![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
December 2008 Book List
Jan. 11th, 2009 05:27 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
bellawilfer.livejournal.comThirteen Reason Why - Jay Asher
A package arrives addressed to the main character and inside are six cassette tapes. And a letter from a dead girl. These are her last words and thoughts to the world…and she’s going to tell thirteen people the reasons why she has ended her life. All thirteen reasons why. Wow. This book twisted and turned in the most heart-breaking ways. An incredible look at how the littlest things can change so much.
The London Eye Mystery - Siobhan Dowd
Ted and Kat's cousin disappears while on the London Eye and in the end, with the help of Ted's brain that runs on a different operating system (he has autism), the two of them figure out the mystery in the end. Cute story and it seemed more alive since I've actually been where the story takes place.
Dragonhaven - Robin McKinley
The story of a nature preserve for…dragons…as told by teenager Jake, who discovers and takes care of a baby dragon whose mother has been killed by a poacher. Set possibly in the future (??), it is illegal to protect and raise dragonlets…and yet he does. I actually really enjoyed this one. Despite the fumbling beginning (which actually sounded natural to me, seeing how its supposed to be a teenage boy’s voice), it caught my interest quickly. Unfortunately, the last portion of the book – from where it felt like the end until it really *was* the end, just felt...meh. It didn't seem to mesh as well with the rest of the story. It just felt like a really, really, really long afterword.
Feathers - Jacqueline Woodson
Interesting, but not the most memorable. Just a kind of meh book.
Princess Academy - Shannon Hale
I enjoyed this one – the heroine in this story is feisty, determined and human. I couldn’t help but picture the heroine looking very much like [Bad username or site: ”elvenjaneite” @ livejournal.com] - they seemed very similar in personality to me. The only quibble I had was a plot twist that came at the end; the author really didn’t seem to set it up from the beginning, dropping clues or anything like that. So…the surprise was disappointing in the fact that the reader was prepared for it – as a result it could be a bit of a let down.
Goose Girl - Shannon Hale
I’m still undecided as to whether or not I liked Goose Girl or Princess Academy better. I liked the storyline in Goose Girl; I especially like the fact that while the heroine begins this adventure as weak and struggles to stand up for herself, she does end stronger – but not the mighty heroine you generally find in other fairy tales. She changes, but she still needs others to help her. It isn’t a grand story with a mighty transformation – and I liked that. Still, I preferred the magical elements of Princess Academy over the ones in Goose Girl. Communicating through linder is just much cooler than being able to talk to and understand animals and rule the wind.
The Summer of My German Soldier - Bette Green
I kept passing this book on the shelf at our local library because it had a horrid cover dating back to the nineties that made it look more like a torrid romance novel than historical fiction. It wasn’t until a recent trip that I picked it up and actually read the description; much to my surprise the story was about a preteen girl who hides a German POW who escapes from a camp nearby her home in the US. Slightly dubiously, I decided to give it a try and surprisingly enough, I really, really liked it. It was a sweet story and I was glad to read it.
Morning is a Long Time Coming - Bette Green
The sequel to “The Summer of My German Soldier.” I was disappointed by this book. It was a definite let-down and I couldn’t bring myself to feel entirely too sorry for the main character. Sure, her parents are jerks and all that, but that doesn’t mean that she has to turn around and do everything they wouldn’t approve of, just to get back at them, including living with a man while living in France and do everything she would if she were married. :-/
Impossible - Nancy Werlin
A modern-day fairy tale that follows the song “Scarborough Fair.” Lucy, as her mother and grandmother and ancestors before her, has nine months to break the curse. Nine months until her baby is born and nine months until she goes insane. Will she be able to figure out the riddle in the song and break the curse? I was actually surprised by this book. While it has some disturbing scenes (including the scene where Lucy is raped), the romance is sweet...and surprisingly pure and full of self-less love.
A package arrives addressed to the main character and inside are six cassette tapes. And a letter from a dead girl. These are her last words and thoughts to the world…and she’s going to tell thirteen people the reasons why she has ended her life. All thirteen reasons why. Wow. This book twisted and turned in the most heart-breaking ways. An incredible look at how the littlest things can change so much.
The London Eye Mystery - Siobhan Dowd
Ted and Kat's cousin disappears while on the London Eye and in the end, with the help of Ted's brain that runs on a different operating system (he has autism), the two of them figure out the mystery in the end. Cute story and it seemed more alive since I've actually been where the story takes place.
Dragonhaven - Robin McKinley
The story of a nature preserve for…dragons…as told by teenager Jake, who discovers and takes care of a baby dragon whose mother has been killed by a poacher. Set possibly in the future (??), it is illegal to protect and raise dragonlets…and yet he does. I actually really enjoyed this one. Despite the fumbling beginning (which actually sounded natural to me, seeing how its supposed to be a teenage boy’s voice), it caught my interest quickly. Unfortunately, the last portion of the book – from where it felt like the end until it really *was* the end, just felt...meh. It didn't seem to mesh as well with the rest of the story. It just felt like a really, really, really long afterword.
Feathers - Jacqueline Woodson
Interesting, but not the most memorable. Just a kind of meh book.
Princess Academy - Shannon Hale
I enjoyed this one – the heroine in this story is feisty, determined and human. I couldn’t help but picture the heroine looking very much like [Bad username or site: ”elvenjaneite” @ livejournal.com] - they seemed very similar in personality to me. The only quibble I had was a plot twist that came at the end; the author really didn’t seem to set it up from the beginning, dropping clues or anything like that. So…the surprise was disappointing in the fact that the reader was prepared for it – as a result it could be a bit of a let down.
Goose Girl - Shannon Hale
I’m still undecided as to whether or not I liked Goose Girl or Princess Academy better. I liked the storyline in Goose Girl; I especially like the fact that while the heroine begins this adventure as weak and struggles to stand up for herself, she does end stronger – but not the mighty heroine you generally find in other fairy tales. She changes, but she still needs others to help her. It isn’t a grand story with a mighty transformation – and I liked that. Still, I preferred the magical elements of Princess Academy over the ones in Goose Girl. Communicating through linder is just much cooler than being able to talk to and understand animals and rule the wind.
The Summer of My German Soldier - Bette Green
I kept passing this book on the shelf at our local library because it had a horrid cover dating back to the nineties that made it look more like a torrid romance novel than historical fiction. It wasn’t until a recent trip that I picked it up and actually read the description; much to my surprise the story was about a preteen girl who hides a German POW who escapes from a camp nearby her home in the US. Slightly dubiously, I decided to give it a try and surprisingly enough, I really, really liked it. It was a sweet story and I was glad to read it.
Morning is a Long Time Coming - Bette Green
The sequel to “The Summer of My German Soldier.” I was disappointed by this book. It was a definite let-down and I couldn’t bring myself to feel entirely too sorry for the main character. Sure, her parents are jerks and all that, but that doesn’t mean that she has to turn around and do everything they wouldn’t approve of, just to get back at them, including living with a man while living in France and do everything she would if she were married. :-/
Impossible - Nancy Werlin
A modern-day fairy tale that follows the song “Scarborough Fair.” Lucy, as her mother and grandmother and ancestors before her, has nine months to break the curse. Nine months until her baby is born and nine months until she goes insane. Will she be able to figure out the riddle in the song and break the curse? I was actually surprised by this book. While it has some disturbing scenes (including the scene where Lucy is raped), the romance is sweet...and surprisingly pure and full of self-less love.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}