Review: Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Title: Before I Fall

Author: Lauren Oliver

Publisher: HarperCollins

Date Published: March 2^nd 2010

Genre: Young Adult Fiction
My Rating: 

Goodreads

What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?

Samantha Kingston has it all: the world's most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High—from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life.

Instead, it turns out to be her last.

Then she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death—and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.

My Review

    Samantha Kingston lives a great life; she is popular, has great friends and even has the “perfect” boyfriend. This story is based on Samantha’s last day alive… except in a way it’s not. Samantha re-lives the same day of her death seven times. You may decide to believe it is something like deja vu or chances; to make things right perhaps?

    At the beginning I didn’t like Sam and I don’t think anyone will which I believe it is how it was meant to be. She is just your typical bully I think it’s the easiest way to put it. It makes the readers wonder if she is going to change for the good with so many chances to re-live or if she was never worth it.

    Samantha’s extra days consists of her family, who she is no longer as close with as she used to be, friends, who seem to be her best friends and have her back, her old friend who might be the only real friend and a boyfriend who might not be so perfect after all.

    A day repeated seven times? How can that possibly not get boring? Well it doesn’t. Oliver manages to repeat the same day several times without it actually repeating. Each day it’s something totally different and you think you know what is coming but don’t get too ahead of yourself.

    I really recommend this book to teens because I feel there is many things you can learn from it and I know there is many people like Samantha out there and it might just help them identify themselves as well. In Overall, Before I Fall is a great story that will make you think about your own life and appreciate it.






Check out my review for Lauren Oliver's Delirium

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 Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1) by Suzanne Collins

Title: The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1)

Author: Suzanne Collins

Publisher: Scholastic, Inc.

Date Published: Oct. 1 2008

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
My Rating:

Goodreads
Could you survive on your own, in the wild, with everyone out to make sure you don't live to see the morning? 

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. 

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

This had been a draft review for the longest time. I just couldn't seem to put my thoughts into words. This book was seriously amazing. The concept and characters were great. This story was really engaging and it was really hard to put down. Some ideas and names can be recognized from Greek mythology stories which I didn't know until someone pointed it out to me.

The setting is in an unspecified future after North America was destroyed by its own humanity and what was left of it was divided into 13 districts. One of those districts didn't last long, after they tried to rebel against the Capital, which is the government in charge of all districts. Because of that rebellion and the hopes that the event would not repeat, the Capital creates an annual event where people will be reminded that it isn't a very good idea to even think about trying to overthrow the Capital. Two kids from each district, a boy and a girl, all come together to fight on live television, only one being able to survive. This is where Katniss comes in to the story. Katniss is a 16-year-old girl who lives with her mother and little sister. Katniss becomes involved in the games along with another boy and from there many things begin to occur.

This book is seriously one of my favorites. I even got my mom a Spanish version of The Hunger Games so she could get into reading. My mom was never interested in reading and she said she never would be, until my brother and I made her read this book and I was really surprised when she couldn't put it down! The only bad part is that she keeps bugging me about getting her the second part Catching Fire.


I don't think anyone can hate this book, yes there is a lot of violence but I don't consider it a bad thing because it all meant something. What I loved the most after its symbolism and all the meanings, were all the twists and turns! There was a surprise in every corner, I recommend this book to everyone. Like I said, there isn't anything negative I can say about this book... neither can my mom.

The 2011 Stephen King Challenge!

The 2011 Stephen King Challenge
Hosted by Book Chick City

I haven't read any of Stephen King's books (I know! Unbelievable!) but I have heard many great things about them so I think it's about time I read some!

Challenge Details

• Timeline: 01 Jan 2011 - 31 Dec 2011

• Rules - There are two levels: Read either SIX (6) or TWELVE (12) Stephen King novels in 2011 (6 is the minimum but you can read more than 12 if you wish!)

• You don't have to select your books ahead of time, you can just add them as you go. Also if you do list them upfront you can change them, nothing is set in stone! The books you choose can crossover into other challenges you have on the go.

• You can join anytime between now and the later part of next year.

For the rest of the details click here!

Go to the challenge page HERE

My goal is to read Six (6) Stephen King books!

Books I Have Chosen

- Full Dark, No Stars
- Misery
- Pet Sematary
- ...thinking
- ...thinking
- ...thinking

Blog Encounters (2)

Okay so I will have to admit that I am not a big fan of kids but of course it doesn't mean that I won't have my own some day. Whenever I do have children though I really hope to see them interested in books. Many great things can come with reading. It puts a smile on my face when I see little kids reading. It makes me believe that they are going to grow up and be really smart and go somewhere in life. I am not saying that people who don't read are dumb! but I have never met a smart person who doesn't read once in a while. JUST SAYING.

I read a post where it mentions that now a days in a book store in the kid's section you see a lot of toys, to the point where it seems like just a toy section with just a couple of books surrounding them, kids usually picking out toys instead of a book and parents not doing much about it. However, the other day when I was at the book store, I walk in to the kid's section trying to get ideas on what books would be great for a niece and I see a mother reading to her little girl. The little girl seemed so interested! That is something I want to see everyday.

The reason I am focusing on little kids when it comes to reading is because they are usually more eager to learn about new things. Trying to get a 25 year old (who has believed that books are evil his or her entire life) to read is really hard! Trust me. Maybe reading isn't for everyone, I understand, but there are so many people out there that think books are boring just because they had to forcefully read a book all through high school, I know this because that was me!

My parents never encouraged me to read. Never did I see them pick up a book. My big brother is the one that introduced me to a book and I am really glad he did.

I have decided that any kids in my family are going to start receiving books from me. I am going to try really hard to get them into reading, not force them though because it's obvious that will never work... I remember high school required reading... Eww, never worked for me either.

I just think parents should introduce their children to books. If they like it they like it and if they don't then they don't. Simple as that. Nothing bad can come from a kid enjoying to read.

Here is the post I mentioned, please check it out, it makes a lot of sense. (Swell Books: Missed Opportunities)

Review: The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

Title: The Notebook
Author: Nicholas Sparks
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Date Published: Oct. 1st 1996
Genre: Romance
My Rating:

A man with a faded, well-worn notebook open in his lap. A woman experiencing a morning ritual she doesn't understand. Until he begins to read to her. The Notebook is an achingly tender story about the enduring power of love, a story of miracles that will stay with you forever. 

Set amid the austere beauty of coastal North Carolina in 1946, The Notebook begins with the story of Noah Calhoun, a rural Southerner returned home from World War II. Noah, thirty-one, is restoring a plantation home to its former glory, and he is haunted by images of the beautiful girl he met fourteen years earlier, a girl he loved like no other. Unable to find her, yet unwilling to forget the summer they spent together, Noah is content to live with only memories...until she unexpectedly returns to his town to see him once again. 

Allie Nelson, twenty-nine, is now engaged to another man, but realizes that the original passion she felt for Noah has not dimmed with the passage of time. Still, the obstacles that once ended their previous relationship remain, and the gulf between their worlds is too vast to ignore. With her impending marriage only weeks away, Allie is forced to confront her hopes and dreams for the future, a future that only she can shape. 

Like a puzzle within a puzzle, the story of Noah and Allie is just the beginning. As it unfolds, their tale miraculously becomes something different, with much higher stakes. The result is a deeply moving portrait of love itself, the tender moments and the fundamental changes that affect us all. Shining with a beauty that is rarely found in current literature, The Notebook establishes Nicholas Sparks as a classic storyteller with a unique insight into the only emotion that really matters. 

"I am nothing special, of this I am sure. I am a common man with common thoughts and I've led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten, but I've loved another with all my heart and soul, and to me, this has always been enough." 

And so begins one of the most poignant and compelling love stories you will ever read...The Notebook

As unrealistic as this book might seem, with the overflow of love just like you would read of in many fictional stories, it is based on a couple's true love story. Sparks wanted to write this book to show people that unconditional love does exist. Now if you don't believe that this is a true story then it will seem like another boy meets girl or girl meets boy, parents separate them kind of story.

Even though this story was written mostly in Noah's point of view, you get both main character's points of view which is not a usual thing to see. It is nice to know what Allie is feeling along with Noah. Both characters, Allie and Noah, are dying to have each other again and it makes you anxious and in my case, annoyed, reading the repetition of how much they love each other and nothing being done about it. At times the story seemed a little to slow for me, I don't need to know many of the things they talk about. This story has a massive amount of detail. As much as I love detail, this came to be a little too much for me.

Surprisingly the chapter I really enjoyed because I know that if I hadn't watched the movie then I would have been a lot more surprised was "An Unexpected Visitor". Getting closer to the end I did get a little teary eyed just like in all of Spark's books I've read.

This brings me to mentioning the movie because I can't help but compare them. For the first time ever I have to admit that the movie was way better. The movie seemed to take me to more places than the book did. If you watched the movie and read the book you can easily distinguish the differences. "The summer" which they spend together was only a memory in the book but the movie really brought it to life, it gave us a lot more detail on that summer. Overall I feel I connected a lot more with the movie than the book.

It is a lovely story and I can't say otherwise.