Boys, Girls, and Other Hazardous Materials by Rosalind Wiseman

Boys, Girls, and Other Hazardous Materials by Rosalind Wiseman

Putnam Juvenile/January 12, 2010/Young Adult/288 pages

Looking for a new beginning after a terrible mean girl past, Charlie Healey realizes there’s no escaping high school drama. Charlie Healey thinks Harmony Falls is the beginning of a whole new life. Middle school was brutal. But high school is Charlie’s big chance to start over and stay out of drama, except that on her first day she runs into Will, her ex–best friend, who had moved away.

Now a varsity athlete and hotter than Charlie remembered, Will hangs with the crowd running the school. But Charlie doesn’t understand their power until an innocent delivery guy falls victim to a near-deadly hazing prank.Torn between doing what’s right and her secret feelings for Will, Charlie must decide whether to turn in her very best friend or live with the guilt of knowing what he did.

Review: Rosalind Wiseman, whose acclaimed book Queen Bees & Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends and Other Realities of Adolescence was the inspiration for the movies Mean Girls, knows about high school students as this books deals with many different issues all relating to things teenagers deal with often.

Charlie Healey comes to Harmony Falls High School hoping for a new, fresh start. During middle school she was friends with girls that were stuck up, popular, and mean, which resulted in all of them getting in trouble. Charlie joins the school newspaper and befriends with the other freshman (who, coincidentally, is the girl her middle school friends caused trouble for.)

This books deals with hazing and the measures people will do to fit in. Will, Charlie's old neighbor friend whom she sees again on the first day of school, makes the varsity soccer team as a freshman and all of the underclassmen must do outrageous things to please the upperclassmen players. Wiseman does a fantastic job at writing about the seriousness of hazing, peer pressure, and staying true to yourself.

Sometimes I felt that the book was predictable, however the writing was good and that made up for it. I'm glad that Charlie stayed true to herself and the friendship with the other girls was nice to read about! Looking forward to more YA books by this author.

Rating:

Characters: 4/5

Originality: 3/5

Ending: 4/5

Writing: 5/5

Voice: 4/5

Plot: 4/5

Enjoyment: 4/5

Favorite character(s): Sydney! She and Charlie become good friends at the start of the school year and I loved her personality! I liked that she was sportive, it really added to her character.

Cover: D. I don't like this cover, it's misleading! However, I really liked the ARC cover. I'm sad that it was change.

Thoughts: 3.5 Stars Good high school book about making the right choices.

*Source: Stacey from Penguin! Thank you so much!

In My Mailbox 31

The Light (Morpheus Road, #1) by D.J. MacHale

"Marshall Seaver is being haunted. In the first installment of this chillingly compelling trilogy, sixteen-year-old Marshall discovers that something beyond our world is after him. The eerie clues pile up quickly, and when people start dying, it’s clear whatever this isit’s huge. Marshall has no idea what’s happening to him, but he’s soon convinced that it has something to do with his best friend Cooper, who’s been missing for over a week. Together with Coop’s sister, Marsh searches for the truth about what happened to his friend, ultimately uncovering something bigger than he could ever have imagined"

Won it from Books By Their Cover. Thanks!

Perchance To Dream (Theatre Illuminata, #2) by Lisa Mantchev

"Act Two, Scene One

Growing up in the enchanted Thèâtre Illuminata, Beatrice Shakespeare Smith learned everything about every play ever written. She knew the Players and their parts, but she didn’t know that she, too, had magic. Now, she is the Mistress of Revels, the Teller of Tales, and determined to follow her stars. She is ready for the outside world. Enter BERTIE AND COMPANY But the outside world soon proves more topsy-turvy than any stage production. Bertie can make things happen by writing them, but outside the protective walls of the Thèâtre, nothing goes as planned. And her magic cannot help her make a decision between— Nate: Her suave and swashbuckling pirate, now in mortal peril. Ariel: A brooding, yet seductive, air spirit whose true motives remain unclear.

When Nate is kidnapped and taken prisoner by the Sea Goddess, only Bertie can free him. She and her fairy sidekicks embark on a journey aboard the Thèâtre’s caravan, using Bertie’s word magic to guide them. Along the way, they collect a sneak-thief, who has in his possession something most valuable, and meet The Mysterious Stranger, Bertie’s father—and the creator of the scrimshaw medallion. Bertie’s dreams are haunted by Nate, whose love for Bertie is keeping him alive, but in the daytime, it’s Ariel who is tantalizingly close, and the one she is falling for. Who does Bertie love the most? And will her magic be powerful enough to save her once she enters the Sea Goddess’s lair?"

Won from Adventures of Cecelia Bedelia. Thanks!

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by The Story Siren.

In My Mailbox 30

Bought:

American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld

The Secret Identity of Devon Delaney by Lauren Barnholdt

Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli

Ramona's World by Beverly Cleary

Also Known As Harper by Ann Haywood Leal

Yeah, so, I pretty much went on a middle grade book spree except for American Wife.

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

Wishlist for Upcoming Books

Here is my wishlist for upcoming books! Titles that have a link are my 'Waiting on Wednesday' posts. Will be adding more really soon!

January:
1 - The Big Crunch by Pete Hautman
1 - The Latte Rebellion by Sarah Jamila Stevenson
6 - XVI by Julia Karr
11 - Timeless by Alexandra Monir
25 - What Things Look Like by Angela Johnson

February:
1 - Delirium by Lauren Oliver Thanks, HarperTeen!!
1 - Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley
8 - Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann
8 - Four Seasons by Jane Breskin Zalben
8 - So Shelly by Ty Roth
8 - Will Work for Prom Dress by Aimee Ferris
15 - Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting
15 - Rival by Sara Bennet Wealer
22 - Haven by Kristi Cook
Dead To You by Lisa McMann

March:
1 - Sing You Home by Jodi Picoult
3 - The Implosion of Aggie Winchester by Lara Zielin
31 - Wake Unto Me by Lisa Cach

April:
1 - Then I Met My Sister by Christine Hurley Deriso
5 - City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
5 - Where She Went by Gayle Forman
19 - Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz
26 - Bumped by Megan McCafferty
26 - Carmen by Walter Dean Myers
26 - We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han

May:
1 - The Last Little Blue Envelope by Maureen Johnson
3 - So Much Closer by Susane Colasanti
8 - But I Love Him by Amanda Grace
8 - Popular by Alissa Grosso
10 - Bitter End by Jennifer Brown
10 - What Happened to Goodbye by Sarah Dessen
24 - Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

June:
7 - My Life Undecided by Jessica Brody

July:

12 - Bad Taste in Boys by Carrie Harris
12 - Forever by Maggie Stiefvater

August:
23 - Sweetly by Jackson Pearce

September:
1 - The Bridge of Clay by Markus Zusak
Delinquents by Suzanne Young
The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann

October:
8 - Don't Breathe a Word by Holly Cupala

No specific month:
Return to Me by Justina Chen Headley

Miss Fortune Cookie by Lauren Bjorkman

C-Side Tales by Tara Kelly

Tris and Izzie by Mette Ivie Harrison

Waiting On Wednesday 25

The Duff by Kody Keplinger

Little Brown/Poppy (September 7, 2010)

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "Duffy," she throws her Coke in his face. But things aren't so great at home right now. Desperate for a distraction, Bianca ends up kissing Wesley. And likes it. Eager for escape, she throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with Wesley. Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out that Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

Thoughts: Oh my! Please get me this book RIGHT now. I want it! I absolutely love plots like this and already the reviews I've seen for this are all good. The author is a debut author and what's more only just finished her first year of college - only 18 years old! That's wicked.

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine.

In My Mailbox 29 + Win Beautiful Darkness!

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren

Heavenly by Jennifer Laurens

"I met someone who changed everything. Matthias. My autistic sister's guardian angel. Honest. Inspiring. Funny. Hot. And immortal. That was the problem. What could I do? I did what any other girl would do-I fell in love with him. Zoë's sister darts in front of cars. Her brother's a pothead. Her parents are so overwhelmed; they don't see Zoë lost in her broken life. Zoë escapes the only way she knows how: partying. Matthias, a guardian sent from Heaven, watches over Zoë's autistic sister. After Zoë is convinced he's legit, angel and lost girl come together in a love that changes destiny. But Heaven on Earth can't last forever."

Jennifer Laurens is so nice! My birthday was on the 12th and so she sent this book as a birthday gift! Thank you Jennifer! I can't wait to read it.

****

Over at Twilightmoms.net and Castergirls.com there is a FANTASTIC contest you can win an ARC of Beautiful Darkness, the sequel to Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl!!! All you have to do is a couple of things and email your entry. One of the things is tell what you loved about BC and if you haven't read it why you want to!

I want to read Beautiful Creatures because I absolutely love the plot! I typically don't read a lot of books like this, but with all of the amazing reviews it's almost impossible not to want to read this book. The story takes place in the south and although I haven't read a lot of books taking places in the south, there is something about them that I really love and enjoy. I'm sure this one will be fantastic. Not too mention that the cover is AW-MAZ-ING!

To find out more about the book, go HERE!!!

Moms, Sports, Exams, and Birthdays!

HAPPY, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all the fantastic, hard-working mom's out there! I hope you all have a great day. I didn't really have any money to buy my mom anything too great. I got her a nice card and drew some things on it (not that I'm a artist!) and got her the 10th anniversary Oprah magazine, since she adores her. I'm going to save up to get her something nice for next year. Again. Happy Mother's Day mom's! Hope you have a perfect day.

Soccer season is almost over. We have an away game tomorrow and hopefully we win! They beat us last time but who knows what will happen tomorrow. Then, we have another away game on Thursday and we also got beat by them. We just got to play hard and play our best. I haven't scored a goal at all and so I'm hoping that I'll get my chance at one of these two games. After this, it's district but I doubt I'll be playing, since I'm not on varsity (hopefully, I'll be on it next year!) but I hope we make it through. With soccer over in a week and nothing going on with the theatre department accept this Gala I'm going to and the drama banquet, I pretty much won't be staying after school anymore. So I can officially start running and getting ready for cross country season (if it is the last thing I do, I'm going to run a 5k in under 24 minutes!) and read more books!

On Friday, I took the dreaded AP US History Exam. Now, I have a C average in my class of 7 students (namely for not turning in the DBQS -Document Based Questions- on time and not doing so well on tests) and was freaking out all week about it. I got REA's APUSH Crash Course book to help me and I'll be honest. I didn't really crack it open until this week. I had a Biology EOC on Tuesday and English 10 EOC on Wednesday to take, which if I get proficient or advanced I won't have to take the Final for it. I'm certain I passed English but no so sure about Bio... Anyways. Thursday night after a soccer game, I pretty much CRAMMED for the test. Went to sleep HAD A DREAM about the exam, woke up and study some more, went back to sleep, woke up took a shower PUT ON MY CROSS (and prayed to Baby Jesus throughout the morning, I kid you not,) walked nervously up and down the school hallways and went into the exam with my 2 friends who were taking it. Yeah, only 3 of us took it. I was there from 8-12. Surprisingly enough, I wasn't tired (had lots of adrenaline) and I think I did okay. When I saw the DBQ I almost jumped out of my seat. It was easier than I expected. The Free Response Questions were pretty good, too! All in all, I am so grateful for REA's Crash Course book. Because of that book, I think I got at least a 3. This means, I'll be able to get college credit hours for it!!! And now, I'm seriously considering taking 5 AP test next year and 4 my senior year or something. SERIOUSLY. Only, like, 4 will be after taking the actual classes and the rest will be self-studying. The test was actually kind of enjoyable. AND I missed all my classes except health, where we were watching The Blindside and APUSH, where it was an easy day. On Wednesday, May 12, I will be turning 16. Normally, I am a Negative Nancy on my birthdays but you only turn 16 once. I am sad to say that I still don't have my permit and no one will teach me how to drive...hopefully all that will change very soon! Anyways, I'm thinking about having a birthday giveaway. I'm not sure what I can do yet. If you would like to donate anything, please contact me at infinitemusic19 at gmail dot com .

Waiting On Wednesday 24

You by Charles Benoit

Release date: September 1, 2010

Publisher: HarperTeen

A note from the author: It's easy to forget that we spend our early teens afraid. We're afraid of fitting in, standing out, or being ignored. We worry that we'll never get a date, never get into college, and never amount to anything. Just like everyone predicts. It's also easy to discount these fears. Looking back, it seems impossible that we would have stayed awake all night worrying about what someone else thought of our clothes or that we ever doubted our abilities, our potential. But that's only because we know how the story ends. I wanted to write a book that started with these fears as givens, bottling them in tight and capping them off with that artificial indifference genetically required of all teens. Kyle Chase is not a bad kid. He's not a good kid, either. He's a typical kid. He's any kid. And, at one point in your life, he was you.

The summary gives me chills. I can't wait to read this!

Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking The Spine

In My Mailbox 28

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren! For Review:

The Six Rules of Maybe by Deb Caletti Simon Pulse (March 16, 2010) "Scarlett Hughes is overly involved in the lives of everyone around her, and exceptionally interested in the habits of her neighbors. But Scarlett is thrust solidly into her own life when her sister, Juliet, returns home from school—pregnant and surprisingly married to a sweet, handsome man whom she seems to have no interest in, but who is hopelessly in love with her. Forced to take a look inward for the first time, Scarlett discovers the necessity of dreams, as well as the necessity of facing reality and speaking the truth."

Boys, Girls, and Other Hazardous Materials by Rosalind Wiseman Putnam Juvenile (January 12, 2010) "Looking for a new beginning after a terrible mean girl past, Charlie Healey realizes there’s no escaping high school drama Charlie Healey thinks Harmony Falls is the beginning of a whole new life. Middle school was brutal. But high school is Charlie’s big chance to start over and stay out of drama, except that on her first day she runs into Will, her ex–best friend, who had moved away. Now a varsity athlete and hotter than Charlie remembered, Will hangs with the crowd running the school. But Charlie doesn’t understand their power until an innocent delivery guy falls victim to a near-deadly hazing prank. Torn between doing what’s right and her secret feelings for Will, Charlie must decide whether to turn in her very best friend or live with the guilt of knowing what he did. " I also went to my mom's friend's garage sale and got these books (which are extremely old): Works of William Shakespeare We The Living by Ayn Rand The Feminine Mystique by Betty Friedan Also, I am trying to get suggestions for book topics I am interested in! Please head over to THIS POST to leave feedback!