"Lock and Key"- Review

   I read Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen. It was my favorite book by her so far. It's about a 17-year-old girl, Ruby, who gets abandoned by her mother and is forced to go live with older sister, Cora, and Cora's husband. She befriends her neighbor, Nate, and a few other people, including a woman named Harriet who eventually hires her for a job. She's also on a journey of discovering herself, and her relationships help her do that. Through the hardships of it all, Ruby realizes that she has been given a better future.
   I liked this book because it was deep, realistic, and not too slow-going. It was loaded with "power lines" (lines of writing that are so great you wish had written them yourself) and every page of it was special and meaningful. I'd suggest this book for readers who don't mind some mature content.

Out of My Mind- Review

    I read Out of My Mind by Sharon M. Draper. I ahve to say it is one the best books I've ever read. It's about a girl who has cerebral palsy, and she cannot talk or walk. She has an amazing photographic memory, but of course can't tell anyone. She finally finds a way to communicate, but in her school there is a lot of discrimination towards "retarded" people. This book make me sob at some moments. It's very emotional and deep, honestly the best story I've ever heard.

Anne Frank's Diary- Review

   I finally finished Anne Frank's diary. It was very wonderful, Anne was an amazing writer. She was only 16 when she died in the Holocaust, and she wrote the diary while she was 13, 14, and 15. Her last entry is definitely one of the best entries. The whole diary is deep and meaningful. There is definitely some "girls only" content and romantic situations.
All in all I'm glad I read it and I'll read again sometime because it's that kind of book. :)
I'm now currently re-reading a book in the Alice series that was the first prequel. Starting With Alice takes place when Alice was 8 years old, and it's hilarious.

Update

So, after I read the Yours, Anne book I couldn't help but want to read her actual diary! The version I have is the most recent translation, plus it's the full version, everything Anne Frank wrote is there. In the first version her father Otto Frank had edited out some things she wrote, but this one hasn't edited out anything.

So far, it's really good. Anne Frank is a beautiful writer. :)

Yours, Anne: Review

     Yours, Anne (by Lois Metzger)  was a great non-fiction book. It was all about Anne Frank's life, even before she starting keeping a diary. Although it was non-fiction, I was very intrigued. It made me want to read her whole diary. My mom bought me her whole diary, the unedited version! That means it's the exact same text that she wrote, except obviously translated to English. Thanks, Mom!
   I'd recommend this book to anyone who likes non-fiction or is interested in Anne frank.

"The Truth About Forever": Sarah Dessen- Review

        The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen was a really great book. I already wrote an update about it when I was almost done with it, and that pretty much covers the summary part. All in all, this book was inspirational, romantic, sweet, kind of sad, and fun to read. Although it was a bit slow moving I still really enjoyed it. I suggest this book to people who like reading about girls trying to become more confident and going through self-discovery.

"The Truth About Forever": Sarah Dessen- Update

     I haven't finished it yet, currently I'm about over halfway through it. So far, the story is sweet and sad. The girl, Macy, lost her father from a terrible accident with a car and she feels it is somehow her fault. Her boyfriend Jason went to Brain Camp for the summer and she is supposed to take over his job int he library at the info desk while he's gone. Meanwhile, she meets the Wish Catering people, including some teens her own age who work there. One of them, Wes, has also lost a parent. Macy ends up telling him more than she ever expected to tell anyone, including her mom. She also learns a lot about him through a game of Truth, where the one rule is that you have to tell the truth.
      Although the characters and the plot are easy to relate to and realistic in a unique way, The Truth About Forever might be a little bit slow moving and dry for some tastes. The book is almost 400 pages long. I don't usually mind slow-going books, but probably other people might have some issues with the speed of this book.