Review: The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder

The Probability of Miracles by Wendy Wunder
Publisher: Razorbill (2011), 360 pages

Dry, sarcastic, sixteen-year-old Cam Cooper has spent the last seven years in and out hospitals. The last thing she wants to do in the short life she has left is move 1,500 miles away to Promise, Maine - a place known for the miraculous events that occur there. But it's undeniable that strange things happen in Promise: everlasting sunsets; purple dandelions; flamingoes in the frigid Atlantic; an elusive boy named Asher; and finally, a mysterious envelope containing a list of things for Cam to do before she dies. As Cam checks each item off the list, she finally learns to believe - in love, in herself, and even in miracles.

I wanted to love THE PROBABILITY OF MIRACLES but unfortunately it fell short of my expectations.

There is no doubt that Wendy Wunder is a great writer. The writing is not why I didn't love it. The book is a cancer book where the main character, Cam, goes to a small town hoping for a miracle. I have not read many cancer books but this was someone predictable. Except the ending.

The ending was like what the hell because I'm so curious as to what happened.

You know how there are some book titles that absolutely make no sense to why it is the title of the book? Well, THE PROBABILITY OF MIRACLES does not have that problem. Goodness, I think the word, "miracle," was used a hundred times.

In other news, although I did not like this book all that much, I am looking forward to reading the next book Wunder writes. 

2.6 stars out of 5

Cover: D+ Okay, don't get me wrong –the cover is beautiful! I actually find it very pleasing to the eyes but c'mon! The girl on the cover is, I'm assuming, is supposed to be the main character, Cam, yet she doesn't look like she has cancer at all! The only thing that I can see that the MC has in common with the model is that she looks like she could be Samoan, like she is described to be. 
Favorite Character: Um....Cam's grandma or her little sister.
Put-Down-Ability: 3. Though this wasn't my favorite book ever, the writing was pretty engaging and it didn't take me that long to get through it. 

*Source: school library 

The Hunger Games Movie!

Although I have yet written my reviews for The Hunger Games trilogy or shared my experienced going to Suzanne Collin's book signing a few years ago, I am a huge fan!!!

So naturally, like with any good book or movie, I went to the midnight premiere with one of my friends.

OHMYGOODNESS!!!!!!

I was so freakin' tired when I arrived but as soon as the movie started, I got an adrenaline rush.

I don't want to ruin it for anyone who hasn't seen it yet but KATNISS, RUE, AND CINNA WERE MY FAVORITES!!!!!! Rue stole my heart. Holy crap, cute little girl if I ever saw one!

Oh and I am mostly Team Peeta but I gotta admit, I think I am definitely Team Gale with the movie. I don't know, the guy that plays Peeta isn't doing a lot for me as of late....Am I the only one who feels this way? Don't get me wrong, I thought he was great but not completely sold on him yet.

Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Divergent by Veronica Roth
Publisher: Harper Collins (2011), 489 pages

Beatrice "Tris" Prior has reached the fateful age of sixteen, the stage at which teenagers in Veronica Roth's dystopian Chicago must select which of five factions to join for life. Each faction represents a virtue: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite. To the surprise of herself and her selfless Abnegation family, she chooses Dauntless, the path of courage. Her choice exposes her to the demanding, violent initiation rites of this group, but it also threatens to expose a personal secret that could place her in mortal danger. Veronica Roth's young adult Divergent trilogy launches with a captivating adventure about love and loyalty playing out under most extreme circumstances.

I am awfully glad I picked this book up! I really hadn't heard anything about this book but I was in my school's library and saw that this was one of the new books we had got in and picked it up on whim. I didn't really have any expectations but if I had, DIVERGENT blew all of my expectations out of the water.

Fans of THE HUNGER GAMES and DELIRIUM will LOVE this book. Oh my God. This book is so good that I just completely went through it in a day. The wonderful thing about dystopian novels is the fact that there are so many new and unique plots in them and in Divergent there were several of them to love.

Veronica Roth characterization of Beatrice "Tris" Prior is simply wonderful. In the dystopian Chicago, Roth writes about, there are five different factions the people live in. Abnegation (The Selfless) where Tris is born into, Candor (The Brutally Honest), Amity (The Friendly), Erudite (The Intelligent), and Dauntless (The Brave). When a person reaches age of sixteen, they must choose the faction where they will spend the rest of their life. For the most part, no one dares to leave the faction they were born into but Tris does; she leaves Abnegation for the Dauntless.

Okay, so when I was reading this, I immediately imagined a person who was born into a New York Yankee family switching allegiances and becoming a Boston Red Sox fan. Now, everyone knows that the Sox are obviously the better team to root for and you just can not help but feel sympathy for that person who had to endure those year under the wing of Yankee fans.* And so, as I was reading about Tris' life in Abnegation, I couldn't help but think how much I would hate it. I mean, in theory, that faction sounds wonderful but c'mon! You got to have a little time for yourself, every now and then. I, too, would've changed factions the moment I could.

That's not too say that Dauntless was perfect. But it did have Four! Wow, the parts with Four and Tris were my favorite. And that ending! Jeez. Talk about cliffhanger!!!! I need to get my own copy of this book so I can read it again and so I can see the wonderful cover on my bookshelf everyday. I LOVED THIS BOOK.

I MUST GET MY HANDS ON INSURGENT NOW!!!!!!! MAY 28th IS TOO FAR AWAY!! 

Yes that was necessary.

* Hey, as a diehard Red Sox fan, I just can't help but bring them up every chance I get. Especially if the chance allows for me to call the Yankees out…

Wicked Quote:

Peace is restrained: this is free. 

5 stars out of 5

Cover: B+ I love that most dystopian books tend to be gender neutral and look really cool. 
Favorite Character: Love Tris! Wonderful character, can't wait to find out more about her in the next book. 
Put-Down-Ability: 1 I didn't put it down! 

*Source: school library 

Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
Dutton/2010/Young Adult/372 pages

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris—until she meets Étienne St. Claire: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home.

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near-misses end with the French kiss Anna—and readers—have long awaited?

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past year or so, you've probably have seen lots and lots of raving reviews of Stephanie Perkins debut novel, ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS. I know I certainly have. But before all of the reviews started coming in, I was intrigued by the fact that the book takes place in PARIS! As someone who will be in AP French this fall and had this huge obsession with being an exchange student in France not too long ago (sadly my mother ruined those plans), I just had to get my hands on this book.

First off, I have to say that the title of this book is the kind of title that I'm embarrassed to be seen with. I can't help it! But I did enjoy it. It seriously made me smile because like I said, I love the French culture. And I loved that that I could pronounce all of the French names and knew; My French teacher has taught me so well.

Anna--loved that she's a film junkie and that she wants to be a critic, I liked critiquing shows, too! The only thing about that I didn't like is that she kept going on about how her father didn't send her a lot of money like the other parents did but she went to a cinema like everyday and French movie theaters are hella expensive from what my French teacher and business week says. But that's not important, just me being nit-picky. St. Clair was great. I like this relationship. But also, I really enjoyed Anna's friendship with the other students at the school.

From all the reviews I saw, I expected this book to immediately go on my all times favorite list; however, I only just enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on LOLA, which I hopefully I'll like better!

4 stars out of 5

Cover: D. I hate this cover. I don't like how you can see Anna's face but not St. Clair's. But more than that I just think it's so unoriginal.
Favorite Character: St. Clair!
Put-Down-Ability: 4

*Source: public library

Review: Not That Kind of Girl by Siobhan Vivian

Not That Kind of Girl by Siobhan Vivian
Push/2010/Young Adult/322 pages

Natalie Sterling wants to be in control. She wants her friends to be loyal. She wants her classmates to elect her student council president. She wants to find the right guy, not the usual jerk her school has to offer. She wants a good reputation, because she believes that will lead to good things.

But life is messy, and it's very hard to be in control of it. Not when there are freshman girls running around in a pack, trying to get senior guys to sleep with them. Not when your friends have secrets they're no longer comfortable sharing. Not when the boy you once dismissed ends up being the boy you wants to sleep with yourself - but only in secret, with nobody ever finding out.

Slut or saint? Winner or loser? Natalie is getting tired of these forced choices - and is now going to find a way to live life in the sometimes messy, sometimes wonderful in-between.

NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL was amazing. This was my first time reading one of Siobhan Vivian's book and oh my gosh, I could not put this book down. This year has been the most stressful year and when I have the rare few hours that I can spending reading a book, the book had better be a good one for me to get through it.

First things first. I love anything feminism, it's just who I am. Natalie Sterling reminds me of myself.. I mean, both her and I have that feminist thing going on but wow I loved her even though I know for some people she might come off as whiny or too much of an overachiever. Vivian created a very realistic female character, and I'll even say that she is one of the most realistic characters I've seen in a long time.  From the very first chapter, I was hooked. In the first chapter or two, I wasn't sure where it was going. A lot of times when I read–especially when reading young adult–my mind starts guessing on what's going to happen (probably because I've read so many clichés and all). When the first significant guy was introduced, I was worried that he was going to be the love interest and I just thought there was no possible way for me to enjoy that relationship. Luckily, when I found out who the love interest was, I was happy.

I loved Connor. He's on the football team, his family has a local business selling Christmas tress, and Natalie thinks of him as somewhat of a manwhore or at least, a promiscuous guy. Now, I'm wary of most high school football players, but Connor surprised me. I loved how the relationship played out. NOT THAT KIND OF GIRL is wonderful. Can't wait to get my hands on more of Siobhan Viavian's books.

5 stars out of 5


Cover: C+/B- Definitely the type of cover that I'm embarrassed to be seen reading with and definitely the type of cover that I usually hate (guy/girl face to face or kissing) but that is close to what I imagined the characters to look like and yea.
Favorite Character: Natalie. As I'm sure you got from my review.
Put-Down-Ability: 1. The only time I put it down was during swim practice. In fact, I almost didn't go to practice because I stayed up until 2 in the morning reading this book (and that's how good this book is because my practice is at 7am. I had to wake up at 6:30 guys!). :D

*Source: public library

Review: The DUFF by Kody Keplinger

The Duff by Kody Keplinger
Little Brown/2010/Young Adult/288

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 "the Duff," she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren't so great at home right now, and Bianca is desperate for a distraction. She ends up kissing Wesley. Worse, she likes it. Eager for escape, Bianca throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with him.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out 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. And eventually, through this realization, Bianca begins to see how harmful her unhealthy way of dealing with her problems has been, and finds a way to confront them head on.

This was easily my most anticipated book of 2010. From the moment I first read the synopsis, I was intrigued. Not only because the main character and I share the same name but also because I ADORE plots like this. I seriously can not get enough of enemies turned lovers or whatever.


I know that the conservative parents will be shaking their heads at Keplinger's debut novel but if you are looking for an edgy, realistic portrayal of teenagers, you should pick up this book. I had never heard of the term the DUFF before which is: The Designated Ugly Fat Friend. And I'm sure most of us have felt like that at one point in our lives, I know I sure have. 


Wesley (did I mention that I absolutely adore this name?) was great. I loved reading about how Bianca saw him at first and the progression between the two of them. Bianca's sarcasm and pessimistic personality was definitely a bonus to read about. She kind of reminded me of Sarah Dessen's character Remy from This Lullaby (which I love). By the end, I was rooting for them to have a relationship that was more than sex. 


I can't wait to read Kody's next book! 

4.8 stars out of 5

Cover: B-/C+ The cover definitely grew on me. When I first saw it, I thought, "Eh.." but now I feel its a good choice for the book. The girl has the over confident expression, which I think fits Bianca's personality. 
Favorite Character: I'm going to go with Bianca. But I also like Wesley. 
Put-down-ability: Could not put it down at all!! When I was finally able to check the book out from the library, I read this book in one setting. My goodness! I loved this book. 


*Source: public library

Review: Alice in Charge by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Alice in Charge by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor (#22)
Atheneum/2010/Young Adult/314 pages

At last, it's Alice in Charge--of her life, of her future...but, is it too much?

What I love about the Alice series is that even when it is the 22nd book, you can always count on Phyllis Reynolds Naylor to write about something new; they are never monotonous. I have been reading this wonderful, poignant series since I was in the 5th grade. In the few hours that it takes for me to read these books, I am transplanted to Silver Springs, Maryland and get to know Alice, her family and friends. Naylor has talked about suicide, first loves, Leukemia, etc. I didn't know what she would throw at us next.

This book takes place during Alice's first semester of her senior year. Can I just say that this alone almost made me cry. It's hard to believe that Alice is about to graduate and that Naylor is only writing 3 more books after this. In this book, Alice is the feature editor for her school's newspaper and I just love that it is actually a kinda big thing at her school, I love reading about it. There is a new guy at the school from Sudan, which I really enjoyed. And in this book, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, also presented the readers with a group of students at Alice's school that were part of a Neo-Nazi group. Yes, you read that right.

Patrick and Alice. Ahh...One of my favorite couples in fiction. Patrick has certainly changed so much over the years but in a completely good way. I loved reading the scenes between them. They have a long-distance relationship, well, actually it's nothing official but gosh, they are so great together. He graduated early from High School and is studying at the University of Chicago (yay for intellectual people!) and when he went back home to visit Alice....Short, but very sweet scenes!

Overall this wasn't my favorite book in the series, I don't know exactly which one is (I plan on rereading them soon) but its always great to read about Alice's life. Actually, this is the first time, I didn't pick up the book within a month of its release (didn't have the money to buy it and wasn't able to get it from my library until now) but Incredibly Alice is out now, so hopefully I can get that soon!!

Also, I'm sure all of you have heard about Wall Street Journal's ignorant article, I would just like to say that the Alice books continue to be one of the most frequent banned YA books (I think its holds the #2 spot?) but I'll tell you something. These books have changed my life for the better. I think they are so often overlooked but they are wonderful. #yasaves

3.8 stars out of 5

Cover: B- The Alice books have seen many different cover makeovers. But I have to say that the cover really intrigued me. It's rather simple but in YA you don't really see too many people of color on covers, unfortunately, and this is a very nice change!
Favorite Character: Alice. Duh.
Put-Down-Ability: 4/10. Some moments tend to drag on a little bit but overall, I didn't put it down much at all.

*Source: public library

Review: The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han 

Simon & Schuster/May 5, 2009/Young Adult/276 pages

Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer -- they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one wonderful and terrible summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.

THE SUMMER I TURNED PRETTY is a wonderful book to read if you want to feel closer to summer again, like I do. I didn't actually want to read this book because, and I don't know why, but I assumed that it was one of those type of summer books where 1) Girl goes to the beach and then 2) meets hot, charming boy that she never thought she could have but they end up falling in love. It isn't. 

Before I actually picked up this book, I had seen quite a few people reading it and seemed to be enjoying it. I finally got around to checking it out at the library and can see the appeal! The main character, Belly, has always to Cousins every summer since she was born. Belly's mother, Laurel, has been best friend with Susannah her whole life. Susannah has two kids, Jeremiah and Conrad. I knew from the start that she was going to have a relationship with one of them.

This book is amazing. Like I mentioned earlier, I enjoyed the fact that The Summer I Turned Pretty is a summer book that has unexpected depth to it. The scenes with Susannah were emotional…I really enjoyed her character. I liked that she would always do things for Belly, like buy her things when her mom wouldn't. I also enjoyed the flashback scenes. Reading Belly's memories of past summers were a wonderful edition to the book.

I think my favorite thing about this book was how everyone was so close with one another. I liked that Belly had a close relationship with everyone and I really love seeing this in books.

*I read this quite some time ago so I'm a little foggy on some things. Will try to reread it again before I read the last book. 

3.6 stars out of 5

RATING

Writing: 5/5

Originality: 4/5

Characters: 5/5

Voice: 5/5

Ending: 3.5/5

------
Cover: C. The cover is pretty and every and definitely has that summer feel to it but its only okay.
Favorite Character: Belly...Susannah. Wonderful characters.
Put-down-ability: 3. Hard to put down!

*source: public library 

Review: Psych Major Syndrome by Alicia Thompson

Psych Major Syndrome by Alicia Thompson

Hyperion Book CH/2009/Young Adult/336 pages

Using the skills you've learned so far in Introduction to Psychology, please write a brief self-assessment describing how things are going in your freshman year. Presenting Concerns: The Patient, Leigh Nolan (that would be me), has just started her first year at Stiles College. She has decided to major in psychology (even though her parents would rather she study Tarot cards, not Rorschach blots).

I really enjoyed the fact that  PSYCH MAJOR SYNDROME is a Young Adult book where the main character is in college; there needs to be more YA books feature college aged characters. I read the Jessica Darling series by Megan McCafferty, which I found really enjoyable, last year (or was it 2009?) and the main character starts off in high school and in the other books she is in college, but technically I found out that they're considered "adult" and not YA. I definitely think that its a nice change from the usual YA book that takes place in a high school setting. 

I picked up this book because the main character, Leigh Nolan, is a psychology major and that is something that I'm thinking about majoring in college myself. I loved how at the start of each chapter there is a little definition of psychology terms. The start of the book starts off with:

Psych Major Syndrome: A common affliction wherein a psychology major, overwhelmed by conditions, effects, and disorders, begins to overanalyze her own life

Alicia Thompson creates characters that are believable. Leigh goes to a small, liberal arts college. Her boyfriend also goes there. I didn't like him but I did really like Leigh and the other guy. I'm not going to use his name because I feel it would give it away, but once you're reading the book you'll know who it is right away.


This book did have it's downs. At parts it was a bit too slow for me but overall, this book was pretty good. I loved all the psychology references, like the Rotter Incomplete Sentence Blank that Leigh had to fill in for one of her Psych classes. I liked that her parents studied tarot cards and all of that – that they named her Tuesday. I especially enjoyed when Leigh got assigned to go to a middle school and be a mentor for girls. Those scenes were great! 


I hope Alicia Thompson comes out with a new book. I'd love to read something else by her.

3.3 out of 5 Stars.

RATING

Writing: 4/5

Originality: 4/5

Characters: 4/5

Voice: 4/5

Ending: 3/5

------

Favorite character(s): Leigh. 
Cover: D. I like the colors but the girl facial expression makes it looks like she has dazed off and whatnot...

Put-down-ability: 5. This was a pretty fast read! 

*Source: public library. 

Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols

Going Too Far by Jennifer Echols
March 17, 2009/MTV Books/Young Adult/256 pages

Summary
All Meg has ever wanted is to get away. Away from high school. Away from her backwater town. Away from her parents who seem determined to keep her imprisoned in their dead-end lives. But one crazy evening involving a dare and forbidden railroad tracks, she goes way too far... and almost doesn't make it back. 

John made a choice to stay. To enforce the rules. To serve and protect. He has nothing but contempt for what he sees as childish rebellion, and he wants to teach Meg a lesson she won't soon forget. But Meg pushes him to the limit by questioning everything he learned at the police academy. And when he pushes back, demanding to know why she won't be tied down, they will drive each other to the edge - and over...


Review
I've heard so many wonderful things about this book and I really liked this book and all but I'm not giving it as high as a rating as some of the others are giving it.

So, I've been in a reading slump for so damn long and this book did actually help me break out of it! I liked the plot okay, I liked the characters, the writing was really great, but I don't know…It felt like something was missing.

My favorite character was John. I found his character to be quite intriguing in some ways. I liked reading about his obsession with the bridge. Meg and John's relationship was not over the top by any means but I thought it was still really good.

Overall: Jennifer Echols writing is amazing. I read through this book so fast! As soon as my reading pile goes down I will be getting Forget You (and her other books) because I've heard wonderful things about it!

3.5 out of 5 Stars.

RATING

Writing: 5/5

Originality: 4/5

Characters: 4/5

Voice: 5/5

Ending: 5/5

Favorite character(s): John for reasons listed above. Cover: C. I don't really like it. I wish we could see that Meg's hair was blue as described in the book! 

Put-down-ability: 3. I didn't put this book down much at all! 

*Source: public library. 

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart

Hyperion/March 25, 2008/Young Adult/342 pages

Summary

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14:

Debate Club.Her father’s “bunny rabbit.”

A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school. 

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 15:
A knockout figure.
A sharp tongue.
A chip on her shoulder.
And a gorgeous new senior boyfriend: the supremely goofy, word-obsessed Matthew Livingston.

Frankie Laundau-Banks.
No longer the kind of girl to take “no” for an answer.
Especially when “no” means she’s excluded from her boyfriend’s all-male secret society.
Not when her ex boyfriend shows up in the strangest of places.
Smarter than any of them.
When she knows Matthew’s lying to her.
And when there are so many, many pranks to be done.

Frankie Landau-Banks, at age 16:
Possibly a criminal mastermind. 

This is the story of how she got that way.

Review

Feminism, secret societies, and boarding schools are all things that I truly love and The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau - Banks delivers all of this and so much more. I ADORED this book. It is going on my all time favorites list!

Frances "Frankie" Landau-Banks is a wicked good character. Often times, unfortunately, I find myself reading books where the main character (who's a girl) is dependent upon a guy, stays with some douche bag of a guy, and/or who is obsessed with looking the best, etc. Well, I don't know about you but I am damn tired of it. Imagine my surprised when Frankie turns out to be a girl that I would love to be friends with. She definitely reminded me of myself somewhat or at least someone who I would love to be like. There were times when I thought, 'whoa! that's what I would say!' and I've read some reviews of this book where some people hated it because it had a feminist mindset and well, maybe it's because I'm a feminist myself, but I loved that Frankie is this kind of person! 

The characters! Oh goodness. I really enjoyed them. *

• Zada - Frankie's older sister who graduated from HS the previous year and although she is only appears a few times in the book, I definitely enjoyed reading about her. 

• Matthew - His inner copy editor self is just awesome. 

• Alessandro "Alpha" Tessorieri - I don't know what to say about this Alpha. I really enjoyed this character. I like how we first meet him and yeah..

• Porter - Jeez. I really can't figure out who this character reminds me of and it's driving me insane! 

* I realize those was horrible descriptions. 

I really liked the guys in this book. Their loyalty and personalities impressed me and yet they....I don't even know how to explain it. Just read the book. 

Other little things I liked about TDHOFLB: The chapters were short. The way Frankie would make up words, kind of. 

On to the secret society part. In order to not give anything away, I will do my best to keep this vague... Oh, how I love secrets and societies. Secret societies are awesome. I really enjoyed reading about all the secret meetings and everything and what Frankie does. 

Had it not been 5 AM and had I not been so sleep deprived, I think I might've reread it. Something that I don't think I EVER done. In fact it's been a couple of weeks since I read it and I still keep looking at it and picking it up and rereading parts over because I loved it so much!

I'll admit there were one or two things that I didn't like about it.  The ending was okay–good. I guess it's more of a personal thing for me.. 

 /SPOILER/*****My heart ached for the guys after Frankie tells what she did and the book and all the society's history and pranks is discovered by the headmaster.  Because I am in somewhat of a secret group thing (I'm not going to say society but it has been around since the 1960s) with my school's theatre club and if our secret or whatever it is that we do got out or something I would seriously cry. And yeah, I know a lot of people who think its stupid but to me it's has been one of the best experiences with high school. But yeah, that's pretty much that only thing that I didn't like. The book being exposed like that.******/END/  

Also, the book is in 3rd person omniscient which, I have not read in an extremely long time and I definitely need to start reading more of. 

Overall: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks is an enthralling and addictive  read that is so hard to put down. Everyone needs to read this book at least twice! 


(This long space is annoying the hell out of me. I can't fix it. UGH!)

RATING

Writing: 5/5

Originality: 5/5

Characters: 5/5

Voice: 5/5

Ending: 3.5/5

Overall: 5 stars!! 

Favorite character(s): Frankie, naturally. And you know, I'll have to say Alpha, too. 

Cover: A! Love the colors, the fonts, and I love the fact that it goes with the story. The dog is awesome. I hate the paperback version!!

Put-down-ability: 1 - Very hard to put down! I read the first 30 pages in the car or somewhere but when I finally sat down and read it, I could not put it down at all! I was up until nearly 5 AM finishing this book! 

*Source:  public library. Must buy my own copy ASAP! And even though, I prefer paperback over hardcover, I need the cover on the HC! 

Unexpected Development by Marlene Perez

Unexpected Development by Marlene Perez Roaring Brook Press/September 2, 2004/Young Adult/176 pages

"I'm not sure you really want to get into what I did this summer, Mrs. Westland. Sex. Sex is how I spent my summer vacation." Megan knows twenty different words for "breasts," and can recite them alphabetically-but she can't remember the last time a guy looked her in the eye first, not the chest. Size matters, as Megan found out in the 5th grade, when she developed the largest breasts in the class. Now she's 17 and wearing her twin brothers' baggy sweatshirts can't hide the fact-two facts, really. When her summer job at Pancake Palace puts her in close touch with Jake, who smells like "temptation and Ivory soap," Megan wonders if he can like her for herself, not just her body. Can lusty, busty Megan learn to trust Jake -and herself? Megan tells about her summer of sex in somewhat poignant and very funny journal entries to her favorite teacher

From the beginning we find out that Megan's teacher has asked her class to do the assignment, 'how did you spend your summer vacation?' and, I don't know about you but, I don't think I would ever be comfortable enough to write what she did to her teacher. And I'm pretty close with quite a few of my teachers. What really caught my attention about this book was that the main character, Megan, has big breasts and she is very self-conscious about it t0 the point where she wants to get a breast reduction. I thought that the book was good overall but was lacking in a couple of parts. I think that the book kind of ended suddenly and that there could've been more, especially with Megan and Jake's relationship at the end of the book. I would like to say that Marlene Perez does an amazing jobs with subjects such as sexual harassment, body issues, and other sexual issues. I could definitely relate to Megan and would recommend this book for anyone who wants to read a book dealing with these things. * And this is really, really weird but as I was reading the book I kept feeling that Megan didn't sound like a Megan. Has this ever happened to anyone? Or is this just me. Haha.

RATING

Writing: 4/5

Originality: 4/5

Characters: 3.5/5

Voice: 4/5

Ending: 3/5

Overall: 3 stars

Favorite character(s): I didn't really have a favorite character but I'll say Megan because I could relate to her a lot. Cover: C+ Uhh. Well. The cover is definitely out there. I mean, look at where the author's name is placed. Haha. This is one of those covers that I wouldn't want to be seen with because of it's revealing nature (and I get embarrassed easily) but its also one of those covers that I'd be intrigued by and want to pick up!

Put-down-ability: 3. This book is less than 200 pages, so it's a really fast read.

*Source: public library.

Push by Sapphire

Push by Sapphire Knopf/June 11, 1996/Adult/179 pages Summary Claireece Precious Jones endures unimaginable hardships in her young life. Abused by her mother, raped by her father, she grows up poor, angry, illiterate, fat, unloved and generally unnoticed. So what better way to learn about her than through her own, halting dialect. That is the device deployed in the first novel by poet and singer Sapphire. "Sometimes I wish I was not alive," Precious says. "But I don't know how to die. Ain' no plug to pull out. 'N no matter how bad I feel my heart don't stop beating and my eyes open in the morning." An intense story of adversity and the mechanisms to cope with it. Review I saw the movie earlier this year (known as Precious) and you know, I always hate how movies don't exactly stay true to the book but, because of the many graphic and terrible parts, for once I am glad that this is the case for PUSH ! Goodness, right from the beginning the book is incredibly raw and intense.

The book is about Precious, who is an obese and illiterate 16 year old living in Harlem. I have to say, Sapphire really gets into the voice of Precious. Sometimes it is hard to read because the book is written in 1st POV and since Precious can not read or write, she writes words like 'father' as 'fahver.'

My heart went out to Precious, it truly did. Getting rape by her father and having kids by him (one with Down Syndrome,) being held back in school, disease, abused by her mother, etc. SO MUCH. I applaud Sapphire for writing this book. Some people might not believe that these things happen but, they do.

From seeing the movie, I pretty much knew a lot of what was going to happen but there was something that I was surprised about. Throughout the book Precious talks about Louis Farrakhan, who is the Head of the Nation of Islam. The book takes place in the 80's and I know that Farrakhan was living in Harlem at that time (I think) but there are quite a few references to him. I'm not sure if the character is supposed to be of the Islam faith. She also names her son Abdul so, maybe. Not a big deal or anything, I just wasn't expecting that.

Overall: Like the movie, I thought that book was an eye opener and great but it's too emotionally horrible for me to read more than once!

Overall Rating: 4 stars(I'

(I'm not following my usual rating system because I find this book difficult to rate but, I will say that the voice gets a 5!)not going to do my usual rating because I find it really hard to rate this book. Although, I have to give the voice a 5!) Cover: B. I like the simplicity of it. I have no idea what I would put on it if someone wanted an image instead of just text on the cover. PS. My father wanted to read this book after I finished but now that I read it, I feel that it will be wicked awkward if I give it to him to read so I'm just going to return it to the library...