Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

I just finished reading speak by Laurie Halse Anderson. It is a book that Austin read in 9th grade English. I really liked it but agree with some reviews I have read that the book does a quick U-turn in just the last few pages.

Goodreads summary:
 Melinda Sordino busted an end-of-summer party by calling the cops. Now her old friends won't talk to her, and people she doesn't even know hate her from a distance. The safest place to be is alone, inside her own head. But even that's not safe. Because there's something she's trying not to think about, something about the night of the party that, if she let it in, would blow her carefully constructed disguise to smithereens. And then she would have to speak the truth. This extraordinary first novel has captured the imaginations of teenagers and adults across the country

Good easy summer reading.

 

I admit I read these. I had no idea what these were about, my sister and a friend recommended them. I read the first one thinking what the heck, but of course I couldn't put them down. They get better through each book. The third being the best (and less graphic). 

from the E L James website :

When literature student Anastasia Steele goes to interview young entrepreneur Christian Grey, she encounters a man who is beautiful, brilliant, and intimidating. The unworldly, innocent Ana is startled to realize she wants this man and, despite his enigmatic reserve, finds she is desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her, too—but on his own terms.

Shocked yet thrilled by Grey’s singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success—his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving family—Grey is a man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a daring, passionately physical affair, Ana discovers Christian Grey’s secrets and explores her own dark desires.

Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.

Hunger Game series

Hunger games:
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV.


Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister Primrose, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before — and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

Catching Fire:
Against all odds, Katniss has won the Hunger Games. She and fellow District 12 tribute Peeta Mellark are miraculously still alive. Katniss should be relieved, happy even. After all, she has returned to her family and longtime friend, Gale. Yet nothing is the way Katniss wishes it to be. Gale holds her at an icy distance. Peeta has turned his back on her completely. And there are whispers of a rebellion against the Capitol - a rebellion that Katniss and Peeta may have helped create.


Much to her shock, Katniss has fueled an unrest she's afraid she cannot stop. And what scares her even more is that she's not entirely convinced she should try. As time draws near for Katniss and Peeta to visit the districts on the Capitol's cruel Victory Tour, the stakes are higher than ever. If they can't prove, without a shadow of a doubt, that they are lost in their love for each other, the consequences will be horrifying.


In Catching Fire, the second novel of the Hunger Games trilogy, Suzanne Collins continues the story of Katniss Everdeen, testing her more than ever before... and surprising readers at every turn.

Mockingjay:
Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.


It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plains - except Katniss.


The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay - no matter what the personal cost.

Book summaries are from goodreads.

Honestly - These books were really hard for me to read. I really don't like violence, esp torture, and there was plenty. I have a son that falls in the age range of the tributes and a daughter that is just 5 years away, I had to forget that I was a parent shortly into the first book. However, I thought the series was excellent. The last book, more specifically the very end of book 3 is what made me love this series.

From the authors website:
For eighteen years, Jude Farraday has put her children’s needs above her own, and it shows—her twins, Mia and Zach—are bright and happy teenagers. When Lexi Baill moves into their small, close knit community, no one is more welcoming than Jude. Lexi, a former foster child with a dark past, quickly becomes Mia’s best friend. Then Zach falls in love with Lexi and the three become inseparable.
Jude does everything to keep her kids on track for college and out of harm’s way. It has always been easy-- until senior year of high school. Suddenly she is at a loss. Nothing feels safe anymore; every time her kids leave the house, she worries about them.
On a hot summer’s night her worst fears come true. One decision will change the course of their lives. In the blink of an eye, the Farraday family will be torn apart and Lexi will lose everything. In the years that follow, each must face the consequences of that single night and find a way to forget…or the courage to forgive.
Vivid, universal, and emotionally complex, Night Road raises profound questions about motherhood, identity, love, and forgiveness. It is a luminous, heartbreaking novel that captures both the exquisite pain of loss and the stunning power of hope. This is Kristin Hannah at her very best, telling an unforgettable story about the longing for family, the resilience of the human heart, and the courage it takes to forgive the people we love.

I had read on a couple other blogs that this book is a major tear-jerker, so I was ready. I wasn't going to loose it - sob. Yeah right. I lost it a couple times reading the book. Lost it like, I had to put the book down for the night to recover. But don't get me wrong, it's a great book. It was an amazing story.

As a mom with a son and a step son that just started high school, and a daughter in 1st grade, it makes me think about how I am raising them. About the importance of really drilling in their heads that it is never ok to drink and drive. NEVER! Also to love the kids openly, whole heartedly. And to have an open and trusting relationship with them.

Well enough blabbing, if you like tear-jerkers this is a great book. I really recommend it.   

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

From authors website:
A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. And a strange collection of very curious photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children who once lived here—one of whom was his own grandfather—were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a desolate island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.


A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.     

I really liked this book. Silly as it is, I usually pick books with a girl for the main character. I didn't read anything about this book before I bought it so I didn't know that the main character was a boy. Honestly I might not have bought it if I had known. I'm glad I didn't know.  It was a pretty good book.

Discovery of Witches

I finished reading A Discovery of Witches today. This is the book I was excited to read. I thought is was very similar to the Twilight series, but still really good. I can not wait for the next book to come out. July 10 2012. (I should put a count down on my sidebar:)

here's a good book review I found online:
A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together.
Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.
Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the "Twilight" series-with an extra serving of historical realism.

Just finished...

It was pretty good. Again not a favorite, but it was a good story.

I'm super excited about my next book. I've heard it's really good. Hopefully it will make my good books list.

Lost Souls

Only now am i finding out that this book is part of a series. I will have to go back and start at the beginning. I didn't feel lost reading this book first. It was a good book about vampires to read during the halloween season. I will be honest - it was not a favorite, but still a good book.

Room - Emma Donoghue



best review for this book -
"Room is a book to read
in one sitting. When it's
over you look up: the
world looks the same but
you are somehow
different and that feeling
lingers for days."
Audrey Niffenegger
author of The Time Traveler's Wife

another book

good book, quick read.
i enjoy james patterson books - not too thought provoking, just a good escape for a few hours

summer reading

the last of the girl with the dragon tattoo series
i'm sad this series is over

good book
just a random find at the library

yikes!
just finished this one a couple days ago
(and it's still with me)
it was so sad, i cried (or sobbed)
i have a son in high school, and i just can't imagine
it definitely makes me think about
how i treat everyone.

Reading

i found Tana French's faithful place at the     library this week
and finished it in just a few days
it was a great book, just like her first 2
i'm sad it's over, and can't wait until she     releases another one

What the Dickens

Just finished what the dickens. It was ok. Not really my kind of book, but kinda cute. I bought it because I really liked the square shaped book. Silly reason I know, but that's the reason I bought it.