Eleanor And Park by Rainbow Rowell

Eleanor And Park by Rainbow Rowell

Rating: PG-13

Score: 4 stars

Eleanor: Crazy red hair, unusual weird fashion, and just trying to survive at home and get through high school as fast as she can. All the kids think she's weird and strange. She thinks she couldn't look any uglier than she already does. Her step dad hates his own family and her mother is too broken to see that. Eleanor, just trying to survive in life.

Park: Everyone knows not to mess with him, he listens to crazy punk music and rather sit alone on the bus with his headphones on than with his friends. He's a loner most of the time and wears mostly black all the time. He's a little strange but his family and friends still love him. He's doing fine on his own. Until he meets the new girl named Eleanor.

Two teens who don't believe in love or love at first sight but desperate enough to fight for it. No matter what the cost may be.

Review:

Pros:

1. This punk-rock love story is very sweet and refreshing. I love how the relationship between Park and Eleanor starts out slowly in a bitter way and morphs into something sweeter and loving. It's a very beautiful love story and to me is a cross between The Fault In Our Stars (love story) and Just Listen (music).

2. The characters in this book are very well built and unique. The main characters are very easy to get to know and the side characters are just as easily known by the reader. 

3. The story is about two teens who come from completely different backgrounds and have different interests. They get to know each other and despite their differences, they fall in love and try to protect each other from the world and their own families. Once again, this book is a refreshing love story.

Cons:

1. There was some language throughout the book that was a bit distracting to me. Most of the language came from Eleanor's step dad and even though I felt like there was a little too much language, it did deliver on the step dad's part.

Age Recommendation: 14+

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Siren by Tricia Rayburn

Siren by Tricia Rayburn

Rating: PG

Score: 4 stars

After Justine's body washes up on shore after mysteriously drowning, her younger sister Vanessa comes back to the town where her sister was found to find some answers as to what happened that day on the shore when her sister supposedly jumped into the water and never came back up. After a series of mysterious events start happening like the unusual weather patterns and storms hitting the coast, Vanessa gets the help of boy-next-door and childhood friend Simon as they try to piece together the puzzle of what's happening around them. Bodies are being found almost everyday, each victim male, successful, and smiling from ear to ear. Vanessa tries desperately to find a connection to the drownings and her sister but as weird things start happening and her and Simon grow closer together, there's something that could break the two apart related to the drownings. Something that no one suspected.

Review:

Pros: 

1. This mystery/suspense story is one that keeps you on the edge of your seat until the very end. With tons of twists and turns around every corner, this book definitely keeps you guessing and trying to piece together the puzzle yourself.

2. I loved the characters in this book. The characters were well developed and had a great relationship between them. The friendship and romance between Vanessa and Simon is very sweet and also caring.

Cons:

1. A few times the book got a bit slow during every other chapter but was made up for in the end.

2. A few times I was a bit confused on certain parts in the book by the wording of the sentences. It only happened a couple of times during the book was still there.

I hope you guys enjoyed this book review! If you have any other book requests you would like me to review, just leave it in the comments or email me! Read on bookworms! See you in the next chapter!

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

Rating: PG

Score: 4 1/2 stars

After her eighteen year old sister Cass runs away from home one August morning, Caitlin and her family struggle to accept her choice to find her own way in life. All her life, Caitlin has lived in her sister's shadow trying to keep up. With Cass gone, leaving no one to lead her through high school and life, Caitlin struggles to find her own way and struggles to keep everyone together. Everything seems so stressful, until she meets Rogerson. He's brilliant, smart and mysterious and makes Caitlin forget about everything, makes her feel alive and makes everything else seem so unreal. But with all that making her fall more in love him, she's forced to wonder if being without Rogerson is harder than being with him. Love can be a dangerous thing, and Caitlin starts learning the hard way. Will she accept how things are? Is being in love worth an abusive relationship? Will she forgive Cass for leaving her behind?

Review:

Pros:

1. This book is all about trying to find your own way in life without having to have somebody tell you what to do every step of the way. It's about making your own choices and finding your own interests and letting life take you where it will.

2. The book is also about struggles and forgiveness. In the book, Caitlin begins to become angry towards her sister and refuses to talk to her when she calls. Caitlin, in the process of trying to keep everyone together, finds herself caught up in an abusive relationship, drawing back from her friends and finding new ones and begins losing herself to drugs and drinking.

3. I loved the characters in the book and their backgrounds very well explained who they are today. All the characters were very different from each other yet still fit together in a loving, sad and sentimental way.

Cons:

1. In the first couple of chapters, the book was a bit slow as well as a few times throughout the book. But I did feel like it picked up with various scenes, making up for the slow ones.

2. This is the last of the Sara Dessen books that I've finished. 

I hope you enjoyed this book review! If you have any book requests you would like me to review, just send me an email or leave them in the comments! Read on bookworms! See you in the next chapter!

Storm Catchers by Tim Bowler

Storm Catchers by Tim Bowler

Rating: PG

Score: 4 stars

"Tell a soul and she's dead.

We'll be in touch."

What seems like a harmless trip down the road to a friend's house quickly turns wrong for Fin when his sister Ella is kidnapped during the night. His little brother Sam seems different, going on about 'catching the storm' and wondering all alone at night when everyone's asleep down to the coastal cliff. Fin will never forgive himself if something happens to Ella or Sam and takes it upon himself to bring them both home safe and sound no matter what it takes. As Fin and his family begin the urgent search for the missing girl, secrets and lies threaten to tear the family apart. More and more questions start being asked, and they're running out of time to save Ella. Why was she kidnapped? Who kidnapped her? Who's the mysterious man Fin keeps seeing around town? What is his father hiding from them?

Review:

Pros:

1. One thing I loved about this book was the mystery and suspense behind every page. This book definitely keeps you on the edge of your seat and wanting to read more of every twist and turn.

2. The characters were well built and even the small characters played a major role in the story in the end. The characters were unique in their own way which is depicted perfectly by three-year-old Sam.

3. This book also has a couple of really good plot twists that leave you with your mouth hanging open in realization. From Fin's father to the kidnapper, you will be surprised at the secrets revealed.

Cons:

1. Even though the book is a quick read, 200 pages, it did get a bit slow in the first three or four chapters. I didn't mind it as much since it was a shorter book but just letting you know that it was a bit slow in the beginning.

I hope you enjoyed this book review! If you have any book requests you would like me to review, just send me an email or leave it in the comments! Read on bookworms! See you in the next chapter!

The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison

The Butterfly Clues by Kate Ellison

Rating: PG-13

Stars: 3 1/2

Penelope "Lo" Martin has always loved to collect beautiful things. But ever since the death of her older brother, her hording has blossomed in a full-blown and potentially dangerous obsession in the year since. When Lo comes across a beautiful butterfly figurine, she immediately recognizes it as having been stolen from the home of the recently murdered young girl Sapphire. Lo becomes fixated with piecing together the clues and trying to find out who murdered Sapphire and why. With the help of a local artist and unlikely friend Flynt, Lo finds herself caught up in a dangerous, violent and seedy world, much closer to home than she imagined.

Review:
Pros:
1. This story is all about mystery and suspense, lies and secrets, love and loss. Lo is an interesting character with interesting characteristics that make you want to get more involved in the story. As Lo uncovers the secrets and pieces together the puzzle, you become more and more well known with Lo and how her mind works.

2. The story is unique as well are the other characters. You have mystery and suspense for the readers seeking a thrill, twist and turns for the readers seeking a good page turner and a little bit of romance for the readers who want something happy in this sort of doom-and-gloom journey Lo takes on.

3. One thing I have to give praise for this book is that it has some really good plot twists that were built up nicely. They caught you by surprise and made you wonder why you hadn't caught on to them from the get-go.

Cons:
1. While I enjoyed the story, it did tend to get a bit slow multiple times during the first few chapters. It didn't pick up at a steady pace which made reading it a bit hard to do. Some chapters were faster than other but really didn't pick up at a faster pace until the middle of the book.

2. There are a few questionable subjects that are talked about in the book without any way to avoid it. Lo has to put herself in Sapphire's shoes, literally, in order to find out what happened the night Sapphire was murdered and what the motives were and why. Because of this, Lo has to work the same job, dress the same for the job, and get involved in a more scandalous environment. There's also a mention of drugs, drinking, and of course, Sapphire's job which is probably the most questionable subject in the book.

3. The book didn't reveal too much about the more mature subjects but also didn't reveal a lot about other subjects I would've liked to know more about such as more on Lo's brother and what he was like before he died.

Age Recommendation: 14+

I hope you enjoyed this book review! If you have any book requests you would like me to review, send me an email or leave it in the comments! Read on bookworms! See you in the next chapter!

On Beale Street by Ronald Kidd

On Beale Street by Ronald Kidd

Rating: PG

Score: 5 stars

Living in Memphis, 1954, Johnny Ross' life is pretty much what you'd expect in the time and place. A black-and-white life with his friends and family just trying to live their lives as normally as possible. Until Johnny somehow finds his way onto Beale Street, and everything changes. There's music he's never allowed to listen too, people singing and dancing at the clubs and on the wrong side of the tracks. But Johnny can't pull himself away from the blues, the music he so desperately craves, especially when he starts working for Sam Phillips at Sun Records. And not only that, but when a new up-and-coming artist named Elvis records his first song, it's something no one has ever heard before and Johnny can't get enough of it. With the making of history right before his eyes, his life starts changing along with the rest of the world. As secrets from Johnny's past start threatening to tear apart his black-and-white life, he can't help but see how the power of music brings people together. A country divided by race united by Rock 'N' Roll.

Review:

Pros:

1. The story is about division, conflict and most importantly, music. If you're a music lover like me, you will definitely want to pick up this book and start reading. The story is about a young teenage boy who's just looking for a passion of his and once he finds it, he won't let anyone or anything stand in the way.

2. I love how the story deals with a time when people were divided among race and how things like music brought people together. It deals a lot with acceptance and how even your friends that you thought would stay with you forever are no better than strangers who choose to judge without knowing you.

3. The book is also about finding new friends in the people you were raised to stay away from. In this case, blacks don't mix with whites. Johnny learns that race doesn't matter when it comes to friendship and that sometimes a good change can be controversial to others.

4. This book is definitely one of my favorite books of all time and I am proud to have a copy on my bookshelf. This book deals with certain issues that are important to know and realize. It's definitely an eye opener to the real world and what music is actually capable of doing.

Age Recommendation: 13+

I hope you enjoyed this book review! If you have any other book requests you would like to review, just leave a comment or send me an email! Read on bookworms! See you in the next chapter!

The Moon And More by Sarah Dessen

The Moon And More by Sarah Dessen

Rating: PG

Score: 5 stars

Eighteen year old Emaline, small town girl from Colby with the perfect boyfriend, great friends and loving parents, has her life set up and ready to go. Everything is familiar to her and just the way she wants it, going to collage on scholarship at a local collage, working for the summer with her older sister Margo, and making the summer one of her best. Or at least trying to. When her estranged biological father shows up for the weekend with her half-brother Benji unexpectedly, Emaline feels that something's off, not only with her father but with everything else as the summer drags on. And if that's not enough change, Theo, an assistant for a famous cinematographer, comes along for the ride with Emaline to get through summer alive. Things start changing rapidly before she can even prepare and without any warning her world starts crumbling around her. Theo and her father think she's too smart for the small town, her friends think she deserves to be happy, and her mother just wants to give Emaline everything she's ever wanted. Will the changes keep her on track to where she wants to go? Or will she realize that change is inevitable? Will she settle for less? Or will she achieve the moon and more?

Review:

Pros:

1. Once again, my all-time favorite author, Sara Dessen, does not dissapoint with this great teenage girl coming of age story about relashionships, family, friends, and accepting change for all that it is. The story is something everyone can relate too. Life can change in the blink of an eye and sometimes what you settle for isn't always the best choice to take. This story really pinpoints these ideas in a very beautiful way.

2. The characters are very relatable. Their funny, quirky, smart and loving. They understand each other but also have their disagreements on certain issues. But in the end, they each have each others backs as well as speak their minds.

3. The idea of this book is that life has tons of twists and turns that hit us in the blink of any eye. The story is about going along with life and its changes just trying to survive it all even though it seems like nothing is going as planned. The story also delivers the very important point: sometimes when something's better than what you have, it doesn't always mean it's the best for you.

Cons: 

1. There were a few typos within the book, a few missing words and grammer errors. But only in every few chapters.

Age Recommendation: 13+

I hope you enjoyed this book review! If you have any other book requests you would like me to review, just leave them in the comments or send me an email! Read on bookworms! See you in the next chapter!

Girl, Stolen by April Henry

Girl, Stolen by April Henry

Rating: PG

Score: 5 stars

When sixteen year old Cheyenne, a wealthy daughter of two wealthy parents, is kidnapped by accident when a carjacking attempt goes wrong, she has no idea where they're going, what they look like or even where she is. A high school drop out named Griffen and his father plan to hold Cheyenne hostage for ransom and promise not to kill her. She's scared, alone, and when Griffen starts feeling sympathy for her, he tells her that his father does intend on killing her and has no doubt in his mind that her time is running out. Will Cheyenne be able to convince Griffen to help her escape? Will she survive through the next few days until she's reunited with her family? Will they actually kill a harmless girl who's blind?

Review:

Pros:

1. This story is well built for it to only be a couple hundred pages long. This mystery suspence is definitely a book I do not regret reading. One thing I like about the book is that it picks up and throws you into the story immediately within the first two pages. From there, the story picks up a little more and before you know it, you're feeling a rush of excitement by cheering for Cheyenne to make it out of her captors hands.

2. The story keeps you on the edge of your seat while Cheyenne tries to figure out a way to escape by not only staying calm but by gaining Griffen's trust. Trying to outsmart her captors, using her senses harder than ever and fighting for her life.

3. Because Cheyenne is blind, the book feels very interactive while you read. Trying to imagine what everything looks like in your own mind like Cheyenne does and trying to get a sense of what's happening, where they are, and what Griffen and his father look like. Picking up on different details, using your senses to find out the best means of escape, and also just trying to get out alive. 

Age Recommendation: 12+

Hope you enjoyed this book review! If you have any book requests you would like me to review just leave them in the comments or send me an email! Read on bookworms! See you in the next chapter!

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Rating: PG

Score: 4 1/2 stars

Imagine waking up in a metal box flying like an elevator all the way to the top. It's dark and scary and you don't remember anything in your life except for your name. Thomas, about sixteen, finds himself in what is called the Glade by the other boys there. All boys. About fifty or more and they call themselves the Gladers. No one knows why they're there or what their lives were like before the glade. But what they do know is this: The maze is their only way out. With mysterious creatures and haunting sounds of their presence, no one has ever survived a night in the maze once the doors close. Thomas thinks that nothing could get any stranger until the next morning, when a girl is transported in the box to the glade in a coma. This might not seem that strange to Thomas, until he finds out that there's only new Glader, a boy, brought here to the Glade once a month, on the exact day. Never two in the same month and week. Especially not a girl. And not only that, but she carries a note that seems to predict that everything they know will change. What's even weirder, he seems familiar in the Glade and knows somehow that he's meant to be a Runner, one of the guys who travels through the maze to try and find a way out. But as strange things start happening in the Glade, there's only question that everyone is asking: Is there really a way out of the maze? And if so, will they make it out alive?

Review:

Pros:

1. This book is full of tons of action and adventure that really keep you interested and on the edge of your seat. From giant futuristic creatures to a sickness that leads to absolute insanity. 

2. The story is well built and I have yet to find a book that is as original as this one. From the characters to the maze, from the Glade to The Creators, this book takes you through an exciting story of the power of teamwork, friendship and the will to survive the unknown.

3. This book is perfect for both girls and boys who like a little action and adventure as well as awesome fighting scenes and giant monsters that basically want to eat your face off.

Coins:

1. At some points in the book, it does tend to get a bit slow during the chapters but picks up at a decent pace.

2. It was a bit difficult to read the language of the Gladers, seeing as they have their own slang such as the words klunk and slinthead but after a few chapters you get used to the slang and start understanding the meaning of it.

Age Recommendation: 13+

Hope you guys enjoyed this book review! If you have any book requests you would like me to review, just leave me a comment or send me an email! Read on bookworms! See you in the next chapter!

Famous by Todd Strasser

Famous by Todd Strasser

Rating: PG

Score: 3 1/2 stars

This book is about a young sixteen year old paparazzo named Jamie, the baby pap prodigy that has had her pictures land covers on People and US Weekly. She thinks her career is just getting started when she's offered up one of the biggest gigs yet, the chance to hang out with Willow Twine, the hottest popstar and actress in the country. Her assignment: document a whole week in Willow's life, trying to get her career back at the top as well as make a name for herself as a celebrity photographer. Everything seems perfect at the moment. Her perfect boyfriend, her best friend becoming an aspiring actor himself, and of course, her own career looking up. Until Jamie finds her camera placed where she knows without a doubt she didn't put it and finds six different shots that she knows she didn't take. Including a picture that could change everything for everyone. Is she willing to sell the pictures and bring down Willow's fragile career, pictures that could easily in the blink of an eye bring Jamie up to the top of the paparazzi business? Or will she save Willow and give up on everything she's ever worked for?

Review:

First the pros.

1. The story is about the obsession with kids and teens and fame. It deals with problems such as changing yourself not only emotionally but physically for the camera, as the character Avy, Jamie's best friend and aspiring actor, portrays in the book.

2. It also talks about sacrifice for the things you want and the things you need. Walk away from it all for someone who doesn't deserve the negative attention? Or forget them and go for it all, no matter what may happen?

Cons: 

1. The only thing I did not enjoy very much about the book is that it skips back and forth in each chapter. Sometimes you read a chapter that is placed a year before, then one placed in the present, then one from the point of a different character all together. I will admit that though it does take you through the whole process of how Jamie got her start as a paparazzo at fifteen, I would've liked to see the book start from there and work it's way forward instead of flipping back and forth between different scenes from different times.

Overall, this book is an eye-opener on how sometimes fame can destroy not only us but the people around us and that not every celebrity is as perfect and happy as they seem. Especially behind closed doors. 

Age Recommendation: 12+

Hope you enjoyed this book review! If you have any book requests you want me to review, leave it in the comments or email me! Read on bookworms! See you in the next chapter!

The Fault In Our Stars: Movie Review

All right girls! This one's for you!

Rating: PG-13

Score: 5 Stars (no pun intended)

 Over the weekend, me and my bestie went to this movie on opening day (We couldn't wait until Saturday). We bought our tickets and received our Red Band Society bracelets and went in to watch this real tear jerker. I basically have no bad words about this movie but I will give my honest review.

The movie pretty much starts just like the book does, opening with the narration by Hazel talking about her cancer, her life, and finally the literal heart of Jesus. From there it pretty much continues into her meeting Gus, and the other characters in the book. The movie shows most of the scenes from the book, such as their friend breaking trophies after a break-up in a hilarious scene, the plans to go Amsterdam, Hazel being rushed to the hospital right after, as well as other funny scense in between. I'm not gonna tell you the whole story, for that you'll just have to read the amazing book and then see the movie for yourself. Their were tons of laugh out loud scenes throughout the movie, which both me and my friend really enjoyed. Overall, the movie stayed about 99% along with the book, only cutting a few scenes that probably weren't important to the movie. I definitely recommend this movie to not only fans of the book like myself, but also any girl who loves a good chick-flick or someone who can relate in anyway to cancer, such as having a loved one with cancer or a patient themselves. I really enjoyed this movie and will definitely be buying this on DVD.

But be warned: when the guy tearing your tickets asks if you would like some tissues, take them! I've never, not once cried in a movie, but this movie made history for me (I cried three times).

Age Recommendation: 13+

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