Cycler by Lauren McLaughlin

Ever wonder what it would be like to be a guy? Just ask Jill McTeague, and she'll tell you it's not all that, or she would if she could remember any of her time spent as a guy. Every time she returns to her girl form she meditates, repeating the mantra "I am all girl" to herself while erasing all the memories of "Jack time" from her mind. To Jill turning into a boy every four days out of her monthly cycle is a nightmare, a deep dark secret that she can't even tell her best and truest friend Ramie about for fear her secret would spread and she'd be sought out for tests and studies. As if turning into a boy with... *cough* boy parts....isn't scary enough!

On the flip side you have Jack, Jill's masculine side, who's just about had it with living off of Jill's premenstrual days, and wants to break out and live his own life for once. He lives trapped in his house, with two parents who wish he didn't exist, and no outside contact with anyone, living vicariously through Jill's memories, especially the ones involving a certain beautiful, spontaneous, wonderful, girl by the name of Ramie. Jack knows they can never really be together and tries to push her from his mind, but he just can't seem to shake the feeling he gets when he thinks about her. He's in love.

As Jack's personality develops it becomes harder and harder for him to remain in his prison of a life, and as he strives to take control of his and Jill's shared life, he's making it nearly impossible for Jill to keep her little secret. Who knows, maybe it's time for her secret to come out? At least that's what Jack thinks...

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OMG you guys, I know people say "I couldn't put this book down," to the point where it's uncool to say, but I literally couldn't put Cycler down, or at least I didn't want too! Admittedly there were a few parts that I felt were kind of inappropriate, and I didn't love those, but overall it wasn't enough to make me put it down, and it ended up being a GREAT book! I'd totally recommend it, though you should know before you read it that there's some fairly mature content so you might want to have a parent or older sibling flip through it before you do, unless your about 15 or your parents (and you!) don't mind.

NE-ways GREAT READ!!! I can't wait for the sequel!

I give Cycler 5 stars, for rocking my socks!





Her Official Site:

http://www.laurenmclaughlin.net/

And here's a few interviews she did, talking about Cycler.
http://boingboing.net/2008/07/02/lauren-mclaughlin-ta.html

http://scottwesterfeld.com/blog/?p=514






Enjoy!

xoxoxo

The Luxe by Anna Godbersen

Mystery, Scandal, Romantic Intrigue... just a few words that describe the exciting lives of The Luxe elite.

It's Manhattan, 1899, the year an angelic bride-to be is lost, an event that shatters the delicate balance of her world, and allows havoc to break free in the lives of those closest to her. The girl is Elizabeth Holland, and at this point in time she's alive, but not quite well. She's rich, beautiful, and unbelievably lucky. Everyone loves her and it would seem all she'd have to do to keep her charmed, fabulous life would be to marry the perfect man and bask in the light of her wonderful life. But for Elizabeth, who everyone sees as the poster child of morals, and good conduct, her life is anything but easy, and when her family life takes a turn for the worse, Elizabeth takes the troubles that her mother so willingly puts on her shoulders, and does her best to remain the perfect girl in everyone's eyes by doing exactly as she's told, even if it breaks her heart in the process.

Enter Henry Schoonmaker, the handsome bachelor that any girl would marry in a heartbeat, who by his fathers insistence, courts Elizabeth who is in love with another man. But with Henry being her only considerable proposal, since her family has run into money troubles, she chooses to accept not wanting to see her family end up in ruin because of her.

At the same time, her sister Diana is being charmed by Henry, while he's trying to shake off the love of Elizabeth's "frenemy," Penelope Hayes, who takes Elizabeth's old maid Lina Broud under her wing in hopes of using her for information that could ruin Elizabeth's reputation and knock her off the top of the social ladder, making her the richest girl in Manhattan and bringing Henry back into her arms.

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This was a pretty good book, though at the time I was reading it I was reading so many things that I felt like I never really got into it. :P But it was good! And It was exciting so I will definitely be reading the next book! :D

I give it 4 out of 5 stars just because I'm not sure I thought it was great. =/ But it was good!









This is her Myspace:

This is the Official site for the books:

And this is the Harper Teen book Site! :)





And here's a peek at the cover for the next book in the series, Indulgence!

http://community.fordmodels.tv/photo/photo/show?id=1225957%3APhoto%3A150996&context=user

Enjoy!

Austenland by Shannon Hale

For a Jane Austen fanatic/ Colin Firth Fangirl, you'd think a trip to Austenland would be the dream vacation you'd be dying to take, but for Jane Hayes, an artist stuck in a job were she has to manipulate pixels instead of her preferred paint, it's a nightmare.

After going through 15 boyfriends, each one breaking her heart a little at a time and leaving little for the next man, let alone for Jane's spirit, only finding comfort in ordering in and watching the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice for the trillionth time, all the while dreaming that soon the day will come when she'll meet her Mr. Darcy, is it any wonder she's a little hesitant to delve fully into her fantasy for fear she might loose herself completely?

But, deciding that going on this trip might help her kick her Darcy obsession once and for all, she goes, hoping her decision wont make everything worse.

In Austenland, she dumps her jeans and t-shirts for bonnets, bloomers, corsets,and gowns, but finds she hasn't taken to her fantasy as quickly as she thought she would, unable to shake the fear of going for something that wont last. But soon, as Jane finds sticking to the rules of Austenland harder then she'd anticipated, and feeling a little silly about being mixed in with the wealthy women who come to Austenland to find a fling, or fulfill a fantasy, she can't "help" but fall for the gardener, Martin, who seems to agree with her about Austenland and it's inhabitants.

But will meeting Martin bring her something long term, or put her right back where she was before coming to Austenland?

Well I'm not going to tell you! :P

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Overall I thought this was a really cute book! I cared about Jane and wanted to read to the end as things got more exiting! It did get a little depressing in the beginning because Jane had had so many heartaches but things picked up and it ended up being a really satisfying read.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars.








Her Offical Site:
http://www.squeetus.com/

"The Egypt Game" by Zilpha Keatly Snyder

When April's mother Dorthea sends her away to live with her grandmother Caroline in her apartment house, "Casa Rosada", April is determined to hate it. After all what are the odds she'd meet anyone who would understand her, with her fake eyelashes, fancy hairdos, and grownup-Hollywood attitude. Besides, all she wants to do is be back with her mother in Hollywood. So when her grandmother sets up a lunch with one of her neighbors who has a little girl her age named Melanie, she's anything but pleased.

Melanie on the other hand can't wait to meet April, thinking she may finally have a new friend that lives close by, and though April's not what Melanie expected, they quickly discover a common bond in using their imagination. Along with with Melanie's little brother, Marshall, they soon cook up a game called the Egypt Game which they play in the back of an old antique store.

And that is just the beginning. Add in a few more players, a mysterious shop owner, and a frightening murder, and you've got one interesting story.

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I liked this book a lot! It was a little kiddish but very cute! It kept me reading and it was fun so all and all a good read! ^^ There's a companion to the book called "The Gypsy Game" which I think I'll pick up as soon as I have a minute.

I give it 4 out of 5 stars! ^^









Her Official Site:

http://www.zksnyder.com/











Enjoy!

xoxoxo

"Lucky" By Rachel Vail

“Lucky”, the title of Rachel Vail’s new novel, fits the book well, creating an ironic edge to the focus of the story. It basically represents many things throughout the book, defining the word in different ways. It could be interpreted as…
- Phoebe’s clique being lucky.
- How so many other people think these girls are lucky and wish they were a part of their group.
- People constantly telling Phoebe how lucky she is, and her always thinking that she’s not, in general and when things don’t go her way.
- Whether or not she really is lucky, being stuck in a group of friends who don’t seem to care much for one another, or other people who just happen to exist “meaninglessly” to them in their world.
And…
-What luck really is.

But though this seems like an interesting metaphor, there was just nothing interesting about this book. The characters hardly, even in the end of the book seemed to learn the errors of their ways. For a while I thought they would but when it was all over, I got the feeling they wouldn’t change dramatically and, if they changed at all, it wouldn’t last long.

Then one of the best parts about picking up a good book is the relationships you feel you form with the characters. I’m sad to say that, in “Lucky”, no attachment was made. Since the characters in this book seem to care so little for each other, it was nearly impossible, for me as a reader, to care for them.
Usually in books, we look for close bonds between the characters themselves, or traits that we admire, have, or stride for in the characters that we’ve gotten a good first impression of, and that is when we start developing our attachment to them. But while reading “Lucky”, I’m sorry to say, I found nothing to make me attached to these characters.

Also I may add that I had a similar feeling when I read “If We Kiss”, another book by Rachel Vail. The characters just never seemed to develop. As for the plot, I wanted to stop and put this book down so many times just from sadness involved. Hardly anything good happens, and Phoebe, the main character, didn’t have good enough relationships with her friends and family to confide in anyone which always leaves me with an empty sad feeling inside. Then, to top it all off, the ending was predictable, and some of the problems were pushed aside, and forgotten. This reviewer has a feeling they won’t resurface again.

So all in all “Lucky” was unlucky for me, I give it 2 stars.








Ok So I think I will just do this with every book i review from now on... XD But if, once again, you dissagree with my review, want a second opinion, or just want to learn a little more about the author This will be on here for you to see! =D

So! Now on to Rachel Vail! >_<

Her Official Site:

http://www.rachelvail.com/

And if you'd like to buy "Lucky"...

http://www.amazon.com/Lucky-Rachel-Vail/dp/0060890436/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1214451321&sr=1-4





Enjoy!

xoxoxo

"A Certain Slant of Light" by Laura Whitcomb

The story begins with the narrator, Helen. A 20 year old girl who's made from light like a ghost. She wanders around on earth thinking that she's done some great sin in the past. Following her hosts, and never being able to feel. She's watched host after host die, and yet she still goes on. When she meets James, or Billy (the name of the body he's taken over), she falls in love and the whole no contact thing becomes a problem. So James helps her inhabit a body, only being human doesn't end up being as easy and she thought, and as she learns more and more about her old body and the new one she's inhabited she realizes her trouble has just begun. The girls she;s inhabited is named Jenny. Her parents are super religious, and wont let her have a boyfriend. So she decides to see him at school. Only her parents notice her sneaking around and get suspicious. And just when you think things can't get anyways...

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My Opinion on this book is not encouraging. Personally I found the sound of the narrators voice was good, and I liked the way it was written.... BUT I found the story really depressing and by the end I felt like I hated it! The characters were good but I felt the main characters didn't think through their decisions AT ALL, and they didn't really look for a body to take over that would work well for them. Also Billy had some issues that I didn't like. Anyways I was really disappointed... mainly because I like happy endings and this was not a book I felt had one.

I'm have to give it 2 stars.





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Better known as, "My opinion's not the only one that matters in the world?!"
Just incase you've decided to ignore my review, and/or have read "A Certain Slant of Light" and thought it was great, and very well written, "Thank you very much!" I thought I'd add some info (OK, links...) on her for those of you so inclined to read more about her!

This is her Official site:

http://www.laurawhitcomb.com/index.htm

Plus I thought I'd throw in a "Nice" Review of her book just to show that some people don't hate it. :D

http://www.amazon.com/review/product/061858532X/ref=cm_cr_dp_all_summary?%5Fencoding=UTF8&showViewpoints=1&sortBy=bySubmissionDateDescending

And if the review posted above has changed your mind at all, and you suddenly feel the need to cry out,

"I Want to read A Certain Slant of Light and I'm not ashamed! I don't care what you say ReaderGirl, I bet it's going to rock!"

Then perhaps you'd like to quietly slip on over to amazon and buy it here:


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/061858532X/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

(I mean really, after that embarrassing scene, do you really want to be seen in a bookstore?)








Enjoy!

xoxoxo