Book Blogger Recommendation Challenge 2010

Another challenge! I'm going to be reading off a huge list of the top 25 most recommended-on-blogger books... I'm only joining at Level I, though, meaning I read five books. Since I'm picking off a list, I can put what I am going to read. So the books below are the five I am PLANNING to read, not the ones I may end up reading. THAT list will be posted at the very bottom later on.
Go here for more info on the challenge, and the signup page... http://readingwithtequila.blogspot.com/2009/11/2010-book-blogger-recommendation.html

LIST TO BE READ:

1. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
2. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
3. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
4. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
5. 11 Minutes by Paulo Coelho

LIST OF BOOKS THAT HAVE BEEN READ:

1. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
   

What's In A Name? 3 Challenge (2010)

This is a challenge I can't wait to start on! It's so creative and so specific... I'm gonna have to hunt for the books I need to fill the requirements. Should be fun! Here are the requirements, I'll post what I use for each when I figure it out.

1. A book with a food in the title: Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
   
2. A book with a body of water in the title:
   
3. A book with a title in the title: The Princess Bride by William Goldman
4. A book with a plant in the title:
5. A book with a place name in the title: School's Out-- Forever by James Patterson
6. A book with a music term in the title:

You can go here for the signup page!

http://whatsinname3.blogspot.com/2009/11/welcome-to-challenge.html

Jumping Off Swings

Jumping Off Swings is a relatively short book written by Jo Knowles. Despite its shortness, however, it was an intriguing read, the story of how one teen pregnancy can bring these four people and their families together. And by four people, I mean the four narrators that the author switches between to tell the story. I'll list 'em and their basic info, and you'll see how they all tie in.

Ellie- the girl who gets pregnant at a party. Sure, she's slept around a bit in her life with a few different guys, but this time she has the lasting result of it. She doesn't know how she's going to deal with it, especially because she feels like nobody loves her. That's how she wound up in the situation in the first place.
Caleb- the boy who has loved Ellie like a sister since third grade. He doesn't think he loves her than any more than that, though, and when he finds out about Ellie's predicament her does the best he can to help. His mother, Liz, is also a key part in this story, helping Ellie through her pregnancy every step of the way.
Corinne- Ellie's best friend who has been there for her since they were little. She's never has quite as much experience as Ellie so she's a bit naive and has trouble undertsanding Ellie sometimes, but her sister had an abortion so she's good at planning out what needs to be done for Ellie. She also starts to see how nice Caleb is, and thinks there may be some sparks there, but she feels guilty for being in love when her best friend feels so alone and desolate.
Josh- lastly, the father of the baby. He slept with Ellie at the party and now she's pregnant. He's even more hurt because she didn't want to tell him, she didn't want him involved in any way. Somehow, though, he feels he has to see his baby before they give it up when it's born. Josh is also dealing with an alcoholic father and a mother who is never home. Then he finds out something that changes his life, that makes it seem like history is repeating.

Four teens, one hopeful story. And one love story.
It was interesting how the story played out with so many different perspectives in the book, but it was well-written and it was good it was the length it was; it made it a perfectly sized quick read with a really touching story. And there's a hopeful message to be read out of this book, but you'll have to find it for yourself.
The other cool thing in this book was how these kids are all dealing with adult problems like pregnancy and alcoholism, but every time things get tough they do something completely childish that people really need to do more often to rediscover the magic in life. Like they'll make snow angels or even *hint hint* jump off swings, just to feel like a kid that has hope for the future again. It made the book really sincere and it was a neat, nostalgic effect because we all remember those days, back when you could lose yourself on a playground and swing life away.
Now I gotta give this book back to Holly; it's hers and she hasn't read it yet, I'm so disappointed in her for missing this great book! ♠♠♠♠

CHOSEN

Things just keep getting more and more complicated in Chosen, the third book in the House of Night series by P. C. and Kristin Cast. (As you can see, I'm slowly becoming obsessed with this series, I'm zooming through them!)
Anyway, Zoey is having a lot of BOY TROUBLES in this book (that's right, smell the drama coming). First there's her vampyre boyfriend Erik (and don't think this is Twilight, because Zoey's a vampyre too) and she likes him A LOT and they have a lot in common, physically and emotionally. *hint hint!* Then there's Heath, Zoey's exboyfriend from when she was human. The thing is, she drank his blood so now they're Imprinted, meaning they have a special bond that makes sucking his blood almost a religious experience for Zoey, that's how good it is. So she can't exactly cut ties with him either, even though she wants to. Lastly there's Loren (gay first name, huh?) Blake, the poet/part-time professor living at the House of Night school. He seems to have a thing for Zoey too, only he's much older and much more experienced, and there's something almost dangerous about him.
Zoey is also trying to help her undead friend Stevie Rae, who died as a vampyre but is now alive again only she's lost her humanity. It seems to be an impossible task to hide Stevie Rae and keep her alive with what little sanity she has left.
Meanwhile she's keeping her whole three-timing guys thing and the Stevie Rae thing secret from her boyfriend Erik and her best friends: Erin, Shaunee, and Damien (plus Damien's new boyfriend, Jack). That's a lot of pressure for one fledgling vampyre, and sooner or later she will crack.
The suspense was definitely upkept in this book, and it was still told in a perfect teen voice from Zoey's point of view. She takes everything with sarcasm and even when there's dangerous situations she still retains her personality, so yes, the book was good. And aside from all the deep character development stuff that I love, the plot is just plain GREAT. There are also some good romantic vampyre scenes in here, for those who are interested. Just a warning. ♠♠♠♠

Toads, Beetles, and Bats.

That is a quote from this book, The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt. Actually, it's a quote from Shakespeare, but that works into this book. Let me explain.
Holling Hoodhood (WEIRDEST. NAME. EVER.) is in seventh grade and his teacher hates him. How is he going to survive Mrs. Baker? Plus his dad really wants him to live up to his high expectations and he just doesn't see how he can. And on top of all this Mrs. Baker is making him read Shakespeare outside of class and they discuss what he reads afterwards. So Holling works his way through The Tempest, Romeo and Juliet, and other plays and overall, it sort of betters his understanding of humanity.
Bigger picture: This is Long Island, 1967. There's a lot of change going on outside of Holling's small world, like atomic bombs, the protests against racism, the war in Vietnam, and maybe even the mysteries of girls.
With Mrs. Baker's help, Holling discovers more about ideals and people and just plain living than he ever thought he would in seventh grade.
I especially love the way this book is written; first person from Holling's point of view. It makes it good because while he's describing his horrible teacher or how he acted in certain situations, you can tell when he's exaggerating or lying which gives Holling the childish quality we expect from him in the beginning. I also love Mrs. Baker, because she helps Holling without letting him know she's doing it and she's fine with being the hated teacher as long as Holling learns. She also has a few tricks up her sleeve that make her all the more intriguing of a character.
Good story, quick read. I'm glad I picked this up on a whim out of the school library. ♠♠♠♠

Oh Yeah, Neferet? SO Not Dumbledore.

I am referring to my post on Marked, the first book in the House of Night series by P. C. and Kristin Cast (Betrayed happens to be the second). I said there were a lot of similarities between the Harry Potter series and this vampyre series. Which there are...
... So it makes sense that Neferet, Zoey's supposed mentor and headmaster of the House of Night vampire school which Zoey attends since she is now on her way to becoming a full-fledged vampyre, would be the Dumbledore to Zoey's Harry Potter, right?
WRONG. In Betrayed, we see how there is seriously something wrong with Neferet. She has some strange connection to the vampire-zombie things that have been roaming around. And by vampire-zombies, I mean vampyre fledglings who were witnessed to have died and are now back, roaming around with major redeye. Really creepy; they actually scare me. So Zoey is trying to figure out this conundrum, but she's also got a lot more on her plate: she's the new leader of the Dark Daughters, her school's equivalent to student council, she's cheating on her vampyre boyfriend Erik who is away with her human exboyfriend Heath, and her friends have discovered THEY have powers too, and each friend has a power tied to a specific element. Things just keep getting stranger and stranger at the House of Night, don't they?
I love how Zoey makes some unexpected allies throughout this book, while she also has to cut ties with those she KNOWS are bad for her. Like she starts to take advice from her ex-mortal-enemy, Aphrodite (yeah, remember her? The meanie popular prat?) and she also forms bonds with a human detective from the police force investigating mysterious disappearances...
Things just get better and more suspenseful through this series, I love the twists and turns. And yes, some plot twists I could see coming, but others, such as the whole Heath plotline, were totally unexpected. And while Zoey deals with normal teenage problems, she also has zany crises like how to deal with the fact she longs to drink her human boyfriend's blood and he actually wants her to.
All in all, a great book and I'm so looking forward to reading the rest of this series. I gotta see what Zoey does next. ♠♠♠♠♠

101 Fantasy Reading Challenge 2010

This reading challenge looks good, I haven't read good fantasy for a while. You get to choose your own number of books, so I'm going to choose to do five. I'll look over the list later, but here's where the rules can be found. http://www.abibliophile.com/?p=1735

Awesome Author Challenge 2010

More challenges! This one started here: http://athomewithbooks.blogspot.com/2009/10/awesome-author-challenge-2010.html

All I have to do is pick three authors that are supposed to be great and that I've never read anything by before and then read at least one title from each author. Now I just gotta think of authors I haven't read anything from before... I'm thinking Danielle Steel and Ira Levine for starters.

1. Danielle Steel: Malice

Young Adult Reading Challenge 2010

http://alainereading.blogspot.com/2009/11/2010-ya-reading-challenge.html
Guidelines are above! Basically it's the same challenge I joined in 2009 for the most part, and I joined at the level of Mini again, meaning I read 12 books. This is SO going to cross over with the library challenge, which is great.

Suspense and Thriller Challenge 2010

This one looks cool, I love suspense and thriller! And because so many books these days are suspenseful and/or thrilling, there's practically an endless variety to choose from. And twelve books will be fun and help me suspensefully and thrillingly expand my reading horizons. Basically it's 12 books in one year, for any other guidelines just follow the link.
http://www.bookchickcity.com/2009/05/thriller-suspense-challenge-2010_01.html
The list will come as I read.

1. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger (ghost/twin/plain out haunting thriller)

Support Your Local Library Reading Challenge 2010

It's not 2010 yet, but I'm getting a headstart on signing up for challenges! This one should be easy since I'm joining at Mini level... I only have to read 25 local library books. That's like two loads from the library, easy enough.
For the challenge signup page, here's the link... http://j-kaye-book-blog.blogspot.com/2009/11/2010-support-your-local-library-reading.html
There ya go, my list will be posted here later on when I get said library books from said library.
Update: all my library books are listed on 100+ reading challenge. Needless to say, it's WAY more than 25.

CHALLENGE COMPLETED

100+ Reading Challenge 2010

Yep, I'm doing this challenge again! It's not 2010 quite yet, but when I start finishing books in 2010 this is where the list will be posted. Go here for the challenge page to sign up: http://j-kaye-book-blog.blogspot.com/2009/11/new-2010-reading-challenge-100-reading.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+JKayesBookBlog+%28J.+Kaye%27s+Book+Blog%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

It's the same as last year, a hundred books or more read all in 2010. It's gonna be great.

1. Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
2. Notes From The Dog by Gary Paulsen
3. Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
4. The Wastelands by Stephen King
5. Disney at Dawn by Ridley Pearson
6. Skullduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy
7. Animal Farm by George Orwell
8. The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
9. Princess Academy by Shannon Hale
10. Just After Sunset by Stephen King
11. Don't Eat This Book by Morgan Spurlock
12. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
13. Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
14. Losers by Matthue Roth
15. Things You Either Hate or Love by Brigid Lowry
16. Bounce by Natasha Friend
17. Invisible Threads by Annie Dalton
18. Carpe Diem by Autumn Cornwell
19. The Shining by Stephen King
20. Margaux with an X by Ron Koertge
21. Beating Heart: A Ghost Story by A. M. Jenkins
22. Repossessed by A. M. Jenkins
23. Dramarama by E. Lockhart
24. Wizard's Holiday by Diane Duane
25. Heir Apparent by Vivian Vande Valde
26. The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
27. Amanda Miranda by Richard Peck
28. Teen, Inc. by Stefan Petrucha
29. Dairy Queen by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
30. Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell
31. Once Upon a Day by Lisa Tucker
32. Don't Cramp my Style by Lisa Rowe Fraustino
33. Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson
34. Totally Joe by James Howe
35. Please Don't Kill the Freshman by Zoe Thorpe
    
36. Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz
37. Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks
38. Fly on the Wall by E. Lockhart
39. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
40. Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
41. Letting Go of Bobby James, or How I Found My Self of Steam by Valerie Hobbs
42. Glass by Ellen Hopkins
43. Crank by Ellen Hopkins
44. Dingo by Charles deLint
45. What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell
46. So Yesterday by Scott Westerfield
47. Impossible by Nancy Werlin
48. When Zachary Beaver Came to Town by Kimberly Willis Holt
49. The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
50. Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
51. Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce
52. Harry Potter y la Piedra de Filosofal (HP#1 in Spanish) by J. K. Rowling
53. City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
54. City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
55. City of Glass by Cassandra Clare
56. City of Masks by Mary Hoffman
57. City of Stars by Mary Hoffman
58. Right Behind You by Gail Giles
59. Here Lies the Librarian by Richard Peck
60. Crunch Time by Mariah Fredericks
61. Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan
62. Vote for Larry by Janet Tashjian
63. The Gospel According to Larry by Janet Tashjian
64. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
65. Queen of Babble Gets Hitched by Meg Cabot
66. Every Boy's Got One by Meg Cabot
67. Queen of Babble in the Big City by Meg Cabot
68. The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle by Avi
69. Frostbite by Richelle Mead
70. The Box and Other Stories by Richard Matheson
71. Under The Dome by Stephen King
72. Losing Forever by Gayle Friesen
73. For Now by Gayle Friesen
74. Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
75. Nicola and the Viscount by Meg Cabot
76. Runaway by Meg Cabot
77. Being Nikki by Meg Cabot
78. Happy Face by Stephen Emond
    

Heroes in Greek Mythology

This was a random book I checked out from the school library because we're reading The Odyssey in English and I'm going through a Greek mythology phase right now, I guess.
But this book turned out to be a bit less informative than I hoped, because it had only about six or seven different tales; there are thousands more I want to read!
I think basically Karen Bornemann Spies wrote this book as an easy-learning book for elementary school kids, too, because at the end of every chapter there are comprehensive questions. But then at the beginning of each myth there's a long introduction about where this story originated in mythology, so it sends of mixed signals about who this book is for: mythology analysts or fourth grade nosepickers?
I'm a bit confused. Still, the book has some good information and it was short and the print was large. ♠♠

The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening

As you can tell, I've been keeping up with my vampire reading. In fact, that's actually my plan: start a bunch of new vampire series just so I know what the heck my friends are talking about at lunch.
No, I'm not watching the TV series of this book series because I heard they're nothing alike and I really only want the book version. But everyone else I know watches it, and at least now I know who they're talking about when they go "OMG STEFAN'S SO HOT!!!"
*ahem* Anyway, The Awakening starts off with Elena's(the main character) diary entry, where she admits to feeling like something bad will happen soon. In fact, anything but happens: she meets Stefan at school that day, the handsome stranger who ignores Elena, even though she's pretty much queen of the school. Sounds like Edward and Bella reversed, huh? Slowly Elena and Stefan begin to bond, though... actually it happens more a quick transition from "I-hate-your-guts" to "I-can't-stop-kissing-you."
Then Stefan reveals that he knew someone like Elena a long time in his past, named Katherine, and that she turned him and his brother Damon into vampires in Renaissance Italy because she loved them both too much to live without them. Then she killed herself because she couldn't bear to cause strife between them.
So now Damon and Stefan hate each other's guts. And Elena, the human, seems to be in love with them both, which is a major deja vu.
But the real question is, who is attacking people in the cemetery late at night, leaving bloody ruins?
After reading Marked, this book was a bit of a downfall and a slightly cliche vampire story, like the many that are now out there thanks to Twilight. (GOD I NEED TO SEE NEW MOON SOON!) Still, this series is cool in the way how the whole story is taking place around a time paradox so far, and I can't figure out: How will Elena avoid making Katherine's mistakes? ♠♠♠♠
I also apologize for having the TV series picture substitute as a cover pic; this picture looks exactly like my book except mine says The Awakening below the title. I couldn't find that pic on google and I'm too lazy to take my own. =)

Vampyre with a Y?

That's pretty much what I thought when I started reading this book. It was like when I started reading the Sweep series and learned they spelled "magic" with a "k" so it was "magick". Funny thing, the English language.
Marked by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast is a vampyre book. And yes, it has a Y. I I can get over it, you can too. It starts off with a teenage girl named Zoey walking down the hallway of her school and realizing there's an undead vampyre standing by her locker. Weird beginning, especially with all the connotations of vampires we have thanks to Twilight and Dracula, right? Especially because we expect that vampyres keep absolute secrecy in all cultures. But WRONG. Vampyres are easy to identify by the marks on their forehead in this world, and that's what happens:
You get Marked. Basically a Tracker vampire (NOT JAMES) comes when you're a teenager and marks you. Then you're left with the condition known as vampyrism, which means you start turning into a vampyre or your body rejects the change and you die. So there's a chance you could go either way, which is kind of scary.
One way to better your odds, though, is to go to the House of Night school, of which there are many worldwide. This is what Zoey does, because she really has nowhere else to go; her parents pretty much tossed her out and although her Cherokee grandmother is ultrasupportive she feels she belongs at the House of Night.
But foul things are happening there, especially Zoey discovers Aphrodite, your typical bully/popular girl has it out for her. Zoey gets sucked into this cultlike thing called the Dark Daughters and finds out she has strong, unheard-of-for-a-kid-vampyre powers tied to all five elements: earth, wind, fire, water, and spirit. She's also seeing ghosts and extremely addicted to human blood, which shouldn't be happening because that symptom comes later in the process of the Change.
So Zoey is special. Nothing too hard to deal with, right?
There were also a lot of similarities between this and one of my other favorite series, Harry Potter. Look at this...

House of Night=Hogwarts. Kids that develop a special difference that sets them apart from others go here to develop that difference and embrace it.
Zoey=Harry Potter. She has incredible powers that are unheard of, just like how Harry surviving that death curse was unheard of, huh?
Zoey's parents=Dursleys. They throw her out because she's a vampyre now; how much more Dursleyish could you get?
Nala the cat=Hedwig. She attaches herself to Zoey, like when Hedwig and Harry form that special bond.
Aphrodite=Draco Malfoy. She's even got the pale blonde hair, along with the evil.

But unlike some instances when similarities to another series make a book worse, this just made them better. And it's a completely different take on vampyrism which I totally love. In conclusion, the House of Night series is pretty much a Harry Potter story written on Twilight characters by a Meg Cabot-type author. In short, everything I love about reading in general. I haven't found a good series like this in a long time, and despite all the similarities I have found, it is still VERY original and should be another vampyre favorite sooner or later. ♠♠♠♠♠

GLBT Challenge 2010

So I'm joining this challenge for 2010...
Sounds pretty interesting, thought it would be good for expanding my reading horizons. I'm only joining at Lambda Level, meaning I have to read four GLBT books by December 31st, 2010. I have so much other stuff going on I figured I don't need a whole new MEGACHALLENGE but I'm gonna do this one next year, so yay!
For challenge information, go to: http://glbt-reading.blogspot.com/2009/11/glbt-challenge-2010.html
My reading list will be posted below as I come up with it.

Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
Totally Joe by James Howe

Yet Another Sue Grafton Mystery

I gotta say, these are starting to bore me a bit. I just finished K Is For Killer, which is the 11th in her A-Z mystery series, and it didn't quite thrill me.
It's kind of a weird case; this girl named Lorna drops dead in her home and her mother thinks she was murdered so she hires detective Kinsey Millhone to prove it and find the killer. It turns out Lorna was a prostitute on top of her normal job and her sisters knew about it, as did everyone else in Lorna's life besides her ignorant parents. And basically a few people are guilty of committing a few crimes again Lorna because of their dislike for her.
It wasn't exactly the most exciting mystery I have ever read. In fact, it wasn't even exciting for a Sue Grafton mystery. Although this could be due to the fact that I started this book before reading New Moon and finished it after, so I lost pace a bit, but still. I just kept getting confused and in the end I can say this: I know who did it, I just don't know exactly why, and what's more, I don't think it matters. But yes, they did find the killer, and HE GETS AWAY/GETS KILLED BY THESE MAFIA PEOPLE, whatever you want to believe. I'm leaning toward the HE GETS KILLED BE THESE MAFIA PEOPLE option.
Still, the storyline was pretty good until I started getting bored and lost in the plot, and I guess it's pretty enjoyable if you like mystery more than I do. This book will never EVER live up to S is for Silence, though. And plus, they hardly spend any time in Rosie's place, which sucks because she rocks!♠♠♠

A Good Speed-Reread

I just reread New Moon by Stephenie Meyer in preparation for the trivia contest I'm entering at school tomorrow to get my ticket for the party in the library on Thursday. I forgot how much I honestly loved the series; sometimes when the hype gets too big I tell myself it's not as good as when there was only Twilight and it was a single book with a good love story, but then I reread New Moon and realize HOW COULD I LIVE WITHOUT JACOB BLACK??? I love him!!! I'm sad to say I'm leaning away from Team Switzerland at the moment towards team Jacob. Actually, I'm starting a new team: TEAM MIKE!
For those out there who truly, honestly, do not know the plot (people who live in boxes or under rocks or in dumpsters) here's a brief one... I've described this book in so many y!a answers that I'm a bit sick of it.
Bella and Edward's relationship is going strong when she gets a papercut and Jasper almost eats her on accident. This convinces Edward he needs to leave for Bella's own good, so he does, and he was WRONG; Bella goes into a downward spiral until she is lifeless, barely a person anymore. She slowly starts to wake up as she starts fixing up old motorcycles with her buddy down at the Quiluete reservation, Jacob. (Why's she fixing up the cycles? Because when she does reckless things she hears Edward's voice.) But suddenly Jacob starts acting weird after a mysterious fever. Bella finally confronts him and discovers he and a few of his buddies are now WEREWOLVES; and they're designed to kill vampires. Why the sudden transformation: VICTORIA (from Twilight, the redhead vampire) is back on the hunt, and she wants Bella because Edward killed her mate, James. Now the werewolves are keeping Bella safe.
And that's not all: after a HUGE misunderstanding, Edward ends up thinking Bella committed suicide and he tries to kill himself. Then it's a race against time as Bella travels halfway around the world to stop him so they can be together again.
And lastly, Bella has the best epiphany of ALL TIME. Unfortunately I cannot put it here because of copyright stuff. I wish I could though, because it's amazing.
All in all, great reread. Not the best reread ever, I mean it didn't make me cry like The Deathly Hallows, but I honestly think New Moon is my favorite out of the whole series which is weird because most people HATE New Moon seeing how Edward's gone for most of it. But I like it because it introduces Jacob and we get to see more of the Quileute side of Forks, and how Bella can't live with vampires AND werewolves, but she can't live without them both, either. ♠♠♠♠

The Firm by John Grisham

Wow, long book. I started this book last month before my birthday and I finished it after I finished all my library books, so it's been over a month of me reading this dang book! That made it hard to pick it back up again because I forgot all the main characters, so let's recap:
Mitch McDeere is fresh out of law school and still needs to take the bar exam, so he's lucky to get signed on to this huge, well-known law firm in Memphis. Everything seems to be perfect; he passed the bar exam with flying colors, he's got a new car and a big house and even a dog to complete the family picture; he and his wife Abby are even planning on starting a family there. Sure, Mitch has to work long hours at the firm and he has a crapload of work, but it's worth it.
But then everything falls apart. The FBI contacts Mitch and tells him that the firm he's working for is a coverup so the Mafia doesn't have to do their taxes. And if Mitch can get the dirty files to the FBI, they can indict every major player in the Mafia game. But Mitch has discovered that the firm isn't that easy to deceive... they've been bugging his home, following him, and doing everything to keep him in control.
And then there's Mitch's brother in jail, too, who also plays a key role later in the book.
So that's the basic plotline, read for yourself to see if he can pull it off. I gotta say, there are a few things I don't like in general about John Grisham books.
a) They all seem to be about the Mafia.
b) The major action only happens in the last hundred pages or so.
c) There are way too many characters sometimes, and it's hard to figure out who's cop, who's lawyer, who's Mafia, who's victim, and who's random hobo.
But yeah, I still like The Client more. ♠♠

MEG CABOT HAS BEEN REINCARNATED! *Mastercard!*

Yes, into the form of young adult author Michele Jaffe. The two authors are actually pretty good friends, too, which explains why their writing styles are so similar. Which, in turn, explains why I loved Jaffe's book, Bad Kitty.
The whole cat+mystery thing totally suggests Pink Panther, but it's so NOT. Meet Jas, short for Jasmine, who straight-off-the-bat admits she has no superpower. Except maybe that cats like her, which explains how she got into the mess that she's in.
Because while Jas and her family were on vacation, her cat superpower just decided to send out a signal or a beacon or something, so while Jas was sitting by the pool in a cute bikini, an angry cat pounced onto her chest. Next thing she knew, this Terminator-esque dude with a gun wearing nothing but a Speedo comes up and asks for the cat back. This is followed by a little kid who tells Jas to RUN, OTHERWISE THE CAT'S IN TROUBLE! Jas runs away from that pool area into the next one (because, you know, resorts in Vegas have a few pools, usually) where a wedding happens to be taking place. Jas finds herself knocking the five-tiered wedding cake and the bride into the pool. And the groom didn't even jump in and try to play off the situation!
Okay, right here in the book was where I started to crack up. I mean, come on, that situation is ridiculously funny. Especially when you read about it in the book.
Next Jas is taken to a holding cell in resort security, where she finds out she's off the hook; because the parent of that boy whose cat she rescued? She's a famous model and she wants to thank Jas for saving the cat.
Another aspect of this book is that Jas is doing a project for her English class, where she keeps a journal of all the "little life lessons" she learns over the summer. So this is what she got out of this situation...

"Little Life Lesson 2: A good way to ensure you will never have a boyfriend is to have a large armed man with an uncertain grasp of English heckle you in public.
Little Life Lesson 3: If for some reason the guy might still be interested, following up by having your father rush over right afterward screaming, 'Jasmine, you know you are not allowed to talk to strangers!' as though you were six will nip it in the bud. Oh, and it helps if your father is wearing a safari suit. With shorts. And knee socks. Because this is his idea of what you wear in the desert."
(pg. 15)

See that? I was laughing by page 15, and I don't laugh easily, usually. (Although I did cry reading the last Harry Potter book...) And you can also see how similar this author is to Meg Cabot. They have the same quirks, and same superpower of being able to write from the point of view of a bubbly, sarcastic, quirky teenager.
So yeah, back to the summary.
After she gets out of jail, Jas' father tells her no more getting involved in other people's business. So, of course, like any other normal teen, she goes out clubbing with her bratty cousin and her bratty cousin's airheaded friend. This starts a whirlwind of a mystery that Jas can't help but get involved in, no matter what her father, The Thwarter, says. In fact, Jas gets her friends on her side; they drive down to help her. So Jas, her prissy best friend Polly, her random, zany friend Roxy, and Roxy's cute, totally-meant-for-Polly brother Tom, and her bratty cousin+bratty cousin's friend all go out to solve the big mystery: who is threatening the model, why didn't she make a fuss about the Bad Kitty incident?
And halfway through the book we come to this point:

"Four things were immediately clear to me:
1. I was going to die of embarrassment.
2. After I did that, I was going to have to find Polly and kill her for making my dress so short.
3. Twice.
4. I was never buying Muppet underwear again."
(pg. 161)

Yeah, now you gotta read, because you have to see what situation Jas could have possibly gotten herself into involving a short dress and Muppet underwear. YOU'D BE SURPRISED.
The other cool part is how in the footnotes of this story (yes, another great book with footnotes, I love it!) Jas, Polly, Roxy, Tom, and occasionally said bratty cousin's best friend all converse about the book. You wouldn't believe how lifelike the characters get, the argue just like Cara and I argue, or Melissa and Holly and me or something.
This book is SO Mastercard for Cabot friends. (Mastercard=priceless.) I must read more by Michele Jaffe, I hear she has adult mystery novels too... ♠♠♠♠♠

Beauty Shop For Rent-- Fully Equipped, Inquire Within

This is actually the title of the book. Pretty interesting, huh? That's what made me check it out from the library.
This book is about Abbey, who lives with her great-grandma Po in their house/beauty parlor. The beauty parlor is old and has seen better days, but it's the cherished meeting place of Granny Po's friends, called the Gray Widows because all of them have gray hair and dead husbands. The thing is, Granny Po needs money, so they have to rent out the beauty parlor. This is when Gena enters the picture. She loves the beauty parlor and promises to keep it mostly the same with some minor renovations. She also gives most of the Widows jobs that help them discover their passions in life again, which wins over Granny Po. Slowly Gena helps these grumpy old ladies become enthusiastic individuals again.
But that's just the major overview; Abbey's got tons more in this book. You see, Abbey's plan is to be a millionaire by age 35, and she's got an investment plan and everything. Already she has over 7 grand, and she's barely fifteen. But why is she doing this? Because every other woman in her family (her grumpy granny, her suicidal grandmother, and her deadbeat, clinically depressed mother) were failures, and she wants to be the one to break the cycle. But her will is tested when her mother comes around, with promises of a beach house they could own if they had the money (which Abbey has...) and a new life together where everything would be perfect, just the two of them. So Abbey gives her mother her money, and poof! her mother disappears. This starts a whole chain of sad events in this book, the least of which is when Abbey's best friend/crush, Mitch, and she have a fallout.
This book was really good and entertaining, with a unique storyline. I've read stories where teens work hard for something they really want and have to learn to chill a little, but none where the main character works in a beauty shop and has such high hopes for 20 years down the lines.
I especially love stories like this where a main character like Abbey is a really serious teenager and acts totally adult through the whole book, because it seems so backwards but also reminds us all that we all have a little bit of that solemn, responsible person inside of us no matter what age we are. But when Abbey finds that she can chill and have fun, it reminds us we have a bit of that, too. ♠♠♠♠

M or F?

No, this does not stand for male or female but for Marcus or Frannie. Let me try to explain this: this is one of the most confusing romantic comedy novels I have EVER read, but it was GREAT. And normally I don't tell the whole story, only a basic summary that keeps you hanging so the book isn't forever ruined on here, but for this book I will make an exception and tell all because it was so good.
Frannie and Marcus are best friends. Marcus is gay, but they are both looking for love. Marcus tries to help Frannie find her crush online by chatting with him, and his name is Jeffrey. So they chat with him and Frannie goes on a few dates with him and has a great time, although Jeffrey sort of refuses to make a move. Meanwhile Marcus keeps chatting online with Jeffrey pretending to be Frannie WITHOUT FRANNIE KNOWING.
Suddenly Marcus realizes HE likes Jeffrey. A lot. And Frannie finds out about Marcus chatting with Jeffrey and they havre a fight. That's when Frannie starts to think maybe JEFFREY could be gay, and she decides to test this. So she makes hot chocolate, lights a few candles, and puts on a nightie (yes, a NIGHTIE) to impress Jeffrey, only when he comes over and she tries to make a move he barfs practically on her lap, and she realizes he must definitely be gay.
So now Frannie and Marcus are friends again and Frannie is trying to hook Jeffrey up with Marcus. Also, there seems to be a connection going on between Frannie and Jeffrey's best friend Glenn. So Marcus 'accidentally' ditches the movies to leave Glenn and Frannie on their own, and he goes to meet up with Jeffrey and maybe see if he can get up his nerve to tell him how he feels because he thinks Jeffrey's gay.
This is where the MAJOR PLOT TWIST comes in. When Frannie realizes she's being set up with Glenn she tells Glenn this. Glenn's reply? "I'm gay, didn't you know?" And Frannie also figures out that they were wrong about Jeffrey, and that he wasn't gay, just shy. So they rush up to where Jeffrey and Marcus are sitting, right when Marcus is about to put a move on Jeffrey, and Frannie breaks it up!
Now comes the huge surprise: Jeffrey hadn't really been on the chat room, either. Glenn had been chatting for Jeffrey, so basically Glenn and Marcus had been chatting under the names of Jeffrey and Frannie, and they're PERFECT for each other!
Jeffrey and Frannie, however, realize they weren't meant to be, although Jeffrey really liked Frannie. But Frannie does end up with someone... and that's where I leave off.
This book is really confusing at parts, especially because right where you think you know where it's going, you get COMPLETELY turned around and facing the other direction. But it was a good read, and I swear on George's ear that it was laugh-out-loud funny. I was cracking up in the corner of my living room while my family was watching the World Series, and I looked like an idiot. But anyway: ♠♠♠♠

Aimee by Mary Beth Miller

Geez, what a depressing book. You may not get the cover art when you first pick up the book; I know I didn't. But let me just say it has several symbolic meanings, all of which include spoilers, so read the book if you're that curious.
Aimee is actually told from the point of view of Aimee's best friend, whose name remains unknown till the end of the book, practically. We do discover her nickname is JK (which has got to suck) but her name is kept a secret, which I thought was pretty interesting, especially for the author to even think of that.
Anyway this girl who remains unnamed was best friends with Aimee. I say was because Aimee is dead. She committed suicide and this girl is accused of helping her. The book takes place after the trial where she is acquitted, and she's trying to piece her life back together with her shrink and her journal. So slowly we start to see where Aimee went wrong through her best friend's journal. These flashes into the past get very intriguing and disturbing to read as you keep on, just a warning, although they're still good and a bit heartbreaking at parts.
The best friend is also not allowed to talk to any of her old friends from the pre-Aimee-death days, I guess because their parents were afraid she'd "help" kill them too. So this girl becomes friends with a girl at her new school who also has suicidal issues. (Don't the suicidal people always seem to be magnetized towards each other in books?) Her name is Hope, and she has an extremely twisted family life. This girl has to discover what she can do to help and how she failed Aimee, basically.
This book deals with some interesting issues on how humans affect each other. Like, if your friend says they need help when really they needed it a long time ago and you just kept pretending everything was okay and by the time you stopped pretending it was too late. And also how technically you can be trying to help but really just hurting, and sometimes the best thing to do is involve someone else while other times it's simply not needed.
But yes, this book was very depressing-- I mean, look at the subject matter-- but it has some great issues that make you think about what you would do in the situation this girl was in. Or Aimee, for that matter. ♠♠♠