Other Blog

I have another blog that's my own random fun stuff blog. Check it out if you want:
Expressionz123 - Express Yourself!

New Books!

I just got two new books.
They're completely different!

Before I Fall - Lauren Oliver
A girl who has the perfect life keeps reliving her last day.

The Kidnapping of Christina Lattimore - Joan Lowery Nixon
A mystery about a girl who gets kidnapped.

Update - Posting

Sorry I haven't updated in a while!
I am currently reading Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals for my 8th grade English class.
So far, it's very good and well-written.
Other books I have read recently that I recommend:
In A Heartbeat by Loretta Ellsworth
Total Constant Order by Crissa Jean Chappel

I'll update more soon!

Total Constant Order - Review

Total Constant Order by Crissa-Jean Chappell is a realistic fiction novel about a girl suffering from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, also known as OCD. OCD is a disorder where the person performs meaningless, repetitive actions in order to reduce obsessive thoughts and fears. Fin is a ninth-grade girl who has this disorder. Her parents got a divorce and she moved to Florida with her mother. She feels distant and lonely, and wishes she could belong. She is obsessed with washing her hands and counting. She feels like everything has to be even. When she walks from her room to the bathroom, for example, she needs to take exactly twenty-two steps or else she feels like something is wrong. She doesn’t have any friends and feels trapped in her numerical world until she meets Thayer.

            In this book, Fin meets Thayer, who suffers from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, also known as ADHD. Thayer is addicted to the medicine he takes for his disorder, and he feels trapped and different too. They become friends and help each other out. Fin starts seeing a therapist who prescribes a medicine for her, too. Fin takes the medicine, hoping it will help, but it only makes her feel more messed up and sick. Fin wishes she could be closer to her mother and stop counting. Thayer makes her feel so much happier and less lonely. But when Fin is placed in an unexpected position, she knows she has to decide if she should let the numbers go.

            I liked this book because it was very realistic. I didn’t know a lot about OCD before, but after reading Total Constant Order I learned a lot about it. The plot was very well planned out and kept you turning pages. The main character, Fin, did a lot of things that weren’t expected but you were always on her side. The author’s style of writing is very adventurous and not too fast or too slow. I really enjoyed this book.

          I recommend Total Constant Order to middle school age kids and up. This book is great, but some of the themes and language isn’t appropriate for people under age ten. This book is a moderate read. I really think this is a great book to read if you want to learn more about OCD or if you like realistic fiction novels.

 

In A Heartbeat - Review

I read this book a while ago and had a review written, I just never got to post it. Here it is:

In A Heartbeat by Loretta Ellsworth is a realistic fiction book. I would suggest this book for girls middle school age. It is about two girls – one is having a heart transplant and the other is the donor. Amelia, who had the transplant, feels like she is not herself after getting the operation. She feels like someone else and starts having memories that are not her own. Eagan died in a figure skating accident. She was signed up on her driver’s license as an organ donor, and her heart now belongs to Amelia. Amelia is trying to understand the new changes in her life, while Eagan is trapped in a strange “heaven” as she relives her memories.

            I recommend this book to anyone who is interesting in learning something new and at the same time enjoying an astounding story. This book is told in two voices, switching between Amelia and Eagan through chapters. After reading this book, I knew a lot more about heart transplants, organ donors, and life in general. This book is a touching story of two girls and one heart.

"If I Stay" and "Where she Went" Review

If I Stay
If I Stay, a book by Gayle Forman, is a really amazing book. It is sad, happy, suspenseful, and fast at the same time. In it, a girl named Mia has the "perfect life" (boyfriend, awesome family, bright musical future) but then is put into a terrible disaster. She is in a car accident and when she wakes up she soon realizes that she is not herself. She is stuck in a state of half-alive. The real her is badly injured. When she finds out that the rest of her family died- she is stuck with the most difficult decision of all... should she stay, or is life not worth living anymore?
I loved this book because it was so deep. You start out seeing a girl's perfect life, and then get dragged in deeper to see what happens when that all flips around. It feels like you're really right there in the book, part of the strong threads that bind together this masterpiece. I suggest this book to all teens.
Where She Went
Where She Went, the sequel to If I Stay, is also an amazing book. This one is narrated by Mia's
ex-boyfriend, Adam. Adam has become a celebrity because of his band but is heartbroken inside because of Mia's breakup. They run into each other in New York City and their stories are told.
This one was, in my opinion, actually a little better than If I Stay. It's a strong, powerful story and I love how in between chapters it flashes back to the past about things that happened. It's also sort of sad, the author strongly expresses the emotions of hurt and heartbreak.

Definitely a must read book and sequel!!!!!

Wintergirls - Review

  I read Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson. In it, a teenager named Lia is anorexic. Her friend's death, her dad's new wife, and many more things keep her life difficult. She is haunted by her friend's memory and depressed. Her eating disorder is severe and everyone thinks it's gone too far. This is a difficult to read story about Lia's journey to recovery.
  This book is well written and the characters are strong. It's very intense and and fast paced. I'd rate this as PG-13 at the least. It's powerful in the same way Anderson's book Speak is: real emotions, true to the characters, and although depressing plots, in the end: a good story.