"Bras & Broomsticks" - By Sarah Mlynowski

       "Bras & Broomsticks." If the cover doesn't catch your attention, the title will.

       The story is about Rachel, a freshmen in highschool who's busy trying to achieve her goal of making it in the A-list crowd, snagging a hot boyfriend, and getting her BFF back when she finds out her little sister, Miri, is a witch.

      Getting over the fact that Rachel seems to have missed the magical gene, she decides to convince Miri (who isn't supposed to use magic yet) to poof her into the cool group -- that is, as long as mom (who's a witch too) doesn't find out. And then comes the little problem of STBSM (or "soon to be step-monster"), STB for short. STB has to go. Dad has to realize what a horrible person STB is and call off the wedding before it's too late.

      With Miri and her spell book and Rachel's math skills, they have to split dad and STB up, get someone (maybe Raf) to invite Rachel to the spring dance, and all without messing up too badly. .

        "Bras & Broomsticks" is a funny, lighthearted story about a girl who realizes what is most important in life, and how it doesn't has anything to do with her cup size.

"A Walk To Remember" - By Nicholas Sparks

    I really thought I had written about this book already. But there are no traces of it anywhere. Twilight Zone moment. . Doo-dee-dee-doo. . .

    I had to finished this book before I could do anything. It was that good. It's an adorable and touching story that stays with you and makes you think about the quality and importance of your life. That's what got me the most. I'm a Christian, and I want people to think of me like they did of Jamie. They thought she was weird because of her faith, they thought she was annoying because of her kindness, and none of that stopped her, she kept on being herself. I love that.

    If you haven't watched the movie, which I did before reading the book (that didn't ruin it for me so you know), the story is about Landon Carter, the bad boy in town who somehow finds himself falling for Jamie Sullivan, the pastor's daughter (uh oh). Jamie changes him in ways he never thought possible, and he learns something, about himself. And about Jamie.

"Picture Perfect" - By Catherine Clark

     Super cute book! (Yelk, that sentence sounds a little too girly for my tastes. But still.) Cute book. Some of the reviews on it say stuff like, "great summer read" and whatnot. Generally, I don't believe them, but after reading it, I have to agree. It is a great summer read; pleasant, cute, not too serious, but fun.

     The story is about Emily, who every few years goes with her family to her dad's college reunion vacation. While "the guys" (dads) reminisce about the good ol' college days, Emily usually hangs with the sons and daughters of the college crew. It had been a long time since she'd seen any of them. And at the look at the good-looking guy that used to be wimpy little Adam, she wonders how everyone else has changed. And if Spencer still remembers the embarrassing declaration of her love from two years back -- ugh, she hopes not. He turned into an arrogant smart-alack anyway, so who cares what he thinks.
     When Heather suggests that she and Emily have a "summer fling", Emily is a little hesitant at first, but agrees, having already set her sights for Blake, the guy next store. But how is she ever going to have a summer fling with Adam and Spencer following them around everywhere? And why does Spencer always come at the most inopportune times and ruin her moments with Blake? It's like he's set on making her vacation miserable. But Emily has already decided: her last summer before going to college is going to be great. Or, should I say, picture perfect.

"The Bermudez Triangle" - By Maureen Johnson

     I didn't finish this book, either. But for a better reason than before. It went against my morals. Note to self: just because you liked a couple of an author's books, doesn't make all of them wonderful. This was fifty cents of hard earned cash down the drain. For a stupid reason too. If I had only read the back cover, I would've seen it coming. But I bought it in a cloud of bargain-happy blindness and didn't stop to even examine it a little. Bad idea.

     Here's how the last paragraph on the back cover reads: "At least she'll soon be reunited with Mel and Avery. But Nina isn't the only one whose life was turned upside down in ten weeks. While Nina was gone, Mel had her first real kiss. With Avery."

     Whoa, whoa, whoa. Say what? Why the heck would I want to read a story about this? I don't. No, thank you. Maureen Johnson, you're starting to lose me.

"The Man Who Loved Books Too Much" - By Allison Hoover Bartlett

   The true story of a thief, a detective, and a world of literary obsession. When I saw the cover of this book, I knew I had to read it. It's about the thief, Gilkey, who steals books to gain a reputation through them. (Confusing?) His perspective is that if he has great, rare, expensive books, he becomes someone great, rare, and expensive. Kind of like a guy who thinks he's physically fit just because he bought the Bum Buster 2000.
    The story is also about Ken Sanders, who's hot on Gilkey's trail, setting up an e-mail system to spot thieves and warn others.

    My favorite part of this book was seeing how far someone would truly go for a book. I mean, I love books, don't get me wrong. But I love the content, not the shelf life. I've bought many a book that looks like it's been thrown up on, had ABC gum smeared on the cover, torn, water damaged, and one that didn't even have a cover because it was ripped out somehow. (Yes, all these were also second hand.) But hey, if it's a good read, it's a good read. At ten cents or ten bucks. So I was introduced to this insane world of three digit and up prices for a book, and whoo. That's a lot.

     Another thing that this book makes you think of is, "is that old classic grandma passed down to me really worth something?" You start wondering.

     Anyway, back to the book. I actually didn't finish this one. (This wouldn't be an honest critique if I didn't tell you this.) It wasn't because it wasn't a good book. It was really interesting. I just felt like things were repeating themselves and becoming monotonous, like they do in real life. Gilkey would steal, yet another, book and feel like it was a piece of cake. And Sanders would get another complaint about a stolen book. My main question was: will Gilkey ever learn? Will he be set straight and understand how it's wrong? What will become of him?

     So, I cheated. Yes, yes. Punish me if you must, but I flipped to the end to see what happened. I don't suggest this -- because it's cheating. But in my defence, it was due at the library, and I didn't want all that reading to be for nothing. I wanted to know how it ended. Even though I was a little taken back by the ending, I would still suggest this to those who are curious to how insane your love for a book can be.

"Marcia Schuyler" - By Grace Livingston Hill

      Have you ever finished a book with a sigh and just wanted to run to the author and give her a big hug? That's how I felt when I finished this book. It's so good! I think it's the first romance novel I've ever read, and liked. Not to mention, it's the first romance novel that's clean; no rated R nastiness. That's one of the biggest reasons I like it so much. I'm quickly becoming a Grace Livingston Hill fan. Isn't it amazing how, even though a person has passed away, they can still leave an impact for generations to come?
     The book is about two sisters: the wild and beautiful Kate and the child-like dreamer Marcia. But the reckless Kate can never be tamed it seems. For on the eve of her wedding day, she elopes with a Captain, leaving her family and her fiance, David, in a cloud of disgrace and confusion. In a desperate attempt to patch up the marriage and go on with the wedding as planned, Marcia steps up to the plate of "the bride". Suddenly, she is thrown into a new life of woman-hood, of running a household, of being a wife that she had merely dreamed of the day before. And all these things she is forced to face alone in fear of bringing more pain than needed to David, who had lost his love, his life, and his future in one huge sweep.

      Personally, while reading this, I was getting annoyed with David. Yeah, I know, heartless me for beating up a guy who just lost everything he loved in life. But after a while, I just wanted him to get over it. Come on guy, suck it up and move on with life. I was even more annoyed with Marcia for not saying these things to him! It's a good thing patient and caring Marcia was stuck with him and not me, I guess, and it helped the story even more (the fact that Marcia is patient and caring, not the fact that David didn't marry me). Great book, great story. Read it. 

My Payment To Society . . . Sort Of

      So . . . here's the deal. (More like dilemma.) My library card is blocked. Yep, you heard me, blocked. "What happened?" You might ask.
      We left for a week, and I took my books with me, thinking everything was fine and dandy. The Saturday after we come back is when the books are due, so everything will work out. Well, imagine my surprise when I drop the books in the book drop, pick out some more, try to use the self check-out, and a huge red "X" flashes on the screen. The books were due the Saturday before, not after. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I checked out about eight different items. Eight-ish that were due for seven days. Needless to say, the Library is making a nice little profit from my stupidity. (All honesty, they probably don't care, but I sure as heck do.) I don't get allowance. The only time I make money is when something needs to be cleaned, or someone doesn't want to do something. And my mom pays in quarters! Anyway, I'll stop ranting and put my time into more useful things, like trying to find enough jobs to pay off what I owe. Jeez, this is like paying taxes. Grrr.

       You may be wondering, so I'll mention this. On the blogging standpoint, I do have a nice stash of books and so does my mom. So blogging shouldn't be completely dry, it'll just be slower. You have to account for the time I'll be working my rear off, instead of reading.

"Howl's Moving Castle" - By Diana Wynne Jones

       I'm a Hayao Miyazaki fan. While watching the movie "Howl's Moving Castle" for the billionth time, (Looove it.) I noticed that it said it was from a novel by Diana Wynne Jones. I didn't know that! So I quickly got online and placed a hold for it from the library.
       It didn't take me long to get into this book. It followed the movie pretty well with little extras for the imagination to flow with. And boy does Diana Wynne Jones have an amazing imagination. I realize that I've read a lot of girl books lately, but this one is for everyone: old, young, boys, girls. It really takes you on a journey to a place that you've never been before. If you like the movies, read the book. If you've never seen the movies, still read the book. It's a good one.

"Key To The Golden Firebird" - By Maureen Johnson

       Not one of the best of Maureen Johnson's work, in my opinion. (Ha, that's a stupid comment since everything I write is in my opinion.)
       When their Dad dies, the Sparks sisters, Brooks, May, and Palmer are left with a big hole in their life. Brooks tries to fill this whole with drinking and guys, May buries herself in responsibilities, and Palmer sinks into softball and competitions. But they soon find out that none of these will help fill in the dark spaces.
         It's a story about love, family, and the strength of sisters, which, don't get me wrong, are all great things, but the way the book was put together isn't my cup of tea.
          There was just a constant, empty "they're still being stupid and rebellious" feel taking up 3/4th of the whole book. I was beginning to get sick of them messing up. When are they going to snap back into reality?!
           Maybe it's just my way of thinking. That's just how I felt. Maureen Johnson is still a great author, but this book had more potential in what it could've been.

"Keeping The Moon" - By Sarah Dessen

       The last thing Nichole Sparks wanted was to be sent to her nut aunt Mira's house. But her mom was on her way to change the world, and Colie had to go somewhere for the summer. . .

        She never thought that she'd be more accepted among these strangers than she was back home. But when she meets Morgan and Isabel, two best friends and waitresses working at the Last Chance Bar and Grill, who encourage her to accept herself and love her for herself, things change. Maybe Colie is prettier than she thought. Maybe she just needs to ignore those backstabbing girls at home who still see her as some fat weirdo . . . And maybe going to aunt Mira's for the summer wasn't such a bad idea after all. 

         As I've read, Sara Dessen's favorite theme of writing is about girls who grow in some positive way. And hey, it works! A great style.

Turn Offs

       I practically live at the library. While there, I was scanning the shelves for non-fiction books on writing. Cool fonts and colors stick out, so I grabbed a pink one named, "See Jane Write: A Girl's Guide To Writing Chick Lit". I learned a lot from this book. It was the first time I ever heard the term "chick lit". Intrigued, I rented two chick lit books: "Tales of a Drama Queen" and "Confessions of a Shopoholic". They were . . . okay. See, they might have had a good story and lively voices (I even laughed out loud during "Tales of a Drama Queen"). But there's no way to get around the "lovey dovey" scenes. I don't even try. Why poison a book with PG-13 material? It's a complete turn off. Even during movies, I don't watch those scenes. Why would I voluntarily want something like that playing in my head? It's like porn in writing. Needless to say, I didn't get to the end of these books but sent them back to the book drop. It's just something I don't tolerate. A turn off. Sorry. My only question at the end of this is: are all chick lit books like that way ?

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