Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

I am reading Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen. I love this book so far: it is cute, fun, and entertaining. The novel takes place during Auden’s last summer before college when she visits her father and her stepmother at the beach. Auden is a very deep character who has many different qualities that the reader can see immediately. Since she is such an interesting character it makes the novel a lot better. Auden has missed out on a lot of childhood activities because she was always trying to impress her parents by receiving good grades and excelling in academia. This all changes though when she visits her father and his new family. She now has a new baby sister and must face the challenge of living with people who do not expect her to act like a mini adult but act like a teenager. She has a hard time adjusting to the new people in her life and her new job in a clothing store. So far I really like this book. Auden is interesting and the plot is just beginning to form. I cannot wait to see what will happen to her.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

I just finished Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. In this book there are two main characters, Grace and Sam, who trade off narrating the novel. Sam is boy who whenever the weather becomes cold turns into a wolf. While this has been happening Grace was always the one watching from the outside. For six years they have been watching each other in the woods, unaware of what the other person was. This all changes though was Sam is hunted and is shot causing him to accidently turn into his human form. Grace is the one who saves him and from the moment they meet they fall in love. This book is very good because it does create its one form of a werewolf but once again it is like every other silly werewolf book out right now: The two meet and fall magically in love. However this all occurs within the first fifty or so pages. The main part of the book is Sam and Grace’s attempt to keep the cold weather from making Sam turn back into wolf form. Grace is hoping that their love will stop him from changing but it is useless to think because they know of no cure to save Sam. When I first begin this book I was instantly compelled to the characters. They are funny and likeable people in the book. Even though this book is like others I have read I enjoyed it and would recommend it to others. I would recommend it to others who enjoy reading about werewolf’s and magical worlds. Overall I would give it a four out of five.

The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han

In The Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han, Belly has always been the odd one out; she was never really accepted into the gang that consisted of her brother, Steven, and her two good friends Conrad and Jeremiah. This all changes though the summer before she turns sixteen for Belly has “become pretty”. Now all the sudden both Conrad and Jeremiah want to be with Belly and she doesn’t know who to choose. Ever since she was young she had been in love with Conrad but now he was different, he had changed and not for the good. The book switches from Belly’s childhood to the present which allows the reader to learn more about the characters and understand why the act now. The book is all about summer for everything that Belly defines as happiness has occurred in the summer with the boys. I really liked this book it had a very sweet and surprising ending. In just a few chapters Belly becomes a real person and leaps off the page. She is extremely likeable and I enjoyed the book a lot. I would recommend this book to others.

Devil’s Kiss by Sarwat Chadda

I just read Devil’s Kiss by Sarwat Chadda. This book is a science fiction slash romance book. Since Billi was born she was destined to be a member of Knights Templar, a secret group of people sworn to keep the “unholy” away from society. Billi however just met this gorgeous boy and when suddenly her best friend Kay returns too she must choose between him, Kay, or the Knights Templar. The plot of this book is confusing at first because it takes a few chapters for the author to describe exactly what the Knights Templar do and I found it boring. I didn’t love this book and it annoyed me because I was really looking forward to reading it. It was almost too predictable and I felt like it was such an amazing idea and plot but the author could have written it much better. However it was good and I would recommend it to others.

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

I was excited to read Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard because many people had recommended it to me and loved it, however I was disappointed. I thought it was decent but I didn’t love it and I thought it was too typical and boring. The book begins when the five main characters: Spencer, Aria, Emily, Hanna, and Alison are in seventh grade. It talks about how they became friends and this is where the plot begins. One day Alison disappears and the other girls begin to drift apart with the loss of their friend. The book then skips to their junior year in high school. The girls are completely different and are no longer close. Suddenly they each begin to receive mysterious notes or text messages revealing their deep dark secrets that they thought only their missing friend Ali knew. As the book goes on the notes come more often and the girls do not know who to trust or what to do. I don’t know if I will read the rest of the books in the series even though I do want to know whom the person is who is sending all the creepy notes.

Ending of If I Stay by Gayle Forman

I could not believe the ending of this book, it was romantic and heartbreaking at the same time. It was a dreadfully sad ending but I think that the author ended it perfectly. Even though it ends very simply I thought that it the sweetest possible ending. The reader doesn’t find out exactly what happens to Mia or her relationship with Adam but I’m guessing that they stay together and that Mia goes to Julliard. What Mia has to face is so terrible and will affect her for the rest of her life. If I was in her situation I do not know what I would choose, I think that I would chose to live but it is so hard to face the reality that everyone in your family is gone forever. It was such a compelling and sad book that it actually made me cry. I recommend this book to others, it is so good and I feel like everyone could like it and that they should read it. It is a book that will last for generations because it is so timeless and the feelings that Mia faces will never change even as time passes.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

I am reading If I Stay by Gayle Forman and I love it. When Mia and her family go for a car ride one snowy morning she suddenly finds herself floating in between death and life. One second she is singing along to the radio and the next both her parents are dead and her younger brother is barley living. While Mia’s body is in the hospital Mia must watch all her loved ones come and visit her body while she is stuck in this ghost like trance. Throughout the book you learn about whom she is and all the little important memories and people in her life. So far the book is incredibly sad but it is such a page-turner. The emotions that she faces are so miserable and yet so realistic. I don’t know if Mia will choose to kept fighting or will give up and die. I hope she keeps hope and stays alive because she has so many people that love her and are waiting for her to open her eyes. Even though it is terrible knowing that her entire family is dead I hope she wakes up and I predict that she will, because other wise it would be too sad. I cannot wait to see what happens.