OMGosh!!!!!!!!

Wow. Wow, wow. I read a book a few weeks ago called The Glass Harmonica by Louise Marley. I also posted a review for it on one of my Reading Worlds lists. And guess who commented on my review of said book? Louise Marley.

WOW!!! First Beth on this blog, then Sherwood (Smith) on Goodreads, now Louise on this blog, too. This is totally the COOLEST thing EVER!!!

I feel so lucky. :)

Reading Worlds...

Seeing as I can't sleep, I'm just going to do it now so I don't have to worry about it later. Phooee.

Two Stars and Lower:

1. Coraline-Neil Gaiman
I was thoroughly disappointed in this book. I thought it was boring, especially after all of the good things I heard about it. I will never read this book again.

Three Stars and Higher:

1. The Shakeress-Kimberely Heuston
I thought this was an interesting book. I really liked it a lot. It tells the story of a girl and her siblings who go to live with the Shakers. When she grows older, she realizes she doesn't like that life, so she leaves to make her way in the world as a doctor/healer. She comes across a new faith and has to decide between love and what she feels is right. Very good read.

2. Dante's Daughter-Kimberely Heuston
About the daughter of the poet, Dante, it paints her as an artist and very clever. I liked this a lot.

3. Climbing the Stairs-Padma Venkatraman
The author should get an award for her last name, seriously. The book was just as good; when a girl's father is horribly injured, she and her family must go to live with her father's father. The traditions of India are strictly enforced, and she has to find a way to keep living despite the changes.

4. The City of Ember-Jeanne DuPrau
Some people hated this, but I actually liked it. I thought it was clever and I can't wait to read the next one, which is sitting on my shelf waiting it's turn for August.

5. Little Sister-Kara Dalkey
This has been added to my favorites list. Mitsuko begins a quest to find her sister Amaiko's soul after a tragic loss. She faces demons, devils, and even gods to set things right. I loved, loved, loved this book.

6. The Heavenward Path-Kara Dalkey
The sequel to Little Sister. It wasn't quite as good, but I still loved it.

7. Shift-Jennifer Bradbury
When a boy tries to escape his father, his friend is blamed for it. This was well-written, and if you can get passed the few swears slipped in, it's great.

8. Peeled-Joan Bauer
The pen is definitely mightier than the sword. A high school paper reporter sets out with her friends to stop the town paper from making a mountain out of a molehill, and save the town in the process.

9. A Great and Terrible Beauty-Libba Bray
Okay, this wasn't as great as it was cracked up to be, but I still enjoyed it and want to read the next one.

10. Summer of Pearls-Mike Blakely
Interesting read, about the pearl rushes along the coast of the United States.

11. The Dead of Night-John Marsden
Second book in the Tomorrow series. Way good. I am so excited to read the third book.

12. Chanda's Wars-Allan Stratton
When a dream sends Chanda with her younger brother and sister to her mother's family, terrible things happen. But does good come of it? I'm not telling.

13. Fire and Hemlock-Dianna Wynne Jones
One of the weirdest books I have ever read. Ever. And I loved it. I still don't know what happened, so I'm going to have to read it again.

14. Castle in the Air-Dianna Wynne Jones
A sequel to Howl's Moving Castle, a young man sets out to rescue his princess and meets several more along the way.

15. Mira, Mirror-Mette Ivie Harrison
I was disappointed in this book as well, but it was still good. Just not my favorite.

16. The Thief-Meghan Whalen Turner
I really enjoyed this book, and I'm currently reading the second in the trilogy. A young thief is given a chance to escape prison if he can steal a certain mystical item. And, as he says, "I can steal anything." Loved it.

Only 17 this month. 10 less than last. Dang it. I must be getting busier.

reading worlds...

I'm back. Sorry. And I'm posting it under June 30th, because that's the last day of the month and all. All of the books I read in June. Hold on tight!

Two Stars and Lower...
1. Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow, Jessica Day George
WAY too much like East. Not as well written and almost exactly the same type of plot. Besides, East came first by three years.

2. Anne Frank and Me, Cherie Bennett
This was too confusing to me. I never felt attached to the characters, and I didn't really care what happened to them.

Three Stars and Up...
1. The Last Battle of the Icemark, Stuart Hill
The last book in the Icemark Trilogy, it tells of the growing powers of Queen Thirrin's new enemies-her daughter and father-in-law (if you can call him that). I thought this one was really good.

2. The Fifth of March: A Story of the Boston Massacre, Ann Rinaldi
Well written, well researched, and interesting characters. But of course! It's Ann Rinaldi, after all!

3. Airman, Eoin Colfer
I so want this to be made into a movie. It was fantastic, for reals.

4. The Gods and Their Machines, Oison McGann
This was a little bit weird at first, but I liked how they showed the differences in background and beliefs between the two warring societies. It showed how people don't think that their system is wrong because it has always been that way. The two clashing forces only clash because they think and live differently. No one starts out evil-we create it.

5-7. Everest: The Contest, The Climb, The Summit, Gordan Korman
The Contest was the weakest book in this trilogy, but I still give it three stars. I just didn't think that the characters were real enough. The Climb and The Summit were more believable and better written.

8-10. Island: Shipwreck, Survival, Escape, Gordan Korman
This trilogy as a whole was better than Everest, even though the situations were less likely to happen.

11. Tomorrow, When the War Began, John Marsden
I still do not understand what the title is trying to say and how it fits with the book, but it was really good anyway. Separated from their imprisoned families, a group of teenagers fight against the invading army while hiding in Hell.

12. Gideon the Cutpurse, Linda Buckley-Archer
Fun to read and fun to think about what you could change if you actually went back in time.

13. Fablehaven, Brandon Mull
I actually thought this was a lot of fun, and sometimes rather intense. My sister is rather like the troublesome brother in the story, and I'm always trying to keep her from breaking something or going where she shouldn't. People have said that this is a weird book, which it is, but it's a fun weird. A fweird, as my Homecoming group once said last year.

14. The Hero of Ages, Brandon Sanderson
I was slightly disappointed by the ending of the last book in the Mistborn trilogy. I know why it had to happen, and why those characters had to die, but still! It was bothersome and annoying. They work so hard and just get killed. It was for the plot of the story, I know. "They're not gods, just humans as tools in the hands of a higher power, so they can die." Makes sense. But it was still lame. Five stars!

15. How to be a (Bad) Birdwatcher, Simon Barnes
He swears too much. It doesn't make him sound intelligent at all, and was totally unnecessary. But the rest was funny.

16. Unwind, Neal Shusterman
I really, really, really, REALLY hope that we never figure out how to unwind people. It's just so wrong. I don't think that the Pro-Life and Pro-Choice campaigns would ever agree to this compromise, but still. You never know. Please don't let us get that bit of technological advancement. Amazingly creepy, so don't read it at night like I did. Especially the last five chapters.

17. Howl's Moving Castle, Dianna Wynne Jones
I can't believe I've never read this before. It was so fun, and now I want to watch the movie of it.

18. House of Many Ways, Dianna Wynne Jones
I was told that this was the sequel to #17 above, but I don't know. I think there's one somewhere in between it. Again, fun to read.

19. The Glass Harmonica, Louise Marley
I liked the main characters, the two girls. I think that they are actually related, but the author never says that. Just me, I guess.

20. The Faerie Path, Frewin Jones
Clever and imaginative. Sometimes I wish I were secretly a Faerie Princess and could kick butt. ;)

21. The Lost Queen, Frewin Jones
Second in this Faerie series, Tania goes to look for her lost mother. Conflicts arise between her Faerie life and her Mortal life, and soon she'll have to choose which one she wants more.

22. Summer of My German Solider, Bette Green
Why do they always have people die at the end? It's so annoying. Good read, and I would highly recommend it.

See? Much better this month. I actually read something. :)

marching on...

I'm headed off to be in the Orem Summerfest Parade. I'm marching with the group of Scouts celebrating the 100th annniversary of scouting in the United States. Seeing as I'm now a "professional scouter" because of my work position, I'm allowed to join in.

I hope it doesn't rain. It's poured off and on all day. Maybe I'll get lucky. After all, my dad did give me his lucky "Button Gear" pin. He said that I need it.

Get it yet? :)

reading worlds...

For the first time in a very long, long, long time, I have been able to sit down and read without interruption and without guilt. Do you have any idea how nice it is to be able to escape from my own world into someone else's? It's even nicer when the threat of late homework assignments is absent.

So, from now on this summer I will write out a list at the end of each month of the books that I read, starting today. The lists will be called "Reading Worlds" because that's sort of how I look at entering a book. It will be short this month, because I've only been able to read for about three days, but it still counts. Here goes:

1. The Well of Ascension, Brandon Sanderson
I really enjoyed this. The second installment of the Mistborn trilogy, I can't wait to read the third one. Which is on hold at the library right as I type. *squee*

2. Beastly, Alex Flinn
My favorite thing about this book was watching the main character go from boy to beast to man, not only in shape but in maturity. I also loved all of the imagery with the roses.

3. Anahita's Woven Riddle, Meghan Nuttal Sayres
I was intrigued to read this because of the beautiful cover (not the one seen on the Goodreads website). I picked it up to see what magic was contained inside its pages and I wasn't disappointed. Anahita is a strong young girl, and I rooted for her the whole time.

4. Daughter of War, Marsha Forchuk Skrypuch
Why have I never heard of this before? Daughter of War is based on true accounts of individuals living through the Armenian genocide in Turkey during WWI. I was angered to read this and have it be my first exposure to the events. I have never heard of it before in a history class, and clearly I should have. I was not, however, angered because of the quality of the book. It was well written, with endearing characters and shone a true light on the atrocities of human hatred without being overly graphic.

5. The Dream-Maker's Magic, Sharon Shinn
It wasn't until after I read this book that I learned it is part of a series. You couldn't tell-it completely stands on its own. Good read, lovely characters, and full of happiness (at the end, at least).

6. Princess Ben, Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Great until the end. I thought it happened too fast and didn't fit well with the rest of the book. I would have liked to see more development before the climax and denoument. The beginning and middle were awesome, and then it just sort of died. *sigh* Still, I liked it.

7. Schooled, Gordan Korman
I'm not a hippie kid, but I sympathize with Cap. I've been homeschooled at least part time for my entire life, and I'm rather naive when it comes to the world around me (if you hadn't noticed). Excellent read-can't wait to get a hold of it again.

There you have it, folks. My first list of Reading Worlds. I read more in three days than I did in almost the entire second semester of the school year. Pathetic (I am justified-homework takes priority [sadly]). Next month's list should be longer (I hope). Tonight I start The Last Battle of the Icemark, but I won't count that until the end of June. Also, when I read books that I don't like, they'll be placed before the ones I liked in a seperate list. To be honest though, I haven't read a book I didn't like in a very long time.

I love reading worlds. I really do. Ta!