The Nanny...

The Guardian

By Gerald N. Lund

    Danni is a normal teenage girl, except for the fact her real name is Carruthers and she always has a woven old bag with her at all times. This seemingly insignificant bag ends up getting her and her entire family into great trouble. What harm could an old family heirloom do?

    It all started when Danni's grandfather gives her the pouch on her thirteenth birthday, as was the tradition for generations. Called Le Guardien, which translates to The Guardian, Danni is told to guard it by keeping it with her always. Because of this she names it Nanny. She thinks of it as simply a way to make her mother happy until one camping trip with her dad, grandfather, and best friend Rick.

    Danni's dad had found lots of rhodium in his mine. But, El Cobra, a conman and kidnapper, found out about this and wanted it for himself. So, he tries to kidnap Danni's family but Danni and her little brother manage to escape. El Cobra chases Danni all over so he can get the $20 million in randsom. With help from the magic pouch and Rick Will Danni ever free her parents and live free from El Cobra?

    This book was really a good book. One of the biggest things it talks about is not judging anything or anyone by their looks. The ways it proves this are through the pouch, seemingly insignificant but very powerful, Danni, who seems just like a small town girl ends up defeating a conman who was evading the FBI and all other government officials. It was very well written and I love all of Gerald N. Lund's books. I give it a solid A.

Safe Haven

     Nicholas Sparks gets me every time. But this book has got to be one of my favorites. This real life romance and suspense keeps you in the book. Its starts off by telling you about a girl Katie who has run away to the small town of Southport, North California. She hopes to not get to comfortable or close with anyone because of her dark secret from her past. Although that plan doesn't work out when she starts to be friends with her new next-door neighbor Jo, and the handsome local store-owner Alex and his two kids. After Alex and Katie start to get a good relationship going, that dark past comes back to haunt her. And so does Alex's.
     The main idea of this book has to do with relationships and secrets. Ever had either of those? Well when dealing with one, things can get complicated. That's what keeps you reading this book. New problems and suspenseful scenes get brought up that you never see coming. My jaw is still on the ground. You never want to put the book down. Even just reading the summary, don't you want to know what her secret is? Well I did, and I'm very glad I decided to read this book to find out! Definite A+.
     Now that I have read the book I cant wait to see the movie! Check out the trailer.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mj6i_Z1Srsw

Halo: the fall or Reach
By: Eric Nylund


   Imagine humans 525 years into the future, with multiple planets we now call "home", and us at war with an alien group known as the covenant, and you've got this book. Prequel to the game series Halo, this book is a great science fiction read. On a human colony known as Harvest, an evil alien society attacks. Because of this we enter a huge war. But men win wars not guns... so we created the Spartans 9ft. tall genetically engineered super humans in huge power suits. This book follows the story of a 6 year old boy (later grows up) known as soldier John 117.
   I enjoyed this great book because of its story of how John was taken at an early age and endured difficult military training. As he grows up John faces life threatening encounters with the covenant. Asd I read this book i felt every hard pace he endured and the challenging trials he faced from bombing a ship to surviving long trips in snowy mountains. This book changes with great transitions from each and every year in spartan training. But all the training and violence pays off when he lives as the last spartan and  faces his most challenging trial yet on the planet Reach. Where the most important war happens in the whole universe.
   i highly recommend reading this great novel because of how well it is written. The great story in this book describes what would happen if we where ever at a point this high of hardship. This is one of my favorite books i have read by far. A

Beautiful creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl 
This book was very interesting it was about a boy named Ethan  and this girl named Lena she is the new girl in town.Immediately two girl named Savannah and Emily do not take the a liking to her they thought that she was weird was because her uncle was known as the weird man in their small town Gatlin. Before she arrived Ethan had a dream about this girl  who was falling but he could not catch her.Then she arrived he thought that she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.Turn out that she in one of his classes along with the girls who do not like her.They were in class one day and Savannah started to say bad thing about her family and lena tried to control herself  but then something came over her and she broke the window in the classroom without touching it and then ran out of the classroom Ethan ran after her . He ran after and followed her to a big mansion and then though a garden  where she sits on the grown crying and he say what wrong then she say all i wanted was to be normal then all of a sudden they have a flashback were im not going to tell you because it will ruin the story but after the flashback they talked then became friends.Soon after that he asked her what are you she said i cant tell you .Later on in the story he fines out that her family has power but she get to pick if she light or dark light mean good dark mean bad. This was a really good book for young adult  and if you like magic this is the book for you .

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. 

      Spoiler Alert

            Mockingjay is the final book in Suzanne Collins Hunger Games Trilogy. The book begins right where Catching Fire left off where Katniss was taken away from the battle arena in an aircraft. When she finally gained conscience she learns that all this time she has been set up starting with Haymitch telling her allies to protect Katniss not matter what happens. She also learns that there is a District 13 and people living there.

            When Katniss arrives in District 13 she becomes the icon of the rebellion, a mockingjay. The population of District 13 consists of the people of its district and any other refugees that came from other districts. Their entire district is underground and no one is allowed to go outside. Other than hunting Katniss was required to attend training classes in order to learn battle skills and go into the field. She also has to participate in many videos acting as the mockingjay showing that she survived and is preparing to kill President Snow

            Throughout the book Katniss goes around to the different districts to convince the people to join the rebellion and fight against President Snow. After districts have been under attack, more and more are look to Katniss to help and lead them. Katniss later learns that Peeta had been rescued and was being monitored since he had been manipulated by Snow. When Katniss visited him she learned that all of their good memories had been changed into nightmares in Peeta’s mind. As Katniss tries to get past the old Peeta and accept the new one, she prepares to go the capitol and fulfill her goal.

            Surprisingly, Mockingjay wasn’t as terrible as I’ve heard it is. I know that the first two books were far better, but still this was a pretty good book. However, I didn’t really like how the first quarter of the book was where she was stuck underground in District 13. I understand that she was limited on the things she could do, I just wish that Collins would’ve made it a little more interesting to read. I am glad that she kept practically the same issues because I was able to see how some things are easier to change for the better than others. For example, it’s hard to change whether it is for the better or the worse. Also, I didn’t really like how the book ended, I know that there was really no other way that Collins could’ve ended the series. With that being said, I agree that what she did was a good decision and the whole series ended up great!

            In conclusion, Suzanne Collins’s trilogy has been amazing to read about. I have loved reading the series and I can’t wait to see what Collins will write about next. I look forward to seeing the movies and seeing how the book will come to life. For those who haven’t read this series yet have truly missed out and should read it soon. 

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-.

The Hobbit By: J. R. R. Tolkien By: Andrew Williams

Bilbo Baggins, a simple Hobbit, never asked for adventure. It literally came knocking on his door, 13 dwarve and Gandalf the wizard show up to tea to hire Bilbo as a thief in their quest to reclaim a hoard of treasure. It's stashed far away and guarded by a fierce dragon, Smaug. Bilbo will have to cross the Misty Mountains, troll and goblin country, and the untamed wilds of Mirkwood, where straying from the path can be deadly. In exchange, he gets an even share of the treasure and quite a story to tell. One of the dwarves in Bilbo's parlour is Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thrain son of Thror, King under the Mountain. The dwarves of the Lonely Mountain were a race of highly-skilled craftsmen, workers of stone and metals, wealthy and strong. That is Thorin's rightful inheritance, but the kingdom was lost to the worm dragon Smaug. Now Smaug sleeps deep in the heart of the mountain on his huge heap of treasure. One of the most significant events in the book is when Bilbo finds a magic ring, deep in the heart of the Misty Mountains, after he has been captured by goblins and taken down, down into the deep tunnels and black halls of the Great Goblin. The ring is a pretty handy thing to find because it enables Bilbo to escape from his captors and later on it helps him to confront Smaug the dragon. The ring makes you invisible. In the end, the confluence of events, including his daring rescue of the Dwarves, from a horde of larger-than-life spiders in Mirkwood, teaches Bilbo that he does indeed have a strength within himself. Bilbo finally faces the worst of his fears, conquers them, and confronts the deadly dragon Smaug, deep in the the Lonely Mountain. The moment when Bilbo overcomes his fear is the moment in which he, finally and completely, transforms from who he was into who he was always meant to be. Bilbo achieves his full potential and, as a result, gains treasures far greater than the gold he carries away from the Lonely Mountain, and like all Hero Quest stories, Bilbo must go back to his home. He and Gandalf finally take their final steps toward The Shire, Gandalf says, “My dear Bilbo! Something has happened to you. You are not the Hobbit you once were.”

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 tale continues...

    Mr. Darcy's Daughters by Elizabeth Aston continues the story of Pride and Prejudice. It picks up twenty years after Pride and Prejudice ends, and follows Mr. Darcy's five daughters through the thrills and heartbreaks of being "out of the schoolroom."
    Three of the girls, Letitia, the oldest, Camilla the next and the youngest, Alethea, travel to London to stay with their cousin while their parents are away. They are soon joined by the twins, Georgina and Belle, who are much like their Aunt Lydia was in Pride and Prejudice. All the girls become the talk of the city because of heart break, engagements broken, and a lost beau who was thought to be dead, now married and in London.
    I was kind of disappointed with this book, as it mirrored the plot of Pride and Prejudice closely. I also was hoping for Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth to be involved with their daughters, not just a name mentioned. I feel this book could have been a number of things, but instead it was very similar to the original story, with a few plot twists here and there. I have to say though, Elizabeth Aston did a fairly good job using the same style and voice as Jane Austen. I would give this book a B- just because it seemed a little repetitive. Also, because the main problems in this book were simply trying to get the twins to behave properly, and all the women the girls met trying to marry them off. A lot of the book is spent learning about their every day lives.

Specials - Scott Westerfield

      To introduce this book, you should know this is the 3rd book of a series of 4. This book along with all the others revolves around the characters and the corrupt government, and how it is to be run. To understand these books, you have to understand that the setting begins in the future and not present day. Although there are many things in this book that do have ties to present days, but have the main idea of it expanded and taken to a higher extreme.
      Alright here we go, diving in, this book is a bit hard to explain without giving everything away but, it all starts right after Tally has joined the 'cutter' a group that uses cutting themselves as a way to keep their heads clear and focused. In the book prior to this Tally was a normal 'pretty' but sense joining the 'honorary' cutters she has became a special. By this Tally has had to undergo a surge that will make her beyond superhuman. With that, it proves itself to make it a crucial point throughout this book.
      I honestly liked this book but it wasn't my favorite out of the series. I think it did a great job at leaving little cliff hangers at parts though-out the book, they left you dying to read the next chapter and keep flipping the pages. Although I do have to admit that other parts of this book killed me, metaphorically. It seemed as if they we're dragging on too long, but I'm sort of an impatient person so that may explain it but that's just my personal take on it.
      "A government big enough to give you everything you want, is a government big enough to take away everything that you have" - Thomas Jefferson. Without ruining this book I will leave you with this quote and mention that it surprisingly has a ton to do with this book.

The Kill Order

   

       Life in the mountains for Mark was just starting to become bearable, when a berg flew into his little village, and started raining darts down at anyone they could. One of Marks good friends who had helped him through the sun flares, and many other exciting adventures got shot and went down right away. The people in the village realized that the people who got hit by the darts, caught a terrible virus that jumped from person to person making them go crazy and eventually die. Mark, Trina, Alec, and Lana all went out to follow the berg, and on their way they found another village that had the same thing happen. At that village they found a little girl who got hit by a dart, but wasn't sick.

      From there, they took the little girl and went to find why this happened, and if there was a cure for the horrible virus that they started calling, The Flare. Together they went on many action packed adventures, and actually found the people who started the whole thing. Mark and Trina, end up giving the little girl to these people, so that these people can make up for what they did, and test this girl to find the cure to The Flare.

        I really enjoyed how quickley i got hooked to this book, and I also liked how much action is in this book. It was well written and would be enjoyable to most teenagers. A few things I didn't like about this book is the swearing and detailed deaths that wasn't necessary. It doesn't swear a whole lot, but it still is annoying, because the swear words almost seem forced. The deaths were very vivid, and didn't need to be described as much as they were.

         Over all I gave this book a B+ because it was very interesting, and at the end of every chapter the author left a little cliff hangar to make one want to keep reading. It is a must for those who like the Mazer Runner series. I personally thought that Maze Runner was a little bit better than The Kill Order, but once you read The Kill Order, Maze Runner will mak a lot more sence. I would recomend this to those who like Hunger Games, or other books like that, but if you don't like gore, then you probably shouldn't read this book.

     

Mockingjay

 Mockingjay, the third and final book in post apocalyptic-young adult series, immediately picks up where the second book, Catching Fire left off. If you didn't already know, in Catching Fire, main character Katniss, and one of two love interests, Peeta, are thrown back into the games for the Quarter Quell. What they didn't know is that many of the other contestants (also former victors of the games) are rebelling against the capitol and have a plan to make it out of the games. Towards the end of the second book, Katniss is rescued out of the games by the rebels and is sent to District 13 which was thought to no longer exist.
      In the third book however, there are no more games, which I originally thought there might be. Mockingjay is all about the rebellion against the capitol, in which Katniss finds herself being the face of the rebellion, the Mockingjay. The problem is, all of this comes with a cost. Peeta is not in District 13 with Katniss like everyone else is, and District 12, among other districts are destroyed. But not to worry, Gale and Katniss's family are indeed safe in the thirteenth district - for now. The book follows all plans of the revolution and the war that will take place to get there. The surprising twists and turns make the book more interesting too, and will keep the reader guessing on what will happen next.
       However there were some parts in this book where I would be bored and lose interest. For instance, there are so many hospital scenes in the book. After awhile it just gets pretty boring to hear the same thing over and over again. Also readers may not be 100% satisfied on how the book ends, and to be honest, I was pretty shocked myself on some parts. Other parts, I already saw coming. There are several deaths in Mockingjay that most of the readers are probably not going to be too happy about. This can make some people hate the book. For me though, I definitely do not hate this book. As a whole it kept me entertained for the majority of the time.
         The concept of The Hunger Games is truly frightening though. Nobody wants to think that something like this can happen to a government. The whole series is an eye-opener. An eye-opener to never let history repeat itself. We as a country, and other countries too, need to always make sure we don't make the same mistakes someone else already has made in the past. We can learn from our mistakes, and if we do that then nothing will get out of hand.
     Overall I thought this book was pretty good, and worth the read. I don't think it is quite as good as the first two books in the series, but it is still enjoyable. I would encourage anyone to read this book, after they read the first two of course. I give it an A-.

     

Shadow of the Hegemon

Bean has just come back to earth after being up in space in a place called battle school for around 4 years, has just helped save the human race and now realizes that his childhood enemy, Achilles, has escaped an insane asylum and has to deal with him. That’s a lot for a kid who is only 9. He has a little problem though. He doesn’t stop growing! He grows at a continuous pace until his heart is to small for his body or his spine collapses. This makes him a genius though because his brain doesn’t stop growing. Achilles can’t stand being at another persons mercy and he was, at one point in time, at beans mercy. One of the reasons he was in the insane asylum in the first place was because he had to constantly kill any body who saw or partook in putting him in a point of weakness. These people who saw him like this were a constant itch to him until they were dead. now this guy is trying to take over the earth by earning the trust of nations and then betraying them to bigger nations and so on and so forth. during this he is trying to kill bean who has gone into hiding with a nun by the name of sister carlotta, and Peter Wiggin, the brother of Ender Wiggin, who saved mankind from an invading alien race, is behind the identity of two major politicians by the names of Locke and Demosthenes and with them he is trying to obtain the position of the Hegemon. bean is his shadow. hence the name Shadow of the Hegemon. Beans objective is to counter Achilles and put Peter Wiggin in the office of the Hegemon. this is a very intense and mind blowing book that will keep most interested. It is a great book with high adventure and will probably make you think. Shadow Of The Hegemon is awesome

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-.

   

Unwind

    What do you do with an unwanted pregnancy? Depending on your moral views, you would abort it. But what if that wasn't possible? What if abortion was illegal? What if the alternative was so shocking, so ghastly, so completely illogical and insane, yet it was totally ordinary and accepted in American society? Granted, most people wouldn't view it as that, because it was just so common. It's called unwinding. Unwinding is where between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, an unwanted child can retroactively be aborted by the parents. It is done so by practically dismembering the child, which all of their body parts are then given to those who need them (excluding the 'useless' body parts such as the appendix). However, since all of the parts are still alive, just with somebody else, the child is not technically 'dead', but in a 'divided state'. This shocking book tells what happens when the unthinkable is the norm, and when three teenagers scheduled to be unwound rebel.
    Connor is a sixteen year old who inadvertently discovered his unwind document in his parents' files. His parents view him as an out of control delinquent. Risa is a ward of the state, a very talented pianist, and is being unwound due to budget cuts. Lev is a tithe to his religion, being raised from birth to believe that his unwinding is a service to God. These three will accidentally cross paths (Lev under the impression that he is being kidnapped by the first two, and is probably the only one in the world that wants to be unwound) and the journey they take will forever change society as a whole.

    I absolutely loved this book, I have never been so intrigued by an idea which is absolutely mental, but everyday practice. During the first about five pages, I hated the characters of this book (I'm like that with every book). After that however, I started to gradually like him, and the others. What's interesting about the point of view in this particular novel, is every chapter, you follow another character around, it's still  told in third person, but you gain insight onto what the other characters think and feel. I actually felt terrible for Roland during his unwinding (It goes quite into detail on the process), who was one of the central antagonists of the book. It's actually pretty chilling to think about how this would actually be possible within the next couple of decades, if people were to get so uptight over a very dumb issue. For the record, I think abortion is okay up until around six weeks after conception. I do not however, condone it. Other than that, I think it's wrong to get one unless the mother's life or the baby's life were in danger. But I also believe that if you want one, get one. It's your life, not mine. I shouldn't have control over your choices. I give this book an A+ by far, it totally deserves it.

Jimmer Mania

     The Contract by Pat Forde is a very good biography of the star basketball player Jimmer Fredette. Pat Forde does an excellent job of explaining Jimmer's life from when he was a kid all the way up to the day he got drafted into the NBA. He brings you through all of the good and bad times in Jimmer's life, and goes through how much work it took for Jimmer to reach his ultimate goal of playing in the NBA.
     First of all, I love Jimmer Fredette and I very much enjoyed reading about how he made his way to the NBA. If you aren't a big fan of basketball or Jimmer you probably won't enjoy this book as much as I did, but one thing that I really liked about this book is that it isn't just all about basketball and what he had to do to get really good. It starts off explaining the mental disabilities and struggles that his brother has what a struggle it was for Jimmer and his family. It also tells how much of an influence Jimmer's  brother T.J. is on him and his basketball career. Forde helps bring you through all of the key things in their relationship and he explains all of the many things that helped Jimmer as he was growing up to aid him in reaching his goal of playing in the NBA. Also, Forde explains in detail every step of the way that Jimmer endured throughout his life up to the day he was drafted, even his home life.
     Forde really focuses on the training and the other things that Jimmer did physically to get very good at basketball. The thing that I didn't like about this is that I wished he would of gone into a little more detail about Jimmer as a kid and what kinds of things he would do in his childhood besides just playing basketball. Forde did have multiple items focused on Jimmer's home, but I felt they were still focused on just the basketball aspect of it. As well as that, Forde is sometimes a little bit too vague and doesn't go into as much detail as he should when talking about certain things in Jimmer's life. I just found myself wanting to know a little bit more when I would read a certain part. Other than those things this book was very enjoyable and filled with interesting facts and information that actually helped me learn a lot (especially some new basketball drills I can try out).
     All in all, I felt this was a very interesting book that isn't just for people who are into basketball. I would advise anyone who wants to read this to first get to know a little about Jimmer before reading, only because I know that if you already know a little about him, it makes it that much more interesting to learn more. Other than being a little bit vague and boring at a few times, Pat Forde did an excellent job of informing everyone about the life of Jimmer Fredette, and I would definitely  recommend this book to anyone wanting to learn more about his interesting life.

     I'll Find You, by Clair M. Poulson is a fantastic fiction book about two best friends that were separated and tells how they try to find each other once again.

     It all started on a sunny summer day when Jeri Satch and Rusty Egan were playing in the front yard. Rusty’s mother Mindy tended to her infant daughter in the front room of the house and glanced out the window to where the two were playing together. When Mindy glances up after hearing a terrible scream, she saw a green car driving off down the street. Mindy rushed out to find out what the commotion was all about to find that Rusty was gone. As the car drives off Jeri shouts to Rusty "I'll Find You." When help finally arrived all that Jeri could recall of the incidence was that a green car pulled up and the man in the car took Rusty. Hope for finding Rusty slowly diminished, but Jeri never stopped trying to find him. Jeri felt guilty and responsible for Rusty's abduction which was one thing that motivated her to find him again.

     Seventeen years passed and Jeri was assigned to work at a minimum security prison and was invited to tour the facility. There she saw this strong man name Randy Moore with the familiar blue eyes that Rusty had. As Jeri tries to discover if this Randy Moore was her best friend that was carried away in the green car, Randy tries to unveil and remember what happened during his childhood.

     I really enjoyed reading this book and couldn’t put it down as I started to read it. As I started reading this book I felt like who would even start a book with a six year old being kidnapped on the first couple pages. Some topics that Poulson brought up that I thought were important and I agreed with were not judging people, having the benefit of the doubt, and most of all to never lose hope. I think that these are a few of the topics that as a society, we all need to work on. I personally believe that after reading this book I became more cautious of those around me and ability to work on these topics.

     I do want to warn the reader that this book does deal a lot with the The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (also known as LDS or Mormons) which may bring up topics that can make the story a little confusing. Aside from that, this it is a great book and nothing should prevent you from reading it.

"Night" By Elie Wiesel

     "Night" - By Elie Wiesel, is a depressing and inspirational auto-biography about his time with his father spent in Nazi German concentration camps; Auschwitz and Buchenwald. Though it is only a 100-page book, it holds terrifying opinions and history - he talks about the death of god and how much he is sickened by humanity. The original book was an 865- page book written in Yiddish, and 50 years later, it had been translated in to more than 30 languages. 

     The book starts off by telling the reader of Elie's hometown - Sighet, Romania, and of a strange man, hollering about the horrible things "they" have done to him. The man goes all around the town, telling people that he had been abducted and brutally tortured. Nobody listened, at least, nobody but Elie. He would spend almost every afternoon with the man and listening to his stories of going to Hell and coming back to tell the tale. 

     In Spring of 1944, the Nazi's begin shipping carloads of Jews to Auschwitz, and Elie's family is sent in the last car, a few days after the rest. A woman on their car was hysterical, screaming visions of flames and furnaces. 

     Finally, on the third day of their car-trip with only minimal amounts of food and water, they arrive at a concentration camp and see a large furnace with black smoke flowing out the top. Elie and his father go with the "healthy" group to work, while his mother and sisters are sent the Birkenau to be killed.

     Wiesel has won a Nobel Peace prize for his literature, and has gone on to write two other books about his thoughts after the Holocaust. If you haven't already read this book, you'd better find a copy and read it to yourself because it is definately a "must-read." With all it's gruesome detail and horror stories about his time spent in Auschwitz, it can make someone go from a happy-go-lucky American into a starving and dying Jew in Auschwitz.