The Daughters Take the Stage 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

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

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

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)

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

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

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:

Tricks by Ellen Hopkins ($3)

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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I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 271
When I started this book I actually thought that the main character (John) was much older, but he's actually a sophomore in high school. Here's the basic premise of the book; John and his mother live/work in a mortuary and John is fascinated by serial killers and believes that it is his fate to become one. He goes to a therapist so that he can talk about how he suppresses himself and his thoughts about wanting to kill people. John has a variety of rules for himself to keep the demon inside of him, and to prevent himself from turning into a serial killer. Soon a serial killer comes to town and John is in awe with trying to figure out who it is, why they're making the killings, etc. The rest of the story goes on this great adventure of how John deals with his own inner turmoil and tries to solve the mystery of who the serial killer is.
I had my doubts when starting this book because I thought it would be an adult book, but actually it's not. It's written flawlessly and I kept wanting to read more and more and not put it down. I love seeing how John grows and keeps himself in check throughout the story. It's really an awesome thing to read about.
There's two more in the series and I will definitely be picking those up because this one was so good. It's different from what I usually like but it's kind of inspired me to read more books sort of like this one! Five out of five stars on my grading scale! And I would recommend it to a lot of people too (I think adults and highschoolers and above would enjoy it).
See you soon!
Paige

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Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 183
Out of the three books that I've read by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan I'm surprised that I don't like this one the most. I've heard a lot of other reviewers say this one is the best of the three but actually I liked Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List the best. I don't know.
As usual, this story is super fast paced, and the writing is extremely distinct, but this book had a LOT more cussing, drinking, partying, and sex than the other books (Just a warning for younger readers!). If you're not in high school I would not recommend this book.
The whole story takes the span of one night where Nick needs a girl to pretend to be his girl friend for 5 minutes and that girl happens to be Norah who is friends with the girl Nick is trying to make jealous. The rest of the night consists of an awesome adventure the two go on. It's not a funny book, it's actually kinda sobering but it's great! (I gave it four out of five stars on GoodReads)
Like I said before, the writing is really distinct and you can tell it's a Cohn/Levithan book, but that's great! It really works! They let go of traditional writing and grammar laws and just write and it's awesome! I would recommend this to people who won't get offended by the amount of language and other bad things these teens get into, but hey! That's life that's what really happens out there! If anything, spread the word.
See you soon!
Paige

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The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 362

Updated Review (February 1st, 2014): I now like this book so much better. I didn't appreciate it at first because I was forced into reading it by my friends, but now I appreciate it so much more. Katniss is an amazing heroine who is a true force to be reckoned with. As I said in my Mockingjay review, she shows so much strength and adversity, and is always looking out for her family and friends.
She has the ability to win people over even though she often lacks charm and the usual niceties. She is one of the first strong female heroines of this time period (in real life) and, frankly, is not given enough credit for that. 
I have to admit the first movie was not that good, but the book is always better right? I think this is one of those books that everyone should read. It teaches young kids about hope and standing up against something that is oh, so wrong. 
This is definitely one of my all time favorite series.

Original Review (March 25th, 2012): Can you believe I just now finished this book?? It's been on my TBR list FOREVER but I just haven't had time, but my friends were all reading it at school so I said I would finally read it.
Honestly, I thought it would be a lot better. For all they hype it gets I thought it would be the most amazing story but honestly it's not. (Please don't hate me!!) The beginning quarter, maybe even half, of the book drags on and on. All my friends told me to just wait until the Games started but my thinking was okay, a book needs to reel you in from the first page not half way through. But I continued on.
Once the Games did start I felt like there could have been a lot more action and was it just me or did Katniss annoy you too? She was extremely self-deprecating, ("Oh two boys possibly like me but I'm SO ugly!!") and I felt like she didn't kill enough people in the Games. If anything she got lucky. As a heroine I expected a LOT more out of her.
Moving on to Peeta and Katniss' relationship. It's built on lies!! How is that okay?? I was finally happy at the end of the book when Peeta realized this and brushed her off and then KATNISS got upset!? Oh boy I have a bone to pick with this girl if I ever met her.
I have to admit the last day of the Games was probably the most exciting but other than that the story kinda fell flat for me. I will be reading the rest of the series though just to see if they are any better and to see how the story ends.

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Witch Season: Summer and Fall by Jeff Mariotte

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 593
This book (as you can see above) was REALLY long!! It is a big hunk of a book! It is a omnibus and has the first two books (Summer and Fall) of the Witch Season series inside. These two books were also pretty good! I was expecting a story kind of like the L.J.Smith omnibuses but it wasn't like that at all! Jeff Mariotte's writing is pretty distinct and has a lot of descriptors. I can totally imagine the scenery in these books, but he doesn't describe the characters really well. I don't connect to a majority of them because he didn't give too much of a background on them.
Summer starts out with a group of 6 kids living in a house together in La Jolla, CA and then a mysterious stranger lands on their doorstep half dead and the central character of the story, Kerry, decides to take him in and nurse him back to health. Eventually he leaves once he's better but he does come back and the group finds out that he is a witch and is battling an evil with, Season, and she happens to be in La Jolla as well. The first book is basically a hunt looking for Season and then the second book Fall describes the aftermath of Season and Daniel's epic battle which occurs at the end of Summer.
I really liked the books, but sometimes they was just too many words and they could have been cut back on a tad. I also didn't like some of the characters attitudes after the battle. (I don't want to say too much on that, because I don't want to give anything away) Also, there was a lot of grammar, spelling, and pretty much just common errors in the book (Bad editing on the editors part!!).
Would I recommend this to a friend? Probably not but it was a good book to pick up and flow through fairly quickly. There is another omnibus that follows this one and I will be reading/reviewing that one too.
See you soon!
Paige

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A Veiled Deception by Annette Blair

Read a synopsis here!
This is not one of my usual YA book reviews. I took a break from YA to read one of my cozy mysteries that I've had waiting on my shelf for me for...forever it seems!
First off let me just say that this cover is adorable!!! The cover is really the reason I bought the book in the first place. I was at my used bookstore saw this and thought I have to have it! And it was a steal at $4.00 so how could I pass it up? (I also got books 2 and 3 in the series too!)
So the story itself was....okay. Good not great. I would recommend this but I've enjoyed other cozy mystery books a lot more. However this cozy mystery is also a lot better than other one's I've read so it sort of falls in the middle category of average.
Maddie is our main character and she can see ghosts and talk to some of them. She sees the ghosts by touching pieces of vintage clothing and fabric. When there is a murder in her home, her supernatural ability helps her put the pieces together of the murder.
I liked the supernatural take on this story because it took something that could possibly never happen and put it into a cozy mystery, something I've never seen before! But I liked it! It's called fiction for a reason! Give it a fantastic element!
I will be reading the next 2 books in the series because I already own them but I probably won't continue on from there. This book can be read as a stand alone because it doesn't have some cliff hanger ending where you have to rush out and buy the next book.
Like I said before; good not great! See you soon!
Paige

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Star Power by Zoey Dean

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 257
I think out of the whole series this one was the most disappointing. As an ending to a series it was very open ended. Through the entire book we see how Mac struggles to keep up her friendships with the Inner Circle while still maintaining her friendships.
With Emily, she is onset with her constantly and the leading actor, Davey, that Emily has had a crush on forever, starts to crush on Mac. Mac doesn't want to hurt Emily but really likes Davey too. In this way, she says she is going to try to avoid Davey but in actuality, she spends a lot of time with him! (She's a little hypocritical which I didn't like)
Mac also gets Becks into the Dixie Gals (a campaign for surfing), but ultimately ignores her friend and rarely helps her out because she's so buys helping Emily on set. Becks befriends the other Dixie Gals, and they seem nice but there's a twist at the end of the story that makes your heart really go out to Becks.
Finally, Coco. Coco is still trying to get out of her mothers superstar spotlight and she tries to perform her music in little known coffee shops so that people won't recognize her. However, this doesn't work and she goes undercover to attempt to see what people really think of her before they already judge her for simply being her mothers daughter.
The book was a little dry. I wished there had been more details about Emily on set, Coco performing, and Becks surfing and hanging out with the Dixie Gals. In the first couple of books I really liked Mac but she was so dull in this third installment. I needed some action! And I sadly never got it. Like I said before there was also a lot of open ended questions and problems that were never resolved from the first two books and I definitely felt there could have been one more book.
If I was rating this book I would give it 2 out of 5 stars but the series itself was a 4 out of 5 for me. Check it out for some easy reading!
See you soon!
Paige

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Februay Book Haul

Hello everyone! Hope you had a great February and are looking forward to a great March!
Here's what I got this month! (Click on the books picture for a synopsis!)



List Price: $7.99 (paperback)
(I got it from PaperBackSwap so, free!)


List Price: $9.99 (paperback)
(I got a brand new copy from Half.com and only paid $5!)


List Price: $17.99 (hardcover)
(I paid $7.99 because I had a half off coupon for Barnes and Noble!)


That's all I got this month! :) See you soon!
-Paige

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This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 239
Out of all three books in the series I think this one was my favorite! The ending was so...elegant. Sure, it was a bit of a cliffhanger but as far as cliffhangers go I really enjoyed it! (And that's saying something because I hate cliffhangers!!)
So, in this book we're back to Miranda's point of view but eventually Alex and his sister Julie move in with Miranda's family (along with Miranda's father, her step mom, another man they picked up  along the way, and Miranda's new born step baby brother, and her older brother's wife, whom he met and married within a week).
Reading and observing the way that Miranda gets along with each of the characters is amazing. First she seems against having 10 people in her house because of the worry of food shortage but soon everything works itself out and Miranda is content with having so many people in her house.
It is still no easier living in this post-apocalyptic world but I felt the family struggled less than in the first two books. Especially towards the middle. Unfortunately things would get easier for awhile and then something horrible would happen and they would be back where they started.
A lot of the story is devoted towards who out of the 10 people is going to keep moving on to some other places, and how the other characters would react to that. Did I like this? ...Maybe, it seemed realistic but I wanted a little more character development all around for the new comers.
Anyways, this book was phenomenal and a great ending to a great series!! This would be a great introduction series to dystopia young adult novels, so I definitely would recommend it and I think many age levels could enjoy it! Make sure to read all the way through to the sort of cliff hanger ending you won't be disappointed!
See you soon!
Paige

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The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 308
Another impeccable book in the Last Survivors series. This book was written from a different point of view of a different kid in a different location. The main character, Alex, lives in New York when the moon is moved closer to Earth and the book follows all of his ups and downs of surviving. Neither of Alex's parents are home when the disaster strikes and throughout the story Alex and his two sisters go through the turmoil of wondering whether or not they are dead. I felt that the three siblings had an easier time of surviving than Miranda and her family did in the previous book. Alex and his sisters always had a constant way of getting food and their apartment building had heat for 90% of the story so I felt there situation was a little easier to live in. Alex and his sister started with less but eventually it seemed that they had more as time passed. Alex also had a variety of ways to possibly escape New York and save himself. However, I don't want to spoil the ending and say how he and his sisters managed.
This story, like the last one, kinda has the same thing going on everyday but this story progressed and changed more quickly because Alex was able to go outside and walk around more than Miranda and her family was able too. It was also a little more predictable in terms of what was happening with the weather because all of that was already experienced in the first book, and this is going back to the beginning just in a different place, so it was still cool to see how different people dealt with the changing weather.
In the next story I believe the two kids will be meeting and we will be able to see how they live together in this post-apocalyptic world! I can't wait to start reading the next one! Plus I can't wait to see if the world will ever put itself back together and if things will go back to normal!
See you soon!
-Paige

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Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 337
Amazing. That's how I would describe this book. It was awesome! So here's what happened...
The time is present day and Miranda (our main character) is living with her mom, younger brother Johnny, and older brother Matt, and life is going on as usual. Things are normal. However, a meteor crashes into the moon and causes horrible natural disasters. There are tsunami's, earthquakes, and volcanoes.
Miranda's family plans for the worst before it happens and collects canned food and vitamins from the grocery store and then the worst possibilities become reality.
First off, there's no electricity (so no AC, heat, radio, phone calls, etc.). Next up, no more water. This happens a bit further down the road into their survival and is pretty much the turning point of the book because it really sets in for the characters that they need to have a survival plan.
Miranda's family begins to ration food so that it can last longer and slowly her family begins to lose their strength. As the book progresses, we see how the characters deal with something as simple and deadly as the flu, and other obstacles like an always depleted food supply, struggles to stay warm throughout the winter, and getting around town without a car and about 20 feet of snow.
The book is flawlessly written and I love how as the book goes on, you can see how Miranda grows and matures. It also makes you appreciate what you have, and when her family starts to prepare to live through this disaster it makes you think what would you do if the same thing happened in real life?
Overall, a great book!! I loved the ending and I can't wait to read the next two!
See you soon!
-Paige

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Almost Famous by Zoey Dean

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 303
This book was just as good as the first one! There was still tons of name dropping which I loved!
Almost Famous focused more on outside forces trying to divide the Inner Circle (IC) from the rest of the school instead of the girls fighting one and another.
In the beginning, Mac has a sleepover with Emily, Coco, and Becks. The girls prank their nemesis over iChat and afterwards they forget to turn off the iChat, and their enemy finds out a bunch of secrets that the girls spill about themselves.
Ruby, the girls' enemy, posts the audio clips of the girls online for their entire school to see and the IC becomes immediate outcasts. The girls must now follow Ruby's bidding to get back on her side and the schools. Mac has to be Ruby's personal assistant, Emily has to dress up as a grungy boy, Coco has to teach one of Ruby's friend's to surf, and Becks is the water girl for the dance team she was once captain of.
Ruby makes the girls suffer the consequences for a week and at the schools' ExtravaBAMSa she is supposed to reveal that the girls are actually quite nice and sincere after all.
Does this really happen? I'm not going to spoil that you'll have to read it for yourself! ;)
This book was also left on a bit of a cliff hanger so I can't wait to read the next one!
The underlying theme in this book was internet safety and bullying which is becoming an ever-increasing problem in today's society with teens. I really liked how Zoey Dean tackled these issues without clearly stating "Hey! Be safe on the Internet and don't bully people!"
Overall, a great quick and easy read, and I can't wait to read the final installment!
See you soon!
-Paige

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January Haul

Hey everyone! Sorry that this is a couple days late but here's my haul for January!
I got books only from Paperbackswap.com this month so they were all free! They are also all paperbacks unless stated otherwise. (Clicking on the books' picture will take you to a synopsis!)

The Storyteller's Daughter by Cameron Dokey
List Price: $5.99



The Rose Bride by Nancy Holder
List Price: $5.99



To Catch a Pirate by Jade Parker
List Price: $5.99



Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
List Price: $8.99



Gossip Girl: Don't You Forget About Me by Cecily von Ziegesar (Gossip Girl number 11)
List Price: $10.99



The Carlyles: Take a Chance on Me by Cecily von Ziegesar (Carlyles number 3)
List Price: $10.99



I am Not a Serial Killer by Dan Wells
List Price: $21.99 (hardcover)

See you soon!
-Paige

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Talent by Zoey Dean

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 288
So, in this book there is a group of three friends (Mac, Coco, and Becks) and they are 8th graders so they're about 12 years old and they live in Hollywood. All of the girls parents are rich executives or agents, so the girls often name drop about stars and fashion labels and up scale stores. (Think Reese Witherspoon, Louis Vuitton, and Fred Segal)
Mac, Coco, and Becks are the most popular girls at their school Bel-Air Middle School (commonly referred to as BAMS throughout the book) So they sometimes act stuck up but it's actually very occasional which I really liked. Anyways, there's a position that Mac (the leader of the group) is vying for called the Social Chair. Essentially the Social Chair makes all the decisions for the school and it's really like a popularity contest.
Mac thinks she has the votes in the bag for the position, but then another girl (Ruby) comes back over the summer from looking like a loser to a hottie. She is also now vying for the Social Chair position and Mac feels that she isn't talented at anything and needs to come up with an idea to prove she has talent so her fellow peers will elect her for this Social Chair position.
Mac decides to try to become an agent just like her mom and discovers Emily, who is visiting from Iowa with her mom and best friend Paige (eep! That's me! Hahaha!). Emily proves that she can truly act and Mac attempts to land her a role in the newest movie with Emily's celebrity crush Davey.
The story goes on through the twists and turns of the four girls' adventure of trying to land Emily this role. Coco and Becks also have smaller side stories that tie into the plot which are also enjoyable to read about. The ending was a little predictable but in a good way! Also, kind of a cliff-hanger ending so I can't wait to start the next book in this three part series.
I seriously loved this book. It was SO good! I love these trashy books where 12-year-olds try to act like their 20 and I adore all the name dropping of the fashion designers and stars.
The one thing that kind of irked me was how quickly Emily's supposed BFF Paige was dropped so quickly. Emily goes off to hang out with Mac, Coco, and Becks and Paige first off hardly even cares and Emily barely gives Paige a backward glance. (It was originally Paige who wanted to come to L.A. to become a star and now her friend stole that from her and she's being supportive? What!? I would've been furious! Maybe that's just me though...)
It was also a really quick read and since the story does take place in the summer I can imagine reading this by the pool or at the beach in the summertime.
I believe the next book takes place when the girls are actually in school so we will see if Mac is able to become Social Chair! I can't wait!
See you soon!
-Paige

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Bernard Pivot Tag

I haven't done a Tag in awhile and I think they're a cute way for you guys to get to know a little more about me! (This tag is explained really well here!)
Question 1: What's your favorite word?
...You're asking a reader what their favorite word is? This one was really hard for me to choose but I have to say LOVE. It's so powerful and it changes people in so many ways and can be interpreted into so many things :) Spread the love!
Question 2: What's your least favorite word?
Haters. Not the word hate but the word haters. It's just disgusting, also I don't like the meaning of that word.
Question 3: What's a sound or noise that you like?
High heels clacking on wooden floors. I know I'm weird. Also pages in a book being flipped quickly, like when you hold the spine and let the pages flow through your hands? Love that!
Question 4: What's a sound or noise that you don't like?
People breathing. Annoys me to no end.
Question 5: What is your favorite curse word?
Errr....I don't know!
Question 6: What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
Well I'm aspiring to be a book editor, so other than that I'd LOVE to work for a fashion magazine or fashion something. Intern for a designer, whatever! Just something to do with fashion.
Question 7: What profession would you not like to attempt?
Anything involving blood (i.e. doctor's, nurses, vampires?)
Question 8: If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?
"Welcome to Heaven. Please read as much as you like and you're a teenager forever!
Well, hope you liked it!
See you soon!
-Paige

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Update Re: Reading Challenge

Hello everyone! Hope all is well with you!
I decided to lower my Reading Challenge for 2012. I had a wake up call and realized there's simply not enough time for me to read one book every day! So I'm the count to 150! By the time summer rolls around I might increase it by another 50 depending on how I'm progressing, but we'll see!
Hope all your reading challenges are going well!
See you soon!
-Paige

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The Book of the Shadow by Carrie Asai

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 215
(I love how squat and square these books are!)
This was a really good sequel to the first book. Tons of action and there was more romance integrated into this book!
As I was reading through one part of the book, I felt that Heaven was beginning to become a little whiny but then again, her brother had been killed and she had been attacked multiple times. I got over that thought pretty quickly. The story plot seemed a tiny bit repetitive. There was various small fighting scenes, which lead to the main focus of a large fight at the end of the story. (Same as the first book.)
I did like how this book focused less on her parents and more on other kids or adults(?) around her age. More of the people she knew.
I don't think I will be reading the next books in the series because I've sort of lost interest for the series because it was a bit repetitive. I really like how more and more of the entire story develops over the course of the books. It doesn't feel like it's just being made up as it goes along but that it's been strategically plotted out to avoid plot holes.
Great book! I give this the Paige-Turner stamp of approval! Check it out!
See you soon!
-Paige

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Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 335
Let me just start by saying that this book is a dystopian novel. If I hadn't known that going in I don't think I would have really noticed. I wish there had been more development with the world/setting to make it seem more futuristic. There was one point where they were in an antique shop and there were iPods, but that was pretty much it.
The book was great! It was a little tough getting into it but it became extremely intense towards the end and I couldn't put it down!
The ending was a total surprise and I loved how the story kept going until the very last second. However, the drawback to this was that the beginning was a bit confusing. The war that lead to "unwinding" I felt wasn't described enough and that's what caused most of my confusion.
Apparently there's going to be another book after this one, and I could see how that would work, but it could also just stay as a stand-alone if you didn't feel so inclined to read the next one.
If I had to rate this out of 5 stars I would give it a 3 but it is a Paige-Turner! (Literally!)
Don't you just love the cover too? It's awesomely creepy!
So, if you like tons of action and a slight dystopian take, then I would say pick this up!
See you soon!
-Paige

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The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 97
So we just finished reading this book er..play in school and I loved it! The ending was a total surprise and I felt really sad!! Can I admit that I teared up a little on the inside?
Anyways, I had my doubts going into this because we had to read it in school, but of course I was the odd child out who sat there the entire class period and read ahead while everyone else was still on scene one.
It is sort of slow to get into but the ending is totally worth it. The conclusion makes this story the great piece of literature that it is.
I love the time period that it's set in too! (1944) It's beautifully written, easy to read, and so much fun to read too. Our main characters all bounce off each other with their different quirks and gimmicks. For example, Tom, our narrator, is calm and cool. Icy cool if you must. His sister Laura is a quiet, shy, and fanatic of glass miniatures. Their mother Amanda is loud, boisterous, and so much fun to hate. And of course the gentleman caller Jim is the suave and sexy boy that every tale needs.
Actually, not a lot of people in my class liked it because they thought it was boring, but I loved it! I would say check it out to broaden your view of plays and to become more educated. It's quick and easy to read like I said!
See you soon!
-Paige
P.S. Again sorry for not posting in a while. I've been so busy and I'm almost finished reading my next book! See you soon!

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Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 260
This book is amazing. Simply amazing. I loved the characters and all their quirks and flaws and the setting (gotta love New York!) Also they reference The Strand a lot (which is where I plan to go one day when I visit New York again.) If you don't know what The Strand is then you're not a true book lover. Sorry!
I don't think I've ever laughed so hard over a book. This book is incredibly funny. Especially in the beginning. Normally, I don't share what I'm reading with people but I just had to read a couple passages to my family because they were so funny.
Despite all the random quirks and funks of the characters I could really relate to them! This was really cool because after awhile you wish you were Dash or Lily and that you had someone that you could swap a notebook with.
The entire story pulls at your heartstrings and you are rooting for the characters at the very beginning. This book also took a lot of twists and turns that I wasn't expecting which was great!
As usual, Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have a very refreshing use of dialog and language which really appeals to teens. (Did you know that Ms. Cohn wrote Lily's chapters and Mr. Levithan wrote Dash's? Isn't that too cool, and then they switched back and forth? Brilliant.)
This is going on my Favorites Shelf and as you can already tell it's a Paige-Turner. I can't wait to read Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist next.
See you soon!
-Paige

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Diary of a Vampeen by Christin Lovell

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 270
So this was a free book that I found in the Amazon store for my Kindle and I had really high hopes for it. I really had hoped this ebook was going to be a quick short fun romance read about vampires but I only got through 63% of the book. (On Kindle ebooks, there isn't page numbers just percentages.)
I really tried to get through this book. I would put it down for awhile and then come back, but I just got more and more disinterested and I finally realized that I can't be wasting my time trying to read this when I have other books I need to read. Also, I didn't feel to bad about tossing this ebook it the electronic garbage because it was, after all, free.
A couple of reasons why I didn't like it:
The language. There wasn't cursing but the characters tried to use language that is apparently "cool" these days but it came off fake and I couldn't relate to it.
The characters themselves. I hated ALL of them!!! They didn't connect with me and they all had pesky habits that I could not stand.
The action. Wait. What action? This book could be 100 times better if the story was sped up, the action heightened, and a bunch of crap left out. I hated how this story dragged on and on.
So, this does not get a Paige-Turn for me. If any one's interested though I think it's a trilogy on the Kindle and the other books are $3.
See you soon!
-Paige

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The Book of the Sword by Carrie Asai

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 214
When I saw this book in my used bookstore I HAD to pick it up. I had read the back and I remembered watching a miniseries called Samurai Girl on ABC Family 2 or 3 years ago and this book is what that little series was based off of! (There's an entire series of like 6 books I found out!) So I grabbed the first two in the series because they were there and I might order the rest later.
Anyways, the first book was great! The point of view is through Heaven, but you also get little snippets of other characters diaries or thoughts which is really beneficial to the story. There's also really cool illustrations throughout the book. Normally, I don't really notice illustrations but these were really nice and they flowed with the story.
I love books like these that take place in the early 2000's because it was a time I remember growing up in and it's cool to have them describe bands and clothing styles that were popular at the time. (Leather pants and Backstreet Boys anyone?) It's just cool to kinda reminisce.
Tons of action and a little romance but I actually liked the action better in this book. Normally I'm a romance girl, but I just loved all the fighting and sword-play! I also really liked how they incorporated the Japanese culture and how Heaven has to cope with being in America and not understanding all our ways and crazy sayings.
I can't wait for the next book and this is a definite Paige-Turner!!!
See you soon!
-Paige
P.S. Sorry I didn't post anything in awhile, I'm having finals this week and I've been studying like crazy!

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The Storyteller's Daughter by Cameron Dokey

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 218
Out of all the OUT books that I've read, this is my least favorite. It wasn't as predictable as the others but it was so confusing in the beginning!
The character names confused me so I didn't know who was who, and it wasn't until the end of the story that I started recognizing which character was which, when they were talked about. I also was confused by the line of events. Other stories are interwoven into some chapters and that really confused me because I wasn't sure what was real life and what wasn't for the first few stories.
It was a good book, but I think at least a character list would have really helped me out a lot. This is a retelling of The Arabian Knights or A Thousand and One Nights and I've never read that, so that could be why it was so confusing but still. It's never pleasant to not understand what's going on in a story.
I won't be giving this book a Paige-Turn but I might later if I go back and read it at a later date.
See you soon!
-Paige

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Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 227
This is definitely going on my Favorites Shelf, and mind you very, very few books make it there. I loved this book!! I loved the modern day twist with prom, I loved the way the story was tweaked for modern times too (sending emails instead of letters, riding in taxi's instead of carriages, etc.) and the whole light feel of the story was really cute.
All of the characters from the original Pride and Prejudice were in the story at least once. Some didn't have as big of roles as they did in the original (mainly Mary and Kitty). What I really loved about this book was as you read it you would think, "How are they going to incorporate modern times to this part of the story, or that part?" and it was interesting to see how Elizabeth Eulberg did it.
Also, the book really sucks you in. For example I was reading in class one day and I didn't realize how much time had passed and you become so immersed in the story that your brain blocks out the outside, real, world!
The story is really well written and even if you haven't read Pride and Prejudice but you've at least seen the movie this book will make you laugh and smile all the way through.
Definite Paige-Turn! I loved this book so much!
See you soon!
-Paige

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To Catch a Pirate by Jade Parker

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 230
*Insert sigh of happy content here*...That's the reaction I had when I finished this book. It was such a cute love story that had a ton of action from the get-go!
I was actually surprised how much action and fighting there was in this story but it totally worked and I loved every minute of it! Think of this book as Pirates of the Caribbean but amplify the romance by 75%
Such a good book!!! I loved that the main character, Anna, was a captain of her own ship, because that was unheard of during those times. (About 1720)
Typical, chick lit teen book but it was so good! I totally give this a Paige-Turn and if you like books by Rachel Hawthorne or Kate Brian you will LOVE this book!
See you soon!
-Paige

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Something Like Fate by Susane Colasanti

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 268
This is the fourth Susane Colasanti book I've read and I just love her writing style! It's so blunt, but also funny and really captures the feelings of teenagers!
This specific story was really cute, but I did think the ending was going to be a little more dramatic. I felt like it could have been more shocking or...something!
It was just sort of what I predicted so maybe I'm too good of a predictor? It was a great story I just felt the ending was sort of weak...
I actually plowed through this book really easily because it was such a short and fun read. There could have been a teeny tiny bit more character development for some of them, but overall it was a nice light read!
I would give this a Paige-Turn and I look forward to reading another one of Susane Colasanti's books!
See you soon!
-Paige
P.S. Did you know that an average American reads 6 books in a year and will read about 412 in their lifetime? I found that out today and the low numbers really shocked me!

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Snow by Tracy Lynn

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 259
I thought I had done a review on this book, but apparently I didn't! Probably because I read this before I started this blog.
This was the first Once Upon a Time retelling book that I read, and as you might have been able to tell from the title, it's a retelling of Snow White and the Seven Dwarf's.
This is most likely my favorite OUT (Once Upon a Time) retelling. Maybe it because it was the first I had read? I'm not sure but no matter this was so good!
The story doesn't have the 7 dwarf's in it, but she does eventually meet up with a band of small animal/human crossbreeds. However, there is of course the evil witch, just like in any classic retelling.
The twist that was given for this fairy tale was really interesting! I just love how the stories don't ruin the originals either. That's what I was most afraid of when I started reading the OUT series, but that doesn't happen at all!
Of course, I give this a Paige-Turn and I can't wait to start reading more of these!
See you soon!
-Paige

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The Rose Bride by Nancy Holder

Read a synopsis here!
Number of pages: 245
This is the fourth book I've read in the Once Upon a Time retelling series and it was just as good as the other one's I've read! This is the retelling of "The White Bride and the Black Bride" and I had actually never heard of that fairy tale so I looked it up here. This retelling wasn't as predictable as the other stories that I've read, especially near the end. I was really surprised about that and it could have to do with the fact that this is a lesser known fairy tale so many people may not know the outcome.
The way that this book is written is so beautiful. The description of all the flowing dresses and beautiful roses is just amazing. It really sucks you into the story and makes you feel like you're there.
Some of the characters also speak sporadic French throughout the story. You may have to look up some words or phrases (I did not because I've taken 2 French classes!) The words are really basic though, like please, thank you, bonjour, and the like.
Overall a great read! I wholeheartedly give this a Paige-Turn and I can't wait to start reading more of the series!!
See you soon!
-Paige

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Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Read a synopsis here!
(I'm not going to do the how much it cost me anymore because you can check that out on my hauls tab)
Number of pages: 230
Wow, wow, wow is all I can say about this book. Going into it I didn't like the style of the story but after the first like 30 pages I was in love. I felt extremely attached to this book because it was sort of personal for me. (I have a guy best friend-HE'S NOT GAY-and I don't know their relationship really reminded me of him.) Anyways, the story totally sucks you in and you can't stop reading. If I was reading this really late I would say to myself, okay go to bed now and I would put the book down, only to find myself picking it right back up to read one more chapter.
The characters are so real that it's a little frightening. Normally in a story the writing isn't as point-blank as in this book but it totally worked. The realness of the story made it so much more believable and relatable.
I also love the changing point of views not only from Naomi and Ely but also a string of other secondary characters. And all of them have their own style which is just awesome.
Definitely a Paige-Turn and this is going on my favorite's shelf in my room. I would recommend this to anyone because I feel a lot of people can relate to it in some way or another. I seriously can't tell you how awesome this book is! Just go get it yourself!
See you soon!
-Paige

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December Haul!!

Okay wow this month is a huge book haul! Let's get started!!
Scholastic Warehouse:
Okay before I tell you what books I got let me explain something. The Scholastic Warehouse is literally a warehouse where Scholastic stores all their books and every half a year, teachers, librarians, and the general public (although it's really meant for teachers and librarians) can go in and buy books for half price! A great deal right!? I know! I used to go more when I was little but this is the first time I've gone in awhile. Most books were half price but the recently released books were like 20% or 30% off I think. Also they have discount books too. Anyways here's what I got:
Crossed by Ally Condie: $13.50 (Normally $17.99) (hardcover)
The Maze Runner by James Dashner: $5.00 (Normally $9.99)
The Scorch Trials by James Dashner: $7.50 (Normally $9.99)
Unwind by Neal Shusterman: $4.50 (Normally $8.99)
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith: $3.00 (Normally $8.99)
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak: $6.50 (Normally $12.99)
Something Like Fate by Susane Colasanti: $6.75 (Normally $8.99)
Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender: $3.50 (Normally $6.99)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins $6.75 (Normally $9.99)
The Prophecy of the Sisters by Michelle Zink: $4.00 (Normally $7.99)
Cleopatra's Moon by Vicky Alvear Shecter: $4.50 (Normally $8.99)
Distant Waves by Suzanne Weyn: $3.50 (Normally $6.99)
Revolution by Jennifer Donnelly: $5.00 (Normally $9.99)
Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulburg: $3.50 (Normally $6.99)
North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley: $4.50 (Normally $8.99)
Hunger by Michael Grant: $5.00 (Normally $9.99)
The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeffer: $4.00 (Normally $7.99)
This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer: $4.50 (Normally $8.99)
PaperBackSwap.com:
All of these were free of course!
Bookmarked for Death by Lorna Barrett
Bookplate Special by Lorna Barrett
Would I Lie to You by Cecily von Ziegesar
Used Bookstore:
All books from my used bookstore are half priced!
Sentenced to Death by Lorna Barrett: $4.00 (Normally $7.99)
Snow Queen by Emma Harrison: $3.00 (Normally $5.99)
Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan: $4.50 (Normally $8.99)
Samurai Girl: The Book of the Sword by Carrie Asai: $3.50 (Normally $6.99)
Samurai Girl: The Book of the Shadow by Carrie Asai: $3.50 (Normally $6.99)
Christmas gifts:
I didn't actually ask for that many books but I did ask for giftcards and stuff so here's what I got!
Gone by Michael Grant
Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (hardcover)
Marked by P. C. and Kristen Cast (hardcover)
The Daughters Take the Stage by Joanna Philbin
I also got a Kindle!! Yay! So I got $75 in giftcards for the Kindle store and $50 in giftcards for Barnes and Noble!
Overall, I'm very thankful and this is in no way bragging. Hope everyone had a wonderful December and I'll see you on the first of February for next month's haul! Happy New Year!
-Paige

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Sentenced to Death by Lorna Barrett

Read a synopsis here!
How much it cost me: $4.00 (used bookstore)
Retail price: $7.99
Number of pages: 324
I have to say I was again, a little disappointed with this book. I don't think I'm going to read the rest of the series when it comes out because it's just not original anymore. All the ways that she solves the murders are pretty much the same. The murders themselves are different but the solving is just dragged out for sooo long that half way through the book I find myself losing interest.
The characters need to become a little more original too. Have an exciting development! Everything that happens I'm kinda like eh whatever they'll get over it. I don't feel attached to them at all anymore. The main character moped and whined in this book a little more than I liked too.
I wouldn't give this book a Paige Turn. Too boring for my tastes. Maybe the first couple were good because it was a new idea and a new series but now I'm over it. The next book comes out in March I believe if any one's interested but you won't be seeing me buying it.
See you soon!
-Paige
P.S. Happy New Year!! I've started my 2012 Book Challenge through Good Reads! I'm trying to read 500 books this year! 1 down, 499 more to go!

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