OFFICIAL SPRING CHALLENGE - 2009 Showing 1,501-1,550 of 6,381

[Sandie]

Finished another 15 point task.

9. Read a book with a color in the title AND eat a meal that includes at least 2 foods that are that color.

Read Orange Laughter by Leone Ross and ate a smoked salmon salad (which included carrot) and a fruit salad which included orange coloured fruits including melon, peach & papaya.


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[Rhiannon]

5 POINT TASKS

1. Prey by Michael Crichton
2. Carrie by Stephen King
3. Shopaholic and Baby by Sophie Kinsella
4. Janet Enavovich Visions of Sugar Plums 3/2/09
5. Chocolate Chips Cookie Mystery by Joanne Fluke
6. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
7. A Midsummer's Night's Dream by William Shakespheare 3/8/09
8. 101 Vacation Jokes by Jovial Bob Stine 3/8/09
9. Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter 3/8/09
10. When Lightening Strikes by Meg Cabot


10 POINT TASKS

1. P.S. I Love You by Cecilia Ahern
2. TBD
3. The book Theif by Markus Zusak
4. Green Eggs and Ham br Dr. Suess
5. TBD
6. New Moon By Stephanie Meyer
7. TBD
8. TBD
9. The Scarlet Letter -Nathaniel Hawthorn
10. Ella Enchanted Gail Carson Levine


15 POINT TASKS

1. Angels Watching over me by Lurlene McDaniel
2. TBD
3. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
4. TBD
5. Lost Highway: Journeys and Arrivals of American Musicians by Peter Guralnick
6. TBD
7. TBD
8. TBD
9. TBD
10. Janet Evanovich 3-5


25 POINT TASKS

1. TBD
2. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
3. TBD
4. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
5. TBD
6. TBD
7. TBD
8. TBD


20/500

[Angela]

15 Point
4. Read a novel that takes place in a location you plan to visit during this challenge OR have visited previously during spring break
How Stella Got Her Groove Back by Terry McMillan-3/8 (Went to Jamaica for our honeymoon)


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Total Points 60
Tasks:4/38

[El]

Rhiannon - for my 25-point task you need to read either a diary by Lewis Carroll (if that's who you want to choose) or a nonfiction book about him. You can not read one of his fiction books.

[Bridgit]

Just completed a 25 point task - 2 YA novels: Fablehaven - Brendan Mull & Glass Houses - Rachel Caine.

Total points 30

[Tien]

7. In honor of both Dr. Seuss’ birthday (March 2) and Mother Goose Day (May 1) find and read two books with rhyming titles. By this I mean that there is a word in the title of one book that rhymes with a word in the other book’s title.
- Example: You could read The Scent of Sake AND The Red Tent
Alias Grace & My Place (Margaret Atwood & Sally Morgan respectively)

Total as at 8 March: 100 Pts

Cynthia, sorry about the food colour task, I don't know what's wrong with me last week - for example, I sent emails to myself (by accident) 3 times, not to mention any other stupid things I've done but just to make it fair, thanks for letting me have the points but I'll try to have a meal with the 2 red food things soon!

[Kritika]

Just finished Memoirs of a Geisha for 15 point task no.6

Kritika's total points so far:
85

[[deleted user]]

Another book to cross off...

5 POINTS-

1. Twilight
2. Bridget Jones's Diary
3. Hunted A House of Night Novel
4. Three Weeks with My Brother
5. Redemption
6. J. K. Rowling The Wizard Behind Harry Potter
7. Confessions of a Shopaholic
8. One for the Money
9. The Secret Life of Bees
10. Henderson the Rain King

10 POINTS-

1. Bard The Odyssey of the Irish
2. Like Water for Chocolate
3. The Magicians' Guild
4. Good in Bed
5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
6. New Moon
7. Mr. Darcy's Diary
8. The Lucky One 3/8/09
9. Water for Elephants
10. Eragon 3/8/09

15 POINTS-

1. SAGITARIUS: Moneyball The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
2. Where the Sidewalk Ends
3. Stardust
4. The Leisure Seeker A NovelUPDATE (Disneyland)
5. Foreign Affairs A Novel
6. If On a Winter's Night a Traveler
7. The Picture of Dorian Gray/Me Talk Pretty One Day
8. The Choice
9. White Noise
10. Black Dagger Brotherhood 3/4/5:Lover Awakened/Lover Revealed/Lover Unbound

25 POINTS-

1. Guitar Girl/Romeo and Juliet
2. Diaries, 1885-97 With Earlier and Later Diary Fragments from 1875-1917
3. Little Women/ A Wrinkle in Time 3/3/09
4. Anne of Green Gables
5. In Cold Blood
6. Diana Story of a Princess
7. ELIMINATED
8. Eclipse/ Specials 3/12/08
9. Wicked The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West


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[Barb H]

Cynthia wrote: "Here it is THE SPRING CHALLENGE, lots of great ideas got thrown around this time so it was hard to pick but I think I have good mix of challenge. Some of the major themes of the challenge are trav..."

How about Passover instead of Lent?

[El]

Barbara, why not Lent?

[Kristina]

Finished another task:
4. Automobile: The Cat Who Dropped A Bombshell (audio CD) by Lilian Jackson Braun

5 points

While The Cat series is classified as mysteries, I found this audio book to be mostly about the town of Pick Axe, and the quirky, cat loving people who inhabit it. It was not until the last disc that any sort of real mystery-action took place. The main characters are the wealthy and beloved Qwilleran and his two cool, crime solving cats, Koko and Yum Yum. In this adventure, the trio help solve murders which occur during town celebrations. The also delve into the aftermath of the bombshells that had been dropped. The highlight of this audio book is the narrator, George Guidall. He masterfully brings this novel to life, even adding different voices for each character. Despite not being the most mysterious of mysteries, this novel was a pleasure to listen to.

[Heather]

Barbara wrote: "Cynthia wrote: "Here it is THE SPRING CHALLENGE, lots of great ideas got thrown around this time so it was hard to pick but I think I have good mix of challenge. Some of the major themes of the ch..."

Barbara, in one of the messages Cynthia said you could read a book about sacrifice which will cover both Passover and Lent. Sacrifice doesn't necessarily have to be religion based.

[April]

25 point task number 5 completed
I finished Watchmen by Alan Moore today.


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[Cait]

My first completed tasks:

10 pts
#4 Author birthday - The Turn of the Screw by Henry James (read 3/5/09)

25 pts
Just finished Cassie's YA task - Wake by Lisa McMann and Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

Total Pts: 35

[Rhiannon]

Updated Books that I plan on reading for this challenge

5 POINT TASKS

1. Prey by Michael Crichton
2. Carrie by Stephen King
3. Shopaholic and Baby by Sophie Kinsella
4. Janet Enavovich Visions of Sugar Plums 3/2/09
5. Chocolate Chips Cookie Mystery by Joanne Fluke
6. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
7. A Midsummer's Night's Dream by William Shakespheare 3/8/09
8. 101 Vacation Jokes by Jovial Bob Stine 3/8/09
9. Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter 3/8/09
10. When Lightening Strikes by Meg Cabot


10 POINT TASKS

1. P.S. I Love You by Cecilia Ahern
2. The Wild Girl by Jim Fergus
3. The book Theif by Markus Zusak
4. Green Eggs and Ham br Dr. Suess
5. The Magician's Nephew
6. New Moon By Stephanie Meyer
7. Friday Night Knitting Club
8. The Sum of ALl Fears by Tom Clancy
9. The Scarlet Letter -Nathaniel Hawthorn
10. Ella Enchanted Gail Carson Levine


15 POINT TASKS

1. Angels Watching over me by Lurlene McDaniel
2. Inferno by Dante Alighieri
3. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
4. BEYOND THE MELTING POT By Nathan Glazer and Daniel P. Moynihan
5. Lost Highway: Journeys and Arrivals of American Musicians by Peter Guralnick
6. 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
7. Big Stone GAP & Miss MAPP
8. Jake Riley : Irreparably Damaged by Rebecca Fjelland Davis
9. Devil in a Blue Dress (Easy Rawlins Mysteries) by Walter Mosley
10. Janet Evanovich 3-5


25 POINT TASKS

1. G Is for Gumshoe by Sue Grafton and Romeo and Juliet
2. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
3. A Bend in the Road and Message in A bottle by Nicholas Sparks
4. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
5. Sullivan's Island
6. The Diana Chronicles by Tina Brown
7. Teen Idol and Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
8. Wicked The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire


20/500

[Cynthia]

LEADERBOARD
ROS - 150
ASHLEY (ID) - 115
FIONA (TITCH) - 115
EVA - 100
KAREN - 100
SANDY - 95
PERS - 90
BEV - 85
CATHEROO - 85
KRITIKA - 85
SHARON - 80
SUZIER - 80
EL - 75
CAROL - 70
LINDSEY - 70
LOUISE - 70
SANDIE - 70
JOSIE - 65
LEORA - 65
ANGELA - 60
ANN FROM SC - 60
LIZ (BKLYN) - 60
LIZ VEGAS - 60
BONNIE - 55
KRISTINA - 50
SUSAN - 50
JAMIE MN - 45
KICKI - 45
RHIANNON - 45
ALISHA - 40
APRIL - 40
BETH MN - 40
CASSIE - 40
CYNTHIA - 40
JENNY - 40
KATE - 40
SARA - 40
FALLON - 35
CAIT - 35
MARY BETH - 35
MEGHAN - 35
VICTORIA - 35
BRIDGIT - 30
JUDITH - 30
MEL - 30
ABBIE - 25
ALICE - 25
DOROTHY - 25
JON - 25
JOY - 25
NATALIA - 25
RORA - 25
SERA - 25
ANGIE - 20
BECKY - 20
BETH - 20
COURTNEY - 20
ELIZ - 20
LINDA - 20
CAITLIN - 15
ELIZABETH - 15
JEN - 15
KATHRYN - 15
ROBIN - 15
STEPH - 15
STEPHANIE - 15
WV HEATHER - 15
ELIZABETH NC - 10
JEN - 10
KRISTEN - 10
LAUREN - 10
MELISSA - 10
MELODY - 10
SEASONAL CHALLENGE MOD - 10
SUSANNA UK - 10
TINA - 10
ASHLEY UT - 5
JAMIE WA - 5
LISA CO - 5
MAGGIE - 5

[Cynthia]

MY COMPLETED TASKS
8. Harry Houdini’s Birthday - Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell - Susanna Clarke - 10 POINTS

I finally finished my first book for this challenge (I've been so busy keeping track of everyone else's reading and getting ready for my trip I haven't had much time to read for myself) and I have to say I wasn't crazy about this book - it had parts that were okay (especially towards the end) but I just couldn't really get into it.


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[Angela]

We have been working you pretty hard Cynthia!! You do need a vacation :)

[Eva-Marie]

I have no idea how she goes through all these posts and finds everyones current point total and then puts them all into alphebetical order and all. And still reads. :D

[Angela]

AND answers everyone's questions. It looks like a full-time job!! Her hands are certainly full... :) Thanks Cynthia!!

[Leora]

Hi Cynthia, the latest leaderboard you put up shows me at 50, but I finished task 15-9 today, so I should be at 65.

(I read Elizabeth Berg's Dream When You Are Feeling Blue and ate blueberry waffles and a most disgusting blue juice.)

Thanks!

[Becky]

I don't think I could do what Cynthia does! I can hardly keep up and I'm addicted to this thread -- although maybe that's why I'm not getting any reading done!

I wonder if multiple threads would be useful? For example a Q&A thread for questions and verification of books and a Scoring & Updates thread for... well, scoring and updates? :)

[Lizzi]

Hi! I stumbled across this community and it looks SO FUN. I think I'll be joining you guys! :-)

[Eva-Marie]

I have trouble even going through a few pages looking for a certain post myself. LOL I couldn't ever do it either. It definitely takes certain skills which I do not possess!

[Eva-Marie]

It IS fun Lizzi! Have you looked back at the first page of this thread to see the challenge tasks?

[Alisha Marie]

Five Point Tasks
1.Science Fiction Novel: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
2. Epistolary Novel: The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters A Novel
3. Spring Cleaning: Off Season
4. Commute???
5. For Easter/Lent: Persuasion
6. Women's History Month: Girl, Interrupted
7. Arbor Day: Love the One You're With (swapping it on paperbackswap)
8. Humorous Novel: The Spellman Files (reread)
9. Spring Animal Title: To Kill a Mockingbird
10. Book with Rain related word: The House of Thunder
Category Totals:

10 Point Tasks
1. Irish Author:PS, I Love You
2. Mexican Author: The Hummingbird's Daughter
3. ANZAC Day: The Book Thief
4. Author B-Day in March: Goodnight Nobody
5. Book about Magic: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
6. Earth Day: The Pillars of the Earth
7. Mother's Day:????
8. Armed Forces Day: Cold Mountain
9. TNBBC Top Books List: The Secret History
10. Five Stars Member's List: Memoirs of a Geisha(Offmat)
Category Totals:

15 Points
1. SCORPIO: The Waste Lands OR Wastelands Stories of the Apocalypse
2. National Poetry Month: What My Mother Doesn't Know
3. TNBBC Unread Group Read: House of Leaves
4. Location You've Been (CT): Swapping Lives
5. Award Winning Author:Beloved (Pulitzer in 1988)
6. Translated Book: Love in the Time of Cholera
7. Rhyming Novels: Alias Grace & No Place Like Home A Novel
8. Get to Know the Author: The Kite Runner
9. Book with Color Title: The Green Mile Book Box Set
10. 3-4-5: All That Remains, Cruel and Unusual, & The Body Farm
Category Totals:

25 Points
1. Karen's Task: The Good Guy AND Rebecca
2. El's Task: To Be Decided
3. Angela's Task: The Historian AND Alphabet Weekends Love on the Road from A to Z
4. Ros's Task: The Stand
5. Bonnie's Task: I Am Legend
6. Jon's Task: The Six Wives of Henry VIII
7. Darla's Task: PENDING
8. Cassie's Task: Looking for Alaska AND The Truth About Forever
9. Sara's Task: Little Red Riding Hood Uncloaked Sex, Morality, and the Evolution of a Fairy Tale

Finished Goodnight, Nobody by Jennifer Weiner for the B-Day in March challenge. So, 40 points for me!




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[Cynthia]

Leora - I actually had you listed twice with both scores by mistake but it's fixed now.

The way this challenge really has grown so fast (and I've said this before) has really taken me by surprise - but I love doing it and I love that everyone else loves doing it. And people have suggested multiple threads but for now I like it this way...we'll see in the future.

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Alisha wrote: "Five Point Tasks
1.Science Fiction Novel: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency looks interesting. Please share when you've read it.

[Eva-Marie]

I wonder if there is a way for people to help you out? Like one person to keep track of one thing and then get back to you when you log on? Maybe that's something to keep in mind for the future if it keeps growing and growing.
No clue what I could do but I would be open to helping if it was ever needed.

[Alisha Marie]

Elizabeth, will do. That's actually one of the ones I'm most looking forward to. I just got it out of the library yesterday, so I should be getting to it after I finish the book I just started.

[Steph]

Completed 5-point tasks:

5. For Easter/Lent...
Light From Heaven - Jan Karon

8. For April Fools Day...
The Princess Bride - William Goldman

9. Read a book with one of the following Spring animals in the title...
Lion in the Valley - Elizabeth Peters

Total: 15 points

[Bonnie]

Man, I go away for a weekend and I can't keep up with all the posts! And I didn't read as much as I thought I would; I had too much fun snowboarding to get off the mountain and read a book instead.

5 Points
4. Read/listen to a book on a bus or train: Belle A Retelling of "Beauty and the Beast" by Cameron Dokey.

Wow, I was really disappointed. Cameron Dokey is usually my favorite author in the Once Upon a Time Series (retellings of fairy tales). But this was pretty mediocre and not nearly as good as other Beauty and the Beast retellings like McKinley's Beauty A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast and Rose Daughter.

Total Points: 55

[KristenR]

so.....

I have no idea which book to read for the "outside your genre" book.....I can't think of any type of book that I don't read...hmph.

And what's the line between children's books and young adult? I'm reading Artemis Fowl to my daughter....does that count for YA?

Fun stuff...I'm only at 25 points, but it's early :)

About the logistics, my suggestion would be for each person to edit their first post on the thread with updates, then Cynthia could keep a list like this: participant - msg# - point total, and have an instant reference point (and she wouldn't have to sift through the fun chatter to get the stats).

Just a suggestion for the future :)

[Jon]

i quite like it all being in this thread - im probably quite sad but i like coming in everyday and seeing whats been said - mind you i suppose if i went away for a week or had a life it might be different!, the only annoying thing is it does take me a while to find my last book list page so i can update it and repost - sometimes i just like to look at it and feel pleased with myself and look forward to what ive got next to read, choose another etc.. oh dear ive turned into a complete geek! its all Cynthias fault lol

[Susanna - Censored by GoodReads]

Kristen - A western maybe?

[Jen B]

Jon wrote: "sometimes i just like to look at it and feel pleased with myself and look forward to what ive got next to read, choose another etc.. oh dear ive turned into a complete geek!

Jon, if that makes you a geek then so am I! I admit to leaving my post with my challenge list on it up at work during the day. I sneak glances at it when I take a break and try to plot how I'm going to read all those books in three months. :)

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Kristen - or a biography?

[Heather]

I like it all in one thread too. If we had two threads, I'd imagine people would be asking questions in both and that'd really be confusing. I don't know about everyone else, but this challenge is going a bit slower for me. In part, I don't have as much time because I'm gearing my students up for the state tests but it's also because I'm always reading posts on this thread! Then again, I am starting out with a 700 page book. Ha!

Like Jon, I love coming home at the end of the day and reading all the posts!

[Jamie]

Arbor day task: 5 pts. #7
I just finished reading The Human Stain by Philip Roth (which I loved, by the way). I am giving this book to a friend who would like to read it.

Total so far: 5 pts.

[El]

25 POINT TASK
7. CASSIE'S TASK - For her friend Melissa (who told her about goodreads and is a YA Librarian): Read two young adult novels.
The Last Unicorn, Peter S. Beagle.
Light in the Forest, Conrad Richter.

TOTAL POINTS: 75.

[KristenR]

Ahhh...a western....yup that's outside my normal reading. I actually like reading biographies (I have a fabulous one about Queen Victoria that I absolutely loved!), though the length of my fiction TBR list tends to drown them out.

Any recommendations on a western? I don't even know where to start!

[Jon]

haha i do that too Jen, and at home - geek! im happy im not worrying about where i am on the scores this time, just working through as i feel like it, or by when the library wants my book - yikes got to finish 2 by saturday!

[Ashley]

Bonnie wrote: "...."

I love the Once Upon a Time Series! Not many people seem to know about it, but I am glad that you do! I know what you mean about Belle though- I felt like I was rereading Beauty by Robin McKinley, but in a copy not done as well... I thought it could have been better too. Which one would you say is your favorite? (If you have one...)

[Bonnie]

Ashley wrote: "Bonnie wrote: "...."

I love the Once Upon a Time Series! Not many people seem to know about it, but I am glad that you do! I know what you mean about Belle though- I felt like I was rereading Be..."

I'm glad you like the series too! My favorite is a tie between Beauty Sleep A Retelling of "Sleeping Beauty" and Golden. The series can be so frustrating, though, because there are a few that I love and a few that I really hate and felt like were a complete waste of my time.

I felt like what Dokey should've done with Belle was cut out most of Belle's pre-Beast life and focus on her time in the castle. Belle is with Beast for, what, 3 chapters before she breaks the curse? That's not enough time!

I was going to buy The Wild Orchid A Retelling of "The Ballad of Mulan", but now I think I'm going to wait until I can get it from the library. What's your favorite one in the series?

[BJ Rose]

I'm posting so I can join the Spring Challenge - hope I'm not too late. Am I correct in thinking that I can use books already read in March if they fit the requirements of a challenge? Now just have to make and post my lists.

[Sandy]

I finished another task but I'm so exhausted and this is only the beginning. Yikes!!
. ROS’ TASK - Read a book that’s on the big reads list. http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100...
I chose Anne of Green Gables 25 points
Of course I loved reading this book.
total= 95

[Rhiannon]

5 POINT TASKS

1. Prey by Michael Crichton
2. Carrie by Stephen King
3. Shopaholic and Baby by Sophie Kinsella
4. Janet Enavovich Visions of Sugar Plums 3/2/09
5. Chocolate Chips Cookie Mystery by Joanne Fluke
6. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
7. A Midsummer's Night's Dream by William Shakespheare 3/8/09
8. 101 Vacation Jokes by Jovial Bob Stine 3/8/09
9. Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter 3/8/09
10. When Lightening Strikes by Meg Cabot


10 POINT TASKS

1. P.S. I Love You by Cecilia Ahern
2. The Wild Girl by Jim Fergus
3. The book Theif by Markus Zusak
4. Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Suess 3/8/09
5. The Magician's Nephew
6. New Moon By Stephanie Meyer
7. Friday Night Knitting Club
8. The Sum of ALl Fears by Tom Clancy
9. The Scarlet Letter -Nathaniel Hawthorn
10. Ella Enchanted Gail Carson Levine


15 POINT TASKS

1. Angels Watching over me by Lurlene McDaniel
2. Inferno by Dante Alighieri
3. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
4. BEYOND THE MELTING POT By Nathan Glazer and Daniel P. Moynihan
5. Lost Highway: Journeys and Arrivals of American Musicians by Peter Guralnick
6. 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
7. Big Stone GAP & Miss MAPP
8. Jake Riley : Irreparably Damaged by Rebecca Fjelland Davis
9. Devil in a Blue Dress (Easy Rawlins Mysteries) by Walter Mosley
10. Janet Evanovich 3-5 3/1/09


25 POINT TASKS

1. G Is for Gumshoe by Sue Grafton and Romeo and Juliet
2. Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
3. A Bend in the Road and Message in A bottle by Nicholas Sparks
4. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
5. Sullivan's Island
6. The Diana Chronicles by Tina Brown
7. Teen Idol and Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
8. Wicked The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire


45/500

[Sandy]

I finally made my ticker.

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[Ann from S.C.]

My update:
15 point task
2) April is National Poetry month. Read a book of poetry.
SELECTED POEMS of Carl Sandburg
my points- 60

[Cathy]

Busy weekend filled with books! Another 70 points for me! :-) Knowing not much about these books before I put them on my list for the challenge, I really lucked out. All but one of them were fantastic.

15 POINTS
1. It’s Written In the Stars…read a book that corresponds to your astrological sign… (books can be fiction or non-fiction) - VIRGO - On Chesil Beach (hated this book)

2. April is National Poetry Month – Read a book of poetry OR about a famous poet. - Sailing Alone Around the Room (You know, I could get into this poetry stuff!)

6. Read a book that has been translated from its original language - The Elegance of the Hedgehog (This will be a re-read for sure. I loved the writing in this book.)

25 POINT TASKS
8. CASSIE'S TASK - The Book Thief and The Perks of Being a Wallflower (I highly recommend both of these books.)