The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson

Shades of London: Book 1

Rory's parents move to England for work and she opts to go to a boarding school in London. After moving there, it seems that someone is reenacting the Jack the Ripper murders and Rory is the only one who can see the murderer.

The concept of Jack the Ripper has eluded people for years. Personally I find it quite interesting. I had taken a trip to London a few years ago and gone on a Jack the Ripper tour. I was familiar with the locations talked about in the book, but for those unfamiliar, the author provided a nice map at the beginning of the book. The concept of shades was very cool and even cooler when it was incorporated with a concept like the Ripper. I definitely cannot wait for more of these books to come out (and while I am not positive there will be another I'm being presumptuous being that this was called Book 1). London is a very haunted city so I'm hoping more books will take place there.

Sweetly by Jackson Pierce

Ansel and Gretchen have had a less than easy life. After the disappearance of Gretchen's twin sister, they had to watch their parents slowly die. They had to live with the guilt of losing their sister, and of knowing about the witch who took her. They finally get away only to end up in a small dead end town. They find residence with Sofia Kelly, the town's chocolatier. But as nice as Sofia is, they know she is harboring a lot of secrets. Secrets that will help them discover what really happened to their sister all those years ago.

I love twists on fairy tales and this was great. Hansel and Gretel has so many interpretations, but this was one I had never heard before. An easy, quick read, but very good.

Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakely-Cartwright

Valerie lives in a town plagued by the Wolf. They sacrifice an animal each month and it leaves there town be, but when the Blood Moon comes back the peace ends. Valerie's sister is killed by the Wolf. Father Solomon, a werewolf hunter, comes to town and points out that the Wolf is someone who lives in town and sets everyone on edge. Valerie doesn't know who the Wolf is, but knows it all started when Peter came back to town. Despite her love for Peter, could he be the Wolf?

This book is based on the movie adaptation of Red Riding Hood that recently came out with Amanda Seyfried. While I enjoyed that movie, reading it was a lot of fun, too. I love reading adaptations of stories I heard as a child. This was a quick read. I read it today. Definitely a fun book.

Stolen by Lucy Christopher

16 year old, Gemma, is kidnapped by Ty, a 21 year old Australian she has never seen before. He drugs her and brings her to his remote home in the Australian desert, but he has no intentions of hurting her. After watching her for 6 years, he only wants her company and hopes she can grow to like him.

The plot sounds creepy, but it was nothing like that. This novel was absolutely beautiful. The story is told as a letter Gemma is writing Ty, after everything. About how she felt and what he put her through. This book won a Printz Honor Award. I cried at the end, I loved it so much! It also never had a dull moment. I read this book today in about 10 hours, I couldn't put it down. Everyone should definitely read this!

1984 by George Orwell

The story takes place in London in 1984. London and the rest of the country have become a negative utopia under the rule of Big Brother. Winston Smith is a member of the Party, but hates Big Brother and everything he stands for. He thinks he is alone in his thoughts until he meets Julia, who also hates the Party and who he falls in love with. Together they decide to try and defy the Party and Big Brother, but they will ultimately pay the price.

A very interesting book. I read it in high school, but decided to reread it. Considering the book was written in the 50's, it would have been very interesting if the world had turned out like this. Yes, the book was a little slow to get into and didn't really pick up until a third of the way through the book, but it's a classic and well worth the read.

So each year, I like to look back and see how many books I read. Unfortunately, I decreased the number of books I read this year. I won't lie, school was all consuming this semester, and I def. didn't read as much this summer as usual. In 2010, I read 24 books. In 2011, I read 15. Big sad face. Anyways, I will work to increase that for 2012. :)

I am still reading! Don't worry. My current book has taken much longer to finish than I intended. With the holidays, I didn't get that much reading done, but I am working on it. It also didn't help that my book is fairly long. Keep a lookout for it on here though! :)

So I'm getting a couple books for Christmas and have added more to my book list, buttt I am gunna change up my type of books a little starting now. Up until now I feel like all I've read are about vampires. Which isn't a bad thing, but the vampire hype is getting old. It's all anyone is writing about anymore. And no I am not a Twilight fan. Anne Rice will always be the original for me. I will continue to read YA books, but more books about relationships and definitely less sci-fi fiction type books. Sorry if I'm disappointing. Just giving a heads up for the coming month. :) Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

I am officially home on break and so excited to read some books! I have a 6 page book list going and I plan on spending my morning at Barnes and Noble tomorrow getting more book titles to add to my list. This is going to be great!

I cannot walk out of a bookstore without a book. I have a problem. I have no business doing any free reading right now nor do I ever have time yet last weekend I bought a new book. I bought 1984 by George Orwell. I read part of it in high school and really liked it and I saw it at the store and one thing led to another and now I own it. It's my next book to read. It'll happen eventually...

Club Dead by Charlaine Harris

Third book in the Sookie Stackhouse (Trueblood) series.

Bill tells Sookie he has been working on a secret project for the queen of Louisiana, but he won't tell her what. When Bill goes missing it's obvious it has to do with his secret project. Sookie finds herself going to Jackson to Club Dead to see if anyone knows where Bill is. When she finally finds out she also finds out that he cheated on her and Sookie is torn what to do. She will of course save him, but will she take him back?

I liked this story because it wasn't so much Sookie and Bill. Bill disappears at the beginning of the book and doesn't come back until the end. The story develops on Eric's character more and we meet a new group of characters from the Jackson area.

Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris

The second book in the Sookie Stackhouse novels.

Sookie Stackhouse continues her adventures with her vampire boyfriend, Bill. An older vampire begins to use Sookie for her telepathy gift and Sookie is kidnapped by a group who helps and encourages vampires to commit suicide.

Apologies on my not-so-exciting summaries. Each book picks up where the last one left off and without reading the previous ones you'd be totally lost. Hence my vagueness.

Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

So I've started to read the Sookie Stackhouse novels or as many of you may now know it, the TrueBlood series. I assure you, the books are less raunchy than the HBO show.

Sookie Stackhouse is a waitress, but unlike other waitresses, she is telepathic. Once she meets Bill the vampire and starts dating him, she learns to embrace her telepathy and her life becomes more supernatural and dangerous as her world mixes with the vampire world.

It started out slow, but it really picked up towards the end. Overall, a good start to the series.

The House of Dead Maids by Clare Dunkle

Tabby is taken from her orphanage and brought to Seldom House to be the maid of a young boy. Seldom House is unusual in that many ghosts haunt it; young maids and masters who have died there. Tabby doesn't understand what they want from her and she thinks they're trying to tell her something. That is until Tabby and the young boy come across the sick workings of Seldom House. After they run away, Tabby reconnects with family and the young boy is taken in with another family.

In the end, the young boy is taken to Wuthering Heights. He will later be the character Heathcliffe in the story of Wuthering Heights.

It was interesting. I have never read Wuthering Heights before, but I know the story line of it. This was an interesting prequel. Definitely a haunting tale, but with a nice ending.

I have not stopped reading! Bear with me. I'm taking a summer class and between that and work I'm not moving through books very quickly. I am still reading one, but I only get through a few pages a day. Expect to see more posts towards the beginning of August! :)

Kiss of Life by Daniel Waters

The second book in the Generation Dead series.

Adam has come back as a zombie and Phoebe feels like she owes it to him to help him become adjusted. He did die for her after all. Meanwhile, Pete Martinsburg is recruited by an anti-zombie group who is trying to make the zombies look dangerous. Now, the zombies are fighting for their lives even though no one will believe them.

This is one of those books where you need to read the first one so I apologize if the summary doesn't make sense. Kiss of Life was awesome just like Generation Dead. I love the concept of the differently biotic teenagers and the zombie movements.

The Cinderella Society by Kay Cassidy

Jess Parker has moved so many times that she's used to not fitting in. At her new school, it's gone to a whole new level. Jess is hated by Lexy, one of the popular kids. It's not until Jess is invited to join the Cinderella Society that she begins to fit in and learn why Lexy hates her so much. Lexy is part of the Cinderella Society's enemies, the Wickeds. The Wickeds seem to be scheming up a plan to take control of all the normal kids around the world. Jess has to help the Cinderella society figure out the Wickeds' plan and to help stop it.

I really liked the book. When I first got it, I thought it was going to all fairytale-like because of the title, but it really wasn't. There's a sequel, The Cinderella Society: Cindy on a Mission, that is now on my list to read. It was a great story about standing up for yourself and for others.

Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann

The small town of Cryer's Cross has the traumatic experience of one of their teenagers going missing. As if that wasn't bad enough, a few months later another teen goes missing. This time it is Kendall's boyfriend, Nico. While neither bodies can be found, Kendall struggles to cope with the loss of Nico and searches for an explanation. Soon enough Kendall finds herself in a similar situation as the missing teens and finds out exactly where they went.

A chilling tale with a total twist ending. I loved it. I wish it were a series :p

The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan

The third book in the Forest of Hands and Teeth series.

Annah has lived by herself for 3 years while she's waited for Elias to return. He finally comes home with another boy named Catcher. Unfortunately, the Unconsecrated are coming to the Dark City in hordes and it is no longer safe. Elias takes them to the Sanctuary where Annah is reunited with her twin sister Gabry. As time goes by, they begin to realize the Sanctuary isn't really as safe as they thought. They devise a plan to get off the island by hot air balloon. All they have to do is fly down the peninsula to an abandoned ship. If only it were that easy...

I think this is one of my all time favorite book series. Carrie Ryan had me hooked as soon as I started the Forest of Hands and Teeth. She really keeps you hooked. Several times I caught myself throughout the book getting upset for the main character and saying "ugh, she can't do that!" I loved it!

The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger

Andy wants more than anything to write. At this point, she doesn't care where. She needs a job. After interviewing at Runway magazine, Andy finds herself as the personal assistant to Miranda Priestly, the demanding editor-in-chief. Miranda is needy, impatient, and demanding and Andy hates her job, but knows if she puts in a year there it will open up many job opportunities for her. Andy stays with the job, until she can't take it anymore. After having a few choice words with Miranda, Andy leaves Runway and goes home. The story ends on a happy note when Andy is hired by Seventeen magazine and meets Loretta, who happened to have also worked at Runway.

I enjoyed the movie so I tried the book. The characters were perfectly portrayed, but I felt that towards the middle of the book I got sort of bored. It was a lot of just Andy complaining and about how she was unhappy. It picked up towards the end of the book though and ended on a high note. Overall, I did enjoy it and if you liked the movie then you'll like this.