Saturday, January 16, 2010

Taking a Vacation!

I just wanted to let you guys that Im taking a break from blogging from January 17-27 for midterms. I'll be back soon with new reviews!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Beautiful by: Amy Reed

Beautiful by: Amy Reed

Published:October 6,2009 by Simon Pulse
Summary: When thirteen-year-old Cassie moves to a suburb of Seattle,she is determined to leave her boring,good-girl existence behind. She chooses some dangerous new friends and is quickly caught up in the fast-paced world of drugs,sex,secrets,and cruelty.
Cassie's new existence both thrills and terrifies her. She embraces the numbness she feels from the drugs,sleeping with an older boy,and gets pulled into a twisted friendship triangle that is tinged with violence and abuse. Cassie is trapped in a swift downward spiral,and there's no turning back.
Review: Beautiful was a great novel that reminded me of Go Ask Alice.
The book starts off with seventh grader Cassie moving to a new town and meeting an older girl,Alex. Alex does drugs and soon drags Cassie into her world. Soon Cassie finds herself addicted to prescription drugs and an older boyfriend. But as much as she wants to,she cant escape.
Beautiful was great. The characters felt very real and the book itself felt very real. The author went into great details on her drug addiction and her other problems. I liked the ending too. I never saw it coming and I also liked how it ended on a happy note.
What I didn't like about Beautiful was that Cassie,the main character,was such a pushover. Alex,her "best friend", was a mean,drug addicted whore. End of story. She would treat Cassie like crap and Cassie would just take it. I was waiting for her to stick up for herself! I also didn't like how old Cassie was. I thought 7th grade was too young,maybe if she was in 9th I would have liked it more.
Overall: A near perfect novel
4.5 stars

Friday, January 8, 2010

Fever 1793

Fever 1793 by: Laurie Halse Anderson

Released: March 1,2002 by:Aladdin

Summary: During the summer of 1793,Mattie Cook lives above the family coffee shop with her widowed mother and father. Mattie spends her days avoiding chores and making plans to make the family business into the finest Philadelphia has ever seen. But then the fever breaks out.

Disease sweeps the streets,destroying everything in its path,and turning Mattie's world upside down. At her feverish mother's insistence,Mattie flees the city with her grandfather. But she soon discovers that the sickness is everywhere,and Mattie must learn quickly how to survive in a city turned frantic with disease.

Review: Fever 1793 was my first book by Laurie Halse Anderson and now I know that it certainly isn't my last.

Fever 1793 tells the story about Matilda "Mattie" Cook living in Philadelphia in 1793. Now if you know anything about history,you would know that Yellow Fever swept through Philly in 1793 killing tenth of its population. The books starts with Mattie's servant,Polly,dieing mysteriously. Soon rumors spread of a fever near where Polly lives,and soon Mattie's mother gets it. Her mother wants her out of the house so she wont catch it. So Mattie's other servant,Eliza,has Mattie and her grandfather in a wagon to Ludington.But they get kicked out when the people in the wagon think grandfather has the Fever. Stranded in the middle of nowhere Maddie must provide for both her and her Grandfather.

I'm not that big of a fan of historical fiction so I was a little hesitant to read this. But it turned out to be great! Mattie was a great character. She was easily likable and was a bit of a tomboy.

My only problem with this book was toward the middle it got slow. It was like OK, I know this is happening,can we PLEASE move along? But,the rest of the book was great.

Overall: Loved it. Can't wait to read Laurie's other books.

4 stars

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Books read in 2010

1. Fever 1793 by: Laurie Halse Anderson
2.Beautiful by:Amy Reed
3. All Night Long by: Francine Pascal
4. Smile by: Raina Telegemeir
5. Top 8 by: Katie Finn
6. Audrey,Wait! by: Robin Benway
7. Rules by: Cynthia Lord
8. Shiver by: Maggie Stiefvater
9. I Wanna Be Your Joey Ramone by: Stephanie Kuenhart
10. These Boots Are Made For Stalking by: Lisi Harrison
11. Dangerous Love by: Francine Pascal
12. The Lonely Hearts Club by: Elizabeth Eulberg
13. Wicked by: Sara Shepard
14. The Little Prince by: Antoine De Saint Exulpery
15. Going Too Far by: Jennifer Echols
16.Airhead By: Meg Cabot
17. Carlos Is Gonna Get It by: Kevin Emerson
18. The Last Song by: Nicholas Sparks
19. Heartless by: Sara Shepard
20. Wicked by: Sara Shepard
21. Wanted by: Sara Shepard
22. Bite Me! by: Melissa Francis
23. The Killer's Cousin by: Nancy Werlin
24. Tears of a Tiger by: Sharon M. Draper
25. Along for the Ride by: Sarah Dessen
26. Jumping off Swings by: Jo Knowles
27. Paul is Undead by: Alan Goldscher
28. Some Girls Are by: Courtney Summer
29. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by: Ann Brashares (re-read)
30. Legacy by: Kate Brian
31. The Second Summer of the Sisterhood by: Ann Brashares
32. Movers & Fakers by: Lisi Harrison
33. Jennifer's Body by: Audrey Nixon
34. Notes from a Totally Lame Vampire by: Tim Collins
35. The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet by: Erin Dionne
36. Bad Girls Don't Die by: Katie Alender
37. Give Up the Ghost by: Megan Crewe
38. My Life in Pink and Green by: Lisa Greenwald
39. What's Your Status? by: Katie Finn
40. My Little Phony by: Lisi Harrison
41. Love Sucks! by: Melissa Francis
42. The Outsiders by: S.E. Hinton (re-read)
43. Belle of the Brawl by: Lisi Harrison
44. That was Then,This is Now by: S.E. Hinton
45. The DUFF by: Kody Keplinger
46. Don't Stop Belivin: The Unoffical Guide To Glee