update~

If you've been keeping up with my blog, I'm sure you've noticed my lack of reviews lately. That can be credited to my lack of reading lately. Right now I'm reading a book I borrowed from my teacher called Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith. It's about the Mormon religion. I'm about 70 odd pages in and I've been having a difficult time just getting to reading it. I would like to finish it before I start reading a different book so it might be awhile until you get another review because I haven't yet decided if I'll review UTBOH. 

Anyway, Happy Holidays, it's sure getting close to Christmas.

le book review number eight~ The Eleventh Plague

Book Title: The Eleventh Plague
Author: Jeff Hirsch
Personal Star Rating: 5/5

In this gripping novel, Jeff Hirsch takes us to post nuclear war America where we meet Stephen Quinn. He was born after the Collapse and being raised to only trust his family, that included his hardened grandfather, who was in the army, and his father, who didn't often stand up to his father, led him to believe that this was true since they didn't interact with any other people.

When Stephen suddenly finds himself alone, this coming of age story shows how a young boy takes action after suffering loss and how he can find a family in strangers.

The vocabulary was really fascinating, and the description was remarkable. I found it to be interesting and unique. The popularity of futuristic America and a post-nuclear world is a common theme in many novels today so this is a current book that I would recommend.

le book review number seven~ The Girl Who Was on Fire

Book Title: The Girl who was on Fire: Your Favorite Authors on Suzanne Collin's Hunger Games Trilogy
Author: Edited by Leah Wilson
Rating: 5/5 stars

I absolutely loved "The Hunger Games" trilogy, so naturally, when I saw this book at the library, I knew I had to read it. Although the authors are very well known, I haven't read a book by any of the contributors. This definitely means I'm going to check out some of the books by these authors.

The thirteen essays that where compiled were really insightful, as well as interesting. The ideas presented were thought provoking, and thoroughly enjoyable. I loved the references and the opinions that were expressed.

Reading the Hunger Games is very helpful for knowing what they are talking about but also you can take something away even if you haven't.

I would strongly recommend this for those who read Suzanne Collins' trilogy and as well as recommending The Girl Who Was on Fire, I'll also include a recommendation for The Hunger Games trilogy because they are some of the best books I've read.

Memorable Moments number three~ Cut

Below you will find the review.

le memorable moments.

pg.1:
you say it's up to me to do the talking.You lean forward, place a box of tissues in front of me, and your black leather chair groans like a living thing. Like the cow it used to be before somebody killed it and turned it into a chair in a shrink's office in a loony bin.

xxx

pg. 3:

I grabbed hold of the edge of the dinner table and tried to remember if we stopped eating there because it piled with junk or if it was piled with junk because we stopped eating there.

xxx

pg. 8:
"Look. I have a strategy. Why expect anything? If you don't expect anything, you don't get disappointed."

xxx

pg. 13:
Since I'm not talking (or yelling of crying), you could turn the UFO off during out session; that way, Sick Minds could save a little on the electric bill. I think about telling you that, but of course that would require talking, which would require turning on the UFO.

xxx

pg. 27:
There's a lot of crying here at night. Since there are no doors on any of the rooms, the crying - or moaning, or sobbing - floats out into the hallway. Sometimes I lie in bed imagining a river of sobs flowing by, leaving little puddles of misery on each threshold.

xxx

pg. 31:
Usually I try to be the last one to use the bathroom in the morning. That way, I don't have to see the other girls looking all soft and sad the way people do after they've been dreaming.

xxx

pg. 45:

Forty-five minutes is a long time. You can divide it into nine five-minute segments, five nine-minute segments, three fifteen-minute segments, fifteen three-minute segments, or two twenty-two-and-a-half-minute segments. That's if you have a watch.

xxx

Due to my inability to find other good lines after this point in the book, it will remain a short memorable moment post.

le book review number six~ Cut

Book Title: Cut
Author: Patricia McCormick
Personal Star Rating: 1.5/5 stars

Callie is a fifteen year old girl who uses self-mutilation to escape. When she is admitted into a rehabilitation facility, she doesn't want to talk about it. In fact, she doesn't speak at all at first.

I found this to be simple to read, and lacking in character development as well as an in-depth look at what it would be like with a cutting problem. Patricia McCormick uses 'you', placing the reader as the counselor. I don't know how effective this was overall.

The plot isn't very defined. Yes, it's about a girl who is in a rehabilitation center to get over her cutting problem. And at the end, yes she recovers. The events didn't seem like anything new and I don't know what the author was trying to portray with Callie.

I don't have much to say about this book. The writing wasn't exceptional, the main character was half of what she could have been and I wouldn't recommend it.

Memorable Moments number two~ Fallen

Below this is the book review for Fallen by Lauren Kate. These are memorable moments from the book.

pg. 2:
Her mere proximity gave him the most peculiar sensation, like the kind of heat sent out when a log shatters to ash in a fire. He knew without turning around: She was there.

xxx

pg. 20:

"...And don't forget," she said pointing up at the cameras one last time. "The reds are watching you."

xxx

pg. 38:

She took in his deep golden hair and matching tan. His high cheekbones, the dark sunglasses that covered his eyes, the soft shape of his lips.In all the movies Luce had seen, and in all the books she'd read, the love interest was mind-blowingly good-looking - except for the one little flaw. The chipped tooth, the charming cowlick,the beauty mark on his left cheek. She knew why - if the hero was too unblemished, he'd risk being unapproachable.But unapproachable or not, Luce had always had a weakness for the sublimely gorgeous. Like this guy." 

xxx

pg. 70:

Looking down the empty hallway, Luce wondered about following the cryptic arrow. Then she glanced back at her giant duffel bag, her pity party waiting to be unpacked. She shrugged, pulled her door shut, put her room key in her pocket, and started walking.

xxx

pg. 72:

Yours psychotically,

                            A

and

But standing there in the hallway, Luce was even more uncertain how to process the day's events. A quiet panic filled her when it finally registered that she was alone, after dark, at Sword & Cross.

xxx

pg. 74: 

A warm feeling came over Luce as she looked around the library. She'd always loved the faintly sweet musty way only a roomful of books books smelled. She didn't realize she'd been holding her breath until she pushed through the wood-grained library doors and exhaled.

xxx

pg. 109:

"A dance with death by boredom. The term 'social' is typically a Sword & Cross doublespeak. See, they're required to schedule social events for us, but they are also terrified of scheduling social events for us. Sticky predicky." 

xxx

pg. 111:

She thought about her abbreviated dish session on the phone with Callie, and how her friend always said that watching a movie with a guy was the best way to get to know things about him,things that might not come out in conversation. Looking at Cam, Luce thought she knew what Callie meant: There would be something sort of thrilling about glancing out of ther corner of her eye to see what jokes Cam thought were funny, to join his laughter with his own.

xxx

pg. 142:

Holding up his index finger, he said, "Allow me to share my motto about Sword & Cross classes: Better never than late."

xxx

pg. 154:

"If any of you have ever traced your own family tree," she called over the din of the crowd, "then you'll know what sorts of treasures lie buried in the roots."

"Oh, jeez, please kill that metaphor," Penn whispered. "Or kill me. One or the other."

xxx

pg. 160:

"I'm only saying," she continued, "assuming hypothetically you did want to know more about a certain unnamed person, you could conceivably bark up a more fruitful tree." Penn shrugged one shoulder. "You know, if you had help." 

xxx

pg. 160/161

Besides, what else are you going to do on a perfectly sunny Saturday morning?"

It was a nice day - precisely the kind of nice day that made you feel lonely if you didn't have anything fun and outdoorsy planned.

xxx

pg. 161:

"Okay." Luce tried not to laugh when she said, "Take me to your secret lair."

xxx

pg. 195:

She saw the Warning: Stalker Alert flash in Daniel's alarmed eyes. 

xxx

pg. 210:

Luce knew she'd only made the joke to try to downplay her disappointment. 

xxx

pg. 212:

The acrid smell of the smoke dropped her instantly back into the blaze that night with Trevor. Images and sounds flooded her mind, things she'd stuffed so deep inside her memory they might as well have been obliterated. Until now.

xxx

pg. 215:

She looked up into a maelstrom of shadows. A spectrum of shades of gray and deepest black. She should only be able to see as far as the ceiling overhead, bu the shadows seemed somehow to extend beyond its limits. Into a strange and hidden sky. They were all tangled up in each other, and yet they were distinct.

xxx

pg. 230:

"Maybe we're all too numb to understand," Luce said.

xxx

pg. 241:

As if the whole school weren't already dressed for a funeral all the time.

xxx

pg. 242:

Even from the back, Daniel managed to look devastatingly somber.

xxx

pg. 243:

"In the sweat of they face shalt thou eat bread,"..."Till thou return unto the ground. For out of it wast thou taken, for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."

xxx

pg. 243:

No one was paying Todd any respect by being here. The whole memorial seemed more like an attempt to teacher the students how unfair life could be. That Todd's body wasn't even present said so much about the school's relationship - or utter lack thereof - with the departed boy. None of them had known him; none of them ever would. There was something false about standing here today in this crowd, something made worse by the few people who were crying. It made Luce feel like Todd was even more of a stranger to her than he actually had been.

Let Todd rest in peace. Let the rest of them just move on.

xxx

pg. 245:

"I do like it," she said, thinking of the box lying on her desk. It had ended up right next to Daniel's flowers, and she'd spent half the night before looking back and forth between them, weighing the gifts and the intentions behind them.

xxx

pg. 247:

It felt so good just to be held.

and

Gabbe roller her eyes at Luce. "Do a man a favor and he'll start treating you like a slave."

xxx

pg. 251:

"If you come to a place more than once with the same person," Daniel said, almost to himself, "I guess it isn't yours alone anymore."

xxx

pg. 253:

"You wouldn't know-"

"I would." He sighed. "There's always another stop, Luce."

"That's very prophetic, Daniel," she said.

xxx

pg. 257:

Her heart was pounding impossibly fast. Then she realized: She was feeling both of their hearts, racing each other. A kind of desperate conversation, one they couldn't have with words.

xxx

pg. 278:

"We love you," he called out so loudly that Luce would have been embarrassed if she hadn't been so sad to see them go.

Luce waved back. "Thank you," she whispered. For the pralines and the okra. For spending all day here. For taking Penn under your wing, no questions asked. For still loving me despite the fact that I scare you.

xxx

pg. 280:

All this time Luce had been searching for explanations about why Daniel's file was so sparse, what secrets his ancestor's missing book held in the library, where his mind had traveled to that day she'd asked him about his family. Why he'd been so hot and cold with her... always.

After such an emotional day with her own parents, the thought nearly brought Luce to her knees with sadness. Daniel was alone in the world.

xxx

pg. 283:

He'd had his own black hood pulled over his head and his earbuds blaring in his ears. He probably hadn't seen her coming, either. They'd both been in their own worlds.

xxx

pg. 284:

"Well, now that we've knocked over one another's books, isn't the next step for our hands to accidentally touch while we're picking them up?"

xxx

pg. 286:

September 18: D accuses me of stalking him.

Followed two days later by:

September 20: Penn convinces me to really begin stalking him. I consent.

She was in a black hole of self-loathing. And yet she couldn't stop herself.

xxx

pg. 288:

Luce rubbed her rain-soaked sleeves to warm up. Of course. The dream had left her with a fire in her heart and a chill in her bones she'd been unable to reconcile all day. 

xxx

pg. 299:

Luce looked over at Penn, who was blatantly staring at them with a front-row moviegoer's captivation.

xxx

pg. 306:

But it was her fault they'd fought in the first place. She'd led Cam on - and whether she'd done it because she'd been confused or flattered or the tiniest bit interested didn't matter anymore. What mattered today was that she'd be direct with him today: There was nothing between them.

xxx

pg. 328:

And the look in his eyes was so alluring. It was almost as if he wanted her to how him first.

xxx

pg. 338:

"Oh no." He covered his face with his hand. "Not the let-him-down-easy speech. I hope you're not going to say we should be friends."

"You don't want to be my friend?"

"You know I want to be much more than your friend," he said, spitting out the "friend" as if it were a dirty word. "It's Grigori, isn't it?"

She felt her stomach constrict. She guessed it wasn't too hard to figure out, but she'd been so wrapped up in her own feelings, she'd barely had time to consider what Cam thought about the two of them.

"You don't really know either of us," Cam said, standing and stepping away, "but you're prepared to choose right now, huh?"

It was presumptuous of him to assume he was even still in the running. Especially after last night. That he could think there was some contest between him and Daniel.

xxx

pg. 350:

"I fall in love," he explained, taking her hands and holding them tightly. "Over and over again. And each time, it ends catastrophically."

"Over and over again." The words made her ill. Luce closed her eyes and withdrew her hands. He'd already told her this. That day at the lake. He'd had breakups. He'd been burned. Why bring up those other girls now? It had hurt then and it hurt even more now, like a sharp pain in her ribs. He squeezed her fingers.

"Look at me," he pleaded. "Here's where it gets hard."

She opened her eyes.

"The person I fall in love with each time is you."

She'd been holding her breath, and meant to exhale, but it came out as a sharp, cutting laugh.

"Right Daniel," she said, starting to stand up. "Wow, you really are damned. That sounds horrible."

xxx

pg. 356:

"...All I can tell you is this: The only way to survive eternity is to be able to appreciate each moment. That's all I was doing."

"Eternity," Luce repeated. "Yet another thing I wouldn't understand.

xxx

pg. 376:

"He told me...," Luce started. "It sounds crazy."

"These things often do."

"He said the two of us... we're some kind of star-crossed lovers." 

xxx

pg. 377:

Across the room, she heard a loud clatter. She looked up to see that Roland had fallen out of his chair. The last time she'd glanced at him, he'd been leaning back on two legs, and now it looked like gravity had finally won.

xxx

pg. 378:

"I study these things. I'm an academic. I don't get tangled up in trivial matters of the heart."

xxx

pg. 381: 

Luce wondered at that moment: If she could trade places with this girl - who never had to worry about past lives, or apocalyptic shadows, or the deaths of two innocent boys on her hands - would she do it?

Daniel's face - the way it had been bathed in violet light when he'd carried her home this morning - appeared before her eyes. His gleaming golden hair. His tender, knowing eyes. The way one touch of his lips transported her far away from any darkness. For him, she'd suffer all of this, and more. 

xxx

pg. 389:

And while the truth still scared her, being in his arms made her feel like the sea finding its shore, like a traveler returning after a long, hard, distant trip - finally returning home.

xxx

pg. 391:

"I'm in love with an angel."

xxx

pg. 392:

The shadows always came to her just before something awful happened.

"The shadows you see are called Announcers. They look bad, but they can't hurt you. All they do is scope out a situation and report back to someone else. Gossips. The demonic version of a clique of high school girls."

xxx

pg. 394:

The idea of all those past versions of herself existing - it was just too much to take in. But now, in Daniel's arms, she could feel all of them somehow working together, a vast consortium of Luces who'd loved the same Daniel over and over and over again. So much love - it spilled out of her heart and her soul, pouring off her body and filling the space between them.

xxx

pg. 401:

"Get to part B, Daniel," Arriane prompted. "Think fast. Patience is a virtue, and you know how Cam feels about those."

xxx

pg. 409:

Suddenly, she realized why Miss Sophia had bolted all the doors and windows in the foyer. It wasn't to keep anyone out. It was to keep her in.

xxx

pg. 412:

"Trust is a careless pursuit at best. At worst, it's a good way to get yourself killed."

xxx

pg. 415:

"You're the human equivalent of a migraine."

xxx

pg. 416:

"When you did tonight - you die. That's it. Kaput. In this lifetime you're nothing more than you appear to be: a stupid, selfish, ignorant, spoiled little girl who thinks the world lives or dies on whether she gets to go out with some good-looking boy at school. Even if your death wouldn't accomplish something so long-awaited, glorious, and grand, I'd still relish this moment, killing you.

and

... she thought there was some truth in Miss Sophia's maddening speech. To place so much hope in the power of true love - which she felt she was only barely beginning to glimpse herself - was it naive?

xxx

pg. 444:

She would need the memory the way she needed air.

Because what if, when Daniel left her, the whole thing started to feel like just another dream? A partially nightmarish dream, but a dream nonetheless. How could it be that she felt what she thought she felt for someone who wasn't even human?

xxx

pg. 445:

"My wife always tells people not to get me started on my flying days in Nam," he said, easing back on a wide silver gearshift. The plane shuddered into motion. "But we've got a long flight, and I've got a captivated audience."

"You mean a captive audience," she let slip out.

"Good one." Mr. Cole elbowed her side. "I'm kidding," he said, laughing heartily. "I wouldn't subject you to that." The way he turned to her when he laughed reminded her of the way her dad always did when they were watching a funny movie, and it made her feel a little better.

xxx

pg. 448:

It made Luce want to stand up next to him and fight. Fight to stay alive long enough to live out her life next to him. Fight for the only thing she knew that was good enough, noble enough, powerful enough to be worth risking everything.

Love.

xxx

pg. 452:

Slowly, Cam extended his pale right hand.

Daniel extended his.

And while Luce dreamed below of the most glorious wings unfurling - the likes of which she'd never seen before- two angels in the rafters shook hands.

le book review number five~ Fallen

Book Title: Fallen
Author: Lauren Kate
Personal Star Rating: 4/5 stars

When I began to read this book, I wasn't sure what to expect. It was very mysterious and although I still don't quite know what happened, it works well with the book. This book has such rich vocabulary. The words were very descriptive and the words weren't ordinary and you don't see them everyday.

The character Luce is a unique character and the addition of the supernatural  made the story very interesting. Penn was a very open character. Her presence was such an important part to have reality mixed in such a strange place. Gabbe seemed like a typical enemy when it came to jealousy, but we get to see what is really going on. Arianne was hysterical. I don't know if I should have laughed but her personality seemed very easy going, carefree and comical. Cam was portrayed in a nicer light than Daniel originally, but as the book progressed we could see their true nature.

Summary: Two boys fighting over the same girl at a school for those thought to be insane. What could go wrong. The feud between Cam and Daniel extends far beyond just a love triangle. Lucinda Price, a teenager accused of arson that led to the loss of life was an incident that nobody thinks she isn't guilty. Her parents send her to a school where it is supposed to help, and it leads to her finding out who she really is.

The ending was surprising in some ways but then expected in others. I could tell that something supernatural was involved but I didn't know what it was going to be.

The story line itself was very mysterious. I wasn't sure where the climax was coming throughout the novel, and I still don't know exactly what happened. It was a bit confusing because Luce didn't understand but I as the reader could. I do however look forward to the sequel to find out what is going to happen with Daniel, Cam and Luce.

Memorable Moments number one~ City of Bones

This idea was inspired by Sidny at sweetasarosesidny.blogspot.com. She's really amazing and you should check her out. Below this post you will find the book review of the book itself.

le memorable moments~

(I started after I began reading the book)

pg. 160:
If there was one thing she was learning from all this, it was how easy it was to lose everything you had always thought you'd have forever.

xxx

pg.162: 
"Hodge sent me to wake you up. Actually, he offered to wake you up himself, but since it's five a.m., I figured you'd be less cranky if you had something nice to look at?"

"Meaning you?"

"What else?"

xxx

pg. 170: 
"I wish you'd stop desperately trying to get my attention like this," he said, "It's become embarrassing."

"Sarcasm is the last refuge of the imaginatively bankrupt," she told him.

"I can't help it. I use my rapier wit to hide my inner pain."

"Your pain will be outer soon if you don't get out of traffic. Are you trying to get run over by a cab?"

"Don't be ridiculous," he said. "We could never get a cab that easily in this neighborhood."

xxx

pg. 172: 
"Then you'll see the world as it is-infinite," said Jace with a dry smile.

xxx

pg. 179: 
There was a date inscribed on the base, 1234, and words inscribed around it: NEPHILIM: FACILIS DESCENSUS AVERNI.

"Is that meant to be the Mortal Cup?" she asked.

Jace nodded. "And that's the motto of the Nephilim-the Shadowhunters-there on the base."

"What does it mean?"

Jace's grin was a white flash in the darkness. "It means 'Shadwhunters: Looking Better in Black Thank the Widows of our Enemies Since 1234."

"Jace-"

It means, said Jerimiah, The descent into Hell is easy.

xxx

pg: 180:
Jace took the stairs with the ease of someone who finds a situation familiar if not exactly comfortable.

xxx

pg. 180: 
Clary put both her hands behind her back like a small child. "Don't talk down to me."

"Well I could hardly talk up to you. You're too short."

xxx

pg. 193: 
I was laughing at you because declarations of love amuse me, especially when unrequited.

xxx

pg. 216: 
"There is a fine line between sarcasm and out-right hostility, and you seem to have crossed it."

xxx

pg. 224: 
Magnus's voice was honey poured over shards of ice. "That's quite a choice you're offering me, little Shadowhunter."

"It's no choice at all," said Jace.

"Yes," said the warlock. "That's exactly what I meant."

xxx

pg. 232: 
"If there was such a thing as terminal literalism, you'd have died in childhood," said Jace.

xxx

pg 232/ 233: 
"Will it hurt? Clary asked nervously.

"All knowledge hurts." he replied.

xxx

pg. 235:
"If you insist on disavowing that which is ugly about what you do," said Magnus, still looking at Alec, "you will never learn from your mistakes."

xxx

pg. 248: 
"That's not a cat," he observed. "It's the size of a hamster."

"I am kindly going to forget you said that," said Magnus.

xxx

pg. 248: 
"It's Simon. He's missing."

"Ah," said Magnus, delicately, "missing what, exactly?"

"Missing," Jace repeated, "as in gone, absent, notable for his lack of presence, disappeared."

xxx

pg: 273: 
Clary wondered if there were any ugly vampires, or maybe any fat ones. Maybe they didn't make vampires out of ugly people. Or maybe ugly people just didn't want to live forever.

xxx

pg. 282: 
"This is bad," said Jace.

"You said that before."

"It seemed worth repeating."

"Well, it wasn't."

xxx

pg. 314: 
"Maybe. Although I doubt most Shadowhunters get a tattoo of Donatello from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on their left shoulder."

Jace looked baffled. "You wanted a turtle on your shoulder?"

xxx

pg. 315: 
"But she's beautiful."

"So are you," said Jace, "and very different from how she is, and she can't help but notice that. She's always wanted to be small and delicate, you know. She hates being taller than most boys."

Clary said nothing to this, because she had nothing to say. Beautiful. He'd called her beautiful. Nobody had ever called her that before, except her mother, which didn't count. Mother were required to think you were beautiful.

xxx

pg. 316: 
So the sound she'd heard had been wings rather than demented passion. That was disappointing.

xxx

pg. 317: 
The answer was as simple as it was awful: She had forgotten about Simon completely.

xxx

pg. 318: 
"Just kissing." Jace's tone mocked her with its false hurt. "How swiftly you dismiss our love."

xxx

pg. 324: 
He pointed at himself-he was wearing blue pajamas with a hole in the sleeve. "Look. Jammies."

xxx

pg. 334: 
"Where there is feeling that is not requited," said Hodge, "there is an imbalance of power. It is an imbalance that is easy to exploit, but it is not a wise course. Where there is love, there is often also hate. They can exist side by side."

xxx

pg. 338: 
"Shotgun!" announced Clary as Jace came back around the side of the van.

Alec grabbed for his bow, strapped across his back. "Where?"

"She means she wants the front seat," said Jace.

xxx

pg. 339: 
"So what's with the 'hey' thing?" she asked.

"What 'hey' thing?" he replied.

"The 'hey' thing that guys always do. Like when you saw Jace and Alex, you said 'hey,' and they said 'hey' back. What wrong with 'hello'?"

"'Hello' is girly," he informed her. 'Real men are terse. Laconic."

"So the more manly you are, the less you say?"

"Right." Simon nodded. "That's why when major badasses greet each other in movies, they don't say anything, they just nod. The nod means, 'I am a badass, and I recognize that you, too, are a badass,' but they don't say anything because they're Wolverine and Magneto and it would mess up their vibe to explain."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," said Jace, from the backseat.

"Good," Clary said, and was rewarded by the smallest of smiles from Simon.

xxx

pg. 341: 
She sighed. "Seeing through glamour is easy. It's people that are hard."

"We all see what we want to see," he said quietly.

"Not Jace," she said, unable to help herself, thinking of those clear, impassive eyes.

"Him more than anyone."

xxx

pg. 345: 
"What would you know about it?" he said. "Love, I mean."

Dorothea folded her soft white hands in her lap. "More than you might think," she said. "Didn't I read your tea leaves, Shadowhunter? Have you fallen in love with the wrong person yet?"

Jace said, "Unfortunately, Lady of the Haven, my one true love remains myself."

Dorothea roared at that. "At least," she said, "you don't have to worry about rejection, Jace Wayland."

"Not necessarily. I turn myself down occasionally, just to keep it interesting."

xxx

pg. 360: 
She thought of the little boy with the dead falcon. To love is to destroy.

xxx

pg. 374:
A sob broke free from Clary's chest. "I don't believe you! All you do is tell lies! Everything you've said was a lie!"

"Ah," he said, "the moral absolutism of the young, which allows for no concessions. Can't you see, Clary, that in my own way I'm trying to be a good man?"

She shook her head. "It doesn't work that way. The good things you do don't cancel out the bad ones."

xxx

pg. 377: 
She remembered a poem she'd read in English class: I think we are in rats' alley/Where the dead men lost their bones.

xxx

pg. 404:
"A dead man-"

"Won't contradict your lies," Clary finished for him bitterly.

xxx

pg. 404: 
"Don't get upset? You're telling me that my dad is a guy who's basically an evil overlord, and you want me not to get upset?"

xxx

pg. 408: 
The beginning of a thought tickled a the edge of her mind, wanting to resolve itself into a full-blown realization.

xxx

pg. 418:
Alaric had his head up, sniffing the wind. "The stench of death lies heavy on the air."

xxx

pg. 438: 
"Morgenstern means 'morning star.' As in How are thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!"

xxx

pg. 442:
"It is simple, really. The story you heard was true in some of its parts, but not in others-lies mixed in with a little truth, as you said."

xxx

pg. 444: 
That sounds terrific, thought Clary. Just you, your comatose wife, your shell-shocked son, and your daughter who hates your guts. Not to mention that your two kids may be in love with each other. Yeah, that sounds like a perfect family reunion.

xxx

pg: 446:
"I loved her," said Valentine. "I never would have hurt her. It was you who turned her against me."

Luke laughed. "She didn't need me to turn her against you. She learned to hate you on her own."

xxx

pg. 458:
"You never knew them," said Valentine. "Don't pretend to a grief you do not feel."

xxx

pg. 459:
"Let me guess," said Luke. "It's 'Don't kill me,' isn't it?"

xxx

pg. 461:
"And this is how you repay the unquestioning loyalty you bought so cheaply, Lucian," he said. "By letting them died for you."

xxx

pg. 464:
Glass surged across the floor like a shower of ice, a strangely beautiful cascade of silver shards.

xxx

pg. 467:
only when his mouth came close to her ear did she understand what he was saying, what he had been whispering before, and it was the simplest litany of call: her name, just her name.

xxx

pg. 469:
You cannot save others until you first save yourself, said the voice in her mind.

"This fortune-cookie stuff is getting really old," Clary said.

xxx

pg. 473: 
"Yes? said Clary, her voice sharply edged. "Since I found out what? That he's a killer transvestite who molests cats?"

"No wonder that cat of his hates everyone."

"Oh, shut up, Simon," Clary said crossly. "I know what you mean."

xxx

pg. 474: 
"Do you think it was a coincidence?"

"I don't believe in coincidences," he said.

"Neither do I."

"But I do have to admit," Simon added, "coincidence or not, it turned out to be a fortuitous occurrence."

"The Fortuitous Occurrences," said Clary. "Now there's a band name for you."

"It's better than most of the ones we've come up with," Simon admitted.

"You bet."

le book review number four~ City of Bones

Book title: City of Bones
Author: Cassandra Clare
Personal star rating: 4.5/5 stars

I loved reading this book. The fantasy world that was created was so vivid and marvelous. The characters were well described, and very real. I found Clarissa (Clary) Fray to be a like-dislike relationship. Some of the things she did amazed me, and I felt she was such a strong character, but at other times I wondered what she was thinking and why she would do some of the things she did.

A summary:
Clary was an ordinary girl searching for excitement at Pandemonium where the unique people go to hang out, dance and meet people like them. She suddenly notices three teenagers Alec, Isabelle and Jace about to kill a boy and she is the only one who can see them. These three adolescents are good friends and Shadowhunters. Suddenly Clary is part of a war and a world that she had been protected from and Jace is the only one who really likes her being a part of the Shadow World. Neither Alec or Isabelle seem to care much about her, and mundane Simon, Clary's best friend, becomes involved and in danger. Valentine, on his search for the Mortal Cup doesn't care who he will hurt on his quest for power. Clary's mom is in danger, and she desperately needs the help of her new friends to help save everything she has known her life.

I found Jace to be frustrating at times, but in an endearing, captivating way. I found myself involved in the writing and it was very interesting to read about the fantasy world. Isabelle and Alec, although they were sub characters, were very important on building up who Jace is and what the Shadow World is like.

I found the ending to be extremely surprising and was not disappointed by it. I didn't know where it would take me next throughout the entire novel and the climax was so well written that I could imagine so many possibilities the next book in the series will have.

The only reason this book doesn't get 5 stars, is because it was a struggle to follow everything at once. I find this a really good thing, because it makes me want to read it again, but a not as good thing by taking me longer to get through.

Books My Quiet Friends - Sidny's book review blog

Sidny has this amazing book review blog that you should check out. Click here. She was my inspiration for favourite quotes in books (which you will see in my next review) and she has some really awesome reviews.

She reads a variety of different books and I want her to have some recognition for how really amazing she is and how great her reviews are.

She will have a conversation/ discussion with you about books and she has really interesting and wonderful opinions.

So go check it out please.

le book review number three~ Pretty Little Liars

Book Title: Pretty Little Liars
Author: Sara Shepard
My Personal Star Rating: 4/5 stars

I came across this book in the school library. A few of my friends had read it, and I have watched the television show, so I decided to give it a try. I really thought it was well written. It's not as stereotypical as many books about teenager girls, and the characters are people you can relate to, and can notice similarities with real people around you.


I thought the idea of a girl gone missing was very unique. And teenagers know the meaning of secret. The magnitude of the secrets that Aria, Emily, Hanna, and Spencer have give you a fantastic sense of what these four girls have done in their past,  what they going to do about it now in the future since what they have tried their best to put behind them, is coming back to haunt them.


I think the separation of each chapter lets you live through each individual character and get to know what they think and feel. The power that Ali still has over them shows through and it's a great story about best friends growing apart and what they will have coming later. This is a series, and I will be definitely be reading the others.


I really thought this was a great read, and I'd recommend it to fans of the show, and avid teen book readers. I think that some references in the book should be cautioned depending on what you feel is 'wrong' in a book, but overall, it's a really good read.

le book review number two~ Delirium

Book title: Delirium
Author: Lauren Oliver
Personal star rating: 2/5 stars

Delirium is a love story in a story without love to put it simply.

I found it to be boring and easy to read in a vocabulary sense. The basis of the story to be more captivating than the story itself for me. It was very predictable, and the main character, Lena, wasn’t as complex as the sub characters. I found I could relate more to her best friend Hana and would have liked Lena to be written in a more connecting way.

The character Alex was viewed through Lena’s ‘love-struck’ eyes, so it seemed I’d never get a clear idea who he was. We are told about him, and learn about him and how he was raised, but he seemed distorted with Lena’s feelings. I thought this was integral, due to the main story line of how love needs to be eradicated and how it messes you up. Lean showcased this part of the story.

It seemed to be similar in aspects to the Uglies series, in the idea that there are ‘outsiders’ who don’t go through a process that effects the brain. In that series I also found I liked the sub characters more than the main character itself.

I found my favourite part to be the Periodic Table rhymes. That in itself earns it one star. The second star is earned because of Lena’s mother. Her presence in the book was so central in how Lena thinks and feels about the process that she must go through.

I wouldn’t recommend this book. If you are looking for a quick, easy read and something you don’t need to focus on, this would be a good read.

le book review number one~ Looking for Alaska

Book title: Looking for Alaska
Author: John Green
My personal star rating: 5/5 stars

I read this book only once, but it is one of my favourites. I classify this phenomenal novel as one of my “life changers” because of the new perspective it gave me about how I see things. This was recommended to me from and I am really thankful to have read it because as soon as I started reading the first page, I knew it was going to be amazing. I read it in one sitting – I just couldn’t put it down.

A summary of the novel is that a teenage boy, Miles Halter, who has a fascination with last words goes to a boarding school inAlabama. To explain why he wanted to leave hisFloridahome, he quotes Francois Rabelais’s last words, “I go to seek a great perhaps”. Once he arrives at the school, he quickly gets the nickname Pudge from his roommate, “The Colonel” who uses it humorously because Miles is a thin person.  ”The Colonel” introduces him to a girl named Alaska Young who is very interesting to Miles.

Various other reasons why I really like this book:

I really love this book because the characters become real. On a personal level you can relate to the characters and become absorbed in the story. The unique factor of combining last words in a young adult novel gives the reader an unusual, but significant and meaningful feel overall. I thought the vocabulary and writing style were beautifully incorporated for this stunning and shocking novel. Although I felt the surprise of it didn’t take me aback as much as I anticipated it would, I still feel that book is amazing.

Would I recommend this book? Yes. I would caution some people depending on their personal values and ethics because it talks about some things that some people don’t find appropriate.