The Summer I Turned Pretty: book review

The Summer I Turned Pretty: Book Review by Allison T.

Release Date: May 5th, 2009

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 288

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Source: County Library

Other books in series:It's Not Summer Without You

Buy the Book: amazon

"The Summer I Turned Pretty" is about a girl named Belly who goes to the beach every summer with her mom, her mom's friend, and her two sons. But this year, things are different. Belly has turned pretty. Belly must face three love interests. Who will she choose? This book is a great beach read. I read it in the winter, and it took my mind away from all of the snow and ice that's covering the ground. Here's my review.

The setting was great, since it describes the beach and the places that Belly goes to very well. I also liked the flash backs to when Belly was a kid. Jenny knew how to make the readers question about things but then reveal it just before they start to get annoyed. It helped me to relate because Belly felt that she got left out.

A thing that I didn't like was how Belly acted towards the boys once she became "pretty". She was rude to Connor and Jeremiah and was not acting like her character that was depicted in the flash backs. She seemed really cocky and whiny. Also, the boys pretty much started liking her just because she got pretty. If Belly had never changed, they wouldn't have acted this way towards her. It shows how shallow they are because it seems that all the two brothers care about is looks.

Savannah and Belly's mom, Laurel, were cute friends and I liked the dialogue between them.

The Summer I Turned Pretty is the first book in Jenny Han's Summer series. I definitely will read the second one when I can get my hands on it. I hope you enjoyed the review.

-Allison T.

Book Review: Mostly Good Girls by Leila Sales

Mostly Good Girls by Leila Sales
Release Date: October 5Th, 2010
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages:368
Rating: 4.5/5
Source: The Library
Buy the book:


This book is one of my new favorite reads. It kept me up at night turning the pages because of the author's writing style. When I first saw that this book was coming out, I thought I wasn't going to like it but put it on my wish list anyways. But when I was at the library, I saw Mostly Good Girls on display in the teen area. I read the summary and LOVED it. I could relate to it easily. This is Leila's debut, so I'll be very excited when her next books come out. She has a very promising career ahead of her. Before I tell you what I liked and didn't like about this book, here's the summary.

The higher you aim, the farther you fall….

It’s Violet’s junior year at the Westfield School. She thought she’d be focusing on getting straight As, editing the lit mag, and figuring out how to talk to boys without choking on her own saliva. Instead, she’s just trying to hold it together in the face of cutthroat academics, her crush’s new girlfriend, and the sense that things are going irreversibly wrong with her best friend, Katie.

When Katie starts making choices that Violet can’t even begin to fathom, Violet has no idea how to set things right between them. Westfield girls are trained for success—but how can Violet keep her junior year from being one huge, epic failure?

My favorite character in this book was definitely Violet. She always tried her best and studied hard. She was also very supportive of her friends and I think that this will show readers to be nice to others even though they're not nice back. Violet had a good "voice" and she made me laugh out loud at times. I thought that Violet's best friend, Katie, was just ok. She was very smart, but didn't even try hard. Katie had a lot of things going for her, but then she just doesn't want to do them anymore. In my mind, she made some very poor decisions.
I liked how this book was more of a book about friends than a romance. It made the book unique to me and showed me and maybe others how to be a good friend (in Violet's case). There was a good message in this book. It was, even if you feel worthless or like they can't do anything sometimes, but you shouldn't let that stop you.
I could relate to this book because I go to a private all girls school and the academics are very challenging. I can see how Katie was feeling so stressed out and decided to just stop.
I am looking forward to readng more books by Leila Sales in the future.
-Allison

Another contest!

http://snifflykitty.blogspot.com/2010/12/150-follower-giveaway.html You can win a gift card!

Good contest to enter!

There is a great contest to enter! It is where you can win three YA books from 2011! Here is the link: https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dHdWRmxmcDVZUDZjNGRXRzBDdDR6a2c6MQ

In my Mailbox

Credits go to the story siren! :)
Bought: Before I Die by Jenny Downham
Poison Ink by Christopher Golden
Faking 19 by Alyson Noel
How to teach filthy rich girls by Zoey Dean
Won: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins from The Book Vixen
That's what I got this week.
P.S. I'm still trying to make my blog better so sorry if the quality isn't that good. I'll get better over time. :)
Allison

School Review The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen

Reading level: Young Adult 9-12
Pages:176
Publisher: Puffin (April 12, 2004)
Rating: 4.5 stars!
From: Teacher
Buy here:http://www.amazon.com/Devils-Arithmetic-Puffin-Modern-Classics/dp/0142401099/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258825124&sr=8-1

In this novel, Yolen attempts to answer those who question why the Holocaust should be remembered. Hannah, 12, is tired of remembering, and is embarrassed by her grandfather, who rants and raves at the mention of the Nazis. Her mother’s explanations of how her grandparents and great-aunt lost all family and friends during that time have little effect.
Then, during a Passover Seder, Hannah is chosen to open the door to welcome the prophet Elijah. As she does so, she is transported to a village in Poland in the 1940s, where everyone thinks that she is Chaya, who has just recovered from a serious illness. She is captured by the Nazis and taken to a death camp, where she is befriended by a young girl named Rivka, who teaches her how to fight the dehumanizing processes of the camp and hold onto her identity. When at last their luck runs out and Rivka is chosen, Hannah/Chaya, in an almost impulsive act of self-sacrifice, goes in her stead. As the door to the gas chamber closes behind her, she is returned to the door of her grandparents’ apartment, waiting for Elijah.
Through Hannah, with her memories of the present and the past, Yolen does a fine job of illustrating the importance of remembering. She adds much to children’s understanding of the effects of the Holocaust, which will reverberate throughout history, today and tomorrow.

I thought the book was a must-read. I felt it was a bit short but the writer executed the story well. You should pick it up at the library if you see it. It's a haunting tale of life, death, memory, and sorrow. It's described as a younger children's book but the topics are a bit mature.

My review of Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Reading level: Young Adult
Pages: 198
Rating: 5 stars!
From: Amazon
Buy Here: http://www.amazon.com/Speak-Anniversary-Laurie-Halse-Anderson/dp/0142414735/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1258586612&sr=1-1

Melinda starts off high school on the wrong foot and it's because of something that happened before school even started. Everything was going fine until that party. She knows why she called the cops but she isn't telling anyone, not even her best friend, well now it's her ex-best friend. After the party, her friends dump her and leave her to fend for herself at Merryweather High. She's a freshman. And friendless.

Melinda doesn't mind the stares and snickers all that much but it's the rumors that she doesn't like. They are wrong, all wrong. They don't know anything about that night. Only Melinda knows what happened. Although no one would believe her if she did speak about it. There is someone else that knows, but they are keeping their mouth shut also. That's a good thing.

Melinda dreads school everyday, although she has found comfort in her Art class taught by Mr. Freeman. He gives her the freedom to open up through art and at first she is skeptical and her emotions are non-existent. But as the year progresses something inside Melinda clicks, and art is the one thing she has to stay strong.

There is also this boy, David Petrakis, who is in her Biology class. He teaches her a little something about life and ends up being a good guy and a friend to Melinda.

I would recommend this book to all of my friends. It's a quick read and made me think. The author's writing is very real and captures a high school perfectly. I felt like I could relate to Melinda in a way. The story behind Melinda is heavy and may be for more mature readers.
I felt bad for Melinda because she doesn't trust her parents with the truth and keeps it to herself and you only find it out about half-way through the book. Laurie Halse Anderson is a great young adult author and I'll be checking out more of her books.
Allison