Stealing Heaven by Elizabeth Scott

Stealing Heaven by Elizabeth Scott

HarperTeen/June 1, 2008/Young Adult/320 pages

Dani has been trained as a thief by the best—her mother. Together, they move from town to town, targeting wealthy homes and making a living by stealing antique silver. They never stay in one place long enough to make real connections, real friends—a real life.

In the beach town of Heaven, though, everything changes. For the first time, Dani starts to feel at home. She's making friends and has even met a guy. But these people can never know the real Dani—because of who she is. When it turns out that her new friend lives in the house they've targeted for their next job and the cute guy is a cop, Dani must question where her loyalties lie: with the life she's always known—or the one she's always wanted.

Review: If you have not read any of Elizabeth Scott's book, you are most definitely missing out!

Dani is known to the people of Heaven as Sydney and throughout her whole life she has had many different alias' because she is not like most people. Dani has been going town to town and stealing things out of houses for as long as she can remember. Her mom has taught her all she knows about stealing (especially of silver) and she doesn't really know much else.

Soon they head to Heaven where Dani meets Allison, a girl that befriends her and who is also the daughter of a wealthy woman that Dani's mother wants to steal from. To make matters worse, Dani soon begins to fall for Greg...a cop. Elizabeth Scott creates relationships that are believable and easy to get sucked into. Also, I know people have said that the ending was sad and although I agree, I rather liked it.

The only thing I found myself being confused about and not liking was the involvement of this James character. James is Allison's brother and I'm still not quite sure if he really liked Dani or what?

Rating:

Characters: 5/5

Originality: 5/5

Ending: 5/5

Writing: 5/5

Voice: 5/5

Plot: 4/5

Enjoyment: 5/5

Overall: 4 stars

Favorite character(s): Allison who was a girl that Dani meets when she arrives at Heaven and Greg, the cop that Dani falls for. I loved these characters personalities.

Cover: C. Eh, the cover isn't bad but I don't really care for it.

Overall: This is a great book about being true to yourself!

Viola In Reel Life by Adriana Trigiani

Viola In Reel Life by Adriana Trigiani

Publisher: HarperTeen (September 1, 2009)

Hardcover: 288 pages

Reading Level: Young Adult

Summary: "I'm marooned.

Abandoned.

Left to rot in boarding school . . .

Viola doesn't want to go to boarding school, but somehow she ends up at an all-girls school in South Bend, Indiana, far, far away from her home in Brooklyn, New York. Now Viola is stuck for a whole year in the sherbet-colored sweater capital of the world.

Ick.

There's no way Viola's going to survive the year—especially since she has to replace her best friend Andrew with three new roommates who, disturbingly, actually seem to like it there. She resorts to viewing the world (and hiding) behind the lens of her video camera.

Boarding school, though, and her roommates and even the Midwest are nothing like she thought they would be, and soon Viola realizes she may be in for the most incredible year of her life.

But first she has to put the camera down and let the world in."

Review: Viola In Reel Life is a book is a wonderful, fast-paced read. It's original and isn't the usual cliché boarding school book.

I knew that this book would be about a girl and her love for filming, but I hadn't thought it would talk so much about theatre. I absolutely love theatre and this book has mentions of Buster Keaton and other silent film actors, Arsenic and Old Lace..It was very interesting to read about.

Adriana Trigiani does a great job with the characters. Viola with her filming and sarcastic remarks learns to appreciate Prefects Academy along with her roommates. There's Suzanne, the pretty and tall blonde. Romy is the sportive one and Marisol is the Latina who is the one Viola goes to since she is non-judgmental. I loved this group of girls. They were always there for each other and supported each other.

Even though Viola goes to an all girls school, Trigiani is still able to throw guys into the mix. Andrew, her BFFAA from back home, continues to text and videoconference with her. I thought they had some chemistry, but they were just best friends. Then there is Jared, who Viola meets at a school dance. They share an interest in filming and both enter a video competition. I loved reading about Viola's short film and the story behind it.

I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes filming or theatre or stories about boarding schools. This was a great read!

Rating:

Characters: 8/10

Originality: 8/10

Ending: 7/10

Writing: 10/10

Voice: 10/10

Plot: 8/10

Favorite character(s): So many good characters. I thought Trish, Viola and her roommates RA, was a great character! I liked her personality.

Cover: B. The cover really fits the story line! The shoes look how they are described in the book.

Overall: An innocent and sweet novel! 4 stars.

(check out my Rating System to learn more about my ratings.)

*won this ARC from Bites blog!