Specials

Summary {again from the back because I do like this summary}: Tally thought they were a rumor, but now she’s one of them. A Special. A super-amped fighting machine, engineered to keep the uglies down and the pretties stupid. But maybe being perfectly programmed with strength and focus isn’t better than anything she’d ever known. Tally still has memories of something else.
But it’s easy for her to tune that out—until she’s offered a chance to stamp out the rebels of the New Smoke permanently. It all comes down to one last choice: listen to that tiny, faint heart-beat, or carry you the mission she’s programmed to complete. Either way, Tally’s world will never be the same.

Review: This is my review before I go to Italy with a brain that has officially quit before APs.

Scott Westerfeld=100% Brilliant/Awesome

Uglies Series=<3

Specials=Made of awesomeness and kick-ass. Tally is a bit annoying at some points, but I’m assuming that a lot of her Special brain. Every scene just plays in my head when I read this book which means basically Westerfeld brings the book to life. It’s cool how people are cured and the noticeable difference in their looks like Tally says ‘Champagne without bubbles’

Zane and Tally factor=I didn’t really believe that Tally loved Zane, I don’t know but I couldn’t feel it. Westerfeld is great at bring out emotions and vivid images but I didn’t believe that Tally loved Zane. She was just holding on to the past, it seemed (maybe that’s on purpose?).

David and Tally=obviously meant to be. The relationship was so much better and real with them. The fact that she saw Zane as just some random and David not as an ugly but just as David proves that so easily. Tally just needs to see it a bit more, I think she still believes she loves Zane.

Rating of Book: 5/5 I liked it better than Pretties.

Reviews from the Pros:

“An exciting, well written, thought-provoking and engrossing futuristic trilogy.” –YOVA

Basically: read it! Well I’m off to Italy tomorrow for my spring break so hopefully I will be able to make some progress on my new book (City of Glass *squee!*)See ya in a week!
-She Who Reads A Lot

City of Ashes

Summary: [I’m really lazy right now. So here’s the summary from the book] Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what’s normal when you’re a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who’s becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn’t ready to let her go—especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary’s only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil—and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings—and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

Summary: Ok, that’s a really crappy summary. It doesn’t even skim the surface of this book, but I’m too lazy to think of another one. All right, first I must make my claim that I am still in love with this series. However, I did not enjoy this book as much as I did its predecessor, City of Bones. In City of Ashes there are a few moments that Clare teeters dangerously on the line of fanfiction. One particular example of this is [SPOILER ALERT] when Simon becomes a vampire. I thought this was a ridiculous plot twist and a bit unnecessary, but I lived with it. When she revealed that he could stay in sunlight after drinking Jace’s blood [which by the way is a very obvious way of showing what Valentine did to his son, I think], then that plunged the event into fanfiction territory. Another example of this is Maia. As if we all couldn’t tell that something is going to happen between Maia and Simon. Great idea, (I mean hey I write a VampirexWerewolf story) but...very fanfiction-y.[SPOILER OVER] That being said, I did enjoy this book and I got very into it.

Like City of Bones, it is very fast paced and very in-character. It was amusing and witty—I was laughing out loud at many points in the book. There were plot twists that, again were a bit fanfictoin-y, but enjoyable in the least. I’m still fighting for Jace and Clary to not be related and I really don’t think they are. This book just strengthens the argument. Heh, and if you want to talk about a cliffhanger the ending of this book is most certainly one. I’m very eager, along with I'm sure all of the Mortal Instruments fans, to go pick up City of Glass to see what happens to our beloved Jace and Clary.

Rating: 4/5

Reviews from the Pros:

“Hold on tight for a smart, sexy thrill ride.”-Libba Bray

“A gorgeous fantasy that’s so good, it’s dangerous.”-Holly Black

Inkdeath

Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke
Summary: [This is taken from the side of the book—there is no way I can summarize this book] Ever since the extraordinary events of Inkspell when the enchanted book Inkheart drew Meggie and her father, Mo, into its chapters, life in the INkworld has been more tragic than magical.
The fire-eater Dustfinger is dead, having sacrificed his life for his apprentice Farid’s, and now, under the rule of the evil Adderhead, the fairy-tale land is in bloody chaos, its characters far be yond the control of Fenoglio, their author. Even Elinor, left behind in the real world, believes her family to be lost—lost between the covers of a book.
Facing the threat of eternal winter, Mo inks a dangerous deal with Death itself. There yet remains a faint hope of changing the cursed story—if only he can fill its pages fast enough.

My Review: I loved this book. Plain and simple, I loved it. Part of me can see why this book is classified as a children’s book and the other part of me cannot fathom it. It’s a children’s book because very simply this book is a fairy tale at its best. There are evil manipulative villains, noble hearted robbers, a fair maiden and her two princes, giants, fairies, and monsters. Although, if I were a child I would get nightmares from this book!

Anyways, as I said I love this book. I love it because it is a fairy tale it’s an amazing story and it keeps you turning the pages through the entire thing. I did like how it switched points of view because it was nice to see how all the characters took their points of views on things. That being said, I love how Funke weaves in the art of story making into an actual story. She seems to acknowledge how a story can sometimes take its own form and go on without an author’s consent. The Bluejay was one of my favorite characters and Mo’s dual personality is completely believable. Now here comes the but! The only thing I object to is that Meggie seems to fall out of the story. She has been denounced to staying at camp and waiting as her father does all the fighting. It’s a little disappointing in that aspect.
[SPOILER!] As for the Doria and Meggie thing? I am so happy! Farid was being a jerk-face to Meggie, so Meggie deserves Doria. I would also like to point out that in the back in the “An A-Z of the Inkworld” it says that Farid is “fond if Meggie” but Doria is “in love with Meggie”. So obviously she made the better choice. {Spoiler OVER!]

Overall, this book is absolutely fabulous. If you are really looking for a fantasy book that will just take you into its covers, it’s this one. You will be rooting for Mo and Dustfinger the entire time!

Rating: 5/5 I could read this series over and over again. I also love that at the beginning of each chapter there are quotes from famous books!

Reviews from Pros:

“...Funke's storytelling is as compelling as ever...” –Kirkus Review

Go pick up this book up it is a good story! Maybe not a world-changing read but a good fairy-tale/fantasy nonetheless. Now I’m off to read City of Ashes!
-She Who Reads A Lot

Speculating the Life

So you know what's weird? My whole high school career has been geared toward college. Take that AP course it will look good in college and you won't have to take it. Keep your grades high or you won't get into college. Take a language you hate for 5 years so you can get out of it in college and so it looks like you're dedicated. Join that club for community service, so you look well-rounded. Do a sport for an excessively long time, even though you're not that into it, so it helps make you well-rounded. These are things I've heard and lived by for the past 2-3 years of my high school career. Now March will be rolling around soon and I'm getting hordes of e-mails from colleges that I've never heard of. Ever. In places I've never heard of. Ever. Like, really Mercer University or Hoftsra University? I really never knew there were so many colleges. Also, I'll admit ok, it's nice to recieve this stuff even as Junior becuase I know what's out there. It shows that maybe all that work I'm doing now, all the stress, all the APs will actually pay off.

I've enjoyed looking at some of these colleges sites seeing what they offer and all that and it's a little bit exciting, along with scary. Anyways all this college stuff would be all fine and dandy if I knew what the hell I wanted to do with my life! Sadly, I don't. I have no idea what I want to major in or what I want to do with my life for a career. So as I look at these colleges and look at what they offer I don't know what to seriously look at because really I don't know what I want to do. So how will I know if that college will be right for me a year from now? That's the most stressful part of this.

My mom has been on me about choosing a major and deciding what I want to do all of my junior year so far. For the most part so far I've brushed her off. I was way too busy with school and swimming and the things going on in my life right now to worry about college in two years. Well...now it's 2009, one year till I graduate, I'm recieving college e-mails and things in the mail from them, and I still don't know what I'm going to do. So I'm a little worried, I know I shouldn't be ya know? Eventually I will figure it out; I will make a decision. Or I could go to college undecided a lot of people do that nowadays. However, I hate the idea of going to college undecided because it's a lot of money to go to college. Money I don't have, money my parents can barely afford. I don't want to waste any money if I'm still not going to know what I want to do in 4 years after all that work. *sigh* So do we see my problem? So I don't know. For now I'm focusing on getting through school and passing the SATs.

I can't believe it's all ready February only four more months of school. Four more months of my junior year. I can't believe it's passing so fast. Heh, okay. I feel better now that I let this all out. No one has to actually read this. It's just me working out my thoughts. Anyways, hopefully Inkdeath review will be up in like 2 weeks! (I'm only in the 200s out of 660). Heh so bye!
-She Who Reads A Lot

Freeing Keiko

Note: Okay so I had to read this book for AP English. She made us read a nonfiction book of our choice and we had to write a book review for it. So basically what I'm going to do is post the review I wrote for my English Assignment! Here it is: If you grew up in the 1990s you probably knew about the animal that would become the most famous whale in the world: Keiko. This lovable killer whale with his flopped over fin was treasured by children all over the world for his part in Free Willy. In Freeing Keiko the Journey of a Killer Whale from Free Willy to the Wild, Kenneth Brower shares the amazing journey of Keiko.

Brower demonstrates an extensive knowledge for all aspects of Keiko’s journey and leaves no room for questions. While he tells the tale of this brilliant whale, who loved “messing with the minds of his trainers”, Brower also recounts the tale of the battles fought to bring Keiko to freedom. Brower’s tone in this recounting can border on cynical and crude (he denounces the Free Willy movie as “nonsense”) but he finds the crucial balance between informative detail, humor, and irony that makes this book so compelling and powerful. The recounting of this unbelievable creature and the amazing people who worked with him is a life-changing read.

This is my little added part! Rating: 5/5 I really loved this book. It surprised me, I didn't expect it to be as interesting as it was!

Yeah anyways hopefully this can tide you over till I get through Inkdeath ^^;; heh. Happy reading!
~She Who Reads A Lot

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

Summary: Frankie Landau-Banks is about to start her sophomore year at the prestigious Alabaster Academy. Something is different about her as she returns this year, though: her body suddenly decided to go through puberty. She’s a knock-out all of a sudden, over the summer. Along with this new figure comes a new attitude, especially when she captures the interest of the amazing Matthew Livingston. She has a sharp tongue and when she figures out that Matthew is apart of the male only loyal order of the Basset Hound, Frankie is a little more than miffed. She decides she doesn't like being ordered around. She decides she doesn't like being excluded. She decides to take matters into her own hands.

My Review: I wanted to like this book, really I did! I’ve heard just amazing things about it, but it was a serious struggle to finish it. I love the idea of girl power and I think that Frankie had some good ideas. However, I think that Frankie is a not a good role model for girls. She is as Alpha points out many times: a psychopath. I’m sorry for all you people who loved her and thought she was God, but all I could think when trying to read this book was “this girl has problems.” She has a serious craving to be the center of attention that is not flattering to the girl gender at all. She obviously has some sort of inferiority complex. That being said I have no doubt in my head that it’s people like Frankie Landau-Banks that make the biggest difference in this world. It’s girls like her who become top lawyers and political leaders, which scares me a bit.

I’m very torn in this book, especially reviewing it. Because part of me wants to be that childish girl and say I hated this book because I hated the character and I couldn’t get through it and give it a nasty review because of it. However, the somewhat serious critique in me recognizes a powerful piece of literature when she sees it. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks is thought-provoking and unforgettable at its best. Mostly unforgettable because of Frankie the rest of the cast, aside from Alpha, fade into the background [even Frankie’s boyfriend] as completely flat. It’s thought provoking because it really does make you wonder about this male-run society and perhaps the line between the modern gender equal world we want, and the one that really exists. Frankie is, in bad light, jealous, conniving, sneaky, power-hungry, and has some self-esteem issues. Some people might choose to phrase this as brilliant, ambitious, confident, quirky, and witty. So really, this is hard for me to do. Let me put it this way: I hated the book very much. If you like powerful women you really might like this.

Rating: 3/5 I couldn’t stand the main character. I didn’t really believe her feelings much at all and the lackluster second characters were a turnoff.

Reviews from the pros:

*yawn* I’m too lazy to look it up for this one. Now I can finally start Inkdeath that has been taunting me from my bookshelf since I got it for Christmas! Muwaha! Hah see you all when I finish this 660 page book! (lol sometime next year probably)!
Happy Reading!

~She Who Reads A Lot

Happy 2009!

I know this is a few days late. I’ve been rather lazy to tell you the truth and trying to push myself through The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks, by the way hopefully that book review will be up in about a week. I’m trying to get through that as quick as possible because I’m eager to start my goals for 2009. For my whole life I’ve listened to adults rant and rave about having goals for yourself and writing them down. Well this year I decided to listen and do that. My goals so far are: Read 100 or more books this year. Obtain my driver’s license. Maintain a 90 or higher average in school. Oh. Also don’t explode from stress (I’m in danger of that at times). I may think of more but right now at the beginning of 2009 those are my goals. I really want to try to read 100 or more books, I will blog about them all and if I can figure out how I will try to put a list up somewhere of the books I’ve read. I’m really going to have to work for that one heh because currently I average about 2 books per month, that won’t cut it if I want to make 100 books. I’m not sure if this will happen, but I can make the goal can’t I? and just see what happens, I suppose. Hee, so those are my New Years Resolutions! Well aside from wanting to be a better person and maybe relaxing a little (again I stress, a lot. I’m aware of that; my mom makes fun of my anxiety issues at times). I hope everyone had a great New Years! I also hope that 2009 is better than last year even if last year was great and amazing. So yeah Happy New Year everyone and I hope you made New Years Resolutions you want to stick to! I'll be back posting book reviews soon, I promise! Till later.
~She Who Reads A Lot