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.

I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I want to be your Class President

I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I want to be your Class President by Josh Lieb is a funny, smart, and great book. It's about a kid, Oliver, who's in 7th grade and is amazingly smart but acts really dumb. Everyone who knows him thinks he's stupid, even his parents, when really he's the 3rd richest man in the world, has a secret lair under his house, cameras around the school, and a Russian dog who can load and fire an armor-piercing missile. Oliver's fine with acting dumb if it means he can keep his secret fortune, but when his dad says that he doesn't think Oliver could win class president, Oliver decides he's up for the challenge winning while keeping the same reputation of being clueless.
      Josh Lieb is a hilarious author. Turns out he's also an Emmy-winning Executive Producer of The Daily show with Jon Stewart, and has also worked on The Simpsons and NewsRadio.
      I thought the book was excellent and super funny. The plot was really good as well, but I didn't really like the ending. It was weird how he goes off, showing his true feeling, and then decides to pee his pants to get everyone to go back to believing that he's stupid. It was also a bit of a cliff hanger, but at the back it says that Josh Lieb is working on the next book, so hopefully it will fill in the gap the ending left you.
      But over all: great book. Highly recommend it.
      I'm gonna give it a 7.

The Runaways: Teenage Wasteland

     Runaways is a series about 6 kids who find out their parents are all part of a evil secret society called The Pride. The Pride is trying to help these monsters turn the world into a wonderful safe garden, but to do so, they have to wipe out mankind. Once all the kids: Alex, Nico, Chase, Gert, Molly, and Karoline, find out these horrible things about their parents, they run away and try to find out a way to over throw their parents. The thing is, their parent all have superpowers, but the runaways then realize they have powers also.
     Teenage Wasteland is the 2nd book in the Runaways series, the 1st one I read at school during our graphic novel course. Teenage Wasteland is an amazing book that reflects on the teenagers trying to find out more about The Pride and how they can stop it. They also get a visit from Cloak and Dagger, who think that the runaways are the bad guys. This results in a huge fight thats one of the first times the kids get to test out their newly discovered powers.
     The graphics are amazing in this book. Takeshi Miyazawa, the person who does the pictures, can really work her magic with a pencil. Also, Brian K. Vaughan, the writer, is very creative and has thought out this story to every twist and turn. His style of showing you the Runaways for most of the book and then giving you a few pages to show you how the parents (who make up The Pride) are doing now that they know their own children are trying to destroy what they've build up for them and how willing they are to fight back. Great Job Brian! Keep up the good work.
     I'd give it a 6.5.
     Next comes Only the Good Die Young, which I've heard has great reviews and has something to do with one of the Runaways being loyal to the Pride, risking the lives of the other Runaways...

A Good Book

     Another super great book is Maximum Ride. Well, it's actually a series, but it's still great. I highly recommend it. It's about a group of 6 kid who call themselves the flock: Angel, Gazzy, Nudge, Iggy, Fang, and Max. The kids are part human, part bird, but the only bird part about them are the wings that they fly with. The flock leader, Max, and the other 5 are all on the run from these part human, part wolves people called Erasers. The Erasers are the guards at this place called the School, which is where the flock was created and where they escaped from. This series is all about them fighting, hiding, and running from the Erasers and trying to figure out who their parents are, all while trying to save the world. Great books, I know you'll love them.

A Good Book

     The Time Traveler's Wife is one of the best books I've ever read. It's a love story where this young girl named Claire keeps meeting her future husband when he keeps uncontrollably time traveling back to her. It's an amazing story and is very well written. At first, I thought it was just following Henry, the time traveler, but later on I realized that it was following Claire: starting with Claire growing up and first meeting Henry, Claire as a teen and realizing that Henry's first visit to her, not Claire's first time seeing Henry was coming up, Claire and Henry getting married. Henry's path is so confusing, but we just see Claire make one slow climb. The ending's so sad, but it was worth it since this is one of the best books of all time. I highly recommend it.

Hush Hush Trailer

Click on the thing below to see the trailer.

Here's my hush hush trailer I made myself. enjoy!!!

A Good Book

     Mocking Jay, the final book in the Hunger Games series, is quite a thriller. Katniss must decide her role in the new battle in Pamen that could possibly wipe out all of mankind if not ended soon. But Katniss still feels like there's secrets she's not being told. Also, Katniss must even make one of the biggest choices of her life: Peeta or Gale? Who will she choose? Find out in the final book, Mocking Jay.

A Good Book

     In the follow up book to the Hunger Games, called Catching Fire, Katniss thinks she and Peeta are safe now. Then why does she feel like the Games have only just begun? Katniss now has some important choices to make now, with two boys, Gale and Peeta. Also, she has to convince the whole country of Pamen that she's insanely in love with Peeta or the consequence could mean a certain fate...

A Good Book

     The Hunger Games in one of the best books I've ever read. It's fast-paced, thrilling, and completely amazing writing. The author, Suzanna Collins, is one of the best writers I've ever read from. I've also read her other series, Gregor the Overlander, before I read the Hunger Games, and I have to say that they were both amazing.
     The Hunger Games is about a girl, Katniss, who gets chosen to compete in a horrible contest called the Hunger Games were 24 kids must fight to the death, and the winner gets tons of money and glory. Katniss may actually stand a chance in these games, but then Peeta throws a wrench into plans that could cost or save her life...

A Good Book

Hush Hush was a really good book. The book's about Nora having this guy in a ski keep showing up in her life and doing creepy things. Nora also has this new guy, Patch, seeming like he's almost stalking her. But when the guy in the ski mask keeps showing up and pushing Nora to the edge, Patch seems like the only one with answers. Will Nora chose to go to Patch, or turn to Eliot, this guy who seems nice but also like he wants to be way more then friends?
Find out in Hush Hush.

The Angel Factory

     Gip is a very interesting character in the book The Angel Factory. He's a very clam and relaxed kind of guy and has a mom who doesn't really care about him at all. When I found out that he was actally an angel and was there just so the other angels with more power could test Thomas and see if he was good enough to help the project, I was pretty suprised.
     I finished the book the other day, but I have to say it wasn't that good of a book. Like I said before, the plot was good but the writing wasn't the best it could of been. The ending was a disappointment when he says no to the project and then it's like all of the sudden everything's back to normal and they change all the angels, including Thomas' parents, into humans. It was just like you have all this climax leading up to Thomas barley doing anything and then they just give him back his old life. I mean, can I get a boring??? I don't want to be  mean, but this book could be a lot longer if the author put more work into it. And why did he have to have Gip come back to life and try to kill Thomas??? It was just a bad ending overall. Sorry Terence Blacker, but you need a better editor.

The Angel Factory

  The Angel Factory by Terence Blacker is a pretty good book so far. The main character, Thomas, finds out that his whole family: his mom, his dad, his sister, and even his dog are all angels. Then he finds out that with the help of his friend Gip, a boy with secret hideaways and a crazy mom, that he's adopted.
     So far my view on this book is that is has a great plot, but not the best writing. It's a little to fast paced and he seems to get over and move on a little to quickly. It's like he doesn't really care that his family has been lying to him but he wants to make a big deal about it anyway.
     One question thats been tugging at the back of my mind is about Amy, Thomas' sister. Thomas' parents said that angels can't reproduce, so where did Amy come from? My idea is that she came from an angel factory, which they haven't talked about at all over the course of the book.
     I'm going to try to finish the book this weekend, so wish me luck!!!

Hush Hush

  Patch is one of the most interesting characters in Hush Hush. At the first part, he's just a flirty bio partner that blends into the background. But as the story goes on, Nora and Vee want to know more and more as they find out less and less. His permanent record is totally blank, and when Nora asks him about himself, all he says is,"I have a dark past." The thing that gives her the most information on Patch is when she sees the V-shaped scars on his back, and with the help of the internet, she figures out he's a Fallen Angel. But why does he have such interest in Nora thought, when she's just a regular human? Wrong. She's much more then that to Patch, and Nora is desperately trying to find out what, why, and most important, how she feels towards Patch.

Angels

Links to Other Blogs

Eli: http://www.erootbeer.blogspot.com/
Nico: http://fuzzycutebees.blogspot.com/
Kendall: http://thereviewfromsaturday.blogspot.com/
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Ellery: http://celerybooks.blogspot.com/
Courtney: http://angelsnzombies2011.tumblr.com/
Michael: http://zombielibrary.tumblr.com/
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Reed: http://reedlybooknews.tumblr.com/
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Annice: http://bilboreadingblog.blogspot.com/
Will: http://thereadingrevolution.tumblr.com/
Alec: http://sebastianunderthesea.blogspot.com/

Hush Hush

    I finally finished Hush Hush!!! I'm glad I wasn't reading it during the night though, it would have been a problem getting to sleep because of the creepy feeling it leaves you afterwards. Like what Patch exactly did to Dabria and what going to happen to Eliot. When the bag-lady gets shot, all your attention goes to hoping that Nora going to get out of there alive. I love how at the end it wraps up back to the first part and back to the sex ed classroom, and how you totally don't expect who's under the ski mask. Of course, I can't tell you who it was. Your going to have to read it to find out, but trust me, it's worth it.

  Here’s a picture of the next book, Crescendo.

Some Books I Would Like to Read

Here's a quick list of books that look really good to me.

Angels and Demons
Animal Farm 
Glass Mountain
Crime and Punishment
Alex Rider
Prom Nights from Hell
I am Messenger

Hush Hush

      Hush Hush is such a good book. Something that really stands out to me is Vee and Nora's relationship. She and Nora are so close that Nora describes their friendship as "an invisible thread that ties them together" (p.9). Vee and Nora have been relying a whole lot on each other. Like, for example, Nora uses Vee's car a lot and spend the night at each other's houses when the other one's scared about the guy in the ski mask.
      Vee has a very important role in this book. She trust Eliot, the one who possibly is under the ski mask, but doesn't like Patch. Nora used to not trust Patch, but now it seems like he's the only one with answers. Vee hates Nora's trust and faith in Patch, but Vee still wants Nora to live an exciting life. Patch is Nora's first boy she's ever been interested in, and one of Vee wishes for Nora is that she'll have sex. Vee is almost Nora's opposite, but the one thing they agree on is that they have to find out who under the ski mask.

Hush Hush

     Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick is a great book so far. It's told from the view of Nora, who keeps running into this freaky guy in a ski mask who jumps in front of her car, beats up her friend, breaks into her room, and makes her feel like he or she is following her all the time. On top of that, she gets paired with a person named Patch in Bio who has a dark past seems to like her so much that he might be stalking her. Her 'friend' Eliot likes Nora as well, and seemed like the best guy in the world until Nora found out he was part of a murder investigation. Is it possible Patch or Eliot is the person behind the ski mask?

     So far, this book gives off a sense of mystery and excitement as you think of everything going on. It also gives off some comedy like, for example, when Nora and her friend Vee are out eating mexican (p.74)

     "He'd better bring chips soon," said Vee. "I'll break out in hives if I don't eat something salty within the next forty-five seconds. And anyway, the first three letters in the word diet should tell you what I want it to do."

    

     I'm now at p.104 in the book. I'm hoping to get to p.250 by tonight. Were suppose to have it finished by Tuseday, so lets hope I can do it!!!

Top 10 Books

1. The Hunger Games
2. Maximum Ride
3. Harry Potter
4. The Time Traveler's Wife
5. The Book Thief
6. The Odyssey
7. Watership Down
8. The Outsiders
9. Daniel X
10. The Iliad

Some Great Book Blogs

Book Blogs and A list of top 50 Books blogs by Blog Rank

Both of those blogs have links to lots of other book blogs.   The first one has a lot the choices, but they weren't all that great. It also let you ask questions that any follower can answer, so the answer might not be true or not. The second didn't have as many choices, but they were all really good.

Dear Author | Romance, Historical, Contemporary, Paranormal, Young Adult, Book reviews, industry news, and commentary from a reader's point of view

This blog is really good, and is super helpful if you want to look deeper into the book. Something that sets it apart from other book blogs is that it writes it reviews in the form of a letter to the author. Then, at the end, it gives you some info on the author.

My Friend Amy

This blog is great!!! It tends to start off with a quote from the book before moving in to the parts of the book the blogger really liked before going into the parts that the blogger didn't like. This blog is great for pros and cons!!!

The Book Smugglers

I bet my litature teacher would love this blog!!! I'm pretty sure they spoofed the name off of the book The Book Thief (by Markus Zusak). It's co-writen by two authors, which makes it better than just one person doing it. For Example, if one person gave a bad review of a book, you still might read it, but if two people did, than you probably wouldn't. I love this blog so check it out!!!