Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Book 24 - he's just not that into you


My twenty-fourth book was he's just not that into you by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo. I won't say much about this book, because every female should read it (and because the title is fairly explanatory). The book gives the reader several situations (like what to do if he isn't calling you, asking you out, or if he breaks up with you). It's up to the reader to decide what they do with the information.

PS: Watch the movie...now...go watch it.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Book 23 - Message in a Bottle


My twenty-third book was Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks. This was my last Nicholas Sparks book to read, having read the majority of them last year. I was not really looking forward to reading this book, but I don't have any books in my room that I haven't read yet, so I decided to go ahead and read it. I was very pleasantly surprised. The movie stars Kevin Costner and Robin Wright, both actors I don't really like. But the book was actually very good. Theresa is a divorced woman who, on vaction, finds a message in a bottle washed up on the beach. After reading the letter, she publishes it in her column that she writes for The Boston Globe. The reader response is immediate. She finds two other letters from the same man, both as romantic and heartwrenching as the first. She decides she has to find this man and, when she does, something happens that she (or he) never saw coming.

Friday, March 25, 2011

Book 22 - Catching Fire


My twenty-second book is Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, the second book in the Hunger Games trilogy. I loved The Hunger Games...it had action, drama, suspense, and a love story all rolled into one book. I couldn't wait to read the second book (and I was very excited to find the entire trilogy in a hard-cover boxed set...the last one!). This book did not disappoint! It is heart pounding from beginning to end. It picks up right where The Hunger Games left off, after Katniss and Peeta have arrived home and are trying to deal with the aftermath of rebelling against the Capitol. The President pays her a visit, telling her that she must convince not just everyone in all of the districts, but also him that she and Peeta are in love. When that doesn't happen, he comes up with a twist on the Hunger Games (on account of this year being the Quarter Quell, the event that happens every 25 years that makes the Hunger Games even worse than they usually are). And the twist for this year's is one no one, including the reader, sees coming. The twists in this book are mindblowing: you honestly have no idea what might happen...and the ending is the most shocking event of all...

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Book 21 - Secrets of My Hollywood Life: Paparazzi Princess


My twenty-first book was the fourth book in the Secrets of My Hollywood Life series, called Paparazzi Princess, by Jen Calonita. As I've said before, I love this series. And so will anyone that loves movies/tv/Hollywood in general. Kaitlyn Burke is back filming the last 8 episodes of Family Affair, which she has been on since she was a toddler. She is having a very hard time with it coming to an end, and her family rushing her to make a decision about what project she's going to take after the show is through. There are several movies, television shows, and even a broadway play to look at, but all Kaitlyn wants to do is mourn the loss of her show and her second family that comes with it. Enter Lauren and Ava, heiresses, hardcore partiers, and all around bad girls. They convince Kaitlyn that she needs to let loose and spend some time where she does what she wants to do. After several weeks of "Mischa Barton like" behavior, she finally realizes at a magazine shoot that the two girls are trying to ruin her career. She then has a panic attack and passes out (I can sympathize). Afterwards, she fixes all of her bad decisions (most of them anyway...she loses out on a great tv show because of her stalling...and her nemesis/sometimes ally Sky gets it). However, she is able to score the leading role in a new Broadway play, which will run for three months. Will Kaitlyn be able to handle live theater??

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Book 20 - Suite Scarlett


My twentieth book was Suite Scarlett by Maureen Johnson. I loved her book 13 Little Blue Envelopes so much, I had to try another of her books. And it did not disappoint. She is a very funny author and creates such relatable characters. This book is about Scarlett, who has just turned 15. Her parents own a small hotel in New York, which they also live in, and each child is given their own suite to take care of on their 15 birthday. Scarlett is given the Empire Suite, the most famous suite in the hotel. A couple of days after her birthday, a guest arrives to live in the Empire Suite for a year. This mysterious guest, who claims to be an actress and says she has been traveling the world for many years, quickly sucks Scarlett into her bizarre life. While dealing with the crazy woman, Scarlett also has to find a way to save her brother's acting career and the career of the boy she's in love with by saving their show, a "silent movie version" of Hamlet. All of this, as you can imagine, is very hard for a 15 year old to handle. But, reading about her trying to handle it is so much fun.

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Book 19 - Lunatic


My nineteenth book was Lunatic by Ted Dekker and Kaci Hill. This is the fifth book in the Lost Books series. This one was actually good. There are several storylines going on at once, some are cool (Darsal's) and some are either boring or frustrating (all of the other ones). But overall it was pretty good; it only took me three days to read it. It starts only moments after Chaos ended, but when they get back to Other Earth, it has been five years. Alot has happened since the gang has been gone: Thomas is missing, the lakes have been turned blood red, the Forest Guard is gone, and the Horde has taken over. So, they have to figure out how to overthrow the Horde, find Thomas, and figure out what this mysterious woman named Shaeda that keeps following them around wants. And, they have to do all of this without one of their original members, Billos, who is probably dead (they last time they saw him was in Alucard's lair, so not looking too good). Overall, pretty good...much better than the last one.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Book 18 - The Hunger Games


My eighteenth book was The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I had heard this book was really good (and really popular) so I figured I would give it a try. I wasn't too excited about reading it, though, when I started. But OMG, when I got into it, I couldn't put it down...it's exciting from beginning to end. Not really beginning, because it takes a few chapters to explain who she is and what the Hunger Games really are, but several chapters in, it really starts picking up. Katniss Everdeen is a tough girl from District 12 (the disctrict that produces coal). Her father died in a mine when she was little, so she has to get food for her entire family, which is made up of her mother and her 12 year old sister, Prim. Every year, in punishment for a rebellion by the districts many years ago, the Capitol (the ruling "district") has the Hunger Games. Two names are drawn from each district, a boy and a girl, two go fight in the Hunger Games. When Prim's name is drawn, Katniss volunteers to go in her place. The other "tribute" is a boy named Peeta, who Katniss had an encounter with when she was little. Once she enters the arena the Hunger Games are in, she must not only find food, water, and shelter, but she also must stay away from the 24 other tributes, including Peeta.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Book 17 - Secrets of My Hollywood Life: Family Affairs


My seventeenth book was the third book in the Secrets of My Hollywood Life series, called Family Affairs, by Jen Calonita. I love this series, for many reasons, but the main one is because it gives you insight into the life of the rich and famous. In this book, Kaitlyn Burke, Hollywood's It Girl, has just finished her movie and is returning to her nighttime soap opera, Family Affair. She has been on this show since she was four, along with her nemesis, Sky MacKenzie. They play twins Sam and Sara. During the break in filming, the director has decided to add another character, named Colby, that the family will think is their long lost sister, but she really has something more sinister in mind. (The author makes fun of soap operas, making sure all of the storylines are way "out there") This new girl is played by a girl named Alexis, who seems to be a sweet newcomer that just wants to make friends. Sky suspects her of being more than she seems from the very beginning and tries to warn Kaitlyn, who just wants to see the good in people. But, as the story goes on, more and more bad things start happening and Kaitlyn can't ignore the possiblity that Alexis really might be trying to ruin her and Sky's careers. This book, even though it's 316 pages, only took me a day to read. It's my favorite of the series so far, and that's saying a lot because I have loved both of the other books. If you're a fan of Hollywood or movies, I recommend this series.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Book 16 - Persuasion


My sixteenth book was Persuasion by Jane Austen. I have now read all of Jane Austen's books! This one was pretty good. It was her last book. The book is about Anne Elliot, who was in love with a man named Fredrick Wentworth, who her family felt was below them. So, she turned him down. Now, she's 27 years old and still unmarried. She meets up with Wentworth, who is now Captain Wentworth, who has a large fortune now. She's still in love with him, but he seems to be indifferent to her. She also has to deal with her vain father and sister, her stuck up married younger sister and her extended family, and her conniving cousin William Elliot.

Book 15 - The Pacific


My fifteenth book was The Pacific by Hugh Ambrose. This book focuses on what happens to the different branches of the military during World War II in the Pacific Theater. It focuses on Sid Phillips, Eugene Sledge, and John Basilone who are in different divisions in the Marines, Austin "Shifty" Shofner who was a POW imprisoned at Cabanatuon, and Vernon "Mike" Micheel, who was a pilot in the Navy. Everyone that has ever served in the military is a hero, but the stories of the men in this book take the cake. The only thing that I didn't like was that, unlike the HBO miniseries which this book is the campanion piece too, the book didn't focus on Robert Leckie. He was one of the main characters in the miniseries and he was only mentioned a couple of times in the book. He had a great story, along with a book he wrote, and I think he should have been mentioned a little more. This book is a great read, although it is very long. It reads more like a novel than a history book, but it's still not as good as his father's, Stephen Ambrose, work.

Book 14 - Nights in Rodanthe


My fourteenth book was Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks. This was a pretty short book. Especially by Sparks' standard. I've read almost all of his books, this is my next to last. I wasn't really looking forward to reading it, because I wasn't a fan of the movie, but I was pleasantly surprised. The book only took me a day and a half to finish. The book is about Adrienne, a woman who has just been divorced by her husband, is watching her friends' inn for the weekend. The only guest is a man named Paul, who is also divorced. They talk and fall in love over the weekend. However, they both know he is leaving on Tuesday to go to Ecuador for a year, to reconnect with his son. So, they decide to wait for each other for a year, while he's away. But, in true Nicholas Sparks fashion, something happens to keep them apart.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Book 13 - Jenna and Jonah's Fauxmance


My thirteenth book was Jenna and Jonah's Fauxmance by Emily Franklin and Brendan Halpin. First of all, I loved this book. It was a very easy and enjoyable read. It wasn't "profound", but it was very cute and took your mind off of everything else. The book is about two actors, Charlie (who is a girl) and Aaron (who everyone knows as Fielding Withers, his stage name), who are the stars of a popular tv show called Jenna and Jonah's How To Be A Rock Star. But, their roles don't end there. They also have to pretend to be dating in real life to increase interest in the show. The only problem is that they can barely stand each other. They were actually good friends while filming the first season, but when they were forced to act outside of the set, they became enemies. When some nasty rumors come out about Aaron and the show is cancelled because of these, they are forced to band together to save their careers. Only, what Charlie doesn't know, is that Aaron just wants to have a normal life and go to college; he isn't interested in acting anymore. Can they work together long enough to at least salvage her career? Does she even want to anymore?

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Book 12 - You Killed Wesley Payne


My twelfth book is You Killed Wesley Payne by Sean Beaudoin. I've never heard of this author, but the cover looked so cool, I thought I would try it. It's a good, interesting book. It's just very, very hard to understand, until you get the "lingo" down. Seriously...the lingo is difficult. Luckily, there's a dictionary in the back. The book is about a private detective who is investigating the death of a student at Salt River High. Along the way, he meets some very "interesting" students and cliques at this school.

Book 11 - Prada and Prejudice


My eleventh book is Prada and Prejudice by Mandy Hubbard. This was the first book I read by Mandy Hubbard, the second being You Wish, which is one of my favorite books. This one is good, but her writing is clearly getting better. This book is a "modernization" of Pride and Prejudice. Although, you can't really call it a modernization because most of the book happens in "Jane Austen time". A girl named Callie is desperate to be popular, so she buys a pair of real Prada high heels. On her way out of the store, she trips and hits her head. When she wakes up, she's in 1812 and has nowhere to stay the night. While walking through the woods, she finds a road and follows it to the beautiful mansion that is called Harksbury. This mansion is the home to Emily, a kind hearted teenager, Alex, the pompous Duke of Harksbury, and Victoria, Alex's mother. Emily mistakes Callie, with her American accent, for her friend, Rebecca, who is visiting from America. Callie must learn to navigate the complex 1812 society and come up with a plan to get back home before they learn that she's not Rebecca. But when she does come up with a plan, will she even want to go back home?

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Book 10 - Chaos


My tenth book was Chaos by Ted Dekker. It's the fourth book in the Lost Books Series. This book was much better than the last one. The last one was quite aggravating because the characters were acting kind of stupid. While some of them are stupid in this book too, it's all worth it when you read the last chapter. It was epic. This book starts where the last book ended, Johnis and Silvie meeting up in Las Vegas. They are trying to find the rest of the Lost Books and their search leads them to this world. If you get past the annoying behavior in the beginning of the book, it's worth it, I promise. This book is probably my favorite so far.