Books + Sale = Love

So the Borders Express in this mall really close to my house is closing! The mall is undergoing massive renovations, and they want to put "higher end" stores in the mall (I guess bookstores don't count?). A Barnes & Noble is going to be put in, but not for another two years! I'm actually pretty upset, because this bookstore was about five minutes from my house. But there was one good thing about the Borders closing: a huge sale to get rid of all the books.

The Nature of Jade by Deb Caletti

Bogus to Bubbly by Scott Westerfeld

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Envy: A Luxe Novel by Anna Godbersen

A lot of the YA section was picked over, but I think I got a pretty good selection. Everything was 40% off, so the grand total for all these books was $23.52, which is a very good price, especially since Envy is hardcover.

How Not To Be Popular by Jennifer Ziegler

Maggie Dempsey (formally known as Sugar Magnolia Dempsey) has always been at the mercy of her New Age, hippie parents. They love to travel and never spend more than a few months in any one city, making Maggie change schools and start anew all the time. Usually she likes the adventure, but this time she's leaving best friends and a boyfriend in Portland when her family decides to move to Texas. Feeling lonely and hurt that her boyfriend broke up with her, Maggie decides that since they will probably pick up and move again soon, she shouldn't make any new friends. What starts out as a quest to remain friend-less soon turns into a quest for unpopularity. Acting strange and wearing funky outfits, Maggie is sure that she'll just be a loser for a few months, but to her surprise, she actually starts to become popular.

This book was hilarious! Maggie's thoughts and commentary are so funny, plus the outfits she wears are very crazy. For example, she wore a gray mechanics jumpsuit to school, complete with dirt and oil stains. I thought it was very bold of Maggie to try to be unpopular, since some of the things she does are extremely embarrassing. But Maggie stuck to her guns and continued to do silly things. And to her surprise and unhappiness, she actually becomes popular! Maggie gets invited to do an interview for the school newspaper, since she's a new student and all, and proceeds to shake up the social system at her high school. She's says some very true things, about how everyone should think for themselves and not follow the popular crowd in what to wear, say, do, etc. Very wise words, I must say. But this sentiment rings true with just about every student in Maggie's school and they start to copy and admire her. She even gets nominated for Homecoming Court! I thought Maggie was such an interesting person, one that everyone would want to be friends with. Her parents, odd as they were, were so sweet and cute. I could tell they loved their daughter very much, even if the feeling wasn't exactly mutual at times. How Not To Be Popular was a light-hearted and humorous book about being yourself and how you can find friends in the unlikeliest of places.

8 out of 10.

Far From You by Lisa Schroeder

Alice has been hurting since her mother died of cancer a few years back. Her father is now remarried and has a new baby daughter, making her feel more alone than ever. To cope, Alice writes music, plays guitar for her church with her best friend, and spends time with her boyfriend, Blaze. She's tried to distance herself from her new family, but her attempts are futile when they drive to California to visit her stepmother's parents. On the way home, Alice, her baby sister, and stepmother, Victoria get lost in a snowstorm. Food and water are running out, and seems like there's no way for the three to survive. As the hours turn to days, Alice seems to think there is someone looking out for her after all.

I actually liked this book a lot. I'm not really a fan of poetry, so I was a little skeptic to read Far From You since it's written in verse. But the poetic flow of the novel worked. I could never write like this so I was amazed at Lisa Schroeder's ability to create vivid images out of so few words. I would have like to see a little more detail to the plot and the characters, but it was still beautifully written. This is a very fast read, since each page only has a few lines. I read it in less than a day, it's 300+ pages feeling like 100. And like I said before, I felt the part where Alice and her family are stuck in the car could have been elaborated on, to feel like they were out in the cold for four days instead of a few hours (which is what it felt like since I read it so fast). Even though it took a crisis, I'm glad Alice finally accepted her stepmother and new baby sister. It was good to see her grow and change, because it doesn't seem like much fun to feel unwanted in your own home. And this book is perfect for the current weather conditions outside because it's snowing and I even had off from school today because of the weather. Makes me glad I'm in my warm house.

8 out of 10.

Waiting on Wednesday- 5

Once again, we have our weekly post where we readers can drool over upcoming books. It was started by the wonderful Jill at Breaking The Spine.

Along For The Ride by Sarah Dessen

It’s been so long since Auden slept at night. Ever since her parents’ divorce—or since the fighting started. Now she has the chance to spend a carefree summer with her dad and his new family in the charming beach town where they live.
A job in a clothes boutique introduces Auden to the world of girls: their talk, their friendship, their crushes. She missed out on all that, too busy being the perfect daughter to her demanding mother. Then she meets Eli, an intriguing loner and a fellow insomniac who becomes her guide to the nocturnal world of the town. Together they embark on parallel quests: for Auden, to experience the carefree teenage life she’s been denied; for Eli, to come to terms with the guilt he feels for the death of a friend.

In her signature pitch-perfect style, Sarah Dessen explores the hearts of two lonely people learning to connect.

Some other people have read/are currently reading this book and I am insanely jealous. I love Sarah Dessen and the synopsis and cover make this book look really good! I'm reading This Lullaby right now so I'm in the Sarah Dessen-mood haha.

Along For The Ride will be released on June 16, 2009 (which is my last day of school!).

Aurelia by Anne Osterlund

Aurelia, the crown princess of Tyralt, is headstrong and independent. She doesn't like being told what to do, especially in regards to the looming prospect of marriage. But there's a problem: someone is trying to kill the princess. Who or why is unknown, and it's Robert's job to find out. The son of a royal spy and a former classmate of Aurelia, Robert is sent to protect her from the assassination attempts that are becoming more and more frequent. As Robert's and Aurelia's friendship begins to blossom into something more, Robert becomes determined to find the assasin, at whatever the cost.

This book was okay. For some reason, I always feel a little confused reading these types of novels because it's a fictional kingdom set in some time in the past. I'm more of a historical fiction type of girl and this always feels like historical fantasy, which is my own personal name for this genre. Actually I put it under Fairy Tales, but whaterver. Anyway, the book was kinda boring. The writing was good (it usually is) but the plot was lacking something. This was supposed to be a mystery, but it wasn't done right. There weren't enough suspects and clues for this to feel like a real mystery. The romance between Robert and Aurelia was meh; it wasn't developed enough, plus the two didn't have enough interaction for my liking. The book wasn't bad, but just one of those that you forget about in a few days since it doesn't leave much of an impression.

6 out of 10.

Happy Tag

I was tagged by Nadine-Stella at Starry Night for this meme. Thanks!

Rules of the tag:
- Link to the person who tagged you
- List 6 things that make you happy
- Post the rules, tag six others and let them know you did so
- Then tell the person who tagged you your entry is finished!

6 Things That Make Me Happy!

1) Getting a book in the mail.
2) Swim practice getting canceled (like it was today).
3) Breaking my times in swimming.
4) Seeing friends that don't go to my school.
5) Muffins! (I love them haha)
6) Hearing my favorite song on the radio.

I Tag:

TheBookworm of Au Courant
Just Blinded Book Reviews
Allie of Just Listen Book Reviews
Emily of That One Girl Emily
Chelsea of The Page Flipper
Hillary of The Book Reader

I Am Rembrandt's Daughter by Lynn Cullen

Cornelia, the daughter of the esteemed painter Rembrandt van Rijn, feels lost and alone. Her mother dead from the plague and her brother recently married, Cornelia has no one to turn to with the exception of her father Rembrandt, who is teetering on the brink of madness. Once a great painter, his style has become unpopular with the elite of Amsterdam, and now he and Cornelia are living on the edge of poverty. To forget her problems, Cornelia begins a relationship with Carel, the son of a wealthy shipping magnate. But there's also Neel, her father's last remaining student, whose devotion to Rembrandt surprises Cornelia. This is the story of a girl growing up in the shadow of one of the world's most brillaint artists.

Hm, what to say about this book? I have to admit that I was disappointed with it. For some reason, I thought this book was going to be really good, and it wasn't. It wasn't bad, just not excellent. If you've ever read Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier, this book is very similar. I wrote a literary criticism on that book last year, which is another story for another day. But anyway, both protagonists live in the home of a famous artist (in Pearl Earring, Griet lives with Vermeer), they live in Amsterdam around the same time period, both have a love interest, etc. Oh and for the love interest/triangle that all the starred reviews mentioned, it's practically non-existent. I understand that Cornelia is fourteen years old, but she had two boys fawning over her and they didn't interact like at all. I didn't understand why the boys actually liked her, so the "romance" was unbelievable. The historial aspects of this book seemed pretty accurate, which is always good to see. There was also a surprise ending that I guessed half-way through the book. I know it sounds like I didn't like this book, but it wasn't that bad. All I'm trying to say is I Am Rembrandt's Daughter could have been a lot better.

7 out of 10.