Everything Everything

Author: Nicola Yoon

Pages: 306

Rating: PG-13 (There is no language, but there is a 2 page sex scene. Not overly graphic, but still somewhat descriptive)

 
Summary: Risk everything . . . for love.
What if you couldn’t touch anything in the outside world? Never breathe in the fresh air, feel the sun warm your face . . . or kiss the boy next door? In Everything, Everything, Maddy is a girl who’s literally allergic to the outside world, and Olly is the boy who moves in next door . . . and becomes the greatest risk she’s ever taken. 

My disease is as rare as it is famous. Basically, I’m allergic to the world. I don’t leave my house, have not left my house in seventeen years. The only people I ever see are my mom and my nurse, Carla.

But then one day, a moving truck arrives next door. I look out my window, and I see him. He's tall, lean and wearing all black—black T-shirt, black jeans, black sneakers, and a black knit cap that covers his hair completely. He catches me looking and stares at me. I stare right back. His name is Olly.

Maybe we can’t predict the future, but we can predict some things. For example, I am certainly going to fall in love with Olly. It’s almost certainly going to be a disaster.

My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book. It was a quick read (I read it in less than 2 days). It definitely moved quickly, was exciting, and fun! Although, it was one of those books that I wish could have been told from several different perspectives. I wanted Olly's thoughts, the mom's thoughts, etc. It was really good though. I wasn't super satisfied with the ending. I had questions that weren't answered. I wished there was an epilogue. I have not seen the movie. I may have to reserve it. I did like the book though.  

Dear Reader

Author: Mary O'Connell

Pages:  293

Rating: PG-13 (There is almost no language EXCEPT for one page in which there is a letter that one of the main characters wrote in which the F-word is used profusely. But the rest of the book is clean. There are mentions of teenage sex but no graphic descriptions).

Summary:
For seventeen-year-old Flannery Fields, the only respite from the plaid-skirted mean girls at Sacred Heart High School is her beloved teacher Miss Sweeney’s AP English class. But when Miss Sweeney doesn't show up to teach Flannery's favorite book, Wuthering Heights, leaving behind her purse, Flannery knows something is wrong.
The police are called, and Flannery gives them everything―except Miss Sweeney's copy of Wuthering Heights. This she holds onto. And good thing she does, because when she opens it, it has somehow transformed into Miss Sweeney's real-time diary. It seems Miss Sweeney is in New York City―and she's in trouble.
So Flannery does something very unFlannery-like: she skips school and sets out for Manhattan, with the book as her guide. But as soon as she arrives, she meets a boy named Heath. Heath is British, on a gap year, incredibly smart―yet he's never heard of Albert Einstein or Anne Frank. In fact, Flannery can't help thinking that he seems to have stepped from the pages of Brontë's novel. Could it be that Flannery is spending this topsy-turvy day with her ultimate fictional romantic hero, Heathcliff, reborn in the twenty-first century?

My Thoughts: I still can't 100% decide how I feel about this book. Was it fun? Yes. Was it addicting and difficult to put down? Also, yes. But, after it was finally over I kind of felt let down. Like...I just didn't get the resolution I was expecting. And it's not that it was just a different kind of ending, but still good, it was that I felt like it all wrapped up so quickly and nothing was really resolved. Maybe I just didn't get it. I don't know. I've never read Wuthering Heights, so maybe that made the difference. If you love that book, you'll probably like this one. I also thought it was a little bit melodramatic. The reviews on GoodReads are mixed. Some love it, some hate it, as is the case with any book. And although I definitely didn't hate it, I didn't love it either. Enjoyable, fun, but not life-changing. And I'm not running out to recommend it to the nearest stranger either.

The Bookshop on the Corner

Author: Jenny Colgan

Pages: 332

Rating: PG-13 (there is sex at the end but it is not graphically described. I think 3 instances of the F-word, and one or two other swear words, but they are rare.)

Summary:
Nina is a literary matchmaker. Pairing a reader with that perfect book is her passion… and also her job. Or at least it was. Until yesterday, she was a librarian in the hectic city. But now the job she loved is no more.

Determined to make a new life for herself, Nina moves to a sleepy village many miles away. There she buys a van and transforms it into a bookmobile — a mobile bookshop that she drives from neighborhood to neighborhood, changing one life after another with the power of storytelling. 
From helping her grumpy landlord deliver a lamb, to sharing picnics with a charming train conductor who serenades her with poetry, Nina discovers there’s plenty of adventure, magic, and soul in a place that’s beginning to feel like home… a place where she just might be able to write her own happy ending.

My Thoughts: I highly enjoyed this book! Nina is a girl after my own soul. She loves to read, and basically has lived her life buried in books, until the library she works at closes, and she no longer has a job. So she follows what some feel is a ridiculous dream, and she moves up to Scotland with a big van full of books to sell. (She lived in England before). I have always wanted to visit Scotland, and the descriptions of the landscape, the people, and the view made me want it even more! There is quite a commentary going on about how living in a city we get too caught up in our own lives, in the screens in front of our faces, and fitting in. Out in the country, things are different. It makes one long for a visit!

At the bottom of it all, this book is really a romance, because as Nina learns more about herself and comes out of her shell, she does find love, but I won't give anything else away.

The one thing I don't like much about this book is the title. "The Bookshop on the Corner" makes me think of a little shop tucked away on a quiet corner of a busy street. But really she has a van and she calls it "The Little Shop of Happy Ever After" so...I'm not sure why that isn't the title of the book.

Also, so many other books are referenced in this one that it made me want to look all of them up! Although I did look up the most frequently referenced book, "Up on the Rooftops" and I don't think that's actually a real book. I think it was fabricated for the purpose of the story.

Anyway, it was a good read. Not too deep, but not boring, and how can you go wrong with a book about someone who loves books?

Moloka'i

Author: Alan Brennert
Pages: 384
Rating: PG-13 (There is no foul language, but there is some sex. The descriptions, however, are very short and sweet, usually only lasting a few sentences.)

Summary:
This richly imagined novel, set in Hawai'i more than a century ago, is an extraordinary epic of a little-known time and place---and a deeply moving testament to the resiliency of the human spirit.
Rachel Kalama, a spirited seven-year-old Hawaiian girl, dreams of visiting far-off lands like her father, a merchant seaman. Then one day a rose-colored mark appears on her skin, and those dreams are stolen from her. Taken from her home and family, Rachel is sent to Kalaupapa, the quarantined leprosy settlement on the island of Moloka'i. Here her life is supposed to end---but instead she discovers it is only just beginning.

My Thoughts: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A good historical fiction novel is written in such a way that you forget the characters aren't actually real people, and this book certainly fit the bill.I just love that you can imagine that someone just like Rachel really did exist and a lot of those same things probably happened to someone. The book basically covers Rachel's entire life. I feel like I can't accurately describe it without giving too much away. All I guess I can say is that there really was a leprosy colony on the island of Moloka'i during the late 19th century and into the 20th. I was fascinated to learn about it and also a little of the history of Hawaii and their relationship with the US as well. I found Rachel's life to be an amazing reflection of the thought "Bloom where you're planted" and after I read the book I did a bit of research about Kalaupapa and found that the people there truly had a spirit of kindness and family. In their exile, they made a paradise. This book is definitely worth reading at least once in your life.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

Author: Kate DiCamillo
Pages: 200
Rating: G  - This is a very short book, and is entirely suitable for children

Summary:
Once, in a house on Egypt Street, there lived a china rabbit named Edward Tulane. The rabbit was very pleased with himself, and for good reason: he was owned by a girl named Abilene, who adored him completely. And then, one day, he was lost. . . .
Kate DiCamillo takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the depths of the ocean to the net of a fisherman, from the bedside of an ailing child to the bustling streets of Memphis. Along the way, we are shown a miracle – that even a heart of the most breakable kind can learn to love, to lose, and to love again.

My Thoughts: I thoroughly enjoyed this sweet story. It only took me a few hours to read, and although it is technically a children's book I felt it had some very thought-provoking themes. Edward is a very self-centered, prideful, and selfish rabbit. He does not really care for anyone but himself. Although he is deeply loved by Abilene, he does not really love her back. And then one day, as the summary states, he is lost. Over a period of many years, Edward has several owners, all who love him deeply, and he learns to love them back. It's extremely touching to watch Edward change over the course of the book. I felt that the overall theme of the book is that love is the entire point of existence. In fact, there is a quote towards the end that really encapsulates the whole thing, "If you have no intention of loving or being loved, then the whole journey is pointless." How true that is! 

The Night Circus

Author: Erin Morgenstern
Pages: 387
Rating: PG - no language, but 2 people die, and there is a very vaguely described sex scene. 
Summary:
The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night.

But behind the scenes, a fierce competition is underway: a duel between two young magicians, Celia and Marco, who have been trained since childhood expressly for this purpose by their mercurial instructors. Unbeknownst to them both, this is a game in which only one can be left standing. Despite the high stakes, Celia and Marco soon tumble headfirst into love, setting off a domino effect of dangerous consequences, and leaving the lives of everyone, from the performers to the patrons, hanging in the balance.

My Thoughts: I have mixed feelings about this book. The circus is absolutely magical. I want to go there now so bad! All the descriptions of the different acts and tents are seriously so good. You just feel the mystery and the magic of the place. However, I found the storyline to be a bit frustrating. The game Celia and Marco are playing is vague and confusing. There seem to be no set rules, and no one is forthcoming about how it is supposed to work. I felt that although the circus itself was well-described, the characters are all a bit lacking. There just wasn't enough background to them. I also felt that the love story between Marco and Celia was lacking depth. One minute they don't know each other, the next second they're deeply in love for no discernible reason. It was kind of dumb. I just didn't emotionally connect with their love story in any way.

Overall, I did enjoy this book, if just for the pure imaginativeness of the author when coming up with circus tents. Also, the ending was satisfying. But, I was very frustrated by the general feeling of being lost and confused the entire time...and some of my questions were never adequately answered.

The Lake House

Author: Kate Morton
Pages: 492
Rating: PG (a few mild swear words, but that's really it.)

Summary:
Living on her family’s idyllic lakeside estate in Cornwall, England, Alice Edevane is a bright, inquisitive, and precociously talented sixteen-year-old who loves to write stories.

One midsummer’s eve, after a beautiful party drawing hundreds of guests to the estate has ended, the Edevanes discover that their youngest child, eleven-month-old Theo, has vanished without a trace. He is never found, and the family is torn apart, the house abandoned.

Decades later, Alice is living in London, having enjoyed a long successful career as a novelist. Miles away, Sadie Sparrow, a young detective in the London police force, is staying at her grandfather’s house in Cornwall. While out walking one day, she stumbles upon the old Edevane estate—now crumbling and covered with vines. Her curiosity is sparked, setting off a series of events that will bring her and Alice together and reveal shocking truths about a past long gone...yet more present than ever.


My Thoughts: Initially, I felt like the pace of this novel was too slow. It is, after all, quite long. I admit, I skimmed through to the end to find out whodunnit, and for some reason, that helped me have the patience to start back and the beginning and actually read. I was glad I did, because there was a lot more to the story than I had gleaned from my skim-through. One thing I liked about this novel is that even though it's mainly told from the perspective of Sadie and Alice, most of the other important characters, including Baby Theo, get a chance to voice their thoughts for a few pages. Also, the summary doesn't tell you, but Sadie is staying in Cornwall on a sort of unofficial leave of absence. She refused to let a police case go, even after it was formally closed. This case continues to gnaw at her, and is eventually solved along with the Edevane case, which is very satisfying.

I loved that this book kept me guessing. There are many times when it seems so clear what is happening, only to be proven wrong a few pages later. The whole event (the disappearance of the boy) is much, much more complicated than anyone originally assumed. Love, honor, keeping promises, war, a secret affair, etc. It's all part of it. I added the label of Historical Fiction to this post because World War I and the "shell shock" the soldiers experienced plays an important role in the storyline. And just so you know, Sadie does manage to uncover exactly what happened to Baby Theo, but I won't tell you what it was. That part was a surprise, even though I already knew who was responsible and why, from my look-ahead.  If you like a good mystery, you may want to pick this one up.

Behind Every Great Man: The Forgotten Women Behind the World's Famous and Infamous

Author: Marlene Wagman-Geller
Pages: 329
Rating: PG-13 (a few of the people profiled were very sexually open and into drugs, etc. But there is no language)

Summary:
From ancient times to the present, men have gotten most of the good ink. Yet standing just outside the spotlight are the extraordinary, and overlooked, wives and companions who are just as instrumental in shaping the destinies of their famous―and infamous―men.
This witty, illuminating book reveals the remarkable stories of forty captivating females, from Constance Lloyd (Mrs. Oscar Wilde) to Carolyn Adams (Mrs. Jerry Garcia), who have stood behind their legendary partners and helped to humanize them, often at the cost of their own careers, reputations, and happiness. Through fame and its attendant ills―alcoholism, infidelity, mental illness, divorce, and even attempted murder―these powerful women quietly propelled their men to the top and changed the course of history.
Meet the Untold Half of History, Including:
•Alma Reville (Mrs. Alfred Hitchcock)
•Elena Diakonova (Mrs. Salvador Dali)
•Winifred Madikizela (Mrs. Nelson Mandela)
•Ann Charteris (Mrs. Ian Fleming, a.k.a. Mrs. James Bond)
•Ruth Alpern (Mrs. Bernie Maddoff)
And 35 more!

My Thoughts: I felt that this book was really very interesting. I loved learning about the women behind some of these famous men. My favorites were Mrs. Gandhi,  Mrs. Schindler, and Mrs. Charlie Chaplin. I had no idea that Gandhi's wife fasted right alongside him, and usually was imprisoned with him as well. Schindler's famous list was a joint brainstorm between husband and wife. You always just kind of think of these men as single, you never consider that they had wife who was just as much involved in their rise to fame! Each chapter is only 4-5 pages long, so it's easy to read small pieces at a time. My biggest complaint is that sometimes the sentence structure is awkward, occasionally there's a phrase that doesn't seem to fit within a given paragraph, and it's a little disjointed. The author tends to jump from topic to topic without smooth transitions. I got a little lost more than once. Other than that, this was an informative, fun read.

I'll Give You The Sun

Author: Jandy Nelson
Pages: 371
Rating: PG-13 (probably 10-12 F-words in this book, but very little other swearing.)

Summary:
At first, Jude and her twin brother are NoahandJude; inseparable. Noah draws constantly and is falling in love with the charismatic boy next door, while daredevil Jude wears red-red lipstick, cliff-dives, and does all the talking for both of them.

Years later, they are barely speaking. Something has happened to change the twins in different yet equally devastating ways . . . but then Jude meets an intriguing, irresistible boy and a mysterious new mentor.

The early years are Noah’s to tell; the later years are Jude’s. But they each have only half the story, and if they can only find their way back to one another, they’ll have a chance to remake their world.

This radiant, award-winning novel from the acclaimed author of The Sky Is Everywhere will leave you breathless and teary and laughing—often all at once.

My Thoughts: I really love this author. She is just so so amazing with words! I don't even know how she thinks up the things she says, but they make complete sense, even if it's something I never in a million years would have thought to say. For example, towards the beginning, Noah talks about how walking around in the art museum makes him feel like his skin fits, how "it didn't once bunch up at my ankles or squeeze my head into a pin." What great imagery! What an artistic way to explain how he felt free to be himself! I just love the way she writes.

All that aside, I also loved the story. I have never actually read a book where one of the main characters was gay. It just isn't something that interested me/it kind of made me uncomfortable. But Nelson does an amazing job of writing Noah. Noah is gay, but he's kind of afraid of it, as I'm sure most kids in his position feel. He wishes he wasn't like this, he's afraid of what his family will think if they ever find out, but he can't stop what he feels. Seriously, just such a great novel to create understanding towards kids who are struggling with their sexual identity. 

Another thing I love is in the end, Noah and Jude both realize that they never really knew their parents as well as they thought they did. They made assumptions, made too much out of innocent comments. Noah believes for years that his dad dislikes him and that they have nothing in common. He has completely forgotten the things they used to enjoy doing together, the amazing things they DO share. It's eye opening, for sure.

This book was not predictable. I wasn't sure where it was all going to end up or what was going to happen, and there was a twist towards the end that totally surprised me. This book was definitely worth reading. I hope Nelson writes more books because she is really incredible!

Garden Spells

Author: Sarah Addison Allen
Pages: 286

Rating: PG-13 (this is definitely an adult novel. There were a few too many curse words, and I wasn't pleased with the descriptiveness of the sex in it. It's not extremely graphic, it doesn't go on and on for pages, but the little that there is I felt was too much. I like my sex references in books to be super vague.)

Summary:
The Waverleys have always been a curious family, endowed with peculiar gifts that make them outsiders even in their hometown of Bascom, North Carolina. Even their garden has a reputation, famous for its feisty apple tree that bears prophetic fruit, and its edible flowers, imbued with special powers. Generations of Waverleys tended this garden. Their history was in the soil. But so were their futures. A successful caterer, Claire Waverley prepares dishes made with her mystical plants - from the nasturtiums that aid in keeping secrets and the pansies that make children thoughtful, to the snapdragons intended to discourage the attentions of her amorous neighbor. Meanwhile, her elderly cousin, Evanelle, is known for distributing unexpected gifts whose uses become uncannily clear. They are the last of the Waverleys - except for Claire’s rebellious sister, Sydney, who fled Bascom the moment she could, abandoning Claire, as their own mother had years before. When Sydney suddenly returns home with a young daughter of her own, Claire’s quiet life is turned upside down - along with the protective boundary she has so carefully constructed around her heart. Together again in the house they grew up in, Sydney takes stock of all she left behind, as Claire struggles to heal the wounds of the past. And soon the sisters realize they must deal with their common legacy - if they are ever to feel at home in Bascom - or with each other

My Thoughts: I felt like this was a good story, I really enjoyed the little bits of magic laced in, and I thought the characters were well rounded, etc. As I said above, I wasn't comfortable with how descriptive the sex scenes got, even though it wasn't bad enough for me to close the book and say I'm done. I liked how the book switched perspectives several times so you get to hear from each character. I'm going to check out more by this author, because she came highly recommended, but I'm hoping her other books are better. I wasn't super enthralled by this one.

Me Before You

Author: Jojo Moyes
Pages: 369
Rating: PG-13 (There's one time the main character has sex with her boyfriend, but it's not descriptive. I was much more bothered by the fact that the F-word is in this book probably 10-15 times.)

Summary:
Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has barely been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.

Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.


My Thoughts: So this book, and it's accompanying movie, has been all the rage lately. I probably would not have picked this up except that my book club chose it for the month of July, so I read it.

I do have to say that it is very well written. I read the whole thing in 3 days. It never gets boring or tedious at ALL and it's very emotional. You really understand the way everyone is feeling.

That being said, I'm not sure if I particularly like the story. Will is not just wheelchair bound, he's a quadriplegic. Everything has to be done for him. He has to be fed like a baby, bathed, moved around, everything. He's totally helpless. And, the worse part is, even though he can't MOVE his body parts, he can still feel pain in them. Will wants to commit an assisted suicide. When Louisa finds out, she sets out to convince him that life is worth living, even if it's not the life he intended for himself.

Spoiler, Spoiler, Spoiler...if you don't want to know how it ends, STOP READING NOW!

Surprise, surprise, Louisa ends up falling in love with Will, despite his paralysis. And, Will falls for Louisa. However, none of this changes his mind. He still wants to commit suicide. It's heartbreaking to read how his mother feels about all this, how Louisa feels. And I agree with Louisa when she tells Will he is being selfish. He tells her that her love is not enough for him. He can't stand to live life like this even with the love of his family, of Louisa, and with so many things that he CAN do. It frustrates me because his brain is still there, the essence of who he is still exists. In the end, he does go through with the suicide, and everyone just has to accept it, because that's what will make him happy. The book is apparently supposed to be giving us an idea of why it would be ok for someone to commit an assisted suicide. And I don't really know how I feel about it, especially in a situation such as was presented in this book. I don't think you should end your life just because it didn't go the way you wanted it to. I think about how I would feel if a loved one of mine wanted to do something like that and I just can't even stand it. It's really horrible. 

So anyway, if you choose to read this book, you'll definitely not be bored, but I don't really know how I feel about the overall message of it.  
 

Wonderland Creek

Author: Lynn Austin
Pages: 385
Rating: PG
Summary: Alice Grace Ripley lives in a dream world, her nose stuck in a book. But the happily-ever-after life she's planned on suddenly falls apart when her boyfriend breaks up with her, accusing her of living in a world of fiction instead of the real one. To top it off, Alice loses her beloved library job because of cutbacks due to the Great Depression.

Longing to run from small-town gossip, Alice flees to the mountains of eastern Kentucky to deliver five boxes of donated books to the tiny coal-mining town of Acorn, a place with no running water, no electricity, and where the librarians ride ornery horses up steep mountain passes to deliver books. When Alice is forced to stay in Acorn far longer than she planned, she discovers that real-life adventure, mystery - and especially romance - may be far better than her humble dreams could have imagined.

My Thoughts: Lynn Austin is quickly becoming a favorite author for me. She writes clean, Christian novels in an non-annoying way. I've read a lot of Christian novels that always have this one character that is so sappy and annoying with the way they just live their religion so perfectly and basically act like God pretty much lives in their house. I just feel like those characters are totally unrealistic. This novel does have an old woman, a former slave named Lillie who has had just a litany of terrible things happen to her in her life, but is committed to God and is always saying things like "Just trust in God. The Lord knows what he's doing." But Lillie also has quite a personality, and is involved in some events that seem pretty shady at first, including helping a man fake his death and funeral. I just feel like Lillie is much more of a realistic character than those you typically find in Christian novels.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this book, even though the historical fiction part isn't as huge as in some of Austin's novels. The packhorse librarians were a real thing during the Depression, which I thought was really interesting. Also, the town Alice visits happens to be in a 60 year feud between two of the families that make up the town. It reminded me of the Hatfield's and the McCoy's. Alice really learns a lot about herself and about caring for others as she works herself into the lives of these humble mountain people. She does find love, but the book is not centered around that story, and it's not all sappy and ridiculous. Austin is pretty tame with the way she writes her love stories. If you're looking for a good, CLEAN adult novel...check this out! I've read two other books by this author, and I'm sure I'll continue to enjoy more of them.

Scarlet Moon

Author: Debbie Viguie
Pages: 157

Rating: PG - the wolf kills some people and they are found with throats ripped out, etc. Not horribly graphic, but definitely not G-rated

Summary:
Ruth's grandmother lives in the forest, banished there for the "evil" that the townsfolk believed she practiced. But if studying the stars, learning about nature, and dreaming of flying is evil, then Ruth is guilty of it too. Whenever Ruth took food and supplies to her grandmother, she would sit with the old woman for hours, listening and learning.
When she wasn't in the woods, Ruth was learning the trade of her father, a blacksmith, now that her brother would never return from the Crusades.
Amidst those dark days, a new man enters Ruth's life. William is a noble with a hot temper and a bad name, and he makes her shiver. But the young man is prey to his heritage, a curse placed on his family ages ago, and each male of the family has strange blood running in his veins. Now Ruth must come face-to-face with his destiny at Grandma's house.

My Thoughts: Other than the fact that, as in most fairy-tales, our hero and heroine are madly in love with each other and decide to get married after knowing each other for only a few days, I really enjoyed this retelling of Little Red Riding Hood. It has a darkness to it that makes for a really fun twist. I wasn't sure about the ending, the whole thing seemed a little too simple. But, this is a quick, fun, and easy little read, and I enjoyed it more than some of the other retold fairy tales I've read.

3 in 1 Retold Fairy Tales: Golden, Beauty Sleep, and Belle

Author: Cameron Dokey
Rating: G - all 3 books are appropriate for even elementary girls

Pages: Golden - 181, Beauty Sleep - 186, Belle - 208

Golden Summary: 
Before Rapunzel's birth, her mother made a dangerous deal with the sorceress Melisande: If she could not love newborn Rapunzel just as she appeared, she would surrender the child to Melisande. When Rapunzel was born completely bald and without hope of ever growing hair, her horrified mother sent her away with the sorceress to an uncertain future.

After sixteen years of raising Rapunzel as her own child, Melisande reveals that she has another daughter, Rue, who was cursed by a wizard years ago and needs Rapunzel's help. Rue and Rapunzel have precisely "two nights and the day that falls between" to break the enchantment. But bitterness and envy come between the girls, and if they fail to work together, Rue will remain cursed...forever.

My Thoughts: I put this book first because it was my favorite of the three and had the most imaginative retelling. I mean, come on...Rapunzel isn't supposed to be BALD! I feel like the summary above did a really good job of telling about this book so I don't have much to add, but I really loved the message this book contained about true beauty being on the inside and that true love is something you have to work at every single day. There was one quote from the book I particularly liked. "That is what love is. A possibility that becomes a choice. A choice you keep making, over and over. Day after day. Year after year. Time after time." Honestly, this is the best Once Upon a Time book I've read so far. I just loved it. Such a sweet little story and so good! Definitely worth the read.

Beauty Sleep Summary:

"LITTLE PRINCESS, LOVELY AS THE DAWN, WELL-NAMED AURORE..."
With these seemingly innocent words, the fate of a newborn princess is sealed. For years the king and queen despaired of ever having a child. When Aurore arrives, though the entire kingdom celebrates, not all are overjoyed. They use her christening as an occasion for revenge, and her young life is overshadowed by a curse of death almost as soon as it has begun. Those who can, intervene, but evil has a way of holding fast. A sleep of a hundred years following the pricking of a finger is the best that can be done.
And so Aurore grows up. Forbidden princesslike tasks of embroidery and sewing, she explores the great outdoors, reveling in the flora and fauna that surround her castle home. Then one day she meets a handsome stranger in an enchanted wood and begins an adventure the likes of which she never dreamed of.
This is the story of the Sleeping Beauty, here quite awake and given new voice. Taunted by fate, Aurore soon learns that although she cannot sidestep her own destiny, love itself is actually the most powerful magic of all.

My Thoughts: I wasn't quite as thrilled with this one, although the story was different than what I expected. When Aurore turns 16, bad things start happening in the kingdom, and Aurore soon realizes that it's her fault. Until she fulfills the curse, by pricking her finger, the kingdom will continue to suffer. So she runs away to meet her destiny, and it's kind of odd what happens next. I'm not sure I was super thrilled with the way this story was put together, or with the ending, but it was definitely a different version of this story.

Belle Summary:
Belle is convinced she has the wrong name, as she lacks her sisters' awe-inspiring beauty. So she withdraws from society, devoting her time to wood carving. Secretly, Belle longs to find the fabled Heartwood Tree. If carved by the right hands, the Heartwood will reveal the face of one's true love.

During a fierce storm, Belle's father stumbles upon the mysterious Heartwood -- and encounters a terrifying and lonely Beast. Now Belle must carve the Heartwood to save her father, and learn to see not with the eyes of her mind, but with the eyes of her heart.

My Thoughts: This was my least favorite of the 3 only because the fairy tale stays almost exactly true to the version we all know so well. There's not much variation. The addition of the Heartwood Tree is about the only thing that makes this story different from the Disney version, honestly. So...I didn't feel like it was worth the read so much.

Until We Meet Again: A True Story of Love and Survival in the Holocaust

Author: Michael Korenblit and Kathleen Jander
Pages: 300
Rating: PG-13 (It's the Holocaust, some scenes are a little traumatic but there was nothing I considered to be overly graphic)

Summary: 1942. A small town in Poland. Two Jewish families flee to hiding places, hoping to evade deportation by the Nazis. At the last moment, 17-year-old Manya makes the heart-wrenching decision to leave her family and join her sweetheart, Meyer, also 17, with his family. For three long years, Manya and Meyer endure the loss of their parents and siblings, separation from each other, and the horror of concentration camps, including Auschwitz - but are helped at key points by courageous Polish Catholics and are constantly sustained by their faith and their love for each other. Co-authored by the couple's son Michael, this absorbing and suspenseful narrative reads like a novel, yet tells a true story of love and horror, sacrifice and courage, with a conclusion that is truly miraculous.

My Thoughts: I. LOVE. THIS. BOOK. I believe it was one of the first Holocaust books I ever read, and got me completely hooked on reading survival stories. I was just so amazed at this incredible story. Manya ends up bringing her brother Chaim with her to hide with Meyer's family, saving his life. Her family's hiding place is discovered and her entire family killed. The really miraculous part is that Manya loses contact with Chaim and neither is able to find each other after the war. For 30 years, they each assume they are the only surviving members of their family, until Manya's son stumbles upon Chaim living in England. Meyer's family also goes through several losses, and he retains only one brother. Their story is so incredibly amazing. In a time where so few Jews were lucky enough to stay alive, somehow, this pair manages it, and they find each other in the end. I can't even imagine going through something so terrible, losing my entire family, and wondering if I will ever see the people I love ever again. It's just incredible. If you're going to read any book about the Holocaust, seriously, read this one. Manya and Meyer beat the odds when the odds were unbeatable. And it never ceases to amaze me.

The Truth About Forever

Author: Sarah Dessen
Pages: 374
Rating: PG-13 (Some language, underage drinking)

Summary: A long, hot summer. That's what sixteen-year-old Macy Queen has to look forward to. Her boyfriend, Jason, is going away to Brain Camp. She's stuck with a dull-as-dishwater job at the library. And all of her free time promises to be spent studying for the SATs or grieving silently with her mother over her father's death. But everything changes when Macy is corralled into helping out at one of her mother's open house events, and she meets the chaotic Wish Catering crew. Before long, Macy ditches her library job and joins up with the Wish gang: bighearted Delia; quiet, introspective Monica; and fun-loving, fashion-conscious Kristy. But best of all, there's Wes - artistic, insightful, and understanding Wes - who gets Macy to look at life in a whole new way....

My Thoughts: I really enjoy Dessen as an author. I own several of her books, and I think they're great teen novels. Macy has not really had it easy since her father died suddenly of a heart attack. Her relationship with her mother is strained, as they both have different ways of dealing with grief, and it is not helping them to connect. I love how this story explores a teen girl's efforts to discover who she really is and what kinds of things she wants from life through the lens of tragedy. Macy has to learn that life is not always going to be under her control. It won't always be perfect and predictable. And that's ok.

The Fault in Our Stars

Author: John Green
Pages: 313
Rating: PG - there is one sex scene, but it's very non-descriptive.
Summary:
Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel’s story is about to be completely rewritten.

Insightful, bold, irreverent, and raw, The Fault in Our Stars is award-winning-author John Green’s most ambitious and heartbreaking work yet, brilliantly exploring the funny, thrilling, and tragic business of being alive and in love.

My Thoughts: I thought this book was good, but I ended up wondering what exactly caused it to immediately become wildly popular and made into a movie barely two years after it was published. It was a good book, don't get me wrong, but I've read LOTS of books about kids with cancer, and I didn't feel like this one was leaps and bounds better.

The one thing I did like was that both kids had cancer, and it was just kind of a "dealing with illness" type of book. You really get sucked into their world, and start to understand what it might be like to be in that kind of situation. There were a lot of funny lines and good quotes, and the characters were very likable. Augustus is pretty hilarious, and the type of kid you wish you could have had as a best friend.

I don't know, maybe I"m just not in the right period of life to have fallen completely in love with this book. Maybe it helps if you're a teenager when you read it. It has been growing on me though. I do recommend it to anyone who hasn't yet read it (if there's anyone left...). And maybe I'll like it better when I see the movie. I don't know, I just felt like it was a book for teens and I just couldn't fully resonate with it. But I still liked it. I read it really fast, so that means it was good!

Blackmoore

Author: Julianne Donaldson
Pages: 279
Rating: G

Summary:
Kate Worthington knows her heart and she knows she will never marry. Her plan is to travel to India instead if only to find peace for her restless spirit and to escape the family she abhors. But Kate s meddlesome mother has other plans. She makes a bargain with Kate: India, yes, but only after Kate has secured and rejected three marriage proposals.
Kate journeys to the stately manor of Blackmoore determined to fulfill her end of the bargain sooner rather than later and enlists the help of her dearest childhood friend, Henry Delafield. But when it comes to matters of love, bargains are meaningless and plans are changeable. There on the wild lands of Blackmoore, Kate must face the truth that has kept her heart captive. Will the proposal she is determined to reject actually be the one thing that will set her heart free?

My Thoughts:  Along with Edenbrooke, this book has been all the rage in the LDS community, mainly because it's a clean romance novel. I'm personally not super impressed. Yes, it is a clean romance novel, and it's entertaining enough, but I felt like there wasn't really enough meat to the story, and I also knew exactly who Kate was in love with and would end up with in the end when I was barely 2 chapters in. It was a bit of a surprise how she actually got there, and of course, very romantic, but overall, I don't particularly enjoy knowing the ending before I even get very far. Regardless, it is a good read, nice and short, and plenty sappy.

The Host

Author: Stephanie Meyer
Pages: 619
Rating: PG - There wasn't anything inappropriate or overly violent in it.

Summary:
Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away.

Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy that takes over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. But Wanderer, the invading "soul" who occupies Melanie's body, finds its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

As Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she's never met. Soon Wanderer and Melanie-reluctant allies-set off to search for the man they both love.

My Thoughts: I know I'm super behind since this book was a big deal when it came out forever ago, but now I've joined the crowd. Loved it! It was a very clever story and I like how Wanda (Wanderer) is initially seen as an enemy but by the end of the book you feel a lot of compassion for her and you even care about her. You get to see Wanda's side of things and you understand her alien race. I love that Wanda herself even begins to care about the humans and feels that her race has not done the right thing in occupying Earth. It's a great book, I just wish it wasn't quite so long. I got very absorbed in reading it and it was hard to stop.

Here's a bit better of a synopsis. The souls have come to occupy the planet of Earth. Souls cannot exist outside of some sort of host body, and Earth is not the only planet they have colonized. However, it is the first planet that has the issue of resisting hosts. Melanie is such a host. She does not go away when Wanda takes over her body, and soon she convinces Wanda to go in search of the people she loves. Wanda is not received well at first, but eventually she convinces the colony of hiding humans that she is not a danger to them and has no desire to give them up as hosts to other souls. However, she eventually gets caught between Melanie's boyfriend, Jared, who still loves the girl he knows is inside the body somewhere, and Ian, a boy who falls in love with Wanda herself.

My brother said the movie is terrible. I don't know, I haven't seen it, but I did watch the trailer and it looks like it's considerably more violent than the book, which is not really that violent at all. Since the humans are trying to avoid soul-possessed bodies at all cost, there are no real fight scenes in the book, and if there are, it's mostly between humans who are upset with each other over something. The souls do not like to resort to violence, as they are a peaceful race, so it seems that the fighting that happens in the movie is not very reflective of how it actually happens in the book. Anyway, if the length of this book doesn't scare you, and you like science fiction with a little love mixed in, I would say give it a read.

Oh, and don't be thrown off by the fact that the book is written by Stephanie Meyer. I'd say The Host is WAY better than Twilight, and isn't nearly so ridiculously lovey-dovey. There is love in The Host, but the love "square" between Melanie, Jared, Wanda, and Ian makes things difficult, and honestly there is too much else going on to dwell on the relationship aspect much.
 

Charlie St. Cloud

Author: Ben Sherwood (Alternate title: The Death and Life of Charlie St. Cloud)
Pages: 269
Rating: PG-13 (There is a sex scene, and although it only lasts about 2 pages, it is more on the graphic side than the vague side. Just to warn you. However, it was not extremely graphic or crude)

Summary:
In a snug New England fishing village, Charlie St. Cloud tends the lawns and monuments of an ancient cemetery where his younger brother, Sam, is buried. After surviving the car accident that claimed his brother's life, Charlie is graced with an extraordinary gift: He can see, talk to, and even play catch with Sam's spirit. Into this magical world comes Tess Carroll, a captivating woman training for a solo sailing trip around the globe. Fate steers her boat into a treacherous storm that propels her into Charlie's life. Their beautiful and uncommon connection leads to a race against time and a choice between death and life, between the past and the future, between holding on and letting go — and the discovery that miracles can happen if we simply open our hearts.

My Thoughts: I loved this book. I read it in only a few days! Sherwood writes his love story in a way that sweeps you right off your feet, and isn't even the slightest bit cheesy, but this is not just a love story, it's also a story about dealing with death, and letting go of loved ones when they pass on.

Charlie St. Cloud feels responsible for the death of his younger brother, because he was driving the car when they were hit by the drunk driver. He feels that he could have avoided the crash. Both boys actually die, and they make a promise to each other that they will never leave each other, that they will always be there for the other. Charlie, however, is shocked back to life by paramedics, who are unable to save Sam. Soon after Sam's funeral, Charlie discovers that he can still see and talk to Sam, but only on the grounds of the cemetery. So begins the nightly ritual: Charlie meets Sam in a secluded area of the cemetery just at sunset, and they spend their evenings together. If Charlie misses one night, he is sure Sam will be gone. Charlie gives up nearly everything to spend his evenings with Sam. He refuses to move away, and he rarely dates at all. He becomes the groundskeeper at the cemetery and finds that he is beginning to see the spirits of others who have died, but they usually only hang around for a few days before moving on to whatever is next. Sam, however, always stays.

Charlie has never let anything or anyone come before his promise to always be there for Sam, until Tess comes along. Tess seems to be everything Charlie has ever wanted, and she even meets Sam! Unfortunately, Tess has a major problem in her life, and Charlie ends up having to make a choice between his love for Tess, and his commitment to Sam.

I think my favorite part of this book was the interactions that Charlie has with all the other spirits of the deceased as he watches their funerals with them. Often, they mourn along with the loved ones they have left behind. I like the idea that our friends and family who die are feeling the pain of departure along with us, even though they know they have moved on to a better place.

Like I said, this was a great book. I have not yet seen the movie, but I plan on it. Even if you have seen the movie, read the book anyway, because almost always, the book is better, or at least just has more depth than you could possibly cram into two hours of screen time. You won't regret it.