just contemplating about what to post for today, when this lovely little trailer popped up in my email. You guys probably all heard about the House of Night Series by PC Cast and Kristin Cast right? And for those you nodding their heads and screaming, "I need the next book now!" here's a lovely little trailer to ease the pain...



But wait! Here's also a super cool bonus for all of you dying fans! Click here to read the 1st chapter of Hunted! Click it! I dare you!

Summary: "What if the hottest guy in the world was hiding a nameless evil, and all he wanted was you?

At the start of this heart-pounding new installment of the bestselling House of Night series, Zoey’s friends have her back again and Stevie Rae and the red fledglings aren’t Neferet’s secrets any longer. But an unexpected danger has emerged. Neferet guards her powerful new consort, Kalona, and no one at the House of Night seems to understand the threat he poses. Kalona looks gorgeous, and he has the House of Night under his spell. A past life holds the key to breaking his rapidly spreading influence, but what if this past life shows Zoey secrets she doesn’t want to hear and truths she can’t face?

On the run and holed up in Tulsa’s Prohibition-era tunnels, Zoey and her gang must discover a way to deal with something that might bring them all down. Meanwhile, Zoey has a few other little problems. The red fledglings have cleaned up well – they’ve even managed to make the dark, creepy tunnels feel more like home – but are they really as friendly as they seem? On the boyfriend front, Zoey has a chance to make things right with super-hot ex-, Eric, but she can’t stop thinking about Stark, the archer who died in her arms after one unforgettable night, and she is driven to try to save him from Neferet’s sinister influence at all costs. Will anyone believe the power evil has to hide among us?"

Has all of this caught your attention? Then pre-order your copy now! It's 40% off at Amazon so hurry before it's too late!

Going Too Far

Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols (March 17th 2009—MTV)

Grade: 4.5 stars out of 5

Summary: “All Meg wants is to escape her excruciatingly small town after graduation. In the meantime, her above-the-law boyfriend and her wild class trip to Florida coming up over Spring Break are the only things keeping her from imploding. But before she leaves on her trip, one of her boyfriend’s pranks goes too far and turns Southern Gothic nightmare. She finds herself in jail. The only way to avoid prosecution is to spend Spring Break on night patrol with the by-the-book cop who arrested her.

Fine. She did the crime, she’ll do the time. If the cop gets hot under the collar cruising the night with a punky blue-haired girl-felon, that’s his problem, not hers. But her own personal boy in blue is younger, less experienced, and so much sexier than she imagined at first. As she falls for him, she explores why he’s as determined to stay in this town as she is to leave. She pushes him to the edge by questioning every rule in his police academy manual. And when he hits back, demanding to know why she can’t stand this straight-laced Alabama town, he will push her to the edge, and over...”

Review: Going Too Far was definitely not going too far me. I am thinking about joining the MTV book cult. So far every book that I read published under them have amazed me.

It was the dynamics and the emotional appeal that sold me. I love her brutal honestly and yet her hidden fear that drove her to such high ends. I love John’s innocence and his reason to being a stand offish cop. But also his reluctance to leave the small town.

I found…okay I got nothing.

Writing this review was hardly than expected…Point blank, this book was great! I loved it! Cannot explain why, but I did. Some might call it cliché (coughcoughCarol) and predictable but I happened to have found it fun and entertaining despite it all.

Overall: Read it. Period.

Cover C+
I hate these MTV ARC covers, it’s just lime green. I miss the actual cover…

This has got to be one of the worst reviews I have ever written as of yet. I am so sad about that.

The One

The One by Ed Decter and Laura J. Burns (March 10th 2009—Simon Pulse)

Grade: 3.5 stars out of 5

Summary: Chloe Gamble always has an aura of charisma and gets what she wants. But can she work her magic in Hollywood?

She’s been winning beauty pageants and providing for her family all these years. But after catching her father in the act, flirting with a girl about a year or two older than she, Chloe decides it’s time the small town to move to LA to leave with her mother and twin brother, Travis, in tow. Who else was going to decide, her mother?

And so the adventures begin. From finding the proper photographer, stylist, agent, and publicist, Chloe embarks on a true Hollywood scandal. One that leaves her on the blacklist and infamous throughout the city. But that’s not to stop Chloe Gamble to getting what she wants.

Review: The One was like a huge scandal that you read everywhere—in the tabloids, or on television. Full of excitement, and Texas drawl, The One took less than three hours to read.

What I love the most about The One was the three various points of view. We had Nika May, Chloe’s agent, Travis’s emails, and of course Chloe herself. They each represent the relationship in that industry. Nika was the background, how things work, who’s who, and what’s what. Travis was the family aspect but also he had his own story to tell. And Chloe’s point of view speaks for itself.

Chloe is an engrossing and charismatic character. She’s head-strong, determined, and stubborn. But she is also caring. For example, she went out of her way to enroll her and her brother into a prep school just to make him feel more normal and then somehow managed to get him a scholarship. Travis is another character that I felt was good. He had the protective brother vibe going on but he also has own adventure—modeling [underwear], acting, and he’s own personal drama.

The ending was a freaking tease! Seriously! My jaw dropped at how the story ended and I almost threw the book out of frustration. Huge, ginormous, cliff hanger!

Overall: Right from the start, The One dives head first into the world of gossip, sass, and fun. So far this has been the best Hollywood story I have read so far. And I’m eagerly waiting for the sequel to this awesome start!

Cover C-
I'm sorry but I just suddenly see Robert Pattinson in this cover. From that agape mouth, to the hair everywhere, it looks to be an awkward photo.

P.S. I'm slowly but surely trying to write my own summaries...

Am I Crazy?

Watch this video and tell me you do not see a resemblance to Rumors

Princess of the Midnight Ball

Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George (January 20th 2009—Bloomsbury)

Grade: 3 stars out of 5

Summary: “A tale of twelve princesses doomed to dance until dawn…

Galen is a young soldier returning from war; Rose is one of twelve princesses condemned to dance each night for the King Under Stone. Together Galen and Rose will search for a way to break the curse that forces the princesses to dance at the midnight balls. All they need is one invisibility cloak, a black wool chain knit with enchanted silver needles, and that most critical ingredient of all—true love—to conquer their foes in the dark halls below. But malevolent forces are working against them above ground as well, and as cruel as the King Under Stone has seemed, his wrath is mere irritation compared to the evil that awaits Galen and Rose in the brighter world above.”

Review: If Princess of the Midnight Ball were to ever turn into a movie, my inner ten year old would be squealing in delight. The princesses, the evil villain trying to rule the world, and the sword fighting, actually twig stabbing [and gun shooting] but I’ll take what I can, gave life to a enthralling fairy tale.

I thought the most interesting aspect to the characters were the names of the princesses. Ordinarily I hated the name Rose but combined with the other eleven flowers, Poppy, Hyacinth, Orchid, it created a vast sensational appeal. I love each of the sister’s traits—the dancer, the musician—and the careful tease and squabbles from sister to sister. It gave a much needed realistic approach to the family dynamics.

I thought the relationship between Rose and Galen was rushed somewhat in the beginning but evened out in the end. His bold flirtation smoothed into gentle courting—as well as charming the very so important sisters.

The main plot itself was nicely planned out and was executed in an almost flawless manner. Despite losing myself here and then under the many names, I found myself strangely captivated in the underground world of the King Under Stone as well as the world above.

What I found the most creative was the instructions on the back instructing the reader how to knit the white shawl, and the black chain. Now that was something extra special.

Overall: Princess of the Midnight Ball was a fun and mystical tale.

Cover A
The cover makes me swoon. I adore those type of dresses with the detailed embellishments

Fabulous!

I got another blog award from Sharon! <3

Rules are: Write 5 things you are addicted to and then nominate 5 other blogs to pass this award on to!

1. Books (or else I would not have this blog)
2. Baking (how else can I bribe my friends into tolerating me~)
3. Doodling (the only way to battle sleep in class)
4. Sleeping (you guys love it too!)
5. Poking people (I have this friend who squawks whenever I poke her so it's so much fun!)

I nominate:
Lauren
Book Chic
Sarah
Bookworm
Shalonda

AND (yes, I apparently cannot count correctly)
Khy ('cause she makes me smile)

Fade

Fade by Lisa McMann (February 10th 2009—Simon Pulse)

Grade: 4 stars out of 5

Summary: “SOME NIGHTMARES NEVER END.

For Janie and Cabel, real life is getting tougher than the dreams. They're just trying to carve out a little (secret) time together, but no such luck.

Disturbing things are happening at Fieldridge High, yet nobody's talking. When Janie taps into a classmate's violent nightmares, the case finally breaks open -- but nothing goes as planned. Not even close. Janie's in way over her head, and Cabe's shocking behavior has grave consequences for them both.

Worse yet, Janie learns the truth about herself and her ability -- and it's bleak. Seriously, brutally bleak. Not only is her fate as a dream catcher sealed, but what's to come is way darker than she'd feared....”

Review: Fade takes off exactly where Wake ended. I felt that Fade, compared to its predecessor, Wake, did not reach its full potential. While I agree that Fade was still as captivating and hard to put down as Wake, it was way too rushed for my taste and had too many unanswered questions.

For one, while I thought the gateway to Martha, another dream catcher like Janie who passed away in Wake, through Janie’s dreams was innovative and fun, I had some questions. How for example, are they connected? I would have understood it if she happened to be alive and traveled to Janie’s dream, but she passed away even before Janie knew she knew Martha was a dream catcher. Was it a subconscious effect, or somehow the notebook triggered a mysterious dream catcher guidance?

Moving onto Janie’s and Cabel’s relationship. Remember how I stated in my review for Wake that I felt that they were moving too fast? Well, this time they ran a marathon. Maybe it’s just my opinion. Also Cabel is an emotional roller coaster, which if I could, I would have asked for a quick break ever once in a while. He can put Edward Cullen to shame with his angst. I had a strong urge to throw a paper ball at his head and scream, stop ignoring Janie! Take a chill pill!

Onto the plot; like Wake, Fade takes you onto a journey to solve a case. Except this time instead of drug dealers, we are talking about sexual predators. It was a love and distaste relationship between it and me. For one, I love the build up—great details, great clues, and great action. My only complaint had to be the vocabulary. I definitely recommend this to be read by the older teens, some things can get graphic which I do not find to be appropriate. Other than that, it was fine.

If the Wake series ever turned into a television series, I am definitely TiVo-ing it. Seriously. It has all the making to become a smash hit—drama, action, and for those who are interested, sex.

Overall: A great sequel! I am immediately counting down the release of Gone, the third installment to this awesome series!

Cover B+

Wake

Wake by Lisa McMann (March 4th 2008—Simon Pulse)

Grade: 4 stars out of 5

Summary: “Not all dreams are sweet.

For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie's seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.

She can't tell anybody about what she does -- they'd never believe her, or worse, they'd think she's a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn't want and can't control.

Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else's twisted psyche. She is a participant....”

Review: Lisa McMann, you have just found yourself another fan girl. I started to read Wake last night and finished it the following morning. After chatting with Carol yesterday night regarding my disappointment with Chasing Boys, I decided to seek some guidance with choosing my next book to read/review. I wanted something in my currently reading pile, killing two birds with one stone, which consisted of fifteen (now thirteen) books. She chose Wake and Triple Shot of Bettys. I decided to start the Wake series. And. I. Loved. It!

My expectations for Wake were moderate, I read some good reviews but the summary did not draw me in. And the cover as well (I’m a cover whore). So imagine my surprise when I was half way in and an hour past my curfew, not to mention my lack of interest in preparing for the test the next day; or the fact that I dragged the book to school to read during advisory when I should have been studying just to finish the book. And let’s not forget the fact that I am going all fan girl mode here, typing this review up and ignoring my upcoming quiz tomorrow.

What I loved about Wake was the fresh idea! Finally, something other than faeries and vampires! Now we have dream catchers, which that idea itself was new. I read somewhere that someone had issues with the many fragment sentences. I, however, found the sentence structure fun and lyrical. It was like little mini poem verses, small breaks from the extensive details. Despite the details, Wake can hide little details along the story and catch you in surprise! This kept the excitement going and the action not too predictable.

The characters were amazing! I like how each and every character had a certain set of traits, one was the strict leader, and the other was the flirty cheerleader and so forth. And the relationship with Janie and Cabel had me swooning and squealing like a pig being fed a five course dinner.

Of course, there were some issues. The ending was rather rushed. I had some questions about the police force that employed Janie. And I felt that the relationship with Janie and Cabel, while great, was too fast paced and too soon. I guess a bit of more build up would have been nice.

Overall: I needed this book after going through a not so pleasant stream of novels. Wake was a fascinating read that will keep the reader entertained even after finishing the book. I just could not help myself but to reread some sections after sighing with satisfaction.

Cover B+
EDIT: Fade review should be up shortly. I read it this afternoon and haven't found time to review it quite yet.

Chasing Boys

Chasing Boys by Karen Tayleur (January 6th 2009—Bloomsbury)

Grade: 1.5 stars out of 5

Summary: “El Marini just isn't fitting into the new life she's been forced to create without her dad. Her mom and sister have accepted his absence and moved on, but El is convinced things will get back to normal if she just keeps her feelings of loss to herself and waits it out.

Life at her new public school would have been unbearable if weren't for Eric Callahan. As her crush grows to epic proportions, she'll do anything to be more like the popular girls he notices, even buying the first pink top she's ever owned. But then she meets Dylan, a quiet artistic-type who is both unnerving and annoying as he shines a light on El's misguided attempts to attract Eric. El's need for acceptance will hit home with teens as she finally sees that chasing boys has distracted her from making peace with the past and finding herself.”

Review: As you surely tell from my grade, this book really, really, disappointed me. It should only take the reader a couple of hours to finish this book from beginning to end. Why? Because despite that it is 64 chapters and 256 pages long, the font is like size 20. Huge! I really wanted to like this book; I had such high hopes for it! I mean, look at the title! I was craving for a sweet and cliché book so I picked this up. And I have no words…okay maybe some.

So onward to the plot, which I seem to have trouble finding. I understood that it was about El (Ariel) chasing after Eric Callahan and trying to win his heart. But after three-quarters of the entire way through I still could not believe that the plot did not developed! I’m going to try summarize the entire story to leave it to the readers if it sounds good.

So I feel in love with Eric when I first transferred to Blair. I’ve been pining for him for ages, but he’s going out with Angelique, who’s only the most popular girl in school. Oh wait [!] there seems to some animosity between them. It’s my turn to shine. But, I kind of like his girlfriend, I should not be doing this…Hold up! You, my best friend that knows that I love Eric, like him too! And holy crap! Did Dylan just kiss me!? Where the heck did that come from!? Turns out Eric is just some crappy boy whose ego is too large for his head. Oh, Dylan, do ever come back! It turns out I really like you! Margot [my best friend], I forgot, it’s my dad’s birthday and I’m sorry that I yelled at you. Friends?

So I am just going to it there. As you can see, I ended it with a question. It corresponds to the true ending of the story. It leaves the reader frustrated because it was not even an ending! Where did the part about her father being dead come from!? I knew somewhere that her father left; I had assumed that he abandoned the family, so imagine my surprise that the ending was at the cemetery. Besides that I had questions about Dylan, his scar which the author leaves you hanging when she brings it just pages before the book ended? Angelique? Eric? Angelique with Eric? Desiree, El’s other best friend]? I craved for more information. Actually, I demand more!

Speaking of characters, El, was monotone. She was an one tracked album. A weeping flower in a arid desert. Need I say more? Dylan was…nonexistence. He appears every once in a while and his amazing kiss scene (one paragraph long!) and nothingness. I felt that none of the characters really developed or stood out.

Overall: I feel like a) pulling my hair out, b) crying from frustration or c) tossing this book into a fire. I’ll leave that decision up to you, my readers. So leave your comments after this review and I’ll take a picture of the winning choice.

EDIT: So C isn't really a good option, I know. I probably won't ever burn a book, it's just against my book loving nature.
Cover B-

Waiting on Wednesday! (3)

Exclusively Chloe by Jonathon Yang (April 16th 2009--Puffin)

"Chloe-Grace can't help it—she's spectacular. How could she not be with celebrity parents who have been the queen and king of Hollywood for years? And Chloe is a celebrity all unto herself as well— she's the first celebrity-adopted kid in Hollywood. But now Chloe's sixteen, and she is tired of every undesired moment of the world's attention. She wonders what it would be like to be a "normal" kid in a regular school. To really understand it, though, she would need to go undercover. So after getting a "make-under" at the hands of her mother's fabulous stylist, she enters the "real" world. But she soon finds out that there is just as much drama there as there is in Hollywood...."

So I kind of want to read this mainly because it's an Asian author featuring a Chinese girl. Yeah, superficial I know, sue me...

This meme is being hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine!

Everything Is Fine

Everything Is Fine by Ann Dee Ellis (March 1st—Little Brown)

Grade: 2 stars out of 5

Summary: “Stuck at home caring for her severely depressed mother and abandoned by her father, Mazzy has only the day-to-day dramas of her neighborhood to keep her busy. But between flirting with the boy next door and worrying about the fact that she's flat-chested, Mazzy has to face the fact that her mom is emotionally paralyzed by a family tragedy. As readers delve into the story, they'll eventually discover what it was that tore Mazzy's family apart, and they'll see what it takes to put it back together.”

Review: Everything Is Fine is told in verses which creates a quick and interesting read. It reminded me a bad performance, hard to keep your eyes away but leaves an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of your stomach. Or the tryouts for American Idol. You just can’t help but feel embarrass for the person but the urge to change the channel is non existence. That was how I felt about Everything Is Fine. It’s awkward, and disjointed, but it’s undeniably hard to put down.

Mazzy was an on and off character for me. Sometimes I can relate to her feelings, and sometimes I feel that she needs to grow up. It was hard for me to pinpoint her exact age—she stuffed oranges down her shirt and yet she wears lacy underwear. Her relationship with her mother is where you can understand her depth. The way she is actually the one taking care of her mother instead of the other way around, the most simple of actions forces her to hate her mother. Maybe it’s the way that she [the mother] used to act before she fell into depression that causes her to hate her. Or maybe it goes deeper than that as we read the ending.

The ending I felt was satisfactory. In the middle of the story, the author mentions Olivia. I spent a good amount of time trying to remember who she was which might have worked in the author’s favor—trying to keep the readers on their toes. As the story progresses, the small bits of missing information begins to fill until we understand the actual reasoning behind everything.

There are also captions after every poem, like for example “Pencil on paper”. And underneath that, there will be a picture. I was not too sure the exact meaning behind each one, sometimes I did, sometimes it drew a blank stare, but I thought it was creative.

Overall: Mazzy was an odd character but she was interesting to read to say the least. Everything is Fine was a fun and quick read that is a library borrow if you enjoy verse novels.

Cover D
Something was really off about the cover…

Dead Girl Walking

Dead Girl Walking by Linda Joy Singleton (September 1st 2008—Flux)

Grade: 3.5 stars out of 5

Summary: “I am so dead. Now, was I supposed to go left or right at the Light?

Seventeen-year-old Amber Borden has a lousy sense of direction - so lousy that she takes a wrong turn when returning from her near-death experience. She ends up in the body of the most popular girl in school, who has just tried to commit suicide. Can a girl who can't even navigate the halls of Halsey High discover the secrets of her new identity and find her way back to her own life?”

Review: Girl Dead Walking completely astonished me. Based off of the summary I was a little put off of how clichéd it sounded. But once Sharon read it and reviewed it, with 5 purrs no less, I just had to read this book!

What I loved was the transition scenes. The way how they switched was realistic, well as realistic as one can get with switching bodies. Everyone has off moments, and heading in the wrong direction is something that everyone has been bound to do. And the fact that Linda created a scenario before the big switch that Amber has a direction problem made it all more plausible. I’m just relieved that it wasn’t some type of lightening that struck them both at the same time that makes them switch souls—completely played out.

I guess I also have to mention Amber. She was a great character—lovable, kind, and welcoming of new strangers—sounds like some people I know of. I think this is an important element, there are some characters that are so kind to the point they annoy the readers.

There were moments that made me squeal, with a huge stupid grin on my face, and moments that had me giggling. Honestly though, rocks inside her tankini!? Not to mention that she didn’t even notice the discomfort with the surgical enhanced breast—it made me cackle in a somewhat disturbed way.

The ending! What a huge shock! And what a huge cliffhanger! All I know is that I need to get the second book as soon as possible!

Overall: Read it! This was such a magnificent beginning to a, hoping to be, fantastic series!

Cover C-

Watchmen

So my friend is extra hyper about watching this movie! What do you guys think? I got her the book since she wanted to read it so badly and now she's even more excited for the movie to come out! It comes out 03-06-09! Are you planning on watching it? What are your expectations?

Special thanks to said friend (Judy) for emailing me the trailer link. I got too lazy to do it myself...