43.

Grade: A

This series owns my heart. I LOVED THIS NOVEL! It was a bit slower in the beginning but it picked up soon after, and the action didn't stop until the end. Oh, the end, a cliffhanger that left my hanging over the edge of said cliff hanging on by only my forefingers. I can't wait for the third novel in the trilogy and when I say can't wait, I mean I want to raid the publishing house and steal it (although I never would do that) ;)
If you haven't started this series, DO IT NOW! You will not regret it!

42.

Grade: B+

I liked this story- it was a fun, fluffy YA novel with a different twist (living with 7 guys). It was interesting and fun, I rooted for one boy until about 100 pages and then switched allegiance until the end. In some (not many) cases I like endings that are left open, but this was not one of them- I wanted some further closure. It was fun overall, read it- it's cute!

41.

Grade: A-

I'm just going to say it, I love Bill Bryson! His writing is just so enjoyable and infectious, this is the second book he's written that I've read (A Walk in the Woods was my first) and I love him more and more. I laugh out loud which is harder in memoir writing, especially a memoir with a historical base. The fifties were described as the "Golden Age of America" and after reading Bryson's novel, I would definitely agree. Bryson's books are now all on my "to-read" list (and should be on yours too)!

40.

Grade: B

This was a great piece of journalism and I really wanted to love this book. The one thing standing in my way was the subject: The Dust Bowl- I know, yawn. It really isn't all that bad but I've had sort of an aversion to the catastrophe ever since my ninth grade teacher shoved the Grapes of Wrath into our hands (to which I couldn't finish). The stories of the people were interesting but just thinking about the Dust Bowl nearly puts me to sleep. Congrats to Egan on great writing and despite my "eh" attitude towards this book, I absolutely will read his other works.


Only ten more! Can I do it?! I HOPE SO!

39.

Grade: A

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE IT! Both the film adaptation and the graphic novel were amazing. I even loved it after doing a 10 page research paper, which is a true testament to how amazing this graphic novel is. V's message to fascist England is inspiring, even if the streets run red with blood. Moore absolutely won me over with his political graphic novel!

38.

Grade: B-

This wasn't my favorite graphic novel by any stretch, but it was as sad as they come (in a way). A story of untold secrets as well as the weight and burden they carry. The traditional family dynamic is challenged and there were so many literary references. It was still a good novel, but I'm not sure why I didn't like it all that much- I think it was more that I compared it to the other graphic memoirs I read this semester.

37.

Grade: B+

I like historical novels and this was no different, but I couldn't enjoy this as much as I would've liked- but mostly it was my fault. This was another required text but for my US History class and I waited until the last night to read 200+ pages as well as 12 chapter summaries, which took away some of the allure. I liked what I read and it kept my attention; my favorite aspect of the novel was the distinct difference between 1908 and 2008, and how far America has come in 100 years.

36.

Grade: B

I really liked this novel and the fact that it furthered my knowledge of the Islamic Revolution, to which I had known nothing about before this. I loved the symbolism of the veil throughout the entire novel. I would love to see the movie adaptation of Satrapi's novel.

35.

Grade: B

This was more of a "textbook" than a novel, which made it a bit slow to read as well as less enjoyable. It greatly deepened my knowledge of comics and helped me to further analyze the juxtaposition of word and text in graphic literature. Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics should no doubt be dubbed the "comics bible."

34.

Grade: B+

The second Maus novel obviously didn't disappoint, but rather expanded on the terror and heart break of Vladek's story. Art Spiegalman's memoir as well as his fathers is an amazing piece of Holocaust literature.

33.

Grade: B+

What an amazing novel! It is heart breaking in every way, in that both Vladek and Art struggle with demons to hard to face. The masking effect of anthropomorphism is spectacular with the mice, dogs, pigs, etc. I can't get over what an achievement the first half of the Spiegalman's Maus.

32.

Grade: A-

Wow, this was the first graphic novel I'd ever read and it was part of my required reading for my Freshman English Comp 2 Honors class, which had a focus on graphic literature. I loved every moment of this book; it was about first love and religion and terrors of childhood, and the beautiful way snow can blot out even the most disturbing of stains. Loved Thompson's graphic memoir and would recommend it to anyone!

31.

Grade: B

This was another cute and quick read by Cabot. I absolutely didn't like it over the All American Girl Series, which made me laugh out loud. Meg Cabot has a signiture YA voice that I can't help but love.

30.

Grade: B

Another book I read over the summer (and very quickly as it was only 176 pages), this was different than other novels I'd read but it was quite good. It was incredibly sad and the ending killed me, but I thought it was an alright read.

29.

Grade: B

I only gave this book 2 stars which in my opinion means it wasn't bad but wasn't great either, just so-so. I read it fairly quickly over the summer and can't remember details. I would maybe read it again just to refresh my memory.

28.

Grade: A-

Oh how I loved this book. I literally laughed, cried, ached, cringed; I felt these characters were just so incredibly real and wished I spent my summers at the beach like Belly. I read this book in about six hours and wish I slowed down, savored it, but I just couldn't- the pages just kept turning. I would definitely read this again, maybe even buy it, it's the perfect summer read.

27.

Grade: B

I'm not going to lie, I read this book purely because I'm addicted to True Blood, the TV series that is based on the Sookie Stackhouse novels. I don't normally read vampire novels even since the Twilight Series (which now I can't even stand having them on my bookshelf). This was good because I was aware the first series of True Blood had followed the book fairly faithfully, and yet I was still on edge about what about happen next. I'll definitely continue reading the novels, even though I usually don't care about sex in novels, the sex in this book is rampant and after a while I was like "Okay, enough already." Plus I think I harbor a soft spot for Sam, rather than Bill. Bill in the novels just doesn't have the same charm as the TV series Bill. Over all, it was a fun read.

26.

Grade: B+

This book was really fun, I really loved Will, I found myself wishing I had a boy like him. But I really wanted to tell Kate to forget Anna, I mean I know that they were "best friends" but c'mon. Maybe that's normal, I wouldn't know, I've never had an honest to god fight with my best friend. Over all this was a fun story, I read it in 2 days (with 10 hour work days) in between. I found myself itching to find out what happened next, but I really did enjoy this novel. I would definitely read more Elizabeth Scott novels (and probably re-read Bloom- just to refresh my memory), what can I say? YA novels own my soul.

25.

Grade: B-

This was a fast read, I finished in less than a day, and it was really different in the way it touched upon teen homosexuality. I think if the narrator Ellen had been older (closer to my age) and less naive about homosexuality in general, I would have liked the story more. I also wish there would have been a bit more closure, but then again Life doesn't always have a happy ending.


Happy 25 Books to Me! I'm halfway there!

24.

Grade: B

I think I can say that I liked the first book in the series better, All American Girl. It was funny and cute; the writing isn't amazing, but it's so fun to read that I almost (ALMOST being the operative word) can overlook it.

23.

Grade: B

I love Meg Cabot's fun and youthful writing. This book's main idea, girls saves the President's life is so ludicrious that it almost wasn't. I think I enjoyed this book a little much, it was just so much fun!

22.

Grade: B

I actually forgot I read this book (which I guess isn't a good thing) but now that I read the description, I remember it being just...okay. I would maybe read it again, just to refresh myself so I guess this review wasn't very helpful.

21.

Grade: A+

This is the third time I'm reading this novel and it is by far my favorite Harry Potter in the series, and one of my favorite books in general. Two summers ago before Deathly Hallows was released, I decided that every summer I would read the series srtaight through but with the release of the Half-Blood Prince movie (MIDNIGHT SHOWING TONIGHT! AH!) I decided to forgo with tradition. I'm still going to read the first 5 in order but just go straight from Phoenix to Hallows. I can't say enough good things about this book and how developed J.K Rowlings world is. Absolutely adore it, plain and simple. If you haven't read the series for any reason, just read them because I can promise it is like nothing you've ever imagined.

20.

Grade: B+

I just really like this series; it's a totally different lifestyle than I'm used to but that's what makes these books so fun to read. I've stopped reading them for a little bit, but hopefully I'll get back into them soon.

19.

Grade: A

I loved this book, I really did- to the point that when I finished I wanted to run to get the second novel right away (even though it was nearly 1 AM). But to my dismay, the second novel "Catching Fire" won't be out until September. Ack, anyway this had a very "Uglies...Pretties...Specials..." feel to it, at least I thought so. But I seriously loved this novel, I have a feeling I'll be buying it before I go away to school.

18.

Grade: B

It was typical YA writing style (cute story line) but I enjoyed it. It was a quick read and something light & fluffy. I wouldn't steer people away from the novel but I wouldn't rave about it either.

17.

Grade: B+

This book was very interesting to me, because I loved reading about the world I never got to take part in (the insiders to the Harry Potter Phenomenon). Sure I've been a fan of Harry Potter since I was in third grade (now an incoming college freshman) but I loved seeing the side of the fandom I never did. The only chapter I didn't care for was the one about Wizard Rock, I've listened to the genre and like it a lot- but it was a long chapter with nothing but the history of Wizard Rock. But I'm a huge fan of Pottercast and applaud Melissa's first novel.

16.

Grade: B-

This story had a cute concept, no really, I loved the idea behind it. It was just a little to fluffy to bode well with me, I liked that it was quick to read (only took a few hours) and that it was a happy story, but it was a real stretch to get to the ending.

15.

Grade: B-

This book was a quick read and I really, really enjoyed it- up until the ending. I just couldn't stand the way the story ended, that's what brought down it's grade so much (in my opinion at least).

14.

Grade: A-

Really liked this novel, even though it was so incredibly sad. It wasn't my favorite, but Jodi Picoult's newest novel brought every possible emotion out of me while I was reading it.

13.

Grade: A+

Adored this novel, beginning to end. Especially the end, it completely blew me away. The novel is heart wrenching and all I can say is that Picoult really outdid herself on this one. It's in my top 5 favorite novels by her, I could sing the praises of this book all day.

12.

Grade: A-

Loved the sequel to Airhead, the plot thickened and the characters were well developed. Absolutely adore the idea behind the series, very clever on Cabot's part. Bravo!

11.

Grade: A-

Oh boy, this book was so different from anything I'd read in YA fiction before. It was so incredibly endearing, I feel in love with it. I couldn't possibly wait to read the sequel which I promptly got from the library the day after I finished this novel.

10.

Grade: C-

Cool concept but not followed through well , the reasons why the girl killed herself seemed very cliched and melodramatic. It sounds harsh but I couldn't make myself feel bad for her.

9.

Grade: A-

I love Sarah Dessen- I really, truly do. She is one of my favorite YA authors, a lot of people say her stories are similar (which I guess they are) but that doesn't mean you shouldn't give them all a try. It's not my favorite Dessen novel, which is The Truth About Forever but I definitely liked it better than Someone Like You.

8.

Grade:B+

Liked all the college talk, I could relate with all the stress of getting into (or not getting into) schools. Well maybe I didn't apply to the prestigious schools they did, but I still understood what the characters were going through.

7.

Grade:B+

Once again this book was good- fun to read and quick to get through. I going to keep going because I want to know Gossip Girl's identity. Please tell us?

6.

Grade: B+

Liked this book, but I truly can't bring my self to like Jenny just yet. She is so wrapped up in becoming popular and so dumbstruck "in love" or rather lust with Nate. I'm just glad that Blair and Serena are friends again, I like them so much better when they're getting along. Plus I love Aaron, he seems the most real and down-to-earth of all the characters.

5.

Grade: B+

The series started to get better, more character development and I realized that the show (my guilty pleasure) is very different from the books.

4.

Grade: B

This is the second time I've read this novel- the first time I tossed it into my trash pile i.e. "the never read again pile." But then a friend of mine steered me back saying "They're fluffy but get better, stick it out and you won't regret it." So I read it again, no expectations and took it for what it was- simple, fun reading (and it was much better).

3.

Grade: C

I have a hard time saying I hate books (not sure why), but I will say that I just didn't like this book. The main problem I had with it was that all they said was the word "Fuck." I'm a teenager and I still think the authors were trying to hard to be "crude" and "edgy." I'd still like to see the movie, but I don't think I'd read this book again.

2.

Grade: A+

Tough topic to write about but Picoult deals with it beautifully. Nineteen Minutes is in my top 5 Jodi Picoult novels without a doubt.

These are my 50 Books for 2009, not in the order I read them because I joined this thread late and haven't keep track. But here they are, hopefully I can read more than 50 books because a lot of my summer reading is typical summer fluff. What can I say? Senior year AP English Literature was insane: Moby Dick, King Lear, Much Ado about Nothing, Pride and Prejudice, The Importance of Being Earnest, A Streetcar named Desire, The Stranger, The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, etc. I'm still going to read books with substance so I at least feel like I'm semi-stimulating my brain.So anyway, once again, here they are.


1.

Grade: A+

It's now my favorite Jodi Picoult novel. I absolutely loved it.