Crashed

Crashed (Skinned trilogy #2) by Robin Wasserman

In the follow up to Skinned, Lia Kahn has left the home of her former family and is living in a compound/mansion with other mechs. Rights of the mechs' are in question as the Brotherhood become more vocal about how dangerous this new breed of people may be. When Lia's former friend Auden begins speaking out for the Brotherhood against the mechs, Lia is devastated.

Even though she has had no contact with her family in months, when things get tough, they pull through for her.

While living in the compound and trying to figure out or forget what she has become, Lia finally lets someone get close to her. She gets to know Riley.

Although I love the 'idea' of these books, I felt like this one was pretty flat. It took about three hundred pages to feel like I had finally reached the heart of the book. Before that there was too much emotional turmoil........you know the kind.........where you just keep rehashing something you can't seem to get over.

I was glad to see Lia finally have a friend. She felt much more angry in this book and I wasn't going for it.

I did however like learning more about the society after the big wars, and how the caste system had placed people in cities, corp-towns or rich suburbs.

Rating 2.5 I did like the book. It just took a lot of time to cover little ground.

Rating R For language, sex, some homosexuality, drug use (even though it was more like a download, you still understood that it was drug use).

Night World Vol. 1

Night World Vol. 1 by L.J. Smith

This book contains three books; Secret Vampire, Daughters of Darkness, and Spellbinder.

Secret Vampire has a good premise; Poppy finds out that she is dying of pancreatic cancer and doesn't have long to live. She has a male best friend, James, that she has always had feelings for, feelings he has never returned. Now that she is dying she finds the reason he has been so aloof is because he is a vampire and member of the Night World. A world that she is never supposed to know about. James decides to turn Poppy into a vampire even though it is against the law of the Night World. He and Poppy are soul mates and they decide to chance the wrath of the Night World rather than be apart.

Daughters of Darkness
Three vampire sisters, Rowan, Kestrel, and Jade, run away from their vampire hometown. They move to a small town on the west coast where they can live without having their lives run by the elder vampires. This is where Jade and her brother Ash meet their soul mates. Unfortunately, their soul mates are human.

Spellbinder
Thea is a teenage witch. She has just moved to Las Vegas with her cousin/sister Blaise to live with their grandmother. Grandmother is an old Crone, one of the witch leaders. The two girls have moved from place to place because of Blaise's misuse of magic with human boys. Now Thea falls head over heels for a human boy. She thinks they are soulmates. Blaise wants to kill him in order to save Thea from being discovered and killed by the Night World for breaking the law.

The books were teen entertainment. The first book probably had the best idea behind it. After that it was kind of like watching daytime soaps.

Rating 2.5 I didn't hate it. I was far from loving it. Not intense enough.
Rating PG Killing, murder

The Silence of Snow

The Silence of Snow (Jayson Wolfe series #5) by Anita Stansfield

Jayson is just ready to release a new album. Times should be wonderful but he is about to learn the lesson of opposition. Tabloid rumors, rumors in his own ward, and illness bring him to another breaking point.

As always Stansfield has great core subjects. I was pleased that she chose to broach opposition. Jayson and his family come through clearly and without so much emotional turmoil that you can't understand what is happening anymore. This book also delved into dealing with chronic illness. Jayson began suffering debilitating migraines and a family member was diagnosed with Celiac Disease.

The Celiac Disease part was great. I was happy that she showed what a rigid, life/world changing disease this is and how little it is acknowledged by food companies.

The book was sweet, clean, fun and fast. She dropped most of her 'words' that I always look for. She picked up a few others....'glorious', and 'joyous'. Kind of funny.

I want to hear the music created by this character........I may also want to marry him. Mostly because he works from home.........

Rating 4
Rating PG The family talks to their teen about chastity. The ex-wife is abusing drugs.

Psych Major Syndrome

I won this sweet little puppy with the gorgeous cover, over at Bloggin' 'Bout Books. The cover alone seemed so fresh I couldn't wait to dig in. Plus for you Meg Cabot lovers, her recommendation is on the back of the book.

Leigh is in her first year at a bitty little liberal arts college in California. She comes from a nutty, psychic B&B in Arizona where her dad wears and eye patch and her mother takes aura pictures. Leigh is majoring in Psychology. As she wades her way through Psych 101 Leigh begins to self examine. She is pressing herself to keep the relationship going with Andrew, her high school boyfriend. He attends the same college. Leigh wants to prove that they can stay together despite everyone else assuming that they will break up.

She rooms with unconventional artsy Ami. Despite being polar opposites they become close friends immediately.

Leigh is also trying to prove herself in a highly focused educational arena. She signs up for a mentoring program in a local middle school and finds herself in over her head from day one.

Ami doesn't think that Andrew is the right guy for Leigh. Andrew's roommate Nathan seems to feel the same way. Whenever Leigh is around he acts mean and aloof.

As a former Psych major (this was after elementary ed, pre-med, nursing, and special ed........) I was laughing out loud at times. I loved that the author incorporated real psychology terms at the beginning of each chapter. Leigh was a sweet and innocent main character. I loved this most of the time........except when it was glaringly obvious that Andrew was a freaking idiot and she still couldn't give him a swift kick. The wrap up ending was predictable, which I don't really mind. I would have liked a little more......uh, romance......by then though.

Rating 4

Rating PG 13 During mentoring the teens talk about premarital sex, abortion, and contraceptives. The near sex scene never became intense or graphic.

Catching Fire

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

The spanking new book following the fabulous Hunger Games!

Katniss and Peeta have outwitted the Capitol and returned triumphant from the Hunger Games. But the Capitol didn't take their embarrassment lying down. They have now devised a way to get back at Katniss, especially since her bold move at the games created revolt in many of the districts. In an unprecedented move............Katniss and Peeta are put back into the Hunger Games.

Wow. The book took turns that were surprising. I really didn't see what Collins had coming in Catching Fire. It did seem to start out slow and didn't really get to the MAIN point for quite some time.

I am still rooting for Peeta and I can't wait for the next book. I hate reading a good series bit by bit.

Rating 4.5 Didn't hold the same shocking thrill for me that book 1 did.

Rating PG Not quite as gory as the previous book. There is killing but it wasn't as violent.

Sprout by Dale Peck

Sprout is a teen in small town Kansas. His mother is dead. His dad is an alcoholic. He dyes his hair green. He is gay.

Sprout's life begins really changing when one teacher sees his writing potential. She spends a summer coaching him to enter a writing contest. She learns a lot about Sprout. She also falls in love with his quirky alcoholic father. Sprout realizes through his writing that he wants to delve deeper into his sexuality. He has been having a relationship for four years with a boy known to everyone else as a heterosexual and as Sprout's enemy. Then a new boy (Ty) shows up at school. Sprout realizes he wants a boyfriend. He and Ty have a harrowing relationship based on many of their past personal issues.

This book was sweet, random, quirky, sarcastic and eye opening. Sprout broke my little heart in two. I completely fell for him and his struggles.

Rating 3.5 Smart, sweet book. Dopey use of things like BTW. I know.....fits the whole teen thing but still dorky.
Rating R sex, gay sex, swearing, child abuse, alcoholism, death

Slivers of Reality

Slivers of Reality

First of this book was wacked. I picked up the book when I saw our public library was having an author signing. I easily sped through the book because I was in bed with a fever. This may not have been the best time to read about a psychotic episode. I began to feel just as freaked out as the main character.

John has suffered a hailstorm of life altering events, all at once. His ill father becomes so sick that the family must decide whether or not to take him off of life support. John's first son Josh is found in the basement in the middle of a heroin reaction. John has had two bad marriages and most of his family relationships are on the rocks. He also has a lot of anger.
Once John and his live in girlfriend Kate decide that they will have to let John's father die, they begin to believe that they are receiving messages from his disembodied spirit. While this seems plausible, John delves even deeper and begins a sever but acute mental breakdown. John thinks that as his father breathes his last breath, he transfers his Power to John. With grandiose and paranoid thoughts John is unable to sleep for days. He finally ends up in UNNI under sedation.

At times I didn't think that John would ever recover. His girlfriend Kate did not have a breakdown but fed into his psychosis at the beginning by encouraging his thoughts and behavior. Wildly strange! I did however feel for the character despite the strangeness.

Super weird book that I don't recommend reading while you are sick. I am wildly curious how the author ever came up with this idea.......eep. John's father was LDS so this religion was brought up at times in the book. No biggie really except there were parts that didn't seem to really carry through. At one point John sort of says he is Joe Smith (I take this to mean Joseph). Also John was given a blessing by his father's bishop. The blessing was called an LDS blessing, which I have never heard spoken of that way before.

Rating 3 I felt for John. I was taken in by the whole story although it did take some time. At first I was put off by John seeming very angry. Which he has every right to be, it just took some getting used to.
Rating R Language, mental breakdown, drug use, scary.

The Lonesome Gods

The Lonesome Gods by Louis L'Amour

Well who'd a thunk I would be reading a Louis L'Amour book? This is another book on a list of books that I am determined to undertake.

I really liked finding out what the title meant. Young Johannes is traveling west with his dying father. They are headed across the desert to California where Johannes estranged grandfather lives. Hannes father hopes that once he dies and is out of the picture that the grandfather will be able to overcome his hatred for him and take Hannes in. Johannes and his father leave the wagon and other travelers as they are informed that Don Isidro (the Spanish grandfather) still seeks both of their lives. They live in an what they believe to be an abandoned Native American house in the desert. Johannes learns that the lonesome gods are the gods that have been long forgotten and are no longer worshipped by anyone.
Johanness grows up with the Indians and stays in the house in the desert after Don Isidro has his father murdered. Years later he is invited to live in California with Miss Nesslerode, another traveler from the wagon that he abandoned as a very young child.
Johannes is bright and moral. The tale weaves a good lesson about standards, education, and ingenuity. Also a great deal is spoken of about desert survival and Native American folk lore.

It surely wasn't the best read I have ever picked up yet it was a good red blooded, meat and potatoes kind of book. A great read for a young boy.

Rating 3
Rating PG murder

Common Sense

Common Sense by Thomas Paine

In 1776 Thomas Paine published his pamphlet 'Common Sense'. It was an informative and well written argument for Independence from Great Britain.

This was a short read. His opening paragraph was so true it was poetic. I am going to include some quotes.

"Some writers have so confounded society with government, as to leave little or no distinction between them; whereas they are not only different, but have different origins. Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness positively by uniting our affections, the latter negatively by restraining our vices. The one encourages intercourse, the other creates distinctions. The first is a patron, the last a punisher."


"Time makes more converts than reason."

"The present state of America is truly alarming to every man who is capable of reflexion. Without law, without government, without any other mode of power then what is founded on, and granted by courtesy. Held together by an unexampled concurrence of sentiment, which, is nevertheless subject to change, and which every secret enemy is endeavoring to dissolve. Our present condition, is, Legislation without law; wisdom without a plan; constitution without a name; and what is strangely astonishing; perfect Independence contending for dependence."

"When we are planning for posterity, we ought to remember that virtue is not hereditary."

He may accomplish by craft and subtlety, in the long run,, what he cannot do by force and violence in the short one."

Rating 5 for content. Very inspiring and informative.
Rating G

The Bell Jar

The Bell Jar

Although the book falls under work of fiction, I believe it is supposed to be semi-autobiographical. Esther is a young woman with what seems to be a bright future. She is able to travel from her home around Boston to New York for an internship that she won. While there she rooms in a hotel with ten other girls. She becomes more anxious and depressed and finds herself without any real goals. As her time in New York ends and she returns to her home in Boston she finds that she has not won a scholarship for her next years of school and is at loose ends.
She spirals into a queer depression. Finally after some half hearted suicide attempts, she buries herself under the crawl space of her house and swallows a bottle of pills. Once found, she is taken to a mental hospital. We are given intermittent glimpses of her past and future throughout the book. By the end Esther has lived through the suicide of a close friend and seems to have turned a corner in her own depression. She enters a room to take her concluding interview, the one that determines if she will be released from the hospital. Although book leaves it at that, there is a point previous where she mentions her baby. This leads me to believe that she is eventually released.

This book was on a list of books that I was determined to read. Knowing that this book is haled by many made me consider the distinct possibility that I would not like it. I was mostly right. I found the imagery and writing lovely. And I am sure if you have ever been very depressed you will be able to identify with the strange thoughts and feelings of hopelessness. What I didn't like was the thought that many young people may identify because of the popularity of the book. I felt like Esther had many more choices than she let on. And girls presently have multitudes of choices if they are willing to put forth the effort. I assume that Esther/Plath had a serious illness which I do not want to downplay. I don't think that they necessarily suffered from something that they could just think themselves happy out of. The book was just royally depressing and Esther didn't take enough responsibility for her situation.

Rating 2.5 I feel like a bit of a fence sitter here. I loved the imagery conjured by the writing. Some of the words were so lovely. I don't like that this book and many other 'memoirs' are so popular. There are somethings I would rather not know.
Also sometimes I was confused......not enough information was given to clear the muddy water.
Rating PG 13 Sex, suicide, drug use, shock therapy.

The Time Taveler's Wife

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audry Niffenegger

Okay..........eep! This really isn't a book review per say. I just saw the movie based on the book. In general I do not condone book to movie. They are almost always ruined with poor casting or creative license. However, I loved this movie almost as much as I loved the book. The movie concentrated more on Clare and Henry and not as much on their surrounding family and friends (whom I didn't like anyway). Also the movie took out all of the parts of the book that made it rated R. Can you believe the movie was cleaner??? In the book Clare was a trash mouth, which just made me cringe. I still fell completely in love with Clare and Henry........and especially Henry. I cried my eyes out from beginning to end.....probably because I already knew the story. So, if you are ever going to see a book to movie......this is the one.

Book Rating 5 So emotional and unique. It is one of my top faves ever.
Book Rating R This is the part that makes me hesitate recommending it to anyone I know. Clare truly has the mouth of a convict, not a woman. I'm sure there are other parts also but it's been about a year since rereading it and I only remember Clare.

City of Glass (The Mortal Instruments Book Three)

City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

In the conclusion of The Mortal Instruments series, Valentine is ready to take down the wards protecting the shadow hunter city of Alicante. Then he will allow it to be run over by demons in order to force the shadow hunter Clave to agree to his wishes. Valentine wants to create new shadow hunters and destroy the old ones. For this he needs the three mortal instruments.
Jace goes to Alicante with his family to the meeting of he Clave. The Clave has convened to determine how to fight Valentine.
Clary sneaks into the secret city with Luke. She is there to find the warlock that can help her wake her mother from the magically induced coma.
All Hell breaks loose literally and many are wounded and killed as Valentines demon army comes to destroy the city and its inhabitants.
Jace and Clary are able to uncover the secrets that will undo Valentine.

I am still loving this series. Also.....I am so proud of myself!! I actually figured out the twist before it was revealed. My distrust proved to be true. I am so happy. Even though the book ended in a way that I was truly pleased with, I felt like the character romance that I was rooting for had fizzled by the end. Lots of drama leading up to ..........eh okay. It left me wanting.

Rating 5 Yes I had a problem with the ending for Jace and Clary. However I do like that the rest of the events were wrapped up in a way that didn't go ON and ON and ON. Concise is nice. Still super funny and truly entertaining.
Rating PG 13 Death, destruction, demons, language, some heated romance.

Star Girl

Star Girl by Jerry Spinelli

An out of the ordinary read! Stargirl arrives at Mica High after being home schooled her whole life. She has changed her name several times when the old one 'wears out'. She dresses like a pioneer. Stargirl decorates her desk with a cloth and flower everyday. She hands out treats to her homeroom each holiday and she sings 'Happy Birthday' to the students during lunch, while strumming her ukulele. Despite not fitting the mold, Stargirl worms her way into the hearts of most of the student body of Mica High.

Leo is your run of the mill eleventh grader. He does what all of the other students at Mica do. The only things out of the ordinary about Leo is that he collects porcupine ties and he started a high school talk show with his friend Kevin, called, 'The Hot Seat'.

Stargirl loves Leo. He is fascinated by her. She shows him what it is like to be different and to just let go of everyone's expectations and do what you enjoy. She loves thinking of others and devises ways to cheer up random people anonymously.

Stargirl's popularity takes a nose dive when the high school basketball team loses a game after their first winning streak in years. The student body turns against her. She was asked to be a cheerleader after her antics make school sports cool again. But once she cheers for the other teams and helps an injured opponent, the students admiration turns sour. Stargirl is shunned. Her shunning spreads to Leo once they become a couple.

Stargirl reverts to her old name, Susan, and tries to conform. She hopes that the other kids will look at her again instead of pretending she doesn't exist. Leo and Kevin put her on 'The Hot Seat'. Things turn bad as the students asking the questions on the show, let their disdain for Stargirl be known.

Once Susan finds she can't return to her former popularity she reverts to Stargirl and all of her wild ways.

The question of whether you can be different from the whole and still accepted, was answered in a startling way. I hate to say that I was uncomfortable with Stargirl.......but I was. I think I was embarrassed for her because she wasn't embarrassed for herself. Even when Leo became close to her and we were able to learn more about her point of view, she still didn't seem real. Actually she seemed like she wasn't living in reality. By the end she broke my heart and I was finally cheering for her silently and wondering why they could like her once and not again. She did have

some good ideas about serving others. Leo made me want to strangle him, probably because he didn't dare to go against the grain.........and I wouldn't have either at that age.

Rating 3.5 I wasn't as enchanted as I wanted to be. It was still a great book that I would recommend to anyone above the age of 9.

Rating G