Andrea: Review of Okay for Now by Gary D. Schmidt

 

Midwesterner Gary D. Schmidt won Newbery Honor awards for Lizzie Bright and the BuckminsterBoys and The Wednesday Wars, two coming-of-age novels about unlikely friends finding a bond.  

Okay For Now, his latest novel, explores another seemingly improbable alliance, this one between new outsider in town Doug Swieteck and Lil Spicer, the savvy spitfire daughter of his deli owner boss. With her challenging assistance, Doug discovers new sides of himself. Along the way, he also readjusts his relationship with his abusive father, his school peers, and his older brother, a newly returned war victim of Vietnam.

When I first looked at the book because of battle of books I will admit that I was really reluctant to read it. I saw that it was historical fiction, and being the bad person I am I neglected it and allowed Natalie to read it first. I feel bad that I read this book because I wanted to make sure that I knew the answers to the questions in the competition. However, this book has now influenced me to give books a try, no matter the genre. 

This book starts out with a boy, Doug, moving to a beat up town, with an abusive father and brother. His other brother is fighting in a war, while his kind mother tries to cope with everything that is happening. He meets Lil Spicer and follows her into the public library. He sees a painting of a bird, and begins to draw it. 

Lil Spicer is his best friend. She has a spunky, don't-mess-with-me attitude and seems to have a solution for everything. She gets Doug his job at her father's deli as a delivery boy, which allows him to meet many of the people that influenced him in very special ways. She is eventually put into the hospital after getting a disease that only one in four people survive of. This had an interesting love story, as Lil and Doug were both amazing people.

Out of all the people that Doug delivered groceries to, Ms. Windermere. She was a very wise woman, and very passionate about everything. She loved Jane Eyre, and formed a play, with Lil as the main role and Doug as the background shrieker for an old woman in the play. She helped Doug discover things in him that he never knew before.

One of the best parts of this book, at least for me was it teaches you that you can't judge a book by its cover. That is the main point of this book. Doug's brother is accused of theft, causing the whole school to look down upon Doug thinking that he is the same as his brother. He has an extremely rude principal and gym teacher, but then, as you read ahead you find that they are having extreme sadness in their own lives, and you realize... they are not what you expected on the inside. You must always remember that you have to get to know them first before neglecting them, and this book is a perfect example. 

This book makes you realize all the people that have helped you get this far, as you read through all the amazing people that helped Doug. His brother, Lucas, comes back with no legs, and almost blind but he pulls through. This book can really raise someone's hope if they are injured, or feel different from their community. However, many children these days do have abusive families, and some don't get happy endings like Doug did. This can influence families though, to encourage each other and go in the right direction. Also it reminds us we must never lose hope and remember the people who have sacrificed much for the good of others.

Every person can change. They just need the willpower to do it. This book proves that everyone can change. His father, abusive, but in the end understands what he has done and tries his best to make it all better. This book nearly brought me to tears, and Gary Schmidt wrote an amazing piece of literature and I think everyone should give this book a try.

 

Rating:

Five out of five stars

 

Natalie: Review of Fang Girl by Helen Keeble

 

 

Things That Are Destroying Jane Greene’s Undead Social Life Before It Can Even Begin:

1) A twelve-year-old brother who’s convinced she’s a zombie.
2) Parents who are begging her to turn them into vampires.
3) The pet goldfish she accidentally turns instead.
4) Weird superpowers that let her rip the heads off of every other vampire she meets.(Sounds cool, but it doesn’t win you many friends.)
5) A psychotic vampire creator who’s using her to carry out a plan for world domination.

And finally:
6) A seriously ripped vampire hunter who either wants to stake her or make out with her. Not sure which.

Being an undead, eternally pasty fifteen-year-old isn’t quite the sexy, brooding, angst-fest Jane always imagined....

 

Ok so I have very strong opinons when it comes to vampire books. Whether they are positive or negitive opinions depends on the book, author and overall rate of suckiness (pun intended). This book can definitely be categorized under the one-of-the-few-not-horrid-vampire-books-out-there shelf.

 

Yes, the description makes it sound pretty ridiculous and I'm not gonna lie to you and say that this book was filled with heart-warming character relations and moving plotlines that will have you on the verge of tears.

She has a freaking vampire goldfish named Brains.

 

Nonetheless, it was a very satisfying read. I found myself laughing out loud over the ironic absurdity of it all at 3 am.

So essentially Xanthe (aka Jane) wakes up in a coffin six feet under and realizes that she is an undead vampire.

 

So what does she do after she digs herself out of the ground?

 

Join a rebellion of semi-evil vampires on a quest to rid the world of injustice? Nope.

 

Run off with her brooding vampire boyfriend and make out for 100 pages? Nope.

 

Go on a killing spree and murder tons of innocent people? Nope.

 

She does what any normal 15-year-old girl would do, she goes home to her parents. And not only do her parents easily accept her newfound state of being dead, they do everything from extensive library research to buying small guinea pigs for her to snack on (named Toast, Marmalade and Sugar Puff.)

 

I loved all of her friends!

Ebon is a vampire who spends most of his time trying to seduce her in a french accent and playing rock band.  Van Helsing is the vampire hunter (Ha ha yes I see the irony) and is constantly trying to kill Jane, much to her chagrin. And I especially loved Sarah, a 12-year-old evil genius whose hobbies include fanfiction and world domination.

 

Funny stuff happens, intense stuff happens, more funny, more intense... Well, you get the picture.

 

If you want more deatils just read the book.

  

Oh I almost forgot. Zach, the little brother? No words. He is so freaking awesome.

 

Overall, the plot did seem a bit slow at times but  that was overshadowed by the great characters and awesome one liners. I recommend this to anyone who wants a good laugh and doesn't mind reading a book about vampires (these ones don't sparkle, I promise.)

 

Oh, and they all have british accents. If you don't read the book for anything else, read it because of that.

 

My rating:

five out of five stars

Tehreem: The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith

Who would have guessed that four minutes could change everything?

Today should be one of the worst days of seventeen-year-old Hadley Sullivan's life. Having missed her flight, she's stuck at JFK airport and late to her father's second wedding, which is taking place in London and involves a soon-to-be stepmother Hadley's never even met. Then she meets the perfect boy in the airport's cramped waiting area. His name is Oliver, he's British, and he's sitting in her row.

A long night on the plane passes in the blink of an eye, and Hadley and Oliver lose track of each other in the airport chaos upon arrival. Can fate intervene to bring them together once more?

Quirks of timing play out in this romantic and cinematic novel about family connections, second chances, and first loves. Set over a twenty-four-hour-period, Hadley and Oliver's story will make you believe that true love finds you when you're least expecting it. 

 I don't really know what compelled me to pick up this book. I mean, I do like contemporary, but the title itself should have turned me off. The title speaks of the one thing I loathe in books and movies with a burning passion.

Insta-love.

Just thinking about it makes me shudder with horror and disgust.

However, this book pulled it off in a unique way. Hadley doesn't just see Oliver and fall in love right away. She only notices that he is a very handsome man. Hadley only begins to truly like him when they speak. When I say speak, I don't mean something along the lines of the following conversation:

Boy: Hello.
Girl: *Internal thoughts* OMG! I LUV HIM ALREADY!! HE LUVS ME 2! WE CAN BE 2GETHER 4EVER!!!

No. That's not how it works, people. Sorry to disappoint you.

Instead, Hadley and Oliver talk about things that you would on a date with someone you don't really know. Things like hobbies, life, school, past relationships... you get the drift. It wasn't some kind of stupid attraction the had no focal point; there was actually something there.

Not only that, they don't necessarily fall in love right away. In fact, they don't really fall in love at all. Well, not in the written part of the book, anyway. We tend to use our imaginations, don't we? Err... BACK TO THE POINT!! They really only discover that they honestly like each other and they want things to work out. The whole "love at first sight" thing is just Oliver trying to be romantic. (And succeeding, might I add.)

Anyway, this book really was worth reading. I wouldn't say it's a "must". I'd say it's more of a "if you have the time, then by all means do so." Really, this book is very coercive in its own way.

.....

You know what? I am going to be perfectly serious with you guys. The reason I picked up this book was probably because deep down, I knew the guy was going to be amazing. And I was right; Oliver is beyond amazing. Oliver is sweet, charming, sarcastic, humorous, and comforting all at once. Now, he is a far cry from the standard of "perfect" given by society, but in his own way, he really is the perfect guy.

Oh, and he's British. All British people are perfect.

My rating:

Three out of Five Stars!

 

Meredith: My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century by Rachel Harris

 

On the precipice of her sixteenth birthday, the last thing lone wolf Cat Crawford wants is an extravagant gala thrown by her bubbly stepmother-to-be and well-meaning father. So even though Cat knows the family’s trip to Florence, Italy, is a peace offering, she embraces the magical city and all it offers. But when her curiosity leads her to an unusual gypsy tent, she exits . . . right into Renaissance Firenze.

Thrust into the sixteenth century armed with only a backpack full of contraband future items, Cat joins up with her ancestors, the sweet Alessandra and protective Cipriano, and soon falls for the gorgeous aspiring artist Lorenzo. But when the much-older Niccolo starts sniffing around, Cat realizes that an unwanted birthday party is nothing compared to an unwanted suitor full of creeptastic amore.

Can she find her way back to modern times before her Italian adventure turns into an Italian forever?

 

 

I was suprisingly entertained by the book, considering how disenchanted I first was with both the cover and the title. I mean, come on. A pink backpack? I know that it was important, but it does not need to be on the cover.

 

My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century by Rachel Harris follows social outcast Cat Crawford, the daughter of a movie star and a director. Ten years after her mother's desertion, her father is remarrying to a bright, bubbly blonde woman named Jenna. Her father's fiancee wants to throw Cat a huge ball of a Sweet Sixteen, but Cat will hear nothing of it. That is... until her father offers to take her to Italy, a dream of hers for years.

 

However, after stumbling into a suspicious gypsy tent by the side of the road, she gets more Italian history lessons than she bargained for. She is thrust into the sixteenth century, right into the life of Patience, a girl traveling to her cousins' home after losing both her parents to sickness.

 

My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century had beautiful world building in it. The descriptions of Renaissance Italy left me in awe. Rachel Harris has been bestowed with the beautiful gift of description.

 

The same cannot be said of the characters. While her cousin Alessandra was without a doubt my favorite character, the rest left something to be desired. Lorenzo, the love interest, is perfect. So perfect, in fact, to the point of being a Gary-Sue. He has gorgeous brown eyes and golden locks; his personality is gentlemanly and he is sweet, funny, kind, and sarcastic. Her aunt and uncle both have the same emotions throughout the entire book. Cat was, of course, astoundingly beautiful. Do ugly people never find love?

 

And of course, there's Niccolo: a forty-year-old looker who is kind and polite and ready to find a wife. Naturally, being from the twenty-first century, Cat is disgusted by all the girls her age vying for his attention.

 

The only point that really bothered me about this book was the fact that everyone just seemed too perfect. Cat is beautiful and immediately falls for sexy Lorenzo before even getting to know him. Hormones, much?

 

My rating:

three and a half out of five stars

Tehreem: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

 

There were no surprises in Gatlin County.
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.
 
Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

After reading so many reviews for this book, I can quite honestly say I was prepared for the worst. I think the reason it earned a three star rating was because my expectations were so low. If I had been expecting a five star read that blew my mind, I would have burned this book.

The book follows a teenage boy in the town of Gatlin. And yes, you guessed it, he falls in love with the witch - oh sorry, Caster.

In the process of falling in love, he realizes how terrible his friends are. So, he (finally) stands up to his friends when they try to torment his future girlfriend. He would sacrifice everything to be with the hot new girl he almost killed.

Twice.

I'm not even kidding.

Not only is the romance cliche, it's also love at first sight. Well, love before first sight. The book explains it all.

Did I mention that the male lead, Ethan, believes that the female lead, Lena, is his life now? Anything concerning her automatically concerns him. Even family stuff. When she wants space, he bothers the heck out of her.

That boy is crazy.

In case you couldn't tell, I don't really care for the characters. I felt like tearing my hair out - they were just so irksome!

Now, the main plot was pretty good, pretty cheesy. Basically, Lena is not able to choose whether or not she becomes a Dark Caster. Literally, the choice is beyond her. When her 16th birthday comes to pass, she will either become light or dark.

Did I say that the fate of the town basically relies on her remaining light?

Oh, and there is something evil lurking in the shadows - watching, and waiting...

ANYWAYS, the book was over all a decent read. I will say, it wasn't all that good, but it was quite enjoyable. Although, I do have one other complaint. Two things in the end made me feel led on.

Read and see for yourself.

My rating:

Two and a Half out of Five Stars!!

However, since there is no photo of 2.5 stars, I will just post a photo of three stars. :]

 

Tehreem: She's So Dead to Us by Kieran Scott

 Ally Ryan would rather be in Maryland. She would rather be anywhere, in fact, than Orchard Hill, site of her downfall. Well, not hers exactly—but when your father’s hedge fund goes south and all your friends lose their trust funds, things don’t look so sunny for you. Her mother moved her to Maryland to flee the shame, but now they’re moving back. Back to the country-club, new-car-every-year, my-family-came-over-on-the-Mayflower lifestyle that Ally has outgrown. One bright spot, however, is gorgeous, intense Jake Graydon. But it won’t be easy for the two of them to be together—not if his friends (her former friends) have anything to say about it. Is Ally ready to get thrown back into the drama of the life she left behind?

You know how when you hate the characters in a book, you tend to hate the book itself? Well, this book is not an example of that. Sorry.

I don't think someone could read this book, and not hate at least one character. All of them are snotty, stuck-up kids who don't care about anyone but themselves. They don't care about who gets hurt in the end. Even if that person who gets hurt is one of their closest friends. All they care about is their social status.

And whether or not they get the guy.

Ally, one of the main characters, is one of the only teenagers in the book I can sympathize with. She understands that some things she has done were wrong. She actually learns from her mistakes.

The other main character, Jake, is just a freakin' idiot.

Seriously! He is the man version of a slut. He is with a new girl every week, even though he has been pinning after Ally the entire time.

Apparently, the only way you can win a girl is by sucking face with all the other girls around you. 'Cos that totally makes a girl swoon over you.

“Oh, look at his amazing face sucking skills! I gotta get me some of that!”

Yeah, um... no.

Ally does some pretty annoying things too. She basically gets a boyfriend – who is really sweet and nice and ohmigodIwanthim – just to fill the “void in her heart.”

Please! Get over yourself, woman! Stuff happens in life. Build a bridge and get over it.

Overall, this book was very enjoyable, though I did throw it at a wall...

You will understand when you read it.

My rating:

Four out of Five Stars!

By the way, I don't normally harm books. This one was just asking for it.

Tehreem: Review of Such a Pretty Girl by Laura Wiess

They promised Meredith nine years of safety, but only gave her three. 
   
Her father was supposed to be locked up until Meredith turned eighteen. She thought she had time to grow up, get out, and start a new life. But Meredith is only fifteen, and today her father is coming home from prison. 

Today her time has run out.

When I picked up this book, I expected something gripping. A tear-jerker would have been nice. However, that is not what I received.

This book did not make me sad. It made me livid.

Meredith had been through so much. Her own father hurt her in ways as a child that are unforgivable. She had loved him, and he had betrayed her.

He is sick, vile, and absolutely disgusting.

But Meredith's mother doesn't seem to think he is.

She praises him as if he were a god. Even when he is released from prison and interested in Meredith alone, her mother doesn't see a thing. She only sees the man that she loved when she was twelve, and he sixteen. When she was just a kid and he was a teenager.

She never seems to understand that her husband will only ever be interested in youth.

And she isn't young anymore.

But their daughter is.

Her mother almost seems to blame Meredith for being "too appealing." She doesn't care that her husband continues to leer at their daughter. She thinks it was all a mistake, and blames Meredith for tearing apart their family.

Inside, Meredith's mother is still a spoiled child.

I hate her for that.

A mother should always be there for her daughter. Meredith was crying out, but her mother continued to remain oblivious. Or perhaps she wasn't. Maybe she knew what was happening, but just refused to acknowledge it.

Just thinking that makes this book worse.

Maybe it's unfair of me to judge a book on one simple character. However, when that character is as messed up as the tormenter, it's hard not to. Meredith's mother just made the story seem too unrealistic. Everyone looked over Meredith's mother. They saw how sick she was, yet they continued to place Meredith in her care.

I still liked this book, but the characters made the plot seem distorted. I was disappointed, but not to the point where I would never pick up this book again.

My rating:

Three out of Five Stars!