And Another Thing... by Eoin Colfer

It seems pretty appropriate that the title of the post is "And Another Thing..." This feels a lot like an after-thought, seeing as I started posting book reviews here again with the great promise of regular updates, but then I fell back on the wayside. ~,~ Oh well. I guess I can't really promise you guys anything.

But anyway, here's a really great book that I read recently!

I bought "And Another Thing..." on one of the last days our Borders store was still open (R.I.P. Borders !,!). I've read and thoroughly enjoyed the other Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (or H2G2) books by Douglas Adams in the past. This series has a few zany characters, wacky story elements, and very witty ideas. This 6th book in a trilogy is no different. (*Double-take* O,o Yes, that's what it's referred to as, the 6th book in a trilogy. LOL)

I don't know how Eoin Colfer, author of the Artemis Fowl series (I like those books okay), got the opportunity to write this sequel, but I figured since it was an author I knew, it wouldn't be that bad a read.

Turns out he was pretty faithful to the H2G2 series while putting his own hilarious spin on it. ^_^ A lot of the old characters come back, like Arthur Dent, Trillian, Zaphod Beeblebrox, Ford Prefect, and the Vogons, and there are lots of funny new characters too. (I was kind of sad though that the main character, Arthur Dent, didn't seem to have a lot to do in the story. He didn't have any major character development or anything. He was just... there. He was simply along from the ride, while all the other characters got to have their extremely interesting and unusual adventures.)

Some of the jokes in this book are really funny. You get put in a very silly state of mind when you read something like this, with every turn of the page leaving you thinking, "huh? oh, lol!" There's a lot of convenient and humorous world-building, and the whole story is actually pretty well-written. It felt like an H2G2 book, so I was happy. It wasn't the best, but it was decent.

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Oh, and another thing... lol. I've wanted to post this combo review for a long time now, but just couldn't get around to it. So here you go.

The Daniel X series, by one of my new favorite authors, the awesome James Patterson. ^,^ Now having said that, I wasn't absolutely crazy about this series... but I've got to hand it to JP. He sure knows how to keep you turning those pages. (It must be those dang short chapters and cliff-hangers. =P)

Anyway, the story follows a teenage boy named Daniel (who is secretly an alien) whose destiny is to be an Alien Hunter and protect Earth from bad guys. It kind of reminded me of Men in Black in that respect.

So how does Daniel fight off the alien villains? Well, this kid has one of the coolest and actually most imaginative super-powers I've ever read about: He can create. He can make just about anything he can imagine. From thin air. Just with the power of his mind. He can even make whole people, with full personalities! Oh yeah, and he has other super-powers too, like shape-shifting ability, genius intellect and mind-reading.

While the story and the story-world was pretty interesting, the thing that put me off most about the books is what an overly perfect character Daniel is. I mean, since he can create anything, things come really easy for him. It's almost impossible for bad guys to trick him. Yeah, he does have a couple weaknesses, like getting distracted by girls (hey, he's a teenager. What're you gonna do?) and being a bit cocky. But for the most part, he's a pretty flawless protagonist. I don't know about you, but personally, I prefer my protagonist with a couple flaws in him/her. Also, the books seem to have a couple of preachy messages, like "don't litter", and "read a book, it's better than TV". I don't know. Kinda weird.

Reading the graphic novel of the first book was pretty cool though. It was quite accurate and true to the story. I actually think I liked it a lot better than the book, because I could see what the characters were doing, and what the aliens looked like. Also, I love reading graphic novels because they are such a breeze. ^_^

If you're interested, the 4th book in this series, "Game Over", will be coming out this September. I think I'll give it a try, when I can get my hands on it.

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Oh, and ANOTHER thing! (I promise, this is the last other thing I'll mention. Then you'll finish this review. ^,~) I've also recently read the first 3 Maximum Ride graphic novels, based on the series also by James Patterson, and I gotta say, they are pretty awesome! ^_^

Having read "When the Wind Blows" and "The Lake House", I was kind of familiar with the flying children characters. In this series however, most of them were given different names. Except for the main character, Max, naturally. Also, unlike WtWB and TLH, these kids with wings are completely the main focus, instead of partially.

I'm still waiting for the actual first Maximum Ride book, "The Angel Experiment", to come in for me from the library. I bet it'll be worth the wait though. ^,~

Also, did you know that the 4th graphic novel was released just today? What a coincidence, huh?

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And another thing... no, I'm just kidding. I had you going for a second, though, didn't I? lol. ^_~

Breaking Dawn, by Stephanie Meyer

Wow. That's all I can say after finishing one of the best series I've read in my relatively short life yet. Wow. It feels like a terribly understatement for what I'm feeling now. I'm done with Stephanie Meyers' vampire romance. I figure that if I put together all the days I spent reading the novels in this series, like if I had done a Twilight marathon, I'd have "devoured" all the books in little over a fortnight (that means just over two weeks. I just thought it sounded funny saying fortnight). To me, when I think about it from a different perspective, it's pretty unbelievable, because that means that I read 2,000 odd pages of print in 14+ days. (Okay, I'll stop with all the boring statistics. But I'm a Virgo. What can I say? I'd like to add that I think it's so cool that Bella and I almost share a birthday. I've mentioned that in New Moon, but... for those who didn't know. ^,^)

Soooo... boy, what a finale. I mean, just when I thought it couldn't get much better than Eclipse. I liked how this book was organized. It's almost as if the three separate parts in the book were actually 3 different novels. It's good that they were all bound together the way they were, though.

**********BIG SPOILER ALERT!**********

The first part was good, though (understandably) my least favorite. Not because I hated anything about it, on the contrary I didn't. It was simply that the later parts were much better. See, in part 1, the story is in Bella's view, as a human (as per usual). She gets married to Edward, which was nice. Alice was so cool. I wish she'd organize my wedding. There's still some confusion over who Bella likes more, however, Jacob or Edward. Later, when the couple are on their honeymoon (very tastefully done, Stephanie. Perfectly written, so that even kids can enjoy this part), Bella finds that she's pregnant. Which at first was like a big HUH?! when I understood what was happening. Of course, I expected it a little, since I've heard Twilight rumors, but still.

Part 2 was awesome, because it was in Jacob's view, and this time I liked it. I love Jacob's thought processes and his side of life. Like my good friend warned me, the headings for his chapters were kind of funny. I'd say Jake thinks a little more bluntly than Bella does, not quite so carefully. It was awesome seeing what life in the werewolf pack was like. Sounds like as much fun as being a vampire. Unfortunately, Jacob doesn't have a lot of fun in his story. It's almost heart-wrenching, how much he has to put up with Bella. Especially when she shows up pregnant. But for some reason he sticks around, unable to tear himself away. I wished he could find someone else to imprint him so he could forget about Bella and leave her with Edward in peace. Of course, when it came around at the very end, I could see from a mile away how his love life would be happily resolved. I'd like to remind you that this is a spoiler alert, so I assume you've read the entire Twilight series, because if you haven't, I'm sorry to be the one to spoil it for you. I was so happy that Jacob imprinted with... Bella's daughter, Renesmee. Even with her being half-human, half-vampire. It made perfect sense then. That Jacob had loved Bella since forever for the very reason that she carried his future love, though he didn't know it. So that was nice.

Finally part 3. My favorite part. It was best because it was the longest and because Bella starts her new "life" as a vampire. Whoops. Sorry to break it to ya. Well, Bella manages to make me wish further that I was a vampire myself, since she pulls it off so well. Her relationship with Edward improves a lot, since he doesn't have to hold himself back when they get... physical. She can beat Emmet at arm-wrestling, she doesn't need sleep, she moves extra fast, and her daughter, Renesmee, is so amazing. She's got a great talent that allows her to put thought pictures and memories into people's heads when she touches them, so they know what she wants. I kind of wish I was Renesmee (or Nessie, as she comes to be called) more than a total vampire, because at least she keeps the abilities to eat human food and get tired. I'd hate drinking blood all the time. Mostly 'cause I'm a real vegetarian, so I dislike meat of any kind. Strangely, Bella's vampire development is sped up a lot. Probably since she made the choice first, or because it was just her. Her talent is cool. Forcing a mental shield over everyone she loves so that no one can harm her or her protected. That came in real useful near the close. Too bad that meant it didn't turn into an actual battle. Oh well. I liked the happily-ever-after chapter, when (sorry!) it appears that she can allow Edward to see inside her mind, conditionally. A nice ending, with the promise of a good future for the characters I've come to love.

**********SPOILER OVER**********

Well, no that that's over and done with... what do I do with my life? He he, just kidding. But I don't know. This Twilight saga sure took a toll on me. It's like Annette once said in passing when I had my nose stuck in the pages. Twilight cast a spell on me. Now that I'm officially done with the series and know what happens, the spell has been somewhat cast off, but not entirely. Because I will always remember the feelings that I got from this romance, where I truly believed that I was in the story. The characters and the plot and the enormous circumstances all took turns tugging at my heartstrings. Every time I put the book down, I would seriously sit and speculate what could possibly happen next to my vampires. That's as opposed to me closing another book and going off to do something else, not giving the story much thought until I had time to crack the book open again.

I will not shove my opinion on anyone else, but I highly disagree with anyone who claims that this saga is, in any way, not good. Sure, it might get a little mushy/ lovey-dovey for some readers, I can understand that. Still, I will not hear a word that says Twilight is at any time boring or slow, or that the series went kind of downhill after Stephanie's debut. This was as good a series as there has ever been, with each book clearly better than the one before it. I'm glad to have known this series. I recognise, however, that it's time for me to move on. But I don't think my mania will fade competely until each book is made into a movie. Kind of like Harry Potter. Until Deathly Hallows part 2 comes in theaters, I will never give up the magic universe completely. Even though I'll be 19 or 20 when that time comes. I don't think that'll make any difference, though.

Forgive me. I babble on and on and all you want to do is reach the end already. I'll stop now. But please, remember to leave a comment when you're done. Even if you absolutely hated Twilight, no matter what I said. Just tell me.

Eclipse, by Stephenie Meyer

Alright, now this month I don't think I'll care at all about statistics of books in posts. They're only useful in the labels. The fact is that I loooooved this book!!! It's almost scary how fast I was able to finish it. Because believe me, this book was thick. But then I'd been waiting for it for such a long time, so it's almost hardly a surprise how eager I was to read it.

I'd heard around that Eclipse wasn't that good a story in the Twilight Saga, but I think these people were dead wrong. I believe that, if a series is truly awesome, then it must get better and better with each new book. My special theory is that the best books in the very best series are the last and second-to-last books. Of course, the series has to be longer than a trilogy, because otherwise the pattern has to be great, greater, greatest.

Anyway, as this is the penultimate Twilight book, I super enjoyed it. I loved it much better than New Moon. That's a good sign. Some of my favorite parts were when different characters told stories to Bella, very interesting sort of histories. Like what Rosalie and Jaspar were like around the time they became vampires, or the legends of the werewolves. They were so interesting. I'm glad that a lot of subconcious questions of mine were answered.

Of course, I loved the romance the best. Though it was incredibly confusing, to tell you the truth. Like, after Bella and Edward got back together, Jacob the werewolf is still in love with Bella, and she still gets to hang out with him until it's like she loves him too. But she loves Edward even more, and she knows that she can't live without him, but Jacob... and Edward seems okay with all this? Because he loves Bella so much that he doesn't care what she does as long as she's happy. Since this book is told in first person, and since I relate so much to Bella, I'm continually as baffled as she is who she should choose in the end. Edward, of course, is amazing. But still, I love Jacob. He's a wonderful character, and the best friend she ever had. Plus, I don't think he's as dangerous as a vampire. He's part human, anyway.

**********Spoiler alert**********

One of the funniest parts for me was when Bella, Edward and Jacob are all camping in a tent together and it's very cold, so Jacob warms Bella up so she can sleep. (Edward can't do that since he'd make her colder.) Later, when Bella is very still but not quite asleep, though the boys think she is, vampire and werewolf start talking, strangely friendly like. They calmly chat about how they both love Bella and how sticky a situation both of them are in because of that. They're also aware how strongly Bella feels for each of them, and they discuss that. All the while, I'm thinking like, Why aren't they at each other's throats by this conversation? They should be killing themselves over her right now. But they both behave. Bella seems to write this unusual scene off as a dream, which is conveniant for the story, because if I were her, I might have decided to "wake up" several times. But I thought it was very cool how genuinely friendly these guys were towards each other. In another world, had they not been mythical monsters or in love with the same girl, I bet they'd be pretty good buds. Still, I agreed with the both of them when they decided that the best man will have to win, and that by the next day the strange truce will have to be over.

**********Spoiler over**********

All in all, this book was totally amazing. I don't care what anyone else says. To me, this was the best Twilight book yet. Still, I know this book has only prepared me for the treat that Breaking Dawn is sure to be. My friend Q told me about chapters in which Jacob narrated, where the headings are funny. I'll be looking out for that. Ooh, speaking of which, I thought it was really strange in the epilogue how it turned into Jacob's view instead of Bella's. It almost disoriented me, because I was unused to the way his mind operated. Of course, this may be because I'm a girl, but still.

I'm so excited that I'm nearly finished with the whole Saga, but sad at the prospect at the same time. Twilight has cast a spell over me, one that I very much doubt will ever leave me, even after I turn the last page of the final book.

New Moon, by Stephenie Meyer

Man, oh man. What a follow-up to Twilight this book was! 565 pages, long, or 25 chapters. It took me 4 whole days to get through it. This time there wasn't a preview of the next book, so that was good. When I started this book on the 12th, I skipped the 1st chapter completely, since I remembered it perfectly from when I read it after finishing Twilight. But now, whenever I get Eclipse, I'm glad the whole thing will be a surprise. This was published 2006.

I absolutely loved it! It was just as awesome, maybe even more so, than it's predecessor. I'm sorry to have to disagree with Brian, but I thought this book was really good. I now understand why in the movie Twilight Victoria is shown in such a foreshadowing position, because she is quite a dangerous presence in the plot. She's never "shown" in the story, but she's a big threat to Bella anyway.

Anyway, like the first book, I found myself irresistibly, emotionally attached to the story somehow. It was again as if I were playing Bella, and whenever I put the book down I kept thinking about it, still feeling everything she told me she was feeling. When Edward dumped her, I thought her feeble existence in the following months was a bit pathetic, but I sympathized with her anyway. Still, it was cool when the plot picked up and she found a reason to live again. I loved getting to know Jacob Black. He's a really good character. Especially since his name is one letter away from someone I know ^,^ . Even him being a werewolf doesn't make me like him any less. I thought it was a little funny when Bella steps back and wonders why she finds herself so attracted to mythical monsters.

I think the last part was the best though. When Bella and Alice rush over to save Edward from killing himself. That was as exciting as when Bella was being hunted by James in the first book. Of course, as the story ends, I'm very curious about how things turn out. I mean, Bella likes Jacob, but she absolutely loves Edward. It seems inevitable that she's going to turn into a vampire herself sometime soon in the series, since she can't stand the idea of Edward looking forever young while she ages. I'm just so psyched about this series I can't stand waiting for the next part.

I'm sorry for giving away so many spoilers, and for making this a long review. I hope soon I'll get the chance to discuss this book with someone who's read it and shares my high approval. I also hope I won't be the only one reviewing books for much longer. Huh, now I wonder what I'm going to read next. How is it ever going to compare to this reading experience? I hope I don't set myself up for disappointment. Not everyone can write like Ms. Meyer.

The Diamond of Darkhold, by Jeanne DuPrau

Title: The Diamond of Darkhold

Author: Jeanne DuPrau.

Published: 2008

Pages: 285

Chapters: 28

Pages per Chapter (on average): 10+

Date Started: Jan. 12-----Date Finished: Jan. 13

My Reading Speed: 142.5 pages a day, or 14 chapters a day.

The Main Characters: Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow return, and for at least a little while the story is told from the point of view from 3 other characters, their friends Kenny, Torren and Lizzie.

My Brief Synopsis: The people of Ember and Sparks try to get through a tough winter and Lina and Doon think it would be a good idea to go back to Ember and see what they can salvage from the dead city. There would probably be lots of food and materials left over from the Exodus of Ember (I made that up myself), plenty to last the rest of the winter. They make the journey, and during their adventures they discover a truly neat invention that probably saves all of human civilization for future generations.

The Conflicts: When the kids climb down into Ember again, they find it inhabited by a mean family known as the Troggs (just the name makes them sound terrible, doesn't it). The Troggs kidnap Doon while Lina escapes. They aren't exactly villains or anything, but they do treat Doon badly. They think they own the city, which they dub Darkhold. I think it's clever that the whole Trogg family is named after major cities. Washton, Kanza, Minny-Apples, Scawgo, Yorick. Yorick also reminds me of a Shakespear line (alas, poor Yorick. I knew him well!). Am I right about that? I can't be sure.

My General Comments: I most definitly think that this was the best book out of the whole series. There is a much bigger sense of adventure, and I love scenes in the middle of the forest. The diamond also lends a sense of mysticality to the story, even though it isn't actually magic, like you might think it is. (Yeah, on the cover the blue diamond looks all shiny and magical, but you're wrong. Oops, I've said too much!)

My Favorite Part: Okay, you can probably guess my favorite part here. Yeah, the ending. But this one was really good. It was definitly a happy and satisfying end to this series. Very fascinating too. It talks about what happens really far into the people of Ember's and Sparks' future, and then it gets really descriptive about the planet. It's really cool. You should read the book just to get to this ending.

My Favorite Things About the Book: Well, it's hard to come up with anything I haven't already mentioned. I just really liked this book in the series, okay?

A Personal Shout Out to Jeanne DuPrau: Like you just heard up there, absolutely loved the ending, Jeanne. I now understand that there's no need for another book in the series. I'm proud of myself for finishing the series within the space of a month, like I said I would. I still hope you write other books, because I like your style.

Here's the link to The People of Sparks's Wikipedia Article.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Diamond_of_Darkhold

Below is Jeanne Duprau's own website:

http://www.jeanneduprau.com/index.shtml

This link will take you to my review of Jeanne Duprau's first 3 books, The City of Ember, The People of Sparks, and The Prophet of Yonwood.

http://bettinasbooks2009.blogspot.com/2008/12/city-of-ember.html

http://bettinasbooks2009.blogspot.com/2009/01/people-of-sparks.html

http://bettinasbooks2009.blogspot.com/2009/01/prophet-of-yonwood.html

What is your favorite part? If you haven't read this book, sorry for all the spoilers, but you can comment and say if this book review was helpful. If you have read this book, please give me a comment or email me so we can discuss it. This would be the closest I've ever gotten to a book club, you know.

The Prophet of Yonwood, by Jeanne Duprau

Title: The Prophet of Yonwood

Author: Jeanne DuPrau.

Published: 2006

Pages: 290

Chapters: 33

Pages per Chapter (on average): 8+

Date Started: Jan. 11-----Date Finished: Jan. 12

My Reading Speed: 145+ pages a day, or 16.5 chapters a day.

The Main Characters: Nickie Randolph, a young girl who wants to help the world, and Grover Persons, a boy who wants to be a herpetologist (someone who studies snakes.)

My Brief Synopsis: This book is a prequel to The City of Ember and seems to take place a lot closer to the present than the other books. There is talk about a big Disaster approaching, various countries being at war with each other. A woman in Yonwood, North Carolina receives a horrible vision of a future in which the planet is barren and destroyed (hence the title). Nickie has 3 goals when she arrives with her aunt in Yonwood. 1~Convince her aunt to keep the big house her great-grandfather left them instead of selling it. 2~Fall in love during her stay. 3~Help the world in some small, special way.

The Conflicts: The alleged Prophet's friend, Mrs. Beeson, interprets the mumblings as instructions for the people to avoid this terrible future, but that doesn't seem quite right. No singing and dancing? No dogs? Why should people give up these kind of things? Why should the boy Grover give up his snakes, just because the bible says they're supposed to be evil? Why should God care about such trivial things when there's a global crisis?

My General Comments: I'm glad the story's events are closer to now than the others, though it seems like a scary prospect of the future, having so many people worry if the world's going to end. Who knows if we're not so far away from that unless we fix things right now, like global warming or foreign relations? It's serious stuff to think about, but it's always important to keep thinking about the future, how you can help make things better instead of worse.

My Favorite Part: I liked the last chapter very much. I know, it's seeming like a pattern for me. Me liking endings the most. But this was really good. You get to know how all the characters fared in the end and everyone seems happy, but then you realize that events still have to lead up to the point that Ember started up at, and yet it's satisfying. I had a sneaking suspicion that Nickie would grow to be the old lady who wrote the journal Lina and Doon found.

My Favorite Things About the Book: Well, since it's a prequel, I really like that things were cleared up. Of course, I think a tiny bit that the characters were slightly more... childish than Lina and Doon. I don't know, like, Lina and Doon seem a lot braver and more resourceful than Nickie and Grover. That's the only critique I'm going to make, because I did quite like it. Maybe not quite so much as the others, but it was good. Really.

Here's the link to The People of Sparks's Wikipedia Article.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Prophet_of_Yonwood

Below is Jeanne Duprau's own website:

http://www.jeanneduprau.com/index.shtml

This link will take you to my review of Jeanne Duprau's first 2 books, The City of Ember and The People of Sparks.

http://bettinasbooks2009.blogspot.com/2008/12/city-of-ember.html

http://bettinasbooks2009.blogspot.com/2009/01/people-of-sparks.html

What is your favorite part? If you haven't read this book, sorry for all the spoilers, but you can comment and say if this book review was helpful. If you have read this book, please give me a comment or email me so we can discuss it. This would be the closest I've ever gotten to a book club, you know.

The People of Sparks, by Jeanne Duprau

Title: The People of Sparks.

Author: Jeanne DuPrau.

Published: 2004

Pages: 338

Chapters: 33

Pages per Chapter (on average): 10+

Date Started: Jan. 9-----Date Finished: Jan. 11

My Reading Speed: 112+ pages a day, or 11 chapters a day.

The Main Characters: Lina Mayfleet and Doon Harrow, the brave kids who saved the city of Ember, are back.

My Brief Synopsis: When the village of Sparks finds out that they have to take care of over 400 refugees of the dead city of Ember, they do the best they can, taking them in, feeding them, teaching them about the outside world.

The Conflicts: There are so many things the Emberites don't know, having lived underground all their lives, so the Sparks people think they're stupid. There's little food to go around, since the population has doubled, but the Emberites think Sparks is holding food back on purpose and starving them. Resentment grows between the two peoples, some arguements break out, and things almost turn into a war. Some people are partly responsible for this, like the 3 leaders of Sparks, a little Sparks boy named Torren, who fuels resentment by pulling a prank and blaming Doon for it, even Tick, an Ember teenager good with mob psychology.

My General Comments: Well, I think it was fascinating to read about this kind of stuff. It seems way set in the future, after some big Disaster. It's funny seeing how the Emberites learn about different normal objects, like a magnet, or a flashlight, or a toy airplane, how each thing is described so accurately it's as if you're learning about these foreign objects. It's also interesting to see how two different races, raised in entirely different conditions, react to each other.

My Favorite Part: I think I liked the ending chapters the best, when there's a truce and everyone promises to be friends. I know, that sounds like it's all happy and dandy, but I really can't think of anything else. It's a very serious storyline, with all the problems and hate and things.

My Favorite Things About the Book: Well, I always like reading about alternate worlds, and I think this one was constructed really well. It totally reminds me of Pendragon. I can almost imagine how the villain of that series, Saint Dane, would manipulate these people into falling into chaos and discord.

A Personal Shout Out to Jeanne DuPrau: You wrote another good one, Jeanne. You're like a genie in a bottle. It's amazing how much you seem to know about how the human mind works. Did you take psychology or something? Simply awesome.

Here's the link to The People of Sparks's Wikipedia Article.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_People_of_Sparks

Below is Jeanne Duprau's own website:

http://www.jeanneduprau.com/index.shtml

This link will take you to my review of Jeanne Duprau's first book, The City of Ember.

http://bettinasbooks2009.blogspot.com/2008/12/city-of-ember.html

What is your favorite part? If you haven't read this book, sorry for all the spoilers, but you can comment and say if this book review was helpful. If you have read this book, please give me a comment or email me so we can discuss it. This would be the closest I've ever gotten to a book club, you know.

Twilight, by Stephenie Meyer

Title: Twilight

Author: Stephenie Meyer

Published: 2005-----Made into a movie: 2008

Pages:500, plus 30 additional pages for a sneak peek of the sequel, New Moon

Chapters: 25, excluding the preview chapter of New Moon

Pages per Chapter (on average): 20 (not including New Moon)

Date Started: Jan. 4-----Date Finished: Jan. 8

My Reading Speed: 100 pages a day, or 5 chapters a day.

The Main Characters: Isabella, or Bella, Swan, a 17 year old girl who reminds me a lot of myself, and Edward Cullen, a vampire boy who sounds absolutly dreamy (sorry for my girliness)

My Brief Synopsis: Bella moves to Washington to live with her dad and in school is aquainted with the strangest and most perfect boy she's ever seen. Just being around him muddles her thinking. Turns out he's not even human. They go through a shaky relationship because he, Edward, doesn't want to risk harming Bella if they get to close.

The Conflicts: There are some who would keep these 2 foolish young lovers apart, like Billy Black, a friend of Bella's father, and a trio of hunter vampires who nearly kill her in the end.

My General Comments: I hardly know where on earth to start. This is probably the first book I've read in a while about characters that are actually my age. I absolutely love Bella. I can relate to her very easily. Of course I'm not so morbid, like she was in the beginning, I don't think of myself as clumsy (I can climb trees like no one's business), and I'm certainly not pale-skinned (I go to the beach nearly every weekend), but the rest of her I can live with. She allows me to pretend I'm the one in the story, having an utterly romantic love affair with a vampire. Also, from the preview of New Moon I read at the end of the book (I can't wait to read the rest of it!) I discovered that her birthday is Sept. 13, and mine is on the 7th. So cool!

My Favorite Part: I'd have to say my favorite part was actually a whole chunk of chapters merged together. I enjoyed everything between the event of Bella having dinner with Edward for the first time and when they're in the meadow together, freely enjoying each other's company.

My Favorite Things About the Book: It's got a very sneaky brand of humor. You have to read very carefully (or if you read it aloud, you have to perk your ears) to catch the little sarcastic jokes that pass between characters. That's my favorite kind, dry humor. And I've heard some reviewers say that the book had too many adjectives or something, but I think the story couldn't have been the same without all the little descriptions. I think it's been said that perfection doesn't come when you can't add anything more to something, but when you can't take anything away from it.

A Personal Shout Out to Stephenie Meyer: Your books are utterly breath-taking. You will be priveleged to know that this was my first romantic novel, and I loved it. Bella and Edward are amazing. I want so much to have a boyfriend like Edward Cullen (though he need not be a vampire or anything dangerous like that!) I look forward to reading your other books in the near future very much.

Here's the link to Twilight's Wikipedia Article.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twilight(novel)

And this is for the Twiligh Saga website:

http://www.thetwilightsaga.com/

Below is Stephenie Meyer's own website:

http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/

Below is a trailer video for the Twilight movie, in case you're interested. I can't wait to see it in the theater myself.

What is your favorite part? If you haven't read this book, sorry for all the spoilers, but you can comment and say if this book review was helpful. If you have read this book, please give me a comment or email me so we can discuss it. This would be the closest I've ever gotten to a book club, you know.

The City of Ember, by Jeanne DuPrau

Title: The City of Ember.

Author: Jeanne DuPrau.

Published: 2003-----Made into a movie: 2008

Pages: 270

Chapters: 20

Pages per Chapter (on average):13.5

Date Started: Dec. 31, '08-----Date Finished: Jan. 1, '09

My Reading Speed: 135 pages a day, or 10 chapters a day

The Main Characters: Lina Mayfleet, who is an Ember messanger, and Doon Harrow, who works in the city's Pipeworks.

My Brief Synopsis: There is an alternate world where everybody seems to live underground. Their city is lit by electric lights, but when there's occasionaly a blackout it's completely dark, so no one can do anything until the lights come back. Everything the city needs is stored in giant warehouses, but supplies are running out for the first time in over 200 years. That's where 12 year old Lina and Doon come in. They've been recently added to the work force and they realize that the city can't last for much longer.

The Conflicts: Lina and Doon find lost instructions left by the Builders that will help people get out of Ember and somewhere better, but it seems that the greedy Mayor wants everything to stay the same and tells his guards that the children are spreading vicious rumors. What's worse, the Mayor is stealing all the good supplies from supposedly empty warehouses and not telling anyone about it.

My General Comments: I really liked this story! I always love reading about different worlds. That's why I love Pendragon and The 13th Reality so much. But it's amazing to read about how this city is so underpriveleged; it's like everyone lives in the Great Depression and no one minds, because it's a way of life. No one knows that there's such a thing as a sun or a tree, or food that doesn't come out of a can. Plus I see another example of how the head honcho, the Mayor, is controling the people. See, I read all about this kind of stuff in And the Truth Shall set you Free. Granted, I said it wasn't reading material for the faint at heart, and people might be skeptical about what it contains, (it mentions aliens and mind control) but it's a read you wouldn't regret if you managed to finish it. Anyway, this book was really good and I'm looking forward to reading more in the series. I can hardly wait to see the movie too (I hear the meyor is played by Bill Murray).

My Favorite Part: Well, I think my favorite part would be at the end, when the 2 children reach the land above and are seeing all this natural stuff for the first time. Stars, fresh air, grass, birds, in the day they're even approached by a dog. Very exciting from their point of view. I also like when Lina finds the Instructions, because a lot of the letters in words are missing and I do love a good puzzle.

My Favorite Things About the Book: The main characters remind me of much older kids, so I can forget that they're only 12 and pretend that they're more my age. Lina and Doon also remind me of the main characters from Blue Balliet's book, Chasing Vermeer. Like I said, it is about a different type of world, so it is a good escape for me and it offers me some inspiration for my own book I'm writing.

A Personal Shout Out to Jeanne DuPrau: I believe your books will go very far. I can't wait to see what else you've written about this world. Of course, I'll probably finish the series within a month or so, so I hope you have something else on the burner in the meanwhile. I know you've just released The Diamond of Darkhold, but is there something else you're thinking about adding to this amazing series?

Here's the link to The City of Ember's Wikipedia Article.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_City_of_Ember

Below is Jeanne Duprau's own website:

http://www.jeanneduprau.com/index.shtml

Below is a trailer video for the City of Ember movie, in case you're interested. I know I am.

What is your favorite part? If you haven't read this book, sorry for all the spoilers, but you can comment and say if this book review was helpful. If you have read this book, please give me a comment or email me so we can discuss it. This would be the closest I've ever gotten to a book club, you know.