Such a pretty girl--reviewed by Nallely S.

Such a pretty girl by Laura Wiess

* * * * * Stars

"Today my time has run out."-Meredith

For Meredith, that day changed everything. Her father became somthing that constantly haunted her. For three years she was kept safe, because they promised. Except it was suppose to be nine, they only gave her three. At 15years old Meredith was no longer innocent, having been thrown into darkness by none other than her father. Meredith seeks to break free from what happened that day, three years ago. Yet, her nightmare was returning...and he wasn't going to stop.

Follow Meredith in her conquest to finally be free from the pain and darkness.

I gave this book 5 stars because although it's painful to think about..It was a good book. It was straight to the point and it made me realize people..really go through things like this, out there in this small world. It made me sad to think that there are sick people in this world. Yet Meredith's character broke free from her pain and actually did something to stop her father, whom she once loved. She turned her pain into her strength and that takes a lot from someone who went through what she did. ^ ^ A brave person acts, not sit there and wait for someone to take action. I liked this book.

The Rules of Survival reviewed by Molly Varney

By: Nancy Werlin * * * * *

Matthew's rules of survival are 1. Sometimes, the people who mean you harm are the ones who say they love you 2. Fear is your friend. When you feel it, act 3. Protect the little ones 4. If you coped before you can cope now and 5. Always remember: In the end, the survivor gets to tell the story. These are the rules Matthew, Callie, and Emmy have to live by each day. Their mother, Nikki, is crazy they think. She says she loves them then goes and has one of her horrible fits. She'll lock them in their room for hours or dissapear for a couple days. None of them even think about telling someone else. Until one night, when Callie and Matthewsnuck out to get popsicles, they met Murdoch. You wouldn't look twice at him, he was just another man. But when he stood up to a man hurting his son in the store, Matthew felt someting. That was hope. Hope for a future without crazy Nikki, without having to watch what you say and how you say it. Where he could think about talking to girls and not keeping him and his sister out of harms way. Matthew's story begins with meeting a man who gave him hope for a future where he could be normal.

I thought this was a great book. The story was sad and almost scary sometimes but I enjoyed reading it. I liked how it was written, because Matthew was writing it all down after everything had happened and it was really cool. I really liked how all of the characters were portrayed. My favorite character was probably Matthew because he was the oldest and the strongest out of the three siblings. The story was very realistic and it held a very powerful message. It also wasn't very long and took me no time to finish it.

How to Save a Life reviewed by Kaitlin Kimbrell

how to save a life

By Sara Zarr

We all meet each other in different ways. This different way let us know about the person we are meeting. Many people don't like me new people and other's couldn't live without it. Jill and Mandy have had two different ways of seeing each other.

All Jill wanted was her life back to the way it was before her dad died. She loved her dad and thought it was the end of any true connnection she would have with any other person. When Jill found out her mom was planning on adopting a baby she knew that her mom was just trying to start over and begin her own life. Jill felt betrayed when she met Mandy. If Jill would have been picking the girl giving her mom a baby Mandy would have been the last person she ever would have picked.

For Mandy life was different. She didn't feel loved and got pregnant even though she didn't want to be her mother. When Mandy found Jill's mom she was glad to be giving it to a woman who would truly care for her child. However, meeting Jill was a different story. Mandy took one look at Jill and didn't really want anything to do with her. How was she going to manage til the baby was born.

Will this new life change their lives forever?

Personal this book to me was very average. I did relate to how the girls felt about each other, but couldn't fully get into the book. I do believe, however, that you should think about reading this book. You might get a different feeling from it.

The Farther You Run reviewed by Molly Varney

By: Davida Wills Hurwin ****

A little over a year ago, Sammie would have been in dance class with her friend Jules. She would have graduated with her and they would have jobs, and boyfriends and would be happy with their lives. Now none of that would happen. Sammie had lost Jules to cancer earlier that year. Without Jules, Sammie didn't have a reason to dance or graduate anymore. Her life seemed worthless and she felt lost without her other half. Since she failed her last year in high school, she had to take summer classes. She wasn't expecting to find a new friend. Mona had problems of her own. She had also failed her last year in high school and had to take summer classes. Her mother was bipolar and she was used to not having friends. Soon enough the two had jobs and had moved in together. Things were going good until the one year anniversary of Jules's death was coming up and things started falling apart all over again. She had to deal with her loss again and try to move on with her new life.

This is the sequel to A Time For Dancing. I thought it was pretty good but I liked the first one better. I thought it was good to have a second book because it told a lot about what happened after Jules died and how it affected her family and Sammie. My favorite part of the whole book was probably the ending. It was one of the sweetest endings I've ever read. Both of the books are sad but are written beautifully and have a very good meaning.

A Time For Dancing reviewed by Molly Varney

By: Davida Wills Hurwin *****

Jules and Sammie are best friends. They couldn’t live without each other and have been that way for more than half of their lives. Jules was there for Sammie when her dad left her and they held each other when they cried. They danced together since they were young. They were friends to the end but sometimes the end is closer than we think. The summer before their senior year in high school Jules got very sick and nothing could have prepared sammie or her family for the cause of it-Jules was diagnosed with cancer. As Sammie tried to be there for Jules, she found it harder than she thought, even though they were so close. Throughout the weeks of treatments and doctors, Jules feels like she’s going on this trip by herself even with her friend and family. As the weeks go on Jules and Sammie both face the fact that the cancer may not go away and have to deal with it their own way.

I really liked this book. The story was really sad but it had a great meaning. I liked that it was from both of the girl’s point of view. I liked both of the main characters a lot but I didn’t like that Jules acted like she was giving up and got upset. Sammie seemed like the stronger out of the two and didn’t let Jules just sit around at home all day. This is a really good book and it’s a bit smaller so it doesn’t take a long time to read.

Out of sight, out of time--reviewed by Nallely S.

by Ally Carter

reviewed by Nallely Saavedra

* * * *

For Cammie Morgan, knowing more than the average girl is well...normal. But then everything in her world has changed. One day Cammie finds herself in an alpine convent only to realize that months has passed. As she tries to recall her memories....she only realizes that there is a black hole where they should be. The only clues to help her are the ones she left behind....the scars on her body and the dirt under her nails.

The last thing Cammie remembers before she abandoned Gallagher Academy was that she had to protect her friends and family from the Circle of Cavan. As she returns to Gallagher Academy, together with her friends and Zach, she must undercover her secrets and the clues she left behind....before the Circle finds her. Because she knows something they would risk everything to make her forget.

Find out more in the 5th installment of the Gallagher Girls.

I rated Out of sight, out of time * * * * stars because, I personally didn't really feel myself get into this book at all. Maybe because I was short on time because of the musical...not the point! I still love Cammie and her personality. I admire her friendship with Bex, Liz, and Macey. Her mother still makes me wish I had a mother like that! Actually I just love the setting and plot of this series. It doesn't just focus on romance, it focuses on friendship and family, and working together to accomplish something bigger. You know? In this book, I felt those the most because they all had to work together and try even harder because of Cammie having lost, or having had her memory stolen. I am planning on re-reading this since I felt that I rushed it. Overall it was pretty good and moved fast. ^ ^

March Book Club

We will meet on Tuesday, March 27, 2012 during SSR in the library to discuss the book (movie ??) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Bring a snack and/or drink if you like.

Ms C.

Cracked up to be review by Kaitlin Kimbrell

cracked up to be

by Courtney Summers

When you're perfect with everything you do people tend to want to be like you. Everybody body has a desire to be perfect, but what is the breaking point?

For Parker Fadley being perfect was all she knew. She was the perfect cheerleader, had the perfect popular boyfriend, the perfect best friend, and the perfect grades. Parker was the most popular girl at St. Peter's High, until that one night. That is when perfect Parker became the perfect mess. Nobody really knew why Parker started to come to school drunk, quit as captain of the cheerleading team, broke up with her boyfriend, and started to hate everyone. What happen to perfect Parker? Did she find her breaking point? Can you just not ever stay perfect like you think?

This book is not in my usual choices, but I really liked it. The struggles that Parker goes through actually shows what many people my age might be going through too. This put me in Parker shoes and made me think 'what would I have done if I would have been her?' I don't know what I would have done and I don't know who I would have wanted on my side, if anyone at all. This book did make me realize though that nobody is as perfect as we think.



The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight Reviewed by Molly Varney

By: Jennifer E. Smith *****

Hadley never liked close spaces so airports weren't her favorite places to be. This was just another reason she didn't want to go to London. The main reason she didn't want to was because of her father's second marriage. She didn't want to meet his new wife or any of his new friends, and she did not want to walk down the aisle sfter spending hours on a plane. But for some reason her mother had insisted on her going. Things only got worse for Hadley when she got to the airport. So many things could have gone differently that morning, but whatever happened caused her to be four minutes late. Those four minutes would change Hadley's life, she just didn't know it. What she did know was that she had missed her flight and was stuck in an extremely crowded airport for hours by herself. What she didn't expect to find was a British guy named Oliver who was on her flight, just a seat away from her. As the two talk to pass the time, Hadley feels someting in her changing. She forgets about her father's wedding and the fight she had with her mother and thinks only about Oliver. After a long night stuck in a plane, growing closer to a guy she's just met, Hadley wonders if this is what it's like to fall in love. At the end of their flight, she's left with knowing what part of London Oliver is going to and just like that, he's gone. Hadley goes to face her father's wedding and expects the worst, but all her thoughts are on a certain British boy she met on a plane.

I really really liked this book. I thought it was pretty interesting and funny at some parts. Oliver was by far my favorite character because of his joking personality. For me, the book was hard to put down most of the time. It never seemed to get dry or boring and had me laughing at some points. I think my favorite part was near the end and the very end of the book. The ending was a little predictable but I was fine with that because I loved the story.

City of Ember--reviewed by Nallely S.

By Jeanne DuPrau

* * * * * Stars

"It is always night in the city of Ember. But there is no moon, no stars."

In this story, follow Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow as the struggle with dealing with their new lives and trying to save their city from darkness. Lina Mayfleet was just a twelve-year old when she was assigned the task of becoming a messenger. Doon Harrow was just a twelve-year old when he was assigned to being a Pipeworker. Their home, The City of Ember was a last minute project created to protect the human race. Its creators left a message....a message on how to save the city if anything were to happen to its "life" source. The message ended up in Lina's hands. Lina confused and stressed because of her daily life and worried for her grandmothers health, goes to Doon. Together with Doon, Lina must uncover the message, because if they don't The City of Ember will be engulfed in complete darkness.

I gave this book * * * * * Stars because it was simple yet complicated. Actually there is nothing complicated about this book. It's straight to the point and fast. You can't just skip pages because every page has something important that will lead to the future of these people. ^ ^ I thought it was a good read. Although my review is short, this book really is straight to the point, and it shows you that although loss is in the picture, you have to keep moving on. Because your not just living for yourself, we see this through Lina's story. I liked Lina because she was realistic and wasn't falling for the Mayor's lies. Doon also saw through his lies. This lets us know that they aren't followers, they like to be different, and that's totally fine. ^ ^ I disliked that these twelve-year olds were doing something as impossible as this, like seriously what twelve-year olds think like Doon and Lina. The baby was doing too much, Lina is barely a child herself!