The Fantastic Eddie Fanta

     The book I read was Eddie Fantastic by Chris Heimerdinger. This book was fiction. This book is about a finding your true purpose, even through trials. This book is in modern times, and takes place right where we live, The Salt Lake Valley.

    In the book, Eddie Fanta, a young man in high school, moves with his alcoholic mother to the Salt Lake Valley after his parents get divorced. In the neighborhood he lives in, there is a rumor of a lizard man. It is said that instead of skin he has scales and he has never left his house. Eddie learns more about the Lizard man and finds out he is really just a man who got in a plane accident and is covered in burns. One day, Eddie has a nagging thought to go see this Lizard man. At first, Eddie thinks it's ridiculous. After a while, the nagging thought becomes so strong he has to see him. He visits the Lizard man, actually named Louis Koffrinkoff, and finds out that Louis is using a scientific invention to call him. Eddie finds out Mr. Koffrinkoff is a scientist. He has created all sorts of impossible inventions. However, Mr. Koffrinkoff wants Eddie to take the inventions and use them to help others. Eddie takes the inventions but instead of using it only for good, he has his own selfish purposes in mind.

     This book is so good. It talked about all sorts of themes that gave you new insights. One of these was that things aren't as they seem. In this society, different is bad and Louis Koffrinkoff was definitely different. However, this doesn't make him bad. Who's fault was it that he got in a plane crash. We don't know but it definitely wasn't him. He is actually a kind and wise man. Louis Kofrinkoff is not who he seems to be to society today.The author also brought up many thoughts to ponder on. For instance, what if this actually happened? Think about the cool inventions that could be. It's interesting to read a book and know it could happen, even if it probably won't. Lastly is that this book has changed my opinion on not judging. Just like the author showed in his book, you can never get to know someone until you know all your secrets. The thing is, no one knows everybody's secrets so you can never truly judge someone.

    In a nutshell, this book was really amazing and really inspiring. I advise you to definitely read it. I give this book an A plus. I know you will like it too and all the insight it gives you.

Of Mice and Men

       I had only ever seen the movie of this story, and thought it was a pretty good movie. Or rather, a good story line all together. Then I thought that I would go ahead and give the book a try as well. Of Mice and Men, is  a story about two very close friends, jumping from job to job on the hard road, rucksacks full of supplies, and minds full of the hope that one day they might make enough money to move to the paradise, thought up on the free time of the harsh jobs at hand. These friends are extremely close, might as well be biological brothers. This seems like it is a soon to be happy ending. Girls, riches, paradises and all. However, this is a false statement indeed. For you see, of the two travel mates, George, and Lennie, Lennie happens to have a mental retardation. He Slurs words, never remembers anything besides the paradise he has built in his head, has the mind and spirit of a young child, and he also has an unbelievable strength that he has a rather hard time controlling. This, is why they must jump from job to job. Avoiding the cleaning up of the messes Lennie creates with his strength and stupidity. No matter what the challenges of these two best buddies, they seem to slip by every problem they face. Almost.

       Of Mice and Men is a very touching story, that definitely brought me in, and attached me to the characters within the first few pages. Sadly, I happened to like the movie much more. Obviously you still have to give credit to the guy that wrote the thing in the first place, but sometimes the second making can be just a little better than the first. The movie just contained so much more detail in the story. And boy, do those little things add up. Also, Lennie was a much more interesting character to think about when his voice, and his expressions were put in my mind. It helped me really see how much trouble these two guys had to go through. Or more accurately, what George had to go through. All in all, it is a great story, movie or not. However, I am not rating the story, I am rating the book. So, i give it a b+, and would recommend any form of this story to anyone. (the movie is on Netflix, just F.Y.I)

Goose Girl

    The book I read was The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale. This book is Fiction and takes place in medieval times. It teaches about to fight for the right to be yourself. The main character, Anidori-Kiladra Talianna Islee (Ani) is a princess and lives in a kingdom named Kildenree.

     As a child, Ani is taught about the 3 languages that some people speak. They are the gift of people-speaking, the gift of animal-speaking, and the gift of nature-speaking. These gifts, as it would be today, are thought of as unnatural and as a curse and not a gift. Ani is taught the gift of animal speaking as a child by her aunt. When her mother, the queen, discovers her gift, Ani is forbidden to ever go outside as to not talk to the animals. She lives a life of seclusion and of a longing to become the person her mother wants her to be. Ani waits until her day to become queen. However, a month after her father's death and her sixteenth birthday, she discovers she is to be betrothed to the first born prince of another kingdom half a year's journey away. Ani is shocked and realizes all her hard work to become queen was useless.

     Ani sets out on her journey to the kingdom where her betrothed awaits called Bayern. Along the way, Ani's lady in waiting, Selia, overthrows Ani and seeks to become queen of Bayern instead. Half of Ani's guard side's with Selia and Ani is forced to flee and find her own way to Bayern before Selia is betrothed instead of her. She finds her way to the city and spends her time trying to find a way to the king and convince him that she is the princess and not Selia. She finds work as a goose girl. The goose girl is the girl who tends the geese with the goose boy. Because of this opportunity, she is able to go on a wonderful journey and gain a new perspective.

     I loved this book. It was really great  and very entertaining. The book has many themes that express the author's opinion. First, is to always fight for what you believe. Ani's perspective changes during the book, so what she fights for is different as well. However, she never gave up and always fought. Also, the book tells you to discover who you truly are. Don't let others decide what you're fate will be. Work for what you think is best for you. Ani is told she is destined to be a lowly goose girl but she never gives up and becomes a queen. I agree with what the author believes. I agree with everything she says and I believe she has a great outlook on life.

     In a nutshell, this book was incredible. I give it a definite A. It brings up many great themes. I suggest that everyone read it.
   

Life of Pi By: Yann Martel Review by: Andrew Williams

This story starts out with Pi Patel telling a wonderful story about one thing that affected him most in life. His story starts in Pondicherry, India where it is controlled by the French, one day his dad said that Pondicherry could no longer support a zoo, so he decided that they needed to move the zoo to Canada, where the family animals would be sold. So they get on a Japanese Cargo Ship with the animals and then there is a storm and then the ship capsizes and he is left in a lifeboat, with an injured zebra, orangutan, a hyena and a 450-pound Bengal Tiger named Richard Parker. During the first night Pi was scared he wasn’t sure if the lifeboat could spot him in the dark. After the first night Pi wakes ups to an unpleasant sight, to see that the hyena has bit of the broken leg of the zebra and was eating it, and the Zebra was still alive. Then the hyena goes head first into the zebra and starts eating it inside out, as he is eating the orangutan steps in and the have a standoff. Blood drips down and the sharks swimming around the boat start bumping the boat and Pi gets frightened, and the standoff ends, the hyena goes back to eating the zebra. The hyena then attacks the orangutan while it’s not looking, she puts up a fight but she is no match for the hyena, as he decapitates her. As Pi is about to through himself into the hyena he sees the Tiger as he gives him a look then he has a strange feeling and just decides to fall asleep. He must try to survive to keep any hope left of being rescued.

As I really wish I could tell you so much more, I can’t you will just have to read the book. This book is about finding who you are, and finding both your personalities, (hint). This book is confusing at times but I think you should really read it no matter who you are. Just get ready for a sick and twisted journey with an unexpected ending that will leave you thinking. There may be a little gore in this great novel, so I wouldn’t read it if you can’t handle it. Overall this book rely does deserve an A++++. Just don’t drop the book at the beginning because I promise you it’s very boring, but it gets way better as this is one of my most favorite books. There are some points were I wish that he explained a little better were I was really confused. But some parts I was just amazed at how descriptive his writing was, as I could perfectly see what he wrote. All in all it was an amazing book that I suggest everyone to read. 

A Break With Charity

   

     History is one of my favorite subjects. If you are anything like me, then this book is something that you should definitely try out. A Break With Charity is a story about the Salem witch trials back in the 1700's, written by Ann Rinaldi. You follow a girl by the name of Susanna English whose dream has always been to join the circle of girls that meet every week at the personage. That dream quickly ends when Susanna discovers that the leader of the group, Ann Putnam, is about to start a trail of lies that will eventually lead to many deaths and torments to innocent people in Salem by accusing them of witchcraft. Susanna quickly puts the pieces together, and gets Ann to admit it to her. Although after, she has to decide weather to keep quiet and let this crazy panic go on, or "break charity" and put her family at risk of being named as witches. Susanna keeps quite for a long time. But will she continue to let this go on? What will the girls do to Salem, her, and her family? Susanna has to stay faithful to her family, and do what’s best for them, her, and her town.

     Although it may seem weird, and hard to believe, this did happen. In real life! In real circumstances. In the long run, we have discovered that witchcraft is not a real thing. Nevertheless, it was once supposedly believed to be on this Earth. The book focuses a lot on the relationships of the girls, drama, witchcraft, family, and faith. You can easily relate to the book and some of its main topics.

      This book was honestly so good! I was constantly in shock at things that happened. You would never believe some of the people that these girls call out as witches, or when, and how they do it! These girls are crazy but it just keeps you wondering what those lunatics are going to do next! On the other hand, it brings you to reality a little bit. On decisions you re making and how to handle them. Or even drama with teenage girls. I would definitely recommend this book to people that like suspense, history, and drama. Even a little mystery. Definite A+.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

(warning! Possible spoilers!)

    This book is told from the point of view of Lena Haloway, a seventeen year old girl living in the town of Portland, Maine in the future United States. In the future, love is seen as a disease. They have named this disease "Amor Deliria Nervosa", but many people just call it the deliria. Lena is afraid of the disease, mainly because her mother committed suicide do to the affects of it. However, she is counting the days until she receives her cure, a surgery which can make you immune to the deliria, when she turns eighteen years old. Then, in a strange turn of events, Lena meets a boy by the name of Alex Sheathes, who is cured, while she and her friend Hana Tate are on a run. They have met once before, when Lena received her evaluation, which was disastrous. Lena then begins to fall in love with Alex, but she is blind to it because of her knowledge Alex is cured. But when Alex reveals to Lena he in fact not cured, and was born in The Wilds (where those who resist the cure live), she is terrified for her life. 

   Delirium is a wonderful book. I absolutely adored the idea and also the well development of characters in it as well. It is well written, adventurous, and romantic all in one. There is a lot of swearing in the book, including the mother of all curse words twice. There is also one love scene where it gets a little steamy, but nothing much really happens. Overall, Delirium was fabulous, but it did have a little short of an ending and some inappropriate scenes. In the end, I give this book and A-.

Animal farm

In the book Animal farm by George Orwell the animals of the barnyard are tired of their owners treating them horribly so they decide to run it themselves. As the orginal leader Major, a thoughtful old boar who introduces their new way of life animalism. While the animals try the new way of governing  one pig, Napoleon, works to achieve power by driving out the leaders. The pig who challenges him is snowball a caring less deviant counterpart. The leaders fight but to no avail, the farm falls under Napoleon's control with help of his nine loyal attack dogs. while he governs them by the terms that all animals are equal but some are more equal than others. With Napoleon as leader the farm plummets into a totalitarian government where their best horse boxer.
This book was a very thrilling play through of the early soviet union in WWII. It was very fun to learn about the soviet union in this book. Although i learned a lot I felt like it could have expanded more in detail on how it played out in the barnyard but instead it just ended. This is a very good read to learn about Russia back then but a little bit short. B.

 

City of Fallen Angels by: Cassandra Clare was, as always, a beautifully written book. Being the fourth book of the series and having such high expectations after the third, it did not disappoint. *SPOILERS*

            This book begins a few months after where the third left off. Everything is serene. Valentine and Sebastian are dead. Clary and Jace are officially a couple, and Jocelyn and Luke are getting married. Finally. It seems as if nothing could disturb the peace. They had never been so wrong. Shadowhunters have been found dead in several territories with no known suspects. Also, Simon is being hunted by mysterious hooded figures that would go to dangerous lengths to please their master. Camille has returned to take back her place on top of Manhattan. Simon, who still struggles with his existence as a downworlder, is fighting for his life to keep out of the reach of power hungry vampires.

            But Simon is not the only one having troubles. Jace who seemed to finally be free of his past is now sucked into something even worse that he can imagine. A great and ancient power has returned with dark plans for Jace and is not going to let anyone get in their way.

            Clary, now expanding her skills and knowledge as a shadowhunter, digs deep into the secrets of the past. Clary finds that Lilith, the first demon, has returned to raise Sebastian. Clary must stop at nothing to keep her from succeeding.

            Without spoiling the ending to much, this book was amazing and came together very well. What’s a good book without a killer cliffhanger?

            This book really goes to show that no love is perfect. Every character has a story and must learn to overcome the obstacles laid out before them. All in all, life and love are not easy.

             This book is filled with tragic romance, betrayal, suspense, and of course, sarcasm. Although, it was slow in some parts, I still enjoyed it. The world of angels lies before you in this book and I definitely recommend the series. I do have to warn you that there are intense kissing scenes and mild profanity. Not to worry, it was an amazing book and if you haven’t read it yet, I highly suggest you do.

 

I Think I'm a Clone Now

     I read the book Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix. This book is definitely fiction and is wondeful. It is a modern day book with a twist that seems far fetched, but can be realistic. For all we know, this book could be true.

     In Double Identity, Bethany Cole is rised by the most overprotective and spoiling parents. She is never left alone and always has a watchful eye on her. Bethany never wants for anything and is raised with care and concern. However, by the age of 12, Bethany's parents go a little wacko. Her Dad is always serious and her mom spends the days balling away and is pretty much emotionally unstable. One day, her parents get especially weird and take an overnight trip to her grandparents she didn't even know she have. Her parents leave her there and her only connection to them is a phone call a day. The even weirder thing is, everyone keeps on mentioning another person named Elizabeth, and Bethany doesn't know who she is. You find out that it's Bethany's sister that was killed years before in a car accident. However, there's another piece of the puzzle. Sorry, but you're going to have to read the book to find out what happens.

     This book was really interesting and hard to put down. It was so great and this author has written so many great books before. I thought that the book brought about one main issue. It's that people are prejudged because of their relations, such as brothers or sisters. So say you go into middle school and your brother was a terrible student. Now, all teachers assume you're just as bad and you never even made a first impression. Another author who thinks like this is Betsy Love, who wrote a book called Identity. Her book is all about finding your identity and becoming who you actually are, instead of who you're told to be. I agree with both the author's opinion most definitely. Being judged because of other people isn't your fault, but you still have to deal with. Be yourself and you will earn other's respect.

In a nutshell, the book was really great. In all, I give it an A. It teaches you not to judge others beforehand, especially if your judging is based on an unreliable source. I would definitely recommend others to read it as well.

The Anti-prom

The Anti-prom by Abby Mcdonald, is a young adult novel about rebellion, romance, and revenge. It focuses in on three unlikely friends who all seek one thing. Revenge. Revenge is the main theme of this book along with romance.
Bliss Merino is one of the most popular girls in school. She has the perfect boyfriend, perfect friends, and a perfect life, so she expects her prom to be, well...perfect! She IS having a perfect prom, that is until she finds her boyfriend making out with her best friend in the back of their limo. She then meets up with Jolene in order to find a perfect way to destroy them. Jolene is the baddest girl in school. You cannot say no to her. No one expects to see her at prom, yet here she is! The scarriest girl in school is standing here in a pink ruffle dress and high heels. Jolene's date fails to show up and she agrees to help Bliss with her destructive plans. As they are running away from an alarm that they set off, they run into Meg Zuckerman. Meg is the ultimate wallflower. She literally has zero friends and her prom date, who was set up by her parents, stood her up. She is determined to end her life as a wallflower and go experience new things. She, Jolene, and Bliss then go on many adventures in seek of new relationships and revenge.
I am going to be straight forward with you. I hated this book. I thought it was terrible. I had 5 main issues with the book. 1: I felt like the entire book was just about a couple of stuck up brats who never stopped complaining. The story takes place in high school, which i know is full of drama, but this book made it out to be like if you aren't popular, then you aren't happy. 2: I had a couple moral issues with the book. Every single page had a swear word. I'm almost positive that I did not go through one page without seeing at least one swear word, and I had issues with that because I don't necessarily mind if one swears, but it does bother me when people swear over and over again. This did more than bother me, it drove me crazy! Also, there were a couple sexual scenes and underage smoking and drinking. 3: There were a couple main events in the story, but after a couple, they really could've ended the story. But no! It dragged on and on. It felt like a never ending story. 4: Like in the book Flipped, this story is told in the point of view of multiple first person. The story switches off between Bliss, Jolene, and Meg's point of view. It was very hard to keep track of who was speaking and it was very confusing. Lastly, 5: The characters drove me nuts. Bliss was a brat, Jolene was a jerk, and Meg let people walk all over her. I did not like any of them at all. Also, there were so many characters. Too many. They introduced more than 20 different character throughout the book. That is WAY too many! The only thing in this book that I liked was the way how Meg grew as a character. She started as a shy wallflower and grew to be more outgoing and fun.
All in all, I would give this book a generous F. It was really that horrible. There were so many issues with it. I know what you're thinking, "Why in the world would she continue to read this if it was so bad?" There is only one reason why I didn't choose a new book for my report... I didn't have time to go find a new one! Believe me, I wish I didn't read it and have chosen a diferent book. So, unless you like reading long books that are all about brats and jerks, DO NOT read this book.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Glass by Cassandra Clare is an incredible book written for young adults. The main idea with not only this book but, most of the books in the Mortal Instrument series, is good intentions will lead to success. Many of the characters find this easier said than done.

     
          In brief, this starts out where City of Ashes left off; Valentine is currently in possession of two of the three Mortal instruments. With the Mortal Cup and the Mortal Sword he can now raise demons and plans to destroy any Nephilim, A.K.A. Shadowhunters, that have ever interacted or consorted with a Downworlder. Clary and the Lightwoods set off for Idiris to find a potion to save Jocelyn, although, Jace has other plans in mind. When Magnus opens the portal to Alicante, the Lightwoods and Simon are attacked by hordes of demons and are forced to jump through the portal without Clary. Now with no way of joining the group, Clary must use her newly found talent and create a portal rune to take her into Idiris. When Clary jumps through her makeshift portal with Luke close behind, she quickly finds that she can't get into Alicante without authorization and instead is thrown into Lake Lyn and forced to hike to the gates.

After several chapters of exploring the new city and meeting new people, Clary journeys to find the Book of White that Jocelyn has hidden in a brilliantly named book (that you will just have to read to find out) in the Wayland manor. She is now accompanied by the handsome Sebastian, who Clary seems drawn to in a way. So not only does Clary have to worry about her mixed feelings for Jace and Simon, but what has now become an odd love square between them and Sebastian.

As the Nephilim prepare for the oncoming war, Jace and Clary must journey into the past to find out their true heritage. Once Jace has gone in search of Valentine, Clary must find a way to lessen the tension between Downworlders and Shadowhunters and create an alliance rune so they can all truly fight as one.

Without spoiling too much, I have to say that the ending of this book was probably the best out of all three and I would definitely read it again. This book was my favorite so far and will always be memorable. Especially, Jace's and Simon's wise crack jokes. One of the big issues that this book brings up is that you should always know where you stand and even if you feel your intentions are good they may be looked down upon by the angels and other people and are not always for the benefit of others but for yourself instead. I am in total agreement with Cassandra that in order for change, everyone needs to come together and work as one. This book goes to show that there are people in the world like Valentine but that there are also people like Clary and Jace. One person can make a difference and change the world.

All in all, City of Glass is my new found favorite in the series. Don't worry; most of your questions from the previous books will be answered in this book. Even though this book didn't have a suspenseful cliff hanger, it is still compelling you to read the next. I do have to advise you that this book is mildly gory and will be slightly confusing during the process of tying everything together. Besides that, this book will make you want to sit in the corner with your blanket, teddy bear, and all the Jace you can handle. It's an excellent read and you should definitely consider cracking open this series.

This book is full of Uglies.

     This book is called Uglies by Scott Westerfield. This book is Fiction and is really good. The main themes are that what is on the inside is what counts, and that your perspective on beauty can change.

     A girl named Tally lives in a society where once you turn 16, you become beautiful. Nice, full lips. Large, vulnerable eyes. This creates a false sense of beauty. Tally's Best Friend has already become pretty and she longs to be with him. He lives over in New Pretty town, a town only for pretties, completely separated from the small town for the Uglies. Pretties are allowed to do anything, but becoming pretty comes with a price. Small lesions are inserted into your brain that make you easier to control and make you into a bubblehead. While Tally is waiting to turn 16 and be with her best friend, she meets a new friend, Shay. Shay is outrageous and much a rebel. Shay understands how her society has messed with their perspective of beauty and longs to escape the operation that turns her pretty. She had an opportunity to escape the city before but she was too scared to leave. This time, she is sure she wants to leave. She leaves the day before she turns 16 and runs away. Tally still yearns to become pretty and her day for the operation comes. She is whisked to the hospital and waits in the waiting room for an hour. Her operation never happens. She is then taken to a building on the outskirts of town. The Special Circumstances building. Special Circumstances is a cruel kind of pretty with razor sharp fingernails and teeth, bones made of airplane material and light as a feather, and reflexes like none other. As the name applies, Special Circumstances deal with Special Circumstances. They want information from Tally as to the whereabouts of Shay or she won't be turned Pretty. Lucky for her, Shay left Cryptic directions to the Smoke, a city for run aways escaping the operation. She gives the directions to Special Circumstances but they don't want directions. They want her to travel to the Smoke with a necklace that will send a signal once activated so that Special Circumstances (SC) can take over and destroy the smoke. Tally is unsure what to do. To find out what she does, read the book.
 
  This book was really interesting and memorable. Interesting because it has many twists and turns and gives you a good sense of how the government can be cruel sometimes. Scott Westerfield's opinion, as you can tell from the book, is that a society can mess with your minds and give you different opinions on subject than opinions of people in our society. For one thing, Tally believes she is totally ugly when she is probably beautiful in out society. There is only one kind of beauty in Tally's world. I agree with Scott Westerfield. Even in our society, the definition of beauty has changed. At first, long ago, being larger was beauty because it was said you had  more money. Now, being skinny as a pole and having big butts is the new beauty and lots of people are struggling. Also, this book relates to larger issues our society has. For one thing, the whole point of the operation is to make the city easier to control. Instead of one million opinions to consider, pretties will go along with anything so only one opinion is followed. If our society was like that, our lives would be better. I agree it is still wrong, but the city still had the right idea. In addition, beauty comes wth a price in their society as well as in ours. Although ours is as not great a price, beauty in our society comes with stress, hunger, and a need to always look perfect. No body is perfect, so why try? 

     Altogether, the book was wonderful. There was many details, great pacing, and tons of foreshadowing. I would give this book a definite A. The issues brought up in the book were great points and gave lots of insight in the problems of our society today as well. There are 4 books in the series and all are great, They're called Uglies, Pretties, Specials, and Extras.  If you want to read the series, I advise strongly. All are great and Scott Westerfield is a terrific author,

Yearbook!!!!!!

        Welcome to the adventures of the book called Yearbook! It was written by: Allyson Braithwaite Condie. She is a very good author. THIS BOOK IS A RELIGIOUS BOOK! It reverts back a lot to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints religion. If you don't like that then I would suggest not reading this book! This book's main purpose is to say that no matter what, you have Christ in your life, and that anything is possible if you set your mind to it.
       Let's get started! This book is told from many points of view. It is about 7 kids in high school and then a couple of the teachers and the principle. Each chapter changes to a different person. Each person has their own trials and different things that they are going through. Their names are Michaela, Ethan, Andrea, Julie, Tyler, Avery, and Dave. This book can bring you to realize so many things if you let it! It's hard to summerize this book when being told from so many points of view, so we will see how it turns out!
      This is one of those books that uses real-life experiences that happen in high school probably all the time. It teaches you how to cope with hardships, while telling you a story at the same time. I am going to give a quick rundown of each character. Michaela is a girl who is having a great time in high school and she ends up helping her friend and converting her into the church and she likes Ethan. Ethan is on the cross country team and he also likes Micheala. Andrea is Ethan's older sister. And she is also on the cross-country team and the fastest one on it. She decided to fall away from the church, and you'll have to read to find out why. Julie had a rough life! She was always wishing that she was never born becuase her brothers were criminals! Turns out, her brother's killed one of her teachers Mother but, she herself is a wonderful person. Tyler has to move to a different state and finds himself trying to figure out where he belongs. Avery isn't the kid that you wished was your friend. You would normally stay away from her. She smokes and doesn't really care about anything, just goes with the flow. Dave. Dave is in love with Andrea and he is on the cross-country team and spends some time tutoring other kids. It sounds confusing but you just kind of have to connect the dots...
      This was a book that I think was memorable and one that I won't ever forget. It was very interesting to watch and go on the adventures and trials that these students/kids went through. It was fun to see how they would change as a person and come to realize what is truly important. This book taught me that no matter what life throw's at you, you can handle it. If you have Christ with you and always turn to him in every doubt and time of need. He will always be there for you no matter what.
     Again, this is a book that refers a lot to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints. So if you don't want to read a book like that then I wouldn't read this one. This book was by far one of the best that I have ever read and I would give it an A+.
       
       

  
       

Keep Holding On

Written by Susane Colasanti, Keep Holding On is a realistic-fiction young adult romance. Keep Holding On is about an average every day teenage girl (how many times have you heard that before?) named Noelle. Noelle's horrible home life often interferes with her school life as she is constantly bullied. The main theme of this book is to think before you act, because you don't know what everyone is going through and to "Keep holding on" and stay strong.

At school, Noelle can do nothing but try to fly below the radar. She considers herself to be the second most bullied kid in school, next to Ali. Noelle is constantly verbally and physically bullied by a couple groups of bullies at her school. She doesn't fight them and just let's herself get beaten up. However, the bullies don't know about her mortifying home life. She lives with only her mom. Her father left when she was young and her wonderful stepfather died of cancer and left nothing for her and her mother to live on. Noelle's mother is constantly complaining about her life and does virtually nothing for her daughter. Noelle is completely neglected. Her only friend, Sherea, who holds a dark secret, and her secret boyfriend, Matt, are the only people she has. But recently, Julian has started talking to her and she starts to fall for him. She doesn't feel like she is good enough for him and just keeps going on with her miserable life. Keep Holding On will keep you going on a steady pace with an extremely shocking twist that changes EVERYONE.

 This book is definitely meant for teens (mostly because anyone younger wouldn't understand) but there isn't anything TOO horrible. There is a little bit of language and some people may feel uncomfortable or sensitive at some scenes. All in all, I thought that this book was pretty good. It is definitely among some of my favorite books. I mean, it was so good, I read it all day and finished it. That's how good it was. This book really keeps you going. You do not want to stop reading. Although some scenes may seem repetitive, they all make sense and add to the story in the end. One thing that keeps you going in this book, is the way the author will kind of hint that something happened, but doesn't just come out and say it until later, so you are sitting there wondering if what you think happened really happened. For example, at one part Noelle says, "Sherea still has nightmares" and Sherea says later, "Maybe I should have told someone about it." Also, my absolute favorite part in this book is that I was just reading this one basic chapter. It was nothing special. And then the very next page, I got punched in the stomach with a suprise that I did not expect at all. (can't tell you what it is, sorry!)

In conclusion, I thought that Keep Holding On was a very good book. I would defintely recomend it to others. It was very interesting and entertaining. I really loved the moral of the story, which was to "Keep holding on" and don't give up no matter how hard things get. I love this book and I give it a solid A.

Someone Like You

        Sarah Dessen's Someone Like You was not my favorite book. It's a contemporary romance, a story of rebellion and young love. This book focuses on the importance of good friends and family. There are a few mild swear words and some sexual content.

     Halley is an average high school girl. She has a best friend, Scarlett, and a mother who doesn't understand her anymore. She and her mother were very close just last summer. They went on a family vacation to the Grand Canyon and Halley and her mother were like best friends. Meanwhile, Scarlett has been dating Michael Sherwood but hasn't really told anyone but Halley. Then, while Halley is away at Sisterhood Camp, she gets a phone call from Scarlett. Michael was in a motorcycle accident and died. Scarlett has always been the strong one and has always been there for Halley. Now it's Halley's turn to be the strong one for Scarlett. Halley does her best to comfort Scarlett, until she meets Macon, Michael's best friend. They eventually start dating and Halley starts to worry less about Scarlett. Then, things get crazy. Scarlett finds out she is pregnant with Michael's baby. So, Halley and Macon come to the rescue and help Scarlett convince her mom to let Scarlett keep the baby. 

     Also, Macon wants to take his and Halley's relationship to "the next level." (*wink wink*) When she finally agrees, she has to get drunk before she can do it. So, at a New Year's Eve party, Halley gets wasted and has to leave before anything happens. Macon thinks she was just leading him on and is yelling at her the whole way home, not watching the road. This causes them to get into a major car accident and Halley is rushed to the hospital. Where, Macon doesn't visit and Halley's mom doesn't know what happened. Once Halley gets out of the hospital, it's about time for prom. She and Scarlett go with their dates, but halfway through, Scarlett starts to go into labor, figures. So, Scarlett has the baby and names her Grace. Halley is avoiding Macon and doesn’t want anything to do with him anymore. She starts to realize that even if Scarlett has just given up her whole future, Grace has a great one because of all the people she has who love her.

     This book was a waste of time. It wasn't a good story, and it drove me crazy. I never really liked Sarah Dessen books all that much. They seem to always be about whiny teenage girls who are "madly in love" with some idiot. I haven't read all of her books, because the drive me crazy, so I don't know if that's a good generalization. This book made me grateful for my life and my family. My family are my best friends and I wouldn't want to be in Scarlett's situation at all. I think this book completely turned me off of Sarah Dessen books. I kept telling myself, just try this one, it might be good. Alas, I was wrong. I think this book was one of the top five worst books I've read. I don't know exactly why, but I didn't like it at all. If someone asked me if they should read this book, I'd give them a positive no. D-.

   

Anne of Green Gables

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery is a piece of realistic fiction written in the 1900's. When Matthew Cuthbert, a kind but painfully shy old man, goes to the train station to pick up the orphan boy that he and his spinster sister Marilla want to adopt, he finds Anne instead! Anne "with an e" is a eleven year old orphan who has a giant imagination and always has something to say. She is terribly excited to go and live with Matthew and Marilla at Green Gables -- their beautiful and spacious house -- but when she gets there, she finds out that there was a mistake. Matthew and Marilla wanted to adopt an orphan boy, not a girl. Marilla is determined to send Anne back but Matthew becomes attached to her and can't bear the thought of sending her away. Finally, Marilla gives in and Anne becomes Anne of Green Gables. She is smart, sassy, funny, odd, naughty, dreamy, and never stops talking! Anne of Green Gables is about Anne's adventures in Avonlea and is a fascinating book.

     I really enjoyed this book and it was hard to put down. Anne as a character is really funny and her interactions with everyone else are absolutely hilarious. One problem that people reading this book might have is that, because it was written in 1908, it uses old language and mentions things from the time period that could be a little hard to understand. Also, it is set in Prince Edward Island, Canada, so it also discusses some old Canadian politics that were a little confusing. But it was a really good book and, besides just being about Anne's adventures growing up, it had some deep stuff too. Throughout the story, Anne struggles to come to terms with her looks and peer pressure. Anne's red hair is a great trial to her. She mentions several times how she would trade all her brains to be pretty and even tries to dye her hair once (with awful results and a pretty short haircut). Also, Anne really likes to be "popular". If puffed sleeves on dresses are "in", she wants them. If frills and bows are fashionable, then by all means, restock the wardrobe. I think that this made the book relatable because, even though it is a hundred years old, these problems are still problems in the teenage girl population.

     In a nutshell, I really enjoyed this book. It was really entertaining and I plan on reading on and finishing the series. I would recommend this book to everyone! A

The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald, is by far one of the best books that I have ever read in my entire life. I was slightly skeptical about reading it at first, as I've heard some say that it is a slower paced book, however I have absolutely no regrets after reading it. I highly recommend to anyone and everyone that enjoys classics.

The story begins in the summer of 1922, the start of the roaring twenties, where bootlegging and partying are habitual. Nick Carraway is just moving to the West Egg neighborhood of Long Island, New York from Minnesota. He quickly becomes aware of his neighbor, the rather mysterious Jay Gatsby, and about his grandiloquent parties which he holds every Saturday night at his gigantic Gothic mansion. Unlike most others in West Egg, Nick was educated at Yale and has a few social connections in the much more fashionable East egg. During a visit there, an old college friend and his wife, Tom Buchanan and Daisy Buchanan, introduce him to Jordan Baker, whom he begins dating. He also learns from Jordan that Tom is having an affair behind Daisy's back.

A few months into the summer, Nick receives an invitation to one of Gatsby's parties. Meeting Gatsby will forever change Nick's life in an extraordinary way, and will end another's.

I have honestly never been so engaged in a book. My love for this book is stronger than my hatred of Apple products. I did not know at all what to expect when I first started reading it, I had positively no idea what this book was about. Normally, when I don't know much about a book, I don't read it, because I feel like I might become disappointed. This was about the most fulfilling book I have ever encountered. I am glad that this book also is considered a classic. I definitely give this book an A+

Second Chance Summer

    Love... Drama... Conflict... Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson has all of these. In a heartbreaking story about a young girl who instead of facing her problems chooses to run from them. Though when her father informs her of a family issue… Taylor Edwards can't run away this time. But, she does get a second chance to repair the summer she tried to leave behind five years ago…

   Second Chance Summer takes place in the sunny Pocono Mountains, Pennsylvania, where Taylor is hoping to spend one last summer while her family is still together. Matson wrote this book about a summer romance but, the story goes to a much deeper level. Taylor Edwards deals with personal conflicts, her father’s illness, her first love, and someone who used to know her better than anyone. Taylor's experiences give her many ‘second chances’ that are all telling her the same thing.

The ability to capture the reader with tender       moments and a positive outlook amazed me. Matson is able to create the most amazing characters that any teenager can relate with. Second Chance Summer takes you into each character’s life while causing you to ponder your own. Even though she has only written two novels, I am already obsessed with her writing.

    As I approached the end of the book I was nervous for how it would finish. When you read this book you will know why I felt this way. Just remember, Second Chance Summer is a heart-wrenching story that shows how to have hope in extreme adversity. It will for sure make you shed a tear or two before you reach the end. A+!



Dreamland

Dreamland is a young adult romance written by Sarah Dessen. The book starts with Caitlin O'Koren waking up on her 16th birthday. Upon waking up, she discovers that her older sister, Cass, has run away with her boyfriend. Everyone completely forgets her birthday as everyone is in a panic about Cass. Later, Caitlin is at a car wash where she meets Rogerson Biscoe, a seemingly attractive drug dealer who is abused by his father. They meet up at a party and quickly become a couple. Because of Rogerson, Caitlin is introduced to drugs and soon becomes a careless teenager. She skips and fails almost all of her classes and befriends a woman in her mid twenties named Corinna. After some time, Caitlin starts to be abused by Rogerson. She is physically abused when she fails to inform him where she is or is seen talking to other boys. She loves him and cannot leave him.
Dreamland is well written and it keeps you wanting more. However, it also has many issues. First of all, there are countless scenes in the book where she is smoking pot or doing drugs which can become uncomfortable and annoying after a while. Secondly, there is a lot of language in this book. A LOT. Also, in the abuse scenes are very explicit. Lastly, there are a few sexual scenes. It is not said in the moment, but Caitlin talks about it saying that it, "was the only time I could count on being safe."
All in all, I feel that this book deserves a B. It was very interesting and entertaining. I liked the way how it kind of related to real life situations and the people around us. I did not want to stop reading! However, this book had so many moral issues that it was almost uncomfortable to read at times. I would be reading the story all happy and everything and then suddenly it would be a scene where she was smoking or drinking. This book can also put you in a depressing mood. She talks about her feelings a lot and just reading some of this is depressing. So if you get depressed easily, I would not recomend this book. However, if you don't get sad easily and you are comfortable reading the things I have talked about, I would definatley recomend it. It is VERY interesting and you get hooked on the story and the characters.

The Sea of Monsters by: Rick Riordan

This wonderful fiction book is about a kid whose name is Percy Jackson. Percy, after completing the task of finding the stolen Lightning Bolt, is now faced with a new problem. Camp Half-Blood (a camp for sons and daughters of a mortal and a god) is not safe anymore. Zeus' daughter Thalia is a tree that protects the camp and now has been poisened so the borders are not protected anymore. The only cure is to retrieve the magic Golden Fleece. Percy with the help of his friend Annabeth and his step brother Tyson had to find the magic Golden Fleece before it was to late. Thalia would die and the camp would be in great danger. Also Percy's best friend is in trouble. He has been taken by a cyclops and Percy needs to save him. He keeps having dreams of Grover being held captive because Grover is sending them to him so he can also be found. In one of the dreams Grover tells Percy that he thinks that he might of found the Golden Fleece.

They travel to where he thinks Grover is and on the way their they have a lot of challenges. Right off the bat they get captured by one of their former camp-mates Luke (Luke was good and then he turned evil and wants the Titans to rule again). They managed to sneak away on a life boat one night and proceded to go on with their hard task. Bad thing after bad thing just kept happening. Next they met up with Clarisse (daughter of Ares and is a camp mate of thiers) and she had an ironclad from the Civil War. They were traveling in the right direction when they got attacked by Scylla (a sea monster that had 6 heads and always attacked sailors and boats). The crew ends up scattered except for Percy and Annabeth. They assume Tyson is dead because they thing he blew up with the boat. They don't know if the nearby islands are even safe so they can swim to them. They need to find Tyson and Grover. Hope is almost lost they need the Fleece to save Camp-Half Blood. They are running out of time and are in a time of desperate need. What will they do?

This book is a great book. I just love Rick Riordan he is such a good author and this series is great so far. I really encourage the people who read this series to study up on their Greek mythology or else you might not be able to understand it too well. I love the way how he puts Greek mythology into characters who live in modern times. He really understands how to make a good page turning book. I really liked this book and so far this series. A