The Next Best Book Club discussion

I don't want to set a specific goal for number of books to read since I surpassed my goal in 2009. Though this year, I want to read mostly books that I already own. I also want to read at least six classics this year and write reviews on mostly every book I read, especially if I like it. It's weird, but I'm more likely to write a review on a book I hate than of one I love. Anyway...

1. Along for the Ride-Sarah Dessen*

I've read every Sarah Dessen book (with exception of Someone Like You) and had varying degrees of like as I finished with them. Regardless of that, Auden, the main character of Along for the Ride, is the first Dessen heroine that I disliked.

At the beginning, I found Auden snobby, pretentious, selfish, etc. I don't know if it's because that's the way the parents were portrayed, but I just couldn't completely warm to her. After a while I did start to find her less annoying, although, a couple of bothersome aspects remained.

In my opinion, where Dessen excels are the supporting characters, but even they felt a bit forced to me. I didn't fall in love with Eli the way I usually do with the guy in her other books. I also felt that while Maggie was a bit fleshed out, nothing came of Leah or Esther. I had no idea what their purpose was in the book. Their presence just fell flat.

But I gave it three stars. That's mostly because Sarah Dessen's books are comfortable. They're just about a regular girl falling in love with a normal guy. And after a plethora of supernatural YA novels out there on the market, it's refreshing to just go back to the basic formula. Girl goes away for the summer. She meets regular boy. They fall in love. It is a predictable formula, but I like it.

So, Along for the Ride wasn't my favorite Sarah Dessen novel (Keeping the Moon is), but it was better than That Summer, it just didn't keep up with Keeping the Moon, Just Listen, or Dreamland. Still, it was a quick read (read it in about a day and a half) and had a few funny and heartwarming parts.***

2. The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game-Michael Lewis

I think I'll start off by saying that I'm not a sports fan. At all. I get utterly bored out of my mind if I'm in the vicinity of any sports game and don't play because it's a horrible sight to see me play a sport. But oddly enough, I have an intense like of sports movies. Which is how I learned about The Blind Side in the first place. Well, that's only partly to blame. I'm also an unabashed Sandra Bullock fan and love most of her films, so of course I had to go see The Blind Side.

Usually, I like to read a book before the movie comes out. Mostly, that's because when you see the movie first, the book is bound to get tainted with the movie. It's inevitable whether you loved it or hated it. In some rare instances where this happened I liked the movie more than the book. This happened with Practical Magic (another Sandra Bullock film) and The Blind Side.

The book focused more on the game of football than I would've liked. But then again, it is also subtitled Evolution of a Game, so it's not like I was misled. There were some parts of the book where my mind wandered and I was just thinking "Get back to the family. That's why I'm reading." Then again, there were some football only parts that had me engrossed in the book. But, the story of Michael Oher was why I kept reading.

Michael Oher's story was inspirational. He made something of himself, even though he was plagued with obstacles. And the Tuohy's taking him and all that they did for him was heartwarming. This book was also had it's fair share of humor and I let out a chuckle here and there. But with the good also comes the bad. And the bad comes from me seeing the movie first.

The characters were somewhat more likeable in the movie than in the book. Leanne Tuohy comes out more snobby and bitchy in the book. The coach, whom I loved in the movie, came out more as a snake and someone with ulterior motives. Another thing that bothered me in the book was how in some moments, it seemed like the Tuohy's did have a hidden agenda. I know that they didn't, but I understand how they would seem like boosters to the NCAA.

Although, some of the characters came off a bit standoff-ish in the book, one character whom I loved in the book and the movie was Sean Tuohy. He was a major part of the book, yet he wasn't that much of a main character in the movie. I enjoyed his parts in the book. Also, already having seen the movie, I kept picturing Sean as Tim McGraw. Allow me to have my shallow moment and say that since good ol' Tim is all sorts of yummy, I didn't have not one problem with his expanded role in the book.

Anyway, even though I thought the book was just okay, I absolutely loved the movie. I thought it was just amazing. It made me laugh and cry and then cry a bit more. Amazing true story, with an amazing film to back it up. ***

Good luck, Alisha! I can relate to owning a lot of books that one hasn't read yet--I have at least 97 of them!

3. The Unseen-Alexandra Sokoloff

I've been wavering between three or four stars with The Unseen. I've read Alexandra Sokoloff's previous work. I thought The Harrowing was great and I absolutely loved The Price. But something about The Unseen made it not as captivating as the other two.

I love haunted house stories. Always have. There's just so much build up in them and most of the time, it delivers. That was one of my problems with The Unseen. Firstly, it took a long while for anything remotely creepy to happen. Usually I don't mind it since it sets the mood up earlier. But this didn't happen. While it took about a hundred pages for anything to get going, I felt that while the author was building up the characters, the mood just wasn't being set up. There was no eerie sense of foreboding in the first hundred pages.

But when things start to get going, they really got going. The last hundred pages were very intense, though, it wasn't exactly creepy nor scary. Just a bit thrilling. The premise was very intriguing, though. And while I wasn't particularly scared, I was interested enough to keep reading the book. It just fell a little bit flat to me. I would recommend her other books, The Harrowing and The Price, slightly more than this one. ***

4. Mistress of the Art of Death-Ariana Franklin

In my opinion, the worst type of book is not one that is badly written or one that makes me have a visceral bad reaction. No, the worst type of book is one that is utterly boring. If a book is badly written, yet keeps me turning the pages (even if I spend the remainder of the book rolling my eyes), it's sort of done it's job (even if it receives a bad review). Yet a book that's boring, that's something I really can't recover from. Unfortunately, that was the problem with Mistress of the Art of Death.

When I first read the synopsis of the book, I thought that this was just the type of book I would love. It's a mystery and historical fiction, both of which I enjoy (plus I found the book in the B&N bargain bin, so it was cheap. Big plus...). It started out strong, it really did. The mystery was intriguing (in that whole this-is-so-terrible kind of way) and the main character Adelia was semi-interesting. But then it just started going downhill.

Former semi-interesting heroine started showing her true colors. I then started to find her selfish with this sense of self-importance (I mean seriously, how many times did she mention her whole name in this book? Like five times...) that started irking. But I could have dealt with all of this, but again it was the boredom that was slowly killing me.

There were periods in this book (that lasted about 50 or more pages) were absolutely nothing of interest was happening. Just self-importance girl spouting her nonsense. But when the book got interesting, it led me to turn the pages at an alarming rate and then we would be back to the boring parts. The only reasons I even finished this book was because I own it and because I bought the second installment about a week and a half ago (again in the bargain bin, I'm sort of starting to see why) and didn't want it to go to waste. Trust me if it were a library book, it would've been long gone.

Anyway, this book had such promise. And yet, some pages that were extremely thrilling could not make up for more than 200 pages of coma-inducing boredom. I say skip it... **

5. The Bird Room-Chris Killen

I received The Bird Room as part the First Reads giveaways and I found that it was sort of bizarre. At first look, you think you get a humorous love story. But then it delves into something depressing and a tad bit profound.

While reading this, I found myself amused at first, and then deeply confused as to where exactly this story was going. It has two separate plots: one of Will and the other of Helen/Clair and then you see how those two plots weave together (and when it did, I found myself laughing at the absurdity of it all).

One thing that the book accomplished was making me feel for the characters. I was interested in where exactly Helen/Clair's story was going. As for Will, I felt extremely sorry for him. Yes, he was pathetic, but in a kicked puppy sort of way and you can't help but like him for his flaws. He just didn't know where to draw that relationship line (and let's face it, I think everybody has had that problem once in a while).

This was a pretty good book. Admittedly, it did have it's flaws. Half the time I had no idea where the story was going or what exactly was the point in some instances, but not knowing what exactly is happening had me flipping the pages faster. It was an incredibly quick read that can be read in one sitting. Highly recommend it. One of the better First Reads books I've read. ****

6. The Girl Next Door-Jack Ketchum

The Girl Next Door is one of the hardest books to rate. Yes, it's an incredibly well-written novel and amazing novel, but at the same time, it's utterly terrible. I've read a few horror books and none of the others horrified me like The Girl Next Door did.

I saw The Girl Next Door movie about two years ago, so I already had an idea about how hard it would be to read this book. Immediately, you start to sympathize with Meg. And when the abuse starts, you flinch and think "Oh my God, this is terrible", and yet you feel a sense of relief as you think "Well, now things can't possibly get any worse for her", but it does.

Reading this book, I felt like a voyeur. Seeing these things happen to this little girl and being powerless to stop it is one of the worse feelings ever. Sure, I was thinking, "It's just a book, calm down", but this novel is based on a true story so it just makes those feelings of contempt to the people doing this to Meg get stronger. Even though, you dislike everything that's happening in the book, it's like a trainwreck you can't look away.

This book is an eye-opener to just how evil the human spirit can be. Even the most normal-looking family has the potential to inflict a serious amount of pain to a fellow human being. That thought in mind made this book that much harder to finish. Yet I did, but cried through those last 100 pages as Meg's abuse got worse and worse.

The Girl Next Door is not for the faint of heart. It's an amazing, yet terrible book. While I don't regret reading it, I'm not exactly thrilled that I did. *****

February:

7. The Lightning Thief-Rick Riordan

When I started this book, it was a bit of a bumpy ride. Although, I was fighting the stomach flu when I first started it. When I was better, I found myself enjoying it way more, which leads me to think that it was the flu that was dampering my enjoyment of the book.

Anyway, The Lightning Thief was just amazing. I held off from reading it because I heard a couple of people say that it was just too juvenile for them. That was a mistake on my part. I was enthralled with Percy and his quest and kept turning the pages at a record speed. I also enjoyed the Greek Mythology. It was something I was bored with in middle school when we briefly studied it. Had the Percy Jackson series been introduced then, it would've cured my glazed eyes and mild drooling while studying the subject.

There were a couple of aspects in The Lightning Thief that reminded me heavily of the Harry Potter series. It's practically impossible to write something on the Percy Jackson series and not mention Harry Potter. The influence is there. Normally, knock-offs would bother me, but the thing is that The Lightning Thief was just so great (as opposed to all the other Harry Potter knock-offs that were a bit on the terrible drivel side) that it didn't annoy me. Plus, it did have it's own original parts and it did them so well that I really couldn't complain.

So, The Lightning Thief was an amazing novel. Sure, it's a lot like Harry Potter, yet not as awesome, but it's great in it's own way. My quest now is to try to not read the series one after the other. That's going to be difficult considering I own books 2, 3, and 4 (that reminds me I need to pick up Book 5). *****

I loved The Lightning Thief too, Alisha!

Wasn't it just great?

Alisha wrote: "It's weird, but I'm more likely to write a review on a book I hate than of one I love."

I'm the same way...

Glad I'm not the only one, lol. It's like you have more to say when you loathe a book. Yet if I love a book, I think that my review just isn't going to express it well.

Alisha wrote: "Glad I'm not the only one, lol. It's like you have more to say when you loathe a book. Yet if I love a book, I think that my review just isn't going to express it well."

Exactly. Plus, I think it's just EASIER to rip apart a book than to kind of bare our soul to what we loved and what touched us. *shrug*

I'm like that too :)

Alisha - I loved Percy! He was so funny!

8. The Crimson Rooms-Katharine McMahon

I won this book from the First Reads program here on Goodreads and it really sounded promising. But I've been having terrible luck with historical fiction recently and unfortunately, The Crimson Rooms has fallen into that stigma.

First, let me say that I love historical fiction books. They usually allow me to be immersed in a time period that I would never have been a part of and they have the added element of teaching me something that I didn't previously know. But the thing with The Crimson Rooms was that it was boring.

I think what mostly killed me was that The Crimson Rooms is supposed to be sort of a mystery. And I can get into mysteries no matter how badly written (ahem...James Patterson), mostly because they have this thrilling atmosphere. The Crimson Rooms wasn't like that. All of the tension that you could've felt, just fell a tad bit flat for me.

Sure, there were interesting aspects of the book, but they were overshadowed by the boredom I felt throughout most of the book. The main character Evelyn was intriguing, but even she couldn't save me from the boredom I felt. I found that I was doing things that I didn't enjoy (homework, cleaning, etc) just to avoid picking up the book again. Finally, I just sat down and said "I'm finishing this". Trust me, had I not won this book, it would've been gone so fast.

So, alas, this First Reads book was a miss. Hopefully, this one and Mistress of the Art of Death were just bad luck and I'll have more good luck with the historical fiction genre as a whole. **

9. Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons-Lorna Landvik

A couple of years ago, I was really into chick-lit. It was for a time all I would read. Now that I've branched out, I don't read as much chick-lit as I used to. That being said, I still enjoy a nice, easy read every once in a while. Angry Housewives Eating Bon-Bons was all that and more.

I found that I loved each one of the five leads. Yeah, sure all of them had their flaws that ranged from serious to not so serious, but because of their flaws, I was able to relate to each character just a little bit more. The thing about these characters were that they seemed real. Because of that it was easy for me to imagine them being friends. In a book about friendship, the worst thing that can happen is for the friendship not to ring true, but this did.

Being the booklover that I am, my favorite element of the novel was the setting of the bookclub and seeing each month's pick and which character picked it. That right there allowed me to have that much more insight to the characters. As I was reading, I was longing to create my own face-to-face bookclub with a couple of my other close, book-wormy friends.

Angry Housewives Eating Bon-Bons not only made me laugh and cry, but gave me this huge craving for pie, chocolate, and basically any other treat that mostly every woman loves. My advice, grab this book, some chocolate, and your closest friends and enter the story of a friendship with it's up and downs. A friendship with laughs and tears and solidarity. A friendship that can very well be just like yours. *****

10. Matilda-Roald Dahl

Matilda was (and still is) one of my favorite childhood movies. I remember going to watch it in theaters when it came out and watched it endlessly when it came out in VHS. So, when I found this book at my thrift store for a dollar, I absolutely had to pick it up.

Matilda was just an amusing, captivating read. At once, you have a heroine you can root for and just love to pieces because she's so unique. As I was reading, I kept picturing the parts happening in the book as they were in the movie. (For example, the part where one of Matilda's classmates are singing the 'difficulty' poem and Trunchbull yells "Why are all these women married?!" That's seriously my favorite part of the movie and this part of the book had me in stitches, too.) The book was not only cute, but it was pretty funny. Some parts had me chuckling a little, but most parts had me laughing out loud.

Even though I enjoyed this book immensely, I still have to say that I love the movie a little bit more. I think it's mostly a nostalgia thing. I just loved all the actors who portrayed the characters in the movie. I also loved movie"Miss Honey" more than book"Miss Honey" and I sympathized more with movie"Matilda" than with book"Matilda".

All of that being said, Matilda is still a keeper on my shelf. I think this is one book that I'm going to find myself re-reading for comfort (just as I rewatch the movie) and on those rainy days when you just want to read something familiar. I definitely can't wait until my sister's a little bit older so that she can read Matilda. I definitely recommend this book to children and adults (especially if those adults have kids...). It's really an enjoyable read for all ages. ****

11. Happy Birthday or Whatever: Track Suits, Kim Chee, and Other Family Disasters-Annie Choi

Let me just start out by saying that Happy Birthday or Whatever was a thoroughly enjoyable read. The author, Annie Choi, writes about her family with wit and sarcasm and you just can't help but laugh at her somewhat tense relationship with her mother.

The thing that I loved most about this book was that it was heartwarming and humorous. There are a lot of memoirs out there written about a dysfunctional family that are depressing. "My mom was a bitch to me. My dad left and didn't care that we had no income. My brothers and sisters were homeless." Yes some of those types of memoirs tug at my heart strings, but it was refreshing to read one in where the family is dysfunctional but love each other while not really standing one another.

Even if you aren't Korean, you'll love this novel. It's relateable to anyone who has felt embarrased or annoyed at their family members or felt that they wouldn't live up to the expectations that were set by them by their family. I recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a memoir about a slighly dysfunctional family, yet want to laugh out loud. I read this book in about four hours and had to stay up late to finish it. I just couldn't put it down. *****

12. The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox-Maggie O' Farrell

When I was 10 pages into this book, I debated putting it down. For some reason, I felt like I wasn't going to be into the book. That I would keep picking it up for the sake of finally finishing it. I forged on because I've already abandoned a book this month and I'm so happy that I did. After those initial ten pages, I found that I could just not put this book down.

Strange as it may be, but I find that I'm drawn to stories about insane asylums especially if a sane person was locked in one. I loved the character of Esme. She was willfull, strong, and someone who wouldn't conform to what her parents and society thought she should do. If I'm drawn to the main character, then it's easier for me to finish a book. I ended up caring a lot about Esme and found myself angry on her behalf because of what she's been put through. I was emotional throughout this book and found myself wavering from anger to sadness to bitterness. I was so enthralled in this book and I absolutely loved it.

So, if I loved it, how come the four stars? While the writing is magnificent, the format was a bit weird. It alternates from Iris's thoughts to Esme's thoughts (which variated between present tense and flashbacks) to Kitty's Alzheimer-riddled thoughts. This often got confusing and I had to double check to make sure whose p.o.v. I was following. Also, this whole book was an amazing page turner except that the ending sort of fizzled. There was very little closure in it and just something that vaguely looks like resolution. I thought that it should've been a little bit longer. Also, the whole thing between Iris and Alex...not enough yuck in the world.

Anyway, even though it had a couple of shortcomings, I highly recommend this book. It was such a great page-turner that I ended up finishing it in a day (variating between reading and homework...and my professor says it's impossible to multitask? HA!) and don't regret it one little bit. ****

March:

13. 3 Willows: The Sisterhood Grows-Ann Brashares

I bought 3 Willows a year and some months ago when it was first released. I am a huge fan of the Sisterhood of Traveling Pants novels (the series is one of my favorites) and was excited when I picked it up. Yet, I've been putting off reading it because since it was dealing with girls younger than the main characters of the Sisterhood series, I thought that it'd be a bit too juvenile for me. Well, I was completely wrong and am a little bit ashamed of thinking that way (considering I'm a huge YA fan and know that a lot of people look their noses down at it and don't consider it "real" literature) because I found it extremely good.

What I loved about the novel was that it was slightly more "real" than the Sisterhood of Traveling Pants series (and before people get annoyed at me for bringing up Brashares previous series, let me just write that it's absolutely impossible to write about 3 Willows and not mention the Sisterhood series as they are sort of in conjuction with each other). In 3 Willows, the girls are trying to find a way to remain friends even though they are all headed in different directions. They actually have to work a bit more harder at this since they don't have the advantage of having magical pants at their disposal. This makes it much more relateable as I don't think any group of friends has a pair of magical jeans to help them remain true to each other (although then again, who knows?).

I especially loved the characters. This was something that I was worried about before, not connecting much with the characters because it's been a while since I was a middle school graduate. But I found that gradually I got invested in the characters. While I didn't love them as much as I did Tibby, Lena, Bridget, and Carmen, I still felt for the problems that they had to endure and cheered when they ended up victorious (or at least somewhat victorious).

There were a couple of things that nagged me about 3 Willows, though. While I loved the characters as individuals, I found that it was hard for me to completely buy their friendship at first. I could see how they would become friends, but I could also see how easy it was for them to drift apart because they didn't seem like the "bestest" friends to begin with. They seemed like friends, but they didn't seem to have that connection with each other they way the Sisterhood did. Because of that I found that I wasn't really connected to the friendship aspect of the novel until the end.

Another thing that bothered me was that the Sisterhood (the original ones) were well-known in the novel and were regarded as a mystical group. Everyone looked at them as though they were untouchable and everyone knew about the magical pants. For some reason, I always thought that the Sisterhood would keep the power of the pants a secret. If not from their family, then at least from outsiders. Anyway, the constant mentioning of them kept taking me out of the story of Ama, Jo, and Polly and more into the world of Tibby, Lena, Bridget, and Carmen. It would've been fine if they were just mentioned once or twice, but not as much as they were. Also, Effie (Lena's sister) was in this novel and she was a complete and total bitch. I was one of those people who was endeared by Effie in the Sisterhood novels and liked her brief parts in the books. So having her come back, as the Devil Incarnate severely pissed me off. It would have been better if a random unknown character took her part in the book.

Anyway, despite my small problems with 3 Willows, I loved it. I thought it was a sweet, cute, story. It wasn't as enchanting as The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants series, but that can be because I got to know the original Sisterhood throughout four amazing novels and have only known Sisterhood 2.0 for one novel. Still, while I liked the original Sisterhood better, 3 Willows was still good in it's own right. I, for one, am hoping that there is a sequel in the works (but I haven't heard anything about this so maybe there won't be) so that I can revisit with Ama, Jo, and Polly and see what's going on with their lives in the summer after their first year of high school. 3 Willows is a novel that I recommend to any YA lover and I don't regret reading it, just regret putting it off for as long as I have. ****

14. Under the Banner of Heaven-Jon Krakauer

When it comes to non-fiction, I tend to go towards memoirs, forensic science, and true-crime books. Maybe sometimes I'll stray and pick up something totally on a whim, but most of the time I stay in those genres because it'll be easier for me to finish. I was under the impression that Under the Banner of Heaven was just a true-crime book. I was sorely mistaken and it was not what I expected...in a completely good way.

While Under the Banner of Heaven was a true crime book in the sense that it does mention rather frequently the Lafferty brothers who murder their sister-in-law and her 18 month old daughter, but it also mentions the beginning of Mormonism. This book also mentions how it's now diverged with the Latter Day Saints Church in one end and the Fundamentalists Latter Day Saints church in another end. I'm not a particularly religious person, but I've always been interested in learning about the different types of religions in the world and try to keep an open mind. That being said, reading about the FDLS church just seemed to make me a more than a little angry.

I found myself on the verge of tears as Krakauer described how the fundamentalist Mormon groups treat women. They practice polygamy and more often than not, the men take underage girls as their wives, all in the name of God. It was disheartening to read that the fundamentalists Mormon sects are growing and I would like to see the government take a more active role in putting away the pedophiles who say that they aren't actually perverts just following the written rule that God himself put out for them.

There are some people who say that Under the Banner of Heaven paints a bad picture of the Latter Day Saints church, but it doesn't, unless of course you're trying to deny the history within the Church itself. Krakauer makes sure to mention that the problem lies not within the current LDS church, but with the fundamentalists sects, and how the LDS make sure to excommunicate anyone who practices polygamy. So, I really don't see how this is bashing the LDS church.

Anyway, one thing that I can say about this book was that it was enthralling. It read faster than any non-fiction I've ever read (though I haven't read much) and really did read like a novel. There were some parts that dragged in recounting the history of Mormonism, the whole book was an amazing page-turner. I definitely plan to pick up Jon Krakauer's other books because this one was so great. I also recommend it to anyone who wants a good read. *****

15. Mathilda Savitch-Victor Lodato

Mathilda Savitch was a pretty unusual read. I thought it was going to be completely different from what it turned out to be. The summary in the back of the book states that Mathilda is trying to find the truth of her sister's death. It's less about her finding the truth than it is about her trying to cope with the grief brought on by her sister's death.

I've read a couple of reviews that mention that the voice of the Mathilda rang false for them. To me, Mathilda was like any other teen girl who was trying to find her way. She's trying to deal with the death of her sister and with her parents zombie behavior that was brought on by the death the only way she knows how: causing mischief. Due to the fact that Mathilda was the narrator, I was able to get into this story more than I would have had it been written in the third person. If you add the fact that Mathilda is often an unreliable person in which to get your information, then I believe you have a winner.

Even though Mathilda Savitch deals with a depressing topic (the death of a family member) and the story is set to a backdrop where acts of terror are part of the norm more than they really are in this current time period, I found that the book did have some humorous parts. Mathilda is just so witty and sarcastic that it's almost impossible not to end up caring for her. She's extremely imaginative and due to this, it's heartbreaking to see her try so hard to get a little bit of attention from her grieving parents.

Mathilda Savitch was an enthralling read. Some parts were a bit jumbled and tended to ramble (hence the four star rating and not five stars), but overall it was an enjoyable read. Highly recommended!

P.S. This was a First Reads Program win. ****

16. Body Double-Tess Gerritsen

I'm a fan of the previous 3 novels in the Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles series. While I didn't read them one after the other, they were read within a short time span of each other. Yet, when I read the premise of Body Double, I put it off. It seemed too much like a soap-opera plot to me and the last thing I want is to have the thrillers that I enjoy turn into the rolling-eyes fest that soaps induce in me. So, I was pleasantly surprised when this turned out nothing like a soap-opera (or at least none I've ever seen).

The premise that turned me off this book was this: There's a body found outside of Dr. Maura Isles house when she's out of town. The body looks so much like Maura that Detective Rizzoli assumes it's her. Then we find out that the body is her twin sister which she never knew existed. Soap-opera, right? Wrong. This actually turned out rather twisted. Not going to spoil it for anyone and say exactly why it was twisted, but it was.

Body Double was a page-turning thriller. The likes which I've come to expect from Tess Gerritsen. This book also had me extremely paranoid. So much that when I was reading this book like at two in the morning (when it seems that I do all my reading), I had to stop reading it because I was getting too freaked out. That's exactly what thrillers should achieve.

Body Double isn't the best thriller written and sometimes it did have me rolling my eyes at the main characters behaviors thinking "Don't you two EVER learn?", but still, it was an extremely quick and enjoyable read. I can't wait to pick up the next installment in the series, but it won't be my next read. More than that, I absolutely cannot wait for the Rizzoli & Isles show that's going to premiere on TNT with Angie Harmon playing Rizzoli and Sasha Alexander (NCIS, anyone?) playing Isles. ****

17. The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon-Stephen King

I just finished The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon and have been wavering between giving it three stars or four stars. I ended up giving it four stars (even though in reality this book was more of a three and a half star book for me) because I felt that the good outweighed the bad.

What absolutely made the book for me was the character of Trisha McFarland. If you don't care about the main character and what they are going through, then there's no way you're going to enjoy a book. As I was reading this, I found myself apprehensive about Trisha's fate. So much that I kept thinking, "If she doesn't make it, I'm going to be severely pissed off." I was enthralled as I was reading about her deteriorating mental state and kept thinking how terrified I would be if I were in her situation at my current age, let alone at her age (I've always avoided going into the woods and this book really just pinpoints why). Stephen King excelled in making Trisha a character that just rings true.

Even though throughout most of this book, I was feverishly turning the pages, there were some parts that lagged for me and because this was a relatively short book, the lagging parts were way more obvious. Another thing that bothered me was the inclusion of the beast. I think I would've liked the book more if the beast were just a figment of Trisha's imagination, just one of her hallucinations or if he just been representing an Angel of Death in her imagination.

Anyway, even though the book had some shortcomings, I thought it was extremely good. I just found it heartwarming how Trisha would picture her favorite baseball player to try to get her through the tough time of being lost in the forest. I thought it was all very sweet. I've only read three Stephen King books so far and this one wasn't my favorite or my second favorite. But still, it was pretty damn good. ****

18. After Life-Jaron Lee Knuth

Let me start out by saying that I am a huge zombie fan. Zombie movies just cause hours of enjoyment while simultaneously scaring the hell out of me. When it comes to reading zombie books, I'm also a little apprehensive because I'm not seeing the gore and horror on screen. I've only read one previous zombie book (The Forest of Hands and Teeth) and enjoyed it and since I saw that After Life was only 99 cents in Kindle format, I decided to buy it. I thought that it was just okay.

After Life starts out with a bang. The two main characters, Alex and Morgan are in a diner before all hell breaks loose in the form of zombies. Yet while the book was going on, I couldn't help but feel like it was extremely repetitive. Then, there were other instances where absolutely nothing of interest what's happening.

Another aspect that bothered me was the whole romance between Alex and Morgan. Well, not really the "romance" so much as their repetitive whining of it. If you like each other just say it. It's less annoying that way. If you're thinking "But we're in the middle of zombie mayhem! Now is so not the time", well you'd be right. So just put it out of your mind. It's less eye-roll inducing for the rest of us.

Besides the two annoying main characters and their constant relationship woes, the book did have some really good moments. I liked that it showed the way humanity would disintegrate realistically. Let me be honest for a moment and say that if zombies really were to break out in the U.S. most people would be looking out for number 1 (and their own loved ones to that effect). There would rarely be any hero antics happening. After Life emphasized that in Morgan and Alex's behavior. They were going to look after each other...to hell with everybody else. As cynical as the thought may be, a majority of the population would do this if zombies were to break out. (Let me just mention that I'd be one of the first ones gone if zombies were to roam the Earth. I would so not survive.)

So, After Life was an enjoyable read for 99 cents. That being said, I would've been slightly disappointed if I paid $11.99 for it (the current paperback cost) as there wasn't enough closure for my taste. It should've been a bit more longer and explained itself a bit more. Still, "okay" zombie mayhem is better than none at all. ***

19. Carrie-Stephen King

As one of Stephen King's new readers, I've had a pretty good run. I've read two Stephen King books that I loved and one that I liked. This is the first bump in the road on my path to reading more Stephen King. I didn't love Carrie and am sad to say that I wasn't really impressed with this book.

The first thing that I disliked were all of the interviews and newspaper excerpts that were frequently used. Things like that are usually used in a more subtle way. Not only does he give away the entire plot by doing that, but in every single instance it took me out of a story that I was not completely into in the first place. I fail to see the effect that this had. I understand that he used it to sort of tell the story, but wouldn't it have been more effective to simply let it unfold naturally instead of reading it all second-hand? Anyway, that right there sort of bugged me.

I guess the biggest reason that I didn't really like Carrie was because I just didn't care about a lot of the characters. I felt there wasn't enough background on them. Sure, I sort of sympathized with Carrie (it's kind of hard not to), but at the end of the novel I was like "Hmmm, it's over". I felt no turmoil for the events that unfolded. Usually, I find thoughts creeping in days after reading Stephen King's works and I'm still thinking about the characters. With Carrie, I doubt I will.

So, while Carrie was a quick read, I was majorly disappointed in it. There were some good parts (the end was gripping), but you can really tell that this was Stephen King's first novel. It hasn't put me off reading any of his other works (mostly because, besides this, what I have read is great), but I wouldn't recommend it for any first-time King readers who just want to get a taste of his books before truly committing. I'd say to pick something else. **

20. Sixteen: Stories About That Sweet and Bitter Birthday-Megan McCafferty

Apparently a girl's sixteenth birthday is supposed to be the be all to end all of all birthdays. It's supposed to be the year when your life begins. When everything of interest starts to happen to you. The cute guy right by your locker will finally notice you and your kick-ass boobs. The meanest girl in school will finally bow to your awesomeness and you'll get the chance to be a total bitch to her. It's supposed to be the year you look back at and think "Man, those were the days. The sneaking out, the making out, the doing of drugs...God, how I miss those days!!!" Of course, then you have the other scenario. The year in which you get your heart broken for the first time. The year you realize that actually getting your license and getting a car means paying gas. The year you realize life sometimes just blows no matter how old you are. My sixteenth year....was nothing like either of these scenarios.

The angst filled sixteenth year was something that I avoided. It was actually very anti-climactic. Not to say that nothing of interest didn't happen. It just wasn't very book or movie worthy. I seemed to avoid all of the major drama associated with being sixteen. Does that mean I'm lucky that I didn't get to go through the angst? Or unlucky because being sixteen wasn't extremely memorable to me and I therefore don't have any hilarious antidotes or earth-shattering, wrist slicing, drama to talk about? I don't know. What I do know is that I get to relive my 16th year vicariously through Sixteen.

Not being a fan of short story compilations, I was surprised that I loved Sixteen and raced through it. There's a story in here for everyone. You want something angsty read The Grief Diet. You want something in the vein of all of the other cheesy '80's movies read The Perfect Kiss. You want something that makes you think back at those days when you thought nothing embarrassing could ever happen to you because this is in fact real life and not a movie, read Cat Got Your Tongue?.

Sure there were a couple of stories in here while were not really clunkers, they were not as great as the rest. It's inevitable with a short story compilation. But still, the majority of the these stories were amazing and brought me back to my high school years and the angst that goes along with it(just because my 16th year wasn't that memorable doesn't mean my 17th wasn't...). I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to revisit the feeling you had when you were sixteen or just to laugh at the rest and think "Thank God that didn't happen to me!" *****

21. The Forgotten Garden-Kate Morton

I really have been debating as to whether to give The Forgotten Garden five stars or four stars. While the story was pretty great, I had to give it four stars just because I didn't feel that it was as amazing as The House at Riverton. But still four stars...pretty damn good.

The House at Riverton was an amazing book. It stood alone in all its angsty glory. While The House at Riverton was more angsty and depressing (there really is no other way to describe it), The Forgotten Garden was more whimsical. The imagery of the gardens was beautiful and easy for me to imagine. It had me wanting to go to a park on a sunny day and just sit by beautiful flowers. Considering it was raining heavily most of the time that I was reading this, I decided to quelch my desires and stay indoors.

The mystery of The Forgotten Garden was what kept me turning the pages. I really had to find out who Nell's real parents were. What exactly did Eliza Makepeace have to do with her kidnapping? Where, in fact, was Eliza Makepeace? There were just all these questions swirling around in my head as I was reading this. Just when I thought I had it all figured out, the story would throw me again and have me go "Wait, what?" But it wasn't that sort of "wait, what?" that would make you think "that makes absolutely no sense". Kate Morton's twists and turns actually make sense. They don't seem to be thrown in for the mere purpose of saying to the reader "HA! I bet you didn't see that coming!" (ahem, Jodi Picoult, I'm sorry but once is enough. Stop throwing in twists in all of your stories considering half the time it just pisses off the reader because it doesn't make sense). Instead the reader thinks "Hmmm, I can totally see that!"

While the mystery was great, I felt that it was presented in a bit of an awkward way. The Forgotten Garden goes back and forth from 1913, 1975, and 2005. So, just when I was getting acquainted with the narrator of a particular time period, Morton would switch and then I would have to get acquainted with another narrator, to then have to get reacquainted when she shifted back. So, while it wasn't hard to follow, there was a mild case of motion sickness going on.

While the back and forth and back and forth, and back and---you get the picture---did get a bit tiresome after a while, one thing that I loved was the inclusion of the fairy tales. While I liked some better than others, it did serve to give the book a more of a fantasy twist. Plus, the stories were a bit dark and macabre ala Brothers Grimm, so they were always interesting.

In the end, I thought that The Forgotten Garden was a great read. It's just when I compare it to The House at Riverton does it seem to fall a tiny (teeny, weeny, eeny) bit short. While I loved the characters from The House at Riverton more, I thought that The Forgotten Garden was a bit more uplifting. While The House at Riverton had me crying and shrieking "Will the world ever right itself?" (yes I'm a tad bit dramatic), The Forgotten Garden had me close up the book (or turn off the Kindle in this instance) with a smile on my face and think "Another great one." So, it's a book I whole-heartedly recommend. And then if you have the time you can read The House at Riverton and marvel at Kate Morton's greatness. She's definitely become one of my favorite authors and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next. ****

22. The Spellmans Strike Again-Lisa Lutz

I'm going to start off by saying that I love books. I mean all types of books (maybe except for romance, but that's a whole other topic). Every once in a while you will read a book that will just be like nothing you ever read before. A book which you will herald as your favorite literary masterpiece. The types of books that when you tell your friends you read it, they will look at you in amazement and say "Wait, you didn't just read it, but you actually enjoyed it? You complete and utter freak!". The type of book in which you will hold onto until your dying day and when you are on your deathbed, your final words will be "Read this book, you philistine!" The Spellmans Strike Again, ladies and gentlemen....is not this book. But still it's pretty damn good.

The thing about the Spellmans is that the whole family is insane. I'm talking about the kind of insane that can be temporarily certifiable. They take getting into your family's business to a whole other level and make it into an olympic sport. I learned all this from the first installment The Spellman Files (which you totally have to read before you read this one. It's in the footnotes...) which introduced me to the wonderful and brilliant (and okay, kinda trainwreck-ish) Isabel (Izzy) Spellman (and yeah, I guess her family, too).

The Spellmans Strike Again is a mixture of a whole lot of things. It's part mystery, part romance, and mostly humor. But the reason which I've read this (and the previous installments) is because of the complete Spellman family. They're all wonderfully zany. They love each other, yes, but they also spy on each other, blackmail each other, and basically make each other's lives miserable with hilarious results.

You will absolutely love Izzy Spellman. She's a bit of a mess in the previous novels, but in this one, we see her make an active attempt to evolve and mature a little bit (but not too much, we wouldn't want her to be a completely better person would we? No. She makes us feel better about ourselves) while trying to sort out the details of her life, her investigation, and her mother's incessant meddling.

We see all of the other characters grow up and change a bit, too. Except for Rae, I don't think she'll ever change. As the Spellman saga finally ends, we get bittersweet closure. We welcome the characters new beginnings and cry over others end. Not only was I shedding tears for some storylines, but because this is the end of the Spellmans for us the readers. But it's okay, I've come to accept this (PLEASE NO!!!!) or at least come to terms with it a little better.

If you've read the previous Spellman novels, then there is no doubt that you will love this one. It's a satisfying end. If you've never read any of the Spellman novels, then I suggest you start at the beginning and work your way towards the end (unless you're like Izzy and like to start stories in the middle). Sure, The Spellmans Strike Again isn't a literary masterpiece and you won't be able to brag to your friends about this amazing new novel that they have to read which will make them seem like they were deserving of that Ivy League reputation (they're just going to have to deal with their shortcomings. It sucks, but hey, that's life), instead you'll be able to tell them about this amazing new book that will make them laugh, cry (in the words of Lorelai Gilmore "mostly because you're laughing so hard"), and just enjoy it completely. *****

23. Beautiful-Amy Reed

When I first started this book, I didn't really like it. It seemed like a rip-off of the film Thirteen. It also wasn't explaining itself very well. After the initial hurdles, I found myself enjoying it a little bit more. While I don't regret reading it, I wish that I had picked up this book at the library instead of purchasing it.

One thing that you can say about Beautiful is that it is a page-turner. I read this literally in two hours without moving from where I was sitting. It was extremely intense and gritty. So much that I found myself flinching with the certain situations that the characters have gone through (mainly Sarah's backstory). The book did not drag one bit and the "action" starts almost immediately. Yet, that right there was what worked against it.

The shift between Cassie's "good girl" status to her "bad girl" persona just went too quickly. One minute she's excited about being accepted into the popular smarties clique and the next minute she's hanging out with Alex doing drugs and having sex. I didn't get a clear picture of who Cassie was as a good girl. So it was a bit difficult to empathize with her at the beginning. Cassie wasn't all that fleshed out until she started rebelling. That was when all of her emotions just burst out and you understood her pain.

Cassie wasn't the only character that lacked developing. Delving into Alex's background could've been extremely interesting considering how different her and Cassie seem. Cassie was sort of thrust into this life while Alex seems like much more comfortable with it. It seems like that was the life she had always known. All of the characters had potential yet it seemed like it was wasted.

So, I thought Beautiful was just okay. Like I said, the book is an extremely fast read, yet that can be because it's pretty short (a little too short; it could've benefited from having about a hundred more pages to build up the main character). It's just that there was too much of a mystery when it came to Cassie that it was too hard for me to connect to her and because of that I was detached from the story. I still recommend this book, but I suggest you get it from the library. ***

April:

24. Beaded Hope-Cathy Liggett

I received Beaded Hope as part of the First Reads program. Let me admit that had I known that this was classified as "Christian Fiction", I probably wouldn't have entered to win a copy. Not that there's anything wrong with Christian Fiction. It's just that I'm not a particularly religious person so I tend to shy away from anything with a religious slant to it (unless it's non-fiction or horror). Probably due to my preconceived notions of Christian fiction, Beaded Hope ended up exceeding my expectations.

I thought that Beaded Hope was a great book. There was a bit of "The Lord will help you if you believe" type of praying, but I felt that was more about the characters personal problems and a part of what they did on their day-to-day life. I didn't feel like I was being beaten over the head with the preaching so that definitely made me enjoy the book more.

I ended up liking all of the main characters. They were all extremely flawed women and I was interested in whether or not they were going to solve their problems. The supporting characters in this book were amazing! I found myself shedding tears from one of their storylines and inspired by the countless others. Some of the book was a bit predictable (mainly the end to Gabby's storyline), but it didn't dampen my enjoyment of this book or its characters (mainly Cassandra, who I found hilarious).

So, in the end, I enjoyed reading Beaded Hope. It did drag a bit in the middle, it picked right back up after that. This was a great inspiring novel about the good of the human spirit and about what comes from helping one another. It's definitely recommended. ****

25. Lost and Found-Carolyn Parkhurst

When I picked up Lost and Found, I had it pegged as chick-lit. You know, a kind of book that's not deep at all and just all fluffy and light, where you don't get all of those overwhelming feelings you usually get when you read a more "serious" novel. Well, I was wrong about this book. It was plenty fun, but it was also a fascinating (and sometimes heart-wrenching) character study.

I'm not a fan of reality tv (at all). I just don't watch it because most of the time I think it's fixed and watching people make complete fools out of themselves in front of billions of people (especially when it's done on purpose) just doesn't entertain me. So, if Lost and Found was focused solely on that, then I would've lost interest rather quickly. But it didn't and the characters were extremely different from each other and extremely flawed. The characters all have their own set of problems that run from very deep for some and from not even on the surface (or at least that we readers can see) for the others. The reality theme is really just a backdrop to all of the dramatic events that take place.

However, just because there moments of drama (which, let's face it, appear in every reality show even if it is fixed), Lost and Found also had its share of witty and often hilarious moments. While you're reading the book, it becomes obvious that the author, Carolyn Parkhurst, is mocking the whole "reality tv" thing by having the actual characters mock it as well. It can be by the mannerisms of the host to make every single thing seem full of suspense and dramatic or by the implausibility of some of the things that the characters do on camera, either way, every single point gets across and made me laugh out loud.

Even though the reality tv segment was mostly in the background (and even though I vastly dislike reality tv), I found myself enjoying all of the different tasks being given. I was reading mostly for the characters' interactions, but I'd be lying if I said that the outcome of the show didn't have me turning the pages just a little bit faster. I was so into it that I found myself thinking "This person better not win" or "Good! They're disqualified; no more screen time for them!" Lost and Found really was the equivalent to watching reality tv on an actual tv.

Lost and Found was just great! It's dramatic, humorous, and action-packed all in one neat little package. You have characters that you can root for and some that will sometimes get on your nerves (Ahem, Cassie, I'm sorry but I find myself disliking teens that feel that they're the only ones entitled to pain in literature), but overall, you just want to see what happens to all of them. You get a real sense of who a character is and what makes them tick by having them all narrate different chapters. Plus, this book did what reality tv fails to do and that is display the contestants/stars of the show as real people. Highly recommended! *****

26. Horns-Joe Hill

Have you ever read an amazing book and then felt hesitant to write a review because you feel like it will just fall extremely short and you will end up disappointing the book somehow by writing this crappy review? Well, that's basically my thought process at this very moment. If only I could say that this book was "Wow" and leave it at that, but my mind won't let me. It wants me to vocalize (in written form, of course) how awesomely amazing Horns was. So a "wow" will simply not suffice.

I went into Horns expecting a regular, run-of-the-mill horror story with chills and thrills and maybe a little gore. I didn't expect it to go any deeper than that. Oh, how wrong I was! First off, this wasn't even horror in the traditional sense. It wasn't particularly scary (and trust me, I'm a wuss. If it was even remotely scary, I'd say it) and it also wasn't gory. So, it feels sort of wrong to just lump this with every other horror book. Add to that that this book seem infused with other elements of different genres (that was actually done right), then you basically just have a book that's all sorts of win.

The premise of this book was just fascinating. You have a regular, normal guy who has this strange affliction. He becomes the Devil and hears people's inner-most secret thoughts. Not just any thoughts, but the thoughts that are so terrible, that you feel ashamed for even thinking them and would never in a million years ever say them out loud. At first, that's what kept me turning the pages. I'm sure everyone's thought at least once "I bet they're thinking something terrible. It's probably about me" (or maybe that's just probably me and I was being my usual paranoid self), well this takes it to a whole other level. The thoughts that the people have in the book...seriously chilling (especially the girl who thought about burning her mother... I've always said children had the potential to be really, really evil).

The characters in Horns were all tremendously well-written. The main character, Ig, who is the Devil (there's just no sugarcoating it), made me feel so much sympathy for him. Seriously, if you ever thought that you'd never feel sympathy for the Devil, read this book and then come talk to me. The antagonist filled me with so much hate towards him that I really had to keep reading just to see if he would get what he deserved and then some. Then you have all of the rest of the minor characters who are also thinking about doing terrible things, yet you can't help and feel bad for a couple of them because those are the same thoughts that anyone would have if they were feeling intense grief.

And then we have the love story... I'm not a romance fan. At all. One thing I hate is when authors ruin a perfectly good plot by adding romance in it when they shouldn't (Ahem, The Abortionist's Daughter). It just takes me out of the story and most of the time it's contrived and cheesy. However, the romance in Horns was so touching and then heart-wrenching that it even made me shed a tear (or two or actually a whole crapload of them). The devotion between Ig and Merrin was just so palpable that you really can't help but be moved by it. It was done exactly right which is great considering how focal it is to the plot.

Anyway, I definitely recommend Horns! It was so great, touching, heartwarming, fascinating, funny (in some instances) and just an all around amazing wonderful romance/horror/mystery. Basically in a nutshell "WOW!"

P.S. This book was a First Reads win (Can you say "score"?) *****

27. The Tribes of Palos Verdes: A Novel-Joy Nicholson

If you look at cover of the hardcover version of The Tribes of Palos Verdes you would probably think that it's about a girl who surfs with guys. Yes, there are guys in this book and yes, the main character, Medina, does surf, it goes much more deeper than that. Medina uses surfing as an outlet to escape the pain she feels and the horror of her home life.

Throughout the book, you see Medina painfully coming of age while dealing with drugs, sex, and being the only female surfer in her town. The dysfunction in the family is excellently portrayed. Medina's father is having countless affairs and due to this her mother's eating herself to death and has a weird obsession with Medina's twin brother Jim. Medina feels unloved and unappreciated by everyone except Jim. As much as this book is about Medina coming of age, it's also a poignant story about the love that siblings have for one another.

The Tribes of Palos Verdes is for anyone who always felt like they didn't fit in to one group. You have a heroine who you feel sympathy for and want her to come out on top. Medina remains strong despite being bullied by her peers and her mother. The Tribes of Palos Verdes was a beautiful and poignant coming of age story. It was gritty, real, and, yes, depressing. It was an extremely quick read and it is highly recommended. *****

28. The Girl Who Chased the Moon-Sarah Addison Allen

I picked up The Girl Who Chased the Moon because of Sarah Addison Allen's first book Garden Spells. I thought Garden Spells was truly amazing and it made its way to my "favorite books ever" list. So, I set extremely high standards for The Girl Who Chased the Moon. While the book didn't live up to these expectations, I thought that it was a pretty great book.

The Girl Who Chased the Moon is an enchanting novel. Magical realism is something that Allen seems to do really well. Her books are deeper than chick-lit, yet retain the perfect summer read feeling. The Girl Who Chased the Moon was filled with quirky, loveable characters that are in a whimsical little town.

Every thing in this book is infused with touches of magic, yet it wasn't really a fantasy or supernatural read. The magic was a bit understated and it wasn't that focal to the plot. It was mostly in the background (except for really one part where it was out in the open). These characters weren't magical, they just happened to live in a town where strange, yet wonderful things happen.

The reason why I'm giving The Girl Who Chased the Moon four stars instead of five is because while I liked the characters quite a bit, I didn't love them as much as I loved the characters in Garden Spells. Since the book was so short, I didn't really get attached to the characters. I did want them to get happy endings, but I didn't really care how they got there. Also, the subplot with Win and Emily, while it was sweet, seemed to have happened to quickly that I didn't really see how we got from Point A to Point B.

Anyway, regardless of these minor flaws, I thought that The Girl Who Chased the Moon was a great. It was a very comfortable and quick read. It not only made me crave cake (seriously, I have a terrible sweet tooth and this just made it worse), but had me craving for the familiarity of a tight-knit town. This book is recommended, yet I recommend Garden Spells way more. ****

29. Some Girls Are-Courtney Summers

I'm going to try and at least sound semi-coherent in my review. So, let me just start out by saying, "WOW!" Some Girls Are takes all of your fears about high school and just puts them right there: out in the open. It was amazing, yet extremely terrible. I went through so many emotions while reading this book. I was appalled at the behavior of the girls and saddened by what was happening. But the emotion that was stronger than all the others was this extreme sense of anger.

The main character in Some Girls Are is Regina and she's a bitch. There's just no other way to say it. You know from the beginning that she's part of this elite group of popular, yet extremely mean girls. Regina partook in all of the previous bullying that the Fearsome Fivesome have inflicted. The readers should hate her. If not hate her than at least think, that the bullying she's experiencing is justified because she had villified so many other people. However, Courtney Summers has written a main character that you sympathize with. This is done by simply making all the rest of the girls in the group completely loathsome.

I don't think I've ever hated a character in literature as much as I've hated Anna (and Kara, Jeanette, and the other one who's name currently escapes me). She was just a terrible human being. As wrong as it was, I internally cheered when Regina started fighting back. Every time that the Fearsome Foursome did something terrible to Regina, she did something just as horrible to them. I was a little bit sickened with myself because I wanted her to do those things. If she was having second thoughts about doing these things, I would think "Uhhh, they deserve it. What you're doing is not even as terrible as what they're doing to you." I know that violence does not help any situation. I know this with every fiber of my being. Yet I was so into Some Girls Are that I was trying to justify and excuse it.

The high school experience that's in Some Girls Are is something that I'm not too familiar with. I know that high school girls have the potential to be really mean and I'm sure they were mean in my high school. However, most of the time if someone didn't like you, they just didn't talk to you. We had fights here and there, but I don't think it was nothing like in this book. So, I can't really say with certainty how true Some Girls Are is in regards to the viciousness of girls' social circles in high school. I'm hoping it's not really as bad as the book portrays, but maybe that's just my naivete getting the better of me.

Another thing that was frustrating to me in Some Girls Are is how all of the adults seemed to turn a blind eye. When they weren't turning a blind eye, they were just being plain ignorant. Yes, they can say that they didn't have a clue about what was going on, but the truth is that they didn't want to know. They wanted to remain in their little bubble and think "Girls can't possibly be that mean to each other", but apparently they can.

Some Girls Are was just an amazing, heartbreaking, and eye-opening novel. For students it shows how quickly you can fall from being popular and maybe they shouldn't strive to be that way, especially if it's going to make other people feel like crap. For teachers and parents, it shows that it's true, you may never completely know your kids, but you shouldn't use that as an excuse to not look. I think it's something that everyone should read because it really showcases what bullying can do to a person and how that terrible cycle can really continue. When you finish reading it, you may feel a bit frustrated (or really pissed off like I was), but I assure you, you won't regret reading it. Just make sure you have some fluff nearby. *****

30. Gone-Michael Grant

I picked up Gone because it has been described by many like a young version of Stephen King's The Stand. The Stand is one of my favorite books ever, so I wanted to see how true that statement was. Having read the book, I definitely think that comparing it to The Stand is over-exaggerating Gone. It was good, but it was nowhere near the excellence that is The Stand. Still, it was very enjoyable.

Gone is basically about the world gone awry. Every person over the age of 14 suddenly just poofs. In a world where there are no adults, you have kids trying to run the FAYZ and a handful of them are either murderous psychos or evil kids hell-bent on gaining power and then you have the heroes who are trying to save the FAYZ. It's a pretty standard plot.

Gone is an extremely fast-paced thriller and due to this, it was a page-turner. Considering that this book was 500+ pages, that was really a must for me. The main character was likeable enough, but I didn't really care for much of the characters except for Edilio, Lana, and Patrick. I did love the idea of an alternate universe and looking into how kids would cope in a society with no order or rules. In fact, my favorite parts of Gone were when the kids reached a new hurdle and kept questioning how they would survive.

However, my main gripe with this novel is that I invested 500+ pages in this and none of my questions were answered. I don't care that this book has no closure, but it seems like this book was written with the clear intention of a sequel and if I don't want to read the sequel, I'm basically screwed because I'm going to have no idea what happened. Also, the romance between Sam/Astrid was highly improbable. I don't care what circumstances you're in. No 14-year-old is going to fall in love with someone they've only known well for a week. A lot of the characters also seemed to fall into their stereotypes. You have the hero: Sam, the pretty, brainy girl: Astrid, the little brother: Petey, the sidekick you can't really trust: Quinn, the power-hungry villain: Caine, and the beautiful bad girl: Diane. These characters were anything but original. The book was also way too long. It should've been at least 100 pages shorter, especially the author wasn't going to solve anything.

Anyway, while I did like Gone quite a bit, I felt that its flaws were too much to overlook. Plus, I'm still pissed at the whole 500 pages and no resolution thing. Maybe I'll pick up the next one in a while, but not anytime soon. So, while Gone is recommended, I definitely suggest you don't read it unless you want to devote yourself to reading the other 5 of this planned series. ***

31. I Capture the Castle-Dodie Smith

I'm a person who finds classics a bit intimidating because sometimes I find the language a bit rough to get through. So, I was a little apprehensive when I first picked up I Capture the Castle. Still, I figured a good introduction to the classics genre (I've only read a few) would be a classic young adult novel and I was right. I Capture the Castle is one of the most beautiful books I've ever had the pleasure of reading.

I noticed that in other reviews, people stated that I Capture the Castle was really slow to get into at first. I didn't find it that way at all. From page one I was enchanted with Cassandra and her life at the castle. Cassandra is just so sweet and funny that you can't help but love her. Due to her flaws, she's also extremely real. I got annoyed at her when I read who she was in love with and at some of the things she did and then I remembered that most teenagers act illogical sometimes when they are in love. Cassandra wasn't really a heroine that was glorified. Because I Capture the Castle is written in the form of Cassandra's journal entries, we see her at her absolutely best, yet we also see her at her absolute worst.

Cassandra wasn't the only charming character in I Capture the Castle. I found myself falling in love with not only Simon, but with Neil, and especially Stephen (poor, poor Stephen. I just wanted to hug him throughout the whole novel). I also absolutely loved Topaz and the way she was prone to dramatizing certain situations that she felt needed a bit of "drama" to be romantic. As for Rose, it was heartbreaking what she was willing to do in order to save, not only herself but her family, from poverty. I found my feelings varying from dislike to pity for her.

The thing that I loved most about I Capture the Castle was the progression between how Cassandra was at the beginning of the novel up until the end. You truly see Cassandra grow up and become more of an adult. However, the feelings you get in regards to that are mixed because while you know she could use some growing up, you really don't want her to change from the enchanting person you met when you first started the novel. But I guess it really was necessary.

I definitely recommend I Capture the Castle to everyone. It was an amazing classic novel that is still surprisingly relevant today despite that it was written so long ago. You can still relate to Cassandra and her problems and feel for her. You are charmed by her through every step of the way as she captures the castle and our hearts. Tremendous novel that I no doubt will read again and again. *****

May:

32. Locked in the Cabinet-Robert Reich

Okay, so the only reason I even picked up Locked in the Cabinet was because it was assigned reading for my Political Science class. Normally, I don't review things that I've been assigned to read because being assigned to read something sucks the fun out of actually reading. So, my opinion of the book tends to suffer.

Anyway, besides being assigned to read Locked in the Cabinet, I found it rather enjoyable. I had assumed that it was going to be a dry, boring, political memoir with Reich (who's was the Secretary of Labor during Clinton's first term) detailing all of the processes of which he had to write a bill or something equally as boring. To my surprise, it wasn't. Reich was witty and semi-charming. He made what could've been an extremely boring book entertaining due to his self-deprecating humor.

So, while Locked in the Cabinet isn't something I'm going to re-read and will most likely get rid of it at the end of the semester, it did keep me intrigued enough to finish it. Due to this, I didn't have to bullsh** my paper on it and had some educational opinions on it. ***


33. Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School-John Medina

This was another assigned book I had to read for class, but this time it was Psychology. Again I state that when I'm required to read something for class, it doesn't end up being favorable because I was actually required to read it. Which is why I don't really review assigned readigns. But since I made a deal with myself to review every book I've read this year, here we are.

So, Brain Rules, is basically what is sounds like. 12 Brain Rules that are supposed to help you succeed. Pretty basic. However, no matter how hard Medina tried, I just found this book completely boring. Sure, there were some parts that had me chuckling, but for the most part I was trying to get through it so that I could accurately do my project. I found it pretty dry. Plus, Medina seemed rather annoying not only in print, but also in the video that was provided with the book.

So, this wasn't a book that I would read on my own. Had it not been for a project, I doubt I would've even finished it. I'm sure it has helped someone somewhere, but it didn't have an earth-shattering effect on me. Or any effect for that matter... **


34. Vanish-Tess Gerritsen

I tend to read Tess Gerritsen books when I feel a reading slump coming on. They're just the perfect books to curb them since they're quick books that have you turning pages at an alarming speed. Anyway, that's why I picked up Vanish. I've been in final project hell and needed something that I would get into right away. While Vanish wasn't my favorite in the Rizzoli and Isles series, it definitely didn't disappoint.

Vanish doesn't so much start off with a bang, but rather a creepy and effective beginning. Mila's story was heartbreaking and enthralling that I found myself wanting the Rizzoli and Isles parts to be over faster just so I can get back to her story. However, the middle was where I started having some issues. I felt that it lagged just a bit with the whole "Jane is a hostage" situation. It wasn't as heart-pounding as I thought it would be. Also, I felt that it was veering towards political thriller territory and that just isn't my cup of tea.

Soon afterwards, my fears were quenched and Vanish went right back to the heart-pounding thriller that I expected it to be with a satisfying ending for some and heartbreaking endings/beginings for others. While there were a few bumps in the road, I enjoyed Vanish immensely.

I also found that I'm not getting sick of the leads. Usually after I've read more than a few in a series, I find that there are certain things that are starting to bother me about the main characters. Just little quirks that are starting to become more apparent after so much time together. This hasn't happened with the Rizzoli and Isles series yet. It's quite the opposite actually. An example of this is when I read the plot for the upcoming book (I believe it's the 8th in the series) and my heart hurt just a little at the thought of what's coming up for Maura. Hopefully, it won't end the way I think it will and there will be another worthy plot twist that won't have me in tears.

Anyway, not only did Vanish curb said reading slump, but it got me that much more excited for the upcoming Rizzoli & Isles series on TNT. So much that I'm now counting down the days until July 12th. So even if Book 8 ends up the way I hope it won't, I'll still have the series there. Unless of course, the people at TNT (I'm not calling the idiots...yet) cancel the show before it's time and then I'll go back to the books and realized they sucked and the show was better...I doubt this will happen. It's not like Tess Gerritsen is James Patterson and the Rizzoli & Isles series is the Women's Murder Club... ****

35. The Mephisto Club-Tess Gerritsen

I think I should start out by mentioning that anything about demons or the Devil just scares the hell out of me. I'm not a particularly religious person, but was just traumatized by my viewing of The Exorcist when I was about twelve years old. So, yeah, I'm a wimp when it comes to that sort of stuff. However, I am inexplicably drawn towards the subject probably because I like to be scared sometimes (when it's daytime, of course). So, The Mephisto Club was right up my alley with Rizzoli and Isles being one of my favorite mystery series and with it being about demons/the Devil.

While I didn't really love Vanish (the book previous to this one) because I didn't find it as page-turning as Tess Gerritsen's other novels, I absolutely did not have that problem with The Mephisto Club. I finished it in a day and a half and that's only because I had to study for finals. Had I not had to do that, I would've finished quicker. This novel starts off with a bang and just does not let up. One of the main things that I loved about it was that it was not a typical mystery. It wasn't all about the whodunit. But it also weaved in things about mythology and Nephilism. Some of the things mentioned I have heard about, but most I didn't so I find it much more interesting than her other Rizzoli and Isles series.

When it comes to the main characters' plots in the book, I wasn't as interested in them as I was about the whole Nephilism thing. However, one thing about their plots that I did like was that Jane and Maura seemed much more like friends in this novel than in the previous ones. The subsequent tension that they exhibited due to one of Maura's choices was welcome. I was thinking "Finally they're acting like friends" because let's face it, friends fight. And speaking of Maura's B plot, it didn't annoy me the way something like that would usually annoy me in a novel. Maybe it's because I've gotten to know Maura throughout the other novels and I know how out of character it was for her. Had it been something that was introduced when the readers first met Maura, than it would've definitely colored my judgment towards her as a main character.

Anyway, The Mephisto Club was a great novel. It was an incredible page-turner, interesting, and creepy as hell. That's what I want in all my mysteries. Sure, the ending wasn't as bang-worthy as the beginning, but I didn't really have any problems with it. If anything it made me that much more anxious to pick up the next book in the series. This one is highly recommended. And since I've gushed about the fact that TNT is making this a series in my other reviews of the novels, I won't really mention it here (beyond this sentence I mean). *****

36. The Red Tent-Anita Diamant

I bought The Red Tent from a Friends of the Library booksale in my town for a buck. I mainly bought it because I kept hearing people say how great it was. Normally, I avoid religious books like the plague because I basically don't want to preached to. My stepfather was a Jehovah's Witness so I had that religion pounded in me at a young age and only escaped that oppressive environment after he and my mom divorced. So needless to say, religion and I don't mix. However, I will read a book if it seems interesting and if it's highly recommended. The Red Tent seemed to fit the bill. I am happy to say that I don't regret reading it one bit. It was an amazing story.

The Red Tent was one of those books that just embraces women and their uniqueness. It's a book that celebrates women and I just found that incredible. I wasn't prepared for the feelings that would arise in context to this book. It was engrossing and it kept my interest throughout with no lagging parts. The characters were extremely compelling and I was in awe of Dinah's mothers just as she was. I cried, when Dinah cried and laughed when she laughed. The Red Tent just keeps you in the story and makes you care for all of the women in the tent.

Like I mentioned before, I'm not particularly religious, so I don't know how accurate this was to biblical times or whatever. I just took it as it was: a novel. So, while the portrayal of Jacob and his sons might bother some who feel that it was inaccurate, it didn't bother me. Anyway, The Red Tent was a beautiful book with beautiful characters. Since I didn't expect to enjoy it that much, it made the book that much more enjoyable for me. It's definitely one of the best books I've ever read. *****

37. Can You Keep a Secret?-Sophie Kinsella

Okay, so Can You Keep a Secret isn't the best book on the planet. It's not even the best chick-lit book I've ever read. However, as someone who has just finished finals (they suck the life and soul out of you), I decided to treat myself to a cute and fluffy chick-lit. Can You Keep a Secret? wasn't ground-breaking, but it was extremely entertaining.

This is what I like about chick-lit: it's funny, it's cute, and it's fluffy. Sure, they're wholly forgettable (so much that right now I can't even recall the main character's name) and most of the time they all seem to run together, but guilty pleasures and candy reads are good for the soul and great in moderation. Can You Keep a Secret had all the characteristics a good chick-lit needs and it made me forget about how stressed I've been this past semester and relaxed me somewhat.

Can You Keep a Secret was a hilarious chick-lit. This is coming from someone who could never get into Brit chick-lit. Don't ask me why, but everytime I've tried to read a Brit chick-lit, I end up being really bored. But Can You Keep a Secret entertained me from beginning to end. Sure the main character was mildly pathetic (even more so than most chick-lits) and most of the time I kept thinking, "Grow a backbone!", I still found her mildly endearing.

However, I absolutely loved her friends (whose names also escape me). I always end up liking the supporting characters more than the actual main characters when it comes to chick-lit. I absolutely loved the bitchy, fashionable roommate. Okay, she was a major bitch and a complete snob, but she was a good friend. Plus her whole "Mummy says that's the way to get a rock on your finger" and the "Well, they shouldn't have messed with Mummy" response to the horrible things her mother did to numerous men was just hilarious.

Anyway, so Can You Keep a Secret won't win any awards and it definitely wasn't the best thing ever written. However, it served it's purpose to keep me entertained and keep me laughing out loud. It was just what I needed at the time and it gave me a break from all that thinking I usually do when reading heavier books. ****

38. The Vanishing of Katharina Linden-Helen Grant

I received an ARC copy of The Vanishing of Katharina Linden as part of the First Reads program. I was excited to receive this book because it seemed like it had a great plot. Missing girls that seem to magically disappear. A town giving in to stifling paranoia. A ten year old girl determined to figure out what's going on. Amazing premise! However, the book seemed to fall a bit short and I was very underwhelmed while reading it.

The Vanishing of Katharina Linden doesn't really start off with a bang. But I can appreciate that. The author seemed to be going for more of a creepy build-up and it worked after about fifty pages in. But those initial fifty pages had me wondering whether or not I should put this down. I didn't because I really wanted to know what was going to happen, which brings me to my next point.

The Vanishing of Katharina Linden got going around page 50, yet on page 60, I already guessed who the killer was (and ended up guessing right). It was completely predictable, especially since I guessed this. I'm not the type of reader who will try to guess who the killer is in any mystery. Sure, I suspect, but half of the fun of a mystery is going through the whole ride and then being completely shocked at who committed all the events. I'm fine with this premise as long as it makes sense and isn't throwing a curveball just to throw a curveball. But if you guess who the killer is at the beginning, it kind of sucks the fun out of the mystery.

Another thing that bothered me was Pia's character. She just seemed to be all over the place. I didn't find her endearing, mostly just irritating and her friend Stefan, even moreso. They acted very irrational for ten year olds. Yes, I know that ten year olds aren't the most rational of human beings. But I don't think any ten year old would go through the lengths those kids did in trying to find out who was kidnapping little girls considering it would be life-threatening. I know I would've never done that at ten years old. Sure, I would've been curious, but I would never go out and single-handedly try to stop it. I would be thinking that my life would be at stake.

So, while, The Vanishing of Katharina Linden did end up to be a page-turner and literally kept me at the edge of my seat (particularly in the last 50 pages), I still thought it was just okay. It could've been great, but it was just too predictable. Plus, it left me with unanswered questions regarding how the kidnapper didn't kidnap one who was so close in the midst. It was just a "suspend belief" moment. It was just "meh". ***

39. Amy and Isabelle: A Novel-Elizabeth Strout

While reading Amy and Isabelle, I found that my feelings were varied. Sometimes I enjoyed the book, other times I found myself just reading it for the sake of finishing it. I wasn't content, yet not unhappy enough to put a halt to the reading. So, towards the end of the book, I was happy that I kept reading, but not for the book itself, but mostly because another book off my shelf has been read.

Amy and Isabelle starts off a little slowly and really doesn't pick up until the middle. That's when I started enjoying it a little more because that's when I really couldn't put it down and did end up finishing it the same day it picked up. However, the slow start wasn't the kind of slow start where the author was building the scene, so to speak, it was just the sort of slow that just drags on and on and that had me putting the book down from time to time. If a book allows me to put it down and then be a bit ambivalent at picking it up, then I don't think it's necessarily doing its job.

In Amy and Isabelle, the mother and the daughter are disconnected from each other and from the world. Elizabeth Strout did this a little too well because while reading the book, I felt disconnected from the characters. I was reading with a sense of detachment and I didn't really care about the characters. I cared about the overall problem, yes, but them individually, not so much. And then we have a slew of other characters who are taking up space and I really didn't care about them either. They seemed to have absolutely no purpose in this book.

I gave Amy and Isabelle three stars because sometimes, it was extremely compelling and I really couldn't believe some of the things Isabelle did to Amy. However, the bad sort of dampened my enjoyment of the book. If this review sounds mildly confusing, then that's how I basically feel. I enjoyed the book, but not really... ***

40. Wonder When You'll Miss Me-Amanda Davis

Wonder When You'll Miss Me has to be one of the most heartbreaking books I've ever read. Not only because of the plot itself, but because the author of this marvelous book passed away in a plane crash while promoting it, not long after it was published. This book (and Davis' collection of short stories) remains all that is left of Amanda Davis for us readers.

Wonder When You'll Miss me is an engaging read. It's sort of a trainwreck read where you know something bad is going to happen, yet you can't really pull yourself away. Written with wonderful prose, we readers, get catapulted into Faith's world. Faith's a girl that any teenager could identify with due to her lack of self-esteem that is originally stemmed by her weight is worsened by a brutal attack inflicted upon her by some boys from her school. Once Faith reaches the point of no return, she runs away and joins the circus.

Ahhh, the circus! Everytime I read any book that has a circus in it as a major part of the setting, I get this overwhelming need to actually go to a circus (I haven't been to one in years). I get this sense of nostalgia and have memories flooding back to me of being a kid sitting on those bleachers, entranced by the elephants and terrified of the clowns. The circus in Wonder When You'll Miss Me is less glamorous than one would hope life in a circus would be. But it is still full of wonder. You would think hearing about the same tasks that Faith performs for the circus over and over again would become tedious, but they do not. If anything, those were the parts I enjoyed the most because let's face it: every kid dreams of running away to the circus at least once during their childhood. There's just this sense of magic in the circus that no one wants to escape. A pull to something more innocent. We readers can see why Faith would be drawn to such a world.

Wonder When You'll Miss Me was a tremendous novel. You have a heroine who just breaks your heart and who you root for, regardless of the terrible thing she did. While the comic moments are few and far between, they're still there and some of them help to lighten the mood a bit. Wonder When You'll Miss Me is a book about trying to let go of your past while being confronted with it at every turn. It's a book about keeping your faith regardless.

Wonder When You'll Miss Me is a bittersweet book because it is so amazing. However, it's terrible because it is the last work we'll ever have from Amanda Davis, who you could just tell from reading this book, had tremendous talent and would've gone on to write tons of other amazing books. Never again will we be able to read her beautiful prose or have one of her amazingly developed heroines capture our hearts completely the way that Faith did. Amanda Davis' death is a tragedy not only for those who knew her, but for us as readers, and for the literary world as a whole. *****

41. The Myth of You and Me: A Novel-Leah Stewart

I have literally been wracking my brain for a way to write this review. I loved The Myth of You and Me. I guess that's why this review has been so hard for me to write. It's easier to just rip apart a book you completely hate and words come to you so easily when you try to do that. It's also easier to write a review if you liked a book you really expected not to like. I had a feeling I was going to love The Myth of You and Me, so the element of surprise that comes from loving a book you would never have read on your own in a million years, was not really present for me. My point is is that The Myth of You and Me was a wonderful novel.

In The Myth of You and Me, you're intrigued from the first page. Throwing a mystery at the beginning of the book is a sure-fire way to keep readers reading even if they hate a book because they're curious as to what the hell happened. That's what happened with me. I didn't at all hate this book, but if I'd had, I still would've kept reading because I needed to know what exactly caused the rift between Cameron and Sonia. While she's telling the story, Leah Stewart, weaves in flashback scenes of the friendship between Cameron and Sonia and we readers start getting a sense as to how strong their friendship was. That intrigues us more as we start to think "It must've been something huge that caused this". The Myth of You and Me sort of exemplifies that while strong friendships really do exist, it can take something small (or not so small) to put a kink in the armor, so to speak. Friendships are strong yet completely fragile. I really got a sense of that in this book.

When it comes to the secondary characters, I found that they were also extremely interesting. Although, Sonia's mother really takes the cake for "Most mysterious/weird Character Ever". The psychology major in me really wanted to know more about her and why exactly she was the way she was. Granted I understood that while she was a major character, she wasn't really a focal point in the whole book, so I could forgive that air of mystery that particular plot point left.

So, The Myth of You and Me was an amazing book. It was an extreme page-turner (I literally read it in one sitting) and I thought that it explored Cameron and Sonia's friendship extremely well. We got to know these women separately and as a whole and how their friendship and the consequent "breaking-up" shaped their futures and the way the were now in the present tense. The Myth of Me and You is highly recommended. *****

42. A Drink Before the War-Dennis Lehane

I've picked up my fair share of mysteries throughout my life. Frankly, when it comes to that genre, it doesn't take much to satisfy me. Give me a mildly dark, non-gory (although with this I can take or leave), whodunit and I'm happy. It doesn't need to be complicated. Just a well-written page-turner is all I ask for. And for me not to predict the whodunit before he/she actually, you know, does it (Though if I do figure it out, it must've been extremely simple because very rarely do I figure out the whodunit). For me, that's what mysteries are all about. A Drink Before the War wasn't exactly the perfect mystery, but it was still pretty damn good.

Now, the whodunit aspect of the whole mystery genre isn't really present in A Drink Before the War because in the beginning, we already have an inkling as to who exactly dunit. This book unravels what exactly they did and the consequences of those actions. The "mystery" wasn't as dark as I usually like them (think Criminal Minds dark) and wasn't what kept me reading at all. That aspect was unexpected.

Usually when I start a new mystery series, it's really the mystery that has to keep me intrigued. It's good to like and connect to the characters, but I, first and foremost, need to find the mystery intriguing. This didn't happen with A Drink Before the War. I did like (not love) the mystery, but what I loved were the characters; so much that I could ignore the lackluster mystery. Patrick (who's the narrator) was charming, smart, and funny in that self-deprecating way. It was refreshing to see a man in literature be aware of his shortcomings. Angie was pretty kick-ass in her own right especially towards the end.

Now, their romance. Everyone who knows me knows that I'm not a romance fan unless it's Young-Adult (excluding Twilight), actual chick-lit, or various fanfics. I usually end up rolling my eyes at out-and-out romances and definitely if you have a well-written novel and just add romance in it so that the blurb can include romance to the list of all that's amazing about a particular book. You know the ones that have "Intrigue, horror, and romance! What more can you possibly ask for?!" I've seen many a book ruined by having a romantic subplot just for the sake of saying it's there (The Abortionist's Daughter). And in mysteries, the person just has to fall in love with their partner because there are no want-able, single people outside the bubble of their actual workplace. But color me surprised by thinking that this romance between Patrick and Angie...actually worked. I could see why these characters would be attracted to each other and that particular subplot was [gulp:] kinda, sorta, my favorite part. This book basically has me questioning where exactly did my life get off track that I'm enjoying a romance subplot where I previously never enjoyed one before. That's a bit life-affirming. Still, I'm hoping it was a one-off.

Anyway, A Drink Before the War was a pretty good mystery. Sure the mystery aspect wasn't as dark as I like them and I found it a bit lacking (hence the four star rating and not five star), the characters are ultimately what made me enjoy this as much as I did. I'm definitely looking forward to reading the rest of the series and learning more about these characters. ****

June:

43. Peaches-Jodi Lynn Anderson

The first time I encountered the book Peaches was when I checked it out of my town's library about three and a half years ago. I read the first two chapters, immediately put it down, and said "This can't hold a candle to The Sisterhood of Traveling Pants, so why bother reading it?" So, I then brought it back to my library. A few months ago when I was book hunting at my local thrift store, I saw Peaches on the shelves for a dollar. I thought, "What the hell" and picked it up to see if maybe this time I could finish it. Well, I finally did and I have to say that my previous assessment was only half right.

Peaches dealt more with three young girls who form an unlikely friendship due to working at a peach orchard for the summer. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants was more about four young girls whom also had an unlikely bond, but we really didn't see it form. They were sort of born into it. So, while they basically had the same premise (best friends, summer, romances), they differed in the way they approached this. I liked that I got to see how Murphy, Leeda, and Birdie's friendship bloomed. It's not like it was BAM! and then they're BFFs for life. It was slow and steady, so it rang more true.

After I finished Peaches, I figured out exactly why I put it down those years ago in the first place. The first chapter starts off with Murphy and I found her extremely unlikeable the first half of the book. I don't know if she was written with the intention of being unlikeable or not, but I found her bratty, pretentious, and just all around annoying at first. She did end up growing on me by the end of the book, but she still was my least favorite of the friends. I think my favorite would have to be Leeda, but I think that's because I sympathized with her home situation more. I really wanted her to tell off her mother for basically feeling indifferent to her for her entire life. Leeda was the one for whom I wanted the most closure.

Anyway, I really liked Peaches and thought that it was the perfect summer read: sweet, fluffy, and heartwarming. Sure, it was no Sisterhood of Traveling Pants, but it was still pretty great. I'm definitely looking forward to reading the other installments to the series because I just have to (do you hear me? HAVE TO) find out what happens with Murphy, Leeda, and Birdie. ****

44. The Actor and the Housewife-Shannon Hale

Let's all be honest with ourselves for one second. We can go back to woefully lying about our lives soon. I promise. We all have those lists. You know the ones I'm talking about. The "Celebrity You Most Want to Get Stuck in an Elevator Whether It Be for Conversation or the Making Out" list (which for me includes Johnny Depp and that really cute teacher guy from Glee, who got hot out of absolutely friggin' nowhere for, of course, the making out portion. I'll get back to you with the conversation portion). We also have our "Celebrity Most Likely to Dump Your Significant Other" list, "Celebrity You'd Switch Teams For" list, and the utterly important "Celebrity You Merely Wanna Screw to Make All Your Friends Green With Envy Because You Really Are That Much Cooler Than Them and This Just Proved It" list. Like I said, we all have them. But not many of us would own up to it. The Actor and the Housewife takes that premise of ordinary, plain-Jane, regular run-of-the-mill woman who meets that oh-so-crushworthy celebrity. This gives them the perfect chance to look into each other's eyes/souls and fall deeply in love. Just one little problem. She's a happily married Mormon with 4 kids and the celebrity is, surprise surprise, not a merciless playboy, but is actually also happily married.

Okay, so I semi-kid, they didn't really fall in love at first sight. But still you imagined yourself in the Housewife's place, didn't you? The Actor and the Housewife is outlandish. This premise rarely, if ever, happens. You don't sell a screenplay your first one out and out of the blue just happen to run into a celebrity who wants to be your BFF for ever and ever and ever. It's just not possible. I don't care how close to God you are. However, even though, this would never ever ever happen to us mere mortals, that doesn't mean we can't enjoy it in Fiction world. Yes, I'll admit it. This book was just all around entertaining. The chemistry between Becky (the Housewife) and Felix (the Actor) was just so palpatable. You could just sense it. They were all types of hilarious together and I laughed out loud more than once.

Now, my favorite parts of most books are the supporting characters. Mike (the Housewife's husband) was just so supportive and so understanding and even when he wasn't that understanding, you understood where he came from and just wanted to hug him and soothe his worries. Yeah, Felix was hot (yeah I'm aware that there was no picture of him included in the book, but trust me, my imagination can do wonders), but I wanted my own personal Mike. He was just such an all-around good guy. Then we have Celeste (the Actor's wife). Sure she was a caricature of Hollywood stereotypes, but I'd be lying if I didn't say that I enjoyed her parts in the book. She was like a female Mike. So understanding and hilarious in her own right. So, the supporting characters: a big plus in this book. I loved them all.

I can't say the same about the main characters. I mean, I liked them well. But I was a bit hot and cold with Becky. One minute I loved her and the next minute I wanted to slap her because she was being so wishy-washy and in turn made me wishy-washy in regards to her character. And I HATE being wishy-washy. Felix also had his moments of annoyance. But overall, they weren't so annoying that I wished them both to get onto a bus and then have that bus "accidentally" overturn, with them being all right, but having oh-so-sadly lost the ability to think thoughts or speak or annoy. So, all was good on that front.

However, I have to add that while The Actor and the Housewife did have me turning the pages ferociously in the beginning, it did drag towards the middle. It was even more obvious since what was happening in the middle seemed basically the same that happened in the beginning with a few other variables included. It got to be a bit repetitive. I found myself thinking "This really doesn't need to be included." It made me think that a couple of things were in there just to make the book longer.

I guess what I liked most about the book was that Felix and Becky were great friends. And I'm a sucker for a good friendship story. It just solidifies my thoughts that even if you're in love and found your soulmate, it is possible to find your "friend" soulmate. Let's face it, finding a best friend is like falling in love. And sometimes you tend to spend more time with your best friend than your significant other and that can strain a relationship. Without spoiling the end of the book, let me say that I'm happy with the way The Actor and the Housewife ended. Had it ended the way I assumed it was going to end, I would've given the book two stars and started out this review with a tirade instead of a semi-funny quip about all of us having celebrity lists (no matter how true it is).

So, I definitely recommend The Actor and the Housewife. Sure, it was way out there, but it was entertaining and sweet at times. And it made me laugh (and cry a little and not in the "because you're laughing so hard" kinda way). Yay for another four star First Reads win! ****

45. Self-Murder-Robert Scott Leyse

Self-Murder was just one of those books that I assumed I was going enjoy. It's all about a character's descent into madness. The psychology major in me loves that kind of crap. Yet, no matter how much I tried (and trust me, I tried extremely hard because this was a first-reads win), I could just not get into it. Sure I finished it, but I was grumbling all the way through it.

My main gripe with Self-Murder was that I just found it utterly boring. I really can't recover from a book that I just find drool-inducing. It doesn't work that way for me. I found myself just skimming through most pages and thinking "Just get through this part, this is bound to get interesting soon". But no such luck. Again I state that a book about someone's descent into crazy-land should've been much more intriguing. Sure, there were a couple of parts that had me turning the pages at a frequent pace, but for the most part it was just meh. I also should mention that I have an intense hate of excessive exclamation points. It's just one of my pet peeves. It makes me feel as though the writer wants to show the reader exactly what they should be shocked or excited about instead of just experiencing that on their own. While this certainly wasn't the worse case of excessive exclamation points I've ever seen, it sure was up there.

Anyway, I have to say that I can't really recommend this book because I just couldn't connect with it at all. I don't know if the reader isn't supposed to connect with it or not, but regardless of that I just couldn't. And I feel so bad about that because I really (really and truly) wanted to love this book and not only because it's a First Reads win but because the premise really did sound right up my alley. But alas, it just was not meant to be. *

46. The Princetta-Anne Laure Bondoux

I also, as I'm assuming countless others did the same, picked The Princetta up solely because of the cover. Seriously, the book's marketing department deserves major kudos. I remember browsing through the YA section of my local B&N and thinking what last book to pick up (since I already had three must-haves). It was between this and another book (whose name currently evades me), but for some reason (mainly the cover), my eyes kept glancing at The Princetta. So, I decided to buy this one. Of course when I got home, I searched for the reviews on Amazon and thought I had made a terrible mistake when I saw that it was given an average rating of two and a half stars. All these reviews kept saying how terrible the book was particularly the ending. So, I was imagining that this book was going to be horrific, so I put off reading it for a while. Well, I finally picked it up and since my expectations were so incredibly low, I actually ended up really enjoying it.

I didn't think I was going to like the whole voyage storyline (yes I read the synopsis before I bought it and knew that a voyage was essential to the plot, but again I say, hello, look at the cover! Never underestimate the power of a beautiful cover...) because everytime I read a book about a sea voyage, I tend to get mildly seasick. (I'm well aware that this is weird and all in my head, but really I can't help it.) But I got sucked into the voyage like you wouldn't believe. I found myself looking forward to what island they would go to next and what terrible monsters they were going to face. I felt like a kid again who was always looking at those fantasy island maps and thinking, "I'd love to go there and fight monsters with my sword". Heh, even then there were no dreams of being a princess for me. I wanted to be right in the action.

Now the characters. I really loved Malva at the beginning. She was assertive, sure of what she wanted, and she didn't seem like the typical, whiny, pathetic, YA heroine that's sort of the norm in supernatural/Fantasy YA novels. However, after a while, she started getting all my nerves with her spoiled behavior. Seriously, you're saying that you don't want to be a princess anymore, yet you get annoyed when you're not getting the perks of the princess you so desparately don't want to be... Can you sense my confusion? But luckily, there were a slew of supporting characters that made up for the annoying princess. I loved them all. The smart, medicinal-knowledged side-kick, the mischievious yet loyal dog, the giant with the huge heart to match, the lovable twins, all great. I was a bit "meh" on Malva's romantic interest. I just didn't click with him and as a result, didn't click with their romance. But the good thing was that the romance didn't really make me roll my eyes the way others do. I guess because the big focal point of the book was the voyage itself and the romance was a subplot. Big plus for me!

I mentioned before that I thought the book was going to be terrible due to other readers' reviews about the ending. I'm not going to say what the ending is as to not spoil anyone. But I do have to say that I don't understand what's so terrible about it. Call me cynical or whatever, but if you're reading a book where a slew of characters go on a dangerous voyage, I kind of think that it's a bit obvious that not all of them are going to make it. Maybe Harry Potter 7 ruined these types of things for me (seriously, that book was bloodbath) so that I'm not shocked anymore when something like that happens. The only time I get annoyed at endings is when they come completely out of left field and you start thinking "How in the world could that possibly happen?!" But for adventure books like this one, I think that the notion that not everyone is going to make it is always a possible outcome. Plus, I don't really need the sweet, sappy, ending.

So, I have to say that I really liked The Princetta. Sure, the heroine was kind of annoying, but the awesome adventure that had me turning the pages more than made up for it. It's not my favorite YA book by any means, but I don't think it's quite deserving of the two and a half star rating it has on Amazon. If a book manages to entertain me and not throw something completely out of left field in order to "shock" the audience, then I'm happy. Maybe I'm just easy... (Not in every sense of the word, thank you very much!) ****

(There's the cover. Pretty right?)

47. Blessings-Anna Quindlen

Blessings is the second Anna Quindlen book I've read with the first being Black and Blue. Since I thought Black and Blue was so great, my expectations of Blessings were fairly high. Unfortunately, those expectations weren't necessarily met.

Don't get me wrong, I liked the premise: a baby is abandoned outside of a caretaker's garage and he then decides to keep it while simultaneously keeping it a secret. The premise is great. However, there were just so many other things mentioned that I really didn't care about. Case in point: Mrs. Blessings early life. I seriously didn't care about how she got to be that way she was. And the character of Jennifer was so unnecessary. I really couldn't get the point of her at all. My main interest were of Skip, Faith, and Mrs. Blessing (her current life, not her past one). So, the parts of the book that had these three characters together were naturally my favorite parts of the book and the ones that went by more quickly.

Another issue that I had with the book was that for a 230 page novel, this moved way to slowly. While I enjoyed the book while I was reading it, the slowness of it really didn't have me anxious to pick it back up once I put it down. However, I was anxious to finish it. So, this book was just okay. Nothing ground-breaking and wholely forgettable. ***

48. Revisions of-Goodloe Byron

Hmmm, I think I have to start out by mentioning that Revisions Of is...quirky, to say the least. It's not entirely what you would expect and now as I just finished it, I find that my thoughts are a bit muddled to as to how I felt about the book. Let's see if I can sort out my thoughts...

Revisions Of basically follows the day to day life of an average man who happens to be a biographer who is writing a biography about, you guessed it, the average man. Did this just blow your mind for a minute? If you're still with me, let's continue. When I say day-to-day life, boy do I mean it. And I guess the day-to-day life of an average man isn't always so captivating, hence, why most of the world is painfully average (I, of course, include myself in that statement). But still, I have to say that Nathan (who's the main character) has the dry sense of humor that I totally got (most of the time). And I love a man with a dry sense of humor. So that endeared me to Nathan right up until the end.

However, I do have to say that it took me a while to get used to the style of the book, which includes the muddled thoughts of Nathan. I have to ask. Is it poetic justice that I myself am muddled at this particular moment? Was that Goodloe Byron's intention, to have the readers muddled? And with it to make us realize that we are all like Nathan, that we can't really escape the stigma of being average, no matter how much we try? Or maybe I'm just over-thinking it. Anyway, like I mentioned before. It took me about fifty pages to actually get acclimated with Revisions Of. Then when I finally had to put it down (it being 2 in the morning and all) and picked it back up the next day, I had to re-acclimate myself all over again. While it didn't take as long as the first time, it still took more than a few pages.

So, ultimately, how do I feel about Revisions Of? I think it was an okay book. It wasn't my favorite, but I don't regret reading it. And it did make me chuckle out loud a couple of times and that's always a plus. It did also make me think about what exactly was Goodloe Byron's point with the book and since school's out for the summer (did I just get the song stuck in your head? Talk about poetic justice if I did), over-thinking things isn't necessarily a bad thing considering that most of the time, us college students, avoid thinking during the summer at all costs. So, I think I do recommend Revisions Of to most people, especially if you like that dry sense of humor thing.

P.S. This was a First Reads Win ***