B****marked I MEAN Birthmarked

First of all, look at this title.

Image stolen from Amazon. Obviously. From whom you should order this book right now at this location
Just look at that title. Does that NOT look like "Bitchmarked" to you? I mean really. I don't even call it Birthmarked anymore. It is so obviously Bitchmarked.
Anyway, this book was awesome.
Why was it awesome?
Well...
I didn't hate the main character. This is good. She had a sort of Not Too Much Of A Martyr-ness to her that didn't piss me off too much.
The romance? The romance! It was perfect! It was the total, like, "I hate you. But hey, maybe I'll be a human being for a couple minutes. Oh, whoa, you're hot when you're not bitching at me. Okay, I'll help you for like five minutes, but I won't enjoy it. Okay, maybe I might. A little bit... OMGILOVEYOU. OH S*** THERE ARE DUDES WITH GUNS CHASING US. BACK TO REALITY.
I really liked the setting. It takes place in the area that once was the Great Lakes region, but after a fuel-related apocalypse combined with climate change, all the water dried up. The culture is kind of old-west-y, which is cool. Also, they wear cloaks. Cloaks are one of those things that nobody actually wears, but they must be present for a book to be cool. Or something.
In case you're really confused, Bitchmarked is about a girl named Gaia who lives not in but outside a Really Cool Post-apocalyptic Enclave (Once again, you're not cool unless you have either a clave or an enclave. What's the difference, by the way?). She's not quite cool enough to live IN the enclave, of course, she's too badass. The way it works is that you either live in it our outside of it. Instead of hospitals they have midwives, so every birth is assisted by one or two women, usually particular to the area. The midwives have an obligation to "advance" a certain number of babies every month to be adopted into the Enclave, who have a little problem with inbreeding, due to the fact that they live inside a wall.
Note to future post-apocalyptic societies: avoid living inside a wall as long as it is possible to live outside a wall. I mean, REALLY.
Anyway, Gaia's mom is the midwife, and Gaia kind of has this little "apprentice" thing going on. Gaia has a scar on her face, by the way, which makes people think she's a freak. Anyway, her parents get arrested, and she has to take over as midwife, taking people's children and advancing them and all that stuff. And then stuff happens and it gets really awesome. I'm going to try and avoid spoilers on this one, especially since it's better if you don't know them. Even the romance isn't totally obvious from the beginning, unless of course you're me and you know how it's going to end from the first page. I read too much. I haven't been surprised by a book in years.
Except maybe Goliath, but kind of not even.
So, as for the plot: awesome. I've been wanting something with that sort of Awesometype (New word. This is the kind of "vibe" the book sends, the energy of it. I'm cool, right?) for a while now. I'm making Mrs. McCauley read it, so we can discuss it on our Book Show Thing.

OH AND OMGGUESSWHAT? No Love Triangle of Doom. Yup. SOMEONE WITH SOME LEVEL OF ORIGINALITY YAY.
AND THERE'S A SEQUEL. I'm getting a Kindle Fire soon, so I can be even more of a book nerd, so that might be my first ebook.

WWMMRHRN:
-Sushi?
-Booksbooksbooks
-no homework, pleaseee
-Foood

Next Book: WGWG? This Dark Endeavor? The Last Hero? The world may never know.

1984

So, people say this book is boring.
It's not.
It's basically the original dystopia. Technically, it is the original dystopia. Therefore, it's awesome.
Also, it's just so...
Cool?
I don't even know.
Maybe I'm a nerd.
Maybe I'm crazy.
But this was a really good book.
Except the end.
That sucked.
But that was the way it had to end.
And I respect that.
Mer.

WWMMRHRN:
-Sushi
-MORE BOOKS.
-5 more hours in the day?

Next Book: something?

Enclave

This may be my first intelligent post in a very long time.
Omiholywhatthegosh that was an epicgoodscarygoreycrazyomygod book.
This might be my favorite futuristic dystopia to date. What stands out about this one is that it feels so real. Possible. Like this could actually happen. That's why it's so hard-hitting. This was one of those books where the characters were on one side displaying that sense of detatchment that I hate, where they're not really characters but empty stereotypes to make the story move. These characters can be compared to those of Scott Westerfeld's Uglies because although there are some aspects of them that are completely vague, the emotions and connections between the characters go so far beyond the plot that I do feel like they are real people. I'm looking forward to Ann Aguirre's next book, Outpost, which is apparently going to come out fall 2012 and will be the sequel to Enclave. Yes! Except I'll have to wait more than a year. Darn it.
I've decided that this isn't like the Mortal Instruments Series (Cassandra Clare) which I literally would (and do) recommend to anyone over the age of twelve and under the age of thirty with no strict values or religious views that suggests that a gay romance would offend them. See, in MI, there is something for everyone--romance, action, fantasy, badassery--the list goes on. Enclave takes a certain kind of person to enjoy: someone who can read about the blood and the pain and the gore and take it, that knows that we need these warnings and wants to see them, to imagine the worst and work toward the best. The people that see history as a warning, whether it be the real Holocaust of WWII or fictional events such as the "second" one mentioned on the first page of Enclave. Some people want to know what's next. Some people want to influence it.
This is going to go a bit off topic, but I see it fitting considering that this is what this story makes me think about and I think it also relates to what Aguirre wanted to say when she wrote the book. I cannot stand it when people tell me they hate history, that they do not see the point in learning about people and governments and wars that existed a long time ago when they could just "learn about now" or "learn about the future" or some other dumb excuse for laziness and ignorance. Sure, history class can be boring and it's true that we don;t necessarily have to know the exact ways that every single republic liberated itself from the Soviet Union. But we do need to know that the Soviet Union existed, and that it failed, and why it failed, because it was a bad time and we need to make sure it does not happen again. You want to leave history to the nerds and the historians? All right. You go play Angry Birds on your iPhone and I'll go decide how the world will be run, and then you can let me dictate your life and indoctrinate your children and strip you of your rights. Without the education to know why this is bad or what could come of it, you are a helpless victim of my power. We cannot predict the future, so only knowledge of the past can help us ensure that it will be bright. We're lucky that we live in a time and place of relative peace and prosperity. If we don't think about our future, it might not be so bright, and your descendants will have no one but you to blame for it. If you think that all that matters is now, and because you are lucky enough to be a human in America in the twenty-first century, you're selfish. Your ancestors and your descendants are slapping you right now.
I may sound like a hypocrite--yes, I love history, but what am I doing to help the future other than talk? I'm speaking to myself as well when I write this.

What would make me really happy right now:
-An alternative universe generator
-Sushi
-More books
-Outpost

Next book: I'm going to take a look around my library for that now, actually.

BTW: I almost tagged this Love Triangle of Doom because there are two guys and both kiss the heroine, but really, it doesn't apply. The romance in this book was beautifully subtle and did not ever get in the way of the plot; in fact, it worked really well to strengthen the bonds between the characters and make slow action parts more interesting. Not that there are a lot of slow parts. I can honestly say that the romantic situation is actually fairly original, maybe due to its low profile, but it is well written and is probably the first good aberration from the Love Triangle of Doom that I have ever seen in a fantasy, sci-fi or dystopian novel. Congratulations, Ann Aguirre, you have somehow managed not to disappoint the Manon.

How to Ditch your Fairy

This is totally like a month late.
Dude, this book is private-joke-inducing, fast-moving, and fun. There's still some universal message to it, making it true literature, but it's also kind of silly and cute.
And I'm tired and lazy, so I'm just gonna post this...
Maybe I'll edit it later.

WWMMRHRN:
-Sushi
-More hours in the night
-More books

Next book: Paper Towns

Nobody's Prize

WAY TO LIKE TOTALLY PUT OFF READING A SEQUEL MANON.
WAY TO HAVE HAD IT THE WHOLE TIME ANYWAY.
WAY OT PUT OFF POSTING THIS FOR LIKE SIX DAYS.
K. Rant over.
This was the book that made me read Nobody's Princess because a) Greek myths and b)girls crossdressing as boys in different time periods to go on an Adventure! that only dudes are supposed to be on.
Me and my interests.
This is gonna be another dialogue because I can't think of a way to express this otherwise.
Esther: Hello, Manon.
Manon: I have a character named Esther.
Esther: Cool. I do... not have a character named Manon.
Manon: No one does. BUT THEY WILL!!
Esther: Erm, yes. Now what did you want to say to me?
Manon: I congratulate you on actually keeping that book plotiful and not going all romance on me and turning Helen into a whore.
Esther: ...Thank you?
Manon: Welcome. Welcome indeed. So is Herakles gay?
Esther:... a little.
Manon: Are he and Hylas a thing?
Esther: Not really.
Manon: Was he gay in real life?
Esther: He wasn't real in real life.
Manon: Grr! And I was hoping Theseus would come around and make a decent fiance... no such luck. Which vastly improves the quality of your writing. (see Never take my advice regarding romance unless you want your book to become a parody of random crack pairings.
Esther: Duly noted...

What would make me really happy right now:
-More hours in the afternoon
-Sushi
-More books

Next book: How to Ditch your Fairy. Coming at you... tomorrow. Was gonna do it now but I'm being kicked out of the living room.

Animal Farm

Beeteedubs, tagged this non-spoiler because I fugure everyone pretty much knows how it ends.
One thing that scares me vary much is when things that are not supposed to walk on two legs walks on two legs. I do not know why. I think this is the unconscious logic behind my fear of mascot-like costume thingies. So that scene where all the pigs marched out on two legs was like holyeffingwhat? And I could see it in my head, and it was horrifying.
Animal Farm is a great book. It's fairly easy to read, to the point, and a great simile for the Russian Revolution. I love the last two sentences the most:
"No question now, what had happened to the faces of the pigs. The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which."
I'm thinking of writing my own revolution/dictatorship novel-thingy. (There is a WORD for this; Courtney knows it. I heard her use it last week. I'll have to ask her.)

What would make me really happy right now:
-Winter percussion to not be over
-Big walking mascot costume thingies to not exist
-Some sushi
-More books
-OMG CITY OF FALLEN ANGELS IS OUT SOMEONE BUY IT FOR ME PLEASSSEEE!!!!!!!

Next book: Rebel Angels

Alanna

I really like this story for a variety of reasons. It takes place in the middle ages, for one. It involves magic but odes not entirely center around magic. Alanna herself is interesting and charismatic--I really like her. George is like, my man. And I'm always pretty intrigued by novels centering around a girl in disguise as a guy. I don't quite know why. It's intriguing to me, and the type of thing that doesn't involve anything paranormal but could never be a position I would be put in, both because it's not necessary in this society and because, well, I don't think I would pull it off very well. Despite being called a "guy" or having jokes made about me wherein I am a guy, I think it would be pretty obvious going by body shape alone.
I really want to read the sequel. Unfortunately, when I checked out our local selling-out borders, they had books 1, 3, and 4. Seriously?
But, like I said, I reallyreallyreally like this book, and you can tell because of the shortness of this post. Not one angry rant. Not one! Except I think she could have thrown in a scene where Alanna makes out with George, just for my amusement. Authors should really confer with me before finalizing their novels.
Pierce: So, Mannin, what did you think?
Manon: It's Manon. Muh-non. Ma-nawn. Mispronounce it one more time and you'll be Tamborine Purse for the rest of your life. I can make that happen.
Pierce: ...
Manon: Anyway, I think it was great, except you left out that part where George makes out with Alanna.
Pierce: What part...?
Manon: Exactly. Now, get typing!
Pierce: But, why? That wouldn't bring anything to the story, except make George and Alanna's relationship really awkward. He's several years older than her, and it's been established that Alanna thinks he's lying and is actually older.
Manon: It's the middle ages! People can do stuff like that then! That's why we write in that time period, isn't it?
Pierce: I was more interested in the swordplay, feudal system, roles of men and women, and association with magic...
Manon: Personally, I think the scene would win you fans.
Pierce: Why?!?!?!
Manon: It would appeal to a broader audience. And it would be funny. And more people would talk about it, making more new readers.
Pierce: Somehow that just doesn't seem likely...
Manon: Of course it's likely! If Suzanne Collins had made Katniss make out with Finnick like I said she should, Hunger Games would be Harry Potter but bigger!
Pierce: I just don't understand your logic...
Manon: My logic is the most logical think about me! It worked for Rowling!
Pierce:...?
Manon: RonxHermione, HarryxGinny, HarryxCho, that other dude and that other chick...
Pierce: I think Rowling's success can be more accurately linked to her amazing development of a supernatural world existing alongside our own, her creative magic, her enticing plots, her engaging action, her charismatic characters...
Manon: And her pairings! Don't tell me you don't think HarryxGinny won her some fans.
Pierce: I honestly doubt it.
Manon: That would be me.
Pierce:... oh.
Manon: See? Now, run along and write me that scene, and then I shall approve of your novel.
Pierce:... [mutters] there's something wrong with that girl...

What would make me really happy right now:
-Considering I just wrote that last post on Mockingjay five minutes ago, you can kind of just take a look at that...

Next book: Perks? Who knows?

To Kill a Mockingbird

So, I hate this book. And I kind of like it.
It was one of those "curriculum" books, y'know?
The Negative Post (Where I vent my feelings...)
This book is a poorly written, verbose account of an interesting event told in the point of veiw of a Mary-Sue-ish elementary school girl named Scout. Scout has very little personality and I do not connect with her at all. The story is written in a way that rambles on about events or concepts that have absolutely no bearing on the story whatsoever and just made this book that much more painful for me to drag my eyes across these last couple of days. The number of words Harper Lee uses to convey a simple message is completely unnecessary. Her paraphrasis irks me.
However...
The events in the story are significant. I tried writing in the same style used by Lee, and it actually worked quite well in getting me interested in the story I was writing as I was writing it. However, it still sounded rambly and I am convinced another person reading it would feel the same toward my prose as I feel toward Lee's. In short, the story is awesome, but the style truly needs work.

What would make me really happy right now:
-A few more hours in the afternoon to read
-More books
-Some sushi
-The magical ability to make any food taste/smell like sushi
-Including mac and cheese ^
-Bagpipes

Next Book: Mockingjay, unless The Perks of Being a Wallflower doesn't distract me.

The Dark

Okay, sorry for the lack of reading, (if anyone actually reads this asdfghjkl) I've been pretty blech lately and this is the first time I've been able to focus on a book. However, I'm not all gone-- this took me less than two days to read--that's still low for my standards but we're getting better. Healing takes time. So, the following is copy-and-pasted out of MS Word, so italics and stuff might not show up. Don't go all grammar Nazi on me; that's my job.
Oh, and Bee-tee-dubs, I tagged this non-spoiler but if you haven't finished the Named there's one tiny little detail that might spoil something, I don't know.

Australian time travel novels. I mean, AUSATRALIAN TIME-TRAVEL NOVELS. I love you, Marianne Curley, random Australian chick who writes awesome stuff.
You know, there is in fact a distinct possibility that I wrote these books. Doubt it? Well, if time travel is possible, then Future Manon could magically travel back in time, publish a book under a different name, and just wait for normal me to find it. The following are my reasoning:
-First, Marianne Curley and Manon Garulay, especially when you use one of the common mispronunciations Gurrlay, kind of rhyme a little. Also, even if you protest that Marianne Curley is a “normal person” name and thus I Manon would never even consider associating myself with it, well, there you go: if I want to hide something from myself, such as my own association with it, I make it normal. Note that I’ve ever done this before. It’s just one of those things that you think about…
What???
-Second, Isabel. I have this character that I use in, like, every other one of my books. Her name is Isabel and she has blonde hair (usually) and either brown or dark blue (or occasionally green, but usually brown) eyes. Now, look at Isabel of the Guardians of Time. Blonde, brown eyes… Ding ding ding we have a match. Maybe my Isabels are usually a bit quirkier, weirder, etc., but still. It’s uncanny right down to the spelling of her name.
-Third, time travel and the Middle Ages. It is quite clear that my dear Marianne has a thing for Medieval history. So do I, my friend, so do I. Also, I recently wrote a novel about time travel that spent a lot of time in the Middle Ages. But not only does she focus on the period of history between the fall of the Roman Empire around 500 A.D. and the Renaissance/Enlightenment/Scientific Revolution that took place around 1500 A.D., she also dips a little into ancient Greece and Rome as well as colonial America. Not just America, if I remember correctly she specifically mentioned in the first book, The Name,d that this part took place in Colonial Massachusetts, the area of actual history that I have had the most in-depth and early understanding of as I have been exposed to and interested in this time since early elementary school. But anyway, Marianne and I share a bit of an obsession with certain parts of history.
-Fourth, and most importantly, IsabellexArkarianASDFGHJKLQWERTYUIOZXCVBN <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3 <3
Yeah, that many hearts. You know I don’t award hearts very often, so this is a special case. If I were to come up with one romantic pairing that was in my mind ideal for a scifi/fantasy novel to make me want to squeal and heart all over my blog, it would be my dear Isabel and a blue haired, purple eyed, magical dude that was born in the Middle Ages. Like, ASDFGHJKL. I have no words. And you know that with me that doesn’t happen often –cough-. I mean, even though he’s like six hundred years old he’s still not all twilight-creepy. He’s like, I don’t know. MIZ CURLEY YOU HAVE RENDERED THE MOST VERBSE TEENAGER IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD WORDLESS. No one in the universe has the power to do such a thing. Thus, Marianne Curley must be me.
-Fifth, she’s AUSTRALIAN. Australia has cute little koalas and kangaroos and accents and, from December to June, Scott and Justine. Sounds to me like a nice place to go, right?
I don’t know about you, but I think I need to call this woman up and ask her, like, stuffthatonlyfuturemewillknow. You know?

What would make me really happy right now:
-For Marianne Curley to call me/email me and me like, "I IS FUTURE YOU WITH AN AUSTRALIAN ACCENT FTW!!!"
-OOOH OOH OOH did you know Australians spell "pajama" "Pyjama?" /off topic/
-SUSHI. What else?
-I'M STILL SICK ASDFGHJKL MAKE IT GO AWAY.
-More Australian time-travel novels. They own.

Next book: The Key, by Mariann Curley, of course! Australian time travel FTW.

The Gift

One thing I love about James Patterson is that his books read quickly. That's important. I like that.
Like W&W, I was expecting a little more from this, but we're getting better. I hope book 3 makes up for it all. It probably will.
I'm not sure what I think of this yet. I like it, but anything past that is hard to say. I think it's just that my brain's a little foggy at the moment. I have been sick, if it's any justification.
I'm gonna ignore the metaphors and stuff in this one and just go straight to the pairings, because anything beyond that is making my head spin. I think Whit's going to get over Celia in the sense that he's going to stop trying to stay loyal to his dead girlfriend. I think I like him with Janine. And Wisty? the Weasel Swain is getting better, but he's still a creep. I wanted her to end up with Sasha, but it's looking a little more in Emmet's favor right now. But I love Sasha. He's just so... *sigh.* I wanted Wisty to be with him from the first time he came into the story. Even though I don't know much about him, I know more about what makes him tick than I do Emmet. If Emmet's character gets developed a little more in the next book, that might change.

What would make me really happy right now:
-To be able to compose a decent blog post. As you can see, this one sucked.
-Sushi
-More books. Always more books.

Next book: Not even gonna try. I'm thinking A Prince Among Frogs or Mockingjay.

The Goose Girl

This is the second Shannon Hale book I've read so far, and I think she's won me over. My minor critique is that her characters are sort of... I want to say walled, in the sense that you're not so much in their head, experiencing the story with them. You don't see oh-so much personality as you want to with your usual YA fiction. However, the justification to this is that it's written in the eloquent style of an old-fashioned fairytale, which traditionally lacks the personal connection between the characters and the readers or listeners.
What I liked about this one is that I can identify with her, and I can honestly say that for once, if I had been in her position, I would have reacted more as the spoiled brat, kicking and screaming, that she did. I also like that dispite starting out as a rather weak character, she continues to gain strength throughout the book and by the end I feel that she's overcome most of her internal struggles, which is admirable.
i did find Geric or whatever his name was to be a little bit boring, and I sort of felt the same way about the maindude in Shannon's other novel that I've read, Book of a Thousand Days, but in both he is a surprisingly nonpresent character.

What would make me really happy right now:
-To not be sick
-To not be going to a funeral tomorrow
-For my fever to go away
-For there not be undoubtably a gigantuan pile of English and French homework waiting for me on Monday. "Hey, we're so sorry about how you're sick and your releive died and you feel like crap on a variety of levels, but we'll make it up to you: here's some homework to keep you busy even though we all know you would rather be reading."
Yeah. Right.

Next book: The Gift, I'm guessing, but have I ever been right?

Hush, Hush

I tagged this non-spoiler, but it might contain a minor or two, so be warned if you're picky.
Bonjour! So, when I took a look at this book, it having to do with angels and nephilim, I was like, OOH! Mortal Instruments Family! But then I started reading. See, the thing about the book is that it flies, which is a plus. However, it has a major, major Twilight connection. The mainchick is a plain but attractive brunette, the dude is dangerous, her biology partner, and possible attempting to kill her. Cars are stolen. There's a stalker scene while the girls are on a shopping trip and get split up. A crazy inhuman chick tries to kill her out of revenge and she gets tortured to hurt the maindude by an inhuman blond. She lives surrounded by fog in a rural, relatively coastal area. Maindude has an expensive car and a "dark" past. Someone watches mainchick sleep. Mainchick has limited but existing knowledge of self-defense that she never actually uses. You know, I had only thought of, like, two of those until I started writing this. There are so many and probably more.
However, I gotta say, it was better than the Evil Book. Just in case you were wondering.
I thought the mainchick was pretty weak. I hate weak mainchicks, just in case you were wondering. Hate them. Now, a mainchick that starts out kind of weak but goes badass by the end of the book, now that I can live with. But if she ends up pretty much the same person she started out as in a fantasy or sci-fi book with a long series of traumatic events, well, in real life she'd end up changed. In the book, it's vital.
Patch was likeable but not the greatest. I want to see more personality from him in the sequel, if I read it.
Now, I am not totally hating on this (well, I sort of am, but not completely) because it was a page turner. It kept my interest and whipped by, despite its *cough* flaws. So, if I read the sequel, I have some expectations: More personality. More originality. Less Twilight.
Honestly, if in book 2 Patch leaves her, she dies of patheticness inside, and she meets a dude who is also inhuman but not, *cough* a fallen angel, then I will proclaim it suckish, and Becca Fitzpatrick will probably be sued for copying Twilight.

What would make me really happy right now:
-For the next book I finish to pwn the Twilightness out of this last one
-Some sushi, b****!

Next book: Either Goose Girl, Nobody's Princess (or Nobody's Prize, whichever one is first) or Mockingjay or Paper Towns or whatever the heck I want.
Can you tell that my mood has become less than sublime?

Catching Fire (Post #2)

Sorry about the delay... if anyone actually reads this :D
So, Catching Fire...
My last post was mostly about the romantic situation and the actual reading of the book, so I guess I'll have to dig deeper into my mind and spirit and get a less cough cough shallow commentary.
I think the metaphor of the whole Hunger Games situation is sort of that of the world not only now but in the past: certain people are suffering greatly, whether it be poverty or extreme hunger or fear or disease, while (or so that) other people can live in extreme luxury.
Take Imperialism: the Europeans are like the capitol. They were living in comparatively extreme luxury, with their fancy factories and big guns. They take over the little areas (and big, well-controlled empires) in Africa and Asia, make the people work under dangerous or unhealthy or unfair conditions and exploit their land, then use their technology as a threat in case of revolution and give them little freedom. In the same way, the districts are controlled, governed, exploited, enslaved, and threatened with superior technological power.
And in the same way, some places are treated better than others; places like District One are more buddy-buddy with the capitol the same way, oh, Brazil was with Portugal. That was the best example I could think of off the top of my head, it's not perfect since Brazil was actually at one point the capitol of the Portuguese empire when the monarchs needed to leave Europe when Napoleon tried to conquer them. Or Spain. I forget which.

What would make me really happy right now:
-A nutella burrito
-Some Australian time-travel books (those are the destiny of my Amazon gift card :D )
-For school to start at 10 AM

Next book: either Mockingjay, Hush, Hush or The Gift. Right now odds are in Hush, Hush's favor, but as you must realize this is always subject to change.

Witch & Wizard

Another James Patterson :D I'm curios about the whole Gabrielle Charbonnet thing, how she's co-author but it sort of seems like JP is the only one. Most likely she just helped with ideas or something, I dunno. I'll google it. It would stink it they're jsut hyping JP because he's like, INSANELY FAMOUS. Which is true, and generally rightful since he's amazing.
So, for characters, I like Wisty and Whit, but I think Whit is a little bit one-sided. Whisty is very engaging, though. I sort of wonder whether Whit's going to stay with Celia or end up with someone else. THe thing is, in books it helps when the romantic leads are new to each other, because they're new to the reader, too. Most of the time, when the romance is already there before the book starts, the reader doesn't really care about it because they don't know how it started, so it's meaningless to them. I hope Wisty ends up with Sasha, though, because they'd be awesome together. Any guy named Sasha has to be awesome. Make that girl, too, because I was almost a Sasha, short for Alexandra, but it ended up being one of my middle names.
I really like this book, but I will admit I was expecting a little more from it, but since it's part of a trilogy most likely that'll be fulfilled then. And the second book came out, like, half a month ago. ANd I have some mookstore gift cards.
Except it's still in hardcover. So it'll cost more.
To buy or not to buy...
To buy. Duh.

What would make me really happy right now:
-The Gift, Witch and Wizard's sequel
-Mockingjay, because see Next Book
-More snow. Real snow, not this rain crap we're getting.

Next book: Catching Fire

Book of a Thousand Days

Sorry for not posting in a while, if anyone actually reads this. Heh, NaNoWriMo sure takes it out of you...
Anyway, Book of a Thousand Days. It was slow at first, but it gets way better. My one complaint is the popular medieval/fairytale trend of marrying the hot prince after barely knowing him. Ah, well.
The gist of it is that Dashti, a poor "mucker" in medieval Mongolia, was left alone when her mother died, so she came to the city seeking employment. Being very intelligent, she got a job as lady's maid to the daughter of the local lord (or king, I forget and am too lazy to look it up). For her it was an honor. The catch was that the princess (or lady) was being punished for being engaged to a guy that was not the guy her dad wanted her to marry, and having resisted, she was to be locked in a tower for seven years, lady's maid and all.
I definitely like the two main characters. They both go through a big change- Saren, the princess (/lady), starts out a total mess. She's a brat, for one, and she's very discontent. One thing Dashti does is help her find happiness, and ultimately discover herself. On the other hand, Dashti goes from being overly obedient and having a very low self-image to being a lot more independent and sure of herself. Both characters are flawed and very realistic, but incredibly relateable.
I also like the animal presences, particularly My Lord the cat. He pwns.

What would make me really happy right now:
Actually, for once I already am really happy. But a conversation with a certain person would be nice.

Next book: Fang

The Book of Three

Lloyd Alexander is, like Scott Westerfeld, an awesome writer of female characters. In Westmark, it was pretty borinbg 'till Mickle showed up. Then things got interesting. Eilonwy of the Book of Three totally owns. She's a bit like me, as in talkative *cough cough... yeah* and she tends to babble (sound familiar?) Also, her epic mediocre-sorceressness is pretty amazing.
I love Gurgi. Last night I was going around Gurgi-talking--crunchings and munchings? Poor, humble Manon-y gets smackings and scoldings for talking and telling about readings and writings! Oh, poor underappreciated Manon!
Considering there are a few more books in this series (Although this is the first) I'm gonna cut this short and get started on the Black Cauldron.

What would make me really happy right now:
-A magic bauble
-A driver's liscence
-More books
-How has no one caught on to the Misaki-thing yet? Like, I might actually be free this Saturday night for once.

Next book: The Black Cauldron

Spells

I do have a million excuses for not finishing a book in, like, a week, but assuming you don't want to hear them, I shall cut to the chase.
Spells by Aprilyne Pike is the sequel to Wings, which has the same title and disturbingly similar beginning to Wings by E. D. Baker. I actually originally bought it to see if it was a complete copy of it. Although far too similar in beginningness and plot, they have very different vibes. I have decided to devote this posts to why I hate this book but still love it.
Report card! : Ms. Pike gets an A for the character Chelsea, because in this book she's actually pretty interesting. Or at least in the end, which is freshest in my head. Hopefully she'll get a bigger role in the action in book 3. Unfortunately, I do not like how Laurel treats the boys in her life. Also, she is very Mary-Sueish and not very dimensional. She gets a C. David gets a B-, because he lets his girlfriend walk all over him yet is still the whole knight in shining armour deal. Tamani gets an A-, because even though he's sort of jerkish in some parts he has a lot of conflict and his character has layers and all that.
Relationshippydramaness gets an F. The love triangle is way too Twilight and everyone worships Laurel even though she only deserves it, like, once every few chapters. Ish.
Fairy awesomeness gets an A, though, because it's actually very good.

What would make me really happy right now:
-Misaki. Seriously.
-Goliath
-Fang
-Mom to give up the everything-you-buy-gets-saved-for-Christmas because, like, I might run out of books. This is a very imposing threat.
-A couple of Austrailian time travel-related books that are not readily avaliable here, even though other books by those authors are. Gah. I'm gonna need an Amazon shipment by New Year's.

Next book: The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander (Maybe. As you may notice I'm not very faithful to these next-book thingies.)

The Pricker Boy!

Yay! I finished The Pricker Boy!
It's by Reade Scott Whinnem, AKA Mr. Whinnem, my homeroom/future basic media teacher. This fact in itself makes him pretty awesome. However, when blogging about a book you should never be biased, because the true awesomeness of a book is what's inside. Or something like that.
So, what's in side is pretty awesome. It kind of got confusing about halfway through, because a lot of the story is written as a flashback. Like, we're talking every other chapter or so. Sometimes I had trouble figuring out when things were happening and what was going on.
Then, toward the end (So, for me about twenty minutes or so ago) everything fell into place. I refuse to spoil the ending of this one, even though I make no guaruntees for the other books I blog about, but if you do read it, and by about 2/3 of the way through your brain is very mixed up, just keep reading. The ending is soooo worth it.

What would make me really happy right now:
-A trip to Misaki
-Purple lipstick
-Some more green eyeliner
-Magical hair that magically gets short when I want it short then magically gets long the rest of the time.
-Someone who can talk Cricket-sign with me---Mr. Whinnem may never hear me voice again. Actually, scratch that. Shutting up is something of which I am incapable.

Next book: Pendragon 3: The Never War. I think. Don't quote me on that.

Maximum Ride: The Protectors, book 2: Max

I am a liar, dude.
In my last post, I mentioned that my next book would be the Pricker boy. Whoops- last night, I, Mom, and Sammy went to Borders, which I debatably may spend more time in then my school. Anyway, I left with the 5th book in the awesome Maximum Ride series, which is a very quick read in the sense of pageturniness, as in it doesn't drag. So basically, I started it last night around 8:30, went lights out before 10 and finished by twenty minutes ago. Yay.
Surprisingly, I do enjoy reading below my reading level, because the pages fly, which is nice.
Anyway, Max, which is by James Patterson, is pretty awesome in many respects. I like the characters, which I think are extremely important to the story. I love the Gasman, and Fang is pretty awesome, and Max is a great narrater. I love Nudge and Iggy, too, but Angel is starting to creep me out. I kind of identify with how Max has trouble keeping people in line. I see a lot of similarities between her and myself, sort of, and I know from experience that telling a six year old that they cannot do something fun because it's dangerous is hard to do.


What would make me really happy right now:
-Wings :D
-A talking Scottie
-Some sushi. Anyone wanna meet me at Misaki? Great, as long as we use your credit card <3

Next book: The Pricker Boy by Reade Scott Whinnem (For real this time... :D )