Ten by Gretchen McNeil

Publisher- Balzer + Bray
Publication Date- September 18, 2012
Pages- 294

SHHHH!
Don't spread the word!
Three-day weekend. Party at White Rock House on Henry Island.
You do NOT want to miss it.

It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury.

But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine.

Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn't scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine?

I've never read Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, but I am always up for a good mystery/thriller. And that's what this was, a very good mystery/thriller.

It started off kind of weird, I didn't like it at first. I kept getting Meg and Minnie confused and I didn't know which one of them was supposed to be the main character, and they were both acting like immature pre-teens, they were not acting like older teenagers. But as the book progressed, I got less confused, and while Minnie still acted immature, we didn't see much of her, and Meg started thinking like an actual person.

There were times when I was yelling at the characters because they were being stupid and doing irrational things, but if they weren't making these decisions, there wouldn't be a book.

I did find this very suspenseful and I had to keep reading. The on;y reason I ever stopped was because I kind of needed to me mentally-present at school the next day, but I was reading through classes all day at school just so I could finish.

My Rating:

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Publisher- Dutton Books
Publication Date- September 29 2011
Pages- 338

Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit—more sparkly, more fun, more wild—the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket—a gifted inventor—steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

I'm going to start off with the negative, just to get it out of the way.

This was not as good as Anna, but I still really enjoyed it. Throughout the first third of the book, I wasn't enjoying it too much. What kept me reading was the hope and anticipation for it to get better. I didn't like Lola too much and I didn't like her boyfriend. Lola seemed like a totally unrealistic person, and she really got on my nerves. But it did get better!

The second 2/3 of it were so much better. I remembered why I liked Stephanie Perkins' writing so much. 

The setting wasn't as good as it was in Anna. I'm not saying that the location wasn't good, I just couldn't imagine it as well. (I have been to both Paris and San Francsico).

And the love interest. I still think I like St. Clair better, but I really liked Cricket too. 

I honestly don't have too much to say about it, but I did enjoy it overall.

My Rating:

WOOHOO! I have now read 50 books this year! But I'm not stopping!

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Publisher- Dutton
Publication Date- December 2, 2010
Pages- 372
Awards- Cybils Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction (2011), Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Goodreads Author, Young Adult Fiction (2010), The Inky Awards Nominee for Silver Inky longlist (2011),Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (2013)

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home. As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited?

I was a skeptic at first. I decided to get this from my state's eBook program (I swear they're not paying me to talk about them, I've just gotten a lot of books from them lately) because I thought it would be a nice light read. It was, but I wasn't expecting to love it as much as I did.

I hear almost everybody say this about this book, but I didn't have any expectations, despite everyone loving it. I thought they were just crazy people who loved cliche YA romance. This was cliche YA romance, but there was just something about it that made me love it! I'm not one for cheesy romance, but this was wonderful.

The characters were very real. And Etienne St. Clair was totally swoon-worthy (I imagined him as an Aaron Johnson type; think Angus, Thongs, and Perfect Snogging Aaron Johnson). I really felt for the characters. I read this almost all in one night, and I'm pretty sure my parents could hear me yelling at the characters in the middle of the night.

Plot: cliche as heck. But it so worked. It was lovely. It was cheesy. But it was amazing. I don't know how to describe this very well, just read it. I swear it's better than it sounds and better than the cover looks!

My Rating:

I will be getting Lola and the Boy Next Door as soon as one of my library books expires, which should be Friday. (I can only have 4 at a time) That is, if nobody has checked it out by then. They'd better not!

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Publisher- Ember
Publication Date- April 26, 1993
Pages- 179
Series- The Giver Quartet
Awards- Newbery Medal (1994), Mythopoeic Fantasy Award Nominee for Children's Literature (1994), Garden State Book Award for Teen Fiction Grades 6-8 (1996), Rebecca Caudill Young Reader's Book Award (1996), Grand Canyon Reader Award for Teen Book (1995)
Pacific Northwest Library Association Young Reader's Choice Award for Senior (1996), Horn Book Fanfare (1994), New Mexico Land of Enchantment Award (1997)


Jonas's world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

Most of the people I know have read this already, in about 3rd grade. For some reason, I never jumped on the bandwagon. I decided to read this recently because I wanted a short and easy book, so I got it from my state library's eBook program. All I knew was that it was a dystopian.

I enjoyed this so much more than I thought I would. Despite this being in a totally different world, it seemed so real and familiar. It was very different from other dystopian because at first glance, this seems like the ideal world. You don't really see much of a problem. But underneath all of that, it is corrupt. They practice something called Sameness, which is basically where everybody is different in structure, but there is no color and everybody is treated equally. Although I really hope we never have a world like that, it was so real, and I could see everything clearly. Big A+ for world building. 

The characters were all so real. Despite all of them being relatively the same, they all had distinct personalities. I really felt for Jonas, we grew with him. We saw him learning and we could imagine how he felt in all the different situations. That goes for all of the other characters too. Although I didn't agree with a lot of their views, I understood why they acted how they did; it was all they knew. That was how they were taught. They were told how to go about their lives. I keep saying this, but it was all so real.

I'm going to stop talking (typing!) now, and tell you my rating!

My Rating:

If for some reason you have not read this yet, do it! You can get through this in a day, and it is really good!

Notes From The Dog by Gary Paulsen

Publisher- Wendy Lamb Books
Publication Date- July 28, 2009
Pages- 144

“Sometimes having company is not all it’s cracked up to be.” Fifteen-year-old Finn is a loner, living with his dad and his amazing dog, Dylan. This summer he’s hoping for a job where he doesn’t have to talk to anyone except his pal Matthew. Then Johanna moves in next door. She’s 10 years older, cool, funny, and she treats Finn as an equal. Dylan loves her, too. Johanna’s dealing with breast cancer, and Matthew and Finn learn to care for her, emotionally and physically. When she hires Finn to create a garden, his gardening ideas backfire comically. But Johanna and the garden help Finn discover his talents for connecting with people.

I hadn't ever heard about this book prior to reading it. I was falling behind on my 50 book reading challenge and I decided to Google "Quick YA book to read" or something along those lines. This popped up, the cover and title drew my attention, so I got it from my library's eBook program; I didn't even read the description.

This book was very cliché at some points, but that was to be expected, it was more of a middle grade book. Despite that, it dealt with some issues in real ways. As it says in the description, Johanna is dealing with breast cancer. I have known many people with cancer, and I felt that they portrayed it in a very realistic way. This was a very character driven book, not plot. With that, I would say that the characters were pretty real and accurate for the age they were trying to represent.

I had a few minor problems with this:
As implied in the title, it seems like the dog is writing notes to the main character. And he just accepts it. He was kind of like, "Oh, it couldn't have been any of my friends. It must have been the dog." Like there was no other explanation. He jumped to conclusions while every other reasonable human being would use the dog explanation as a last resort.

Also, Finn is supposed to be this very antisocial kid. He was (sort of) trying to get over that. And he got over it almost immediately. I think it would take a normal people-hating person a while to become socially comfortable. But within weeks of us "meeting" him, he goes to parties and on dates and he's perfectly fine, which I don't think was realistic.

Overall, I really enjoyed it, and those issues I pointed out were very minor, I felt.

My Rating:

I will have a review of The Giver by Lois Lowry up either tonight or tomorrow.

Small Update and a Question

Hey guys! It's been a while, hasn't it? I've been extremely busy lately, and I apologize for that. Honestly, I have no idea when my next review will be up or what it will be on. I'm right in the middle of a few books at the moment, you can look at my Goodreads if you really want to know what I'm reading.

The main point of this post:
How would you guys feel if I made a YouTube channel?
I would continue to put reviews on here, but I feel like YouTube would be more personal in a way, people can get to know me better and I can get to know you guys better. I've been watching Booktuber videos for about 2 years now, so I feel really close to it, and I would like to become a part of it.
So how would you guys feel about that?

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Publisher- Puffin
Publication Date- January 1, 1999
Pages- 208
Awards- National Book Award Nominee for Young People's Literature (1999),Golden Kite Award for Fiction (1999), BCCB Blue Ribbon Book (1999),Edgar Award Nominee for Best Young Adult (2000), Printz Honor (2000)

South Carolina Book Award for Young Adult Book Award (2002),Horn Book Fanfare (2000), ALA's Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults (2000), Abraham Lincoln Award Nominee (2005)

Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't even know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that's not safe. Because there's something she's trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth. This extraordinary first novel has captured the imaginations of teenagers and adults across the country.

I really, really liked this book. It reminded my of The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Looking for Alaska in the teen-angst kind of way. This book took me about a day to read. It's been awhile since I've read a book that keeps me up until I finish.

I really enjoyed the way this book was structured. There was hardly any dialogue. When there was ome it was in the format of:

Dad:

Me:

Mom:

Sort of like a play. It's written in the first person point of view of Melinda. She is very smart and intellectual, and she uses tons of great metaphors.

The plot was very good and realistic. I could see what was coming, but I still really wanted to keep reading. 

The characters are what I loved the most. They were extremely relateable. They evolved and grew and the reflected real high-school students. I loved some and hated some, as I do in real life.

My Rating: 

I highly recommend this book to anybody! I think Laurie Halse Anderson is one of those rare authors that have an amazing ability to say things like they are. Everyone needs to read this book.

October Wrap Up/November TBR-ish

I have decided to start doing this so you guys can see what I'm reading, besides just the books I review on here.

October Wrap Up

I was in a major reading slump this month, and it seems like many other people were too. I only got through three books, but I really hope this month will be better!

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

I had to read this books for school. It's almost like I read it twice because I read each chapter in the book, and then I read the No Fear version online. It was very good overall, for a school book. (I didn't read this edition, I just really like this cover). 

My Rating: 4/5

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

This was the last book I read before my slump. I was starting to get into the slump towards the end of this book, but I powered through because it was a library book. This didn't cause the slump, it was very good.

My Rating: 5/5

This is when I tried t read City of Bones, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Monument 14, Ender's Game, The Monstrumologist and many other things. I really liked what I read of all of them, but the slump just made me not even want to touch a book for forever. And then I read this:

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling

I knew this would get me out of my slump. I don't need to say much about it.

My Rating: 5/5 Obviously

November TBR-ish

My TBR is not set in stone. This is just an idea of some things I would like to read this month.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

I didn't actually plan on reading it this month. I picked it up yesterday morning, read some at school, and finished last night. I will have a review up later tonight.

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

I just started it this evening. Not sure how long it'll take me to finish. It's been sitting on my shelf for years and since the movie is coming out in December I'm motivated to finally read it.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

I'm not sure why, but I have an urge to read this. If I like it, I'll see the movie. If not, I won't. I've heard mixed things about it so I don't have super-high expectations.

That's it for my TBR-ish. I will hopefully read more than these, but I don't want to bind myself to anything. Look for my review on Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson next!

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

Publisher- Alfred A. Knoph Books for Young Readers
Publication Date- October 12, 2010
Pages- 326
Awards- Edgar Award Nominee, 2011 Printz Honor, 2011 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults, 2010 Goodreads Choice Award Nominee for Young Adult Fiction

Vera’s spent her whole life secretly in love with her best friend, Charlie Kahn. And over the years she’s kept a lot of his secrets. Even after he betrayed her. Even after he ruined everything.
 
So when Charlie dies in dark circumstances, Vera knows a lot more than anyone—the kids at school, his family, even the police. But will she emerge to clear his name? Does she even want to?
 
Edgy and gripping, Please Ignore Vera Dietz is an unforgettable novel: smart, funny, dramatic, and always surprising.

I got this book from my state's library eBook program. I read it in about 2 weeks, but it would have been sooner if it weren't for school getting in the way. I got it Sunday October 7, and read 40% of it in the first week and a half and I read the other 60% last night. 

It's kind of a mystery story, but not in a Sherlock Holmes way. Throughout the whole book you're hearing about this "Charlie". A lot of the story is told through flashbacks. You have a chapter in the present from Vera's perspective, and then a flashback chapter, and then maybe a chapter from Vera's father's perspective, or "The Dead Kid's" (Charlie's) perspective. Vera knows what happened on the night of Charlie's death throughout the whole book, but she doesn't tell us until the last few pages. 

I loved the plot, I thought it was relatable and very dark. There weren't major plot twists or anything like that, it was a straightforward story, which I haven't been reading too much of lately. And it wasn't jest Vera dealing with her friend's death, she had personal demons and other problems with her life that she was dealing with.

I felt the characters were very realistic. They act like real people, not like the flawless heroes that YA is full of today, it was a breath of fresh air.

My Rating: 

This was so good guys, I highly recommend it! 

I have decided to stop putting down here what I will review next because everytime I do that, I stop reading that book. So you'll just have to be surprised. I will say that I am reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy for school, and I might actually be reviewing it on here, despite it being a school book, because I have been meaning to read it for a while now, and it's not like the typical school-assigned book.

Birthday Book Haul Part 2!

I know I had a birthday book haul last week, but I have since spent more money on more books, so I wanted to yell you all about them. I bought a few books on Amazon, and a few at a used book store.

Amazon:

Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne

This book has been stalking me on Amazon! Every time I browse this shows up under the Recommended list. I decided to get this when I was going to buy a few DVD's. It sounds really good, but I haven't heard anybody talk about it yet!

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

Everybody has read this except me! I really want to read more historical fiction, and this seemed like a good one to start with.

Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

I saw the Atlas Shrugged movie in school but we didn't read the book (Blasphemy! In English class!) Anyways, I loved the movie and I really want to read the book now. (Part 2 of the movie came out yesterday! I WILL be seeing this!) But Atlas Shrugged was $15 on Amazon, but both it and The Fountainhead were about $14, so I decided to get both. I have only ever read Anthem by Ayn Rand, so I'm excited to read more!

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I know, I know, I already own this. But the edition I have is about the height of my hand, and they crammed a million words onto every page. I really wanted to re-read this, but I needed a new edition. So I finally caved and got a new one. I will be re-reading this soon! (The edition I already had is the UK edition, and I only got it for about 1 pound.)

This Side Of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I can't remember the edition I got (it hasn't come in yet) but I do know that it isn't this one. I needed to spend about $3 more to get free shipping so I was looking through the cheap classics and I decided on this one.

For Kindle:

American Gods Tenth Anniversary Edition by Neil Gaiman

I was about to get this at Barnes and Noble last week for $15, and I'm so glad I didn't! The next day I was browsing on the Kindle Store, and I saw this, the Tenth Anniversary Edition with Audio and Video for $3.99! I was SO excited! I love Neil Gaiman and I really want to read more of his books!

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

I didn't actually buy this, but I got it from my state's eBook library program. I tried to get some eBooks from my library about a year ago, but you had to do tons of stuff and install some sort of software to your Kindle and I just didn't feel like it. So I was happy to find out that they improved their program.

Used:

1984 by George Orwell

I don't know much about this, but I do know it's a classic dystopian, and I love both classics and dystopian!

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

After much thought, I have decided to buy this. I have heard a lot of good things about it, but I have also heard that the author is very pretentious, and I hate people like that. So hopefully I can enjoy the story and not worry about the author too much, because the story actually sounds good.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon

I swear, if I had a dollar for every time I almost bought this, I would have enough money to buy this. It is an expensive paperback. It wasn't because I didn't think I would like it, I have read the sample on my Kindle, it was just because it was expensive (for a paperback). But I saw it today for very cheap, and I couldn't resist.  I am still about the seventh person on the waiting list at my library for this, but now I don't have to wait any longer! 

So that was my book haul, I hope you guys enjoyed it! 

Birthday Book Haul!

So yesterday (October 5th) was my birthday! I got 2 books from family, but I mostly got money to spend, because everyone knows I am very particular about my books! Last night I planned on going to dinner then see a movie. I ate dinner and then we realized we had an hour before the movie started, and there just so happened to be a Barnes and Noble in the same shopping center/mall type thing. So I got 2 more books there, and I got an eBook as well. So here they are:

For My Birthday:

Ready Player One by Ernest Cline

I haven't heard too much about this book, but what I have heard has been positive. So I'm really excited for this!

The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling

Let me say this: when this was first announced, I wanted it. I didn't care what it was about. But many people have said that if the description doesn't appeal to you, then you won't like it. I understand this. The description does kind of appeal to me, and I believe that I could really enjoy it.

From B&N:

Unwind by Neal Schusterman

I have really wanted this book for a very long time. I know BookTubers love it, so I knew I had to get it when I went to B&N.

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

I don't think I have to say much about this. It's the sequel to The Maze Runner. I was going to get The Death Cure as well, but it's not in paperback yet, and I have the first two in paperback.

Kindle eBook:

The Angel's Kiss: A Melody Malone Mystery

I'm not sure how many of you watch Doctor Who. If you saw the most recent episode, you know what this is. If not, I don't know how to explain it to you. Just WATCH DOCTOR WHO!

So yeah! That was my haul, I hope you enjoyed!

Currently reading City of Bones by Cassandra Clare and Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn. I don't think I'm going to do a review on The Book Thief, but I adored it, 5+++++++ stars!!

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

Publisher- Walker Books for Young Readers
Publication Date- December 28, 2008
Pages- 359

A fresh, urban twist on the classic tale of star-crossed lovers.

When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created 'perfect' life is about to unravel before her eyes. She's forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she's worked so hard for: her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect. 

Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more.

In a passionate story about looking beneath the surface, Simone Elkeles breaks through the stereotypes and barriers that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart.

Wow. I adored this book. I usually hate the typical "good girl likes bad boy" story. Yes, this book was a bit cliché, but for some reason I really enjoyed it. 

The characters were pretty realistic. Alex is the typical bad boy you'd expect. He's in a gang, but he diesn't exactly want to be. He does it for his own good. He's a good bad guy, if that makes sense. And Brittany has some problems with her home life. Her sister has cerebral palsy and her mother expects her to be perfect, to make up for her sister's disability. 

The plot was, as I said before, cliché, but really good. They start out hating each other because they're paired up for chemistry, but then they end up liking each other. 

I flew through this book in two days. I think I read 20% on Saturday, and I was sick yesterday (as I am today) so I just read all day. I finished it last night at around 9. I am really glad that I had a light read after reading some heavier book lately.

My Rating:

Read it, guys. Just read it. 

I am going to try to get Rules of Attraction very soon. So either that or The Book Thief will be my next review.

Crimson in the Very Wrong Fairy Tale by Liz Jasper

Publication Date- July 31, 2012
Pages- 279

From the award-winning author of the Underdead novels...

Crimson has a strategy for surviving high school. Blend in. Don't cause trouble.
It works pretty well—until her sixteenth birthday when her long-lost father shows up and all hell breaks loose.
Literally.
It turns out that he is a demon king, which makes Crimson…a princess. Of Darkness.

Her castle is a sulfur-reeking cavern underground. Her Princess Training has nothing to do with tea and crumpets. Prince Charming isn't rushing in to save her. And, to top it off, she still has to go to high school. 

She can't tell anyone the truth, not even her best friends. To survive, she will have to risk everything and use a cunning she didn't know she possessed. And even then there's no guarantee she or anyone she cares about will be alive tomorrow—for neither Hell nor high school comes with a manual.

I received this book in the Read to Review program in the Young Adult Reads group on Goodreads. I am not being paid or compensated in any way to review this, it was my choice completely. 

I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It was much better than I thought it would be.

The plot was very good. I really enjoyed seeing what we think of as "the dark side" of things. It was very fast paced from the beginning. It was very funny and pretty light up until the end, which surprised me, but I really liked the twist.

The characters were a bit under developed, but still likable, none the less. But sometimes they weren't incredibly believable. They didn't react the way I would expect a real person to. For instance, Crimson's cousin is the heartthrob to most of the girls in the book. I didn't exactly see why. We get a very small description of him in the first part of the book, and he is extremely dumb. Yet girls fall all over him. 

But anyways, I really liked this book overall.

My Rating: 

I think the plot and ending made up for the characters, in my opinion. 

Perfect Chemistry will most likely be the ext book I review. 

Book Haul!

Hey guys! I have 6 books to tell you about today! 4 I got today, 1 from a Goodreads giveaway, and 1 from Target, which I got the day after my last haul! So yeah.

Today:

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

I have been wanting to read this series for a while now, but I could never find the first book in the series, until today! I was really excited to find this!

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

I still haven't read City of Bones, but I saw this for a really good price so I just went ahead and bought it! Funny thing is that there were about 4 copies of this and this one was the cheapest, despite it being in the best condition.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

I have heard amazing things about this book. I saw the movie a while ago and I really liked it (despite Kristen Stewart being in it). 

Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison

When I went into this book store I was so excited to see that there was an entire shelf for this author's books. (Again, I saw the movie and I loved it!) But after looking through it multiple times, I didn't see this book, as it is the first in the series! I then browsed around the rest of the store, and luckily I found this in the adult contemporary romance section of the store! Yay!

Goodreads:

The Peculiar by Stefan Bachmann

I enter a lot of Goodreads giveaways. But I have to admit some books I want more than others. This is one that I was dying to have. I needed this book, there was just something about it calling me, and what do you know? I won it! I was (and am) so excited to win this! I'm not sure when I will read it, but it will hopefully be by the end of this year!

Target:

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Okay, anyone who is anybody in the reading world has heard of this book. I have never heard a negative thing about it. And I hadn't been to Barnes and Noble in a while, and I didn't know where else to find this (besides the internet). So I was ecstatic when I saw this in Target! I am just a little ways into this book so far, but I can already tell it's going to be one of my favorites ever.

So that's my book haul! If you want me to read and review a particular book, please tell me! 

"Perks" Movie

Just a quick little post to let you guys know about this thing I found. (I swear, this isn't Spam!)

On Tumblr, somebody posted this, it's Logan Lerman reading Charlie's last letter from The Perks Of Being A Wallflower movie. It is different from the one in the book, but it is absolutely beautiful! Click HERE to hear it!

I am going to try to see this movie, a bunch of my friends and I are planning on going. If I go (you never know what will happen), then I will review it on here.

*Notes*
I should have a book haul tomorrow night or Thursday evening, whenever I have time. I'm going to sell some of my old middle-grade type books at this wonderful used book store near where I live, they always have ah-mazing stuff.

Currently reading: Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles, The Crucible by Arthur Miller (for school), The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, and Crimson in the Very Wrong Fairy Tale by Liz Jasper (ARC). I wil; be reviewing all of these except The Crucible. 

Delirium by Lauren Oliver Mini-Review

I'm not going to post the entire book description from Goodreads. I'll just give it to you in a nutshell.
Girl lives in society where when you turn 18, you get an operation to sort of remove love from your mind. Just before her operation, she falls in love.

The reason I say this is a mini-review is because I didn't finish it. It was just soooooo booorrriiinnnnggg!!! Ugh! I got about 100 pages in and I just couldn't continue! The author kept going off on these pointless tangents about stuff that had happened in the character's life earlier on, and this stuff didn't even matter! One I remember was something like the guys hair reminding her of hot maple syrup on pancakes, and then there would be a whole page talking about pancakes! It was so aggravating and slow, I just couldn't finish it! I always feel really bad when I don't finish something.

Also, I had heard a lot about something happening in the last 2 pages, so I read those. (I never do this in a book I finish, just the ones I don't plan on finishing) And yeah. Now I really don't want to try to read it ever again. Or the sequels. Nothing. Ever. (Just so you know, I read those last two pages after I decided to not continue on).

I think the concept was really good, but Lauren Oliver was not the one to write it. I'm really sorry, I know a lot of people loved it, but I didn't. And I'm not going to rate it, because I don't rate books I don't finish.

GRUM! by Robyn Hill

Publisher- Amazon Kindle
Publication Date- June 10, 2011
Pages- 86 (Kindle Edition)

Grum is a chapter book for grades 3-6. It is a story of two girls who discover magical bubble gum. The gum takes them on a series of magical and hilarious mishaps, such as sleeping with slugs, a magic pizzaria in the middle of the desert, a troll who needs help fixing his bridge. Children love this book. One reader commented about her favorite part of this book, "It is as adventurous as "Coraline", as delicious as "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", and funnier than "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" Enjoy!

First off, I would like to thank the author for giving me the opportunity to review this book!

This is the first middle-grade book I have read in a while. It was a little hard for me to adjust to, because I normally read YA and Adult books.
To start, this book gets right to the adventure. It doesn't go into the entire life story of the main character, Carol,  right at the beginning, you gradually find out throughout the whole story, which I really liked.  As for the seconadary characters, Jordan and Mr. Dooley, we don't find out much about them, which was okay in this case, as it was a plot driven book. Although, the characters seemed a little older than they were. They said and thought things that I don't think kids their age would actually be thinking.

As I said before, the story is very fast paced. It is very funny and I really wanted to keep reading to find out how they would solve their problem. This book also has very good morals and messages throughout, which are very nice to see, as it is directed toward a younger audience.

My Rating:

Again, thank you to Robyn Hill for giving me the opportunity to review this book!

The next book I will be reviewing is either The Princess Bride or Delirium. Also, I start school tomorrow so things will probably be slower. (I know, can it get any slower‽) (BTW: that's an interrobang, perhaps the most under appreciated punctuation mark.)