Tuesday, March 30, 2010

The Gatecrasher by Madeleine Wickham

Front and Back Flap: Everything's coming up roses for Fleur Daxeny as she goes through more rich men than she does designer hats. Fleur is beautiful, charming, and utterly irresistible, and her success at crashing funerals to find wealthy men is remarkable. Fleur wastes no time in seducing her latest conquest, the handsome and rich widower Richard Favour, and she swoops into his life like a designer-clad tornado. His children are caught up in a whirlwind as their father's new girlfriend descends on the family estate, leaving chaos and excitement in her perfume-scented wake. Soon, more than one family member is suspicious of Fleur's true intentions. Fleur is not one to wear her heart on her Channel sleeve, but she soon finds herself embracing Richard and his lovable family. But just as Fleur contemplates jumping off the gold-digger train for good and enjoying the ride of true love, a long-buried secret from her past threatens to destroy her new family. Can she trust her heart or will she cut ties and run away as fast as her Prada pumps can take her? I thought this was an awesome book. I especially liked the ending since it wasn't like picture perfect, but it seems more realistic. She can write such diverse books, but they're all so suspenseful and interesting, like what the book is about. It seems pretty crazy a woman going around crashing funerals to get money from the rich guys there, but it worked good in this novel. I think Fleur was a great character, but not because she did steal money, because she was actually finally falling for one of the guys she was trying to take money from! And it was so sad how his ex Emily was just so not a good person it seems like but he still defended her and so did everyone else, probably scared. But it was an amazing novel and can't wait to read more of her books. Plus the covers are funny and they like match each other in their style.

Friday, March 26, 2010

Girl Stays in the Picture by Melissa de la Cruz

Front Flap: Devon- one name only, please- is the latest and jail-bait-est pop star to hit number one on the Billboard chart, and she's making her big-screen debut in Juicy. But after her stint in rehab, the studio isn't so sure she's their girl anymore. If they cut any more of her lines, she'll be a silent film actress! Can Devon regain her star status? She needs to watch her back and make sure that flash doesn't catch her causing a scene, and we don't mean the kind you can yell "Cut!" after. Livia has lost the weight and gained the attitude in the Hollywood party scene. Her dad's an Oscar-winning producer, and with a hot Beverly Hills boyfriend on her arm as well as her photos all over the pages of Gosizzle.com, Livia looks like she has a perfect life. But looks can be perfectly deceiving... And there's fresh-faced Casey, who left a job bagging groceries at the Piggly Wiggly to play personal assistant to her best friend... and Devon's rival. She's got the biggest crush on the biggest star of the film- a hot Brit known for loving and leaving. Will Caset stay true to herself while trying to find a place in his universe? Stars. They're just like us. But what does that mean for the rest of us? Stay tuned, people. I thought this was a really good book and I love Melissa de la Cruz. She's awesome! Anyways, I love how like each girl had a guy and then he left her or something happened and then she's now like wanting another guy, with the exception of Casey. Because at first Devon was with Randall, then they broke up and Spy came into the picture but she thought she lost him but of course he came back at the end. Then with Casey she always wanted Jaime but couldn't have him then she got him at the end. then with Livia who had Trevor and found him cheating on her with Summer and wanted to be with Bruno but she upset him and then of course at the end he came to her also. Sooo basically it's like ok girls the guys will come back to you for sure! Haaa. wonder how true that is? But it was still a fun book.Summer is def crazy and it's so annoying to me stars who are going to act all crazy and pushy and act like they're all tight like that, yuck! But hey this is a series, so we'll see when the next one comes out this did take me a while to read like a week and a half!!! haha I def took my time but I had to be reading Dracula for class so ya know, education first! :] But now it's spring break woohoo

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Well, once again the back of this book is not a summary so I'll explain myself! This was for english class: Jonathan Harker goes to Count Dracula's castle, with warnings from everyone to not go there. He ends up realizing that he is being held captive while Dracula is pretending to go out and be him. He sees these three weird sisters that he desires, but Dracula saves him. He is then put into a mental hospital because he has brain fever. Meanwhile, Lucy, and her recent husband Arthur, aren't doing too well because she's having dreams and sleepwaking. she actually gets bit by Dracula and Dr. Seward brings in his friend Van Helsing. Van Helsing actually knows a lot of things and kind of doesn't tell anyone his suspicions. Lucy soon dies. They have to put a stake through her heart and chop off her head and full her mouth with garlic so as her not to keep going on and killing little kids since she also became a vampire. They all come together and hunt down Dracula by putting sacred wafers in his different boxes of dirt. He ends up getting to Mina, who is Jonathan's wife, and they're in a hurry to save her innocence. They chase after him and end up killing him at the end! Sooo this was actually a really good book I might consider keeping. It's really suspenseful and gets pretty scary actually especially if you're reading it at night. the language isn't hard to read and it's really suspenseful. Did I already say that? yes ha. Well it's good. It def sux since I already know Dracula is a vampire because if I didn't know then it'd be much more of a weird horror and Gothic book, but excited cuz this is the last time we have to write a paper!!! woot woot

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Hollywood is Like High School with Money by Zoey Dean

Back Cover: Twenty-four-year old Taylor Henning has just landed her dream job as an assistant at a major movie studio. Immediately, her catty coworkers undermine her, and she realizes the saying "Hollywood is like high school with money" is absolutely true. But Taylor wasn't exactly a social butterfly in high school. How is she supposed to do any better now? Then she meets her boss's popular daughter, Quinn, and has an epiphany: Maybe the queen-bee teenager can teach her the tactics she needs to succeed in the movie business. The shrewd Quinn takes Taylor under her wing and soon she's racking up victories against rival assistant Kylie. But when Taylor is directed to steal Kylie's boyfriend, something happens that's not in the script: She falls for him. Can Taylor harness her inner mean girl while staying true to herself? This was def an unexpected book for me! I thought that it'd be about something to do with like a teenage intern or someone in the business, but it was actually someone even older than me! haha, but I really liked it. Taylor has her dream right in front of her but it's not exactly amazing, and of course there's the thing where ya gotta start off at the bottom and then go higher up. And there's of course gotta be the other means girl around! and probably Hollywood is like high school, which is why I don't really care about it. Reading it in books is good enough for me! I ain't got time to deal with no stupid drama and there's no drama in my life now so I'm awesome without it! ha. The only thing I don't like is the cover, because I'm not sure what it's supposed to be? I actually just made a connection that maybe it's Taylor and she's going to go on the plane to see that one producer director guy. I dunno, it's not cute, but hey can't judge a book by its cover right?

Friday, March 12, 2010

These Boots Weren't Made for Walking by Melody Carlson

Back Cover: Certain she's paid her corporate dues, thirty one-year-old Cassidy Cantrell struts through the office in her chic Valentino boots to turn in her latest project. She's confident she'll make a spectacular impression and seal the deal on her long-anticipated promotion at the Seattle marketing firm. But when reality tromps over her expectations, Cassie quickly realizes those same stylish boots are all wrong for pounding the pavement in search of a new job- or for kicking her cheating ex-boyfriend out of her life. Her self-esteem in tatters, Cassie limps back to her ski resort hometown- to find her rebounding-from-divorce mother transformed into a gorgeous fifty-something babe whose thriving social life only accentuates the dismal shape of Cassie's own romantic prospects. What will it take for Cassie to jump back into life and regain her stride? This sassy and hilarious novel from Cassie's journey, stumbling through the wilds of romance, career, and spirituality and learning to trust that God's plan will always be the perfect fit. This was a cute book. I def love the cover, cute! :] And Melody Carlson is just an awesome writer, especially since she writes Christian books! Cassie def goes through some things that many women may go through. And sometimes just going home and taking it easy will help you figure things out. I liked how Will was such a simple character, but he was always in the back of her mind, and it's those people who we really care about. It was also kinda funny and annoying at the same time to learn about her mom, cuz that'd be def weird if my mom acted like that! It's always weird when the mom looks younger and better than the daughter! But it's like why can't people just want to look their age and be fine with it ya know? dang. Who cares so much, wasting money trying to look young when you're gonna get old sooner or later! Goodness haha, anyways, it was a cute story, and I like the ones that are in a small town, it seems so nice and cozy even if you did know like everybody. At least everyone would be watching out for ya!

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Notes From a Spinning Planet: Papua New Guinea by Melody Carlson

Back Cover: After her life-changing journey to Ireland, twenty-year-old Maddie Chase feels ready for whatever she and her Aunt Sid will find on their trip to Papua New Guinea. But when she sets foot on the beautiful South Pacific Island, she can't help but wonder if it's really the paradise she thought it would be. As Maddie delves deeper into the culture and history of the land- and develops relationships with nationals who are eager to share their lives- she finds a tangled past that could help to explain the current health crisis. Will Maddie be able to see past the darkness to offer light to these gracious island people? Join Maddie on her latest international adventure as she learns that maybe it is possible for one person to change someone's world. I thought this was pretty good. I like how she's 20 like me though, for sure! And it was so sad to hear about those stories for AIDS. I always feel horrible when hearing things like that and it makes me soo sad! Which is why I wanna major in social work, to help people out like in those situations! But it was def intense how the cities are and the people in them with all the crime rates! And it reminded me of like in anthro class I learned when HIV/AIDS was first discovered people thought it was only in gay men and that it was a punishment from God for being gay, and this kinda ties into that. Those people thought ones with AIDS were bad! But in fact they're not, some could be, but not all those women who got raped and got the virus. It's really sad and I know a lot of women are out there like that. So I'm really glad that this book talks about that and will expose younger readers to that tragedy. On a higher note, it was a good book. And there should totally be more books in this series but I think there's only three and now I've read all 3 of them! :]

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Beautiful Stranger by Zoey Dean

Back Cover: Anna decides to take an end-of-summer getaway- to get away from her drama-filled LA life. So she packs her Louis Vuitton, grabs her close friend Sam, and heads to the Big Apple. Between trips to the Met and shopping at Bendel's, the girls are living the A-List life on Anna's home turf. But their trip isn't exactly a vacation. Sam is here to spy on Eduardo and decode his recent strange behavior. Will what she discovers send her hopping on the next private jet back to Beverly Hills? And who is the beautiful stranger who appears on Anna's Upper East Side doorstep? anna begins to wonder whether she wants to head back west again- especially since Ben seems to have moved on... with someone who isn't a stranger at all. when it comes to the A-List, there's drama coast to coast. So, I already read this last year, but didn't know it was a series, so I didn't really know everything, but this time I've read all the books before it so I know what's going down! And I really want to read the last book now but i have all these library books I need to finish first! Because wow, crazy ending, Anna just rushing off to the airport and it'll be so amazing that she gets to go to Indonesia with Logan which is def what she needs. Then Adam punching Ben, which I bet Cammie wanted. She is such a selfish bitch I mean really! She was planning it all along, while enjoying the ride. Then Sam gets jealous, but I can totally relate and understand to that! But Eduardo is so sweet, and he really loves her! so there's so many things going on, we'll see how this awesome series ends and then to the new one too! :]

Thursday, March 4, 2010

The Wedding Girl by Madeleine Wickham

Front Flap: From the author of the internationally bestselling Sophie Kinsella novels, Madeleine Wickham's The Wedding Girl is a delighted comedy about a secret that becomes the ultimate wedding crasher! At the age of eighteen, in that first golden Oxford summer, Milly was up for anything. Now, ten years later, she is a very different person. Engaged to a man who is wealthy, serious, and believes her to be perfect, she is facing the biggest and most elaborate wedding imaginable. But one small episode from the past has the power to completely derail her carefully planned nuptials. Milly has locked away this history so securely that she has almost persuaded herself it doesn't exist- until, when only four days to go, her secret catches up with her... And when "I do" gives you deja vu, it could be a problem. Wow, that was sooo good and gossipy and secret-y and intense! Ha. Every character that entered in just had like new juicy secrets or something wrong with them or I dunno but it was def really good! With Milly she is such a sweet girl. The thing I don't understand is why she's acting like she isn't herself, but in the end it's ok since she ends up actually getting married! Because the photographer, Alexander was like a boy who picked up something and then he recognized her. Everyone thought he told the guy who was going to marry them but it was actually her godmother who thought the marriage was a bad idea! I was sooo like omg nooo when Milly was about go in the car with her godmother, like Isobel run! and then her sister ends up being pregnant and by guess who, Simon's dad! And Simon is Milly's ex-fiance then fiance again then husband! And his dad, Harry, is like a millionaire! And then her mother, Olivia, was like obssessed with the wedding! I hope my mom won't get like that but I doubt she will. But it was so beautiful at the end when she was walking down the aisle, it's amazing1 :] But Madeleine has such a great mind, and so many secrets, I totally forgot even to mention that she was married to that guy 10 years ago and she got in contact with Rupert, the guy he loved and they ended up breaking up like 2 months after the marriage and rupert just found out that Allan died and that told his wife, then Rupert told Milly. I know that was very confusing, but hey I like telling it in my type of crazy tell everything at once and be everywhere way! :] But it was a good book and I'm excited and look forward to reading more of her books as Madeleine Wickham instead of Sophie Kinsella. hehe

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Uhm on this one I'm actually just going to say myself what happened! Since this is like a norton critical edition the back is booooring! So here we go. From My Mind: Frankenstein creates a monster. After being isolated from his family, and being obssessed with making life from death, he finally makes life. But once it happens, he instantly regrets it. Throughout this story, Frankenstein pays for his creation. His young brother, William, is killed, by the monster. Then so is his friend Henry Clerval, but only because Frankenstein wouldn't make the monster a mate, and then came his cousin but married for one night Elizabeth, and his father dies from shock and misery. Frankenstein ends up dieing on a ship where he has told his whole story to a guy named Robert Walton. Then the monster sees the death of his creator and in the end goes to kill himself too. Sooo, yes, I said Frankenstein is the creator because he is indeed, and his name is Victor Frankenstein, and he made the monster, who doesn't even have a name and he calls the wretch a lot. hmmm interesting right? But I liked this book. I had to read it for my english class and it wasn't too bad actually. It was sad though, how the monster was so alone. He like was watching a family and learned to speak all by himself and like just wanted to be accepted by humans but he wasn't. Then again I felt bad for Victor, but basically everything is his fault because if he never created the monster, none of that would have happened! So yeah, it was def interesting. I don't think I've seen a movie for it? But we are in class and reading some like critical essays about it and all. So we'll see how that goes but overall it was good and pretty fast it's only like 156 pages so pretty short! But hey I liked it, but not enough to keep it hehe