Guest Review #8 - Leanne

The bestie Leanne is back with another fabulous review! Enjoy :D

This book was amazing. It is the best Historical Fiction book I have ever read. It combines present day Brooklyn/Paris and Paris during the French Revolution so seamlessly,that you can not put it down for one minute, but you don't ever want the story to end. Revolution is so packed full of details and emotions. Andi's love for music is so deep & understandable since she has lost so much, from her brother, the sanity of her mother, and the security of a home. The way she can relate to Alex is obsessive for her, and she cant't stop. She doesnt want Alex to loose Louis-Charles, like she lost Truman. The bond between Alex & Louis-Charles is so touching & adorable. The relationship aspect in the story line is not a major point, but Andi's relationship with Virgil is so sweet, the way they sing to each other and they are so alike. When she is transfered back in time, she meets the man she is researching for a musical DNA project so she doesnt fail school back in Brooklyn, Amadé Malherbeau. He helps her tremendously, and she helps him. She gives him her iPod and he becomes influenced by some of her favorite artists. I still can not fully rely to you how amazing this novel is. I swear, I would recommend this book to anyone, it is so tremendously complex, and enjoyable. This gets 5 pins.

Guest Review #7 - Leanne

This is a book series that has also been challenged to be banned. I started reading this, and got 12 pages in, but never got to finish... Hoping to get ahold of them soon! Here's Leanne's review:

First off, I acually understand why some schools would ban this series. It contains VERY descriptive sexual encounter scenes and some drug use and language. It also contains questionable morals, and other things that some 'young adults' should NOT be aware of. I acually enjoyed the series as a whole and the deep meaning of friendship. It was sort of hard to get into it, since there is not really a backstory and since the series is featured in only instant message conversations. The books can be confusing since it skips a whole year between them. I read them a couple of months ago so I am a tad forgetful about all the details, but some moments in the novels really made you 'LOL'; most things in them teenagers in today's society could agree and relate too. I think the novels are good for an adult trying to show teenagers lives, but she tried to put WAY too much in each book. She easily could have made a longer, more enjoyable series instead of 3 books only. I would rate this 3 pins.

I enjoyed it and would recommend it to other teenagers of the same maturity level. It surprises me none that people would challenge this series.

Guest Review #6 - Leanne

It's been quite a while since my bestie Leanne was on here, but here she is!! She's prepared a review for us today; enjoy!
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Wow. This book was AMAZING. I have never read anything like it, or similar. The story line was very put together and one of a kind. The world Lauren DeStefano created is amazing, but she didn't really connect the current world to the one she created. The cover art is beautiful and it really pertains to the story. Rhine is so relatable; nobody wants to be a caged bird, or with someone you dont love. I really enjoyed this book and hope to read more from her.

**I have read MANY bad reviews on Goodreads about how bad of a book it was because of the situation, blah blah, but it's a YA book, so I don't really mind that this world is so diffrent and not scientifically possible.

Definitely 4 pins.

Read It With A Buddy #5 - Deadly Little Secret

This book counts toward the following challenges:


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Deadly Little Secret (Touch, #1)
By Laurie Faria Stolarz
Publisher: Hyperion Books, 2008
705 pages, e-book (iPod Touch)
Date Finished: 11/3/2011
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Coming of Age, Some Mystery, Some Action, Realistic Fiction

Up until three months ago, everything in sixteen-year-old Camelia's life had been fairly ordinary: decent grades; an okay relationship with her parents; and a pretty cool part-time job at the art studio downtown. But when Ben, the mysterious new guy, starts junior year at her high school, Camelia's life becomes anything but ordinary.

Rumored to be somehow responsible for his ex-girlfriend's accidental death, Ben is immediately ostracized by everyone on campus. Except for Camelia. She's reluctant to believe the rumors, even when her friends try to convince her otherwise. She's inexplicably drawn to Ben...and to his touch. But soon, Camelia is receiving eerie phone calls and strange packages with threatening notes. Ben insists she is in danger, and that he can help--but can he be trusted? She knows he's hiding something... but he's not the only one with a secret.
~from goodreads.com~

~First Line: "I could have died three months ago."
~Last Line: "But then he tells me goodbye anyway."

Leanne's Review: I was looking for books one day on me iPod and came across Deadly Little Games, the third book in the Touch series. I read a sample of it and bought Deadly Little Secret. I immensely enjoyed this novel. The concept is different than most of the books I have read lately. Like all books, some of the characters were likable, some you just wanted to slap, and others you just didn't know why their motives were. That brings me to Camie's stalker. That whole situation confused me to no end. They were VERY wishy-washy, but I'll admit, I was looking forward to their point of view the whole time :). I am definitely buying Deadly Little Lies and Games. Laurie Fairia Stolarz is an amazing writer, and I can't wait to read some more of her work.



Zakiya's Review: WOW. This book was super-ahmazing! Leanne (who I believe is mentioned at least once in about 3/4 of my post:D) recommended that I read this; she had it on her iPod, so why not?!

I'm really glad that I read this, though. The main character, Camelia, is just your average high-schooler, with average friends, and average problems -- except for the fact that she has a stalker. Enter Ben, the new kid, also a supposed murderer. He has a special gift, which, even when unknown, sets him apart from the in-crowd. Everyone thinks that Ben is the one stalking Camelia, but he isn't. He's trying to help save Camelia's life as much as he possibly can.

I have to say, this novel was pretty darn-tootin' good. LOL. I read through it pretty quickly (yes, I remember what I read); the characters' behaviors weren't cliche at all, which I enjoyed. I haven't read a book with a stalker befor e(that I can remember) so it was something new to read about.

There was a little action near the end, and, as always. we had a little romance. Ben doesn something terribly heartbreaking, for Camelia if no one else, at the end of the book. Everything that happened in this book was somewhat different than others, unquestionably. Camelia's best friends, Kimmie and Wes, were ones that I liked. Kimmie was always trying to be a good friend and listen, but gets fed up at the end with Camelia always standing up for Ben -- a guy that she's not even sure she can trust -- and not even take the time to ask about on-going problems in her friends' lives.

But anyway, everything is really awesome at the end. I'm glad that there is a second and third -- and soon to be fourth -- novel after this one. If you haven't indulged yourself in this bovel, you gotta get it sometime! :P

Read It With A Buddy #4 - How to Say Goodbye in Robot

This book counts toward the following challenges:


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How to Say Goodbye in Robot
By Natalie Standiford
Publisher: Scholastic, 2009
276 pages, paperback
Date Finished: 18/1/2011 (Leanne), 31/1/2011 (Zakiya)
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Coming of Age

New to town, Bea is expecting her new best friend to be one of the girls she meets on the first day. But instead, the alphabet conspires to seat her next to Jonah, aka Ghost Boy, a quiet loner who hasn't made a new friend since third grade. Something about him, though, gets to Bea, and soon they form an unexpected friendship. It's not romance, exactly - but it's definitely love. Still, Bea can't quite dispel Jonah's gloom and doom - and as she finds out his family history, she understands why. Can Bea help Jonah? Or is he destined to vanish?
~from goodreads.com~

~First Line: "Goebbels [pronounced gerbils] materialized on the back patio, right before we moved to Baltimore, and started chewing through the wicker love seat."
~Last Line: "That's how I imagined it, anyway."

Leanne's Review: The novel How to Say Goodbye in Robot, was truely one of a kind. I read it last year, but I was not as good at reviwing or analyzing books back then. It was my favorite book because it made me cry, until I re-read it. Then I saw the lack of character substance at some points and plot holes. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone, but it bounced around a lot. Bea was a very understandable character, and you just HAD to love Jonah. Everyone wants a relationship like Jonah and Bea's, being able to be in love without having to use titles or show it every five seconds. This book isn't something we all go through, far from it, but it is relatable, which is something we all enjoy. The whole radio show aspect is fun and corky; I really enjoyed this book. Definitely will read more of Standiford's books, she is an amazing writer, who really captures a story.

Zakiya's Review: This novel was first recommended to me by Leanne. I'm so glad that she got me a copy for my birthday. It really was a great read!

Beatrice, our main character, is new to Baltimore, and her first friend at her new school is Anne Sweeney. Her first curiousity: Jonah Tate. It was, in my opinion, really fast at how she and Jonah started talking to each other. It was good, though. They were totally in love, and they were almost completely oblivious to their feelings. I mean, they were basically dating, but they never admitted to being together; it was sort of nauseating.

Jonah introduces Beatrice to a wonderful and very appealing late night radio show called Night Lights. I have to say, it's not your regular music station. The callers are all really great, and their personalities are well-represented. They make me wonder: Did Natalie Standiford "create" these characters off of people she knew? Or does she just have a super-good imagination? My inner thoughts are saying probably both :).

This novel was a contemporary romance, but it was sort of a hidden romance; like, it was there, but you had to be into the characters and their actions and feelings. No blood-and-gore action, although they do "fly" on the "magic carpet," which I'm sure was a lot of fun!

Overall, you need to read this spectacular novel. Sadly, it's a stand alone novel, but the ending was so great that you don't really need anymore books with Beatrice and Jonah (although it would be nice). You seriously need to read this book if you haven't already! :D



Quotes from the book:

"I turned a corner and came to a small church. There was a headstone near the path leading to the church's wooden doors. I stepped closer to read the headstone. It said 'For the Unicorn Child.'
That is so cool, I thought. What a funky town this was. I imagined a neighborhood Legend of the Unicorn Child, about a one-horned little boy who'd died tragically, hit by a car or shot by a mugger or maybe poisoned by lawn pesticides. The story of the Unicorn Child was so real to these people they'd erected a stone in his memory.
Then I read it again. The stone didn't say 'For the Unicorn Child.' It said 'For the Unborn Child.' "

" 'She don't want a boyfriend, she don't need to be pushed. She and Ghost Boy will fall in love when they're ready.'
'But they're meant for each other,' Myrna said.
'Sure, like crabcakes and crackers,' Larry said. 'I didn't say they wouldn't get it on sometime.' "

Guest Review #4 - Leanne

I invited Leanne back to do another GR! Here's her review of Fire by Kristin Cashore!

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I think this was an amazing novel. It takes place before Graceling because Leck is a boy. Fire is an outstanding creature, who can control the minds of others. She is like a Graceling but diffrent in many ways. There are parts that make you want to scream and parts that make you want to cry, but that just adds to the depth of the book. My favorite characters, other than Fire, are Archer and Hanna. Cashore is a beautiful writer and this novel shows that. I could not put it down. I liked this better than Graceling for some reasons but they are very diffrent, so you can't really compare them. I will be reading this in the near future. It is something you have to read! I would rate it 5 wings.

Read It With A Buddy #3 - The Mind Readers

Leanne and I recently received The Mind Readers from Lori Brighton to read and review. Thought I should make an "occassion" out of it :). Enjoy! **I have to warn you that this isn't one of my best reviews; one because I'm rushing a little, and two because I don't want to include spoilers for fear of telling the entire book :).**

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The Mind Readers
By Lori Brighton
Publisher: Smashwords - Dec 2010
170 pages, Google Docs
Date Finished: 27/12/2010 (Zakiya), 23/12/2010 (Leanne)
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Fantasy, Coming of Age, Action

Synopsis: Cameron Winters is a freak. Fortunately, no one but her family knows that Cameron can read minds. When Lewis Douglas arrives, he tempts her with possibilities of freedom. Determined to embrace her hidden talents, Cameron heads to a place where she meets other Mind Readers. But when the Mind Readers realize the extent of Cameron’s abilities, they want to use her powers for their own needs.

~First Line: "The man sitting across from me at the cafe was thinking about murdering his wife."
~Last Line: " 'Whether you believe me or not, Sweetheart, I'm pretty much the only thing standing between you and death."

Ms Brighton did not pay nor bribe us to review this novel.

Zakiya's Review: OH MY GOSH!!!!!! For 2 or 3 months, I thought The Last Song was the best novel out there. I have been proven wrong! Lori Brighton's YA novel was filled with action, emotional pains, characters that I wanted to hurt -- physically. Once I got closer to the climax, I was practically yelling at the charries for doing stupid .... stuff :). The story's somewhat-hero, the one I yelled at the most, describes Cameron as a "sitting duck" while trying to persuade her into going back with him to Aaron's hosue to train her powers. Yeah, she agreed. So she was, what, a swimming duck? Something to ask the author :). I have honestly never read anything like this. If I could change anything, I might make it a little longer, but I LOVE the cliff hanger at the end. With that steep of an ending, there has to be a sequel. So many ends were left untied. This novel definitely gets 5 wings!!


Leanne's Review: Lori Brighton outdid herself. This novel was short (170 pages) was amazing!!!!! I read it through GoogleDocs and could not stop. This book was completly amazing. It is the best one I have read in a while. It had everything you would want in a book, but it was very short. There was a lot going on. You never know what will happen next. Cam is just trying to find a place in the world. She is diffrent than others in more ways than one, but the most dominate is that she is a mind reader. So is her grandmother. She doesn't think anyone else is, because her grandmother has shielded her from all of that. I personally loved this book. You couldn't just skip a few pages like on other books; instead of focusing on a bunch of unnessasary details, it just gets straight to what's happening. The time in it jumps around a lot, but it isn't that hard to keep up. I would reccomend this to everyone. It is a light read between books and very interesting. I would rate this 5 pins.

(From both of us; these are Leanne's "pins." Cute, huh?!)

Our Favorite Quote!!!! :

"The guard grabbed my left arm and jerked me up the steps. My heart plummeted. Maddox might be some sort of secret agent, but unless he was Harry Freaking Potter, there was no way he could get us out of this situation."

Guest Review #3 - Leanne

Finally got another Guest Review coming to you! I have been really busy lately, so I wasn't able to get it together until now. This week, my beautifully-winged classmate Leanne :D. She has a book blog over @ Tales of the Mockingjay, and her life blog is @ Another Day In My 8th Grade Paradise.

Anyway, Leanne wants to tell you all a little bit about herself:

I love to dance and read books. I am also some one who lives life to the fullest, so I intend to go to college. I don't know where yet. So, I like writing reviews and things, but my life's hectic. Well, and I read reallly fast;) By the way, my name's Leanne.

Well, now that we know about her, let's enjoy her review of A Match Made In High School.

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I finished the book A Match Made In High School by Kristin Walker. It is a pretty interesting book. I would probably say it is an average Young Adult (YA) novel. It has a lot of "dirty" jokes in it, which I personally find hilarious. But, this book would definitely be rated 13+. It is about a girl who has to take a marriage-ed class. She is paired up with an obnoxious jock who helps her through out the way, compliments her, torments her, and, ultimately, is a good friend, you might say. She has ups and downs with every other charachter in this story. This novel also is good because it has love, secrecy, heartbreak, rude people, good friends, and understandable concepts. There aren't many stories like this out there, but for Kristin Walker's first book, I'd say she did a pretty good job! I would recomend it to people who like YA books who don't mind cursing, dirty jokes, and the real, true way teenagers think. I would rate it 4 wings.