Sunday, May 13, 2012

IMM (7)


 Vanished (1&2 and 3&4) By Meg Cabot
A gift…or a curse?
Jessica Mastriani has never liked attention. All she wants is to make it to high school graduation like any ordinary girl. But when Jess is struck by lightning, she becomes anything but ordinary: suddenly she has the ability to locate missing children.
Now Jess is getting noticed in all the wrong ways and by all the wrong people. The media is obsessed with her and her story. The FBI is tapping her phone. And what’s going on with sexy senior Rob? Soon Jess learns the hard way that not everyone who is lost wants to be found….
With no one to trust, it's up to Jess to decide what to do with her new power—before it’s decided for her.

Darker Still By Leanna Renee Hieber
I was obssessed.
It was as if he called to me, demanding I reach out and touch the brushstrokes of color swirled onto the canvas. It was the most exquisite portrait I'd ever seen—everything about Lord Denbury was unbelievable...utterly breathtaking and eerily lifelike.
There was a reason for that. Because despite what everyone said, Denbury never had committed suicide. He was alive. Trapped within his golden frame.
I've crossed over into his world within the painting, and I've seen what dreams haunt him. They haunt me too. He and I are inextricably linked—bound together to watch the darkness seeping through the gas-lit cobblestone strets of Manhattan. And unless I can free him soon, things will only get Darker Still.

Insurgent By Veronica Roth
One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.
Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.



Bitterblue By Kristin Cashore
Eight years after Graceling, Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisors, who have run things since Leck died, believe in a forward-thinking plan: Pardon all who committed terrible acts under Leck's reign, and forget anything bad ever happened. But when Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle—disguised and alone—to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year spell of a madman, and the only way to move forward is to revisit the past.
Two thieves, who only steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. They hold a key to the truth of Leck's reign. And one of them, with an extreme skill called a Grace that he hasn't yet identified, holds a key to her heart.




Friday, May 11, 2012

I'm Back!!!

I'm back, and hopefully I will be able to do a lot of reading and blogging. School took a lot of my time up. I had homework, seven hours of voice practice, and three hours of piano practice. Sorry, it took a while, but I can't wait to get back and blog a lot. Thanks for being patient, I'm so happy to be back.


Carson

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Giveaway

I would like to have a giveaway soon. But I would like to make it to 50 followers till I have it. I know that will be a while, and I promise that this is not a way to get more followers. I am really grateful for the followers I currently have, and I really appreciate you a lot. This is just a way to thank you. I might have a poll later for what the giveaway will be, so please look for that. Thank you so much again.

IMM

Only one book this week, but I can't wait to read it! 




Ever since Tory Brennan and her friends rescued Cooper, a kidnapped wolf pup with a rare strain of canine parvovirus, they've turned from regular kids into a crime-solving pack. But now the very place that brought them together - the Loggerhead Island Research Institute - is out of funding and will have to shut down. That is, unless the Virals can figure out a way to save it. 

So when Tory learns of an old Charleston legend about a famous she-pirate, Anne Bonney, whose fortune was never found, she can't believe her luck - buried treasure is exactly what she needs to save the Institute on Loggerhead! Trouble is, she and her friends aren't the only ones looking for it. And this time, the Virals' special powers may not be enough to dig them out of trouble . . .

Saturday, November 12, 2011

The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson






Pages: 370
Publisher: Putnam
Rating: 4/5




The day Louisiana teenager Rory Deveaux arrives in London marks a memorable occasion. For Rory, it's the start of a new life at a London boarding school. But for many, this will be remembered as the day a series of brutal murders broke out across the city, gruesome crimes mimicking the horrific Jack the Ripper events of more than a century ago.
Soon "Rippermania" takes hold of modern-day London, and the police are left with few leads and no witnesses. Except one. Rory spotted the man police believe to be the prime suspect. But she is the only one who saw him. Even her roommate, who was walking with her at the time, didn't notice the mysterious man. So why can only Rory see him? And more urgently, why has Rory become his next target? In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, full of suspense, humor, and romance, Rory will learn the truth about the secret ghost police of London and discover her own shocking abilities.

                               Rory's parents decide to move, and since it is her senior year, they give her the decision where to move. Rory picks London and to attend a boarding school. The day she arrives is the beginning of the murders. Jack Ripper recreated murders. The second murder, Rory sees him. But she is the only one. Not even her roommate who was with her saw him. This book has friendship, romance, mystery, terrible hockey skills, and ghosts.
                             I was ready for this book to be amazing. It was written by Maureen Johnson, so it has to be funny, right? Maureen is an amazing author. I loved Suite Scarlett and The Girl at Sea. They were witty and clever, and had very sweet romance in it without it being too sweet. This book, unfortunately I felt, did not have enough romance in it. Also Rory's funny comments, I didn't realize she was being funny or sarcastic (I have a sense of humor and I live with a bunch of sarcastic people, I promise). It felt very awkward at times.
                       The characters were likable. Rory was had normal responses to situations and for the most part was not annoying. Jazza was my favorite character. I loved her. Probably because I am the most like her. She was very sweet and kind to Rory. Boo got on my nerves. She just was just all over the place. Jerome, Rory's "love interest" I felt was left out alot. He was mentioned a lot in the book, but he didn't seem important to Rory. They didn't really have a meaningful relationship. I'm hoping in the second book, there will be a love triangle that will make this have more sense.
                      The whole mystery/ghost part of this book made give it 4 stars. It was really good, and I loved the end. It was so good and sad. It really made the book, because I felt everything extra lacked. I was going to give it 3 stars till the end, because the end was just SO GOOD. I definately recommend this book. It is by an amazing author who is doing something completely different then she usually does, and the ghost story was amazing.

                                                                        Carson

Thursday, September 8, 2011

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys: Book Cover      Lina is just any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.
Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously - and at great risk - documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives. Between Shades of Gray is a novel that will steal your breath and capture your heart. 




               This is a novel about people other then Jews who are effected by the labor camps and WW2. I think many people do not realize that many people other then Jews were effected. The smaller countries were a lot of times were taken a long with the Jews to work. Most of the time it was educated people and their families because they did not want them to rebel.
               This story follows Lina, a fifteen year old girl from Lithuanian who wants to become an artist. One day her father goes missing, and the next night her mother, brother, and her are taken and put on a truck and are taken to labor camps. During this time, she draws to tell her father how her family is.
               This book was so good. I was crying most of the time, but there were some good times that made me laugh. Sepetys was really good about not making the situation "kind and gentle" like some authors have a problem doing. At times it feels like she is doing this, but as the story goes I realized that the reason it sometimes feels "kind" is because the characters believe that everything is fine and it will get better.
               This book was amazing and I think everyone should read it.


                                 5/5- Carson

  

Sunday, September 4, 2011

In My Mailbox

                             I received my first ARC!!! I was so happy about it. I did not expect it at all.
                                           Far From the War by Jeffrey David Payne
                                           Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys
                                           Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder
                                           Outside In by Maria V. Snyder
                                           The Predicteds by Christine Seifert
                                           Bloodlines by Richelle Mead
                                           Rules of Attraction by Simone Elkeles


I got great books this week and I hope you did too! Leave the link of your IMM or leave a comment. I would love to hear about the books you got! -Carson