Phantom of the Opera....

Oh dear god...Two very busy few weeks with exams and now Work experience in the fabulous Marks & Spencers. :)
Anyway, you may notice that my 'I'm Reading' photo has changed (that's if anyone actually goes on here and I'm not talking to myself) from Phantom of the Opera to (yes another) Sarah Dessen book, This Lullaby.
Well. My friend let me borrow it as I'm slightly obsessed with PotO so she recommended the book to me. So I start reading it last week and oh my god...I got to Chapter 4, bored and annoyed that 1) I hadn't met the main girl, Christine and 2) nothing in the show or movie had happened yet.
So I gave up. I don't do it often. I don't think classic books are my forte as I JUST managed Pride and Prejudice a couple of years ago.
Anyway. That's it.
COMMENT if you read this or any other reviews. It will help not think that I'm talking to myself :(

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac - Gabrielle Zevin

I got recommended this book by a friend when I was at her house. She gave me the book, promising me that I'd love it. I've read 'Elsewhere', also by Gabrielle Zevin and even though I thought Elsewhere was good, it wasn't amazing. So, I guess, I was a bit negative when I started this book. But I finished it this morning....oh dear god...I LOVE IT. haha :)

First Sentence: Above all, mine is a love story.And like most love stories, this one involves chance, gravity, a dash of head trauma. It began with a coin toss. The coin came up tails; I was heads.

If the coin had hit heads, there would be no book. But it hit heads... Naomi Porter has woken up in hospital with no idea why she is there and what has happened over the last 5 years. She doesn't know that her parents are divorced, she has a sister, who are friends are and if she has a boyfriend or not. As she pieces together what has happened before she lost her memory, she finds out that some of her life is best forgotton.

To start off with, I was sitting there thinking 'Get on with it.' but to be honest, the opening paragraph is needed and immediatly captured my attention. (That really sounds like something my english teacher would say, sorry). Naomi falls in love with guys (trying not to let too much away) - and if it wasn't a book and real life, she would be classed many things. Though, if the book was real life, you probably wouldn't remember your boyfriend and happen to like the guy that found you at the bottom of some steps. You never know. My favourite characters were Will, her best friend who if, in my opinion, was a real person, I would beg him to be my best friend. And Alice who just comes out with some of the funniest things. Didn't like Ace, you'll find out who he is, he's a bit of a jerk. I found a movie of it release this year but it's a Japanese movie (with Emma Roberts as Alice?) and I don't think it's going to be release over here. Sad. Overall, I would read and recommend this novel to anyone reading this.

I give it 5 out of 5

Author's Website: www.memoirsofa.com/

The Silver Blade - Sally Gardner

Okay. First if you haven't read THE RED NECKLACE which is the first book in this series, you may find some spoilers in this review. Maybe. Though some of the things might be slightly obvious and anyway, to be honest, you don't really have to have read the first book to read this book anyway. But just thought I'd put that just incase someone decides that their comment is an abusive one about ruining the book. :)




First Sentence: There is no more terrifying a  sight in all Paris than that of the guillotine. 

With that sorted, the book. This is the second and last in the series of The Red Necklace. And to be honest, the best.
It's set during the French Revoltution (1700's) and follows Yann, a young gypsy actor who has a double life with his friend, Didier that helps get French aristrocat familes out of the country to England before their sent to the guillotine. In England also lies his love, the beautiful Sido de Villidual whose father was murdered (I think) in The Red Necklace. Count Kalliovski, a murderous, friend of the devil nobleman is also planning something magical with the heads that roll for revenge against Yann and Sido. Will Sido and Yann ever meet again? Will they still be able to be together? And what is Kalliovski planning? Read the book.

It's a good book I must admit. The language and the way it all links is done well. However, there were a number of french words in italics that I didn't understand and kept cropping up. I do French now but still I was struggling translating it and I actually know some french. It would have been useful to have a glossary at the back for the words. I know this is going to sound so weird but I love the feel of the pages. I don't know but they've made the pages more flimsy and the writing slightly bigger and I loved that. :)
You don't really have to have read the last book to read this one though as I read The Red Necklace a year or so ago, I was struggling to remember who some of the people were that claimed they were in the first book. Oh well. Both are good books. Read them is my advice.

I give it 4 out of 5

Author's Website: www.sallygardner.net/

Drawing With Light - Julia Green

I've never read anything from Julia Green before let alone even heard of her. But at the end of a boring Easter holidays, I picked it up in my local library. It was the most interesting looking book there that I hadn't read before.


Drawing With Light follows Emily Woodman. Her life is completely changing. Her older sister, Kat, is just about to start uni; Dad and Cassy (her stepmum) have just bought an old house and now they and Emily have to live in a tiny caravan in the middle of a field which it's being done up; after a throwaway remark about Emily's real mother who left her, Kat and her dad when Emily was a baby. Meanwhile, she meets Seb, a beautiful boy with fine features, dark eyes and a love for running and she embarks on a special relationship with him. Can she keep the relationship going? Who was her mother? What was she like? Why did she go?

When I started the book, the first thing I thought was 'There is entirely too many exclamation marks.' I'm not kidding, until about half way through, there are so many exclamation marks. I counted about 6 in one conversation, mostly coming down Cassy. Apart from the beginning part, it is a good book. You can sort of predict the ending. And the ending does just sort of finish and seems like it was rushed a little. I loved Seb. I wish he was a real person. It is a funny, gripping summer read. A good 2nd book from Julia Green. Could be better but good. I'll be looking out for her stuff again.

I give it 3.5 out of 5
Author's Website: www.julia-green.co.uk/

RELEASE DATE OF NEXT CHAOS WALKING TRILOGY BY PATRICK NESS

Just after I wrote the last review, I looked on Patrick Ness' website and found the name of the last, final book in the series for anyone that wanted to know.

On Page 430 of The Knife of Never Letting Go, Todd has a flash of memory: “War makes monsters of men, I hear Ben saying.”
On Page 102 of The Ask and the Answer, Viola remembers it, too: “War makes monsters of men, I say, quoting Ben...”

The name is.....
Monsters of Men

Out 3 May in the UK, Ireland and Australia, 12 May in New Zealand, 28 September in the US
Hope that helps anybody. Oh my, it's out in only 15 days :)

Chaos Walking Trilogy: The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness

Sorry I finished this book ages ago but it's Easter holidays here so I was away and then this week I was ill. First, if you haven't read the first book in the series, The Knife of Never Letting Go then, there's no point reading this review until you have. The book does refer to the first one, which was amazing and had me asking some of my friends what happened because I wanted to know so much. They never told me. :(

First Sentence: "Your Noise reveals you, Todd Hewitt."

The trilogy is about a young, nearly 13 year-old boy, Todd Hewitt and a young, about the same age girl from another planet, Viola. They've finally got to Haven, the place where Viola can contact her ships to help them, and as you know from the first book, come face to face with the person they were running away from: Mayor Prentiss. Haven has changed completely. The famous Noise echos again through the town which is full of secrets and violence under the new name of New Prentisstown. As they are separated, Todd is forced to learn the new ways of the Mayor's new order. But where is Viola? Is she alive? Is she under the new mysterious Answer?
Then. The bomb explodes and both are forced to keep their secrets under the most extreme pressure as their relationship seems to develop.
The last book was ended on a cliffhanger as is this book. It isn't as fast-moving as the first book but I liked that. It was less exhausting to read and I prefered it. You get to know Todd and Viola more and see their relationship develop. Which is nice. It isn't a book for those people who want happiness as there are some unhappy bits as well as gory, so you can't watch your thumb bleeding, maybe don't read it. The chapters have Viola's and Todd's point of view which I loved as the first book I think only had Todd's point of view and only near the end included Viola's.
Read it. They are great books. I can't wait for the next one :)

I give it a 4.5 out of 5
Author's Website: www.patrickness.com/

Lady Grace Mysteries: Loot

If you are a sophisicated teenager (which is what I really should be), then, don't read on. This book is aimed for 9+, however, I continue to still read them and actually enjoy them. It's one of those where you don't have to think about what that word means and with it only being 192 pages, it took me a couple of days in between exams and homework.

First Sentence: Here I am squashed into a corner of my bedchamber, far from the fire, while Mary Shelton and Lady Sarah Bartelmy fuss about new gowns that the Maids have all been gifted.

Lady Grace is a Maid of Honor at the court of Queen Elizabeth I. Though she is also a secret spy for Her Majesty and helps (and always seems to) solve mysteries at court along with her two best friends, Ellie (her tiring woman) and Masou (a tumbler at court). In Loot, it is nearly 12 years since Queen Elizabeth I was crowned and as the foreigners arrive from Europe, the Crown Jewels goes missing. But with only a day left till Her Majesty appears in public in them, can Grace find them in time?

It's a good mystery book and easy to read. I quite enjoyed it actually. There is a whole series of Lady Grace Mysteries starting at A and working downwards so this is the....12th book (just had to count with my fingers) I personally enjoy them just to be different and a relax from reading thick novels with long, complicated words that I just sort of read without even knowing what it mean. I know you all do it. So yeah, read it if you don't mind reading the sort of basic English writing type.

I give it a 3.5 out of 5

The Luxe Series: Splendor - Anna Godbersen

THERE MIGHT BE SOME SPOILERS IN THIS ONE ABOUT OTHER ONES IN THE SERIES.


First Sentence: Fifty years ago, every American girl wanted to be a European princess.

For those who have never heard of the Luxe Series, here is what it's about. It is a series of four (The Luxe, Rumours, Envy, Splendor) novels based about four debutante's in 1900 New York and what happens to them and who they fall in love with. That sort of thing. We have Elizabeth Holland (now married to Snowden Cairns). She got on my nerves in Book 2 & 3 but now in this one, I quite like her. Then, there is Diana Holland, Elizabeth's younger sister who is in love with Henry Schoonmaker. He is married to the bitchy, you-love-to-hate character Penelope Hayes. I've loved her the whole way through but she is written differently in this one and is a very minor character compared to her involvment in some of the other novels. Finally, there is Caroline Broad, an ex-servant of the Hollands that has made her fortune through a friend that died at the end of Envy. She is the focus in Splendor. I didn't like her in the other novels but I don't know why but I didn't mind her as much in this one. I think it's because she's settled down and not as much out of place. Diana has always been my favourite character and in this one, she still is and written incredibly well.

In this book, the beginning was...well, confusing and bad but the middle and ending were good as usual and there is a surprising twist of events at the end. Penelope was in it too little. We only caught snippets of her and loads of Caroline and Diana. I liked how Anna Godbersen added sections for Henry as well to make it more different. Elizabeth's sections were good but I think she should have been in it more as well. Overall, it's a good book but I think, and I don't say this that often, it should have been longer and more in depth. It felt a little rushed as points as if Anna Godbersen was trying to rush to the end.
It is a good book but it has much more flaws that the rest of the series ever had in my opinion. It wasn't the ending I was hoping for but it was still good.  Read the rest of the series before this one though.

I give it 4 out of 5

Author's Website: www.theluxebooks.com/

Just Listen - Sarah Dessen

First Sentence: I taped it back in April, before anything had happened, and promptly forgot about it. A few weeks ago, it had started running again and, suddenly, I was everywhere.

Just Listen is another book by the 'amazing' Sarah Dessen (SD). Annabel Greene is one of these girls that have it all - model looks, confidence, a social life (I'm sure we've all come across one). Or so it seems. After the night at a party where everything changes, Annabel can't bear to remember or tell about the night and the things that happened before like her sister's eating disorder and her grandmother's death. Until he meets Owen - a guy who always tells the truth, has Anger Managerment and who is also obsessed with music. Soon, a close bond forms. But can he help her forget her past and help her face her fears - telling the truth.

This isn't one of SD's best novels for me but still it is good and definately worth a read. Yes, it's quite girly in the sense that there's love and that sort of stuff but not as much as in some of her other novels. This is about music and telling the truth. I must admit a couple of times, I did feel a little bit guilty for some of the white lies I've told. Apart from that, it is well written including some descriptions of the type of people you see in every school (the bitchy popular girl, the girl who seems to have it all) which made me relate to it much more. Like all SD novels, you will 'Read her once and fall in love.'

I give her 5 out of 5
Author's Website: www.sarahdessen.com/

Along For The Ride - Sarah Dessen

I have been a fan of Sarah Dessen for many years now since I first picked up 'The Truth About Forever' and actually fell in love with her writing. If you're the type of person who hates romance and relationships in a book, then, you might not want to be reading this at all.

First Sentence: The e-mail always began the same way: Hi Auden!! It was the extra exclamation point that got me. 

THIS BOOK IS AMAZING. And is now one of my favourite Sarah Dessen (SD) novels. The story follows Auden who suffers from insomnia (can't sleep at night). Since her parent's divorce, she's hid away behind books with no social life. She goes to Colby for the summer to get away from her demanding, educated mother and stay with her father, new step mother, Heidi and their newborn, Thisbe. Suddenly, she is opened up to a new world full of beach parties, foodfights and having fun with her new girl-friends, Maggie, Leah and Esther. She meets Eli, a mysterious, secretive boy who is getting over a car crash that killed his friend and creates a friendship with him only at night as he also suffers from insomnia.

If you know the normal SD stuff, you can sort of guess what happens in the end but even though, I guessed, I still found it surprising and well....brillant with lots of twists and turns.

One thing I love about SD is the references she puts in the novel that link to other novels of hers. Like:
- Morgan and Isabel (From Last Chance or Keeping the Moon) are good friends with Heidi
- Jason Tablot, who was Auden's old crush, was also Macy's old boyfriend in 'The Truth About Forever'. Nate Cross from 'Lock and Key' is another one of her crushes.
- The waitress who serves Auden at the Last Chance, on her first day in Colby, is described as Colie from 'Last Chance (Keeping the Moon)' and Auden also sees Norman.
- Maggie, Leah and Esther mention going to a club where the band were singing off a shopping list. This is probably the Truth Squad in 'This Lullaby'
- Heidi wears a red, key necklace like the ones that Harriet sells in the mall in 'Lock and Key'

I think that is so clever. So...I would recommend this book to anyone in their teens that likes romance and comedy. The writing and structure is good and you will, as it says on the cover, 'Read her once and fall in love' - guaranteed. :)

I give it 5 out of 5
Author's Website: www.sarahdessen.com/