A War of Gifts by Orson Scott Card

The topic for November's Book A Month Challenge was giving. This is a novella set in Card's Enderverse. I am a huge fan of the Ender books and I very much enjoyed this story. Though it's been ages since I read Ender's Game, I believe this fits in nicely with what transpired. This is a story about the children of Battle School silently rebelling against the powers that be. I was sad to see it end and I wanted to know more about these characters. Perhaps it's time for a reread of the entire series, but not until after I read the latest installment, Ender in Exile.

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Following along with Halloween, the October Book a Month Challenge theme was Haunting. This is a novel set in the near future where children between the ages of thirteen and eighteen can be unwound, and all their parts used for transplants, This is the story of three "unwinds" on the run. One of the runaways was born to be tithed, and knew from his earliest moment, that he would we unwound after he turned thirteen. After he goes on the run, he meets a boy who received a partial brain transplant and was haunted by the memories and actions of the boy whose brain he received. This is such a fascinating premise.

Life as We Knew It and The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer

The September topic for the Book A Month Challenge was Change. In these boks, an asteroid hits the moon and knocks it much closer to earth, changing the world completely from that moment on. In Life as We Knew It, we meet Miranda, a fifteen year old girl who lives with her mother and younger brother in rural Pennsylvania. After the asteroid hits, her older brother returns from Cornell and they begin the process of just simply surviving. In The Dead and the Gone, we see the same events through the eyes of Alex, a seventeen year old who lives with his family in Manhattan. When the asteroid hits, his father is in Puerto Rico and his older brother is a Marine stationed in California. Alex's mother is called to her job as an operating room technician in Queens and Alex isn't sure they will see her again, so he is left in charge of his two young sisters, Braianne and Julie, who at 12, is the spoiled baby of the family.

I really enjoyed both of these books, though maybe I should not have been reading them during the whole financial crisis and bailout situation. Even so, they were heartbreaking, hopeful, and fantastic all at once. I cried a lot, but I'm an emotional person, and I cry pretty often. I highly recommend both these books, and hope she writes more in this series.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary Pearson

264 Pages

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Stars

Genre: YA Fiction

The theme for the August Book a Month Challenge was Cold. In this novel, the main character finds that cold weather will kill her.

When she wakes up from a yearlong coma, 17-year-old Jenna Fox can remember nothing and must reconstruct her life and sense of self from what others tell her. But are they to be trusted? The people who claim to be her parents . . . well, ARE they? And what is the meaning of the strange, contradictory memories Jenna keeps having?

This was a fresh and original story that kept me interested and engaged from beginning to end. I wanted to find out what was going on with Jenna and I wanted to know how things would play out. I had it partially figured out before the truth was revealed, and I wasn't disappointed at all. This would probably be better classified as YA Science Fiction and I would love to see what else this author has written.

The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star by Nikki Sixx and Ian Grittins

The topic for July's Book a Month Challenge was Independence. This is the story of a man trying to get out from his drug dependency. So it fits, right?

In one of the most unique memoirs of addiction ever published, Mötley Crüe's Nikki Sixx shares mesmerizing diary entries from the year he spiraled out of control in a haze of heroin and cocaine, presented alongside riveting commentary from people who were there at the time, and from Nikki himself. Then Mötley Crüe was at the height of its fame, there wasn't any drug Nikki Sixx wouldn't do. He spent days -- sometimes alone, sometimes with other addicts, friends, and lovers -- in a coke and heroin-fueled daze. The highs were high, and Nikki's journal entries reveal some euphoria and joy. But the lows were lower, often ending with Nikki in his closet, surrounded by drug paraphernalia and wrapped in paranoid delusions.  Here, Nikki shares those diary entries -- some poetic, some scatterbrained, some bizarre -- and reflects on that time. Joining him are Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, Mick Mars, Slash, Rick Nielsen, Bob Rock, and a host of ex-managers, ex-lovers, and more. Brutally honest, utterly riveting, and shockingly moving, The Heroin Diaries follows Nikki during the year he plunged to rock bottom -- and his courageous decision to pick himself up and start living again. 

This was well written, and completely fascinating. Now I want to go out and get the companion soundtrack. I need me some Crüe. I'm all about behind the scenes stuff and this was maybe more than I ever wanted to know about what really went on. Nikki's ex girlfriend Vanity is now a minister and her comments were all labeled with Evangalist So and So. I laughed my butt off every time I saw this, and I really have no idea why. I can understand wanting to distance yourself from a part you are not proud of, but that seemed a bit excesive.

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

A species of altruistic parasites has peacefully assumed control of the minds and bodies of most humans, but feisty Melanie Stryder won't surrender her mind to the alien soul called Wanderer. Overwhelmed by Melanie's memories of fellow resistor Jared, Wanderer yields to her body's longing and sets off into the desert to find him.

 
My biggest problem with this book was its length. At 619 pages it is WAY too long. The story takes a while to get going and when it does, sadly it gets lost in a lot of seemingly unnecessary twists and turns. I didn't even get a whif of the main plot line until around page 400, and that is just ridiculous. I was slightly disappointed with the ending, I didn't think it fit with the tone of the story, but it certainly left things open for a series or even a whole new series. Will I be reading them? I'm really not sure.

Griffin and Sabine: An Extraordinary Correspondence by Nick Bantock

This singular, magical volume invites readers to examine handmade postcards and open colorful envelopes as they eavesdrop on lonely London card-designer Griffin Moss and mysterious South Pacific islander Sabine Strohem. Sabine introduces herself to Griffin with a note congratulating him on a design on one of the postcards he illustrates--and alluding to an alteration he made during the creative process. Perplexed because he works alone and discusses his creative dilemmas with no one, he responds, begging her to enlighten him as to how she knew about the original design. In her next missive, she admits, "I share your sight," and their correspondence grows increasingly intimate.

 

I friend recommended this to me ages ago and I finally got around to it. Why did I wait so long? This was a wonderful and sweet story. Now I can't wait to get my hands on the other two books in the trilogy. I also loved examining the art and having to remove letters from their envelopes to read them. Reading a story told through letters is highly enjoyable, and this was no exception.

Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

Ask twenty people to define "family," and you'll get twenty different definitions. Ruby's definition of family is about to change, and she's not quite sure what that means. For years, Ruby and her mother moved from apartment to apartment. They lived in random places and cramped spaces above other people's garages. Finally, they find a little yellow house to rent. Ruby's mother, preferring to drown her sorrows in alcohol than deal with them head-on, made her daughter give her excuses to visitors, landlords, and bosses. The older Ruby got, the more her mother depended on her - and on substances. Ruby became used to her mom disappearing for a few days now and then. When a week turned into two, then three, then a month, Ruby knew her mom wasn't coming back. She went to work and school and lived alone for months before her landlords realized what was going on. With Ruby seven months away from her eighteenth birthday, child services stepped in. She is sent to live with her older sister, who hasn't seen her in ten years. Cora left for college and, according to their mother, never looked back. Now Cora has a successful career, a husband who is equally successful, and a gorgeous home, with a spunky little dog to boot. How can Ruby fit into this household, let alone into a new school that's posh and private? She's so sure that this could never be her home, her life, that she prepares to run away that very first night and go back to the little yellow house. Fate has other plans for her, and so does Nate, the boy next door.

 

I've read all of Dessen's books and they have all left me a blubbering mess. This was the first one that didn't have that affect on me, though I did tear up at the end. I liked the story but it just hit me differently than her other stuff. I think I would put it in third, behind Just Listen and Dreamland, two books that I absolutely loved. I've heard from other than this was not her best and I would definitely agree with that. I have one friend who found it preachy and I need to ask her about that. I'm curious as to where she saw that. Anyway, a good book and if it introduces more readers to the wonderful Sarah Dessen, so much the better.

The Opposite of Invisible by Liz Gallagher

Alice and Jewel have been best friends since grade school. Together, they don’t need anyone else, and together they blend into the background of high school. Invisible. To Alice, Jewel is the opposite of invisible. Jewel is her best friend who goes to Indie concerts and art shows with her. Jewel scoffs at school dances with her. Alice is so comfortable around Jewel that she can talk to him about almost anything. But she can’t tell him that she likes the cool, popular Simon. And then Simon asks her to the school dance the same day that Jewel kisses her for the first time. Still, she can’t say no to Simon. He seems like the easy choice, the one she’s attracted to, the one she’s ready for. But will it mean losing Jewel? In a bright debut novel set against the lively backdrop of Seattle, Alice must learn the difference between love and a crush, and what it means to be yourself when you’re not sure who that is yet.

While I liked the premise behind this, I thought the execution was a little clunky. My favorite parts were when Alice was in glass blowing class and interacting with her new friends. The main relationships with Jewel and Simon seemed a bit boring and pedestrian to me, and I thought the ending was a cop-out. This happens way too often these days, and it makes me very sad. I did really like Alice's parents and her relationship with them. These are the kind of hip, cool parents that I've always wanted to have.  Can I get a book about them, please?

Fearless Fourteen (Stephanie Plum, book 14) by Janet Evanovich

In her latest adventure,Stephanie inherits a high school gamer whose mother can't make bail. Throw in the kid's recently released uncle and the nine million dollar bank job that landed him in jail, and we've got a plot. The usual cast of characters is back: Ranger, Lola, grandma Mazur, Bob, and Stephanie's long suffering mother. The new additions include a musical sensation, her stalker cousin, and adult gamer who ends up protecting Morelli's house. I loved the cast of supporting characters here, but the plot was a bit pedestrian. I'm not even sure why I keep reading this series. At least they usually make me laugh out loud, sadly that was not the case here. Stephanie just need to make up her mind already so that Ms. Evanovich can lend her talents to some new characters and stop phoning in her "bestseller".

Pretty Face by Mary Hogan

Hayley wishes she could love living in Santa Monica, blocks from the beach, where every day—and everybody—is beautiful and sunny. But she just doesn't fit in with all the blond, superskinny Southern California girls who have their plastic surgeons on speed dial. Hayley is smart and witty and has such a pretty . . . face. Translation: Don't even think about putting on a bikini, much less dating superhot Drew Wyler. A bikini will never be flattering, and Drew will never think of her as more than a friend. Just when Hayley feels doomed to live her life in the fat lane, her parents decide to send her to Italy for the summer—not for school, not for fat camp, just for fun. It's there, under the Italian sun, that Hayley's vision of herself starts to change. She's curvy, not fat. Pizza isn't evil. And life is so much more than one-size-fits-all. Who knows? Once Hayley sees herself in a new light, maybe the girl with the pretty face will finally find true amore.

This was a very sweet book, though I was a bit disturbed at the start by the way her mother was portrayed. But then Haley went to Italy and the story picked up. Of course she finds her happiness and the slow paced Italian life-style is just what Haley needs to lose weight and like herself. It's a bit hokey, but it still works for me. The descriptions of the Italian countryside definitely make this book for me. I need to get to Italy, and soon!

Storm Front (The Dresden Files, book 1) by Jim Butcher

The offbeat Dresden Files is an expanding series of detective novels about Harry Dresden, a wizard with a consulting practice in modern-day Chicago. Harry's profession offers him little money, lots of mockery, the suspicion of his magical colleagues, plenty of danger, and not much income. It offers readers some unconventional detective work, whimsy, humor, and suspense. Here Dresden discovers that mobsters have enlisted occult forces for nefarious purposes.
 

I really liked the TV series that was based on these books so I was looking forward to reading the series. It took me a while to get into the story, but once I did, I was hooked. Harry is endearing and I can't wait to see what he gets up to next.

 Fix by Leslie Margolis

Cameron, 18, and Allie, 15, have inherited their father's nose. However, thanks to their mother, Julie, an ex-model and former movie star, Cameron had her nose fixed three years earlier. She is thrilled with the results and contemplating breast augmentation. After years of being ridiculed by her peers, she was catapulted into the world of the beautiful and popular at her new school, Bel Air Prep. Allie, an avid soccer player, is not bothered by her appearance and already has self-confidence and friends. Still, now that she is 15, her mother insists on making appointments for her with the plastic surgeon, with little consideration of Allie's thoughts on the matter.

This was a sweet story with some great supporting characters. I wasn't sure at first whether I was going to like Cameron, but she won me over in the end. The one thing that bothered me was when Mulholland Drive was incorrectly identified as Mulholland Boulevard. I guess that's the danger of reading books set in the area where you live :)