Thrill Ride by Rachel Hawthorne

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 297
I love all books by Rachel Hawthorne. There so sweet, cute, and innocent, and this one was no different. Sure, they're a little predictable but that's half the fun! (Especially if you predict it wrong and get a total shock at the end!)
So, in this short book we follow Megan as she works at an amusement park over the summer, away from her family arguing over her sister's wedding (Pro as Megan would say) and also away from her boyfriend of 3 months (Con).
Megan describes her conflicted feelings over leaving her home, to adventure out at the amusement Thrill Ride! and how excited she is to meet new people, but that she's going to really miss her boyfriend Nick. Once Megan gets to the park she is excited to start working as a cashier in the Hansel and Gretel store (where she has to dress in a hideous outfit) but there's a plus! There's a cute co-worker who works at the biggest roller coaster in the park. Megan doesn't like roller coasters and is constantly explaining to people why she doesn't want to ride them, and this co-worker, Parker, tries unsuccessfully to not only get her on the roller coaster but also to win over her heart.
From there on it goes through a whole story of trials and tribulations of both Megan and Parker of containing their feelings and working hard.
It was such a cute story, and like I said before a little predictable but I like these books that way. It makes your root for the right characters right from the beginning. What I liked about this book was Megan didn't become a Mary-Sue at all! She was her own person with great characteristics.
I gave this five out of five stars on Goodreads because I love these novels! Check it out! And there's some great quotes too like, "That relationships were a lot like roller coasters, filled with highs and lows, terrifying split seconds, and awesome moments when you simply enjoyed the ride."
See you soon!
Paige

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Remember Me Omnibus: Remember Me, The Return, and The Last Story by Christopher Pike

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 789
Seeing as this is an omnibus of three stories, I will give a general plot of the first one and then talk about what I did and didn't like.
In Remember Me, Shari Cooper is a teenager in high school and for the first half of Remember Me recounts the events leading up to her death. (Going to a party and at the party attempting to contact the dead with 5 or 6 other friends. At the party she becomes upset with what she hears from the "realm beyond" and goes out to stand on a balcony where she finds herself plummeting to her death)
Once Shari "wakes up" she follows around different members of her family to discover what really happened to her. She has a hard time accepting the fact that she was dead and she learns that everyone in her town thinks that she committed suicide. Shari knows that she did not and goes on an adventure to avenge her death and find out who really killed her.
I liked the first book Remember Me, I thought it had plenty of action, even if it was a little slow at times. It was also an original plot that I thought was almost believable in a sort of supernatural sort of way. However, after finishing Remember Me and starting the second book The Return, I immediately thought that the story was being extended, way to far already. Then, I started The Last Story and realized that this whole omnibus should have been made into just one story. It kept going on and on, and most of the time I kept thinking "When is this going to be over??". (This is why it took me so long to put a review up; the story was just boring! However, I wanted to finish it because of course, I wanted to know how it ended and I figured I came this far I might as well finish)
Maybe my expectations were a little high (I thought this would be more like the Night World series by L.J.Smith) but it was just far to long! The books also had large paragraphs about more biblical and spiritual topics that I honestly skipped over because I felt they were unnecessary for the story.
I wish I could have liked this story more, but it just was too long and too...boring. The first story is great and if you don't feel like reading an entire trilogy then I would say only read that one, otherwise, you're in for the long haul.
Now that I think about it, it almost seems as if the author was pressured to write another two stories to make more money. (This is only a guess, I have no idea if that's true!!) I gave this a two out of five stars on Goodreads, but I would say at least check out the first book.
See you soon!
Paige

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Anthem by Ayn Rand

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 105
Wow, wow, wow. I read this as a recommendation from my teacher and it was awesome! It took me only about a half hour to read mainly because it was so short, but also because it was so amazing!
The writing is a little hard to get used to at first (the way that the characters refer to themselves is "we" which confused me because I thought there was always a group of people) but once you get past that, you are able to enjoy the book so much more!
So, this is considered a dystopian novel because it takes place in the future, but it never specifies what time, exactly. In this world, men are separated by how they look and are sent to different schools after they are born. None of the children ever see their parents and boys are separated from girls immediately. For fourteen or fifteen years, the boys are then given a job by a committee who decides their fate for the rest of their lives.
Our main character "Equality 7-2521" (because no names are given in this world) is given the job as street cleaner. He goes to a school to learn more about this trade then enters the real world and for everyday of his life cleans streets. No one in this world lives past 45 and all of the people do as they're told and keep their heads down. However, Equality 7-2521 does not keep his head down and is curious about things that occur in other parts of his city that he is not being told about. Eventually, he finds a hole where, within this hole/cave, he finds something magnificent. What is this item? Well, the book never really says, and I only made my own assumptions but it seemed powerful because when Equality 7-2521 brings it to the highest people of intellect, they threaten to jail him, but he runs away.
The story continues from there but I don't want to ruin it for you. There's also a love interest for Equality 7-2521, which is an adorable sub-plot.
This book is a really quick, short, read and if you can get past the strange writing it is really fantastic. I would recommend it to those who want to challenge their intellect and thoughts, but not for younger kids because they might not understand it.
Overall, it was wonderful and I would totally read it again!
See you soon!
Paige

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Jake, Reinvented by Gordon Korman

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 213
When I first read The Great Gatsby in class I LOVED it!! I thought I wouldn't because it was part of the required reading but I ended up jumping ahead of the rest of the class and finishing it up rather quickly. When I stumbled across this alternative take on the story I was thrilled! I quickly checked this out from my library and devoured it within a few hours.
In this modern-day retelling, Nick (our main character in The Great Gatsby) is called Rick, Tom is Todd in this story, Daisy is DiDi, Jay Gatsby is Jake Garret, Jordon is Jennifer, and Wilson is Nelson. (Kind of confusing but you can read my review of The Great Gatsby here to get a better take on what I'm talking about)
I really liked this retelling. Rick was a refreshing character who wasn't ashamed to say that he had flaws. Often times we see characters who are immortalized and the authors make them out to be the best a person could possibly be, but in this book Rick readily admitted that he wasn't popular and (at certain points) people did not like him. This really made me feel as if I was getting to know a real person, which is, surprisingly, hard to find in the book world. Most of the time characters are extremely superficial.
The story followed pretty closely to what happened in the original book. I thought it was a really good retelling, and the story flowed very quickly. You really do get swept up in the parties, the gossip, and all the general madness associated with Jay Gatsby...er Jake Garret.
In the original book, Jay throws these amazing parties to catch the eye of one girl and the same thing happens here. Although the ending in this retelling isn't as dramatic as the original (I don't want to give anything away because if I spoiled either book you would be upset). I would definitely recommend that you read the original Gatsby book first because it provides a much needed background for the basis of this retelling (which is like most retellings but I felt this one especially because many people haven't read The Great Gatsby, so it's not a well known story like Pride and Prejudice or Romeo and Juliet).
Overall, a great read! (I gave it four stars out of five on Goodreads) and I thought it was extremely well written. Maybe I'll try another book by Gordon Korman! (I know you should!)
See you soon!
Paige

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Why We Love Reading Tag!

I stumbled across this tag on Youtube and really liked it so here we go!
1. What's your favorite genre?
Well obviously Young Adult but within that (like a sub genre) I would choose dystopian, romance, historical fiction, and retellings (like classics). The YA genre is so broad so really my answer encompasses a lot of topics but those sub genres are my absolute favorites.
2. At the current moment what's your favorite book or series?
Gahh this is such a hard question to answer! So, I'll just list my favorite series' of all time because I love these not just at one specific point...I think that makes sense, anyways here's my favorite series':
-Maximum Ride by James Patterson
-Night World by L.J.Smith
-Leaving Paradise series by Simone Elkeles
-Perfect Chemistry series by Simone Elkeles
-MissMatch series by Erynn Mangum
-Bride Quartet series by Nora Roberts (technically these are adult books but I love them)
-L.A. Candy series by Lauren Conrad
-Gossip Girl series by Cecily von Ziegesar
-The A-List series by Zoey Dean
-Talent series by Zoey Dean
-Secrets of My Hollywood Life series by Jen Calonita
-The Daughters series by Joanna Philbin
and my all-time favorite series ever: The Clique and The Alphas series by Lisi Harrison
3. Are there any books you dislike reading? Why do you feel the way you do about them?
I'm not a huge fan of adult books or nonfiction because they're just too serious for me. I also don't really like middle-grade books, but I can't really pinpoint why. Children's books are awesome though, they're adorable. Also, I'm not really into the whole paranormal sub genre of YA. I like it, if it's done really well like the Night World series but if it's not then I don't like it. I can see why people like it but it's not for me.
4. In your opinion, what's the best thing about reading?
Wow. What a loaded question! I would have to say that the best thing is you can just escape this reality for as short as a half hour or as long as a few hours, and just devour a book. It sounds cliche but reading can take you so many places and it's good for you too! (Like eating your vegetables!)
5. Are there any disadvantages of reading?
Some people might say that reading corrupts, and I've definitely read books where my view on certain things has changed but I don't think there are any disadvantages. Well, unless you're like me and is so obsessed with reading that it got in the way of my schoolwork. Oops! It's funny because my sister is always telling me to stop reading when we travel in the car somewhere (I have a horrible sense of direction) because then I'll have a better idea of the landscape and streets around where I live.
6. When did you get into reading?
I've been reading my entire life. My parents used to read to me when I was a kid and I remember always begging them to go to the library and going home with tons and tons of picture books. And then I was able to move up to independent readers and I remember feeling so accomplished because I was able to choose books for myself. Then I quickly moved up the reading levels at my school and started really reading YA when I was starting middle school. But, I have been reading for all my life it's not something I just picked up on one day.
7. In your life, what have you got out of reading? Has it impacted or changed you at all?
*insert extended happy sigh here* What have I got out of reading? Wow. So, so much actually. It's definitely improved my vocabulary, writing skills, and general studies in school. I can't imagine not reading or not liking reading. It's too hard for me to comprehend because I've been doing it all my life. It's also definitely changed me because ever since I really started reading YA and learned about editing, I discovered that that's what I want to do with my career. Reading is something I love doing so why not get paid to do it!
8. How often do you buy books and what do you enjoy about being around them and buying them?
When Borders was still in business I would buy books every week, but now that they're gone, it's definitely decreased. I just can't afford to pay full price! :( So now, I try to get at least one new book a month, but my TBR list never seems to shrink so I'm really trying to finish that up and then buy more books. I do love going into the bookstores though. I love the atmosphere of the quiet, the smells of books and coffee, and just being surrounded by books that I've never even heard of that could be potentially taken home with their new owner (me!).
9. What got you started on book vlogging here in the Youtube book community? Did anyone in particular inspire you?
Since I stole this tag from Youtube, I'm obviously changing the "Youtube book community" to blog community. Basically, I watched other people on Youtube talking about books they've read and I thought to myself well I can do that! I'm better at writing than speaking to a camera, however, so I started my blog and really took off with it from there! (And I just want to say that I LOVE blogging!) However, the main people I watch on Youtube are:
-ChapterChicks
-TheReadables
-MaxieMagyx
There's probably a lot more but I'm drawing a blank right now.
10. Who are your favorite booktubers?
Oops! See question above!
11. How many books do you have? Do you ever think you have too many?
I have 264 YA books, but in total (including books from my childhood) I have 316. Do I ever think that I have too many? Haha sometimes when I'm running out of bookshelf space! But in general I feel quite the opposite, I feel that I can never have enough! As a little kid it was always my dream to have a huge library in my house when I grew up (kinda like the one in Inkheart). Will that ever happen? We'll see!
12. Will you ever run out of room for all your books? What will you do if this is the case?
Ohh I'm not sure! Ever once and while I like to rearrange my bookshelf (I actually just did this last weekend) and I always end up having more space! I have two bookshelves so shelving isn't an issue right now, but I can see it becoming one. If this happens I have storage space under my bed (I have a really high bed with cabinets and shelves underneath) so I can store some there I suppose? Or on the floor? Although I cringe to think that it might come to that.
13. What books would you save in a fire and why do these mean so much to you?
I have this really fantastic copy of Pride and Prejudice that my grandparents gave me for Christmas one year and I adore it so I'd probably save that first and then maybe just as many as I could from my favorite series'. I would hate to see books burn :( And if you're wondering if I've read Fahrenheit 451, then yes I have, and it was so sad for me!
14. Anything else you want to add about your passion for reading?
Like I said before reading can take you so many places and it's so good for you. You can achieve so much, and get so much out of reading and I think it's great that people can have vlogs and blogs where we all just talk about our love for books. Because love a book or hate it, someone out there probably shares your opinion and it's so awesome that we can all talk about books in the book community.
15. Who are you tagging?
Everyone!
Hope you enjoyed!
See you soon!
Paige

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Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 352
Okay, I liked this book....I just didn't love it. And I wanted too! I love Christmas and it's my favorite holiday, but these three books kinda fell flat for me. I know summer's around the corner and I'm reading a Christmas book, and I liked that this had a lot of the Christmas feeling in it, but the stories themselves? Eh...
The stories didn't seem to have a lot of development. I wished they could have been made a little longer so that more could happen. I also felt that in each book it was drawn out to the last possible second, and then completely rushed together at the very end. Although I did like how all three were somehow semi-connected which I did not realize when I started.
They were cute stories, and I'll probably read this again during Winter Break sometime, but it wouldn't be the first Christmas book I'd go for. I think they would have been better as a series where all three co-wrote the books because I really think the books were extremely limited. A lot more could have happened!
Also, I dont' want to say too much about the books' plots since they do sort of cross over to one and other, especially the last one.
I would recommend this, and I gave it four stars on Goodreads but I definitely felt it could have been a lot better and maybe with more effort? I love all three of these authors so it seemed sort of a let-down to have such a mediocre book, but that's just my opinion! Check it out for yourself and see what you think!
See you soon!
Paige

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April 2012 Haul!

I only got one book this month!Since I went to the L.A. Times Festival of Books and met Syrie James I just had to order her book from Paperbackswap so I got...

I really loved Forbidden so I'm hoping this one will be just as good!
What did you get this month?
See you soon!
Paige

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Distant Waves by Suzanne Weyn

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 330
Such an amazing book! I really like historical fiction novels and this was a very interesting take on the sinking of the Titanic. I thought the book would start out from being on the Titanic and then a long, drawn out story of the sinking, but it wasn't like that at all!
The book centers around Jane, the second oldest of 5 sisters and her life in a town called Spirit Vale. Her mother, and everyone else in the town, are people who can summon, or talk too, the dead. There are a lot of different circumstances that lead to her ending up on the Titanic (but I don't want to give too much away) and then the sinking is described in about a paragraph. I can't say why though! You have to read and see for yourself!
Like I said it was a totally different take on the tragedy of the Titanic, but I loved it! It wasn't a sappy romance about being abroad the ship either which I liked *cough cough James Cameron cough cough* and it wasn't completely action filled with racing to find a way off the ship.
The whole story flowed really well! (As my English teacher would say; the flowing of the story is like the flowing of the ocean where the Titanic was on its voyage)
I would definitely recommend it! I don't usually find a lot of well written historical fiction books, and it was nice to find that this was one of the few that was extremely well done. I also liked that Suzanne Weyn added a sort of "What's real?" at the end of the book. You get your own personal, short and sweet, history lesson!
Very good book! Check it out!
See you soon!
Paige

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