Friday, February 26, 2010

New Feature!

Did you read a book I reviewed? Did the writer's style sound interesting, but not specifically the book?
Now on Rachel's Reviews, I'm working on going through each book and finding every book the author has written, plus other books people have viewed while looking at that book.

I hope it helps everyone find even MORE to-reads!!

♥Rachel♥

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

Title: Living Dead Girl

Author: Elizabeth Scott

Rating: 5 stars

Ages recommended to: 13 and up


I read this book sometime last year, and read it super fast and LOVED it.
It's about a girl named Alice who was taken away from her parents when she was ten and then abused by Ray.
Alice is 15, and Ray still has her, forcing Alice to give up everything she once knew, forcing her to accept the pain she will continue to feel until Ray kills her.

The book was... Interesting, I'd say. It was well written and I really liked it!

Books written by Elizabeth Scott:

*Perfect You
*Bloom
*Something, Maybe
*Stealing Heaven
*Love You Hate You Miss You
*The Unwritten Rule
*Grace

Other people who read this book also read:
*The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
*If I Stay by Gayle Forman
*Wake by Lisa McMann


Something, Maybe by Elizabeth Scott

Title: Something, Maybe

Author: Elizabeth Scott

Rating: 3 1/2 stars

Recommended for: Ages 12 and up


This book is about Hannah. Hannah has a mom and a dad who is in his 70's, who she hates, who makes little to none contact with her. Except for when he wants to embarass her.
Hannah is madly in love with Josh, but thinks she might also (just a little, of course) like Finn.
That's just about it. There was good praise for this book, but I thought it was kind of plain and didn't have as much meaning as I expected, especially since the other book I read by this author I LOVED.

Praise for Something, Maybe:

"The best love story I've read in ages." - Sarah Dessen

Books written by Elizabeth Scott:

*Perfect You
*Bloom
*Something, Maybe
*Stealing Heaven
*Love You Hate You Miss You
*The Unwritten Rule
*Grace

Other people who viewed this book also viewed:
*Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Title: Along for the Ride

Author: Sarah Dessen

Rating: 5 stars!

Ages recommended for: 13 and up


I had been planning on reading the latest Dessen novel, quite frankly, the day it came out, but had no luck accomplishing this goal...
I started reading it and now hit myself in the back of the head for stopping!
So finally, I checked it back out of the library and finished it in a day. It was fabulously good, as ALL of Sarah's novels have been. She's a fantastic novelist, all of her books are worth reading.

It's about Auden who is staying with her father, new stepmother Heidi and new half sister, Thisbe for the summer. Here she meets new friends and puts together a social life she never had as a child. She meets Eli, who has been through the traumatic situation of losing his best friend in a car crash.
It was very very good, can't even be put into a review good enough!!
Go read it!

Other books by Sarah Dessen:
*Just Listen
*The Truth About Forever
*This Lullaby
*Dreamland
*Someone Like You
*Lock & Key
*Keeping the Moon
*That Summer

Friday, February 19, 2010

Heartless by Sara Shepard (Pretty Little Liars series)

Title: Heartless

Author: Sara Shepard

Rating: 5 stars

Ages recommended: 13 and up!

This is the 7th installment of the National Bestselling Series, "Pretty Little Liars". I can't give too much away because it isn't the first book, so others who read this who aren't this far along in the series will have the ending in hand and we don't want that!

It was really, really good, leaves you thinking WAY too much and is definitely ANOTHER cliffie in the series!

Other books by this author:
*Pretty Little Liars (book 1)
*Flawless (book 2)
*Perfect (book 3)
*Unbelievable (book 4)
*Wicked (book 5)
*Killer (book 6)
*All The Things We Didn't Say
*The Visibles

The Book of Lists for Teens by Harry and Sandra Choron

Title: The Book of Lists for Teens

Authors: Sandra and Harry Choron

Rating: 5 stars

Ages recommended for: 12 and up!


This book was GREAT. It has 6 different list sections:
1. Me, myself and I
2. The world out there
3. Relationships
4. School
5. That's entertainment
6. Facts on file

The lists were all great, some really really interesting, some useless to me, but all in all, I really recommend this book for both guys and gals.

5 Signs You Might be a List Junkie:
>You rank everything
>You organize movies and music buy emotion
>You keep track of who scored highest on your favorite video games
>If you ever find a genie in a bottle, you know what your three wishes will be
>Your Instant Messenger Buddy List is longer than the last paper you wrote

Also by this author:
*Planet Cat
*Planet Dog
*The book of lists for kids

People who viewed this book also viewed:
*The Ultimate Teen Book Guide
*The Hit List for Adults 2


Thursday, February 18, 2010

Currently reading: A book of lists...?

Yes, it's true- I'm reading THE BOOK OF LISTS FOR TEENS by Sandra and Harry Choron. I have a very good feeling that this is going to be a 5-star book, because I'm loving it!! It's full of lists, and I love to make lists about everything, so it's definitely my kind of book :D

More reviews coming your way-
Rachel♥

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Glass by Ellen Hopkins

Title: Glass

Author: Ellen Hopkins

Rating: 3 stars

Recommended for: Ages 13 and up


Though I really did enjoy the book "Crank", (the book that comes before "Glass"), I really did not like the sequel!! It was NOT as good as Crank and took me forever to read.
Kristina is totally MESSED UP, and isn't getting any better. Her mom won't let her have her baby back, and threatens to not go near her again if she doesn't shape up and get out of her meth addiction. She's going through boys, going through dealers, getting worse and worse.
I'm so disappointed in this character! At times I felt bad for her, but most of the time, I'm just thinking "WHY ARE YOU SO STUPID?!"


Praise for "Glass":

"Powerful and unsettling." -Kirkus Reviews
"The poems are masterpieces of word, shape, and pacing.... A stunning portrayal of a teen's loss of direction." -SLJ
"Hopkins delievers a gritty, fast-paced read." -VOYA
"Readers won't soon forget smart, sardonic Kristina." -Booklist


Also by this Author:
*Crank
*Impulse
*Burned
*Identical
*Tricks
*Fallout

Sunday, February 14, 2010

Painting my room!!

Today, Me and my Mom are starting to paint my already purple room a different shade of purple :D
I just got paint in the ends of my hair, which is up in pig tails, but apparently isn't working well to keep my hair out of the paint!
It's fun and the paint smells... like paint, and it's going to be lilac with white trim and a white ceiling in place of the pink-purple walls and ceiling and darker purple trim.
Tomorrow my best friend Mia is coming to help paint, as well, and then we're re-arranging all of the furniture, which should also be quite an interesting experience!!

More reviews and room updates later-
♥Rachel♥

Friday, February 12, 2010

Hello All

Hi!!

I hope everyone's week has gone by nicely and quick, as mine has.
I plan on at least two or three new posts as we have school off next week, so I'll have plenty of time to read, thank gosh.
I'm still working on the sequel to "Crank" (Glass), which I'm not enjoying as much as the first, and "Heartless", the new Pretty Little Liars book.

Hope you all enjoy the new reviews :)

~Rachel

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Title: Fahrenheit 451

Author: Ray Bradbury

Rating: 3 stars

Ages: 12 and up

We read this book in English these past few weeks, and today finally finished.
I say finally because it was a very slow read for me, it not being my usual genre of choice.

Guy Montag is a fireman of the future. In the future where the heroic firemen do not put out the fires, but start them. They set fire upon our beloved books!

In Ray Bradbury's amazingly accurate future, TV is everyone's main priority. Montag's wife, Millie is quite obsessed with her 'family' that lives in her 3 walled TV in the parlor.

Montag is dramatically changed during the novel- first, by meeting Clarisse McClellan who showed him a different point of view, secondly by witnessing a suicide from a woman who was so in love with her books, she was convinced that she couldn't live without them and therefore did not leave her house after the firemen set fire to it.
Montag shows Millie the stash of books he has been collecting for some time and plans to read them all. But this was before the scare of Millie turning him in to the firemen, who make Montag set fire to his own home.


Also by this author:
*The Martian Chronicles
*Dandelion Wine
*Something Wicked this way Comes
*The Illustrated Man
*The October Country
*The Golden Apples of the Sun
*Zen in the Art of Writing
*The Halloween Tree

Others who Viewed this book Also Viewed:
*Animal Farm
*To Kill a Mockingbird
*The Catcher in the Rye

Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr

Title: Story of a Girl

Author: Sara Zarr

Rating: 4 stars

Ages: 13 and up


Also by this Author:
*Sweethearts
*Once was Lost

People who viewed this book also viewed:
*Perfect Chemistry
*The Truth About Forever
*Thirteen Reasons Why
*Once Was Lost
*Sweethearts


I didn't really think, in the beginning that this book had much of a POINT, but it was actually quite good. It's about a girl named Deanna, who was caught in the back of her boyfriend, Tommy's truck by her father when she was thirteen years old. Deanna thinks her father hates her, and blames her for everything that happened all those years ago. Her older brother, Darren and his girlfriend Stacy live in her parent's basement with their new baby, April.

Deanna wants despirately to move out of her parents watch and into a new house with Darren, Stacy and April. Things would be perfect- her new job at a Pizza Parlor could help pay rent and she would even be there to help babysit.

Her only two friends, Jason and Lee are dating, and while Lee's on vacation, Deanna makes the mistake to kiss Jason. On top of all this summer mishap, Tommy is working alongside Deanna making pizzas.

I think the whole point of this novel was self redemption and forgiving and seeing that everyone truly does make mistakes and that's okay.


Praise for "Story of a Girl":

"This is a hell of a good book." - Chris Crutcher, author of "Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes"

"Realistic fiction at its best... An emotionally charged story." - School Library Journal


Saturday, February 6, 2010

New Month!!

Wow. The first month of 2010 went seriously fast.
I am extremely proud of myself for being able to write "2010" as the date instead of "2009" on school papers- that's usually what the hardest part of starting the new year is.

I'm not too proud of the mere 10 books I've finished this year so far. I mean, I know I've got more than ten months left to reach my goal of 100 books read in 2009, but it seems to be starting out pretty slow.
I'm currently reading:
*Heartless by Sara Shepard (new release of the Pretty Little Liars series!!)
*Glass by Ellen Hopkins

I've got (*counts*) EIGHT other library books sitting on my bookshelf I expect myself to read this month. I'm hoping I'll accomplish this, maybe take up lots of reading during break the week after next.

By the way- does anyone else have a horrible stuffy nose winter cold?
I sure do!

Comment if you've got anything to say :)
I'll post again soon, darlings.

~Rachel

Friday, February 5, 2010

Impulse by Ellen Hopkins

Title: Impulse

Author: Ellen Hopkins

Rating: 5 stars

Ages Recommended for: 13 and up!


After reading "Crank", I was really excited to read more of Ellen Hopkins's work. I really enjoyed this one- but was extremely disappointed with the ending!!


This one is also written in verse, but this time in three different Points of View: Tony, Vanessa and Conner. Each teen has tried to commit suicide, all for different reasons, leading them up to staying at Aspen Springs, their chance to get better.

You read as they move from level one up to the Challenge- the Challenge is what comes last: If you complete the Challenge, you're able to go home.
I highly recommend this book- very good, quick and meaningful read.

Praise for IMPULSE:

"A fast, jagged, hypnotic read." - Kirkus Reviews

"By book's end, readers may well feel the effects of each protagonist's final choice." - Publishers Weekly

"Mature fans of the verse format with devour this hefty problem novel." - School Library Journal


Also by this author:
*Crank
*Burned
*Glass
*Identical
*Tricks
*Fallout


Also viewed were:
*Thirteen Reasons Why
*Identical
*Crank