"The Lost Summer" by Kathryn Williams

Over the years I have read hundreds of books and they have all touched me in different ways, but “The Lost Summer” forced me to pull out all those precious memories from those magical summers at camp. Helena Waite is returning to her favorite place, Camp Southpoint, but this year things will be different. She is no longer a young camper, this year she’s a counselor. The only crappy part about this is that her best friend Katie Bell, the other half of Hels Bells, is still a camper. Kathryn Williams displays the true realities of friendship, summer love and how in the heat of a summer night it can be hard to make the right choices. “The Lost Summer” was very easy for me to relate to because I have been a life long camper and when I was old enough a counselor. I loved this book because I could personally relate to the friendship struggle between Helena and Katie. Being a camper it was easy to goof off and act silly with my summer friends but becoming a counselor came with new responsibilities and freedoms. I no longer had the same rules as a camper. Lights out at 10 o’clock did not apply to me and I didn’t have to stay in my cabin during rest hour. Much like Helena it was easy to abandon my life as a camper and get caught up in the joys of being responsible for a group of young girls. Although my all girls camp didn’t have a boys camp right next to it, I do know how convincing the words of a smooth talking guy can be. “The Lost Summer” is a wonderful coming of age story, I’m the same age as the main character and after reading this book I feel I have grown a little more. I have never read a book that has had me teary eyed through the entire story, but this one did. Some of it had to do with the story but most of it came from the little things that reminded me of my “lost summers”. Singing those familiar camp songs you know by heart around the camp fire and pigging out on s’mores until you could puke. It’s funny how when we were younger we wished to be older but even though I am only seventeen I find myself wishing for those summers back and my summer friends.

As you can tell this book made me think about some of my fond camp memories. One of my favorite has to be playing in the clay pit every year after a big rain. We would get nasty, smelled disgusting and had clay in places it didn't belong. And if we were real lucky we could drag the Camp Ranger in there with us and get him covered too. So I'm wondering do any of you have any fond camp memories? If you do I would love to hear them!!

Lord of Misrule by Rachel Caine

What Amazon says about it:



In the college town of Morganville, vampires and humans coexist in (relatively) bloodless harmony. Then comes Bishop, the master vampire who threatens to abolish all order, revive the forces of the 1f8 evil dead, and let chaos rule. But Bishop isn’t the only threat.Violent black cyclone clouds hover, promising a storm of devastating proportions as student Claire Danvers and her friends prepare to defend Morganville against elements both natural and unnatural.

What I say about it:

Two thumbs up

The Morganville Vampire Series is one that I am a devoted follower to. The story is one that is so addicting that you spend the months between books impatiently waiting and when it finally gets here you devour it in one evening. Rachel Caine has a way of drawing you in to the story so that it feels like you are really there. There were times in Lord of Misrule that I felt like I was right beside Claire running from a group of ravenous vampires. In typical Rachel Caine style she leaves you on a cliff hanger dying to know what happens next. The only complaint I have comes from the hopeless romantic part of me and wishing there would have been a little more Shane and Claire action. I'm not sure if I have said this in previous reviews but one thing that I truly love about the series is the vampires and the fact that they are not you typical vamps. One more thing. Even though you find the series in the YA section you do not have to be a YA to read them. My mom is currently fighting me over my copy of Lord of Misrule. I recommend this to all Morganville Vampires followers. Now I am off to pre-order my copy of Carpe Corpus.

New Years Resolution, New Schools and other random stuff...

My New Years Resolution:
I know most of you are probably thinking "the time for News Year Resolutions is over, where has this girl been" but I am going to post it anyway. My New Years Resolution is to actually post reviews on here. I have completely dropped the ball on posting. But I have a semi good excuse. I started a new school this year which just so happens to be an online high school. It has been extremely different from doing independent study like I was before. So I'm sure you can imagine that it took a lot of adjusting especially since this was the first year for this school in South Carolina and there were several technology glitches. So just when things started settling down the club list came out so of course I decided to sign up for as many things as possible but settled with two, Journalism/Yearbook and Student Council. I am also proud to say that I am secretary of my Junior Class and I have a big part with planning our Junior Prom. I promise I will try to do so much better this year on my reviews.

Books:
As I always do I spent my annual Amazon gift card from my Uncle on books and my order finally came in today. In my Amazon box there was:

Lord of Misrule by Rachel Caine ( I have been dying for this to come in the mail)
A Year in Europe: Three Novels by Rachel Hawthorne
S.A.S.S When Irish Guys are Smiling by Suzanne Supplee ( I have been meaning to read these and finally got around to ordering one.)

Look for Reviews on these three soon.


So I hope you guys have not lost faith in me and that I still have a few people that will read this. Now I am off to do HORRIBLE Algebra 2 Honors work.

The Orpheus Obsession by Dakota Lane

Anooshka Stargirl has what most people would describe as a difficult life. Her father is out of the picture and her mom is depressed and tends to be on a different planet than everyone else. Thankfully for Anooshka she has an older sister that lives in New York City so she has somewhere to escape to every now and then. On one of her trips to the city her sister tells her about the singer Orpheus. Anooshka immediately falls in love with in his lyrics. And then when she meets him briefly in a park she falls in love with and his mysterious personality. Just like any teen girl with a crush Anooshka becomes obsessed with Orpheus and a need to learn everything about him she can. She starts by reading his blog daily and then going to his restaurant to see if he shows up. Anooshka eventually gets in with Orpheus and she thinks that is what she wants until she spends a night alone with Orpheus in his apartment. Weeks go by and Anooshka hears nothing from Orpheus and she comes to realize Orpheus is not a shy misunderstood artist but that he is a self-centered rocker.

The Orpheus Obsession is a very fun fast paces summer read. I really enjoyed how relateable it was. Being a teen girl I can really understand the obsession that Anooshka develops for Orpheus. The Orpheus obsession is one of those books that you can not wait to share with your friends.

"She's So Money" by Cherry Cheva

"She's So Money" had me hooked immediately from reading the cover flap. You know who doesn't love a story about the classic good girl that learns to let loose. Maya's first priority has always been school so that she can attend her dream college, Stanford. Maya works long hours at her parents restaurant and spends the rest of her time studying. After one especially difficult night at the restaurant, Maya and her brother are to exhausted to do the clean up. Their parents are away so they think it will be fine if they wait till he net day to clean up the restaurant. But just as it always happens something bad occurs. The health inspector comes to the restaurant for an unannounced inspection and slams them with a massive fine. Maya is afraid of disappointing her parents and she does not think that they can handle paying the fine so she decides to take care of it her self. Maya along with Camden King, the most popular boy in school, devise a very elaborate homework ring. Where they charge to do other kids homework. Maya had never planned for it to become as large as it did but as the date to pay the fine got closer and closer Maya and her team took on more clients. Maya is able to pay the fine but the guilt of having kept all these secrets from her family and friends eventually wears on her and before long she spills everything to everyone.

For me "She's So Money" covers many different areas. Not only does it have humor and comedy but it also teaches a very valuable lesson to the readers about honesty and knowing when you have dug a hole to deep to get out of without asking for help.

Choices by Deborah Lynn Jacobs

After Kathleen's brother is killed in a tragic accident. She is racked with guilt feeling that it is her fault for the accident. With all of these emotions and feelings that Kathleen has she begins to shift between several different alternate universes. In each one Kathleen is a different person exploring different personalities in some doing things she had never thought about doing before. As Kathleen continues to shift the only constant thing that does not change and follows her to each alternate universe is Luke. She finds out that Luke is able to shift too and that he had intentionally been following her through each universe. Luke helps Kathleen understand what kind of power she had and how to control it better. Kathleen finds out something about Luke that makes her wonder if she can really trust him and everything that he has told her. With the conclusion of the book Kathleen comes to realize that what she wanted is not what she needed. Life is full of choices, the good and the bad, the question is which one will you make.

"Choices" was a fast paced read that keeps you guessing. I read "Choices" in one sitting late at night. I could not put it down till I was through. This book really makes you realize how the choices you make in life affect everything else.

Deborah Lynn Jacobs has written a few other books which you can find out more information about on her website.

www.deborahlynnjacobs.com

Wake by Lisa McMann

Everyone has always wondered what the person that fell asleep beside you one the bus or in class is dreaming. Well for 17 year old Janie being sucked into the dreams of the people around her is part of her daily routine. Theres only so many sex-crazed naked dreams that one girl can take before it gets old and Janie has reached her limit. She is tired of being yanked into other peoples dreams without any control over how fast she enters and departs the dreams or what happens while shes is in them. Most of the dreams she is pulled into are typical teenage dreams untill she starts being drawn into someones nightmares that has a monster with knives for fingers. This is the first time she particiaptes in some one elses dream. She soon finds the source of the nightmares is Cabel Strumheller who has a few secrets of his own. After having kept her secret since she was 8 years old Janie confides in Cabel. Janie and Cabel have and up down, love hate relationship that centers around Janie learning to how to control this "power" she has. I really loved Janie and Cabels realtionship. It was really different which is what in my opinion makes it special. At some points that plot had me alittle confused but I think that that is part of what makes the book so intresting. By the end of the novel though it was clear as to what was going on. Overall "Wake" was very enjoyable and intresting and I really liked the style of writing that Lisa McMann chose to write in. I will definitely have trouble waiting for the sequel "Fade" to come out next year.

"Wake" is set to be released in early March. For more information on Lisa McMann and "Wake" visit her website at http://www.lisamcmann.com/