Book Blogger Hop #7

The Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Crazy For Books. Be sure to check out her blog!

This weeks question is:
Who is your favorite new-to-you author so far this year?

Wow, that's a super hard question. I'm gonna have to pick 3 because I just couldn't narrow it down to just one.

1. Neal Shusterman- I really liked his Skinjacker series and absolutely loved Unwind. Definitely one of my favorite authors now.


2. Cassandra Clare- I can't believe I hadn't read the Mortal Instruments series until this year. I can't wait for Clockwork Angel and City of Fallen Angels!


3. Lauren Oliver- This is a debut author so I've obviously only read one of her books but it was amazing. If you haven't read Before I Fall yet then go read it now!!

If you're visiting from the hop, feel free to leave a comment!

Mini Review: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

So, I haven't had much time this week and probably won't next week-some of my family is visiting us so, naturally we had to clean the whole house even though it will be messed up again within 5 minutes of everyone getting here. So I'm just going to do mini reviews (they'll just be shorter reviews) for the next week-I WILL post more reviews (hopefully).

Synopsis from goodreads.com:

Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot. Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author's own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings that reflect the character's art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he thought he was destined to live.

Review:

I absolutely LOVED this book. Within the first 20 pages I had both laughed and cried. Most of the time I was laughing though. Junior sounded exactly the way most 14 year old boys sound. It's a really funny book that you can still learn something from. I love it when books are like that-they keep you laughing most of the way through and they still teach you a message and make you cry. Amazing. This is definitely one of my new favorites.

I would totally recommend this to everyone I know-as long as they're at least a teen (I probably wouldn't tell anyone under the age of 13 to read this book). Overall, I give it 9/10.

Told ya this review would be short!

In My Mailbox #5

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by The Story Siren.

Sorry, no picture this week. I don't have enough time if I want to get this posted today.


Bought:
Max (Maximum Ride #5) by James Patterson
Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow


Library:
Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce
Lament by Maggie Stiefvater
The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong
Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready


What did you get this week?

In My Mailbox #4

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by The Story Siren.

Sorry this is a little late. So this is for the past couple of weeks because I didn't do one last week for some reason.

For Review:

Zan-Gah: A Prehistoric Adventure by Allan Richard Shickman

Zan-Gah and the Beautiful Country by Allan Richard Shickman

Bought:

The Hunger Games (paperback) by Suzanne Collins

From the Library:

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins

Sent (The Missing #2) by Margaret Peterson Haddix

So, that's what I got the last couple of weeks. What did you get in your mailbox?

Book Blogger Hop #6

The Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Crazy For Books. The Hop is a great way to meet new bloggers and it's lots of fun!

This weeks question is: Right this instant, what book are you dying to get your hands on (past, present, or future)?

Wow, that's a hard question. Right now it's probably Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins and Delirium by Lauren Oliver. And maybe Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare. There are just so many books I want. Mockingjay probably tops the list though. The other day I was going shopping with my friend and I made at least like 5 different references to The Hunger Games series. We would be talking about something random and I would be like "That reminds me of when this happened in The Hunger Games." I've been kind of obsessing over it lately.

If you're visiting from the hop be sure to leave a comment! Happy Friday!!!!

Review: Zan-Gah: A Prehistoric Adventure by Allan Richard Shickman

Synopsis from goodreads.com:

The hero, Zan-Gah seeks his lost twin in a savage prehistoric world, encountering suffering, captivity, conflict, love, and triumph. In three years, Zan-Gah passes from an uncertain boyhood to a tried and proven manhood and a position of leadership among his people. Themes: survival, cultures, gender roles, psychological trauma, nature's wonders and terrors.

My Review:

Zan-Gah was definitely an interesting book. I loved how the prehistoric people were portrayed. At times, I felt I could really relate to the characters as if they weren't from the past, but from the same time as me. Sure, they had some problems that were a lot different than the ones we have today, but there were some that people still have. I love it when I can relate to characters from a book that takes place in the past in this way.

At first the book seemed kind of slow and I had a hard time getting into it. But, around the third chapter it got a lot better. It was really interesting to see how people might have lived in prehistoric times. This really is an action packed book, filled with somewhat surprising twists and turns and danger at every corner. Honestly, this book was way better than I thought it would be.

Although Zan-Gah wasn't amazing, it was still a pretty good book that I think a lot of people would enjoy. I definitely think it's worth reading if you like action and adventure books. I give it 6/10.

Source: Recieved for honest review from editor. Thanks!!

Review: Witch and Wizard by James Patterson

Synopsis from goodreads.com:

This is the astonishing testimonial of Wisty and Whit Allgood, a sister and brother who were torn from there family in the middle of the night, slammed into prison, and accused of being a witch and wizard. They are not alone in their terrifying predicament. Thousands of young people have been kidnapped. Some have been accused; many others remain missing. Their fate is unknown, and the worst is feared-for the ruling regime will stop at nothing to suppress life and liberty, music and books, art and magic...and the persuit of being a normal teenager.

Review:

Honestly, I thought Witch and Wizard was kind of a let down. I was expecting something awesome and action-packed with twists and turns that you never see coming- something that keeps you reading. This was probably because I absolutely LOVED the Maximum Ride series, so I was expecting this book to be at least almost as amazing as that, but it wasn't anywhere close. However, it was an okay book. I wouldn't be rushing out to the store in the middle of the night just to buy it. I'm not even sure if I'm going to read the next book in the series, but I do have some good things to say about it.

One, it was definately action-packed. And the plot was really interesting. It seemed like the characters never had a chance to rest. They would just solve one problem when another one was thrust in their faces. You would think the characters would have been more tired throughout the book-not just at the end! Thinking back on it, I actually could have enjoyed this book if it hadn't been for one thing: the characters.

I think my main problem with the book was that I just couldn't relate to the characters. I felt like I just couldn't get to know them. In really good books, you always feel like you know the characters, relate to them, understand them, and this makes you worry about them. That's what makes you hope the main characters can survive their adventures. In this book, that just didn't happen. I honestly didn't care if the two main characters had died at the end. I probably would have just thought "Well, that's kind of a bummer (and a little bit stupid considering they were the ones telling the story)." I wouldn't have been really upset, crying, thinking "Why would anyone end a book that way?" I just would have been sort of indifferent about it.

Overall, this book was okay. It wasn't great, it wasn't horrible. Just one of those books in the middle. I give it 5.5/10.

Book Blogger Hop #5

It's Friday, which means that it is once again time for the Book Blogger Hop!!! The Book Blogger Hop is hosted by Crazy for Books. Be sure to head over there to leave your link and join the hop! The hop is a great way to find new blogs and meet new bloggers. All of you should try it!! It's a lot of fun. If you're visiting from the hop, feel free to leave a comment!

Why I'm Mad At My Library Right Now

Okay, so my library seems to pay absolutely no attention to the teens who go there. I mean, I guess their young adult book section is okay, but they don't really do anything else for their teens other than a summer reading program (the one that I pretty much finished in about two weeks-easily). So, the other day when I was reading a post at GreenBean TeenQueen (this is a great blog-check it out) and I noticed she mentioned something about a teen council at her library, I immediately thought "I wonder if my library has anything like that." My library, of course, had nothing like that, but the library in the small town near us that's kind of connected to our library does.

Of course, that library that's in that small town (let's call it other library) is the one that I'm always jealous of. Sometimes I'll look online to see if my library has a book I want to read (this is usually right before I go to the library) and my library won't have it, but other library will. I looked at other library's website and the teen section of their website is way better than my library's. So, while my library's website is kind of lame, on other library's website you can actually find out whatever it is you want to know about the library. I learned who other library's teen librarian (the librarian in charge of the teen section) is but I don't even know if my library has a teen librarian.

So, now I'm wondering if the library card I have for my library will work at other library and my mom thinks it will. So, now I've just got to convince her that it will totally be worth it to drive the extra 15 minutes or so to other library.

Do any of you ever feel jealous of other libraries? What's your library like?

Happy Fourth of July!!!

Just thought I should say Happy Fourth of July to everyone!!! Also, sorry for not posting anything this week. I was visiting family who live in a different state (it's a five and a half hour drive to their house) so I don't get to see them too often and I didn't really have any time for writing reviews. But, I'm back now and should be posting a lot more this week!!