Thousand Words by Jennifer Brown
I guess because it's something I would never do, the repercussions of sexting never come to mind. This book changed all that.
Ashleigh is about to start her junior year of high school. Her boyfriend, Kaleb, is about to head off to college. Ashleigh is a bit jealous because Kaleb would rather spend time with his boys than her. So, after having too much to drink one night at a party, Ashleigh is convinced by her friends to send Kaleb a naked picture of herself. Kaleb supposedly keeps it to himself, but Ashleigh is skeptical, which ultimately leads to their break up. Because Kaleb broke up with Ashleigh, her friends take it upon themselves to prank Kaleb. He thinks Ashleigh had something to do with it, so, to retaliate, he sends her picture to his friends, telling them to do whatever they want with it.
The picture, basically, goes viral, and ultimately gets back to Ashleigh's father, the superintendent. Ashley is arrested for distributing child pornography, and must serve sixty hours of community service. She meets a friend there that shows her she is so much more than that picture.
Great book. I would have liked to have known what punishment Kaleb received though.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Sunday, January 26, 2014
T List #13
The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron
The way this book was described to me: steampunk-ish. I don't necessarily agree with that assessment. While there are elements that would lead a person to believe that, there aren't that many. I am more reminded of the early mechanical toys and automatons, which weren't necessarily steampunk at all. This book is more mystery than anything else, and that is what I enjoyed. That, and it was a period piece.
Katharine Tulman lives with her Aunt Alice, and acts as her bookkeeper. Katharine is asked to go to Stranwyne Keep to prove that her Uncle Tully is insane so that Alice can be made custodian of the property until her son comes of age. Katharine goes because that is the only way she sees that she can have any kind of future.
When she gets there, she finds that Uncle Tully is not in his right mind, but she also finds that several hundred people are dependent on him. Katharine agrees to bide her time in Stranwyne Keep for a month and then lie to her aunt about her uncle's mental capabilities so that the people of Stranwyne can maintain their way of life as long as they can. In this time, she finds she cares for the people, and will do what she can to help them. She is also poisoned by someone she trusts, and gets a bit of interesting news.
I enjoyed this one.
The way this book was described to me: steampunk-ish. I don't necessarily agree with that assessment. While there are elements that would lead a person to believe that, there aren't that many. I am more reminded of the early mechanical toys and automatons, which weren't necessarily steampunk at all. This book is more mystery than anything else, and that is what I enjoyed. That, and it was a period piece.
Katharine Tulman lives with her Aunt Alice, and acts as her bookkeeper. Katharine is asked to go to Stranwyne Keep to prove that her Uncle Tully is insane so that Alice can be made custodian of the property until her son comes of age. Katharine goes because that is the only way she sees that she can have any kind of future.
When she gets there, she finds that Uncle Tully is not in his right mind, but she also finds that several hundred people are dependent on him. Katharine agrees to bide her time in Stranwyne Keep for a month and then lie to her aunt about her uncle's mental capabilities so that the people of Stranwyne can maintain their way of life as long as they can. In this time, she finds she cares for the people, and will do what she can to help them. She is also poisoned by someone she trusts, and gets a bit of interesting news.
I enjoyed this one.
Wednesday, January 22, 2014
T List #12
The Tragedy Paper by Elizabeth Laban
This one was recommended by one of my librarian friends. We have similar interests, so I knew when she said how much she liked it, I would too.
I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I enjoy books that are told by different people. One of my favorites is 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher. The Tragedy Paper was one told by two people: Duncan and Tim.
This book takes place at a private boarding school in New York state. As the book begins, Duncan is beginning his senior year. There are a lot of traditions at this school, and one of them involves the seniors boarding in one particular building. No one knows which room they will be getting except the senior who occupied the room before them. Tradition also dictates that the previous occupant leaves a "treasure" for the new occupant. Duncan is hugely disappointed in his room. It is the smallest, at the end of the hall, and has bad lighting. Then, he sees his "treasure" and is more disappointed. While some people were getting pets and liquor, Duncan gets a stack of cds.
Another tradition is a year long tragedy paper that the students have to write for their senior English class. Being an English teacher myself, I think I would love to have an assignment like this, but I am not sure how it would fit into our district curriculum.
Anyway, the previous occupant of Duncan's room is Tim Macbeth. I'll let that sink in.....Duncan and Macbeth, get it? Duncan listens to the cds Tim left, and it will help Duncan write his tragedy paper, but it also tells the story behind a tragic incident that happened the year before.
I am not going to go into all that. As you can tell, I try not to give much away, and my goal is for you to go read these books yourself. This one you should definitely read. I didn't want to put this one down to go to bed the first night I had it, but I made myself do just that. I couldn't wait to dive back in after work to finish it today. Truly, there are not that many books that get me this involved.
This one was recommended by one of my librarian friends. We have similar interests, so I knew when she said how much she liked it, I would too.
I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I enjoy books that are told by different people. One of my favorites is 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher. The Tragedy Paper was one told by two people: Duncan and Tim.
This book takes place at a private boarding school in New York state. As the book begins, Duncan is beginning his senior year. There are a lot of traditions at this school, and one of them involves the seniors boarding in one particular building. No one knows which room they will be getting except the senior who occupied the room before them. Tradition also dictates that the previous occupant leaves a "treasure" for the new occupant. Duncan is hugely disappointed in his room. It is the smallest, at the end of the hall, and has bad lighting. Then, he sees his "treasure" and is more disappointed. While some people were getting pets and liquor, Duncan gets a stack of cds.
Another tradition is a year long tragedy paper that the students have to write for their senior English class. Being an English teacher myself, I think I would love to have an assignment like this, but I am not sure how it would fit into our district curriculum.
Anyway, the previous occupant of Duncan's room is Tim Macbeth. I'll let that sink in.....Duncan and Macbeth, get it? Duncan listens to the cds Tim left, and it will help Duncan write his tragedy paper, but it also tells the story behind a tragic incident that happened the year before.
I am not going to go into all that. As you can tell, I try not to give much away, and my goal is for you to go read these books yourself. This one you should definitely read. I didn't want to put this one down to go to bed the first night I had it, but I made myself do just that. I couldn't wait to dive back in after work to finish it today. Truly, there are not that many books that get me this involved.
Saturday, January 18, 2014
T List #11
Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock by Matthew Quick
Leonard is planning to kill himself, but first must kill a classmate. This book follows Leonard through that day, while giving a little bit of background about what leads him to think he needs to kill the classmate and himself. Leonard is giving gifts to three people before he offs himself, and he tells the reader about his relationship to these three people, so that we understand why they are worthy of the gifts.
This was an ok book. It has footnotes, which, sometimes, are more interesting than the story itself. It's about a kid who doesn't think he's worthy enough for life.
Leonard is planning to kill himself, but first must kill a classmate. This book follows Leonard through that day, while giving a little bit of background about what leads him to think he needs to kill the classmate and himself. Leonard is giving gifts to three people before he offs himself, and he tells the reader about his relationship to these three people, so that we understand why they are worthy of the gifts.
This was an ok book. It has footnotes, which, sometimes, are more interesting than the story itself. It's about a kid who doesn't think he's worthy enough for life.
Monday, January 13, 2014
T List #10
The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die by April Henry
First half of the book was great. Second half, not so much.
The book starts with a girl coming to, hearing that she's about to be killed because she is useless. Luckily, she hears this and is able to formulate a plan. She knocks out the guy who is trying to kill her and flees. She has no memory. She doesn't know who she is, where she is, nothing. She does know she needs to escape.
She stops by a police station for help, but one of the bad guys has tracked her location, and tells the rent a cop that she has escaped from a mental hospital. She flees again, and meets Ty at McDonalds. She's been tracked there too, but Ty, tries to help her. She stays the night at Ty's place, and she is tracked again. They flee. They find out who she is because her story, one that is made up, mind you, is all over the news. She finds out she's from Portland, and has an aunt who is looking for her, so she and Ty steal a car to get there.
This is where it all goes downhill. The aunt is not really her aunt, and once the "aunt" gets the girl back to her house, all her lost memories come flooding back. Mystery solved. The end.
The chapters were relatively short. I wanted to like this book, I did, but the second half didn't live up to the first half, so I couldn't. This wasn't even as good as the book from last year's list by the same author, which was the sole reason I read this. Bummer.
First half of the book was great. Second half, not so much.
The book starts with a girl coming to, hearing that she's about to be killed because she is useless. Luckily, she hears this and is able to formulate a plan. She knocks out the guy who is trying to kill her and flees. She has no memory. She doesn't know who she is, where she is, nothing. She does know she needs to escape.
She stops by a police station for help, but one of the bad guys has tracked her location, and tells the rent a cop that she has escaped from a mental hospital. She flees again, and meets Ty at McDonalds. She's been tracked there too, but Ty, tries to help her. She stays the night at Ty's place, and she is tracked again. They flee. They find out who she is because her story, one that is made up, mind you, is all over the news. She finds out she's from Portland, and has an aunt who is looking for her, so she and Ty steal a car to get there.
This is where it all goes downhill. The aunt is not really her aunt, and once the "aunt" gets the girl back to her house, all her lost memories come flooding back. Mystery solved. The end.
The chapters were relatively short. I wanted to like this book, I did, but the second half didn't live up to the first half, so I couldn't. This wasn't even as good as the book from last year's list by the same author, which was the sole reason I read this. Bummer.
Friday, January 10, 2014
T List #9
Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
I liked this so much better than Eleanor and Park, but the end disappointed me. It just...ends.
Cath is a twin. Her mother left when she was eight. Her dad is a manic depressant. She and her twin, Wren, go to the same university, but Wren wants her independence. This is a problem for Cath, at first.
Cath is obsessed with the "Simon Snow" book series, which sounds like a cross between Harry Potter and Twilight. She is so obsessed that she writes fanfiction. Like, it consumes her life.
She meets a boy, Levi, who is the former boyfriend of her roommate, and they hit it off. Even though she is a freshman, she takes a junior level English course, where she meets a boy who takes credit for her work. Her twin gets alcohol poisoning. All of this, while interesting, is only, really, on the fringes of the story. Most of this book is about Cath's fanfiction, and this deadline she thinks she has.
Again, the end was frustrating. No denoument. Could've ended better.
I liked this so much better than Eleanor and Park, but the end disappointed me. It just...ends.
Cath is a twin. Her mother left when she was eight. Her dad is a manic depressant. She and her twin, Wren, go to the same university, but Wren wants her independence. This is a problem for Cath, at first.
Cath is obsessed with the "Simon Snow" book series, which sounds like a cross between Harry Potter and Twilight. She is so obsessed that she writes fanfiction. Like, it consumes her life.
She meets a boy, Levi, who is the former boyfriend of her roommate, and they hit it off. Even though she is a freshman, she takes a junior level English course, where she meets a boy who takes credit for her work. Her twin gets alcohol poisoning. All of this, while interesting, is only, really, on the fringes of the story. Most of this book is about Cath's fanfiction, and this deadline she thinks she has.
Again, the end was frustrating. No denoument. Could've ended better.
Sunday, January 5, 2014
T List #8
When You Were Here by Daisy Whitney
This book was beautiful. Loved it. Didn't want it to end.
The book starts the day before Danny graduates from high school. He's lost his mother to cancer just two months prior, and his father six years before that. The girl of his dreams, also the daughter of his mother's best friend, broke up with him, without explanation, last summer. Things aren't going so hot for Danny right now.
Danny needs answers, so he goes to Tokyo, where Danny's mother went once a month for treatment. While there, he spends time with Kana, who was a friend of his mother's (even though she is his age). Kana helps Danny put things into perspective. He also finds out why the girl of his dreams left him, and finds a way to forgive her.
Seriously, when I turned the page at the end, I was not prepared for it to be the end. I wanted to know what happened next.
This book was beautiful. Loved it. Didn't want it to end.
The book starts the day before Danny graduates from high school. He's lost his mother to cancer just two months prior, and his father six years before that. The girl of his dreams, also the daughter of his mother's best friend, broke up with him, without explanation, last summer. Things aren't going so hot for Danny right now.
Danny needs answers, so he goes to Tokyo, where Danny's mother went once a month for treatment. While there, he spends time with Kana, who was a friend of his mother's (even though she is his age). Kana helps Danny put things into perspective. He also finds out why the girl of his dreams left him, and finds a way to forgive her.
Seriously, when I turned the page at the end, I was not prepared for it to be the end. I wanted to know what happened next.
Saturday, January 4, 2014
Not what I anticipated
Identity: Eyes Wide Open Book 1 by Ted Dekker
This is one of the books that popped up on one of my free kindle sites. It said it was the first in the series when I read the description, but did not indicate that it was the first part of a serial novel. Not a problem, but this was short.
The reason I downloaded this was because I was intrigued by the description. It mentions a girl in a grave, so I thought someone was trying to kill her by burying her alive. I was wrong. What really happened is that she, Christy, and her friend, Austin, broke into the store room of a hospital the night before. This was not the first time they had done that, and Christy lost her locket. Christy goes back to find her locket, and falls through a trapdoor into the basement. She thinks she finds a way out, but she really just finds a crawl space that closes after she gets inside. She leaves a message for Austin that gets cut off, but he works out that Christy went to the store room. He manages to trace her path, and picks up her locket and cell phone she dropped.
Separately, they both exit the basement and end up in the psyche ward. They both end up admitted under different names than their own, and when the book ends, they've found each other, tried to escape, and failed.
Seems interesting so far, so it looks like I am going to have to get the next three parts so I can see what happens.
This is one of the books that popped up on one of my free kindle sites. It said it was the first in the series when I read the description, but did not indicate that it was the first part of a serial novel. Not a problem, but this was short.
The reason I downloaded this was because I was intrigued by the description. It mentions a girl in a grave, so I thought someone was trying to kill her by burying her alive. I was wrong. What really happened is that she, Christy, and her friend, Austin, broke into the store room of a hospital the night before. This was not the first time they had done that, and Christy lost her locket. Christy goes back to find her locket, and falls through a trapdoor into the basement. She thinks she finds a way out, but she really just finds a crawl space that closes after she gets inside. She leaves a message for Austin that gets cut off, but he works out that Christy went to the store room. He manages to trace her path, and picks up her locket and cell phone she dropped.
Separately, they both exit the basement and end up in the psyche ward. They both end up admitted under different names than their own, and when the book ends, they've found each other, tried to escape, and failed.
Seems interesting so far, so it looks like I am going to have to get the next three parts so I can see what happens.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
T List #7
The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
There's something wrong with children. When they reach the age of 10, they either drop dead or develop strange powers. As a result, those with powers are picked up and taken to camps. In these camps, they are sorted into colors based upon these powers. Blue and green are desirable because they are fairly complacent. Red, yellow and orange, not so much. Most of the children sorted into those colors have been killed. Ruby, our protagonist, is an orange, but has been masquerading as a green.
Somehow, members of The League find out that Ruby is an orange and help her get out of the camp, but it is so she can help them with their nefarious purposes. She escapes from them at an abandoned gas station, and takes up with some other fugitive kids from another camp: Chubs, Liam, and Zu. They are trying to find the Slip Kid, another escaped kid who helps escapees get back to their families. They finally find the Slip Kid, but he isn't what he appears to be either.
Apparently, this is the first book in a new trilogy or series, and since it is on the TAYSHAS list, I most likely won't read the next one.
This book was ok. There were parts where I couldn't wait to see what happened next, and others where I felt like I had to force myself to move on.
There's something wrong with children. When they reach the age of 10, they either drop dead or develop strange powers. As a result, those with powers are picked up and taken to camps. In these camps, they are sorted into colors based upon these powers. Blue and green are desirable because they are fairly complacent. Red, yellow and orange, not so much. Most of the children sorted into those colors have been killed. Ruby, our protagonist, is an orange, but has been masquerading as a green.
Somehow, members of The League find out that Ruby is an orange and help her get out of the camp, but it is so she can help them with their nefarious purposes. She escapes from them at an abandoned gas station, and takes up with some other fugitive kids from another camp: Chubs, Liam, and Zu. They are trying to find the Slip Kid, another escaped kid who helps escapees get back to their families. They finally find the Slip Kid, but he isn't what he appears to be either.
Apparently, this is the first book in a new trilogy or series, and since it is on the TAYSHAS list, I most likely won't read the next one.
This book was ok. There were parts where I couldn't wait to see what happened next, and others where I felt like I had to force myself to move on.
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