Review and Apology

You know, February sucks. It's too short, and I always forget my entire life during it. I get sidetracked by the smallest things (SHINY!!).

And also, it really took me like, a week, to remember my password to the email linked to this blog. I fail. Bigtime. So. Here's a review!!

Title: Where I Belong

Author: Gwendolyn Heasley

Copyright date: February 8th, 2011
Publisher: Harper Teen
How many pages: n/a (read on Kindle)
How long it took me to read: 3 days
Category: Fiction
I learned about this book from: Debut Author Challenge!

This book was purchased at: Amazon.com (Kindle site)
This book is: a fish out of water kind of book

Other books by this authors: n/a.
Favorite characters: Corrine, I guess?
When and Where the story takes place: New York City and Texas, present time

Plot in a nutshell: Because of the recession, Corrine's family becomes 'poor' and she moves to Broken Spoke Texas to stay with her grandparents until things settle.
Main characters: Corrine mostly.
What I liked best: It was cliche without being too cliche.
What I liked least: It's hard to make a very annoying non-love interest into a love interest. I'm already really not liking said guy (no names to avoid spoilers) so why does he have to get together with the main character? Because that's how the cliche goes? Also, Corrine really was a bit of a brat.

Overall rating: It was an okay read. It felt a bit disjointed at times, and Corrine's changeover from NYC bitch to okay with her surroundings was believable in that she didn't completely change. But at the same time, it seemed to happen way too fast. And I couldn't stand her 'best friend' Waverly.  

Title: Other Words for Love
Author: Lorraine Zago Rosenthal
Copyright date: January 2011
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
How many pages: n/a (read on Kindle)
How long it took me to read: 3 days
Category: Fiction
I learned about this book from: Debut Author Challenge!

This book was purchased at: Amazon.com (Kindle site)
This book is: a kind of coming of age, set in the 80s
Other books by this authors: n/a.
Favorite characters: Ari, Leigh
When and Where the story takes place: New York City, 1980s
Plot in a nutshell: Ari finds herself at a new school, with a new friend, and dealing with her life at home.
Main characters: Ari, Leigh, Summer, Evelyn.
What I liked best: It was nothing like I expected. I'd read two reviews and a plot summary, and they still didn't really do the book justice.
What I liked least: Evelyn was a hateful, selfish bitch of a sister, and everyone seemed to cater to her. She drove me nuts, and she just... ugh. I didn't want to read about her and I was hoping that, when you read that Ari has a crush on Evelyn's husband (no spoiler there, you know by the first chapter) that she sleeps with him and successfully takes him away from that whiny brat.

Overall rating: I really liked this story, but it wasn't what I thought it would be. I thought it was a drama about a girl falling in love with the wrong guy. Then I read another review and thought it was about a girl dealing with AIDs in the 80s. It wasn't that either. I'm going to give it an A because it stood up to what I wanted even though it wasn't anything anyone said it would be. That said, it did drag in parts, and sometimes I just got SO ANGRY with the other characters.

Review: Jane by April Lindner

Title: Jane
Author: April Lindner
Copyright date: October 2010
Publisher: Poppy
How many pages: n/a (read on Kindle)
How long it took me to read: 3 days
Category: Fiction
I learned about this book from: I think I heard about it on The Story Siren.

This book was purchased at: Amazon.com (Kindle site) / Christmas gift!
This book is: a modern retelling of Jane Eyre
Other books by this authors: n/a.
Favorite characters: Jane (obviously)
When and Where the story takes place: Nico Rathburn's home, Thornfield Park
Plot in a nutshell: Jane Moore, having dropped out from school after her parents' death, gets a job as a nanny for rock star Nico Rathburn's daughter.
Main characters: Jane, Nico.
What I liked best: I vaguely knew the story of the original Jane Eyre, so reading this was only a slight surprise to me. Jane was an awesome character to read about, and I didn't feel forced into reading about her feelings for Nico.
What I liked least: The problem with knowing what happens is the fact that I hated waiting for it to happen. I knew what happened at the end, but why did she have to futz around in the middle of nowhere Connecticut after leaving Thornfield Park? Maybe I'm just a hopeless romantic.

Overall rating: I really liked this story. Perhaps it's a test as to see whether or not I'm the type to read the original classic, or the remakes. Like the difference between Shakespeare retellings. Yet I loved reading Sense and Sensibility? I guess it just depends on the story itself? I give it an A.

Archive: Reposted Reviews 5

Title: Project Paris
Author: Lisa Barham
Copyright date: July 2007
Publisher: Simon Pulse
How many pages: 224 pgs
How long it took me to read: About 3 hours.. It's got really big text and pictures in some of the margins.. (I feel like I cheated hah)
Category: Fiction
I learned about this book from: Reading the first book.

This book was purchased at: Barnes and Noble
This book is: silly, short, but unsatisfying
Other books by these authors: A Girl Like Moi: The Fashion Forward Files of Imogene
Favorite characters: Imogene, I guess
When and Where the story takes place: Paris (obviously)
Plot in a nutshell: Imogene goes to Paris to get stories on the Couture Week for the magazine she's interning for. Couture Week gets cancelled, and she finds something brand new to scoop!
Main characters: Imogene and Evie
What I liked best: I can't really pinpoint something, unfortunately.
What I liked least: I really wasn't a fan of the book.. I don't like that I feel like I cheated by reading this, and that I could have been using the time reading this by reading something with more substance.

Overall rating: C. This book was rather flat, incredibly predictable, and kind of confusing. I'd forgotten a lot about what Imogene had gone through in the first book, and Imogene wasn't going to refresh my memory. She spent a lot of time telling the reader she'd 'get to this part' in a minute, and never did. It was like talking to a 14 year old. Not enough description, plot, or substance. I merely read it to see if I was right about all my conclusions. And I was.

Title: Jinx
Author: Meg Cabot
Copyright date: July 2007
Publisher: Harper Teen
How many pages: 262 pgs
How long it took me to read: about 2 breaks at work, and 2 hours at home (so... 3 hours total? Works into about 2 days spread out)
Category: Fiction
I learned about this book from: being a rabid meg cabot fan

This book was purchased at: Barnes and Noble's website
This book is: a cute little supernatural bit of fluff
Other books by these authors: Princess Diaries series, All American Girl Series, Mediator series, 1800WhereRU series, Queen of Babble Series, Pants on Fire, Avalon High.. etc.. etc...
Favorite characters: Jinx (Jean) of course!
When and Where the story takes place: New York
Plot in a nutshell: Jean (Jinx) moves in with her aunt and uncle's family in New York to get away from something that happened back home in her conservative Iowa home. Things go wrong.
Main characters: Jean/Jinx, Tory, Zach
What I liked best: I liked how randomly it reminded me of the Craft (in a good way)
What I liked least: I've read so many of Meg Cabot's books that it felt a little... predictable. I hate saying that. But I knew what was going to happen.. for the most part. There were a couple of surprises.

Overall rating: This was a good book. I didn't waste my time on it, but it was kind of predictable.. Rated on the scale of how I rate Meg's books, it's better than Pants on Fire, How to Be Popular and All American Girl... but not better than the rest I've read from her (Oh my god she needs to publish the next Queen of Babble before I fall over).

Archive: Reposted Reviews 4

Title: As Seen on TV
Author: Sarah Mlynowski
Copyright date: 2003
Publisher: Red Dress Ink
How many pages: 384 pgs
How long it took me to read: About 2 days, reading it on my break at work and then all in one night
Category: fiction
I learned about this book from: doing an author search

This book was purchased at: paperbackswap.com
This book is: A fluffy read
Other books by this author: Milkrun, Fishbowl, Monkey Business..
Favorite characters: the main character, obviously. Sunny.
When and Where the story takes place: Florida and New York City (mostly)
Plot in a nutshell: Sunny needs a job, and her father's girlfriend mentions going on a reality show!
Main characters: Sunny, and the other contestants a little bit...
What I liked best: Sunny was.. well.. honest. She was a great character to follow, and didn't seem too flighty.
What I liked least: Her boyfriend bothered me. He acted like all the things she did for him weren't good enough. I hate the unsupportive boyfriend characters....

Overall rating: It was a really fun read! Give it a 7.



Title: Forever Princess (Princess Diaries 10)
Author: Meg Cabot
Copyright date: 2009
Publisher: HarperTeen
How many pages: 400 pgs
How long it took me to read: About 4 hours. I didn't want to have to stop reading it.
Category: fiction
I learned about this book from: being a rabid Meg Cabot Fan

This book was purchased at: BN.com
This book is: a great way to close The Princess Diaries
Other books by this author: Princess Diaries 1-9, Heather Wells Mystery Series, Queen of Babble series, 1800WhereRU sereies, Mediator series, etc etc..
Favorite characters: Mia! Of course!
When and Where the story takes place: Mia's surroundings, school/home/wherever, NYC
Plot in a nutshell: Mia's a senior in high school, and graduating. And writing. And accepted to every college she applied to (but was it because she's a princess?) And denied from publishing her book! (Because she's using a fake name?)
Main characters: Mia, JP, Michael, Lily..
What I liked best: Meg didn't skimp on this book. She didn't seem to write it to try to please the fans (as some authors do) and cop out. Mia did what she was supposed to do, she had her own mind. She wasn't out of character in the least.
What I liked least: I just wish I could have figured out Mia's revelation at the end myself. I felt naive! I was like 'OF COURSE!'.

Overall rating: 10. Of course. I loved this book..



Title: Fishbowl
Author: Sarah Mlynowski
Copyright date: 2002
Publisher: Red Dress Ink
How many pages: 360 pgs
How long it took me to read: About 2 days. I just spent most of the day reading it in between being sick..
Category: fiction
I learned about this book from: author search

This book was purchased at: paperbackswap, but the person that swapped with me got it from goodwill (and I don't know why but that bothers me..)
This book is: Actually realistic in a way
Other books by this author: See above regarding As Seen on TV
Favorite characters: I didn't really have a favorite.
When and Where the story takes place: Montreal/Ottawa/Toronto.. I forget which primarily hah.
Plot in a nutshell: Allie, Jodine and Emma are roommates. And their kitchen burned down. Now they need money. (That sounds like a bad porn haha)
Main characters: Allie, Jodine, Emma
What I liked best: None of the characters were.. perfect. I personally didn't side with any of them. I kind of found Jodine to be obnoxious, Allie kind of annoyingly naive, and Emma to be a bitch. But honestly? I wouldn't have liked the book half as much if the author tried to make them likable.
What I liked least: A couple of the little subplots were a little too annoying. Jodine and her non boyfriend Manny were too rushed.

Overall rating: I'll give it a 6. I liked it, but I'm not sure I'd read it again.

Archive: Reposted Review 3

Title: Flowers in the Attic
Author: V.C. Andrews
Copyright date: Dec 27, 1979
How many pages: 384
How long it took me to read: 2 days
I learned about this book from: Originally? My mother. When I was 9, my parents were called down to my school to chat about me. I was reading at a college aged level. My parents, not sure what to do with that information (except get me the pet bird I'd always wanted), gave me two books of their own. My father gave me Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King. My mother gave me Flowers in the Attic.

This book was purchased at: amazon.co.uk (I collect different editions of the book)
This book is: trashy, wonderful, everything
Other books by these authors: the rest of the Flowers in the Attic Series, along with many others that were published before and after her death, some written by a ghostwriter.
Favorite characters: Cathy
When and Where the story takes place: Foxworth Hall
Plot in a nutshell: After the death of their beloved father, 4 children are forced to live in a small room attached to an attic in a large mansion, while their mother tries to win back her father's love and get put back into his will

Main characters: Cathy, Chris, Cory and Carrie Dollanganger
What I liked best: There's so much I love about this book. I've read it about 18 times. Once a year since I was 9, and a couple of times more when I wasn't feeling well, or needed to get away from the world. VC Andrews wrote such a story, something that no one would ever believe possible.
What I liked least: Normally, I'd say nothing, but this edition of the book cut out a few parts that my brain had cemented in. It omits a good 4 pages from the first chapter, to the point where I wondered if I imagined them. Upon searching one of my US copies, I found what was lost. I'm not sure why some of those things were omitted, and as I read, I remembered little phrases, little things that were cut as well. It makes me wonder what else I didn't notice that they'd decided to take out.

Overall rating: This is my favorite book in the entire world. I can't help but give it an incredibly high rating. After reading it so many times, I'm still not bored with it. I was able to pick it up easily and re-read it just as fast as ever, and immerse myself in the story. Nostalgia didn't make the book better than it was; it was still just as grand. A lot of people dismiss this novel as trash, a gothic piece of garbage, or a guilty pleasure. This book is what made me fall headfirst into the adult reading world, and what made me want to be a writer.

Archive: Re-posted Review 2

Title: As Seen on TV
Author: Sarah Mlynowski
Copyright date: 2003
Publisher: Red Dress Ink
How many pages: 384 pgs
I learned about this book from: doing an author search

This book was purchased at: paperbackswap.com
This book is: A fluffy read
Other books by this author: Milkrun, Fishbowl, Monkey Business..
Favorite characters: the main character, obviously. Sunny.
When and Where the story takes place: Florida and New York City (mostly)
Plot in a nutshell: Sunny needs a job, and her father's girlfriend mentions going on a reality show!
Main characters: Sunny, and the other contestants a little bit...
What I liked best: Sunny was.. well.. honest. She was a great character to follow, and didn't seem too flighty.
What I liked least: Her boyfriend bothered me. He acted like all the things she did for him weren't good enough. I hate the unsupportive boyfriend characters....

Overall rating: It was a really fun read! Give it a 7.

In the Archives: Re-posted Review 1

Title: The Pretty One
Author: Cheryl Klam
Copyright date: 2008
Publisher: Delacorte
How many pages: 368 pgs
I learned about this book from: seeing it on a bookshelf at the store

This book was purchased at: Barnes and Noble
This book is: ..Kind of.. I don't know
Other books by this author: Learning to Swim
Favorite characters: i guess, Megan, the main character
When and Where the story takes place: Chesapeake School of the Arts, and a little bit around the houses that they live in
Plot in a nutshell: Megan was ugly and fat, and she got into an accident, and now she's pretty and thin. And dealing.
Main characters: Megan, her sister Lucy
What I liked best: Megan was honestly not just "oh hey I'm pretty! Look! Pretty!" and dancing around and becoming a diva montage. She actually didn't really.. meld well with her pretty outside self, as she was still her normal self inside.
What I liked least: She was so naive, and everyone else was treating her like she was SUPPOSED to become a vapid girl to the point where they treated her as if she was! As if she knew how to act in these social situations and it was pissing them all off. I wanted to yell at her for some of her dumb thoughts.

Overall rating: I'm still digesting it. I'm not sure how I feel completely....