Top Ten All Time Favorite Characters In Books

Top Ten Tuesday is an original meme created by the Broke and the Bookish. I love lists, and absolutely could not resist joining in the fun.


This week was the Top Ten all time favorite characters in books. It was hard to choose, and hard to remember some, but I did it (YAY!)

1. Percy Jackson from the Lightning Thief and the rest of the series by Rick Riordan- He is so naive about being a Demi God, so it is like we are learning with him. But he is also very loyal to his friends, even people who aren’t his friends like Clarisse. 
2. Regan Reilly from all the Carol Higgins Clark books- her mom is a mystery writer, her dad owns a funeral home and she is a PI who tends to get stuck in a bunch of mysteries. I like that she doesn’t need anyones help, she can take care of herself, and a murderer or two.
3. Katniss Everdeen- I don’t know how anyone could not love her, she might be crazy serious and not very trusting, but considering how she has to live and losing her father and practically her mother, I don’t think I would be a happy go lucky person either. I look up to Katniss, she is a survivor and extremely brave.
4. Cinna from the Hunger Games- I have only read the first one so far, but I fell in love with him since he is so caring about Katniss, almost like a father figure. And he designs clothes, who doesn’t love a guy who designs clothes?
5. Georgia Nicholson from Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging by Lousie Rennison- she is just too funny and keeps me laughing. Reading her “journals” which are so dramatic help me realize that nothing in life is ever as bad as it seems to a teenager, or even a 25 year old.
6. Hilly Holbrook from the Help- it was hard to choose between her and Aibileen but the chocolate pie won it for Hilly.
7. Meggie from Inkheart- I think she is extremely brave during all 3 books and it’s hard not to love her.
8. Abby Cooper from the Psychic Eye Mysteries by Victoria Laurie- I just love that she is psychic and she solves mysteries using her gift. She also puts the people in trouble ahead of herself, even if she can get seriously hurt.
9. Stephanie Plum- I have only just started reading this series by Janet Evanovich but I love that she faces fears in every book she seems like she can be so real.
10. Peter Pan- he lives on an island in the sky and fights pirates while flying. He has been my favorite character for as long as I can remember.

After a major break....2012 Challenges

Ok, so I don't know what happened exactly, either I was really really lazy, or just way to into my books to even write reviews on them. So I have been gone for a whole year, wow I suck I know. I have decided that it is very hard keeping up with this blog while being a substitute teacher since my schedule is never the same. Although it will be even harder when I actually get a real job (cross your fingers for fall 2012, I need insurance!) But I am going to start up again and do my best to do all of my reviews. I know it's going to be tough because when I finish a book while in school I usually jump right into reading another one, and I end up getting so into my book that I don't want to put it down even for a second. 

But anyways, even though it is the end of April, I am signing up for some reading challenges. Better late than never, right? And here they are:

2012 Support Your Local Library Challenge hosted by the Eclectic Bookshelf :

Goal: Level 4/ Read 37+ Library Books

Last year I read over 50 library books, so I figure I should be able to do just as well.

Mystery and Suspense Challenge hosted by Book Chick City:

Goal: Level 1/ read 12 Mystery and Suspense Novels

I love mystery books, especially when it's a series of them. I am a sucker for following a character around and trying to solve the mysteries with them (it's like I can really help them, like I am a character in the books, am I crazy?)

2012 Young Adult Reading Challenge hosted by Bumps in the Road:

Goal: the "Fun Size" YA Reading Challenge- read 20 YA novels.

If you go back and look at the books I read in my 2011 challenges, I think the majority of them are YA books. Yes I am 25, but I still act like a kid when I can. Plus now that the oldest kid I babysit is going to a be a tween we can have a book club! (We actually started with Percy Jackson...amazing)

Ok so there are only 3 challenges this year...which means I should be able to ace all of them right? Last year I had 7 and I didn't even start one of them (oy) For any of you doing challenges this year, good luck and hopefully this year I will actually keep up with posting (that is a challenge in itself)

Top Ten Tuesday on Wednesday

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. This week is the Top Ten Books I Just had to buy but are still sitting patiently on my shelf waiting for me to read it.

1. 3 Willows by Ann Brashares- Loved the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants book and this keeps the sisterhood going. I had to to put it on my Christmas list one year and I had to have it, yet it is waiting for me patiently to read it.
2. Size 12 is NOT Fat by Meg Cabot- I bought this because I loved the title. At the time I was a size 12, I thought it would help me feel better about myself now I know that it is a mystery book, which I love and it should make me want to read it even more.
3. Skinny Dipping by Melissa de la Cruz- This is the sequel to the Au Pairs which I really enjoyed reading one summer. I wanted this book so bad that I had to get it in hard cover. Now I realize I could have waited to match the first book since I haven’t read it yet.
4. Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen- My sister and I saw this book in Marshalls one day and I hadn’t brought my wallet with me so my sister bought it for me as an early birthday present. I am hoping to read it this year (key word=hoping)
5. Shopaholic and Baby by Sophie Kinsella- I  keep putting this one off because I want to get reacquainted with the other books before I read it, but then I find more and more books to read...
6. the Nanny Returns by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus- I read the Nanny Diaries back in college after my sister had bought this and I loved it (I am a nanny during the summer so it was a great fit) When I went to St. Martin this past summer I saw this book in a store (and it was $3 cheaper than the states) so I had to have it, but the store was closed and we were leaving the next day. Then I saw it in the airport and I bought it without a second thought. My sister read it, I just haven’t yet.
7. the first 3 books of the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan- Saw the movie and had to go buy the books, I bought them as a set and they are still nicely wrapped.
8. first 3 books of Harry Potter by J.K Rowling- same as the Percy Jackson books, but I have plans to read it this summer with the kids I babysit =)
9. the Guy Not Taken by Jennifer Weiner- I loved all the other books I read by this author so when I saw this book I had to have it (like all the others)
10. Sleeping Arrangements by Madeleine Wickham- Even though my sister’s friend owns this book I had to get it for myself since I love Sophie Kinsella.

I think I might have a problem, I have a bunch more books that I could have chosen, some of them are hiding in my closet afraid to be taken out and shown to family because I really do have a problem. Oh well, I’m not alone right?

"Never trust a shiny surface. They hide a multitude of flaws."

Masquerade by Melissa de la Cruz

Synopsis:

Schuyler Van Alen wants an explanation for the mysterious deaths of young vampires. With her best friend, Oliver, Schuyler travels to Italy in the hope of finding the one man who can help- her grandfather. Meanwhile, back in New York, preparations are feverishly under way for the Four Hundred Ball, an exclusive gala hosted by the city’s wealthy, powerful, and unhuman- a true Blue Blood Affair.

But it’s at the after-party, a masquerade ball thrown by the cunning Mimi Force, that the real danger lurks. Hidden behind the masks is a revelation that will forever change the course of a young vampire’s destiny.

Rich with glamour, attitude, and vampire lore, this second installment in the Blue Bloods saga will leave readers thirsting for more.

Review:

I actually really enjoyed this book. It took a little while to get back into the story. I think the beginning could have been a little better, but everything else I believe fell into place nicely. 

I really started getting into the book at the Masquerade Ball. I really enjoy reading about Schuyler and Bliss and I find myself getting angry when i read about Mimi. I just think she is such a spoiled brat and she needs to get taken off of the pedestal, badly. The problem is, Mimi Force is centuries old, so being taken off the pedestal is basically impossible. I think Melissa de la Cruz did a great job with her characters. I mean, Mimi Force is beautiful and popular, and she knows it. I hate that, I have always hated people like that, thinking they are better than everyone else. Melissa de la Cruz did a great job portraying the spoiled brat who knows she is great. 

The best part is the ending. It really does leave you wanting more. Unfortunately I have about 5 more books on my nightstand before I can go to the library and pick up the 3rd book. 

Cover: 10/10

Beginning:   3/5

Ending:        5/5

Plot: 10/10

Characters: 10/10

Satisfaction: 10/10

Grade:      Publish Post   48/50 = A

Top Ten Tuesday:Top Ten Book to Movie Adaptations

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. This week is the Top Ten Books that became Movies. This was hard for me at first basically because I either watched the movie but never read the book or I read the book but haven’t seen the movie yet. So here is the list I was finally able to come up with.

1. Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney- I read this book last summer when I was babysitting one day. It was so cute, I finished it in the few hours that I was there. On my way back from vacation a couple weeks later, I was able to see the movie and I was laughing so hard that people were staring at me. 
2. Angus, Thongs and Full Frontal Snogging by Louise Rennison- I think this book ends up on all of my lists, but I love it. When I heard about the movie on Nickelodeon, I taped it and I watched it over and over again (I may be 24 in reality but my mind is like 14) If I were to make the movie, I might have done a few things differently, but it was still good...and now I am wishing I still had it taped so I can watch it again.
3. Chronicles of Narnia the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S Lewis- I read this book when I was younger and it was one of my favorite series (Boxcar children was the other) I just love how when you read it you can’t help but let your imagination run wild. When the movie came out I was so excited, my mom and I went on a day that I was home from college and kids were in school, it was so much fun. I loved everything about the movie, I think they did such a great job with it. 
4. Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian & Voyage of the Dawn Treader- yes I am making these both number 4, I feel the same way about them as the first novel.
5. In her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner- This is the book that made me fall in love with Jennifer Weiner. I own both the book and the movie because I loved them both so much. I think the casting director did a great job with casting the movie. (I also think this book helped add my shoe addiction)
6. Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson- I read this book for my Young Adult Lit class and ironically enough one day before class I saw the movie on Lifetime (had to tape the rest so I wouldn’t be late to class) I think the movie probably could have been better, but every time its on TV I watch it. 
7. Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer- I watched the first movie before I read the book and the movie was good enough to make me want to read the book. I think that the casting could have been better for both Bella and Edward, but that's just me. 
8. Ramona and Beezus by Beverly Cleary- It feels like I read this book forever ago, but I saw the movie this past summer with Anna (the 9 year old I babysit and my own personal Ramona) and I of course loved it. When I was younger I couldn’t help but think that I was Ramona and my older sister was Beezus. But now I have my “younger” sister Anna who is not blood related but the best little sister I could have asked for. Sometimes she drives me crazy like Ramona did to Beezus, but in the end I still love her to death. 
9. P.S. I Love You by Cecilia Ahern- Can I just say that I love Gerard Butler. My sister made me read this book and told me “don’t forget to have tissues around when you read it.” I scoffed, I mean I don’t cry while reading books. Well I was wrong, I swear this book ruined my life when it came to crying during books/movies. I still think that it was a great story, but I don’t know if I would ever read it again...I went through a lot of tissues.
10. Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares- I have read this book multiple times, I bought the movie right when it came out on DVD. I watch it every time it is on TV. I enjoy the first movie better than the second but I enjoy all of the books. 

So what's on your list...

"If that was life, then it was twisted..."

     Twisted by Laurie Halse Anderson

Grade:         48/50 = A

Synopsis:

Everybody told him to be a man.

Nobody told him how.

High school senior Tyler Miller used to be the kind of guy who faded into the background. But since he got busted for doing graffiti on the school, and spent the summer working outdoors to pay for it, he stands out like you wouldn’t believe. His new physique attracts the attention of queen bee Bethany Milbury, who just so happens to be his father’s boss’s daughter, the sister of his biggest enemy-and Tyler’s secret crush. Soon his life is a roller coaster, with fantastic highs, devastating lows, and no seat belt to protect him. he has no choice. He’ll have to ride it out...

Review:

So the beginning started off slow for me. I didn’t feel like I couldn’t put it down, like I have with other books. I felt like it didn’t matter if I kept reading or not. But then I got really into the book and Tyler’s story. I mean his life is definitely twisted, like the title suggests. I really like Tyler, I think he is genuinely a good person who is just trying to find who he is. After years of abuse, whether physical or verbal, from his dad and his peers, he took a stand. Not a smart one, but a stand. After the incident, he got arrested and spent the summer working with the school janitors and working for a landscaping company. Over the summer, he changed from a dorky boy to a grown man. 

We meet Tyler at the end of summer and we follow him on this journey to finding himself. While we go on this journey with him, we see him playing a game called Tophet a lot. The moral of the game is to get to the last level of hell and Tyler has no idea what happens when he beats the game. 

I really like how this book was written. It was crazy, and like it says before you actually start reading “This book is not for children.” Laurie Halse Anderson did a great job describing her characters. I felt like I could have been in my own high school when she was talking about the popular kids. The popular girls in my school mostly played basketball and soccer instead of tennis though. I think she did a great job with Tyler’s sister as well. We see her in the beginning as this little frosh and even though she stays the kid sister, she definitely has times where she sounds like a grown up. And here I must give an example, because I love this quote and I wish I heard it back when i really needed to... “The popular kids aren’t really popular. They’re obnoxiously loud, good-looking, and rich. Nobody likes them, but they rule the place.”

Ok so I need to add that towards the middle of the book, I found myself starting to get angry at a lot of the other characters. I got really angry at Tyler’s dad who just seems like a complete ass. I just felt like a father should really try to see what his kid is actually going through instead of blaming him for everything. I feel like his dad thought he ruined his life, and I feel like if you aren’t going to try to be a good parent, then why bother having kids. 

I am really happy I finished the book. The ending was amazing, the last line was amazing. I was moved with this book, just like I was with Speak. But I guess I shouldn’t have though otherwise with a great author huh?

Cover: 10/10

Beginning: 4/5

Ending:         5/5

Plot: 10/10

Characters: 10/10

Satisfaction: 10/10

Top Ten Favorite love Stories

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by the Broke and the Bookish. This week is your Top Ten Favorite Love Stories.

1. Graceling by Kristin Cashore- I don't know if this would be considered as a love story, but it was for me. I love Katsa and Po together. I love that Po loves Katsa so much that he will let her be herself and will not force her into marriage. 

2. the Georgia Nicolson series by Louise Rennison: So throughout the series Georgia goes between a couple of guys. But she keeps going back to Dave. I love the relationship between Georgia and Dave. I love their friendship and I loved how hard Georgia fought to fall for other guys. (I know that sounds really strange)

3. Inkheart, Inkspell, Inkdeath by Cornelia Funke: Other books that I don't know if they actually count as love stories. I feel like I can't even explain all I loved about Meggie and Farid. 

4. Rosie Dunne by Cecelia Ahern: It's really a story about best friends and how the time is never right for their love to blossom. It's just a beautiful story and it  makes me believe that some friendships really can last a lifetime.

5. This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen: I don't remember all of this book, I read it quite a few years ago, but I remember feeling hopeful at the end of it. Hopeful that Remy and Dexter would stay together and that she could believe in love after all.

1. Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella: The book version is much better than the movie. I love Rebecca and Luke. He loves her with all her faults, he deals with her shopping problems, it’s a perfect couple. At least in my eyes.

Ok so I could only come up with 6. I think I need help in remembering the books I read more. So what are your top ten?