Insubstantial

Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr

2011-05-29T21:34:00.001-07:00

Hey guys, so there won’t be another review for a while because I’m reading the seventh Harry Potter book and I don’t like reviewing Harry Potter books because I can’t find anything wrong with them :P . So yeah. I’m still busy as fuck because of softball, I have a tournament every other week so it’s kind of hard. And finals are coming up. I don’t appreciate that because I know I’m not ready. I got 3/20 on my French test today and 65% on my science one. Yay I’m doing so well in my life.

With the new Summer King and Queen, Leslie notices some changes in the way Aislinn has been behaving. But Leslie is closer to the faery world then she’ll ever know… until she decides to get a tattoo. A tattoo that will change her life forever. With the Dark Court losing it’s power thanks to the seasonal rulers, the Dark King – Irial – is looking for anyway to make sure that his fey are fed and safe… and Leslie is the perfect way to do that without starting war. She just wants there to be no more pain, no more worry, no more fear – and just to forget. Forget, forgive, and most importantly, survive.

I have to say, I didn’t have any trouble at all getting into this book. I don’t remember what I rated the first one, but there were parts of this book that actually made me like it better than Wicked Lovely. I really liked how more of the Dark Court was showed. I think that the way their court worked was a lot more interesting than it just revolving around the two seasonal ones.

The parts where Leslie had completed her ink exchange and was tied to Irial were kind of boring though. I mean, I think they were necessary to write but on my part it was kind of boring to read. All she did was black out and cling to Irial and black out again. And the parts where she couldn’t feel anything were just overwritten, I mean… I got it after the first couple times!!!

Overall though, I thought that this was an interesting book to read. I liked how the main character changed from the first one but it was still all in the same setting with the same people. That made it more fun because you knew a background story before you even started the book.

I’ll give Ink Exchange a 3.5 out of 5

An enjoyable book! I think the series is just going to go from here… isn’t there about 5 books out now? I have some catching up to do! http://www.melissa-marr.com/

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

2011-05-18T22:39:00.001-07:00

I have to admit that it has been a busy month for me. Softball has been going full force, and there has been a couple other things that have made sure that I have no time for reading anymore. But rest assured, I will come back on track as soon as I can. My book pile is dwindling and I am ready for summer to come kick my ass in to motion and finish up all these books that I’ve wanted to finish reading for years. :P So. HERE WE GO THEN.

1939 in Nazi Germany: Liesel Meminger was dropped off my her mother at the house of two strangers, her new foster parents. A couple days after her little brother passed away, Liesel thinks that nothing could be worse. But with her first book already stolen, she is on her way into her new life. A life growing up on Himmel street, and the life of living in Nazi Germany with a Jew hiding in your basement. In love with words, Liesel takes to book stealing, whether in the mayor’s wife’s library, Nazi book burnings, or wherever there are books to be found. With the war and Hitler constantly at the back of everybody’s minds, it’s a dangerous time – especially for Liesel and the Hubermman’s, and anybody else that is hiding in their house.

After reading the prologue to this book, I was extremely confused. I started to doubt whether this book was at my level or not because I was having a hard time understanding the beginning part. But when I flipped to the first page of Liesel’s story, I knew that this book was going to be impossible to forget. The writing is beautiful from the very first page, and as I continued on my eyes grew wider because it just keeps getting better.

I absolutely loved how Death was the narrator throughout the story. The pieces of writing where Death put in what it was thinking and stuff, I was blow away. I thought it was such an interesting way to tell the story, and in this story in particular it worked perfectly with the subject. I loved how the story was told, instead of making a climax or creating mystery, it was just said like it was, if somebody died in the future of the book, Death just told you right away. No big deal. It happens.

Another thing I really appreciated about this story was the seriousness combined with just a story of a little girl’s life growing up. This book was a nice break from all the repetitive teen fiction that just piles up and up and up. I have to admit, this is one of the first books that I actually wanted to read again right after I finished it. I folded down the pages that I thought had amazing writing, and I do plan on reading this book over and over and over and over again. I LOVE THIS BOOK. The first book that I have actually loved.

So there you have it. I don’t care if you think this book is overrated or whatever, because I think it’s amazing, and I recommend it to anybody, even if you usually don’t like historic fiction like me.

THIS IS A 6 OUT OF 5. So yeah, no graph thing sorry. :P I don’t know if this is his website exactly, but you can get some info on Markus Zusak from here. http://www.randomhouse.com/features/markuszusak/

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

2011-04-17T16:52:00.001-07:00

Have had an eventful past couple of weeks, and an interesting night last night. Yay. No more spring break for me, school is back in swing, and the softball season is starting up! Spring is the best season in my opinion. :P

Stuck in San Francisco while their parents are on another expedition for their work, Sophie and Josh witness something that will change their lives forever. Everything that is supposed to be fantasy – magic, immortals, and alien creatures – all become reality when Dr. Dee comes to the bookshop and steals the Codex – a book that Nicholas Flamel kept safe and hidden, and will now be used to end the world as they know it. There is no turning back now, but Sophie and Josh are more a part of it then they think. Part of an ancient prophecy made before anything human lived on earth, Sophie and Josh both might be the key to defeating the last of the Dark Elders and saving humankind.

Well, I actually had pretty high expectations for this series, I thought it would be really amazing. It’s not that I was disappointed after I finished I just thought that the book would have more than it did.

The characters were really good, I liked the ongoing dilemma that Josh was having was having with the whole uneven twin thing, that is something that I know will carry on to the next book. He was an in depth character that at least made a little drama in the plot line. The rest of the characters were kind of meh, then again, there are 3 or 4 other books that can be added in but I’m just not feeling it with the characters. The bad guys didn’t even seem evil at all!

Another thing that was interesting but I don’t know if I liked it or not, was the fact that the whole book happened in only 2 or 3 days. I think that that is sort of unrealistic. Even though things do happen fast and stuff, it seemed to me like it should have been a sort of week long thing, again, I don’t know what to think about that.

I really liked how it would zoom in on one person’s feelings at the time though. It was in third person but on some chapters it would focus on Josh, sometimes the wife in the prison and etc etc. I didn’t like how childish Josh and Sophie were though. They were 15 in the book but I feel like their characters acted like they were 1 or 2 years younger.

Anyway, I’ll give this one a 3.5 because it was interesting and I enjoyed reading it.

Check out the other books in the series, and the website. http://www.dillonscott.com/ . I have no idea why it’s called dillonscott but that’s okay

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

2011-04-03T18:29:00.001-07:00

So this is the last day of Spring Break, on which I also had my last softball practice until the the first game of the season! Even so, I’m not looking forward to school, even though there were some lonely hours where I was bored out of my mind. XD. I don’t think that I’m going to be doing a review on the next book I read, so you might have to wait a couple weeks unless I read quickly this week. ANYWAY, HERE WE GOOOO.

Back home in District 12 after the horrors of the last Hunger Games, Katniss thinks that everything is over, and that things will return back to normal. But it starts to look like nothing will ever be normal again – President Snow is watching her very closely, uprisings are starting up in the other districts, and worst of all her family and friends are all in danger of being killed – all because of Katniss. As she and the Mockingjay both become symbols of rebellion against the Capitol, and all 12 districts’ compressed fury finally bubbles, Peeta and Katniss have to literally face their worst nightmares – which become their reality.

WELL. I don’t know why I didn’t read this sooner, I should have read all 3 of them right away, but that’s okay. I don’t know if I liked this book better than the first one, it was of course really amazing, EVERYBODY KNOWS THIS SERIES IS AMAZING. It still had the adventure that the first one had, and same with the love problems. I think that it wasn’t necessarily better or worse than the first one, but it instead they each had their own things that made them great.

I loved the ending to this book because I liked knowing what Katniss thought was going and then speculating what was happening for myself. The second last chapter was really intense as well as perfectly confusing, and the last chapter was just BAM. You didn’t know what was happening unless you were psychic, and then AND THEN. Aaahhh. Nice ending. I really liked how Haymitch was in on everything, he’s one of my favourite characters.

Extremely captivating. I remember being late for something and I was trying to finish the book on time but NO. I had to stop right before the last chapter. IT TORTURED ME UNTIL THE END OF THE DAY! Seriously. I could barely handle it.

OH, and this one had a lot of emotional stuff in it, I cried once and almost cried another time. :P Just a warning!

Suzanne Collins’ website. http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/ I’ll give this one 4.5, because it doesn’t QUITE have the ‘Wow’ the first one had, but let me tell you it was pretty damn close.

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

Daniel X: Watch the Skies by James Patterson

2011-03-27T17:27:00.001-07:00

Hooray for Spring Break! Now I’m almost done the first week. I’ve had tons of sleepovers and today I’m going to the mall to buy the tons of presents I’m going to need for the tons of birthday parties next week! God things cost to much money. XD GET OUT OF SPRING BREAK BIRTHDAYS. Jeez.

Lately there hasn’t been even a little break in between the exterminations, and Daniel has to face his biggest enemy yet, an Alien that is in single digits on the wanted List. Number 5. Extremely powerful, and very intelligent, Daniel is going to have to put all his strength and powers into making sure that Number 5 doesn’t go through with his ‘endertainment’. The whole town of Hollisworth is in danger of being vaporized, and are completely cut off from the rest of the world. If Daniel fails and Number 5’s plan succeeds, the world will be taken over within a matter of months.

I don’t remember what I said when I reviewed the first book in this series, but it was probably close to what I’m saying now, Even though this book was interesting, and I like the idea behind it and the alien – alien hunter deal I just am not feeling wowed by this series.

The chapters are only a couple pages long usually, and the story line for each book isn’t that great. I think that the first one was a little bit better than this one, but I think these books are just a way to get a little extra money. Then again, they’re a nice easy read, and again I like the whole defeating aliens thing, but this book is for more of a younger teenage, or a lower reading level I guess.

I really don’t know what else to say about this book, I still enjoyed it, and I thought that the parts where he was with Judy interesting, but it didn’t have the same sort of dangerous feeling that it had in the first one, I mean, it just wasn’t as exciting. I don’t know if it was because of the new co –author or because this is just a dying series, but still.

Anyway, lets just call this one a 2.5

Websito, http://www.jamespatterson.com/books_daniel_x.php. There is a manga thing now instead of an actual book. I think that’s a good choice.

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

Soulstice by Simon Holt

2011-03-20T17:17:00.001-07:00

Spring break everybody! I’m not going to feel like it’s actually the break until I wake up on Monday morning realize that I don’t have to go to school. I’m so glad that we have two weeks this year, and that I’m staying at home. I love just being able to sleep in a laze around, go out at random times and get things done. Plus, LOT’S OF READING TIME. Which is slightly exciting for moi.

It has been six long months since Reggie learned and had her first terrifying encounter with the Vours. After freeing her brother Henry from the Vour inside of him, and gaining the power to enter other people’s fearscapes and save their souls from these evil creatures, Reggie finds that she’s caught up once again the horrors of the Vours. With so much going on, it’s hard to know if you’re trusting the right person, but the Vours were up to something, and Reggie will do anything in her power to stop them – no matter how high the stakes are.

Everybody knows that one you are in love with a book and when you know the sequel is going to come out, that you want to read the next book so badly, but it usually doesn’t turn out as good as the first one. Well it was the opposite with this book. I thought that Book 2 in The Devouring sequel was SO MUCH BETTER than the first. Maybe it was just my mood, but seriously. I enjoyed reading this book so much.

I think I remember ranting on about how there was a bit too much description used in the writing, but while I was reading Soulstice I just ate it all up. This was an amazing horror book to read, and it captivated me all the way through to the very last page, unlike the first book in the series.

There were some parts where it was really easy to tell what was going to happen next, and the author must of realized because he found ways to mix it all up. The plotline was a more interesting and thick, I found that because we had the background story of what happened in the first book, and we had this amazing terrible horrific idea of events going on in this one – it made everything so much better!!!

AND THEN THERE IS THE END. The very end. I probably should have expected that it would happen but OMG. I think I have a fear of going insane and people strapping me down, so that just freaked me out. But it was amazing all the same, and I applaud Simon Holt for this work of ART.

4.5. Hmm. Must be in a damn good mood.

Website as usual everybody, http://www.thedevouring.com/about-the-book/ The Third book is out now, I’m curious about how good it will be judging from The Devouring and Soulstice

On another note, I would like to say a congratulations to myself and my 4 lovely followers, (three of which are probably unactive. But that’s okay, because it makes me look popular.). Around this time of the month a year ago, I was doing my first review on here, for the first book in this series. HAPPY ONE YEAR FOR INSUBSTANTIAL YAYYAYAAYYAYAYA.

Read now, party later,

I’m a nerd sometimes,

but that’s okay,

MRR

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

2011-03-13T21:26:00.001-07:00

I didn’t think that I would get this book finished by today for my goal thing, but I managed! I’m just a really cool speed reader that way, what can I say! I got some new books from Taylor… I’ve been trying not to add more to my huge ass pile but I JUST COULDN’T HELP IT THIS TIME.

While Alek is forced to become a fugitive in his own country because of his parent’s assassination, Deryn is perfecting the art of being a boy – so she can join the Air Service and become a Middie just like she’s dreamed of since she was a little girl. The countries around them are on the brink of war, and they come from opposite worlds. One full of heavy machinery and Clankers, and the other tied into fabricated beasts full of hydrogen and life; but somehow they manage to end up on the same ship. Forced to work together to escape from the German’s Alek and Deryn make enemies turn to allies: On the great airbeast Levaithan.

I didn’t know what this book was even about at all when I bought it. I wanted to read it because I loved Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies series, and even though this book has a completely different writing style and is different than Uglies in so many ways, I enjoyed it just as much. I have to say though, if I didn’t know the author of this book and you wanted me to guess I would have never guessed Westerfeld at all.

Even though I think this book was meant for a younger teen audience, I still really enjoyed it. I loved the moments between Alek and Deryn, it was really predictable that she would end up liking him, but it only happened at the end of the book so now I have to read Behemoth or whatever the hell it’s called!!!

Another thing I really liked, and will always like about Westerfeld’s books is the vast amount of originality. I mean, his novel ideas are always brilliant. I wish I could step into his mind and just take a nice tour of his ideas and thoughts. That would be very nice.

I’m going to have to give this one a nice big 4.

Check out his website http://scottwesterfeld.com/blog/ The third book in this series is already being somewhat released.

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

Bounce by Natasha Friend

2011-03-06T08:42:00.001-08:00

This one was an easy one, and I’m pretty sure that I bought it in Grade 7. But that’s alright, because i finally got to reading it so no big deal. Another busy week, another book read! Voila.

After living in Maine with just dorky brother, and her pretty awesome dad – Birdie – for pretty much all of her 13 years, Evyn is not ready to change anything, anytime soon. But before she knows it, Evyn is enrolled in a new school in Boston, sharing a room with two crazy twin ‘sisters’, and there is nothing in the world she can do about it. Evyn had had it all in her old city, and now she has to deal with everything and everybody in her life changing for what seems like the worst. She knows that she’s supposed to just bounce along with the changes, but what if she can’t?

I bought this book a long time ago, and I sort of wish right now that I read it back when I bought it, because it wasn’t that great to read at the age I am now. This book is of course a really easy read, and I just want to finish it because it was in my book pile and it is short. But I wouldn’t really suggest it for most teens… just saying.

There were some points were I could really relate to Evyn and what she was going through, but most of what was happening in the book and how Evyn was taking it pissed me off. I kept on thinking things that can only come from the opinion of somebody older. Which was sort of bothersome if you know what I mean.

The idea is really good though, as are most of Friend’s novel plotlines. It focuses on the problems of a tween girl who is having the normal problems that a teen girl goes through. Yay.

I probably made this book sound extremely horrible. Yay.

This is not really a young adult sort of thing, but whatever. You know the dealio. http://www.natashafriend.com/ . This book isn’t that bad. Until next week…

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

Virals by Kathy Reichs

2011-02-27T20:01:00.001-08:00

I’m pretty sure that I missed last week, but this is a really busy time of year for me so yeah. My 3 followers can deal with it anyway. XD I’m getting excited with my process on my bookshelf, this whole book a week thing is sort of making it a lot easier to finish all these books. I like setting goals for myself. If there is a rule where I have to finish something, I feel like I have to get it done. So here we go ladies and gents.

Tory Brennan had always been adventurous – it runs in her blood. But sometimes, it isn’t such a good thing. After the things start to go wrong on Loggerhead Island, and she finds a mysterious dog tag deep within the island forests, Tory can’t help but investigate. Caught up in a serious cold case – complete with tails and guns and very large hitmen – the gang has no way of getting out. But that isn’t the only odd thing happening, after rescuing a wolfdog pup infected with a weird disease, Tory and her friends experience weird flares of extremely enhanced senses. Now, together… they are VIRAL.

The first thing that I really liked about this book was the foreshadowing affect at the beginning. It really worked out for me with the style of writing. Sometimes it gets annoying with other books, but it blended in well with everything that was happening in Virals.

I think that they could have worked a bit more on the main character’s personality and background. At the beginning it touches base on how her mother died and that’s why she was living with Kit, and it seemed like they were going to keep going with that thread, and maybe tell the background story later. But then nothing came up. I mean, I could tell that Tory was a curious person who couldn’t let a mystery remain unsolved, but I felt there should have been just a little more to her character.

I don’t feel like there is anything that really stood out about this book. I liked it, and I enjoyed reading it and the plotline was good. But when I closed it I thought, ‘Okay, time for the next book.’ Something I did like though was how much room the author left for a sequel. I know that something else must be coming up, and maybe in the next book Reichs will tell us a little more about Tory and what happened in the past.

So. A good 3 out of 5 will do it for moi. Have a great week everybody.

Here is a website, as per usual. I sort of like having a routine on here. Easier to follow what’s going on. http://www.kathyreichs.com/ And here is a link of you want to look at just the Virals series. http://viralstheseries.com/ It has a cool opening with a lighthouse and this interactive thing. FUN FUN FUN.

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare

2011-02-16T21:42:00.001-08:00

SO. I understand that this is just a tad late… but I have spend the last week with a program called Encounters with Canada and I was in Ottawa for a week in the Terry Fox Center, along with 130 other people from all over Canada. But yeah, it’s been busy and I’ve been trying to catch up with stuff so that is what’s happening. >:)

After the being shoved into a world of demons and other downworlders, Clary is dealing with things surprisingly well considering everything that is going on around her. But as Valentine’s plan starts to become clearer, and important people in the Clave can’t be trusted to follow the law, bad things start to happen one after the other – and something has to be done. While Jace is deciding who’s side he’s on, and Simon is going through a transformation that will change his whole life, Clary is still trying to find a way to wake up her mother – and make sure to defeat Valentine once and for all.

I have to say a few thing about this book. I really enjoyed it, and I love this one just like I loved the first one, but that comes with some of the same problems. I remember last time saying things about how it was a little bit too full of descriptions and that sort of thing… well the writing style didn’t really improve for this book. I kept on getting distracted because of the amount of describing that was going on – especially in the actions scenes.

I don’t know… it might be because I was tired and just reading this book because I had nothing better to do, but I felt like the plot didn’t really develop all that much. I mean, it was interesting and engaging but almost just a middle sort of thing before the next book (which is pretty much what it was.) But still… I don’t know.

There was one thing that I have always loved about the first book that continued onto this one. Which was the constant romance problems going on between the characters… I think that was the root of my interest level, because honestly, there was parts in that book that were just amazing to read.

Amazing novel, amazing series, AS ALWAYS. Don’t mind my grump.

Yeah, I was going to put 3.5 but I settled for 4. So, here is the website as usual. http://cassandraclare.com/cms/home

LATER CHEESE GRATERS,

MRR

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

2011-01-30T21:38:00.001-08:00

I’ve put off a very important project just so I could finish this book tonight. BUT, again… I am glad. Time was way better spent finishing it up than planning for my future in a 6 page project. So yeah. I’m happy with everything right now, besides the fact that I won’t be able to put it off after this is written and published. But you know, whatever.

They’re all around us, all the time. Invisible to every mortal, except for Aislinn – and any rare others who have the Sight. The fey. Cruel, dangerous, and utterly beautiful, Aislinn knows what will happen if she catches their attention, as well as break the other rules her Gram made to keep them safe. But as more and more fey set unsettling eyes on her, Aislinn slowly gets caught up in the world of battling faery courts, and a little game involving seduction and reckless risk taking. Aislinn finds herself pushed towards a choice. A choice between a life in despair or cold finish, with death on either side.

I bought this book around the time it came out, on the recommendation of a friend, and I can’t believe I put of reading it until now! It was completely different then I expected and it met my standards for a good book. (Meaning just right amount of romance and fantasy.) My stomach fluttered at some of the more romantic parts because of how well things were described, it made me imagine the scene perfectly and I loved it. Maybe it was my mood, but holy crap.

Another reason this novel was so enjoyable was the characters. I loved all four of the main characters with all my heart, and even the villain played a perfect part. The way every one of them fit together in some way was so fun to think about. I admired the girls, and I wanted to marry both of the guys by the end. It was just great!

Just as every good book does, this one ends with a nice twist but also ties everything up, a great transition to the next book I would say. It’s on my shelf waiting for me, and I don’t know if I can wait. Really liked this book, and hopefully I’ll love the next one too. 4 out of 5.

Check out her website, she’s actually written quite a lot of other things besides just this faery series. http://www.melissa-marr.com/index.html

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

2011-01-23T15:23:00.001-08:00

I’m surprised I found the time to get this done, but I spent the first two blocks in of the last day for this semester trying to finish it, and I closed it just before the bell rang for lunch. I have my Math and English provincials on Monday and Tuesday. Still need to study for those. Oooh well. Tomorrow. Maybe.

Just like most of the other Gladers, Thomas woke up in a dark metal box – without any memories of his past life, or any idea where he was. But this is no news – once every month another boy is delivered to the Maze, and they have adjusted accordingly. But the day after Thomas arrives, the Box is occupied once again. By a girl. That isn’t the only thing that’s going to change in the Glade. As more and more piles onto Thomas’s shoulders, the more determined he is to find the pattern of the maze – and the closer he is to helping all of the Gladers find a way to escape.

This book received a lot of positive reviews, and were nominated by the Teen Read Awards for having the Best Hero. I think that this novel should have been the winner! Thomas is a character that you can’t help admire as you continue reading through this book. His determination to solve the maze and his constant curiosity about everything around him made this book 10 times more fun to read. You feel his frustration and you hurt with him when he’s upset.

The setting of the Glade, and the terrifying creatures called Grievers that roam outside the doors at night only add the mysterious ways of the Maze. As you slowly put together how everything works, you’re also secretly falling in love with every single aspect of the life in the Glade and the complete story.

Holding a final battle worth re-reading and a hero that is hard to compare, James Dashner did an awesome job with The Maze Runner, and I can’t wait to read The Scorch Trials. Check out his website, (it has a cool opening thing, and a really fun maze game.)http://www.jamesdashner.com/ And I’ll give this one a 4/5. An awesome book!

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

Ptolemy’s Gate by Jonathan Stroud

2011-01-16T20:45:00.001-08:00

Another week gone by, another book worth reading – finished. So, yeah I think that this one book a week is working for me, though I struggled to get this one finished on time. I have exams in about a week, and I put off some homework I should probably have finished. But that’s okay. This is important enough for that.

Three years after the devastating events of Gladstone’s tomb. the Resistance is shattered, the Government is floundering, and the Commoners are angry as ever. John Mandrake is stuck in the midst of cowardly politicians, but he knows something is wrong, and intends to do whatever it takes to get to the bottom of it – even if it means using his old servant Bartimaeus, whose essence is so weak it hurts him to change form. How will Bartimaeus get his freedom to the Other Place, as well as save England from a terrifying fate?

Now, I may have voiced some doubts in the past about this series. They have always held unexpected turns and pulled at my heart with each ending of another book, but honestly… the first two can’t compare to this one. They were a perfect build up, and I enjoyed them, but I LOVED this one.

I’ve previously complained about how they didn’t have enough Bartimaeus in the last one because they showed the sides of the other characters just as much as his, but this one it is evened nicely by giving us details of his past with Ptolemy, and what he went through. I found myself laughing out loud again, not just because Bartimaeus is hilarious, but because of how enjoyable the book was and I knew that on the last page it would all end.

The development Nathaniel’s character went through made me happy, and I stopped seeing him as John Mandrake the annoying asshole and went back to seeing him as he was when he was younger, which was what the author intended and it worked out great.

The last thing that made the this novel just the absolute best was the ending. It was tragically perfect, a perfect ending for me. It made my bawl and even though I finished the book yesterday… when I think about the words the author used and exactly how he wrote it and how it ended – my eyes start to burn and can’t stop thinking about it. GAAAAAHHH. So good.

If it wasn’t obvious before, I’m giving this book a deserved 5 out of 5.

Check out Jonathan Stroud’s website, http://www.jonathanstroud.com/ he deserves more love. But you know, I can give it to him if nobody else will.

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

The Shadow in the North by Philip Pullman

2011-01-09T19:00:00.001-08:00

Almost keeping up with my one book per week thing, I’m quite happy with the receding pile of unread book on my shelf…. even though I keep buying more thanks to the Chapters gift cards I got for my birthday. Anyway, I’m just excited about that, but I have some other news. I was thinking of adding a little picture saying what genre the book is, except I don’t really know where I’m going to put it. Just an idea, but yeah. ALRIGHT. Let’s start on this.

Working as a financial consultant, and the business of Garland and Lockheart booming, Sally lands herself in the middle of another terrifying mystery. With a perplexing conjurer always on the run, two thugs that are on the loose, and a very powerful, very enticing business man by the name of Axel Bellman hiding something extremely deadly – things couldn’t be more dangerous for Sally and her fellow detectives. But with so many distractions and little clues, Sally and her friends can’t help but wonder whether this case is worth solving.

I know that the last time I did a review for a book in this series, I didn’t know what to think of it. Being honest, I thought that I wouldn’t enjoy this book, because of what I thought of the first one. Even though this book revolves around business, shares, and finance and some of it was hard to understand – I really enjoyed reading this one. It’s cool to learn about the old England way of life, and this was a really engaging mystery book.

Compared to the last one, there were so many more twists in the plot, and they were happening from beginning, all the way to the very last page of the book. It’s enticing all the way through and I’m glad that I now feel the need to go buy the last two in the series, (even though my wallet isn’t so thrilled.) The Shadow in the North is a great mystery/thriller book that will keep you interested. Another thing I’m happy to say is this – The second book in the series is remarkably better than the first one!

Take a look at Pullman’s website. I think that his view on writing is really cool, he’s a smart man. http://www.philip-pullman.com/books.asp

I’ll give this a 4 out of 5. I’m in a good mood today.

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

Stefan’s Diaries: Origins by L.J. Smith

2011-01-01T17:43:00.000-08:00

Yeah, this book was shorter than I thought it would be, thick pages and medium font. That’s alright though. Did you know that I still have the last two Harry Potter books to read? Yeah, I always watch the movies first… because I would rather have the books ruin the movie than have the movie ruin the books – if you know what I mean. Harry Potter fans out there, is it the same for you? Just wondering if I’m a weirdo.

It’s 1864, and Stefan is stuck in the middle of the civil war. But that’s not the only war that’s happening. He is to be betrothed to a woman he doesn’t love, while at the same time, the mysterious Katherine has caught his heart. Stefan isn’t the only one though, his brother Damon has made sure to spend his sunny afternoons chasing her through the garden in the huge Salvatore estate. While the towns suspicion of the ongoing animal attacks turns into something more, the brothers carry a deadly secret; Katherine is a vampire.

Well. I don’t know about all of the other people who have read this book felt about it… but I have a few things to say. I’ve read all four of the original Vampire Diaries books, and I’ve kept up with the TV show since it began, and having all of that background sort of made me confused. When I first started to read this book, I thought that it was going to have elements from both the TV show as well as the previous novels. But that is not the case, it’s based only on the show. SO, to all of you people out there that have only read the books, don’t get confused. It’s the background of the TV show printed on pages. I repeat… KATHERINE HAD BROWN HAIR IN THIS BOOK.

Besides that confusion, there was something else that bothered me quite a lot actually. In L.J. Smith’s other novels, she usually has two or three stories in one whole book. I thought it was way more effective that way, because after you read the first story in the book, you could go right into the next one and by the end everything would be tied up. This novel felt a little lacking to me… I mean by the end everything had happened, but I still felt like there was a lot missing that is needed in a good story. I don’t know. Maybe it was because Smith was writing somebody else's idea, or maybe it was another reason. I think that this should have just stayed a background story instead of becoming something all on it’s own.

I haven’t seen many other people reviewing this book, so I don’t know about what other people thought about it… but yeah. Check out her site, she has TONS of other books that she needs to get writing, instead of doing something like. :P Just saying http://www.ljanesmith.net/www/home

I guess I’ll give this one… a 2.5 out of 5.

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

Rot and Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

2010-12-25T19:29:00.001-08:00

Hey there! I don’t know if everybody’s winter break is as busy at mine, but I hope that you all had an awesome Christmas. I sure did. I’m on the ferry right now heading over to Vancouver Island, and people gave me a lot of pretty awesome things; a camera, a Glee Karaoke game, this awesome pair of pyjama's that came with shorts and long pants. We’re almost into a new year, and I wish everybody the best in 2011. :)

After the First Night, everybody and everything was different. The lucky had survived, and most of them lived within small fenced towns like Mountainside – terrified of the millions of zoms that waited outside the iron gates. Living only with his older brother Tom, Benny joins the family business as a last resort for a job. Little did he know that it would change him forever. When his childhood friend Nix is kidnapped by one of the worst bounty hunters around, Benny finds himself on a long journey to find her, as well as a mysterious Lost Girl that will take him far beyond the fence, and far into the great Rot and Ruin.

For a zombie novel, this book was pretty damn good. I really enjoyed reading it, and I thought that the writing was unique and appealing to me. A lot of the writing touches on the way people think, and how they thought and acted after the First Night of the zombie apocalypse. How the characters talked about the behaviour of other people in the book, I thought all of that was very well written and interesting to read – party because it was all logical and made perfect sense.

The one thing that I didn’t like was Benny at the beginning of the book. I know that Maberry was trying to portray him as an immature, naive boy… but when I read it, it seemed to me like he was younger than 15. When I read it, even after I learned his age… I still pictured him as a 12 year old. Even the most immature people at age 15 aren’t as bad as he was. I understand the special exception rule, but it still kind of bothered me if you know what I mean,

I don’t think there is much else to say, and I still thought the story was really great for zombies. Maberry added a lot of other elements that made the plot interesting, which is what other books sometimes fail to do. I give it a 4 out of 5.

It seems to me like this needs a sequel, there is so much more that can be done! They need to go east and find out where the Jumbo Jet they saw came from. Anyway, check out his blog http://jonathanmaberry.com/

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

Linger by Maggie Steifvater

2010-12-12T19:49:00.001-08:00

I’m saying screw it to any of my old rules. I’ll review whatever book I want to review, whether I’ve read the first one or not, and I’ll go at my own pace. I probably read about one book per week, but half of them I don’t feel like writing a review for so the nice system gets messed up anyway. So, here we go for LINGER.

They thought that they were fixed. In a small town called Mercy Falls, Sam and Grace slip back in to the routine of a normal life. But something is wrong. Grace is developing migraines that she’s never had before, and there is a growing feeling that something inside her is trying to break through to the surface. Meanwhile Sam is left to watch over the pack of wolves, waiting for them to shift back into their human forms. Then – Cole, a new wolf enters their lives. As all of their worlds start to fall apart, only one certain thing remains…. but will it linger?

Compared to the first one, which I read about two years ago… or something close to that, Linger is a little uneventful. I mean, the first one had a lot more going on, where this one was more dragged out, with less events that made you want to turn the page. It still kept me reading though, these series are interesting and I thought that adding Cole (a new character) really helped out with the plotline.

Other than the fact that there wasn’t much going on, I think that this was a great transition story from Shiver, to the next book. If there is a next one anyways… there should be! I love the writing style used in this book, and the highlight of the book was the relationship that Cole and Isabel had. I think that those were the strongest points in Stiefvater’s writing. She really captured the real of those two characters, especially when they were together. I loved it.

So, all in all, I give this one a 3.5 out of 5.

Here is her website, http://maggiestiefvater.com/novels.php#wolves I see a cover for the third one, so there you have it!

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

2010-12-04T17:33:00.001-08:00

Whew. It sure is getting close to Christmas huh? I went skiing today with my family and the snow was pretty awesome. Winter is one of the most beautiful seasons, and one of the best ones to curl up on your couch with a blanket and read a book. :)

In a land of BioCromatic Breath and Returned Gods, two countries are on the verge of war. Suri – an Idrian princess – is sent by her father to marry the God King, while her elder sister Vivenna sneaks into the city and finds ways to disrupt order and cause confusion among the citizens of T’Telir. Meanwhile, in the Court of God’s, Lightsong – the laziest God around – becomes interested in the new Queen, and the politics surrounding the upcoming war. Even with the help of Vivenna and her mercenaries, and the secrets Suri finds out about the God King… will they be able to stop the war against their homeland?

First things first… I LOVED THIS BOOK. It was amazing! Everything was perfect, the beautiful and creative setting, the different religions and controversy between the cultures. It was so well thought out, and it kept me hooked the whole way. As you slowly learn about the world of Hallendren, you become more and more attached to it.

The characters are the most developed ones that I’ve read about in a long time. Especially Lightsong and Vivenna, the way they change through the story and how much they learn is amazing. The whole plot is rich, and full of twists that I didn’t expect at all. I was so surprised at a certain part, and I had to take a break from reading and take a few breaths.

I think the most astounding part of this novel is the logic and creativity that were combined to make the story perfectly balanced. You can’t know what I’m talking about until you read it. GO GO GO. It’s amazing.

5 OUT OF 5

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

Quad by C.G. Watson

2010-12-04T16:30:00.001-08:00

I finished this book on Sunday night, but decided to wait on the review for a bit because the next book I’m reading will probably take a little bit longer. Thin pages and tiny writing often do that to a book. Anyways, I think that the deadline thing is helping me out. I do better when put under pressure. :) Well, no more dilly dally.

People of all sorts are gathered together in one place – school. The Choir Boys, Drama Queens, Preps, Freaks, Jocks and Techies have to deal with the many things that come with high school. Each with their own problems and the potential to crack. But when a wild party goes haywire, and the wrong people get pushed around – everybody has to deal with the consequences. Now, the school is in lockdown and being terrorized by somebody whose identity is unknown. Who could it be, who was the one who finally snapped? And why do people have to be so mean?

This is sort of a messed up novel. I don’t really know what to say or think about it… I mean, it wasn’t bad but if you think about what happened in it it’s like ‘Uhm… what the hell was the point of that whole story?’ It’s not what you expect from reading the summery on my book, or even what you might get from my summery. It basically goes in between each of those cliques and events happen that lead at least one person to seem like they might ‘snap’. It’s sort of like Watson was attempting to make a mystery… but then it sort of doesn’t feel like that either.

I don’t know. It’s sort of hard to explain. If you’re looking for more of what the hell it’s about, it’s about bullying in high school, the pressures that students have to go through, and how mean people can really be. I think that it was a good idea and interestingly put together. It was an enjoyable read, so I’m neutral about it – but it was also sort of confusing and made me not know what to think of it. I don’t know…. just… read it if you want to feel what I’m feeling here.

I’ll give this one a 2.5, I think that this is Watson’s first book. http://www.cgwatson.com/

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

Sabriel by Garth Nix

2010-11-21T18:13:00.001-08:00

I think that I’m going to have to make a rule, where I have to finish one book per week. Then I can not only get through my pile easier, but I can also actively blog. It’s a great idea, I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before!!! OH, and I have something to show you guys, check it out. http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/at-europe/at-europe-london-closeup-the-amazing-staircase-042543 It’s a staircase/bookshelf! I want it! This is the first thing that I’m going to do when I’m rich and get to design my dream house. The next thing I will do is make a huge bedroom which is just a bouncy and comfortable mattress going all the way to the walls – but that’s irrelevant.

Growing up outside the wall of the Old Kingdom, living the life of a student, Sabriel is whisked off her feet by the news that her father is trapped somewhere in Death. Using all that her father has taught her about necromancy and sending dead spirits to rest – Sabriel travels into the depths of the Old Kingdom to rescue her father and to make sure that the dead are not freed from their bindings. Pursued by evil spirits and taking many crash landings on the way, Sabriel has to face one of the Greater Dead (possibly the greatest) and use all that she has learned from her father to defeat it. But can she do it without using Astarael – the Sorrowful – which when rung would make all who hurt slip into death.

This book didn’t start slow at all, and that made me happy. It wasted no time in the beginning, and went right to making you form in your mind what the hell was going on with the setting. It has magic and technology mixed together, and the way that the author eased you into the world that Sabriel lived in was perfectly done. I enjoyed this book very very much.

The one thing that I would say needs some work is some character issues. I know that in Nix’s writing style character’s personalities are all very simple, but still. I think that he could work on the main character being a little more interesting. She doesn’t really have personality traits and seems kind of neutral about everything. I just wish that there would be something else that made her unique, besides being full of courage just like every other protagonist in fiction books.

The setting was wonderful, I loved the time and the world that Sabriel lived in. This is a great book, and I recommend it. Here is Garth Nix’s website. http://www.garthnix.com/ I give this one a steady 4 out of 5. (The pictures with the stars are on my other computer, Sorry!)

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

Gone by Lisa McMann

2010-11-07T22:10:00.001-08:00

Wow. It has been a while. I read two other books before this, both I didn’t think were worth reviewing because I really had nothing to say about either of them. I have lots of books on the way though, as usual. When I finally start to think that my book pile is getting smaller, I walk by a Chapters and I have to go for more. I think that I might be a bookaholic.

Things almost seem back to normal for Janie, after learning more about her ability to see other people’s dreams, finding the love of her life, and becoming an undercover police agent. Except there is a dreadful nagging image in the back of her mind that haunts her no matter how much she pushes it away. Just when Janie thinks that she’s decided, she’s slammed in the face with yet another surprise, that leads her to a brand new discovery about her dream catcher. But more importantly, will Janie ever be able to make her choice and get out of this Morton's Fork?

I got excited before I read this book. It’s the third in a trilogy and I read the first two in grade 8. They were both great books, and I loved them, so I expected this one to be a dramatic finish full of twists and turns that will make an excellent end to this series!

Well, I was wrong. This book is just plain boring. Nothing even remotely interesting happens until you’re half way through the book, and even then, the thing that is supposed to make you gasp with surprise isn’t very surprising at all.

Another thing was that I had the previous novels such a long time ago that I didn’t remember some things that happened, and when you start on this one it just dives in right away and I didn’t get some things until the very end, which was nice in a way because it gave some effect, but still. There were some good parts, but overall this was a crappy last book in a good series.

I give this one a 2.5.

To make matters worse, Miley Cyrus is going to be playing the main character in these books which are being made into a movie! http://blog.moviefone.com/2010/06/17/miley-cyrus-will-star-in-ya-thriller-wake/ Yay for bad actors ruining good books!

If you want to check out McMann’s website, here you go. http://www.lisamcmann.com/html/home2.html She has a new book coming out in Feburary if you’re interested.

Later Cheese Graters!

MRR

Fallen by Lauren Kate

2010-10-14T18:01:00.001-07:00

Hey, this was sooner than expected, but I think that I can read better when under pressure. I had a book on hold at the library, and it finally was my turn, and I had two weeks to read it. I thought that I wouldn’t be able to finish it on time, but I finished reading it on Tuesday, and kept on sneaking to my room during Thanksgiving to read a couple pages.

All of her life, Luce has seen the shadows. They stay at a distance, until one night everything goes wrong, and she’s blamed for the death of a friend. This wins Luce a one way ticket to Sword & Cross – a gothic reform school. That’s where she sees Daniel, and instantly feels like she’s met him before. Who is Daniel and what did he do to get himself into Sword & Cross? And how will Luce get rid of the persistent shadows that are slowly closing in on her?

As I was reading this book, I was totally into it. The beginning was engaging and it kept me interesting through almost the entire thing. I kept guessing what the prologue meant, and who was who. The characters are fit well together, and the plotline goes at just the right speed. But as I kept reading, I started to get wary. The only thing that Luce was doing in some part of the story was just going back and forth between the two guys. She would finish talking with one guy and then it would go straight to the next one, and over and over again.

Now, the thing about Luce is that her character isn’t that great. She’s a little shy and has some sense of humour, but other than that she has no personality. By the time that things were speeding up in the book, and secrets were revealed and fights were going on… I was expecting that Luce would step up and be a man. Her character should have developed as she went through her hardships, but she just stayed the same! And when she was the only person who didn’t know what was actually happening, she was just a zombie and didn’t even get angry. Her boyfriend told her that she didn’t need to know, so she excepted it and did what she was told like a good little girl.

If you think that that isn’t bad enough, then get this. When the final showdown fight started between good and evil, her boyfriend shooed her away to safety, and let her cower in a room while he fought for her. I know that she wouldn’t have stood a chance, but still… she didn’t question it at all! I also know that some people have personalities like that… but come on! I want to hear a story about the people who are unique, and have some sort of flaw other than being a lovesick pansy.

Overall though, it wasn’t a bad book. Maybe Luce will get better in the next one, I believe that it is called Torment (check out her website and other books there). And I shall give this book a 4.

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

Tithe by Holly Black

2010-10-10T23:06:00.001-07:00

Wow, this went quicker then I thought it would. This book was pretty short, because it had short pages and bigger writing then usual. It was the perfect book to get me back in the mood of reading! I’m currently in the middle of another book, and I feel like I’m on a role!

Kaye’s life had always been moving and changing, but now the one thing that had remained a solid memory – was turning into something she could never thought it could. Now she struggles to find the truth about the cruel faerie world that she once had thought was about innocent fun. Kaye has to cope as she gets wedged in the middle of two sides that are constantly at a secret war. As everything she knows topples over, and she slowly falls for a brave and confusing dark Knight. How will she ever untangle herself from the Fey world?

LOVED this book. It vas very good, yes? Yes. I’ve never really found a book about faeries that I really liked, but this one was wonderfully written. The plot line seemed to on forever, but only because there were so many twists and turns that it kept on going even after I thought it would be the end of things. It kept me on my toes, and it kept me longing and hoping for more romance stuff, because fantasy and romance work well together.

Even though the faerie land was beautiful and very alluring, but the realness of Kaye’s previous life is also something that is really interesting to read about. How she moves around so much, and how bad her mom is at parenting her, it just fits the whole story together very nicely.

I give this book a well deserved 4.

Here is her website, http://www.blackholly.com/ and Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Later Cheese Graters.

MRR

The Golem’s Eye by Jonathan Stroud

2010-10-04T21:08:00.001-07:00

It’s probably been a month! A long month at that. All work work work, no time for reading what so ever – to finish this book I had to just sit down and read until 1 o’clock. And now I have to get over how proud I am to finish that one book and get on to the other 20 on my shelf. I’m sure that I’ve said this all before, about how much stuff I have to read.. but I counted today, and there is exactly 20. Whew man.

Two year after the Amulet of Samarkand was returned to it’s proper place, Nathaniel is growing up quickly. Assistant to the head of International Affairs, and gaining status in the magician world, Nathaniel has got a busy future ahead of him. Hunting down the Resistance and trying to figure out what the cause of all the mysterious attacks that are happening constantly throughout London, Nathaniel finds himself missing his old slave and summons Bartimaeus once again.

Sorry about the crappy summery, I’m just going to go ahead and say that it really has been a while. The first thing that I have to say about this book, would be that it was not as good as the first one. The best part about the first book in this serious was that Bartimaeus’ point of view was so much fun to read, because he was hilarious. His character was the humour in the book, and he was the one who made everything more enjoyable. In the second one, you don’t see as much of him as you did in the first one. There is another character’s point of view that took over… and it just wasn’t the same.

If you just want to talk in terms of the story though, it was really good. Nicely woven together with two opposite points of view, and a even a couple different mysteries in one plot line. I really liked this book, and I would have read it much more quickly if I had the time.

I’ll give this one a 3.5 (one less mark then the first one) And here is the website once again. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJqygAs2uq4

Now, I have a present for you guys. I made a nice Wordle for the blog at this point, if you don’t know what it is – then check it out. http://www.wordle.net/ You basically give Wordle the URL and they’ll make a little poster of the most used words on that webpage. You can change the font, the colours, and the layout. It’s all really cool.

So there you go! Maybe I’ll see you next month.

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett

2010-09-12T19:17:00.001-07:00

I’m here writing this book review while also majorly multi-tasking. I never knew that I could eat Mr. Noodles, write a 5 paragraph essay and also help my sister draw a flower which is starting to look like a mutated animal. I’m doing great. I like how every minute I’m supposed to be doing something… I always have something to do. I missed school so much, even if it means less reading.. it means more things to fill up my time.

After living all her life in India, the spoiled child Mary moves to England to stay with her Uncle. Left by herself to explore the moor, and the huge property that he owns – Mary finds and learns things she could never have dreamed of when she was in India. She takes a turn for the better, and blooms like a beautiful flower in the secret garden that she adores so very much. What more does a child need than to be loved, have freedom, and most of all… get full breaths of fresh air straight out of the moor wind.

As you should know by now, I’ll read almost anything… so when I saw this children’s book on my friends bookshelf, I borrowed it right away. There’s nothing better than a nice classical read… especially (as I’ve said many times before) when the setting is in old England. And this book had such a great plot line… I kept on thinking that the garden would be discovered by the Uncle and that they would all be yelled at and banned and never aloud to go in there again. But no, it never happened. :]

One of the really big things that made this book likable for me, was the Yorkshire dialogue that was said. By the end of the novel, I was very confident that if a person came up to me and started to speak English in a very heavy Yorkshire accent, I would be able to understand it pretty darn well. A great read, whether you’re a kid or a teen.

I give The Secret Garden a 3.5 out of 5. I don’t know much about this author, but we can always learn! he doesn’t have his own website because he’s too ancient, but you know the deal. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frances_Hodgson_Burnett

Later Cheese Graters!

MRR

Looking for Alaska by John Green

2010-09-03T15:02:00.001-07:00

Ahhh, I went through all of my things yesterday… so now I have extra room on my bookshelf. (An excuse for buying more books? –Hopefully) I finally feel like I’m getting somewhere with my piles… but then I think about school starting up again and I know that I’m going to be screwed in terms of time for reading. I promise that I will try my best though. :D

In search for something more, Miles ‘Pudge' Halter goes away from all he has ever known to attend Culver Creek, a boarding school in Alabama. Then he meets Alaska Young, the incredible and unforgettable Alaska Young. A girl who catches his eye from the start – and changes him as a person forever. Stuck in happily in the middle of the boarding school life, Pudge couldn’t feel more at home. But just when he had thought that he’d gotten Alaska figured out, everything changes… and nothing will ever be the same again.

When my dearest friend Erin first gave me this book while I was raiding her bookshelf at her mansion home… she gave me the worst summery of the book and I raised my eyebrows and she said, ‘Just read it!’. So I did read it. And I know that my summery is just as crappy as hers sounded like, BUT THIS BOOK WAS GREAT! A book that both boys and girls will love, although it is for more older readers.

There were many parts in this book that I would laugh out loud and anybody in the same room as me would just stare at me and give me one of those looks – those were the greatest parts. But this story also tells a sad part too, in which I almost (but did not) cried.

Now, I’m going to tell you a little something about myself.. because this novel really brought it up. The word ‘colonel’ is one of my least favorite words ever in the whole entire English language, because I never pronounce it correctly! I always say it how it’s spelt… and I was doing that the whole entire book until the very last page where I started thinking of the board game Clue… and then Colonel Mustard… all of a sudden, BAM. I was saying the wrong way in my head the whole entire novel. It made me SO angry. I tried to read the page again but I still couldn’t pronounce it ‘kernel’ like it’s supposed to be.

Bravo, Green. You did a great job on this story, I really liked it. (I hope that a 4/5 is good enough for you Erin) This guy looks like kind of a nerd… he has weird YouTube videos on his website. http://johngreenbooks.com/

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan

2010-08-31T23:01:00.001-07:00

Happy last day of August! And lucky for me I’ve been reading very short books lately, which means more fun for the both of us. Right? Anyways… I know for a while I said that I was going to do a review on The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, but I honestly don’t feel like doing seven different reviews for that whole series because everything is pretty similar in all of the books.

In other books, the heroes can go through the whole story making many horrible mistakes – but never having to face the consequences before the story came to an end. Not in this one. After Darren sneaks into an illegal freak show, he finds out secrets that will definitely come back to haunt him. Now he’s caught into something that he can’t understand or get out of, and when he puts his best friend’s life on the line he has to decide to pay up for what he has done, or risk losing somebody he cares about. But how can you pay back some thing that only accepts blood as currency?

I don’t know how many books there are in this series, I think it’s a lot. But who cares? NOT ME! This book was a spooky adventure that I couldn’t help getting pulled into. I’ve never watched the TV series that came out of this, but I can see the reason that they would make this into a show, it’s so compelling! I love the type of fiction books that try hard to convince you that these things really did happen. It just makes it all the more realistic!

This was another book that was great for any age group, and the transitions between each chapter and each book were very well done. It kept you hanging, no matter how short they were… they were jam packed with loads of exciting events. Like a well put together music festival with all the right pieces in all the right places. Haha, bad reference… I know.

This was a great read, but of course I know when something stands out. I’ll give this one a 3.5 You guys will have to watch the show for me, and tell me if it’s good. Here’s his website, http://www.darrenshan.com/ . Looks PRETTY freaky.

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

2010-08-29T00:55:00.001-07:00

I think it’s been two days, and most of the time on those two days were spent reading this god damned book. It was SO good. What else can I say? I love it when I read a good book because it makes me extremely happy… but then I realize when I get on here to do a review that I have nothing to complain about and so my paragraphs to you will be short. I guess you can deal though, right?

Living in the twelfth district, which comes surely alongside a life of starvation and scarcity… the Hunger Games is not something to celebrate. Who would want to die in such a horrible way? But when Katniss’ younger sister’s name is called for one of the two participants, she volunteers to take her place. Thrust into a world of deceit and death, Katniss trains and tries to follow her mentors instructions, but will it help her claim victory in the arena? Or will she be killed and forgotten just like hundreds that have died at the mercy of the Capitol?

Wow. I loved this book so much. I was hooked on every page, I brought it with me anywhere I could take it and read it whenever I had a minute to spare. So many things have been said about this novel, and one of the main things that I heard was that anybody that read it liked it… and it’s true! It doesn’t matter what age you are, or what you’re interested in reading… this book is for everybody to enjoy. I feel sure that Collins wrote it like that purposefully, and she did a beautiful job.

One thing that really caught my attention was the time that it was set. I loved the idea that it was in the future, after people rebelled against the Government in the USA. A whole new system was created that seemed like it was back in the day because District 12 (where the two main characters are from) was the poorest district… but then you read the technology they have and this whole new wonderful world forms in your mind as you read. Even after the first chapter, you get sucked in to the adventures of Katniss and her allies.

Loved it! I give it a straight out 5 with no complaints. It’s nice to read two amazing books in a row… it should happen more often. Alrighty, you now the deal. Check out the website, http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/. This looks like it’s only her second series, PRETTY DARN GOOD IF YOU ASK ME. Time for me to sleep because I’m going to watch the Vancouver Canadians baseball game tomorrow… what a stupid name huh?

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

2010-08-27T00:28:00.001-07:00

Hola. A great thunder and lightning storm just hit where I live, so I had a bit of a delay getting on to this thing BUT it was very much worth it because the thunder and lightning were amazing. I’ve always loved storms, I apologize to those people who are scared of them (I also feel deeply sorry for you) but YOU’RE CRAZY. I just don’t get how people can’t love storms! Anyways, enough of storms let’s get on with it. Oh,I don’t really know how to explain this book well and I’m lazy you get it straight from the back this time.

“Orphaned and penniless at the height of the Depression, Jacob Jankowoski escapes everything he knows by jumping on a passing train – and inadvertently runs away with the circus. Thrown into the chaos of a second rate traveling show, Jacob is adrift in a world of freaks, swindlers, and misfits. Jacob uses his veterinary skills in the circus menagerie and becomes a savior for the animals he so loves, including a baffling elephant named Rosie. He also comes to know Marlena, the enchanting star of the equestrian act – and wife of August, a charismatic but cruel animal trainer. Caught between his love for Marlena and his need for belonging, Jacob is freed only by a murderous secret that will bring the big top down.” - Sara Gruen

I couldn’t find one bad thing about this book, it really was unforgettable. The writing style was flawless and the setting was perfect… everything was just woven so neatly together! I loved how it went back and forth between when Jacob was in his 90’s and when he was remember himself when he was 20. It was just so fun to read, I honestly couldn’t put it down. When I wasn’t reading it I could do nothing but think about it, and it made me a little bit grumpy when somebody tore me away from reading it.

The best part about this novel is that it mixes realistic history with a story of just another one of those guys behind the scenes. The mood swings in the book are almost as bad as August’s but they really make you feel the tone. I mean, the attitude of this book just constantly changed and that’s one of the reasons it was so interesting.

It doesn’t matter what type of book you normally enjoy, this story has a little bit of everything for everybody. I recommend this book, if fact, read it as soon as you can! You won’t regret it. A solid 5/5 on this one.

There is a movie coming out, with Reese Witherspoon and Robert Pattison if you’re more of a movie type of person… so I am going to provide a nice video to make up for my lack of type.

And here is Sara Gruen’s website if you want more of her. She’s a real animal lover http://saragruen.com/category/books/

Later Cheese Graters!

MRR

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

2010-08-22T19:15:00.001-07:00

I had a great week at softball camp in the Okanagan, if you play – then I highly recommend it! I must have lost at least ten pounds, and I’m all warmed up for fall ball and tryouts in September. But of course, lots of softball means way less reading. So for this week I only got one book finished for you guys. I’m way behind on everything – as usual.

The constant moans and scratching of the Unconsecrated at the fence have been a part of Mary’s village life as long as she can remember. With the Guardians to protect, and the Sisters to keep peace – every body was happy with what they had, except for Mary. Growing up with stories of a different world, without the infected… of a place with ceaseless water. Mary has always been trapped – because of the rules; because of the fence; because of the endless Forest of Hands and Teeth. But when she escapes, she slowly loses hope… how can there be anywhere else that isn’t surrounded by so much death?

I’ll tell you the first thing that pissed me off about this story. About halfway through the story, Mary gets a pet dog. And this dog is with her for about one night and then the next morning when they’re in trouble this dog is protecting her and coming to her lovingly and staying by her side etc. It takes way longer than that to get a dog to know you, and to protect you and for them to get used to their new owner and surroundings! It kind of made me angry when I read that it was already so attached to her when all she did the first night she got it was sleep.

If your the type of person that likes it when characters are well rounded, and they all have really defining personalities – THEN DO NOT READ THIS BOOK. The only to virtues I could find in the characters were that Mary was ambitious/curious and Cass was weak/whiney. Other than that – all of them could have been the same person. They way they all talked, and the way that they acted were all the same. Kind of a put down for me, and probably you.

Those are the only two big things though. I didn’t really like the way it was written, and it seemed like even though you jumped right into a main event right when you started the book, it was still slow! The main events were just too far spaced away at the beginning so you were stuck thinking that the book was iffy and kind of weird. It does get better though, and the idea is brilliant. I loved the way that things were revealed, and the ending was good. Mary was sort of selfish but she finally reached her goal, and the next book doesn’t look bad! I give this one a 2.5 Check out the series on this site, http://www.carrieryan.com/

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

The Forbidden Game by L.J. Smith

2010-08-14T22:12:00.001-07:00

I finished this right before I’m about to head off for my week long softball camp – lucky you. AND LUCKY ME, seeing as this book was amazing (but we can get into that a bit later). I thought that I should tell you guys that I think I have a minor case of pink eye in my right eye…. I think I got it from one of the damn colored contacts that I bought – and I wore them almost all day. It pained my poor right eye to finish this book, but I got through it! For you guys. Mostly for me though. :D

If you had to choose a couple words to describe Jenny, they would probably be something along the lines of these ones: innocent, kind, and most importantly – good. When she and her friends get caught inside a seemingly harmless board game, Jenny learns that the mysterious boy who sold her it is the ruler of the shadow world – a place the exact opposite of anything good. How will she get her and her friends out alive (who have to face their worst nightmares by themselves), and also escape Julian’s obsessive idea of having her light to match his shadowy darkness?

To start off, I would just like to say that I loved this book. I’ve always loved L.J. Smith’s writing, and this just helped me love it even more. The Forbidden Game was brilliantly written, full of never ending action which you have to expect from three books in one – another thing that I love about Smith’s writing.

But the one thing that I know that I can always rely of from L.J. Smith is her wonderful villains. I don’t mean that their actually wonderful… their actually quite horrible sometimes, but come on give them a break – they’re villains! What I mean is that her villains are memorable! The people that make the main character go through hardship, are not always enjoyable to read about and the thing about villains is that you have to love them as much as you hate them. The part that made this book so amazing was the beautiful Julian. This villain did have a vulnerable side, and that was that he longed for the innocence of the main character, and in the end it brought out a part of him that made a GREAT ending.

I don’t want to turn into a fan girl on this review, but damn! Julian was the highlight of the book, and I couldn’t wait for the part where he would come up and make some more trouble or give another difficult clue. I sort of got angry that Jenny didn’t give into him, but everybody knows that never happens because authors like to piss the readers off.

I give this book a big 4.5 because despite all of awesomeness, the story ran on a bit and too many similar themes for each section.

Here is her official site if you want to take a look at her other books, I strongly suggest the Night World series… and also her older ones like The Secret Circle and Vampire Diaries. http://www.ljanesmith.net/index.htm If you find the thing at the beginning annoying, you can just click on it and go on through. (I was clever enough figure it out.)

LATER Cheese Graters,

MRR

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

2010-08-11T20:02:00.001-07:00

Howdy! The end of summer is coming up fast – and I can’t keep up. I have too many books to finish before school starts up and I know that once that happens I’ll have little to no time to read. I really ought to get reading, but sometimes it’s hard to jump right out of a book and into the next. I sometimes need a break in between to digest the story and other things like that. Any who

“Her name is Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. And she was fourteen when she murdered on December, 6th 1973.” Biding her time in heaven – while watching her family struggle to keep together in their overwhelming grief. Susie longs to push against the barriers that hold her apart from earth as the lives of her killer and her loved ones unfold in front of her eyes. There is nothing but she can do except for hope, and observe… but will she ever be able to feel at peace? Not with never ending events that Susie can witness while sitting in her heaven, trying constantly to contact or become a part of earth again.

I haven’t read a book like this before, and I thought that the perspective of Susie – a girl who died and is telling her story from heaven – was a whole new way to write a novel. I can be pleased with something besides fantasy, and I thought that this story was told beautifully. The horrifying idea of getting a young girl getting raped and then murdered, should be told realistically, and all of Susie’s memories were intertwined into the story line so that you could read them smoothly and they would be registered in your memory in just the right time and place. Brilliant.

I also like how Sebold used one of the climax’s of the story as the opening line, which really pulled you in. It also got me wondering what the rest of the book was going to be filled up with if the first couple chapters hold the murder in them. But this is a book more about a family’s struggle after their daughter is murdered instead of a story about a girl who got raped and murdered. I don’t know, it’s sort of both things.

Then again, this isn’t my favorite type of story and because it’s my review I can do what I want! So in the end, I give it a 3.5/5.

There is not official website it seems… so here is a nice wiki page for you lot.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lovely_Bones I tried to look for some sort of video to entertain you, but no such luck, so GO SEE THE MOVIE.

Chow Mr Cow,

MRR

The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman

2010-08-06T21:04:00.001-07:00

I don’t have much to say here right now, except that I think that this is going to be a short one. Seeing as I don’t have much to say about this book…. I don’t really know what to think of it actually. Strange strange book is what this is.

In a time full of of darkness and opium smoke – Sally Lockhart is just another young lady trying to make her way around London in the Victorian Age. Stuck with her horrid aunt, while trying to uncover the mystery of her father’s death – Sally seems to have lost all hope of discovering anything useful. But one morning, she receives a strange letter that is only the beginning of the scandal that her father had once tried to shed light on. Sally slowly strings together as people and clues fall in around her, but she can’t help but wonder… will she be able to figure it out before she meets the same fate as her father?

This was an interesting one – that’s for sure, but it was enjoyable all the same. I’m not really a big mystery fan but because this novel was short and it got to the point pretty quickly I didn’t mind it. I don’t really know what to say about it though, I mean – I liked it. Hmm, maybe what I’m trying to say is that it was good but there was just something that was missing. I liked how it didn’t go too in depth with things if you know what I mean, but the writing or the story itself didn’t make you feel any emotions, and that’s what I really try and look at to see the quality of a story. Even if one of the main characters were going to get caught, or somebody was beaten up by the bad guy… it was still hard to feel worried about them.

In a sense, the plot line was great, and of course – I loved the setting, Old England is one of my favorite settings for books. Another thing that I liked about this book was that it wasn’t childish at all, drugs played a main part in it and curse words were actually in the dialogue (I just love reading a good curse word). This series isn’t one of Pullman’s stronger ones, I mean I think that I liked The Golden Compass much more than this one, but it was still good. Which is why I will give it a well deserved 3 out of 5.

There are three other books in the series, so maybe it will get better. I own the second one so as soon as I get to reading that it should be up here… anyways – website as per usual. http://www.philip-pullman.com/pages/content/index.asp?PageID=72

Chow Mr. Cow,

MRR

The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Strout

2010-08-06T20:08:00.001-07:00

Sorry that I’ve been sort of unresponsive over the last week, but I’ve sort of been… gone. On a road trip actually! And I happened to finish exactly three books on that road trip, two of which I shall be reviewing today. I do have a bit of news as well, I’ve decided that my ‘No reviewing second books in the series’ rule is silly, and that what I meant by that certain obligation is that I don’t want to review second books on here when I read the first one before I started this little blog. So, there we go – and here I go.

Taken away from his family when he was young, and then sent of to a strange place with a new home and master – Nathaniel is goes through what happens to every apprentice. He is there to learn the art of magic, and all it’s principles and even if progress is slow, all is well for Nathaniel. Until one day, when a high ranked magician embarrasses and puts him to shame, fully unaware of how intelligent the boy is, Nathaniel vows to take revenge. And when his plans finally unfold, and everything seems to be justified – something goes terribly wrong, and it’s up to Nathaniel to fix it.

One very good reason why I loved this book, would be because of the cold hard reality that it shows. Usually in books when a main character is doing something that they are not supposed to be, they don’t get caught. They are too clever – and too willing to take the risk, that nothing ever comes out of it and nothing goes wrong like it so often does in real life. This novel however, took a realistic turn, a turn that I was glad to take to be honest. It was a nice change to have the main character in trouble, shamed even. Because we all know that feeling of getting caught, whether it’s stealing a cookie or something less innocent than that. The feeling of dread is displayed not once but twice in this wonderful story, and it is quite a breath of fresh air.

The writing style was nice and sharp, I loved the way that Strout described certain things. In the opening paragraph, there were some really full words that I liked. When Bartimaeus was telling his part of the story, there were even foot notes to explain things. Those footnotes were often the funny part of Bartimaeus’ side and a lot of the little comments at the bottom of the page made me laugh out loud, or at the least – smile.

This was a great book, and I can’t wait to read the other two in the series. I give this one a great big 4.5

Well, here is the pretty official website. http://www.bartimaeustrilogy.com/ Take a look there, maybe play some games…. I honestly don’t know.

Chow Mr. Cow,

MRR

The Magician’s Nephew by C. S. Lewis

2010-07-27T10:04:00.001-07:00

Good thing this was a short book! But it was still very cool, and very enjoyable. I can’t believe that I didn’t get to reading this book sooner, because as you would pretty well know, it’s quite an old series and it’s for a younger age group. I have to make this one quick because today I have to weed whack and go to a birthday party. I just finished making the card actually.

In London, Diggory and Polly make use of their time exploring Diggory’s Uncle’s old house, and finding secret passage ways that lead behind all of the houses along the street. When they accidently end up inside Uncle Andrew’s secret attic room upstairs, they get into more than they bargained for. Soon enough, they are spinning in and out of many different worlds, with an evil queen in tow. When they stumble into Narnia, a world that is just being born they see things that before they would have called impossible. How will they make it back home, and will Diggory find something that will cure is ill mother?

The writing style used in this book is something different, that’s for sure. It’s in third person, but sometimes the narrator will pop in with something like, ‘But I would have never done such a thing.’ So it was really quite fun to see what they author or narrator thought about what was going on in the story. A lot of times, the narrator was giving you a clue about what was going to happen next, or telling about the next book. Lewis made certain connections very clear.

It is a children’s book, so the story is very short, and there isn’t really any thing that jabbed out at you to be super important, the story just flows along like water and everything happens to make something else happen, and it all works out kindly in the end. Another thing that I noticed about this story, is that the English is pretty old fashioned but it made me want to go around pretending that I was British. Something about how they say, ‘Oh, do come over here Polly.’ makes me happy.

I liked this story very much, and I believe that it is a very good opening to the next book, which I have already read and seen the movie numerous times. I’m going to give it a 4. Here is the closest website for C.S Lewis that I could find besides Wikipedia, it says that his step son made it, and it’s factual if I say so myself. http://cslewis.drzeus.net/

Chow Mr. Cow,

MRR

The Eyes of a King by Catherine Banner

2010-07-25T20:00:00.001-07:00

I’ve been camping non stop up till know, that’s why there hasn’t been much activity, but I am reading a short book next and I have many friends with many new books that they would LOVE to give me. I can’t believe that there is only one month left of sweet summer, I sure am going to miss it. Do you know what I’m not going to miss though? My Dad doing laundry….he folds weird. Anyway, let’s get started.

The great country of Malonia is a mess – the government is corrupted, the people are in ruins, and the young prince who is supposed to rule is stuck in a parallel world. Leo lives with his Grandmother and his little brother Stirling in the dirtier part of the kingdom, attending military school to add to evil Lucien’s troops. When Leo finds a black book that has words that appear by themselves, he is reminded of magic and the world of England that his father once told stories about. While Leo’s life takes too many turns for the worst, will the banished Prince be able to rise again?

Sometime around the Olympics, I went to Vancouver, and I went into the three story chapters there, and I saw this special section. It was called, ‘Teens for Teens’ or something like that. It was a section of novels written by teens that were supposed to be good books, so I thought, why not? I grabbed this book and finally got to reading it around now. I wish I spent my money on something better! Banner wrote this while she was 14 years old, and it is the most confusing book that I have ever read!

There are three different views in the book that all have different kinds of font, and you can’t tell which is who and who is which and etc. Until the very last chapter, I still didn’t understand the story, and even now…. I still don’t get the point of it all! It told Leo’s sad life, then it had random passages in between of a parallel world, and then it had a commentary of Leo in present while he was writing it. Too confusing!

Even if you did find some sort of point to it, there was no real climax or leading up point, I can only recall two events that stuck out to me. When Stirling gets sick and when Anna gets kidnapped, and they are way too far away from each other, so there was too much space to fill in with crap. Leo’s life is the most boring life to read about ever, and the point of the whole novel was to tell about it! Seriously, it was basically this. He goes to school, argues with some one, runs away, comes back, goes to school, runs away, fights with somebody, goes to the graveyard, cries, runs away, sits still in his house, cries, goes to the graveyard, runs away, cries again, sits around again. HOLY CRAP. I was grumpy while I was camping because this book was pissing me off!

The idea was cool, but she was just too inexperienced to tackle such a project. Although I’m sure that there are tons of very good teen writers out there. I give this book an overall, 2. Because some parts were interesting. Banner is going to write two more books with this one, and they are the same damn story but the time of it has changed, and the view of the person is changed. Haha, anybody want to read that? No tank you. Here is a wiki on her. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catherine_Banner

Chow Mr. Cow,

MRR

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

2010-07-19T17:16:00.001-07:00

I’ve been away at my Grandma’s house, but I have been reading – somewhat. Trust me, lots of reviews are coming….I have a pile of 20+ books that I have to read. Right now though, I need a break….something must be wrong with my eyes because I can’t help but squint all the time, because my eyes won’t focus on any words. BUT it’s not like I can’t see other things, it’s just words. Enough about that though, HERE WE GO.

Graced with killing since she was very young, Kasta has a reputation of being King Randa’s very own thug. Everywhere in the seven kingdoms, people fear the girl with one blue eye, and one green. When Kasta befriends Po, a prince from a faraway land – they set out to solve the mystery of his missing grandfather, and the reasons behind many strange things going on in Monsea.But Kasta finds herself caught in a terrifying air of lies, and deceit and she must learn to see the truth to save what is most important to her.

It wasn’t hard for me to get used to the world that Kasta lived in, and I was super grateful that the characters weren’t all talking in old English because then I would have to hurt somebody. The dialogue was a bit annoying with all of the ‘My Lord’ and ‘My Lady’ things happening, but they died down after Part 1 out of three in the book.

Everything was so pulled together, and it always kept you on your feet. At one point, I was sure that something was going to happen, and then the opposite thing took place….and I was taken aback! I usually get my predictions pretty spot on. I thought that there was going to be a super happy ending, where everything was resolved…BUT THEN, something miraculous happened that made me happy and sad at the same time, crazy isn’t it? You’ll have to read it to find out yourselves.

I don’t have much complaint about this book, I thought it was wonderfully written and brilliantly thought out! I give it a 5 out of 5!

Now, here is Cashore’s website if you want to take a look, I believe that she has two more books coming out in this series called Fire and Bitterblue.

There is a little picture for you, so you can have an idea you know – and here is her blog/webpage.

http://kristincashore.blogspot.com/2009/02/explaining-graceling-fire-bitterblue.html

Enjoy your summers everybody! I know I’ll enjoy mine, (no matter how badly I burn)

Chow Mr. Cow,

MRR

Evernight by Claudia Gray

2010-07-04T22:52:00.001-07:00

Hello, nice to see you all again so soon. PFT. I think that being a bookworm has it’s advantages most of the time….but seriously. I need to get off of my ass some time soon before I turn in to a whale! Sports are over, as is school…so I barely need to walk anymore except to get food! Since my last review, I’ve already finished the second Harry Potter book, and this one as well. Maybe I need to get out more and go play paintball or something.

Never before had Bianca questioned how she grew up, and the simple little things that her parents had drilled in to her head – some a simple as just remember to brush her teeth. But she had never truly understood them either, until she ends up at a strange and isolated boarding school called Evernight, where Bianca’s world takes a terrible turn. Struggling to fit in with the strangely alike students at the school, while trying to keep her relationship with an even more mysterious Lucas. Bianca will learn the truth about Evernight Academy, the students that attend it and most importantly – her confusing past where the obvious answers have been right under her nose from the start/

When I read the first couple chapters, I thought that this was going to be another book that was meant for children, because the writing style is so simple and so unadvanced that I couldn’t help but think – well this is going to be pretty darn boring. However, after you read more everything is some what laid out so that you some what understand what is going on. Of course, there is always that some what in there, so let’s cut to the chase. You’re going to be reading half of this book confused added with a little feeling of doubt. I don’t know if the author intended it to be that way…but the thing is that seems to be meant as a nice smooth transition between things turns out to be choppy. Basically, you’ll be reading along (laa lee laa lee laa) and then all of a sudden you have to go back and read again because you found yourself thinking. ‘Huh?’

It may seem that this story is going to be short, but some how it seemed so much longer, and I haven’t decided whether not that’s a good thing or a bad thing. Several times while reading I closed the book and sighed, because I just wanted a break, then did a circle around my house, and then picked it back up again. If you think about what happens in the story, it’s a really interesting plot line and the events that happen really do match up well in the end….but the the writing style is BORING. Very very uninteresting, to say the least.

I do know a good story when I see one, with good parts and bad parts, I give this book a 2.5 halfway mark.

Here is Gray’s website, I believe there are two other books in the series after this one. http://www.claudiagray.com/

Now, one more thing before I wrap this up. I know that I have one follower, and one comment from some body that I don’t know personally..but I still feel the need to confide in my….readers? When I first started this blog, I just wanted to make it simple and easy to read, easy to follow. But Blogspot has come out with these new designs that look pretty darn cool. Should I change the design to something more fancy, or is it better simple? In the end, I know that I’ll do whatever I feel like doing but still, being polite is the way to go you know, ;)

Chow Mr. Cow,

MRR

Alexandria of Africa by Eric Walters

2010-06-30T23:57:00.001-07:00

Haha, after I finished writing the review for Born to Rock I picked this up and read the whole book, so now, here I am! My internet was down but I fixed it up, that’s why the previous post was just posted about 10 minutes ago. This book may have been short, but it definitely is an amazing story, I couldn’t put it down at all. Well…..maybe for one itty bitty pizza pretzel.

Spoiled, bratty, and annoyingly used to getting her way, Alexandria has lived her whole life getting what she wants, and depending on her father’s money. When she shoplifts and is faced by an extremely unhappy judge, she is sentenced to go to a juvenile detention center. But there is another option….to go to a diversion program in Kenya, to build schools. Faced with a whole new world that she could never have imagined or have even cared about before. Will Alexandria finally realize that what she wants isn’t always what she needs?

Not only does this story tell of a reality that some readers may never knew existed – just like Alexandria didn’t….but it also tells the story of how her experienced transformed her. It may be a bit cliché; the rich girl going to Africa and learning to open her eyes and see what’s around her for once, but it’s inspirational nonetheless, and so much more than a story told again and again.

The novel was fast paced and right to the point, which was very appreciated. Like I mentioned before, I really couldn’t put it down, maybe it’s the fact that going to Africa and volunteering is something that I have always wanted to do, and that I love Africa with all of my heart. BUT that is besides the point. I think that the story just developed in all the right places and events happened at the right times, everything matched up. It was almost like gravity, pulling you in to read and read and read.

There is nothing bad in the writing that sticks out like a sore thumb, or anything that bothered or confused me, maybe that’s why I liked it so much….usually there is one thing.

Anyways, as you probably know Walters is a pretty well known writer, who has written many books. Here is his site, take a look at his other novels. http://www.ericwalters.net/razorside/executeUseCase.do?useCaseId=1129689095013330

For those of you who are interested in Africa, or the diversion programs that help build schools and supply fresh water, I have a special video for you. Eric Walters thanked Free The Children in this novel, so I here you are.

There are plenty more where that came from, just go to the website. www.freethechildren.com

I'm going to give this book a 4 out of 5.

Chow Mr. Cow,

MRR

Born To Rock by Gordon Korman

2010-06-30T22:09:00.001-07:00

WOW. On the border line of June here. But this was a short read, so I was able to finish it in pretty much one day. I am sure that if you love books as much as I do, then you love bookstores, like chapters. I am part of irewards system, and you can go on to online website and there are reviews for each book, and you can make your own lists, reviews, and recommendations. You just need to make an account and then explore a little. Here is my profile if you want to see what it looks like. Take a look, it’s pretty snazzy. http://community.indigo.ca/profile/Meggles/445991.html

Leo, a successful Young Republican thought that he had his future in his steady, reliable hands. Then his scholarship is taken away and he learns that his biological father is the most famous person in the history of punk – King Maggot. Leo ends up becoming a roadie for the Purge tour, and ends up getting in a lot of trouble while simply just trying to have some bonding time with his newly discovered Dad (who really isn’t as angry as a person that he seems). How will Leo manage to squeeze enough money to pay for his scholarship to Harvard, when his father is the biggest and angriest lead singer of all time?

After reading the first couple chapters of this book, I thought for sure it was about this crazy kid with a split personality that liked debating politics with other people. That probably is what you would think too, because the first chapters give you the most horrible impressions of the book. So my advice to you on this one, is keep on reading, or GET PAST THE CRAP. Because it really is about the rock and roll roadie life, not about this nerdy kid that sounds like he is going to have an asthma attack at any minute.

This book was meant to be short, and it explained and conveyed many things very well, but one part was so random that I didn’t even know where it came from. It was the whole liking somebody that Korman seemed to have trouble writing about. I mean, I knew the main character was going to end up falling for his best friend, it’s just predictable because it always happens. But it came out of nowhere, and when finally it was explained, it didn’t even seem real. It was in first person writing form, but the writing didn’t explain much about it. Maybe Korman hasn’t had a crush/lover before…or he sucks at writing about it – I don’t know.

It was a short book, so I don’t have much to say but I really did like it. It made me laugh and feel frustrated and sad, and had a great ending. A really great ending actually! When you finished the book, you really did finish the book, there weren’t any crap at the end, I was just able to shut the book and know that I didn’t have to keep looking through more pages to check if they actually are part of the story. (Pet Peeve)

Haha, alright. I give this book a 3.5. I realized what I tough critic I am, but what ever.

Have a happy last day of June, and early Canada day. GO CANADA! Is it easy to tell that I’m a proud Canadian.

Chow Mr. Cow,

MRR

The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

2010-06-27T15:38:00.001-07:00

A romance novel! A sight to see, huh? Yeah, it wasn’t bad – even though I don’t particularly like romance novels….at all. Ever. Anyways, it was kind of boring and interesting at the same time…..but we’ll get to that later. Forgive me, but this book is far to complicated to make my own summary, so I’m going to put what is on the back of the book.

“When Henry meets Clare, he is twenty eight and she is twenty. Henry has never met Clare before; Clare has known Henry since she was six. Impossible but true, because Henry finds himself displaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity from his life, past and future. Henry and Clare’s attempts to live normal lives are threatened by a force they can neither prevent nor control making their passionate love story intensely moving and entirely unforgettable. A story of fate, hope and belief, and more than that, the power of love to endure beyond the bounds of time.” - Audrey Niffenegger

To start this nice little review off, I just want to say that I have never taken a liking to romance novels. I find stories that are just about people falling in love, and them telling about their lives – is extremely boring to read. As a fantasy lover, it’s hard when books don’t have the spy, or the dragon, or something to keep things interesting. But I think that you can concur that from the title of the book, and the summery – this book isn’t about an ordinary couple falling in love and trying to be happy. I mean, this may be a romance novel, but the whole time traveler things made it fun to read, and as you should know that is something that is important to me. ;)

When Clare was working on her art, and the author when in to way to much detail that I had to skim, or I was reading it but it was going out one ear. That only happened two times though, so it isn’t bad at all. It was hard when you first started and you were trying to understand what all the dates meant and what was going on, because he does flash between the past, present, and future (he is a time traveler after all.). My advice is just to ignore the dates, just see how old each of the characters are and move on. All of the flashing back and forth starts to make sense, and it pieces together quite brilliantly near the end.

The thing about this book, is that it’s engaging, very well written, and everything is realistic and well placed. But it is still about this same old same old: lovers meeting parents, and then getting married, and then trying to have a baby at least seven times ( heh heh ). My point is, if you decide to read this and you’re still not sure that you like romance novels, then you might find it extremely boring. It is an emotional story though, especially near the end. SNIFF, I almost cried, (almost)

I will give this novel a, 3.5 because it was good.

This story was published in 2003, and I believe that Niffenegger has a brand new story out. (Her second one.) So, here is her website if you chickarees want to check it out! http://audreyniffenegger.com/ Sorry for being short!

Chow Mr. Cow,

MRR

City Of Bones – Cassandra Clare

2010-06-21T21:12:00.001-07:00

Told you that it wouldn’t be long! Now that my final math exam is over with I will have plenty of relaxing warm days to put my feet up and read for hours. Summer is a time for lost of plans and going out for me, but I always seem to have those times where I am stuck with boring relatives that are all to young to do anything interesting. Those….are the times where the books come out of the backpacks. ;)

Brooklyn was where Clary grew up, with her best friend Simon, her over protective mother, and her sort of step – father Luke. Sheltered and feeling out of place (just like any other teen) Clary things that she’s just imagining things when she witnesses a strange event in one of her favorite clubs, an event that is the starting point of opening a whole window of dark secrets and a story that she would have normally just read in one of her animes. With her mother missing, her home destroyed, and a whole new world of Demons and Shadowhunters, unveiling itself before her eyes. Clary must search through her clouded memory of the past, and the false impersonations of the present to save the people that she loves from pain and betrayal.

I wish that I could overload my complaints on to you about this book in mass amounts, (I’m sure that you would love that) but I am proud to say that this book is almost….mistake free. The one things that I can make a comment about is the describing. The author really feels the need to overload with information about the buildings that the characters go into and such. It can be a bit overwhelming and hard to picture of times, but you get used to it….and the author balances it all out with her dialogue.

The dialogue. I can tell you this, it is really amazing. No – she doesn’t have fancy words that you can’t understand, and no – there isn’t some special way that she arranged the words and made it magically spectacular. It was just how normal people talk. How people actual convey their feelings, and how different characters respond in their words. Dialogue is one of the hardest things in writing, because it’s the one thing that you want to make as realistic as possible, in most circumstances. The dialogue wasn’t flawed one bit, not even a little…it flowed so smoothly. Even when one of the characters was saying something that lasted a chapters length.

The thing that stands out most about this novel, is that even though it’s fiction, everything is so…realistic. How she writes it, and how her words convey things to the reader…it just all is in harmony. Of course, that’s not the only thing that made this book great. Let me tell you, I haven’t read a book like this in a long long time… I felt sad, and happy, and extremely frustrated while reading this book. The emotions I felt, and the twists and turns that made them happen – I can’t even explain.

Now here, my friends…is a rare moment indeed, so brace yourselves……… I GIVE THIS BOOK A 5 OUT OF 5. Dinga Linga LING!`

And there you have it folks, a 5/5. Now, Clare has a new series coming out called something about clocks. Here is her website if you want to learn more. http://cassandraclare.com/cms/home

*ahem* YOU HAVE TO READ THIS BOOK. Chow Mr. Cow,

MRR

The Seventh Tower by Garth Nix

2010-06-19T20:02:00.001-07:00

Hmmm. Summer summer summer = reading reading reading. So be prepared! It's just a warning. >:] This is the series that I stopped reading because I liked 'Marked' better, but that actually wasn't the case by the end of this book. OH and lucky for you guys, this book had three volumes in it, so now you actually do get more than just the first part. How nice.

Tal has always lived in a world of darkness, and it has never been any different for him. He goes to the Lectorium like all the other good little boys and he learns the ways of the Chosen and how to pay proper respect. But when his father goes missing and his mother gets sick, Tal makes a decision that will test both his beliefs and knowledge. He climbs one of his towers to get a powerful Sunstone to save him and his family, but he is cornered by a dangerous guard, and falls off the tower - outside of the castle, and into a strange icy world.
With no food, water, or strength. Tal has to figure out a way to get back into the castle, and save his family from the destiny that they face.

I’m going to tell you this right off the bat – this series starts extremely slow. Because this is a whole new world, that is really hard to understand, there is a lot of explaining things and learning how the characters live and thing and what they believe. I was so confused during most of the first volume that I had to take a break before starting again. Another things that made the whole book a bit hard to read was the amount of creatures or monsters that the main characters encountered. The author made very detailed descriptions and it was hard to follow along, because while reading you’re trying to relate to the animals that we have in out world. It throws you off.

The writing style wasn’t outstanding, but it was pretty good. I don’t think that Garth Nix is the kind of author that focuses on his style of writing, he just tries to get the point across and that’s obviously one of the important things too.

Okay, now for the praise. The world that the author imagined and wrote about is amazing. I absolutely am in love with the way the people there live, and how two types of people see each other because of their ancestors stories. When you read this, you will definitely wonder about how it would feel to be there, living how they lived and seeing what they see. Throughout the first three volumes, things start to connect and you learn more and more until the point of excitement! I’m jealous that he created this world…..and that I didn’t.

This book was pretty darn good, and I actually am going to go out and look for the next three volumes. (Once I finish the other twenty or so book sitting on my shelf.) I’m really serious about a lot of reading this summer!!!

I will give this a 3.5 (It would have been higher but the first part was bleeeh.)

http://www.garthnix.com/ Check out this guys website….it has writing advice and a list of his books and stuff. PRETTY cool. Oh, and before I go, I have one questions. Does my usual, ‘Chow for now’ annoy you? Because when I read it I get really irritated.

Chow Mr. Cow,

MRR

Marked by P.C. Cast + Kristin Cast

2010-06-13T14:50:00.001-07:00

WOWSA. I got more books from my friends, and this was the first out of three. I just started reading the first chapter because I was bored, but then I loved it so much that I had to keep going! I even kept reading it while I was still halfway through a different book! (That was a first) I think there is about 6 in the series now, I can hardly believe it. Mwaahahahahahaaaaaaaa. Yeah. This is one of those books that is about vampires….that all of the Twilight fan girls read just to see if there is anybody in this book like Edward Cullen. For future notice, THERE IS NOT. So, let’s begin.

Zoey has always known about the existence of vampires – just like everybody. But she also had always been just another human, trying to live her life and hoping that she wouldn’t be tracked and marked. But, a tracker does mark her and she learns to leave her old life behind and except her fate – as a vampire fledging at the House Of Night.

Little does she know, she is more powerful than any other normal fledging seen before, and she must use her power and the knowledge that her Grandmother gave to her, to figure out an unsolved mystery lying deep within the school walls.

Let me tell you something….I could barely put this book down, and thinking back – I don’t even get why, The story was very gradual and it wasn’t intense at all, but the combined writing style of mother and daughter authors is really great! Not only do you get the experienced writing of an older person, but then you also get the perspective of somebody younger, which is important in a book that is for teenagers. I actually loved the writing style, it was so great. They inserted things in brackets after the main character thought of something funny or immature, like this. (hee hee) It was just FUN!

The novel didn’t focus on much character development or anything like that, but this is only the first book out of a long series, so I can understand if there wasn’t much character development. Zoey didn’t seem like a super realistic character, but I think that might be because compared to her friends in the House Of Night, – which were all very cliché – she was very average, with not much stereo typical categories, etc etc.

To be honest, i think that they could have spent more time on the cover. Again, I know it’s only the first book but COME ON. The image is blurry and kind of ugly, and I don’t even get what is going on with her shoulder or back or whatever the thing is beneath her head. Just go to chapters and look at the book, and you can see the blur and how bad the fade is on the girl in the front. I wouldn’t be so mean if I didn’t know that they spent way more time on the other covers in the rest of the series.

Another thing that kind of bothered me was the rituals they did. I like rituals in books, they really add on to the effect of the story and of course, they are always important and essential – but I hate it when they are really long. It’s super easy to get bored when they are doing rituals in this book, because there are two that are extremely long and you don’t even want to read it… so subconsciously you aren’t even digesting the information. You know what I mean, right?

Anywho, I give this book a 4 out of 5, I really liked it.

Here is the official site. (Well, it looks pretty official.) http://www.houseofnightseries.com/

There yah go! I’m definitely DONE. This one was pretty long, which makes me happy. >:]

Chow for now,

MRR

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

2010-06-02T22:43:00.001-07:00

Hello kiddies.

Oh boy that was kind of creepy. Well, on the topic of my normally weird opening sentences, I would like to say that I enjoyed this book, and I also have some trivia on it because I know that I can get somewhat boring sometimes. I am sure that most of you know, there is a TV show that is being aired in about 6 days, (which is exciting) but the idea of this book was actually supposed to be a TV show at first, but then they got Sara Shepard to write it in a book series. Interesting right? It was supposed to be a sort of ‘Desperate Housewives’ but instead with teenagers. Huh. Anywho, I shall get on with this ‘report’ and at my nice little picture, okay?

Spencer, Emily, Aria, and Hanna all have secrets, all of which they have trusted in their closest friend Alison. When Ali suddenly goes missing, the girls can’t help but feel a bit relieved – at least their secrets were safe. But years later, when their lives are different and they are separated, the girls receive taunting messages signed by a mysterious ‘A’.

Was it another practical joke, or is Alison still alive? And worse – was she going to tell their deepest secrets, to everybody they were trying to hide them from?

The voice the author had in this book was very fun, and made the book a delight to read. This novel isn’t different from any other mystery with creepy notes and emails being sent to teenage girls, but some how that makes it much easier to read, and a little more fun. This was only the first book in the series, and I was already trying to guess who ‘A’ was, even though I know the ‘A’ will probably change throughout the series, just to make everything more confusing you know?

As a teenager myself, I could relate to most of the problems that the girls were facing, because this book doesn’t only talk about the disappearance of Alison, but also about what teenage girls go through, with their families, friends, and partners. I think that any teenage girl could relate to one quality from one of the girls, and it’s sort of comforting when you know that they go through the same sort of things too, no matter how much more extreme things are.

I don’t usually like books where all the characters are doing different things, and each chapter was about a different one of them, but I thought that the way that things were written really helped, and the way that they were previously friends contributed too.

I will give this book, a 4.

Alright, I’m already on my next book, so a new review should be coming sometime soon, (hopefully). After that, it’s mostly second books in series, so yeah – too bad for you. >:]

Chow for now,

MRR

Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatric

2010-05-23T21:42:00.001-07:00

Helloooo! I know that it has been a while, but I have been reading many books that are third and fourth in series, except –of course – until this very moment! WAHOO. I really liked this book……it was a romance/mystery/idon’tevenknow sort of book, (if you know what I mean.)

Nora had never paid much attention to the mysterious new student that sat at the back of the room but when the seating plan is changed, and she must complete paper about him, she finds herself drawn to him.

Patch is strange, and weird things start happening when he is around, can he be trusted? What does he really want from Nora? And what happened in his past that made him so twisted and seemingly suspicious?

Nora struggles not to loose faith in Patch, because her feelings for him are growing stronger and stronger, but she knows that he is hiding something, something that she might now want to find out.

This book was enjoyable, and it had a very interesting idea, but it was sort of cliché in terms of the mysterious boys with suspicious pasts and behavior. I mean, the part about fallen angels is cool, and the plot is well put together, and not the mention the cover is pretty damn cool. ;) But in a way it’s like every other novel…..with the normal girl who falls in love with the mysterious boy who is scared of his past and doesn’t want to reveal it to her blah blah blah.

There isn’t anything that I really love about this book, it was fairly well written and it did keep me interested. There was nothing that I really hated either, which is odd because something usually bothers me about a book. Hmmm, now that I think about it, the writing style was to my liking…..I liked the way the author described things. It was clear and easy to understand, and not once did I get confused with what she was trying convey.

So, pretty much, a pretty good book. :]

I apologize for having such short stuff lately, I just haven’t had time, and there wasn’t much to say about this one anyways. I give it a 3.5.

Hmm. What do you think of the piano?

Chow for now,

MRR

The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson

2010-04-29T16:37:00.001-07:00

Ahhhh, how I love James Patterson. I suggest that you all go and read one of his books..RIGHT NOW. He really is an amazing writer, and he writes for all different age groups. Anyways, I really liked this book, even though it was quite short. But that’s okay because I’m sure there is at least seven other books that come after this one.

Daniel’s parents were brutally murdered when he was three by a cruel alien, end ever since he has vowed to hunt it down and kill it – along with many other aliens on his parents list.

When he meets up with Number 6, an alien named Ergent Seth, Daniel underestimates the alien’s powers and get’s kidnapped and taken away from the beloved planet earth – back to a mysterious planet that that used to beautiful but that was now almost destroyed.

After learning that this planet was where he was born, and the people that were being attacked could be his cousins and aunties, Daniel has to figure out away to defeat the dreadful Seth, and preserve this strange planet, as well as planet Earth.

This is another book that was a really made for a younger age group, even if the main character is 15, the thoughts of him are very….childish. And it was very quick paced, and didn’t dwell any concepts that you may consider vital in the story….but that is just the authors style and I think that it suited this novel.

It wasn’t that this book wasn’t interesting, because it was an interesting plot line and a fine idea. I don’t know how many other book are in this series, but I hope that they maybe he puts a little more effort into his this story, It just seems poorly thought out and sort of rushed, but again, I don’t know what point in his career he wrote this….just saying though.

It might be hard for people to relate the the main character, because he doesn’t show his feelings very well, even though it’s in first person…..and most people’s parents haven’t died. (But I guess that’s not a valid point.)

I don’t really know what else to day about this book, it’s another one that I could read pretty easily but I have neutral feelings for it. Sooooo, 3 ….hmmmm not 2.5. NO 3. :D

That is all!

Chow for now,

MRR

Soulless – Christopher Golden

2010-04-14T23:23:00.001-07:00

Aye Aye Aye. Just to let all of you guys now….I’m watching CSI New York right now, and it’s getting preeeeeetty intense – ope, here comes the touching part. Awwwww, how sad. :} If you’re wondering why I’m going on and on about something random like CSI New York…. well, it’s because this book WAS TERRIBLE. (Sorry to flame and cause havoc) But I couldn’t even get halfway through the book – it was that boring.

Okay, I know it’s summery time….but I just can’t. There are too many characters that all live in different cities – and most don’t even know the other characters or have any relationships with others. Of course – I didn’t finish the whole book, so I don’t know if everything is tied together at the end, but WOW.

Okay, that didn’t really explain the book/. XD But, it is about zombies. Zombies that are being driven by dead people’s spirits…..but not their souls – thus the title Soulless. It starts out with a major séance that makes all dead rise (especially in the New York area) and basically go nuts at people because they are ‘empty’ ; lacking souls.

I don’t even know what else to say…… the writing style is just bleh, and overall, I just found it extremely boring. I guess if your a total zombie supporter, you won’t find it that bad. (I did borrow this book from my zombie loving friend) Kind of the opposite of most books….which sometimes start out slow and get better – this one seems to be more interesting at the beginning, because your not used to it…..and then it just get’s worse and worse and I just started looking at it on my shelf and feeling this dread.

WARNING, if you ever feel that dread after reading half of a book; then don’t bother reading the rest, just move on to the next book. I apologize for the shortness of this review, but I am sorta busy lately…..and I just wanted to get this book up here before I returned it my friend.

I give it a 1 out of 5…. (for the…idea?)

La la la. Chow for Now,

MRR

Bliss by Lauren Myracle

2010-04-04T15:26:00.001-07:00

How was everybody’s Easter? Mine was okay. :D But, because my spring break is the on the same week, I got lots of time off to read books and write book reviews. The new Vampire Diaries book is out….AND I AM SO EXCITED! I can’t wait to read. But, unluckily for you guys, I only do book reports on the first book of the series (if there is a series) and I read the first one to long ago, so no book review for you! But, I very muchly recommend it. ;)

Anyways, about this author. The only other books that I have read by her is that horrid series about theses three teenagers and their life. I think there are three books right now and they are called TTYL, TTFN, and something else that i don’t remember. It was in the format of IM messages and it was really boring. I hated that series, BUT I decided to give her another try and I liked this one a lot, it was a really interesting horror.

Bliss grew up on a commune with both of her parents, she never expected much, and she never got much, but when she goes to live with her high society grandmother, her life as a ‘hippie’ is falls behind her.

Standing out in a Christian school and trying hard to beware of the vision her old friend Flying V told her about, Bliss learns what it’s like to be pampered and groomed, with her every possible need and want fulfilled. But Bliss has a sort of sixth sense, and it’s telling her that something very terrible has happened in the school, and something terrible was going to happen again.

This book is set around 1960’s with hippies and with some people still secretly racist. This book didn’t start out slow at all, it got right into the school, and right into how different Bliss’ childhood was compared to all of the people attending the preppy Christian school. I don’t think the writing style was unique, but that’s okay because it made it easier to read and understand.

I don’t know what to make of this book. It says that it’s a horror, and there are definitely scary parts in it, including stuff about blood magic, sacrifices, and chilling murder. You kind of don’t know where it’s heading, and the ending is pretty bad….well really bad. At first, there is nothing horror-like about the story, but then it starts to get weird. with the voices that Bliss hears when she goes into different parts of the school. Then it goes back to normal –about Bliss and her friends and the things they do as teenage girls- and then it goes into racism and the horror near the end.

I found that I actually liked all that kind of jumpiness. It really kept you on your toes, you know, kept things interesting, and say if you were the type of reader that got bored of one subject easily, then it was nice how it changed around all the time.

The character development in this book is extraordinary. Honestly, Bliss is such a realistic character, and this book really captures how much a person can change because of their environment. Lauren Myracle gets five stars for her character Bliss, I am truly blown away, (and very jealous) of her skills in this category.Bliss’ thought process changes drastically from the beginning of the book to the end, her whole personality –everything- it all changes, and this is one of the main points in the story.

Wow, I’m surprised, there is not too much bad stuff I could get from this book, and usually I have tons of criticism…..((that means it’s a good novel)) just to let you know.

But, because of the ending, I’m going to have to give this a 4.5

“Classic horror conventions…suspenseful thriller…a troubling mystery surrounding a student’s death many years prior.” – Kirkus Reviews

'” Sure to cause goose bumps all the way to the dramatic and surprising end.” – School Library Journal

Go read this book! That is an order by the way. I may not have a book review for a while, school and stuff. You know how it is….or not.

If you want to visit Lauren Myracle’s site, for upcoming books and contest, go here.

Chow for now.

MRR

Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix

2010-04-04T15:20:00.001-07:00

I read this in one night, it was obviously written for grade 5’s and 6’s, but I really liked Margret Peterson Haddix, so I just had to read this when I found it on my friends bookshelf. I don’t know if you have read any of her other more well known books, but she wrote The Shadow Children Series, and also one of my personal favorites, Running Out of Time.

Anyways, on with the description.

Bethany has always been her parents little treasure. So when they start acting strange and Bethany finds her at an Aunt’s house that she didn’t even know, suspicion sets in easily. Nobody will tell her what is going on, her parents have fled and refuse to talk to her, and her ‘Aunt’ keeps calling her Elizabeth – another mystery which Bethany doesn’t understand.

Trying to understand who she is, and what exactly her parent’s have neglected to tell her, Bethany pries and pries, and she finds out that what she is told, isn’t what she wanted to hear at all.

I was very impressed and frustrated with this book. I don’t know what genre it was supposed be, because I don’t think mystery or suspense would do it justice. This is kind of weird book….I don’t know if it’s just Margret Peterson Haddix’s style of writing, (because I haven’t read her novels for quite some time) but I had a kind of neutral opinion on this book, and a neutral reaction. While I was reading it, I wasn’t really enjoying it….but I didn’t think it was bad either. I think it might be the writing combined with the boring plotline, but I don’t know.

The ending and beginning were both kind of crappy, I wasn’t happily reading either of them. The middle chunk line is the interesting part, so if your planning to read it then be prepared for a random beginning and a purse-da-lips- ending. And that kind of sucks because those are the most important parts! If you have a good beginner and ender then you can just do random stuff and fill in the space between. Nonononooo, don’t ever do that. ALWAYS have your climax. :D

The main character was a twelve or thirteen year old girl who did not think like a girl that age. I guess the author made it so Bethany was intelligent, but you didn’t get enough into her mind, or her behavior for the story to be good in first person. I couldn’t like or dislike Bethany as a character because it never focused on what she was really like, or her behavior (besides the fact that she was sort of spoiled because of her parents). Anyways, I think it would have been better in third person, to say the least.

There were many things left un-explained by the ending. Like why her mother was calling her Elizabeth on the phone, – which would have fit fine in the story, except for the fact that at the end her mother is just fine, not crying and calling her by her real name. I mean, this is the type of story that you don’t know what the hell is going on until the middle or the end of the story, and by then it has revealed enough things that the reader can just piece everything together. But this story leaves a lot of questions unanswered, and a lot of mysteries unsolved, which is also frustrating.

There isn’t a certain point in the book that is really hard to read through, it at least keeps you turning the pages, but I suggest taking at least a couple breaks, because you might get bored of it, I kept on going downstairs to bring back up cookies while I was reading it….. but you know, that’s probably just me.

On a good note, the idea was interesting, and things were plotted out pretty well, I really liked the Aunt’s daughter, she was a likeable character that seemed more realistic than Bethany herself. Again, this was probably written for a younger age group…..(12 year olds) I’m going to give you a break Margaret and blame the simplicity on that. XD

“A suspenseful page-turner.” – Publishers Weekly

“Gripping and Compelling.” – Kirkus Reviews

“A twisting plot and spine-tingling creepiness.” - VOYA

I will give this book a plain 3. because I do believe that it’s balanced and neutral.

You can visit Margret Peterson Haddix’s site here.

Sorry for the delay on this one, but I will have another on up as soon as two or three days, because I am a magician, thanks for asking. *wink*

Chow for now,

MRR

The Lightning Thief – Rick Riordan

2010-03-23T21:14:00.001-07:00

Hello! Took me a long time to read this book, even though it was pretty short, and interesting, I have just been super busy lately. A lot going on with my family and school and such. Anyways, I just came on here to say….DON’T WATCH THE BOX. It really sucks, and it doesn’t make sense. That’s all….bye for now! Have a nice day.

Juuuuuuust kidding! I know, I’m so funny.

Percy Jackson was never a normal kid, his learning disabilities kept him moving from school to school and never making too many friends. But just when he thought things were finally working out for him, he learns that his persistent Latin teacher wasn’t working him hard for nothing, and that maybe the god’s of Olympus are more than just a myth.

After discovering more and more about his past, and that normal was exactly the opposite of what he was, Percy must train and rely on his strength and will to help him complete his quest and stop a war from breaking out between the gods.

Now, I know that this probably written for a younger audience then mine, but if there was supposed to be a mystery about who Percy’s dad is, then it didn’t work at all. I guess it might be because my comprehension level is high or something, but I figured out who his dad was in the first chapter, the 10th page. I mean, the title is ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians’ it’s obviously about the Greek Gods, and when it said that ‘the water grabbed her’ then it was obvious that he was some how related to some sort of sea god. So at the camp when they were having such a hard time trying to figure out who is father could be….it was unrealistic, and a bit hard to read.

This book would be great for any fantasy fans, and of course, for anybody who is interested in Greek Mythology and The Gods of Olympia. Not much romance, but I can definitely see some sort of Love Hate relationship going on between the two main characters. I know this is only the first book….and there are five or six more or something….BUT SOMETHING IS GOING ON THERE, probably will develop through the series.

The ending was actually pretty good, but the very ending was kind of disappointing…..but I guess it was kind of a surprise too….but then it wasn’t a surprise (GAAAH, I can’t decide) Sorry for spoiling, but he has to choose between staying at the camp, or going home with his mother for the school year. And you would think that he had learned his lesson, that he was important and he needed to train because anything could happen but NO, he decides on the last page that he wants to pack and go live with his mother…..like I said, kind of disappointing.

After Percy got his prophecy from the Oracle, about a friend betraying him the end, I would think that he would be a bit more paranoid through his whole quest, about his friends betraying him, but no, he doesn’t even think of that again until his quest is over and he’s back safe at home. That seemed a bit weird for me, but that might be because I’m a paranoid person in general. :D

I’ll be honest with you, there is not much else to complain about in this novel. The story was really great, and I enjoyed the style of writing a lot. There was enough going on to keep you interested and even thought the mysteries were kind of obvious, it was really fun to read. I recommend this book! Now, I know that there is a movie, and I started reading this when it came out in theaters…..I really want to see it now! Apparently it’s super good.

Anywho, time for the rating!

Which I give a solid 4 out of 5.

Nice work Rick Riordan, you have pleased me greatly.

HeeeeeeeHeeeee, I have to do my homework now….because all of my grades are dropping like cherry bombs (wth?) Sorry that the other one was longer than this one, I guess I was in one of those crazy –I need to write about this story NOW- kind of moods.

OH! One more thing, I said that I would be doing some sort of mentioning really good pieces of writing once a week….or whenever I find one….well, you guessed it! I found one! (Hooray) Please check it out, you’ll thank me for it after you read it! Car Crash Like A Disco

Chow for now,

MRR

The Devouring – Simon Holt

2010-03-10T18:16:00.001-08:00

This is my first book review……so please don’t shrink and die because of how bad or inexperienced it is….because I am inexperienced. I’m just hoping the more that I do this, the better I’m going to get. I’ll start with a small summery, and then go on to my thoughts on the book.

Reggie and her best friend Aaron are two teens that can’t get enough of all different types of horror books, movies and television shows. So when they find an old journal in the book store where Reggie works, they don’t think much of the insane entries - written about inhuman beings called vours that can invade human bodies and control their mind and soul.But after a cold night in the winter solstice, Reggie’s little brother –Henry, starts acting completely different, and it doesn’t take long for Reggie to figure out a vour had inhabited him.

Aaron and Reggie must work together to learn more about the mysterious author and search for a way to extract the vour that lives inside of Henry…..without killing him first.

I have to admit, that horror is not the genre I usually read, but I did feel that there was definitely some things that I can mention and even criticize.

In every book, no matter what genre, there is always a part that has some down time. There is always one little moment where the main character breaks down, or tells what they’re feeling, or kisses their beloved. Even the most action-packed movie has some scene where you can relax, and not worry about some car blowing up in the background. But in this book, I found that there was no time where things were somewhat normal, where the main character talked about something normal. It was always going on and on, without a break. Even when Aaron and Reggie are just talking in one of their bedrooms, it’s always about the vours and how they plan to catch it. The only break that I noticed, (after the plot developed) was when Reggie got knocked out.

Now, for any romance fans out there….those kind that only read books with romance, and the ones that get frustrated when nothing even slightly romantic happens between two characters. Well, then I suggest you don’t read this. Even though there is obviously some sort of connection between Reggie and Aaron, and they care for each other, they don’t talk about how they feel except for the occasional ‘I’m worried about Henry’ or ’I’m scared.’ I guess to me that was a little bit of a disappointment….but like I mentioned before this is my first horror book in a while. (Maybe a bad choice for my first review)

Time for the compliments! The idea was original and very interesting, and the descriptions were so detailed, that I actually started to feel unsafe! Especially at parts where it was describing fears that the characters had that I was scared of too. All of the senses were captured really well, and I could zone into the story without two much trouble. The characters were likeable – which is good, and I guess that overall it was a good book (not a waste of time)

I give it a 3.5 out of 5.

The Devouring on Wiki <—More information –> Official Website

“Comparable to books by R.L. Stine and Stephen king…A must-read for horror fans” –School Library Journal

“A scary yarn spun at breakneck speed, perfect for those chilly winter nights” –Kirkus

“Irresistible” –The Bulletin

If you have read the book, and you would like to add something, or you disagree with me, then just comment! I’ll shall reply. Also, if you have any book suggestions for me, then just do the same. Thank you for reading.

Chow for now!

MRR

You May Have Noticed,….

2010-03-10T00:39:00.001-08:00

That I have deleted all of my old posts and added new things….and changed a few things, and that this is my first post since at least the end of October. And the reason for that is because when have so many different blogger accounts and emails (because of school and personal reasons) that I just couldn’t remember which email I used, and which password.

I was going to make a completely new blog, but it said that my email was already being used for this one, so then I FOUND IT. Yes! So, why a completely new blog you say? Because one; I’m not really interested in recording the ‘exciting’ moments in my life, or something that happened to me, because that’s boring. And two; I just wanted to try something different, something that I can practice and get better at and then use that as a tool later on.

SO, finally to my conclusion, this blog is now going to be used for book reviews. Maybe comic reviews, and any really amazing short stories or poems that I end up reading. Basically, anything that I read, that is long enough and has enough point, I will talk about on here. I was also thinking of having just kind of a feature of my favorite poetry pieces that I find on dA….and that might happen every two or three weeks, or whenever i find something that's worth talking about. As for the reviews, that will happen every time I finish a novel.

That is all the news I have!

Chow for now,

MRR