Stealing Heaven by Elizabeth Scott

Stealing Heaven was one of those books I bought entirely by mistake. Well, not entirely by mistake because I thought the cover was interesting. Like the girl on the cover was running away from something.

But it turned out preeeeeeetty good.

Eighteen-year-old Danielle, a.k.a. Sydney, Rebecca, Hortense or whatever her mom chooses to call her, has been a thief for all her life. Did you know thieves had their areas of expertise? Well, Danielle/Sydney/Rebecca and her mom's was silver. They would travel cross country if it meant scoring the best silver around. They would strip old maids and widows of their finest silver and sell them at black markets. Because of this, her mother has had to feign relationships with A LOT of men for the past fifteen years to gain knowledge of wealthy houses (and women). Danielle hadn't given much thought into her life until they move to Heaven, a small, summer-house beachfront town. There, she begins to long for something more in her life- something solid, somewhere to call home and heck, maybe even a relationship. But Dani knows the routine- she, like her mom, is expected to have flings with boys around town to gain information, take, and leave.

Only something (well, everything really) goes wrong.

She gains the interest of a teenage local cop and becomes involved with him, going as far as to invite him for dinner. Not only that, but generally doing everything her mother always told her to avoid- revealing her name, befriending the daughter of a wealthy family her mother has her eyes on. And when it comes to actually stealing, Dani and her mom get caught red-handed for the first time and end up in the police station where her soon-to-be cop boyfriend just happens to work in.

The story doesn't end there. Dani's mom had been sick for a few days and while hunting for another house one day collapses on the sidewalk. Her mom is then rushed to the hospital where a doctor comes into her life with a loud 'bang'- and tells her that her mom has lung cancer which had spread to her liver. But with all stories like these, Stealing Heaven ends with a happy ending of Dani rekindling her relationship with Greg the cop.

This book was a light and funny read which satisfied me. Elizabeth Scott is definitely an author to keep an eye out for, what with her witty sense of humor and natural writing which I am sure all of us (at least the girls) can relate to. And it's not just her way of writing that satisfied me- although Dani is placed in an awkward situation none of us can relate to, I ended up doing that anyway. I recommend Stealing Heaven to all (but the four males... except Nick maybe) of the class.

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

I read this book at the beginning of the year, mostly because almost every teenage girl I knew were swooning around the book. I had watched the movie a few years ago with my cousin which I hardly remembered watching (hey, I was like 8! But one thing I did remember was that it starred Rachel McAdams, one of my cousin's favorite actresses of all time). So I bought the book from Amazon and tried it and guess what - it really was worth all the fuss. This book was also probably my first romance novel, having stayed away from the genre for ever. It made me change my misconceptions of the genre.

So, more about the book. Allie Nelson and Noah Calhoun are two teenagers, completely different but madly in love. They spend one dreamy summer together in the small town of New Bern, North Carolina and do not meet again for 14 years. By then, 31-year-old Noah had served his country in the second World War and Allie engaged to be married in three weeks to a successful lawyer, Lon. Allie, having read a newspaper article about Noah, remembers their past and decides to pay him a visit lasting two days. Slowly, the two former lovers begin to rekindle their relationship after finding out their love for each other is stronger than ever. Allie chooses Noah over Lon and for the next 50 years Allie and Noah lead a happy, fulfilling life.

The next part of the book takes place in a nursing home in the '90s. We find out Allie and Noah are still living together but that Allie is now at the final stages of the Alzheimer's disease and remembers no part of their happier past. Noah refuses to give up his hope for his wife and every day reads her a collection of letters he wrote to her for the past 60 years (hence the Notebook). Despite his efforts, Allie struggles to even remember her own name. The last scene is a happier one on Allie and Noah's anniversary day - Allie briefly regains her memories and the book ends with the couple happily together, even for a short while.

Once I started this book, I couldn't put it down because all the events were just so lifelike. I liked how the characters were able to overcome all obstacles to be with each other- so like the typical love story of girl-meets-boy, boy-meets-girl, parents separate them but they get together at the end and live a happy life but also with a tragic twist I certainly didn't expect at the end. I recommend this book to EVERYONE. It's a pretty thin book, which all of you can manage lightly (or so I think).

The Pact by Jodi Picoult

Did everyone have a great Boxing Day ? I know i didn't .

But here's a book to keep you company for the remaining 5 days of 2009 - The Pact .

This book is the story of two high school seniors Chris and Emily . Their families have been neighbors for the past 17 years and practically siblings from Day One . Due to this , neither families are surprised when their supposed 'friendship' develops into something much more in their freshman year , when Emily is 13 and Chris 14 . Everyone around them had thought they were as close to soul mates as anyone could get . But all this changed on a night three months prior to their graduation day - both families are called to the nearby hospital where Chris' s dad works as a doctor where they find Emily dead from a gunshot wound to her head at the age of 17 and Chris unconscious from an unexplained fall , bleeding from the head . When Chris gains consciousness after a couple of hours , he explains that the two of them intended to carry out a suicide pact . Both families are stunned : Chris and Emily were teenagers from loving, relatively wealthy families - their parents naturally thought that since they had everything they needed there was absolutely no reason to be depressed or suicidal . Lacking sufficient evidence, the police takes Chris custody and convicts him of murder of the first degree .

The rest of the book is written in a past-present form , with alternating chapters (every other chapter is a flashback to Emily's and Chris' childhood life leading up to the night of Emily's death, while the others are of Chris' current situation in a holding cell and his lawyer's battle to get him free). It is revealed through the flashbacks that Emily was molested as a child in the local McDonald's as a result of Chris' dare to go into the men's bathroom. It is also revealed that by the time of her death she was two months pregnant with Chris's child but kept it a secret from everybody - her love towards Chris was more sisterly and purely out of duty while Chris truly loved her and thought of her as his soul mate. She chose not to tell anyone of the baby because she believed that Chris would marry her and that they had to step into a readymade life planned out long before by their parents . It was these reasons which made Emily suicidal: she did not wish to go against her parents' wishes of being the perfect daughter with the perfect grades and the perfect boyfriend , yet she already had .

In the end it is further revealed that Emily's death was not a result of their suicide pact and that there never was one . Emily asked Chris to hold the gun for her because she was too cowardly to do it herself.

This was my first Jodi Picoult book and the first book I read I came closest to crying . It was definitely an engrossing and fulfilling read . I especially loved the nail-bitingly suspenseful courtroom drama throughout the end of the book mostly because it was just so realistic . Jodi Picoult has certainly outdone herself in this book and I recommend it to everyone looking for a good book to read in between stressful revision sessions . ( :

“P.S. I Love You” – Cecelia Ahern

Holly is a talented and beautiful girl who gets married to a funny, devoted and caring man called Gerry. They are getting along with each other so well as their love seems to be perfect! Nothing can ever be better than what they have…

Unfortunately, the fatal illness takes away Gerry’s life and leaves behind a dazed wife. She totally collapses and avoids the truth that he’s gone, the person who would share the rest of her life is no longer existing on this world. Holly hardly gets up in the morning without her husband besides, she can’t go to work or even do things that she is routinely used to carry out… until the day Holly’s mom calls and tells her to come and collect the envelope. There are 10 letters Gerry had written before he died which would guide her to the future, helping to rediscover herself through the grief. He endlessly encourages and reassures that he will always be there for her… The messages *assign* Holly many tasks and bring up some promises that he left behind; the most special thing is… all the letters end with “P. S. I LOVE YOU”.

People around Holly start to worry about those letters misleading her back to the past and not living in the reality, however, she finds them useful since from there, she can find the true meaning of love, live and friendship.

After all, she realizes that she needs to move on… having a job, hanging out with friends, taking care of her family and… starting a new romance! That’s what her late husband truly wants her to do…

“Someone like you” – Sarah Dessen

This is a novel for young adults .

Part 1: THE GRAND CANYON

This chapter gives a brief introduction about friendship between Halley and Scarlett (they have been friends since the day Scarlett moved in; they were both eleven years old). Scarlett is a popular and strong girl where Halley is shy and quiet.

When they are in high school, Scarlett starts dating with Michael at the end of summer and only lets Halley knows but nobody else as Michael has just broken up with Elizabeth, one of the cheerleaders and he doesn’t want to upset her. Later on, Halley is sent to a summer camp and things get worse one week after she’s gone. She gets a phone call at midnight from Scarlett informing that Michael died in an accident. It is absolutely shocking and makes her speechless; she insists on being picked up right away.

Everything seems to fade away gradually after the funeral. They both go back to school… and there, Halley again sees Macon, the guy she met on the way back from Michael’s funeral. Macon clearly shows his interest towards Halley and they have PE together which gives them more time to get to know each other. One day, he officially asks her out and she accepts the invitation cheerfully…

Part 2: SOMEONE LIKE YOU

Scarlett and Halley are working in Milton’s when Scarlett pulls her best friend out and tells Halley that she is carrying Michael’s baby. Shocking, panicking and confusing! They reluctantly tell Scarlett’s mom the truth and obviously she demands an abortion. After thinking deeply about it, Scarlett decides to keep the fetus because it’s part of Michael. She really tries to move on happily and overcomes the inferiority complex. Halley works harder to earn more money for buying baby’s items and also spends more time with Scarlett to cheer her up as Halley thinks she can never live without Scarlett. They’re bound by an invisible thread and nothing is able to separate them.

On the other hand, Halley and Macon are going through a hard time where Macon constantly asks for *close physical contacts* however, Halley isn’t ready for that; she’s obsessed with the consequence that her best friend is now suffering from. Their relationship is declining.

Halley and Macon go to the New Year Eve party together and Halley gets drunk before they could actually can have some good time together. Macon drives her home, flying into a rage… unfortunately, their car gets into an accident and Halley is seriously injured and taken to the hospital. Since then, Macon doesn’t even come and visit…

PART 3: GRACE

After recovering from the wound, Halley asks to see Macon and says that they need to put and end to their relationship, freeing him from the *jail*. It really breaks Macon’s heart since he realizes he’s deeply in love with her; it’s too late to regret.

A few weeks after, Halley attends a prom with her ex-boyfriend, Noah, seeing Elizabeth going out with Macon. It’s where she is told that Macon is still loving and missing her so badly but he can’t help himself. The conversation is interrupted by a phone call announcing that Scarlett is in the hospital waiting to deliver her baby.

A beautiful child is named GRACE HALLEY THOMAS which represents the sacred and everlasting friendship between Halley and Scarlett. They have gone through the hard moments as well as happy time together.

The story ends peacefully where Halley stands by the window, looking at Grace in the nursery, thinking about her life ahead and all the good things Halley and Scarlett together could do to brighten the little girl up.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! :)

“One whole and perfect day” – Judith Clarke

The book is about family issues revolving Lily’s family and relatives. There are several people in this book and everyone has their own problems. Lily, the main character, whose father left for the United States just before the time she was born. This is a thoughtful and sensible young lady, she takes care of everything in her home (from cleaning, cooking to going shopping for food and daily uses). Lily is kind of negative towards herself; she sometimes desires to be just like the other teens, hanging out, reading the magazines called “BESTIE” and maybe falling in love with some hot guys in school. To her, this dream would never come true since she takes everything just so seriously and she is always stuck in the kitchen, figuratively obsessed with meals and housework.

Lonnie is Lily’s elder brother who is away from home for university and disliked and abused by his own grandfather. Lonnie gets together with a Chinese Australian girl called Clara. It’s going to be his grandfather’s 80th birthday soon and the problem is how can he bring his girlfriend home without being humiliating and embarrassing???

The storyline bounces from one character to another to solve different family issues; it’s a charming and funny book. At the end, Lily and her family get together and have so much fun as how she always longed for… HAPPY ENDING again!

“The time traveler’s wife” - Audrey Niffenegger

This novel is both science fiction and romance. It is about a man named Henry who involuntarily travels through time; every time he does, he wakes up in a different place and time, being naked and extremely hungry. Henry then starts to steal food and clothes from people surrounding to survive. While following his bizarre journey, he from time to time sees his future wife, Clare, since she was six… This involves lots of philosophical questions about meaning of love and purpose of life. Their love is in the centre, evolving by issues of friendships, family tensions and jobs.

It is pretty interesting to keep track of how Henry and Clare manage to sympathise towards each other and together overcome the obstacles… Sometimes, I got the feeling like their relationship is beyond the remedy however, there would be something miraculously happens which pulls them back together.

I suggest that we’d better watch the movie before reading this novel since it would be easier to follow the *unique* structure (it jumps from past to future then back to present and so on!!!) RATING: 5/5 :)

“You, maybe” – Rachel Vail

Carlson Gold is a hot senior who has publicly broken up with his longtime girlfriend, Emelina. He keeps moving on having fun with several girls at the party where Josie witnesses all the moans and begs for his love. She truly disgusts and scorns.

At first, Josie doesn’t believe in love. She keeps chilling out with her best friends, Tru, Zandra and Michael. Josie also enjoys working as a Tallulah the Clown, running kids’ parties and doing magic tricks. Her life is very cheerful and simple… Although sometimes, Michael and she go a bit farther than their admitted relationship, she still believes they stop at best friends.

Things really change since the moment she realizes Carlson Gold notices her. Initially, she just wants to fool around for fun however as they get to know each other more, Josie reckons she doesn’t not immune to his hidden charms. Without even giving her a call or asking her out, he gets more serious when he demands her to be his girlfriend and stop having close contacts with Michael. Josie is a stubborn girl therefore it takes her a while after some convincing to agree. At the same time, it creates so many conflicts between Josie and Michael; they *break up*… From first to last, we could see Carlson Gold is a devoted and caring boyfriend… but actually we can’t tell the future!!!

The adventure at Emelina’s grandparents’ cabin unfolds the truth, the most dreadful thing that Josie can’t face and can’t accept! HE DOES NOT LOVE HER!!! He only toys with her like cat chasing mouse. What a heart-breaking fact! In that critical situation, there is an accident happening to her mom while she is away… which intentionally brings Michael back to her. Since then, Josie values his boy-best friend and gets to appreciate their relationship more.

This book probably spread the message as “CAREFUL WHAT YOU LOVE”… To be honest, I don’t get why Carlson Gold treats Josie that way because he has deeply begged for her attention and like a snap, it turns out so ruthless. I think it’s okay to read for entertaining but I prefer a classic romance book such as “Pride and Prejudice” more since the plot has more depth.

Yes, Rhianne-it's a clever, complicated novel ,isn't it?

No Time for Goodbye

This book is a murder mystery book that is also quite scary. At the end of most chapters, it ends with a cliff hanger and makes me read another page!

The main character starts as a 14 year old girl called Cynthia who has been out late drinking with her much older boyfriend. Then her dad finds her and takes her home and she passes out on her bed. She has a mother father and brother named Todd. Then the next morning she wakes up to find her whole family is gone.

25 years later she has a husband and a daughter called Grace and her family are still missing. Obviously the case is cold but she decided to do a TV documentary. The book is then told by the husbands persective.

Its a really complicated book because in the end they find the mother and brother at the bottom of a lake in a car and have been dead for 25 years. The dad is alive but near death because he has cancer. He lived a double life because he had another wife in another state with a son and the wife is a pycopathic killer because she killed cynthia's mother and brother.

Its a really good book, but its hard to explain!

Anyway have a great christamas everybody =)

"Fame, Glory, and Other Things on My To Do List" - Janette Rallison

Sixteen-year-old Jessica is just like other girls, dreaming of going to Hollywood, working with hot actors and becoming famous. Jordan is a superstar’s son who has just moved to Three Folks with his mom. The two main characters briskly meet at Wal-Mart’s parking lot after Jessica’s shift; as they have exactly the same cars… Jessica gets in Jordan’s car then when he comes, she defends innocently and everything starts ever since. A few weeks pass by, they get together!!! Jordan is a gorgeous and independent guy hence he desires to get out from the shadow cast by his superstar father. He confides that he wants to get his divorced parents back together as well; the only way to make it possible is persuading his dad to come over for a long visit. Jordan decides to participate in a school’s production; Jessica enthusiastically supports that idea because she is also thinking about being “discovered” by a professional actor. Their relationship turns worse when Jessica lets Jordan's secret identity slip. He misunderstands her and blindly believes that drama is on top of her list and she will do everything to achieve success. After thinking and realizing that she doesn’t want to lose him, Jessica *risks her life* by changing the drama production into a section where she makes her apology to Jordan. Although it ruins the performance, it does get many people back together just like Jessica and Jordan, Jordan’s mom and dad… WHAT A HAPPY ENDING!

It sounds okay but I don’t think it’s a good book so yah… I don’t really recommend this! :(

HAPPY HOLIDAY!!!! :D

Good postings everyone, especially Mytam recently.

Well done for all your hard work this term. Enjoy your well- deserved breaks and I hope you all have a restful holiday.

Mr Pollicutt

Thirteen Reasons why.

I just a read a book and it is called, thirteen reasons why. It is written by Jay Asher.

So there's this guy, his name is Clay Jensen. He returns home from school one day and find a package with his name on it lying on his porch.

Inside the package are some tapes recorded by his long time crush and classmate recorded by Hannah Baker, this girl that killed herself two weeks earlier.

Hannah's voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons she decided to end her life and he was one of them. If he listens to all the tapes, he'll find out why.

Clay spends the whole night around town with Hannah as his guide and he becomes first hand witness to hannah's pain and learns the truth about himself, and the truth about those surrounding him...a truth he never wanted to face!

I liked reading this book thought there wasn't much suspense in it, it was interesting.

You should read this book. But it kind of influences you to give up on things. Like Hannah gave up on her life.

Wake

The story is about a young girl named Janie Hanagan who has a special ability: she inexplicably plunges into the dreams of others.
She first discovered this unique ability when she was eight, but she didn’t fully understand it until much later. As she aged, she had more episodes and through her interactions, she discovered the hopes, fears, and desires of those around her.
Then, while driving one day, she tumbles into a nightmare. Over time she discovers who the recurring nightmare belongs to and they form a relationship. He, Cabel, helps Janie come to terms with her ability and Janie helps him come to terms with his own twisted history.
Both of these main characters, Janie and Cabel, have disturbed childhoods–Janie’s mother is an alcoholic who couldn’t care less about what her daughter is up to (rather convenient) and Cabel’s abusive father died (plus, he’s legally old enough to live alone which is also rather convenient for the story progression); his mother is purportedly living somewhere in Florida.
Their budding relationship suffers some setbacks when Janie allows the rumors she hears about Cabel to overrule her own judgment, what she’s seen in his actions, and what he’s told her. Eventually, Cabel’s secret is revealed, Janie learns the truth, and all is once again right in their world.

Hunted

The good news: Zoey’s friends have her back again and Stevie Rae and the red fledglings aren’t Neferet’s secrets any longer. The bad news: Ancient evil with the face of an angel has been let loose – that and various other nasties (whose faces aren’t so angelic). Grandma Redbird is in trouble. Heath is in trouble. The House of Night is in trouble. Okay, let’s face it – Zoey’s whole world is in trouble! But when the trouble comes from a being who appears to be beauty personified, will the world believe it? Especially when only a teenager and a group of misfits are the only ones who really understand the danger he brings. Will Zoey have the strength and wisdom to reveal the truth? Especially when, in the House of Night, the truth is often hard to come by, how will Zoey cope with all of her troubles?

Blue Moon

Just as Ever is learning everything she can about her new abilities as an immortal, initiated into the dark, seductive world by her beloved Damen, something terrible is happening to him. As Ever's powers are increasing, Damen's are fading—stricken by a mysterious illness that threatens his memory, his identity, his life. Desperate to save him, Ever travels to the mystical dimension of Summerland, uncovering not only the secrets of Damen's past—the brutal, tortured history he hoped to keep hidden—but also an ancient text revealing the workings of time. With the approaching blue moon heralding her only window for travel, Ever is forced to decide between turning back the clock and saving her family from the accident that claimed them—or staying in the present and saving Damen, who grows weaker each day...

Evermore

Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever can see auras, hear people’s thoughts, and know a person’s life story by touch. Going out of her way to shield herself from human contact to suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste…
Ever sees Damen and feels an instant recognition. He is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy, and he holds many secrets. Damen is able to make things appear and disappear, he always seems to know what she’s thinking—and he’s the only one who can silence the noise and the random energy in her head. She doesn’t know who he really is—or what he is. Damen equal parts light and darkness, and he belongs to an enchanted new world where no one ever dies.

deception point

Struggling to rebound from a series of embarrassing blunders that have jeopardized its political life at the start of this lively thriller, NASA makes an astounding discovery: there is a meteor embedded deep within the arctic ice. And it isn't just any meteor. Inside the huge rock, which crashed to earth in 1716, are fossils of giant insects proof of extraterrestrial life. Yet, given NASA's slipping reputation, the question arises: Is the meteor real or a fake? That uncertainty dogs NASA and its supporters in Brown's latest page-flipper, a finely polished amalgam of action and intrigue. Trying to determine the truth are intelligence agent Rachel Sexton and popular oceanographer Michael Tolland, both among the first to suspect something is amiss when the meteor is pulled from the ice. Their doubts quickly make them the targets of a mysterious death squad controlled by someone or something that doesn't want the public to hear the meteor may be a fraud. Together, Sexton and Tolland scramble across arctic glaciers, take refuge on ice floes, are rescued by a nuclear submarine, then find themselves trapped aboard a small research vessel off the coast of New Jersey. All the while, the nation's capital is buzzing as to whether NASA has engaged in deception. Or is NASA just a dupe for aerospace companies that have long wanted a bigger share of space contracts?

Royal blood

Raven has enjoyed a blissful summer with the love of her life, Alexander, and dreads returning to High School. Not only will she lose the freedom to spend her nights cuddled next to Alexander in his coffin, but she’ll also have to deal with preppy Trevor, the bane of her existence, everyday.
Things start to shake up around Dullsville when Alexander’s parents come to town for a visit. Raven notices Alexander doesn’t seem excited to have them back. In fact, he seems a little distant. Almost everyone she knows catches a glimpse of the mysterious couple before she does and Raven begins to worry that Alexander doesn’t want her to meet his parents. She is relieved when she finally receives a dinner invitation.
Alexander’s parents are everything she has dreamed of becoming. They are elegant and seductive with dark and gothic tastes. Raven falls in love with them immediately. However, she gets the impression that they would have preferred Alexander had fallen in love with someone more like them – someone with sharp pointy teeth that sleeps during the day.
Raven’s dream world shatters when she learns the true reason for the Alexander’s parents’ visit. Can Raven and Alexander prevent the disaster that threatens their future happiness?

Every Boy's Got One

This is a fiction comedy/romance novel written by Meg Cabot, the internationally best-selling author of "the Princess Diaries".



The whole book contains mainly entries from the Journal the main character, Jane Harris, keeps, the "PDA" (i still have no idea what that stands for ... ) of the other main character, Cal Langdon and e-mails to and from the various characters in the book.



Jane Harris lives in America and draws cartoons about a cat called "Wondercat" for a living.

Her best friend, Holly Caputo is getting married to her boyfriend, Mark Levine. However, since the two families are extremely religious, they are strongly against the marriage, which leaves the couple only one optino: to elope half way across the world in a place called Le Marche in Italy.

After a couple of complications all goes well in the end and they get married.
Cal Langodon , the best man of the wedding, falls in love with Jane Harris after hating her for the majority of the trip.

I foundt his book extremely ammusing and funny :D
I recommend it to teenage girls.

Catching fire

After winning the Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta are allowed to go bcak to Diatrict 12. They are soon expected to start a victory tour of the country and Katniss is visited by President Snow.He threatens to kill Gale if she can prove that she actually loves Peeta and it wasnt a scheme to survive. For the 75th hunger games, 24 of the surviving victors are forced back to the arena. there they meet the other bloodthirsty survivors.
After the games she finds out that District 12 has been destroyed.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

This book is the seventh and last of the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling.
As well as being my favourite out of all the seven books in the series, it is probably also one of my favourite books ever !!!! :)

Following his beloved headmaster's death, Harry decides that he is to leave Hogwarts and finish the dangerous and seemingly impossible mission he has left Harry with. But Harry is determined to suceed... or die trying.
His two best friends, Hermione and Ron have made up their minds and have agreed to join him and help him conquer Lord Voldemort for the last time.
The mission to find all of Voldemort's "horcruxes" and destroy them takes Harry on a very long and, needless to say, extremely dangerous journey, and Harry and his friends find themselves living in a magical tent and having to relocate every one-two days.

There is soon is a big battle at Hogwarts, where all the students and teachers and wizards attempt to fight of Voldemort and his Death Eaters.
In the end, Harry triumphs and finishes of Lord Voldemort once and for all !!!!!!!

City of bones

Clary notices a strange boy following a girl into a room with two boys following. The boy gets killed by Jace. Jace and CLary head back to her apartment after receiving a weird call from her mom. they are attacked by a forsaken. They then go to an Institute, where brother Jeremiah tells calry that there is a block in her mind pit there by someone called Magnus Bane. Clary then finds out that she can draw things on paper and then pull them out of the paper, and she claims to know where the Mortal Cup was.

however someone wants the mortal cup too and and they get into a battle.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

I really really enjoyed reading this book even when i've already read it before (don't worry Mr. Pollicutt, i didn't cheat i read it again because i realised i had forgotten everything when i watched the most recent movie).

Harry continues on with his NEWT year at Hogwarts. Throughout the year he begins to take private lessons with Professor Dumbledore in the headmaster's study, during which they look at the memories in Dumbledore's "Pensieve" - a device that allows you to look back at memories you may have collected - and discover more about Lord Voldemort's past.
Harry tries to juggle these mysterious lessons, Quidditch duties (he was made captain of the Gryfindor team), the seemingly ceaseless pile of overdue homework tasks and towards the end of the year, studying for his NEWT exams.

Although people had spoiled it for me already before i read the book, i refused to believe that Professor Dumbledore would really die towarsd the end of the book.
I was really really really really really really sad when i read that it actually does happen. :(

I RECOMMEND THIS BOOK TO EVERYONE IN THE WHOLE ENTIRE WORLD. If you haven't read it, you clearly haven't lived.

Strapless

by Deborah Davis
Madame X will always be a little mysterious - that's part of her charm. But this book does a great job of bringing the woman and her world to life. I was fascinated by all the details about life in Paris and I thought Davis did a great job of making all that art interesting and understandable. I loved it !


Khanh Vu

The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family

I just found out about the midford family recently so i got this book.what a strange family of sisters. Mixed with love hate and loyalty disloyalty with Nazism fascist communist through in. The book will captive you.you will not be able to put it down.
No other comments!!!


Khanh Vu

Nocturnes: Five Stories of Music and Nightfall

by Kazuo Ishiguro
The common theme in Ishiguro's collection of short stories is music and love -- how love and music can inspire or stifle each other, how musicians' love of music can surpass or extinguish love, how sometimes one is not enough without the other. The stories are very lyrical, unpretentious and smooth. The reader floats from one story to the other, as if in a dream and in this respect,as well as for the melancholy tone, the title is very appropriate. However, towards the end, I felt that the stories are beginning to repeat themselves. When you add Ishiguro's recurring penchant for unreliable narrators, the collection felt a bit like you are in the same slightly uncomfortable dream over and over again.

Khanh Vu

The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt

After I read this book, I knew this is a great novel, it has a lot of characters and the relationships among them are rich and complex. It is a lil bit too much information so that the reader might be confused while reading it, I am confusing when i was reading and trying to catch up all the information, but I enjoyed it. The story of WWI children spans Europe from France to Germany to England. There are many different narratives in the story so you get to see the story from many different viewpoints. I would recommend it to anyone who loves a great historical fiction novel. The ending was heartbreaking but the story was soooooo amazing!

Khanh Vu

THE LITTLE STRANGER

by Sarah Waters

Caroline's character was drawn so that it is hard to believe that she could be loved by anyone outside her family. Dr. Faraday is not only an unbelievable character, he is unobservant, always in denial, close-minded and selfish. His awkward love affair seems at best to be contrived and the story pushed beyond its reasonable limitations. Ms. Waters is known for wonderful story twists and surprises.
It's quite a slow start but great ending. >:)

Khanh Vu

Sickened by Julie Gregory

I bought this book at the Christmas Bazaar last week in AP2, only because the price was reduced to 10,000 VND, and the cover looked nice. After finishing the book, I felt extremely lucky to have bought it!

This story is a memoir of Julie Gregory, of her lost childhood and menacing past. As a little girl, Julie misses countless days of school, to drive to numerous doctors. Her mother is certain that her daughter is sickly, as she is tall, skinny, and weak at 12 years old. She keeps telling Julie that she will "get to the bottom of this", after each doctor reports that Julie is not needed to be hospitalized. When the doctor ask if Julie has headaches, she doesn't know what they feel like and nods yes, if she says no, her mother will beat her at home. After her checkup, her mom chuckles to herself of the joke she had with the nurse, and slips a pill under Julie's tongue before each appointment, to trigger the migraines. Chocolate cake mix is fed to Julie when she is feeling sick, and a proper diet is frowned upon my her mother, as Julie is apparently "allergic". Julie only follows along, as she is raised to believe this is right.

At one point, her mother goes as far to recommend open heart surgery to her daughter. As the doctor reasons with her mother the reasons why this cannot happen, she screams that surgery will be the only way to cure Julie, and storms out of the office.

"Julie Gregory was continually X-rayed, medicated and operated on the vain pursuit of an illness that was created in her mother's mind..."

Muchausen by Proxy is the theme of this story, the world's most hidden and dangerous form of child abuse. The abuse that is put onto Julie, "Sickened is her story".

A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks

This is probably my third time reading this book, but I could read it a million more times and never get bored!

Everyone knows the movie, "A Walk to Remember" starring Mandy Moore, but did they know that the film was made from a book?

This story is written in the form of a very long memory, by Landon Carter, reminiscing about his final year at Beaufort High. He is popular, with a bad boy reputation, wearing leather jackets and mainly thinking "girls, girls, girls....". It is when he is forced to join the annual Christmas play (as a punishment) that his life changes completely. Landon is given the lead role, and needs to work with Jamie Sullivan, the "angel" of the play and also the Reverend's daughter.

Landon only thinks of Jamie as the goodie-goodie girl, always wearing cardigans and long skirts, with her hair tied up in a bun and no makeup in sight. She also carries a bible around, all the time. They have known each other since elementary school, but have never talked, due to obvious reasons. She has the purest of hearts and treats Landon ever so kindly, while he tries to ignore her as much as possible.

As the story progresses, Landon eases up and gets to know Jamie at a deeper level, eventually becoming friends, and later, falling in love.

Sadly, there is a tear jerking twist in the middle of the book, as Jamie reveals a shocking secret about herself, to Landon.

This book is excellent. It's exciting, touching, heartfelt, sincere, and GREAT! Atleast four people have asked to borrow my book, including my mom....

You will regret not reading this amazing book!

The Messenger (I am the Messenger) by Mark Zusak

I borrowed this from the library because the cover looked nice, and as I predicted, the book was nice!

The story starts off with the main character, Ed Kennedy, an underage taxi driver, terrible athlete, and an overall loser. He's hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey, and she knows, but refuses to love him back as she cares for him too much.

It is when Ed points a gun to a robber at the local bank (foiling the robber's plans) and is named a hero. This is the event that triggers his "adventure". Right after his heroic deed, Ed receives an ace in the mail, containing addresses and times. The card represents certain tasks Ed has been chosen to carry out, by a mysterious stranger. Some of these tasks include saving a woman who is raped every night by her husband, comforting an elderly woman, and teaching a girl to be confident in herself. The messages inside the cards are often cryptic, and unpredictable, as the reader only knows as much as Ed knows.

Playing cards continuously arrive at Ed's door, always aces, and a different one every time. Ed accepts that he is "the messenger" and carries out each task within each card. It gives his life meaning.

This book kept me on my toes, and was touching at some parts, while hilarious in others. The ending gave me goosebumps, and overall, I recommend this story greatly! It's a shot of adrenaline on each page! Metaphorically, of course.

The Hunger Games

A story in the future, in a nation called Panem. It is made up of a Capital and twelve other districts, each poorer as they go down.

To show who is boss, the Capitol hold The Hunger Games every year, in which a boy and girl from each district is forced to fight to death in an arena, which will be televised live.

From District 12 is Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mallark. They are taken to teh Capitol where they meet other tributes and publicly announced to the rest of Panem, at which Peeta announced his love for Katniss. The public audience is allowed to send gifts to teh tributes during the Games, which get more expensive as each day passes.

Finally the Games start with 11 of the tributes dying on the first day. The Games continue with Peeta and Katniss both managing to stay alive.

Suddenly a rule changes: two tributes from the same district can win.Peeta and Katniss finally manage to stay alive until the very end, but they change the rule back to only one tribute can win.

Peeta offers to die so Katniss can reap the rewards: their family will be showered with presents and food for one year until the Gamea again next year.

Size 14 is not fat either

Heather, now an assistant director at a New York College dormitory, is working toward her B.A. Her personal life is difficult -- her ex-fiance is getting married soon and she currently lives with his brother, Cooper, a friend and private detective who admonishes her to keep away from crimes.But Heather becomes entangled in another murder when the head of a cheerleader is discovered in a pot in the dorm's cafeteria. As she investigates, Heather learns some ugly truths about the college's fraternities and dangerous drug-dealing turf wars. Meanwhile, she hopes that her friendship with Cooper will evolve into romance.

Nineteen minutes

The story is set in Sterling, New Hampshire. One day, the local high school is attacked by a gnman, one of their students, Peter. The shooting kills 10 people and there are time flashes in between the presnt and past. In the past peter and Josie use to be close friends. They had slowly drifted apart as they got older. Peter is treated as an outcast by both his classmates and brother, this also causes a rift to form between son and parents.

The jocks torment Peter until he cannot stand it. One month before the shooting, Peter sends Josie an email expressing his love for her, but it gets spammed out to the whole school.

Peter is sent to jail to await trial, and at the trials, it turns out there was another person doing the shooting, Josie.

The book has lots of stuff relating to relationships.

Maximum Security

The book starts with James and his friends getting into a fight at the local bowling alley. They are punished by getting sent to do a recruitment mission each,
However James is saved from doing the mission by being offered another mission , with Dave Moss and Lauren. The mission is about catching an arms dealer, Jane Oxford and has been unknown as long as she has been on the CIA's wanted list. They attempt to send James to Arizona Prison, where JaneOxford's s on is currntly being held
After a prison fight Dave is injured and is taken out of the mission whileJamaes becomes friends with Jane's son, Curtis.
They break out and is joined by Lauren and together drove to Los Angelos.
There, Curtis meets with his mum and is taken away before Jane attempts to murder James and Lauren.

Class A

The book starts at the CHERUB hostel, where cherubs get to enjoy their summer break if they behave well. James gets out of shape and fails a training exercise and is then put on an emergency fitness plan by Mr Large. Kerry and Bruce get in a fight, and James gets sent back to campus two weeks early.

Then he gets assigned a mission. The mission is infiltratin a drug dealer's house, who goes by the name of Keith Moore. He has to get friendly with Keith's son, Junior.

Then he finds Junior and Nicole in the tiolets of the boxing club taking cocaine. Nicole overdoses and passes out and Ewart takes her to hospital. She gets kicked out of CHERUB for taking a Class A drug. Kyle was found taking cannabis and has to do 12 weeks cleaning ditches.

Keith invites James to Miami, but he goes back to campus first for additional training. there he finds Lauren in his room, she had hit Mr Large with a spade and has to restart basic training and has to clean ditches with Kyle.

The Recruit

James, an 11 year old boy, got in trouble into school. Then he went home and watched his mother die with his stepsister. Then James is sent to Nebraska House, where he meets Kyle. He then finds himself on the CHERUB campus. CHERUB is a secret governmenet organisation. He has to pass a few entrance tests before he can enter CHERUB. He then enters basic training, which all agents have to pass before going on missions.

His first mission was infiltrating a terrorist organisation, called Help Earth. He then explores a workshop, sticking his hands into boxes to take pictures. Ewart Asker took him out of Fort Harmony, clainming that he stuck his hands inside a box infected with anthrax spores. But after a few days in hospital being examined by an anthrax professional, it turns out that teh anthrax virus is the kind used for vaccinating people.

"Summer Camp Secrets" _ Katy Grant

“Summer Camp Secrets” is a series of three books written by Katy Grant.

“Acting Out” is all about a girl, Judith, who always tried to hide her real self since she thought her personality was pretty boring. At the start of the camp, she decided to make herself cooler by copying some fancy actions that she had noticed from one of her friends in school. Judith even made up a new nickname for people to call her which she supposed to sound much better. As the time went by, she got along very well however, the problem was whoever she was, whatever she did… she was making affected manners!!! Judith made a point of picking activities that she would never choose, finding friends that she would never talk to and saying things that she would never come up with. Towards the end of the book, she got tired of the “play” that she had been acting and didn’t know how long she could actually continue keeping it up.

“Pranked” is about Kelly who initially didn’t want to attend the summer camp and her first week there was awful. She couldn’t stand the harsh conditions like having outdoor showers, staying in a rickety cabin and being friend with Melissa who Kelly found super boring. She again confronted the “evil twins” and that was when a real “disaster” began. They were playing pranks which were apparently awkward (e.g: hiding each other’s towels while they were taking shower or stealing each other’s stuff…) and out of control…

“Friends Fornever” is about Darey who was looking forward to going on the summer camp and seeing her best friend, Nicole again. The more she expected, the more she was disappointed. Nicole seemed not to be glad when Darey’s family life was getting so much better than a year before when they first met. Nicole was kind of jealous!?! At the same time, Sarah and Whitney were having major friendship issue as well; therefore, as Darey attempted to give advices, she also figured out the way to heal her relationship with her own best friend.

The three different stories have diverse matters however as people unscrambled the problems, we can see clearly the meaning and importance of friendships. I highly recommend this series of books because it highlights the surprising and spontaneous situations in life while teenagers are trying to discover their real characters and making lifelong friends. I know it’s a little childish for some people but I do find it interesting so yeah… :)

Twilight.

Hi.

I read this because i was bored on a weekend.

It's actually kind of boring. so descriptive and bella is so dramatic. so annoying!

but i still want to watch the movie new moon. because i want to see shark boy's abs. Lien, I know you want to too.

and im sure you all know the story so no need to repeat it all over again :)

P.S.: Robert Pattison's abs are paint ons.

I hope what I said is appropriate enough for this blog.

Flawless

This is the second book of the pretty little liars series, and in my opinion better than the first book!

It has main characters the same as the first book except they are in different situations:

-Spencer stole her sister's boyfriend

Aria is brokenhearted over her-teacher Tiếng Việt

-Emily likes her new friend Maya, more than a friend

Hanna-Has an obssession with looks that she has gone to the point of Forcing herself to throw up

Pretty nasty right?

As before 'A' is still threatening them with every move they make.

This time they introduce a new character, a boy called Toby. Right before Ali disappeared, Ali set off a firework in Tobys garden because he was stalking her. But she mis-aimed and hit Toby's step sister Jenna. Jenna is now blind, but the police never found out Ali did it because for some reason Toby owned up.

As the book goes on the girls start to assume people as 'A', and were freaking out. Then suddenly Emily becomes close with Toby and then near the end of the book they suddenly realize 'A' must be Toby. Toby takes Emily out to a deserted corn field when they talking and he says he is glad that Ali is dead. Emily then assumes Toby killed Ali and flees from the car back home. It is a really stormy day and the telephone's were all busted so she couldnt call the police. Toby ran after Emily and then trys talking to her outside the house. Emily says i cannot believe you did that, but Toby mis understood her and runs away into the woods. The next day Toby is found dead in the woods, and it turns out on the night of the firework insident, Toby molestered Jenna and Ali saw before the firework, Toby and Ali threatened that she would confess if he didn't tell his parents what he does to his step sister. Toby thought Emily was talking about that not about 'A'. So Toby died for nothing.

'A' Sends a message Tobys after death, turns out Toby wasn't 'A' and 'A' still exsits.

It's very confusing sorry, hard to explain!

Read first pretty little liars!

ANNE FRANK DIARY

Hi. I bought this book when I was in Amsterdam after I visited her house but forgot about it until the beginning of school year.

I'm sure everyone knows who Anne Frank is and her story.

Well this book is actually her journal where she talks about her everyday life living in a Secret Annexe hiding from the Nazis.

She writes about arguments between the members of the Annexe, the hard living conditions , breakins and scares,the love she has for Peter and their 'moments' - she also mentions about 100 times in this journal (seriously!) how much she dislikes her mom .

Eventually it has a sad ending as all the members are discovered and sent to concentration camps where only one of them survives in the end.

And that is Anne Frank's father.

This information doesnt spoil anything about the book since you all should of known this already.

Anyways, You will find out that Anne Frank is a normal teenager just living in a very difficult time.

So if you are interested in how Anne Frank thinks and the Nazis time , read this book. :)

P.S.: her diary goes on for two years but you can read it in a week.

And i would recommend this for because some of the things she writes about are... private?

Kissing Doorknobs by Terry Spencer Hesser

"Kissing Doorknobs" is the story of a girl, Tara, who lives with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). She was born like everyone else, she went to school like everyone else, she can breathe, feel and live just like everyone else. That is, until she starts to develop OCD symptoms during her kindergarden years. Very faint at first, her friends and family were very aware of her "condition", but were supportive. 

However, when she was 11, she was in class. Normal everyday routine. Sitting in the desk near the window she could see little girls playing in the ground below. That's when it started. That's when it happened. "Don't step on the crack, or you'll break your mum's back!" Ever since that day, that phrase would be in her mind. Every single time. Her OCD kicks in, whenever leaving the house she would count the cracks that passes her. Every time. When she misses one, she would go back home and start counting again. 

At first, everyone thought she was crazy, she thought SHE was crazy. She's dumfounded by her rituals. Tara tries hiding her urges in front of the town, as much as she don't want to do the things she does, she feels as though she HAS to, she MUST do it. Gradually, it irritated everyone around her. Especially her mum. Every psychiatrist they went to were unsure about her condition. Every diagnosis they gave her were false some claiming that she was indeed insane. 

In realisation to Tara's confusion with her state, her teacher introduces her to a boy who also is living with OCD, his therapist shows her a form of behaviour therapy which works. Her friend, in control of his OCD, suddenly collapses in a fit of fret. His OCD being afraid of germs. This shows that even though people living with OCD are supposedly "cured" from some habits, the illness will still come back.

Why is the book titled "Kissing Doorknobs"? Well, one of Tara's further habits was to hold doorknobs with the same force applied to all her fingers, as soon as she did she would kiss the doorknobs, hence the title "Kissing Doorknobs".

The book at some points annoyed me. Tara's habits annoyed me a lot. I watched a show on mtv with people living with OCD, I kept thinking "what the heck are they doing?". I understand now. It's not in my list of books-to-read-again-before-the-world-ends, but it is a must-read book.

Come Closer by Sara Gran

This book is about a woman, Amanda, who is happily married, likes her job and practically loves her life.

Until strange things start to happen. Small things at first, for instance the tap-tap noises she hear every time she's around her apartment. She starts to have vile thoughts and visions, she begins to steal thick red lipsticks and hurt her husband physically, burning him with the hot tip of her cigarette, and emotionally, when she's stopped responding to his kind gestures.

Throughout the book, Amanda's new, more evil self seems to overwhelm her. She does thing that she does not intend and do not understand, she starts to have more frequent black outs that aren't caused by an illness, drugs or alcohol and she begins to hurt and kill animals and people who she despises inside. One day during her work break she goes to a magazine stall only to read the titles. The magazine vendor screams at her to leave as she has not bought a thing. Next thing she knows, she's standing over his body in a pool drenched in his blood. 

She realises what is inside of her. Her childhood imaginary friend, Naamah. Naamah with thick long black hair, white skin, super long fingernails and crimson lips would easily pass as a demon. In fact, she is one. Amanda is possessed. She tries to find ways to get rid of this entity, and each try is a failure. Naamah interrupts Amanda's every movement, to the point where Amanda has no control over herself. The things she wants to say are erased and are replaced by Naamah's voice. 

I kind of like this book. This is the first book I've read that that "good always prevails over evil" concept is broken. I'd give a 4 out of 5 stars. The first chapter of the book scared me.

Pretty Little Liars

This book is not a Twlight book but it is a teenage girl book, sorry Mr Pollicutt!

This book has five main characters that are all girls in junior high (12 year) and they all have big secrets! One of the girl went missing in Freshmen year (year 10) and has never been found, her name was Alison. The ironic thing is that Alison knows all of their secrets! Alison is an extremley popular pretty girl who made the other four girls. So let me introduce you to the four girls and their secrets:
-Spencer covets her sister's boyfriend.
Aria-Dating her Vietnamese teacher.
Emily-Crushing on the new girl at school.
Hanna-Using some ugly tricks to stay beautiful.

Two years after Alison went missing, all the girls have grown apart. Spencer is a smart girl who hangs out by herself. Aria moved to Poland but has returned to find all the girls apart. Emily focuses on her swimming and has an athletic boyfriend. Hanna used to be fat, but is now the prettiest girl in school with the most gorgeous guy in school.

Recently they have all been getting weird text messages that says they know there secrets, and all the girls are worried. These text messages are from someone called "A", they all assume its Alison but are not sure. They have grown apart since they have know idea they are getting all the messages.

In the end of the book all there secrets have gone very badly! Spencer has been caught by sister with the boyfriend and Spencer and keep him hanging out secretly. Vietnamese Aria and the teacher, Ezra have broken up because of the text message "A" sent! Emily and the girl, Maya were caught kissing by Emily's boyfriend. Hanna got dumped by her boyfriend because he wants to be a virgin and she does not. Then right at the end they find Alisons body and have a funeral, then at the funeral they all get a text message saying "I'm still here b ** ches. And I know everything-A"

I enjoyed this book and it's something more realistic than Twilight!

High Fidelity

Ok this book is not a typical teenage girl vampire book, this is an adult book that i dont Recommened to people our age ... except you Mr.. Pollicutt. Also this book has some ... inappropriate parts (sexual) than not Recommened for young people. (I Skipped those parts)

I found this book in the summer and it was an old book of my dads, the author is Nick Hornby and I've read another book of his called Slam before and i thought this book would be just as good but apparently i was wrong.

This book has no plot, not kidding. Its a first person account by a 36 year old man called Rob who just got dumped by this girlfriend and she has run off with his next door neighbor. Rob has some serious issues, his girlfriend is called Laura in the past and he got her pregnant and she had an abortion, he cheated on her with a one night stand, also after they broke up he called and he stalked her and waited outside the house, he is messed up. He owns a record store called Championship Vinyl and has two staff and does not earn a lot of money. Laura is a successful lawyer and earns a huge sum of money.

At the start of the book he's his list top five worst break ups and he mentions them throughout the book. In the middle of the book Laura's dad dies and the funeral at the funeral Laura and Rob ditch togther and Umm ... So they get back togther till the end of the book. I have no idea why they get back togther but she says she is tired of being away for him? (I dont get adults!)

The end is really bad, it ends in club and he is the DJ and he puts a song on and she gives him the thumbs up and then it says "Tonight, for the first time ever, I can sort of see how it's done" ??????

Oh well it was an experience that i dont want to repeat!

Apparently they made a movie of it!

Deception Point

Deception Point is another captivating thriller Dan Brown has presented us with, after the well known Da Vinci code and Angels and Demons. I sincerely believe that Deception point has every right to be made into a motion picture, and has even been referred to as "a case study in suspense. unputdownable." Although much of Dan Brown's work has been criticized endlessly by Catholics, Christians, and various other people, Dan Brown replies by saying all his work ad all the theories inside his novels were all results of research. This is what makes his books unputdownable, they have the possibility to be 100% accurate, telling us of all the hidden secrets and inventions we can only imagine.

Deception Point is centered around 3 experts, Rachel Sexton who works for the NRO, a secret governmental organization similar to the CSI. When the president of the united states, Zachary Herney arranges a meeting with Rachel in the famous Oval office, she is stunned, yet the president makes it quite clear that is only using her as a weapon against his rival candidate, Rachel's father, who Rachel has no affections for. Rachel travels to an arctic glacier where the recently failing NASA (people are complaining for the privatization of space, too much government spending has gone to NASA, and wasted by NASA) has made the most miraculous find, one that would win Herney the election. They had found a meteorite, containing the fossils of giant louse, only capable of forming in space like conditions of zero gravity. There, Rachel meets Michael Tolland, a famous oceanographer and his scientist friend Corky Marlinson who, as neutral eye witnesses verify the authenticity of the find. But the lies are starting to spill, this knowledge puts them all in deadly jeopardy. The truth, threatens to plunge the world into controversy, the truth, is the most shocking deception the world will ever witness. http://cubimension.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/deception-point.jpg