Matched- Ally Condie

I've tried reading this book a few times, and it was really hard for me to get into. I tried reading it again this month and I really liked it! Although, it wasn't one of my favorites.

This book is about life in the future. Cassia lives in a society where everything is decided for her. What she eats, wears, even who she'll marry. Every time someone turns 17 they go to a Match banquet to see, on a screen, the person they are matched to. Her case is unusual because she gets matched with her best friend, Xander. This doesn't happen often. They give every matched person a micro card to find out more about their match. She already knows everything there is to know about Xander, but just to be sure, she checks it out. First everything is normal, Xander's face shows up but suddenly it changes to a different guy. The weirdest thing is, she knows the other guy, Ky, too. 

This leaves her second guessing her real match, Xander. She's caught between 2 guys, knowing that one of them is untouchable. Cassia finds out more about herself and other people throughout this crazy journey that she calls her life. The book ends with something unexpected but at the same time gives you hope.

There is more to the story than you would think, but I wouldn't want to give anything away that might ruin the story for you. I thought this book was very well written and I would recommend it to anyone. 

This book made me realize that society, or officials shouldn't be able to plan your life for you. I would actually want a say in my life, and Cassia shows that you can make your own path in life.

This book does have a sequel, Crossed, and another book after that, Reached. 

The Demon King

The book I read is called the Demon King. The Demon King is the first book in the series. It takes place in the Fells which is the realm that is ruled by the Gray Wolf queens. The time period in which it takes place is extremely old and almost medieval. In there time it is after the Beaking. Te Beaking was like an apocalyptic event that killed the Demon King thanks to Helena, the first recorded Gray Wold heir.
The first main character is Han. He once was a street lord for a gang called the Raggers. He got out of "the Life" when he saw that it but his little sister in danger. Anyway, the problem is that Han stole and amulet from the high wizard's son and they have gone crazy looking for Han. Han quickly hid the amulet and ran away. He hid the amulet and himself for two reasons. First he's scared for his own life and second he doesn't want anything wrong to happen to his mom and sister.
The second main character is Rasia. She is the princess that is heir to the Fellishian throne. She is very rebellious especially now when it is so close to her 16Th name day. This is the most important name day because it names her official heir to the throne and officially marks her available for marriage. She doesn't want to get married at such a young age but she doesn't have a say if her mother marries her off. Han lives in ragmarket which is just as poor as it sounds. He struggles to keep his family alive. Being only 16, that is a huge responsibility and it doesn't help to have a bounty on your head for a crime you didn't commit. On top of all this he has wizards chasing him for the amulet he stole from them.
After the breaking, the N'nameng was established. This law did many things. First it prevented wizards from marrying into royalty. Second it forbid wizards from going into the spirits, and lastly it stated that wizards will get their amulets after their 16Th name day and the new amulets will have to be recharged by the clans. All in all it was made to restrain and prevent wizards from over powering everyone.
Rasia is a princess. enough said. She is stuck up and snooty and usually gets her own way. When an old friend from her childhood shows up, things just start falling apart. She realizes that she doesn't want to be like her mother and changes her ways. That change ends up being more than she can handle.
At first this book is kind of confusing. It starts out weird and jumps between each character. So as soon as you get into whats going on with one person the author jumps to the next. This strategy is extremely effective to keep the reader thinking but it also hard for a reader to follow. After you get past the story line breaks, there is the issue with names. You have to pay attention to who calls who what. Not everyone calls everyone by the same name. For example, Han Allister. That is his birth name, he is also known as cuffs and hunts alone. The author does this with almost every character so don't be alarmed. I'm the person who strangely enjoys anything with magic, cation, and or order. This book has all three carefully wound together. The book was everything I expected and more. If at all the only part of my opinion that has changed is that I have a new favorite series.
Personally I believe that the book was exquisitely crafted. The story line is consistent, everything is relevant in some way and there is always suspense building. This book was suggested to my my Mrs. Jensen. To be honest I didn't know if I was going to like it all that much. The book wasted no time answering that question for me. I was hooked with the first 10 pages. If you like books about wizards, queens, and thieves then you will definitely want to get this book from Mrs. Jensen. It is totally worth the read.

The Warrior Heir by Cinda Williams Chima

Jack is what you would call a normal teenager. The only thing that sets him apart from his classmates is the star-shaped scar above his heart and the strange medicine he has to take. This changes for Jack when his Aunt Linda comes to town and leads him into a whole other world, which is actually the same world. Jack is of the Weir, a special race of people that live among the normal humans. These people have special powers, such as Jack, who is a Warrior.

Jack first starts to realize that he is something special when he almost kills someone at soccer practice. He then meets a girl named Ellen, who he happens to really like and becomes vital to the story. When Jack realizes what he is, he goes into training with his assistant vice-principal Mr. Hastings. Jack learns that he is no ordinary member of the Weir. When he was a baby, he was meant to be a wizard, but he was born without the stone that gives members of the Weir life and power. He was implanted with a warrior stone. He also learns of the Game, which is where warriors have to fight to the death so that a house of wizards in the Weir can gain power over the others.

Jack finds that he is very valuable and is almost kidnapped several times so that he can participate in the Game, as he is one of the few remaining warriors. He soon finds that it is inevitable and enrolls himself in the Game under Hastings' supervision. After more training, they head to the place where the tournament is to be held. SPOILER ALERT! To Jacks surprise, his opponent is Ellen. Ellen who he has a crush on and has to kill if he wants to live. Ellen and Jack fight, but experience an unexpected change in the rules, which may just save both of their lives.

Overall this book had an interesting plot. However, it bored me to death for about the first 150 to 200 pages. However, in the last 250 pages of the book, the story and action really started to pick up. This book included some great plot twist that kept me reading (although this doesn't happen for quite some time). This really is an interesting story and I would recommend it to anyone who doesn't mind waiting a bit to get to the action. My overall rating for this book would be a B-.

Alex Rider: Point Blank

Point Blanc is an academy that is located in an area in the French Alps that is only accessible by helicopter. Creepy right? It is an academy for rich boys whose parents think that their sons aren't responsible enough. Seems real enough. Rich people do weird things like that. The thing is that two rich men have died mysteriously, both of which have had students at the academy. The English MI6 think that this could be worth investigating. The problem is that only and actual boy could be used as a spy. So, they call in Alex Rider. Alex was just an average British teenager until his uncle died. Then Alex discovered through his own investigation that his uncle was actually a spy. When the MI6 find out that he has discovered them, they made him a spy at once. He has already gone on one mission for them, and showed a great amount of skill as he saved many lives. Alex Rider then has to enroll in the academy as a student to find out what is actually going on at Point Blanc.

This sci-fi book called Point Blank was written by Anthony Horowitz and is the second book in the Alex Rider series. I thought that this was a very entertaining and interesting book. It had a lot of action and suspense that made me keep reading until I finished the book. It's a bit like a James Bond movie, except instead of James Bond being the main character, this book has Alex Rider. It even doesn't have any romance!

One of the opinions that the author puts in this book is that Rich teenagers are irresponsible. I do not agree with this. Yes I can see why he would think that, but then you have some rich teenagers that are extremely responsible. Some examples of these are young artists like Scotty McCreery and Taylor Swift. Both of them are pretty rich and are still really responsible. They know who they are and are focused on their lives, not on their money like the author suggests.

In the series called Artemis Fowl, Artemis is a highly intelligent teenager who is extremely smart, but at the same time extremely rich. He is smarter than almost every human being in the world and even one of the richest. Eoin Colfer presented this idea in accordance with my own thoughts on the subject. Eoin's opinion is completely different than Anothony's on this subject, and Eoin's book shows his point of view. I think that he even proves it in his book better than Anothony.

I may not agree with one of Anothony Horowitz's opinion, but I do not think that this is the reason that he wrote the book, and it certainly isn't the reason I read the book. The reason I did like this book so much though is because of how interesting it was. I mean Point Blank, what an interesting and awesome title. The book also had much of the action that I am always looking for in a book. This book and series is well worth reading, but make sure you start reading it when you have a lot of free time.A

Goliath by Scott Westerfeld

Ever wondered what it would be like to soar through the skies on a giant blimp, or pilot a massive, destructive machine? If so, then Goliath by Scott Westerfeld is the book for you!

Now that we're done with that cliche beginning, I can tell you a bit more about this book. The entire Leviathan series is based around World War I, with its own little twists, of course. Anyways, earth is divided up into two main powers: Darwinists and Clankers. Darwinists use animals for everything; they even mess with their DNA to make them more efficient. Clankers are the exact opposite. They live in an extremely mechanical world, where machines do all the work, and people simply pilot and maintenance them. As you can imagine, neither of these powers exactly agree with the 0ther.

The whole war that they face in this book started when one of Austria's noble families were assassinated. Their son made it out alive, however, with a few trusted servants. This boy's name was Alek. He traveled across the Clanker country, avoiding enemies and waiting for the war to stop so he could claim the Austrian throne. the reason he couldn't in the first place is because his mother was not of royal blood. However, Alek's parents were able to get a scroll that ultimately gave him the throne of Austria, provided people believed it.

Now we switch gears and focus on the other main character in this story: Deryn. Deryn was a girl living in Britain, a Darwinist country. Girls weren't allowed to serve in the army; especially not in the sky. Deryn, with her tomboy characteristics, wanted to serve in the military and fly through the skies, just like when she was younger. Her dad was killed in an air accident, and that fueled her love of the air. Remembering this event pushed her to do something insanely reckless: pretend to be a boy. She did so very easily, claiming her name was Dylan, and soon becamepart of the crew of the Leviathan, the most powerful ship in the British army. Deryn's ship crashed in the alps, unfortunatley, putting the crew in a dire situation.

Just when all hope was lost, Alek showed up, stocked with enough food to nurse the dying Leviathan back to health. Eventually, Deryn and Alek became friends, despite the fact that Deryn was a girl. They continued to have many exciting adventures, revealing many secrets to each other, and basically strengthening their bond. Before long, Deryn came to a disurbing conclusion: she was in love with Alek. Goliath focuses on that relationship.

The book starts with Deryn and Alek flying on the Leviathan. The ship receives a special mission: deliver a mysterious package to a man living in Siberia, and take him and his crew on board. They recieve the package and find something curious in it. There's a huge amount of meat, and a dismantled metal contraption. Alek and his small crew put the machine together, and find that is a primitive metal detector of sorts. Nobody knows why this machine is important to the enigmatic man. When they reach Siberia, they find that every single tree is knocked down, all facing the same direction. Bones are scattered everywhere, yet another sign that a fearsome weapon was here. Eventually, they find the crew they are looking for. There are bears around, so the ship lures them away by dropping meat far away from the crew's camp. Meanwile, Deryn and a few other officers drop down and help the man and his crew prepare to board the Leviathan. During this time, Deryn learns the mysterious man's name: Mr. Tesla. He claims that he has a weapon that is powerful enough to stop the war in its tracks. Is he trustworthy? What about the machine in the package? What exactly does Mr. Tesla have in store for the world? These questions are all answered in Goliath.

I found this book very memorable for many reasons. It ends and extremely compelling series, for one. All three books are tied together flawlessly, each story leading into the next. Nothing that happened in this book would have occurred if the previous events hadn't played out exactly as they had. Another reason is that this book doesn't hurry anything. Everything feels very natural. Deryn and Alek don't even meet until the first book is halfway over. When they do, Deryn feels nothing for him. It's not until the end of the second book that Deryn actually begins to like Alek. From then on, their relationship increases until Alek finally discovers that she's a girl.

As far as the opinions of the author goes, I have mixed feelings. I strongly agree with one of his main beliefs that women should have the same opportunities as men. Deryn pretends to be a boy the entire series just so she can serve her country. Nobody should have to do that just to fufill their dreams, especially when they're helping their country at the same time. One major thing that I disagree with is destiny. Alek believes that everything that happens to him is for a reason, and that he can't change what destiny has in store for him. Deryn thinks that's a load of garbage. I'm on Deryn's side. While there may be some sentient being watching over Alek (or us, for that matter), it certainly isn't controlling our actions, or making things happen to us that forces us to take a certain path.

**SPOILERS**
Beyond this point, I talk about what happens at the end of this book. If you haven't read it yet, do yourself a favor and skip this part.

A very big issue in this book is love. Deryn and Alek love each other in the later half of the book. In the end, each of them sacrifices something major in their lives in order to stay together. While this is very touching, it doesn't really take into account everything that it should. For one, they're both only fifteen when they decide that they should abandon their lives and live together forever. I know, there really aren't many books that don't end with the protagonist falling for another main character. However, this book is much more extreme. Alek throws the scroll claiming him as the heir to Austria into the ocean, basically letting that country fall victim to its neighbors. Plus, Deryn ditches her family and the ship to follow Alek, when they have no idea what will happen to them. That's the only time I felt that this story was weak.

**END OF SPOILERS**

I can't argue that this book is bad. I just can't. It's excellently written, with a strong plot full of twists. It has a plethora of likeable and charming characters, and some good ideas to boot. It may have a weak ending, but it does leave quite the impression, and you'll think about it for a while. There's simply no way to say "no" to this book. It certainly fills the shoes of the previous books, and you can't help but feel satisfied by it. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who asks about it, although I would warn them of the weak ending. Because of that, I'm forced to give this book at least an A.

Catching fire By: Suzanne Collins

Catching Fire is an absolutely stunning book. One thing you should know first, this is the second book in a series. If you want to understand it you have to read the Hunger Games beforehand. Once you read that and Catching Fire you can proceed to read Mockingjay. All three books are astounding and a good read. Ok, on to the book review!

To begin with, In Hunger Games there is 12 districts. Every year a boy and girl from the ages 12-18 from each district are chosen for the Hunger Games. The games are simple, all the kids (tributes) go into a giant arena that can be any climate, size or weather and fight to the death. The last person alive wins and is showered with rewards for the rest of their lives. Horrible right? Anyway, Katniss, the main character defies the Capital (the people who make the games) by having two people win the games instead of one. She doesn't meant to but the Capital takes this as a rebellion. This is what Catching Fire is.

Every 25th Hunger game they do something special/even more awful called the Quarter Quell. SPOILER ALERT!!!!! This Quarter Quell, previous winners of the games are going back in the arena to fight against each other. As you might guess, Katniss is chosen to go back in. The rest is kind of about her in the games and with the help of friends trying to rebel against the Capital. I'll leave the rest for you to read if you haven't already.END OF SPOILER.

I thought this book was written brilliantly. It has plenty of action with a little romance mixed in. I especially like the very, very ending. You would never see it coming in a million years but it happens anyway. I think kind of what the author is trying to say in this book for the most part is that authority is not always right. Just because they are in charge of everybody and they decide what you can and can't do they aren't always doing the best thing for everybody. I don't think putting kids in a fight to the death is exactly good for the people, you don't do you?

All in all I thought the book was great. There are no issues that I think the author should have done differently or changed. It was paced well and had a lot of surprises thrown at you. You never got very bored and it was hard to put it down. I would definitely recomend this to anybody that has read Hunger Games. I hereby declare this book as an A+.

The Complete Sherlock Holmes Volume 1

I recently read The Complete Sherlock Holmes Volume 1 by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. The genre of this book (I must say, if you don't know the genre of a Sherlock Holmes book, something is seriously wrong.) is obviously mystery. For those of you who don't know, Sherlock Holmes is a brilliant detective who has yet to have a case in which he couldn't solve. His close and only friend, John Watson accompanies him on most of his mysteries.

            As for a summary of the book, seeing as it is a collection of books, I will give a basic outline of his methods of solving his mysteries. To begin, if there's one thing that Holmes is best known for, it's his deductive reasoning. Upon a single glance, Holmes is able to completely read you. In the story A study in Scarlet when Holmes first meets Watson, he is able to tell he came from Afghanistan, simply by the way he greeted him, and his physical appearance.

Though Holmes may be the most intelligent man to ever of lived, it is very interesting to know that any information that he is not using in a case, he doesn't bother to learn. I.e. Holmes didn't know, and didn't want to know, that the Earth rotated around the sun. What really astonished me about this was the fact that Doyle was able to show such realism to his character. It's almost amazing to think that Doyle could show that Holmes was still human in a sense. Doyle didn't make him a mindless robot that knows everything, he showed that no human, no matter how brilliant, could know and understand everything.

            No matter who you are these books will make you feel stupid. One of the most distinctive traits about Holmes is that he ALWAYS makes thing seem so obvious, no matter how complicated they actually are. When Holmes unravels the mystery, I almost always would say: “Aw! How did I not notice that!?!” Though one the other hand, you almost feel smarter, as if you’ve learned from reading these books. I defiantly feel more intelligent after reading a story of Doyle’s.

            All in all, no matter which story you read, you will be in for a treat. Doyle’s style of writing makes it so easy to get sucked into a book. Also, because they’re short stories, the story becomes exciting almost instantly. A+

The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

The Woman in Black is a spine-chilling horror/thriller story about the experience of a man named Arthur Kipps. Arthur starts out telling a story to his second wife's kids. He didn't want to, but they wanted him to, so he did. His story isn't a nice one. It's a story that Arthur has tried very hard to forget.

Arthur has to do the dead Mrs. Drablow's paperwork, and he has to go to the Eel Marsh House to do it. There are many rumors about that house. People keep telling Arthur that he shouldn't go in the house because it's haunted, but he's a man. Why should he believe in silly stories like that? Before Arthur can go to the house, he must attend Mrs. Drablow's funeral. At the funeral, Arthur sees someone who looks wasted with sickness. She's dressed all in black. She doesn't give Arthur a happy feeling. Arthur tries to ask people who she is, but when people hear of her, they become too afraid to speak.

Arthur goes to the Eel Marsh House and starts on Mrs. Drablow's paperwork. He finds useless things. He also finds a locked door. This door eventually comes unlocked and he finds the Woman in Black. He later finds out that she is looking for her child, who was taken from her. When the Woman is seen, a child mysteriously dies. Soon, Arthur can't take anymore of her. He returns to London where his home is, marries a woman named Stella, and has a child. A year after the child is born, Arthur has almost forgotten about the Woman. He had forgotten about her, until he saw her again. Then, there's an accident and the child dies, and Stella dies ten months later. That is Arthur Kipps' terrifying story.

As many of you know, there is a movie. You can watch the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBHeFA_LoGc&feature=share . The movie is good, but the book is better. I give The Woman in Black an A+. It was very suspenseful, and it was a book that made me think. However, this book probably shouldn't be read by those of you who are scared easily, because it might give you nightmares. But for those of you who enjoy books like this, I recommend it! The book is a little difficult to understand because it is older, but you do get used to it. This book never bored me! The book didn't really have a theme, but the plot was excellent. I reccomend reading the book before seeing the movie, if it's not too late.

Fablehaven By Brandon Mull

I read the book Fablehaven by Brandon Mull. This book is a very interesting book and can be hard to follow if you do not have any background information on in the story.

Kendra and Seth, the main characters in the story, were dropped off at their grandparents’ house while their parents when on a trip. At first they were really bored and not having any fun. But, then they realize that there are really fancy butterflies and cool birds in the garden. They start seeing little fairies they get confused. They start to like it there. The two grandchildren stayed at Fablehaven over midsummer's night. This is the night that all of Fablehaven breaks loose and all you can do is stay away and not look at the nightmares happening right outside your window. Seth was a rule breaker, so he didn't listen to his grandfather. This leads to disaster, and lives were put in horrible trouble.

Kendra follows rules very well. Her little brother, Seth, has never followed any rule. Throughout the book, problems come with both personalities. For example, Seth's ordeal is obvious since not following rules can only mean trouble. He caught a fairy and kept it in a jar. It turned into a terrible little creature and turned Seth into a walrus! The next time Seth decided to break a rule, it almost killed his grandparents, himself, and the rest of the garden and house!! Kendra has her own problems because some rules really are meant to be broken. There was a barn, absolutely prohibited, but Seth and Kendra knew they had to go in there. Kendra struggled to be disobedient, and kinda freaked out until Seth went up ahead with confidence and kicked down the door to get in. Her fear to break a promise made it harder to fight the fantasies in Fablehaven that haunted them.

Eventually both Kendra and Seth realized that rules can go either way, you just have to use your best judgment to know what is right or wrong. Their experiences in Fablehaven changed them for the better. It got Kendra past her fears, and kept Seth double checking his ideas. I felt like this book was really good. It kept my interest, and kept promising more and more action with every step the characters took. I especially loved the part where Kendra had to go across the lake in her paddle boat. (I wont say why she is doing this in case some of you haven't read this book.) When the naiads tried to tip her and she fought back, they kept going on with it. Quickly, Kendra realized that her reactions were what made their game so fun. So she just stopped. She waited, and kept her patience over and over again. She finally reached her goal. I thought it was pretty funny how she didn't play back. She knew what they were thinking and worked around that. They teased her so she teased back, just in a more silent way.I read the book Fablehaven by Brandon Mull. This book is a very interesting book and can be hard to follow if you do not get what is going on in the story. Kendra and Seth, the main characters in the story, were dropped off at their grandparents’ house while their parents when on a trip. At first they were really bored and not having any fun. But, then they realize that there are really fancy butterflies and cool birds in the garden. They start seeing little fairies they get confused. They start to like it there. The two grandchildren stayed at Fablehaven over midsummer's night. This is the night that all of Fablehaven breaks loose and all you can do is stay away and not look at the nightmares happening right outside your window. Seth was a rule breaker, so he didn't listen to his grandfather. This leads to disaster, and lives were put in horrible trouble.


Eventually both Kendra and Seth realized that rules can go either way, you just have to use your best judgment to know what is right or wrong. Their experiences in Fablehaven changed them for the better. It got Kendra past her fears, and kept Seth double checking his ideas. It shows a lot about that you can make many mistakes and good things may be the outcome. Over all I think this book is good and teaches many lessons. I felt like this book was really good. It kept my interest, and kept promising more and more action with every step the characters took. I especially loved the part where Kendra had to go across the lake in her paddle boat. (I wont say why she is doing this in case some of you haven't read this book.) When the naiads tried to tip her and she fought back, they kept going on with it. Quickly, Kendra realized that her reactions were what made their game so fun. So she just stopped. She waited, and kept her patience over and over again. She finally reached her goal. I thought it was pretty funny how she didn't play back. She knew what they were thinking and worked around that. They teased her so she teased back, just in a more silent way. B

Twice Upon a Marigold

For those who have read "Once Upon a Marigold" will love this book, for several reasons too. First of all there are a lot of questions that are asked and that will be answered when you continue reading this book. For example, I thought she was dead? And, are they going to be together forever?

The kingdom seems to be a lovely place and everyone is getting along beautifully, so it seems. Until ... something happens that no one was expecting, not even the king himself, and when that person or thing comes, it is a shock to everyone.
Ever since that one person or thing came there has been chaos all over the kingdom, including chaos between Marigold and Christian. I bet you never thought that would ever happen.
Not only that, but it has King Swithbert, Ed, and Magnus thrown in the dungeon and put on trail.
You must be wondering how in the world this person or thing could cause so much trouble, I mean it has to be pretty big doesn't it, and well it is very huge, and I bet you weren't even expecting it?
Before I read this book, I wasn't expecting it either, in fact it never crossed my mind until a hint gave it away.
If you must know, the story ends happy and that one thing won't be bothering them.
But if you want to read this book it is best for you to read "Once Upon a Marigold" first. Happy Reading, and don't forget to put this book on your to read list.

The Clockwork Angel

The Clockwork Angel Infernal Instrument
is written by Cassandra Clare. This book has an unpredictable storyline. The Clockwork Angel is a prequel in the Mortal Instruments series. The main characters names are Tessa, James, and Will. For Tessa’s back story, at first Tessa didn’t know why she was special. She has a rare ability, she can shape shift at will into another person.
Wills back story is he left his family at age 12, and wouldn’t see them again. Will has lived in the Institute ever since. He acts unfriendly and rude around the Institute for his own personal reasons.
Whereas, James is a different story, when he was younger he lived in Shanghai. His parents died by a demon named Yanluo.
Eventually, Yanluo escaped in his home, and kept his family as
prisoners. Yanluo tortured James with demon poison. After, he was rescued; he was healed with one exception. The one exclusion was an addiction to demon poison, which is slowly killing him, everyone tried to wean him off the drug, but it didn’t work. Consequently, James is slowly dying and is dependent on the drug.
Her brother Nate left Tessa to travel to London and get a job. Tessa stays with her Aunt, until she died unexpectedly. Hope arrives by Nate inviting Tessa to travel to London and meet him. However, Tessa arrives only to get kidnapped by the Dark Sisters.
There is a world full of shadow hunters, vampires, warlocks, and other supernatural creatures. Shadow hunters are people who are trained to kill demons, and protect the human race. Some of these Down Worlders are part of a secret organization known as the Pandemonium
Club. Their leader is known as the Magister. The Dark Sisters plan was to have the Magister marry Tessa, not out of love but for her ability. The plan is ruined because Tessa gets rescued from a shadow hunter named Will.
Tessa goes to the shadow hunters London Institute; she is staying to be part of an investigation to find her brother Nate. In exchange for what she knows, the shadow hunters will find Tessa’s brother. The villain, also known as the Magister, is on the loose with
a goal to marry Tessa. It’s hard for Tessa to recognize, because the
Magister will do anything in his power to get his hands on Tessa.
Tessa is torn between two shadow hunters James and Will. Even though Will is arrogant and rude, Tessa sees those deep blue eyes behind his beautiful face. While James is sympathetic, kind, and gentleman like. The plot goes on to show as Tessa goes after her brother or help her
friends James and Will to save the world. Tessa is at the institute because the enforcement group, Clave is at war with De Quincy, who is a leader of his vampire clan. Tessa decides to stay at the institute and take care of her brother. In the end her friends survive a
terrifying journey through the Dark Sisters house, along with her brother. Ever
since that day, she hasn’t had the same relationship with him ever since.
I enjoyed this book because the characters are
described with personality; they jump out of the page. In addition, you also receive a strong
emotion for the characters. The plot itself is suspenseful. It is hard to put
the book down. You develop a sense of equality and a twinge of sympathy. This
book enhances how lucky you are to have family that loves you. You must learn from your experiences and learn from your hate and sorrow experiences. This book is entertaining and
makes you want to know more about your inner self. This book may affect you by
knowing that you are unique and every talent is a gift, no matter how horrible
it seems. This book allows you to realize your inner self and beauty, to
realize whatever world you live in, no person is completely honest.

Uglies by Scott Westerfield

Tally Youngblood is an ugly. She lives in a dorm in Uglyville with her fellow ugly friends, well what's left of them anyway. Most of them are gone already, up to better and more fun things in the constant lights of New Pretty Town, including her best friend Peris. Tally keeps gazing out of her window across the water to New Pretty Town, yearning for the operation that will change her from ugly to pretty as soon as her 16th birthday rolls around. But after she sneaks into New Pretty Town to visit Peris, she pulls off a dangerous stunt that earns her a new best friend, Shay, and a reputation among all pretties.

Shay is against the operation, which Tally doesn't understand at all. Who could not want to be pretty, when it means your accepted, you get to have fun all night and well into the morning, and get to go to outrageous parties? Shay keeps going on about how unfair it is that nobody's given a choice in their society, but Tally wonders how anyone could question it. Who could complain when everyone is given a chance to be equals, and it eliminates all that ruined the people who came before them, or the Rusties, like war and hunger?

Shay also talks of a rebel camp called the Smoke that is full of uglies who don't want to become pretties. She speaks especially about the Smokies recruiter, David, who visits the Rusty Ruins in case of uglies wanting to come to the Smoke. Shay teaches Tally some new tricks, including a sport called hoverboarding (which is like skateboarding only in the air, and you fly using the board's magnetic lifters) and pull a couple of tricks. Shay and Tally get in a big fight on the eve of their birthdays, and Shay decides to leave to the Smoke, with or without Tally.

Tally chooses not to follow Shay, but takes her gift of instructions to get to the Smoke anyway. But when Tally's chances or being pretty are snatched away from her, and told by a cruel looking pretty that she must find the Smoke and turn Shay in or remain forever ugly. Tally's choices are surpirising and add interesting twists to the story. New surprises create turns no one could've seen coming. Tally also discovers that her world isn't all that it seems.

Scott Westerfield has created a wondrous tale of fiction and an incredible dystopia. This book is post-apocalyptic and full of adventure and, yes, even romance. Westerfield will have you on the edge of your seat with the suspence and torn between events just as the characters. I think that once you feel you are inside a book, and feel what the characters feel, see what they see, even experience the weather they do, as I have, then the author has done a magnificent job.

I've read the next book in the series, called Pretties, by now and am starting the third one, called Specials. I give it an A-, because as interesting as it was, sometimes Tally's thoughts and decisions were frustrating. After reading so many post-apocalyptic books, I've been introduced to many theories of how the world thinks it will be better after a destruction, but with yet another one under my belt, I keep wondering how much better any of those societies are than ours. These books teach us how not to be, or tell us in undertones how we are destroying the Earth, but with each new theory, I keep wondering if there is such a thing as a better alternative. Hopefully, there is, and maybe in Tally's society a cure can be found for their society. They may not be my favorite books, but they certainly are in my top say, 15. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I have.

Eragon By Christopher Paolini

Eragon was hunting in the Spine (the forest by his home) when a mysterious blue rock appears, scaring off the deer that he had been tracking for days. Not having any meat to bring back for dinner, he is forced to go to Sloan, the butcher to trade the blue rock for some meat. Sloan is frightened by the rock, and that he got it in the Spine, and sends him away.

After a couple days of wondering what the rock is, it hatches! And a dragon comes forth from the egg. When Eragon touches the dragon, a mark is burned onto his hand. And the dragon riders live on.

But just weeks later, two strangers enter Carvahall (where Eragon lives) and start to ask questions about the egg. While in the town center of Carvahall, Eragon hears the two strangers talking to the evil butcher Sloan, and he tells the strangers where Eragon lives. At his uncles farm.

Eragon starts to run to his uncles farm, but his dragon stops him, and forces him to ride her as she carries him away. It isn't until the next morning that his dragon finally takes him back to save his uncle, but it may just be too late. With the help of his dragon, he struggles to take his uncle into Carvahall to seek help from the town "nurse". Just as he gets to the village, he blacks out. After he wakes up, he goes to see his uncle that is not doing well, and later dies.

Scared, and saddened, he flees, but Brom, the town story teller, stops him, and helps him.
Eragon starts to learn from Brom, about how to take care of his dragon. He travels with Brom for weeks and months.

But, while fighting the evil shade Darza, Brom gets injured, and days later dies. But with the help of a new friend, Murtagh, Eragon and his dragon escape with the Elf that they also save.

And they head off to the Varden, to get help to save the Elf's life.
After weeks of traveling they finally get to the Varden, a large group of people that are against the evil Empires, or rather, the King's way of ruling his kingdom. But Murtagh refuses to enter the Varden's city. But with the threat of Urgals behind them, Murtagh, against his wishes, forces himself to enter. But he has a secret that will threaten his life for the rest of it.

But, Eragon is just a young dragon rider, how will he help the Varden to defeat the Urgals that also threaten to destroy the Varden's City? But, he will prevail, as he saves many lives, and kills the shade that threatens them all.

This book was an amazing read! I loved the way Christopher Paolini was able to take this world he created and make it wonderful to read! It was full of great adventure, and the idea of hope when there is so much despair that happens. This was an amazing read!