August Info.

In my last update post, I briefly mentioned that I was entering a competition on Goodreads. (Link)

It is a points-based thing where you can do different things to earn points. (I'm only going to point out the things that pertain to reading books here.)

The first one is making a reading list based on certain criteria (and completing it). They basically give you 10 different options and you have to choose at least 5. Here are mine:

1)Read a book that is released on August itself.
The Lovely Bones- Alice Sebold (August, 2006)
2)Read a book about witches.
Beautiful Darkness- Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl (Involves a type of witches)
3)Read a book that has being sitting on your bookshelf gathering dust for a long time.
Northanger Abbey- Jane Austen (Not on a physical shelf, but on my Kindle for years)
3)Read a book that you wouldn't normally read. (ei. different genre)
Tempest- Julie Cross (Time travel books are just weird to me)
5)Read a book in a school setting.
The Perks of Being A Wallflower- Stephen Chobosky
10)Read a book with a dog on the cover.
The Art Of Racing In The Rain- Garth Stein

(Yes, I realize there are two #3's.)

The other one I will be doing is reading a book starting with each letter in YOUNG/ADULT. Some of these books will be used in both. I will not be reading one for every letter, either. Here are mine:

Y-

O-

U-

N- Northanger Abbey- Jane Austen

G- Gone- Michael Grant

A- The Art Of Racing In The Rain- Garth Stein

D- The Da Vinci Code- Dan Brown (This is only if I finish the others first.)

U-

L- The Lovely Bones- Alice Sebold

T- Tempest- Julie Cross

I will try to read them in the following order:

1. The Perks Of Being A Wallflower- Stephen Chobosky
2. Beautiful Darkness- Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
3. Northanger Abbey- Jane Austen
4. The Art Of Racing In The Rain- Garth Stein
5. Gone- Michael Grant
6. The Lovely Bones- Alice Sebold
7. Tempest- Julie Cross
8. The Da Vinci Code- Dan Brown (If and only if I finish the others first!)

Like I said, this is my GOAL. I might read them all, I might read none. 

Also, I am trying to finish the Maze Runner before Wednesday (August 1st, because that's when the competition starts).

One more thing! I won a Goodreads giveaway! Woohoo! 

Leave It To Psmith by P. G. Wodehouse

When Lightning Strikes by Meg Cabot

Publisher- Simon Pulse
Publication Date- March 1, 2001
Pages- 266 pages

Jess Mastriani has never been what you'd call a typical Midwestern teenager—her extracurricular activities, instead of cheerleading or 4-H, include fist-fights with the football team and month-long stints in detention. A part of Jess would like to be the prom queen her mother has always envisioned her being, but another part is secretly counting the days until she's saved up enough money to buy her own Harley.

Then something happens that guarantees Jess will be one of the in-crowd...at least until her newfound talent ends up getting her dead.


I got this book not knowing anything about it, except that is was written by Meg Cabot and I liked her other books fairly well
     The plot was pretty enjoyable. It was, for the most part, realistic, as were the problems some of the characters faced. The plot was predictable, but I still wanted to keep reading.
     The characters. Ah, the characters. This was where the problems lied. To be blunt, I didn't like them. Jess came off as this tough , more guy than girl, kind of person. Even though I am against women being stereotyped and such, it was a bit ridiculous. She kept talking about how tough and bad-ass she was and how she had anger problems, but I really didn't see it. She punched one guy and hung out with the bad boy and had a disturbing obsession with motorcycles, and all of these were unrealistic and overblown. Her friend Ruth had an IQ of 167 (which is near impossible, especially since she got that score when she was a child) but she didn't really act that smart. Not saying she was dumb, but she wasn't anything special. And that's about all we know about her. And her dad's a lawyer. And then there was Rob, who was the only character I liked, because he was the only realistic one, and there is a bit of a mystery behind him. SO in summary, the characters were either unrealistic, underdeveloped, or both. 
     Fortunately, the plot and humor made up for it enough to give it a pretty good rating.


My Rating: 4/5 I will probably be reading the sequel, Code Name Cassandra, later this year.


I will be reading The Maze Runner next. See my next post to see the books I will be reading next month.

Update

As you may have noticed, I have been M.I.A. for a while. I have been extremely busy with various things. I actually haven't been reading the Perks Of Being A Wallflower lately, I read a few books required for school that I will not be reviewing. Also, I entered a thing on Goodreads where somebody chooses a book for you to read and whatnot and so I've been reading When Lightning Strikes by Meg Cabot. I will read "Perks" after I finish this one. 

I've been in a bit of a reading slump but I have entered a contest on Goodreads that will require me reading a lot if I want any chance of winning.

I will also be on vacation starting a week from Friday and returning a week from then. I will not have internet access but I will get a lot of reading done, and that means more reviews. I hope to have at least 2 more before I leave.

I also have seven subscribers now! That may not seem like too many, but it is good to me, judging that I have been blogging for less than a month, so I thank you all!

The Future Of Us- Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler

Publisher- Razorbill
Publication Date- November 21, 2011
Pages- 356

It's 1996, and Josh and Emma have been neighbors their whole lives. They've been best friends almost as long - at least, up until last November, when Josh did something that changed everything. Things have been weird between them ever since, but when Josh's family gets a free AOL CD in the mail,his mom makes him bring it over so that Emma can install it on her new computer. When they sign on, they're automatically logged onto their Facebook pages. But Facebook hasn't been invented yet. And they're looking at themselves fifteen years in the future.

By refreshing their pages, they learn that making different decisions now will affect the outcome of their lives later. And as they grapple with the ups and downs of what their futures hold, they're forced to confront what they're doing right - and wrong - in the present.(From Goodreads)


     I got this book for €6 when I was on vacation in Ireland at a discount bookstore. I had been wanting to read it, but it wasn't at the top of my list.
     First off: I loved 13 Reasons Why, so I had really high expectations for this. (I have never read anything else by Carolyn Mackler.)
     I thought that the plot was overall very good. It mixes contemporary romance and a strange type of time travel. Josh and Emma realize that their actions in the present impact their futures so the majority of the book is them trying to change (or not change) their futures. "A tiny ripple in the present can cause a typhoon in the future." 
     The characters were fine at first. But once they discovered they could change the future, they got selfish. One of them wanted to change their future, and the other wanted to keep it exactly the same. It got aggravating that they were trying to prevent each other from doing things, which they really shouldn't have. 
     In the end, I was expecting an epilogue, bit I didn't get one. I really thought it needed one, as it left many questions I had unanswered. 
     Overall, I liked it. It was at no point confusing, as some "time-travel" books can be.


My Rating: 4/5 stars. I didn't have any major problems with anything, except the characters.  


The next book I will be reading is The Perks of Being A Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Free Four: Tobias Tells The Story (Divergent #1.1)

So I just read Free Four and I really enjoyed it! I won't be doing an entire review of it because it was only 13 pages, but I will tell you some of my feelings about it.

For those of you who don't know, it is a scene from Divergent from Four's Point Of View.

I was thinking that it might sound a bit like Tris, because obviously it's the same writing style and author, but I didn't feel that way at all. It had a very different feel to it. I would love to hear more in his POV, but that doesn't mean I want all of Divergent in it. I would, however, love to hear his story in his POV up until Tris comes in (like his life in his previous faction (no spoilers!), or his test, choosing ceremony, and initiation). Overall I really enjoyed this!

5/5 stars

Story's Goodreads Page
Link to Story

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Publisher- Charles Scribner's Sons
Publication Date- April 10, 1925
Pages- 218
Awards- "Best English-language Novel of the 20th Century" by The Modern Library


After the war, the mysterious Jay Gatsby, a self-made millionaire pursues wealth, riches and the lady he lost to another man with stoic determination. When Gatsby finally does reunite with Daisy Buchanan, tragic events are set in motion. Told through the eyes of his detached and omnipresent neighbour and friend, Nick Carraway, Fitzgerald's succinct and powerful prose hints at the destruction and tragedy that awaits. (From Goodreads)

I didn't have extremely high expectations going into this book to be completely honest. I got it at a bookstore sale for £2 when in England for vacation(pretty much just because the movie trailer looked good). The first chapter was a bit boring, quite honestly, because there was no Gatsby in it. But once we did meet him, it progressively got better. I was confused at a few parts (the author often implied things that I didn’t get until they were “spelled out” for me). I wasn’t too fond of the characters (except Gatsby), but the plot was a breath of fresh air compared to a lot of the modern “realistic fiction” you see today. It was believable and wasn’t overdone. I didn’t feel like the author threw in things just for the heck of it, like so many others seem to do.

I have never really been a big fan of classics, maybe because I am usually forced to read them for school, but overall I really enjoyed this book (maybe because I didn’t have to read it for school).

My Rating- 4.5/5 stars

I will not be rating this on Goodreads because I feel that it is a solid 4.5. Above a 4, but not quite a 5. 

Book Haul

So today I went to Barnes and Noble to buy one book in particular and when I got home I had an Amazon package on my porch! I only ordered the books 2 days ago and they shipped yesterday. I got the free 5-8 day shipping and it only took a day to get here! Woo!

I wasn't even planning on buying anything on Amazon but I was browsing through their 4 for 3 deals and it seemed like just about every book on my wish list was there!

Barnes and Noble:
The Perks Of Being A Wallflower- Stephen Chbosky

Amazon:
The Mysterious Benedict Society- Trenton Lee Stewart
The Maze Runner- James Dashner
Gone- Michael Grant
Will Grayson, Will Grayson- John Green & David Levitan

Updates and Such

So as you may be able to tell, I have been doing things to this site in the past day. I think it's looking pretty good!


I have finally decided to do a rating system, after thinking about it for a while. I never did one on my other blog. So I'm just going to do the basic 5 starts deal. I may change it up after a while, but for now I'm just going to stick with that.


I will also start to get summarys from Goodreads instead of doing my own.


I would really appreciate some feedback from you guys!

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Publisher- Scholastic

Publication Date- August 24, 2010

Pages- 390

Series- The Hunger Games Trilogy

*May contain spoilers for The Hunger Games and Catching Fire*

Katniss has escaped The Hunger Games yet again, but just barely. If it weren’t for District 13, she would be dead and Panem may be at its end. District 12 is no more, and very few citizens escaped. The capitol is mad, and the Quarter Quell added fuel to the fire that is the rebellion against them. Districts 13 needs Katniss to be the face of the rebellion. Districts are having wars and Peeta is in the Capitol’s clutches. Nothing is well, nobody is safe.

This book is a war. It is my least favorite book in the series, but it is not as bad as many people say, at least not to me. It is much more emotional, it was a little depressing to me for the first half. (To be honest, they could have cut out the first half of the book and it would have been much better.) It took me a while to read, unlike the others which took me about two days a piece. The last half was definitely better and faster paced than the first half. Much more rewarding. I loved the ending too. I mean the end result, but I think the way Collins went about writing it gives you no closure. It felt like she was rushed for a deadline. I’m torn. If you read the first 2, you HAVE to read this one. 

Can you believe they are splitting the movie into 2 parts? Is the first one just going to be Katniss sitting in a closet? I mean, Harry Potter NEEDED to be split, Breaking Dawn, not so much, but this is ridiculous. Stop being greedy for money! People in Hollywood are rich enough!

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Publisher- Scholastic

Publication Date- September 1, 2009

Pages- 391

Series- The Hunger Games trilogy

*May contain spoilers for The Hunger Games!*

Katniss and Peeta have miraculously survived the Hunger Games. They are now back in District 12, living in Victors Village. But nothing can go back to normal like Katniss wants, and people are turning their backs on her. And as she sees on her victory tour, her actions in the arena have caused a uprising against the capitol.

For me the beginning was like the Hunger Games, a bit slow. The thing that kept me going was the act that I had experienced Collins’ writing before, and pretty much knew it would get better. And it did. Katniss and Peeta go on a victory tour of the 12 districts, which is what the first bit of the book is about. The book is difficult to explain without giving spoilers. Let me just say that this will not disappoint any fans of the first book. There is action and love and many more emotions, like the first one. Many say this is better than the first, and while I don’t quite agree, it is still an excellent book worth reading. 

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Publisher- Scholastic Press

Publication Date- September 14, 2008

Pages- 374 

Series- The Hunger Games Trilogy

Awards-  2008 Publishers Weekly's "Best Books of the Year" in 2008, The New York Times "Notable Children's Book of 2008"  2009 winner of the Golden Duck Award in the Young Adult Fiction Category, 2008 Cybil Winner for fantasy and science-fiction books, One of School Library Journal's Best Books 2008, 2008 Booklist Editors' Choice in 2008.2011, won the 2011 California Young Reader Medal. 

Sometime in the future, America doesn’t exist. In its place is a country called Panem. Panem is divided into 12 districts that all have their own specialties, and the Capitol, which controls the country. Every year, 2 people, one boy and one girl, are chosen from each district to compete in the Hunger Games, where the 24 tributes are put into an arena and are expected to fight to the death while every citizen of Panem watches on live TV. Katniss Everdeen lives on the outskirts of District 12, the poorest district. When Katniss’s sister, Prim, is chosen as their district’s tribute, Katniss volunteers in her place, and promises she will try to win for her.

I have to admit, it took me forever to get past the first two chapters of this book. I read chapter 1 and put it down, picking it up months later. (This was when it first came out, and it had not been very publicized.) But I powered through to Chapter 3, and I couldn’t put it down. It was great, to say the least. I wasn’t expecting it to be this good I wasn’t expecting there to really be any good action in it. I was wrong. I’ve never really been into Dystopian, but this has totally changed my mind. This is told through Katniss’s point of view, which really adds to the emotion. You will feel like you are in the arena, your heart will be pumping. It is action packed and emotional, a really great page turner. 

Dash & Lily's Book Of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Publisher- Knoph Books for Young Readers

Publication Date- October 26, 2010

Pages- 274

Told from 2 perspectives:

Dash-During Christmas break, Dash is shopping at his favorite book store and comes across a notebook. Inside it, a list of instructions and where to leave the notebook when done. But before leaving it, he leaves a few instructions of his own.

Lily-Leaves a notebook in the midst of her favorite authors section at her favorite bookstore. The notebook contains a list of instructions. She ultimately forgets about it, but in a few days she discovers someone has accepted her dares, and left a few of their own.

Dash and Lily pass the notebook back and forth over the course of winter break in New York City, never knowing who’s on the other end of the red moleskin.

This is a great YA contemporary novel for the holidays. Great plot and lovely characters. Very well thought out. I also love the writing style. David Levithan writes as Dash and Rachel Cohn as Lily. This gives each character a distinct personality. Definitely recommend this book.

Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Publisher- Simon & Schuster

Publication Date- 2004

Pages- 537

Followed by- Glass

Awards- 2005 Quills Award nominee, 2005 Book Sense Top 10, 2005 NYPL Recommended for Teens, 2005 PSLA Top Ten for Teens, 2005 Charlotte Award, 2005 IRA Young Adult Choices Award, 2006 Kentucky Bluegrass Award, 2006 SSLI Honor Book Award, 2006 Gateway Readers Awards winner.

Kristina had a very good life with her mother, step-father, brother, and sister. Until she had to go spend the summer with her dad. There she meets the monster. While under the influence, she finds her alter ego, Bree, who is everything she is not. This is about her journey with the monster.

Ellen is said to be the best poet living in America today. Unless this means putting words in various patterns and shapes, I would highly disagree. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t like the book. The plot is wonderful. As a semi-autobiographical book, this shows you what it’s really like to walk hand-in-hand with crank(aka, the monster, aka meth). I loved hearing Kristina’s thoughts and both hers and Bree’s reactions to situations. The 1st person point of view really adds to the emotion. Not the best writing, but overall a very good story.

13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson

Publisher- HarperCollins

Publication Date- 2005

Pages- 317

Precedes- The Last Little Blue Envelope

Virginia “Ginny” Blackstone had just been informed that her “Runaway Aunt” Reg has died. Aunt Peg has left her 13 blue envelopes, each with instructions on where to go, what to do, and when to open the next one. She heads to Europe to embark on the adventure her runaway aunt left her. She only has 4 instructions: Only bring what fits in her backpack, she cannot bring any kind of journal or foreign language aid, she cannot bring any extra money, and she cannot bring anything electronic. She goes out of her comfort zone, meets some interesting people, and discovers some things about her aunt that she never knew. 

This is a really good, fast paced novel. Never a dull moment. I really liked that the setting was in Europe for the most part. I have been to most of these places (and I noticed a few mistakes), so it was really nice to see them again. I really like books about travel, and this had  bit of mystery in it too. I have not yet read The Last Little Blue Envelope, I’m not sure when I will. The cliffhanger at the end was not extreme, so I’m not dying to read the next one immediately. But definitely check this book out!

Skellig by David Almond

Publisher- Hodder Children's Books

Publication Date- August 11, 1998

Pages- 176

Awards- 1998 Carnegie Medal, Whitbread Children's Book Of The Year Award, 2000 Micael L. Printz Honor, Selected as one of the ten most important children's novels of the past 70 years in 2007.

Michael’s family has just moved to an old house that is falling apart. The whole family is worried that the new baby will die because it was born prematurely and it has a heart condition. One day Michael goes into the decaying garage and discovers a strange man. He assumes he is homeless, and brings him food and asprin for his arthritis. But then Michael brings his friend Mina to meet the man, and together they bring him into the light, and their lives change forever.

This book has been sitting on my shelf for years. I bought it in a local bookshop after someone told me it was good, that was in about 7th grade. So I decided to pick it up on Sunday, because I am falling behind on my 50 book challenge, and this book is only about 200 pages. I finished it in one day. The story was unlike anything I had imagined. It was wonderful and beautiful. It seems that I never have any words to describe the best books I just recommend that everyone reads this book. 

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Publisher- Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins

Publication Date- May 1, 2012

Pages- 544

Series- The Divergent Trilogy

*May contain spoilers for Divergent*

Summary from Goodreads

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris’s initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

Insurgent begins right where Divergent left off. This book has the kind of atmosphere as the last bit of Divergent, war. There are some slow parts in the middle, but it does pick up. I don’t have much to say about this, other than it is amazing and you must read this if you read Divergent. And the ending was great, but it is a huge cliffhanger. I don’t want to wait until next year!

Divergent by Veronica Roth

Publisher- Katherine Tegen Books/HarperCollins

Publication Date- May 3, 2011

Pages- 487

Series- The Divergent Trilogy

Set in a futuristic Chicago, society is divided into 5 factions. Abnegation- the selfless. Dauntless- the brave. Amity- the peaceful. Erudite- those seeking knowledge. Candor- the honest. You are born into a faction and you live there until you are sixteen. When you are 16, you take an aptitude test to determine which faction you are most suited for. The next day, you choose the faction you will (hopefully) spend the rest of your life in. After the choosing ceremony, you go through initiation. If you pass, you join the faction. If not, you become factionless. This book follows our main character, Tris, though her test, choosing ceremony, and initiation.

To start, this was an amazing book. It had so many great aspects to it. It was a truly unique look at a dystopian society. It is very fast paced, it has lots of action and you are drawn into it from the very first chapter. The characters were very believable and had real flaws. The setting, like I said, is a futuristic Chicago. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and feel of it. The setting is very good and it seemed more realistic and likely than most other dystopian book. So anyways, read this book, now!

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Publisher- Dutton Books

Publication Date- 2005

Pages- 221

Awards- 2006 Michael L. Printz Award

This book is divided into two parts.
Before:
Miles “Pudge” Halter is just a normal guy. He doesn’t have many friends at home in Florida, which worries his parents. So he decides to go to Culver Creek Boarding School in Alabama.

There he meets his roommate “The Colonel”, Takumi, who’s from Japan, and Alaska Young. Funny, intelligent, beautiful, self-destructive Alaska Young. And of course, Miles falls in love with her. But this isn’t your typical love story.

After: An event that will change Pudge’s life forever.

I don’t think anyone can do this book justice. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever read. It’s realistic. It’s a page turner, but not in a suspenseful way. I really can’t describe how good it is. I saw a bunch of reviews on YouTube and I wasn’t exactly convinced to read it, and I’m not sure you’ll be convinced with my review. It’s amazing. One of, if not the best, book I’ve ever read. PLEASE read this book!

FYI

These first few reviews will be from my old blog, I promise they have gotten better by now. I am just transferring them over to here.

Hello and welcome to my review blog!

I love all types of books, though I mostly read YA. I am open to comments, suggestions, and book recommendations! I hope you enjoy my reviews!