1 James Patterson, 2 Jeffrey Browns, and 3 Hinako Ashiharas

Well, it's been over a month since my last book review post. I'm not sure I'll do a great job reviewing here, but I just wanted to keep a record that these are some books I've read recently, that are really good. You might want to look into them.

For example, I read the 7th book in the Maximum Ride series, "Angel", a few weeks ago. I wanted to review it much earlier, honest I did! I just kept forgetting to get to it. Sorry. =( But it was definitely an awesome book, just like the rest before it. I thought it was weird that it was called "Angel", though, because the character Angel didn't seem to be that important in the story, in my opinion. It's still mostly Max's story. Anyway, there was great love-triangle romance going on, some awesome action scenes, and it ends on a cliffhanger, so I'm going to look forward to the next book in the series, which I hear is called "Nevermore". I wonder if it'll be the last adventure...

I believe I read these over a week ago. Pretty recent. This author, Jeffrey Brown, has a very fascinating art style in his graphic novels. Extremely sketchy and cartoony, but the characters still seem like real people. Both books are based on true stories from Jeffrey's life, about his relationships with old girlfriends. "Clumsy", his first book, is very non-linear and all over the place. Really random. But I still enjoyed it. I appreciated, though, that "Unlikely", the prequel about his first girlfriend, had more of a definite time-line that I could follow. I didn't like her as much as the girlfriend in "Clumsy", but it was a good book.

Warning: both books contain very mature material. Not for young readers' eyes at all, if you know what I mean.

Finally, the last time I was at the library, I was scanning the shelves for a good manga I could get into, and came upon this charming series: Sand Chronicles. I read the first volume in one sitting at the library, and liked the story so much that just before we left, I grabbed the 2nd and 3rd volumes and checked them out. I'm quite happy I did. ^_^

Basically, it's a coming-of-age series that follows a young Japanese girl, Ann, on her trials, tribulations, and budding romance. It starts off when she's 12, when she and her mother move from Tokyo to a small village. Ann's mom dies suddenly, so her grandparents take care of her, and the friends she makes in that village help her cope. There's the hot-headed boy, Daigo, who Ann kind of has feelings for, and a brother and sister, Fuji and Shiika, who come from a wealthy family.

After that, there are lots of stories, such as Ann and friends going to a summer camp together, her moving back with her father to Tokyo for high-school, and her romantic long-distance relationship with Daigo. Fuji, who is more the quiet, strong-silent type, seems to have a crush on Ann, and near the end of Book 3, it seems Shiika has a thing for Daigo. Needless to say, this Shojo manga is heavy on the romance. Personally, as I grow older and more mature, I really like that in a series. ^,^ There is also a lot of neat Japanese culture throughout the books, which is one of things I love most about reading manga, or watching anime.

I think there are 10 books in the Sand Chronicles. I'm sure I'll glide through all of them in a heart-beat, when I get my hands on them. Lol.