Summer Reading List!

Yeah, I was too lazy over the summer to give a summary and a review so here's a list of the books I read. :)

1. Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Septys
2. The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester
3. Maximum Ride [Manga Vol. 5] by Narae Lee and James Patterson
4. Plague by Michael Grant
5. Elixir by Hillary Duff
6. A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

 
7. City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
8. Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman
9. Sarah's Story by Ruth Elwin Harris
10. The Last Apprentice: Curse of the Bane by Joseph Delaney
11. Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix
12. The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

13. The Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
14. The Demon King by Cinda Chima
15. The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter
16. Eona: The Last Dragoneye by Alison Goodman
17. The Throne of Fire by Rick Riordan
18. The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King
19. Death Cloud by Andrew Lane
20. The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan (I had total Percy Jackson nostalgia...LOL)
21. Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly

22. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Rovert C. O'Brien

23. Firegirl by Tony Abbott

24. The Magician by Michael Scott

25. Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

26. Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen

I See Dead People by DanielGrzeszkiewicz

X-Men: First Class

I saw this in the movie theater on Saturday, and boy, let me tell you, it was freaking BEAUTIFUL~ I'm currently watching the first three movies before it though (Go Wolverine!) and they are all so AMAZING! I was literally hyperventilating because of it.

JAMES MCAVOY AND MICHAEL FASSBENDER <3333

BTW, Jennifer Lawrence, the actress for Mystique is Katniss! She was great, though she's going to have to lose some weight if she'll play Katniss because Katniss is super skinny because well...she has nothing to eat.

Escape From Memory by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Kira Landon is basically your typical ordinary girl. One day, at a sleepover, she allows her friends to hypnotize her. They find a shocking secret that she was kidnapped from a certain place...during a war. She thinks it's crazy and tries to confront her mother about it, but her mom refuses to talk about it. The next day, her mom is kidnapped and she is approached by "Aunt Memory" who lies that she is basically Kira's guardian. They travel to Crythe, which is basically a mystical place where the inhabitants remember everything. Literally. They remember every conversation, each face, and beyond that. Kira and Lynne (Kira's best friend who was the one who hypnotized Kira) discover Aunt Memory is actually Rona Cummins, a foe of Kira's dead parents who is after her parents memories. Kira's parents had discovered a way to somehow rearrange memories and replace it with someone or put it into a computer that they made. She soon discovers that her parents memories are inside her head, and Lynne unlocks it by hypnotizing her again. Kira's mom is actually her real mom but her mom believes that she is her sister, Sophia. Kira faces many choices in order to save Lynne, her mom and her parent's memories.

This story was so mindblowing! Margaret Peterson Haddix (I like to call her MPH aka miles per hour, haha) thinks of the craziest ideas! Like in this story, it was about people who could remember everything and discover how to arrange the memories in their head through a computer. Another book had this girl who took an operation and now, she won't stop growing younger. MPH is a genious! I hope you've read some of her books. :)

Skybreaker by Kenneth Oppel

To be honest, I thought this wouldn't be that great. Boy, was I wrong. This was beautiful~ Haha, I loved the tension between Matt and Kate. Anyway, the plot was cleverly thought out and the characters were well written out. Kenneth Oppel certainly is very skilled in writing stories. :)

Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko

This story was really humorous and the plot was well thought out. I loved it.

The Lab by Jack Heath

This book is about a clone named Agent Six of Hearts. He is part of a organization called the Deck which is a group that is against ChaoSonic. ChaoSonic is a company that took over the last remaining city of the entire world. Agent Six is the most successful of the Deck because his abilities were enhanced by another group called the Lab. Then, he meets Kyntak, who is basically his brother. (He is a clone from Project Falcon where Six was also made.) Six is sent into a dangerous mission...

I thought this book was decent enough. I don't know if I really enjoyed the book though. There's a sequel called Remote Control...I have no idea if I'm going to read it, but I might as well give it a second try. Also, this reminded me a lot of Alex Rider. Alex Rider is this teenage spy, but he had a clone made out of him and it's kind of science-fiction...Anyway, Alex Rider is an awesome series. You should give that a try. :)

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

This was so...heartbreaking. It was so beautiful! *Tears* I cried. (And mind you, I only cry with good books. I'm very emotional.)

Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney

I got this book out of the library. Thought it might be a good read, and it was, though I suppose it's not really my...style I suppose. Anyway, I have the second book, decided I might give it a try. :) It's called the Curse of the Bane.

The Midwife's Apprentice by Karen Cushman

I recommend this book! An awesome read.

That Was Then, This Is Now by S.E. Hinton

This book was so heart-breaking! Bryon was trying to do the right thing, and everything just falls apart for him. S.E. Hinton wrote everyone with amazing details and the emotions from this book was just so overwhelming.  I nearly cried, haha (I only cry in mind-blowing books).

The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

This was a great book! I thought it was really interesting because of all the myths and legends with all the different gods and goddesses of the world together. However, some parts with...say...intimate parts between Sophie and Josh didn't seem written sincerely to my opinion. Though the plot and action was definitely awesome! :D

“There are times when the bad and the sad could have weighed me down. But to drink life from only the good is to taste only half of it.”

Queen Eleanor (A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver)

The Ear, the Eye, and the Arm by Nancy Farmer

Awesome! Totally entertaining. It was different from what I imagined.

A Proud Taste for Scarlet and Miniver by E.L. Konigsburg

I read this for our Middle Ages novel reading. I thought it was really awesome, haha.

Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

Good read! Try reading. :D

May I suggest you read? And often. Believe me, it's nice to have something to talk about other than the weather and the Queen's health. Your mind is not a cage. It's a garden. And it requires cultivating.

Hester Moore (pg. 128)
A Great and Terrible Beauty

A Great and Terribly Beauty by Libba Bray

A Great and Terrible Beauty is quite excellent. It formed the characters very well, and the humor was quite entertaining. However, I thought the plot was kind of off. I don't know...something about it didn't...glow. Good plots 'glow' when I read them, but I didn't really get the 'glow' here. However, it was awesome overall. I'm looking forward to reading Rebel Angels, the sequel. I have the whole Gemma Doyle trilogy. My sister bought them, but she didn't even read them so I'm reading them for her. Here's a good quote:

"You can never really know someone completely. That's why t's the most terrifying thing in the world, really - taking someone on faith, hoping they'll take you on faith too. It's such a precarious balance, its a wonder we do it at all."

-Gemma Doyle (pg. 397)

This book is about a girl named Gemma Doyle. Gemma is a girl who is ambitious, confident, and isn't afraid of anything.  Eventually, after being sent to Spence Academy when her mother commits suicide against a mysterious shadow creature, she meets Ann, Pippa, and Felicity. Gemma's mother is a woman part of the organization called, "the Order". The women of the Order are women that are enabled to create illusions, open portals, and guide spirits in the afterlife, and the power of prophecies. Kartik, a man from the Rakshana, and organization of men that hate the Order, is kind of like a stalker and warns Gemma not to use her powers. Gemma ignores however and she and her friends often enter a realm where everything is perfect and possible. At the end of the book, when Felicity goes crazy because a huntress from the realm of possibility tricks her into believing that Gemma is selfish and using her own powers for herself, the huntress is discovered to be one of the shadow creatures in the beginning, who is working for Circe. Circe is a woman of Spence Academy and the Order. Her original name was Sarah, and her friend was Mary Dowd, who was also part of Spence Academy and the Order, and is Gemma's mother. Sarah went too crazy with her power and basically became evil and is trying to kill Gemma. Gemma manages to get rid of the shadow monster, however Pippa dies because she chooses to stay in the realm.

Passerby by deathofrats

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

I know I've said this WAY too many times, but this is legit. Words cannot describe this book. To put it simply, it is absolutely phenomenal and beautiful. All of those details in the story, and those deep thoughts were it gets you thinking. What if its true? This book is set in the future, (somewhere after 2022) and books are illegal to keep or read. It said "This book has pores. It has features This book can go under the microscope. You'd find life under the glass, streaming past in infinite profusion. The more pores, the more truthfully recorded details of life per square inch you can get on a sheet of paper, the more 'literary' you are. That's my definition, anyway. Telling detail. Fresh detail The good writers touch life often The mediocre ones run a quick hand over her. The bad ones rape her and leaver her for the flies. So now do you see why books are hated and feared? They show the pores in the face of life. The comfortable people want only wax moon faces, poreless, hairless, expressionless. We are living in a time when flowers are trying to live on flowers, instead of growing on good rain and black loam." The part where it says the comfortable people only want poreless books? It's kind of...present day. Have you seen books lately? They are all about forbidden love and unnecessary supernatural stuff. Will this happen to us? In the future? Who knows? Only time will tell. Fahrenheit 451 is now my most favorite book. Top of my list. Please read! It's astounding, and it filled me with so much emotions, and was astounding. I love, love, love this book.

Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata

This book...was absolutely heart-breaking. I cried for thirty minutes straight! I swear! "Kira-Kira" means glittering in Japanese, and that's how Lynn, the sister of the main protagonist, Katie, describes everything. These girls have dreams for the future, buying new houses, living in California...That all seemed shattered when Lynn fell ill. Katie's parents continued to struggle with money, and life was so...hard for them. When Lynn died, I sobbed like heck. Katie and her family didn't deserve that. They were so poor, and everything seemed so dreary for them...This book was inspirational. It said to never give up, despite the obstacles thrown at you. I loved, loved, loved Kira-Kira.

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

This novel....was absolutely beautiful. It...shows how cruelty from society can create such...harsh consequences...It changed my perspective of how I think know. I mean, I can't even describe what I'm thinking! This was WAY too amazing to put on words, GAH. This book teaches such an important meaning, and I hope all of you can read this. I felt so heartbroken for Hannah, and somehow hopeful, especially at the end where Clay is approaching Skye...This novel was so brilliant and just...captivating. I LOVED it.

Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman

Neverwhere is so imaginative and I loved the plot. Some parts were really unexpected too, like the angel Islington betrayed Door, Richard, and the Marquis de Carabas. By the way, I LOVED the marquis for some reason! He's so clever and really sarcastic and whenever he says something, it's always so hilarious! Anyway, there are a lot of ideas about underground cities, I suppose, but Neil Gaiman made this story brilliant!

In the prologue, the story starts out with Richard Mayhew, an ordinary man with an ordinary job, etc. He gives money to a poor woman, and for free, she reads his future and warns him avoid doors...
Richard Mayhew is going on a date with his fiancée to meet her boss. However, on their way to the restaurant, Richard sees a girl on the street, who is injured and weak. He helps her out, and eventually learns that she is the Lady Door, part of a family that can open or unlock doors that cannot be opened and even make doors open to different places like portals. However, she is the last of the family. The next day, Richard is sent to find the Marquis de Carabas, so that he can help Door escape from two deadly assassins, Mister Croup and Mister Vandemar. Richard brings back the marquis to Door, and together, they disappear. Slowly, Richard's life is starting to split apart. He seems to be invisible to everyone, and sets out to London Below, determined to get his life back. There, he meets Anesthesia, a rat-speaker, that guides him to the Floating Market. She disappears, however, on Night's Bridge, after meeting a bodyguard named "Hunter". Hunter later becomes Door's bodyguard. Now together, Door, Richard, the marquis, and Hunter, they set out for Earl's Court to find directions to the angel Islington because Door's father left his journal and said that Islington could be trusted. However, later, readers find out that the two assassins had made changes to the journal, so that the group would be led to Islington. The marquis leaves because of an old grudge and the Earl gives Door a scroll which includes how to get to Islington. It says that you have to get through Angelus to get to Islington. The Angelus resides in the British Museum. Jessica, Richard's former fiancée, is holding an exhibition that includes the Angelus, and they go to the party and get through Angelus. They meet Islington, and they learn that he was the former angel of Atlantis, but readers learn he let them drown and die and is locked up by Door's family as a punishment. Islington sends them to the Black Friars, who are in possession of the key. This key would unlock his prison and allow him to go to Heaven. Hunter, Door, and Richard face three tests, though Richard passes through the hardest test called the ordeal. He goes insane, though somehow, he manages to survive. The friars give them the key, and they depart. Meanwhile, the marquis hunts down Croup and Vandemar to find information. He is cheated on the deal and is killed. Meanwhile, Hunter, Door, and Richard go to the next Floating Market. They meet Hammersmith and he makes a copy of the key the friars had given them. There, Richard also meets a Velvet, a person who sucks the warmth out of a person, making them die. Richard is the poor victim, though he is saved the marquis, who is resurrected by Old Bailey (he's kind of an important character) because the marquis had given him a silver box with his life in it. They find out Hunter is the traitor and Door is captured by the two assassins. They take her to Islington, whom is the employee of the assassins. Meanwhile, Hunter and Richard battle "the Beast". Richard is the only survivor and is named the "Warrior". He rushes ahead to save Door, but he is captured as well as the marquis. After Richard is tortured, Door agrees to open the door so that Islington can go back to Heaven. However, with the copy of the key and her power, she opens a portal between space and time and Islington with the two assassins are sucked into. Richard, Door, and the marquis are saved by the Black Friars. Since Richard was the one to survive the ordeal, he is the master of the key and decided to go back to London Above. He is overjoyed by it, but later, he wishes to go back to London Below, and the marquis happens to take him back there. 

Yellow Scarf by Carnegriff

Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Words cannot really describe how awesome Will Grayson, Will Grayson was. WOW. I've felt so much...emotions in this book. I loved and hated so many characters. The plot was well though out and the characters were defined. I loved it. I loved Tiny Cooper, regardless of the fact that he was gay. In fact, I loved every single character in this book (some more than others) whether they were gay or not. This book was so powerful and I even grew teary-eyed after reading it which does not happen unless a character dies. :) This was a phenomenal book, and I hope many people read this, despite some mature content. I loved, loved, loved it. And also....

My name is not Will Grayson, but I appreciate you, Tiny Cooper!

Scorpia Rising by Anthony Horowitz

Scorpia Rising is the final installment of the Alex Rider series. It was crazy (in a good way) like all the previous books and I loved it. I cried. Yes, I cried. Alex didn't deserve all this stuff. He's only fifteen! He deserves a normal life! And it doesn't help the Jack Starbright died. She was his caretaker, and he trusted and loved her so much! How could Anthony Horowitz just take her like that? That made me really upset. Anyway, this story was just outstanding. The characters, the plot, it all lined up and created a great story. :) LOL, I couldn't believe Smithers was actually a young Irishman!! :D *Sigh* I suppose it was a good ending. Sabina and Alex are together!! :D I also can't believe Alan Blunt's job was taken away from him. That was unexpected.

At the beginning, a man named Zeljan Kurst, leader of Scorpia, is asked by a Greek man to return the Elgin Marbles back to Greece. Zeljan agrees for a large sum of money. He assigns this to the new Scorpia member, Razim. Razim is a totally emotionless man that studies the art of pain. He creates the Horseman file. Also, Julius Grief, the clone of Hugo Grief (Point Blanc), and a complete look-alike to Alex Rider, is broken out of jail and is working with Razim. Alex Rider is a fifteen year old boy. One day, when he thinks his spy life is all over and he can live a normal life, a sniper tries to kill him (and of course he escapes out of that). After following the sniper man, he finds out that it was supposedly some mission and wrecks the helicopter that contains the sniper. A lot of stuff happens and soon Alex is again recruited by MI6 and is an undercover spy at a school which recently hired a retired war hero, Erik Guntar. Alex happened to overhear Erik going to the House of Gold and follows him, which blows up. Immediately, he is kidnapped by CIA agents believing he is an assassin. There, Alex learns that the secretary of state is going to be assassinated. He returns to Jack and they book plane tickets but both are shortly kidnapped and taken to Razim's fort. Jack dies there by being blown up and Alex is forced to watch it through security footage. He was a subject to Razim about the topic of mental pain. Alex is taken back to Cairo where the secretary of state will make her speech. He is in the car with Guntar though he manages to finish him off with a scorpion. He then stops Julius Grief from assassinating the woman and kills him too. Alex than leads a group of CIA agents to Razim's fort, and Razim is killed by a salt pit which works like quicksand. At the end of the book, Mrs. Jones is now the head of MI6, Scorpia is completely finished, and Alex is adopted by the Pleasures.

Water by agnes-cecile

Quill by Carnegriff

Grotesque by Toosan

Angel by James Patterson

Honestly, I was really disappointed with this book. James Patterson has lost his touch! Reading the previous Maximum Ride books (the ones before Fang) were terrific, and so was his other books like Where the Wind Blows. Now, it's totally different! I've read Daniel X as well, which is pretty recent and it's not that great either. What happened? Anyway, I wish Dylan would go away. He's the reason for Fang leaving!!! AHH, but Dylan is a great guy. He should be with Maya. :D Max was SUCH a drama queen, Fang was an idiot, and of COURSE Angel is the one kidnapped by scientists. But then again, they're just kids with mutant wings that need to save the world. Anyway, I'm too lazy to post a summary for this book so go to Wikipedia.
There ya go: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angel:_A_Maximum_Ride_Novel

Detectives In Togas by Henry Winterfeld

Read this book because of Humanities. Not bad, haha.

Airborn by Kenneth Oppel

AH! I love Kenneth Oppel. This author is the one who wrote the Silverwing trilogy, and Darkwing. Those books were fantastic~ Anyway, I found out last year that he wrote the Airborn series, and I just wanted to see what it was like, so I read it. It was a great book. Full of adventure, and of course, the cloud cats were so interesting! Also, like in every book that Kenneth Oppel creates, someone special dies. It's quite annoying, no offense! Sure, Bruce wasn't a main character, but he tried to so hard to fit in...He was a good guy. Anyway, here's a summary! I'm skipping a lot of details!!!

Matt Cruse is the cabin boy of the airship, Aurora. At the beginning, Matt saves an old man found in a destroyed air balloon, but he dies shortly. He rambles about 'beautiful creatures'. The book goes to the present, and the Aurora is setting sail to Sydney. One of the passengers he meets is Kate de Vries, the old man's granddaughter. Kate is on the ship so that she can prove that these 'beautiful creatures' are real. She has her grandfather's journal, full of detail about these creatures. The journal states that these creatures are as white as the clouds, and large as panthers. However, these creatures never touch the ground in their entire life and are born knowing how to fly. Eventually, pirates raid the ship, which leads to the airship being attacked by a typhoon and being shipwrecked on an island. However, Kate and Matt discover this island is where the creatures are located! They find an actual skeleton of one, and even find a live one that is crippled. They name these animals "Cloud Cats". Without hydrium, the ship cannot leave the island, so they are marooned for about a week or so (I think). When trying to take a picture of the cloud cat, Kate and Matt find pirates on the island and playact as survivors of wreck, trying to protect the Aurora. Eventually, they escape and find Bruce, who was with them when trying to take a picture of the cloud cat. They do a rescue mission and tada!! They are saved. (AKK I SKIPPED SO MUCH DETAILS BUT I CANT CAUSE I HAVE TO HURRY. BRUCE DIES AND TWO PIRATES ARE KILLED BY CLOUD CATS...DETAILS AKK) Six months later, Kate is exhibiting the cloud cat skeleton and giving presentations, while Matt is living his dream of going to the Air Academy.

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

The Host by Stephenie Meyer is a simply phenomenal, powerful, sensational (words cannot describe it) book. After the Twilight series, I had always thought not very high of Stephenie Meyer, but boy, the Host truly proved me wrong. Stephenie Meyer is genius and a beautiful writer. I regret having prejudiced against her. The book was intense, it had some action I suppose, and some romance mixed in to it. My FAVE types of books, HAHA. AKK, I loved IAN!! HAHA JUST HAD TO SAY THAT. This book is pretty long, so I'll just try to give a brief summary.

Wanderer is a soul. Souls are small beings that can go into bodies, which are called hosts. Wanderer is on her ninth planet, Earth. She is inserted into her new host, Melanie Stryder. Melanie is more difficult to handle because she is an adult and rather stubborn. Wanderer is overwhelmed with Melanie's memories and goes out to find Jaimie, Melanie's brother, and Jared, Melanie's boyfriend. Because Melanie's memories are Wanderer's memories as well so she feels protective of them. Eventually, she goes to the desert but is nearly killed because of dehydration. Uncle Jeb, Melanie's uncle finds Wanderer and brings her in to his secret house. Wanderer learns that there are actually other humans with Jeb. At first, she is neglected and even nearly killed at times because she is a soul, but with Jeb's help, everyone actually starts to like her, like Ian (who actually falls in love with Wanderer), and she is given her human name 'Wanda'. A lot of details occur, etc. One day, the humans find Wanda's Seeker. Seekers are souls (in human hosts) that are in charge of someone's body, and this Seeker is in charge of Wanda. Wanda doesn't want to kill her, so she reveals how to remove a soul from the host and how to put the soul into a cryptotank (tanks where a soul wouldn't die if put in there) to Doc, the doctor of Jeb's house. After talking to the Seeker, Wanda realizes that she doesn't want to be a 'parasite' anymore, and made Doc swear an oath so that he would remove her soul from Melanie. (If she removed her soul, than Melanie can be in control of her body, etc.) Most of the humans are truly quite devastated. Close to the end, Wanda goes to Doc and he removes her soul from Melanie. At the epilogue, Wanda wakes up in a new body, previously occupied by a soul nicknamed "Pet". Jared and Ian had talked Doc into letting Wanda take another host and so they chose Pet's host. Also, at the end, while on a raid, they find out there are other groups of humans. And the particular group they encounter have a soul among them. This suggested that perhaps that souls and humans could live together in the future.

I skipped A LOT of details...Read the Host!!!

Oldest Woman Alive

Source: http://www.theroot.com/buzz/daughter-slaves-won-t-be-recognized-oldest-woman

Rebecca Lanier celebrated her 119th birthday this week. Born to parents who were former slaves, she believes she's the oldest person in the world, and her family has documentation to back up the claim, in the form of a letter from the Social Security Administration.

But the U.K.'s Daily Mail reports that because she was born in the 1890s, when it was commonplace for African-American babies not to be issued birth certificates, she doesn't have the documentation Guinness World Records requires to be honored for her record-setting life. So they refuse to acknowledge her.

Lanier has witnessed more than 20 presidents and lived through two world wars. She's outlived her husband and daughters. And after all this, she's still suffering residual effects of the racial inequality that existed more than a century ago, when she was born.

"It's quite a rigorous process that you go through because the birth certificate is a crucial matter," a Guinness World Records spokesman told MailOnline, explaining why Lanier's age won't be recognized.

We're all for having standards to prove record-setting claims, but there must be other options here. Or, if Guinness World Records is going to insist upon measures that mean entire groups of people are disqualified because of the historical circumstances of their birth, perhaps they should consider a name change to Guinness White American Records.

My Brother Sam is Dead by James and Christopher Collier

Finished: March 25th, 2011

Tim Meeker is a young boy that lives in Redding, Connecticut around the time when the Revolutionary War begins. His brother, Sam, enrolls to be a soldier for Continental Army, even though his father is a Loyalist. Sam is headstrong and reckless, and ignores warnings from his family. Tim is torn between his loyalty to his father and to his brother. Later in the book, Tim and his father takes cattle to New York, where they trade it for money and supplies. However, in their return trip, Tim's father mysteriously disappears because of cattle thieves/cow-boys, and later in the book it is found out that he had died on a prison ship because of cholera. After this, Sam and the Continental Army comes to Redding to stay for awhile. There, while Sam is visiting his mother and Tim, some soldiers from the Continental steal cattle from Tim's family's livestock. Sam tries to stop the thieves, but they accuse Sam of stealing the cows when the officers arrive. Sam is not guilty, but General Putnam executes him. Tim tries so hard to prove him not guilty, but Sam dies from being shot and put on fire. The story cuts to 1826, where is shows Sam is grown up and he is very successful in life.

I thought this story was really sad. Especially for Susannah, Tim's mother. She lost a husband and her son. Who would want that? It's scary how war made all of the men so...desperate and crazy. The Collier brothers did a great job. :)

Inheritance by Christopher Paolini

The fourth and last book of the Inheritance Cycle is going to be released on November 8th, 2011.

Secrets by OneRepublic

I need another story
Something to get off my chest
My life gets kinda boring
Need something that I can confess
'Til all my sleeves are stained red

From all the truth that I've said
Come by it honestly I swear
Thought you saw me wink, no
I've been on the brink, so

Tell me what you want to hear
Something that were like those years
Sick of all the insincere
So I'm gonna give all my secrets away

This time don't need another perfect line
Don't care if critics never jump in line
I'm gonna give all my secrets away

My God, amazing how we got this far
It's like we're chasing all those stars
Who's driving shiny big black cars
And everyday I see the news
All the problems that we could solve

And when a situation rises
Just write it into an album
Singing straight, too cold
I don't really like my flow, no, so

Tell me what you want to hear
Something that were like those years
Sick of all the insincere
So I'm gonna give all my secrets away

This time, don't need another perfect line
Don't care if critics never jump in line
I'm gonna give all my secrets away

Oh, got no reason, got no shame
Got no family I can blame
Just don't let me disappear
I'ma tell you everything

So tell me what you want to hear
Something that were like those years
Sick of all the insincere
So I'm gonna give all my secrets away

This time, don't need another perfect line
Don't care if critics never jump in line
I'm gonna give all my secrets away

So tell me what you want to hear
Something that were like those years
Sick of all the insincere
So I'm gonna give all my secrets away

This time, don't need another perfect line
Don't care if critics never jump in line
I'm gonna give all my secrets away
All my secrets away, all my secrets away 

Chuck

This is an amazing TV show you do not want to miss. This is a TV show comedy/action. It's about this man named Chuck Bartowski who opens up this email one day. In the email, is so many different kinds of government files, and when Chuck opens them, it gets downloaded into his brain. Now, since he is so valuable, the government sends him two agents, Sarah Walker and John Casey. It might seem stupid, but this show is awesome!

Left to Right: Yvonne Strahovski as Sarah Walker, Zarchary Levi (<3) as Chuck Bartowski, and Adam Baldwin as John Casey.

Hope you watch it, you'll enjoy it. :)

The Outsiders

The book, the Outsiders, was made into a movie! I just watched it recently. It was pretty cool. :)
This is the cast. Aren't they all dashing? LOL HAHAHA.

C. Thomas Howell as Ponyboy Curtis
Ralph Macchio as Johnny Cade
Matt Dillon as Dally Winston
Rob Lowe as Sodapop Curtis
Patrick Swayze as Darry Curtis
Emilio Estevez as Two-Bit Matthews
Tom Cruise as Steve Randle

Miss Murder by vhm-alex

Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost

This poem was in the Outsiders. Just wanted to share!

"Nature's first green is gold,
 Her hardest hue to hold.
 Her early leaf's a flower;
 But only so an hour.
 Then leaf subsides to leaf.
 So Eden sank to grief,
 So dawn goes down to day,
 Nothing gold can stay."

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

(Finished March 19th, 2011)


Ponyboy Curtis is attacked by a group called the Socs. The Socs are rich, smart kids that are against the Greasers, which Ponyboy is a part of. There are many conflicts between the Socs and the Greasers. Ponyboy's group's members are Darrel, or Darry, (Ponyboy's eldest brother), Sodapop (Younger than Darry, but older than Ponyboy), Two-Bit Matthews (or Keith), Dally Winston, Steve Randle, and Johnny Cade. One day, Ponyboy comes home late, and runs away because Darry slapped Pony on accident. He meets Johnny, who usually stays away from home because his parent don't care about him. (Actually, the whole gang's parents don't really care about what they do, only Ponyboy's parent died.) Johnny kills the leader of the Socs, named Bob. Together, they run away to a church in Jay Mountain. They stay there for four days until Dally picks them up. When they are driving back to town, they find that the church that they were staying in is burning, and children are stuck in there. Johnny, Ponyboy, and Dally rescue them, but Johnny becomes paralyzed, Dally's arm is severely burned, and Ponyboy is basically unscathed. They are declared heroes at the town, but they still must face court. Also, they find out that there will be a 'rumble', or known as a fight. (They have a strange set of vocabulary.) The Greasers win, but when Ponyboy and Dallas rush to the hospital, Johnny dies. Dallas can't live without Johnny and commits suicide. Ponyboy tries to recover, but his grades are falling, even though Ponyboy is very intelligent. (He skipped a grade.) He is failing English especially, but the teacher says if he writes a decent theme, he can receive a C in his grades. Ponyboy doesn't know what to write about, but then he remembers how Johnny told Pony to "stay gold". He chooses to write about the past events in his life, starting like this: When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home...


I liked how the author described the character's physical features and characteristics. I could imagine them so easily, and I really appreciate it when an author takes the time to write about one character. This story was so...emotional. It takes about the power of family and friendship, and what one would do for another. The whole gang is like a tight, close family. It's truly powerful, the way they stick together and love each other. I liked how their names were Ponyboy or Sodapop. It's actually real names, haha. Anyway, this book was absolutley amazing, and I hope whoever is reading this post will read this book. It is just...phenomenal and beautiful.

Arch Enemy by Frank Beddor

(Finished March 18th, 2011)

Arch Enemy is part of the Looking Glass Trilogy. To give my honest opinion, The Looking Glass Wars shouldn't had have sequels. The sequels were rather dreary and not as entertaining...But that's my opinion. I loved Bibwit. Of course. I hated how Dodge is STILL so obsessed with killing the Cat. I mean, sure, the Cat practically killed everyone, but still, he's too obsessed. I suppose people could be possessed with the idea of revenge, but still. Alyss proposes to Dodge. I totally ship them, LOL. So many proposals lately! Like in the other book I read...Whatever, hehe....I'm going to give a sucky summary HAHA.

The imaginationists are still recovering from the aftermath of WILMA. Eventually, everyone gets their imagination back, including Redd and Queen Alyss. At the beginning, King Arch of Boarderland takes over Wonderland, with a little bit of aid from the House of Clubs. Hatter is trying to protect his daughter (Homburg Molly), and takes her to Earth, and leaves her with Dodgeson. She meets Alice Liddell (Alyss) and also meets another Wonderlander named Rafter. He is found out to be part of the Millinery, as a alchemist, just like Weaver (Molly's mother). There, readers find out that Molly is like a genius with math and formula kinds of stuff. She also creates a Pool of Tears when Queen Alyss gets stuck in Earth, because the Pool of Tears is being sucked up by King Arch so that he can trap Alyss there.  The caterpillar oracles are just going around, talking about helping the Everqueen, which is found out to be imagination. King Arch takes the Heart Crystal, which is like the source of imagination. During the entire book, imagination is rising, than falling, and back and forth because Arch is trying the kill the source. King Arch nearly dies because of Redd, but recovers when he falls into the Pool of Tears, where he is found in America, taken care of by nuns.

Blues by ElyPG

The Emperor of Nihon-Ja by John Flanagan

Horace is sent by King Duncan to travel to other regions and learn different styles of fighting. In this book, he is in Nihon-Ja. Suddenly, the emperor Shigeru, is being overthrown. Horace stays with Shigeru, hoping to stop Arisaka from taking the throne. They head to the mythical fortress called Ran-Koshi, and during this time, they meet the Kikori, a bunch of woodcutters in the mountain that are willing to fight for Shigeru  Meanwhile, Will, Halt, and Alyss are in Toscana overlooking some treaties and etc. Evanlyn, otherwise known as Princess Cassandra, receives a message from George, who was with Horace at that time. So, Will, Halt, Alyss, Evanlyn, and Selethen (who was with them in Toscana) travel to Nihon-Ja with the Gundar and his crew on his ship called the Wolfwill. They eventually reach Nihon-Ja, and follow Horace and the emperor to Ran-Koshi. Since the Kikori don't know how to use a katanna, or a Japanese sword, they decide to use a certain formation similar to the phalanx stategy that Alexander the Great himself used. During this training, Evanlyn and Alyss go to an island by traveling on the rivers. There, they meet Lord Nimatsu to ask for his aid in the battle. Lord Nimatsu refuses because in the forest, there is a supposedly demon killing his soldiers. Evanlyn and Alyss find out it is an abnormally large snow tiger. They kill it together, and Lord Nimatsu agrees to help them. In the final battle, they defeat Arisaka using different strategies. Shigeru wins, of course. Horace, Evanlyn, Halt, Will, and Alyss head back to Araluen, and  Selethen returns to Toscana. At the end, Horace proposes to Evanlyn, and they are soon to be married. Will also kind of proposes to Alyss as well.

AHH, do you know how long I've waited for this book?! Finally! I loved all the humor and all the action. It was so fun to read this book. I missed reading from John Flanagan. I loved the 'great terms of respect'. I liked how George and Jenny are also mentioned in this book. I didn't like how he made Alyss not friendly towards Evanlyn. Also, I loved the ending where Horace proposes to Evanlyn. OTP. Though I ship Will and Alyss more, HAHA. I have no idea whether Will proposed or not, AHH. I hope there's a sequel, there is said to be ten or twelve books in Ranger's Apprentice, and this book is the 10th book...HAHA, anyway yeah, I'm done ranting.

Prague by Balootak

"Children are caterpillars and adults are butterflies. No butterfly ever remembers what it felt like being a caterpillar."

-Scipio (The Thief Lord)

Harry Potter Fanart

Harry Potter by edarlein

A cat, a fruit, a clock by lekiscool

Desolate by sandara