Your's are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen.
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Seven Kingdoms #1
4/5 awesome
adventure, fantasy, love, mature
Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight-she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.
When she first meets Prince Po, Graced with combat skills, Katsa has no hint of how her life is about to change. She never expects to become Po’s friend. She never expects to learn a new truth about her own Grace-or about a terrible secret that lies hidden far away … a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.
City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
The Mortal Instruments 2
4/5 great
bookshelves: alternate views, adventure, fantasy, paranormal romance
As readers of series starter City of Bones already know, teenager Clary Fray is a Shadowhunter, a demon slayer who has the gift (?) of spotting Downworlder werewolves, vampires, and faeries. She is also an adolescent in an abnormally dysfunctional family: Her mom is in a magically induced coma and her father is probably insane and undoubtedly evil. All of which places Clary in situations that would challenge even the most talented average American girl
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** spoiler alert ** Are Clary and Jace really brother and sister? I don’t accept that and I know it can’t be true! He is a Wayland, or the Inquisitor’s grandson…they are not related. They can’t be.
Heaven Is For Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back by Todd Burpo
3/5 -good
bookshelves: non-fiction
Heaven Is for Real is the true story of the four-year old son of a small town Nebraska pastor who during emergency surgery slips from consciousness and enters heaven. He survives and begins talking about being able to look down and see the doctor operating and his dad praying in the waiting room. The family didn’t know what to believe but soon the evidence was clear.
Colton said he met his miscarried sister, whom no one had told him about, and his great grandfather who died 30 years before Colton was born, then shared impossible-to-know details about each. He describes the horse that only Jesus could ride, about how “reaaally big” God and his chair are, and how the Holy Spirit “shoots down power” from heaven to help us.
Told by the father, but often in Colton’s own words, the disarmingly simple message is heaven is a real place, Jesus really loves children, and be ready, there is a coming last battle.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
3/5 good
bookshelves: coming of age, realistic fiction, social issues
The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it, To Kill A Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also a classic.
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
2/5 okay
bookshelves: love, dystopia
Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love - the deliria - blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.
But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.
Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin
3/5 good
bookshelves: contemporary, social issues, realistic fiction
If Naomi had picked tails, she would have won the coin toss. She wouldn’t have had to go back for the yearbook camera, and she wouldn’t have hit her head on the steps. She wouldn’t have woken up in an ambulance with amnesia. She certainly would have remembered her boyfriend, Ace. She might even have remembered why she fell in love with him in the first place. She would understand why her best friend, Will, keeps calling her “Chief.” She’d know about her mom’s new family. She’d know about her dad’s fiancée. She never would have met James, the boy with the questionable past and the even fuzzier future, who tells her he once wanted to kiss her. She wouldn’t have wanted to kiss him back. But Naomi picked heads.
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I had some different thoughts each time I picked this book up.
At first I thought the narrative sounded a little teenage girl cliched. I had just stopped reading a different book for this reason, but I kept on with this one. It got better.
There was a brief part of a letter Will wrote to Naomi - complete with footnotes. There was a paragraph that made it sound like this might happen often. I really didn’t like that, but I casually flipped through the pages and there was no more of that, so I kept reading.
And third, I did not like James. And I didn’t know if I was supposed to or not. So this didn’t deter my reading at all.
I really liked this concept, very interesting. Worth reading.
Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Shadow Children #1
3/5 -good dystopia, male protagonist
Luke has never been to school. He’s never had a birthday party, or gone to a friend’s house for an overnight. In fact, Luke has never had a friend. Luke is one of the shadow children, a third child forbidden by the Population Police. He’s lived his entire life in hiding, and now, with a new housing development replacing the woods next to his family’s farm, he is no longer even allowed to go outside.
Then, one day Luke sees a girl’s face in the window of a house where he knows two other children already live. Finally, he’s met a shadow child like himself. Jen is willing to risk everything to come out of the shadows - does Luke dare to become involved in her dangerous plan? Can he afford not to?
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I vaguely remember reading this in eighth grade. It was 50 cents at Half Price Books so it was an impulse read again book.
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
3/5 like alternate views, funny, love, movie
It all starts when Nick asks Norah to be his girlfriend for five minutes. He only needs five minutes to avoid his ex-girlfriend, who’s just walked in to his band’s show. With a new guy. And then, with one kiss, Nick and Norah are off on an adventure set against the backdrop of New York City-and smack in the middle of all the joy, anxiety, confusion, and excitement of a first date.
This he said/she said romance told by YA stars Rachel Cohn and David Levithan is a sexy, funny roller coaster of a story about one date over one very long night, with two teenagers, both recovering from broken hearts, who are just trying to figure out who they want to be-and where the next great band is playing.
Told in alternating chapters, teeming with music references, humor, angst, and endearing side characters, this is a love story you’ll wish were your very own. Working together for the first time, Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have combined forces to create a book that is sure to grab readers of all ages and never let them go
The Summer of Summer by Cory Martin
2/5 -okay
alternate views, teeny bopper, tv, pop culture
Summer’s being forced to spend part of her holiday with her family at a nearby resort. Eww! It’s totally generic and so not how she wanted to spend her time. There’s no one around who’s her age and the step-monster is driving her crazy will this vacation ever end? Then a hot boy challenges her to explore something new and suddenly Summer’s forced to take a long, hard look at her own life.
Is she the person she wants to be? Or is there a new Summer just waiting to appear?
The Other Boy by Hailey Abbott
2/5 okay
beach read, teeny bopper, romance
Maddy’s Boy Pros & Cons …
Brian-Super cute / hangs with my friends / goes to my high school / my boyfriend!
David-Says I’m a spoiled princess / hates my friends / has amazing blue eyes / cooked me an unbelievable dinner / annoyingly irresistible!
Summer for Maddy Sinclaire starts as a blur of house parties and dips in the pool-until she’s caught throwing an unauthorized beachside bash. As punishment, her parents send her off to Napa Valley, where she’ll spend her free time working on the family vineyard. Even with her boyfriend, Brian, miles away, Maddy’s about to discover that the vineyard is a very romantic place. It’s vast, sunny, magical …and there’s another boy just waiting to steal her heart.
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Just your typical young adult beach read, nothing special about it. I didn’t particularly like the characters.