Pitch Black: Color me Lost by Melody Carlson

Back Cover: If Morgan thought her life was tough before- what with a drug-addicted, klepto brother and a cradle-robbing mother- it just got worse. Last night, her close friend Jason took his own life. Smart, funny, a good listener, and perfect in just about every way, Jason HArding is gone forever. Someone please wake me up from this nightmare. Jason's death sends Morgan reeling. She copes- or tries to- by attempting to piece together vague clues that might explain her friend's suicide. Making matters worse, Morgan can't help but feel responsible because she wasn't there for her friend when he needed her most. Sometimes she thinks maybe Jason had the right idea all along. Morgan feels los in a pitch-black abyss, and her only way out is to turn back to the one Friend who will never leave her. That was so sad! When I first read that her friend commited suicide I was like no way! And then when she made the suicide pact she seemed so sure, and Grace and Seth did too, and I was like what! What else is gonna be in the rest of the book? It was depressing feeling like that. And I really can't imagine one of your really good friends commitng suicide, that would be so devastating, as it was to those three. And then even more people wanted to commit suicide. It's so sad how teens think killing themselves will solve everything. I mean I've had some rough times but I know they'll go by. Ya know I had a really great life until about when I was 16 and there were a few family issues that seemed unrealistic, they still do today actually, but they passed and became better overtime. Carlson has some great messages for teens. She covers everything so detailed and intricate. She's amazing.

Faded Denim: Color me Trapped by Melody Carlson

Back Cover: All of Emily's friends seem so perfect. They're skinny and pretty and, of course, are fun and flirty to boot. Especially Leah, who, as Emily rememberms it, used to be the chubby girl in school. Now Leah is on her way toward becoming America's next top model. Literally. Why can't I look like her? Emily loathes her slightly overweight body, her insecure personality, and sometimes even her "perfect" friends. As Leah and Becca, another gorgeous friend, discuss the latest fashion trends and "magical thigh-reducing creams", Emily's secret bitterness begins to eat away at her soul. Emily takes drastic measures, putting herself in danger of death, which she will avoid only if she comes to terms with the issues weighing down her heavy heart. Amazing book of course! It just made me feel like I was the one getting made fun of, and a few times in my elementary school I was but not because of how I looked, well sometimes, but mostly other things I don't wanna really mention, but bascically I know how it is to be made fun of, not like in the teen sense though, which seems even more harsh. But it really does suck and make you start to doubt yourself, but as long as God on your side you can make it through. Emily becomes anorexic because she wants to look like her best friend Leah. And she's tired of being big. And she isn't patient. That's the thing with trying to lose weight. You have to be patient, and you don't have to necesarrily have to go on a diet. As long as you eat what you should like fruits and vegetables and protein and things like that you'll lose weight. Especially cutting down on pop. I lost 6 lbs by not drinking pop as much, like once a week or less, and eating healthier. Then exercise. So it really is so sad, it tears me up to hear about these stories of bullimia and anorexia. But when you're in that type of atmosphere it gets to ya. but Emily did have God, even though she pushed Him aside she still had him there in her heart. That's what matters most.

Forest Dwellers, Forest Protectors by Richard Reed

Back Cover: The ethnographies in the Cultural Survival Studies inEhtnicity and Change series, edited by David Maybury-Lewis and Theodore MacDonald, Jr., of Cultural Survival, Inc., Harvard University, focuses on key issues affecting indigenous and ethnic groups worldwide. Each title builds on introductory material by going further in-depth and allowing students to explore, virtually first-hand, a particular issue and its impact on a culture. Paperback and brief, each enthography is written in a clear, accessible style for both students and the general reader. So I just had to read this book for my anthropology class and I read the whole thing, it's just 96 pages, but it was pretty interesting, of course kinda boring sometimes but yeah! Woo glad to add on another book to mah evergrowing list! I'm so super right? Being in school reading a book a day along with reading for school and doing homework and studying and working, it's amazing! fo sho

How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls by Zoey Dean

Back Cover: Yale graduate Megan Smith has big plans for a career in journalism and even bigger debt: $75,000 in college loans. She grabs a job at a trashy tabloid, gets fired (small wonder: nothing can make her care which celebrity just got a nose-job), and then gets an offer she just can't refuse. Seventeen-year-old identical twins Rose and Sage Baker are Palm Beach heiresses best known for their massive fortunes and penchant for flashing the paparazzi. Their grandmother offers to pay off Megan's loans if she can tutor the girls and get them into Duke. But the twins aren't about to bend their celebutante schedules to learn algebra. Megan quickly discovers that she has to know her Pucci from her Prada to reach these students. If she can look the part, maybe- just maybe- she can teach them something. What Megan could never imagine is what the whole experience is about to teach her... This was a great book! I loved it because it kinda proved that some famous people anre't all dumb, even though this is just a book. Because famous people are perceived to be dumb, like Paris Hilton ya know? But Megan is just trying to help out the girls, and finds out that she can't write the story she was originally going to, because she actually got to know the girls and they got to know her too. Even though she lost James, she found Will. And things were rocky, but they worked out in the end. There are so many books about the rich people and their lives, but this one is from an outer perspective, a girl who is trying to tutor these two famous ones on taking the SAT, I mean it's like great! haha I liked this book better than the A-list ones actually, Zoey Dean needs to write some more books like this ya know? And it's funny because this took place in Florida, and I just read Tan Lines which was in Florida too, but yeah. And I love the gold bikini, one day I should be able to fit into one like that lol. But yeah, good book for sure.

This Boy's Life A Memoir by Tobias Wolff

Back Cover: This unforgettable memoir of boyhood in the 1950s, a true modern classic, introduces us to the young Toby Wolff, by turns tough and vulnerable, crafty and bumbling. Separated by divorce from his father and bother, Toby and his mother are constantly on the move. As he fights for identity and self-respect against the unrelenting hostility of a new stepfather, his experiences are at once poignant and comical, and Wolff masterfully re-creates the frustrations, cruelties, and joys of adolescence. His various schemes- running away to Alaska, forging checks, and stealing cars- lead eventually to an act of outrageous self-invention that releases him into a new world of possibility. So I read this book for my english class, Masculinity and Violence. so focusing on what it means to be masculine and how the book fits into that with violence and other things. I'd say it was a pretty good book, but it didn't really have a climax. There were some major events, but nothing that was like the big point of the story. And the ending was kinda like eh. But it is another book out the way for my book count! I'm glad I have to read books for english ya know? But it was a good book that did have some characters, including the main one Jack, that were dealing with masculinity and violence.

Tan Lines by Katherine Applegate

Back Cover: Summer can't wait to get back to the Florida Keys. She, Marquez, and Diana have already decided to get an apartment so they can spend the whole summer together. But even with her friends by her side, Summer is in for more bay trouble. Summer's boyfriend, Seth, is ready to take their relationship to the next level, but he's all the way across the country in California. Enter Austin, the hottie from spring break whom Summer hasn't stopped thinking about. With Austin flirting 24/7 and Seth hundreds of miles away, Summer is about to learn about true love... Def a good book with alot of wow things. I know I was so pissed off about Summer being with Austin because she was cheating basically. But then I guess Seth did the same thing with Diana. It was crazy. There's so many things to even think about in this book and I really don't feel like telling it right now. But it was for sure a great book and a good summer read too or a read for when you wish it was summer right? But there is alot of drama for sure.