Stealing Heaven by Elizabeth Scott

Author: Elizabeth Scott

Reading level: Young Adult

Publisher: HarperTeen

Rated 8/10

My name is Danielle. I'm eighteen. I've been stealing things for as long as I can remember.

Dani has been trained as a thief by the best there is—her mother. They never stay in one place long enough for Dani to have real connections, real friends—a real life.

But in the town of Heaven, everything changes. Suddenly, Dani must question where her loyalties lie: with the life she's always known—or the one she's always wanted

MY REVIEW
I like this book but the things that happened were a little unbelievable at times. Dani's mom really peeved me, her character was so selfish. I did like the romance between Dani and Greg, that's what really kept me reading to the very end.

The only constant thing in Dani's life is stealing. Her mom finds a small vacation town, Heaven, and soon they are on another of their stealing missions. Silver is what they're after and Dani has to get inside the Donaldson house to get it. The only problem though is now Dani is friends with Allison Donaldson and starts to question stealing and hurting her. Another obstacle Dani faces is really liking Greg, a really cute, nice cop who seems to really like her. Now Dani questions her life and wants what she had never wanted before, a permanent home and friends.

      

The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare

Author: Elizabeth George Speare

Reading Level: Middle School

Publisher: Bantam Doubleday Dell Books

Rated 9.5/10

Kit Tyler knew, as she gazed for the first time at the cold, bleak shores of Connecticut Colony, that her new home would never be like the shimmering Caribbean islands she left behind. In the stern Puritan community of her relatives, she soon felt caged as well, and lonely. In the meadows, the only place where she could feel completely free, she meets another lone and mysterious figure, the old woman known as the Witch of Blackbird Pond. But when their friendship is discovered, Kit is faced with suspicion, fear, and anger as she herself is accused of witchcraft!

MY REVIEW
I really like this book, this isn't the first time I have read this book, I read it when I was in junior high about 10 years ago.  It's just as good as the first time too. A lot of what happened makes me angry at the past, I could never imagine living in a time like the Puritans. This is one of those books that makes me happy to be alive now and live the way I do. This is a fast and easy read, I read it in a few hours, I literally couldn't put it down from start to finish. I love books that throw some education in there when reading it, and this book does that. You learn how people thought and lived in the first years of America and  how people viewed the world around them. If you love a good book then I suggest this book, you will not be disappointed if you do.

Katherine Tyler aka Kit goes to America from Barbados to live with her Aunt after her grandfather dies. Life in Connecticut isn't like she thought it would be, she dislikes the life of a Putitan and is looked at as strange by her family and people of the town. Soon Kit starts visiting with Hannah, the Quaker woman who lives by Blackbird Pond and is called a witch by many of the townspeople. She is forbidden by her family but she can't seem to stay away from the old woman who is her new friend. Kit also starts to appreciate her new Family but misses Barbados and the life she lived there. Soon people are getting sick and are dying, they  blame Hannah and start calling her a witch and saying she cursed people. Kit helps Hannah escape and then they lay the blame on her.
                                                   

Spells by Aprilynne Pike

Author: Aprilynne Pike

Reading level: Young Adult

Publisher: HarperTeen

Rated 9/10

"I can't just storm in and proclaim my intentions. I can't 'steal' you away. I just have to wait and hope that, someday, you'll ask," Tamani said.

"And if I don't?" Laurelsaid, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Then I guess I'll be waiting forever."

Although Laurel has come to accept her true idenity as a faerie, she refuses to turn her back on her human life- and especially her boyfriend, David- to return to the faerie world.

But when she is summoned to Avalon, Laurel's feelings for the charismatic faeriesentry Tamani are undeniable. She is forced to make a choice- a choice that could break her heart.

MY REVIEW
This is the sequel to Wings, and it's just as good if not better than Wings. By the way I'm definitely team Tamani LOL. I love how she writes about Avalon, I feel like I'm seeing it myself. I've always loved fairies and stories about them and I love how Aprilynne Pike puts a different twist on hers. Fae lovers everywhere should check this and Wings out.

Laurel goes to study at the Acedemy for Fall Faeries in Avalon while on her summer break so she can learn how to protect herself and the ones she loves from trolls, also so she can cover the basics of being a Fall faerie. She learns that customs are a lot different there than in the human world she has known most of her life. In Avalon there's a social structure that puts her ahead of a lot of people, including Tamani, and that life is different in his world than in hers. When she returns to the human world she is always on her guard fearing an attack from trolls. Like in Wings she is torn between David(her human boyfriend) and Tamani(a fellow faerie). It has that love triangle that most of us love reading about. I look forward to the next book in this series, I can't wait!!!!



I hear that Mily Cyrus will be playing Laurel in the movie version of Wings, please don't let this be true. No offense Miley Cyrus isn't pretty enough to be Laurel and is a terrible choice, she's not really that good at acting. I could never imagine Laurel looking and talking like Miley Cyrus, her voice is just too annoying!!!!! There are plenty of other actresses who could fit the role or they should hire an unknown actress because Miley can never be Laurel in my eyes. It's not just me either, a lot of the fans of Wings think the same thing.

              

I just love this pic and take no credit for it. I got it from here

This is just too pretty, I take no credit for it. I got it from here

Beautiful Dead Book 1: Jonas by Eden Maguire

Author: Eden Maguire

Reading level: Young Adult

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Rated 7/10

Something strange is happening in Ellerton High. Jonas, Arizona, Summer, Phoenix. All dead within a year.

Jonas Jonson is the first to die, in a motorcycle accident. But there are many unanswered questions, and the three deaths that follow are equally mysterious.

Grief-stricken Darina can't escape her heartacheor visions of her dead boyfriend, Phoenix, and the others who died. And all the while, the sound of beating wings echoes inside her head...

Are the visions real? Or do the Beautiful Dead only exist in Darina's traumatized imagination?

MY REVIEW
I like this book but it took me awhile to get into it, also a lot of the emotions in the book didn't seem genuine to me and often forced. But what kept me going was the mystery to how Jonas died and how Darina was gonna go about solving it.

Darina's boyfriend Phoenix has just died and she thinks she sees him everywhere. One day she happens onto an old house and finds that Phoenix and others(Jonas, Arizona, and Summer) who she knew had died are not quite so gone. She can't help but think it's all in her mind but when she goes back she sees how truly wrong she is. They are the Beautiful Dead, souls trapped in limbo until they resovle something from their death. In order to keep her memory of the Beautiful Dead and be with Phoenix, because the Beautiful Dead can erase your memory, she has to promise not to ever tell and help those in limbo. First is Jonas who died in a motorcycle accident, Darina has to help him prove that it wasn't his fault so he can move on.             

                                                   

Godless by Pete Hautman

Author: Pete Hautman

Reading level: Young Adult

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Rate 9/10

Why mess around with Catholicism when you can have your own customized religion?"

Fed up with his parents' boring old religion, agnostic-going-on-atheist Jason Bock invents a new god — the town's water tower. He recruits an unlikely group of worshippers: his snail-farming best friend, Shin, cute-as-a-button (whatever that means) Magda Price, and the violent and unpredictable Henry Stagg. As their religion grows, it takes on a life of its own. While Jason struggles to keep the faith pure, Shin obsesses over writing their bible, and the explosive Henry schemes to make the new faith even more exciting — and dangerous.


When the Chutengodians hold their first ceremony high atop the dome of the water tower, things quickly go from merely dangerous to terrifying and deadly. Jason soon realizes that inventing a religion is a lot easier than controlling it, but control it he must, before his creation destroys both his friends and himself.

MY REVIEW
I really liked this book, I thought it had a lot of humor and great points were made. In religion, any of them out there, you should be able to question it and get answers. Because what's the point in believing in something if you don't know the answers to any of the questions about your faith? I'm also all for freedom of religion as long as it's peaceful and doesn't hurt people. I believe even if you don't happen to agree religiously with people you should still accept them. Another good point made in this book is that you can't really understand something until you believe in it. Jason(main character) got on my nerves at times but he made really good points all the same and he was funny in the process. Even if you don't agree with what this book brings to the table relgiously, I think you should still read it, because how are we to understand different people if we don't know anything about their differences? I'm definitely not an athiest or agnostic but I would never hate on someone who isn't and I would listen to their point of views too, even if I don't agree with them. It's also a fast read, I read it in a few hours.
                                                                                 

I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak

Author: Markus Zusak

Reading level: Young Adult

Publisher: Random House Children's

Rated 8/10

This teen gem about an unambitious teenager whose life is suddenly turned upside down by anonymous messages has it all mystery, humor, romance, friendship.

Meet Ed Kennedy underage cab driver, pathetic card player, and useless at romance. He lives in a shack and he's hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence, until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery. That's when the first Ace arrives That's when Ed becomes the messenger.


Chosen to care, he makes his way through town helping and hurting (when necessary), until only one question remains. Who's behind Ed's mission?


Michael L. Printz Honor Winner

MY REVIEW
I liked this book but at times I did find it a bit dull. This is a story of a man that finds out that he can be more that what he thought before. Ed is a 19 year old cabdriver living in Australia and one day he happens to be in the bank when it is being robbed. He stops the robber with his own gun without realizing afterwards he'd start a journey he'd never forget. One day he gets a card in the mail with some adresses on it and soon learns he has to help the people at those adresses whether good or bad. After each one is complete he recieves another card with more clues to helping more people. Ed is angry because he doesn't know who is sending them but he does them anyways. He learns the biggest lesson of his life in the process and who he really is. My favorite two helped would have to be Milla and Marv, both of those brought tears to my eyes. I would suggest this book to anyone looking for an easy good read. I've noticed people read one or two reviews and base the book on those whether good or bad, I say don't do that. Only your own opinion should matter to you about a book whether good or bad. And you shouldn't not read a book because I or someone else has a bad opinion about it. I have seen bad reviews on books on these kinds of blogs and people commenting now they know not to read it, everyone is different, even in the way they view certain books.
                                                                                                               

The Blood of Flowers by Anita Amirrezvani

Author: Anita Amirrezvani

Reading level: Adult

Publisher: Little, Brown & Company

Rated 8.5/10

At the age of fourteen, a young woman in 17th-century Persia believes she will be married within the year. But when her beloved father dies, collapsing in the field where he works with the other men from their village, there is no hope for a dowry. Alone and penniless, she and her grieving mother are forced to sell the brilliant turquoise rug the young woman has woven,meant, of course, for her married life, to pay for their journey to Isfahan. There they will work as servants for her uncle Gostaham, a rich rug designer in the court of the Shah, and be lorded over by Gostaham's wife. Despite her lowly station, the young woman blossoms as a brilliant weaver of carpets, a rarity in a craft dominated by men. But while her artistic gift flourishes, her prospects for a happy marriage grow dim. Forced into a secret marriage with a man who will never take her as his first wife, the young woman is faced with a daunting decision: forsake her own dignity, or risk everything she has in an effort to maintain it. Amirrezvani infuses her story with lush detail, brilliantly bringing to life the sights sounds and life of 17th-century Isfahan: The dazzling architecture; the exotic Persian foods; the breathtakingly beautiful rugs. A sweeping love story, a powerful coming-of-age story, and a luminous portrait of a city, this is a universal tale of one woman's struggle to live a life of her choosing.

MY REVIEW
I like this book but was aggravated a lot at the main character's situation, and I know that it happens in real life to many women, then and now. This is another book that makes me happy to live in the time and culture I do, I know I have so many choices and more freedom than other women now and throughout history. Even though she did shameful things she did them for an honroable reason, and I guess the same could be said about many women. We look at those women and look down on them but they do what has to be done and I resepect women who are like that. While reading this you learn about rug making and appreciate the time and effort that must have been put into making them. You'll also learn a little bit about 17th century Iran and it's culture and customs.

This is the story of a girl, who by the end of the novel is a woman, who endures many hardships. Her father dies and she goes with her mother to the city of Isfahan to live with her father's half brother and his wife. They are treated more like servants than family but her uncle shows interest in her and her talent for rug making. Soon she makes a new friend, Naheed, and they become very close. She marries a wealthy man, Fereydoon in a three month marriage contract which he can renew or discard anytime after those months are over. She has to keep fearing not having money and a place for her and her mother to live. I don't really want to give too much away but I think this book is really worth the time to read it. It's not the best book I have ever read but I did enjoy reading it. I'm a little mad that Fereydoon never got what I thought he deserved, I despise his character. Haha and times I'm not gonna lie I felt like I was reading pornagraphy when it came to the love scenes but I'm a grown woman and know all about that kind of stuff so it didn't bother me like some of the people I have read reviews from on this book. This book should really be for people mature enough to read about sex and not those sickened by it. What else did they think was gonna happen in a marriage between a man and woman?