Top Books this Summer

     This summer, I've read a TON of great books. The order I would put these books from greatest to least is:

   1. The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May and June
   2. If Chins could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor
   3. I Am a Evil Genius and I want to be Your Class President
   4. TTYL
   5. True Believers
   6. 13 (plus one)
   7. Only the Good Die Young
   8. Teenage Wasteland

     Why is it that my favorite books this summer have such long names??? The world may never know.
     Anyways, I hope the people out there who are reading this get to read some of these books! All the books I chose ended up being super good, and I would recommend all of them, ESPECIALLY the top 3, The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May and June, If Chins could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor, and I Am a Evil Genius and I want to be Your Class President. So, if your every looking for a new book to read, or just are sitting around doing nothing, READ THESE BOOKS.
     Thanks for reading!!!

The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, and June

The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, and June, by Robin Benway, is about three sisters named April (the oldest), May (the middle child), and June (the youngest), who have all just moved from their small town to a new school, had their parents get divorced, and are just trying to fit into their new high school. But sometimes life gets hard before it gets easy, and soon these three sisters find weird things going on. April starts getting visions of earthquakes and the future, May randomly starts turning invisible, and June finds out she can read people's minds. As these sisters try to learn how to control these sudden powers and keep them a secret, April gets a vision of June in danger sometime in the future. Not knowing how to handle all this new drama to their lives, the sisters fight more then ever, and just when they need each other most, they feel the farthest apart they've ever been.
     What a great book!!! I don't want to give away to much more, cause I really want anyone whose reading this to read the book. It's AMAZING!!!! Lauren Myracle (gosh, why has that name kept poping up in all my book reviews?????) said, "What do sisters and this fabulous novel have in commen? Happiness, heart break, and hilarity." I totally agree. Even though it seems that this weird magic is pulling them apart, it ends up pulling them together with the 'magic' of sisterhood. At first, they use their powers to become happier, but as the book goes on, they realize that doing that wouldn't last for long and soon you'll be heartbroken. They're only happy when they've made nice with each other and feel like they're showing the world the real them.
    Wonderful job Robin Benway! Entertaining till the end, holding you tight, and as the Muse Reviews says, "Packed with LOL moments". Robin, I have to say, you made each and everyone of those sisters so real and such individual characters, but also let us see how they 'mesh' together. Also, superb writing. Great balance of the sisterhood views. I'm gonna have to try reading your other book, Audrey, Wait!
     The sisterhood magic makes this book so wonderful,
     So I'm gonna give this book a 9.
     As the Compulsive Reader says, You won't want to let go of April, May, and June.

Thirteen (plus one)

      Thirteen (plus one) is another good book by Lauren Myracle I read this summer. It's the latest book in the Winnie series after Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen. When the author came to Paideia to talk about writing, she mentioned that she wasn't going to be able to name her next book Fourteen because then they would of put it in a different place on the shelves at store and library than the other books in the series.
     In this book, Winnie and her two best friends, Cinnamon and Dinah, are all at a summer camp at the beach that teaches them about sea turtles and how to try to save them. During the book, Cinnamon and Dinah both fall for different boys at the camp, even though Cinnamon has sworn off boys after her last relationship. Winnie and her boyfriend back home, Lars, get in fights over the phone and Winnie feels like things between them haven't been right after her birthday came with disappointment towards Lars. On top of that, why is this boy at camp flirting with her? Winnie feels overwhelmed with boys this summer in Thirteen (plus one).
     Perhaps a little to much, if you ask me. I think this book is a little to 'boy themed'. It doesn't really show any 'girl power' and makes it seem like all girls think about is boys. I'm not saying Lauren Myracle isn't a good writer, I think she's an amazing one, but I think that she could of pushed the book towards the importance of friendship, not having a boyfriend.
     Still, I thought this book was really good. The ending was soooo sweet, and the turtle camp seemed like the kind of camp that a lot of people would want to go to. One thing I love about Myracle's writing is that all her books are based in Atlanta, since thats where she grew up. It's a nice thing to relate to and makes her books have a connection to you (if your from Atlanta).
     I would give this book a 7.
     It was good, and I would read it if you like Myracle, but it could of been better.

ttyl

ttyl by Lauren Myracle is about 3 friends, known by their screen names, "mad maddie", "SnowAngel", and "zoegirl" all going through high school problems and dealing with their friendships. The whole book is over different chats online and is fabulously put together.
     "Mad Maddie" is a wild, fun, crazy girl who is one of the only sophomores who can drive yet, and has started to spend some time with the most popular girl in school, Jena, who spills secrets like nobody's business.
     "SnowAngel" has always been the peppy one, always the one ready to cheer the others up. She ends up falling for the wrong guy and getting sent to the dumps.
     "Zoegirl" is a quiet, shy, good girl who finds herself up in over her head and not knowing what to do with a flirty teacher.
     This book is amazing!!! It's entirely over instant messaging, which makes it very unique and different. Lauren Myracle has always been a favorite author of mine, but this book tops all the other ones I've read by her. It really captures all their different voices, but still has them united as one. The stuff they talk about online is usally normal: shopping, boys, school; but they also end up with some not so tpyical problems, like the flirty teacher and getting a shot of you half naked sent to the entire school.
      I really liked this book's style and plot,
      So I'm gonna give it an 8.
      I highly recommend it!!!

Runaways: True Believers

    True Believers, the 4th book in the Runaway series, is about the Runaway's finding out about their possible future and what they must do to stop it. It begins with them getting a visit from the futuristic Gert telling them they have to stop a boy named Victor from growing up and taking over the world. Once they track down Victor, they find out he's actually quite normal and loves super heroes. But as the story moves on and the runaways decide to let Victor join them, Victor finds his powers and finds out about his real father and how his mother is in danger. With the Runaway's help, he tracks down the evil villain who has his mother and destroys his father. The Runaway decide that Victor would be more dangerous against him than with him, so Victor becomes part of their group.
     I thought this book was pretty good. It helps set up the rest of the series as they try to protect something bigger than them, and also goes into the whole trying-to-control-your-fate category. It held you tight at every twist and turn and was quite action packed, yet it felt like it was missing something. I thought that they could of gone deeper into Victor's past and maybe even deeper into Gurt's future self.
     Still, overall, it was a really good book.
     I would give it an 8.

If Chins could Kill: Confessions of a B Moive Actor

          If Chins could Kill: Confessions of a B Moive Actor By Bruce Campbell if an AMAZING book. Its an autobiography, and we all know how boring those can be. But this one is about Bruce's life as an actor that's in tons of movies, like the gym teacher in Sky High, the American spy in Cars 2, the mayor in Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and the star, Ash, in the classic old horror film, The Evil Dead. Turns out he's one of those guys that's isn't as famous as people like Judy Garland or Charlton Heston, but tons of people still know, and love, him and his acting.
     This book is about his life and the tough world of acting. He goes through him and his friends filming the The Evil Dead deep in the woods of Tennessee, facing the challenges of staring in a movie that involves tons of fake blood, and trying to make it into Hollywood.
     When this book was written, it was before Campbell was in Sky High, Cars 2, Ant Bully, and some other low key films. Bruce Campbell is currently co-staring on the USA show, Burn Notice. His book, If Chins could Kill, was a New York Times bestseller, and he has another book out, called Make Love the Bruce Campbell Way.
      I would give this book a 9.
      LOVED it. It's the kind of book you never want to end.







                           


                                                                               (what a chin!!! perhaps one that could.......kill????)

Only the Good Die Young

    Only the Good Die Young, a Graphic Novel written by Brian K. Vaughan and drawn by Jo Chen, is the third book in the Runaways series, about 6 kids on the run who are trying to stop their evil parents from destroying the world. The runaways are in for a surprise this book though, as they find out that one of them is a traitor and is leaking information to their parent secret group, the Pride. As the story moves on and the runaways find out more and more about the Pride's past, the runaways aren't sure of who is telling the truth and who isn't. As the final battle between the Pride and the runaways comes to and end, the truth is shown and the runaways find out the traitor and defeat the Pride.
     I thought that this book was really well thought out and very well written. The ending was a total shocker when I found out who the traitor was, it totally took me by surprise. They were actually my second favorite character in the books so far, so when they stood proud to the Pride, I was in disbelief. Brian K. Vaughan did such a good job writing this book because even though I knew it was fiction, the distrust and surprise felt so real to me.
     BUT Brian was also able to make the joy and laughter of the runaways seem real as well. He really was able to highlight ALL the emotions and give you a connection to these kids. He showed you the belief, the doubt, the rejection, and the desire.
     I'd give this book and 8.5.
     Superb quality, Brian. Good Job.