Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakley- Cartwright

Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakley- Cartwright
Release Date: January 25, 2011
Publisher: Little Brown Books
Synopsis:

"The body of a young girl is discovered in a field of wheat. Her flesh mutilated by telltale claw marks. The Wolf has broken the peace.

When Valerie learns that her sister has been killed by the legendary creature, she finds herself at the center of a dark mystery, one that has plagued her village for generations. It is revealed that the werewolf lives among them, and everyone in the village immediately becomes a suspect. Could her secret love Peter be behind the attacks on her town? Is it her betrothed, Henry? Or someone even closer to her?

As the men in the village hunt for the beast, Valerie turns to her grandmother for help. She gives Valerie a handmade red riding cloak, and guides her through the web of lies and deception that has held her town together for so long. Will Valerie discover the werewolf's identity before the town is ripped apart?"

Review:
Okay. How do I start this? Let's see.... HOW IS THERE NO ENDING! Like seriously. How do you write a book and get it published with no ending? Someone please explain this to me. I understand that people said you have to wait until the movie comes out to figure out what the ending it BUT SERIOUSLY, if you write a book whether it is being made into a movie or not YOU WRITE THE ENDING!

So now, I really did enjoy reading this and the only reason I didn't like it was because of the ending. I loved the characters and the setting. The main character, Valerie, was a really great protagonist because she's  a very strong person and she likes doing things her way and she doesn't care what people think about her. (well, she kinda does but she doesn't) There is also who she's known forever but he disapeard but he comes back and she loves him, but her mom doesn't want her to be with him so there is a love story in here.

I loved the whole idea behind the Wolf. It comes out during a full moon or also during a blood moon. The Wolf is actually someone in the village but no one knows who it is and that person won't come forward and say that it is them. (for obvious reasons) The Wolf can talk to Valerie. Or, Valerie can talk to the Wolf? But he tells her that she needs to go with him or else he'll kill everyone that she loves.

Overall, I did really like this, but I hated the ending. (because there was no ending) I would recommend this and I hopefully will be seeing the movie! If you've read this make sure to let me know what you thought of it!

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

                                                                      

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin

Release Date: May 15, 2007

Publisher: Square Fish

Synopsis:

"Welcome to Elsewhere. It is warm, with a breeze, and the beaches are marvelous. It’s quiet and peaceful. You can’t get sick or any older. Curious to see new paintings by Picasso? Swing by one of Elsewhere’s museums. Need to talk to someone about your problems? Stop by Marilyn Monroe’s psychiatric practice.
Elsewhere is where fifteen-year-old Liz Hall ends up, after she has died. It is a place so like Earth, yet completely different. Here Liz will age backward from the day of her death until she becomes a baby again and returns to Earth. But Liz wants to turn sixteen, not fourteen again. She wants to get her driver’s license. She wants to graduate from high school and go to college. And now that she’s dead, Liz is being forced to live a life she doesn’t want with a grandmother she has only just met. And it is not going well. How can Liz let go of the only life she has ever known and embrace a new one? Is it possible that a life lived in reverse is no different from a life lived forward?"

Review:

Oh my gosh! This book was phenomenal. I have never read a novel like this before and this is by far one of the best books that I've read. The whole story line and world that this was set in was amazing.

It starts off with the main character, Liz, and she died from being hit by a car. She wakes up in this boat and thinks that she is in a dream, but little does she know is that she is being taken to Elsewhere.

I loved how this place, Elsewhere, was in a way set up to be just like Earth, but it was still a thousand times different. In Elsewhere you age backwards. So, Liz, died when she was almost sixteen but each year she became younger and younger. In the begining you learn that if you are still a teenager you have the choice to go back to Earth earlier and towards the end Liz decides if she wants to leave early or stay... well, I can't say forever but I think you get where I'm going with this. :)

There was a little bit of a love story and it was really cute. I just loved this book and the imagery while reading was amazing and the world that I saw while reading this was really cool. (Does that sound wierd?)

If you haven't read this then MAKE SURE YOU DO! Like I said, it is was one of the best book that I have read.

Also, this really should be made into a movie. It would probably be one the coolest movies. haha. No really, it needs to be made into a movie. It would create this amazing world and it has one of the best story lines ever.

 

Judging a book by its cover

Do you judge a book by its cover? A lot of people judge books by there cover and today I just want to talk about judging a book by its cover.

I see why people do judge a book by its cover, some people want that really pretty cover or others think that if it has a plain cover it's going to be a plain book. Even though it has a plain cover and that's the reason why your not reading it, you could be missing out on a really great read.

I sometimes judge a book by its cover, but most of the time if it sounds good just from reading the title I'm probably going to get it. It is nice having those pretty covers on your bookshelf and looking at them, but honestly, you don't even really see the book once it's on your bookshelf (except for the book spine). All these other books are going to be next to them so whats the point of not getting a book because of its cover? If it's a bad book, well, it's a bad book. Vis-versa. But, those really pretty book covers do end up being a not so great read.

So do you judge a book by its cover? If so why? I think that you should at least give the book a try regardless of what the cover looks like because the author took his/her time writing it and you should at least try to read it and see what you think!

The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson

The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson\
Release Date: March 9, 2010
Publisher: Dial
Synopsis:

"Seventeen-year-old Lennie Walker, bookworm and band geek, plays second clarinet and spends her time tucked safely and happily in the shadow of her fiery older sister, Bailey. But when Bailey dies abruptly, Lennie is catapulted to center stage of her own life—and, despite her nonexistent history with boys, suddenly finds herself struggling to balance two. Toby was Bailey's boyfriend; his grief mirrors Lennie's own. Joe is the new boy in town, a transplant from Paris whose nearly magical grin is matched only by his musical talent. For Lennie, they're the sun and the moon; one boy takes her out of her sorrow, the other comforts her in it. But just like their celestial counterparts, they can't collide without the whole wide world exploding."

Review:
This book was amazing. It was way different from what I originally thought it was going to be like. It is a love story, but I think it's a different kind of love story.

The main character is Lennie and her sister dies and her family doesn't really know how to move on. Lennie goes back to school one day and when she goes to band class she meets this new kid and realizes that he is the reason that she will be able to move on. I loved how Lennie and Joe met. They both love music, Lennie plays the clarinet and Joe plays, well a lot of instruments.

There is a lot of heartbreak, but that heartbreak is what makes the characters stronger and what makes the book what it is. Even though Lennie really likes Joe, she also starts liking her sisters boyfriend, Toby. They both know that being together is wrong, but they can't help themselves when they are with each other. I'm not going to tell you who she chooses or what happens to them because that is what makes this book so interesting. Finding out what a person wants and who they really are.

The writing was really good and I didn't want to put this down. There was the perfect amount of detail and the way everything was described was really great.

I really enjoyed this because even though it was your "typical" teen romance book there was something about it that made it really good but I can't pin-point what it is. If you haven't read this yet I highly recommend you do because it is so sweet and cute!