Thursday, April 29, 2010

Johanna Kelly's Book Review

GONE

by Lisa McMann

****stars

You are falling—not just into another dream, but into the mysteries that surround your life.

Your life is also falling apart. Catching dreams takes a toll on your body. Your hands will be gnarled and crippled by the time you are thirty, and you will be blind in your twenties. Janie’s eyesight is failing, and she sees differences in her hands. She has to face a big dilemma—should she stay a dream catcher, or should she live alone, in isolation?

This is the final book in the WAKE trilogy. This is honestly the first series that I have finished. This should not be the last book. Usually I get tired of series before finishing them, but it seems like McMann ended the series too quickly. This book is thin, it is a fast read. It’s really not enough for me. I would like to see if you agree with me! Check out GONE today!

Before I Fall

5.0 out of 5 stars Astounding and memorable..., April 29, 2010


This review is from: Before I Fall (Hardcover)
Although the premise is a bit implausible, teen girls and young adult women will race through this absolutely wonderful novel about a girl who, though dead, keeps reliving the same day, February 12, until she gets it right.

Samantha (Sam) is a high school girl who seems to have everything: she's very popular, pretty, and has great girlfriends and sexy boyfriend. Lurking underneath all that seeming perfection are some dark secrets which reveal that every act or non action has consequences - the "butterfly effect". As Sam relives the last day of her life seven times, she makes changes in the things she says and does. Each time there is a different outcome. Will she manage to do all that needs done so that she can be, not only remembered, but remembered well? As she takes her message of hope - "it's never too late" to those she is trying to help, her heart is saddened by finding that sometimes it's just little things that one can do or say to make a huge difference in someone's life. It is just as easy to heal as it is to hurt -- with words and actions. Sam learns these lessons and more as she races through her last day seven times, just trying to make sense of it all and accept her own fate with grace and peace. A beautiful, poignant novel that brought me near tears.

This is a book I highly recommend. Buy it immediately!

Ms C

Monday, April 19, 2010

Jo Burdett's Book Review


The Hate List

Jennifer Brown

*****

Valerie never intended for her boyfriend, Nick Levil, to use their list. The list was just between them. Nobody was supposed to die.

Valerie is a hero. But she doesn’t always believe so. The last school year ended with her boyfriend, Nick, shooting up the school. Now as she looks back, she sees the warning signs that were supposedly clear, at how unstable Nick really was. While trying to find her life and carry on as if the shooting never happened, that Nick never shot anyone, Valerie endures a constant inward battle against herself and her emotions. Along with a battle against her peers, some who believe Valerie should have killed herself along with Nick. Valerie’s struggles create an emotional tale of woe, and show just how hard “moving on” can be, not just for a single person, but for a community.

I highly recommend this book, it’s a page turner, and an excellent read.


Ana Stock's Book Review


Saving Fish From Drowning

By Amy Tan

Imagine a family member, loved one, roommate, or the local shopkeeper at your favorite mom-and-pop store goes missing. For those living in Burma, for many years it was not a dream, but a reality. Bibi Chen, tour guide, shopkeeper, and local artist was found dead in a pool of her own blood with a fork in her neck and a burn where the gang’s first attempt to end her life had failed. She was mutilated and her body left with a strange inscription supposed to be associated with a local gang. The event occurred only days before she was to lead a group of horny adults on a trip along the Burma Road, in Amy Tan’s Saving Fish from Drowning. This dead man looking in novel is a superbly written novel which was proclaimed to be “Packed [with] the human capacity for love,” by USA Today. Often toying with lust the characters of the novel pop out and grab their readers. Tan’s ability to capture her audience and create characters who relate to her readers is extremely prevalent in Saving Fish from Drowning.

This deep read was written in 2005 and is proclaimed by Tan to be a fiction novel with factual tidbits. Whether it is the dog trainer, Doctor, hypochondriac, or man with the lacking ability to urinate, it is guaranteed that at least one of the travelers will catch your eye and you are sure to be entertained through the leaves of the novel. Beginning their journey with a strange tour guide was just the first hurdle that the adult tour group faced, and none of the travelers was prepared for what was to come next, except for Heidi. Crossing the border into Burma was something that tourists never did, they were not allowed, but Bibi had arranged for her special group to go through with a little persuasion. Once they got through the struggles began. Everything went down the drain with the spotting of a traveler relieving himself on a highly esteemed monument and the American’s intrusion on the film set that they were specifically instructed to avoid, the situation which determined the future income of the tour director Lulu. Their lovely vacation was going down the toilet quite literally after the tourists all found themselves with a bad case of dysentery. Using the primitive toilets to relieve their struggling stomachs the visitors found themselves disgusted and miserable, not to mention the carbon monoxide leak in the bus that demanded an immediate pit-stop. It never crossed the traveler’s minds that one of their travelers was missing when their bus took off into the night to reach their destination. Eventually the group noticed that someone was missing and after a ride in a patrol car and the making of a friendship, Harry made his way back to his group. The next morning was Christmas day and the group was to wake up to a Christmas surprise from the resort owner. On Christmas Eve Harry and Marlena, whose daughter was alone for the trip, were planning a passionate candelit night in Harry’s hut, but that went wrong when the mosquito net caught fire and Esme, Marlena’s daughter walked in to see her mother and Harry buck naked in the blazing room. Needless to say the night was awful and Harry was left disappointed. The next morning rolled around and Harry voted to stay behind, but found himself without communication and in a shady situation. The owner was a wheeler and dealer and his attitude was strange when Harry was left alone at the resort. He was the type who would invite you to a million dollar dinner then expect you to pay when he was too drunk to find his wallet. The group was lead into the forest where they were greeted by an ancient tribe who had been waiting hundreds of years for the Younger White Brother to return and rescue them. Having mastered the art of black magic from a book he picked up, Rupert was their savior. He was performing all of the tricks that Seraphineas Andrews, their original Lord of the Nats, had preformed. In this forest, the village of “No Name Place,” the guests were served local delicacy and entertained through the evening by the tribe. They were given gifts and treated as kings while Harry was stuck back at the resort. Needless to say the antics continued and the trip, while not as planned, was memorable, for lack of a better word.

This novel is a heavy read and is not one to be read in the course of a few days, but to be savored and enjoyed over the span of at least two weeks. The story, while well written, was a slow read and seemed to progress unhurriedly, but I would certainly suggest it for the cheery traveler as a supplement to their airplane food. My only suggestion is that you stop reading long enough to respond when the attendants ask whether you would like chicken or beef, because as in the novel, you should never eat what you cannot decipher! Dig in and enjoy!


Monday, April 12, 2010

Johanna Kelly's Book Review

FADE
Lisa McMann
****stars


You are cursed, but at least this time, you have a mission. Janie is a dream catcher, a person who falls into peoples’ dreams. This is exhausting. She gets a “seizure” every time someone is asleep around her; in class, on buses, even while driving—everywhere. People fall asleep in the strangest places. Janie’s mission is to solve crimes while sneaking into peoples’ dreams. She even works for the police department. A sexual predator might be on the loose at Fieldridge High, and Janie is assigned to find out who he or she is and to catch them. But can she?

This is the sequel to WAKE. I gave this book four stars because it is a fast read, it is a good mystery. However, there were some flaws in the story. If I discuss them that might ruin the book! Check out FADE today, and discuss it with me!

Monday, April 5, 2010

Jo Burdett's Book Review

Liar

By Justine Larbalestier

***

Liar by Justine Larbalestier is a different, and somewhat difficult book to read. From the very beginning, Micah, her main character insists that she is a liar. That she cant stop, the lying comes as naturally as breathing to Micah. The first thing she tells the reader is that she was born with a light covering of FUR on her body. Remebering that Micah is a liar, the reader will push it aside. But she continues to drop hints that something is wrong with her. That she’s different. But, reading the book is the only way you will find out if something is, because I refuse to spoil it for you.


I didn’t like this book. The fact that Micah is unreliable as a narrator because of her lying affected me deeply. While she is a compelling character, who wants to get out of her life’s situation, from her mean parents and her life in general, she is a blatant liar. She admits to it. But her admission could also be a lie. Which is why I found difficulty reading the book. I couldn’t discern the lies from the truth. Having to constantly second guess myself, and having to reread some passages got so annoying, that by the end of the book, I was so upset that there wasn’t even a clear HONEST ending, that I had wished I hadn’t picked up the book.


But, the story itself is a good story. Zach, Micah’s ‘boyfriend’, is brutally killed, and Micah’s relationship with Zach is questioned from the beginning. It becomes clear that Micah was the ‘other woman’ for Zack, while another girl was the legit girlfriend. Micah reveals that her parents are abusive, they stick her in a cage, and that upstate really means a holding facility. But, with Micah, you cant tell if she’s lying or not. At least, I never could. Which could be considered a plus by many, but not by me. Maybe her being a liar is the key to me not liking this book, Im used to each book I read to be the ‘truth’. To not have to keep hearing a different story each time. Not having to wonder if the story the narrator is telling is a lie or if it’s the truth.


I would only recommend this book to someone who wont let the lies get to them. Unlike me.