Book Review: Wake

The book I will be reviewing is Wake by Amanda Hocking. I really, really, enjoy this book and I love the main character Gemma Fisher.

Gemma is just amazing, she's sweet and honest and so true to herself which is something she will really need when Penn, Thea, and Lexi arrive at the small town of Capri. Gemma is juggling many problems: swimming practices, school, theater, her mom, who lost her memory, her dad, who misses her mom terribly, her sister Harper, and Alex, her cute neighbor who is also Harper's friend. The arrival of Penn, Thea, and Lexi doesn't help either, but here's the twist: ( HUGE GIGANTIC SPOILER ALERT BEWARE!!!!! STOP IF YOU PLAN ON READING THE BOOK, THANKYOU) They're sirens. Not mermaids, sirens. Terrible creatures who are like mermaids, but also turn into horrible birds. They have charm and feed on men's hearts, they can also charm anyone with the water song and can't be away from the water for too long. One Night they turn Gemma into one, and there's nothing she can do about it, what will she do to stop the horrible girls and herself?

Wake is book one of the water song series.

Official Summary of book (written by author) 

Beautiful. Fearless. Dangerous. They're the kind of girls you envy; the kind of girls you want to hate. Strangers in town for the summer, Penn, Thea, and Lexi have caught everyone's attention, including the eye of practical Harper. But it's her sister, Gemma, they've chosen to be part of their group. Sixteen-year-old Gemma seems to have it all - carefree, pretty, and falling in love with the boy next door. But her greatest passion has always been the water. She craves late night swims under the stars, where she can be alone yet belong to the sea. Lately she's had company. Penn, Thea, and Lexi spend their nights dancing, singing, and partying on the cove--and one night Gemma joins them. When she wakes up groggy on the beach the next morning, she knows something has changed. Suddenly Gemma is stronger, faster, and more beautiful than ever. As she uncovers the truth about her new mythical powers, Gemma is forced to choose between staying with those she loves or entering a dark world brimming with unimaginable secrets.

Gemma and Alex above

About Amanda Hocking, found on her webpage (www.worldofamandahocking.com)

Amanda Hocking is the USA Today bestselling author of the Trylle trilogy and six additional self-published novels. After selling over a million copies of her books, primarily in eBook format, she is widely considered the exemplar of self-publishing success in the digital age.

-xx.

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Book Review: Let it Snow

Hiiii!!! Today I will be reviewing, Let it Snow: Three Holiday Romances, by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle.

Let it Snow is a collaboration book with three different stories that revolve around one thing: A snow storm. The three different stories in Let it Snow consist of The Jubilee Express, A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle, and The Patron Saint of Pigs. All of the stories also have several things in common besides the storm, for example one main character in one story may go to the same school as the main character in the other one etc.

Personal Summary and Review of the book: 

• The Jubilee Express, the first story, is written by Maureen Johnson. I absolutely loved it, it was the first work by Maureen Johnson that I have ever read and I think that she is just amazing. She has a way of capturing how young people think and speak and just writes like, well, a grown-up, but when it gets to the part of Jubilee speaking or even Stuarts little sister Rachel speaking she writes as if they were talking. As if a teenager or a child was speaking, not a young adult. The Jubilee express is about Jubilee, a girl who was sent to Florida with her grandparents because her parents were arrested. There is a terrible snowstorm and the train she is on get's stuck. Jubilee isn't too fond of staying in a train with fourteen cheerleaders(with several Madison's and Ambers) and a guy, Jeb. She leaves to the Wafflehouse outside where she meets Stuart, who takes her to his house. 
• A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle, written by John Green, is about Tobin, The Duke (who is a girl, by the way), and JP. Tobin is home alone since his parents are stuck in Boston, when Keun invites the trio to the Wafflehouse since there are fourteen Cheerleaders stuck in there, because, I mean, what guy wouldn't be dying (Really?). They try to take the car, but going to the Wafflehouse is not that easy. What will happen when the car loses a tire and they can't drive it anymore? A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle is just CHEERTASTIC! It's funny and entertaining and if you like sarcasm you will certainly love the Duke. John Green is one of my favorite authors and I thought the story was great!
• The Patron Saint of Pigs, Written by Lauren Myracle, is about Addie. Addie just broke up with her boyfriend, Jeb, and she just can't get over him. After being stood up, she doesn't know what to do. She goes to her friends for help, but they accuse her of being too self concentrated. To prove her friends otherwise she offers her friend Teagan help to bring her loved pig, Gabriel home from the pet store (Teagan is weirdly obsessed with pigs). What will Addie, the Starbucks Barista do to get back her guy and take care of a Pig all the same? I think this story had a well thought out plot, it was very unusual, but believable at the same time. It was really well written and I can't wait to read more of Lauren Myracle's works.

I rate this book a 5 out of 5

Other Presentations of the Book:

Official Summary of Book (taken from book):

An ill-timed storm on Christmas Eve buries the residents of Gracetown under multiple feet of snow and causes quite a bit of chaos. One brave soul ventures out into the storm from her stranded train and sets off a chain of events that will change quite a few lives. Over the next three days one girl takes a risky shortcut with an adorable stranger, three friends set out to win a race to the Waffle House (and the hash brown spoils), and the fate of a teacup pig falls into the hands of a lovesick barista.

Meet The Authors (B/N):

John Green is the author of The Fault in Our Stars, Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns and Will Grayson, Will Grayson (with David Levithan). He lives in Indianapolis, Indiana.  Visit him online at johngreenbooks.com

Maureen Johnson is the author of 13 Little Blue Envelopes, Devilish, Girl at Sea, The Name of the Star and Suite Scarlett. Visit her online at maureenjohnsonbooks.com
Lauren Myracle is the author of many popular books for teens and tweens, including Shine, Kissing Kate, Peace,Love and Baby Ducks,  The Winne Years series and New York Timesbestsellers ttyl and ttfn (Abrams). She lives with her family in Fort Collins, Colorado. Visit her online at www.laurenmyracle.com

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Book Reviews: Fangirl

Today I will be reviewing Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I will be including a personal review of the book, about the author, images, and the official summary of the book.

Fangirl is one of my favorite books. It is part of my favorites shelf.

Fangirl is a book about a girl named Cather Avery, who just went into college, she is a major in English. Cath, which is what she wants to be called, is a fan of the Simon Snow series (a book series similar to Harry Potter) along her twin sister Wren. Cather and Wren (Cather Wren, Catherine, haha. Get it?) used to write fan fiction about Simon and Baz, the main characters of the series like, say, Potter and Malfoy. Wren is over it and wants to live her college life, while Cather is scared and just got into college to please her sister, which makes her get into situations like eating from her stack of energy bars and peanut butter from under her bed to avoid the cafeteria. She still writes a fanfic called Carry on Simon.  Many of the troubles she faces include romance, family trouble, health, and problems with "College Stuff". 

The book Fangirl is a very, very, great book. I definitely recommend it. It is funny, yet deep at the same time, and Cather's humorous and sarcastic behavior makes the book funny and lively. While Wren, Reagan, and Levi amongst the other characters make the book interesting and get Cather into lots of trouble.

I rate this this book four starts out of five.

About the Author: (credit to Rainbow Rowell's webpage: http://rainbowrowell.com/blog/about/) 

Rainbow Rowell writes books.

Sometimes she writes about adults (Attachments and Landline).

Sometimes she writes about teenagers (Eleanor & Park and Fangirl).

But she always writes about people who talk a lot. And people who feel like they’re screwing up. And people who fall in love.

When she’s not writing, Rainbow is reading comic books, planning Disney World trips and arguing about things that don’t really matter in the big scheme of things.

She lives in Nebraska with her husband and two sons.

Rainbow Rowell's Fangirl summary (find this inside the book or in the back cover)

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . .

But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fanfiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fanfiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

-love xx

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