The Summer I Turned Pretty

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Pages: 276
Release date: May 5th 2009
Source: Library
Summary (from Goodreads):  Belly measures her life in summers. Everything good, everything magical happens between the months of June and August. Winters are simply a time to count the weeks until the next summer, a place away from the beach house, away from Susannah, and most importantly, away from Jeremiah and Conrad. They are the boys that Belly has known since her very first summer--they have been her brother figures, her crushes, and everything in between. But one summer, one terrible and wonderful summer, the more everything changes, the more it all ends up just the way it should have been all along.



My review:

 I immediately loved The Summer I Turned Pretty, especially liking how Belly measures her life in summers.  I, personally, love summer and find this an interesting way to write a novel.


Belly was a great character, though I did have some mixed feelings for her, and I love her nickname.  It makes her seem young, which is strange, because she seemed older than fifteen.  I couldn't quite figure out all of my thoughts about her.  Sometimes she seemed childish and selfish, but other times she seemed the complete opposite.  Throughout the whole book, I could tell that it wasn't quite right when she was with Cam; I always was on Team Conrad.


And speaking of Conrad, I absolutely loved him, even when he was being selfish and heartless.  There was something underneath that that I could see, and Belly obviously could, too, even if she didn't want to admit it to herself.  It was hard to watch as she tried to love one boy, when she actually liked another, even though she didn't want to.  The Summer I Turned Pretty was a very realistic read, focusing on real problems, making it very likely that it was true, rather than a regular contemporary novel, although it wasn't a true story.

Another great thing was that I had no idea where the book would lead me.  There were no hints as to who Belly would end up with or how the story would end.  This was a very enjoyable fact for me; I can't stand it when I know the end to the book when I'm only two chapters in.  I liked how often the book brought you into Belly's life when she was younger, I found that an interesting change.

If you love contemporary, this is a must-read book!


Rating:
Characters: 4.5/5
Plot: 5/5
Originality: 4.5/5
Writing: 5/5

         Bubbles!

Overall,
 

WoW - April 27th

WoW is a weekly meme I participate in, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.  It stands for Waiting on Wednesday, and the point is to share to the Blogging world what book you're most looking forward to that week!  This week, I can't wait to read Hades by Alexandra Adornetto!

Summary (from Goodreads):  Even the love of her boyfriend, Xavier Woods, and her archangel siblings, Gabriel and Ivy, can’t keep the angel Bethany Church from being tricked into a motorcycle ride that ends up in Hell. There, Jake Thorn bargains for Beth’s release back to Earth. But what he asks of her will destroy her, and quite possibly her loved ones as well. Can he be trusted in this wager? And what does Jake have Xavier believing about Beth’s fate that may result in an act of betrayal that will leave Bethany – and readers – wondering if Xav is so good after all?


Why I want to read it:  I loved Halo (the first one) and this cover looks a lot darker, so I think that it'll probably be pretty good!

What are you waiting on?  Leave a link in the comments!

Sisters Red

Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Pages: 324
Release date: June 7th 2010
Source: Library
Summary (from Goodreads):  Scarlett March lives to hunt the Fenris--the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead. Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts ferociously alongside her. But even as more girls' bodies pile up in the city and the Fenris seem to be gaining power, Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves. She finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax and Scarlett's only friend--but does loving him mean betraying her sister and all that they've worked for?

My review:  I'd only read one book with a take on a fairytale before this, and that was Beastly, which I loved.  Sisters Red was easily just as good!  Before I even started reading it, my expectations were high, because I had heard many positive things about this book, I love the cover, and I love the name. And did it ever live up to the high expectations I set!

There were many great things about Sisters Red, starting with the characters.  They were all great, all so full of life.  In the beginning, I liked Scarlett more, but as I got farther, I liked Rosie a lot more.  I found Scarlett to be too overprotective, and was a little disgusted by how much she loved killing the Fenris.  That isn't to say that I didn't like her, though. While I didn't like these characteristics, I found them very realistic, and I don't think that the story would have been quite so interesting without her being like that.  Rosie was sweet.  That's the only way I can describe her.  She seemed younger than she actually was, which made her very likable. Often I find that characters seem older than they actually are, so that was a nice change.

I loved the storyline in Sisters Red.  It never had a dull moment, keeping you interested and wanting to know what was going on.  Even though it wasn't actually exciting, I was also interested in some of the classes that Rosie took without her sister's permission.  I supported the fact that she was doing what she wanted, not just what she felt she should do for her sister.  It seemed as though Rosie was having her own revolution.

Sisters Red was gruesome, but in a good way.  While it did describe the attacks from the Fenris and the fights in fairly detailed description, I didn't feel as though Jackson Pearce was overdoing it.  It reminded me a bit like The Hunger Games in that aspect of the book.  My favourite part was the very end; that battle had me excited and unable to put the book down.  Sisters Red was a great read, and I can't wait for Sweetly to be released!

Rating:
Characters: 4.5/5
Plot: 5/5
Originality: 5/5
Writing: 4.5/5

              Bubbles!

Overall,

Cover Crazy (2)

Cover Crazy is a meme hosted at The Book Worms in which you share what cover you're crazy for!  Right now, I really love the cover for Halo:

 

Why I like it:

-I love the colours!

-I'm a huge fan of silhouettes; they're just so pretty!

-I really like how her wings look in the picture, all feathery and elegant.

-It's really beautiful how the sun shines right between their faces.

What cover are you going crazy for?

In My Mailbox - April 24th

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted at The Story Siren, in which you show the books you got that week.  They can be borrowed from friends, bought, or been taken out from the library.   This week, I got two books:

1.  Darkest Mercy - Melissa Marr
2.  The Summer I Turned Pretty - Jenny Han

What did you get in your mailbox?  Leave a link in the comments!

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

Publisher: Harcourt
Pages: 351
Release date: February 1st 2009
Source: Library
Summary (from Goodreads):  The undead can really screw up your senior year ...

Marrying a vampire definitely doesn’t fit into Jessica Packwood’s senior year “get-a-life” plan. But then a bizarre (and incredibly hot) new exchange student named Lucius Vladescu shows up, claiming that Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess by birth—and he’s her long-lost fiancé. Armed with newfound confidence and a copy of Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire’s Guide to Dating, Health, and Emotions, Jessica makes a dramatic transition from average American teenager to glam European vampire princess. But when a devious cheerleader sets her sights on Lucius, Jess finds herself fighting to win back her wayward prince, stop a global vampire war—and save Lucius’s soul from eternal destruction.

My review:

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side was quite different from what I was expecting, in a good way.  I was a little bit doubtful from just hearing the name, but the summary sounded fresh, new, and excited.  And am I ever happy that I did pick it up!

The storyline was one of the best I've ever read!  It kept me interested throughout the whole book, though for the first few page I was thinking: haven't I read this before?  Another vampire book where the vamp is always watching the girl?  Perhaps I have read that a lot before, but I began to see that Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side wasn't just like that.  I thought that the most interesting part was that when Jessica actually began to start liking Lucius, he decided that she wasn't good enough for him, and started to flirt with a girl that Jessica hated.  I loved seeing how annoyed Jessica became because of that!


Thank you Lucius, for telling Jessica what you are right in the beginning.  And thank you, Jessica, for not accepting it.  In so many books, the boy finally tells her what he is after lots and lots and lots of suspense (even though it's obvious what he is), and she just accepts it.  Honestly?  Say you were the girl and found out that your boyfriend was a vampire; what would you do?  Just say 'Okay' and go on with life?  I loved how it wasn't just like that in Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side.


The characters were exciting and refreshing!  They were so different from a typical character in a book.  There was a hint of humor in each of them, but they were serious at some points, too.  I loved all of them for different reasons, and I have to say that Jessica is now one of my favourite female lead characters!


I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a vampire story that has a different plot, and lots of originality!


Rating:
Characters: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Originality: 5/5
Writing: 4.5/5

     Bubbles!

Overall,

Fallen Giveaway Winner!

Congratulations to Lara @ The Book Fairy for winning my Fallen giveaway!  Fallen is being sent to her as I write this, and I hope you go to check our her blog, which is great!

Congrats, Lara!

WoW - April 20th

WoW is a weekly meme I participate in, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.  It stands for Waiting on Wednesday, and the point is to share to the Blogging world what book you're most looking forward to that week!  This week, I can't wait to read Sweetly by Jackson Pearce!

Summary (from Goodreads):  SWEETLY is a modernization of Hansel and Gretel and a companion book to SISTERS RED.

Twelve years ago, Gretchen, her twin sister, and her brother went looking for a witch in the forest. They found something. Maybe it was a witch, maybe a monster, they aren’t sure—they were running too fast to tell. Either way, Gretchen’s twin sister was never seen again.

Years later, after being thrown out of their house, Gretchen and Ansel find themselves in Live Oak, South Carolina, a place on the verge of becoming a ghost town. They move in with Sophia Kelly, a young and beautiful chocolatier owner who opens not only her home, but her heart to Gretchen and Ansel.

Yet the witch isn’t gone—it’s here, lurking in the forests of Live Oak, preying on Live Oak girls every year after Sophia Kelly’s infamous chocolate festival. But Gretchen is determined to stop running from witches in the forest, and start fighting back. Alongside Samuel Reynolds, a boy as quick with a gun as he is a sarcastic remark, Gretchen digs deeper into the mystery of not only what the witch is, but how it chooses its victims. Yet the further she investigates, the more she finds herself wondering who the real monster is, and if love can be as deadly as it is beautiful.


Why I want to read it: I loved Sisters Red, and this one looks just as good!

In My Mailbox - April 17th

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted at The Story Siren, in which you show the books you got that week.  They can be borrowed from friends, bought, or been taken out from the library.  This week, I got only one book, though I do have a couple at the library waiting to be picked up.  I got:

Zombies vs. Unicorns - Holly Black, Kathleen Duey, Meg Cabot, Garth Nix, Margo Lanagan, Naomi Novik, Diana Peterfreund, Justine Larbalestier, Libba Bray, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Cassandra Clare, Maureen Johnson, Scott Westerfeld, Carrie Ryan

What did you get in your mailbox?  Leave a link in the comments!

City of Fallen Angels

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Publisher:  Margaret K. McElderry
Pages: 424
Release date: April 5th
Source: Bought
Summary (from Goodreads): A mysterious someone’s killing the Shadowhunters who used to be in Valentine’s Circle and displaying their bodies around New York City in a manner designed to provoke hostility between Downworlders and Shadowhunters, leaving tensions running high in the city and disrupting Clary’s plan to lead as normal a life as she can — training to be a Shadowhunter, and pursuing her relationship with Jace. As Jace and Clary delve into the issue of the murdered Shadowhunters, they discover a mystery that has deeply personal consequences for them — consequences that may strengthen their relationship, or rip it apart forever.

Meanwhile, internecine warfare among vampires is tearing the Downworld community apart, and only Simon — the Daylighter who everyone wants on their side — can decide the outcome; too bad he wants nothing to do with Downworld politics. Love, blood, betrayal and revenge: the stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels.

My review: 

I wish I could say that CoFA was my favourite out of all the books, but I couldn't say that honestly. . . They were all just so great that it's too hard to choose!  I love everything about the Mortal Instruments books, down to every last detail!

As with all the others in the series, my favourite thing was the astounding characters that Cassandra Clare formed.  Jace is easily the best out of all of them; he's so tortured and sweet!  I'd seen it coming a little from City of Glass, but I loved how Jace was beginning to doubt if Clary really loved him or not and that was his main weakness when it came to his being possessed.  I also really liked being able to see the boy who turned Maia into a wolf, and was surprised to see how nice he was.  I imagined him very differently.


As with all the other books in the series, the plot was amazing.  Cassandra Clare did a good job in keeping me interested throughout the whole book, while still having a part at the end that really kept me on the edge of the seat.  I didn't think I would as much, but I actually quite enjoyed having much of the book told in Simon's point of view.  In the other books, he wasn't one of my favourites, but now I understand him a little more.


However.  Yes, there is a however.
Why did I have to read it right after it came out?  The ending is a huge cliffhanger, and now I have to wait a long time for the next book!  Oh well.  At least I loved City of Fallen Angels, and even if I had known it had a cliffhanger, I probably still would have been too excited not to read it!  If you haven't read the Mortal Instruments books yet, I advise you to read them  now!


Rating:
Characters: 5+/5
Plot: 5/5
Originality: 5/5
Writing: 5/5

bubbles!

In total,

WoW - April 13th

WoW is a weekly meme I participate in, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.  It stands for Waiting on Wednesday, and the point is to share to the Blogging world what book you're most looking forward to that week!  This week, I can't wait to read City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare!

Summary (from Goodreads): In Book 5: City of Lost Souls, the Shadowhunters struggle to piece together their shattered world after a betrayal by one of their own leaves them reeling.

Why I want to read it:  City of Fallen Angels has a huge cliffhanger at the end, and I love Cassandra's writing!

In My Mailbox - April 9th

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted at The Story Siren, in which you show the books you got that week.  They can be borrowed from friends, bought, or been taken out from the library.  I managed to restrain myself from getting a ton of books the week, which was quite impressive for me.  Sometimes, even though I know I already have seven library books to read, I'll get out another five from the library!  :)  This week, I got only two books.

Borrowed from a friend (I encourage you to go visit her blog, The Written World!):

And I also bought one:

1.  Splendor - Anna Godbersen
2.  City of Fallen Angels (yay!  My review will be up soon!)

What did you get in your mailbox?

Unearthly

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Publisher:  HarperTeen
Pages:  435
Release date:  January 4th 2011
Summary (from Goodreads):  In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.
Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.
As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny?

My review:  Everyone out there is saying that Unearthly isn't just another angel book, and I must say that I agree with them.  When I think YA angels, I think fallen and creepy, like in Fallen and Hush, Hush.  However, in Unearthly, it isn't like that at all.

The best thing was probably that the girl was the angel, rather than the mysterious guy.  Another bonus was that she wasn't a fallen angel.  Clara was only half-angel, which was a fresh change on the classic stories.  Everything in the book was original and so unlike any other book that I have ever read.

The plot was amazing.  I think that it was made interesting by the way it makes you certain that Clara is meant to be with Christian, but it's actually got another twist to come.  In the start, I didn't like Tucker.  He was rude to Clara, and openly despised her.  However, as I got farther into the book, I grew to like him more, because of the way he spent more time with Clara.  I began to understand him a little more, and I went onto Team Tucker rather than Team Christian.  :)

There's not much to say about Unearthly.  It was simply. . . Astounding.

Overall rating:
Characters: 4.5
Plot: 5/5
Originality: 5/5
Writing:  4.5/5

In total, Bubbles!

WoW - April 6th

WoW is a weekly meme I participate in, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.  It stands for Waiting on Wednesday, and the point is to share to the Blogging world what book you're most looking forward to that week!  This week, I can't wait to read The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson!

Summary (from Goodreads):  Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness.

Elisa is the chosen one.

But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can’t see how she ever will.

Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess.

And he’s not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people’s savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake.

Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young.

Most of the chosen do. 


Why I want to read it: it sounds really intriguing and mysterious!




I've also got a giveaway on at the moment, of Fallen by Lauren Kate!  For more information, go here.

Beastly

Beastly by Alex Flinn

Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 304
My rating: 4.5/5
Summary (from Goodreads):  I am a beast.
A beast!
Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright. I am a monster.
You think I'm talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It's no deformity, no disease. And I'll, stay this way forever ruined unless I can break the spell.
Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I'll tell you. I'll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I'll tell you how I became perfectly...beastly.

 My review:


The main reason I picked Beastly up was because I saw a trailer for the movie, and loved even just that.  I"m not normally a fan of fairy tales, especially the cartoon princess Disney ones.  That's why I loved how modern and realistic the twist on the tale was.  I loved how the beast was actually a boy who was once popular, and who was just in high school.  It was very interesting, I found, to see that the witch was someone from Kyle's class.


My absolute favourite thing was the characters.  It was amazing to witness how much they changed throughout the book.   Kyle was, in the beginning, a good-looking guy who only liked people who were pretty or handsome.  He thought nothing about those who were ugly.  He was horrified when he got turned into a beast because of that.  As he got used to being a beast, he started to realize how looks weren't the most important thing in the world.  Although he first captured Lindy so that she would eventually love him, he began to love her, even though she wasn't pretty.  I loved seeing that he became a much happier person even as he was ugly.


I think that the part about Kyle having a rose garden was an added bonus.  It tied in with the story, and really helped show how Kyle was feeling, and how he was becoming more and more selfless.  Along with the characters, that was one of my favourite things.

The only thing that I didn't really like was the settng.  I understood that the house he was in was more like a mansion, and that it was supposed to be very nice, but I never really got a picture of it in my mind.  I think that more detail on it would have been better.


Beastly was the perfect mix of romance and magic and learning about yourself, and what it really means to be ugly.  I loved it!

In My Mailbox - April 3rd

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted at The Story Siren, in which you show the books you got that week.  They can be borrowed from friends, bought, or been taken out from the library.  This week, I got four books from the library:

1.  A Touch Mortal - Leah Clifford
2.  Sisters Red - Jackson Pearce
3.  Aurelia - Anne Osterlund
4.  White Cat - Holly Black

What did you get in your mailbox?  Leave a link to your blog in the comments!

Fallen Giveaway

I'm going to be giving away a hardcover copy of the book Fallen, by Lauren Kate.

 Summary (from Goodreads):  There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce–and goes out of his way to make that very clear–she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.

The Rules:

 1.   The contest is only open to people in the United States

2.  You don't have to follow the blog to enter, but if you do you'll get an extra entry

3.  You don't have to blog about this contest, but if you do you'll get 2 extra entries

4.  I will email you if you win the prize, but if you don't respond within 72 hours (3 days), I will draw another winner

5.  The contest will be open from April 1st to April 14th

This is where you can enter all your information.

*Contest Closed*