Even More Books!

So I don't know why I'm surprised that I thought this book was amazing... I have been wanting to read it for such a long time and now I finally was able to! This book is absolutely fantastic (as are all of Laurie Halse Anderson's books.

To sum it up quickly, Tyler went from scrawny to steamy over the summer after having to do community service. Now the most popular girl in school, not to mention Tyler's dream woman, Bethany is starting to notice. But when riskay pictures end up on the internet of Bethany, the cops think Tyler did it. What is Tyler suppose to do. Everyone tells him he's on a short leash and on thin ice. Tyler tries to act like a man, but no one ever told him how to be one.

Here's a review:

In TWISTED, Laurie Halse Anderson presents readers with Tyler Miller, whose transformation from a meek, social Mr. Cellophane to a chiseled, admired "tough guy" sets his world on end. As someone who spends his days unnoticed, Tyler finds himself with more attention than he wanted after he vandalizes school property and, to pay for his crime, takes a summer job doing landscaping. The unforeseen side effect is that he returns the next school year with a brand new bod that's turning heads, most notably the head of Bethany Milbury.

But not everything --- even Bethany's advances --- works out well for Tyler. As he struggles to contend with his angry father, a mistrustful faculty and the aftermath of a drunken party, Tyler comes to the painful realization that there's a substantial price tag for his newfound popularity, and juggling the consequences lead him to thoughts of suicide.

While the overall story tackles weighty issues such as identity, family and suicide, Anderson masterfully interjects wry humor that always seems to find its mark. There's something very genuine in the portrayal of Tyler's struggle, both as he seeks attention and as he seeks to banish it. His volatile family situation --- especially his relationship with his father --- is familiar without bowing to a stereotypical, dysfunctional family. Despite times when Chip Milbury (Bethany's brother and the bane of Tyler's rebirth) comes across a little cartoonish in his machinations, the characterizations ring true.

TWISTED, with its tip of the hat to black comedy, does what all good cautionary tales should do: leaves the reader with the certainty that something would be missing in their life without it. Don't miss out on this.
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Exposed by Susan Vaught is awesome.
The story goes like this. There once was a girl named Chan who had it with real boys... she decides to go online and meet a man...well a man she does meet. And she does things she really shouldn't in order to keep talking to him. She goes against all of her gut instincts and eventually finds out the truth.

Here's a review:
Chan Shealy’s got most things going right in her life—straight A’s, a shot at the regional majorette championships in baton twirling, and the best best friend a girl could wish for. But after the football quarterback spreads a vicious lie about her, and the whole school decides she’s too trashy for words, Chan begins to wonder if the only place she’ll find love is online.She’s careful. She follows all her parents’ rules, mostly anyway. A girl’s got to trust herself at a certain point, right? But what if your gut is telling you something that you’re just not hearing… until it’s too late?From the moment Chan logs on and meets Paul, until the truth begins to show through, Susan Vaught sends readers on a fast-paced and gripping ride. Even when you know something bad will happen, you still might not see it coming…

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I just finished reading an amazing book...it's entitled Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott. It only took me about an hour and a half to read because I just couldn't put the book down. Anyone interested in this sort of book should definitely check it out so we can discuss it! Here's a synopsis:

From Publishers WeeklyStarred Review.

Fans of Scott's YA romances Perfect You or Bloom may be unprepared for the unrelieved terror within this chilling novel, about a 15-year-old girl who has spent the last five years being abused by a kidnapper named Ray and is kept powerless by Ray's promise to harm her family if she makes one false move. The narrator knows she is the second of the girls Ray has abducted and renamed Alice; Ray killed the first when she outgrew her childlike body at 15, and now Alice half-hopes her own demise is approaching (I think of the knife in the kitchen, of the bridges I've seen from the bus... but the thing about hearts is that they always want to keep beating). Ray, however, has an even more sinister plan: he orders Alice to find a new girl, then train her to Ray's tastes. Scott's prose is spare and damning, relying on suggestive details and their impact on Alice to convey the unimaginable violence she repeatedly experiences. Disturbing but fascinating, the book exerts an inescapable grip on readers—like Alice, they have virtually no choice but to continue until the conclusion sets them free. Ages 16–up.

Review
"Some books are read and put away. Others demand to be talked about. Elizabeth Scott's Living Dead Girl will be talked about." -- Ellen Hopkins, New York Times bestselling author of Crank

"I was knocked over by Living Dead Girl. Most authors want to hear 'I couldn't put it down' from their fans. Living Dead Girl is a book you have to put down; then you have to pick it right back up. The beauty of this story is that, though none of its readers will have had this experience, all will feel connected to it. It is told in the rarest of air, yet speaks horrifically to all our imaginations."-- Chris Crutcher, author of Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes and Deadline

"A haunting story of an abducted girl you'll be desperate and helpless to save; her captor so disturbing, so menacing, you'll want to claw the pages from this book and shred them. Brava to Elizabeth Scott for creating such an intense, real, and perfectly painful story of terror, not without hope. Living Dead Girl is impossible to ignore."-- Lisa McMann, New York Times bestselling author of Wake
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And finally, we have Sister Wife by Shelly Hrdlitschka and it was awesome! Check it out!

In the isolated rural community of Unity, the people of The Movement live a simple life guided by a set of religious principles and laws that are unique to them. Polygamy is the norm, strict obedience is expected and it is customary for young girls to be assigned to much older husbands.

Celeste was born and raised in Unity, yet she struggles to fit in. Perhaps it's because of Taviana, the girl who has come to live with them and entertains Celeste with forbidden stories, or Jon, the young man she has clandestine meetings with, or maybe it's the influence of Craig, the outsider she meets on the beach. Whatever it is, she struggles to accept her ordained life.

At fifteen she is repulsed at the thought of being assigned to an older man and becoming a sister wife, and she knows for certain she is not cut out to raise children. She wants something more for herself, yet feels powerless to change her destiny because rebelling would bring shame upon her family.

Celeste watches as Taviana leaves Unity, followed by Jon, and finally Craig, the boy who has taught her to think "outside the box." Although she is assigned to a caring man, his sixth wife, she is desperately unhappy. How will Celeste find her way out of Unity?

Torn from the headlines and inspired by current events, Sister Wife is a compelling portrait of a community where the laws of the outside world are ignored and where individuality is punished.