Gossip Girl by Cecily Von Ziegesar

Gossip girl

In the book Gossip Girl by Cecily Von Ziegesar she describes the life of ninth graders life in the Upper East Side. Blaire’s mother had just come home from Paris and throws her first party after her divorce. But she brings along her new boyfriend, Cyrus, who Blaire isn’t too happy about. And out of nowhere Serena (Blaire’s best friend) shows up after spending a semester in boarding school! A lot of rumors are going on about why she has returned to Constance (the school they attend).  Once Serena has returned Blaire’s life she knew and loved started to fall apart. She is no longer the prettiest and most popular girl in the school. And she soon begins to loose Nate, her boyfriend, after a huge secret gets out!

I really enjoyed this book. It’s a great story about teens that go through a lot of problems. The weaknesses in this book are that it might be hard to catch the plot in the beginning of the book but as you begin to read more it will become clearer. Also another weakness is that it may not be appropriate for all ages or very religious people. A strength is that it has problems that teens have they go through a lot of drama as do kids today. This book is mostly recommended for people that like a good drama. Most likely not guys, but they can read it too!

Just Like Me, Only Better - Carol Snow

Veronica is a struggling single mom who is trying to make ends meet. Her husband left her, and to make things worse, it was for a younger women who lives the high life as a real estate agent. She tries her best to take care of their son, but with substitute teaching, it isn’t too easy. “‘I’m not who you think I am,’ I old the girl with the blue braces, my voice tight from the force of withheld tears.” Veronica has always known she bears a resemblance to Haley Rush, a Hollywood star with a bit of a reputation. When Haley’s manager finds out about Veronica, he hires her to play a double for Haley. Though Veronica isn’t sure about the job, she can’t turn down the salary, and begins the unsure process of turning herself into the troubled star. Just Like Me, Only Better, is an entertaining and fun book that has quite an interesting plot. The process of Veronica posing as a star was very enjoyable to read, as she jumps through different obstacles to disguise herself. I liked the character Veronica, as she loses her true self to the high life as a star; it makes for a better story. I felt like the book was very relatable, the story line, the fashion and trends, and even the way the text were presented. The book seemed very up to date, the fashion trends, appeared to be the same sort of stuff a celebrity would wear today. The setting definitely made the book more believable. It talks about the “LA scene”, and where everything that’s anything is over there. This book would be perfect for anyone who is attracted to the usual celebrity and tabloid gossip and I assure you once you pick up this book you won’t want to put it down!

The Exchange

“The Exchange” by Graham Joyce is a nail bitter. Every page is a heart pounding back chilling, fist clenching part in the long mysterious story. Late at night, people break into stranger’s homes, not to steal anything, just for the rush. Then things go wrong when Caz gets caught in the act by elderly Mrs. Tranter, and before Caz knows it the woman has snapped a silver bracelet around her wrist. It was more like a handcuff than a piece of jewelry. Caz can’t remove it, no matter what she does, and then it somehow becomes a part of her, sinking into her skin like a tattoo. Weirdest, and worst of all, its given her an unpredictable kind of ESP. She can see into peoples inner lives, weather she wants to or not. She also begins to start talking to herself saying random things and drawing symbols on everything and hearing voices in her head. The only one who can tell Caz more about the bracelets power is Mrs. Tranter, so she’s doing chores for the old woman in exchange for information and dealing with her single mothers new boyfriend, her own boyfriend and her best friends problems at home. And all the while, Caz wonders if there is any way to get out of this exchange, before something even worse happens. This book was an interesting book to read, it was a bit different then most books that I have read. I recommend this book for someone who has a sharp mind and is able to look at small details lurking in the story. The book makes you think a lot so it’s not a book that you can just pick up when you’re tired. The author recommends this book for kids 14 and older. Even though it was confusing, in the end it all adds up to have an interesting ending that you would never guessed.

"The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo" by Stieg Larsson

           Recovering from the throes of court with a massive corporate owner, Wennerstrom, intrepid financial journalist Mikael Blomkvist hopes to keep a low profile until his crushing defeat in court is forgotten and he has a chance to return to his profession in peace. Before Mikael even gets a chance to rejuvenate, former owner of the Vanger Company, Harold Vanger, recruits Mikael to work for a year in an attempt to uncover the mysterious disappearance of Harold’s adopted daughter Harriet Vanger, a disappearance which stumped Harold and several detectives from forty years before. Assisted by a strange but brilliant young woman named Lisbeth Salander, Mikael embarks on a thrilling journey of thousands of questions, no answers, and a horrifying truth. The book The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is a true masterpiece, filled with drama, mystery, and suspense, keeping the reader on their toes as much as Mikael Blomkvist. An all night read, this book will captivate any audience looking for a twist on the common mystery novel and leave them lusting for the sequel, The Girl Who Played With Fire.

“How did she die?” Blomkvist said again.

“I don’t know…”

-Jeremy

The Lightning Thief

In the Book The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, Percy Jackson, a troubled New York teenager, discovers that one of his parents is a god of Olympus making him a half-blood. He is an awful student has a mother that loves him and a smelly step dad that wishes he was out of their lives. Although many would think this to be a gift most half-bloods find it to be a curse. They have a special scent apart from humans that attracts monsters. Percy figures out he is one very important demi-god and is given a quest that can prevent an Olympic war. As he goes about his quest with his friends Grover, a satyr, and Annabeth, another half-blood, he learns more and more about how Greek gods and tradition has taken root in western society and his important role in it all. This is the first book in the series, Percy Jackson and The Olympians. TO me this book was very enjoyable and it constantly leaves you with cliff-hangers that force you to continue reading. The author is very clever in that he did a great job tying in Greek myths into modern day society. The book constantly makes allusions to old Greek myths which really makes the book a lot more interesting. If I had to rate this book I would give it a nine out of ten because it’s an enjoyable story, and very well written.

Heist Society by Ally Carter

Katarina Bishop is no ordinary girl. Kat, as well as her team of fellow spies, have a deadline of 14 days to prove that Kat’s father has not stolen Arturo Taccone’s precious paintings. Taccone strongly believes that Kat’s father was the thief, and leaves the responsibility to her to prove it wrong. The plot takes a while to pick up, but once it gets started, you will see that it is a real page-turner. Kat shares interesting relationships with all the characters that appear in the plot, some more complicated then the next. Author Ally Carter knows how to end a story and still keep it interesting, though there was a problem of keeping straight each character and their part in the story. Kat will most likely prove to be the reader’s favorite character for her fearlessness and ambition. For example, “Kat [knew] that, in life, there are some things that can…never be stolen. Of course, that didn’t stop her from trying.” In addition, it seems as though there are different locations for everyday the team finds clues of who could have stolen the paintings. At many different occasions, the reader will say to themselves, “What just happened?” The novel was quite believable, and will be interesting for many teens. Lovers of action and adventure, as well as a little romance, this is your book!

Julia

Specials by Scott Westerfeld

That was the one thing about being a cutter, everything was icy” Specials by Scott Westerfeld is a book in the series about Tally Youngblood. A teenage girl in the future where everyone has to get transformed into the perfect human. She has runaway already a few times to try and stay herself and in this book she has been transformed into a special, the one thing she hated the most. When everything goes awry, Tally will need to decide which path she’ll take, what her heart truly desires and what she is supposed to do. This dramatic adventure book takes you on a journey in the futuristic world where everyone is perfectly the same. At some points it got a little confusing, but then it becomes clear. It brings the reader in and anyone thirteen and up will absolutely love it and connect immediately to this fantastic book.