Title: Twisted

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

Hard cover: 272 pages

Publisher: Viking Juvenile (March 15, 2007)

Genre: Contemporary realism

From Amazon:

Tyler Miller, former nerd, returns for his senior year with a new buff bod, courtesy of the manual community service he was forced to perform for graffitting the school. To his surprise, school Queen Bee Bethany Milsbury starts paying attention to him. This causes conflict with his nemesis, Bethany's twin brother Chip, and is complicated by the fact that Bethany's dad is his father's boss. When he rejects her (drunken) advances at a party, things become complicated when anonymous nude camera photos of Bethany wind up on the Internet. Suddenly, the police are paying attention to the former school defacer and he faces hostility from the other students. Like Melinda in "Speak," he has a dysfunctional family and minimal support from peers and adults. As he begins to implode from the pressure, finding a way to clear his name and stand up to the bullies in his life looks more and more difficult.

My thoughts: This book was an amazing tale spun by Laurie Halse Anderson. The way she writes, I feel like all this could be happening to the author herself, even if it's fiction. Ms. Anderson knows how to create realistic characters. Every detail is included. For example, she goes into detail about the amount of cracks in the wall, or how many lockers are in the school. It creates a picture in my mind and I feel like I'm in the story. I really enjoyed this book, though the language seems a bit mature.

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SNAPS
Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭

Would I read it again? Yes
Would I read more from this author? yes
Who should read this? This book is for high school students. There is some swearing, but if you like contemporary realism, this one's for you.

Next on the TBR pile:

✍ I'm putting the Book Thief on the side, stopping at page 46, and going back to it after. I just had a sudden urge to re-read the book Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins. I read Hunger Games a while back and read Catching Fire, but I don't think I really understood the book. I had completely forgotten the book right after I read it because I just tried to get to the end, so now I really want to read it again. ✎✏✐

What are books that you've read more than once?

I have now lost the tolerance for really long books ☹ ... 600 plus pages is now overly crazy for me. Right now I've been reading through amazingly short 200 page books and not my normal 400 plus. Next on my TBR list is a book I wished I had read when I was younger and more tolerant of books. So next I am going to read The Book Thief. This is my list of books. ✎✏✐

☑ Water for Elephants

☑ Crossing the wire

☑ Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy

☒ East of Eden

☐ The Book Thief

☐ Paper Town

Title: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Author: Douglas Adams

Paperback: 224 pages

Publisher: Harmony, 25th anniversary edition (August 3, 2004)

Genre: Science-fiction

Synopsis from Amazon:

Join Douglas Adams's hapless hero Arthur Dent as he travels the galaxy with his intrepid pal Ford Prefect, getting into horrible messes and generally wreaking hilarious havoc. Dent is grabbed from Earth moments before a cosmic construction team obliterates the planet to build a freeway. You'll never read funnier science fiction; Adams is a master of intelligent satire, barbed wit, and comedic dialogue. The Hitchhiker's Guide is rich in comedic detail and thought-provoking situations and stands up to multiple reads. Required reading for science fiction fans, this book (and its follow-ups) is also sure to please fans of Monty Python, Terry Pratchett's Discworld series, and British sitcoms.

My thoughts: This book is so technical because it explains different parts of machines, like nerd things. I finally finished this book after about 3 failed attempts to get through it. Even though I kept quitting, I wanted to finish it just because. Once I got through it, I think this book is kind of funny because of the flashbacks that tell about how things occur. Also, at the weirdest moments things just pop up. The story is made up out of story's made out of made up things like Vogons and the heart of gold, but the way he writes makes everything he writes so believable. Adams is a writer that likes to explain all the details.

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SNAPS
Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭
Would I read it again? Yes
Would I read more from this author? YES!
Who should read this? This book is more for adults than YA. Read it if you're interested in adventure and Sci-Fi.

Next on the TBR pile: East of Eden

Title: Crossing the Wire

Author: Will Hobbs

Paperback: 224 pages

Publisher: HarperCollins (April 10, 2007)

Genre: Adventure

Synopsis from Amazon

Ever since his family moved to the tiny village of Los Árboles, Victor has been best friends with Rico. When Rico tells him that he has enough money to pay for a coyote to help him cross into El Norte, Victor is unable to decide if he, too, should go along and look for work or try to feed his family with the pitiful annual corn harvest. The decision is made for him the next day when he discovers that the corn prices have bottomed out and that there is no point in even planting this year. Readers suffer with the 15-year-old as he makes his painful decision to leave his mother and younger siblings and attempts the dangerous border crossing, jumping trains, fleeing thieves and border officials, and suffering from thirst and hunger. His desperation and fear are completely believable as he faces near-death situations and must decide whom to trust. The author deftly weaves information concerning the local geography and customs into the plot. The story is well paced, sustaining readers' attention throughout.

My thoughts: This book was really good because it talks about the lives of people that are trying to immigrate to America. It tells of the cruelty and generosity of people in real life. I liked the way the writer writes uses a lot of similes. I think the author should make a sequel because the book ends in a weird way, and does not really tie up the loose ends.

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SNAPS
Rating: ✭✭✭✭✩

Would I read it again? Yes
Would I read more from this author? No
Who should read this? This book is a book for a young audience for people looking for an adventure

Next on the TBR pile: Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

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...edited by Mrs.Ikeda

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by the Story Siren.

Borrowed:

From School Library Journal:

Ever since his family moved to the tiny village of Los Árboles, Victor has been best friends with Rico. When Rico tells him that he has enough money to pay for a coyote to help him cross into El Norte, Victor is unable to decide if he, too, should go along and look for work or try to feed his family with the pitiful annual corn harvest. The decision is made for him the next day when he discovers that the corn prices have bottomed out and that there is no point in even planting this year.

Water for Elephants
Sara Gruen
Paperback: 350 pages
Publisher: Algonquin Books (April 9, 2007)
Summary from Goodreads:

"Though he may not speak of them, the memories still dwell inside Jacob Jankowski's ninety-something-year-old mind. Memories of himself as a young man, tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Memories of a world filled with freaks and clowns, with wonder and pain and anger and passion; a world with its own narrow, irrational rules, its own way of life, and its own way of death. The world of the circus: to Jacob it was both salvation and a living hell." Jacob was there because his luck had run out - orphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on this locomotive "ship of fools." It was the early part of the Great Depression, and everyone in this third-rate circus was lucky to have any job at all. Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, was there because she fell in love with the wrong man, a handsome circus boss with a wide mean streak. And Rosie the elephant was there because she was the great gray hope, the new act that was going to be the salvation of the circus; the only problem was, Rosie didn't have an act - in fact, she couldn't even follow instructions. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and ultimately, it was their only hope for survival.

My thoughts: A really amazing book about a traveling circus that fed off the carrion of dead circuses all over the world. It's a good book and I have read it more than 5 times already and it's still good. Sara Gruen really is a good writer and if I can find any more of her books then I would read more but sadly, I cannot...
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SNAPS
Rating: ✭✭✭✭✭
Would I read it again? Yes
Would I read more from this author? Maybe
Who should read this? This book is more for adults than YA. Read it if you're interested in adventure and romance.

Next on the TBR pile: Crossing the Line by Will Hobbs (I have to read a Western for class).