REVIEW: Before I Fall

Before I Fall is one of the best, most entertaining books I've read in quite awhile. I truly could not put the book down. The main character, Sam, is one of the "it" girls along with her three best friends. They seem to have the world in their hands. Sam is planning on finally sleeping with her boyfriend Rob today, on Cupid Day, after the party at Kent's house. All of this is thrown away when Sam dies in a car crash the night of the party. Except, is Sam really dead? She wakes up the next day, on the same day as before, seemingly able to live the day over again. Will she make any changes? Can she change her fate? Sam struggles through the same day over and over, each time discovering something new about herself, her friends, her boyfriend, her family, and her classmates. Will reliving the same day over and over change Sam? If so, how?

As I said before, this book is a must read. It really makes you think about relationships, friendships, how you live your life, and what you would change if you could. Very captivating.

Thoughts on Several Recently Read Books

At the End of Words is a memoir about a daughter and mother as the daughter realizes her mother is dying of cancer. It's very touching and a good follow-up to Life on the Refrigerator Door.







They Never Came Back is the story of a girl, Murielle, who's parents get in trouble with the law and have to flee the country. Murielle['s aunt is suppose to deliver Murielle to the airport so that she can join her parents overseas, however her aunt has an attack of conscience. Murielle, deeply distraught, tries to flee her aunt, but winds up in child services custody. Cathy, a foster child whose story is told in alternating chapters, is a girl who has been bounced from house to house, and who finally seems to have found her place in the world until her summer school class puts her face to face with someone who seems to recognize her, but calls her Murielle. Can Murielle be Cathy? This fast paced story is definitely worth reading!









I Love You, Ronnie is the compilation of letters written by President Reagan to his wife Nancy, along with her retelling of their real life love story. Their love and affection for each other through decades of marriage is enviable and the stuff of movies. Everyone should read this book, and realize that true love does exist. Never settle for less than what President and Mrs. Reagan had. Definitely recommend this one!

BOOK REVIEW: Snap by Carol Snow

When Madison's rich parents fall on hard times, they are forced to leave all of their worldly possessions and move to a motel in a beachtown. As her parents struggle with jobs - her mom has never worked and her dad is desperately looking for work - Madison struggles with coping with their situation. Still tied to her life back home and in denial that her life has drastically changed, she struggles to accept her new life. Her only saving grace is her camera. After taking some pictures in her new town, Madison discovers that random people are showing up in the pictures - people who weren't present when she took the pictures. Who are these people? Ghosts? Predictions of future fate? Madison works to find out just what her camera is trying to tell her as she learns to deal with her new life, new friends, and letting go of old friends. Entertaining book overall.

Football Season

It's fall, and that means that football season has returned! We are excited about the Gonzales Apaches; we are excited about college football; and we are excited about the new NFL season. In that spirit, we have put together a display of some of our best books about football. Stop by the library, have a look, and check out a great football book!

BOOK REVIEW: Life on the Refrigerator Door

Life on the Refrigerator Door is a series of notes shared between a mother and her daughter, Clair. Both busy with their lives, they sometimes go days without seeing each other, and must keep track of what's going on through notes left on the door of the refrigerator. The notes detail Clair's love life, school life, and relationship with her father, while her mom's notes detail her life as a doctor, the realization that she has breast cancer, and the effects of the breast cancer. Touching, poignant, and heart-wrenching, this is a wonderful book.

BOOK REVIEW: Num8ers

Jem is an ordinary, high school student, except that when she looks at someone, she sees their number. That is, she sees the exact date that they're going to die. This truth has kept her from getting close to anyone throughout her life, and it is a secret she has kept from everyone. Her avoidance tactic is demolished once she lets down her guard and befriends Spider, a classmate who's death date is mere weeks away. After running from a disaster together, which Jem predicts based on everyone's death dates being the same day, they become objects of suspicion in the eyes of the law. They run away together on a cross-country escape. The book is a fast-paced, interesting adventure that leaves the reader wondering if Jem can change the fate of her new friend, Spider.

Welcome Back & Summer Reading

Welcome back to school! I hope everyone had a great summer; I know I did. I spent lots of time at the pool, at the lake, hanging out with friends, and reading. I actually spent A LOT of time reading books that I was interested in which makes reading so much more enjoyable. I tried to read a combination of both fiction and non-fiction books, and I choose books that people had recommended to me, but I just hadn't had time to read. I came out LOVING a lot of the books that I read. In no particular order, here are some of the books I read:
1.) Wednesday Wars - Great book! Story about a boy and his mishaps at school.
Labels - Family Relationships, Student-Teacher Relationships, Friendship, Realistic Fiction
2.) Suicide Notes - Some suprising stuff in this book! When Jeff wakes up in a mental institution with a 45 day stay in front of him, he has to figure out how to survive it and if he's just as crazy as the other patients.
Labels - Friendship, Suicide, Mental Institution, Homosexuality, Family Relationships, Realistic Fiction
3.) Push - Based on the movie Precious... interesting, but content made it hard to get through. Very disturbing.
Labels - Child Abuse, Molestation, Teen Pregnancy, Family Relationships, Student-Teacher Relationships, Realistic Fiction
4.) Freedom Writer's Diary - True story about an LA high school English class. Great!
5.) No Choirboy - True stories of teenage death row inmates. Very interesting!
Labels - Non-Fiction, Friendship, Prison
6.) Bite of the Mango - Excellent true story about a girl who has her family murdered and her hands cut off by gang members.
Labels - Non-Fiction, Child Abuse, Family Relationships, Survival
7.) Kaleidoscope Eyes - Great mystery book about a treasure hunt.
Labels - Friendship, Mystery, Realistic Fiction, Adventure
8.) Feathered - Awesome book about three teenage girls who go to spring break in Mexico.
Labels - Friendship, Realistic Fiction, Mystery
9.) The Year My Sister Got Lucky - Heartwarming book about family, school, friends and moving to an unknown place.
Labels - Family Relationships, Friendship, Romance, Moving, Realistic Fiction
10.) Kite Runner - One of my summer favorites! A book about friendship.
Labels - Family Relationships, Friendship, Realistic Fiction, Forgiveness
11.) Far From You - Written in verse, a wonderful book about dealing with a step-parent.
Labels - Novels in Verse, Family Relationship, Grief, Death
12.) Birthmarked - Adventure story about a girl who defies her government to save her family.
Labels - Adventure, Romance, Family Relationships, Death, Fantasy
13.) King of the Screw-ups - Entertaining read about a boy who can't seem to do anything to please his father.
Labels - Family Relationships, Friendship, Romance, Realistic Fiction
14.) Pillars of the Earth - Long book, but well worth reading. One of my favorites!
Labels - Historical Fiction, Family Relationships, Romance, Good vs. Evil, Friendships
15.) After the Moment - Story about a couple who has something tragic happens that threatens their relationship.
Labels - Drama, Realistic Fiction, Romance
16.) The Hanging Woods - One of my favorite summer reads about a group of guy friends and the dilemmas that they have. GREAT book!
Labels - Drama, Realistic Fiction, Friendship, Mystery, Murder
17.) Adoration of Jenna Fox - Interesting sci-fi book about parents who would do anything to save their daughter.
Labels - Grief, Death, Sci-Fi, Family Relationships, Friendship
18.) Three Cups of Tea - True story about a guy who felt so compelled by the poorness of Pakistan that he spent his life building schools for the poor village children in Pakistan.
Labels - Non-Fiction, Inspirational, Memoir
19.) The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest - Last book in the trilogy; all were captivating mysteries, full of suspense.
Labels - Suspense, Murder, Adventure, Action, Friendship, Abuse, Romance, Survival
20.) The Last Song - Love story about a girl who falls for a guy who isn't her type while rediscovering her relationship with her dad.
Labels - Family Relationships, Romance, Realistic Fiction, Grief

REVIEW: Freedom Writers reviewed by Kaylyn P.

I love reading stories that make me want to cry and the book Freedom Writers did that for me. Reading journal entries about true events and about what some teenagers go through is interesting to me. I first saw the movie and that got me interested in the book. As soon as I started reading the book, I couldn't put it down. I felt so bad for the teenagers that had to go through all the gang fightingand seeing their friends die for their own culture. I loved this book because it shows how real teenagers go through their daily life and how it's a struggle and that one teacher didn't care what culture they came from, she just wanted to help the students. I recommend this book to everyone beacuse as soon as you start reading, you'll be hooked.

This book tugs on every emotion because of the accurate information it holds. Everyone should read this book because it relates to everyone in this world about not judging others and know that every culture and race are equal.

REVIEW: Heart of a Champion reviewed by Corey A.

This book is a very exciting, but yet depressing at some points. It is about a boy named Seth Barham who lost his father at the age of eight years old. He meets a boy named Jimmy Winter who is a baseball fanatic. They go through many days of practicing baseball at Redwood Park and eventually make it to high school. Throughout high school they face many obstacles dealing with family, alcohol, and choices.

REVIEW: Graceling

Gracelings are people who are born with two different colored eyes and have some sort of special talent that is above and beyond everyone else. Talents can range from being an expert swimmer to being an expert chef. Those that have useful talents, such as being a swordsman, typically become members of their king's court and are used by the king.

Katsa is a Graceling and niece to King Randa of the Middluns. Her grace is that she is a deadly killer - she can kill anyone or any group of people single handedly. King Randa has made her his thug, sending her out to collect debts and punish those who have wronged him. Katsa is ashamed of her grace, her job, and the fact that people are visibly afraid of her. In order to right some of her wrongs, Katsa, with her cousin Raffin, form a Council to secretly help people.

While on a mission, Katsa has a run in with another Graceling who appears to have her same grace, although her grace seems to be stronger than his. Eventually this mystery Graceling finds his way into her life, and they embark on quest to find out what happened to his grandfather, and what's going on with his aunt.

I LOVED this book. Not something that I would've chosen to read on my own, but all of the reviews were so great that I decided to give it a try. I couldn't put it down. There's a prequel/companion book called Fire that I haven't read, and there's going to be a sequel focusing on another character too. I'm excited about both. I recommend this book to anyone interested in romance, fantasy, and/or adventure books.

REVIEW: Shiver

Shiver is a book I loved... until the end. I won't tell you what happens, but let's just say there are some unanswered questions. There is going to be a sequel, which I hope and pray clarifies the ending, but we shall see.

Grace is a normal, high school girl who happens to be fascinated by the wolves that occupy the woods behind her house. There is one wolf in particular that she is drawn to, and he is the wolf that saved her when she was attacked by the other wolves when she was young.

Sam is a normal, high school aged guy who happens to be part human, part wolf. When the weather turns cold, Sam turns into a wolf... Grace's wolf.

Once Sam and Grace meet in person, they find they have mutual feelings for each other, but those feelings are compromised by the fact that the next time Sam changes into a wolf, he won't ever change back.

This complicated love story is very intriguing. Once again, I find that I'm not doing the story justice, and once again, I'll say that this isn't typically a book that I would pick up and be interested in, accept that a student recommended it. However, once I started reading it, I was completely captivated until the very end. I can only hope that the sequel is equally as good and will answer the remaining questions that I have. This is definitely a book I'd recommend.

Rhyme and Reason to My Book Reviews

As you can see from my book review posts, many times I don't write them right after I finish reading a book which seems a little strange. The reason for this is that many times I can't fully digest a book for a few days or sometimes until I've read another book. If I try to write right away, I get too lost in the details to give a complete overview of the book, and many times it's hard to decide if I liked the book, loved it, or didn't care for it at all. Sometimes I think I loved a book, but after some reflection I find that maybe it wasn't as great as I initially deemed it, and other times I find that I was too hard on the book at first, but after some time I can come to really appreciate the book. Anyway, that's my rhyme and reason to my book reviews. :)

REVIEW: Identical

Identical is another disturbing book written by Ellen Hopkins. As is her style, the book is written in verse. It's the story about twins - one passive, one aggressive - who struggle with a horrible home life. Their mom is mostly out of the picture - on a political agenda, and their dad suffers with a drinking problem. The family splintered apart after a car accident, caused by their dad that badly injured their mom. Since the accident, their mom is mostly absent, and their dad drowns himself in alcohol and drugs.

Kaleigh, the passive twin, has caught her father's eye and has become a replacement for her mom in more ways than one. The abuse caused by her father leaves Kaleigh unable to maintain relationships and unable to cope with everyday life. Raeanne, the aggressive twin, finds herself oddly jealous of her dad's attention to Kaleigh. She copes through promiscuity, drugs, and alcohol. As their lives spiral out of control, leaving them no one to turn to, one wonders if they can survive.

As always, Ellen Hopkins delivers a captivating yet disturbing book. The book contains a twist that I was able to figure out early on, but even figuring it out didn't disrupt the rest of the book for me. Overall I thought it was an entertaining book, but it wasn't my favorite Hopkins title. At times I felt like, "Alright already. Somebody notice or help out!" But, with that being said, I would recommend it to anyone who typically enjoys Hopkins' books.

REVIEW: 90 Minutes in Heaven

90 Minutes in Heaven is a true story about a man, Don Piper, who is in a horrific car accident that kills him. After medics arrive, they pronounce Don DOA. At the same time, a man is stuck in the traffic that was created by the accident with his wife. After waiting awhile, the man is compelled to go to the scene of the accident. After arriving, some force drives him to pray over Don Piper's dead body. Ninety minutes after dying, Don miraculously wakes up. 90 Minutes in Heaven is Don's story of survival and recovery.

Don details his experience while being dead as well as what it was like to recover from a near fatal accident. His struggles with survival and recovery are realistic, interesting and inspiring. The obstacles that Don must overcome both physically and emotionally are unbelievable, but not nearly as bewildering as the attitude that he walks away with in the end. I thought it was a great, feel-good book

REVIEW: Liar

I just finished reading Liar last night, and I'm not too sure how I feel about this book. There were parts that I liked and parts that I didn't.

Liar is the story of Micah, a 17 year-old girl, who goes to a private school and is a compulsive liar. She lies about everything from little things to huge things like her gender. She is not popular and has few friends, but she becomes secretly involved with a popular boy, Zach, outside of school through a mutual interest in running. When Zach goes missing, and then turns up murdered, all eyes are on the mysterious Micah. So, far, this books sounds pretty interesting, right??

Well, then it takes a turn for the weird. Micah reveals the secret to a "family illness" as well as more information about her extended family that is pretty far-fetched. I found some of these parts of the book boring. Then, the reader begins to find out that some of the stuff revealed in the book are actually lies fabricated by Micah. In the end, I was left not knowing what to believe and what not to believe.

If you are person who enjoys adding your own ending to books, then this is the book for you. If you are like me, and you want definitive answers and want everything perfectly clear and wrapped in a nice little package, then you probably won't be into this book. I'm left feeling confused and feeling like the book was a waste of my time.

REVIEW: Tricks

Tricks - wow - what can I say? The book was a very interesting read, but so very disturbing. The premise is the story of five different teenagers who are from all walks of life from all over the U.S. who all somehow end up in a prostitution ring in Las Vegas. Each story is different, but somehow they all end up at the same place.

Eden is a pastor's daughter who is forbidden to do almost everything. She falls in love with a boy, and when her parents find out, she is sent to a home in Nevada to be exorcised. Her only way out of the home is prostitution.

Seth is a down-home farm boy from Tennessee who has lost his mother, and therefore lives alone with his father. Seth, a Catholic boy, realizes early on that maybe he isn't straight. After entering into a homosexual relationship that ends badly, Seth's father finds out. Not able to deal with a gay son, his father kicks him out of the house. With no money and no job, Seth becomes a trophy boy for an older gay man who takes him to Vegas. Seth, too, eventually turns to prostitution.

Whitney seems to have it all - her parents are wealthy, she goes to a good school, she makes good grades - but she never feels that she can add up to what her sister is, and Whitney has a strained relationship with her mother because of that. Whitney meets the wrong guy at the wrong time, falls for his lies, and ends up in a very bad situation when she runs away from home to go with him to Vegas.

Ginger's mother is a prostitute, which leaves Ginger to care for her younger brothers and sisters. While Ginger resents her mother, she is capable and willing to care for her younger siblings, until her mother does the unthinkable - she sells Ginger to a stranger. Ginger runs away to Vegas with a friend, and they too end up being tricks.

Lastly, there's Cody who is from a good family, and has a lot going for him until his stepfather gets sick. Unable to help his mom pay the bills, Cody turns to gambling. After digging himself and his family into a hole, Cody turns to prostitution to help pay his debt and his family's bills.

Each story left me with a feeling of hopelessness. I could see how each of these teens had no choice, but to turn to prostitution, and how in each case, it was nearly impossible to get out. Each of the stories was pretty graphic, and therefore left me feeling very dirty at times. It was really hard to get through, but also strangely captivating. I would recommend this book, but only to extremely mature readers.

REVIEW: Marcelo in the Real World

Marcelo in the Real World is a touching story of a boy with a disorder similiar to autism who has been protected from the world by being placed in a school for people with disabilities. Marcelo's dad, who has always insisted that Marcelo has nothing wrong with him, demands that Marcelo come work for him at his law firm in the city for the summer. Against his wishes, Marcelo goes to work at the law firm where he learns what true friendship is, what being bullied means, and that maybe his dad isn't as perfect as Marcelo thought.

Marcelo in the Real World is a great read and definitely recommended!

After

Devon is an all-American girl; she gets good grades, has no discipline record, and has a bright future as a soccer player. Everything changes after Devon gets arrested for attempted murder, among other charges for giving birth to a baby and dumping it in a trash can behind her apartment. Devon is locked up in a juvenile detention center, her mother has abandoned her, she has no other family, and the state is attempting to try her as an adult. As Devon struggles with her emotions and the realization that she could spend her life behind bars, the reader gets insight into how Devon became pregnant, how she was able to hide the pregnancy from those closest to her, and what drove her to literally dump her baby.

A compelling and relateable story, After hooks the reader from the beginning and keeps the reader enthralled throughout. Although the ending is abrupt, I enjoyed the book overall and would recommend it.

The Time Traveler's Wife

Henry and Clare are soul-mates; they meet when Clare is just a girl and Henry is in his 30's, and then again, when Clare is 21 and Henry is 28. How is this possible?? It's possible because Henry has a genetic condition which causes him to travel through time. He has no control over when he leaves the present, no control over what time period he ends up in, and no control over when he returns. The only constant is that he does travel, mostly to the past. The novel tells the story of their relationship from the beginning of Clare's life through the end. The reader has the opportunity to read the story from Clare's point of view at times, and then from Henry's point of view at times.

When I first found out the premise of the book, I wasn't interested in it at all. I'm not a huge sci-fi fan, and do not like stories that seem impossible, however Henry and Clare's love story is oddly believable and very touching. I absolutely loved this book; I found it hard to put down.

Wake

Janie is a high schooler who gets sucked into people's dreams. This wouldn't be SO bad, if it weren't for the fact that she has no control over it. Sometimes during study hall, someone near her will fall asleep, and she is instantaneously sucked into their dream - which also means that she looks as if she's having a seizure. Afraid of being labelled a freak, Janie is secretive about her "ability." Everything changes one day when she gets sucked into a nightmare of a presumed pyscho. To worsen the situation, Janie begins to see herself as part of this nightmare.

Wake is a fast-paced, interesting read.