The Other Countess review by Kaitlin Kimbrell

The OTHER COUNTESS

by: Eve Edwards



Love is looked for and wanted by everyone. It can be splendid and wonderful. If everything is going wrong in your life feeling loved is the most amazing thing you can hope.

Lady Eleanor Rodriguez, Countess of San Jaime (Ellie) at age sixteen was not looking for love. It was quite possibly the last thing on her mind.  All  Ellie wanted was for her father, Sir Arthur Hutton, to stop with his quest to make gold out of lead and just live with her in a happy peaceful life, but she knew her father would never go for that and that is why Ellie was stuck in the house of Lord Mountjoy's  during the time of court.

William Lacey, Earl of Dorset (Will) at age eighteen was trying to help his family survive after the death of his father left them with little money and many problems. Will needed a wealthy lady that would marry him to save his land, his family from destitution, and him from being bitter at such a young age. Will went to court looking for a lady of wealth. He wanted this marriage to have love, but he could live without it if he could just save his family.

This two lives did not plan to meet again after the last time, when Will kick Ellie and her father off his land for the alchemy four years before, but when Will arrives at court she is the first lady he meets. Will not recognizing her, and knowing she was a maid with no money, was transfixed by her beauty and her intelligence. Ellie on the other hand was angry and scared that he was there because she knew that once he found out who she was he would not be so kind to her with his words. 

Soon they both realize that they have fallen for each other, but they did not believe anything could become of this infatuation. What will Will choose Lady Jane, a rich woman he also meets at court, who would solve all his money problems by their marriage? Or will Will choose love with Ellie and decide that is better than anything money can buy? Will Ellie even have him if he did want her after the way he treated her and her father just a few years ago? Will Lady Jane even want Will? Or would she rather James, one of the earl's brothers? Will love win out or the powers of money take over?

I truly enjoyed The Other Countess and I believe that anyone to read it after would like it, also. The different scandals that are going on will make you want to read the whole book in one night. Love is such a thing to look for that when it hits us in the face we can do nothing but try and hold onto it.

Timing is everything. 



Rules of Attraction--Review by Sarah Gnefkow

Rules of Attraction

Simone Elkeles

***1/2 stars

Carlos Fuentes has lived many places in the seventeen years of his life. He originally was raised in Chicago before his older brother Alex started to get into gangs trying keep his family safe. Carlos' mother moved their family to Mexico after Alex had left the gang. Now Carlos is moving back to the United States a year later to live in Colorado with his older brother (which is now on the right track) who tried to carve out a life for Carlos that he doesn't want. Carlos doesn't abide to anyone else's rules but his own. Kiara a straight A student was asked to escort Carlos around his new school for the first week. They both are dealing with social situations at school, for Carlos its his current reputation and for Kiara its her stuttering problem. Carlos decides that he doesn't need a guide and blows Kiara off. By doing this Kiara wants to get even, which ends up attracting each other. But will these sparks be enough to get over their social issues?

This book was pretty good, but definitely not as good as Perfect Chemistry. In a way they were both really similar and after reading the first one the outcome was quite predictable. The book goes by alternating speakers. I didn't really want to put it down, but in a way the endings were the exact same so I gave it 3 1/2 stars. It was a pretty good series so I do suggest checking these books out.

The Earth My Butt and Other Big Round Things - A review by Sarah Gnefkow

The Earth My Butt and Other Big Round Things

By Carolyn Mackler

4 Stars

The Earth My Butt and Other Big Round Things is a really good book. I started reading it and just couldn't put it down. I wish that i would have taken time to read it because it was one of those things that I just didn't want it to end. This book is definately one that I would recommend if you're looking for a fun, rebellious, but kind of out of the ordinary read. 

It is about a girl named Virginia Shreves who is a larger than average girl. Her favorite things to do are eat, make lists, email her best friend that moved to Walla Walla, and hook up with a boy named Froggy. Virginia (Gin for short) feels that no guy would ever want to be with her in public so she decides to follow the "Fat Girl Code of Conduct". Virginias family would be considered the 'perfect' family. Her mother is a popular therapist, her father a top executive, her sister Anais is in the Peace Corps, and her brother Byron is a god. Everyone looks the same in the Shreves family they are all tall, beautiful, blonde, and skinny, except for Virginia. Gin's mother pushes her to go on diets and be a skinny Shreve just like the rest of the family. But when a tragedy happens to her family involving Byron, Virginia rebels. 

This book is fun to read and it goes by pretty quick. It was definitely one that I have never read anything like it. It was pretty much a good book. I would definitely give this book 4 stars.

Girl Parts - a review by George Morejon

Girl Parts

by John M Cusick

*** stars

Girl Parts starts off with a girl killing herself on the internet. She broadcasts it on webcam with an audience of her schoolmates watching. After this happens, a new psychiatric comes in to help with the disassociation problem (being disconnected from the real world) the students are facing. The solution he recomends is to assign "companions" to these kids, including popular rich kid David Sun. David is a stuck-up brat who just wants to fool around with girls, but still a person chosen for the programme. When he gets his companion, whose name is Rose, he finds out he cares for her and wants to be with her more than any other girl he's been with before. David thinks he's found his dream girl, but things change at a party when he finds out that Rose isn't "fully functional", if you know what I mean.

When David finds this out, he abandons her at the party, and Rose wanders out into the forest lost and confused. She finds her way to an ocean ridge and is about to jump, which would destroy her link to the Sakora satellites helping her understand things and also probably deactivate her, but a kid named Charlie (who she'd only met one time before when David hit him with a car) tries to save her, dragging them both into the ocean. Charlie's kind of disconnected from society, so after Rose gets desynced from the satellite, they form a sort of bond. This bond strengthens as he hides her from the Sakora agents who are looking for her so they can deactivate her and helps her get over David basically throwing her away.

This book took about 4 hours to read and was way different than anything else I have read, so I wasn't that sure what to think of it. I hadn't seen the idea of robot companions like this in any novel, although I wasn't unfamiliar with the idea. I liked David up until he dumped Rose, which I thought was a jerk move to do. Rose was interesting and I liked being able to read how she was programmed to think, before and after her big change. Her want to be accepted by people and be real reminded me a lot of Pinocchio. Overall, I'd give this book a 3 out of 5.

On the Bright Side, I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God – a review by Melissa Lloyd

On the Bright Side, I’m Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God
by Louise Rennison
**** stars

Georgia Nicholson is back in her second sequal. More drama, action, and out of controll mood swings. Gerogia is a 14 year old girl just trying to grasp the fact that she the girlfriend of a sex god better known as "SG". She's so uncontrollably in love with SG that she doesnt know what to do with herself.

The worest news of her life she's moving to the worest place on earth millions of miles away from her boyfreind she's moving to New Zeland. The world is coming to an end, "he's going to move on, he going to forget all about me, I must think of away to stay". Georgia hates her life and her family why in the world must she move why cant her family just leave her behind. She's finally made it she just hit the peek of her life everything is great.


"I hate him, I hate him, he could die and I could care less". Georgia writes down all these events in her diary, she continues to be little herself in details of her life: her huge nose, which means she will forever have to live in ugly home, ugly universe, her sister, Libby, who hides "pooey" knickers in Georgia's bed, and her miserable classmates, the Bummer twins, who use Georgia as an armchair. Everything is going wrong in Georgia's life and guess who's fault it is the stupid, unforgivable, jerk, and love of my life the Sex God.

Darkness Before Dawn -- a review by Derri’Anna White

Darkness before Dawn

By: Sharon M. Draper

***** Stars

Keisha is an eighteen year old senior at Hazelwood High School. She struggles through high school due to a death someone really closed to her, after recovering from the lost of her friend she realizes that she has to grow up and become a better person in life. As Keisha goes through her senior year she has friends that are always by her sides which are Rhonda, Tyrone, Gerald, and Jalani. Throughout all her up’s and down’s she has learned not to get involved with the wrong men or man. She also learns not to fall in love for all the wrong reasons. Getting over her friend tragic death she now spots a new eye candy Named Coach Jonathan Hathaway, he is the principal son at Hazelwood High School. Coach Jonathan Hathaway is a tall, dark, handsome man; he owns a jeep and has his own condo, can discuss anything with anybody, and is a very good listen! The bad part about him is that he is twenty-three years of age, but is set on Keisha Montgomery. Keisha is overjoyed to be loved again and someone to treat her like woman instead of a little girl; Jonathan Hathaway makes her feel like woman and wakes her up from her nightmares. Will Keisha new knight and shining amour help her with her struggles through the challenges of her senior year?

I think that this book is very well put together, and it kept me on the edge. Also “Darkness before Dawn” kept me thinking. This book was very easy to read and very understandable. I also think that this is a wonderful book for teens to read because they would find similarities with the characters in the book. Before you read “Darkness before Dawn” make sure you read “Tears of a Tiger” to know about the past of Keisha and her friends, after you read “Darkness before Dawn” I recommend you also “Forage by Fire”. Tell me what you think, and I hope that you enjoy!