A blog for young adult book lovers

The Daughters Take the Stage by Joanna Philbin

book cover of 

The Daughters Take the Stage 

 (Daughters, book 3)

by

Joanna Philbin
Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 273
This is the third book in The Daughters series and I thought it was the most....not disappointing but repetitive. It's not repetitive of the other two books (not at all! They're all different!) but I felt the story line was dragged out a little too long.
So, in this book we follow Hudson as she tries to step out of her mom's spotlight. Holla Jones is a multi-platinum singer and Hudson wants to start her own album, but her mom always intervenes and changes the sound of the album. Hudson is tired of being under her mom's rule so she assigns her self a "life-coach" (another girl who goes to her school) to help her overcome some of her fears.
Hudson starts off by rebelling her mom in small ways and eventually joins a band without her mother's knowledge. (This is after the fact that Hudson dropped her album because she was so frustrated with her mom)
I don't want to say to much more for fear of spoiling the story, but it goes from there on Hudson's adventures of hiding the band from her mom and coming to terms with the fact that she should stand up for herself more.
It was a great story, don't get me wrong, but I just felt that it could have been sped up a little and some parts could have been left out. I also connected with this book the least (I think the one before this is by far my favorite so far, but I'm still waiting to read the fourth one in the series!!)
Can't wait for the next book, I love this series more and more with each book that is produced!
See you soon!
Paige
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Forbidden by Ryan James and Syrie James

book cover of 

Forbidden 

by

Ryan M James and 

Syrie James
Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 410
This book was AMAZING! It was super easy to read and I finished it so quickly because, time just flew by while I was reading. The story follows Claire through her adventures of meeting Alec, an angel at her high school and she discovers the powers that she has as well.
Typically, I'm not drawn to books like this because they're usually all the same; girl meets immortal/fantastical boy, they fall in love, they are separated, girl mopes around, get together in the end. This story went sort of a different route. Claire wasn't a "Mary-Sue" (no description of character, is made so that any person reading feels they can be this person, she has no emotions it seems, and complains a lot about the boys in her life-think Bella from Twilight)
Anyways, Claire actually interacted with her friends and told them what was going on in her life, and they supported her and believed her! This was totally new for me because no other books I've read like this have taken that approach. Claire also stayed true to her schoolwork which was refreshing because in many of these books people seem to blow off school a lot. She also didn't become completely self-absorbed with Alec, she participated in other school activities, and even seemed so human to me when she was confused whether she even liked him or not (Mary-Sue's typically fall immediately in love with the male counterpart).
Alec, was also an amazing character and he seemed so adorable. The pair's relationship seemed totally believable despite the unbelievable circumstances, and the way they worked through different obstacles was very...refreshing. The whole way the book was written seemed to take a different stance than most teen paranormal romance novels and I really appreciated that.
Overall, I loved this book and I can't wait to buy it and have it for myself (I checked it out from the library). Also after meeting Syrie James, herself at the L.A. Time Festival of Books, I loved this book even more! Definitely 5 stars!! Check it out for a good quick read!
See you soon!
Paige
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The Daughters Break the Rules by Joanna Philbin

book cover of 

The Daughters Break the Rules 

 (Daughters, book 2)

by

Joanna Philbin
Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 276
Once again Joanna Philbin does an excellent job with her writing! In this second installment to the Daughter series, we follow Carina Jurgensen around on her adventures. Carina is the daughter of the billionaire Karl Jurgensen, and when Carina puts some incriminating information about him on the Web he sends her to California. Once in California, however, her mother's attorney alerts Karl that he cannot move Carina according to court order so they travel back to New York where he cuts her off; no credit cards, no money, no driver, nothing.
She starts out with a $20 a week allowance, and it's actually quite hilarious to see how she has to deal with being "penniless" (I think this book has some underlying tones of money management in it, and kind of shows people that money isn't everything).
So, Carina gets a job as a party planner and we see how she hides from people the fact that she's penniless and can't afford to hire people for this party. It was also nice to see how she dealt with the social pressures of her high school; even though she is famous, she is portrayed as an everyday girl who has to go through the same things that other girls go through everyday.
This book had a lot more ups and downs than the first book and it was just as fun to read. It also focuses more on just Carina and not so much the other girls. There's more cat fights between the friends too which I wasn't expecting at all. However, it was nice to see that they are human, and have fights just like the rest of us.
Overall, a great read and I can't wait for the next one (actually, I already started it!!). I can't wait to see how the characters grow even more in the next two books!
See you soon!
Paige
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Random Thoughts #3/L.A. Times Book Festival!

So yesterday and today was the Los Angeles Times Book Festival and I decided to go this year because I haven't been since I was a little girl. I didn't go both days, only today, but next year I'm definitely going to go both days. So here's how the day went!First off we (my mom and I) got there kind of early, before a lot of the booths were open and before events were up and running. So we wandered around to get a feel of where everything was and then the first thing that we saw while waiting for our first event was part of the Trojan marching band (since we were on the University of Southern California campus) which was super cool!
Then we went hopped over to the Young Adult stage where we saw a panel of 3 authors (Alyson Noel, Cornelia Funke, and John Stephens). The panel was amazing and all of the authors were amazing. I've read Alyson Noel's books and Cornelia Funke's, but I'd never heard of John Stephens before (he has a new book out now, I think it's more geared for teenage boys...). Either way all three were wonderful and seemed extremely nice.
After that we went to a panel session called "Future Books: Media in the Digital Age" which was a bust. There was just a few people there trying to push their books. Oh well.
Our next panel session was called "YA Fiction: The Wide Lens" which had Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle, Maggie Stiefvater, and Jacqueline Wilson. I've read books by all of them except Jacqueline Woodson, but I think I may check out some of her books now! All four of these lovely ladies were super awesome and hilarious. We were laughing through the whole hour with them. Within the panel, the authors discussed issues in YA writing such as race, sexuality, and violence. The authors also discussed how parents sometimes react to what their kids are reading and a lot of them said they receive hate mail from parents because of something they've written. (So sad..)
After this panel session ended we rushed back to the YA Stage and saw Deb Caletti, Heather Cocks, Jessica Morgan, and Joanna Philbin (!!!!) on a panel. We didn't listen in for this panel because I wanted to wait in line to get my book signed by Joanna Philbin.
Eventually the author's came over and I got to talk to Joanna Philbin for a bit. She was super sweet and nice and so easy to talk to!! I got to snap a quick pic with her and here's what she wrote in my book:"To Paige, Keep breaking the rules! Joanna Philbin xoxo"(She wrote that because she signed the second book in her series, The Daughters Break the Rules)
It was a very surreal moment for me! I've never had a book signed before, let alone met the author!
We also wandered around the booths and I met the author Syrie James (she was at the Jane Austen Society booth so when I was in there I ended up talking to her somehow). Anyways she was extremely nice and was telling me all about her books and she has a new one that just came out for YA that I will definitely be picking up sometime it's called Forbidden and she co-wrote it with her son Ryan M. James.
The last panel we went to was called "Publishing A-Z" which was very informative for me as an aspiring book editor. It really gave me some great insight and tips about all things publishing.
Overall, I had a wonderful time, got to meet some amazing authors/people and I can't wait until next year! If you're in the area next year I definitely recommend it! There was other stuff going on too like poetry readings and Betty White and Kareem Abdul Jabbar were there (I stood just a few feet away from each of them!). It's free so come check it out next year!
See you soon!
Paige
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The Daughters by Joanna Philbin


Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 275
This is actually my second read through of this book! (And it was just as good as I remembered!) I read this last year or the year before, but the sequels weren't out yet so when I did purchase the second and third books I had to reread this because I couldn't remember what happened.
So The Daughters follows three teenage girls who are the daughters of famous people. Lizzie Summers is the daughter of a supermodel (Katia Summers, I imagined her like Heidi Klum), Carina Jurgensen is the daughter of a multi-billion dollar father (Karl Jurgensen, I imagined him like Bill Gates..? Or someone else as equally rich), and finally Hudson Jones the daughter of a multi-platinum singer Holla Jones (I imagined her like Whitney Houston or Celine Dion).
Throughout the story we see how the three girls deal with everyday obstacles like school, boys, and their parents but there's always an exciting twist about how the girls will go to Fashion Week or drop thousands of dollars while shopping like it's chump change. (As you know I absolutely love stories where there's tons of name dropping and famous starlets.)
This book in The Daughters series primarily follows Lizzie as she goes through finding herself as a writer and possibly model. We see how she deals with the ruthless individuals in the fashion industry but also manages to stay true to her friends and schoolwork.
The characters seemed so honest in this book. They weren't superficial at all and I felt like I could totally relate to them. It seemed like a true insight into being the daughter of a famous person...(as it should because Joanna Philbin, daughter of Regis Philbin wrote the books!)
The writing style is fantastic and I hope the other books live up to my expectations! I can't wait to continue the series! If you're a fan of The Clique or Secrets of My Hollywood Life series' then you will love this!
See you soon!
Paige
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Tricks by Ellen Hopkins

book cover of 

Tricks 

by

Ellen Hopkins
Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 656
I can't tell you how good this book was (but I will try!). I've never read a book by Ellen Hopkins before, and this was excellent! I will definitely read her other books!
I've also never read a book in this format before, meaning, a book in poem. At first I kind of struggled with it and I had to get used to the way the text looked on the page (I know, weird) but after awhile I just flowed through the book.
There's this huge misconception that poems should rhyme, and this is one of those books that break that stereotype. The poems don't rhyme, but it creates a beautiful story about 5 teens.
So, the 5 teens are all going through an assortment of problems and throughout the story some will meet each other,  which is actually kind of cool the way that you can see how all of them intertwine. This book specifically deals with the problems of teen prostitution. I didn't know what a horrible problem this really was until I read this book. I think it does a great job of spreading awareness about tough issues that people don't really want to talk about. I would definitely say this is for older kids and kids who are at least in high school, because there was some stuff in here that even I was a little shocked by and once or twice I thought, "Wow, should I be reading this?". But then I realized something. Every teenager should read this book to help prevent the stuff that happens in here, from happening out there in the real world.
It's scary to think about, and even scarier to think that that could be you or one of your friends. It was really eye-opening I think. Parents may not want anyone to read this book, and I can see why, but at the same time I think teens should so they know of stuff that really happens outside of their own little perfect bubble. Life is not perfect and neither is anyone living in it and I hope that many people will read this to spread awareness and help prevent teen prostitution.
Let's just say this: it's worse than you think. Read this book. Find out.
See you soon!
Paige
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Random Thoughts #2

Hello everyone!
It's Teen Lit Day!! Didn't know this? Well it is! It's probably one of the single coolest and most important days for bloggers, advocates, and of course, young adult readers like me! So in honor of Teen Lit Day I'm going to say my little shpeel on why I love YA and just a couple of other things.
I've been reading since I was a baby, and my parents have always placed more and more books into my hands as a growing child and then when I got older, and could manage my own money, I bought my own books. All through elementary, middle, and high school I was/am that girl with a book in her hand or her nose in a book. My family always tells me I miss out on important topics because I'm always lost in a book and I've escaped from their reality.
As a little girl I devoured books like chocolate. Every week we went to the library to pick up more and more picture books and then I was able to move onto the independent readers and soon after that it was books like the Little House on the Prairie series, the Box Car Children and others, that started me on reading longer and longer books. I was also, the kid that could always read the fastest and I was way ahead of my peers with my reading level. In 3rd grade I remember having a 6th grade reading level. I think when I was younger that is the memory that sticks out the most: reading, going to the library, and getting books for holdiays and birthdays.
Once I hit middle school, on came the required reading, which, of course, I didn't mind at all, but there was less time for reading. Also, I remember my reading material becoming a lot darker due to more adult subjects, so I read books that were slightly below my reading level so I could hang onto my childhood days. There was also less time for reading and I always enjoyed winter, spring, and summer breaks where I could spend weeks on end devouring one book after another. Middle school I also accomplished great reading feats such as reading my first Jane Austen book, Pride and Prejudice. Even today it is still one of my all-time favorite books. I also read Gone With the Wind in 8th grade, also another extreme favorite, and still is the longest book I've ever read (at 1,024 pages!!).
Now, in high school there's even more required reading, which I don't see as a burden like my fellow friends and peers do. I see it as an opportunity to broaden my realm of reading and branch out to other genres that I've never been exposed to before (Plus it always makes me feel a lot more intellectual to say that I've read Oedipus Rex or To Kill a Mockingbird and actually liked it).
As I progressed through high school and started to take note of what I wanted to do for college and what career I wanted to take, I realized a career with books would be an absolute, perfect dream. Then I realized, I couldn't write. I had the imagination for it, but just not the will power or want. No, I wanted to do something else, I wanted to read and EDIT. And I wanted to edit only young adult books to help increase teen literacy and help the YA market grow. I honestly believe a lot more teenagers could and should be reading but they're not because there just aren't that many YA books to choose from! I want to make a difference, even if it's a small one, for the Young Adult community.
Reading has affected every single part of my life and it has totally defined who I am and what I want to become (of course this would never have happened if it weren't for my parents who bought me books instead of toys, so thanks Mom and Dad!).
So, if you can even get one person or child to read it could make a huge difference! And adults too! Adults! Read, read, read! And tell your children to read!! It makes them a better learner, gives them a bigger vocabulary, and generally makes them more interested than, say, a bad habit they could pick up later on! (For me, my bad habit is reading when I should be doing my homework and I'd take that over something else any day!)
Happy Teen Lit Day to you all and I hope you enjoyed a little more background on me!
See you soon!
Paige
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Witch Season 2: Winter and Spring by Jeff Mariotte


Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 584
Finally I finished this series! It was a good series but I'm not sure if I'd recommend it to someone. The last two books had the same exact writing style of the first two (obviously) but I felt that these last two books moved a little faster. There was more action and more occurrences between Mother Blessing, Kerry, and Season.
I love how we got to know some characters a lot more and it was cool to see how Kerry grew and developed as a witch. Overall, as a series thought it kind of fell flat for me.
I'm not exactly sure why, like I said there was lot's of action but there was just something missing. Maybe that was just me (read it and find out for yourself!)
It was a good series, I just didn't fall totally in love with it like I thought I would. Out of the whole series I liked the first one the best.
I don't want to say much more about this book because I don't want to give anything away, but overall, I felt that it was a really good conclusion to the series and it tied up all loose ends and didn't leave any open ended questions.
Try this series out for yourself!
See you soon!
Paige
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Random Thoughts #1

I decided from time to time I'm going to do these Random Thoughts Posts, related to books because sometimes I just want to have a little discussion with you guys.
So I've been off Youtube from 48 days (I gave up Youtube for lent-I'm not religious I just did it as an experiment to see if I could because my friend was giving up Facebook) and at first it was really tough; no book reviews, music, and other skits that I like to watch. However, I was able to read a lot more and get a lot more work done because I didn't have this constant distraction. Anyways, so I've been catching up with my favorite Book-Tubers and for awhile I've been struggling with this idea of "Why don't I like the same books as most of these people?"
Most of the time I agree with them but it's books like The Hunger Games, Looking for Alaska, Vampire Diaries, just to name a few that I don't like that much, that everyone else seems to LOVE.
Then I kind of had an epiphany today which made me realize...why? Why do I care and why do I feel the need to associate myself with these people that I've never met, never will meet, and why do I have to be like everyone else? So what if I like mystery books and trashy teen chick lit novels, and old books like Jane Austen's novels and other classics. This defines me as a person and sets me apart from everyone else. Why should I group myself in with the masses of people that LOVE vampire books, while the only one's that I like are the Night World series by L.J.Smith.
It kind of made me realize that I don't need to fit in with these people. Isn't standing out a good thing? And the more people that stand out the better right? Society is all about promoting individualism, but most of the time people follow the status quo and don't differentiate themselves from others.
I think what I'm trying to say is I'm proud that I'm different and I'll continue reviewing the lesser known books in the hopes of maybe having someone else become interested in reading or being affected by literacy in SOME way; even it's a small contribution, it's MY contribution and that's all that matters. What do you think?
See you soon!
Paige
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March Book Haul

Hello everyone! I hope y'all had a great book buying month!! I sure did! Here's what I got:
Used bookstore:
(All the books I get at my used bookstore are half price)
book cover of 

Witch Season: Summer and Fall 

(Dark Vengeance Vol. 1: Summer, Fall) 

 (Witch Season)

by

Jeff Mariotte
Witch Season: Summer and Fall by Jeff Mariotte ($3.50)

Witch Season 2: Winter and Spring by Jeff Mariotte ($3.50)
book cover of 

Remember Me Omnibus 

 (Remember Me)

by

Christopher Pike
Remember Me omnibus: Remember Me, The Return, and The Last Story by Christopher Pike ($5.00) And the great thing about this trip was the Christopher Pike book is brand new!
I was on vacation this past week and when I was we stopped in this library and they were having a library sale!! Here's what I got:
book cover of 

Tricks 

by

Ellen Hopkins
Tricks by Ellen Hopkins ($3)
book cover of 

The Iron Knight 

 (Iron Fey Trilogy, book 4)

by

Julie Kagawa
The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa ($3)
Both of those were brand new too! So, technically I got them for 70% off because they were both originally $10
Lastly we stopped at another used bookstore on vacation and I only got one book which was:

Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle ($4)
This one wasn't quite half off since the original price was $7, but I figured it's three books in one for only $4 and it was brand new!
What did you get this month?
See you soon!
Paige
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