Fablehaven (Book 1) by Brandon Mull

Goodreads Summary: For centuries mystical creatures of all description were gathered into a hidden refuge called Fablehaven to prevent their extinction. The sanctuary survives today as one of the last strongholds of true magic. Enchanting? Absolutely. Exciting? You bet. Safe? Well, actually, quite the opposite.

Kendra and her brother, Seth, have no idea that their grandfather is the current caretaker of Fablehaven. Inside the gated woods, ancient laws keep relative order among greedy trolls, mischievous satyrs, plotting witches, spiteful imps, and jealous fairies. However, when the rules get broken — Seth is a bit too curious and reckless for his own good — powerful forces of evil are unleashed, and Kendra and her brother face the greatest challenge of their lives. To save their family, Fablehaven, and perhaps even the world, Kendra and Seth must find the courage to do what they fear most.

Why I Read This Book: One day when I was on Goodreads checking out some recommendations, I added this to my list on a whim. And then another day, not so long after that first one, I was at the used bookstore browsing and I just happened to come upon this little gem, so for $1.50 I picked it up.


Review: This was a fantastic children's book. It was the right amount of adventure mixed with magic and disbelief that gets you hooked on reading it. One thing that irritated me, but I guess it was sort of necessary, was how disobedient those damn kids were! I'd have lost my mind if I was their grandparent! Maybe I'm just too goody-goody though :\ Either way, if you have children who loved Harry Potter (or if you yourself loved it!) this could be a good 'next read' to keep children interested in reading books. I think there is 5 in the full series, and I will definitely be keeping my eyes open for them!


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The Last Summer (of Me & You) by Ann Brashares

Goodreads Summary: Set on Long Island's Fire Island, The Last Summer (of You and Me) is an enchanting, heartrending page-turner about sisterhood, friendship, love, loss, and growing up. It is the story of a beach community friendship triangle-Riley and Alice, two sisters in their twenties, and Paul, the young man they've grown up with-and what happens one summer when budding love, sexual curiosity, a sudden serious illness, and a deep secret all collide, launching the friends into an adult world from which their summer haven can no longer protect them. 

As wise, compelling, and endearing as her Traveling Pants series, and as lyrical, thoughtful, and moving as the best literary women's fiction, this novel is sure to win an entire new generation of adult fans.

Why I Read This Book: From the Travelling Pants series, I knew I liked Brashares books, and since this was being compared to Summer Sisters by Judy Blume (one of my all time favorite books), I thought I would read this one.


Review: This was a pretty good book. I am almost always a fan of writers who transition between characters point of views. I can't say any of the events in the book were shocking, as I think they may have been intended to be, but it was still a great story of Alice's growth. I do get a little irritated by books when all the problems that arise in it could have been avoided if the characters were just honest!! But, I guess that is what real life is kind of like, so what can you do about it? Anyway, this was a good summer read, and I enjoyed it a lot. It's nice that it isn't a series, it's just a story and not it's done. I have been reading so many series books lately that it's kind of refreshing not to have the next book to think about.


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The Millennuim Trilogy by Steig Larsson

Goodreads Summaries:
Book 1: The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist, watches his professional life rapidly crumble around him. Prospects appear bleak until an unexpected (and unsettling) offer to resurrect his name is extended by an old-school titan of Swedish industry. The catch--and there's always a catch--is that Blomkvist must first spend a year researching a mysterious disappearance that has remained unsolved for nearly four decades. With few other options, he accepts and enlists the help of investigator Lisbeth Salander, a misunderstood genius with a cache of authority issues. Little is as it seems in Larsson's novel, but there is at least one constant: you really don't want to mess with the girl with the dragon tattoo. 


Book 2: The Girl Who Played With Fire
Mikael Blomkvist, crusading journalist and publisher of the magazineMillennium, has decided to run a story that will expose an extensive sex trafficking operation between Eastern Europe and Sweden, implicating well-known and highly placed members of Swedish society, business, and government.

But he has no idea just how explosive the story will be until, on the eve of publication, the two investigating reporters are murdered. And even more shocking for Blomkvist: the fingerprints found on the murder weapon belong to Lisbeth Salander—the troubled, wise-beyond-her-years genius hacker who came to his aid in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and who now becomes the focus and fierce heart of The Girl Who Played with Fire.

As Blomkvist, alone in his belief in Salander’s innocence, plunges into an investigation of the slayings, Salander herself is drawn into a murderous hunt in which she is the prey, and which compels her to revisit her dark past in an effort to settle with it once and for all


Book 3: The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest
Lisbeth Salander—the heart of Larsson’s two previous novels—lies in critical condition, a bullet wound to her head, in the intensive care unit of a Swedish city hospital. She’s fighting for her life in more ways than one: if and when she recovers, she’ll be taken back to Stockholm to stand trial for three murders. With the help of her friend, journalist Mikael Blomkvist, she will not only have to prove her innocence, but also identify and denounce those in authority who have allowed the vulnerable, like herself, to suffer abuse and violence. And, on her own, she will plot revenge—against the man who tried to kill her, and the corrupt government institutions that very nearly destroyed her life.

Once upon a time, she was a victim. Now Salander is fighting back.


Why I Read These Books: These books came highly recommended by a number of people I work with, so much so that for our office secret Santa I was given the first in the trilogy as my gift. When I was about half way through it, I ordered the next two online.


Reviews: If you have read these books, you know it takes about 100 pages of book one to really get into them. I'm going to try and do this without spoilers, so this will be a pretty short review (but mine always kind of are, I don't want to ruin anything!). First off, Larsson is a very detailed writer, so much so that he kind of over explains some things. For example, in book one, you are bombarded with the Vanger family. There are so many of them, that I was thinking "OMG, I will never remember all these people". You only really need to know few, but you get tons of details on ALL of them. Other than the books being a little dry because of this reason, they were fantastic. I loved Lisbeth as a heroine in this story, and I was so into this series. I'm not normally one to pick up a political mystery but maybe I should be, because these books were fabulous. I can definitely say they were totally worth the hype. My favorite was the second one, as it had the fewest dry parts. The boring bits were the only reason all three weren't 5 star reads!


Ratings:

Book 1

Book 2

Book 3

Bumped by Megan McCafferty

Goodreads Summary: In 2036 New Jersey, when teens are expected to become fanatically religious wives and mothers or high-priced Surrogettes for couples made infertile by a widespread virus, 16-year-old identical twins Melody and Harmony find in one another the courage to believe they have choices.


Why I Read This Book: This was another book that was pretty popular on the blogs awhile back that I had marked to read.


Review: This book was OK. It took me awhile to get into it because I didn't like either Melody or Harmony very much at all. It gets better as the book goes on, with the last 1/3 of the book being quite good. The idea behind the book is really good, being that pregnant teens are the world's hottest commodity, but I felt that the book lacked some of the information surrounding this. I guess because it was mostly from the two girls POV, but I would be interested in some of the background of the story as well. You don't learn much about either girls past, and the book has a lot of holes which will hopefully get explained in the coming book.

Overall, it was enjoyable, but not as good as what I think it could have been. I expected a little bit better from McCafferty because I love the Jessica Darling series so much, but I am still looking forward to seeing what happens in 'Thumped'.

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June Wrap Up - 2012 Reading Challenge

Wow! We are half way there! I just reviewed the official challenge list I posted (here) when I first signed up for this challenge, and out of 40 I still have 28 to read... not quite halfway :S

BUT... I have made progress in many other areas of my TBR list, and in fact June appears to be my best month yet! So, without further adieu, the books I read this month for the challenge:


Seven challenge books! Amazing! It's hard to believe that Fifty Shades of Grey wasn't written this year based on all the hype, but it wasn't. Not sure about the sequels to it... No hurry to read them, so no matter.

Anyway, I have been having a great month reading. There are two other books which I have also finished however haven't posted about yet, and that is The Millenuim Trilogy by Steig Larsson and Bumped by Megan McCaffery. They will have to be included in July.

Included in this month's wrap up was to include a sentence about camping from the following words:

List 1                           List 2                          List 3   
tent                              hole                            bear
raft                               cold                            eagle
canteen                       limp                            raccoon
fire wood                     moonlight                   squirrel
cooler                          Dr. Pepper                 puppy
thermos                       bathroom                   snake
sleeping bag                small                          fish


I think we get extra points for creativity! So, here is mine:


Before the camping trip, I filled my canteen with spiked Dr. Pepper in case I needed to scare off any rabid raccoon's.


I don't know if that makes any sense, but we'll go with it! Hope everyone had a great June and is making the most out of summer so far!


Happy Reading!

City of Bones - Cassandra Clare

Goodreads Summary: When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing -- not even a smear of blood -- to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . . 

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end.

Why I Read This Book: I was a big fan of the book Clockwork Angel, also by Clare, and set in the same 'world' in a different time period. I am intertwining these two series' by reading them in this order:

Clockwork Angel (The Inferal Devices)
City of Bones (The Mortal Instruments)
City of Ashes (TMI)
Clockwork Prince (TID)
City of Glass (TMI)
City of Fallen Angels (TMI)
Clockwork Princess (TID)
City of Lost Souls (TMI)
City of Heavenly Fire (TMI)

She claims it doesn't matter what order you read them, so after I stressed for awhile, I settled on this order based on absolutely no rhyme or reason. Since there are 6 books in one series, and 3 in another I thought this was an epic reading plan.


Review: I really loved this book. The Shadowhunters world is one of my favorites. After reading Clockwork Angel, I knew a lot of the things that Jace teaches Clary from when Will taught Tessa, but it was awesome to read again, as you pick up things you missed last time. I loved the story, it was really engaging, and I can't wait to read the next book. There was ONE thing that did get a little bit on my nerves though... Clare does not need to use so many similes to describe the runes scars. I've got it, they are there, all Shadowhunter have them. I no longer need to know that they were like lace, or like a random pattern of snowflakes, or... if you read these books, you get the idea. No more similes! You do not need to mention them on the same person over and over. A new person, sure. It can help identify that they are a Shadowhunter without just saying "they are a shadowhunter" but, seriously, I have a pretty good grasp on the imagery the scars hold. Otherwise, awesome book, I would recommend it to anyone into paranormal stuff or magic too. These books are fantastic.

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The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

Goodreads Summary: Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor.This haunting novel about the dilemma of passivity vs. passion marks the stunning debut of a provocative voice in contemporary fiction: The Perks of Being a Wallflower. This is the story of what it’s like to grow up in high school. More intimate than a diary, Charlie's letters are singular and unique, hilarious and devastating. We may not know where he lives. We may not know to whom he is writing. All we know is the world he shares. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it puts him on a strange course through uncharted territory. The world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends. The world of sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. Through Charlie, Stephen Chbosky has created a deeply affecting coming-of-age story, a powerful novel that will spirit you back to those wild and poignant roller coaster days known as growing up.


Why I Read This Book: This had been on my TBR list forever, but with a movie coming out that I really want to see, it gave me that extra push to actually go out and get it.


Review: I loved this book. It was fantastic. At first, I was a little confused by it, as all the characters seem to be introduced at the same time, and I was like "how will I ever remember all these people?!" but that quickly sorted itself out. I can easily see how someone could read this book and think there was nothing really special about it at all. It is just a guy who is a little weird writing about what happens to him in some letters. You do really need to peel back a layer to "get it" I think. As the book suggests, you need to "participate" in the story to feel how I think you should about this. If you haven't gone to high school, I wouldn't recommend this to you at all. Or if you went to a stuffy high school, but if you are a relatively normal person, who had a relatively normal teenage experience, and you "get it" you will love this book.


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