New Changes!

Hey readers! I'm changing a few things about the blog, instead of just book reviews, I'm going to post reviews on movies, restaurants, newly released songs, and plays/musicals. You'll be able to read about what I ordered at Los Hermanos, how I felt when I watched Super 8, and what I thought of my school's musical. Hope you enjoy these changes, and thanks for reading!

Book Review #13: Don't Die My Love by Lurlene McDaniel

Imagine you're back in 6th grade and a boy proposes to you. You say, "Get lost Bozo." and then later when you turn sixteen, that same boy comes to your door on your birthday with flowers asking you out, what else could you say but yes! That's how Julie Ellis and Luke Muldenhower became a couple. Ever since that day they've been inseparable. When Luke gets a virus Julie urges him to go to the doctor, but when the test results come through they are devastating. Luke has cancer. Through everything Julie and Luke remain together, but when Luke goes to the doctor after several weeks of therapy, the new results are even more devastating than before. Can their love survive EVERYTHING?

I LOVED this book. Lurlene McDaniel's books are PURE therapy. If you or someone you know has just lost someone or something give them a Lurlene McDaniel book and watch the magic happen. This book made me feel like there is still a life to enjoy rather than staying sad the whole time.

Lurlene McDaniel as I've said before in previous reviews of her books knows how to make someone cry. She also knows how to touch her audience in a way that I think is really important. We don't get to choose what life throws at us but we can choose how we respond. We can choose if we go on with life or if we hundle up under our blankets and never leave our bed again. We can choose if we let things go or hold on to them like their life. Lurlene McDaniel books are very appropriate for teenagers going through rough times and even those who aren't currently because when they do, they'll remember they can choose how they will respond.
  
I thought that Julie and Luke were a very cute couple, they're romance was slightly cheesy but it was appropriate for the story. This book was very very sweet and touching.

I rated this book 5 out of 5 because it was touching and taught very important lessons.

Book Review #12: The Help by: Kathryn Stockett

Pages: 444

In the 1960’s where black people are considered dirty and full of diseases, where they can’t even share a toilet with they’re white bosses. In Jackson Mississippi Aibileen, Minny, and Skeeter, have an idea to expose the white women in their town. Miss Skeeter seems to be the only white woman who sees the awfulness of the way the black maids are treated, and she wants to do something about it. It has to be anonymous though because in the 1960’s anything Civil Rights could get you killed. The only way to do this anonymously is to write a book of interviews from the Help.

When I first read this book I was amazed at how wonderful it was. It seemed very realistic because no human can make such humiliating things such at not being about to use a toilet used by a white person. I know there has been a lot of such about how “it was written by a white person so she can’t know what it was like…” blah, blah, blah. This book was written by a white woman as a tribute to her black maid!

Since its set in Mississippi you have to read with a southern accent, which just makes it more fun! It’s a funny book at points, sometimes it’s kind of sad, but over all it’s a really, really good book. I really enjoyed reading it. It only took me a few days to read. It was an easy read.

I’m very happy I had the opportunity to read this book. At times I wanted to scream at my book, at other times I wanted to cheer. I felt like I didn’t want the book to end but at the same time I wanted to know what happened. This book will make you feel a lot of things at the same time. I’m glad I read this book.

I loved the recent movie they made of this book! It followed the book really, really well, they got the maids personalities very well and the movie made you feel about the same way as you did in the book only you could see the events going on right in front of you, so you could feel angrier or whatever other emotion ten times worse then when you were reading the book.

I rated this book 5 out of 5, because it was a really good book to read on a rainy Sunday night. It was easy but taught an awesome lesson. It was also written very well. Thanks for reading!

Book Review #11: Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Pages: 448
Tally Youngblood is ugly. In her world she is hideous, she is completely horrible, but in our world she is totally normal. Tally lives in the future, in this future when you are sixteen you go through an operation, and you are pretty and you live in "Prettyville". Tally is only one month away from turning sixteen when she meets Shay. Shay tells Tally a secret, and that secret is that there is a place out in the wild waiting to take uglies in so they don't have to get the operation. A couple days before they are both sixteen Shay runs away to this place, and tells Tally not to tell anyone where she went. When Tally goes to get her operation she is not aloud to. Dr. Cable from Special Circumstances sends her on a mission to find Shay so that Shay may receive her operation too. When Tally finally does find Shay she realizes that convince Shay to come back isn't as hard as convincing herself, especially when she finds out the secret of the Pretty operation.

The first time I tried reading this book it was quite confusing because I didn't understand that they were in the future. The second time I actually finished it and I fell in love with it. Now I have quotes from it written in notebooks and paper taped to my walls. If you gave up Uglies I urge you to give it a change it's a really great book.

I'm very happy I gave it a chance because it's really interesting to see how people see themselves and how they think they need an operation to be pretty, just like people these days do. In a part of the book Shay and Tally were looking at magazines from our time saying that the models and stars had "That Disease" meaning anorexia or bulimia. I thought that that was really interesting because it's frowned upon in their time and it seems like a way to get skinny in our time.

I rated this book four and a half out of five, because you really have to persevere through the first few parts before you can fully appreciate it. I'm glad I did because if I didn't I wouldn't have been able to enjoy this great book.   

Book Review #10: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Pages: 378

All Mrs. Bennet has ever wanted for her daughters are to get them married to good men with connections and money. When a handsome rich bachelor, Mr. Bingley moves in to Netherfield, she sees her opportunity to marry off one of her daughters. Our heroine Elizabeth Bennet, the second daughter in the Bennet family, meets Mr. Bingley’s oldest and closest friend, Mr. Darcy, she can’t help but loathe him. Mr. Darcy is proud and seems to feel he is above her family and friends, so Elizabeth can’t help but hate him. Who cares if he makes ten thousand a year? He is too proud and rude for her. But when Elizabeth’s sister visits Mr. Bingley’s sisters and gets sick Elizabeth walks all the way to Netherfield , Mr. Darcy’s can’t help but see that her eyes are quite brightened by exercise. Thus begins the greatest love story in all history.

When I picked up this book I wanted a real challenge, old English literature. I got exactly what I wanted. But after I really got into the book I began to understand. When I got really into this book I couldn’t put it down. I read late into the night, I would keep turning the pages even after eleven. I felt so happy when I finally finished it because it was the first classic that I had read, and now I love reading classics.

I would only recommend this book to people who know that they can handle the difficult old English language. When you can understand the language it is easier then trying to figure out what their saying. Cliff notes will help as well.

This book is very light and happy, it is full of humor. The simple things they said back then are simply hilarious nowadays. I found myself laughing hysterically over the simplest things because of the things they said that would not be acceptable now. The way they insulted each other in a very subtle way made me laugh.

While I was reading this I could feel myself getting smarter, so if your looking for something to raise your IQ this book is perfect. I wouldn’t suggest it as light reading because you’ll get sucked in before you know it.

I rated this five out of five. It was a lovely happy book that made me laugh. I’m very happy I read this because I feel smarter and I know that I can read any classic I want now. Thanks for reading!  

Book Review #9: The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

Pages: 400

Ani has always been an odd sort of princess according to the people of her country, Kildenree, so when her mother tells her that she will be traveling to Kildenree’s neighboring country to marry an unknown prince to make peace will them, she accepts hoping to finally find her place. But after several weeks traveling in the forest Ani’s lady in waiting, Selia, and half of Ani’s guard betrays her and attempts to kill her so that Selia can be the princess. Ani flees and finds her self in the foreign country with a job as the palace goose girl, determined to get her name back and make Selia face her crimes.

In fifth grade my teacher read this story to us and I totally fell in love with this story, so much that when we hit a cliffhanger just as the bell rang I screamed! I fell completely in love with the book. On my list of favorite books this one is definitely number two. This book is perfect for everyone; it has action and gore for the guys, and love and princesses for the ladies.

I love this book, it’s a perfect book; princess fairytale, deception, betrayal, action, magic, and of course a little romance! I would recommend this book to anyone, even guys! It’s a perfect, it’s appropriate for all ages, the thickness might make some others not want to read it but it’s totally worth it, there are no boring parts, you’re always wondering what is going to happen to Ani, and what Selia is going to do next.

I feel bad for those publishers who turned down Shannon Hale because they thought her book wasn’t good enough, they really are missing out on a lot of money from those people like me who buy her books! I love Shannon Hale’s books!

I rated this book happily a five out of five! It is an awesome book and a great one to re-read over and over again!

Book Review #8: Evermore by Alyson Noel

Pages: 320
Her family is dead, she is psychic, she can see peoples auras AND read people's minds, and to top it all off there's a hot new guy at her school. This girl's name is Ever Bloom. Ever has two best friends, Miles, and Haven. They are the out casts of the school, so when the hot new guy comes to sit at their out cast table they can't control themselves. But Ever doesn't look at Damen's hot face, or flawless self, she notices that he doesn't have an  aura. After running into him  many times after she starts to fall in love with him. But Damen has a secret. A secret he's kept for six hundred years.

This book was very much like Twilight. Yet it was written much much much better. I loved it! It was strangely addictive though. If your not in the mood to think about a book for a long long time or obsessively look for the next book in the series. The romance wasn't as cheesy as most cheesy books about such things. I'm so happy I read it though. The books got better as the series went on.

I loved this so much. I loved waiting for the moment when something so epic happened in the book. I couldn't put it down. I know I say this a lot in my book reviews but I can't help it. I loved this book.
I rated this book a five out of five. Because I felt so very happy when I read it. I couldn't believe how good it was, I had heard that it was much like Twilight and it kind of made me cautious but it was SOOO much better. I would recommend this to girls and ONLY girls. Boys wouldn't like this book at all. I really think that it is a chick flick book. It was a really good book!

Book Review #7: Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen

I wrote this book review for my school news paper. Here you go!

Pages: 224

Have you ever been a new student? Bryce Loski has: he moved into a new town and immediately met Julianna Baker. She couldn’t control herself; she had a crush on him. Poor Bryce went to a new school and to make matters worse, Juli was in his class. Bryce went through a whole new torture; a girl had a crush on him. The kids in his second grade would sing, “Bryce and Juli sittin’ in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G!” But our friend Juli had a whole different story. She needed a friend, someone besides her brothers, someone her age. When Bryce moved in, she lost herself in his eyes.

Wendelin Van Draanen caught her readers in a way they can all connect. At some point or another everyone has had a crush on someone. Everyone could connect with Juli and everyone can connect with Bryce. Ms. Draanen knows how to touch her audience in a way that it would take other author years to perfect.

The way that Ms. Draanen described what Bryce and Juli saw in there day to day lives was just incredible. She could perfectly move between the personalities of Bryce and Juli in such a way that you’d think that the book was written by two authors, one male and one female. She made her audience feel for her characters.

Many of SJHS’s students have read this book. Samantha Carter, an eighth grader at SJHS, said, “I like the romance in it; it also reminds me of my friends.” Samantha read this book because it was recommended to her by Erika Frischknecht, an eighth grader at SJHS. According to Erika, she loves Flipped because it’s a cute love story, and she sees a lot of our school’s personalities in it.

This book is definitely a page turner. You want to know what crazy thing Juli is going to do next. You want to know how Bryce is going to handle it, and once you’ve read it all the way through you can’t stop thinking about it. It makes you realize that some people aren’t what they seem; it makes you stop and think about the way that you treat people, not just your friends but the people you don’t necessarily get along with.

Most girls fantasize about boys they like Ms. Draanen put it to words what how most girls feel about the boys they like, how they think about them and how they will do crazy things to get the boy’s attention. She also had the ability to show the girls how boys feel when a girl crushes them.

Recently in August, Flipped was made into a movie. When I watched it I was amazed at how accurate it was. Juli looked exactly how I had imagined her. Bryce, though he didn’t have blue eyes, still looked exactly how I had imagined him. There were things in the movie that were slightly different, because instead of modern day times it was set back in the fifties, so of course it wouldn’t be exactly like the book. Over all, all the characters, and key details were perfect. So if you have already read the book and not seen the movie, then I would definitely recommend this to you.

I rated this book a 5 out of 5 for the following reason: it makes you realize that some people aren’t always what they seem on the outside; it’s what on the inside that matters. People shouldn’t be judged by the way they dress or the way they act. It’s what is inside that matter the most. Flipped can be found in any public library, school library, classroom library, or any bookstore.

Book Review #6: The Hunger Games By Suzanne Collins

Pages: 384
In the future the USA is no longer call the USA, it's called Panem. There are no longer states, there are districts, 12 of them, the thirteenth destroyed. After a huge rebellion the officials decided to make an annual event to remind the rebels of what would happen if they were to rebel again. This event is called the Hunger Games. The Hunger Games is a "game" where each district will give two tributes from their district, one boy and one girl, to the Capitol to be put into an arena to fight to the death. Whoever is the last one standing wins and they get everlasting glory. But those other 23 tributes are dead and you have to live with that. Katniss Everdeen lives in District 12, she also lives in the worst part of District 12 called the Seam. On Reaping Day, (the day where the districts choose their tributes through a drawing) Katniss's sister Prim is called to go to be a tribute. Prim is the only person Katniss is sure she truly loves, so when Prim's name is called Katniss volunteers for her sister and she is thrown into the arena.

I couldn't put this book down. It was so good. I loved it! I borrowed this book from my English teacher and was drawn in. After the first chapter I felt completely out of my own world and in the world of Katniss Everdeen. I could see what Katniss saw and I felt what she felt.

I didn't want to put this book down. I didn't want to go to bed or pay attention in school while I read. I vanished into my book. And after finishing it I jumped right in the sequel, Catching Fire. I could connect with Katniss because of our sisters. I'm a dark haired, hard, mysterious person, and my sister is a blonde, soft, and sweet person. Just like Katniss and Prim.

In the arena it gets kind of gory and gross, so if you can't handle blood and such then I wouldn't recommend it to someone who gets queasy. However one of my friends who faints at just the sound of the word blood loved this book.

I rated this book a five out of five. Because it was written so very beautifully, Suzanne Collins is such a beautiful writer. The book was simply mesmerizing and a wonderful read. I sometimes will read my favorite parts in my spare times, just to feel the happiness I felt the first time I read it. I loved this book and I would recommend it to anyone who needs a book to read. It's such a wonderful book.

Book Review #5: Twilight By Stephanie Meyer

Pages: 498
A new state, a new school, a new life is what awaits the dull mope Bella Swan. Bella is a very grumpy child and a very big mope. She moves to the rainiest state in the whole US and meets Edward Cullen. Edward is mysterious and strange, his family keep to themselves, he's pale white, ice cold, and worst of all he sparkles. In other words Edward is a vampire, not a vampire who sucks blood out of whole towns but a vampire who is 93 years old who decides he loves a 17 year old. Lovely. Well Bella falls for him and they begin their stupid, useless, boring, adventure of crap.

I did NOT like this book. I think all of us go through a Twilight phase, me included, but when I came to my senses I realized that this was probably one of the worst books I've ever read in my life. Stephanie Meyer can NOT write to save her life. The reading level for her books is, for first graders. I HATED this book.

It was so cheesy and dumb. I was appalled at how stupid it was. I go back and read it sometimes and I am just blown away at how revoltingly stupid it is. I can't even believe it. I don't understand why it is socially acceptable for a 93 year old freak who looks like he's 17 be in love with an ACTUAL 17 year old. CREEPY!

The movie was just terrible. It's so cheesy Edward and Bella's love. I couldn't stand it. Sometimes I'll look away from my TV when I'm watching it just to get away from it. Kristen Stewart who plays Bella cannot act to save her life. In the movie all I could hear of her was HEAVY breathing. I drove me nuts. She has no personality, and I don't understand why Edward and Jacob think that she's the only game in town. It's ridiculous! In New Moon (the next book in the series) the movie she wouldn't stop blinking! If it isn't breathing it's uncontrollable blinking.

The whole "Team Edward" and "Team Jacob" thing drives me nuts. I hate hearing in the halls, "I'm Team Jacob because he's hot!" or, "You hate Edward, well I'm just going to have to hit you with a shovel". That drives me insane!

Now I will admit I have been to the New Moon premiere which was very fun but honestly I think I would only go see "Breaking Dawn" to see how they make it. I didn't like this book or series at all.

Stephanie Meyer you cannot write to save your life! I'm sorry but you don't know how to write I don't think that you will catch on.

I rated this book a negative one out of five. It was stupid and cheesy and totally not worth my time. If you are addicted to Twilight I urge you to get professional help immediately. This series is stupid and it just lowers you IQ. I recommend Harry Potter if you can't afford professional help.

Book Review #4: Keep Me in Your Heart By: Lurlene McDaniel

This book was split into three novels. Saving Jessica, Telling Christina Goodbye, and Letting Go of Lisa.

Saving Jessica: Pages: 208

18 year old Jessica finds out that her kidneys have failed. Which means a life hooked up to dialysis, only hope is a new kidney. Now you'd think that this would be a piece of cake to get one, but no, neither of her parents are eligible, her only hope is her boyfriend, Jeremy. The only problem is Jeremy's parents are very unwilling to sign the papers for Jeremy to go through the operation. 

I wasn't so sure of this book actually. This one was kind of cheesy. I thought, "What boyfriend would give a part of his body to a girlfriend who not only is a year and a half older, but one who might break up with him? No such boyfriend exists. A husband but no boyfriend." I really thought it was really lame and I also thought that the romance in it was kind of cheesy too. I thought it was way too over the top cheesy for me to enjoy it too much. I thought it was going to be sad but it really wasn't. But it was written really well, if Lurlene McDaniel kind of screwed up with this one in my opinion. But the other books in this book proved to me that she's a really good author.
Over all I rated this book a 3 out of 5. For the mere reason that the romance was way too cheesy for my taste. And really what boyfriend would do that?

Telling Christina Goodbye: Pages: 224

Trisha and Christina are the greatest friends in the world. They double date and they hold each other when one of them is sad because of something. They go shopping, see plays, go to basketball games, and they do everything an average teenage girl would do. Until one night Christina's boyfriend, Tucker, hits some black ice and his car rolls and flips. Trisha's whole world goes upside down, her best friend is dead. Her boyfriend is in a coma and the only person who must know some of the pain that she's going through, Christina's boyfriend Tucker, who is not only responsible for her friend's death but who she doesn't get along with at all because of the way he treated Christina before the accident.

I loved this book so much. It was exactly what I needed when I bought it. I don't normally buy books I haven't read because of the risk that I'll waste my money and not like the book, so when I bought this one I was in deep need of a sob fest, and boy did I find one. I couldn't put this one down, I read it day in and day out. I was going through some hard times when I bought it and it was just what I needed, a heart warming book.

It was written so beautifully that I was amazed. I was so thrilled that I had bought the right book. I couldn't believe how good it was. I was blown away. I realized that even though that things are gonna be REALLY hard for a while it WILL get better no matter what.

I whole heartily  rated this book a 5 out of 5. It made me feel for the characters, I couldn't put it down.

Letting Go of Lisa: Pages: 181

Nathan comes to a high school after years and years of homeschooling, and finds that high school is much more different then home. The biggest difference is Lisa, a wild girl who Nathan falls in love with. He's completely smitten. But he can't love Lisa, because she has a secret. A serious secret.

I liked this one a lot. I really felt for Nathan, and Lisa, Nathan's over protective mother made me think a lot about how sometimes parents have just got to let go and let their kids live and go after what they think is right. I thought that is pretty good, it was still written beautifully, and wonderfully.
I know this may sound a little weird but Nathan's and Lisa's first "date", is in a bookstore where they get coffee and talk, since I'm a book geek I completely drooled over that. I not a coffee drinker but sitting in a bookstore sipping a hot beverage with someone sounds so wonderful and nice. I couldn't believe how that small little thing seems so sweet and nice. I loved it, the author made it so real, and so sweet that I re-read it all that scene all the time.
I rated this one 5 out of 5. I loved this as well. It was beautifully written and so sweet and nice that I couldn't put it down.

I loved the way that Lurlene McDaniel wrote these books so I gave the books all together 5 out of 5. Saving Jessica was kind of cheesy but the other two were really awesome.

Book Review #3: Runaway Twin By Peg Kehret

Pages: 157
In and out of foster homes, Sunny has only one last hope of a family, her twin Sister Starr. Sunny and Starr were separated when their mother and grandmother got in a car accident and didn't make it. So Sunny runs away to find her dear sister. Narrowly avoiding serious damage by a tornado Sunny and her trusty dog Snickers travel across the USA to Washington to find her beloved sister. When she finds her though, it's not what she had expected. 

I say this in every book review but I loved this book. So easy to read, it was amazing. I couldn't believe that Sunny ran away. I couldn't put this book down, I ignored my surroundings when I was reading it. I was at a Flash Basketball game when I was reading it and the Flash fox (the mascot) got so angry that I wasn't watching the game that he sprayed me with Silly String! I kept reading though.

I've always liked Peg Kehret but now she's one of my favorite authors. It was the greatest. I love the way she writes, and the type of writing she does, because it shows children in life threatening situations which I think is daring and cool.

I rated this a five out of five. Definitely. It was really good. I became attached to the characters. I loved this book! 

Book Review #2: Miss Spitfire, Reaching Helen Keller By: Sarah Miller

Pages: 210
A dark childhood she's trying to forget, Annie Sullivan stands at a train station with the prospect of teaching a wild deaf and blind child a language. When she reaches the Keller residence she sees that this little beast has her whole family wrapped around her fingers. How will Annie teach this wild irrational child a language?

Sarah Miller had me in the first chapter. I have always been a Helen Keller junkie and I always thought that Annie Sullivan was a incredible women for reaching Helen. But I never comprehended how difficult it must have been to her. She had to reach a deaf and blind child. A child who couldn't see her or hear her. How could Ms. Sullivan reach know if she understood or if she was just mimicking. She couldn't talk to her, she couldn't sign to her, there was only one way to reach her but signing into her hands. But like it says above Helen had her whole family wrapped around her little fingers. If Annie tries any type of discipline on Helen she will have twelve different people packing her bags for her to send her back to Perkins School for the Blind. Annie must take Helen away from the house because Helen gets nothing but pampering. 

I LOVED this book. I wanted to reach into my book and shake Helen for giving her teacher such a hard time. I had always thought that it had to be kinda easy to reach Helen because every other book I read concerning her only went on about reaching her for about one or two chapters. But this is a 210 page book all about it. I couldn't believe how difficult it must have been. I personally would've given up and let Helen be a complete animal for the rest of her live. I couldn't believe that Ms. Sullivan kept going and going. I was so proud of her.

Sarah Miller can write! She wrote it so beautifully. I sailed through the book because it was way too good to put down for even five minutes. I loved it so much. Definitely in my top 20.

In closing I rated this book 5 out of 5. A good historical novel to read if you have nothing else to read. This book can be found at any library anywhere.

Book Review #1: A walk to Remember By Nicholas Sparks

Pages: 256

A moderately popular boy Landon Carter lives in a small town which has it's annual Christmas Play every single year. Landon is soon elected Student Body President. As President he must find a date to the homecoming dance. When nobody is left he goes to his last resort: The Pasteur's daughter, goodie two shoes, Jamie Sullivan. When Landon asks her to the dance she agrees on one condition: Landon must not fall in love with her.

I loved this book so much. I read it out of a desire to learn what the song, "Only Hope" meant. The first day that I read it I was slightly bored. But as soon as I got into it I couldn't put it down. I zoomed through it. I loved it. Normally I won't read romance novels or stuff like that but this is the greatest romance novel I have ever opened.

Nicholas Sparks knows how to write. I loved this book. I couldn't put it down after I got into it. I loved it so much. Many other reviewers have said, "A book you won't soon forget" and they couldn't have been more right. It left me thinking. When I picked up this book I was in need of a sob fest. I picked the right book for that.

Jamie Sullivan is the typical goody two shoes. She is constantly picking up critters who have been hit by cars or fallen out of trees, to the vet. She never has something bad to say about anyone. The whole town says, "What a good girl she is" and "Oh that Jamie Sullivan girl is such a sweetheart" I loved Jamie. She is a sweetheart and I really liked reading about her.

Landon Carter is the typical schoolboy back in the fifties. He makes fun of the Pasteur and his daughter. He does OK in school but he's not Harvard material. His father is a Congressman so he doesn't see much of him so his and fathers relationship isn't the greatest. When Jamie entered his life I noticed such a change in Landon I thought it was wonderful.

In closing I rated the book a 5 out of 5. I haven't stopped thinking about this book since I finished it about a week ago. I loved it and I would recommend this to anyone who loves a sob fest and who just needs something to read.