Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli

Goodreads Summary:

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met. 

My Thoughts:

Albertalli creates a genuine world where real-life teenagers could inhabit. There are not plot-twisting high school kids who are out to be the worst people ever. There are people who are teenagers navigating life. One happens to be Simon and his tight-knit group of friends, Leah, Nick, and Abby.

Simon is also gay but has not come out to anyone yet. It shouldn't be a big deal. No one comes out heterosexual so why should he come out gay? He knows his family and friends will probably be OK with it....but...

He begins writing another gay boy, code name Blue, at his high school anonymously. It's all going smoothly until Martin discovers their emails and blackmails him into helping him get with one of his best friends Abby. Along the way he begins to see that his family and friends have lives of their own, ones that he has never thought to ask about.

We also learn more about Martin. Why would he do such a thing? Albertalli is fantastic at making every character real and fleshed-out. It's an adorable look in Simon's love-life. Will he discover who Blue is? Will they get-together? How will the world react when it finds out he's gay? Even his parents and his sisters have active roles in the story with their thoughts and weaknesses.

It's a quick but important story. And I loved reading it.

I've heard great things about the movie too and would like to compare the movie to the book soon.

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

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I read the book the first time right after I had watched the first movie way back when. I remember really enjoying it. But I also remember being slightly disappointed that the book didn't quite match up with the movie.

So silly of me. The second time is a charm. The initial love and lust of the movies have warn off. They are beloved movies and classics and I can now peel away the layers and look for those beautiful treasure troves. Now I can take the book on its own without the movie. It does influence how I picture the characters now. I'm seeing things I didn't see the first time around.

When I read "The Hobbit" last month I realized how Bilbo really becomes the leader in the book. He takes charge and gets stuff done. The movies don't quite portray that, I think.

Same goes for "The Fellowship of the Ring." Aragorn is more sure of his destiny than he is in the movie. Frodo is a lot older in the books and commands a bit more respect, I think, than in the movies as well.

I think the movies help add to the books but the books is where the meat lies, the heart of it all.

Tolkien truly created the pinnacle fantasy series. I only wish he had added more depth to the story by adding more women. I think there are only 3 major female characters in the series and they never talk to each other.

Overall it's the stuff of epic myth and story. Stories stay with us and make us want to be better, do better, and avoid the dark paths. Heroic imagination at its best. (This relates to the whole series not just the first book).

World War Z by Max Brooks

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I really enjoyed this one the second time around. Max Brooks knows how to paint a plausible picture of a real-life viral zombie apocalypse. How do the various countries handle the outbreak? How does it spread? How does the world population fall and who survives and how? How do countries rebuild?

This book has pretty much nothing to do with the movie starring Brad Pitt, other than the title and a few of the events, but other than that the two stories are completely and totally different.

The book is an oral history written down. The journalist decides to interview a lot of people who have survived World War Z and get their stories down. He breaks it up into a chronological history. How it starts and who knows about it; how it spreads...the Great Panic; etc. He gets stories from various people in different countries. So we get a picture of how the whole world handled this war.

A few of my favorite stories:

The Italian military buried beneath in the catacombs. That was scary. The few survivors trying to make it up north to Canada where it's so cold that the zombies freeze. The story about a woman who is guided to safety through zombie jungle by a strange voice on the radio. The under water zombie divers. How the dogs were trained and contributed to the war effort. How Russia becomes a Holy Empire again...

The only thing I'd complain about is some of the stories were a bit dry but that's to be expected. I think it makes the stories more believable as a whole.

Contact by Carl Sagan

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Summary: Radio astronomer Ellie discovers an extraterrestrial signal from Vega that includes instructions on how to build an unknown machine.

Carl Sagan really brought his love of science and humanity into his first and last novel. It's a shame that he died so young. How would the world change with the knowledge that we're not alone in the Universe? Do we band together as a global species and do we let or differences annihilate us? Sagan gets very philosophical throughout the book. I feel that the heroine, Ellie, was truly Carl Sagan's voice. He sort of brings all of his ideas into one book. He also explains the science very well so me, as a lay person, can understand.

Sagan shows his weakness in fiction writing here. Sometimes the plot got bogged down by his philosophical points, but overall it was a moving story told with trepidation about our future but with a little hope thrown in at the end.

Like Sagan, I hope we as a species can learn to think globally and not annihilate ourselves so we can truly journey to the stars and make space our backyard.

Persuasion by Jane Austen

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Genre: classics, historical, romance
FTC Disclosure: bought from Barnes & Noble
Published: 1817
Pages: 249 (via e-book)
Content: Nothing offensive.

One Line Review: Smart and witty social commentary with a yummy sailor and more annoying family members!

I hate to admit this but Pride and Prejudice is my favorite Jane Austen novel (just because everyone's favorite is P&P and I so want to be different...), but Persuasion is definitely make second favorite!

I just love the story of lost love found again. Wentworth and Anne grow more in love and more as people through their years apart. It's a great love story. This is the second reading and I loved it even more!

I read this as part of the Classics Bribe Reading Challenge by the Quirky Girls!

On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers and Giveaway! CLOSED!

As part of vvb32 reads's ...and a bottle o'rum-Pirates all May, I be reviewing On Stranger Tides and be givin' away a brand new book as part of me bootie!

Genre: adventure, piratey
FTC Disclosure: bought from Amazon.com
Published: 1987
Pages: 336
Content: zombie and pirate mayhem and a bit o'romancin'....

Ahoy, me hearties. This be a grand adventure fer any pirate! We follow Jack Shandy as he be taken captive aboard the Jenny...he be fightin' the bocors, the zombies, and the dreaded Blackbeard, as well as savin' t'love of his life, Elizabeth. Lots o'rum to be had, swords t'be fought, and zombies t'kill in this harrowing tale of t'Fountain o'Youth and the strange tides that be....

Ratin': 4/5 stars! Ahoy! A pirates life for me!!!!

If this book be o'interest please leave your name, email address and why ye be lovin' t'pirates' life! That be all, me hearties. Ye be havin' til Friday at midnight to enter MST and me wee lil' boy will be drawing randomly from 'is pirate hat! Winners will be notified by email and please be respondin' within 24 hours or I will be forced to choose a new winnah! Arrrr, me be not wantin' to do that. Name, email, why ye be lovin' t'pirates life! Or no entry....

Dead men tell no tales....Arrrr....Enter at yer own risk!!! ;)

CLOSED GIVEAWAY

Like Water For Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

Genre: tall tale, fantasy, magical realism
FTC Disclosure: bought from a second-hand store
Published: 1989
Pages: 256
Content: language, sex

Amazon.com summary: Each chapter of screenwriter Esquivel's utterly charming interpretation of life in turn-of-the-century Mexico begins with a recipe--not surprisingly, since so much of the action of this exquisite first novel (a bestseller in Mexico) centers around the kitchen, the heart and soul of a traditional Mexican family. The youngest daughter of a well-born rancher, Tita has always known her destiny: to remain single and care for her aging mother. When she falls in love, her mother quickly scotches the liaison and tyrannically dictates that Tita's sister Rosaura must marry the luckless suitor, Pedro, in her place. But Tita has one weapon left--her cooking. Esquivel mischievously appropriates the techniques of magical realism to make Tita's contact with food sensual, instinctual and often explosive. Forced to make the cake for her sister's wedding, Tita pours her emotions into the task; each guest who samples a piece bursts into tears. Esquivel does a splendid job of describing the frustration, love and hope expressed through the most domestic and feminine of arts, family cooking, suggesting by implication the limited options available to Mexican women of this period. Tita's unrequited love for Pedro survives the Mexican Revolution the births of Rosaura and Pedro's children, even a proposal of marriage from an eligible doctor. In a poignant conclusion, Tita manages to break the bonds of tradition, if not for herself, then for future generations.

Wow. This is quite the different book. My first book with magical realism was Garden Spells. So I'm not sure how other books in the genre are...but this one was a far cry from realism! I would say this is more of a myth/tall-tale. While interesting, it just wasn't my book. Glad I read it but it was just a bit too bizarre for me. I went into it expecting a little more realism. Though, the movie now interests me. I wonder how they went about making this one...


The story does have a theme of love conquers all (even an overbearing abusive dead mother)!

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

goodreads.com

Genre: young adult, fantasy, supernatural
FTC Disclosure: bought from Amazon.com
Published: 2009
Pages: 563
Content: mild language and violence.


Garcia and Stohl really opened up a new world with this series. I've been looking for a fun series to really sink my teeth into and this one is it. It's not the greatest but it's fun and different and has a rich storyline.

The story is told from Ethan's point of view...a boy's voice. Definitely different but I honestly didn't notice so his voice as a boy wasn't really distinct! Anyway, he lives in a small Southern town called Gatlin where everybody knows everyone and outsiders are just not welcome. That's where Lena comes in. She's the niece of the local crazy "Boo Radley." He's a recluse and the town hates him and thus hate her. But Ethan can't get her out of his mind because she's the girl he's been dreaming about for the past year and 2, she literally is in his head...telepathically. Strange things happen when she's around and Ethan eventually realizes that she is a Caster/witch.

This was just a fun story. I enjoyed their budding relationship. I enjoyed the mythology of the Caster world. I liked that there weren't any love triangles. Those really bug me right now and neither was a "bad boy" who treated the one they love like sh**. So it had all those things going for it.

Some of the bad things...sometimes the story dragged on a bit too long. Also, the essence of the story is like every other paranormal teen novel. We have one person who's some kind of supernatural being who loves a mortal human and somehow they can't be together...sigh.

But overall, a fun story and looking forward to the next in the series.

Rating: 4/5 Stars 

Other Covers:

Bulgarian

Catalan

Dutch and Flemish

French

German

Serbian

 Quite a few covers for this one. I had no idea! I really like the Serbian cover and the German cover. They give it a more personal feel. The French one, I don't get. That pic doesn't really have anything to do with the story. The Dutch/Flemish version feels like a throwback to the 70s...just does, don't know why! The Catalan cover is more like the American version but more bland. The Bulgarian one is mysterious. I like that one too. But my faves are the Serbian and German covers. What about you?

All cover pics were taken from goodreads.com.

New Jane Eyre Movie

It looks like we are to have another movie adaptation of Jane Eyre! I must admit I'm pretty excited. Each adaptation has its own unique take on my favorite classic novel. Well, I haven't seen every single adaptation there is...that would take awhile. Just look on IMDB and you'll see what I mean. But of the ones I have seen, the only one that I didn't like was the 1970 TV version with George C. Scott. I just couldn't buy George as my Mr. Rochester...ick.

The latest film opens March 11! First, here is the movie poster...

What do you think? I like it....though, the only thing I'd say against it is the shadow of Rochester is kind of weird...but overall, I think it establishes the mood of the story.

Now the trailer....



How about the trailer? It makes me really excited to see the film!!!  I can't wait. It looks dark and mysterious...granted they probably threw in all the Gothic elements to sell the movie in the trailer... I say that because one of the big points of the book was the triumph of love. Also, Dame Judi Dench is in there! I love her. Focus Pictures also did the last Pride and Prejudice adaptation which is my favorite! So it has all the elements to be an amazing movie and adaptation! Here's to hoping!

Mia Wasikowska as Jane

Michael Fassbender as Mr. Rochester

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith

Genre: vampire, historical
FTC Disclosure: bought used on Goodreads Swap
Published: 2010
Pages: 336
Content: PG-13 for vampire violence.

In a Line: A fun and fast look at Abe Lincoln as a vampire hunter.

I really enjoyed Grahame-Smith's first novel Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. So I was hoping for same sort of style with this novel. I was not disappointed! I expected to just like it, but I really enjoyed this one.

Grahame-Smith starts the novel with himself...receiving a bunch of old diaries from someone named Henry...ta dah, all about Abe Lincoln's life as a vampire hunter and the real truth behind the Civil War. This plot device is cheesy, but it drew me in even more. Let's blame everything on imaginary creatures, those darn vampires! HA, love it!

We follow Abe through his life from the loss of his mother to the discovery of vampires and his desire to see them all sent to Hell! To his political career to end slavery, since that is how the vampires feed so well in America.

It definitely makes me want to read an actual biography Abe Lincoln. There are also fun doctored photos of Abe killing vamps and such. It's fun and campy and I really enjoyed it. The only thing that bothered me was the literal demonization of certain key historical figures...but then I just thought to myself that it is fiction and to turn the brain off and just enjoy it!

Rating: 4/5 stars

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Genre: dystopia, young adult
FTC Disclosure: bought Costco
Published: 2010
Pages: 398
Content: PG-13

In a Line: Slow start then raced to the finish line.

It had been a year since I read the first two books in the series...not a good idea. I really need to wait to read series' until they are all out...there was a lot that I couldn't quite remember from the first two that would've made the reading of the last book a bit more enjoyable.

The third book started off really, really slow for me. Then the ending went up in smoke and I had to reread parts just to make sure I got them.

The descriptions of the rebel district were fascinating. It sounded very Big Brother communism. Everything's the same and everyone. Each had their own part whether you liked it or not. So it got you thinking about what kind of place the rebels would be replacing...Why were they really rebelling? Was it for the people? Or was it really for power, power for President Coin? I didn't like where that plot line was leading. They want to replace one crappy government for another???

I also felt that Katniss was just lead along and not really proactive in her life. She kept getting blown up or almost assassinated in every chapter. She was just a pawn for everyone else. But I guess that was the point. She just went along with everything until it really mattered and that's when she takes everything into her own hands. She's a survivor and that's what she does.

I think Collins does a pretty good job on talking about the horrors of war and the reasons for it. She may have hit it over our heads a bit too much in the last book, but overall I think the theme is an important one. I really just wanted more. The book was too short and short on the details. I have so many questions about the Hunger Games world. Maybe she'll come out with an encyclopedia of their world and satisfy my curiosity. But the ending really was done too fast. It took awhile for her to build up to the last battle and then it was over and done with before I even blinked. It was like she had a deadline and she rushed to keep it.

The first two books were better, but overall I was satisfied with this one.

Rating: 3.5/5

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Genre: classic, historical fiction, Victorian England
FTC Disclosure: bought from Barnes and Noble
Published: 1854
Pages: 422
Content: PG

Gaskell gives a beautiful and poignant look at the merchant sector of the time in England. Margaret is from the South and a lady and is forced to move to Milton with her parents due to his loss of faith as a clergyman.

Margaret soon learns to see things from a different perspective as she lives among those who aren't of her "class."

There also is a bit of romance in here between her and the local cotton mill owner Mr. Thornton...!

The characters are engrossing. The story moves along at a steady pace. The only thing that was irksome were all the literary references that I have no clue about! It's only due to my own ignorance, though. Luckily, my copy had a few endnotes to help me out!

I can see why this is a classic! Oh, and the movie is superb as well, if anyone desires to see it.

Rating: 4/5 stars

I also recommend watching the newest version of North and South by BBC. It's brilliant!

Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fannie Flagg

Genre: southern fiction
FTC Disclosure: bought used from Amazon.com
Published: 1987
Pages: 416
Content: PG-13 for violence, language, and adult themes
  
While I enjoyed the movie better, the book is still a beautiful tale of women finding out who they are.

I fell in love with the town of Whistle Stop. It's the kind of town you just wish you'd been apart of.

We follow Evelyn in the present time as she meets Ninny Threadgoode who begins to tell her about Idgie and Ruth and their times in Whistle Stop. Evelyn, throughout the story, makes her own journey like Idgie and Ruth to find herself by taking her own life into her hands, to make her own fate instead of others deciding for her.

The novel jumps around a lot from the POV of different people in Whistle Stop through newspaper articles as well as third person narrative as well as Ninny's narrative. Sometimes it got a bit confusing since there were so many characters to follow.

There are also plenty of themes running through the book: lesbianism, sexism and women's rights, racism, etc. I didn't agree with everything Flagg had to say, but I enjoyed the journey of listening to it anyway.

Rating: 4/5 stars

Game Change by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin

Genre: non-fiction, politics
FTC Disclosure: bought from Costco
Published: 2009
Pages: 436
Content: R for language/excessive use of the f-word
Reading Challenges: A to Z Challenge (Author H)


One Line Summary: The ins and outs, ups and downs of the historic 2008 presidential election.

I loved this book! It was so insightful and it's one of those non-fiction books that reads like a novel. It was so intriguing to find out the inner workings of the McCainworld, Hillarlyland, and the Obamans. It made me very glad that I've never had any desire for public office. Politics is a brutal world and you have to have pretty thick skin to go anywhere within it.

McCain was an interesting person to learn more about...I learned he has quite the mouth on him (maybe due to his military time), and some anger issues...but that could be a result of being tortured and held hostage for a bit...I also came to feel a bit of sympathy for Sarah Palin. The choice to have her as McCain's running mate was a rash decision that really destroyed Palin. His campaign people pretty much left her out to dry once they found out more about her and the press attacked her relentlessly.

I also became really glad that John Edwards didn't make too much of a splash this time around. Not the most upstanding guy in politics or Rudy Guiliani, for that matter....

It was great to see how Obama's campaign people pulled it all together to get the win. There were a lot of bumps and bruises on the way, especially with Hillary and Bill Clinton. It was all out war between him and them. I was glad to see some of the reparation that happened after Obama became president and she accepted her post as Secretary of State.

This was a fast-paced, informative book and I loved every minute of it. It's amazing to get insight into this historic presidential race. Pick it up and give it a read, you won't be sorry!

Rating: 4.5/5

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd

Summary: Lily Owens is 14 in 1964 in the South. She accidentally killed her mother when she was four years old, has an abusive father, and breaks her nanny Rosaleen out of jail. They hit the road to escape their lives and to find out about Lily's mother, her past. They are led to Tiburon, South Carolina and to the home of August Boatwright. Lily learns about love and life and forgiveness.

I really loved this book. It's a wonderful coming of age story and it contains so many truths about love and life. Lily is confronted with her feelings about whites and blacks when she comes to live with August and her sisters. All of them are intelligent and cultured; Lily had always assumed she would be the smartest in the room. Just one of the many truths she learns on her journey and at the same time it makes us the readers examine our own prejudices and long-held "truths."

I also watched the movie right after reading this and was pleasantly surprised by how close they stayed to the novel. They changed a couple of things for dramatic effect, but overall they were true to the source. Dakota Fanning plays Lily perfectly and Queen Latifah is always wonderful!

Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

I saw the previews for this one and I got really excited about it, so I thought I'd head out and buy the book and read it! I'm glad I did. This was a really fast-paced novel and I got through it pretty quickly.

Back jacket description: The year is 1954. U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels and his new partner, Chuck Aule, have come to Shutter Island, home of Ashecliffe Hospital for the Criminally Insane, to investigate the disappearance of a patient. Multiple murderess Rachel Solando is loose somewhere on this remote and barren island, despite having been kept in a locked cell under constant surveillance. As a killer hurricane bears relentlessly down on them, a strange case takes on even darker, more sinister shades -- with hints of radical experimentation, horrifying surgeries, and lethal countermoves made in the cause of a covert shadow war. No one is going to escape Shutter Island unscathed, because nothing at Ashecliffe Hospital is what it seems. But then neither is Teddy Daniels.
This book has a lot of twists and turns and until the very end I should've clued in but I didn't. Some smarter people will probably get it before it's over, but I enjoyed the psychological ride. But this book is not for the faint of heart. It has language galore, such as the F-bomb and their are some pretty graphic visualizations of crimes, sex, etc. But if you can enjoy a story for its story then check this one out. I won't be seeing the movie since I know that it will contain some pretty graphic violence and language and reading it in a book is one thing, but seeing it on a big screen is quite another! So enjoy!

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

I'd heard about this book on goodreads.com and became really interested in reading it. So when I headed to the library last week I saw that it was in stock, I picked it up and carried it home! This was a really fast read; I read it cover to cover in a day.

We see the world through the eyes of Melinda in your ninth grade year, her Freshman year in high school, how she deals with being raped the summer before by an acquaintance from school. It's shocking and horrible, really. Her parents don't seem to notice that there could actually be something wrong with their daughter since she's become withdrawn, sullen, depressed. They just assume she's acting out for some reason to hurt them. All of her former friends have ceased being her friends this year, none of teachers care. Except her art teacher, he seems to notice she has a talent for art and he encourages her talent throughout the year. It's a story of how she's been silenced through this horrible and traumatic experience and how she eventually finds her voice to speak out and to speak up for herself.

It's an amazing novel and can clearly see why it's becoming a modern classic. Everyone should read this in order to gain better understanding not only for rape victims, but those victims of any kind of abuse, those who are depressed. Let's reach out to those in need. Let's be informed and educate and talk about sexual abuse, how it's horrible, how to prevent it.

The author, at the end of her book, talks about how she's gotten a lot of letters from boys that really liked the novel, but don't understand why the character Melinda was so disturbed about being raped!!! She was shocked and appalled as I am. It just goes to show how our society sends the message that sex is no big deal and thus why we have so many sexual assault cases. I'm a mother of a little boy and I want him to grow up knowing why sex IS a huge deal, the impact it can have, I want him to realize that despite what our culture says about women, it's wrong...we're important, we're real, we have feelings. If I can help him learn that essential part of humanity, I'll have accomplished my one true mission on this earth.

*Part of the Women Unbound Challenge

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

What makes a great book? When you are yelling at the characters while reading! Yes, I did this. Katniss and the rest of the districts are slowly rebelling against the evil Capitol...President Snow retaliates by sending all the previous victors of the Hunger Games into the arena to fight it out. Can Katniss save Peeta or herself and thus her family?

This is an excellent series and I can't wait for the third book! Katniss is an unassuming hero and that's why I love her. She knows what's good and right and she doesn't even realize it. We also have another love triangle with Katniss and her two guys Gale and Peeta. We love them both! Well, I do anyway.

The world of the Hunger Games is just scary. Could our society ever become as debase and freedomless as this one?

This series is definitely one I'll repeat again and again!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Katniss is one of those beautiful characters that doesn't realize how great they are! She lives in a brutal post-apocalyptic world where the government uses brutal hunger games to keep the population in line. It reminds me a lot of the Running Man type reality. It's brutal and horrible. I feel it's kind of a social commentary on where our world could be heading...It's the first book in a trilogy and it doesn't disappoint!

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

My Review in another Haiku:

Lizzie has spirit
Mr Darcy is too proud
Love overcomes all

I really enjoyed rereading this one. It was a pleasure, but not guilty, I promise! I won this version with the lovely cover from Velvet at vvb32 reads! So I just had to get it on my blog! If you haven't read any of Jane Austen start with this one. And don't forget to watch the movies...the BBC 1995 version is excellent with Colin Firth as Darcy, but my personal favorite is the 2005 version with Kiera Knightley and Mathhew McFadyen. He's just my yummy Darcy! And Lost in Austen is also a treat. Check out my links for reviews!

Isn't this the greatest cover! It's so pretty! Thanks again, Velvet!

*This is part of the Everything Austen Challenge hosted by Stephanie.