The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium #1) by Stieg Larsson

Title: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium #1)

Author: Stieg Larsson

Translator: Reg Keeland

Pages: Hardcover 465 pages

Publisher: Knopf Doubleday

Date Published: September 16^th 2008

Genre: Mystery, Mystery Crime, Suspense

My Rating: 

 

Goodreads

Once you start The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, there's no turning back. This debut thriller--the first in a trilogy from the late Stieg Larsson--is a serious page-turner rivaling the best of Charlie Huston and Michael Connelly. Mikael Blomkvist, a once-respected financial journalist, watches his professional life rapidly crumble around him. Prospects appear bleak until an unexpected (and unsettling) offer to resurrect his name is extended by an old-school titan of Swedish industry. The catch--and there's always a catch--is that Blomkvist must first spend a year researching a mysterious disappearance that has remained unsolved for nearly four decades. With few other options, he accepts and enlists the help of investigator Lisbeth Salander, a misunderstood genius with a cache of authority issues. Little is as it seems in Larsson's novel, but there is at least one constant: you really don't want to mess with the girl with the dragon tattoo.

--Dave Callanan

My Review

Mikael Blomkvist is a journalist one day and another he is hired to be a private investigator but isn’t quite sure what it is he should be investigating since his case has already been investigated by police and has been unsolved for nearly forty years. Later on he gets help from an incredible computer hacker with big issues, Lisbeth Salander.

This book was hard to begin; it was a little slow at the beginning and only picked up at around one third through it. I actually really liked it, but I didn’t read it all at once, I did pause for a month or two. Great plot and characters. It was suspenseful and interesting. I am not a big fan of Mystery Crime novels because they seem a little boring to me but this book was different maybe because it is easier to connect to these characters than with other ones in other Mystery Crime books, at least in my opinion. Lisbeth Salander is such a fascinating character it is hard not to like her. Once you read this book you will be shocked at the types of problems she is in and you won’t help but feel bad for her. Larsson isn’t afraid to be explicit; there will be a couple of things that might shake you.

I recommend this to anyone that is into the Mystery Crime genre and to anyone that is willing to read something different.

Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakley-Cartwright

Title: Red Riding Hood

Author: Sara Blakley-Cartwright

Pages: Paperback 329 pages

Publisher: Poppy

Date Published: January 25^th 2011

Genre: Young Adult, Fantansy

My Rating: 

 

Goodreads

The blacksmith would marry her.

The woodcutter would run away with her.

The werewolf would turn her into one of its own.

Valerie's sister was beautiful, kind, and sweet. Now she is dead. Henry, the handsome son of the blacksmith, tries to console Valerie, but her wild heart beats fast for another: the outcast woodcutter, Peter, who offers Valerie another life far from home.

After her sister's violent death, Valerie's world begins to spiral out of control. For generations, the Wolf has been kept at bay with a monthly sacrifice. But now no one is safe. When an expert Wolf hunter arrives, the villagers learn that the creature lives among them--it could be anyone in town.

It soon becomes clear that Valerie is the only one who can hear the voice of the creature. The Wolf says she must surrender herself before the blood moon wanes...or everyone she loves will die.

My Review

Okay so this book is based off the screenplay written by David Johnson. The real ending to the book was left out so that people would go and watch the movie, which was something a lot of people didn’t think fair but I really didn’t have a problem with it, the bonus chapter was up online (Legally) for people to go read and I think that was a great marketing strategy in their part because the movie was the first idea since the beginning so it seemed fair to me.

Obviously the whole thing is based on the fairy tale we all know except with a dark twists which is what got this book so much attention. Personally I believe this book was a little odd but I’m not sure if it was a good odd or bad odd, mixed feelings here, I liked it for the most part but it was missing something. I would have rated this book maybe half a star less if it didn’t have such a good twist at the end. It’s hard to find books with twists like this one and I love it when I finally find one. By the way, yes the good part is in the bonus chapter that is found online so I guess if you really wanted to know my opinion in just what you buy for, I would give the book three and a half stars. Besides that, it was a very interesting idea the author had with this book because I really didn’t expect how they were going to re-do little red riding hood. There is romance in it and your typical love triangle that most YA readers adore, not so much for me. There is suspense, mystery, great characters, not so bad concept of a story and of course that great twist at the end you just can’t expect. I say if you have seen the movie don’t bother with the book because they followed it very well but If you have yet to see the movie go ahead and give the book a try either you will hate it or love it in my opinion.


For Bonus Chapter CLICK HERE (Please don't read without reading the book first)

Review: Story of A Girl by Sara Zarr

Title: Story of a Girl
Author: Sara Zarr
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
Date Published: January 10, 2007
Genre: Young Adult
My Rating: 

Goodreads

When she is caught in the backseat of a car with her older brother's best friend - Deanna Lambert's teenage life is changed forever. Struggling to overcome the lasting repercussions and the stifling role of "school slut," she longs to escape a life defined by her past.

My Review

A good realistic story about a girl whose life changed after getting caught messing around with an older boy who she wasn’t even sure she liked. School was obviously never the same. Deanna’s father never looked at her the same way. Her mother never really defended her the way a mother should. This story demonstrates the cause and effect of an event. To many people, this story would seem like an exaggeration but in my opinion, it is something that needed to be exhibited because there aren’t many books that I’ve read expressing these types of situations and how they can happen to anyone. I just really enjoyed how believable it was. I feel like I really connected with Deanna and I felt sorry for her and the things she had to go through. Knowing that Deanna was in reality a nice and normal girl made things even harder to go through. I don’t believe this book was the best thing out there but it was good enough that it made me a fan. I recommend this book because like many others it has it’s life lessons. It is a good read and it is not a waste of time, I can guarantee you that much.

Review: Butterface by Gwen Hayes

Title: Butterface
Author: Gwen Hayes
Publisher: Self-Published
Date Published: April 21st 2010
Genre: Young Adult, Short Story
My Rating: 

Goodreads


When love isn't lucky...or pretty.

The scars on Beth's face aren't nearly as deep as the ones she nurses on the inside. She was born with hemifacial microsamia and was supposed to feel "lucky" that she wasn't as disfigured as some people.

One boy, Lucky O'Leary starts to find the cracks in her hard shell and finds himself falling for her. Only Lucky has a secret--he needs to bring Beth to a "dog dinner" or lose his spot on the team. She can't find out that the guy who brings the ugliest date wins a prize.

Young Adult Short Story--8000 words


A short story I absolutely enjoyed. I had not read anything like this which made this story very different and special. Since the beginning I was pulled in to the story and I fell in love with the characters Beth and Lucky. Lucky is not your typical jock surprisingly, he is very sweet and protective of Beth. Beth is a very unique character, she has a face deformity that doesn't make her look perfect. Beth is very interesting because she plays real tough and careless but in reality needs that shoulder to cry on once in a while. I do recommend you read it because it is a quick read and it is unique.


So far you can only find this book on  Amazon Kindle. (That I know of haha)

Review: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Title: The Lovely Bones
Author: Alice Sebold
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company
Date Published: July 2002
Genre: Fiction, Supernatural Thriller
My Rating:

When we first meet 14-year-old Susie Salmon, she is already in heaven. This was before milk carton photos and public service announcements, she tells us; back in 1973, when Susie mysteriously disappeared, people still believed these things didn't happen. In the sweet, untroubled voice of a precocious teenage girl, Susie relates the awful events of her death and her own adjustment to the strange new place she finds herself. It looks a lot like her school playground, with the good kind of swing sets. With love, longing, and a growing understanding, Susie watches her family as they cope with their grief, her father embarks on a search for the killer, her sister undertakes a feat of amazing daring, her little brother builds a fort in her honor and begin the difficult process of healing. In the hands of a brilliant novelist, this story of seemingly unbearable tragedy is transformed into a suspenseful and touching story about family, memory, love, heaven, and living.

A 14-year-old girl, Susie Salmon is raped and murdered. You would think this book would be the mystery of how it happened or who it was, but it's not the way it's written. Susie Salmon is in "heaven" or like in throughout most of the story "In between", Earth and heaven, because she is not yet ready to go on. Susie is the narrator of the story which makes things interesting because you tag along with her while she observes her family, from above, trying to cope. Susie's father is obsessed with what happened, her mother is trying to forget about the occurrence in a total different way, Susie's sister is trying to go on with her life but she knows it's impossible, she needs to find out who the murderer is. Susie's little brother is having a hard time understanding the meaning of death.  Most of the story is about what her loved ones have to go through after she is murdered. It is a horrific story but yet it's hard to put down. You see everyone on Earth trying to figure out who the murderer is even though we, the readers, already know.

I don't want to leave out some other interesting characters...
Len Fenerman: The detective trying to solve Susie's case but ends up doing more than investigating the case.
Ray Singh: Susie's crush who is, believe it or not, also having a hard time coping.
Ruth Connors: One of my favorite characters in this story. Ruth is a girl that Susie went to school with, they were never friends but when Susie's spirit touches her while leaving Earth, Ruth becomes fascinated with Susie even though she barely knew her. Ray and Ruth become close friends having something so special in common, Susie.
I should mention Susie's best friend from Earth, Clarissa, and her best friend from heaven, Holly, but they don't make a great impact.

This book is great. I recommend it to everyone, it is indeed a must read. The story can be a bit disturbing at times but I like when authors don't hold anything back. Don't be fooled by the movie because it does not do it any justice.

Review: Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse, #1) by Charlaine Harris

Title: Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse, #1)

Author: Charlaine Harris

Publisher: Ace Books

Date Published: May 1st 2001
Genre: Fantasy, Mystery, Romance
My Rating:

Sookie Stackhouse is a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. She's quiet, keeps to herself, and doesn't get out much. Not because she's not pretty. She is. It's just that, well, Sookie has this sort of "disability." She can read minds. And that doesn't make her too dateable. And then along comes Bill. He's tall, dark, handsome--and Sookie can't hear a word he's thinking. He's exactly the kind of guy she's been waiting for all her life...

But Bill has a disability of his own: he's a vampire with a bad reputation. He hangs out with a seriously creepy crowd, all suspected of --big surprise-- murder. And when one of Sookie's coworkers is killed, she fears she's next...


Many might know about these books because of the TV series True Blood. I heard about the TV series from a friend and I loved it but i didn't know there were books on it until the end of the first season and even then I told myself I wasn't going to read them, but then there was a moment where I just couldn't help it and I just had to go and buy the first book Dead Until Dark.


I have to admit i really liked these books even if many say it's trash. I hate to say this but this story reminds me of The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer but in a more mature and a for "grown-ups" way because let me be the one to tell you, they are pretty graphic just like the TV series. 
  Sookie is the main character, and a very likable one who is believed to be a normal human but can somehow read minds. She is innocent and a sweetheart and doesn't have a sex life until vampire Bill shows up and she falls in love, but the story isn't just about their romance. My favorite part about this series is how the vampires have "come out" ... out of the coffin, in other words they have revealed themselves to the world after a synthetic blood has been invented, but now there is a lot of prejudice against vampires. Not only has the world found out about vampires but they have found out about how special their blood is, that a vampire's blood has certain power and can improve the consumer's sex life, this brings many humans to drain vampires and sell their blood. You meet many interesting characters throughout the story for example Eric, who is one of my personal favorites, though i don't want to mention much about him without ruining the rest of the books.


  I am on the fifth book and I pretty much stopped there, i needed a break from them because they do tend to get a little exhausting. I am not saying that they are boring because they really are full of adventure, but too much of Sookie's (main character)  obstacles to living a normal life can get tiring... hey maybe it's just me.

Review: Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez

Title: Rainbow Boys
Author: Alex Sanchez
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Publication Date: October 2001
Genre: Young Adult
My Rating: 

Jason Carrillo is a jock with a steady girlfriend, but he can't stop dreaming about sex...with other guys.

Kyle Meeks doesn't look gay, but he is. And he hopes he never has to tell anyone -- especially his parents.

Nelson Glassman is "out" to the entire world, but he can't tell the boy he loves that he wants to be more than just friends.

Three teenage boys, coming of age and out of the closet. In a revealing debut novel that percolates with passion and wit, Alex Sanchez follows these very different high-school seniors as their struggles with sexuality and intolerance draw them into a triangle of love, betrayal, and ultimately, friendship.

This was the first book i read. I was in middle school and I didn't know reading was going to become a passion but since my school started this thing called SSR (sustained silent reading) we were required to have a book to read for 15 min... or was it 30min... I can't recall but yea, my brother let me borrow his book, Rainbow Boys, turns out I got really into this story and I ended up reading the whole trilogy.

  I have to say I really liked the trilogy but the last two books weren't as good as this first. These books teach you a lot about sexuality and how most homosexuals struggle through high school and pretty much through life, they are bullied just because of who they are. I have to say I learned a lot from this story and it gave me a really good point of view. I understand the mixed reviews for this book and I see that not many people support the gay community but I myself support it.


"The message is simple folks – peace, love, unity and respect." - Nikki (yareads)

  
The story line is great. This character, Nelson, makes this book a little extra humorous. I was most interested in Jason's side of the story most likely because he was the most troubled with the coming out part. It is a fun book to read but i admit it can be sad for plenty of reasons, a good example would be the fact that Jason's father is an alcoholic. He is abusive and well... homophobic, here you can probably see one of the first conflicts of the story. There isn't much i can review about it since i did read this book a long time ago and can't remember much detail.

  It is a good book. The characters are really likable. It's not perfection but it's not bad either, but it sure was great enough to spark up my interest in books. 

Book #2 and #3