Summer Books

Hi, guys, sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've just been really busy this summer and since I haven't posted in a while, I've read a lot of books. Also, blogger keeps glitching so I've had to rewrite this post or parts of this post multiple times. I had this ready like a month ago and it was really nice and had a picture of every book mentioned but it didn't save and I have already spent way too much time working on this. As it is I'm just going to name a few books and give some basic information about each book- unless I really really liked it. Also not many pictures because half of them don't cooperate well and it takes a while to get them in the right place. Hopefully it actually saves/publishes this time. Ready, let's go-

Trials of Apollo:
This is Rick Riordan's latest book. In it, Zeus has made the god Apollo a mere mortal and sent him to Earth. To become a god again, Apollo has to successfully complete dangerous tasks- the trials. With the help of his friends, Apollo must find out who is kidnapping the campers and return them to Camp Half-Blood. I strongly recommend reading the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and the Heroes of Olympus series before reading this book.

Isle of the Lost/Return to the Isle of the Lost:
These to books are basically the prequel and the sequel to the Disney movie The Descendants. That's what I think at least- I haven't actually seen The Descendants yet- oops! ;D It is not necessary to watch the Disney movie to read these books (after all, I did it). At the beginning of Return to the Isle of the Lost the author explains what happens during the movie. At least I assume so, again I haven't seen it so don't quote me on this.

The Da Vinci Code: 
I really enjoyed this book. It took a while for the book to capture my attention, more so than other books, but it was definitely worth it. 
Basically, this symbologist Robert Langdon is accused for the murder of a museum curator whose body is found in a strange position with strange symbols nearby. Langdon and cryptologist Sophie Neveu must follow the clues through the streets of Paris from works of Da Vinci to faraway cathedrals to find the truth before it's too late. Racing the police and a mysterious person who is also following the clues, Langdon and Neveu travel through the streets of Paris learning startling secrets including those about the mysterious secret society the Priory of Sion.
Okay I didn't do a great job explaining that book... For those of you that have read the 39 clues series, it is kind of like that but for adults. I think one of the reasons that I like this book so much is that about a week after finishing the book my family went to Paris (one of the reasons I haven't posted), so I got to see so many things referenced in the book and look for the secrets mentioned in it. Also it's ingenious to see how Dan Brown connected everything and came up with the riddles and how everything ties together so well. Wow, I literally just said the same thing twice in one sentence.
The Da Vinci Code is the second book in a series but I didn't know that until today and I personally don't think it makes a difference if you read this book before the first book, but just for those of you who want to read the first book first it is called Angles and Demons. I strongly recommend this book to everyone, but especially to people who enjoy mysteries and treasure hunts. Oh, and I almost forgot, there is a plot twist at the end that I just didn't see coming!

See How They Run:
This is book number 2 in the Embassy Row series by Ally Carter. I kept planning on writing a post about book number 1 All Fall Down but it never happened sadly. Both books are really good and both have plot twists. In the first book, Grace returns to Embassy Row. It has now been 3 years since she witnessed her mother's death. Her grandfather is the US ambassador to Adria which is now her new home. For 3 years Grace has been yelling that her mother's death wasn't an accident as believed. The Scarred Man killed her mother, but no one believes her. They just send her to more doctors, more pills, more therapists, everyone believes she is crazy, but Grace knows the truth. So when the Scarred Man appears in Adria, Grace knows she has to do something. With the help of her friends Grace finally manages to uncover the truth of what happened the night her mother died- once and for all. In the second book in this series, someone is killed and everyone blames Alexei. In order to protect him, Grace and her friends must get to the bottom of who or what killed the person in question whose name I can't disclose due to spoiling. While finding out the truth, Grace uncovers a secret that contradicts everything she though she knew about herself and her family.

We Were Liars:
This is a book about Cadence Sinclair Eastman who is a part of the beautiful Sinclair Family. This family owns a a private island and every year all the aunts and the uncles and cousins go there during summer. One year Cadence gets into a terrible accident and doesn't remember what happened. She now gets terrible migraines. The next Cadence doesn't return to the island. When Cadence finally returns to the island 2 years after her accident many things have changed. The book is about Cadence reclaiming her life while figuring out just what happened that summer.


Okay, this post was sooo much better before. What happened was that I had it all typed up and I added all the pictures and it looked so nice, but when I tried to publish it, it didn't work. I decided to just publish it later but when I pulled it back up to publish half of the post was gone along with all the pictures. It didn't save! So it's not as nice as it was before and neither are the descriptions of the books so sorry. I'm also sorry that I haven't posted all summer even though I've been planning to. Anyway, I hope you still enjoyed this post and you should definitely search the books up because they are good.

PS. I finally watched the Disney Movie the Descendants. The story of the movie is in between the books as I stated above. Also, the (in my opinion) the movie is super cheesy and the books are better.

Pictures courtesy of Goodreads

Ranger's Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan

The Ranger's Apprentice Series by John Flanagan is amazing!!! I am currently reading the 3rd book in the series but today I'm going to talk about the first one- The Ruins of Gorlan.

Picture courtesy of Goodreads.

Will has turned 15 so it is now time for him and the other wards at castle Redmont to be chosen by a master for their apprenticeship. This choosing will determine the rest of their lives. Will, like most boys his age, wants to be chosen for battle school. However, unlike Horace, a fellow ward, he is not big or muscular. Still, it comes as a disappointment to him when he is not chosen. Instead, Will is chosen by the mysterious Ranger Halt. Nobody knows who Rangers are, or what they do. Some people rumor that they are sorcerers who dabble in black magic. Others say that Rangers can make themselves invisible at will. Whatever the case, needless to say that Will was a little apprehensive about his new life as a Ranger's apprentice. However, he soon realizes that there is more to being a Ranger than what meets the eye- a lot more. Rangers are responsible for keeping the kingdom safe. With their inhuman accuracy with the bow and arrows and their seemingly magical ability in the art of unseen movement. And now, they need all the help that they can get. As Will soon discovers, there is a war brewing. Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, was exiled 15 years ago. Everyone thought that was the last they would hear of him- other than the stories mothers told their children to get them to go to bed at night. Nevertheless, he has bided his time, growing his forces until they became ready to attack the Kingdom of Araluen and now it is time. Will Morgarath be stopped before it is too late? And what happens to Will? Read this great book to find out.

This book is so good! I love it so much! So much, in fact, that I somehow found the time to read the entire book in about 2 days. To be fair, it is a bit shorter than some of the other books I read. The characters just attach themselves to your heart, and you end up loving every one of them (at least the nice ones). I have to say, one of my favorite characters is Halt the Ranger. He is really sarcastic and says the most amusing things. Not just that, but he is also like a father-figure for Will who is an orphan. I loved seeing the way that they grew close over the course of the book. I also really liked seeing the friendship that grows between Will and Horace. They go from being childhood enemies to being the best of friends.

All in all, this book is a definite must-read. It is so good! Furthermore, the rest of the series (so far) is really good too! It's not like one of those book series where the first book is good and the rest, aren't as good. My friend, who has read the entire series (all 12 books) said that the books just keep getting better and better. I think everybody should read this book, especially if you are a fan of the False Prince or other books similar to it.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog post. I know I haven't posted in a while, but I'm hoping to post more regularly during the summer. And yes, even though technically I don't have to blog after school ends, I am definitely going to try to keep up with it.

One more thing, I know I keep saying this, but please, please, please check out my poll. It's been up there for a while, but only 3 people have voted. Thank You!

Salt to the Sea

Picture courtesy of Goodreads

Greetings Earthlings,
(I have no idea why I started like that. it has no connection to the book I'm talking about at all.) Anyway, I mentioned this book earlier when I made my post on Between Shades of Gray. So, this post is going to be in a slightly different format than usual. It is going to be similar to a question answer format; you'll see. Let the post Begin:

Title: Salt to the Sea

Author: Ruta Sepetys

Genre: Historical Fiction

Summary: Salt to the Sea is from the points of view of 4 different teenagers whose paths cross over the course of World War II. All have secrets and all seek safe passage aboard the ship, the Wilhelm Gustloff. The bulk of the story takes place as millions of refugees flock to one of two ports that can take them to freedom. Joana, who does everything she can to help whoever she can is haunted by the fact that she couldn't save those she cares about. Florian is haunted by his fate: will he die, or can he escape in time? Emilia is haunted by shame and what her friends will say when they find out what she has been hiding. Alfred acts like a hero, but does everything in his power to shirk responsibility. By the end of the book, you will see who survives and who becomes salt to the sea. 

Favorite Passage and Why: One passage that I like is from Emilia's point of view. "The shoe poet softly placed his hand on my shoulder. "Una, dear, are you all right?" Una. How could I steal Una? "As you can see, Una's quite far along," said Poet. "And she appears to be ill." " I liked this passage because it connects to Between Shades of Gray. In this passage, Emilia is pretending to be a dead Latvian woman named Una. In Between Shades of Gray, a Latvian woman named Una died. It is my opinion that they are the same person. Another passage that I liked is from Joana's point of view. "I spoke without hesitation. I wasn't sure, but I was sure I wanted to try. I leaned down to tell the soldier that he would see his son and give him the book. He was already dead. The condition of the soldiers spoke to the fate of the Reich. The voice was clear. Defeat. But I would get these wounded men on the big ship. The Wilhelm Gustloff would save them." I liked this passage because it really shows Joana's personality. Joana and a doctor had to assess many wounded soldiers and decide whether they would survive the voyage as the ship had limited space. It shows that she wanted to save as many people as possible, even if it only reassurances moments before they died as in the case of the soldier she speaks to.

I'll Remember: One thing I will most definitely remember about this book is the heartbreak. Ruta Sepetys is an incredible author and her books are magical but they are also some of the saddest books that I have ever read and I likely won't forget the end in a hurry.

Opinion: I love and hate this book at the same time but I definitely recommend it to anyone and everyone out there!

Anyway, I hope you liked this post and I hope you read this book. Just some advice, if you are the type of person who cries when reading books like this, don't read finish it right before you go to bed- it makes it hard to sleep because you just keep thinking about the ending. If you liked this format more than the other format, let me know in the comments. Also, Answer My Poll!!! Only 2 people have answered it!!! 

Just an update on my previous post: My friend told me about a plot twist that happens later in the series (The Mortal Instruments) that I didn't see coming that may just persuade me to finish the series, but we'll see...

Bye-Bye for now!

City of Bones

Picture courtesy of Goodreads

Hello friends,
I am going to apologize in advance if you find this post offensive. However, you don't have to agree or disagree with anything I say so...

I want to start off by saying that I did not think this book was not worth the hype. People are all like, that is my favorite series, I've read it like 3 times. I'm sorry if you are one of those people, but I personally didn't think it was that good! Keep in mind though, that I am a die hard Potterhead, so to someone who hasn't read Harry Potter or didn't like it, maybe the series is very good. You are entitled to your own opinion as I am to mine. So I planned to read this book a couple of years ago, and I haven't actually gotten around to it until now and after 2 years of everyone around me reading it, I wasn't amazed beyond belief. It was average.

City of Bones is a book about a girl named Clary who is pulled into the world of demons and demon hunters after her mom disappears and she herself is attacked. Most humans can't see demons; only shadowhunters (demon killers) can. When Valentine, a demon hunter gone rouge that everyone thought was dead for 16 years is back, it becomes obvious that he has Clary's mother. In order to get her back, Clary and her new friends, Jace, Alex, and Isabelle must find the Mortal Cup and exchange it for her mother before it is too late. What Clary doesn't realize is that old friends may be more valuable than new, and nothing is what it seems. 

This book is like any other fantasy/adventure book. It had some really good part, but some were parts were boring. There is definitely a plot twist though, so if you like books with twists that you don't see coming, check it out. 

I can't really explain why I didn't like this book. I guess it was just not what I expected. I mean, I had really high expectations for this book and they just didn't get met, you know? Also, I read this book right after reading Between Shades of Gray which was AMAZING!!! So that might contribute to why I didn't like it all that much. 

Anyway, if you like fantasy maybe you should check it out anyway. I know a lot of people like it, maybe you will to. I also know a lot of people who didn't like it though, so I don't know.

That's kind of it for know, this post became a lot shorter than usual. Sorry I haven't been posting very regularly. Hopefully I will have another post ready soon. Bye for now!
(Check out my poll. It's been up for a while and only one person has answered!)

Between Shades of Gray

Okay, so I know that I haven't posted in a while. In fact, one of my New Year's Resolutions was to post regularly, but I guess that's not happening. Oops! Anyway, on my last post, I promised a detailed explanation of Between Shades of Gray, so that is what I'm going to do. This is a really good book, but it's been a while since I've read it, so forgive me if I don't do it justice. I'll try though!

Between Shades of Gray, by Ruta Sepetys is about a 15 year old girl named Lina who is on the path to fulfilling her biggest dream: being a world renowned artist. Sadly, Lina, her brother Jonas, and their mother are being deported to Siberia by the Soviet Secret Police. Lina's father has been separated from them, and they have no idea where he is. Set during Stalin's reign, Lina uses her art skills to pass along messages, hoping they will reach her father. Along their journey, Lina does everything she can to keep her loved ones safe, all the while documenting everything that happens in her art. She hopes that once the war is over, she can show people the horrors they faced in the labor/concentration camps and one day return to Lithuania. 

I have very mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, Ruta Sepetys does an amazing job at portraying the hardships that people deported from their home countries had to go through. Most books set during this time period are focused on Jews in concentration camps and Hitler. You don't find many where the greatest enemy is Stalin and the Soviets, at least in my experience. Lina and her family aren't Jews. In fact they celebrate Christmas, but they still had to leave their home. On the other hand, this book is absolutely, 100% heartbreaking (at least for me). It is sooo sad! Now, I am the kind of person, who watches movies and reads books that are only a tad bit sad and, finds them upsetting. Holocaust movies, books, event the general topic I find especially upsetting. The problem is, so many of these books are very good so I read them anyway. A good example of this is The Book Thief. I had tears cascading down m face like a waterfall (okay this is a major exaggeration, but I still cried) while I was reading the book. The same thing happened with the book The Boy on the Wooden Box (which is an autobiography by the way), except I had to refrain from crying because I was in a public setting. Both of these books are absolutely amazing by the way and I strongly recommend them. Anyway, I kinda started rambling. Where was I? Oh, yeah, the book is heartbreaking.

Things that are sad about it:

-People dying

-The conditions

-The topic

Basically, as if the subject isn't sad enough, the way Ruta Sepetys conveys what is happening in her writing is even more sad. However, don't let this discourage you. You are probably better with sad things than I am so you will have no problem reading this incredible book.

One thing that I really liked about this book is that throughout it, Lina has these flashback memory type things. I really enjoyed these because as we see Lina growing and maturing, we get to see the events that helped make her who she is. In addition, this book has huge character development. Not only with Lina, but also with Jonas and side characters like the bald man and the girl with the doll. At the beginning of the book, Lina is young and ambitious and thinks that she will get to go home in no time. By the end, she is doing everything she can to protect those she cares about. Jonas and the girl with the doll are forced to grow up in a matter of weeks. They have their entire childhoods taken away from them. 

However, despite all the hardships that Lina, her family, and her new friends go through, they stay light-hearted because they know that is the only chance they have at survival. They celebrate Christmas and look after each other. There is even some romance (but not a lot). 

This book is a real eye-opener in my opinion. As I said before, there really aren't that many books about what STALIN did. They are mostly centered around Hitler. Also, Ruta Sepetys created Lina's story after much research and hearing people's first hand accounts about their experience in labor and concentration camps. 

All in all, I really enjoyed this book. It's the untold story of what thousands of people went through under Stalin's reign. It really shows the horrors that that they faced during this time and it is incredibly written. I strongly encourage you to read this book and honestly if I could, I might force you to. Like add it to the school curriculum or something. It could be the book that we have to read in language arts every year. So read this book and I sincerely hope that you like it as much as I do. 

If you have already read Between Shades of Gray or you are currently reading it and want more like it, Ruta Sepetys recently came out with a book titled salt to the sea. I have not yet read this book, but I really want to. It is about, well, I've gone on long enough. Those of you who are curious can search it up. If you really want to know, tell me in the comments. Sorry this post has become longer than planned. Hope it wasn't too boring. Check out my poll and bye for now!

 PS. So, I just looked at the Goodreads review for this book, and they do a much better job of explaining it than I do, so here it is:

Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.

Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously--and at great risk--documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives. Between Shades of Gray is a novel that will steal your breath and capture your heart.

(Pictures Courtesy of Goodreads)

A Small Update

So since I last posted, I've gone through a few books.

#1-  Anne of Windy Poplars

So this is the 4th book in the Anne of Green Gables Series and I can honestly say, that the others are a 100 X better. Half the book is written in the format of letters from Anne to someone else whose identity I would rather not disclose, as most of you have probably not even read the first book, but in case you do (and you should) I don't want to ruin anything. Also, none of the original characters are in the book, other than Anne and a couple others that only make a brief appearance. Anne is the principal of a high school in a new place, and so there are all new characters, not many as good as the old. This book kind of serves as a transition between the end of the 3rd book and the beginning of the 5th. Personally, I didn't like it very much and couldn't wait for it to be over. However, don't let this discourage you from the rest of the books. They are amazing!!! My advice is read all the books, but skip over this one. You won't miss anything, I promise. I read the whole series through at least twice, some of the books more than twice, without knowing that Anne of Windy Poplars was the 4th. I always thought the 4th was Anne's House of Dreams which is the fifth. The only reason that I now know better, is because of Goodreads! 

#2- Jesse's Girl

This was a very interesting (for lack of a better adjective) book. The way I came across it: After a very, very, very, very long day, my family was going to my friend's house for a get together. We have this group kind of thing, where all of us meet at someone's house once a month, if you know what I mean. I was tired, and all I wanted to do was read, but there weren't many books that I hadn't already read. My friend had gotten this book from the library, along with others, earlier in the week. She told me to read this book, that it was a romantic comedy. IT IS NOT A ROMANTIC COMEDY!!!!!!!!!! It is just plain old, romance. Now I don't really read this kind of thing, so I can't judge if it was a good book or not, but I don't know. I mean, I guess it wasn't too romancy. See, the book is basically about this girl who wants to be a musician and so for her school's career shadow day, she gets to shadow Jessie Scott, this really famous country music star or whatever. Of course, they get together, and then he thinks she's using him to get a music deal, and then they get together again, and you know. Classic love story. One good thing that can be said about this book is that it has music, but I don't know how much better that makes it. Unless you are the kind of person who reads romance or you want to try something new, I wouldn't read this book. For me, since I don't read books like this (like ever) I thought it was very awkward, but you know, maybe it is something that you would enjoy. Also, since I didn't do the best job at explaining this, it is kind of like the movie Starstruck but not as good.

#3- Between Shades of Gray

Not 50 Shades of Gray, Between Shades of Gray. They are completely different. Between Shades of Gray is a super good, super sad book and from the point of a teenage girl, who gets sent to a labor camp with her brother and mother during Stalin and Hitler's reigns of terror. I'm not going to go into too much detail right now, because it deserves its own post, so keep an eye out for that, and I will try for it to not be too long, but no guarantees.

Check out these books and others on https://www.goodreads.com/
Pictures courtesy of Goodreads.

So this update, became a little longer than I intended, sorry about that, but since it was 3 different books, hopefully you didn't get too bored. Check out my poll. I've only had one vote so far and it has been up for about a month!!! Bye for now!

My Pet Peeve

Hey everybody, so I know this is kind of different from what I usually write about, but I promise that it is related to reading. It's also pretty short, which is a good thing after my post on The Giver. Here goes:

My pet peeve is people mistreating books. You treat your phones and your clothes and iPods, etc. with perfect care, why not books? For example, when people fold the corner of a page to keep their place. If you can't remember what page you are on, get a bookmark! Also, when you check out books from the library and they are in horrible condition. The pages have stains and some of pages even have gross crusty stuff on them! These books are the reason I prefer buying new books over using the library. You just ruined a perfectly good book with your food and folding corners and throwing it around like a football. News flash-It's not a ball!!! It contains knowledge, and history. Not necessarily a history for our world, but say a history for an alternate reality, and if not that, books are the way some people escape reality. When I'm stressed out or frustrated, I read, because reading about other people's problems, whether they are realistic or not, helps you forget about your own. If books are mistreated, what is the point of reading that book? It makes it less fun. Instead of enjoying the story, all of your attention is on that one gross spot on the page. What's the point in reading that book? There isn't one. When a book is gross, nobody wants to read it (at least I don't, and I don't think any of my friends would). This is why people shouldn't mistreat books and it's annoying when they do. Seriously, to all those people out there who mistreat books, I'm not trying to be offensive or anything, but you just took all the enjoyment out of something I do to relax and have fun-which probably makes me sound nerdy, but it's true, I read for fun. Then again, this whole blog is about books, so I guess it's kind of a given that I read books for fun.


By the way, this isn't my only pet peeve. One of my bigger ones at the moment is when people's sweatshirt strings are uneven. It just bothers me, but a) that isn't related to this blog and b) it is kind of hard to write about and this post started off as a Language Arts assignment.We had to write about a pet peeve so...

PS. Check out the poll on the side of my blog!

New Book v Old Book

(Barnes and Noble Book v Library Book)