Matched by Allie Condie

If you have read a book called "The Giver", you need to read this book!  You need to read it regardless!! It's a modern version of The Giver with a love story thrown in.  It takes place in a future where everything is about statistics and probability.  Everyone's life is practically planned and mapped out for them.  Who they will marry and when, where they will live, what their job will be, even what day and hour they'll die.  When the main character actually falls in love with someone who is not her match, things begin to get hairy.  The government does not approve.  They do everything in their power to make people forget and punish those who have gone against the grain.  This book was super good and it reminds you how beautiful free choice and free will is.  Look for Crossed, the sequel to Matched to come out soon.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

This award winning book should be mandatory curriculum in schools!!  Every mom/daughter should read this book, every teenage boy, dad, everyone should read this book.  Melinda goes through high school being the outsider and a freak because she called the cops during a party.  She didn't speak all throughout high school, her grades slipped, she was a social outcast.  Her silence was the loudest cry for help.  This is a story about a young teenage girl that was raped.  You follow Melinda through her trauma.  It makes you realize the emotional turmoil that someone goes through because of one person making a stupid decision. Its a fact that most girls that are raped are teenagers and most of them don't speak up right away.  They think it's their fault and they're afraid that no one will believe them.  Guys should read this book to see what trauma rape really causes in young women, any woman.  It doesn't go into any details, but it gets the point across.  Please read this book, you won't regret it.

The House Of Dead Maids by Clare B. Dunkle

This book was VERY bizzar-o. It was a little scary but not something that kept me on edge.  It was about a girl from an orphanage who gets chosen to be a maid.  She soon finds out that the manor where she is newly employed is haunted by spirits and there is something satanic about the manor, the land, and the village near by.  SUPER bizzare, like I said.  It's a short read, so it shouldn't take too long. I was kinda just wanting to get it read towards the end though. I think it would be more scary to a younger audience but it would be a little difficult for them to read and understand too.  This was a hard one to rate.  I'll let you decide for yourselves!

Loooooooong time.....

Well, I've gotten the so many books part right and the So little time more right!!!!!!  I've been reading all year, but have totally not blogged about one book! SOOOOO, I will be attempting to remember all the books I've recently read and update my blog.  My school year has been  CRAZY busy!!  Just an FYI, my little kindergartener graduated and will be in the first grade next year.  It was the cutest thing EVER!! So my 2 yr. old and 6 yr. old have taken up quite a lot of my time=)  But I'm excited to start blogging on all the great books I've been reading! 

Happy Reading Book Nerds!

Life As We Knew It by Susan Pfeffer

Sorry for such a small picture, it was kinda hard to find if you'd believe that!  This book was eerily good.  It was eery because it was something that could actually happen.  It makes you think "what if".  The book starts with the news that an asteroid is expected to hit the moon and it will be big enough to see.  So EVERYONE is out watching that night since it's a once in a lifetime event.  But what the scientists anticipated doesn't actually happen.  It's much, much worse than they predicted.  The impact from the asteroid is so big that it actually moves the moon closer to the earth on impact.  That sends people into panic mode immediately.  Of course you have your "it's fine, nothings wrong" people and you have your "it's the end of the world" people.  Overnight there were massive tsunamis and tidal waves all over the world.  Some areas along coasts are completely wiped out in an instant.  "Death lists" have already been started on the internet.  The next day the bus to school was only half filled, along with the classroom.  While at school a complete severe freak storm happens.  The wind sounds like there's tornados and there's severe lightning like no one has ever seen.  The students at school have been moved into the hallways and stay there throughout the day because of the storm.  The story then goes on to tell about how the economy starts to fall apart, electricity is no more, gas runs out along with fuel.  The grocery stores have massive riots and people are fighting.  They are so overwhelmed that they just start charging $100 by the cartfull.  The family is sent in two at a time with cash to fill as many baskets with canned goods, medicine and anything else they can grab.  The journal entries day by day start to get worse and worse and more scary.  Volcanoes that never existed have started to erupt all over the world and is covering the world with ash so there's no sunlight.  Crops and animals are dieing off if they weren't already eaten.  It turns into a story of survival.  The family grows stronger from what they've been through.  Neighbors don't talk anymore because no one wants anyone to know what they have inside their house.   A massive flu epidemic breaks out and kills half of the remaining people.  It is scary and sad, but I really really liked this book because I just kept having to read to find out what happened next.  There is another book like this but the journal is from someone in new york.  I definitely plan on reading it.  Would recommend it to anyone who can take it!  VERY good.  I really liked the journal format also, it made reading even easier, because once you start you'll want to finish it!

North Of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley

This book took me a little longer to read than most.  It's a pretty good sized book, but it was a feel good book.  Perfect for a girl in Junior High level reading.  It's about a girl who's life has been pretty rough.  Her dad was shamed in his profession and has moved the family to a remote place.  He's turned very abusive to everyone in the family but mostly towards the mother.  It's pretty much all verbal and emotional abuse, but they're just waiting for that one argument that would escalate into physical abuse.  The daughter has a severe birth mark on her face, which promotes her father to downgrade her and tell her that she'll never be beautiful and that it's a waste of money for the laser surgeries and clinical trials in order to try and heal her face.  Mother is eating to feel better and both boys have moved as far away from home as possible, one going to college and the other a career in Japan.  This story is very heartfelt and moving.  It is mainly about the daughter finding her way in life and finding herself.  Figuring out that she doesn't have to hide behind a mask of make up or a pretty friend or her art.  She ends up meeting a boy with a facial scar that was from a birth defect and he completely changes her life.  He makes her realize that she really is beautiful just the way she is and that she shouldn't hide from the world. She should dive into it headfirst and leave any negativity behind.  The family finally takes a stand against their father and husband in the end but the story still leaves you wondering what will happen next,  but in a good way.  Two thumbs up, I would strongly suggest reading it for any girl trying to find herself or confused about what to do next in life.  This isn't my favorite genre to read, but it was still very enjoyable.

HOLY COW

Ok, super sorry that it's been 2 frickin' months!  Life has gotten crazy, but I have managed to keep reading just not as much as I wish I could.  I'll start trying to add the books I've read.  Super sorry, I've had some people asking if I haven't been reading since I haven't posted.  YES, I'm always reading just haven't had the time to post!  I'll get right on that!

Eternal by Cynthia Smith

This book started out AWESOME.  It hooked me from the get go.  It's about a guardian angel who falls in love with his girl and ends up making sure she doesn't die.  Michael the archangel ends up stripping him of his wings and powers.  Everything except his immortality.  In the mean time, while he thought he was saving her, he totally altered things.  She ends up being taken by the head vampire, a long decendant of Dracul, and is turned into his vampire princess.  It's all about her still being in touch with her soul and her guardian angel ends up finding her while on a mission he has to complete in order to be back in the good graces of the big boss upstairs.  I finished it within 4 days, so it wasn't too long. I didn't really like the ending of the book though, it ended way to quickly.  This book is a pretty dark book, but I really enjoyed it because it was a "vampire" story I haven't heard before since it included angels, which was a twist.  I would recommend it and although I didn't like the ending I would still like to read more books by Cynthia.  Jr. High age is questionable for the starting age to read this book.  Like I said, it's pretty dark.  There's nothing really sexual, but the vampire's diet gets a little gory every now and then.  I have a weak stomach, but I got through it just fine.  Happy Reading!

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

This book was SUPER long.  I saw the cover and was instantly drawn in.  It has almost 500 pages I think I recall & it literally took me half of the book to get into it.  It was so boring at the beginning.  I like the two main characters, Ethan and Lena though.  The plot of the book is pretty simple and could've been told in less pages!  Lena is a caster, kinda like a witch, but her family has a long lineage of being casters.  When you are a caster, when you turn sixteen you are "claimed" by the dark or light.  In other words, you become a good caster or an evil caster.  You have absolutely no choice in the decision what so ever.  What happens is Lena comes to town, Ethan finds her which weirdly enough he has been seing her in his dreams.  They are instantly drawn to eachother.  Lena's sixteenth birthday is drawing near and she's scared of being claimed by darkness.  Her and Ethan find out that they have a history and Lenas family was cursed so that all girls will be claimed by darkness on their sixteenth birthday for sixteen years.  Lena is the last one, so she has a a decision to make.  If she chooses light, everyone in her family who is dark will die.  If she chooses darkness everyone in her family who is light will die.  Once it got to the middle of the book where it picked up, the story got pretty good.  In the end, something weird happened that's never happened before.   But all her family who was dark dissappeared even though Lena didn't actually choose Light or Dark.  The second book which is called Beautiful Darkness is already on store shelves.  I'll probably be waiting until the summer to read it though.  It is the same length as this one and I just don't want to waste my time reading such a long book if its going to be boring in the beginning again!  But I will definitely read it, just after I've read a lot of other  books that I have on my to read list.  =)  Happy Reading!

The Divine Series by P.C. Cast

HOLY HELL!!!!  I absolutely was entranced with these books.  This was a series that I read all 4 books within a week.  Now, with working at a school with a 5 year old in kindergarten and a 16 month old, thats saying a lot!!!  This series has also had me looking for any other book by P.C. Cast.  I had already read her House of Night series and that was pretty good. But this was even better.  It is pure fantasy romance with some adventure mixed in.  This is also a book though that if I started to tell you completely what it is about, you'll think I'm a nut and a freak.  So I'll try and do my best without sounding like that!  Shannon Parker is a single high school english teacher in her 30s who lives near Tulsa Oklahoma.  She decides to go out in the middle of nowhere to an estate sale to look for some treasures that she likes to collect for her home and her classroom.  Thats where she finds an ancient looking urn that has a picture of the Goddess of Equine on it(Goddess of Horses) that looks EXACTLY like her.  The picture if has an exact scar that mirrors her own.  She's oddly drawn to the urn and she can't explain why.  Well, mysteriously it ends up in her posession and she is on her way home when a horrible storm hits, she has a bad accident and she blacks out.  When she comes to, she's in the world of Parthalon, a world that mysteriously has mirror images of people that she knew from back home in Oklahoma.  She is switched with her mirror image, Rhiannon, who is that Goddess incarnate of Epona.  Apparently she was known as a raging bitch in Parthalon who slept with anyone that well, you know....Shannon instantly meets a mirror image of her best friend who in Parthalon is her maidservant Alanna.  She quickly finds out that Rhiannon was fleeing her handfasting ceremony to the centaur Shaman Clanfinton and a Fomorian invasion. (The fomorians where horrible creatures reminiscent of vampires with wings).  But she ends up falling in love with Clanfinton and completely changing Parthalon.  I've already typed too much, but you get the beginning drift.  My favorite book was the first one, Divine by mistake.  It was GREAT.  The following two were ok, but nowhere near the first.  Then the prequel was also up there with the first one, but it was WAY short.  I wished it could've gone on.  But needless to say I would DEFINTELY read this series if you like fantasy and romance.  BEST series I've read since The Immortal Instrument Series or the Hunger Games!!!!  Reader be aware, these are more for adults.....   very happy reading on this series!!

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

There was such a big build up to this book!!! I absolutely could not wait to get this book in my hands to read.  Immediately I got back into the characters.  I could not contain myself!!!  Unfortunately as a whole I did not like it!! I know! I'm so upset!!!!  The Hunger Games & Catching Fire were such great books.  The story line was awesome and the love triangle was suspensful, you just never could guess what was going to happen.  Mockingjay is such a dark and ugly book compared to the first 2.  Katniss takes a downward spiral from the very beginning and she just keeps getting worse!  I didn't like what happened with Peeta or Gale.  They totally made Gale to be the bad guy.(I won't go into any details).  It felt like she was rushed in writing it once it got to the end.   The whole book is a war book, there's no arena or actual "games" but there is plenty of fighting in Mockingjay.  There's a lot of new characters introduced also that gets a little hard to keep up with.  I absolutely loved this series, but sorry to say Mockingjay was a downgrade compared to the first 2 in the series.  I would still suggest you read it, which usually I don't do.  But personally I was very dissapointed.  =(

The Shifter by Janice Hardy

This book was kind of bizarre.  It almost just threw me into it too much to where I didn't know what was going on.  It has an arabian feel to it, although I'm not sure if that is where it actually takes place.  In this story there are people, usually small children, that are called healers.  When someone has a bad injury, they can go to a healer and the healer will place their hands on them, draw out the pain into themselves, then the healer must put it into a type of rock called Pynvium that holds all the pain. The main character, Nya, has a rare gift in that she "shifts".  By shifting I mean that she can take pain from people, then shift it into another object or person, which is very rare and unusual.  In their city which is plagued by war, the healers are going missing.  Nya's sister Tali, which is one of the healers to go missing, sends Nya on the trail to find out what is really going on.  She finds that the cities pynvium has run out and the healers are being filled with pain to not be able to release it.  If she doesn't find her sister and help her in time, she will die from the pain she drew from others.  That is the main goings on of the book.  There are other mysteries and twists thrown in to keep the story going.  I can't put my finger on why I didn't really enjoy the book, but I think it just wasn't as exciting as other books I've read.  I think this is the first book in a series, so maybe the second book will get better.  I hope someone else reads it and loves it though, it just didn't do it for me.

Violet Wings by Victoria Hanley

This is a book I would love to see portrayed in a movie.  Definitely a book for girls though.  All girls love fairies.  I had never read a book specifically about just fairies so this was a treat.  Victoria painted this beautiful world where fairies come from and how they relate to humans.  It was such a great story.  Zaria is the main character who mysteriously becomes an orphan after her family goes missing.  No one knows anything about what happened to them.  At the age of 14, when fairies become of age and get their wands, level, and their watch, things start to change pretty quickly in her life. She starts breaking some Fey laws and things start unraveling even more when she finds out she is a Violet fairy, something that is unheard of.  You'll follow Zaria on her journey to out one of the high councilors evil goings on, her unlawful visits to earth, and your heart will break as she tries to cope with growing into an adult fairy without having her family there to support her.  She just might get a hint in the end that her family is still alive & there will have to be another book, but you'll just have to read the story to find out for sure!! Two thumbs up on this book, it was a great fantasy I would recommend to young girls.  But I must say that I did enjoy it too & will be hoping there will be another book to come soon. 

Happy Reading!

Whispering to Witches by Anna Dale

This book was absolutely adorable, if a book can be considered adorable.=)  It was a great kids book that an adult could read and it not be too childish.  The storyline was great and the writing structure was easy to follow.  In the story you'll follow a young boy named Joe.  His father has to go away over christmas break to take care of an ill family member, so Joe has to spend Christmas with his mom and stepdad and sister, Esme.  While with his mom he finds a friend, Twiggy, and comes to realize that she's actually a witch and she's part of a coven!  Joe also learns that there are covens all ove the world but they are slowly dissappearing.  The witching world is fascinating to Joe.  Anna describes this world as you've never heard it before.  It was absolutely wonderful to read.  Throughout the book Twiggy & Joe embark to solve the mysteries that seem to just start popping up.  Although they are on their own since no one in Twiggy's coven will believe her, they save the day in the end.  It is such a great book that you can easily get caught up in and read pretty quickly if you have the time for it.  I would definitely recommend this book to anyone.  Very magical and captivating.  Happy Reading!

Well Witched by Frances Hardinge

This book was weird, but in a good way.  It was a little confusing in the beginning but once I got to know the characters and what was really going on, I really enjoyed it.  Gotta be honest, not my favorite but it was a decent read.  It resembled the movie The Ring a lot, but in a kid friendly version of course.  There's an old well in a rundown town that 3 children have to steal coins out of in order to get home.  In doing so it totally changes their lives in that they all get different powers that help them to grant peoples wishes.  One has eyes that grow on his knuckles, one can control electricity (kindof) and the other can read peoples thoughts and uncontrollably says them out loud!  They have to figure out what the heck is happening to them and it turns out there's a well spirit that lives in the well and was angry when they took her coins.  So they're stuck granting peoples wishes until one wish is for blood and revenge.  Two of the kiddos say thats it they don't want to do it anymore while the other is kind of going to the dark side.  The story is very good.  Sometimes it got a bit boring because there was so much descriptive writing that I don't think was needed.  I would recommend it for maybe sixth grade and up for a kid, I don't really think a fifth grader would understand what was going on since it gets confusing at times.  On to the next!

COMING SOON to a bookstore near you! LOL

Hey guys! There are going to be so many good books coming out starting in august and running through next year it'll be crazy!!!  So I thought I'd give you some dates, just so you have them!

MockingJay, the third installment for the Hunger Games series will be the first book out that I can't wait to read! It's realease date is:  August 24th 2010

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare is next on the list.  It will be the fourth installment in the Immortal Instrument series.  It's not going to follow the same pattern as the first three books, but will explain some new characters that you will meet in the next installment after this one.  Cassandra has said that you should definitely read Clockwork Angel to better understand her next book that will finish the "City of..." books.  Can't wait!!!  Also, I've posted a good book trailer for this series so check it out under the BOOK TRAILERS link!

AFTERLIFE by Claudia Gray has not released a cover yet for her fourth installment of the evernight series.  Definitely can't wait for this one either.  I couldn't find a definite date on her website, but found a rumored date to be March 2011.  Hopefully it will be sooner than that!

I haven't blogged about a series called Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber yet because I have read them all already before I started this blog.  This is an absolute great little series to read if you like reading any type of vampire books.  Each book is a real quick read, like you could read them in half a day if you had nothing to do.  Right now there are 7 books total and I'm kind of hoping for an 8th.  The story is left open, so my guess is that Ellen will definitely do maybe one or two more to round the series out.  But that's my hope though=)  On her website I found that she is starting a new series about a hot herioc werewolf though!!!  SUPER excited.  I was kind of confused on the date, I wasn't sure if this was the release date or the date that the book cover will be released.  The date on her website was January 2011.  You should definitely check out her website, she has very good explanations of her books and especially her new series that will be coming out.  I will be watching her site in the future to see if my wish is granted for an 8th book!!

As always, happy reading!!

The Roar by Emma Clayton

This was such a great science fiction "feel good" book.  It's going to be a little difficult explaining it so bare with me and you can always just email me and ask me questions if you're confused.  The base of the story is that its set in a future where there was an "animal plague" and all the animals pretty much went nuts and started killing people.  So in order to save the human race there were concrete walls built around the city, which takes place in London, and animals were killed and all plant life was killed.  So eventually there became the problem of overcrowding and new communities were starting to be built up since there was nowhere to built out.  It eventually was situated so the The Shadows was were all the poor people lived which were fold up apartments with pretty much no light because the new london where the rich people lived were on top of them.  The Shadows were horrible living conditions.  Moldy and slimy, people dieing from the mold.  They ate imitation meat and pretty much imitation everything since there were no plants or animals left.  Also, because of the plague, the government didn't let the anyone have kids for 30 years!!! So the youngest adult was around 43 when they could start having kids again!  But this arcade game comes along that the government turns into a contest.  They want to help the kids supposedly be as strong and fit as they can be since they're not eating real meat and vegetables and fruit.  So they give them a drink that they make them drink everyday which starts to make them grow at an accelerated rate.  In being the first generation since the plague, some of the kids are being born with "deffects".  Mika has webbed feet, Audrey has borg eyes(fake eyes), Ruben can read peoples emotions, Leo has a tail...just a lot of different stuff.  Eventually the government starts to find the "special" kids in the contest and the stakes get higher.  The kids are pretty much bribed into the game with extravagant gifts that are really for their parents to give them a bette life.  I'm not gonna give too much away, I could write a couple pages worth about this book.  It was awesome!

Usually once I start a book I can kind of get a sense of where it's going.  The Roar was full of suprises and it always left me guessing or wondering what was going to happen next.  There are so many stories within this story that make it so interesting.  It is a longer book being at almost 500 pages, but PLEASE don't let that scare you!! It is an awesome read, AND there is going to be another one!  I'm going to have to check on the dates and let you know.  But this book really is a great one.  It has a good theme of hope over adversity and overcoming situations that would normally be easy to give up on.  I especially loved the relationship of the twins, Mika & Ellie, thorughout the entire book.  Neither one gave up on eachother and would not stop until they would find eachother.  Shows how great a sibling relationship can be!!!  Strongly suggest this a good summer read!  Hope you enjoy!

Blog In Progress!!!

I haven't forgotten or stopped blogging my books! I promise! Right nowI'm almost done with The Roar by Emma Clayton. Its a bigger book thats been trying to read while fixing up the house & playing with a 5 year old and a one year old! Or at least just trying to keep them occupied this summer!  I am enjoying the book though.  Its not like I haven't been reading or hit a road block in reading a bad book.  This is a major science fiction book, so you're in for a treat if thats your favorite genre! I'll blog soon!

TEST by William Sleator

1. If you're looking for a pure fiction story, this one isn't neccessarily the right choice for you!  It is a good book that hits close to home if you are a kid or a parent.  It gets pretty deep into a problem we have now with the educational system and it gets deep in politics.  Our main characters consist of "Lep", who is from Thailand and is considered the lowest of the low where social ranking go.  He doesn't speak English very well and couldn't pass the EXCAS test but is actually very smart.  Ann who truly finds herself throughout the book finds herself having to make some hard and risky decisions involving good over evil.  The book is set in the future, the air is so polluted you have to wear a mask to go outside, the traffic is so bad that it literally would take an hour to go 3 blocks. In this future all that matters is money and social ranking.  And the test that decides everyones life is the EXCAS test.  Even if you have straight A's if you fail the all important EXCAS test, you won't graduate, you won't get a good job & you'll pretty much be scrounging for food and to make a decent living for the rest of your life.  Everything that EXCAS says it is, it's really not.  The teachers and principals are so stressed about that test because it determines their very salary and job status.  Sound familiar yet? If a school doesn't make good scores then their funding is cut off.  If they do well, then there are pay increases.  But this EXCAS test becomes SO important that teachers don't teach anymore.  They're so worried and stressed about scores that all they do in class is practice paragraphs and questions pertaining to the test.  Ann and Lep are total strangers until Anns dad brings them together by accident and they end up starting a protest against the test.  Of course there's more to the story than just that.  Lep is constantly in danger of being sent back to the juvenile detention center and Ann gets herself into a situation that might get her killed.  Everything turns out well in the end though because Ann and Lep, along with others, start a protest against the EXCAS and lets the world know the criminality that is really behind the test.  Like I said, if you're a kid or a parent, you are familiar with the TAKS, which before it was called that it was called the TASP.  These tests in school have gotten so out of hand that William Sleator might have written a prophecy of what is to come!  Yes, there does need to be tests in order to track the progress of what kids are learning and how well they are learning.  But it should not get to the point of where kids cannot graduate unless they pass it, even if they are passing their classes.  Every kid has his or her own learning styles and some are just horrible test takers.  Its already gotten to the point that some teachers are losing their jobs because kids are not passing.  Look at HISD!! Its pretty scary at how close to home this book hit.  It's not a very lighthearted story, FYI, but it has plenty of adventure and mystery and it is certainly intriguing.  It is also a quick read so I would definitely say its a good read!  Happy Reading! 

The Hanging Hill by Chris Grabenstein

This book was so great!  It was so easy to read, held my interest from beginning to end, and left me wanting more.  Really good book for all ages.  The only advice I would give is to read the book that comes before.  I didn't know there was one until I was already reading and of course by then I couldn't just put it down.  Now, I got through the book understanding it ok even without reading the first one, Crossroads.  His books are so easy to read in that the chapters  are real short.  Some don't even fill a page while others are maybe 4 pages long.  In the book you'll follow Zach, who can see ghosts by the way, to a haunted theatre called the Hanging Hill Playhouse.  The theatre has a very long and tragic filled history with it being on cursed land and all!  There's an evil Necromancer(one who can ressurect demons), Grimes who is also the director, who wants to pretty much unleash hell to do his bidding on earth.  It is up to Zach to save his two new friends from becoming the live sacrifices and to save the world from having demons unleashed and pandemonium to ensue.  Zach also comes across other obstacles along his path, but I think some of them were better explained in Crossroads.  I will definitely be looking to read Crossroads and put Chris on my "good authors litst."  The Hanging Hill is highly recommended to anyone.  Happy Reading! 

Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner

This was such an intense book.  It took me literally two days to read.  From the first chapter it just grips you and doesn't let go at all until you are done reading the entire book.  You are taken to this future world where the world of faerie, which no one believed existed, went to war with our world as we know it.  Faerie's brought magic into our world affecting trees and plants to come to life and kill us, while we used nuclear bombs in the faerie world.  Ground zero was in St. Louis, as the arch was used as the portal between worlds.  As a result of the war cities were demolished, millions of people were killed in horrendous ways with magic and civilization was forced to start from scratch.  Liza, the main character of the story, is tormented after she sees her father take her newborn sister out to a hill to be devoured by beasts all because she was born with silver translucent hair and silver eyes, signs of faerie magic.  Ever since the war, children that are born have been subjected to magic gifts ranging from being a healer, to seeing visions, to being a shifter, to controlling plants, the list goes on.  Liza is sent on a journey after being beaten by her father too many times, to find her mother who went missing years before.  Mathew, the neighborly shifter tags along with her and they form a close bond.  Along the way they meet another town who is totally opposite from their own.  They use and control their magic, they're not afraid of it.  They welcome visitors and are kind to them, while her home town would kill people on sight for having any sign of magic. In Lizas hometown, children would be ripped from their families the moment that showed any sign of having faerie magic.  Along her journey to find her mom, Liza learns that the magic inside her is good as long as she controls it and that people aren't all bad.  There is good still in the world after the war.  Alli is proof of that.  Allie is a healer whom Liza and Matthew meet up with in the next town who ends up following them on their journey, despite her father not knowing. The ending to the book was great.  The way that Janni envisioned this futuristic world, you can also see it in the way that she writes this story.  Its enchanting and spellbinding.  I seriously could not put down this book until I was finished reading it in its entirety.  Awesome!!! Strongly recommend from fifth grade up to adults.  It was so good.  I hope to see more books like this from Janni.

The Blue Shoe by Roderick Townley

As you can see by my not posting anything, this book took me longer than usual.  I'm glad it's over with.  You know me in that a book is a book.  I rarely say that a book is horrible.  This book wasn't the best or even high on my good list, but it wasn't horrible.  It was really bizzarre to tell you the truth.  The first 80% of the book was super slow and I was waiting for something exciting to happen.  I guess I should at least tell you why it was so slow....and not horrible but not good.  The story takes place in the village of Aplanap, weird I know.  But there's an evil mayor who's wife, Ludmilla, gets whatever she wants from the little shops without having to pay a cent.  Eventually the townspeople have to start begging and that will not be tolerated by the mayor and his rather large wife.  So beggars are sent to the mountain of xexnax and never heard of again, so no one really knows what happens on that mountain.  Hap and his father Silas were forced to steal and beg in order to survive.  Silas gets caught and sent to Xexnax.  Hap is saved by Grel, the town cobbler, who promises to raise Hap the right way and to have him work off his debt in his store.  Hap grows up to love Grel and respect him, all the while trying to think of a way to get his father off the mountain.  One day a stranger shows up with a pocketfull of jewels and gems and wants one single shoe made.  Grel thinks this is out of the ordinary, but was paid in advance and did his best.  His best turned out to be a masterpiece.  The traveler had said he would return for the shoe, but years go by and the shoe was never retrieved.  Hap ends up trying to save a beggar on the street one day.  The beggar ends up getting caught and the only way Hap can think to save her is to use a gem off of the "blue shoe".  He gets caught for stealing and gets sent to the mountain.  Once he gets on the mountain thats when things start to pick up.  Hap ends up meeting a lot of new friends and the story takes a weird turn.  It took me a while to read which is saying a lot.
  This book would be good for strictly younger kids.  Maybe fourth or fifth grade.  I felt like there could have been more to the story because the story plot itself could have been told more quickly than it was.  I felt like it just dragged on and on and on so that I was waiting for something to happen.  For most of the book I was just wanting to get it over with so I could move on to a better book!  As usual, any questions just let me know.

The Night Tourist by Katherine Marsh

If you like anything supernatural, you'll enjoy this book.  I would say it's pretty mild compared to some of the other supernatural books I've read, but it was still good.  Definitely a good one to suggest for a quick read.  It was slow at first but once it got going I really wanted to finish it to find out what happens.  You meet Jack in the beginning, who lives with his archeologist dad who is always working.  His mother died years ago and his life has been shattered ever since.  He accidentaly gets hit by a car and can all of a sudden see and hear ghosts.  His father sends him to see a Doctor in New York because he's been acting "strange".  But while in New York, Jack meets a ghost named Euri.  She takes him on a journey to the New York underworld and Jack decideds to set out to find his mother.  Euri and Jack have all kinds of adventures while searching for Anastasia, Jacks mom all the while evading Cerberus.  Jack finds out that there's a chance he can take Euri back to the living world with him and that they have a deadline.  There's SO much more to this story that I want to tell you, but of course I'm NOT!!!  That would give away the story and I strongly believe in NOT doing that!  But I would definitely say it was a good read.  I got attached to Jack and Euri and was hoping the whole entire time that they would become something more than friends and survive their adventure together to get back to the living world.  Couldn't wait to get to the end to find out!  Happy Reading!=)

The Juvie Three by Gordon Korman

I know what you're saying, any book by Gordon Korman is awesome  and of course this is no exception.  Douglas Healy, a former juvenile delinquent is convinced that he can make a difference to some kids that are following in his footsteps.  He starts an experiments where he will give 3 delinquents of his choosing a chance to live in a half way house in New York City.  Gecko drove the getaway car, Terence ran with the worst gang in chicago, and Arjay killed someone.  Things go well until one night Terence is trying to sneak out while Arjay and Gecko are trying to drag him back off the fire escape.  Doug Healy catches them all on the fire escape and accidentaly falls over and lands on his head.  The crew doesn't know what to do so they end up dropping an unconscious Healy and the entrance to the ER.  Things snowball from there as there plan fails miserably.  Healy ends up in a coma and when he wakes up doesn't remember anything about who he is!  Gecko, Terence, and Arjay are left to their own devices in surviving, afraid that if they turn themselves in, it's a one way ticket back to jail.  You can't help but root for the Juvie Three and hope everything turns out ok.  They're 3 kids that come from hard lives and try to do right, but everytime that attempt is made they have the worst luck possible.  This is a great book.  You can't help but think that there really are kids like Gecko, Terence , and Arjay out there in the world and you feel sorry for them.  I would strongly recommend this book.  I think if everyone read it there would be a little more compassion in actually hearing peoples stories of where they come from and why they do the things they do.  GREAT READ!!!

They Never Came Back by Caroline B. Cooney

Ok, if you've read anything by Caroline, you know anything she writes should be good.  This was no exception.  They Never Came Back grabs you and throws you in there with the sharks!  You're thrown into the life of the Lymans.  Rory and Cade and their little daughter Murielle.  Well, Rory and Cade were pretty much into stocks and financial stuff, stole their clients' money.....you know, stuff you hear about in the news all the time.  But instead of them getting arrested, they fled and were never heard from again.  Rory's sister, Murielle's aunt, was driving Murielle to the airport and had a change of heart and refused to be a part of anything.  Long story short, the Lymans left their daughter behind.  She ended up being thrown into the government foster system.  She was moved from foster home to foster home all the while being questioned by the FBI.  She refused to talk at all, so she was silent for years, not eating, throwing up, depressed trying to grasp why here parents never came back for her.  She soon found foster parents that she loved and in turn they loved her.  She changed her identity to Cathy Ferris, all luxuries and society rank  gone.  She was eventually lost in the system until one day she found her cousin on the internet.  She decided to go to the summer school he was enrolled in and things snowballed from there.  He instantly recognized her and started a debate throughout the whole school of who she really was.  The old FBI agent on the case shows up asking the same questions thinking she isn't really Murielle and wants to set up a sting to lure her parents back.  The book is pretty fast paced and dramatic.  I was on the edge the entire time wanting to know what was going to happen next.  The ONLY thing I absolutely didn't like was the ending!!!!  The book was great and you should read it, but you'll be ticked off at the ending.  My lips are sealed because I think you should read it in order to find out what happens!!  On a side note, another book by Caroline that i would suggest if you like this one would be Code Orange. 

Zorgamazoo by Robert Paul Weston

This book is on a fifth grade level, but it is SO cute!!!!  I absolutely enjoyed reading this quirky little novel.  If you can believe it Robert Paul Weston wrote this novel entirely in rhyming verse!  He's crazy!  It follows a little girl, Katrina Kitrell, left by her parents to live with her crooked, wicked relative who wants to take out pieces of her brain because she's too adventurous and imaginitive.  This starts her journey of running away and finding Morty, a Zorgle from Zorgamazoo.  Morty was sent on quest because the Zorgles have gone missing  from Zorgamazoo and he must find what happened to them.  Thus begins their journey together.  It it ridiculously crazy in a good childish way.  Kids and grown ups alike will enjoy reading this book.  It would be an excellent summer read for a kiddo.  Its engaging, quirky, crazy and fun!

The Ever Breath by Julianna Baggott

This book wasn't the best one I've read. It was really quick to read as in yeah, it was short but the storyline was like it was squashed if that makes any sense.  The story was good, I just think that it could've had so much more added to it to make it better.  I felt like it was lacking.  Truman and his twin sister Camille are thrown into this world that was kept secret from them by their Dad, which is where he is actually from.  Their Dad goes missing and their mom drops them off with their Grandmother that they have really never seen in their entire lives.  They find out that there are two worlds.  The fixed world is the world we know and all imaginary and fantastical creatures belong to the Breath World.  There are a certain number of passages that lead from one world to the other.  The EverBreath is what holds the worlds together in a sense.  Without it both worlds would wither and die.  EverBreath is stolen, kids have to go get it.  In a nutshell that's what it is.  Like I said though, this was a story that the entire time I was reading I couldn't wait to get done with it to get to a better book!  As I've already said, it could've been written way better than it is to keep the interest level higher.  There's a second book scheduled to be published but I wouldn't waste my time! 

NOOK by Barnes and Noble

So recently my wonderful hubby got me the Nook by Barnes and Noble.  I'm SO in love with it that I'd thought I'd share my thoughts on it.  My wonderful librarian that I work with got one before I did and let me play around with hers.  If you're an avid reader like I am, this thing is SO worth it. 
You can download books two ways.  Either right from your nook or you can do it through the website.  So if you're totally into a series, you can just instantly download the next book.  Now I know what you're thinking, "I'll run up my credit card!"  Not so, well maybe a little.  But all ebooks through this thing are cheaper!!!!  A new release book is usually anywhere from $15 to $20, but through the nook its only $10!  Plus they have tons of free books that are decent and all the books are cheap.  There's some Nicholas Sparks books that are $3 to $5!!!
You can also get on the web, download pictures, documents, its endless.  The screen is super easy to look at and to read.  They make tons of cute skins and covers for them.  Now for my favorite feature, with me and my book buddies reading so much there's a way for us to borrow books through the Nook!  On some of the books when you go to buy them there's an icon that says Lend Me!  You can lend books with your friends who also have a nook!  The only catch is that it only lets you have a shared book for 14 days.  But if you're a quick reader, it should be no problem. 
The Nook is portable enough for me that I leave it in my purse and read whenever I get a spare minute.  Even if that minute is at a stop light.
Bottom line, the Nook is awesome!!!!!!!! Hope this was insightful if you're in the market for an ereader.=)

The House of Night Series by P.C. & Kristen Cast

The series is AWESOME.  I can't seem to find a series that I don't like.  This series is actually written by a mother/daughter team.  That's one of the things that made me want to try the series.  Once I got started I couldn't stop.  P.C. and Kristen put such a different twist on a vampire story.  Zoey Redbird lives in a world where getting "marked" is nothing out of the ordinary.  The world knows that vampires exist.  Once a kid is "marked" they are shipped off to schools know as the House of Night.  There are different ones all over the world.  In Zoey's case, she was marked while at a normal High School.  A stranger found her and marked her with the blue outline of a crescent moon, the first mark of a vampire.  Her parents totally disowned her as well as most of her friends.  Once she gets to the house of night in Tulsa Oklahoma, her world totally gets turned upside down.  The vampire world worships a goddess called Nyx.  In each House of Night the head honcho's are called High Priestesses.  The Preistess has affinities for all elements and can call them to do her bidding.  Zoey's mentor upon arriving at the House of Night just happens to be Neferet, the High Priestess.  Zoey turns out to be unlike any fledgeling the vampire world has ever had.  Becoming a full fledged vampire isn't as simple as it may seem.  While kids are attending the House of Night at any moment they can reject the change and die within a matter of minutes.  As Zoey stays, she encounters more problems than she would have ever dreamed.  She imprints with her best friend Heath, tries to overcome her bludlust which again is something normal fledgelings don't experience until they are a full blown vampire.  Once she finds she has affinities for all of the elements and is trying to control her new found powers things start to change.  I can't say anything else without giving away the story, so SORRY!  But you'll follow Zoey on her journey and you will not believe the twists and turns you will be taking and wanting more!  And HOLY CRAP there's some awesome romance scenes.  Nothing is very graphic, but it definitely gets steamy!!  I just got done reading Burned and it totally leaves you pissed of with the way it just cuts off!  So yes, there will absolutely be more coming from these girls and I can't wait to find out what happens.

Covers For The Vampire Kisses Series

I absolutely love the redone covers for some of the books in this series, so I HAD to share them with you!

Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber

I'll admit up front that this series isn't your usual full blown passionate and lusty vampire series.  BUT it does follow a relationship between soul mates, one a mortal and one a vampire, that gets to be a passionate story without most of the lust.  Now, you can't write a vampire story without having a tiny bit of lust=)  So, in the first book you're introduced to the outcast goth Raven.  She's the only goth in her little town of stereotypical teenagers.  She's dreamed about becoming a vampire her whole life.  Enter Alexander Sterling, majorly hot mysterious guy that moves in to the local creepy mansion that no one goes near unless they're on a dare.  Raven eventually finds out his deepest secret, that he's a vampire.  They soon figure out they're soul mates and the journey goes from there.  You'll follow Raven and Alexander as they fall more in love with eachother in each book as they overcome adversity and obstacles that stand in they're way.  Their obstacles are anything from trying to even be able to be together, to meeting Alexanders vampire parents, to surviving other vampires that come into town and threaten Alexanders solitary hermit life to Raven trying to convince to turn her into a vampire so they can be together forever.  The stories are super easy to read and they're fairly short.  Of course I'm not going to go into detail about what each book is about, you'll have to read them to find out how good they are!  You'll laugh out loud once you get to know Raven's sarcastic and witty humor and you'll know why Raven has fallen so in love with the hot Alexander!  I wish I could come up with the come backs that she has for Trevor, her nemesis  I definitely would insist that you read these in order.  The order of the series is as follows....#1 Vampire Kisses, #2 Kissing Coffins, #3 Vampireville, #4 Dance With A Vampire, #5 The Coffin Club, #6 Royal Blood, and #7 Love Bites.  The way Love Bites ends, you should definitely be expecting more books in this series.  The only complaint that I have is how short the books are compared to the amount of time you have to wait for the next one!  Happy Reading!

The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod by Heather Brewer

 Okay, if you're into the blood and gore vampire stuff, this isn't for you.  This is the clean school version of a vampire series.  WAIT!!!!!  I didn't say it was bad, because it's not.  Vladimir is totally sexy and all vampires usually are, its just a rated G version of a Vampire story.  Okay, now that that is settled I can talk about how good the series is!  The first four are already in book stores but the fifth book, Twelfth Grade Kills, won't be until September 2010.  These are super easy and quick to read, but the story is great.  You'll follow young Vladimir as he starts eighth grade and each book is a grad, obviously.  Right when you start reading you'll be introduced to Vladimir and learn his plight.  His mother a human and his father a vampire concieved him to be a rarity as vampires are forbidden to fall in love and marry humans.  So his father runs from Elysia, the Vampire world, and raises Vlad as a "normal" child.  What normal child doesn't drink blood with their supper? HA!  But his parents died in a mysterious fire and left Vlad to figure out his vampire nature all on his own.  In walks uncle and new vampire friends.  Vladimir is believed to be part of a vampire prophecy in where he is the pravus and will rule over all vampire kind and enslave the human race.  Each book is a step in which Vladimir learns more about himself and is one step closer in finding out what truly happened with his parents.  You can't help but fall for Vlad and feel sorry for him in his situation.  Not my absolute favorite series, but very enjoyable nonetheless.  I would definitely recommend it.

Evernight Series by Claudia Gray

The Evernight Series consists of 4 books so far.  The first three are in publication and the release date for the fourth book has not been announced yet.  The first book is Evernight, the second is Stargazer, the third is Hourglass and the title of the fourth book will be Afterlife.  This series is definitely for an older age group.  It follows Bianca, a rare girl born of two vampires, through her journey on ultimately having to make a choice between becoming a full adult vampire or facing the unknown of what she'll become.  While attending Evernight Academy she meets and falls in love with Lucas, who turns out to be a member of Black Cross, a group of vampire hunters.  Evernight grabs you from the very beginning and you won't stop reading until you've read all the books and will leave you waiting desperately for Afterlife to be published!  It is a true passionate love story, but don't worry it's not like twilight.  I really like finding supernatural and vampire stories that are unlike anything else and this series is just that.  You get to intimately know the characters and get wrapped up in there situations and conflicts right along with them.  Each book you read, Claudia packs it with such elements as mystery, suspense, and romance that you'll be yelling at Bianca like people do during scary movies!!  These books get the highest possible rating from me, I can't wait to find out when her fourth book will be published or any other stories she decides to write.  Can't wait!!!!!!

I promise i don't mean to neglect you!!

Hey everyone,

It has gotten to be such a hectic month!! With Zeke turning 5 and Gavin turning 1, thats busy in itself. Add on the end of school with some crazy out of control 5th and 6th graders and all the activities, I'm DONE!!! But I have been reading some GREAT books and I can't wait to blog about them, but they're part of series so I like waiting until I'm done with the whole series until I blog. The two series I'm reading is the Evernight series and The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod. Both are vampire series and they are totally great. I'm starting the last book in both series so it should be soon. But for now, if you're in need of a lusty just all around GREAT vampire book you should definitely start the Evernight series!!! Let me know if you have any questions!=)

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Holy crap, this book was awesome.  It was recommended by a fellow book junkie that I work with.  This is a one of a kind story that will utterly blow you away.  Everything about this book is unheard of and new.  I've never read a book anything like this.  The story takes place in the future where there is a second civil war over reproductive rights.  The Bill of Life is formed which states that from the moment of conception until the age of 13, the life of the child cannot be terminated.  But from the ages of 13-18, parents have the option of having their child unwound, which means they are taken to a harvest camp where they are totally taken apart limb by limb, organ by organ, tissue by tissue.  This being done while they are totally conscious of what is going on.  That way no lives are being taken, but the "unwanteds" are being recycled in society.   Connor is too difficult for his parents to control.  Risa, a ward of the state, is not talented enough to be kept alive.  And Lev is a tithe, a child concieved and raised to be unwound.  You will follow these characters as they run for their lives and try to wrap there heads around the idea of a society totally turning the other way while such horrors are taking place.  I couldn't put it down.  Its a horror, science fiction, and drama with a little bit of sarcastic humor thrown in there.  I've added it to my all time favorites list!!!  DEFINITE MUST READ!!!!  Be sure to check out the trailer through my BOOK TRAILERS link.

The Farie Path Series by Frewin Jones

This series is pure fantasy enjoyment.  I have to admit the first book started off a little slow, but by the third book I was hooked.  The series gets better and better after each book you read.  I can't wait for the sixth book to come out to find out how the new twist turns out!  Anita Palmer is a normal teenage girl coming upon her 16th birthday.  She's Juliet in her school play, she has a boyfriend who loves her and her parents and friends are great.  All of a sudden her life gets turned upside down.  Her so-called boyfriend turns out to have a different identity and is claiming to be from a parallel universe where he is of the court of Faerie.  She is told she is the seventh princess of Faerie to King Oberon and Queen Titania and her real name is Tania.  She goes on a journey to find out who she really is and in returning to Faerie sets into motion a chain of events that will take her to the far boundaries of Faerie in order to save her people, all the while going back and forth between the mortal realm and the immortal realm of Faerie.  You can't help but get lost in Tania's struggles and triumphs as she endures battles, romance, and tries to find her one true hearts desire.  I would strongly recommend this series to anyone who remotely likes fantasy.  From the authors writing, you can just picture what the land of Faerie looks and smells like.  It makes you wish you could take a side step with Tania into the Realm of Faerie!

Distant Waves by Suzanne Weyn

Distant Waves A Novel of The Titanic by suzanne Weyn gave me mixed feelings.  Just by looking at the cover and reading the title I expected the book to be about the Titanic.  The book had a good story of four sisters living with their single mother and trying to make ends meet.  This book has a good mixture of science, history and the paranormal.  The storyline was good, but the titanic wasn't even brought up until halfway through the book. The science and paranormal aspect of the book will keep you intrigued enough to find out what it all has to do with the Titanic.  The book had a pretty good story to it following all four sisters on their journey with their mother, but I thought that the title and cover were pretty decieving.  So if you expect it to totally be about the Titanic, think again!