In My Book Bag

Here are the title's that I have out from the library, or are waiting for me on the holdshelf:



Beauty Queens

By Libba Bray

I've heard lots of great things about this book.

And now that I've read A Great and Terrible Beauty, I want to see what I think of Libba Bray's other work.

Plus the cover is super intriguing.

The Reformed Vampire Suppot Group

By Catherine Jinks

One of my friends recommended this book to me.

And it looks like a fun read

I'm already a few chapters in, but I'm not convinced yet.

We'll see.

Maybe it'll change my mind yet.

Everwild

By Neal Shusterman

I've recently read the first book the this series and love it! (Review to come)

The plot could go in many different directions, and I want to know what happens to the charaters.

And I want to learn more about the world of Everlost, and what 'skinjacking' is really all about.

A Great and Terrible Beauty

A Great And Terrible Beauty
 By Libba Bray


Summary:
A Victorian boarding school story, a Gothic mansion mystery, a gossipy romp about a clique of girlfriends, and a dark other-worldly fantasy--jumble them all together and you have this complicated and unusual first novel.
Sixteen-year-old Gemma has had an unconventional upbringing in India, until the day she foresees her mother's death in a black, swirling vision that turns out to be true. Sent back to England, she is enrolled at Spence, a girls' academy with a mysterious burned-out East Wing. There Gemma is snubbed by powerful Felicity, beautiful Pippa, and even her own dumpy roommate Ann, until she blackmails herself and Ann into the treacherous clique. GemmaKartik, a beautiful young man who warns her to fight off the visions. Nevertheless, they continue, and one night she is led by a child-spirit to find a diary that reveals the secrets of a mystical Order. The clique soon finds a way to accompany Gemma to the other-world realms of her visions "for a bit of fun" and to taste the power they will never have as Victorian wives, but they discover that the delights of the realms are overwhelmed by a menace they cannot control. Gemma is left with the knowledge that her role as the link between worlds leaves her with a mission to seek out the "others" and rebuild the Order. A Great and Terrible Beauty is an impressive first book in what should prove to be a fascinating trilogy.

My Thoughts:
I can not count the number of times I have been told to "read this book"! I have so many reading buddies who LOVE Libba Bray, and as per usual, I wait until the new and cool become tried and true before taking the dive.
Everyone who suggested this book, was right. They were all so right.
This is a fabulous Historical/Fantasy/Wonderful book.
I kind of felt like it was like every other 'magic is real', 'we found a new world' kind of book. But in all fairness. This one probably came before any of the other 'I am actually magic' books I've read over the past couple years.
I'm totally looking forward to reading the next two books of the series.

Just Like That

Just Like That
By Marsha Qualey

Summary: Things change so suddenly. One day Hanna has a long-term boyfriend; the next she realizes she doesn’t have strong feelings for him and breaks up. One day Hanna trusts her two best friends completely; the next, all of that trust is toppled. One day she feels rooted in a family and a community; the next she begins to question everything, including herself. And when Hanna meets a guy named Will, things are suddenly more complicated than ever. Just like that.Marsha Qualey is known for her characters full of heart and substance— people whom you feel you know, people whom you almost wish you could be. Hanna is such a character, and this story of a pivotal season in her life will remind readers of Sarah Dessen’s novels—insightful, addictive, and real.

My Thoughts:
I enjoyed this book. It does read very similar to a Sarah Dessen book, but Marsha Qualey gives this book it's own voice. In no way can this book be called a copy.

I liked the use of art in in the story. Drawing and creating are a big part of Hanna's character, and yet it doesn't seem like a forced theme, just placed in for effect.
This book was the right balance of dark, and light. Sad, and hopeful.
The struggles that Hanna went through felt real, and not overly dramatic or calculated.
I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes the writing of Sarah Dessen or John Green.
This was a very raw, natural, and fascinating story.
I wanted to read until the last page to see how it would end?

Much Ado About Nothing

By Jenny Oldfield

Summary:
Jenny Oldfield creates a hilarious narrative retelling of Shakespeare's comedy, Much Ado About Nothing. When AC Messina's star striker Claudio falls for the team manager's daughter, Hero, he sets in motion an escalating web of deceit. Fuelled by a combination of lies and genuine misunderstandings, Claudio is fooled into believing that Hero is having an affair, and rejects her on their wedding day; whilst star defender Benedick is tricked into falling in love with his worst enemy, Hero's cousin Beatrice. With a delightful cast of reporters, footballers, WAGs and revenge-obsessed scoundrels, will the truth ever be unravelled? But more to the point, will it result in any celebrity weddings? The Shakespeare Today series captures the magic of Shakespeare's original play and sets it in an accessible and contemporary style.

My Thoughts:
This is a cute re-telling of one of my favourite Shakespeare stories.
At first I was a bit confused by the narrative voice, but after a page or two it was fine.
It's a very light read(91 little pages), and basically its just a bunch of fluff. But it's fun and cute. So if you are looking for a beach read - or want to feel cultured and

My Bookshelf

This video is from back when I had to use windows live movie editor. The terrible lag in the jump cuts make me cringe, but my shelf is still the same, so this video will have to do.

Zombies

I've found that I enjoy Zombie books... probably way more then I should. I'm not a big fan of horror, thrillers, or really anything slightly spooky, but I do enjoy my Zombie Fiction.

The books I'm referring too are less about the gore and scare factor though. I love the stories of survival that they tell, and the strong characters that are found in their pages.

The first Zombie book I read was:

The Forest of Hands and Teeth

By Carrie Ryan

This was a brilliant start to her trilogy.

I loved all three installments.

Carrie Ryan's books are not about Zombies. But instead the Zombies are apart of the setting. They are just an every day reality and obstacle that the characters in her books have to deal with to survive.

I just finished the last book, last night.

I loved Annah in The Dark and Hollow Places. She was a strong character, who had her weaknesses, and was fighting an internal battle, as well as dealing with the raging war and tumult around her.

Now I feel the need to go back and re-read the entire set now that I can see how intertwined each installment is with the ones before and after it.

The other Zombie series that I had started reading was:

Rot & Ruin

By Jonathan Maberry

Once again, I enjoyed the characters in this one.

So far this series has more... Zombie Hunting and the Zombie's were more of an element of the actual story, since you know. People where hunting them, insted of trying to avoid them/just survive. 

This one has a lot of mixed reviews on GoodReads.

But I enjoyed it, so I guess it's just a book you need to read before you have an opinon on.

I have the second book of the series on hold now.

So hopefully I will be reviewing that soon.

Summer Slacker

I thought the summer would be a great time to catch upto date with my book blogging... obviously I was very wrong.
I did read over the summer. That is for sure. A few were childhood favourites, revisted because... well I could. And others we're new reads by favourite authors,  some were suggestions from friends, and others still were impulse reads that I just pulled off the library shelf at random and turned out to be jems.

Over the next bit or so, hopefully I will get a few reviews up of my summer reads, and at least a list of titles.

I'm looking forward to all of the exciting pages I will be turning in this next school year!

The Sledding Hill

By Chris Crutcher


Summary:

Eddie hasn't had an easy year
First his father dies. Then his best friend Billy accidentally kicks a stack of Sheetrock over on himself, breaking his neck and effectively hitting tilt on his Earthgame. Eddie and Billy were inseparable. Still are. Billy isn't going to let a little thing like death stop him from hanging in there with his friend. And when Eddie faces an epic struggle with the powers that be, Billy will remain right there beside him.

My Thoughts:
This is the first Chris Crutcher novel I've read. And I really enjoyed it.
I like how the topic of censorship and free thought was a central theme.
The relationship between Billy and Eddie was wonderfully crafted.
The only thing that really threw me was how the author inserted his real name and self as a character. I wasn't expecting it, and personally that just stuck out in a way I didn't really enjoy. Overall, The Sledding Hill was a great concept, and I loved that Billy was the omnipresent narrator, even though he was dead.

In My Book Bag

My original goal was to post an In My Book Bag every Friday... but now that it's summer, my library visiting habits are a bit up in the air. So for the next two months I'll just be updating whenever I get a new stack of books on my shelf.

After Hamelin

By Bill Richardson

This is a book that I thoroughly enjoyed when it was read to me 6 or 7 years ago.

It's a retelling of the famous tale of the Pied Piper of Hamelin.

Re-reading it now, I still love it just as much.

Thornspell

Helen Lowe

I just picked this one up, based on the reasoning that I feel like I haven't read a fantasy book in a while(After Hamelin being the excepting). I've never heard of this book before.

So we'll see what I think.

Returnable Girl

By Pamela A. Lowell

I had never heard of this book before either, but it caught my eye, so I added it my pile.

This book was published in 2006, which seems like forever ago.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

By J.K. Rowling

This is actually the cover of the copy that was waiting for me on the hold shelf.

I have only ever read this series through once, and I feel like I want to work my way through them again this summer.

Book Bag

I recently found this video on YouTube:

How awesome would it be to have a purse made out of a book?

This makes me want to go thrift store hunting to find an old book and make one of these for myself!

Miles From Ordinary

By Carol Lynch Williams

Summery:
Thirteen-year-old Lacey wakes to a beautiful summer morning excited to begin her new job at the library, just as her mother is supposed to start work at the grocery store. Lacey hopes that her mother's ghosts have finally been laid to rest; after all, she seems so much better these days, and they really do need the money. But as the hours tick by and memories come flooding back, a day full of hope spins terrifyingly out of control....
“No one can get inside the head and heart of a 13-year-old girl better than Carol Lynch Williams, and I mean no one," said James S. Jacobs, Professor of Children's Literature at Brigham Young University, of her breakout novel, The Chosen One. Now this award-winning YA author brings us an equally gripping story of a girl who loves her mother, but must face the truth of what life with that mother means for both of them.


My Thoughts:
This book actually has a lot of parallels with the last book I read/reviewed on this blog.
One is that the protagonist feels like a nobody.
I really enjoyed reading Miles From Ordinary.
It was a fairly quick read, once I set my mind to finishing it(and also having a day at the beach to do nothing but lounge and read helped too).
Now that I think about it, the entire story really took place over a span of one day.
Which is something that I don't seem to find very often.
It was effective, but also a very full crazy day.
Over all it was quite good.
The flip-flopped mother daughter relationship was intriguing and kept me interested, and also made me worried for Lacey and her situation.
There is so much pressure on her to take care of her mother, and herself.
I can't imagine ever having to deal personally with anything like that.


Quote:
"Together we climbed on the Peace City bus and road back towards my house. My almost normal feeling was gone. I was miles from ordinary now. Miles."

Summer Reading Plans

My posts have been fairly sporadic lately.
I haven't been reading too much for my own pleasure.
Now that it's summer, all of that is going to change!

I have a fairly healthy stocked bookshelf, and one of my goals is to get a few more of the books I own read and reviewed.

Including:

The Lord of The Rings - JRR Tolkien
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
Specials/Extras - Scott Westerfeld (the last two books of the Uglies series)
How To Build a House - Dana Reinhardt
The Screwtape Letters - C.S. Lewis

There are several others. But I think those have highest priority right now.

Wonderland

By Joanna Nadin

Synopsis:
Sixteen-year-old Jude has to get out of tiny Churchtown. She has to escape her outcast status and her pathetic dad, who hasn’t gotten past her mother’s death. The one bright light is drama, her way out, if only she can get into the Lab, a prestigious program in London. Then Stella, Jude’s childhood best friend, swaggers in after years away. With bold and magnetic Stella by her side, Jude knows she’s capable of anything. But Stella’s influence extends well beyond the theater. Soon Stella’s wild and dangerous streak begins to cause trouble for Jude -- yet Jude can’t bring herself to abandon Stella and the attention she’s always craved. And besides, now that Stella’s back, there’s no stopping her. In Jude’s dark and tangled story, British author Joanna Nadin plumbs the aftermath of loss and the consequences of becoming the person you always wished you were.

She’s back. Jude’s childhood friend -- sexy, daring Stella-- returns to their stifling hometown, and life will never be the same again

My Thoughts:

     I've seen a lot of mixed reviews of this book on Good Reads, but to be honest, I really enjoyed it.
At first I just thought it was the worn out tale of girl with the brilliant best friend who outshines her in everything, but it is so much more.
   I started figuring things out for myself before the big reveal near the end of the book, and I wished Nadin had taken more of an opportunity to explore how Jude felt about what she just found out. That part of the story was all a bit to rushed and sudden.
    Jude's passion to be an actor was believable, and her experience was relateable to me as someone who is involved with performing arts.
    The theme of identity was prevalent throughout the novel. Jude's struggle seemed genuine enough, rather typical, but it was there.
    Over all I liked this book. I didn't really know what it was about when I started reading it, but I'm glad I did.

The Book of Lost Things

By John Connolly


Summery:

High in his attic bedroom, twelve-year-old David mourns the death of his mother, with only the books on his shelf for company. But those books have begun to whisper to him in the darkness. Angry and alone, he takes refuge in his imagination and soon finds that reality and fantasy have begun to meld. While his family falls apart around him, David is violently propelled into a world that is a strange reflection of his own -- populated by heroes and monsters and ruled by a faded king who keeps his secrets in a mysterious book, The Book of Lost Things.
Taking readers on a vivid journey through the loss of innocence into adulthood and beyond, New York Times bestselling author John Connolly tells a dark and compelling tale that reminds us of the enduring power of stories in our lives.

My Thoughts:

I read this book awhile ago and really enjoyed it.
It was the list of possible choices for my ISU, so I decided to revisit it.
This week I'm mostly focusing on getting that sucker done. It's due on Friday, and I haven't even started yet...

I love fairy tales, and this was like one of the originals.
Dark, sinister, twisted and a little bit gory.
But still there was a slant of childhood light through out.

I'm kind of excited to get to write more in depth about this book for my course.
But also a bit nervous, since I've never worked on an ISU before.

City of Fallen Angels

By Cassandra Clare

Summery:

City of Fallen Angels takes place two months after the events of City of Glass. In it, a mysterious someone’s killing the Shadowhunters who used to be in Valentine’s Circle and displaying their bodies around New York City in a manner designed to provoke hostility between Downworlders and Shadowhunters, leaving tensions running high in the city and disrupting Clary’s plan to lead as normal a life as she can — training to be a Shadowhunter, and pursuing her relationship with Jace. As Jace and Clary delve into the issue of the murdered Shadowhunters, they discover a mystery that has deeply personal consequences for them — consequences that may strengthen their relationship, or rip it apart forever.

Meanwhile, internecine warfare among vampires is tearing the Downworld community apart, and only Simon — the Daylighter who everyone wants on their side — can decide the outcome; too bad he wants nothing to do with Downworld politics. Love, blood, betrayal and revenge: the stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels.
My Thoughts:

I LOVE this series. I don't want to be attacked by the die-hards, but think I like this more than Harry Potter.
Don't shoot me.
I think one of the reasons is the anticipation for each new book to come out.
I never had that with Harry Potter. I only started reading it when the last book was about to be published. So basically I could just read that entire series with out having to wait for the next book.
Don't get me wrong. I definitely enjoyed Harry Potter, but I kind of like the cliffhangers that beg to be resolved with Cassandra Clare's books.


I felt like I could see where every one's relationship status was going to be from a mile away.
I liked it. But it seemed too... obvious.

So, I loved this book. But I feel like Clary and Jace don't need anymore drama. I think the two of them should just get a break so they could be happy for a bit.
But no.
If that happened, there would be no story.

The Book Thief

By Markus Zuzak

Summary:

It's just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .

Narrated by Death, Markus Zusak's groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a young foster girl living outside of Munich in Nazi Germany. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she discovers something she can't resist- books. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever they are to be found.
With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, Liesel learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids, as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

My Thoughts:

I listened to this book there and back on my trip to New York.
It was an 8 hour trip there, and a 12 hour trip back.
I took several audio books with me, but as it turned out, I only listened to this one. And I feel like that is a pretty big accomplishment, considering that this recording was 13hours and 50mins long.
But it was worth it.
I had been meaning to read this book for a long time.
I've had it out from the library several times, but never actually started reading it.

I used to listen to audio books ALL the time when I was younger.
Mostly so I could have something productive to listen to while doing something crafty.

To be honest I had missed the experience of being read aloud to.

I liked how this story was narrated by Death.
At first I thought that seemed rather morbid, and I guess it is, but being set in the heart of World War Two it fit perfectly and was really truly beautiful.

I fell in love with each of the characters. The Narrator of the audio book did a fantastic job of bringing them all to life with clear accents and tones for each of them.

I knew I was going to cry.
Half way through I had become so involved with the characters, and I knew it wasn't going to be a happy ending.
I did cry.
But in a way it was a happy ending.

I loved it.

The God Box

By Alex Sanchez

Summery:
High school senior Paul has dated Angie since middle school, and they're good together. They have a lot of the same interests, like singing in their church choir and being active in Bible club. But when Manuel transfers to their school, Paul has to rethink his life. Manuel is the first openly gay teen anyone in their small town has ever met, and yet he says he's also a committed Christian. Talking to Manuel makes Paul reconsider thoughts he has kept hidden, and listening to Manuel's interpretation of Biblical passages on homosexuality causes Paul to reevaluate everything he believed. Manuel's outspokenness triggers dramatic consequences at school, culminating in a terrifying situation that leads Paul to take a stand.

Lambda Literary Award-winning author Alex Sanchez tackles a subject ripped from the headlines in this exciting and thought-provoking exploration of what it means to be both religious and gay.

My Thoughts:

Sexual orientation seems to be a more pressing and debated topic.
I liked how this book tackles stereotypes and labels that are given to homosexuals, both from the church and the world at large.
I enjoyed the book, and was excited to follow the path of Paul's self discovery and acceptance.

At times I felt Paul was presented as VERY christian.

That fact just seemed like it was too predominant at times.
He just seemed a little too perfect, except for the whole maybe being gay thing...


The cover is pretty terrible.

Definitely not something I would have picked off the shelf based on looks alone.

I found this cover on google images, and I like it a lot more.

Over all, this was a good book.

Quote:

"Pablito, the Bible was meant to be a bridge, not a wedge. It's the greatest love story ever told, about God's enduring and unconditional love for his creation--love beyond all reason. To understand it, you have to read it with love as the standard. Love God. Love your neighbor. Love yourself. Always remember that."

Road Trip

I'm heading off on a 8 hour road trip with my family, and I'm excited for all the entertainment I have packed for myself.

I have a couple actual books, but I have a tendency to get a bit car sick when I read in the car... so I've got back up!


My ipod is fully charged and I have a backpack filled with goodies and enough audio books to last me the whole way.

I have:

I've been meaning to read this one for aloooong time.

It's a first of a series.

This one was first printed in 2006.

It looks like it's going to be cute.

And will help put in time.

I've had an arc of this sitting on my shelf for WAY too long.

It's written by the same author as the last book a read(A Brief Chapter in my Impossible Life).

I enjoyed that so much, I figure this one is worth a shot now too.

I had my heart set on taking along the full cast recording of Kenneth Oppel's Airborn, but I waited too long to get it from the hold shelf.

I went in today, and it was already gone.

This should teach me not to procrastinate so much.

Also weighing down my bag is Cassandra Clares's City of Fallen Angels, John Green's Paper Towns, and the old arc of How To Build A House... just incase I want to read it insted of listen.

Nestled in with those are my sketch book, journals and way more than enough candy to last the entire trip.



A Brief Chapter in my Impossible Life

By Dana Reinhardt

Summary:
Simone’s starting her junior year in high school. Her mom’s a lawyer for the ACLU, her dad’s a political cartoonist, so she’s grown up standing outside the organic food coop asking people to sign petitions for worthy causes. She’s got a terrific younger brother and amazing friends. And she’s got a secret crush on a really smart and funny guy–who spends all of his time with another girl.

Then her birth mother contacts her. Simone’s always known she was adopted, but she never wanted to know anything about it. She’s happy with her family just as it is, thank you.

She learns who her birth mother was–a 16-year-old girl named Rivka. Who is Rivka? Why has she contacted Simone? Why now? The answers lead Simone to deeper feelings of anguish and love than she has ever known, and to question everything she once took for granted about faith, life, the afterlife, and what it means to be a daughter.

My Thoughts:

   Having siblings that are adopted(I'm not adopted myself) I found this book and interesting viewpoint into the world of a teenager who is figuring out her past.
  The fragile first steps into Simone's new found relationship with her birth mother Rivka felt real and uncertain.
 I like how it wasn't just a 'love at first sight' moment.
Even though Rivka is Simone's birth mother, they are still complete strangers when they meet. 

  It's nice to see what Simone's definition of 'family' at the beginning of the book, and how that changes for her.

I really enjoyed it.
It's a lot like a Sara Dessen.

I would highly recommend this book

In My Book Bag

Every Friday(possibly every other one, I haven't decided yet) I will be listing the treasures I have recently checked out from my local library.

A Brief Chapter In My Impossible Life

By Dana Reinhardt

I'm currently reading this one, and so far I'm loving it.

It's about a girl who was adopted, and has always known that, but she has never know really where she came from. And now she has a chance to meet her birth mother and that is creating ripples in her world that reach to the furthest corners of who she is.

I'm interested to see where the story is going to go now.

Shine

By Lauren Myracle

The cover is BEAUTIFUL!

I'm excited to read this.

Paper Towns

By John Green

I've loved his other books so far, and I've heard good things about this one.

I think its about time I read it.

City of Fallen Angels

By Cassandra Clare

This is the fourth installment of The Mortal Instruments series.

I loved the other three, and I can't wait to see what kind of craziness happens in this one!

Book Club Trophy

Today the Youth Advisory Council that I am part of at my local library organized a Book Club Battle between two schools in our area.

I wasn't able to be at the battle itself, but I did get an special extra job.

Creating the trophy!

My only instructions were 1. use the logo and 2. make it out of books.

Both of which I followed.

Here is the final product!

          
                    My work space(a.k.a. my bed room floor) was a little worse for wear after this ordeal.

John Green

I've recently discovered the wonder that is the vlogbrothers which has led me to the wonder that is the author John Green.

I read Looking For Alaska in the past month, and then An Abundance of Katherines not long after that.
Both of them were great!



           

I must not be as insightful as I would like to think.
Let's just say there was an awful lot of foreshadowing in Looking For Alaska that I did not pick up on until I felt it punch me in the gut.
It was a beautiful story.
I loved it.

An Abundance of Katherine is everything I'd want from a fun, romantic, nerdy read.
I loved the tone of the narration, the characters were fresh and entertaining, and the clever footnotes kept me engaged the entire time.

               

              

Right now I'm currently reading Will Grayson Will Grayson, John Green's collaboration with David Levithan, and I have Paper Towns on the hold shelf right now.

I can't believe I hadn't found these golden literary gems before!

Candor

By Pam Bachorz


Summery:

The picture-perfect new town of Candor, Florida, is attracting more and more new families, drawn by its postcard-like small-town feel, with white picket fences, spanking-new but old-fashioned-looking homes, and neighborliness.
But the parents are drawn by something else as well.  They know that in Candor their obstreperous teenagers will somehow become rewired - they'll learn to respect their elders, to do their chores, and enjoy their homework.  They'll give up the tattoos, metal music, and partying that have been driving their parents crazy.  They'll become every parent's dream.

Oscar Banks has everything under control. In a town where his father brainwashes everyone, he's found a way to secretly fight the subliminal Messages. He's got them all fooled: Oscar's the top student and the best-behaved teen in town. Nobody knows he's made his own Messages to deprogram his brain. Oscar has even found a way to get rich. For a hefty price, he helps new kids escape Candor, Florida before they're transformed into cookie-cutter teens. But then Nia Silva moves to Candor, and Oscar's carefully-controlled world crumbles.

What I Thought:
 What a crazy mind twist.
Through out the whole book I thought I knew exactly how it was going to end, or kind of the ball field of how it was going to end.
But no.
I just wanted to reach right into the story and place the characters exactly where they needed to be, and to give them the incite they didn't have for themselves.


Quote:
"In a few minutes nobody will know what I did. Everything will be perfect again. Except for my life."

13 Little Blue Envelopes

.

By Maureen Johnson


Summery:
When Ginny receives thirteen little blue envelopes and instructions to buy a plane ticket to London, she knows something exciting is going to happen. What Ginny doesn't know is that she will have the adventure of her life and it will change her in more ways than one. Life and love are waiting for her across the Atlantic, and the thirteen little blue envelopes are the key to finding them in this funny, romantic, heartbreaking novel.



My Review:

I loved this book! 
Ginny's aunt has died, but Ginny soon receives 13 little blue envelopes from her, each with a task to complete. The trick is Ginny is not aloud to open the next envelope until she has completed the task she has been given. This means she is being lead blindly through Europe by her wildly eccentric(and dead) aunt.
There is always something about adventure in the unknown that intrigues me. The way Ginny follows her aunt's instructions, even when her requests seem completely unreasonable and impossible, she treks through and ends up learning more about herself than she ever could have by staying inside her safe little boring box.
My favourite character would definitely have to be Aunt Peg. Even though she is completely dead when the novel begins, and remains so through out the entirety of the book, she is an essential living breathing part of the of the story.
Each letter reveals a bit more of who she was, and how she saw the world.
The people she introduces Ginny to along the way are hilarious and entertaining.
I'm not going to lie, I might have cried a bit at the end.
But it was a good cry.
This books could has the potential to be something of a downer, but the way Ginny triumphs through her own battles along the way, give it enough hope and heart to make it fabulous.
It was the perfect mixture of happy and sad.
This would be a great book to read in the Summer, or on some sort of vacation.
But it's also wonderful to read when you need to bring a bit of adventure back into everyday life.

This is a book I would love to own.
It's one of those stories I think is worth pulling off the shelf every once and awhile.

Plastic

        

By Sarah N. Harvey

Summery:

When Jack develops an interest in something, he puts his all into it, making lists, doing research and learning all he can. When his best friend Leah decides to have plastic surgery for her sixteenth birthday, Jack is horrified—and then determined to stop her. Researching the surgery and the results, he finds that there are unscrupulous surgeons operating on the very young, and no one does anything about it. Jack organizes a protest and becomes an instant celebrity. But when someone else takes up the cause and the protest turns violent, Jack is forced to make some tough decisions.

My Review:

         I enjoyed this little book.

         I picked it off the shelve one day when I was waiting for my mom to pick me up from the library.

         This is a very fast read.

         I literally read it in its entirety in one(35min) sitting.

         There is a powerful message contained within the books 136 tiny pages.

         The plot seemed a bit extreme, what with a 15-year-old boy going crazy and protesting. And there          isn't much to the characters.  But over all I liked it.

         I would suggest this book to anyone who wants a quick read that will entertain.

         

Goals

My goal for this year is to read at least 60 books.
Well... actually, I would like to read 80. But I don't know if that is achievable. So I'll start off with 60, and see how much further I get.

So far I'm at 19.
Currently reading number 20.

So I'm off to a good start.

Neglector

I've really been neglecting this blog... I do have others that I have been keeping up with, but I want to get back onto this one more often.


I have more books to review and make lists of and so on.
So I will be doing that in the near future.

I guess this is basically just a reminder to myself to get back on track.

STARSTUCK

On Tuesday I got to meet one of my all time favourite authors. And I was completely and totally starstruck!

Kenneth Oppel came to our local library, and he will be staying here and doing various workshops over the next couple months.

It was great just to here him speak, and read a bit from his newest book, Half Brother.
He spoke a bit about his another of his books that isn't yet published too.

I'm VERY excited to get my hands on that once it comes out!

It was pretty inspiring to just listen to an accomplished writing talk about himself and his books. Now, after seeing him, and having him sign my books, all I want to re-read my favourites by him, and get back to working on some of my own writing.

Trapped

By Michael Northrop

  The day the blizzard started, no one knew that it was going to keep snowing for a week. That for those in its path, it would become not just a matter of keeping warm, but of staying alive....
Scotty and his friends Pete and Jason are among the last seven kids at their high school waiting to get picked up that day, and they soon realize that no one is coming for them. Still, it doesn't seem so bad to spend the night at school, especially when distractingly hot Krista and Julie are sleeping just down the hall. But then the power goes out, then the heat. The pipes freeze, and the roof shudders. As the days add up, the snow piles higher, and the empty halls grow colder and darker, the mounting pressure forces a devastating decision....

    I was told by my teen librarian not to read this book, but after she told me what it was about, and how good it was, and that she couldn't put it down, how could I not?

    I loved it.
    The suspense was good, and the characters seemed so real. I was able to sympathize with their situation, and it really made me think what I would do if I was in a similar crisis.
    It's a hard book to put down, so it's good that it's a relative quick read.
   
I would highly recommend this book to almost everyone. It's sad, and you can feel the desperation that these kids are experiencing.
It's a compelling read that is definitely worth pulling off the shelf.

Winter Blues, and other various colours of sickness

I'm sick.
Again.

And that really sucks since I was supposed to be singing at a fundraiser tonight.
Apparently it's a pretty casual thing, but I was really looking forward to it.

Oh well.
I'd rather get better, then  push to hard and not get better for a longer time.

The worst part is I was just getting better from my last bought of ickyness.
I got sick at the beginning of December, and it's been holding on since then.


I just want to be over this and feel healthy as soon as possible.

Nothing

As everyone is crazily getting ready and getting done exams, I'm just kind of in a lull of nothingness.

I have one exam that I'm getting ready for with my on-line course.
But I'm not too worried about that.
I really should be studying, but I haven't really done much of that.
Maybe this evening... or any other time before Friday.

Some of my evening activities have been cancelled because of exams, and that makes me kind of sad, since I would like to be able to get to do something fun... and when I don't have stuff to do in the evening I end up feeling very disconnected from the world.


AN EXCITING BE OF NEWS!
I got an e-mail today about the show I auditioned for this season.
I got in!!!
I'm part of the ensemble, and I get to be a slave!
So it should be pretty exciting.
:)

This just about gets it right.

I found this  video about homeschooling on youtube today.
I mostly agree with everything this girl says,maybe the "terms" she uses aren't quite what I would use... but at least she says it.

I love homeschooled stuff.
It's a bit of an obsession.

For rather obvious reasons.

BOOKSBOOKSBOOKS

I have been reading lately.
Not as much as would like, especially over the holidays.
But I have been.
And I have a pile of library books waiting to be read.

In 2010 I read 66 books.
In 2011, I would like to read(at least) 80.
We'll see how that goes.

Some of my favourite, and more recently read books, are:

Dust City - Robert Paul Weston
Clockwork Angel - Cassandra Clare
Extraordinary - Nancy Werlin
Speak - Laurie Halse Anderson

Right now I'm reading How Not To Be Popular, by Jennifer Ziegler and I'm LOVING it.
It's a quirky little book.
It reminds me of Susan Juby's, Alice, I Think.
The protagonists do very similar things, but for very different reasons.

There might be a review in store.
Maybe not.
We'll just have to wait and see.

TOOTHBRUSHBRACELETS

So I was browsing around youtube, and I found a video with one of my favourite youtubers making tooth braceles. I thought that was totally awesome, so I seached a bit further and found this cute little tutorial.

I tried making one with my friend. We were SO excited.
But we failed miserably.
I bought 2 packages of 5 toothbrushes from the dollar store.
Let's just say, that REALLY didn't work out so well.

I went back to youtube and looked through some comments and what not, and found that you have to use certain kinds of toothbrushes.
I guess the dollar store toothbrushes use a plastic that's too hard or something.
So I bought a couple REACH tooth brushes.
You can get them at Zellers for about 2 bucks each.
And then I tried again, and it worked wonderfully!

A few days later I got some friends together and we had a toothbrush bending party.

Things you need:
REACH toothbrush(there probably some other kinds that work, but these are the ones I used)
pliers
pot of boiling water
tea towel
tongs
bowl of ice water


The first step of the bracelet making is pulling out all of the bristles.
Needle nose pliers work best, but you can fake it with most other kinds.
Just try your best to get the bristles out right from the base.
Having little plastic stubble sticking into your wrist isn't very comfortable.

 This step makes kind of a mess.
You can either pull them out over a garbage can, or, lay down a sheet of paper to keep the bristles from going everywhere.

 After you pull out all the bristles you drop the toothbrush into a pot of boiling water, and leave it in there for 5-7 minutes, or until it's soft.

 Then you take the hot toothbrush out of the water, with tongs, and you place it onto a tea towel.
You have to do this part quickly so that the toothbrush doesn't harden or cool off before your done.
Using the tea towel you bend the toothbrush into the shape you want.
Don't worry too much, if you don't like the shape, or it's not the right size for your wrist, you can just drop it back into the boiling water and reshape it.


After you've bent it, put your bracelet into a bowl of ice water.
This will help set it, and keep it from changing shape.

Leave it in there for a while, and once it's cool, take it out and try it on.

 It should be about this shape.

These bracelets has actually become a pretty big hit with most of my friends.

Several people are now sporting them.
And I have a couple more that will be given to people at some point.

Youtube, you are wonderful.