Title: Specials
Author: Scott Westerfeld

Rated: 5

I was a bit frustrated with Tally this time, just because she was so much different than before.

About: Tally is Special now, part of the Cutters. Everything is bright and crystal clear now, her goals are in focus. Help Zane become Special, take down the New Smoke. Easier said than done. Step one: sneak into the Armory and help Zane escape. Done. Well, except she destroys the Armory... step two: follow Zane to the New Smoke and capture them. Followed and... oh, well, the New Smoke is part of a city called Diego now, isn't that nice? And, on top of that, Prettyville is blaming Diego for the destruction of the Armory, and is calling for war. War is unheard of. Now it's up to Tally, once again, to take responsibility for her actions and take down the Specials, once and for all.

Recommend to: (same as Uglies and Pretties)

!series!

Title: Pretties
Author: Scott Westerfeld

Rated: 5

I found myself using all the pretty slang. Like, that's totally pretty-making! And that's way bogus. Stuff like that. XD I love how there were little details like that that really made the book interesting.

About: Tally has turned Pretty, but it's to help. The Pretties have brain lesions, and she's voluntereed to test the cure. Problem is, now that she has the lesions, she can't remember. With the help of new boyfriend Zane and the New Smoke, she works to free herself from the lesions and escape once again. Things have changed though, and with Zane now sick and the Speicals giving them extra attention, it's a lot harder this time around. Shay's behavior hasn't really helped either.

Recommend to: (same as Uglies)

!series!

Title: Uglies
Author: Scott Westerfeld

Rated: 5

This futuristic and still realistic series is one of my favorites. I got so angry, and so happy, too, as I imagined myself in the place of Tally. Uglies was probably my favorite of the series.

About: Tally Youngblood has always looked forward to turning sixteen and becoming Pretty. She even made a friend, Shay, with the same birthday as her, so they can turn Pretty together. But Shay doesn't want to turn Pretty, and when she runs away to join the Smoke, a band of runaways, Tally is brought in for questioning. It's a Special Circumstance. And the Special Circumstances want Tally to hunt down Shay and bring the Smoke down. They say it's to help Shay, and if Tally doesn't cooperate, she doesn't turn pretty. So Tally sets out to betray her friend, but when she arrives at the Smoke, however, everything she's ever known is flipped around. She meets David, who she 'steals' from Shay, and then his parents, who tell her what turning Pretty really means. Trying to get rid of Special Circumstances, she unknowingly brings them all to the Smoke, betraying everyone. Wrapped up in her own lies, Tally has to somehow fix everything.

Recommend to: If you like science fiction and action, you'll enjoy these books. They're fantastic!

!series!

sub-category: poetry

Title: The Inferno*
Author: Dante Alighieri

Rated: 5

Very interesting glimpse into hell. Gruesome and fascinating.

About: Dante, with Virgil as his guide, journeys through hell, passing through all the circles and watching all its horrors. His journey is forever immortalized in his writing.

Recommend to: Anyone. It's a classic, and chances are that a lot of people will end up reading it in college anyway.

*part of The Divine Comedy.

Title: This Is All: The Pillow Book of Cordelia Kenn
Author: Aiden Chambers

Rated: 5

I LOVED this book. It is now definitely one of my favorites. It made me sad, happy, angry, confused, relieved, understood... I cried so hard at the end of it. This is the only book I've ever cried over. It was just a fantastic book, I can't say it enough. You really grow to love Cordelia Kenn, after basically growing up with her.

About: Cordelia Kenn is pregnant. As an aspiring poet and talented writer, she decides to create a pillow book for her unborn daughter. She includes her poetry (mopes), her thoughts and opinions, her relationships, her hardships and successes, everything. It's her life from about age fifteen. 

Recommend to: Everyone. It's such a good book, I think everyone will have some sort of interest in it. I insist that you read it. -shoves book toward you-

btw, it's written kind of weird in the middle, but the fact that it's awesome makes up for that.

Title: The Picture of Dorian Gray
Author: Oscar Wilde

Rated: 3.5

This book was frustrating, but also captivating. I think I had the same reaction to Dorian Gray as everyone else, I was in awe, yet at the same time repulsed. I grew to kind of hate him. I was glad when he got what was coming to him. >.>

About: Dorian Gray, a beautiful and alluring young man, grabs the attention of painter Basil Hallward. Upon seeing his portrait, and of course after talking to Lord Henry, he wishes that he could forever stay so beautifully young. His wish comes true, however, and even though her remains astonishingly handsome, he starts to see how truly ugly he really is.

Recommend to: If you're a fan of Oscar Wilde, then you'll probably enjoy his one and only novel.

Title: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Author: Mark Haddor

Rated: 4.5

Interesting. The main character was odd, he had autism, I believe. It was a neat experience, really getting into his head. I liked it.

About: The main character, Chris, discovers a dead dog, and when he is blamed for the death, decides to undertake the investigation of who really did it. Just like Sherlock Holmes from his favorite book. But he learns more than he wanted to, he discovers that people lie, and life as he knows it is completely changed it. Which his pet rat Toby by his side, he sets out on a journey into the unknown.

Recommend to: If you're interested in pyschology, then you might like this, but I think anyone can appreciate this book.

Title: Blood and Chocolate
Author: Annette Curtis Klause

Rated: 3.5

After reading Freaks I had to have more. It was an addicting book- I read it in a day. I'll admit that it was not my kind of book and I probably wouldn't even have read it if I wasn't familiar with the author. Overall, it was okay, but I didn't really like the plot- as I've probably said, I'm very into romance.

About: Young Vivian; part human, part wolf. She's fed up with the boys of her kind, and she yearns to be more like the meat-people. Accepted. But when she starts seeing meat-boy Aiden, she starts to wonder if she'll ever be accepted, if she'll ever be anything but "werewolf." And can she resist her instincts?

Recommend to: Unlike Freaks, this did remind me of Twilight. So if you liked that series, maybe you'll like this book. It's just, you know, from the other point of view.

Title: Freaks: Alive on the Inside
Author: Annette Curtis Klause

Rated: 4.5

I loved this book- the romance was fresh and adventurous, and not at all stupid and predictable like you usually encounter. The books was also full of history and unforgettable characters, like Apollo the dog-boy (never monkey!).

About: Abel Dandy lives in a circus, where wonders surround him. But in a places full of misfits, he just doesn't fit in. So, he sets off, seeking adventure, romance, and fortune. Soon, a young woman appears in his dreams, beckoning to him and calling for his help. And Abel finds everything he was looking for- and quite a bit more than he had bargained on.

Recommend to: If, like me, you thought the romance of the Twilight series was much to soppy, you might appreciate this. But don't get me wrong, romance is hardly all this book has to offer.

Title: Peter and the Secret of Rundoon
Author: Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

Rated: 4

Fast paced and entertaining, but I sometimes wondered why I was reading about certain things. Still, a good read, and a great addition to Peter and the Starcatchers and Peter and the Shadow Thieves.

About: Molly is back home, and Peter is off having adventures at his island, all seems well. But Lord Umbra is back, and with the help of the Others, his terrible plans are underway. Soon, Molly, George, and a motley of others are after Peter- both friends and foes- because a great discovery tells of Peter's parents and their abilities. And these are abilities which orphan peter has inherited. Now it's a race against time as the darkness seeks to end the world, and everything else. And Peter and his friends must stop it.

Recommend to: First, read the others. Otherwise, this'll be hard to understand. But all fantasy lovers, especially Peter Pan fans, will enjoy this.

!series!

Title: Eldest
Author: Christopher Paolini

Rated: 4

Captivating read. Everything just kept coming, and I really like how the point of view switched from watching Roran to watching Eragon. It was neat seeing how differently they viewed things. The war scenes were again written really well, but a bit much at times. After reading, I'd find myself dreaming of wars... not fun.

About: Eragon continues his battle against Galbatorix and the powers that be. Once he arrives in Ellesmera, he begins his training with the mysterious Cripple Who is Whole, the Mourning Sage, while Roran fights to save his love and his village. Soon, they meet again as they join forces against Galbatorix's evil.

Recommend to: (same as Eragon)

!series!

Title: Eragon
Author: Christopher Paolini

Rated: 5

It was good. Eragon played with your emotions and you really started to feel as if you were the one in the book, the one fighting for your life- and everyone else's, really.

About: When young Eragon finds a strange stone ut in the deserted Spine, Eragon knows there's magic. And things get stranger when the egg hatches and Eragon finds that he's the first of a new generation of Dragon Riders. So, at first to avenge his uncle's death, Eragon sets out against every terror the world can throw at him. With very few allies, and increasing enemies, Eragon has no idea what lies ahead of him. (Besides what Angela tells him.

Recommend to: Did you like Lord of the Rings? Then you might like this series. With fantasy galore and some of the best war scenes I've read, it's doubtful you'll be disappointed by Eragon.

 btw- it's not like the movie. but you should know that. "Never judge a book by its movie." I forget who said that...

 !series!

Title: Whale Talk
Author: Chris Crutcher

Rated: 5

Loved it. It was funny, shocking, sad, and heartwarming. A very good book. Very.

About: TJ, or The Tao Jones, goes to Cutter High School. He was adopted, left alone by his druggie bio-mom, and his Asian-African-American heritage puts him in the minority in a predominately white society. Hoping to spite the jocks and all the assholes of the school and town, he sets out to earn letter jackets for a swim team full of misfits. However, as he gets to know these social outcasts, he realizes that the swim team is about so much more than letter jackets.

Recommend to: Any person who has suffered ignorance or gone through hardship will be able to relate to this books. Every single misfit will have a connection. In short, I recommend this to everyone.

Hey, hey, quick fact time!
-- In my school, this book was banned for a short time. There was a huge controversy over the language. A lot of parents threw a fit without really reading the book. But hey, with all that publicity, the few copies we had in the library were permanently check out. XD Now for the sophomores to read it for class, they need is a permission slip. Everyone seems to be fine with it now, though.

Title: Scarlet Moon
Author: Debbie Viguie

Rated: 4

It had a good plot, but when a little fast in some places and was prolong during some boring places.

About: A young girl, Ruth, is attacked by a wolf as a child, and basically lives her life in fear. Then, when things seem that they can get no worse, her brother and cousin are recruited to fight in the Crusades and she has no choice but to take their places as a blacksmith- and now an outcast of society, like her grandmother. She thinks that her path is set to stay like this forever after her cousin returns with news of her brothers death. But then the mysterious and allegedly dangerous William enters her life, and she discovers that things aren't the way she thinks they are.

Recommend to: If you liked the Twilight series, you'll probably like this as well, though this is better, in my opinion. (sorry, I'm not a fan of Twilight ><)

sub-category: play

Title: The Curious Savage
Author: John Patrick

Rated: 5

Wonderful play. Hilarious, crazy, and sentimental. There isn't a dull moment in this play, and every character is unforgettable. Reading this is mesmerizing. The wacky characters keep you completely entertained. I loved it!

About: Mrs. Savage is widowed and left with ten million dollars, which her greedy little step-children can't wait to get their hands on. But she's determined to keep it from them and give it away to people who she thinks are in need. So, what can they do but commit her to a sanatorium? Laughs and tears follow as Mrs. Savage finds her way to freedom alongside her new friends, with a touch of revenge, of course.

Recommend to: Anyone who can appreciate humor at its finest.

Hey, hey, quick fact time!
-- Fall play. I played Mrs. Savage. It was a blast. Everyone got along so well. A great cast makes for a great performance, and I thought we did fantastic. I guess that all might make me a bit biased though. X3

Author: Suzanne Weyn

Rated: 3

It was a decent book. The ending was kind of crappy and disappointing- done too quickly. I still liked it, though, for the most part.

About: Rowena and her eleven sisters are happily living together with her parents, until her mother goes out to help King Arthur and vanishes. Now their mother, actually the Lady of the Lake, is trapped underground by a spiteful Morgan Le Fay. Their father's feeling of betrayal gets them locked up in a castle, unable to save their mother. But the girls can't be kept inside. Now, their strong will, Rowena's inherited sight, and fate has them right next to their mother, although still unable to help. But Excalibur is coming, and Rowena can feel the person carrying it; they're connected. Will their love and strength be enough to conquer Morgan Le Fay's fury?

Recommend to: Those who enjoy romance and fantasy.

Title: Through the Looking-Glass
Author: Lewis Carroll

Rated: 5

This is a classic, of course. It's hard not to love this book. It challenges reality and sets you in a far off wonderland where nothing is what is seems and where you never know what's going to happen next. What more can be said?

About: Alice is back, and up to her fantasies once again. Now she has slipped through the looking-glass and things are more backwards than ever. Travel with Alice as she takes you through a brand new wonderland and introduces you to brand new people, who are at least half as crazy as before. You'll never forget this story.

Recommend to: Everyone. Really, everyone. You haven't truly read until you stepped into the world of Lewis Carroll.

Author: Holly Black

Rated: 4

Like all of Holly Black's stories, this book sucks you in. Once you start reading, you won't be able to put the book down. There are twists and turns around every corner. You never know what's going to happen next. And, Holly Blacks' depiction of fey is probably the most accurate I've read. However, Tithe and Valiant, in my opinion, where better than Ironside. Still a great story, though, full of magic and suspense.

About: Katye is in the realm of faery with her beloved Roiben, and everything is perfect... yeah right. Robion is busy performing his unwanted duties and Katye is to keep to the shadows. Until she confesses her love and is sent on an impossible journey. Now the faery world is about to do a 360 in the hands of a strong-willed Kaye.

Recommend to: Fans of fantasy, who also crave a bit of screw up-ness. An edgy story of faery who can pull any fantasy lover in.