Perks of Reading "Wallflower"

I just finished reading "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky! This was my second time reading this book and I have to say it was just as good if not better than the first time. This storyteller Charlie is such a sweetie th at you can't help but love him. He tells the story of his first year in high school and how he meets friends and tries new things. He also writes to a person that he calls "Dear Friend" and we never really know who this person is, but in the end I felt like I was the friend that Charlie was writing to. Charlie has so many sad things to tell and also many interesting stories that the book is extremely readable for teens. I'm sure many teens could relate with Charlie's story. Even though it is over 20 years old the "Perks of a Wallflower" is an age old story. I wanted to re-read the book before the movie comes out on September 21st 2012!

Electric Currents are Running Through "Hourglass"

The second book from the YALSA Top Ten list I just finished reading is Hourglass by Myra McEntire. In this book, 17 year old Emerson Cole just wants a normal life but she knows that will never happens because ever since she was 13 years old she has been seeing ghosts. When she meets Michael a young man who is an associate for an organization called Hourglass, things begin to change for Emerson as she learns the truth about her ability and realizes that what she is really seeing is not actually supernatural, but something entirely different that has to do with space & time. Hourglass was a great read, not too long with a bit of mystery, sci-fi, and romance mixed together.

Pages Come to Life

In support of the YALSA Teen's Top Ten this year I'm going to try to read all of the nominees. The first book I read off the list is Page by Paige by Laura Lee Gulledge. Paige Turner is a normal everyday average teen girl with an amazing artistic talent. She moves from Virginia to New York and has the hardest time dealing with all of the thoughts and movement in her head. With no one to talk to all of her pain, sorrow, and feelings of inadequacy come out in her drawings. I think this book is incredible and teens will be moved by how easily they can see Paige's thoughts on each and every page of this graphic novel. One of the most striking pages in the book is of Paige with her eyes closed and she says, "I think I was born with my eyes facing the wrong way. Because they are always looking in the back into my head rather than looking out." This is truly an amazing book and so easy to read that you'll probably forget you are reading a book!

Going BZRK for Michael Grant

I am a huge fan of Michael Grant! I think the Gone series was so mesmerizing and I am thrilled to be hooked on another series by Grant. Here's what is going on in BZRK! These are no ordinary soldiers. This is no ordinary war. Welcome to the nano, where the only battle is for sanity. Losing is not an option when a world of madness is at stake. Time is running out for the good guys. But what happens when you don't know who the good guys really are? Noah and Sadie: newly initiated to an underground cell so covert that they don't even know each other's names. Here they will learn what it means to fight on a nano level. Soon they will become the deadliest warriors the world has ever seen. Vincent: feels nothing, cares for no one; fighting his own personal battle with Bug Man, the greatest nano warrior alive. The Armstrong Twins: wealthy, privileged, and fanatical. Are they the saviours of mankind or authors of the darkest conspiracy the world has ever seen? The nano is uncharted territory. A terrifying world of discovery. And everything is to play for... It's true, I definitely think that BZRK will have your mind reeling! BZRK is very intense and you don't find that in most of the YA books out right now. It captures that insane futuristic reality that no one wants to really ever think about. The Book Zone reviewed BZRK and noted that Grant's diabolical writing "deals with issues such as: identity; control; what it is that makes us independent humans with independent thoughts; and - scariest of all in this book - madness. It is a book where you question the actions of everyone, both good and bad, and find yourself asking whether the good guys are actually just slightly less bad than the villains. For both sides, it is very much a case of the end justifies the means, and in BZRK the means are pretty damn deplorable sometimes. And what makes things even worse is that to many of the bad guys, what they are up to is just a game, albeit infinitely bigger and more extreme than anything produced for your average games console. There is one speech, by a character called Bug Man, that really does leave a bad taste in your mouth.... just as Michael Grant intended, I do suspect." I agree wholeheartedly with The Book Zone and feel that this book would be great for reluctant readers as well as boys and girls who love adventure, sci-fi, apocalyptic dystopic novels, and just plain mind games and action. Grant has a way of drawing the reader in and making sure that they don't put the book down until they are finished. And... his books really keep you thinking long after you are done reading them. The creepiness of Gone still haunts me to this day! Happy Reading to you All!! Mrs. Librarian Lady

Some Clarity Did Me Good on a Sunday Afternoon

Perception a Clarity Novel was a great book to read on a Sunday when I was trying to relax! It began interesting and continued to keep me interested through the whole story. I actually read this book in a few hours because I wanted to know what happened to Clare. The story of Clare and her family did remind me a little bit of the Lilydale series, but all in all it was a great book. I like the way that Harrington writes - well developed characters and descriptions that helped to understand their personalities and looks. I highly recommend this book to those that love mysteries with supernatural qualities! Here's a review of the book - Happy Reading to you all!! PERCEPTION (Clarity #2)Scholastic/Point, March 1, 2012, Age 14+ When you can see things others can't, what do you do when someone's watching you? Everybody knows about Clarity "Clare" Fern. She's the psychic girl in school, the one who can place her hands on something and see hidden visions from the past. Only Clare would rather not be a celebrity. She prefers hanging back, observing. Her gift is not a game to her. But then someone starts playing with her head . . . and heart. Messages and gifts from a secret admirer crop up everywhere Clare turns. Could they be from Gabriel, the gorgeous boy who gets Clare's pulse racing? Or from Justin, Clare's hopeful ex-boyfriend who'd do anything to win her back? One thing is certain. Clare needs to solve this mystery, and soon. Because the messages are becoming sinister, and a girl in town has suddenly disappeared.

Magic, Mystery & Cons

Black Heart by Holly Black Cassel Sharpe is at his same old game of cons in the third installment of the Curse Worker's series Black Heart. The love of his life Lila hates him, his best friend Sam is on the edge of flipping out, his brother Barron has lies upon lies piling up, and a new issue has arisen with a mysterious and secretive girl named Mina Lang. Cassel is up to his ears and over his head with the federal government acting as an agent in training and he knows he can't trust anyone anymore. And frankly sometimes he can't even trust himself to do the right thing. Black Heart proves to be another excellent addition to this magical mobster series. Holly Black brings magic, mystery, love, and cons together seamlessly in this book. It seems like Black Heart may be the end of this series, but the end may truly just be the beginning for Cassel Sharpe! I recommend reading this entire series. It is truly an exciting and funny adventure of a family that is entrenched in the world of magical mobsters and shows the strength of one young man only 17 years old - the Cassel Sharpe - who can rise above the menagerie of obstacles that keep getting in his way to having a normal teenage life. Yes start with White Cat and then read Red Glove and finish with Black Heart! Happily ever after reading to you all ♥