Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Book Review:Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulberg




 
Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality

Genre: contemporary, romance, coming-of-age, young-adult

Publication: March 1st, 2013 (Hardcover)

Pages: 272

Publisher: Point


                                                                                               

       Synopsis(from the flap)

 Everybody loves Lexi. She's popular, smart, funny....but she's never been one of those girls, the pretty ones who get all the attention from guys. And on top of that, her seven-year-old sister, Mackenzie, is a terror in a tiara,part of a pageant scene where she gets praised for her beauty(with the help of fake hair and tons of make up). Lexi's sick of it. She's sick of being the girl who hears about kisses instead of getting them. She's sick of being ignored by her long time crush, Logan. She's sick of being taken for granted by her pageant-obsessed mom. And she's sick of having all of her family money wasted on a phony pursuit of perfection. The time has come for Lexi to step out of the sidelines. Girls without great personalities aren't going to know what hit them. Because Lexi's going to play the beauty game-and she's in it to win it.

                                                                 

                           Thoughts

For me, I thought that the book title was a little misleading. I personally thought it was going to be a dramatic, yet a little bit of a dark book. But there were very few parts to it that were dark. Lots of parts were dramatic. Why am i blogging about the title first? Well because, that's what actually drew me to the book in the first place. I have heared about this book coming out earlier this year, and i was like "oh cool, a new book by one of my favourite authors." But what really got me hooked and drawn in, was the title(like i mentioned before).  Again, the title was misleading because, most parts were actually quite light and happy, with rarely any dark moments(OK maybe towards the end there's dark points). But,there was still lots of drama, though. Just saying.

When i started reading it, it was like what i expected from the synopsis(sick of everything, desperate for attention, wanting to be pretty etc..). I was pretty content throughout reading this book,and i wasn't disappointed most of the time. However, there were scenes in the book that just made me a little unsure, and hesitant to read on. Unfortunately, I don't really know why i felt that way, but i did. But what i do know, is that i liked the main character, she wasn't that bad to deal with while reading the book. There were moments where i was like"stop, what are you doing?" but she was still a realistic character(like pretty much all of the other teenage girl characters that i read about, LOL).

Lexi, like i mentioned before was a good character. I didn't hate her, but i didn't love her either. She was nice, funny, sweet, strong-willed, loyal. At times in the story, Lexi was very annoying to deal with, to the point where i had to put the book down, and take a break. But, there were also times, where i just really liked Lexi for what she did throughout the book. She was brave enough to be able to stand up for what she believed in and as well as what Mackenzie wanted/believed as well.

Speaking of Mackenzie, she was such a doll!(or i imagined her to be a doll). I thought she was going to be a bitch or something and be mean towards her sister throughout the book. BUT BOY, WAS I WRONG OR WHAT?! She turned out to be more nice and innocent then i thought she was going to be. It was actually quite shocking. I found it sad how she was complaining about the pageants, with the hair and the makeup, i felt sorry for her at one point and wanted to help her out.

The mother,on the other hand was a HORRIBLE BITCH,   but the author actually wrote the mother that way, because you are supposed to hate her. Which turned out to be true because, i didn't like her from start to finish. I didn't like how she was being rude, and selfish, towards her own children. Calling them brats(especially Lexi),and treating them both terribly(yes, she treated Mackenzie badly too).My mother is not that way, at all. Like i literally wanted to beat her fat ass, and make her bleed to death(excuse my language, but yes, this is what i imagined whenever the mother was there). Even when she apologized to Lexi for doing what she did to her(read the book to find out), i still didn't believe her, even though Lexi did. However, the good thing was she didn't fully forgive her mother. When i read that, i was like:"Thank God!"  

Logan, oh, Logan, Logan, Logan, i loved him, so much. He was so understanding, sweet, and kind. It just made me happy. Simple as that. Although he did have flaws, which is what EVERY SINGLE HUMAN BEING ON THIS PLANET HAS. (sorry, i got a bit carried away there for a moment).

 What i liked most about the book was how it had an important message attached to it, almost like a very significant life lesson that every girl(and guy) should learn. What i got from it, was that: just because you're not the most prettiest girl in the world and are only known for you're "great personality", doesn't mean you have to change yourself to impress other people. Be yourself,and don't change just to impress. Do what makes you happy, and what makes you feel good about yourself. As long as you're a kind person, with a "great personality", then people are going to like you for who you are.

                                                                                                                                                             

                                                                Overall Rating




                                                        
                                                                     3/5 Stars


                                                                                                            

                                          Last Words

Overall, i thought it was a very interesting read, with a lot more drama then i expected. However, it wasn't the best Elizabeth Eulberg book i have ever read, out there. She has done better books,in my opinion. Like i blogged before i really did like the message that was there throughout the book, it was very inspiring and very true.What i also need to say, is that Elizabeth is really one of my favourite authors of all time, i love how she has humor,with a mix of realistic messages about life,in general. Anyways, i recommend this book, to people who are looking for a short, yet unexpected plot twists,a light, fun read, with a bit of a dramatic content, and humor. Alright, that concludes my review, until the next one. Goodbye everyone.


                                        







Saturday, July 20, 2013

Books I'm Currently Reading at the Moment

Hello everyone it's Nicole Henderson here, and I'm currently reading two books at the moment. I will be doing book reviews on them both when I'm done. I will summarize in my own words on what there about, and tell you my thoughts so far on each of them. Here are the books: Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson, and Revenge of the Girl with the Great Personality by Elizabeth Eulberg.

Summary: A teenage girl named Taylor Edwards has a father who is diagnosed with stage four cancer. To have one last summer together, her father decides to take his family, including Taylor, up to Lake Phoenix, where they have their lake house in the Poconos(part of Lake Phoenix). While there, she still has her friends that she left behind, like Lucy who is her former best friend, as well as Henry who was her first boyfriend. As the summer progresses things start to get better for her and her family starts to bond more, and friendships blossom. And i quote:" sometimes though, there is enough time to get a second chance- with family, with friends, and with love."

Thoughts: I am almost halfway done the book so far(I'm only at 199 pages) and it's actually a really good book. I'm very happy with it. I will say though, that i was expecting it to be to be a tad more emotional. But i can't really judge that much 'cause I'm not too far in to make a final verdict. I also wish the story would pick up a little more as well. I find that it's moving just a little to slow, which makes me not want to pick up the book as much as i would like too. Anyways besides the point, I'm still enjoying the book very much.


Summary: Lexi is a teenage girl(sixteen or seventeen) that just wants to be noticed by boys. But that is not all, she doesn't want her seven year old sister to do pageants, or her mother spending all of the family money ON the pageants, and she does not want to be ignored by her long time crush either. So, she decides to come out of her shell, and get out there in the world a little more. She becomes a person that no one has ever expected before.

Thoughts: I'm not to far in the book, to make a actual statement on it. But for now i think i will say that it's not one of her best books that i have ever read. Like it's OK, i just think it could be a little better. The good thing is, it's a short book so i will be able to read this fairly quick. What i like is that, it is a light read with a hint of drama, so it makes it one of those summer reads that not packed with the heavy content, but also not light like a feather content either. The book just has the right amount of both content in it to make it readable. Overall, i am liking the book so far.


Alright, so that is it for this blog. Those are the books I'm currently reading at the moment(hence the post title), and i hope you like seeing my thoughts on each of the books. I hope i do a pretty good job at explaining what the books are about(don't hate me). I'm still not a expert on blogging, i want to do better at it, and i want to continue to blog. So, until the next one. Goodbye, everyone.









Friday, July 12, 2013

Book Reivew: Something Like Fate by Susane Colasanti

Something like Fate

Genre: young adult, contemporary, romance, chick-lit

Publication: May 4th, 2010 (hardcover)

Pages: 268

Publisher: Viking Juvenile

                                                                                                      

                      Synopsis(from flap)

Lani and Erin are life long friends-and total opposites. Lani's a down-to-earth Taurus; Erin's a fiery Leo. Lani like to do her own thing; Erin prefers an entourage. they've always has wildly different tastes, from pizza toppings to guys. That is, until Erin starts dating Jason. From the minute Lani meets Jason, she can't deny the amazing connection she feels with him. It's like they've known each other their whole lives. She's not sure if he feels it, too-but even if he does, he's off-limits. Lani's determined to ignore her feelings for Jason, no matter how powerful they are, rather then hurt then her best friend. Then Erin goes away for the summer- and Jason seems to appear everywhere Lani turns. How long can she keep running run the guy who just might be the love of her life?

                                                                                                                                                                   
                                                              *may contain spoilers*

                                                                   Thoughts

I have previously read a book by this author already, however i didn't like the book so much. It was called So Much Closer. So i thought i would give her another chance, since i did like her writing style.  I liked the plot and the main idea of this book, so i checked it out,from the library(like my last two books i did book reviews on).

I was actually very surprised of how this book turned out. I personally thought it was not going to be a very good book. I read more and more of it, and it turned out to be a great book. I found myself to like all of the main characters, even the bad ones 'cause they rarely appeared. I was able to relate to Lani, a lot as a character, and to connect with her on a realistic basis. I don't really have a lot of bad things to say about any of the other characters in it, as well as Lani.

I will say that i liked Lani alot. She was a like able character and was not irritating one bit. I could actually put up with Lani. I love how she thought about, other people's feelings before her own. That proves that she is a selfless person. It was very cool(for lack of a better word) to have a character who was extremely interested in saving the planet and making the earth a better place. Like no other character is like that!  Lani was such a like able character, that i actually felt bad and sorry for her when everyone in the whole school started to hate her. Lani was a really great character, who is quite realistic. Honestly though, who would not feel guilty about liking someone else's boyfriend? I would!

Jason, was such sweet guy, really nice and he was exactly what (i think) everyone wants in a guy. It seemed to me that Jason was exactly the male version of Lani ALMOST. But of course everyone is different, even with personalities. He was sensitive, and did things that no guy would ever think of doing themselves, which i thought:"wow this guy's really different."  He treated both of the girls well, even when he broke up with Erin, to be with Lani he was still honest. I really wanted Jason to be my boyfriend, he was so sweet!

Of course, i have to talk about Erin, who is Lani's best friend, and actually becomes an antagonist towards her. Erin, was a good character, definitely the opposite of Lani for sure. She was a like able character, although if she were the actual main protagonist, i would find her a little annoying. I did not like Erin towards the end, when she was all hating, and being mean towards Lani, even though i could UNDERSTAND why she was mad: Lani stole her boyfriend. She felt hurt by that, if my best friend were to do that to me i would feel hurt also. So i couldn't really blame her for feeling the way she felt. But she could of dealt with it differently, then the way she did.

There are also many other characters, in this book that i could talk about, but there are SO MANY! There's Blake(Lani and Erin's gay friend-yes he is actually gay), Connor(the Canadian friend), Sophie(Lani's other friend), the parents, teachers and a whole lot more!

                                                                                                                                                                    

                                                                    Overall Rating


                                            4/5 Stars

                                                                                                                                                                   

                                                                     Last Words

Overall, i really enjoyed this book, definitely better then the last one i read of hers. By reading this book, and liking it, that there are books by Susane Colasanti that i am going to like, and then there's books i am not going to like. Susane has a very easy and light writing style, which makes the book read faster. I recommend this to people who like a light read, with romance and drama in the mix. Well that concludes my review, until next time. Goodbye, everyone!






                                                                                          

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Book Review: The Alchemy of Forever by Avery Williams

                
                                                  The Alchemy of Forever 
                                                   
                                               Genre: young adult, paranormal, fantasy, romance
                                              
                                               Publication: January 3rd, 2012(first published)
 
                                               Pages: 246
                                                 
                                               Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
 
                                                                                                            
 
                                Synopsis(from book)     
                                     
 After spending six hundred years on Earth, Seraphina Ames has seen it all. Eternal life provides her with the world's riches, but at a very high price: innocent lives. Centuries ago her boyfriend, Cyrus, discovered a method of alchemy that allows them to take the bodies of of other humans by jumping from one vessel to the next, ending the humans life in the process. No longer able to bear the guilt of what she's done, Sera escapes from Cyrus and vows to never kill again. 
Then sixteen year old Kailey Morgan gets in a horrific car accident right in front of her, and Sera accidentally takes over her body while trying to save her. For the first time, Sera finds herself enjoying the life of the person she's inhabiting-and falling for the human boy who lives next door. But Cyrus will stop at nothing until she's his again, and every moment she stays, she's putting herself and the people she's grown to care for in great danger. Will Sera have to give up the one thing that's eluded her for centuries: true love?
 
                                                                                                                                                                     
 
                                                                   Thoughts
 
What drew me to this book was honestly the cover. It was so beautiful, mystical,and magical. I thought: "i must pick this up", so i did, i checked it out from the library(along with other books).
 
I started reading it, and i was very, very confused about what was going on. The "method", and the idea of incarnation, like everything was confusing for me to understand. I honestly don't think i understood anything that happened in the book. By the middle of the book, i was starting to understand what was going on(but not really). By the end, i was still confused and thinking. "are you dumb!"
I loved the plot idea, and the story(just not how it played out). I just wish the author could have done better with the story. Then i would of liked it a whole lot better then i did.
 
I did NOT like Seraphina "Sera" Ames at all. I found her to be very irritating to deal with. She is not a very smart character(especially at the very end of the book). Her thought process was very complicated for me to understand,and to follow, like she would be thinking one thing, then all of a sudden, think of a different thing and "chicken" out from her previous thought without really giving me(as a reader) any warning. Like WTF! Be Brave! The ONLY thing i did sort of like about her was that, she was brave, she was brave enough to run away from a major problem(Cyrus), in the beginning. But she was even braver enough to stay where she was even though she knew Cyrus was there. The point is, she's not afraid to face her problems, and she's not going to run away like a coward. I appreciated that about Sera.
 
Cyrus, was not kind, one soever. I have never read a character that was so verbally abusive before, like that was just wrong! I didn't like Cyrus, yes he was charming, and had a nice smile, but he was evil. I thought Cyrus was going to still be a bit possessive, but be all romantic at the same time.But i guess not. I didn't know he was this abusive: answering everything for her, getting freaked out when she does something wrong. Like that was not right! He treated her like crap, and was a jerk to her and getting mad at her for no reason! I wanted to punch him in face and yell at him, like a maniac.
 
Anyways, i also thought everything went to fast, like way to fast for my liking. The development of the relationship between Sera and "the next door neighbour" just went way,way to fast. I was actually thinking: "SLOW THE HELL DOWN!!!!" I also felt the same way about Kailey's family development. She trusted them way too soon, and loved them way too soon as well. If you think about it, even though Sera is in Kailey's body, and the "old" Kailey has known the family her whole life, it takes time for someone to develop a trust and a relationship with them. It takes time for things like that to grow. Personally, everything was so fast i couldn't keep up.   
 
                                                                                                                                                                  
 
                                                                 Overall Rating
 
 
                                  2/5 Stars
 
 
                                                                                                                                                                  
 
                                              Last Words
 
 
 
 Overall, i was not a fan of this book. However, i would like to check out the Impossibility of Tomorrow, which is the second book to the Incarnation series, just to see what the book is like. If you still want to read it despite my not so good review, that is fine with me. I would still recommend it if you like the type of supernatural that does not deal with ghosts or angels, or if you like fast-paced romances.
 
That concludes my review, until the next one. Goodbye, everyone!
                                                                                                                                                                    
                                          


Book Review: Past Perfect By: Leila Sales

This following review contains spoilers, i can't help myself! I will do better in the next review,i promise you.
Introduction

Hello everyone,it's Nicole Henderson here,and this is my very first book reivew on this blog. Im super nervous,but i definitly want to do more of these book reviews. I hope you enjoy,and you share the same thoughts aswell. It may be a bit sloppy and all over the place, im sorry.
                                                                           
Past Perfect by Leila Sales

Genre: young adult, history, romance, contemporary

Publication: October 4th, 2011 (Hardcover)

Pages: 306

                                                  Publisher: Simon Pulse
                                             

                                                    Synopsis(from the flap)

   All Chelsea wants to do this summer is hang out with her best friend, hone her talents as an ice cream connoisseur,and finally get over Ezra, the boy who broke her heart. But when Celsea shows up for her summer job at Essex Historical Colonial Village (yes, really), it turns out Ezra's working there too. Which makes moving on and forgetting Ezra a lot more complicated....even when Chelsea starts  falling for someone new. Maybe Chelsea should have known better than to think that a historical reenactmant village could help her escape her past. But with Ezra all too present,and her new crush seeming all too off limits,all Chelsea knows is that she's got a lot to figure out about love. Becuase those who don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat it...

                                                                                                                                                                   

                                                                     Thoughts

I saw  this book in the library, read  the above section of this review, i thought it looked interesting and checked it out.When i started reading it, i orignally thought it was going to be a humorous book with some American history facts, along with some romance happening. I was wrong in a way.

Yes, there was romance,and yes there were history facts, but there wasn't really a lot of humour happening for me. Well if i have to be honest with you, in the book, things happened that i didn't really imagine happening. For example: i was expecting Chelsea and Ezra to talk alot more,despite the "August 7th" situation(read the book to find out about it) just as friends, like they could of  said  "hey, how's it going?" "i'm fine, how are you" to each other. But in reality they didn't talk that much, execpt for a few times, i was just a little disapointed in that. Well despite Chelsea and Ezra being exes, i could understand why they didn't talk a lot. Another example is: i thought Chelsea and Dan(who is the new crush) were going to become a full on couple by the end of the novel. Unfourtunatly, the relationship did not work out. I was disappointed in that, i wished Chelsea would of moved on from Ezra, so she could be with Dan and be happy with him.

I really liked Chelsea as a main charcter, she was a girl with a little bit of an attitude, and kind towards the other people around her, eventhough she wasn't really in the mood to be with then sometimes. She really cares for her friends, espeically Fiona, who is her best friend. She was a normal and realistic character, and felt what every other teenage girls would of thought in a situation like this. I loved how Chelsea was able to wake up and realize the she can move on from Ezra and end up not getting back together with him. Girl Power! I really admired Chelsea for that.

Ezra was a bit of an asshole(excuse my language) without really trying to be one, so i didn't really like him that much. He was treating Chelsea, terribly and being a huge jerk. Dan, was defintly not an asshole . He was kind to Chelsea, and sweet,but i didn't like how, just because he was humilitated (as well as his whole family) he had no right to tell Chelsea that she's a terrible  person and put her down. IT WASN"T EVEN CHELSEA'S FAULT, IT WAS EZRA'S 'CAUSE HE'S AN ASSHOLE! But it was also Dan's fault because he's the one that told Chelsea (the problem) in the first place.

Anyways, besides that, i really did like the history aspect to the book. Since i am a Canadian, i don't really know alot about American history,so it was nice to learn some facts about what happend(the Cival war, and the Decalration, and the Colonial times). It was also cool how Chelsea's father was able to teach her a life lesson by using history facts and other things at one point in the book. I will always remember the important message that is in this book and continue to remember it forever.

I will be reading more books from Lelia Sales, and i recomend this book to people, who like young adult fiction, with a bit of history fiction and romance.

                                                                                                                                                                    

                                                                   Overall Rate


                                 3.5/5 stars

             
                                                                                                                                                                     

                                                                   Last Words

 Overall, this book was not my favorite book ever, but i still really enjoyed it, and it was a nice read while it lasted Well that concludes my book review,until the next one. Goodbye everyone!



              

                                                                   

































Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Introduction to NicoleHendersonReads

Hello everyone, it's Nicole Henderson here and im new to blogging. I have never done this before so im nervous as hell. But im going to do it anyway, as you can probably tell by the title of this blog, it will be all about things relating to reading. I will be doing book reviews for sure, and show you what im currently reading and will be reading,giveaways,interviews with authors,but all that will come within time. I pretty much want to share to you guys my thoughts on a book that i loved or hated, because I LOVE expressing my thoughts to people on a certain topic,especially reading, haha LOL(I don't know why i did that last part).
I don't know what else to say,but this is my first time blogging and i just wanted to give it a try and see how i do at it. I guess, i can go on and tell you a little bit about myself: my real name is Nicole Grice, but i wanted to change my last name to Henderson because i thought it had a better flow to it, and i when i become a author i want "Henderson" to be my author pen last name(if that makes any sense). I am just a girl who loves reading more then anything, i want to become a writer someday because like i said earlier i love to express my thoughts aloud,but i also love to share them on paper too. I love hanging out with my friends, listening to music(i love that just as much as i love reading) and being lazy by watching lots of Youtube videos. I also have a goodreads account as well.
Well i guess that's it for this very first blog entry, i promise you i will blog on a regular basis. I hope you enjoy my future blogs and see what i have to offer to the world with my thoughts.

Goodbye,everyone!