1st in a Series Challenge Update

Here's my update on this challenge. Remember I'm so far trying for the fascinated level. One down 5 to go : )

1. How to Ruin a Summer Vacation by Simone Elkeles
2. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld
3. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
4. Tithe by Holly Black
5. The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
6. The Awakening by L.J. Smith

Friday Finds (01/29/10)

Friday Finds at the Store is a meme hosted by Jennay at My Tea Time is Book Time. It is totally easy and everyone can join. Basically just post the books you found at the bookstore or library. Now others can see the great finds you had and maybe they will pick it up on their next bookstore/library run. HAPPY readings!!!

From the back cover of Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar

Welcome to New York City's Upper East Side, where my friends and I live, go to school, play, and sleep---sometimes with each other.

S is back from boarding school, and if we aren't careful, she's going to win over our teachers, wear that dress we couldn't fit into, steal our boyfriends' hearts, and basically ruin our lives in a major way.

I'll be watching closely. I'll be watching all of us. It's going to be a wild and wicked year. I can smell it.

xoxo,
gossip girl

What did you find???

(both books were bought from a store called FullyBooked)

***Now go and grab your fave cup of tea or because it's Laurie Halse Anderson month...Laurie's fave: Earl Grey Tea (or whatever beverage you prefer) and HAPPY readings***

Review: Lock and Key

Title: Lock and Key
Author: Sarah Dessen
ISBN/Publisher: 978-0-14-241472-9/Speak (part of Penguin)
Age Group/Genre: Young Adult

Ruby's mom walked out on her and left Ruby to live in a house without running water or heat for a couple of months. Seventeen year old Ruby tries to keep her mom's disappearance on the down low because she's going to be eighteen soon, which means legally...she is free. However, the landlords discover Ruby and no mom, on their land just a few months shy of her bday.

Now, social service's place her in the care of her older, estranged sister, Cora and Cora's successful husband, Jamie. Ruby is moved into a beautiful home, where she will receive private school education, and on the possible upside...there's a cute neighbor boy, who happens to be the same age as her. However, all these great things are around her, but she still can't let down her guard because she has never had to depend on anyone, but herself.

Will Ruby let people into her life???

Hmmm...Sarah Dessen is an amazing author and does it again!!! This is a book about friendship and family. It is somewhat heartbreaking, but at the same time, I got this warm fuzzy feeling because the moral of the story was sweet.

I would have to say that Lock and Key is totally character plot driven and these are my type of stories. Ruby, Cora, Jamie, Nate, and the minor characters are the ones that build the novel. I wanted to be in this story. Ruby, yes...struggles with accepting people, but as the reader you want to push her and protect her from situations. Then, there's Nate...a good guy. Probably the cute neighbor that every girl wants. And then, we get Cora and Jamie...they remind me of my sister and brother-in-law. They're loving and caring and would help their family no matter what.

It is a beautifully written story and if you're a fan of Sarah Dessen, I promise you won't be disappointed. I will continue to follow Mrs. Dessen and her characters...no matter how old I get!

Favorite lines...

Leaving was easy. It was everything else that was so damned hard. page 202

"My point is, there are a lot of people in the world. No one ever sees everything the same way you do; it just doesn't happen. So when you find one person who gets a couple of things, especially if they're important ones...you might as well hold on to them. You know?" page 312
It's a lot easier to be lost than found. It's the reason we're always searching, and rarely discovered---so many locks, not enough keys. page 365

What is family? They were the people who claimed you. In good, in bad, in parts or in whole, they were the ones who showed up, who stayed in there, regardless. It wasn't just about blood relations or shared chromosomes, but something wider, bigger. [...] we had many families over time. Our family of origin, the family we created, as well as the groups you moved through while all of this was happening: friends, lovers, sometimes even strangers. None of them were perfect and we couldn't expect them to be. You couldn't make any one person your world. The trick was to take what each could give you and build a world from it. page 400

My Rating:

(This book was bought at a store called FullyBooked)

***Now go and grab your fave cup of tea or because it's Laurie Halse Anderson month...Laurie's fave: Earl Grey Tea (or whatever beverage you prefer) and HAPPY readings***

And the Winner is...

Sorry you guys!!! I have been slacking on my blog. It's been a verrrrry busy month. Lots of homework, golf tournaments, and relatives in town (and more to come). But I finally picked the winner.

The winner of my 100 follower giveaway is...Stacie!!!

(I used Random.org to determine the winner)

***I already sent out an email to her and she will have one week from today to respond, or else I shall pick a new winner***

***Now go and grab your fave cup of tea or because it's Laurie Halse Anderson month...Laurie's fave: Earl Grey Tea (or whatever beverage you prefer) and HAPPY readings***

Friday Finds (01/22/10)

Friday Finds at the Store is a meme hosted by Jennay at My Tea Time is Book Time. It is totally easy and everyone can join. Basically just post the books you found at the bookstore or library. Now others can see the great finds you had and maybe they will pick it up on their next bookstore/library run. HAPPY readings!!!

From the back cover of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling

Ever since Harry Potter had come home for the summer, the Dursleys had been so mean and hideous that all Harry wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he's packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature who says that if Harry returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike.

And strike it does. For in Harry's second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously stuck-up new professor and a spirit who haunts the girls' bathroom. But then the real trouble begins---someone is turning Hogwarts students to stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possibly be Hagrid, whose mysterious past is finally told? Or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts suspects...Harry Potter himself!

From the back cover of Sweethearts by Sara Zarr

As children, Jennifer Harris and Cameron Quick were both social outcasts. They were also each other's only friend. So when Cameron disappeared without warning, Jennifer thought she'd lost the one person who would ever understand her. Now in high school, Jennifer has been transformed. Known as Jenna, she is popular, happy, and dating---everything "Jennifer" couldn't be. But she still can't shake the memory of her long-lost friend.

When Cameron suddenly reappears, they both are confronted with memories of their shared past and the drastically different paths their lives have taken.

What did you find???

(both books were bought from a store called FullyBooked)

***Now go and grab your fave cup of tea or because it's Laurie Halse Anderson month...Laurie's fave: Earl Grey Tea (or whatever beverage you prefer) and HAPPY readings***

Review: Postcards From No Man's Land

Title: Postcards From No Man's Land
Author: Aidan Chambers
ISBN/Publisher: 978-0-14-240788-2/Speak (Part of Penguin)
Age Group/Genre: Young Adult
Awards: Michael L. Printz Award; Carnegie Medal (UK); Andersen Award (Italy)

Postcards From No Man's Land is a coming-of-age story, war, love, and families. But most importantly, Aidan Chambers interweaves two parallel stories to make one beautiful novel.

Seventeen year old Jacob Todd leaves London and goes to Holland to attend a memorial service for those who died in the World War II battle of Arnhem. He is going to honor his Grandfather, Jacob Todd, who was wounded in the battle and never made it back home to England. Soldier Jacob was taken care of in Holland by Geertrui during the war. And Geertrui is the one that wants young Jacob to come and visit Holland during this time. We learn about Geertrui's life and what it was like during the last months of World War II. We find out about the discovery of love in modern day Amsterdam, as well as love during WWII.

But it's not all about love. We see the explorations of sexuality in a young man's life. But more seriously, the author includes the topic of assisted deaths. Young Jacob, is thrown into Geertrui's life when she is dealing with terminal cancer and is planning an assisted death. Geertrui's daughter and grandson are having problems with young Jacob being around during this time.

So, why is it so important that Jacob is with Geertrui at the time leading up to her planned death?

I'll be honest, I picked this book up originally because I loved the cover and the pages of this book. I didn't really expect much, but the fact that one of my Goodreads friends highly recommended it. And I really did enjoy this novel.

As a reader, we get a taste of Amsterdam life from a visitors point of view. The author shows us the cultures and customs and how they mix together between an English teenage boy and the Dutch citizens. I really enjoyed how Young Jacob had to find out his family history to figure out and find his true identity. It goes to show that knowing where you come from is an important when figuring out yourself as a person. In the end, I was very impressed with the authors ability to change the story from present to past and past to present. (But if I had to choose my favorite...I loved Gertruii's story).

A few favorite lines...

You have to know you own truth and stick to it. And never despair. Never give up. There's always hope. page 42

Here is memory. For me now there is only memory. Memory and pain. All life is memory. Pain is of now, forgotten as soon as gone. But memory lives. And grows. And changes too. page 106

Ordinary people's bravery. T me that's real bravery. But you don't get medals for it or monuments put up for it. page 217

My Rating:

(This book was bought at a store called FullyBooked)

***Now go and grab your fave cup of tea or because it's Laurie Halse Anderson month...Laurie's fave: Earl Grey Tea (or whatever beverage you prefer) and HAPPY readings***

Friday Finds (01/15/10)

Friday Finds at the Store is a meme hosted by Jennay at My Tea Time is Book Time. It is totally easy and everyone can join. Basically just post the books you found at the bookstore or library. Now others can see the great finds you had and maybe they will pick it up on their next bookstore/library run. HAPPY readings!!!

From the inside flap of Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before---and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Now this wasn't so much of a find at a store, but rather I found a package on the kitchen table when I woke up. So I need to definitely give a shout out to Alyssa, Jake, and Gregory over at Teens Read and Write because I won this book from their blog. So thank you very much!!! And I love the bookmarks you sent with them : )

What did you find???

***Now go and grab your fave cup of tea or because it's Laurie Halse Anderson month...Laurie's fave: Earl Grey Tea (or whatever beverage you prefer) and HAPPY readings***
P.S. don't forget to enter my 100 Follower Giveaway