Being Sixteen

Being Sixteen by Allie Condie, author of Matched, is a young adult novel about life as a teenager and struggles that they have to go through. The main theme of the book is relationships (especially with family)
Juliet Kendall is having her sixteenth birthday party, which in the Mormon religion, is a very big deal. Not only does she get to start driving in a car that she has already received, or get a cell phone, she finally gets to start dating the boy of her dreams, Nate. Juliet seems to have the perfect life. A dream boyfriend, a great car, a spot starring on her basketball team, a great spirit, and a happy family. Or so she thinks. Juliet's 14 year old sister, Carly, has always been a happy, fun loving girl, but lately things are starting to change. Juliet starts finding things that worry her. She notices how Carly avoids eating with the family and is starting to look skinnier. Later, Juliet discovers hundreds of boxes of laxatives that Carly has kept hidden, and discovers that her little sister is bulimic. Juliet confronts her mother and together as a family, they try to work to cure Carly's illness. After this scary discovery, Juliet has to learn how to deal with change and hardtimes along with keeping her faith and helping her sister overcome an eating disorder.
Honestly, I read the back summary of the book and I didn't think much of it. I'm not a huge fan of the Matched series. However, as soon as I started reading, I fell in love with this book. It is probably one of the best books I have ever read. It had a great storyline and great characters. I personally find eating disorders and mental illnesses rather interesting and I am also Mormon so I can relate well to the religious things they talk about in this book. This book is very appropriate. There were no swear words or parts that were bad. The only bad thing about this book, is that after a while, the story kind of started to drag on. I mean, Carly's eating disorder was discovered before the halfway point of the book, so it took her more than half of a book to talk about her recovery. Also, if you are not Mormon or do not know the standards and beliefs of the religion, you would probably have a hard time understanding some parts of the book, as Juliet makes a lot of references to the religion and it's teachings.
All in all, I think this book deserved an A+. It was AMAZING. As soon as I started reading, I couldn't stop! The story and plot line was great and I loved the characters. I didn't xpect much out of this book and I was suprised by how good it was. I loved it!

A River Runs through It

       A River Runs through It, is a novel about a family, the Macleans, and their adventures of fly fishing. Or rather, the adventures of the older of two brothers, Norman, and the younger of the two brothers, Paul. The story begins with a brief summary of the life of the boys at a young age. First,  their father was a Presbyterian minister, who tied his own flies, and taught others. So, obviously they attended church. Norman, also does not attend regular school like the other kids. He stays home where his father teaches him to read and write. Then, after all is done and over with for the day, Norman and his brother get to go fly fishing. Which is very important to them as a family. To them, "there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing." After the intro, most of the story is told by Norman, with his brother in their late 30's, in the Summer of 1937. Norman takes his rowdy and troubled brother on one last fly fishing trip, in order to set him in the right place, or set him on the right path. This was obviously the right choice for the job, as both brothers took to fly fishing as a sentimental cradle, for them both to bond and "be men" in.

       A River Runs through It, was definitely an interesting book for me, being that I am a fly-fisherman myself. However, I do think that if you enjoy a story that is heartfelt, filled with the characters saying beautiful moral values, that a human being most likely would not just say on their own, then you would very much enjoy this book. Also, if you are already reading a book and do not feel like starting a new one, you can see the movie, for I believe it is on Netflix.

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-.

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.

...Her plans to Maximize fun, avoid distaster, and (possibly) save the world!!

    BEST BOOK EVER!! This book is written by: Katherine Hannigan. She is such an awesome children's author! She is really good at bringing real life situations that seem to be overlooked, to the readers realization. This book is a fictional and a realistic one. The main purpose of this book is to have you take a step back and really come to realize that terrible things really do happen in life and it can effect you in many ways.
     Alright, lets get to the good stuff! So this book is from a 1st person point-of-view. It follows the life of a girl named Ida B Applewood who claims that "There is never enough time for fun(pg 3)." Ida would be in the fourth grade, but she is home-schooled. Ida is home-schooled because she tried going to school in kindergarten and it just wasn't working for her, so her parents decided to try home-schooling. Ida has many "friends," her backyard is an orchard and so there are many trees and a stream that goes though it. So she talks to the trees, all of them have names, the stream even has a name. Those are her friends. She claims that they talk back and that if you're quiet you can feel them speak to you. Well a turn of events is making a change of plans, Ida's mom gets cancer and Ida has to start going back to school. Ida HATES school. So she decides that she is going to have a "bad" heart and completely rebel and shove everybody out of her life. Family, "friends", and all the people that she will come into contact with at school. Her policy is no friends, classmates, parents, or teachers. The question is, will she be able to pull out of this awful trance that she has gotten herself into? Will she continue to be mean and have a sad depressing life? Well that is up to you to go pick this amazing 246 page book with 32 chapters inside and read what this 4th grade girl has to go through.
     This book was definitely one that I will never put in the attic! It really helped me to really try and look out and try to help people that look like they are having a bad day, because you never know what that person is going through and they might just need someone consistent to check on them everyday. Maybe they don't have support at home, or they just need some lifting up. This book was definitely one that was a fun read and very exciting. It was exciting and fun because of the way Ida talks and just the funny things that she says and the way she thinks. I will give this book a big fat A+!

Heaven Is Here By Stephanie Nielson

(warning! There may be a few spoilers...!)

  Heaven is Here is a book about incredible true story of faith, hope, and love. This entire book was so incredible, and sometimes (although I tried to fake it) I even caught myself crying while reading it in class! The book is about a woman named Stephanie Nielson, a strong Mormon woman with four children who was currently living in Mesa, Arizona. In 2005, she started a blog known at the NieNie Dialogues, which became widely popular with many readers. She begins the story when she was young teen, telling her fairy tale romance story of her and her husband and him learning to fly planes. She tells a beautiful story of marriage and starting a family and her life seems absolutely perfect. 

  People envy Stephanie until she begins the next part of her story. Her accident. On August 16th, 2008, Stephanie was in a horrifying plane crash with her husband that burned forty percent of his body and hers eighty percent, sending her into a coma for three months. When she wakes up, she is horrifyingly depressed and unsure of herself. She couldn't walk, but that wasn't the worst. Stephanie's face had changed drastically. The change was so awful in fact, her daughter Jane, would not even look at her and her son whom was still a baby during the accident, thinks her sister is "Mommy".

  While I read this book I couldn't believe how incredible this woman is. She faced an unspeakable tragedy and still built back her happiness. Her relationships grew stronger, her hope grew more, and her faith was changed dramatically. I absolutely LOVED this book and recommend it to anyone who needs a lift up and good spirit. Easy A. 

Smiles to Go by Jerry Spinelli

     Smiles to Go by Jerry Spinelli is a realistic fiction book. This story tells the reader to treasure time and moments with others. The main character, Will Tuppence, is a science geek that questions the world around him once there is a scientific breakthrough that a proton has actually died. He realizes from this that one day, everything is going to disappear.
      9th grader Will Tuppence and his best friend, Mi-Su, love to attend star parties (events where people meet to stargaze). When he is forced to take his annoying little sister, Tabby, to one of these parties, he finds his other best friend, BT, and Mi-Su kissing! Through his feelings of anger, he begins to realize that he likes Mi-Su. While spending so much time thinking about her, he doesn't realize how important his family is.
      Smiles to Go was a very sweet and memorable book because of how Will changed throughout the book. Also, the lesson I learned will stick with me. Smiles to Go affected me a lot because it taught me to savor moments with others, because you never know when everything can be ripped out of your hands. I always knew that time was important, but now I understand what could happen if I don't use my time wisely.
      I really liked the point that this book was putting across, but the writing style was confusing, and the beginning didn't make very much sense. Also, if you like books filled with suspense and drama, I do not recommend this book. Although, I think that the lesson in this book is one that everyone should learn. Overall, it is a great read.

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-.

   

To Kill a Mockingbird, By: Harper Lee (Fiction)

To Kill a Mockingbird

Written by: Harper Lee

               

             "Kill all the Blue Jays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird." The title, "To Kill a Mockingbird", is a metaphor representing the slaying of innocence. Harper Lee's story represents how truly horrible it is to kill something as innocent and beautiful as a mockingbird. It comes in so many different forms. In this case, someone’s dignity, an innocent man being killed, or the shattering of a child's innocence. 

Jem and Scout Finch, live with their father in Maycomb, Alabama. Their story starts off in the summertime, right after school gets out. While playing in their oversized yard, they meet Charles Baker Harris, or as they call him, Dill. These three friends like to make up crazy plans, leading to intriguing adventures and sometimes landing them in big trouble. 

They live by a creepy, broken down house owned by Arthur Radley, sometime known as Boo. Jem, Sout and Dill have never seen Boo so they spend much of their time trying to convince him to come outside just to see if he's real. 

Their summertime fun ends when their father, Atticus, gets a case, where he has to defend Tom Robinson, an African American.  Throughout this case they learn how people in their town truly are and how some people who seem like good hearted people, and not self-centered or dangerous, are really the complete opposite. Who actually is the bad guy? Well soon Jem and Scout will find out and their troubles won’t seem as big, and they really learn what it means to killing a mockingbird. While I wouldn't call this an action packed thriller, it did have some adventure here and there. Each event added to plot and slowly built up to the climax of the story where Mr. Ewells tries to kill Jem and Scout. 

I really thought that Harper Lee had a really great point on trying to make it so meaningful when someone tries to commit a sin as tragic as killing something so virtuous. Also while something so beautiful dies, Lee shows what real pain it inflicts on someone, while once again using the symbol or an allusion of a mockingbird. This book was great and wonderful, but I will warn you it does end vague, but it does leave a little mystery that you can make up your own idea of what comes next. Really this may sound cheesy but it makes you see things from a different perspective. Truly it can make you see people 

In closing I think it's a great idea to read this book. Though a piece of advice is, it does sometimes drag. So if you’re the type of person who enjoys excitement at every part or war, this book is probably not for you. Really this book is awesome and so great, that I think most people would like it. The outcome is extremely great and will catch you by surprise. It's a very informative book that I think anybody should read, because it's truly to me one of a kind and is an A in my book. 

Penny From Heaven

        Penny from Heaven is a wonderful book by Jennifer L. Holm. Jennifer is a very talented author and has written two Newberry Honor books. Penny from Heaven is one of these. This story takes place in New Jersey in the 1950's. The main character, Penny, is a 12 year old girl. Her father died when she was young and it caused quite an uproar. Her mother's heart was broken, and Penny's Nonny (her father's mother) was even more crushed.  Penny doesn't really know how her father died. All she knows is that it caused her mother to stop speaking to her father's family, and that everyone feels sorry for her because she doesn't have a dad.                                                          After her father died, Penny's grandparents, Me-me and Pop-pop came to live with her and her mother. Me-me's cooking stinks and Pop-pop can NOT learn to control his burps. So far, Penny's summer has been a bummer. The toilet above her bed is leaking and all the girls from her school hate her. To make things worse, she can't go to the pool or to the movie theater because she "might catch polio". On the upside she loves her father's side of the family. Her Nonny cooks delicious Italian food and Penny loves it. Her uncles are always trying to make up for the fact that her father is dead and as a result are always showering her with gifts. If it weren't for her father's family, Penny just might have gone crazy.

            Penny loves all of her uncles, but her favorite is Uncle Dominic. He just seems to understand her. Sure, he is a little strange, but that is what she loves about him. Penny's favorite thing to do is to sit in Uncle Dominic's car and listen to the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball game. While she is doing this, she and her Uncle Dominic talk about all kinds of interesting things. She asks him many questions that she can't ask anyone else and builds a very strong relationship with him. Penny also loves spending time with her no-good-cousin, Frankie. Frankie is a little bit on the wild side and dreams of being a criminal. He gets Penny to do crazy things that she would never do on her own.

             This book is full of fun adventures that include a milkman, goat eyeballs, and even buried treasure.  Penny has quite the crazy summer and I couldn't wait to see what she and Frankie were going to do next.  Penny had a very contagious personality and kept me laughing throughout the whole book.  The characters are also a ton of fun. Penny's relatives are all quite nuts and just add to the plot of the story.

              This book was phenomenal and I would suggest reading it.  It had lots of surprising twists that kept me intrigued. This book is very good because it isn't very hard for a teenager to connect with. One of the main lessons of this book is that family is very important.  No matter how much they embarrass you, your family is always going to be there for you. No one looks back on their life and says, "I wish I would have spent less time with my family". Besides the lessons that this book teaches, it is fun loving and care free! No doubt an A book!

Save Me By: Lisa Scottoline

Save Me by Lisa Scottoline is an amazing realistic fiction and mystery book.  It is a book that I would recommend to everyone.  It may sound like a girl's book but I think that boys would also enjoy it.

In this book, the main character, Melly, has a birthmark on her cheek and many of the kids in her class tease her because of it.  When Melly and her family move to Reesburgh, the bullying continues.  One day, Amanda Gigot was teasing Melly by smearing jelly on her cheek.  Melly ran and locked herself in the handicapped bathroom.  Melly's mother, Rose McKenna, a volunteer lunch mom, goes and asks Amanda why she was teasing Melly.  Moments later, the cafeteria explodes into flames.  Rose is knocked unconcious.  When she awakens, she is faced with the choice of saving her own daughter or saving teh three girls in front of her. 

In a flash, Rose grabbed Amanda and her two friends and escorts them to the teacher at the door that leads to the playground.  Then, she runs back inside the cafeteria to save Melly.  The bathroom door is locked so Rose has to be creative in order to find a way inside.  She finally gets inside, grabs Melly adn runs outside in search of medical help.  When she arrives at the hospital, she learns that Amanda was never accounted for in her class and that Amanda's mother was planning to sue her.  Throughout the rest of the book, Rose is trying to prove that she did take care of Amanda before her own daughter and eventually solves a murder mystery.

This book is definitely a page-turner.  I absolutely loved it.  It was a really quick read and was a lot of fun to read.  I think that the author did an amazing job at portraying the character's feelings, emotions, and personality.  Just to let you know, this book ends in a way that leads you to think that there would be a second book.  It kind of leaves you hanging.  Before reading this book, I would have never thought taht someone would actually balme another person for harming a child when really that put their own child at risk while they saved the other child(ren).

Like I said, I absolutely loved this novel.  I would recommend it to anyone who likes realistic fiction, murder mystery, and thriller stories.  I would rate this book an A+.

Of Grace and Chocolate By: Krista Lynn Jensen

Of Grace and Chocolate by: Krista Lynn Jensen is an amazing LDS fiction novel that includes mystery and a little bit of romance. This book teaches the importance of family and safety. In order to understand my summary, you need to know that Jill's younger sister has been a drug user since high school. You also need to know that Jill's mother died of an infected liver caused by alcohol.

Jill Parrish is an author and editor at a local publishing company. One day, an old friend, who Jill hasn't seen since her trip to Costa Rica in high school, tries to get her attention by stealing her cell phone and her car keys. However, Jill is anything but impressed but this will not be the last time she sees Scott Gentry over the next few days. That night, Jill's long lost sister, Evie, arrives at Jill's apartment asking for Jill to take care of her and her baby girl, Shiloh. Evie makes Jill promise that Shiloh is safe with Jill. The next morning, Jill wakes up and hears Shiloh crying. When Jill goes to get her, she realizes that Evie is gone. Jill was immediately panicked and called her singles ward bishop and the police.

Her bishop and his wife arrive with plenty of baby supplies and began taking care of Shiloh while Jill is talking to the police. The police begin to search for Shiloh's mother. Jill begins to relax and have fun with Shiloh. The next day, when Jill returns home from church, someone has broken into her home and destroyed it. Over the next few days, Jill gets to know her bishop's family and Scott Gentry at her bishop's cabin on the beach. However, the person who broke into her apartment continues to search for her. He tells her that he wants to get back at Evie. Eventually, He is captured by the police without hurting anybody. However, Jill never returning Shiloh to Evie.

This book shows exactly how drugs and alcohol can tear a family apart and hurt relationships. This is through Evie's story. She ran away to be with another drug addict who Caused her many griefs and gave her a child. This is also shown through Jill's mother. Because her mother chose to drink alcohol, she passed away of liver disease. Before reading this book, I didn't realize how damaging drugs were to families.

This book also talks about the principles of the LDS church. They appear often in this book so if you don't know them but are wanting to read this book, you may want to learn at least the basic principles and facts.

This book was an amazing novel that I could not put down. This book was a quick read and is very suspenseful. If you are going to read it, I would recommend reading it when you have a lot of free time for reading because once you put it down in a suspenseful part,you can't wait to pick it back up. I would rate this book an A+.

Fire From the Rock by Sharon M. Draper

Before you read this whole book review, let me tell you one thing. If all you ever read is fantasy stories, you might as well stop reading right now. However, if you like to gather background information while being entertained, pay attention. This well written piece of historical fiction written by Sharon M. Draper is about a teen aged girl living in Little Rock, Arkansas during the time in which school integration was being introduced. This was in 1957. Now, obviously, the girl and her family are fiction. However, there are events and actions in the book which are based on true events that transpired back when this takes place. In other words, it tells an educational story in a way that will keep you interested, and not dozing off every time you turn a page.

Sylvia Faye Patterson is an average schoolgirl who gets exceptionally good grades, and, being black, is discriminated by local residents who still have no respect for African Americans. Interestingly, with her dad being a preacher, she turns out to be a really good hearted person who deals with the horrific insults very well. Also, she happens to be really good friends with a white Jewish girl named Rachel. Unfortunately, Rachel is also picked on because of her religion. As expected, these girls go to separate schools because of their race. However, Sylvia is soon asked to be one of the first blacks to integrate to Central High School. She accepts the offer. But after an unexpected series of events, realizations, and discussions, Sylvia decides to withdraw her name from the list.

Later, she finds out it was a good thing she did decide to withdraw her name. This is because the nine that were still going to Central were getting harassed, teased, call names, and flat out denied entrance to the school. After much more drama involving troops, mobs, and police, the nine end up making history by permanently integrating into the school for whites. And although Sylvia was not one of them, she plays many important roles in changing history as well.

Now, as far as writing and theme goes, I thought the author did excellent at giving a good storyline, and keeping you flipping pages. However, I felt that she could have characterized and described people and places a little better. That way, you can visualize the story much better, and it is just a vital key in the process of writing a story. But, as I mentioned before, the author's storyline and themes partially made up for the lack of characterization she gives as the people are introduced. Also, the theme definitely played a vital part in the story for the reader's sake. It teaches you that although you should not give up on something, you need to follow your heart, and let God lead the way. In other words, do what's right, even if it means going in another direction.

Overall, I give this book a B+ for reasons which I stated in the previous paragraph. However, I would still recommend this to most of you out there. It a good educational read, but it keeps you interested throughout the book as well. It's got good characters, good information, a good story, and a great theme. Now, if you are reading this, then you stays entertained throughout the whole book review. In that case, you should go read this book today, it's a very good read, and teaches you a valuable lesson.

Through My Eyes by Tim Tebow

The first thing you should know about this book is that it is amazing. It is an autobiography, in which Tim Tebow, professional quarterback for the Denver Broncos tells his story. You find out that he actually has an amazing background. You usually look at people like his and assume that they are just rich and spoiled. Considering his circumstances, Tebow is very different. It really surprises you, some of the things he tells about himself. But it definately kept me intrigued.

Now, like any other autobiography or biography, it didn't necessarily keep me flipping pages in suspense, but I kept reading it because it was very inspirational, and only motivated me even more to commit to things I have a passion for, because that's exactly what he did. Surprisingly, I found out that up until high school, Tebow played baseball. And not only played it, he had a gift for it, and likely could've found himself earning a career in the sport. However, as I mentioned before, he had a passion for football, so he went the direction he wanted to, and look where it got him today.

Another thing that I personally found interesting was that he is a hard core Christian. He grew up in the shadow of his father who was a pastor and a very good man in Christ. His family went on mission trips to the Philippines, where they helped kids who were struggling, and Tim, along with his two brothers would speak to them, and help them better understand and grow closer to the Lord. Thus, throughout the book he gives full credit of his success and his blessings to the Lord, which is one of the reasons I admire him as a person. From reading this book, you can really tell that he is such a good guy, and is one who is able to handle the fame without making bad choices.

Lastly, throughout the book, you learn several important life lessons that he, and many others have been through. It shows a lot of insight, which is good because we all get insight from people we know. However it is good to get it from someone in a different position as well, and it teaches you a lot about staying committed, and believing in yourself and giving the credit to Christ. That was the best piece of information I got out of this book. But there us much for us all to learn from Tebow as a person and a player.

All in all, I give this book an A for its purpose and theme. Tebow also showed that NFL players aren't always retarded, and he can write a successful book. He definitely succeeded. Ultimately, this book is mainly inspirational, but also a little bit informational, and I would recommend it to anyone with a passion because it gives you a lot of inspiration. I know it inspired me to do my best. And even if its not a sport, there's still so much to learn from reading this book.

The Amaranth Enchantment By Julie Berry

Lucinda Chapdelaine has live with her evil Aunt and kind Uncle, by marriage, since she was 5. She was orphaned when her parents left to the ball, and crashed in their carriage. She has had to clean, and be like a servant for her guardians gold smithy shop her whole life.

But one day, a women with very pretty eyes comes into the shop to get a new setting for the biggest jem Lucinda has ever seen. After a rude comment from Aunt about Lucinda, the young lady asks her if she would like to come and live with her. Her Aunt can't say a word, so the Lady, Beryl, leaves apologizing. Later that day, The prince comes to find a jewel for his new bride. Not recognizing him, she makes some rude remarks, and some very witty ones as well. Her Uncle saves her from embarrassment, and the prince leaves. The priest comes to tell the Montescue's shop to inform them that the young lady that was in their shop earlier that day, was actually a witch. Her aunt makes her take it back to the lady. Instead, she kept it with her, and told her Aunt that she indeed had given it back. In the morning she was going to tell her uncle about it to get some extra money. That night, a thieving boy makes his way into Lucinda's room, but not after they fight over him coming through the window.

That morning her Uncle sleeps through breakfast. Telling her Aunt she is going to straighten up, goes and gives the boy, Peter some breakfast. Then she kicks the boy out of her room. Her Aunt makes her do the chores she had already done yesterday. The last chore she has to do is clean the windows in her Aunt and Uncles room. She is not to wake her Uncle, who is sleeping in the bed. She notices that he is not breathing and runs to his side calling for her aunt. Her Aunt blames her for her husbands death and kicks her out saying never to come back again. So she goes to the witches house. She doesn't really believe that she is a witch, and arrives after a very long walk. She knocks on the front door, and the Beryl opens the door and asks if she has her stone. Lucinda reaches into her pocket and removes the stone, holding it out. But it isn't the stone, it is a pebble..."'Peter', I croaked." (page 53)

The rest of the story consist of Lucinda trying to get Beryl's stone, she has to team up with the thief, Peter to get it back. And guess who Peter sold it to? The Prince himself. She gets thrown in jail, and gets bailed out, her Aunt. It turns Beryl knows her Aunt, from when her Aunt was a little girl. And Beryl is from another world. But in the end, they will all live happily ever after... Except for Coxley, if they can catch him.

This was a great read, and the author did a great job on the explanations, it didn't take to long, like some books do. It was fun to read, and try to figure out what was going to happen next. I totally recommend reading this great book! Especially if you liked the book The Goose Girl, the two books are really similar! This was totally is a A+ book!