Book Review: ENTWINED

Author: Heather Dixon
Number of Pages: 480
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Release Date: March 29, 2011

Azalea is the eldest daughter of a queen, whose life revolves around dancing, and a king, whose life revolves around rules and structure. So when Azalea's mother dies after giving birth to her twelfth daughter, Lily, their lives change drastically. They are forced to spend a year in mourning, which means no colorful clothing, no open windows, and worst of all- no dancing. So when the sisters find a secret realm beyond the castle walls where they can dance without being seen, who can blame them for going back, and back, and back? But the keeper of the realm has some surprises up his sleeves- some that could prove to be dangerous, even fatal. Will the sisters make it out alive, or will they be trapped in the realm- forever?

I have to say, when I first started this book I wasn't very thrilled. It got off to a slow start, and I was sort of disappointed. But as I read more and more of it, I became more and more interested in it. It came to a point where I just couldn't put it down. This was a really unique novel, as I have never really read a book about ballroom dancing. The ending was my absolute favorite part- it was so suspenseful! And it wasn't written in a confusing way, which is a big plus. And just look at the cover! I love how is shows the back of her dress and the hedges and the castle in the distance.... it's just so dramatic! :) All in all, this book was a great read.

My Rating: :0) :0) :0) :0) 4 out of 5 smileys

Would I recommend it to a friend?: Yes.

Hugs,
Aceba
                                                            

Book Review: THE NATURE OF JADE

Author: Deb Caletti
Number of Pages: 304
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Release Date: February 27, 2007

"Since being diagnosed with Panic Disorder, Jade DeLuna is trying her best to stay calm, and visiting the elephants at the nearby zoo seems to help. That’s why Jade keeps the live zoo webcam on in her room, and where she first sees Sebastian.
When she finally meets him, their connection is immediate, and soon Jade is drawn into Sebastian’s life with his son and his grandmother on their Seattle houseboat. Even though the situation is complicated, Jade hasn’t felt this safe in a long time.
Until she learns that Sebastian is hiding a terrible secret. A secret that will force Jade to decide between what is right, and what feels right. . . ."
                                                - Goodreads.com

I have read and thoroughly enjoyed two of Deb Caletti's books before (Wild Roses and The Fortunes of Indigo Skye) so I was very excited to read this one. And I have to say, it totally lived up to my expectations! Jade's fascination with the elephants in the local zoo is a unique character trait, which made the book stand out in a way. This novel is also just SO WELL WRITTEN! Every line speaks out on its own and makes you really think. I loved twists and turns near the end, and even though the ending was a tad bittersweet, I think it complimented the book very nicely. This wouldn't be a good book if everything ended up happily-ever-after.

The only thing I didn't like about this book was that it sort of skipped right over an important conversation with Sebastian and Jade at the end. I kind of had to gather information from the next chapter as to what actually happened. I still only have a fuzzy idea of what happened between Jade and Sebastian. However, other than that, this book was really great and very well worth reading.
My Rating: :0) :0) :0) :0) 4 out of 5 smileys

Would I recommend it to a friend?: Yes!

Yours,
Aceba

Book Review: THE GUNSLINGER

Author: Stephen King
Number of Pages: 264
Publisher: Plume
Release Date: June 10, 1982

The Gunslinger is the last of his kind. He is chasing after the man in black, an evil man who knows information about the Dark Tower that no one else does. Will the Last Gunslinger finish his quest alive, or will he die trying to obtain the whereabouts of the Tower?

I read this book on a recommendation from my English teacher, and I am so glad I did! This really was a great book, although the front cover is a little creepy..... or a lot creepy....
Anyways, this book started out a little slow and was confusing at first, but once I got into it it was fine. I liked how it the Gunslinger had 'flashbacks' of his past quite frequently, as they gave the reader a hint of this mysterious man's personality. My absolute favorite part of the book was the very last chapter, for reasons I unfortunately cannot include in this post because they contain spoilers of an important kind. But trust me: it is the best part of the book.
There are many, many books in the Dark Tower series by Stephen King (6? 7? somewhere around there) and I am debating whether or not to continue with the series. I think I will.
My Rating: :0) :0) :0) :0) 4 out of 5 smileys. I didn't rate this a five only because of its slow start. Otherwise, it was a great book!

Would I recommend it to a friend?: Only one who likes to read fantasy. It probably wouldn't be that enjoyable to read if you didn't.
Yours,
Aceba

Book Review: THE FAULT IN OUR STARS

Author: John Green
Number of Pages: 313
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Release Date: January 10, 2012
"Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now.

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind."
                                                                                                             - Goodreads.com

This book was simply AMAZING! Of course, I didn't expect anything less from John Green, because all of his books are excellent. This one was especially good because of the emotion in it. I think he really captures what it feels like to be a teen with cancer (although, I am not a teen with cancer, so I may be totally wrong about this). This book really opened my eyes on the subject of cancer. I read this book in one day, which I usually don't do. THAT'S HOW GOOD THIS BOOK IS!!!!! Read it! Read it! Read it!
My Rating: :0) :0) :0) :0) :0) 5 out of 5 smileys
Would I recommend it to a friend?: READ IT!!!

Yours,
Aceba

New Books!

I should probably say used books, as I got these a few days ago when I took a trip to a nearby used book store. I love used book stores- the books are cheap, and you never know what you might find! Anyway, here are the books I got:

The View From Saturday by E.L. Konigsburg

The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty

Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld

Yay! I can't wait to read them all!!!

Hugs,

Aceba









Book Review: INTO THE DARK

Author: Peter Abrahams
Number of Pages: 304
Publisher: Laura Geringer Books
Release Date: April 1, 2008

"In Echo Falls, secrets buried in the past don't always stay there.
An idyllic day of snowshoeing on Grampy's land with Joey Strade turns out to be less than idyllic when thirteen-year-old super sleuth Ingrid Levin-Hill stumbles upon a body lying in the snow. This discovery sends the town of Echo Falls into a tailspin in which secrets long hidden are revealed and Grampy gets sent to jail. While Ingrid works to clear Grampy's name and uncover what really happened to the man in the snow, she discovers even more secrets she wishes she never knew. Just like the character Gretel, whom Ingid is playing in the Prescott Players' production of Hansel and Gretel, Ingrid must go deep into the darkness to find the truth.
In the third book in the Edgar Award–nominated and national bestselling Echo Falls series, Peter Abrahams's talent for building suspense shines as Ingrid embarks on her most harrowing adventure yet."
                                                                                                                  - Goodreads.com

This book was a great quick and easy read. The Echo Falls Mystery series is more geared towards preteens I think, which accounts for some of the reasons this isn't a five-smiley books for me. It was a good book, I think everything ended up a little to happily-ever-after for me. There really were no consequences, and Ingrid gets away with nearly everything. It was well-written, though, which is always a bonus. Overall, this was an okay book.

My Rating: :0) :0) :0) 3 out of 5 smileys

Would I recommend it to a friend?: Yes, but probably one who is 12 years old or younger. I think they would enjoy it the most.

Hugs,
Aceba

Book Review: THE HELP

Author: Kathryn Stockett
Number of Pages: 451
Publisher: Amy Einhorn Books
Release Date: February 10, 2009

"Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.

Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.

In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women - mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends - view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't."
                                                                                                              - Goodreads.com

This is an amazing book. I was hesitant to read it at first, because I've heard mixed reviews about it, but I am so glad that I finally decided to read it. I loved how the plot progresses so smoothly, and at the end everything falls into place just so perfectly. The characters have so much depth to them that I felt like I knew them personally. I couldn't believe that this was Kathryn Stockett's first book because it is written so beautifully and expertly. I don't have any complaints about this book whatsoever.

I recently watched the movie of this book, and in my opinion the book is definitely better. I mean, the movie is really good too, but it just isn't the same as the book. There is so much more to the story than what they could fit in a movie, so it's definitely worth reading the book.

My Rating: :0) :0) :0) :0) :0) 5 out of 5 smileys

Would I recommend it to a friend?: Absolutely. This is a definite must-read!!!!

Yours,
Aceba

MY BOOKCASE!!!!!!!!

I just realized that I never shared with you guys my new bookcase. Well, I'll just have to fix that....

So, here is my bookcase! (Please ignore my scarves and stuff off to the left there...) Pretty snazzy, I know... and yes, those are indeed Christmas lights. ;)

My plan for organizing all of my books was to assign each shelf a genre. Then, all of the books on that shelf would be of that genre. This was great in theory, until I realized that I had way more books in some genres than one shelf could hold, and that I only have like two books in another genre. So I scratched that plan and sort of organized them by genre, just not by shelf. (If you're thinking that I put way too much effort into this than I had to, then you are correct.) Let me give you the detailed tour.

At the tippity-top, above the first shelf, we have my miniature chairs. If you watch the Vlogbrothers' videos on Youtube.com, you will notice that John Green has tiny chairs on his bookshelves as well. If you do not watch the Vlogbrothers, go watch them! They are hilarious!

Anyways, these chairs were a gift from my friend. Thanks, friend!!! :0)

Under the chairs on the top shelf we have my all time favorite books series. These would be Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling and Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. There are some other books by J.R.R. Tolkien/concerning Lord of the Rings mixed in there as well. To the right I also have The Golden Compass trilogy by Phillip Pullman. The Golden Compass isn't necessarily one of my very favorite series, but it fit on the shelf, so that's where it's gonna stay!




The second-highest book shelf holds some of my fantasy books. This includes The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins, The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel series by Michael Scott, The Secret Series by Pseudonymous Bosch, The Mysterious Benedict Society series by Trenton Lee Stewart, etc.

This book shelf is half fantasy, half science fiction. The fantasy portion of this shelf includes books such as Eragon by Christopher Paolini, The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo, and Wicked by Gregory Maguire. The science fiction half of this shelf contains books like Lies and Plague by Michael Grant, Angel by James Patterson, and Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card. Note: I do realize that on the fence between fantasy and sci-fi is a disturbing novel- New Moon by Stephenie Meyer. Please understand that this is left over from my Twilight phase when I was in sixth grade. This was a short phase that, I am proud to say, has not carried with me through the years.

The next shelf holds my contemporary YA books. This includes the Pretty Little Liars series by Sara Shepard, Paper Towns/Looking for Alaska/An Abundance of Katherines by John Green, and Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen, just to name a few.

The second-to-last shelf of my bookcase is sort of a mish-mash of a bunch of different genres. There's a little contemporary YA (like Please Don't Be True by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor) and some historical fiction (such as Distant Waves by Suzanne Weyn) and a few classics (including Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen) and various other miscellaneous books. Like I said, it's a little bit of everything.

The very last shelf of my bookcase is pretty bare. All that's there are some DVDs and a few magazines. The DVDs include all three Lord of the Rings movies and Part 2 of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. My magazines, as you can see from the picture to the right, are Seventeen. I still haven't decided what else to add to this shelf. I think as I get more books I'll have to expand and use the bottom shelf, so I guess I'm just waiting until then.

And that concludes our tour of my new bookcase! Sorry that this post was REALLY REALLY long- I just couldn't wait to tell you guys about it. Do you have a cool way of organizing your bookcase? Leave a comment!

Yours,

Aceba

Book Review: THE INHERITANCE CYCLE

Author: Christopher Paolini
Number of Pages:
Eragon ~ 503
Eldest ~ 704
Brisingr ~ 763
Inheritance ~ 860
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Release Date:
Eragon ~ January 1, 2003
Eldest ~ August 23, 2005
Brisingr ~ September 20, 2008
Inheritance ~ November 8, 2011
"When young Eragon finds a polished blue stone in the forest, he thinks it is the lucky discovery of a poor farm boy; perhaps it will buy his adopted family meat for the winter. But when the stone brings a dragon hatchling, Eragon realizes he has stumbled upon a legacy nearly as old as the Empire itself. Overnight his simple life is shattered, and he is thrust into a perilous new world of inescapable destiny, magical forces, and powerful people. With only an ancient sword and the instruction of an old,mysterious, hermit storyteller for guidance, Eragon and the fledgling dragon must navigate the dangerous terrain and dark enemies of an Empire ruled by a Emperor whose evil and power knows no bounds. Can Eragon take up the mantle of the legendary Dragon Riders? The fate of the Empire may rest in his hands…"
                                                                 - Goodreads.com

This was my second time reading the first three books in this series and my first time reading the last one, and I have to say it really blew me away. Christopher Paolini is an extremely talented writer. All of the chapters flowed together, as well as the books themselves. There was so much detail that I felt like I was actually there with Eragon and the other characters. Also, all of the characters grow immensely throughout the series, and it's cool to see how their relationships develop.

I was really impressed by the last book. I always have mixed feelings about the last book in series. The last book can really make or break the series as a whole, because if the ending is bad that's your last impression of it, so you're less likely to go back and reread it. But I have to say, the ending was really good! I was a little disappointed by the lack of relationship between Eragon and a certain girl (I won't say who because it would give too much away) but I guess it was for the best. The ending wasn't corny, and there was no vague, too-happy epilogue to ruin things. It was a great read!

 I know that  a lot of people don't like these books because they're "too detailed" or "too long." WHAT?!?! So what you're saying is that you don't like them because the writing is "too good" and the plot is "too action-packed." Come on, people! Give this series an honest chance! I know that they are long and that they have a lot of detail, but that doesn't make them bad books.

My Rating:
Eragon ~ :0) :0) :0) :0) :0) 5 out of 5 smileys
Eldest ~ :0) :0) :0) :0) :0) 5 out of 5 smileys
Brisingr ~ :0) :0) :0) :0) :0) 5 out of 5 smileys
Inheritance ~ :0) :0) :0) :0) :0) 5 out of 5 smileys

That's right: I give the entire series a 5 out of 5 smileys!!!! It is one of my all-time favorite series ever, along with Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, etc. This is a series well worth your time!

Would I recommend it to a friend?: Absolutely!!!!

Yours,

Aceba



It's January...

Happy New Year everyone!!!!!

Hugs,
Aceba