The Book I'm Currently Reading

Hello everyone, it's Nicole Henderson here, and I know I haven't been blogging in a bit, and I'm really sorry about that. I was so busy with being on vacation and getting ready for going back to school. I really hope I am able to manage my time with school, the homework, life, and also with this blog. If not them I'm very sorry, but that's life. So, back onto today's blog. The book I'm currently reading at the moment is called The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells. Like in my last blog that I did about this, I will summarize it in my own words on what it's about, and then tell you my thoughts about the book so far.
Summary: A 16 year old girl named Mia Gordon, goes away from home to spend the summer in the Hamptons. At first she is looking forward to it, but when her cousin Corrine becomes distant, she is disappointed about her cousin's new lifestyle and friends. But everything changes when she meets a boy named Simon at a party. And things take an unexpected turn for the better and for the worst.

Thoughts: I have to say I do like this book, but I wasn't expecting
what I read to actually happen when I first picked it up.(spoiler alert) There's drinking and partying, and drugs are being used, I was pretty shocked. However, I do understand this because I have realized that people I know actually do party and drink and smoke weed. And it's not my cup of tea to do any of those things. Now, I'm not hating on this book, I really do like it. It was perfect for me to read half of it  while on vacation on the beach because I really got the feeling of the setting and what it was actually like. So, I can't make the final verdict. But I am enjoying this book so far.

So, that is about it for this blog. I really do hope you guys like seeing my thoughts. I really do want to be done with this book, so I can do a book review on it, and also start on another book as well. So,until the next one. Goodbye everyone.

Book Review: Sixteenth Summer by Michelle Dalton

Sixteenth Summer

Genre: young-adult, romance, contemporary

Published: May 3rd 2011

Pages: 283

Publisher: Simon Pulse

                                                                                         

               Synopsis(from the book)

Anna is dreading another tourist-filled summer on Dune Island that follows the same routine: beach, ice-cream, friends, repeat. That is, until she locks eyes with Will, the gorgeous and sweet guy visiting from New York. Soon her summer is filled with flirtatious fun as Anna falls head over heels in love. But with every perfect afternoon, sweet kisses, and walks on the beach, Anna can't ignore that the days are quickly growing shorter, and Will has to leave at the end of August. Anna's never felt anything like this before, but when forever isn't even a possibility, one summer doesn't feel worth the promise of her heart breaking...

                                                                                                                                                               

                                                                      Thoughts

At first I had no intentions of reading this when I first saw this book on Goodreads,  but then I had this sudden urge of wanting to read it and have it in my hands really badly. It just happened one day.  So when I finally purchased it, I was super excited to read this. I did and I literally fell in love with this book. I loved everything, and I mean everything about this book. It played out so nicely. Just the way the story flowed with no "bumps in the road" was just simply amazing.  The characters were great, I loved the setting, which was on a beach (I love beaches).

Anna, was a fantastic character. I loved Anna. She wasn't mean, selfish, snobby, or  a total bitch. She was nice, happy, positive, in love (like most characters are). If she were a real person, I would love to be friends with her. Yeah, that is how much I adore her. Anna is literally, everything I want in a character when I write my own book someday. I found that I could relate to Anna a lot in this story. With how she felt, and the way she thinks is how I would think too if I were ever in her situation. There are honestly no more words for me to describe her, but to only say that she was an amazing character.

Will, was another fantastic character. He was sweet, and nice. He treated Anna well, which is what all guys should do in young-adult books. He was everything I wanted in a guy. Generous, genuine, kind etc.. I'm pretty much just repeating myself before with Anna.

Sixteenth Summer is an amazing book, and one of my favourite books of all time. Just because it was so light, beachy, and romantic. It was anything anybody would want in a summer book. It was absolutely perfect. I love Michelle's writing style, and how it flows along with the story.

                                                                                                                                                                  

                                                                    Overall Rate


                                                                            5/5
                                                                                                                                                                

                                                                   Last Words

I really felt happy while reading this, I hope other people have read this, and have felt happy as well. Michelle Dalton is one of my favourite authors now. I recommend this book for people who want a perfect book to read on the beach. Of course, for people who want a summer romance, so wonderful. That's it for this review, until the next one, goodbye everyone! 

Book Haul (1)

Hello everyone, it's Nicole Henderson here. You know, I like to go to used book stores from time to time. The reason being is because, the books are cheaper, and even though there used books, they still look in good condition. Anyways, today, I went to a used book store, because....well I don't know why, I just needed new books for myself. And I go into the store not knowing what books were going to be there, and the total amount of books I bought were 4 books. I will give info. on the books, give you a summary on them, and tell you why i picked them up. Here we go:

The first book I bought was Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer. It is an older young adult vampire book, being published in 2008. The whole saga was made into movies(like you guys obviously know that already).  
I won't give away too much because this is the last book to the Twilight Saga. It's pretty much about Bella Swan experiencing a love-triangle between Edward Cullen, who is vampire, and Jacob Black, who happens to be a werewolf. After getting married, Bella ends up becoming pregnant, with Edward being the father. Once the child is born, the baby is mistaken for some reason I cannot remember, but you guys have most likely seen the movie, if not, then go to Wikapedia, and read the full plot, or get the movie on DVD. And the story pretty much goes on from there (and I'm sorry I couldn't really help you out). 
I picked up the book because I have not read the whole series because, I have not had the whole series in my collection of books. I have only read the first two books in the Twilight Saga, even though i own Eclipse, I have yet to read it, including Breaking Dawn. I honestly, wanted the whole saga already, 'cause it has been way to long.

The second book I bought, was Blue Bloods by Melissa De La Cruz. It was published all the way back in 2007. It is another paranormal vampire series, and it consists of 7 books. This is the first book to the series.
This book is about a teenage girl named Schuyler(interesting, yet confusing name) Van Allen, goes to this prestigious private school in New York City. Then her life changes, when the death of a popular classmate happens, and it haunts her. Then Jack Force, who the most popular boy in school, takes interest in her. Plus she discovers that the most exclusive social circle are inhuman. Blue Bloods(hence the title of the book), are a group of vampires, and have been for centuries. But something is preying on the group, and Schuyler wants to find out "the truth".
I picked up this book mainly because, I wanted to start reading vampire books again, and i needed a new series, with a new story line, new characters, and a new setting. I just needed something new and different. Of course, I was curious so, I bought it.

The third book I purchased, was The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells. This a contemporary summer novel, that was published in 2010.
This is about a 16 year old girl named, Mia Gordon, who has the best summer of her life, at Indigo Beach, with a boy with pale skin, and how it deals with the ups and downs of first love.
I picked this book up because, I needed another summer read, and I thought it was quite mysterious sounding. I have heared that this is quite an emotional book, but I am willing to keep an open mind on it and see how it turns out to be.

The last book I ended up purchasing was Summer Boys by Hailey Abbott. It was published 10 years ago, which was back in 2004. And it is part of a series called Summer Boys(which is the title to this book by the way). The series consists of 4 books, with this book being the first one.
The plot of the book is about three cousins, Ella, Beth, and Jamie and they all end up having potential summer romances, but something has to get in the way for all these girls to get the man of their dreams. Ella has a crush on a boy, who happens to be her sister's boyfriend. Beth is starting to fall for her best friend. And, Jamie, fell for a boy the summer before, but ends up getting her heart broken, by him. There is going to be lots of drama, this summer.
I have heared of this book before, plus a good friend of mine actually owns this book. So I definitely wanted to own this book for myself.  I have read some of Hailey's books before, so I know what her writing style is like. I picked it up today because  I needed just a light summer book that was going to fly by quickly, but still also have a little bit of drama. I'm quite excited to read this book. It will be a perfect beach read for me.

So that is it for my first book haul on this blog, and I will do a lot more of them. I am still trying to get better at this whole blogging thing, I am still new to all this, and it will take some time for me to be an expert on this. Anyways, back to the books, I am really happy about my purchases and I look forward to reading them sometime soon. That is it for this book haul, until the next one. Goodbye, everyone.

Book Review: Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

Second Chance Summer

Genre: young adult, romance, drama, contemporary

Published: May 7th 2013 (Paperback)

Pages: 468

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers

                                                                                                       

                         Synopsis(from book)

Taylor Edwards had a tendency to run away when things get tough. But when her father is diagnosed with stage four cancer, Taylor knows this is one situation she can't outrun. To have one last summer together, Taylor's parents decide to take the family back to their old lake house in the Poconos. Even though Taylor was twelve the last time she went to Lake Phoenix, the people she left behind are still there-like her former best friend Lucy, who's still hurting from a long-ago betrayal, and her first crush Henry, who's gotten five years cuter. With nights full of fireflies and fireworks, the summer holds the possibility of forgiveness, and maybe even love. Taylor wants to hold on to the moment instead of walking away, but she knows the end of the summer is getting closer-and that time is running out to make the most of her second chance.

                                                                                                                                                                   

                                                                          Thoughts 

I have wanted to get my hands on this book since, the summer of 2012. Yes, since LAST SUMMER. But now that i finally own it(and this is my first book review ever with a book i own), i was able to read it, finally after so long of wanting it. I felt good when i started reading this book, even though i knew it was going to be a emotional book. I really adored this book from start to finish.

Taylor was an easy, and likable character. I found that i could relate to her, with certain thoughts that she had. Actually, I could honestly just relate to her in general. She was one of the more normal characters i have read, not to plain, not to dramatic, but just in between. The way that Taylor dealt with  situations, was actually a proper and mature way to deal with them. Not like those other characters, that are like:"I'm sad, this is too hard, I can't do this, I'm leaving." God, I hate characters like that. When Taylor wanted to run away, she didn't. She was brave enough to deal with it, instead of being a chicken, and running off. Like she has the tendency of doing. I was very proud, of Taylor, in that sense. I found to be sympathizing for Taylor and her family, and their emotions that went along with it.

This book was a complete, emotional roller coaster. One part, it was happy, the other part was sad, then happy again and so on and so forth. I didn't cry however, but it was definitely heart wrenching for me. I was so depressed about what had happened to her father, I was absolutely devastated. I can't imagine, in reality, what it must be like for people who are going through the exact same problem as the Edwards family. I have had family members die of cancer, but it didn't really effect me too much, but it must of effected other people, like their wife, or sister, a best friend, it could be the husbands too who are suffering.

I adored this book 100%. I really loved this book all throughout, without complaining or getting annoyed with any of the characters. It is one of my favourite books of all time, that is literally how much I loved it. It truly moved me, in a way that it made me think about cancer differently. It was a wonderful book.

                                                                                                                                                                  

                                                                Overall Rating


                                                  5/5
                                                                                                            

                                            Last Words

Like, I mentioned before, it was a fantastic book, and I really enjoyed it. I recommend this book to people who are looking for a summer read, but it is still a heavier, dramatic, emotional read. That concludes my review, until the next one. Goodbye, everyone! 

Book Review: It's Our Prom(So Deal With It) by Julie Anne Peters

             It's Our Prom(So Deal With It)

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

Published: April, 24th 2012

Pages: 352

Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Readers

                                                                                                                 

                        Synopsis(from flap)

When Azure's principal gives her the chance turn the school's traditional(and boring) prom into an event that will appeal to everyone, not just the jocks and cheerleaders, she jumps at the opportunity. Soon Azure manages to convince friends Luke and Radhika, to join the prom committee as well. Facing heavy opposition and admittedly clueless about prom logistics, the three friends are nonetheless determined to succeed-if Luke and Azure's secret crushes on Radhika don't push the committee members, and their friendships to the breaking point.

                                                                                                                                                                  

                                                                      Thoughts 

This book was not too bad, i was getting annoyed in the first half though, but by the second half it got better. I've been wanting to read one of Julie's books for awhile now, but i never saw any books that were by her, until now. I picked it up thinking it was going to be good, which it was. But, i actually had a few problems with it preventing me from giving this book a full 5 stars. Which I will blog and explain to you those problems now.

The first problem was with Luke and Azure, they were being selfish in the first half, which by the second half I was not really liking them all that much, from when I started. Anyways, it seemed like they were so focused on the prom and (Luke's) musical, that they weren't  really aware of Radhika's issues. Alright, so maybe they were concerned with her, by (constantly) calling her,but they still were not totally aware of it. Which made me kind of upset. However, both of them realize her issue at home, which made me feel a bit better. Another problem with them, was that they both were "in love" with Radhika, I'm not saying that they shouldn't be in love, but I am saying that Luke and Azure kept mentioning it. It was almost like Julie Anne, kept reminding us about it on every other page. I was saying"I get it, you're both in love with her!" This isn't a problem, but I would just like to mention that Azure is a lesbian and Luke is bisexual.

The second problem was that, they were way too many problems to deal with, like with the money, and the activities, and people taking the activities away. It was insane. Like no teen(in my mind) goes through such problems like that to plan a prom, or any event for that matter. The problems were not only stressing the characters out, but they were stressing me out too. I wanted the problems to be over already so they could have a great prom, were everyone could feel included.

The third problem was Luke. I don't know, it was just that he was acting a little bit like a girl, almost to the point were I got just a tad annoyed with him. I understand that a girl wrote Luke's perspective, but she could of gone to someone who was a guy and critic on them and make changes, so that way Luke would sound just a little more manly, and not sound so much like a girl. However, I did like Luke's sarcastic attitude. He was funny, and he made me laugh at some things he said.

The fourth problem, was there were no POVs on Radhika. I wanted to know what she was thinking in the whole story, about the prom committee, at home, her friends, her issues at school, and EVERYTHING ELSE! All I kept thinking to myself was: "Why is there no POV on Radhika?" There wasn't enough of her, and i was super disappointed about that. I wanted to know more about Radhika. Can I be any more clearer?! This problem, is pretty much the reason why i didn't give this book a 5 star.

Those are pretty much all of my major problems, that I had with this book. It really made me smile when all of the characters, felt accomplished and proud of what they had done, to make the prom fantastic. I loved how everything came together,and everything went smoothly, instead of something going horribly wrong('cause then i would of been super pissed off). Everyone was so happy with each other. Even though Luke and Azure don't end up with their true love(Radhika), they still see her happy and that's all that matters to them. And of course, both of them do find the person that really makes them both, for lack of a better word, happy (and both of them actually like Azure and Luke back). Which made me realize, that love comes in all forms.
                                                                                                                                                                     

                                                                    Overall Rating
                                                                      

                                                                                 3/5

                                                                                                                                                                   
                                              
                                                 Last Words

Overall, this book was really good, however, I wouldn't say it's one of my favourite books of all time. I really liked the message that was brought out along in this book. It made me realize a few different personal things that won't mention on here, but I'm happy that I'm able to remember those realizations for the rest of my life. (BTW, it did NOT make realize that I am lesbian or bi, I am a heterosexual). I recommend this book to people who do happen to be apart of the LGBT team, who are scared of coming out, and experiencing love, and things like that. This will be a good coming of age book for you guys, I promise. But I also recommend it for people who are looking for a funny read, along with drama mixed in with the humor. Alright, that concludes my review. Until the next one, goodbye everyone!

Book Review: Thou Shalt Not Road Trip by Antony John

Thou Shalt Not Road Trip

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

Publication: April, 12th 2012

Pages: 329

Publisher: Dial


                                                                                                        

                   Synopsis(from flap)

Luke's publisher sends him on a summer cross-country tour with his unpredictable older brother, Matt, as chauffeur. Without Luke's knowing, Matt offers to drive Luke's ex-crush, Fran, across the country too, and things get a little crazy. Luke thinks he's enlightened, but he actually needs to loosen up if he's going to discover what it truly means to have faith, and do what it takes to get the girl he loves.

                                                                                                                                                                

                                                                  Thoughts

I wanted to be able to read a road trip book this summer, since I have already read all of the road trip books I own. I already have heared of this book on Goodreads, and thought it had a really good synopsis(which you can read above). But, I was wrong for the following reasons.

Luke Dorsey ends up becoming a best-seller, after he wrote a spiritual, self-help book. He wrote and published it in TWO WEEKS! Like what-two weeks?! That actually impossible! You can't write a book, and publish it in two weeks. You just can't, that's insane! So, I was a little shocked by that, to be honest with you.

The main characters, I had a major problem with them all. It was that they all very selfish,and terrible, hypocirtical people. Fran, didn't give a sh*t about anything, and didn't realize(until now) how much her changes affected people.  Matt, everything he did ended up being his fault and causing problems for his brother, all because he wanted to impress his girlfriend Alex(who also came with them), who is already "on the rocks" with. Luke, I don't know, in ways he was selfish, but he was more of a "baby" then actually selfish. Alex, was just a bitch, and well selfish, for many many reasons i can't possibly explain in one review.

I want to talk a little bit more about Luke, who is the main protagonist, in this book. He is the author of the best-selling spiritual self-help book. He was one of the nice guys, naive. There are more characteristics that i can use to describe him, but i said them all already.  But what I will say,is that he was such a baby! A child this kid was, my god! He cried about everything, constantly complained all the time, it was crazy. He was always saying "I'm sorry." LIKE NO, YOUR NOT! I was a little disappointed in Luke, I thought he was going to be a better character then he was portrayed as.

They say that the book was supposed to be religious, unfortunately, it lacked religion. Like it lacked everything about religion. I thought it was going to be a more religious book, then a romance book(which it was). I was just very bummed about it. I don't think I can say anything more about the topic.

 I thought the book was going to be better, then it was. It really had good potential, to be a really good book. I did not enjoy Thou Shalt Not Road Trip.

                                                                                                                                                                    
                      
                                                               Overall Rating

                                                        2/5

                                                                                                                    

                                                                   Last Words   

This was not the best book, i have ever read. I think this book had really good potential to be a better book, then what it came out to. Antony could have done more to this book to make it better. However, he also wrote another book, so i will most likely give that a book a chance too. Like i said before, i didn't enjoy this book. I recommend this book, for people who want a good road trip book, with a religious twist. That concludes my review, until the next one, goodbye everyone!