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   I'd love some new ideas for young adult books to add to my blog reviews! Just fill out the form below to give your opinion! Thanks!

Confessions of Georgia Nicolson- Louise Rennison

            I read this series when I had an intense English class filled with big, adult-type literature, and I grabbed this in order to have a fun book series to contrast with what I was reading at the time.  Fun is the best way to describe this series.

            The series starts with Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging, and ends with Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me?, which should give readers some idea of the fun and flirty adventure they will travel on.  Readers will follow the life of British teen, Georgia Nicholson, and hear about her every day life, her friends, which she titles “the Ace Gang”, her love interests, and her hopelessly uncool family.   For anyone unfamiliar, or simply incredibly interested (myself), in the British slang all the cool kids are using, the back of each book contains a dictionary for anything in the book deemed foreign to American readers.  This was the first thing I read when I started each book, and I found it fun each time.

            This in not necessarily a book for those looking for some challenging reading material.  It would, however, be wonderful for anyone reading for the joy of reading.  It’s fun, it’s quick, and it’s interesting.  It’s definitely a young adult book though, filled with obsessions over make-up and confusion over boys.

            I would be happy to recommend this to anyone who wants to have a good time through young adult literature.

The Tim Woodman of Oz- L. Frank Baum

            I originally read this in an illustrated book from the children’s section of my local library at age 10.  Years later, when I bought volumes 1 & 2 of “The Oz Chronicles”, I reread it, and was equally entertained both times.  I read this before I read The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the book that the movie is based on.  The movie alone was enough background information to understand and enjoy The Tin Woodman of Oz.

            Oz is a much bigger and stranger place than we were exposed to in the movies.  It’s full of interesting characters including inflatable colonies and green monkeys.  We are led through this world by the familiar character, the Tin Woodman.  We get a lot more of his background story, and he becomes just as lovable as the character I remembered from my childhood. I always love extra development of known characters, and I wasn’t disappointed.

            Without giving too much away, through the story we learn how the Tin Woodman came to be, hear how it complicated his love life, and see the measures he is willing to take to get it back. The book is full of humor, drama, action, and romance, and I enjoyed it just as much as a child as I did as an adult.

            Anyone that enjoyed the trip through Oz with Dorothy and Toto is sure to love a second go with the Tin Woodman, and I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it.

A Tale Dark & Grimm

        Being the fairy tale fan that I am, I was excited to start this book.  I have always been excited by retellings of fairy tales, and when a professor read a passage of this book during a children’s literature class, I knew I needed to read it.

This book follows Hansel and Gretel through their own story, then out into other tales in the world of Grimm.  Adam Gidwitz adds new storyline whenever it is called for, while still keeping well-known stories similar enough to be recognizable.

The narrator in this book is very vocal and will actually stop you to interject a point or a warning.  I found that this keeps the story interesting and moving along quickly.  The narrator feels like he’s always on the side of the reader, rooting for them or warning them when something “frightening” is about to happen.  I mostly liked this, but found that sometimes it gave some of the suspense away.

Although the narrator warns you about “scary” occurrences in this book, I doubt that children would have a problem reading it.  In my experience, I have found that children find things scary that you don’t expect, and usually find scary or gross things cool.

I loved this book because it had recognizable stories from beloved fairytales, but also told a story all its own.  Hansel and Gretel’s characters were well developed, and I found myself rooting for them and hurting for them.

I loved this book and would highly recommend it.

John Green talks about Looking For Alaska

When You Reach Me- Rebecca Stead

            When You Reach Me follows sixth grade Miranda.  She navigates school and has the normal problems that sixth graders often do.  One day, she received a strange note asking her to write down upcoming events.  As time goes on, she gets more notes with strange requests and predictions no one could know about.  Can Miranda figure out the meaning behind these notes and help, as the notes say, the writer and herself?

              This book was not my favorite.  It got a little confusing because it had an element of science fiction, time travel, but that felt out of place since it was the only science fiction element.  Although time travel is woven into the story, it’s not set in the future; it is set in the late 1970’s.  Instead of fighting foreign technology or alien beings, our main character fights problems that a normal 12-year-old faces.

            Having grown up on shows like Doctor Who and movies like Back to the Future, I found the fact that Miranda struggled throughout the entire book to understand the time travel tedious and a bit boring.  I think, all in all, the time travel element of the book didn’t impress me.

            However, the book has very realistic portrayals of friendships in sixth grade.  Miranda struggles with her friend Sal refusing to talk to her, and very believably begins new friendships. I think the elements of friendships in this book are its strongest qualities.

            It was an okay read, but not for the sci-fi lovers.

To get you hooked, The Hunger Games (reviewed below) trailor by lionsgate

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

            I originally read this book for a class I was taking.  I started it ahead of time to give myself a while to finish it.  Three days later, not having put it down at all, it was done and I was obsessed.

            In the distant future after the collapse of America, Panem springs up.  The Capitol rules twelve outlying districts and has all the power and wealth.  It exerts its power every year by taking one girl and boy from each district, known as tributes, and making them fight to the death.

            This is a phenomenal book for so many reasons. It has a story that grabs you, as well as a lot of depth for the critical reader.  The book deals with how wealth corrupts, both by the characters of The Capitol and seeing how Katniss, the books main character, tries to fit into their world.  She changes, almost without meaning to, to win their approval. In the Capitol, qualities that are valued are happiness, extravagance, and privilege.  The Capitol however does not value the same things in its tributes.  Tributes are valued if they are ruthless, clever, murderous, or obedient to the Capitol.  They are treated like savages instead of humans, further bowing to striking differences and privilege that seems undeserved.

            And that’s just the beginning!

            This is a story of a girl who struggles physically, emotionally, and morally.  It has action, romance, humor, tragedy, murder, a love of life and more.  It was a fantastic book, and will hopefully make a great movie too.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore (posted below) just won an Oscar Award!!! Congrats! everyone should check it out!

It's a Book-Lane Smith

Cute little story about books versus technology. By Lane Smith.



I had nothing to do with the creation of this, just sharing :)

Looking for Alaska

            I promise that this blog won’t turn into a John Green book review blog, but I just finished Looking for Alaska today and wanted to review it while it was still fresh. 

            This is a book about Miles “Pudge” Halter, who lives a life of social non-existence before he goes to boarding school in Culver Creek to “seek a Great Perhaps”.  Pudge’s life gets notably more exciting when he makes new friends Alaska, the Colonel, Takumi, and Lara. They set out to play pranks, find love, and make their way through high school.  After “the event”, their lives are changed dramatically.  I won’t mention what “the event” is, because it would ruin the book, and I want you to read it. 

I dealt with a similar event in high school, as well as shortly after, and this book brought up a lot of memories.  Green has a way of making emotions real and raw, creating very relatable characters.  I felt certain issues after “the event” we’re a bit drawn out, but when I put myself in Pudge’s place instead of being a reader, the timing felt more appropriate.

This book does have controversial topics, including under-age-drinking and sex.  However, it is crucial to note that Green does it for a reason.  When the book comes to its most sexually explicit scene, it is more uncomfortable and humorous than anything.  Green has it in the book to draw contrasts to other parts in the book that are more romantic but not sexual.  There are no controversies in this book that are there just for the sake of being controversial, and I feel that they are no reason to avoid this book.

I liked this book a lot, as I do most of Green’s novels.  He develops his characters well, and manages to craft a story that is eloquent, thoughtful, and humorous in just the right amounts.  I would highly recommend it.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

      I found this on youtube today. Cute movie that, as a book nerd, I very much appreciated.  Directed by William Joyce and Brandon Oldenburg. I found it from youtube user senguntr.

P.S. I dont not own, nor did I have anything to do with, this project. Just wanted to share it with book lovers everywhere.

The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Brian Selznick) - Review

            I was a little intimidated when I first picked up this book.  The size looked like it could rival a Harry Potter. However, on first flipping through the book, any anxiety was relieved. This book is a work of art, told in drawings intermingled with a few chunks of text thrown in.

            This is the story of a young boy, Hugo, struggling to live after being orphaned. He lives in a train station, and has to occasionally steal what he needs. He is caught stealing toys for parts to fix his last connection to his father, and the storeowner, Papa Georges, makes Hugo work in his shop.

            This book really made me appreciate artistic elements in books.  The framing of the pictures can give you perspective, tell you about the importance of the image, and give the image a certain feel.  The art for this book makes all the difference.

            This book ended up being a quick read and a good story. I like how it made me think differently. It has a similar feel to some manga, because you can take different amounts of time on different images depending on the pace the book is at at the time. Since it’s mostly images, the pace of the book doesn’t rely on your reading speed. It doesn’t really fit into one genre or another, but combines the best qualities of a novel, picture book, graphic novel, flip book, and movie all into one.

The Fault in our Stars-Review

            This book took me through more emotions then any other book I’ve read.  The story is beautifully heartbreaking, with truth, humor, irony, and so much more thrown in. 

           The book tells the story of Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters, and their battles with cancer. It is told through the voice of Hazel, and John Green does a wonderful job of giving an honest look of a girl who is angry that cancer has dramatically decreased her life expectancy, while still having her feel like a real person.

           John Green takes is at his best when he so beautifully melds drama and heartbreak with humor. The book never takes you too far in one direction.  There are beautifully romantic or tragic moments, and Green immediately follows it by making you laugh out loud. Conversely, a light moment will end bringing you back to reality.

            This book looks in to what it means to be a family, a child, a heroine, and even what it means to be alive.  I would recommend this book again and again to young adult and adult readers alike. 

   This blog is all about young adult book reviews! I will be posting new posts every Monday reviewing a new book.  These posts will be short, sweet, and to the point, but I love answering questions and expanding when asked!  My favorite young adult authors are John Green, Maurine Johnson, Suzanne Collins, and Meg Rosoff.

My goodreads account has other book reviews and ratings in it if you want to check that out. It's a great site that lets you talk about books and suggests other books you might like.