Title:In Trouble
Author:Ellen Levine
Description: Jamie and Elaine have been best friends forever, and now they're finally juniors in high school. Elaine has a steady boyfriend, and Jamie could have one--if she'd just open her eyes and see Paul. But Jamie has a bigger problem to worry about. Then Elaine gets "in trouble"--something they thought only happened to "other" girls. Are there any good choices for a girl in trouble? In Trouble is a novel born of author Ellen Levine's interviews with women who came of age in the late 1950s and early 1960s, including those who knew what it was like to be a teen facing a horrible choice. In the decades before Roe v. Wade, a young woman "in trouble" had very few options--and all of them meant shame, isolation, and maybe much worse. Jamie and Elaine's stories are just two among the thousands of stories of teenagers facing unplanned pregnancies.
My Review: This book is set in the 50's and is centered around a very Taboo subject. Teen pregnancy. This subject is still taboo for some today but getting the facts out to girls has helped some and this book really shines a light on 2 different ways it could happen.The characters in the book are not a three dimensional as you could really hope for in a book with this topic. The time line is also bit confusing but the details of the story are still conveyed well even with the confusion. This story could be a nice way for parents to get a way to talk to their daughters about the subject and safe sex just by comparing how things were in the 50's compared to the many options girls have today for both protection and when it happens. Bravo to Ms. Levine for tackling such a tough subject in such a readable way.
My Rating:3.5/5
clockwork prince
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
Cinder and Ella by Melissa Lemon (ARC)
Cinder and Ella
Title: Cinder and Ella
Review:4/5
Description: After her father's disappearance, Cinder leaves home for a servant job at the castle. But it isn t long before her sister Ella is brought to the castle herself. What Ella finds there starts a quest that will change her life and the entire kingdom. With a supernatural twist on this beloved fairytale, it's a must read you'll never forget.
My review: I got the pleasure of reading an advanced reading copy of this book that is said to be a new twist on an old Fairytale, Cinderella, but there are few similarities between the two stories. However, the story is still a very good and captivating. Cinder and Ella are the 2 middle of 4 sisters and when their father mysteriously disappears then the whole family starts to change.One day Cinder chooses to leave the house for a job as a servant at the castle and leaves her sisters and mother behind and the events that are set into motion just a week after she is gone is more than any of them could imagine. The good and the evil are surprising and the characters are quirky and entertaining. I laughed out loud in several spots and couldn't keep myself from smiling in others. I would recommend this story to all who love fairy tales and even to those who just want a good and entertaining story to read.
Title: Cinder and Ella Review:4/5
Description: After her father's disappearance, Cinder leaves home for a servant job at the castle. But it isn t long before her sister Ella is brought to the castle herself. What Ella finds there starts a quest that will change her life and the entire kingdom. With a supernatural twist on this beloved fairytale, it's a must read you'll never forget.
My review: I got the pleasure of reading an advanced reading copy of this book that is said to be a new twist on an old Fairytale, Cinderella, but there are few similarities between the two stories. However, the story is still a very good and captivating. Cinder and Ella are the 2 middle of 4 sisters and when their father mysteriously disappears then the whole family starts to change.One day Cinder chooses to leave the house for a job as a servant at the castle and leaves her sisters and mother behind and the events that are set into motion just a week after she is gone is more than any of them could imagine. The good and the evil are surprising and the characters are quirky and entertaining. I laughed out loud in several spots and couldn't keep myself from smiling in others. I would recommend this story to all who love fairy tales and even to those who just want a good and entertaining story to read.
Fade by Lisa McMann
Title: Fade
Rating 4/5
Description:
Rating 4/5
Description:
SOME NIGHTMARES NEVER END.
For Janie and Cabel, real life is getting tougher than
the dreams. They're just trying to carve out a little (secret)
time together, but no such luck.
Disturbing things are happening at Fieldridge High, yet
nobody's talking. When Janie taps into a classmate's
violent nightmares, the case finally breaks open -- but
nothing goes as planned. Not even close. Janie's in way over
her head, and Cabe's shocking behavior has grave consequences
for them both.
Worse yet, Janie learns the truth about herself and her
ability -- and it's bleak. Seriously, brutally bleak. Not only
is her fate as a dream catcher sealed, but what's
to come is way darker than she'd even feared....
My review: Janie is trying so hard to figure out her gift/curse and her relationship with Cable. She can not remember ever telling anyone that she loved them before so getting close to him is a new thing for her. Cable has issue's he has to work through also since his past is also filled with pain and loss. The circumstances of their new assignment do not help the feelings he has since Janie is having to place herself as bait for a sexual predator that may be lurking in the halls of their school in the form of a teacher. I really enjoyed this book. Just as much as the first one. The idea is very interesting still and the added twists in this was very captivating. Janie is still getting guidance from Mrs.Stuben and even has a file written by her that she has to decide if she wants to read or not because it might tell her everything she has to look forward to with this power.Although all may not be positive and she may not want to face the truth. The character development in this book was really good you get to know a little more about them as they get to know more about each other. The book was another easy read and a fairly short one so it is defiantly a read worth reading..
For Janie and Cabel, real life is getting tougher than
the dreams. They're just trying to carve out a little (secret)
time together, but no such luck.
Disturbing things are happening at Fieldridge High, yet
nobody's talking. When Janie taps into a classmate's
violent nightmares, the case finally breaks open -- but
nothing goes as planned. Not even close. Janie's in way over
her head, and Cabe's shocking behavior has grave consequences
for them both.
Worse yet, Janie learns the truth about herself and her
ability -- and it's bleak. Seriously, brutally bleak. Not only
is her fate as a dream catcher sealed, but what's
to come is way darker than she'd even feared....
My review: Janie is trying so hard to figure out her gift/curse and her relationship with Cable. She can not remember ever telling anyone that she loved them before so getting close to him is a new thing for her. Cable has issue's he has to work through also since his past is also filled with pain and loss. The circumstances of their new assignment do not help the feelings he has since Janie is having to place herself as bait for a sexual predator that may be lurking in the halls of their school in the form of a teacher. I really enjoyed this book. Just as much as the first one. The idea is very interesting still and the added twists in this was very captivating. Janie is still getting guidance from Mrs.Stuben and even has a file written by her that she has to decide if she wants to read or not because it might tell her everything she has to look forward to with this power.Although all may not be positive and she may not want to face the truth. The character development in this book was really good you get to know a little more about them as they get to know more about each other. The book was another easy read and a fairly short one so it is defiantly a read worth reading..
Monday, August 8, 2011
Water for Elephants
Title: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen
Rating:4.5/5
Description:Though he may not speak of them, the memories still dwell inside Jacob Jankowski's ninety-something-year-old mind. Memories of himself as a young man, tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Memories of a world filled with freaks and clowns, with wonder and pain and anger and passion; a world with its own narrow, irrational rules, its own way of life, and its own way of death. The world of the circus: to Jacob it was both salvation and a living hell.
Jacob was there because his luck had run out - orphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on this locomotive 'ship of fools'. It was the early part of the Great Depression, and everyone in this third-rate circus was lucky to have any job at all. Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, was there because she fell in love with the wrong man, a handsome circus boss with a wide mean streak. And Rosie the elephant was there because she was the great gray hope, the new act that was going to be the salvation of the circus; the only problem was, Rosie didn't have an act - in fact, she couldn't even follow instructions. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.
My Review: This book grabbed me from the first page. You are wondering what is going on and then it skips back to the beginning leaving you to read back to those events that you know are coming. Jacob is ninety or ninety three he is not sure which but he remembers those earlier days better than he remembers yesterday and with the circus coming into town the memories consume him. The book flips back and forth between a much older Jacob and the younger Jacob in his memories from the time of the Great Depression in 1931 but in a very easy way to follow. The story is tinged with danger throughout the entire novel.You never know what is going to happen and the characters are both colorful and some that you love to hate. Marlena is brilliant and you wonder how the book will end through out and how Jacob has come to be where he is today. And the ending is just as sweet and the story he is telling you. This is a wonderful book and one that you should most certainly read if you gt your hands on a copy. You will learn things about the circus that you may not have known and again just a great and fascinating read.
Happy Reading!!
Rating:4.5/5
Description:Though he may not speak of them, the memories still dwell inside Jacob Jankowski's ninety-something-year-old mind. Memories of himself as a young man, tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Memories of a world filled with freaks and clowns, with wonder and pain and anger and passion; a world with its own narrow, irrational rules, its own way of life, and its own way of death. The world of the circus: to Jacob it was both salvation and a living hell.
Jacob was there because his luck had run out - orphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on this locomotive 'ship of fools'. It was the early part of the Great Depression, and everyone in this third-rate circus was lucky to have any job at all. Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, was there because she fell in love with the wrong man, a handsome circus boss with a wide mean streak. And Rosie the elephant was there because she was the great gray hope, the new act that was going to be the salvation of the circus; the only problem was, Rosie didn't have an act - in fact, she couldn't even follow instructions. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.
My Review: This book grabbed me from the first page. You are wondering what is going on and then it skips back to the beginning leaving you to read back to those events that you know are coming. Jacob is ninety or ninety three he is not sure which but he remembers those earlier days better than he remembers yesterday and with the circus coming into town the memories consume him. The book flips back and forth between a much older Jacob and the younger Jacob in his memories from the time of the Great Depression in 1931 but in a very easy way to follow. The story is tinged with danger throughout the entire novel.You never know what is going to happen and the characters are both colorful and some that you love to hate. Marlena is brilliant and you wonder how the book will end through out and how Jacob has come to be where he is today. And the ending is just as sweet and the story he is telling you. This is a wonderful book and one that you should most certainly read if you gt your hands on a copy. You will learn things about the circus that you may not have known and again just a great and fascinating read.
Happy Reading!!
Friday, August 5, 2011
Delerium By Lauren Oliver
Title: Delirium By Lauren Oliver
Rating: 4.5/5
Description:
Rating: 4.5/5
Description:
Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -the deliria- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Haloway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.
But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable.
My Review: This book is very gripping and a wonderful read. If you like books to be a little intense then this one is for you. I was on the edge of my seat from the first words of the book until the very end. Lena lives in a world where Love is a disease and she can't wait until her 18th birthday so she can receive her cure because her mother suffered from Deliria and Lenna believes that the disease is the reason she took her own life and left her that night. However a few months before her procedure a series of events take place and change Lena's perspective on the world in which she lives and the events of her past and the people around her.This book will keep you going and maybe even keep you up a night or two. I listened to it in audio format and it was a wonderful experience. A story that you could truly dissolve yourself into and forget about the world around you. Now you just have to read to see which path Lena chooses and how it all unfolds you will not be sorry that you spent the time reading this one.
Happy Reading!!
But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable.
My Review: This book is very gripping and a wonderful read. If you like books to be a little intense then this one is for you. I was on the edge of my seat from the first words of the book until the very end. Lena lives in a world where Love is a disease and she can't wait until her 18th birthday so she can receive her cure because her mother suffered from Deliria and Lenna believes that the disease is the reason she took her own life and left her that night. However a few months before her procedure a series of events take place and change Lena's perspective on the world in which she lives and the events of her past and the people around her.This book will keep you going and maybe even keep you up a night or two. I listened to it in audio format and it was a wonderful experience. A story that you could truly dissolve yourself into and forget about the world around you. Now you just have to read to see which path Lena chooses and how it all unfolds you will not be sorry that you spent the time reading this one.
Happy Reading!!
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