I'm home! With books!

         Hello! I've been in Kansas City for the past week visiting some family. I drove up with my grandparents, and we got home late last night. It felt good to sleep in my own bed :)

         I did a little bit of shopping, and I'll show the books I bought and put the rest under a break.

The one I'm most excited to read is City of Bones by Cassandra Clare.

 

(Goodreads)

         I've heard great things about this book. I really want to start reading it but I should finish all the other books I'm currently reading :(

I also bought The Secret Year by Jennifer Hubbard.

(Goodreads)

         I've already started reading this book and its pretty okay so far. It was hard for me to really pay attention to the story, but that could be because I was hanging out with family and stuff. Maybe I'll start liking it more.

The last one I bought is The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong.

(Goodreads)

         I loved the Darkest Powers series by this author so I really think I'm going to love this book too. This book has a pretty good rating on Goodreads so there must be some good things about it. I read that the story line is kind of similar to the Darkest Powers series, which is great because I couldn't get enough of those books.

My cousin also lent me a book which I'm pretty close to finishing. Its called Saving June by Hannah Harrington.

(Goodreads)

           I only have about 30 pages left, so expect a review pretty soon. I really love this book and its really hard to put down. There are some little things I don't really like about it but the story is really great.

         Under the jump is some stories and other things about my trip, if you are interested. Also, have a happy father's day!!

Inadequate Synonyms! Sad Stuff! Book Haul!

I just want to start out by saying that I hate the way 'haul' sounds, but I can not find an adequate synonym for what this is so I'm just going with it.

Tonight I went out with my parents and grandparents for dinner (exciting life, I know). Just before we started eating, my grandpa got a call from a relative. Yesterday his uncle, who was like a father to him, passed away. I've only met this man once (that I remember), but he left an impression. He was rich with knowledge and belongings, and was always going somewhere or doing something. When he passed, he was in New York visiting family. He was chatting with his late wife's family and suddenly just... died. At any moment, life can be taken away. It can happen to anyone. Make the most of the time you have and do not waste it over silly things. But also do what makes you happy.

Now on to the book haul (ugh)!

After having a sad time at dinner, my parents and I decided we didn't feel like going home quite yet. So we went to the book/music/movie store!

I looked over the 'teen' section for probably 30 minutes and found some good books.

First is:

(Goodreads)

Vanished (1 & 2) by Meg Cabot
Meg Cabot is my favorite author and I love everything I've read that she's written, so I figured this would not be money wasted. I also bought this used for $5! So that's awesome! In fact, all the books I got are used. More on this later. Anyway, you can read the description at Goodreads, but I'll summarize really quick. Jessica Mastriani is struck by lightning one day, and along with a kick-arse near-death-experience story, she also gains the ability to find missing children. Chaos ensues. I can't wait to start reading this because every Meg Cabot book I've read is written fantastically and the story lines are suspenseful and interesting. 

Next up:

(Goodreads)

Dance of the Assassins by Herve Jubert
I was reluctant to pick this up because the cover really put me off. Not in an offensive way, it just didn't look like something I would read. But then I read the description. The story is set in a virtual city, and Jack the Ripper is running rampant (as he usually did). I'm not too clear on the virtual London thing but maybe I'll figure it out when I start reading. A witch, Roberta Morgenstern, and a rookie policeman, Clemente Martineau, discover that someone is resurrecting history's most villainous villains. Chaos ensues! Ah, gotta love that chaos. Jack The Ripper is horrifying but history is exciting, so I'm really scared excited to read this. I hope it doesn't give me nightmares :(


Finally:

(Goodreads)

The Monstrumologist by Rick Yancey
To be quite frank, I knew next to nothing about this book when it caught my eye. It was hard for me to decide if I should buy it, but the price was $9.50, so if I don't like it, I did not have to spend $20 on it. We have Will Henry, an assistant to a doctor who hunts monsters. When a visitor shows up on the doorstep with a dead girl and a monster, Will and the doctor must save the world from a hoard of horrifying creatures. I will admit that this story hints to no romance and that is a bit out of my norm. But if this book is suspenseful and enthralling then I am totally willing to read it.


The total for all three of these books was $25.03. I saved $23 by buying them used.

Two-Way Street by Lauren Barnholdt

(Goodreads)
Summary from Goodreads - "There are two sides to every breakup.
This is Jordan and Courtney, totally in love. Sure, they were an unlikely high school couple. But they clicked; it worked. They're even going to the same college, and driving cross-country together for orientation.
Then Jordan dumps Courtney -- for a girl he met on the Internet.
It's too late to change plans, so the road trip is on. Courtney's heartbroken, but figures she can tough it out for a few days. La la la -- this is Courtney pretending not to care.
But in a strange twist, Jordan cares. A lot.
Turns out, he's got a secret or two that he's not telling Courtney. And it has everything to do with why they broke up, why they can't get back together, and how, in spite of it all, this couple is destined for each other."


My rating - 3/5 Post-it notes from my cousin proclaiming, "Best Book Ever! Love you, Syd" 
POV - First, alternating between Jordan and Courtney.
Liked - A lot of the lines and situations were pretty funny and added comic relief to an otherwise stressful situation, the ending was nothing very climatic but showed growth in the characters.
Two of my bookmarks holding the places for my favorite quotes fell out so I'm just not going to have one. 


My cousin sent this along with some other books with her parents one holiday because she couldn't come along. On the cover was a post-it from her, reading: "Best Book Ever! Love you, Syd" (I did not get an exclamation point after my name. I see where her loyalties lie.) I decided to trust my cousin on this and finally picked it up a few days ago (her Best Book Ever has most likely changed by now). The opening isn't all that impressive, and Courtney comes off a bit spoiled and... oh man... what's the word? I don't want to say ignorant, because that's not it. Maybe a phrase will convey the message. She seems full of herself. That's not quite it either. But maybe a combination of those two things. She's not someone I totally liked at first. Same thing goes for our co-protagonist (is this a term?), Jordan. He definitely seems a bit full of himself and I couldn't relate to him early on because he mostly talked about hot girls, partying, drinking, etc. So its becoming one of those books.
But wait! Jordan gets caught up in something he was not supposed to find out about. Now it gets interesting. I caught on to what the main conflict was as soon as it was introduced, which left no real surprises, and I imagine for other readers it was predictable as well. It didn't ruin much for me, because I still saw the characters growing from this and I really liked that. As he is fighting with himself internally and we see his thought processes, its easy to understand that things are building up and are bound to get ugly. 
The author switches back and forth from present time to a specified time in the past, which I really liked. I also think the switching helped to show the growth of the characters.
One thing I really didn't like about the writing was that the character would think something and then say it in the exact same way. The first couple of times it was kind of cute and funny, but after that it was just over-used. An example- "I swallow. How does he know about that? 'How do you know about that?' I ask." (Pg. 282) This was probably the last occasion it was used, and I almost threw the book on the floor. I was really tired of the repetition. I promise I'm not usually so almost-violent to my books.
The characters were a little frustrating to me and I got really bored of Jordan describing himself and blah, blah, blah. This book wasn't so good for me. I hope its no longer my cousin's Best Book Ever. Now that I'm thinking back on it, the ending was pretty bland. I've changed the rating from 4/5 to 3/5. I don't think I would recommend this book to you, dear reader. This is not the Best Book Ever.

Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

(Photo from GoodReads)

Summary from GoodReads - 

“I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”
So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the New York Times bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?
Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have written a love story that will have readers perusing bookstore shelves, looking and longing for a love (and a red notebook) of their own.

My rating - 5/5 Red Moleskin Notebooks

POV - First, alternating between Dash and Lily

Liked - Supporting characters were fun, the idea behind this story is cute, made me feel fuzzy inside :)

Favorite Quote - "It's hard to show that you tried unless you end up succeeding." From a notebook entry by Dash (Pg. 121)