Friday, October 28, 2011

Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

Shut Out

Every year it's the same. The football team and the soccer team continue with the rivalries that have been going on much, much longer than any of them can remember. It's been going on so long that they can't even remember why it started in the first place. The girlfriends of the players are tired of it though. Every year they are cast aside for the rivalry. Example, if a girl had a date with a football player, he might cancel on her to go do something stupid like toilet paper a soccer player's house. Lissa vows to change this, so she gets together a group of the girlfriends where they take an oath. They say that the guys won't get any action from them until the rivalry stops. It seems simple enough, until it escalates into a full on, guys-vs-girls battle instead.

I loved the humor of this book! It was hilarious and it made me laugh out loud on multiple occasions. The plot is interesting enough, and the author takes a light tone that makes it easy to follow. I loved how it was modeled after a Greek play, especially since that's what we're studying in English right now.

However, I found it to be a bit unrealistic. First of all, how many high school relationships last over a year? Well, being a high-schooler, let me tell you. A year is a longggggg time. So it seems a bit odd that like all the players have such long lasting relationships lol. And also, how desperate the guys are for sex. Like it's almost at an extreme haha. But anyway, besides these few unrealistic qualities of the book, I found It quite enjoyable.

Lissa, I didn't like too much. She makes me want to smack her so she can realize what she's doing and what she's missing out on and all the bad choices she's making! She is basically just clueless to everyone else's feelings around her due to her controlling attitude. Randy kinda disappointed me, because he seemed really sweet and I actually had liked him. Until...... well I won't ruin it for you ;). Cash was adorable, I approve of him haha. And Chloe is awesome. I liked her personality!

I liked how the book wasn't REALLY about romance. The romance was more on the side, and even though the book is about a sex strike, it's also about friendship, girl power, and discovering yourself. Points to Lissa for becoming a better person in the end!

It's a bit forward about sex, but not graphic or anything. So if it will make you uncomfortable I don't recommend it. But for anyone else, it will be a light, entertaining, fun read :) I found it entertaining and enjoyable.  4 out of 5 stars.

Saturday, October 15, 2011

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin (Birthright #1)

When I heard that the author or Elsewhere had a new book out, it was on my to-read list instantly. Elsewhere was one of my favorite books when I was like in 5th/6th grade and I've probably read it on 5 different occasions. I had also recommended it to my friends and my mom, that's how much I liked it. So you can see how excited I was to be reading something new from Gabrielle. Then Queen Taco recommended it to me, so then I was like, "I have to actually read this... like now."


All These Things I've Done
All These Things I've Done takes place in 2083, when chocolate has been banned, caffeine is illegal, as are a number of other things. You have to have vouchers to buy pretty much everything. You even have to pay postage to send an email. New York is full of crime and suspicion. Anya Balanchine, our protagonist, is a simple 16 year old. Well, maybe not so simple considering her deceased father was involved in major crimes. All Anya wants is to take care of her family, go to school, avoiding her ex. It's all been going okay for her, until one day her ex ends up in the hospital and Anya is charged for "attempted murder". And after that, she knows her life will never be the same.

When I first read the summary, I thought this was going to be a dystopian read. And for some reason I'm really into dystopia so I was kinda excited haha. But this novel isn't dystopia at all. It's actually more crime and mystery, with romance, friendship, family, adventure, and science fiction. Honestly, this book covers a million different genres and I think that a lot of people could enjoy it.

The best thing about this book is probably the characters. Anya is so real and I can completely relate with her. I love how she has flaws, and you can clearly see them when you read, but yet somehow you're always on her side because you can relate to her. She's smart and easily loved. As for her best friend Scarlet, wow. I wish I could have a best friend as loyal as she is. She's seriously awesome, and I don't think Anya really deserves her forgivingness and everything lol. Her younger sister Natty is adorable, and Leo is so cute and you really just have to love him. And Win? OMG I love him <3 Almost as much as Sam from the Shiver series haha. Win is soooo cute!!!! Argh Anya, she really needs to snatch him up! The characters of this book are very well developed and easy to relate to, you find yourself loving them all.

The plot was quick, intriguing, and very unique. The romance was almost like a Romeo and Juliet thing, starcrossed lovers and all. The ending, was a little sad for me though. First of all, I didn't know this was a series until I was about 50 pages from the end and I was like "I don't think this is all going to be solved so it must be a series!" lol so I was a little sad :( because I wanted more. And Win.......

Well, I wouldn't want to give away anything I'm not supposed to haha. So, I recommend this book. There's a little bit of something for everyone, and you won't be dissapointed. 5 out of 5 stars. I'm looking forward to reading the next one :)

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Love Story by Jennifer Echols

Alright so this is going to be a quick post because I have to get back to my homework :P Super fun right...

Love Story

Erin Blackwell is working long hours in a New York coffee shop. She has a goal to become a romance novelist and is paying her own way through college in hope. It's tedious, but she holds onto the goal of an internship to keep herself going. It wasn't always like this for Erin, she lived in Kentucky and her family owned many horses. She used to have lots of money and get anything she wanted. Then, Erin told her grandmother that she wanted to be a romance novelist instead of being a business major so she could run the horse farm. Erin's grandmother disapproved of this, so she cut Erin off. She wouldn't support Erin's dream job, so if she wanted to get somewhere, she would have to do it herself. To make matters worse, her grandmother gives the stable boy, Hunter, Erin's inheritance. So Hunter is the one who is getting designer clothes and a free ride to college. Erin had a complicated relationship with Hunter in the past, and she writes a fantasy romance story  about him for her English class. Everything is fine, until he walks through the door and everything changes.

I loved the way the author wrote, I can't really explain it but its so lyrical and like the words were individually chosen perfectly. I liked Erin, but she did have a few flaws, and I loved Hunter. They were REAL characters to me because I saw bits of them in myself and other people I know.

The plot is interesting, and I loved how the author included the short stories throughout the book.

And the ending. Ohmygod, I LOVED it. I won't give anything away, but I think it's worth it to stick it out to the end in this one. It was really, really cute. It made me wanting more, but I'm glad it ended when it did.

I also liked how this story wasn't really a "Love Story". It had romance in it, but its really about Erin learning about herself. I love when you think books are supposed to be about romance, but its much more than that. There's also a downfall to that though. Because Erin is spending so much time figuring out herself, her and Hunter are never really on good-terms with each other, which kinda sucks because the reader wants them together. You just want to yell at them "Get over yourselves, move along with your life, and fall in love!!!"

Haha but anyway, it's a cute story. Not the most capturing story, but one that will keep you going. 3.5 out of 5 stars.