Snakehead by Anthony Horowitz

Alex Rider literally falls from the sky when he is asked to participate in yet another mission. This time he's working for ASIS - the Australian Secret Intelligence Service. His job is to infiltrate a snakehead, a dangerous gang, in Indonesia and find out how they smuggle refugees. At first Alex refuses, he wants to go back to being a normal kid, but then the ASIS bribes him. They tell him that the agent accompanying him is his godfather Ash. This lures Alex into joining the mission because he thinks Ash will give him information about his parents. Alex reluctantly agrees to the mission and is soon transformed into an Afghan named Abdul. Things start going downhill from there. Major Yu, the leader of the Snakehead and a member of the dreaded Scorpia, knows that Alex is a spy. He doesn't kill Alex right away because he knows that he could be useful to him, so instead he puts Alex through many trials. On his last day before he is supposed to be transferred down the pipeline as an Afghan refugee he meets an undercover M16 agent and is brought to M16 headquarters where he is greeted by the familiar face of Mrs. Jones. He is informed that Scorpia has stolen Britain's newest bomb-The Royal Blue. M16 knows that Major Yu had something to do with it and they want Alex's help to recover it. Now it seems that Alex is working for two special intelligence agencies. The plot thickens as the story moves on and Alex finds out dark secrets about his parents and about Ash that will change his life forever.

Wow! This was the best Alex Rider book yet. It was jam packed with action, suspense and adventure. A really interesting fact about the book is Anthony Horowitz took a lot of time and researched so many topics that are talked about in the book. For example, he talked with a man from NASA about how one would reenter the atmosphere. This helped him accurately describe the whole first chapter of the book and made me like the book even more. Snakehead will keep you turning the pages one after another, desperate to hear what Alex is up to next. As always the book ends hanging you in mid air wondering if the end of being a spy for Alex has really come or if he has one more mission left in him. Anyone looking for a great adventure book, pickup Snakehead (or the first book in the Alex Rider series, Stormbreaker) and cuddle down into a chair and read it! Trust me you won't be able to put it down.

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

Gemma Doyle is a normal sixteen year old living with her parents in India. On the day of her sixteenth birthday she has a horrible vision of her mother being murdered. The worst part is, it comes true. After her mother's death her father moves her to England and sends her to Spence Academy for Girls. Here she learns to be a proper English lady and continues to receive mysterious visions filled with fantastical magic. While at Spence she befriends the beautiful Pippa, fierce Felicity, and timid Ann. Together these four girls are thrust into a magical world where they find the answers to some of the most mysterious questions.

I know my summary wasn't very long, but I think if I made it any longer I would give part of the book away!! Also don't you think the cover is absolutely amazing?? I know I do. It's one of the first things that drew me to the book.

So now my opinon. I LOVED this book. Like I mean I can't believe I haven't read this book before!! Gemma is an amazing character who is incredibly strong. Libba Bray created a host of awesome 3-D characters that made the book a page turner. The plot of the book is all together great and probably the last fourth of the book has so many twists and turns that make the ending phenominal. The story sucks you in from the very first page and leaves you wondering what Gemma will be up to next. I warn you know this book will make you hungry for more! I know I can't wait to read the sequel. A Great and Terrible Beauty is definitely one of my new favorite books and I don't think it will ever come off my list. I cannot get over how amazing this book was. If you haven't had a chance to read it yet go to the library and put a hold on it now, or even go out to the book store and buy it.

My first meme!!

Well the Story Siren tagged me for this meme and I am very excited to fill it out!! So here goes my responses, I hope you like them!!

Which book do you irrationally cringe away from reading, despite seeing only positive reviews? Honestly?
I’m not sure I’ve met a book that I have cringed away from. I am open to trying new books of every kind. I will especially read a book if it has good reviews.

If you could bring three characters to life for a social event (afternoon tea, a night of clubbing, perhaps a world cruise), who would they be and what would the event be?
I think I would have a dinner party with Anidori from Shannon Hale’s The Goose Girl because I loved this book so much that I would love to meet someone as determined as Ani was. Another person I would invite to my dinner party would be Hermione from the Harry Potter books. She is just so smart that I would just love to be in her presence and maybe she could teach me a few spells to make my homework go faster! The last person I would invite to my dinner party would be Elizabeth Holland from The Luxe. She is a fascinating character and I love how she stood up for true love. My dinner party would definitely be diverse, but none the less it would be fun!!

(Borrowing shamelessly from the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde): you are told you can’t die until you read the most boring novel on the planet. While this immortality is great for awhile, eventually you realize it’s past time to die. Which book would you expect to get you a nice grave?
I would have to say Great Expectations by Dickens. I was given the option to read it for English this year and I was like no way!! So yes, I think Great Expectations would make a comfy pillow for a coffin.

Come on, we’ve all been there. Which book have you pretended, or at least hinted, that you’ve read, when in fact you’ve been nowhere near it?
The only book that I have pretended to read is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and I didn't even mean to. I had read most of the book so I had some ground to stand on, but I guess I never finished it, so therefore I was pretending to have read it!! (See next question for further details!!!)

As an addition to the last question, has there been a book that you really thought you had read, only to realize when you read a review about it/go to ‘reread’ it that you haven’t? Which book?
Honestly I think this would have to be the fourth Harry Potter book. I don’t know how it slipped by me, but it certainly did. I went to reread the series this summer in anticipation for the new book and I was like “I don’t remember any of this!” I could have sworn that I finished it, but I guess I never did, or I had a blackout!

You’re interviewing for the post of Official Book Advisor to some VIP (who’s not a big reader). What’s the first book you’d recommend and why? (If you feel like you’d have to know the person, go ahead and personalize the VIP.)
I think I would have to recommend I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder because this is my new favorite book. For a not so big reader it is the perfect book too, because it is an amazing story, but it’s not long at all. What can I say I’m a sucker for love stories and this is definitely one!!

A good fairy comes and grants you one wish: you will have perfect reading comprehension in the foreign language of your choice. Which language do you go with?
I would have to say Latin. I took Latin 1 this year and realized that so much of our language today comes from Latin. Knowing Latin would really help my vocabulary skills and help me boost my SAT score!!

A mischievous fairy comes and says that you must choose one book that you will reread once a year for the rest of your life (you can read other books as well). Which book would you pick?
That would have to be Molly Moon’s Incredible Book of Hypnotism by Georgia Byng. I read this book for the first time in sixth grade and it has been a favorite ever since. The characters are so likeable and the story is awesome. I think I read it pretty much every year anyway!!

I know that the book blogging community, and its various challenges, have pushed my reading borders. What’s one bookish thing you ‘discovered’ from book blogging (maybe a new genre, or author, or new appreciation for cover art—anything)?
I think before I blogged I didn’t really get to share my love (or hatred) of books, so by becoming a book blogger I have learned to really tune my feeling as to whether I really liked the book or if it was just o.k.

That good fairy is back for one final visit. Now, she’s granting you your dream library! Describe it. Is everything leather bound? Is it full of first edition handovers? Pristine trade paperbacks? Perhaps a few favorite authors have inscribed their works? Go ahead—let your imagination run free.
My dream library would be filled to the ceiling with books. I think I would want it to look like Dumbledore’s office in the Harry Potter movies. There would all of my favorite books and plenty of new and unread ones! The authors will have signed all my books and once I have exhausted all the books I will just simply get more!! There will be lots of comfy chairs, especially ones I can lay down on, and good lighting (so I don’t get bad eyes!). Other than that I think I would be in paradise, because one can never have to many books!

I know you’re supposed to tag someone after this, but it seems that every blogger I know has already filled the form out! Now if I have missed you when I was perusing book blogs then I tag you!! Have fun filling the meme out, I know I did!!

Want a bite of some juicy books?

Who doesn't want free books? Book Burger is sponsoring a contest where you can win not just one, but five books. They are giving away five sets of these five books:

Gossip Girl Prequel: It Had to Be You by Cecily von Ziegesar
Poseur by Rachel Maude
Sealed With a Diss: A Clique Novel by Lisi Harrison
Beautiful Stranger: An A-List Novel by Zoey Dean
Lucky: An It Girl Novel by Cecily von Ziegesar

So if you haven't signed up already go and click here sign up now!! This is an awesome contest and I hope I win a set!! Good luck to all who enter and happy reading!!

I Heart You, You Haunt Me by Lisa Schroeder

Jackson and Ava are head over heels in love. They promise one another that they will never leave each other's side. Everything changes when Jackson dies at a beginning of summer vacation party. Ava is distraught. After the funeral she slips into a deep depression, especially because she thinks it was all her fault that Jackson died. Only a couple days after Jackson is buried Ava thinks that she sees his reflection in the mirror. Of course she thinks she is going crazy, but there is a part of her that really wants Jackson to be there. Ava can't believe it when other weird things start happening and then she hears Jackson speaking to her. After this Ava doesn't want to leave the house for a second, afraid she will miss a visit from Jackson. Ava wonders why Jackson could be visiting her and when she does some research she reads that when most spirits continue to haunt the living they are doing so because there is something holding them back from crossing over. Ava wonders if this is why Jackson is haunting her. She discovers the answer after many attempted conversations with Jackson and through the help of her best friends. Over time Ava learns to move on and that you need to embrace the life someone lived and not wallow in the loss of a loved one.

This book blew my breath away. It was that good! After reading this I admit I shed a few tears, and books don't often make me cry! Written in a lyrical fashion this book was so unique and had a rhythm to it. I've never read anything like I Heart You, You Haunt Me and to be honest I was a little skeptical at first. Like I said though, the book was just phenomenal. Ava was an incredibly deep character and there was nothing flat about her. I could feel her pain and her lust to have Jackson return. I just felt like I wanted to jump into the book and comfort Ava. Lisa Schroeder created an incredible, stunning, amazing first novel and I cannot wait to read what she has coming our way next.

Here's a video that was on the class of 2k8's website. It's one of those book trailers. Enjoy!!

American Fringe by Valerie Frankel

Adora Bennet has just landed a dream job. She is the new teen advice columnist for the New York Moon newspaper. She's super excited and along with this new opportunity comes a new friendship. Well sort of. Her sworn enemy Sondra has decided that they should be best frenimies now that Adora is "famous," Adora reluctantly agrees. While she is off making new friends her old friends, Eli and Liza, are not getting along at all. All is good with the Ask Adora column until she responds to a question about stay-at-home moms. Adora doesn't agree with the idea of a non-working mother and makes her opinion blatantly obvious. She offends many mothers, especially her boyfriend’s. Adora is sent into a frenzy of fame as many people become aware of her column. She appears on talk shows and the paparazzi are after her. Then the press finds out that the person who wrote the question is none other than the son of New York’s favorite presidential candidate, and Adora is again in a whirlwind of fame. Alas, her fame is short-lived because when grilled about her column on a talk show she doesn’t give a good response. This sends Adora into a downward spiral. Sondra doesn’t want to be her friend anymore, Liza and Eli aren’t talking to her anymore either, her dad tells her that her column is shallow, her boyfriend isn’t talking to her because his mother and all the stay-at-home mom’s of the nation hate her guts. What is a girl to do? Will Adora figure it out and turn around and write a stronger column?

This book was O.K. There was nothing terribly exciting about it and it was very predictable. I didn’t feel like I could connect with Adora and felt like she was a little flat. I know this is the third book in the series and in the fall a fourth one will follow. From reading American Fringe I don’t think it is necessary to read the preceding books in the series. Frankly, I don’t think I will read the first two books and am not anticipating the fourth.

Secrets of My Suburban Life by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Over the summer, Ren's mother was killed by J.K. Rowling. No not physically by Rowling, but a pile of Harry Potter books did fall on her mother's head and killed her. If having her mother die isn't enough grief for Ren, her father decides to move her out of her beloved Manhattan to plain old Danbury, Connecticut. It seems life is out to get Ren, because she has no new friends, the evil "it" girl Farrin is out to get her, and it seems that her dad never wants to talk with her anymore. Things start to look up for Ren when she meets Jack, an uber cute boy! Unfortunately Farrin likes to think Jack is hers and that Ren should just stay away. One day when Ren and Farrin's identical notebooks get mixed up Ren finds printouts of chat rooms from a website called Sex World. Even though Ren despises Farrin she can't resist the urge to help her get out of the mess she has put herself into. Ren creates an account on the website and pretends to be Farrin. She's not too scared about meeting this predator until she thinks she's found out who it is. Could it be so obvious? Is it someone close by? Ren sets off on an adventure to save her enemy and find out the true identify of this sick man. Along the way she gains the friendship of two girls and catches Jack's heart. In the end she gets the bad guy, but it will shock us all as to who he is!

This book wasn't my favorite, but in no means was it a bad book. It had mystery and romance in it and kept the reader wondering who the predator was. I enjoyed Ren's character, but to me she was just like a lot of characters in many other books. She didn't have that extra special something that makes me want to be the character. The book's theme seems to be geared more for older readers, but the writing, in my opinion, is geared toward a younger age group. The one thing that did really speak to me though is the fact that a lot of girls go online into chat rooms, like Sex World, and get themselves mixed up with creepy sex offenders. This is a growing problem in today's world and people need to really be made aware of it. If you know anyone who even think might be involved in this type of activity don't hesitate to tell someone because you could be saving a life.