Life as we Knew it by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Wow. I only was going to read this book because my boyfriend was like here read this when we were at the library, but I'm really glad he did! It was amazing. This girl is writing in her diary. Her name is Miranda. It's from her point of view. She lives with her mom and younger brother Jonny, while her older brother, Matt, is in college. Her dad has another wife whose pregnant. On the news there's been reports saying a big asteroid is going to hit the moon. So everyone goes outside to see it happening. It happens and people start to panic. The moon looks tilted and closer to the Earth. Miranda and her family all go inside. They hear on the radio that there's been huge tsunami's that have wiped out New York and Florida. The next day they go to the store and take all the cans and blankets and pads and batteries, eveyrthing they'll need. It gets only worse, but luckily Matt makes it back home, and their dad comes to see them for a few days and then leaves to go down South, where it's supposed to be better. The school distrcit tries to still have school but it fails. Then they learn that volcanoes have been erupting and the sky suddenly turns gray and it gets colder and colder. Miranda and her family have to eat really sparsingly, the eltricity goes on for a few minutes, then goes out. an hour, then goes out. They have a neighbor whose like family to them, Mrs. Nesbitt, but she's old of age and dies. They take all her supplies. They just have to live it out. Everyone but Miranda gets the flu and she has to take care of them. They were lucky because they were isolated from everyone else. It ends with Miranda going out to get news and sees a notice where people in the City hall are giving a bag of food for every person each week. She's happy and knows she's made it through the worst of times with her family and can only look towards the future.

This made me feel like I was Miranda. It was so well written. It made me feel so selfish how I am everyday wanting certain things. They were so thankful just to have a can of vegetables. Or some heat, or even a few minutes of electricity. It kinda reminded me of Day After Tomorrow. Or maybe someone will think of something happening like that on 2012. Whatever the case, I loved it and everyone should read it! :] it was a nice change fron the normal teen books I'm always reading.

Girls Under Pressure by Jacqueline Wilson

Ellie thinks she'sfat. Her friends Nadine and Magda, to her, are perfect skinny girls. While Nadine tries to become a model, Magda is being overlooked by her younger sister. Ellie starts to see that she's fat! She starts calling herself names and trying to stop eating. It's really hard sometimes for her to stop eating so she goes and eats a huge meal, the realizes how many calories she's consumed and goes and throws it up. She starts to go swimming in the morning before school and sees one of her old friends Zoe, who looks EXTREMELY skinny, yet still complains about being fat. Ellie promises she won't get like that, but she does. Her friends tell her she's losing weight and looks fine. Zoe ends up going to the hospital where Ellie goes to visit her. She sees her curled up really tiny, and decides she can't become like that. She decides she likes herself for her, even if she thinks she's fat, she's really not. This book made me more understand how some girls feel about their body. It's really sad how common something like this probably goes on all the time. I can't imagine living without food, i love food! Yes, I have my doubts sometimes, but I couldn't give it up. I wish I could give all those girls this book and let them see what they're doing to themselves.

Gravity by Leanne Lieberman

So, this book was pretty interesting. It's about this girl whose Jewish. Her name is Ellie. She goes to this cottage over the summer and starts to fall in love with this girl named Lindsay. She's trying to stop it because it's not right in the Torah. She's "supposed to" get married to a boy. She's really scared by it. She goes back home, and doesn't see Lindsay for a while. Then they start hanging out, and Ellie sees that Lindsay wants her too. Ellie is still trying to prevent from thinking about her still so she tries to memorize different scientific terms. It doesn't really work. While this is going on, her sister Neshama is being rebellious and doesn't agree with any of their parents rules and the religion. She eventually finds out about Ellie and Lindsay. Ellie then starts to pretend to say her prayers. She secrectly goes to Lindsay's house every Tuesday and Thurday, but then near the end she sees Lindsay going in the car witih another guy after they see each other and she just decides to stop seeing Lindsay. Her mother tells her that God is like gravity, which is how the book got its name!