Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Author:Lauren Oliver

Reading Level:Young Adult

Publisher:HarperCollins

Rated 9.5/10

MAYBE you can afford to wait. Maybe for you there's a tomorrow. Maybe for you there's one thousand tomorrows, or three thousand, or ten, so much time you can breathe in it, roll around in it, let it slide like coins through your fingers. So much time you can waste it.

But for some of us there's only today. And the truth is, you never really know.

WHAT IF you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all: the world's most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High, from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life.

Instead, it turns out to be her last. Then she gets a second chance. Seven chances in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death, and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing

MY REVIEW
I really like this book, wouldn't it be something to be able to live the last day of your life over and over until you make everything right? Wehn I first started reading this book I didn't know what to expect and to be honest the first 100 pages I hated the book, it had something to do with the fact that I hated Samantha and her friends more than it did with the actual writing. In the beginning I though she got what she deserved but towards the middle I started to really feel sorry for Sam and started rooting for her and that's when I started liking it. I think this book does show us how kids and teenagers can truly be like and it isn't a very pretty picture to see.

Sam is the popular girl at school, the girl everyone wants to be and loves to hate. It's not like Sam doesn't earn that hate, always picking on others and never being nice. It's cupid day at school, February 12, one of Sam's favorite days, the day where one can  flaunt one's popularity at school by having the most roses. Sam goes through the day like any other normal day not knowing it's her last day. That night after a party Sam is driving home with her three best friends when they go off the road and Sam dies. Death isn't anything she envisioned it would be and she wakes up in the morning to find it's February 12 again and she has to repeat that day over and over. Sam learns that through the good and bad choices we make that we influence our lives and others around us and that things and people aren't always what they seem. Sam learns how cruel she was and tries to change things, not just because she wants to end this day but because in the end she really wants to change.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Author: James Dashner

Reading level: Young Adult

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Rated 10/10

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he s not alone. When the lift s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they ve closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.


Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers.


Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.

MY REVIEW
I  absolutely love this book, it's action filled and there's never a dull moment, I did however guess what was happening but never why until the end. Thomas has no memory of his life, only that he is named Thomas, and has no clue why he has been sent to live in the Glade with other teenage boys with the same memory problem . As soon as Thomas arrives in the Glade things start happening to make the others suspect him of something bad. All Thomas want to be is a runner in the maze, the maze surrounds the Glade keeping everyone from escaping. Then a girl arrives and Thomas has a feeling he knows her, and only bad news comes with her.Thomas gets the chance soon to be a runner after he does something no other boy had done since being there all while breaking one of the major rules. Things starts turning for the worse and they have to figure out a way to get out of the maze alive or soon they'll all be dead. I don't want to give to much away and hopefully I didn't, it's a lot better if you read everything for yourself :)

Ella Enchanted: Book vs Movie

I love the book and I also happen to love the movie. The movie and book share character names and the fact that Ella has the gift of obedience and has to do whatever she is told but the similarities end there. The book is meant to be emotional and serious while the movie is meant to be a comedy. I actually seen the movie in 2005 and just read the book  recently(when I first seen the movie I didn't know there was a book to it). I like them both in their own ways even if the plots happen to be different, usually I hate when they change plots but the movie makes it work. Anne Hathaway does a wonderful job in the movie, I don't think they could have found anyone better to play Ella in my opinion. If you are looking for a great book or movie then Ella Enchanted it just for you!!! :)

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Author: Gail Carson Levine

Reading level: Middle School

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Rated 9/10

At her birth, Ella of Frell was the unfortunate recipient of a foolish fairy's gift-- the "gift" of obedience. Ella must obey any order given to her, whether it's hopping on one foot for a day and a half, or chopping off her own head! But strong-willed Ella does not tamely accept her fate. Against a bold backdrop of pronces, orgres, giants, wicked stepsisters, and fairy godmothers, Ella goes on a quest to break the curse-- once and for all.

MY REVIEW
I really like this book, it's an awesome and different take on the Cinderella story we all know, in fact I like this version more than any of the others I have seen. I'm not too fond of the cover though, she looks nothing like she is described in the book.

 Ella is given the gift of obedience by the fairy Lucinda who happens to give the worst gifts out of all the fairies and is careless with her magic. From then on any command she is given by anyone or anything she has to obey, whether it be a human, orgre, parrot, or a command she has read directed to her. Before her mother dies she commands her to never tell anyone of her gift, but it's not long before those who Ella despises the most figure it out. While at the finishing school her father sends her to, Hattie a girl who isn't very fond of Ella learns Ella has to do anything she commands her to. Then Ella runs away from finishing school to go to a wedding for a giantess to see Lucinda and try to get her to take back her gift of obedience once and for all. On the way there Ella runs into Prince Charmont and gets help escaping from some ogres. When Ella realizes Lucinda isn't going to take back her gift she goes home with her father to find out he is finacially ruined and he's going to marry Dame Olga and she is going to have Hattie and her sister Olive as stepsisters. Because she is poor now Dame Olga makes Ella work as a servant, the only thing that keeps Ella going is the friendship and love she has with Prince Charmont, but as always her gift gets in the way.

                                                                                         

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Author: Markus Zusak

Reading level: Young Adult

Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf

Rated 10/10

"It's just a small story really, about, among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist fighter, and quite a lot of thievery...."

Set during World War II in Germany, this groundbreaking novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can t resist books. This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

MY REVIEW
I really like this book, and I love the fact it's narrated by Death himself, considering this was set in a brutal and deadly time in human history. I love how much books mean to Liesal, they mean the same to me, and if I was put in her shoes I would have done the exact same thing. This book takes us into a time in history where humans were hating each other for silly things like being Jewish or having a different skin color like Jesse Owens. Liesal is on her way to go live with her foster parents the Hubermann's with her little brother when he dies on the train. At his funeral the time arises where Liesal steals her first book, The Grave Digger's Hndbook, in which later she is taught to read it by her foster dad. Hitler is high in power in Germany and even though Liesal doesn't agree with what is going on she goes along with it until she meets Max, a Jewish fist fighter her parents are hiding in their basement. Max teaches her the power of words and how they can change the world. The title pretty much gives a lot away, but not in a bad way, Liesal steal books and learns about the woman she steals them from, those books help her to make it through her hard life This isn't a book with a happy ending, far from it, but World War 2 wasn't a happy time. I suggest if you are looking for a good book with a great plot, then this book is the one for you.

Fly on the Wall by E. Lockhart

Author: E. Lockhart

Reading level: Young Adult

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Rated 8/10

At the Manhattan High School for the Arts, where everyone is "different" and everyone is "special," Gretchen Yee feels ordinary. She's the kind of girl who sits alone at lunch, drawing pictures of Spider-Man, so that she won't have to talk to anyone; who has a crush on Titus but won't do anything about it; who has no one to hang out with when her best (and only real) friend, Katya, is busy. One day, Gretchen wishes that she could be a fly on the wall in the boys' locker room just to learn more about guys. What are they really like? What do they really talk about? Are they really cretins most of the time'Fly on the Wall is the story of how that wish comes true.

MY REVIEW
I like this book, there were a lot of times I wished the same thing, to be a fly on the wall, maybe not in the boys locker room at school but other places lol. Gretchen Yee has never really had a boyfriend, sure she has fooled around with Shane but she has never been in a relationship with a guy and doesn't really understand them. She goes to an art school, loves Spiderman and drawing him, and has a huge crush on Titus. One day she wishes she was a fly on the wall in the boys locker rooms, the next day she wakes up to find her wish has come true and she's a fly in the boys locker room. She finds out more about boys then she ever knew about their bodies and personalities. She learns new things about Titus she never knew and learns to go after what she wants. Of course this is geared at teenage girls so the character is a little immature but she learns her lesson and I think that's what life should really be about, learning from experience.
                                                                                         

The Fairies of Nutfolk Wood by Barb Ullman

Author: Barb Ullman

Reading level: Middle School

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books

Rated 7/10

Welcome to

Nutfolk Wood

population 52

In the country town of Plunkit, where Willa and her mom start anew after her parents' divorce, Willa catches sight of a strange sparkle by the creek and in the old woods. Her older-than-old neighbor, Hazel Wicket, has an amusing story about these surroundings and an imagined family of tiny people that inhabit a tree stump. Willa knows there's no such thing as fairies, but when she spots more and more oddities around her, she can't stop an itchy feeling that there's some certainty to Hazel's curious tales of the Nutfolk.

Barb Bentler Ullman's fine first novel shares a special magic -- behind which hard truth and hidden wisdom await discovery.

MY REVIEW
It was an OK book, the fact it was about fairies is what drew me to it. I guess most middle school aged kids will love it but to me it wasn't that good and I love a lot of books written for that age group. Half the time things happened that didn't go with the storyline and you just wanted her to get to the point instead of telling us little details about every  little thing. It didn't have a lot about the fairies really and when it came to describing the fairies like she did everything else it just wasn't that good. I did however like the relationship between Willa and Hazel, I thought it was sweet.

                                                    

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

Author: E. Lockhart

Reading level: Young Adult

Publisher: Hyperion Book CH

Rated 8/10

Frankie Landau-Banks at age 14:
Debate Club.
Her father's "Bunny Rabbit."
A mildly geeky girl attending a highly competitive boarding school.


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


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


Frankie Landau-Banks, at age 16:
Possibly a criminal mastermind.
This is the story of how she got that way.

MY REVIEW
I liked this book, I love how Frankie did things by her own terms and in the end stood up for what she believed in no matter that she lost all her friends and social standing she had aquired. I can see why Frankie did what she did, if given the chance I would do the same thing myself. I hate when males think they are better than females because of their gender. I'm all for equality and females being able to do anything males can do.

Frankie comes back to school her sophmore year a different person than the year before. She has changed physically and is socially different. Within the first week she has grabbed the attention of one of the most popular seniors, Matthew, and soon after they start dating. Frankie already knows about the Loyal Order of the Basset Hounds from her father and his friends stories of their old days at school. She learns Matthew is a member the same secret society as her father was. She is angry because she knows he is lying to her in order to go to the meetings. Frankie comes up with a plan as soon as she realizes the group is nothing more than a bunch of boys  drinking, nothing like the glory days of the Basset Hounds. She soon comes up with many pranks that bring glory back but lands her in a mess of trouble.

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Author: Khaled Hosseini

Reading level: Adult

Publisher: Penguin Group

Rated 10/10

A Thousand Splendid Suns is a breathtaking story set against the volatile events of Afghanistan's last thirty years -- from the Soviet invasion to the reign of the Taliban to post-Taliban rebuilding -- that puts the violence, fear, hope and faith of this country in intimate, human terms. It is a tale of two generations of characters brought jarringly together by the tragic sweep of war, where personal lives -- the struggle to survive, raise a family, find happiness -- are inextricable from the history playing out around them.

Propelled by the same storytelling instinct that made The Kite Runner a beloved classic, A Thousand Splendid Suns is at once a remarkable chronicle of three decades of Afghan history and a deeply moving account of family and friendship. It is a striking, heartwrenching novel of an unforgiving time, an unlikely friendship, and an indestructible love -- a stunning accomplishment

MY REVIEW
I LOVE THIS BOOK! After reading The Kite Runner you would think you couldn't do any better, Khaled Hosseini has proven that wrong. Khaled Hosseini has a way with playing with human emotions very well with his characters. I cried when Mariam found out the hard truth about her father, I cried when Laila left her daughter at the orphange, I cried because the way women were treated in this book and in real life in Afghanistan. It took me less then a day to read this book, I literally couldn't tear myself away from it. Most books I read are all too predictable, I couldn't guess what was gonna happen next in this book. His characters feel all too real to me and you feel for them. I would suggest this book to anyone looking for a good read, it's one of those books you will be thinking about long after reading. Also this book teaches a lot about Afghanistan, it's culture, and history. Since reading The Kite Runner and this book I'm more aware of what has and is happening there. This book also makes me happy to live the life I happen to live because I know some women will never get that chance.

This book is about Mariam and Laila, two women married to the same man. Mariam was born a harami, a bastard, between a wealthy man and his servant. Mariam is raised by her mother and worships her father. Mariam's mother has nothing good to say about her father and Mariam learns the hard way what her father really thinks about her. Soon after her father marries her off to a shoemaker, Rasheed, and she moves to Kabul to live with him. Laila was born and raised in Kabul by her parents. She lives a life where women are free to go to school and work during the time of Communists. She constantly lives in the shadow of her two older brothers who are off fighting the Communists. Laila is best friends with Tariq, but when they  get older feelings start to develop between them. But things go very wrong and Laila loses everyone she loves. Saved by Rasheed and harboring a secret she marries him. At first Mariam and Laila don't get along with each other, Mariam thinks the much younger Laila wants her to be her servant and steal her husband away. But Rasheed's cruelty brings them together and Mariam thinks of Laila as the daughter she never had and would do anything to protect her.