Uh, oh! or Please dont be mad!

Hey guys, I just wanted to let all my readers know I am taking a break from posting this week. I will start up again Wednesday of next week. I am spending time with friends before they start school that week (I dont start till mid October). I also feel like I'm in a funk. I want to provide great reviews and right now I know I need a break to do that. See you all in a couple weeks and I hope you'll continue to follow me and support the brief pause. Feel free to comment on back reviews. I read every comment you leave me!

XO's and books,
Ash

Not My Daughter

Not My Daughter
Barbara Delinsky
Knoph Doubleday
$17.96 (Barnes and Noble)
January 2010
FTC: This is a library book. I am not being compensated in any manner for my review.

Characters 20/20
Plot 20/20
Setting 20/20
Cover 20/20
Ending 20/20
Total grade: 100% A

Sexual content: mild
Violence: n/a
Drugs: n/a
Underage drinking: n/a
Swearing: moderate
Total rating: 16+ Even though it is fairly clean it targets adults

Summary:
When Susan Tate's seventeen-year-old daughter, Lily, announces she is pregnant, Susan is stunned. A single mother, she has struggled to do everything right. She sees the pregnancy as an unimaginable tragedy for both Lily and herself.

Then comes word of two more pregnancies among high school juniors who happen to be Lily's best friends-and the town turns to talk of a pact. As fingers start pointing, the most ardent criticism is directed at Susan. As principal of the high school, she has always been held up as a role model of hard work and core values. Now her detractors accuse her of being a lax mother, perhaps not worthy of the job of shepherding impressionable students.

My Thoughts:
This was a really great book! I enjoyed all the characters. They each lived such different lives and handled the pregnancies in different ways. I loved seeing all of the different mother-daughter relationships and what the pregnancies did for them. The plot left no holes and kept the reader engaged. That made the book even more enjoyable. The setting was not common which I enjoy in a book. It makes everything seem more real.

The cover was gorgeous and made you want to dive in. As for the end, it was perfect! You couldn't have asked for a better ending. I recommend most teen girls and mothers get this book! I think it was amazing.

Wednesday Wishlist

Suite Dreams

by Rachel Hawthorne

What?

Hello, mate!
(Practicing my Australian.* How am I doing?)

I'm so glad the timing worked out for this couch exchange. I'll be crashing on yours by the time you get to mine.** If you run into any problems, just find Alyssa. She'll help you out with whatever you need.***

Your couch-swapping mate,
Rick

*That's cute. Go have fun in Australia and leave ME—your girlfriend for an entire semester—to waste away on campus, alone.

**Um, think again. Your couch is already taken.

***Great. Now I've got to find a place for the (unbelievably hot, it turns out) Aussie to crash. But there's only one couch available: the one in my dorm room. .


Why?
It just sounds super cute and fun!

Princess Playtime

Princess Playtime
Elle D. Risco
Disney Press
$14.99
July 2010
FTC: I received this from the publisher with the understanding that I would provide an honest review for no compensation.

Total grade: A

Total rating: Child

Summary:
Little princesses will love all the different elements in this enchanting Disney Princess novelty book. They can touch the smooth, soft, and bristly treasures Ariel discovers in the ocean, lift-the-flaps to see who’s attending Belle’s tea party, slide the windows to help Cinderella find her friends in a game of hide-and-seek, and much, much more! With five spreads full of exciting tactile components, readers will never tire of exploring all that this book has to offer!

My Thoughts:
Due to the fact this is such a short book my typical review is not the correct way to go. Instead I would just love to take a moment to let all mothers/babysitters/big sisters know that this book is a must for little girls. It is super cute and the fact that you have to interact with the book, not just read it is even better. I say, go buy a copy now!

Must Monday

Romeo and Juliet and Vampires

by William Shakespeare (Based On Work by), Claudia Gabel

What?

"You are deluded, Romeo. Vampires do not have the capability to love. They are heartless."

The Capulets and the Montagues have some deep and essential differences. Blood differences. Of course, the Capulets can escape their vampire fate, and the Montagues can try not to kill their undead enemies. But at the end of the day, their blood feud is unstoppable. So it's really quite a problem when Juliet, a vampire-to-be, and Romeo, the human who should be hunting her, fall desperately in love. What they don't realize is how deadly their love will turn out to be—or what it will mean for their afterlives. . . .

This riotous twist on the ultimate tale of forbidden romance is simply to die for.

Why?
I have never read the actual Romeo and Juliet but this sounds much more interesting :)

When?
August 31st, 2010

Project 17

Project 17
Laurie Faria Stolarz
Hyperion
$8.09 (on barnes and noble)
2007
FTC: This is a library book. I am not being compensated in any manner for my review.

Characters 10/20
Plot 10/20
Setting 20/20
Cover 15/20
Ending 15/20
Total grade: 70% C

Total rating: 15+

Summary:
High atop Hathorne Hill, near Boston, sits Danvers State Hospital. Built in 1878 and closed in 1992, this abandoned mental institution is rumored to be the birthplace of the lobotomy. On the eve of the hospital’s demolition, six teens break in to spend the night and film a movie about their experiences. For Derik, it’s an opportunity to win a filmmaking contest and save himself from a future of flipping burgers at his parents’ diner. For the others, it’s a chance to be on TV, or a night with no parents. But what starts as a dare quickly escalates into a nightmare. Behind the crumbling walls, down every dark passageway, and in each deserted room, they will unravel the mysteries of those who once lived there and the spirits who still might.

My Thoughts:
Be forewarned this review contains some vivid language…

To be honest I was pretty disappointed with this book. It took forever to even begin to interest me, and even once it did I still had pages after pages that were rather dull. I feel that this topic could have kicked some serious A-double star, but instead it barely fizzled.

The characters were annoying. They all made me want to rip my hair out, I only remember brief moments where I felt sorry for them but then they would be a**holes again and I would begin to hate them AGAIN. The plot left me wanting more details and a lot less set-up. It took way too long for the important part of the story to begin.

The setting was awesome, come on, a creepy old mental hospital is just great! That was probably the best part of the book along with when the author describes the scenery inside the hospital. The cover was okay. It could have been better but it wasn’t horrible. As for the end, well it wasn’t as bad as I was expecting.

Overall, I would say if you can get past a lot of set-up to the story you may enjoy this book.

A Question for all...

I feel like I am in a reading slump and I want an awesome book. Those of you who read my reviews know what kind of book I like sooooo..... Recommend away, please :)

Book Blogger Hop

Today the blog hop question is, how many blogs do you follow?

Oh wow, way too many. I have been cleaning out though. There were bloggers I started following two years ago who haven't posted in a year that I need to delete.