Review: What Happened to Goodbye

Hello all!
It has been SO busy for me the past few months and I'm finally getting to catch my breath a little bit! :)

I just finished reading What Happened to Goodbye which is Sarah Dessen's newest novel that will be released May 10, 2011. Ten days!!

Okay I have a confession, I've never read a Sarah Dessen book before! And now that I have, I absolutely LOVE her as an author! I'm definitely going to check out some of her earlier books! My friend recommended that I read The Truth About Forever which she thinks is Sarah's best book. I'm so excited!

TFP: What Happened to Goodbye

1. This book realistically portrays the life of a teenage girl and the struggles of discovering yourself and loving others. I felt as if I could really relate to Mclean's story. Also Mclean has moved multiple times due to her father's job and I've moved a huge distance in my life. This helped me relate to Mclean because she recognizes that you are given a chance to "reinvent" yourself, but it's hard to tell if you'll be happy "reinvented".
2. The book makes you question family ethics once you learn Mclean's story. Her parents are divorced and I kept flip-flopping back and forth as to whether her mom is the good guy or not. I'm even still a bit undecided!
3. One of the only really confusing things for me in this book was I wasn't really able to tell where all the different places were. Mclean would talk about visiting her mom in one town, living in another town, and I had no mental image of where these places were in relation to each other. 
4. Deb has to be one of my favorite characters in the book. You meet her once Mclean goes to Jackson High. Deb is full of so many surprises and she's a prime example for "not judging a book by it's cover" because she's so much more under her outer layer as are many people! 
5. I really liked the tie-in of sports in this book. I'm not an athletic person, I don't play sports, but I love watching sports! Don't get me wrong, this book is not all about sports, but basketball is a big part of Mclean's life. I really liked how they dropped in some sports to add to the realistic-ness of the story. It wasn't just a cheesy, feel-good story.

5-Book Rating System

I give What Happened to Goodbye:

5 out of 5 books! 

Who Should Read This?

• Fans of Sarah Dessen
• People who enjoy a realistic story about life, love, and loss
• People who have moved will relate to Mclean
• Anyone can read this book, but it would be absolutely perfect for a teenage girl! 

I'm so glad I finally read a Sarah Dessen book! At the bookstore where I work I always recommend them to teenage girls because my friends have always enjoyed them. Now I can finally speak from experience!! (:

Also, Sarah Dessen is kicking off the release of her new book with a "What Happened to Goodbye Tour"! Check out her website to see if she's coming to a bookstore near you! Click! 

Sadly she won't be coming to a bookstore near me. :(

Anyways, next on my reading list is Water for Elephants! I really want to read the book before I go see the movie!

Till next time!

Photo Credit:

Book cover from Amazon

Book animated images from photobucket.com

Review: Exit Here

It has been ridiculously long since my last post and I apologize profusely! However, I have a good enough excuse. c:
I've been extremely busy with school and theatre competition, and it's still continuing, but since I just finished another book I figured I would do another post to keep my blog continuing!

I just finished Exit Here by Jason Myers.

This is the story of a boy named Travis who has recently dropped out of college and comes back home to the City for the summer. He deals with the changes at home and the changes with his friends, while also trying to figure out his personal changes and dealing with his past mistakes. This is a great example of self-discovery and a journey to figure out what a person wants from his-self and life.

TFP(Top 5 Points): Exit Here

1. This book deals with very mature ideas and themes such as drug use, language, and sexual behavior.
2. The fact that the book deals with the mature themes in such a casual way makes the book intriguing and highly realistic.
3. Do not make the judgement that this book is just about druggies, and even if you still feel that way half-way through---stick with the book. You will not regret it.
4. Even if you do not do drugs, drink, or party hard every night, you will still be able to relate to the characters and the issues they face even if it's just on a general level.
5. This book helped me to banish stereotypes from my mind. These characters seem stereotypical on the outside, but once you start to learn more about them, they are so deep that they are not like anyone else you've ever heard of. They are individuals facing problems. There are some characters though that I think the author did want to make stereotypical, but there are obvious ones that he wanted to make a statement. (That's what I believe anyway (: )

5-Book Rating System

I give Exit Here:

4 out of 5 books!

Who Should Read This?

• People looking for a realistic book facing real problems and struggles.
• People who can handle very mature themes.
• People who can relate to the characters involved or who want to become more understanding of these characters.
• People looking for something different (or similar) to their tastes. This is a really specific book according to the plot, but I think it can target a wide range of an audience. (Such as myself).

I highly recommend this book, it was a great read!

I'm totally giving it to my friends to read too.

I will definitely not forget what I learned from this book.

Till next time!

Photo Credit:
Book animated images from photobucket.com
Book covers from The Extraordinary Kiddo

Review: Forever

It's been over a month since my last post!
I vowed to myself that I wouldn't post, till I finished my 600-paged book, and I finished it two nights ago. Whew!
I just finished reading Forever by Pete Hamill.

TTP: Forever

1. Don't let the 600 pages be daunting to you, it's a long book, but it's so well written that you will not be able to put it down!
2. This book is written eloquently and I believe it to perfectly describe passions, emotions, and thoughts. The author has a deep understanding of human nature.
3. There is a hint of magic/un-realistic features, but they are treated as somewhat ordinary ideas and aren't emphasized in a over-exaggerated and dramatic way.
4. The story is separated into chapters that are only a few pages in length, which, if you've been reading my blog, you know I love this!
5. The chapters are all grouped in 9 sections and each section has a title and a quote relating to that part of the story. I'm also a big fan of quotes introduction chapters and these quotes are very inspiring.
6. Reading this book was like a review of the first half of my American History class. It goes from before America is established to the year 2001. It's really remarkable how the history and the story line feed off of each other so well.
7. This is about a man who is given eternal life as long as he does not leave New York City and the life is lives is so intriguing.
8. The book mainly takes place in NYC, which is my favorite City, and I'm overjoyed that I know more about it's history now!
9. I started this book in December and wasn't really into,  I read only a few pages a week, then in the middle of January I decided I was going to finish it...then I got hooked!
10. This book was published in 2003, but it's a timeless (no pun intended) book that I think can and will be enjoyed in any era. 

5-Book Rating System

I give Forever: 

4 out of 5 books!

I loved this book and I loved every part equally. I did not have a favorite part, but I absolutely loved the book as a whole. 

Who Should Read This?

• Fans of The Lord of the Rings and The Time Traveler's Wife
• History buffs and those who are interested to learn more!
• Anyone who is looking for a nice and inspiring read during this long Winter : )

If you've read Forever and enjoyed it, author Pete Hamill has many other books out that you may want to read!

I hope everyone is keeping warm during this dreary winter!
My next review will be a surprise! :)

Till next time!



Photo Credit:
Book animated images from photobucket.com
Book covers from Reading Matters

Review: The Lying Game

My first review of the New Year is Sara Shepard's The Lying Game!

Remember how last year I did Top Ten Points for each book? I'm going to continue to do that, plus add a book-rating system (instead of using stars) and recommendation ideas!

TTP: The Lying Game

1. If you loved Pretty Little Liars, you will love this next series!
2. The narrator is the other twin sister, it can become confusing at times to remember who is speaking, but usually it's pretty clear.
3. I kept on thinking the book was going to end and all the answers would be revealed, but it leaves you on a total cliffhanger!
4. The vocabulary and writing style of the book is fairly simple and very easy to understand!
5. The chapters are only a few pages each, which is my favorite way that authors do chapters. It helps to break it up a little more.
6. I might also add that I love when authors have clever titles for the chapters as Sara Shepard does! 
7. I love the quote at the very beginning of the book:
• "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be." -- Kurt Vonnegut
8. Plus, this book is filled details about the life of luxury which I love to read about in book series such as The Clique (Lisi Harrison) and Violet (Melissa C. Walker). 
9. Honestly, I was on edge till the very last page and I cannot wait for the next book!
10. I read this book in one whole day. The whole thing. I could not put it down!!!

5-Book Rating System

I give The Lying Game: 

                            

4 out of 5 books!

Who Should Read This?

• Anyone who loved Pretty Little Liars
• Anyone who loves mystery involving murder and drama
• Anyone who likes to read about other girls and luxurious living.
• I would recommend this book mainly to girls because it appeals more to the feminine mind

What's Next for this Author?

• Be sure to check out the next season of Pretty Little Liars premiering this Monday, January 3 on ABC family! I'm addicted!
• You can follow Sara Shepard on Twitter: here! She's following me!!! Eeek! :D
• The next book in The Lying Game series is Never Have I Ever, expected to be published April 8, 2011. 

Thanks for checking out my book review guys!

Hope everyone had a great start to the New Year! 

I look forward to reading many new books this year, last year I read 33 books thanks to my timeline on shelfari.com 

Till next time! 

P.S.

Follow me on twitter: here!

Or add me on shelfari: here!

Image credit:

Book covers from goodreads.com

Book animated images from photobucket.com

Christmas Goodies

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!
Now we only have 3 days till the New Year! Time flies!

I wanted to share with everyone the books that I got for Christmas (I'm very excited about them) then I'm going to do a separate post after this to review the one I just read (in one day I might add)!


Christmas Gifts

1. The Lying Game by Sara Shepard
2. L.A. Candy by Lauren Conrad
3. Elixir by Hilary Duff

                

     4. Love and Summer by William Trevor

               

   5. Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen

                   

   6. The Gift by James Patterson

                                                              

  7. College Cooking by Megan & Jill Carle

                 

  8. Smarter by Sunday by The New York Times

  9. Actions: The Actors' Thesaurus by Marina Caldarone and Maggie Lloyd-Williams

There are all 9 books I received Christmas morning! Got all the books on my wishlist! (:

What books did you receive?

Comment below! 

Hope everyone had a merry holiday & look for my review on Sara Shepard's The Lying Game! 

*All images from Amazon.com

Early Morning Blog (:

Well it isn't that early... but it is for me when I just woke up an hour ago!
I have a few books that I'm really excited about for today's post!

I've begun to read (haven't said that for a while) Forever by Pete Hamill. It's actually from November 2003, but I just discovered it in my school's library.

I'm 4 chapters into it, it's a 600 page book... so it could take me a while. Depending how good it is and how much time I put into it. However, I can already say that I really want to go grab it right now and read more!!!

It's a very intriguing story that takes place in Ireland. I really like this, because I've seen a few plays that take place in Ireland, but I don't really know much about life there so this is more of an insight! I'm also trying something new where I don't read the summary of the story, I want to see where the story takes me itself. 

And now I would love to share with you one of my favorite passages so far from this very eloquently written book.

"[mother speaking]'No, that was Methuselah. He lived to be nine hundred and sixty-nine years old. Or so the Bible says. And when old Noah died, he was nine hundred and fifty.' [child speaking] 'Will Da live to be nine hundred and fifty years old?' She laughed out loud. 'I hope so,' she said. 'That would be grand.'"

I love this part because it really captures the mind of a learning six-year old which is what the main character is at this point. It's so innocent and sweet that I think we can all remember having the imagination to believe that living that long was really possible.

Onto the next book! 

If you didn't know already, I used to be a huge "Hills" fan. And I just learned today that Lo Bosworth's book The Lo-Down comes out January 11, 2011! It's a book about "Life and Love in the Hollywood Hills". Now I'm not expecting this to be literary excellence, but I think it will be a fun and interesting read, because I loved Lo on "The Hills". 

Adorable cover too right???

Another book that I'm really excited for that's coming out the SAME day is Across the Universe by Beth Revis. Not really sure what it's about yet, but it looks very interesting!

Oh, and I did promise to include my favorite passage from Matched by Ally Condie which came out last Tuesday and I hope you all either have, have it and read it, or are getting it!

Here's my favorite passage, it takes place when the main character is on a "tracker" basically like a treadmill:

"I'm tired, I don't know if I can go any farther, when the tracker beeps and slows, slows, slows to a stop. Perfect timing, programmed by the Society. I bend my head down, gasping for breath, sucking in air. There is nothing to see at the top of this hill."

I love this quote so much. It really captures the artificiality of the Society and the world they live in. It also depicts some of the main character's unhappiness and confusion, and maybe also a little disappointment. This whole book is written so beautifully, this was just one of my favorite parts.


Till next time!



P.S.
Get ready for next week... the Holidays post! (:



Photo Credit:
#1 #2 #3

Unofficial Hiatus

So let me start off by saying sorry.
I haven't posted in a few weeks.
And now I'm posting on a Friday.
I took an unofficial hiatus, but I hope to be back now.
I also created a new rule: I will be posting from time to time. So it won't definitely be Sunday, but I hope it will be at least once a week!

Also, I hope everyone had a very yummy Thanksgiving! I sure did! I think pumpkin pie and cranberry sauce is my favorite part. mmmmm. :]

And yet again I have to tell you that I have not been reading a book.
I finished Dracula a few weeks ago, I have had family coming down and staying with us, so I've kinda been taking it easy.
For instance, this whole week I've been waking up at 10:30am and it's been basically the best thing ever.

But today I did go to work so of course now I'm a little obsessed with books and I have some books that I want to share with you!

1. The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff

• I just saw this today, it came out Nov. 9 apparently? Looks SO good, combines three of my favorite things; Romans, Britain, and mystery! It's the first of a trilogy and I'm definitely hitting up my library for this. BTW, the story itself is not true, it's an interpretation based on two different age-old mysteries.

2. Claim to Fame by Margaret Peterson Haddix

• When I was younger, all of my friends obsessed over Haddix's books. I, myself, never read them and I have no clue why. This book is about a child star who discovers she has a supernatural power and she hides from the world for 6 or 7 years before she is forced back into society. Ooooooooooooh! The cover doesn't intrigue all that much I have to say, but the story definitely does.

3. How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford

• Okay this looks adorable. One of those fun, light, "chick-lit" reads. Two outsiders become unexpected friends and they spend all their time together and fall in love! That sentence makes it sound cheesy, but the character development is supposed to be very deep. Never judge a book by it's cover, and never judge a person by their appearance. You can know a person just by looking at them.

4. Love and Summer by William Trevor

• THIS LOOKS SO CUTE AND I'M REALLY EXCITED TO READ IT. Okay now that I got that out... The cover is adorable. The story is awesome. I'm just waiting for it to be made into a movie with unknown adorable Irish actors. This book is not a young adult book just so that's clear, but I don't imagine it being too bad for ages 16+ depending on what you read. It's about an orphan girl who is married, but a new man comes to town that basically everyone, including her, falls for. This book has so much praise. The New York Times calls it "a thrilling work of art." Check out their two page review: here.

Just a reminder, I haven't read any of these books, I just REALLY want to! Along with the other million books I really want to read...

Also ★★★★★

Don't forget that Ally Condie's book Matched comes out Nov. 30, 2010... TUESDAY!!

I really liked this book, so you should go check it out or put it on your Holiday wishlist! (:

So there's a post for today. I hope to post next week as well. I also really need to choose a book to read. I'm leaning towards Edward Rutherford's New York but it's a large book so it's not a light read and I need to psych myself up for those books. 

Till next time!

(:

All images in this post are from amazon.com.