Entwined by Heather Dixon

Azalea is trapped. Just when she should feel that everything is before her . . . beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing . . . it's taken away. All of it.
The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. And so he extends an invitation.
Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest.
But there is a cost.
The Keeper likes to keep things.
Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.

LOVED this retelling of the twelve dancing princesses. I wasn't sure I would because I LOVE Jessica Day's George's book. There is room for both.
Azalea is the oldest princess in a poor kingdom. Her mother dies and makes Azalea promise to watch over her eleven other sisters. Their castle has a bit of magic left over from the reign of one of the kings.
The girls love dance because it is a connection to their mother who taught them to dance and so the girls love to dance. But they aren't allowed to dance during mourning. Azalea tries to keep their spirits up by secretly dancing in the ballroom but someone catches them and stops it. The author adds tons of different dances and steps that I don't know so I skimmed these parts.
Enter Mr. Keeper who isn't dead but isn't alive and isn't a zombie either.  Thanks to the leftover magic, the princesses can dance on Mr. Keepers pavilion every night. Unknown to them, he exacts a price.
Entwined has mystery and romance as well as a great story and characters.


Rating: PG
L: None
V: Fighting; scary dead guy
S: Kissing


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25% test (p. 118)
"...beaming from learning a new step, or how to balance on just their toes, or when Azalea tucked them into bed, their cheeks flushed and smiling.
"Sometimes i wake up," Flora said one morning, "And I wonder if it's even real."
"If feels like a dream, "Goldenrod agreed, sleepily.
Mornings came much too early, and after the girls had groggily dressed, they stumbled to breakfast late. They mended slippers over their porridge, or in the afternoons in the cool cellar. The slippers became more tattered each day, and Azalea had to back them with extra fabric from old tablecloths, because the satin frayed so. They couldn't last much longer, Azalea knew, but she would sew her fingers raw to make them do. She had to immerse herself in the silver forest, in the dancing, if only for on more night.
And though she wouldn't dare admit it to anyone, she wanted to see Mr. Keeper again.
He hardly ever spoke to her or any of them, other than to welcome, bow them in, and wish them a good night when they left, but the essence of him lingered. When Azalea spun, spotting her head as her skirts billowed around her, she could swear she glimpsed his midnight eyes watching through the lattice, or at the entrance, but when she turned about again, she saw only rosebuds. his sleek movements mesmerized her, and she..."

XVI by Julie Karr

Nina Oberon's life is pretty normal: she hangs out with her best friend, Sandy, and their crew, goes to school, plays with her little sister, Dee. But Nina is 15. And like all girls she'll receive a Governing Council-ordered tattoo on her 16th birthday. XVI. Those three letters will be branded on her wrist, announcing to all the world—even the most predatory of men—that she is ready for sex. Considered easy prey by some, portrayed by the Media as sluts who ask for attacks, becoming a "sex-teen" is Nina's worst fear. That is, until right before her birthday, when Nina's mom is brutally attacked. With her dying breaths, she reveals to Nina a shocking truth about her past—one that destroys everything Nina thought she knew. Now, alone but for her sister, Nina must try to discover who she really is, all the while staying one step ahead of her mother's killer.

I liked some of the dysoptianess of the book. I liked Grannie and Pops, the grandparents. I didn't really connect with Nina. I thought her sister, Dee was five-years-old the way she acted but she's actually eleven.
When girls turn sixteen in this world, they are tattooed with "XVI" on their wrist to signify their age and the legality of any man having sex with her. The government owns the media and the media tells the population sex whenever and with whoever is perfectly fine as long as they are sixteen. If the girl gets pregnant, it's up the to boy what happens to the baby. Girls are taught they are sex toys and it's fine. 
Kudos to the author for having the main character disgusted with the whole XVI and sex propaganda. 
I got tired of the "big brother is evil" scenarios. On the other hand, there wasn't much story line for how the world came about or how the resistance was going to stop the government from having so much control and I would've liked to read more about that plot.


Rating: PG 15 (max)
V: fighting
L: a little. "F" bomb toward the end
S: constant talk of it but no scenes




25% test (p. 81):
"...found out my mom was a tier-two cashier, most of them quit talking to me. I didn't let it get to me too much--when we were tier-five, I never talked to tier-twos. Besides, I get so caught up in my drawing that I'd have probably ignored Can Stacy if he'd walked in the room.
Even thinking about that move made me feel angry, and then guilty...how could I be angry at Ginnie now? Then Dee came in and hung over the back of a chair, her toes skimming the floor. You think Maddie and Justin still go to Dickens?"
"Sure, I bet most of your friends will be at your old school. We've only been gone four years.  I hoped I was right. She needed something to make her feel better. She needed friends.
"Neens...I miss Mom." She sobbed quietly next to me. 
I scooped her up knocking of the container of flour with my elbow, hugging her as tight as I could, Holding back my own tears. Even though she was eleven, she felt so small, so vulnerable. Eventually, she stopped crying.
"I'm sorry." She sniffed and swallowed hard. "You miss her, too, don't you?"
"Yes, I do."
"What did they do with her body? Is it out in space with all the burial pods?" She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and looked at me expectantly.
i didn't know what had happened--"We'll dispose of the body in the usual manner..."--I had to say something comforting. "Yes, it is. They sent her body out that very morning. She's up among the stars now."
"Gran says she's in heaven." Dee looked at me. "You don't believe in heaven, do you?"

Shug by Jenny Han

Twelve-year-old Annemarie Wilcox (a.k.a. Shug) is facing the start of junior high saddled with a lot of baggage: an impossibly gorgeous older sister, bickering parents, an excruciating crush on her best friend, Mark, and absolutely no self-confidence. Boasting one of the most likable young protagonists in recent memory and narrated in the pitch-perfect voice of conflicted 'tweenness, Jenny Han's appealing debut novel scored an unqualified success with our grown-up booksellers. We think it's sure to resonate with the 9-12 set.

Great voice of the main character. I enjoyed reading Shug's story as she matured throughout the story. Her voice and personality remained strong and consistent.
The struggles of a junior high student will resonate with anyone because it's the same as our story. Crush on boy, boy likes someone else; best friend gets a boy to like her first; obnoxious boy teases and torments; embarrassed or angry with mom who doesn't listen or understand; the pecking order of sleepovers; afraid to make a wrong move and become a social outcast. I could go on but I think you get the idea.

Rating: PG
L: a little
V:None
S: an innocent kiss or two

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25% test (p.62):
"...bump elbows. I'm afraid that what I feel for him shows all over my face. I'm afraid of  everything.
Sitting there in the dark, I close my eyes. I imagine that we're on a real date, that it's just the two of us, that--
Jack pokes me on the shoulder, hard. "Wake up, butthead."
I slap his hand away and try to pay attention to the movie.

The movie is over too soon. Walking out of the theater, I feel like a real teenage girl who goes to the movies with boys, and I'm scared but I'm excited, too. As Elaine and I are mounting our bikes, Jack says, "Why do you always wear your hair up, Annemarie?" Before I can answer, he yanks the ponytail holder out of my hair and a few strands come out with it.
I yelp, and my bike falls to the ground with a loud clatter. My cheeks are flaming, and I feel like I have a fever. Stomping on his foot, I yell, "You barbarian! You idiot!"
He holds the hairband high above my head. Jack Connelly, the only boy in our class who is taller than me.
My hair is swinging around wildly, and I feel like a cat whose tail has been cut off. Give it back!" I scream. For some reason I feel like I could cry."

Where I Belong by Gwendolyn Heasley

Meet Corrinne. She's living every girl's dream in New York City—shopping sprees at Barneys, open access to the best clubs and parties, and her own horse at the country club. Her perfect life is perfectly on track. At least it was. . . .
When Corrinne's father is laid off, her world suddenly falls apart. Instead of heading to boarding school, she's stripped of her credit cards and shipped off to the boonies of Texas to live with her grandparents. On her own in a big public school and forced to take a job shoveling manure, Corrinne is determined to get back to the life she's supposed to be living. She doesn't care who she stomps on in the process. But when Corrinne makes an unlikely friend and discovers a total hottie at work, she begins to wonder if her life B.R.—before the recession—was as perfect as it seemed.

Poor Corrinne! She was born with her daddy's credit card in her mouth and no limits. She shops and demands the best. She's self-centered, egotistical and full of herself in Manhattan.
Then her daddy gets laid off and Corrinne's life becomes B.R. (before recession) and A.R. (after recession). Her family can't afford the few houses, maids, cooks, clothes, cars and lifestyle they once lived. So Corrinne and her brother are shipped off to grandparents in Texas. No way is Corrinne going to enjoy her time in the Lone Star state. But little by little she is taken in with the friends she makes and their way of living. She's surprised to learn she CAN wear a $24.99 dress and look good in it.
Loved Corrine's vocab and thoughts at the beginning of the book and watching as she changed. She became more aware of others, learned a work ethic and opened her eyes to the love of family.
Book ended too soon or abruptly for me but other than that, it was enjoyable.

Rating:PG 13
V: None
L: None that I can remember
S: Kissing

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25% test (p. 72):
"...friends. See you after the game."
As, so this is tailgating. The all-American ritual of hanging out in parking lots and eating unidentifiable grilled meats out of pickup trucks. In the city, we would never do this because we use cars to get from place to place, not as party furniture. The whole scene seems rather disgusting, and I hope that it forces me to lose my growing appetite.
I am relieved to see that the young people dress up somewhat for the event. Getting ready, I worried that my outfit--a soft gray linen dress with a pink cardigan--might be too extreme. Because I lack pride or any feelings other than hatred toward Broken Spoke, I had no desire to wear gray. But ultimately I decided there's no use in sticking out more than I already do, so I wore it anyway.
I need to iPhone this tailgate scene to my father in Dubai. Seeing me here might change his attitude. he says football is for meatheads; real gentlemen golf and play polo, games of skill, not brute force. I don't exactly agree, but I am willing to use anything to my advantage. of course, the eight-hour time difference is making it a bit difficult to get ahold of him.
Since Tripp galloped off with his friends, I am left with Grandma, Grandpa, and their group of friends, which appears to includes the entire town.
Grandma pulls me up to a large group of ladies wearing Mockingbird gear."

Books, exactly how they work

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf_CqpHzDQiG0Hqsvot6VqHv9rVhdrpfugjoz5XaetKhRkb5vuQFxwchk7srNxTcQ_3rKr2dvF8XBddQjuwD35cOjXvFuK5zJgt7sdZGN1pkUnpajQT7wjbwWMgsmbEGDdY7JchFEXCXk/s1600/Books_clean.jpg

Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs

Lily Sanderson has a secret, and it’s not that she has a huge crush on gorgeous swimming god Brody Bennett, who makes her heart beat flipper-fast. Unrequited love is hard enough when you’re a normal teenage girl, but when you’re half human, half mermaid like Lily, there’s no such thing as a simple crush.

Lily’s mermaid identity is a secret that can’t get out, since she’s not just any mermaid – she’s a Thalassinian princess. When Lily found out three years ago that her mother was actually a human, she finally realized why she didn’t feel quite at home in Thalassinia, and she’s been living on land and going to Seaview high school ever since, hoping to find where she truly belongs. Sure, land has its problems – like her obnoxious, biker boy neighbor Quince Fletcher – but it has that one major perk – Brody. The problem is, mermaids aren’t really the casual dating type – when they “bond,” it’s for life.

When Lily’s attempt to win Brody’s love leads to a tsunami-sized case of mistaken identity, she is in for a tidal wave of relationship drama, and she finds out, quick as a tailfin flick, that happily-ever-after never sails quite as smoothly as you planned.

Quick, clean, fun read. A mermaid story from the very beginning.
Lily is a mermaid princess whose (dead) mother is human and father is a mer king.
Lily was given the chance to see what living among the "terrapeds"and falls for Brody, who doesn't know she exists except as the swim team manager.
Lily's neighbor, Quince, is a pain in her fins next door neighbor who happens to like Lily. Only Lily can't figure this out through 1/2 the book and the rest of the book is how she doesn't like Quince, she likes Brody.
When Quince kisses Lily, their futures change and Lily has to reveal her biggest secret to him.
I liked the story. I didn't know it was a trilogy until I was into the book. But this is okay to stand alone. No real cliff hanger for the second book. Sounds like the second book will be from the viewpoint of Lily's cousin who despises her.
I wish the author would've fleshed out Brody and Shannen (BFF) a little bit more. Especially when it came to them finding out Lily's secret.
Lily uses tons of sea-inspired vocab and swear words like: "son of a swordfish,""blowfish," and "damselfish" (personal favorite).

Rating PG
V: No
L: No
S: kissing

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25% test (page 73):
"8
Meet me at Seaview Beach Park at three.
I slipped the note under Quince's front door first thing in the morning and then disappeared. A night's lack of sleep hadn't cleared things up for me, and I needed a full day to figure out how to explain...well, everything...to him.
As the sun heads west behind me, I sit staring out at the ocean horizon. Still not sure how I'm going to proceed.
How do you tell a guy you're a mermaid? And that's he's turning mer, too? I've spent three years fantasizing about telling Brody, but this is different. Quince is different.
He doesn't say anything when he walks up behind me, but I feel him. In the sand, in the air. Everywhere. For a minute, I let the tension--or maybe it's the bond, I still can't believe I'm bonded to Quince Fletcher--crackle between us. I'd always heard the bond was an addictive high. I never..."

Poke the Box by Seth Godin

We send our kids to school and obsess about their test scores, their behavior and their ability to fit in.
We post a help wanted ad and look for experience, famous colleges and a history of avoiding failure.
We invest in companies based on how they did last quarter, not on what they’re going to do tomorrow.
So why are we surprised when it all falls apart?
Our economy is not static, but we act as if it is. Your position in the world is defined by what you instigate, how you provoke, and what you learn from the events you cause. In a world filled with change, that’s what matters — your ability to create and learn from change.
Poke the Box is a manifesto about producing something that’s scarce, and thus valuable. It demands that you stop waiting for a road map and start drawing one instead. You know how to do this, you’ve done it before, but along the way, someone talked you out of it.
We need your insight and your dreams and your contributions. Hurry.

I was given this book as part of a promotion of The Domino Project.
Good motivational/self-help/quotable book. If you need a kick in the butt, this is a good read for you.
Lots of good examples and quotes.


25% test (p. 21):
"...mediocre as long as the product, the service, or the organization isn't totally broken.

There's never a problem getting a posse together to fix the broken. The upside for you (and the challenge) is to find the energy and the will to challenge the mediocre.
When in doubt...
Look for the fear. That's almost always the source of your doubt.
Where did the curious go?
If you visit Penguin Magic online, you'll see video after video of stunning mind-reading, metal-bending, shoe-tying magic. And in the videos, the magicians are on the street, performing for passersby. A well-done illusion leads to a lot screaming. The audience can't believe it. It's a miracle! Satan! And then, curiosity.

"How did you do that?"
Every once in a while, I'll perform an illusion or some technical shortcut and someone won't ask how. People have been indoctrinated so completely by their jobs that they don't want to know how something works, they're willing to accept that perhaps the law as of nature don't work as they expect, and by the way, can I have the remote?"

Band of Sisters by Annette Lyon

When the war on terror calls their husbands to duty, five LDS women are left behind to fight battles of their own: Kim, newlywed and pregnant, frightened of what the future might bring. Brenda, struggling to manage three unruly boys and a crippling bout of depression. Jessie, secretly grappling with mixed feelings about her emotionally abusive husband. Marianne, wrestling with a rebellious teenage daughter. And Nora, the seasoned Army wife with perfect hair, an immaculate home—and an ill-tempered mother dying of cancer. Knowing the separation of deployment is extremely difficult, Nora gathers the wives every week to share lunches and burdens. In good company, they worry over safety in the field and stability at home and offer one another counsel and comfort. But as their personal crises build, each woman faces the risks of forming deep bonds of trust. And when tragedy strikes, they must confront the painful realities of war that pull families apart and bring friends together as sisters.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I felt like each women was a dear friend of mine. Reading their struggles and joys connected me to each story and character.
Annette has done an amazing job in writing and drawing me in. Thank you for this glimpse of a life I haven't seen yet. I have more empathy and compassion for this part of our culture we don't think about or know about.
I found myself wiping away tears several times and that is hard to do.

Rating PG
V: None
L: None
S: None

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25% test (p. 69):
Chapter II: Kim
Confession
October 7, 2009, 9:47 PM
The computer chimed, and Kim leaned forward to read Justin's instant message.
Miss u.
She smiled, feeling giddy as if she were flirting with her boyfriend over the Internet. Sometimes that's what it felt like--as if she and Justin were still dating, since they'd been married for such a short time when he left. Sitting in a pair of Justin's old sweats, she set aside her bowl of Kellogg's Frosted Flakes--tonight's dinner--to respond.
Miss u 2.
She pressed ENTER and sat back with her bowl. She scooped a bite as she waited for Justin's next response. He'd said he had about fifteen minutes before needing to report on duty. It was morning for him--well after breakfast--but bedtime for her.
After all the talk about husbands at today's lunch, she missed Justin even more than usual. The apartment felt bigger, emptier. And there was a little worm of guilt in her chest that she still hadn't told him about the baby. The wives all knew now. It was "high time" her husband knew, as her mother would say. At least, she'd say that if she knew.
Legs crossed, Kim bobbed one foot up and down, sending on Pooh Bear slipper bouncing. Justin bought them for her at Disneyland on their honeymoon. He'd almost gone for the 101 Dalmatians ones, but she'd talked him out of it, saying that they were a little too close to something Cruella DeVille would wear."

We Hear the Dead by Dianne K. Salerni

It started out as a harmless prank. But soon enough, spiritualism was the fastest growing movement of the nineteenth century, and Maggie Fox was trapped in a life of deceit.

Meticulously researched by the author, We Hear the Dead reveals the secret of how the Fox sisters faked their rapping sounds and their motives for inventing the séance and founding spiritualism.

Maggie:
I began the deception when I was too young to know right from wrong. No one suspected us of any trick, because we were such young children. We were led on by my sister purposely and by my mother unintentionally. Only with the passing of time did I come to understand the consequences of my actions. As Doctor wrote to me: "Weary, weary is the life by cold deceit oppressed."

Kate:
My sister has used the word "deception." I object to her use of that word, for I do not believe that I have ever intentionally deceived anyone. Maggie has a different understanding of all the events that have happened since that night in Hydesville forty years ago. To her the spirits were always a game. For my sister Leah, they were a means to an end. For my mother, a miracle. And for me, they were my life's calling. I have no regrets.

Interesting story! I didn't think I'd heard of the Fox sisters and the start of Spiritualism but the more I read the more I remember hearing/reading about them. I also Googled the sisters and read the exact account as the book, only the book has more embellishment/emotion/story/characters (you catch my drift) etc.
The writing kept me involved in the story as well as the characters. I enjoyed watching Maggie grow up and struggle with her deception. She was easily swayed by those she loved to continue with the 'rappings" of the dead. Until she meets and falls in love with a handsome explorer who wants Maggie to give up everything for him. His family will not accept her and he believes if he can change her, they will. I was bugged that Maggie couldn't see he wanted someone different though he loved her.
Kate is the youngest sister who came to believe she really could speak with the spirits.
Leah was the bossy older sister who used and abused her sisters for money. The only one in the family who truly didn't know it was a sham was the mother. The father moved to the house he was building for his family and we never hear about him again. Sad for the mother! Did she ever miss him?
The story pulled me right in and I enjoyed reading it from the bright, fun beginning to the sad, dark end.

Rating PG
V: Intense mob scenes
L: None
S: None


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25% test (p. 106):
""The spirits are very wise, of course," murmured Leah, who had turned back to her letter.
"Mrs. Mott went so far as to ask me, I continued, "If I couldn't manage to contact a spirit of some historical fame and acquire testimonial from him regarding women's rights."
Leah's hand faltered and dropped a blob of ink at this news, and she had to reach for a blotter. "What is your point, Margaretta?"she asked in annoyance.
"Do they actually believe, or are they using--"
"They have chosen to publicly state that they believe," Leah said, fixing me with her no-nonsense eye. "That is good enough for me, and it should be good enough for you."
Upon those words I had to be content. Amy Post believed in the spirits, or claimed that she believed, and because I shared most of Mrs. Post's views regarding the abolition of slavery and the rights of women, I was not averse to including support for these progressive issues in our spirits' messages. Part of me wondered whether the feminist portion of Mrs. Post's nature did not admire Leah's gumption at making a living at tricks worthy of Mr. P. T. Barnum himself."

Overprotected by Jennifer Laurens

Ashlyn: A lonely society princess living in New York City.

Daddy hired you to be my bodyguard.

Colin: Childhood enemy, now her protector.

Daddy thought I’d be safe. He thought I’d never fall in love. He thought he could keep me forever.

Charles: obsessed with keeping her safe, keeping her his, he hires the one person he knows she could never fall in love with: Colin.

Daddy was wrong.


Daddy wants to protect his little girl, little girl (18 years old) wants to grow up. Old bodyguard feel in love with her and was getting too familiar, new bodyguard is respectful and she falls for him.
Ashlyn is whiny and honestly doesn't do anything mature to have her father trust her. Her father is overbearing and overprotective. He really needs to cut the apron strings. Her mother comes on to the new bodyguard.
Predictable plot. A few grammar errors. No character growth.
Quick and clean read.

Rating: PG 13
V: Kidnapping
L: None
S: tension


25% test (p. 61):
"...apartment?" Mother seemed uninterested in meal. He elbows were planted on the table and her eyes were glued to Colin.
I glanced at Daddy, eating in silence , like me. Every now and then his light blue eyes rested on Colin with interest.
"I have a place on Charles Street."
"Have?" Mother's brows arched. "You're keeping your apartment?"
As if he sat on hot colas, Colin shifted.
"A smart move," Daddy piped. "The sign of someone who is prepared."
"Yes, but he's employed here. As long as it doesn't have anything to do with your level of commitment," Mother said.
I rolled my eyes.
"I'm committed, Fiona." Colin reached for his water goblet. He seemed jittery, like he had been earlier in the car. Was he uncomfortable in the spotlight? A grin slipped onto my lips just as Colin's eyes me mine.
My smile vanished, but I held his querying gaze until his attention shifter to his half0eaten meal.
"Are you dating anyone, Colin?" Mother asked.
His fork paused before cutting into the duck flesh.
"Fiona, we don't need to interrogate the boy," Daddy chuckled.
"I'm not interrogating." Mother finally picked up her fork. "Just catching up with an old family friend."
"It's his business, not ours." Daddy's tone sharpened even though he smiled. I knew the silent encoding well: topic over.
"How did it today go?" Daddy waited for Colin's answer. My nerves prickled.
"Everything went well," Colin said without a hitch.
"I expected as much. Ashlyn's an obedient girl. You won't need to report to me unless something comes up." Daddy's firm tone was meant to remind both Mother and Colin of Colin's job--in spite of sharing a meal with us and being an old family friend.
Colin nodded. "Yes, sir."
Rebellion scraped my spine raw. An obedient girl? And why did..."

Lost Boy, Lost Girl: Escaping Civil War in Sudan

One of thousands of children who fled strife in southern Sudan, John Bul Dau survived hunger, exhaustion, and violence. His wife, Martha, endured similar hardships. In this memorable book, the two convey the best of African values while relating searing accounts of famine and war. There’s warmth as well, in their humorous tales of adapting to American life. For its importance as a primary source, for its inclusion of the rarely told female perspective of Sudan’s lost children, for its celebration of human resilience, this is the perfect story to inform and inspire young readers.

I had no idea the extint of the war in Sudan. I remember hearing about the wars while I was in high school. The book is told from the viewpoint of John and Martha, who ended up in America where they married. Told in their words, John and Martha weave a tale of human resilience.
Thousands of children were orphaned during the war. My heart broke for all the hunger and pain and sorrow they went through. And the adults who tried to help them.
John and Martha have a happy ending, which is nice!

Rating: PG (for war theme, death and hardship)
V: yes but not in detail
L: None
S: None

25% test (p. 39):
"...would last for years. It was probably good that I didn't know what lay ahead for Tabitha and me.
As soon as dawn lightened the sky, we moved on. The adults were afraid the government-backed militia that had attacked us could still be nearby, and they wanted to keep us moving as fast as we could away from our village. Nyanriak had her own five kids to take car of, but she knew that Tabitha was too little to keep up with the rest of the group. She asked a man named Deng to take care of Tabitha. He often carried her on his shoulders. I followed close behind, watching Tabitha's feet dangling above my head as Deng marched along. I was always looking up to make sure that my little sister was safe.
The next day we came to a village, and the people there ave out group a gourd for water, dried kernels of corn to boil for food, and a pot to cook in. Such simple things, the gourd and the pot, but without them it was hard to eat or drink. We were thankful to the villagers and warned them that the militia was moving through the area, leaving death and destruction in their wake. I the weeks ahead, as we moved from village to village, we sounded the alarm, spreading warnings as we went.
As the fighting in the south grew worse and more villages were attacked, more and more people joined us, including elders who tried to keep everybody in line. For us Dinka, elders are the respected adults who guide us and care for us. When elders in our group saw a small child too tired to walk, they would carry the child. I wasn't carried very often, and I didn't want to be because I needed to follow whoever was..."

Glimpse by Carol Lynch Williams

In one moment it is over. In one moment it is gone. The morning grows thin, grey and our lives- how they were- have vanished. Our lives have changed when I walk in on Lizzie my sister holding a shotgun. Twelve year old girl Hope's life is turned upside down when her older sister Lizzie becomes an elective mute and is institutionalized after trying to kill herself. Ever since their dad died Hope and Lizzie have relied on each other from a young age. Their mother is a reluctant and unreliable parent at best, who turns tricks to support the family. Throughout the course of this lyrical and heartbreaking narrative readers and Hope discover that the mother is prostituting Lizzie and it’s up to Hope to bring the truth to light to save her sister. With raw and haunting writing reminiscent of Ellen Hopkins and Elizabeth Scott, Carol Lynch Williams is a promising new YA voice.

This story was intriguing and devastating. I wanted to choke the mother, be friends with the girls and build them up, thank the kind neighbor and go to the police.
Written a lyrical narrative, the story is from Hope's point of view. Hope and Lizzie are not only sisters, they are best friends, taking care of each other since they were six and seven. Their daddy was killed in a motorcycle accident and their mom can't hold a job so she turns tricks to support her family.
It's hard to put the book down even when the story hurt my heart.

Rating: Adult
L: swearing sprinkled throughout
V: mean and absentee parent
S: prostitution


25% test (p. 121):

"We move to the side of the road,
the whole world gray
like Florida becomes
in a good rain.

Mari pulls out a
sanitary napkin.

Put that away,
I say, looking
toward the road
Somebody might see it.

You want me to go deaf?
she says.

She plucks the filling from a
couple of pads
and puts a wad in each ear.

I'm ready now, let's go.
Mari motions with her chin
and I can just see
cotton coming from her head
like her stuffing has come loose."

The Forgotten Locket by Lisa Mangum

The future is uncertain. The battle to control the past has begun. The final book in the riveting Hourglass Door trilogy begins when Abby steps through the black door, and she doesn't dare look back. Though it means leaving Dante—wounded, bleeding, and possibly blind—she knows it is the only way to save her family and stop Zo from manipulating the river of time and throwing the future into chaos. In the end, Abby must face a final confrontation that will take her to the very origins of the hourglass door.

The third and last book in the series, The Forgotten Locket, will make you want to reread the whole series. A good, clean young adult read!
The world in the Hourglass Door Trilogy is different than any I've read. I enjoyed reading the two worlds and I have to admit sometimes the intelligence of it all went over my head. But the time travel were intriguing.
I wanted to go back and read more about Leo and the relationships he has/makes from the beginning. I like reading about him, his past and the choices he made that rippled through time.
The love story is just right; not a tons of "poor us! how will we ever be together? Wah! Wah!" Their relationship was something they had to fight for, which strengthened it.
Zo is intense, charming and psycho. He tries everything to stop Dante and Abby and disrupt time.
A big part of the books that I LOVED was how important family was to the characters and story.

Rating: PG 13
V:Some fighting
L: None
S: Kissing

Wanna win this book?! Of course you do! Head over to GoodReads here and enter to win! The contest goes until May 31st.


Wanna buy the book? Click the link.


25% test (p. 91):
""Interesting question. We'll have to save that impossible situation for another round." Orlando said with a grin.
I laughed. "And playing this game helped your brother sleep?"
"Actually, no, not very often," Orlando said. "What did work, though, was when we'd come down to the fireplace, and I would brew up a warm drink for him to help him sleep." Orlando nodded at the empty cup still in my hands. "He was particularly fond of Father's special tea, too. Though when I made it for my brother, I always mixed in a wish."
"A wish?" I repeated. A quiet memory chimed inside, a feeling of light and the taste of pink.
Orlando nodded. "He always took his wishes very seriously. He would stop and think for a long time about exactly what he wanted to wish for. And his working was always exact--it wasn't 'I wish for happiness,' but 'I wish for the sun to shine tomorrow so that the flowers will bloom and make Mother happy.'" He shook his head in fond memory. "He was always more concerned about other people then he was about himself."
"What kinds of things did you wish for?"
Orlando turned his attention to the fire, avoiding my gaze. "Oh, I never made a wish myself."
"Why not?"
"I don't know. Maybe it was because I didn't want to look at my life and see what was missing.  Once you identify what you lack, then it's all you see anymore. Wanting something  couldn't have would only lead to unhappiness, so I tried to be content with what I had."

Die For Me by Amy Plum

My life had always been blissfully, wonderfully normal. But it only took one moment to change everything.
Suddenly, my sister, Georgia, and I were orphans. We put our lives into storage and moved to Paris to live with my grandparents. And I knew my shattered heart, my shattered life, would never feel normal again. Then I met Vincent.
Mysterious, sexy, and unnervingly charming, Vincent Delacroix appeared out of nowhere and swept me off my feet. Just like that, I was in danger of losing my heart all over again. But I was ready to let it happen.
Of course, nothing is ever that easy. Because Vincent is no normal human. He has a terrifying destiny, one that puts his life at risk every day. He also has enemies . . . immortal, murderous enemies who are determined to destroy him and all of his kind.
While I'm fighting to piece together the remnants of my life, can I risk putting my heart—as well as my life and my family's—in jeopardy for a chance at love?

Along the vein of Twilight, Kate falls for a paranormal, gorgeous guy she can't have. Vincent and his "kindred" are revenants or zombies or the undead who are good the good guys. They save people, often getting killed. But then three days later, they resurrected and live again.
Ms. Plum did a good job of building the world but not taking me out of the story with too much detail. She gave a distinct voice and characteristics to each character.
I loved the way Vincent, Jules and Ambrose treated Kate with kindness and good manners.
Kate and her sister became orphans and within the next few weeks, flew to Paris to live with grandparents. Kate is depressed until she meets Vincent, a very handsome distraction.
Kate's life turns a corner as her heart opens to love again. But then things get wonky when she witnesses a deadly accident and the victim is alive the next week.

There are a few differences between Die For Me and Twilight: no love triangle; Vincent doesn't want to drain Kate's body of blood; Kate has a sister but no parents; the setting is in Paris.

Similarities: Intense pull of main characters, though they shouldn't be together; almost instant attraction; to kill a revenant you must cut off the head and burn the body; Vincent belongs to a "family" of similar paranormals, one hates Kate, the others love her; there is a discussion rather or not to disclose the revenants true identities; Kate tries to save Vincent; Vincent saves Kate and kills the bad guy; the revenants appear to be 19 or 20 but are much, much older.

Rating: PG 13
V: Fighting, death, decapitation
L: few swear words sprinkled throughout, Lord's name in vain
S: lots of tension

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25% test (p. 85):
"I met his eyes as I wiped my tears away with shaking fingers.
"Oh my God, I've terrified you," he said, taking his first good look at me. He stepped backward. "I've done this all wrong. I'm such an idiot." Be careful, I told myself, he might just be acting. But he's sure doing a believable job with the remorse.
"Okay, let me explain"--he hesitated--"as much as I can. I'm not going to hurt you. I swear, Kate. And I promise Vincent will be fine. It's not what it seems. But I just need to talk to the others--the other people who live here--before I can let you leave."
I nodded. Jules was acting a lot saner than he had a few minutes before. And he was looking so apologetic that I almost (but not quite) felt sorry for him. Even if I want to run, I thought, I can't get past the security gate outside.
He reached his hand toward me, this time in a peaceful way, as if he wanted to place it comfortingly on my forearm, but I recoiled.
"Okay. It's okay," he soothed, raiding his hands in the air in an I surrender gesture. "I won't touch you again."
He looked really upset now. "I know,' he said, speaking to the air. "I'm a total moron," and began walking down the hallway toward the foyer. "Please follow me, Kate," he said in a downcast voice.
I followed him. What other choice did I have?
He led me up the winding double staircase to the second floor and down a hallway. Opening a door to a darkened room, he flicked on the lights and stayed in the hallway as I walked in."

Don't Interrupt Me, I'm Reading a Book!

I couldn't help it! This video is great!

Have a fantastic weekend! Now, go read!

FALLEN by Lauren Kate

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce–and goes out of his way to make that very clear–she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.


Intriguing story of who is good and who is evil and angels. Luce is sent away because of an accidental death that she feels is her fault, in a way. She meets two guys at school but who is right for her?
Luce also makes friends and they are fun and quirky.
I enjoyed the writing and story and want to learn more about Luce and the others in the next book.

Rating: PG 13
V: Fighting
L: Can't remember any
S: Kissing, tension



Want to buy it?

25% test:
"...along the sides of the movie scree, and finally traced the lines of the floorboards like spilled ink. Luce gripped the bottom of her chair and felt an ache of fear swell through her legs and arms. She tightened all the muscles in her body, but she couldn't keep from trembling. A squeeze on her left knee made her look over at Arriane.
"You okay?" Arriane mouthed.
Luce nodded and hugged her shoulders, pretending she was merely cold. She wished she was, but this particular chill had nothing to do with Sword & Cross's overzealous air conditioner.
She could feel the shadows tugging at her feet under her chair. They stayed like that, dead weight for the whole  movie, and every minute dragged on like an eternity.
***
An hour later, Arriane pressed her eye up against the peephole of Cam's bronze-painted dorm room door. "Yoo-hoo," she sang, giggling. "The festivities are here!"
She produced a hot-pink feather boa from the same magic carpetbag the bag of popcorn had come from. "Give me a boost," she said to Luce, dangling her foot in the air.
Luce hooked her fingers together and positioned them under Arriane's black boot. She watched as Arriane pushed off the ground and used the boa to cover the face... (p. 113)."

My Unfair Godmother by Janette Rallison

Tansy Miller has always felt that her divorced father has never had enough time for her. But mistakenly getting caught on the wrong side of the law wasn't exactly how she wanted to get his attention. Enter Chrysanthemum "Chrissy" Everstar, Tansy's fairy in shining, er, high heels. Chrissy is only a fair godmother, of course, so Tansy's three wishes don't exactly go according to plan. And if bringing Robin Hood to the twenty-first century isn't bad enough for Tansy, being transported back to the Middle Ages to deal with Rumpelstiltskin certainly is. She'll need the help of her blended family, her wits, and especially the cute police chief 's son to stop the gold-spinning story from spinning wildly out of control. Janette Rallison pulls out all the stops in this fresh, fun-filled follow-up to the popular My Fair Godmother.


Love Janette's writing. She is funny, clever, witty, smart and a fantastic writer. I know her books will have be a clean read and have a moral. I can recommend her books to anyone from ages 11 to 101.
This time only two stories/fairy tales come to life: Robin Hood and Rumpelstiltskin. And another unsuspecting, cute, teen boy is taken along for a ride into another dimension from whence he can only leave if the teen girl can figure out how to leave.
The only problem with this book? Waiting for the next one!


I have a few favorite quotes from the story:

"By the time Tansy was twelve, she had worlds without number unfolded in her heart. And each on of them was built with the scaffolding of her father's voice (p. 4)."
"Oh, and recently there's been a ban on inserting yourself into the Twilight series. The Cullens are tired of different teenage girls pinging into their story every time they turn around (p. 47)."
"I thought after our conversation about Robin Hood's story, you would have learned that you can't trust writers. They're a shiftless and unreliable bunch who spend their time making stuff up (p. 170)."
"Women. This is why no one ever puts you in charge of wars, butchering animals, or assembling hockey teams (p. 182)."
"We should at least choose a name that works in the time period. Edward, or maybe Jacob..." "You are not naming our son after Twilight characters (p. 277)."
"You can't stick 'gorgeous' at the end of a stanza. Nothing rhymes with it." Friar Tuck frowned. "Poor us." Will added, "More fuss." Little John grumbled. "Boar pus (p. 310).""

Rating PG

Want to buy it:


25% test (page 85):
"I called the police. Those calls are always recorded."
Even better. They had a soundtrack of the whole thing too. I leaned my head against my locker. Did surveillance tapes ever end up on YouTube?
"You obviously knew those guys. Who are they? Friends form New York out here to visit you in the hick town?"
I ignored him, pulled my books out of my backpack, and put them on my locker shelf.
"Why the swords?" he asked. "What are they trying to prove?"
I hung my backpack on its hook, then took my history book from the shelf. I went to shut my locker door, bu Hudson put his hand on it to force me to look at him. "If you cared about hose guys, you would help us stop them before a few get shot. That's how a lot of armed robberies end up: with the bad guys leaking blood onto the pavement."
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you what I knew." I pulled my locker door away from him and shut it. "And I was trying to reason with them, trying to get them to stop robbing places. But I can't do that anymore, thanks to you. My father is keeping me under lock and key from now on."
Hudson ignored my complaints. "What wouldn't I believe?"
"I just need a little time to take care of them." I said. Surely, Chrissy would check in on me today. I still had two wishes left. She had to come back sometime to grant them. "Could you talk to your father and make sure the police don't shoot anybody before I can get rid of them?"
"What wouldn't I believe?" Hudson asked again.
I hesitated, then told him. "It's Robin Hod and the Merry Men."
"Robin Hood?" Hudson ran a hand across my locker door, tapping it in annoyance. "Sure he is. But what did I expect from you? You girls all think the guy is dreamy."
"I wouldn't exactly describe him as dreamy.' I tucked my book under my arm. "Buff, yes. Handsome, I suppose.Daring..."

25% of Page 69 Change

Have any of you read Storyfix.com?
Larry Brooks has come up with the concept that within the first 25% of the story, the reader should be hooked. We should know the hero, his back story and inner demons, what motivates and drives him? By now the reader should also know what the primary conflict of the story is.
So, in light of this information, I'm going to use the 25% mark in the book reviews instead of page 69. They are roughly near each other. But the 25% mark comes on different pages in different books.
I'll give this new method a try for a few months and see what happens.
Coming?

The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan

Percy Jackson is about to be kicked out of boarding school...again. And that's the least of his troubles. Lately, mythological monsters and the gods of Mount Olympus seem to be walking straight out of the pages of Percy's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And worse, he's angered a few of them. Zeus's master lightning bolt has been stolen, and Percy is the prime suspect.

Now Percy and his friends have just ten days to find and return Zeus's stolen property and bring peace to a warring Mount Olympus. But to succeed on his quest, Percy will have to do more than catch the true thief: he must come to terms with the father who abandoned him; solve the riddle of the Oracle, which warns him of betrayal by a friend; and unravel a treachery more powerful than the gods themselves.

My 11 year-old insisted I read this book. It's only fair that I read what my kids suggest since I'm constantly making suggestions for them. :)
GREAT BOOK! I love learning about mythology while being entertained. I know you've heard this before: the book is better than the movie. But I still enjoy the movie.
My 11 year old gave me the next book in the series with a note: "If you enjoyed Lightning Thief you'll like this book too!"


Rating: PG

Want to buy it?

I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells

John Wayne Cleaver is dangerous, and he knows it.

He’s spent his life doing his best not to live up to his potential.

He’s obsessed with serial killers, but really doesn’t want to become one. So for his own sake, and the safety of those around him, he lives by rigid rules he’s written for himself, practicing normal life as if it were a private religion that could save him from damnation.

Dead bodies are normal to John. He likes them, actually. They don’t demand or expect the empathy he’s unable to offer. Perhaps that’s what gives him the objectivity to recognize that there’s something different about the body the police have just found behind the Wash-n-Dry Laundromat---and to appreciate what that difference means.

Now, for the first time, John has to confront a danger outside himself, a threat he can’t control, a menace to everything and everyone he would love, if only he could.

Dan Wells’s debut novel is the first volume of a trilogy that will keep you awake and then haunt your dreams.

I told Dan I checked out this book FOUR times at the library and THREE times returned it without reading it. I was a chicken, I admitted it. He told me if I could get past chapter one, it wasn't bad.
I made it past one and kept going. Fascinating, troubling, brillant, strange story!
I don't read or watch horror. I don't recommend this book to anyone who doesn't like horror.
Then I had an interesting story pop into my head about a girl who can't have a BFF because they all die. So I thought I should read Dan's book, ya know, compare horror.  
But mine isn't really horror either...



Rating: Adult (max)
L: None
S: None
V: Yes



Page 69 test:
"...people in them to hear me. Freaks respected each other's privacy. "He stole a kidney from the first one, but what did he take from the second?" The police weren't talking, but we'd get the body at the mortuary soon. I picked up a rock and threw it in the lake.
I looked down the road a few hundred yards to the nearest car; it was white and old, and the driver was staring out at the water.
"Are you the killer?" I asked softly. There were five or six people here today, at various points on the road. How long before Mom's prediction came true, and people in town started blaming each other? People feared what was different, would win the witch-hunt lottery. Would it be one of the freaks who escaped to the lake? What would they do to him?
Everyone knew I was a freak. Would they blame me?

The second body arrived at the mortuary eight days later. Mom and I had spoken little about my sociopath, but I'd made sure to try harder in school as a way of throwing her off the scent--making her think about my good traits instead of my disturbing ones. Apparently it worked, because when I came home to the mortuary after school and found them working on the second victim's body, Mom didn't stop me from pulling on an apron and mask and starting to help.
"What's missing?" I asked, holding bottles for Mom as she poured formaldehyde into the pump. Margaret had only a few organs on the side counter, and she was busily sticking them with the trocar and vacuuming them clean. I assumed the rest..."