Looking for Alaska

 Pudge moves to Birmingham, Alabama from Florida to attend Culver Creek Boarding School. He's a loner, a nobody, and he's awkward as hell. But the Colonel, Takumi, Lara, and Alaska change his entire view of the world. Alaska is one of the most unique characters I have ever come across. Although the book is written through Pudge's perspective, the entire book is truly written for us to see Alaska. The four of these teens are on a mission to make junior year the best year yet. They smoke cigarettes, they drink wine, and they pull pranks because that's what life is all about to them. The journey they go on is not the most significant part of the book, but it is obviously important. I honestly grew to love Alaska, she is definitely someone I wouldn't mind becoming. Her character is what makes this one of my favorite John Green books. "We all go." We're all forgotten. We're all just living for today. Alaska may smoke cigarettes to die, where we just smoke for enjoyment. We have to go out and live our lives. Everything John Green writes is a masterpiece and I really encourage everyone to read this. 

Others by John Green:

The Fault in Our Stars

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Paper Towns

Turtles All the Way Down 

The Anthropocene Reviewed

Paper Towns

Are we made of strings? Margo Roth Spiegelman thinks so. Inside of us is just a million little strings waiting to be broken. Those strings make up who we are, what we like, and how we live out our journeys. It all starts with 9 year olds Margo and Quentin when they found a man that shot himself on their neighborhood playground. They were the best of friends until popularity came into the picture where Margo was at the top and Q was at the bottom. Until Margo creates the ultimate night to bring him up the popularity chain. After 11 crazy adventures and the night of Q's life, Margo just disappears. Her disappearance makes both of their groups of friends come together for a common goal, FIND MARGO. Four uncommon friends travel through multiple paper towns and abandoned buildings trying to find their friend and ultimately the love of Q's life. John Green created the perfect road map for everyone living in a paper town with a paper life just waiting for the strings to break. 

Others by John Green:

The Fault in Our Stars

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

Looking for Alaska

Turtles All the Way Down 

The Anthropocene Reviewed

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

So Jake is this teenager that believes he is going crazy because his grandfather is too. The thing is, neither one of them are crazy. Jake's grandfather was a peculiar child and had some of the most peculiar stories to tell. But were they real? Of course they were, every little bit of it was the truth and Jake was determined to find it after his grandfather was murdered in his own backyard. Off they go to find the house his grandfather grew up in and unlock all the secrets that were building up inside. Jake and his father travel to the island Grandpa Portman grew up on. He fought wars against the monsters and did everything in his power to protect his family. But his peculiar family still "dies." When Jake hardly finds any answers in the old abandoned house. Until he meets Emma that is. Emma leads him to the rest of the peculiars and quite possibly the rest of his life. Does he find all the answers he was looking for? Read the book to find out! But I'd recommend not wasting your time, really.

27

This post is currently a work in progress because I have yet to finish the book. When I picked up this book I expected to get an overview of everyone in the 27 Club, a term coined by Kurt Cobain's mother. I expected to learn about each member of the club, Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, and Amy Winehouse. But so far all I have learned it that the author, Howard Sounes, hates Amy Winehouse's father. If you were looking to read about the entirety of the 27 Club, do not get this book. If you enjoy reading about the corruption of Mitch Winehouse, by all means spend your money on this! If I ever get to finish this book, you guys will be the first to know if it gets ANY better.

But if you guys like Kurt Cobain as much as I do, check out my website: The Life of Kurt Cobain

Looking for other books on Kurt Cobain?

Heavier than Heaven
Life on Planet Rock

Who Killed Kurt Cobain?

Kurt Cobain: The Last Interview

Looking for other books on Amy Winehouse?

Amy, My Daughter

No Time to Wave Goodbye

No Time to Wave Goodbye is a heartbreaking story of the children that were evacuated during the WWII air raids on England. Ben Wicks wanted to provide a different side of the story. The author himself was part of the kinder transport system and was placed in a few foster families over the course of 3 years. Wicks reached out to the other children that had buried these memories deep in their minds. We get to see how the war affected the children and not just the war heroes of the historians, but actual people that had to suffer through this tragedy. No Time to Wave Goodbye is a quick and easy read. It's written very similarly to the published journals I am forever posting about. If you're a history buff and need a new book, this is definitely the one for you!  

Rumble

Ellen Hopkins has done it again.

Matt lost his brother to suicide and he blames everyone but himself. His girlfriend supported him every step of the way, through school, friends, and his deadbeat family. He never expected to lose her, he couldn't lose her. But he does. Shrink Martha says it's good to talk about feelings, that communication is key. But Matt finds communication not with his Christian-y girlfriend, but with his friend Alexa. Alexa understands him better than anyone ever could. Besides his brother Luke ,of course. Luke was his best friend and he couldn't stop him from taking his own life. He knew the struggles Luke was going through and did nothing to help. Maybe we all are just a bunch of mean aliens. Through the twist and turns of Rumble, we realize just how precious life really is. I'd love to keep my review summary going, but the urge to include spoilers is too strong!!

If you need help, get it. Suicide is not the answer.

I'm always here for each of you.

Call the Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-TALK

or visit

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

Get the help you need.

Looking for more books by Ellen Hopkins?

 

Middle-Grade:

Closer to Nowhere

What About Will

Teen:
Crank Trilogy (Crank 1-3)

 Flirtin' with the Monster (Crank anthology)

Burned (Burned #1)
Smoke (Burned #2)

Tricks (Tricks #1)

Traffick (Tricks #2)

The You I've Never Known
People Kill People

Adult Fiction:

Love Lies Beneath (LLB #1)
A Sin Such as This (LLB #2)

Collateral

Triangles (Tilt #2)

 Anthologies:

One Death, Nine Stories

Behind the Song 
Life Inside My Mind

Fahrenheit 451

What would it be like to be a firefighter? In Fahrenheit 451, a firefighter is not what you'd expect. These firefighters start fires when they find someone that is hiding books. Books have been outlawed in this little town. Guy Montag is hired as a fireman, but shortly thereafter, meets a girl who makes him question every ounce of his being. During the time period that this was written, book burning was a major issue in America. This book is written to show how books are slowing losing their value in society. Realize this was written in 1953, and still rings true today. Guy begins stealing books from the houses they've burned. The Fire Chief, Captain Beatty, begins to wondering if Montag is up to something. Eventually telling him that all firemen steal a book, but to stay out of trouble it must be burned within the next 24 hours. Captain Beatty recounts the time he was an avid reader, before books were banned when the fire alarm begins squealing. Moments later, Montag must destroy his own house... His wife and friends reported there were books in the house. He then ignites his boss, Captain Beatty into flames and takes off into the night.

 

Due to the recent banning of The Fault in Our Stars, I felt it was necessary to show how long book banning has gone on. This was the 1950's and 1960's and technology was already beginning to dehumanize us. The banning of books will not benefit anyone in the long run. These issues must be spoken upon in a way that people understand. Banning children from reading particular books will not teach them anything they need for life. Please share this with your friends and get the word out.

STOP BANNING BOOKS.

Looking for my updated review?

Fahrenheit 451

I Am Number Four Series

I never expected to like this series, but for some reason I do. If you have a problem with futuristic happens, violence, or your favorite character dying, then this is NOT the book for you. As I'm writing this, I have just finished reading The Fall of Five. The book was a tad bit predictable to be honest.. It's been quite some time since I have read any of the others, so this review is basically on The Fall of Five. Meaning THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. Obviously, the Mogs are always after them, but this time they have a secret weapon....or maybe a few spies. Not to mention Setrakus Ra wants ELLA of all people! The futuristic vision of Chicago is definitely one that I couldn't get out of my head, neither could John or Marina. Marina's heart gets broken beyond repair (as well as my own), causing her to develop a new Legacy. Needless to say, I vow not to read the next book in the series, but on August 26th, I will probably at the closest Books-A-Million buying The Revenge of Seven.

Four

I hate this book.

I hate Tobias.

I hate Tris.

I really hate Veronica Roth.

How can one author stir up my feelings all over again!? Reading Divergent the first time made me love Tobias, but by Allegiant I hated him. NOW I LOVE HIM AGAIN. Four is a summed up version of Divergent told through the eyes of Four himself. We see his journey through initiation, and his battle with Eric. Obviously, we all hated Eric to start with, now we hate him even more. Not to mention, putting him in Dauntless was Jeannie's idea. Hearing this story through Tobias's eyes was an amazing experience and I highly recommend this to ANYONE who enjoyed the Divergent Trilogy. It's a short, quick read with a great deal of insight. Veronica Roth, you are my favorite.

Looking for the rest of the series?

Divergent (Divergent #1)

Insurgent (Divergent #2)

Allegiant (Divergent #3)

Looking for other books by Veronica Roth?

Carve the Mark (CTM #1)
The Fates Divide (CTM #2)
The End and Other Beginnings

Chosen Ones

The Book of David

We all know how much I love these published journals. Basically, this one is about this football player who just so happens to have a crush on the new boy at school....instead of his cheerleader girlfriend. He majorly starts crushing on him and can't stop thinking about him. So he stays up and writes all this down in his little journal for school. Every entry ends up being about Jonathan. Jon and David become inseparable, knocking his "best" friend Tyler out of the picture. David doesn't want to be gay, but he has always known he is. Jon has shown him what that means and more importantly who he really is. Being gay is not an easy thing to be in today's society and this journal displays that perfectly.  David and Jon's secret relationship gets put on the internet and begins to make their lives crumble... I always read the last chapter first, but don't worry. I won't ruin that part for you. Definitely a book that everyone needs to read. See things from a different perspective, you might be surprised.

If you or someone you know is discovering their sexuality, there are people that will help you and support you in every way possible. Check out these websites for more information:
http://www.thetrevorproject.org/
www.trevorspace.org/
www.glsen.org

Feel free to reach out to me, I'm here for all of you.

Looking for the rest of the series?
Calling Maggie May
Letting Ana Go
Lucy in the Sky
Breaking Bailey

Go Ask Alice

 

Looking for books that feature this series?

Unmask Alice

Pantene Beautiful Lengths

 

Everyone, please watch these two videos. I understand that my blog is about books, but this is another matter that is incredibly close to my heart. Spread the word, pony up, lets do this thing!

I have donated my hair 5 times (3 times to Locks of Love and 2 times to Beautiful Lengths) since I was in second grade. Please help all these women and men out.

I love that people are willing to make a difference in the world. Are you one of them?

 

Visit these links for more:

Pantene Beautiful Lengths

or

 Locks of Love



The Serial Killer Whisperer

Tony Ciaglia suffered a traumatic brain injury as a child and began feeling like a complete outsider. The only people he could really relate with were gruesome serial killers. He began researching some of the most famous killers around. He found "murderabila" website where a purchased a letter that was supposedly handwritten by killer, Ted Bundy. This sparked his interest in learning more about them. Before too long, he had a list of killers he would begin writing to in prison. His very "best friend" was cannibalistic killer, Arthur Shawcross. We read the letters between Tony and Arthur and in a way we see a different side of the killer. However, we also see the gruesome killer inside of him. A few of Tony's other best friends were killers David Gore and Joe Metheny. All of these killers have found someone to confide in and call a friend and Tony is proud to be that guy. Throughout the book we see that Tony is struggling to understand that he is not like his killer friends. It takes him awhile to get over that, but it eventually works out on his behalf. Tony starts working the cold cases that these murderers are supposedly a part of. He uses the letters to help bring the victims families some kind of relief and the answers they have been looking for.
To learn more about Tony visit his website: http://www.tonyciaglia.com/#!
Maybe you'll see him at a book signing near you!

Obviously, you all know I love a good murder story, especially the ones that actually happen. Don't take this the wrong way, I am studying criminal justice and find the inner workings of these killers minds quite interesting. Just wanted to clear that up right away!

The Autobiography of Jack the Ripper

We all know who Jack the Ripper is. But we don't know the man behind him. In this so called "autobiography" James Carnac gives us his confession. Could this possibly be the man behind this infamous killer? I honestly think he could be. He has extensive knowledge of the murders, the whereabouts in London, and wrote this entire manuscript almost 40 years later. In the beginning, we find out that his father had an in-house medical practice, which gave Mr. Carnac most of his medical knowledge. We also find out that his father killed not only himself, but also his mother. The scalpel used was the same one Jack the Ripper used on his victims. In 1888 there was no such thing as "Criminal Profiling" as there is today. Mr. Carnac gives us a motive as to why he killed. He liked knives and blood. These two things fascinated him, which made him want to kill. He killed 5 innocent girls (prostitutes) in the streets of London. The ending of the book is a tad bit interesting and there are quite a few questions left unanswered. The conspiracies behind this confessional are also quite interesting. So, if there are any Ripperature fanatics reading this, feel free to give me your input!

Looking for other books on Jack the Ripper?
Stalking Jack the Ripper