12.18.08
Let it Snow – Maureen Johnson, John Green, Lauren Myracle
Let it Snow!
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Three related holiday stories by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle:
Beautiful presents wrapped in ribbons, and multicolored lights glittering in the night through the falling snow. A Christmas Eve snowstorm transforms one small town into a romantic haven, the kind you only see in movies. Well, kinda. After all, a cold and wet hike from a stranded train through the middle of nowhere would not normally end with a delicious kiss from a charming stranger. And no one would think that a trip to the Waffle House throught four feet of snow would lead to love with an old friend. Or that the way back to true love begins with a painfully early morning shift at Starbucks
-from the back
I adored this book. Yes, it was kind of predictable, but it was very sweet and romantic, and also, I am very excited for the holidays. (See the snow!) This was a lovely holiday book.
I felt like I could relate to all the characters – Jubilee, Tobin, Addie, and all their friends. All three stories are connected, and I thought that was so cool – the way they all had something to do with each other, but they had no idea that they did. And how everyone -yes, everyone – has their own stories. That was one of the coolest parts.
12.12.08
Recent Reads – December 2008
I’ve been reading a lot lately, and I just hate it when I read too much and cannot post on them. Therefore, today I shall post my recent reads with little reviews next to them.
by Jeanne Birdsall
A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy
I loved reading this book. It was so fun! It’s one of those old-fashioned, squeaky clean books full of humor and adventure (and trouble!)
by Robin McKinley
She’s just a beekeeper with a woodright; she shouldn’t be Chalice, second in command. But she is, and she has to deal.
It’s been so long since I read a Robin McKinley book for the first time – and it’s so nice. Her writing is so detailed and enjoyable. It could have been a short story, but it was written into a novel and it’s probably better that way.
by Tracie Vaughn Zimmer
Josie has celebral palsy, which makes her different from everyone else. But she wants to just forget her difference and live.
This book was written in verse. I’ve wanted to read this for so long, and I’m delighted that I finally have. The verses were compelling, and sweet, just like Josie herself.
by Irene Hunt
Julie’s mother has died, so she, with her brother Chris, leaves her father to live with her stern, spinster aunt. She cannot at all imagine what will happen to her.
This is a very old book (I think it was published sometime when my parents were born) but it was so good I decided to include it anyway. The book was detailed, the characters very lovable, and the story charming.
12.08.08
Suite Scarlett – Maureen Johnson
by Maureen Johnson
A formerly-grand-but-now-failing hotel, the Hopewell. Four siblings. A mysterious and demanding guest (who’s also an actress), Mrs. Anderson. And add Scarlett, who is having the most astonishing summer in her life.
This book had humor, a sweet heroine, and a nice plot. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to live in a hotel, and the Hopewell – brilliant in its day, but now fading – was great fun.
(Visit Maureen Johnson’s awesome blog @: http://maureenjohnson.blogspot.com)
11.20.08
The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks
by E. Lockhart
A pretty, intelligent girl. Her handsome senior boyfriend, who she is pretty sure is lying to her. His cocky friend. A boarding school. A secret society. A secret fight for power.
I had a lot of fun reading this book. This was an addicting read (especially toward the end). I loved the way Frankie fought for power, and the pranks she played, and the words she played with. The ending was bittersweet, but it fit, and it’s a pretty open ending, leaving you wondering what would happen next, as Frankie was apt to do.
visit E. Lockhart at http://e-lockhart.com
Books I found somewhat similar: the Artemis Fowl series, by Eoin Colfer
10.23.08
Out of the Wild- Sarah Beth Durst
by Sarah Beth Durst
The Wild was conquered weeks ago by Julie. Or so she thought. But all of a sudden, the Wild swallows one of the three blind mice-only instead of growing, it spits out her father. Rapunzel’s prince.
But Julie’s father is terribly outdated. He doesn’t understand anything around him, and worse-he doesn’t understand how he is fueling the Wild, by doing everything he is supposed to do. So as Julie’s father sets out to rescue a captive Sleeping Beauty, leaving Rapunzel and Gothel as mere pumpkins, Julie has no choice but to follow, knowing that she must stop her father.
This was a wonderful book. I devoured it, and not just because of the newness of it, either (although I do love new books). Julie was an honest character, true to her age and insecurities. The plot was beautiful and sweet, and the other characters-some new, some old-were fantastic.
The plot did start really fast, which launched me straight into the story. It was a wonderful sequel, more satisfying and happily-ever-after than the first one. My only complaint? I wish it was real! I can just begin imagining what I would do, if this book was only non-fiction instead of fiction. 
10.13.08
Into the Wild-Sarah Beth Durst
by Sarah Beth Durst
Julie lives the life of a normal girl in a normal home with normal family friends. But under the pretense, she has some secrets. Under her bed lives a collection of green vines. These are the Wild, which her mother, Rapunzel (yes, the fairy-tale one), somehow defeated and escaped from five hundred years before.
Besides enduring the monster under the bed, Julie also has to live with her mother’s wide range of friends, all fairy-tale characters who also escaped. But the Wild doesn’t just give up. And when the Wild returns, kidnapping Julie’s mother and terrorizing her town, she must go and be the hero in a cruel place which she has underestimated for nearly all her life.
This book was gripping. Nearly every chapter had a cliffhanger ending. The plot is convincing, the intermixing with twists on traditional fairy-tales intriguing, and the characters well-drawn.
What I liked about this book was how the fairy-tale characters regarded the Wild. It had an interesting perspective I’d never heard before, accented by a warning on the back:
Beware of the Wild.
It bites…
The Wild takes hold and doesn’t let go. Just like this book.
10.11.08
Violet on the Runway & Violet by Design-Melissa Walker
I was going through my posts, and I realized that I had these two in my draft folder. I was almost certain I’d published them, and it turned out I hadn’t! So here are those reviews. They were written some time ago (I’m not sure exactly when I actually did write them) but I think they still deserved to be seen and read. So here they are, bunched together as a double treat! 
by Melissa Walker
Violet is a wallflower. She is one of those people who hang around on the sidelines. Her secret wish is to be part of Bee’s Knees, the popular girl group at school. She hates her tallness, which makes her noticeably different. But when a Tryst agent tells her she could be the next Kate Moss, and Violet goes to New York to find out what it’s about, her life changes –but for better, or for worse?
The story about a girl who becomes a supermodel, just when she thinks she’s not at all special. Who hasn’t, even for only a few weeks, years ago, wished that she could be discovered? Maybe not as a model; maybe as an actress, but anyway, a celebrity, someone famous. Who hasn’t wished that she could suddenly become famous, rich, and admired, on movies or TV shows or runways?
For those of you who have, Violet is that dream, put into reality. But it also poses questions we never consider–what about press and agents? What about pressure? What about drugs and partying, and hypocrisy?
This book brought up a lot of unasked questions, most notably, Is fame worth all this? Should I endure it? Or should I give up? Who’s real? Who’s not? Who should I trust?
It’s not a light book. But modeling isn’t a light business. And while we condemn celebrities for bad behavior, we rarely ask why they do the things they do. Violet is a real, insecure girl, stuck inside the world of modeling, full of promises and full of lies.
I really enjoyed this book. I found myself pondering these questions along with Violet. This is a life I never got to live, and in this book, I felt like I was finally having a chance to. Violet’s real, and she’s honest, but more than that? She’s a real person. And that’s why this book is so good.
——-
Violet Greenfield is back. With a mention of Brazil, her agent, Angela, has lured her back into the modeling world. In at once, it seems to good to be true: there’s Veronica, her rival-turned-friend who gives good advice; there’s Paulo, the designer who seems to have fallen in love with Violet; and best of all, she’s still famous. People love her. Turns out, it is too good to be true.
I read this book as quickly as the first, which means really quickly. But as I was sitting down to write this review, I realized exactly why I liked these books so much. They show Violet as a real person: a real, flawed person. I am annoyed at her sometimes. She does make mistakes that seem so obviously stupid to us. She doesn’t notice things that seem obvious. She ignores the obvious. She doesn’t make the choices I think are right.
But that’s what makes her real. Real people make mistakes. That’s why there are so many people today on the news, having been caught with drugs or being drunk.
And what makes Violet different? She learns. She grows. Sometimes she’ll make mistakes more than once, but after she realizes she does her best not to do it again. She does her best. And really, that’s the best we can hope for. Violet is encouraging as a girl discovering herself.
I really like the Violet series because of this. It’s predictable, yet it’s not predictable in an obnoxious way. It’s the sort of book that makes you hang on, rooting for the main character even when you know she’s making a mistake.
10.05.08
Sweethearts-Sara Zarr
by Sara ZarrJennifer Harris and Cameron Quick were best friends. They were the outcasts of class, each other’s only friend. But then Cameron left, and everyone told Jennifer he was dead. And heartbroken, Jennifer believed that she’d lost her only friend, the only person who ever understood her.
Now Jennifer’s in high school. Known as Jenna, she’s popular and fun, with lots of friends and even a boyfriend. But then Cameron reappears, a shocking resurrection, and both have to confront things they’ve done their best to forget.
I read this entire book in one sitting. My original idea was that I’d read one chapter, then leave the rest for the next day, but instead I couldn’t close the book. I usually avoid such readings, because I find it slightly unhealthy, but I couldn’t put it down. Sweethearts was an intriguing, quick, yet deep read.
I had mixed feelings about the end. It seemed to fit the book, and yet I felt like there was more to know. Sweethearts is about love, and just like love, it seems simple initially, until you discover that it isn’t simple at all.
09.28.08
Bird Lake Moon-Kevin Henkes
by Kevin Henkes
The blurb on the book:
Spencer thought the house might be haunted.
MItch knew it wasn’t. And he knew why.
The whole time Spencer and Mitch hung out together at Bird Lake that summer, there were secrets keeping them apart.
And maybe a secret knowledge keeping them together, too–together like members of the same tribe. Like friends.
This was a good book. Lots of the emotions were brilliantly portrayed. And yet… I didn’t really fall into this book. It seemed to me like there was too much tell, not enough show, and not enough story. It had one of those not-completely-ended-because-you-know-the-rest endings. The problem was, I didn’t really know.
I think I would have liked this book better had it been simpler and perhaps longer. It seemed to be a book about children to adults, rather than a book about children, to children.
Bird Lake Moon was a nice book, but it wasn’t particularly capturing. I don’t know. It’s a hard book to describe.
09.20.08
Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie-Jordan Sonnenblick
by Jordan Sonnenblick
Of all the annoying things in Steven’s life, his little brother Jeffrey is the worst. Not only is he several years younger and succeeds to embarrass Steven in front of his crush, he also adoringly follows Steven around.
But suddenly, Jeffrey gets a nosebleed and it won’t stop. He’s rushed to the hospital, and Steven is confronted with horrible news: Jeffrey is sick-terribly sick. All of a sudden, Steven is forced to deal with all the stuff he’s taken for granted before, along with a lot more.
I did write a previous review about this book, but I found it stupid and decided to start again. That said, I have two things to say:
1. I possibly would not have finished this book if it was not my required reading for Language Arts, and
2. I am absolutely glad I did read it, and that I read it all.
I think, initially, that I was put off this book because of Steven’s excessive complaining. And also, perhaps, because Steven was a boy and I don’t usually read books narrated by boys, so his world was a little alien. But I really liked Jeffrey, and I suppose Steven grew on me. I’ve never experienced anything near to what Steven did, but I now I guess I know a little of how it would feel.
So this isn’t a favorite book. But it is a memorable book. And I am glad I read it.
