Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

This is the second book in the series - the first book being "The Hunger Games". I absolutely loved the Hunger Games, it was unusual and like nothing I'd ever read. I couldn't put it down and I finished it really quickly. Again, the idea of the story was disturbing, yet somehow it gripped me. At the end of the first book, Katniss and Peeta found a way to BOTH win the Hunger Games. They both survived, but the government felt that they were challenging them, so they became furious. Now, in Catching Fire, Peeta and Katniss are living with their newly received wealth and are happy to be reunited with their families. Also, a tour is going on for the victors around the country. This book is just as good, if not better than the first book and I love it. I can't wait to keep reading and see what other twists Suzanne Collins throws in.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My friend kept saying that this was THE BEST BOOK EVER! She told me like 20 times, so finally I said it was time that I decide for myself. I asked to borrow her copy and at first I was not convinced. The plot was weird and disturbing to me. It takes place in the future because the technology was very advanced with hovercrafts and medicine that heals any wound or blemish possible. There were also new species of crossbred vicious animals. Anyway, the technology was futuristic, but somehow it seemed backwards. People were starving and had to hunt to stay alive. This seemed like older survival techniques to me. The part that was most disturbing were the actual "Hunger Games." 24 children are chosen each year, and are forced to play. They are placed in an arena and have to kill each other. The last person standing wins, and gets alot of money and food. I thought this was beyond horrific, but somehow it gripped me. It was oddly interesting and Collins wrote it really well. I got really into the story and I loved it. I couldn't put it down and I can't wait to read the second book that just came out. Also, I finished this book really quickly - it was a quick and interesting read.

The Year of Secret Assignments by Jaclyn Moriarty

I started this book last Friday in class and I'm already finished with it! I read it in less than a week, which is basically unheard of for me. I am generally a pretty slow reader and it takes me a few weeks to finish any book, but I finished this one really quickly. My friend kept suggesting that I read it, so I asked her if I could borrow it. I thought the format of the book was really unique and interesting. Moriarty designed the book to be set up as letters sent between different pen pals, and different diary entries. It also included school announcements and notices. All these things tied together tell the story, but they also provide different perspectives and opinions of people. I also thought that the plot was interesting. There are two rival schools, and they were given an English assignment to become pen pals with someone from the other school. It was creative and overall a very enjoyable read. The genre was realistic fiction, and I recommend it to anyone, but I feel like girls will enjoy it more than boys.

Angels and Demons - Finished

I finally finished this book and I'm really upset about it. I'm sad that it's over and I'm afraid that my next book won't even compare to this one. The ending was amazing. There were so many twists and it was completely different from what I predicted. Dan Brown made this book exciting and unpredictable. I wanted to keep reading to find out what would happen next. I recommend this book to anyone. I absolutely loved it, but I think people who like mysteries and thrills would really enjoy this book. It also has elements of religion and history, so people who like those should also read this book, although you don't have to be religious at all to enjoy it. I'm not religious in the least bit and I still loved it. This is the best book I've read so far this school year.

Angels and Demons - 3/4 done

This book continues to get better. The more I read, the harder it is to stop. The plot is incredibly exciting and creative. Dan Brown somehow finds a way to incorporate religious ideology with mystery, murder and love. Angels and Demons is very similar to his other work, The Da Vinci Code which includes similar ideas. In a way, I think I like Angels and Demons better than the Da Vinci Code. This book is more straightforward and focuses mainly on one story - finding the murderer and the explosives before Vatican City is blown up. In the Da Vinci Code, there were sort of two stories going on at the same time, but in the end they were pulled together. I only really liked one of the stories and the other one confused me. Since this book doesn't have a side story, I find it more enjoyable to read. I'm about 3/4 done with this book so far, and there have already been a minimum of 5 murders. People tell me this book only gets better as you get further into it. I don't know what other twist Brown could possibly throw in, but I am excited to find out.

Angels and Demons By Dan Brown

I absolutely love this book. It's thrilling and captivating - I can't put it down. I am so happy that I decided to read it because it feels like a continuation of The Da Vinci Code, which is one of my favorite books. This is the second book I've read by Dan Brown, and I am pleased to see that his writing is consistently exciting. I also really like that he set up the book with very short chapters. This pushes me to read just a little bit more because I know I will always have a good stopping place - even though I don't always want to stop! I like how it is the same main character in this book that was in the Da Vinci Code because I feel like I know him already. I also feel like I am able to learn more about him and his character is developing more. He is very interesting and exciting because it seems that he always remembers something crucial when it's almost too late, but he always manages to be successful. It's also interesting for me to read Dan Brown's books because they contain actual historical and accurate information. I feel like I am learning while enjoying the story, which makes it seem even more satisfying. My friend who read this book told me that it only gets better as the story goes on. I can't wait to continue and find out what happens, but I know I will be sad once it is over.

Memory Keeper's Daughter. (2nd Quarter Begins Here)

I finally finished reading this book, and it was quite a struggle. I was not interested at all throughout the story, but I am not the type of person to drop a book without finishing it. I forced myself to finish and honestly, I'm glad that it is finally over. Besides the poor writing style, I was not a fan of the main character, Dr. David Henry. Although his intentions were for the best, he still lied to his family with possibly the most horrid lie they could imagine. He told his wife, Norah that their daughter died at birth, yet this was not the case. Their daughter was born with Down Syndrome, and David feared that his wife would struggle with a sick child as his mother struggled with his sick sister. Norah had to deal with the guilt of never holding her daughter, and she felt that she could never fully grieve for her. This lie could not be undone, and things began spiraling out of hand. David distanced himself from his family, which caused his son Paul to feel unloved. I think that David is selfish and should have owned up to his mistake from the very beginning. It bothered me to see how he essentially tore his family apart. I like Caroline, though, since she took their daughter and raised her as her own. She always looked out for Phoebe's best interests and that was very kind of her. This book is a realistic fiction novel and it deals with the struggles of families and what was accepted in earlier times. It has potential to be amazing but I don't suggest it.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter

To be honest, I'm not a huge fan of this book. I think the story line is good and it has potential to be really interesting, but Kim Edwards does not achieve this. She is overly descriptive which is very annoying to me. While description is a good thing, she describes things to an extreme and finds the need to include every single detail about everything. I find it distracting and frankly boring to read. I drift off very easily because of this and can't stay focused on the book. As a result, I have been reading this book at a slower pace than normal. In addition, Kim Edwards describes all the different characters that come into the book, which is good. On the bad side, though, she always seems to write about flashbacks in the person's life. Sometimes this is confusing to me because I don't know where the person is at the time, or what they're doing. Overall, I like the idea of the book. I just wish it was more straightforward with less "fluff". I'm having some difficulty getting through it enjoyably, but hopefully it will get better.

The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

After finishing my last book, I had no idea what to read. I am never good at choosing books, so I usually ask other people for their suggestions. As I passed a classmate in the hallway one day, she suggested this book claiming that it was amazing. I figured, why not? I was already on my way to the library, and when I saw it on the rack I immediately picked it up and checked it out. I didn't really know what it was about, but after reading the blurb and beginning the book I became more interested. Edwards creates a couple who is pregnant, and surprised when they have twins. The husband is even more surprised that their second child is born with down syndrome. Fearing early death and suffering for the child, he tells the nurse to take her away, sending her to a better facility. I am fine with the decision to give her up since he felt they could not provide for her. Also, they didn't want to suffer and feel devastated if she died young. This is understandable. What I don't like, though, is that the husband lied to his wife. She was unconscious while giving birth, so she didn't know her daughter was born with a disability. Instead of telling her the truth, her husband claims, "Our little daughter died as she was born" (20). This really angered me because I feel that the wife has the right to know the truth. It also surprised me because it seemed as though they had a better relationship - not one based off lies. So far, I like this book, but sometimes it is overly descriptive. This can be too much to absorb and sometimes annoying. I am looking forward to seeing how things unfold, and I predict that she will eventually find out the truth about her daughter. I also predict that she will go on a search to find her.

Along For the Ride - Finally Done

I finally finished this book, and it was great. I could not put it down this weekend until it was done. The book as a whole was very inspirational, and had many life lessons in it. Sarah Dessen emphasizes the importance of taking advantage of second chances, and that it is okay for people to change. She helps the reader follow along with the emotions of the characters, feeling how they feel and thinking what they think. This book is extremely realistic; it tells the story of a girl who's parents got divorced. Living with her over-achieving mother she feels suffocated, so she visits her father in his beach town for the summer. There, she meets new people, has friends for once and experiences things she thought she never would. This book illustrates how people grow up, and how we interact with others. I loved it, and I recommend it to anyone who likes realistic fiction romances.

Along For the Ride - Almost Finished

As I continue to read this book, I see the characters develop more. I am continuously learning something new about them, or finding something that reinforces their personality further. For example, I already knew that Auden didn't have much of a childhood - her parents, mainly her mother, molded her into an adult from the time she was very young. It seemed that Auden didn't mind this, probably because she didn't expect to be treated any differently. She appears to have been a very thoughtful and considerate child, explaining to Eli that she never woke her parents up to get her water because "[They] needed their sleep" (271). In the long run, her parents had a negative effect on her considering the fact that they got divorced. Auden is not as put together as she once was, and she seems embarrassed to display her emotions in front of people. It is probably a new feeling for her; one that is uncomfortable. She opens up in front of Eli, though, showing her comfort around him and he handles the situation very well. He does what his mom always did when his sisters cried: bake rice krispie treats. Eli is a very caring person, but people don't always get to see that under his sad exterior. People aren't always what they seem...they can change and grow. Sarah Dessen does a great job of fulling developing characters, and I enjoy seeing how things unfold.

Along For the Ride - Past Halfway Point

The more I read, the more I like this book. I find myself thinking about when I'll be able to read again. The beginning of the book was good, but not great. While I was reading the beginning, I'm sure it seemed great, but compared to the middle it's just okay. The story has picked up, becoming more interesting and dramatic. The main character, Auden is beginning to transition from a sheltered academic to a fun loving teen. Because of her parents' tight grip on her growing up, Auden missed out on alot of childhood experiences. She's never gone bowling, been in a food fight, and though she won't admit it, I don't think she's ever rode a bike! Luckily, she found Eli - someone who can help her complete experiences on her quest, one night at a time. Seeing as neither of them sleep much, they spend the nights together; doing things that are new for Auden. She soon finds herself falling for him, something she could never imagine herself doing with anyone. Previously, she claimed that she had nothing to put in her picture frame, no great memories. As she spends more time in Colby, that soon changes. When a photo of her and Eli is snapped after her first food fight, Auden finds herself thinking, "I already had a perfect place for it: a blue frame, a few words etched beneath. The best of times" (203). I'm happy that Auden is beginning to experience new things and change in a positive way, I'm just sad that she had to miss out on so much as a child. I'm looking forward to reading more and seeing how/if her relationship with Eli develops.

Along For the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Coming off from a terrific summer reading book, I was craving another great book to read for school. A few of my classmates mentioned that they loved this book, so I immediately picked up a copy. I've only read about 130 pages, but I love the book so far. Along For the Ride isn't the type of book that leaves you hanging with suspense, or shocks you with something unexpected. Instead, it follows the life of a young girl, Auden, and how she deals with different situations. The story is extremely realistic, and it's a nice change to read this genre. Something that bothers me in the book, though, is the way Auden's parents behave. They are divorced, and entirely different from each other. Auden's mom only seems to be concerned with the education of her daughter. She doesn't appear to be interested in her daughter's happiness. Her father is not really much of a father after all. He has a new daughter, yet fails to be of any help to his new wife. She struggles and is exhausted, but he never offers his hand in help. It makes me wonder what Auden would be like if she grew up with different parents. When she receives a picture frame as a gift, the words "THE BEST OF TIMES" jump out at her. She immediately realizes "[Everyone] probably had a million pictures that belonged in this frame, but [she] didn't have a single one" (18). This made me sad. I feel bad for Auden and I hope that she becomes happier as the novel unfolds.

The DaVinci Code By Dan Brown

I wasn't all that motivated to read this book. I felt that it would be too difficult for me, and the fact that I have absolutely no knowledge of anything religious worried me. The beginning of the book was tough, I'm not gonna lie. There was alot of vocabulary I wasn't familiar with, which made it sort of confusing. But once I pushed past the first few pages, I was gripped. I just could not put the book down. It was so exciting and suspenseful that I wanted to keep reading to find out what would happen next. Just when I thought it couldn't get better, something more exciting happened! I actually looked forward to reading this book, and that rarely happens. I also loved the fact that Dan Brown wrote extremely short chapters. This helped me find a nice place to stop, but it also pushed me to read a little bit more. I was never bored, and as it went on, the language got easier to understand. All the religious content was explained, so it was easy to follow. The plot switched back and forth between two stories, but in the end they came together. I enjoyed seeing how the main characters worked together to solve problems, and their undeniable chemistry. This was my favorite book of the summer, and I recommend it to anyone who loves a mystery, or wants to read something exciting.

Looking For Alaska by John Green

Alot of people recommended that I read this book, so I figured why not? I really enjoyed reading it, so the frequent praise it received proved itself true. The main reason that I loved this book was that it was realistic. It deals with real life situations and highlights some possible effects of making poor decisions. An author can have the best story line ever, but if the characters aren't well developed, then the story suffers. In this case, John Green did an excellent job of creating life-like characters. The relationships they share, and the connections they have were exciting to read about. I also really liked how the book was set up. The first half was the "Before" section, while the second half was the "After" section. The beginning describes life before a traumatic accident, and the ending shows the effect the accident had on the lives of people. Looking for Alaska was a very enjoyable book to read, and it went by pretty quickly. I couldn't put it down, and I recommend it to realistic fiction lovers.