Gloom and doom

It has been sooo gloomy and rainy and foggy and just plain icky here, so pretty much, I haven't felt like doing squat. I finished Something Like Fate a while ago and after that I fell inlove with Susane Colasanti so I tracked down almost all of the rest of her books. I have also completed reading Keep Holding On. The books are extremely touching and the author really knows how to hit home with young adults. But before I continue I would like to tell you guys about the site where I get most of my books from. It's called PaperBackSwap. I will post a link to join/check it out at the end of this post. I get a book credit for every person that joins so if you join please used my name as the person who invited you(DarkWiccanVampriss). The site is amazingly wonderful. I've gotten over 150 books from there. And it only costs about $2.47 per book. So please go check it out. Anyways, back to the books. 

Something Like Fate
Susane Colasanti


SYNOPSIS:
What would you do if you fell inlove with your best friends boyfriend? What would you do if he felt that same way? Eric and Lani are best friends. They are connected by a bond that is pretty much unbreakable, the bond was caused by an accident when they were young. But what happens when fate comes along and tries to test that bond? Jason is a nice enough guy, and when Erin starts to date him, Lani thinks he is perfect for her best friend. Until Lani starts getting to know Jason a little better. Erin and Lani are really into astrology, tarot, and things like fate. All signs are pointing and all roads are leading Lani to believe that Jason is actually HER soul mate. But added to the loop is Lani's OTHER best friend, super sweet and still in the closet, Blake. Blake tells Lani that you can't help who you love. When Erin goes off to a summer camp that is when everything gets better and worse. Jason breaks up with Erin in a letter, Lani and Jason start "dating" and it all seems to be going well. Then Lani remembers that school starts up soon and they will have to tell Erin about their relationship. Jason wants to tell Erin in person but she wont see him so instead he E-mails her. Erin sends the email to the entire school, pinning Lani as the boyfriend stealing whore. Lani and Jasons relationship is pretty much over and Lani will do whatever it takes to get Erin back. But this isn't the only problem. Someone has spray painted HOMO on Blakes locker and now the entire school knows. Not on that, but the principle calls Blakes dad and outs him to his father as well. Blake and his dad get into a huge fight and Blake gets kicked out. Childrens services step in and Blake is sent to live with his uncle. His father comes to visit and Blake finally stands up for himself. In the end, Erin comes to her senses and tells Lani to go for Jason, she doesn't want to be responsible for keeping them apart if they really are soul mates.

REVIEW:
I completely enjoyed this book. After reading this book I couldn't stop myself from going out to all my local libraries and finding all the other books that Susane Colasanti had available. Her books are very close to the heart of what teenagers really go through. I connected with the characters very well. I cried when the situations got too intense and I laughed when I couldn't control it. I give this book 4.5/5 stars.

COVER:
The cover is cute but it gives the wrong impression of the book. Erin and Jason were already broke up before Lani and Jason really got too involved. The cover portrays betrayal and cheating and that isn't what the book was about.

Keep Holding On
Susane Colasanti


REVIEW:
This book was really touching to me. It made me realize that for being overweight, I could have had a must worse high school experience. The school I went to must have been different. I've never seen any of this terrible bullying.

Noelle Wexler is a normal 16 year old girl. But she isn't treated like one. Her mother neglects her and blames everything on her. She's dating a guy who won't even admit they are together. And she's pining for a guy who actually likes her back, but she doesn't think she deserves him. This is a touching story of being bullied in high school and finally finding the courage to stand up for yourself and others who haven't yet found that courage. The characters are very real and the story is heart wrenching. You'll find yourself rooting for the main character.

I'm not going to write a synopsis for this one because I don't want to give too much away. But this book was AMAZING. It actually made me cry.

COVER: 
I think its very appropriate for the contents of the book. I like the fact that the cover has real people on it. The books are so real so I would only expect the cover to reflect that.


Currently Reading:
Shade - Jeri Smith-Ready
This book is actually very interesting to me not only because of the content of the book but also because it is not only based in Maryland but the author herself is from Maryland. It's actually interesting to see road names and towns and know exactly where they are. It gives me a warm feeling inside LOL! This book is part of a series. I have the second book but the third one won't be out until next year =(. Well I will let you guys know how the first and second books are.


IN OTHER NEWS:
I am getting a new phone on Saturday! WHOOHOO! I cannot wait! I have this old crappy keyboard phone so this is exciting because I'm getting an Android and I've never had a smart phone. My fiance has one though and I love playing with it. I'm buying the phone off of a girl and I'm meeting her at my favorite used book store, Ukazoo. So maybe I will find another bookmark or some books I've been wanting to read. Well, anyways, Happy Holidays everyone! I'm praying for lots of snow =D.

Here is my wishlisted books I would really like to get some new reading material for summer break =)



AND...Here is the link to PaperBackSwap! I loooove this site! It's free to join and if you are a book love then please try it out!

Finally finished?!

Well, I actually finished Looking for Alaska 2 or 3 days ago. It took me forever to read this small book. I finally did figure out why it took me so long. The book was written with a guy talking. Something about books written where guys are the main character just doesn't mix with me. But it was, in fact, a good book.

Looking for Alaska
John Green

SYNOPSIS:
Miles "Pudge" Halter, sixteen, is leaving his home in Florida and starting his first year at a private school in Alabama.  He is in search of the "Great Perhaps". Upon arriving at the school he meets his roommate "The Colonel" and his friend Alaska, a girl who lives on the edge, loves to talk about sex and is pretty much on a path to self-destruction. It's Alaska, Miles, and The Colonel vesus the Weekend Warriors in a war of pranks. Miles finds himself enthralled with Alaska until one day tragedy strikes and Miles finds himself lost and realizes he is in-love with her. After the accident Miles and "The Colonel" become engulfed in finding out what happened and finding out how to get out of this Labyrinth.

The book is broken down into to parts. With days used as chapters. One part is labeled "Before" the other part is labeled "After". 

REVIEW:
The story itself is very touching but I just couldn't really get into the book. I'm not sure if it's because it was written from a guys point of view but I just couldn't connect with this book. It is on the top 100 teen reads list and I can't fathom why. The writing was good, The plot and characters were good, but nothing stood out as extraordinary to me personally. There was adventure, sadness and silliness. I know other would probably enjoy the book a lot more than I did. I give the book a 2/5 stars.

COVER:
I think the cover has to do with Alaska and the other characters being smokers. I do like the cover but it's kind of boring.

Now I am reading:

Something Like Fate - Susane Colasanti

So far I'm reading this book pretty quickly. Going to look into getting the rest of the books she has written. Just remember, everyone has their own reading speed and everyone has their own personal likes an dislikes.

In other news:

Black Friday sales are scary. But I did manage to get a 40'' TV for my fiance'. Saw a fight between a tiny Korean woman and some trashy looking teenager. The teenager had someone saving her a place in line and the Korean woman wasn't having ANY of that crap. It was a pretty eventful Thanksgiving holiday. Sorry no new bookmark or anything else interesting! Stay safe people and Happy Holidays =)

Start of something new? =o

I've always wanted to do a blog about YA book reviews. So, it's 12am and I have work at 6am, can't sleep and decided to start the blog. My name is Jennifer, I'm 23 and I reside in the crappy little state of Maryland.

So eventually I will get to the books I've read in the past few months, but right now I just finished Zombie Blondes by Brian James. This was actually a pretty decent book, but after looking at the authors picture it made me realize maybe he has some deep dark childhood secrets. Maybe when he was in high school he has delusions of the popular girls being zombies and that led up to this book being written. I also believe he wrote himself a part in the book and played the character of Lukas. Either way it's a pretty good book.

Zombie Blondes
Brian James

SYNOPSIS:
Hannah Sanders is your typical 16 year old girl. She wants to be popular and date a popular guy. Only problem is, her dad moves her from place to place every few weeks to every few months. By the time she finally gets settled somewhere they are up and moving across the country again. The most recent move has landed them in the little speck of a town called Maplecrest.

Once Hannah starts school, one of the nerds tries get her to believe that the entire town is filled with zombies and the popular kids are the leaders. All the popular kids are bleached blonde with crazy blue eyes but somehow Hannah can look past that. The book has many twists and turns, but in the end Hannah will get her popular friends, popular boyfriend and whatever else her heart desires, but at what price?

REVIEW:
The book was pretty good. I can't say that I totally connected with it but I did get angry and sad at certain parts. It's a cute concept on how to look at the Cheerleaders and other popular kids at our schools along with the residents in creepy small towns. I read the book in less than a day so like I said the book was pretty good, just wasn't entirely my slice of cake. I give the book 3.5/5 stars.

COVER:
I don't like the cover too much. It makes me think more of barbie dolls than zombies.

In other news:
I stopped by my favorite used bookstore to sell a few books and pick up a few new ones I haven't read and came across this:

It's really FREAKING awesome. It's from 1989. I have a horrible obsession with mario. The bookstore has this little clear square container at the checkout counter where the put the bookmarks they have found in the books they but from other people. They are all .50 cents so who can pass that up? I've found some pretty cute bookmarks in there, but this, BY FAR, is the best one yet.

Currently Reading:
I am currently reading, Looking for Alaska by John Green. This book is on the top 100 books for YA. I'm about 40 pages in and cannot see a reason for this book to be so high on the list. But every person has their own tastes. I'll let you guys know how it is when I'm done. Gonna go lay down and read it. Night  =)

If you have a book you would like be to read and review please either post it below or send me and email to Beadnread@gmail.com