My rating: 6 out of 10 stars
*language, sexual inference
To check this read out at NOLS, click HERE!
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Showing posts with label family. Show all posts
Monday, May 13, 2013
Requiem, by Lauren Oliver (2013)
My rating: 6 out of 10 stars
*language, sexual inference
To check this read out at NOLS, click HERE!
Friday, May 3, 2013
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Compound, by S. A. Bodeen (2008)
My rating: 7 out of 10 stars
*creepy parts about "Supplements"
To check this read out from NOLS, click HERE!
The Host, by Stephenie Meyer (2008)
My rating: 6 out of 10 stars
*long, long, long
To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!
The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky (1999)
My rating: 10 out of 10
*language, sexual references, risky behavior
To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
Prodigy, by Marie Lu (2013)
**Plot spoiler if you have
not read Legend!**
Following Legend, Prodigy takes up where the Republic's most wanted criminal, Day, and the Republic's most celebrated prodigy, June Iparis, left off - hitching a ride on a train bound for the military city of Las Vegas. Nine days have passed since they broke out of Batalla Hall and escaped Los Angeles. Day wants to join up with the Patriots to rescue his little brother, Eden.
"You're really set on finding the Patriots,
aren't you?"
Elector Primo has died and his son, Anden Stavropoulous, is the new Elector.
The Republic has simply moved on to the next Elector without skipping a beat, as if Anden were the same person as his father. My head swims - I try to remember what I'd learned in school about choosing a new Elector. The Elector always picked his successor, and a national election would confirm it. It's no surprise that Anden is next in line - but our Elector has been in power for decades, long before I was born. Now he's gone.
Our world has shifted in a matter of seconds.
June and Day find the Patriot's leader, Razor. Although they don't have any money to offer, they're still valuable to the Patriots.
"There is something you can offer," he starts. "Fortunately you've arrived on a very interesting night."
"Rarely has the Republic been as vulnerable as it is now. There will never be a better time to spark a revolution."
The Patriots want Day and June to assassinate the new 20-year old Elector.
Will they accomplish this mission? Who can they trust? Will they survive? This is a great read if you like action, drama, and political intrigue. In my opinion, Prodigy is a more exciting read than book 1, Legend.
Rating: 7 out of 10 stars
*mild language
To check this read out at NOLS, click HERE!
Monday, February 11, 2013
Wild Boy: The Real Life of the Savage of Averyron, by Mary Losure (March 2013)
The first time people saw the wild boy, he was about 9 years old. When he was around 10 years old, he was caught by a group of woodsmen and displayed in the village square. He managed to escape and return to the forest. Later, he was captured again, but instead of being put on display, he stayed with a poor old widow who lived in a cottage on the edge of the village. For 8 days he was treated with kindness. He escaped again.
He was less fearful of people because he realized they might give him food.
In January 1800, he was caught again. Rumors had spread across the countryside about a wild boy, and officials wanted to know if it was true. They also realized that scientists in Paris would be very, very interested in studying a real wild human.
The wild boy was 12 years old when he was caught stealing food from a garden. Many believed he was deaf and mute. Should he be in an orphanage? An insane assylum? A school of deaf and mute children? For many years, the wild boy was treated not as a human, but as a specimen. Until a hero came to teach him.
Wild Boy was an interesting read about the true story of a wild boy found in southern France in the late 1700s.
Rating: 8 out of 10 stars
Not available at NOLS...yet!
Dust Lands Book 2: Rebel Heart, by Moira Young (2012)
Picking up the story where Blood Red Road left off, Jack is on his way to tell Ike's girl the bad news. He's headed to a tavern in the storm belt called The Lost Cause. All he wants to do is tell Molly, and then get back to Saba in Big Water.
The Tonton used to be dirty, rough, violent thugs, but now they are clean cut, organized. This makes Jack feel uneasy.
It means that the enemy have changed their game.
The Tonton follow the Pathfinder and work to make his vision for New Eden come true. Young, healthy adults are branded on their forehead to populate and New Eden. These landgrabbers are called Stewards of the Earth, miracles to heal the earth. Everyone else is eliminated or enslaved. Homesteads are forcibly taken, family members are murdered.
Saba wants to meet Jack in Big Water, but things don't go as planned as they start their journey. First a disturbing message from Maeve from Jack. Then Saba learns that the Pathfinder put a price on her head. She is haunted by the ghost of Epona. And she has an unusual attraction to the Pathfinder, Seth.
Read Rebel Heart to find out what happens to Jack and Saba. Even though there are parts of the book that aren't ever answered, like when Ariel tried to help Saba with her demons, it's still a good read.
Rating: 6 out of 10 stars
* inferences of rape, prostitution, sexual references, language
To check this read out at NOLS, click HERE!
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, by Seth Grahame-Smith (2010)
I was still bleeding...my hands shaking.
Seth Grahame-Smith wanted to be an author. He worked at a five and dime while growing up in Rhinebeck, New York - home ot the oldest inn in America. After he graduated from college, he planned to work at the store for nine months, during that time he'd work on his unpublished novel. Nine years later, he has abandoned writing.
Henry has been coming to the store for a year.
"Why did you abandon it?"
Seth couldn't help but feel that another conversaton was going on.
The last time Henry came into the store, he gave a small package to Seth. Inside brown paper and twine were 10 leather-bound books. Journals from the Great Emancipator, Abraham Lincoln.
For 17 months, Seth sacrificed everything for those 10 books.
This novel is the story...
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars
*language, smoking
To check this read out at NOLS, click HERE!
Wednesday, January 2, 2013
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, by Jennifer E. Smith (2012)
The past two years have been hard on seventeen-year old Hadley Sullivan. Her father, a poetry professor, was offered a once-in-a-lifetime chance - a fellowship at Oxford University. Ever the homebody, he didn't want to go, but Hadley's mom convinced him he should go. After all, it was only for four months.
Flash forward two years. Hadley's parents are divorced and her father is remarrying a woman Hadley's never met. Hadley is still angry with her father for leaving her and her mother.
This is where this novel begins. Hadley is preparing to make the trip to London for her father's wedding. She does not want to go. After a series of mishaps and an argument with her mom as she dropped Hadley off at the airport, Hadley missed her flight.
Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?
Luckily, she gets a seat on the next flight which departs three hours later. And Hadley's whole world changes.
The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight is a sweet romantic story about Hadley and Oliver. I really enjoyed the references to Charles Dickens' Our Mutual Friend. If you like romance novels, you'll enjoy this one!
Rating: 7 out of 10 stars
To check this read out at NOLS, click HERE!
Thursday, December 27, 2012
The Evolution of Mara Dyer, by Michelle Hodkin (2012)
Mara Dyer can't remember anything after seeing her ex-boyfriend, Jude, appear at the police station. But she is sure she saw him. She learns that she's in a hospital.
"It became an emergency situation, so under the Baker Act, your parents were able to consent for you."
I whispered so I wouldn't scream. "What are you saying?"
"I'm sorry, but you've been involuntarily committed."
Mara knows that she isn't okay. Her family and Noah are afraid for her safety, but while Noah believes her, her family thinks Mara just might be truly mentally ill. The Evolution of Mara Dyer will make goosebumps rise on your arms as you feel Mara come unraveled. If you liked The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, you'll love the second book!
Rating: 7 out of 10 stars
*language, sexual references, rape
To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Between Shades of Gray, by Ruta Sepetys (2011)
Fifteen-year old Lina Vilkas was taken from her home as she was getting ready for bed by the NKVD, the Soviet Secret Police. Her family was given 20 minutes to pack. Her father is missing.
"Promise me that if anyone tries to help you, you will ignore them. We will resolve this ourselves. We must not pull family or friends into this confusion, do you understand? Even if someone calls out to you, you must not respond."
Almost a year before, Lina's home country, Lithuania, was annexed into the USSR. Others were rounded up and put into a truck with Lina, her mother, and her younger brother, Jonas. Lina learns that her mother speaks perfect Russian.
Forty-six people are crammed into a cattle train car. One of them is 17-year old Andrius Arvydas from a nearby town. They travel for six weeks inside the crammed, filthy car. Lina learns why they were deported.
"Stalin has a plan, my love. The Kremlin will do anything to see it through. You know that. He wants Lithuania for the Soviet Union, so he's moving us out temporarily."
"But why us?" I asked. "They already moved into Lithuania last year. Isn't that enough?"
"It's not just us, dear. I imagine he's doing the same to Latvia, Estonia, and Finland. It's complicated," said other.
Lina witnesses hundreds of horrible things, things a human should never have to see or endure.
"How could they do this?" I asked aloud. I looked around the train car. No one spoke. How could we stand up for ourselves if everyone cowered in fear and refused to speak?
I had to speak. I'd write everything down, draw it all. I would help Papa find us.
Between Shades of Gray is the emotional story of Lina and her family as they're deported from their beloved home in Lithuania and eventually make it to the most desolate area of all in the Arctic region. It was delicious and it broke my heart into a million pieces.
Rating: 10 out of 10 stars
*mild language, sexual inference
To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!
Friday, December 7, 2012
Reached, by Ally Condie (2012)
The third book in the Matched series, Reached concludes the story of Cassia, Ky and Xander. Xander is an official, a physic. Cassia is a sorter. And Ky is a pilot for the Rising. They wait for the Pilot's voice to start the Rising.
This is it.
The Rising said it would look like this.
Reached was a solid conclusion to the love triangle of Cassia, Xander, and Ky. I loved the poetry, art, and descriptive language throughout the book, and even though the first half was a bit slow, I really enjoyed the second half. I liked seeing how questions were answered and what happened to each character.
Rating: 8 out of 10 stars
To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Stolen, by Lucy Christopher (2010)
Gemma was traveling with her parents from London to Vietnam. On a layover in Bangkok, she went to a coffee stand in the airport.
"Let me buy it," you said. Your voice was low and soft, like it was meant only for me, and your accent was strange.
Ty is in his mid-20s, too old to be hanging out with a 16-year old girl.
You must have thought of everything: a ticket, a new passport, our route through, how to get past security. Was it the most carefully planned steal ever, or just luck?
He steals her away to a desert in Australia.
"Why?" I whispered.
"I had to take you."
Written as a letter to her captor, Gemma describes her experience.
So I wrote the only words I could think of: imprisoned, confined, detained, constrained, incarcerated, locked up, interned, sent down, abducted, kidnapped, taken, forced, shoved, hurt, stolen...
Stolen is a beautiful, frightening story.
Rating: 8 out of 10 stars
*language, sexual inference, drug reference, prostitution
To check out this book at NOLS, click HERE!
Every Day, by David Levithan (2012)
Immediately I have to figure out who I am.
Every morning, A wakes up in someone's body. He only gets to stay in that body for one day, to live that life for one single day. He is never the same person twice, but every person he's ever inhabited is the same age as it. He also doesn't thinking of himself as male or female (my interpretation for writing this review). On day 5994, A inhabits the body of Justin, a 17-year old jerk. A meets Justin's girlfriend and everything changes.
I have spent years meeting people without ever knowing them, and on this morning, in this place, with this girl, I feel the faintest pull of wanting to know. And in a moment of either weakness or bravery on my own part, I decide to follow it. I decide to find out more.
They go to the ocean for the afternoon.
I want to give her a good day. Just one good day. I have wandered for so long without any sense of purpose, and now this ephemeral purpose has been given to me - it feels like it has been given to me. I only have a day to give - so why can't it be a good one? Why can't it be a shared one? Why can't I take the music of the moment and see how long it can last? The rules are erasable. I can take this. I can give this.
How does someone make a meaningful life living one day in other people's lives? Every Day is a gorgeous read. The resolution is perfect and I would be so disappointed if David Levithan every made a sequel or a companion novel.
Rating: 10 out of 10 stars
*sexual references, drugs, religion, mild language, gay relationships, sexual identity
To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!
Unwholly, by Neal Shusterman (2012)
Five years later Neal Shusterman offers the sequel to Unwind. Three characters from Unwind continue their fight in Unwholly, while a few new characters join in the plight.
Starkey is a stork and his parents want him to be unwound.
"Mason Michael Starkey, by the signing of this order, your parents and/0r legal guardians have retroactively terminated your tenure, backdated to six days postconception, leaving you in violation of Existential Code 390. In light of this, you are hereby remanded to the California Juvenile Authority for summary division, also known as unwinding...Any rights previously granted to you by the county, state, or federal government as a citizen thereof are now officially and permanently revoked."
One out of 2,000 teens between the ages of 13 and 17 will be unwound each year.
Unwholly follows the stories of Connor, Lev, Risa, Starkey, and Cam Comprix was they fight for their survival.
Rating: 6 out of 10 stars
*language, sexual inference, abortion, religion, abandonment
To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!
Thursday, November 1, 2012
What Came from the Stars, by Gary D. Schmidt (2012)
Narrated from two points of view, the Valorim of Ethelim and Tommy Pepper of Plymouth, Massachusetts, What Came from the Stars is a book that feels like fantasy mixed in with delicious realistic fiction.
Tommy Pepper lives with his dad and little sister on a beach just outside Plymouth. His mom died nearly a year ago, and Tommy and his family are filled with grief. They miss her terribly. His little sister, Patty, doesn't speak. His dad rarely paints anymore.
On Tommy's 12th birthday, he received "The dumbest present in the history of the entire universe" from his grandmother: an Ace Robotroid Adventure lunch box. In an attempt to hide his lunch box from his friends, something happens. Tommy saw a quick flash of light from the window and when his lunch box crashed onto the floor.
Tommy Pepper looked down beneath the cafeteria table at his fallen Ace Robotroid Adventure lunch box, and there among the spilled carrot and celery sticks, something...well, something glowed. Tommy blinked. Whatever it was, it really was glowing a little bit. He reached down and picked it up.
A chain. Green and silver. Heavy.
After Tommy put on the chain, things started to change. He could remember a far-off place. His memories of his mom returned and they were clear.
And with that wind in his face, and looking at the sea, and feeling the light fall on him from the first star, and with those he loved beside him, and his mother gone, gone, Tommy felt the chain warm, and he began to sing too.
In another world, something tragic was taking place. The O'Mondim, led by Lord Mondus, overtook the Valorim. In an effort to save the Art of Valorim, Young Waeglim forged it into a chain and sent it to another world. The Art of Valorim is the most precious and powerful gift. Lord Mondus will do anything to possess it.
What Came from the Stars tells the story of the Valorim and Tommy Pepper. The book reads like a typical gorgeous Gary D. Schmidt novel, mixed with science fiction elements. My favorite parts included reading about Tommy and his family in Plymouth. The science fiction elements were a bit tedious, but overall, a good story.
Hopefully, Gary D. Schmidt takes one of the characters from this book and spins it into another book, similar to Wednesday Wars and Okay for Now. :)
Rating: 7 out of 10 stars
To check this book at out NOLS, click HERE!
Monday, October 1, 2012
The Rise of Nine, by Pittacus Lore (2012)
Beginning exactly where The Power of Six left off, The Rise of Nine shows what happens after Six meets Marina and Ella in Spain. They're headed to India to find Eight.
Narrated by John (Four), Six, and Marina, The Rise of Nine is the exciting addition to this series! The group has separated and Six, Marina and Ella find Eight; John has found Nine. The teens quickly realize how serious the situation is.
"This isn't playtime. We're at war, dude - war."
The Rise of Nine is filled with twists and turns, similar to the other two.
Rating: 8 out of 10 stars
*language
To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!
The other books in this series:
Thursday, September 20, 2012
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, by Michelle Hodkin (2011)
The ornate script on the board twisted in the candlelight, making the letters and numbers dance in my head. They were jumbled and indistinct, like alphabet soup. When Claire pushed the heart-shaped piece into my hand, I startled. I wasn't normally so twitchy, and hoped Rachel wouldn't notice. The Ouija board was her favorite present that night, and Claire gave it to her. I got her a bracelet. She wasn't wearing it.
Seventeen-year old Mara Dyer used to be a typical teenage girl. That was before three of her friends were killed. In the hospital she learned that she and her friends were in an abandoned psychiatric hospital, The Tamerlane. The building crushed, killing her friends, leaving Mara unharmed.
She has no memory of even going to the hospital.
"You have to tell me," I begged,
my throat filled with ash.
My mother looked at me with glassy eyes
and a heartbroken face.
"I would if I could, Mara.
But you're the only one who knows."
Eight weeks after the tragedy, Mara's family moved from Rhode Island to Miami, Florida. One her first day of school without her best friend, Rachel, she is filled with anxiety. She sees Rachel and Claire, and hears Jude's laughter. Rachel, Jude, and Claire are her friends that were killed. She knows they are hallucinations.
She also meets a Noah Shaw, a boy with a reputation.
Mara begins to remember what happened that terrible night in Rhode Island.
I woke in the middle of the night with a scream in my throat and an anchor in my chest, soaked in sweat and terror. I remembered. I remembered. The flood of recognition was almost painful.
The dream - the memory - kept replaying itself on a loop, disturbing me more than it should have. Why now, all of a sudden? What could I do about it? What should I do about it?
The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer witnesses the memories coming back to Mara about that night in the asylum, questions the connection she has with Noah Shaw, and forces the reader to wonder about other aspects of the story that were left hanging. The book trailer doesn't have anything to do with the story, either does the dust jacket. I found it interesting, but scary, the first two-thirds of the book. The final part felt like an entirely different read.
The book finishes with
end of volume one
I suppose we can expect volume two soon...
Rating: 2 out of 10 stars
*language, sexual suggestion, sexual inference, tobacco usage, Ouija board
To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!
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