The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book
By Neil Gaiman;HarperCollins 2008


Summary: Nobody Owens, known to his friends as Bod, is a normal boy. Except for the fact that he lives in a graveyard and is raised and educated by ghosts, and a guardian who belongs neither to the living or the dead. Nobody finds dangers and adventures in the graveyard. But outside the graveyard, Bod is hunted by the man Jack who has already killed his family...

My Review:You know the saying "It takes a village to raise a child" well now its "it takes a graveyard full of ghosts, ghouls, werewolves and other creatures of the night to raise a child." This was a fantastic read, the whole plot and characters kept me reading till the late hours of the night. I loved reading about the adventures of Nobody Owens. A very creepy, suspenseful, and satisfying read!


Watch Out For: Violence and the man named Jack

Here is the Book Trailer narrated by Neil Gaiman himself.

Wicked Lovely

Wicked Lovely
By Melissa Marr

Summary: Aislinn can see faeries, but no one knows she can except her grandma. She is trying to stay seperate from this other world, but she won't be able to for long. The Summer King must marry someone to stop the Winter Queen, his mother from ruining the faery world. Aislinn is in love with Seth, but the Summer King knows that Aislinn is the only one who can save the faery realm. Will she be able to help the faery world and still remain close to her mortal world?

My Review: At first I didn't know what to think of this book.I couldn't get into it at first, but then it finally picked up speed and got me interested. Its not like all the other faery books I've read, this one defiantly had some twists and turns I didn't expect to see. Overall I liked it, but some the language was hard to handle. I am looking forward to reading the next one in the series just to see where this story will go.


Watch Out For: Violence, Language, and Sensual acts.

Splendor

Splendor
By Anna Goldberson;Harper Books

(Only read this if you have read the other Luxe books.)

Summary: Elizabeth takes on the role of a new wife, while her sister Diana looks for adventure. They soon figure out that life isn't as splendid as its crack up to be.Penelope falls in love with the Bavarian prince, but will he still want her when his trip is over? Lina is in love with Leland, but will her secret be revealed and shatter all her dreams?

My Review: A perfect ending for a perfect series! Thats all I have to say at this time. Carry on!

Watch Out For: Drinking, partying, and drama.

Bound

Bound
Donna Jo Napoli;Simon Pulse

Summary: Xing Xing is bound to her stepmother and is forced to do hard labor and act as a servant in her own home. She cares for her step sister, Wei Ping, who even though she is past age for foot-binding is forced to endure the painful tradition of Chinese girls before marriage. Her only solitude is visiting her carp and practicing her calligraphy and poetry. When her stepmother takes away her only happiness, Xing Xing discovers a dress and slippers she becomes somebody in society for one night. Will Xing Xing overcome her position in life?

My Review: I have always liked the Cinderella story, but this time it had a Chinese twist, which I really liked. I loved learning about the Chinese's old traditions like foot-binding. Overall, it was a great good.


Watch Out For: Foot-binding, and Chinese traditions.

First Boy

First Boy
By Gary Schmidt; Read by Jesse Berns; An Unbridged Production


Summary:14 year-old Cooper Jewett grew up with his grandparents on a dairy farm in New Hampshire. After his grandparents pass away, Cooper tries to maintain the dairy farm on his own. Soon he  feels overworked between taking care of the farm, trying to keep up in school, and practicing with the cross country. Things soon get worse when a mysterious black sedans comes to town, Cooper’s fence gets vandalized, his house gets broken into, and his barn gets burned down. The sheriff threatens to file a report to have Cooper removed from the farm by child services.Then Senator Wickham approaches Cooper and asks him to join his campaign for the presidency. All Cooper wants to do is stay on his farm, but it seems the Senator won’t take no for an answer.
  My Review: Golly Moses! Cooper is a determined boy and I admired his spirit to keep the farm running and taking care of himself. However this was my first time listening to an audiobook, so I found it difficult to understand what was going on.   
Watch out for:Theft, fires, kidnappings, and car chases.

Godless

Godless

By Pete Hautman;Simon Pulse

Summary:Jason is fed up with his parent's religion, so Jason invents a new god which is the town's water tower. He recruits a group of worshippers which includes: his best friend, Shin, the cute as a button Magda Price, and the violent Henry Stagg.Soon religion takes on a life of its own. As their religion grows, things quicky become more and more dangerous and deadly.Jason soon learns that inventing a religion is a lot easier than controlling it. Can he learn to control it before his creation destroys his friends and himself?

My Review: I'm not quite sure what to think of this book. I had a hard time getting into it because of the whole worshipping the water tower thing. The only thing I like was the quotes above the chapter.

Watch Out For: Atheist views, mild violence,Mild language, and dangerous acts.

Love Changes Everything

Love Changes Everything

by Arlynnn Pressser;Bantam Books

Summary: Gerolynn "Gigi" Pelka spent her a year in Paris, while writing to her best friend, Ethan, and the man of her dreams, Jack Chandler. Jack Chandler is everything a girl could want. Star of the football  team and drop dead gorgeous. Gigi is determined to get Jack to notice her this year.But Ethan thinks its a bad idea. Jack is one of those guys who will love them then leave them. And Gigi deserves better than that. Ethan knows that he can make Gigi happy. Will Gigi get over Jack and fall for Ethan?

My Review: You know those cheesy love stories you can't stand. Well this is one them. Read at your own risk!

Watch Out For: Gooey Gooey Love Stuff.

Uglies

Uglies

Scott Westerfeld; Scholastic Inc. 

Summary:Tally is about to turn sixteen, a special time for Uglies. A time where they can turn pretty.  In Tally's world, your sixteenth birthday brings an operation that turns you from a repellent ugly into a stunningly attractive pretty and catapults you into a high-tech paradise where your only job is to have a really great time. 

But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to be pretty. She'd rather risk life on the outside. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world which in fact isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally the worst choice she can imagine: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. The choice Tally makes changes her world forever.
My Review:  OMIGOSH! I could not put Uglies down. What an incredible read! Tally is such an awesome character, I have become very attached to her and the other characters in this series. I highly highly recommend this series.So read it! Now!
Watch Out For: Surgery descriptions and utopian beliefs.