"Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl.
There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.
It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day."
So, I kinda fell in love with this book. The concept of it was so completely new and original that I got hooked in right away and was curious to see how it would work. I got completely engrossed and ended up finishing it in about 12 hours. I liked that the story got going right away; It let me learn a lot about A and his situation, but didn't have that boring informational session at the beginning. You got to know his story over the course of the book and it did a good job of explaining everything. It managed to be a romance story that ended up true to the real world--not in a disappointing way, just a thoughtful way. I honestly couldn't love this book more, and ended up recommending it to a couple of my friends. Seriously, whoever you are, you really should read this book. It's at Kettleson, so what are you waiting for?
New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.
The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.
There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.
Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren't always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it's hard for her to forget that people weren't always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It's hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.
Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.
That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings—the only boy Ember has ever loved.
This one gets a good thumbs up. I won't go to the point of saying it was amazing, but I liked reading it. It was a fairly typical futuristic plot, but I liked the exchanges between the characters and the chemistry they had. The main character was headstrong for the most part, which I liked, although she did have a couple "helpless female" moments that I can largely forgive given the situation they were in. It was really good, not my favorite or anything, but worth reading I'd say. If you want it it's at Kettleson.
"William Golding's compelling story about a group of very ordinary small boys marooned on a coral island has become a modern classic. At first it seems as though it is all going to be great fun; but the fun before long becomes furious and life on the island turns into a nightmare of panic and death. As ordinary standards of behaviour collapse, the whole world the boys know collapses with them—the world of cricket and homework and adventure stories—and another world is revealed beneath, primitive and terrible."
Ahem. Sorry about this. I honestly didn't know what else to do, seeing as all the books I've read this week are advance copies and would do you no good whatsoever to review. Hence, you get my English book. There'll be a modern book next week, though, I promise. Anyway, although like any other assigned reading I wasn't the biggest fan of the book, it had its merits. One thing I noticed right off was the descriptions and use of visuals, that seemed amazingly spot-on and were the type that you could use to create a perfect picture in your head. There was also a fair bit of new vocabulary that I had to look up, which I always like. The actual reading of the book wasn't too enjoyable--it was a very guy-like, violent mentality--but I was interested by some of the parallels it causes you to inevitably draw. It wasn't one of the worst classics I've read, but it's not my favorite either. I'd say read this one if you're set on it, but if you're looking for just a basic classic I'd choose To Kill A Mockingbird over this one any day. It's at SHS, Mt. Edgecumbe, BMS, and Kettleson. Basically all the libraries.
"Evan is alone.
His best only friend, Ariel, is gone.
Evan is feels responsible.
And in her wake, Evan is left with nothing a conscience and never-ending insomnia.
But then, while walking to school one morning, Evan finds an envelope in his path. Inside is a photograph. Of nothing. Except the spot where he is standing.
The next day, Evan finds another envelope. In the exact same spot as before. Inside is another photograph. Of him.
Evan's not sure what to think. Is Ariel back? Are the photographs her way of tormenting him for reminding him of what he did to her? Or worse--has someone else found out what he did and is toying with him as punishment? Either way, he will not be able to sleeprest until he finds out who is responsible.
As the cryptic photos keep surfacing, Evan's paranoia amplifies, and the feeling that he never really knew Ariel at all starts to paralyze dominate his life thoughts. Will he uncover the truth before he loses his mind his grasp on reality?"
So, this was very much an angst book. I'd picked it up because of the intrigue of the "picture" mystery, but very quickly realized I'd underestimated the emotions department. Granted, it is about a guy whose one friend is gone, so I should have expected some of that, but it definitely came across very strongly. Very. I was still able to get into it despite the slightly off-putting levels of angst, and was interested by the separation of normal, seemingly ordinary text with the "subtext" in strikethroughs. By the end of the book, the story had started to mess with my mind, turning old preconceptions on their head and twisting my brain as it tried to process new notions. It was really strange once it ended. Oh, but I have to say: I didn't like the characters much at all. I think this is the kind of book that that's expected in, but meh. Just saying. I want to mention, though, that it's short. Really short. It's even shorter than it looks from the outside because sometimes a fragment or photo'll take up just one page--actually, that happened a lot. So, just saying, if you decide to read it you know it'll go fast. I ended up liking it fine enough, especially because of the twists at the end that gave my brain a workout. So, if you like psychological-type books, this one's completely and totally for you. If you don't like angst, you'll pretty much hate it. I s'pose I could swing either way on this one. Find out for yourself? It's at Kettleson.
"Haven Terra is a brainy, shy high school outcast. But everything begins to change when she turns sixteen. Along with her best friend Dante and their quiet and brilliant classmate Lance, she is awarded a prestigious internship in the big city— Chicago—and is sent to live and work at a swanky and stylish hotel under the watchful eyes of a group of gorgeous and shockingly young-looking strangers: powerful and alluring hotel owner Aurelia Brown; her second-in-command, the dashing Lucian Grove; and their stunning but aloof staff of glamazons called The Outfit.
As Haven begins falling for Lucian, she discovers that these beautiful people are not quite what they seem. With the help of a mysterious book, she uncovers a network of secret passageways from the hotel’s jazz-age past that leads her to the heart of the evil agenda of Aurelia and company: they’re in the business of buying souls. Will they succeed in wooing Haven to join them in their recruitment efforts, or will she be able to thwart this devilish set’s plans to take the souls of her classmates on prom night at the hotel?"
So, this was a fairly thick book, and it took me a tiny bit to get into it. Still, once I re-picked it up and got back into it, I was hooked. I loved the images and the luxury. The setting's really well fleshed-out and alluring, and it's not a stretch to picture yourself in the hotel with the characters. There wasn't much in it that truly surprised me, but there were enough new twists to keep it very interesting. I liked the characters, especially Lance. I'll admit, Dante has some good one-liners too. Haven was a good character. She wasn't exceedingly, wholeheartedly unique, but I liked her and could kind of relate to her. There were some slight comic relief spots mixed in with the enthralling nature of the hotel, which I liked. All in all, it's definitely worth reading. No, seriously, you'll like it. It's over at Kettleson.
"Galen is the prince of the Syrena, sent to land to find a girl he's heard can communicate with fish. Emma is on vacation at the beach. When she runs into Galen — literally, ouch! — both teens sense a connection. But it will take several encounters, including a deadly one with a shark, for Galen to be convinced of Emma's gifts. Now, if he can only convince Emma that she holds the key to his kingdom . . .
Told from both Emma and Galen's points of view, here is a fish-out-of-water story that sparkles with intrigue, humor, and waves of romance."
Okay, so, maybe it's just because I'm a total mythology/fantasy (and especially Poseidon) junkie that I loved this week's book. Then again, I don't think that's the only reason I really loved it. It did a really good job of reinventing the "Poseidon/mermaid" concept in a way that I've never seen. And, my favorite part of the book was the characters. I'm really happy to report that this book had really good characters, not like the kind of blah and boring, personality-less characters that sometimes come along with a book like this. I've seen it happen way too often. But anyway, yeah. They were unique, and really funny. I had one of those awkward moments in class a couple times where you start giggling while reading it and get strange looks from your classmates. So it gets my stamp of approval. Oh, and I definitely can't wait for the sequel; the plot was still going full-force up until the end (granted, with a couple predictable places in between, but they were fairly rare). Two thumbs way up. It's at Kettleson.
"Two girls: Best friends Hattie and Delores feel that life in their small New Hampshire town is a dead end.
One horse: Old and about to be put down, Speed gets a reprieve when Hattie and Delores decide to save him.
A road trip: Determined to set Speed free, Hattie and Delores drive him west in search of rangeland. But the road takes some unexpected turns as the girls get their own taste of freedom—and as they confront the reasons they left home."
Okay, I didn't totally love this one as much as I originally figured. It honestly wasn't bad, it was just a little too simple and laid-back for what I was looking for in a book. In the right setting, or for the right person, it could be really good. It gave a very calm and "country" feel, especially with the horse element. The two main characters were unique and strong, which I liked--if, like I said, a little country-ized. The images and the descriptions did a good job of giving you the feeling that you were sitting right next to the girls, whether they were riding along the highway or astride the backs of horses. I think it'd work best on a really lazy day, and especially horse lovers should definitely read it. It just wasn't what I was looking for right now. You should decide for yourself; it's at Kettleson.
