Around the World in Eighty Days- Jules Verne

Lately I've been reading what is considered a "classic"- it seems to me that books under this category are talked about and praised more often than actually being read. As I have done this before, I thought I would get all of these "classics" out of the way and form my own independent opinions on these books, as should anyone reading this post.

I decided to read Around the World in Eighty Days in a rather roundabout fashion, beginning (of course) with another book. I had owned All the Light We Cannot See, by Anthony Doerr, for quite some time now and had never actually started reading it. Then, when the new year came around and I made a reading goal, this book ended up in my hands. While reading it (I haven't finished it yet) I found it to be a very enjoyable book that I became invested in. However, a character in the book was reading the Jules Verne book, and I thought that I should read it myself if I am to completely immerse myself in this other book.

So I have temporarily stopped reading the Doerr book to read the Verne book, and I must say that I genuinely enjoy it. Mr. Fogg encompasses all the characteristics that I wish I (and others) could possess such as his ability to remain calm through whatever ordeal he is put through. I also admire that he is indeed a very kindhearted man and risks his life and a great deal of money to do the right thing, and does not require any congratulations or praise. A true gentleman. I also love the idea that this man, so logical and precise, put everything else down and dedicated 80 days to one thing, something that seems impossible and entirely un-logical and imprecise- travelling around the globe.

In conclusion: I recommend reading both the books I have mentioned in this post.

Goodreads Reading Goal

Some of us read every second of the day, and it is completely natural to prioritise it over silly things such as school, work, and food. Some of us need a little poking and prodding to really get into reading, or to try to finish a book in less than a week or two. 

Since the former is obviously the better and healthier state of living to be in, how can those us of not so inclined to jump into more books become more literary? A good start is to create a Goodreads account (or sign in if you already have one) and create a reading goal. It's simple- all you have to do is come up with the number of books you want to read in 2016, and hit enter. Having this goal set, and seeing how empty the progress bar is can really prompt a person into reading more, especially if they don't want their 2016 goal to be as much of a failure as the 2015 one. 

To update how many books you've read, just find the book on the Goodreads database and mark it as read. If you've perused the website and found some really awesome books that you want to read, there's a "shelf" for those books too. 

For 2016, I have made the goal to read 50 books this year. 

Farewell, and praise literacy!

Some Good Books to Check Out

Hey there, everyone! So I thought I would write about a few books I've been reading in 2013, and share some of the good ones. If there's any books that anyone thinks I should definitely read, tell me in the comments! Alright, let's begin, shall we?

1. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon



It's 1939, in New York City. Joe Kavalier, a young artist who has also been trained in the art of Houdiniesque escape, has just pulled off his greatest feat - smuggling himself out of Hitler's Prague. He's looking to make big money, fast, so that he can bring his family to freedom. His cousin, Brooklyn's own Sammy Clay, is looking for a partner in creating the heroes, stories, and art for the latest novelty to hit the American dreamscape: the comic book. Inspired by their own fantasies, fears, and dreams, Kavalier and Clay create the Escapist, the Monitor, and the otherworldy Mistress of the Night, Luna Moth, inspired by the beautiful Rosa Saks, who will become linked by powerful ties to both men. The golden age of comic books has begun, even as the shadow of Hitler falls across Europe.






There's a few reasons why I like this book. One, it's so realistic, and Chabon adds so much knowledge to it that often I questioned whether or not this was supposed to be fiction. He even adds footnotes to further explain things completely unrelated to the plot, yet it creates yet another layer of reason as to why this books is pure genius. Not only that, but there's multiple plot lines, some more dominant than others, which had adds so much complexity and awesomeness in it that is rare to find. The books unfolds identical to how life does, no skipping or cascading around difficult subjects. He writes straight and simple, yet the entire story line makes it a book I would not recommend to just anyone. Admittedly, it is a hard book to read, and it takes a lot of concentration to be able to follow everything cohesively. But if you are an avid reader, I definitely think you should try out this book, because it is completely worth the time and energy used to read this amazing book. (Don't even get me started on the characters themselves-they're...just read it. You'll understand.)


2. Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

THE INFERNAL DEVICES ARE WITHOUT PITY.

THE INFERNAL DEVICES ARE WITHOUT REGRET.

THE INFERNAL DEVICES ARE WITHOUT NUMBER.

THE INFERNAL DEVICES WILL NEVER STOP COMING.

Tessa Gray should be happy — aren’t all brides happy? Yet as she prepares for her wedding to Jem Carstairs, a net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. A new demon appears, one linked by blood and secrecy to the Magister, the man who plans to use his army of pitiless automatons, the Infernal Devices, to destroy the Shadowhunters. He needs only one last item to complete his plan of destruction.

He needs Tessa.

Tessa knows Axel Mortmain, the Magister, is coming for her, but not where or when he will strike. Charlotte Branwell, the head of the London Institute, is desperate to find Mortmain first. And the boys who lay equal claim to Tessa’s heart, Jem and Will, will do anything to save her. For though Tessa and Jem are now engaged, and Will knows he should force himself to find someone else to care for, he is as much in love with her as ever.

In the last words of a dying Shadowhunter reside the clue that might lead Tessa and her friends to Mortmain. But the Shadowhunters of the London Institute cannot stand alone, and in their homeland of Idris, the ruling body of the Clave doubt their claims that Mortmain is coming. Deserted by those who should be their allies and with their enemies closing in, the Shadowhunters find themselves trapped when Mortmain seizes the medicine which is all that is keeping Jem alive. With his best friend at death’s door it is up to Will to risk everything to save the woman they both love.

To buy Will time, the warlock Magnus Bane joins with Henry Branwell to create a device that could help them to defeat the Magister. As those who love Tessa work to save her, and the future of the Shadowhunters that resides with her, Tessa realizes that the only person who can save her is herself —for in the discovery of her own true nature, Tessa begins to learn that she is more powerful than she ever dreamed possible. But can a single girl, even one who can command the power of angels, face down an entire army?

First order of business; if you haven't read Clockwork Angel and Clockwork Prince, read those first, then you can read this. I mean, you can read this and be slightly confused now, but that's really up to you. Okay. With that said, let me begin. I love this book. I love this series, I love the author Cassandra Clare, I love the characters, and I love everything about this. I've been with this series since the beginning, and so you can infer that this book, being the concluding third book of The Infernal Devices, I cried a lot. So this book in particular was great because firstly the characters had changed so much in the course of the trilogy, and their growth was portrayed so well here. Old characters were continuing to be developed, new characters were introduced, and new and old relationships were changed and adjusted into a perfect harmony. That's one of the greatest things about these characters. They never stop changing, and that's such an important part of novel writing. Real people change all the time, so why shouldn't characters in a book? Another thing I admire about these books is that Clare mixes together humor and a serious plot together so wonderfully, so you could be laughing one minute and then the next running for the tissue box. I guess that's all I'll say for now, other than read The Infernal Devices Trilogy!! (Also The Mortal Instruments.)  

3. If a Tree Falls at Lunch Period by Gennifer Choldenko

Kirsten's parents are barely speaking to each other, and her best friend has fallen under the spell of the school's queen bee, Brianna. It seems like only Kirsten's younger science-geek sister is on her side. Walker's goal is to survive at the new white private school his mom has sent him to because she thinks he's going to screw up like his cousin. But he's a good kid. So is his friend Matteo, though no one knows why he’ll do absolutely anything that hot blond Brianna asks of him. But all of this feels almost trivial when Kirsten and Walker discover a secret that shakes them both to the core.

I usually don't read books that are too easy to read, but fortunately for me I made an exception with this one. This has surprisingly a lot of really difficult issues in here, all disguised in an easy-to-read humorous book. A few of the issues Gennifer Choldenko raises are self-esteem, racial profiling, bullying, being fake, familial problems like trying to impress parents or trying to ignore their fighting, and social class differences. And what makes it really interesting is that basically all the characters are in 7th grade, and most of the issues aren't just dealt with, as most juvenile books portray issues like these. So even if you know you're an advanced reader, I say humble yourself a little and take a look at this book. Don't worry, it's a quick read, as well, so you won't be stuck forever in the unforgivable universe of being a middle schooler.

I've read more books, but I think that's good for now. Maybe I'll start doing what the other people are doing, and start having "[Insert Month] Haul" things. Either way, I hope you check out these books, and see what I see and even more in them! Have a nice day, everyone!   

For Those Series Loving People

A lot of people will only read books that are not in a series. Some people read mostly only books that are in a series. I happen to be more on the side of the series reading people. So I've compiled a list of series I think everyone should read.


The Mortal Instruments Series by Cassandra Clare

One of my favorites. All time. The Mortal Instruments series is a fantasy/adventure/romance series that is centers around a group of teens (that are not completely human, I might add) that's based in New York City. I'm not very good at summarizing books (not mentioning entire series) so I'll just say that it is a Best Seller, and a very popular series. There are six books total, though the sixth book has yet to be published. And you will fall in love with these books and characters immediately. I'm completely serious.

NOTE: The movie for City of Bones comes out August 2013.



Percy Jackson and the Olympians by Rick Riordon

So this series follows Percy Jackson, a young demigod that fights mythological monsters, and eventually must battle against the Titans. Again, sorry for uninteresting summaries, I'm trying! Anyway, this is also one of my favorites and the movie edition of the Lightning Thief is a really awesome film. Read these and watch the movie!


The Time Quintet by Madeline L'Engle

There is supposed to be a 5th book in the picture, but oh well. Now I have only read two, sadly. But this truly is an amazing series. It's sci-fi fantasy, and super awesome.

Here are super short summaries of all the books (I got this from Amazon):

A Wrinkle in Time is one of the most significant novels of our time. This fabulous, ground-breaking science-fiction and fantasy story is the first of five in the Time Quintet series about the Murry family.

A Wind in the Door—When Charles Wallace falls ill, Meg, Calvin, and their teacher, Mr. Jenkins, must travel inside C.W. to make him well, and save the universe from the evil Echthros.

A Swiftly Tilting Planet—The Murry and O’Keefe families enlist the help of the unicorn, Gaudior, to save the world from imminent nuclear war.

Many Waters—Meg Murry, now in college, time travels with her twin brothers, Sandy and Dennys, to a desert oasis that is embroiled in war.

An Acceptable Time—While spending time with her grandparents, Alex and Kate Murry, Polly O’Keefe wanders into a time 3,000 years before her own.  

Yes, very short summaries, but still get the point across. I could learn a thing or two. 

Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling

Need I really explain?

His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman

I love this series so much, even though I've only had time to read the first one. But the second and third books are near the top of my to-read list. These summaries I found on Goodreads, a wonderful, wonderful website:

In" The Golden Compass, " readers meet 11-year-old Lyra Belacqua, a precocious orphan growing up within the precincts of Jordan College in Oxford, England. It quickly becomes clear that Lyra's Oxford is not precisely like our own--nor is her world. In Lyra's world, everyone has a personal daemon, a lifelong animal familiar. This is a world in which science, theology and magic are closely intertwined. 

"The Subtle Knife" is the second part of the trilogy that began with "The Golden Compass." That first book was set in a world like ours, but different. This book begins in our own world. 
In "The Subtle Knife, " readers are introduced to Will Parry, a young boy living in modern-day Oxford, England. Will is only twelve years old, but he bears the responsibilities of an adult. Following the disappearance of his explorer-father, John Parry, during an expedition in the North, Will became parent, provider and protector to his frail, confused mother. And it's in protecting her that he becomes a murderer, too: he accidentally kills a man who breaks into their home to steal valuable letters written by John Parry. After placing his mother in the care of a kind friend, Will takes those letters and sets off to discover the truth about his father. 

"The Amber Spyglass" brings the intrigue of "The Golden Compass" and "The Subtle Knife "to a heartstopping close, marking the third and final volume as the most powerful of the trilogy. Along with the return of Lyra, Will, Mrs. Coulter, Lord Asriel, Dr. Mary Malone, and Iorek Byrnison the armored bear, "The Amber Spyglass" introduces a host of new characters: the Mulefa, mysterious wheeled creatures with the power to see Dust; Gallivespian Lord Roke, a hand-high spy-master to Lord Asriel; and Metatron, a fierce and mighty angel. And this final volume brings startling revelations, too: the painful price Lyra must pay to walk through the land of the dead, the haunting power of Dr. Malone's amber spyglass, and the names of who will live--and who will die--for love. And all the while, war rages with the Kingdom of Heaven, a brutal battle that--in its shocking outcome--will reveal the secret of Dust.




So that is all I'll be doing today, so that I can ease myself back into the Blogger world, seeing as I have been non existent on this for quite a while. So yes. À bientôt!


     

Thirteen Reasons Why...

  Today I (Millie) am just going to talk about one book. I feel this book really deserves a whole post to itself. It's called Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. 

Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker--his classmate and crush--who committed suicide two weeks earlier. On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list. Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers. 

This is an excerpt:  A shoebox-sized package is propped against the front door at an angle. Our front door has a tiny slot to shove mail through, but anything thicker than a bar of soap gets left outside. A hurried scribble on the wrapping addresses the package to Clay Jensen, so I pick it up and head inside. I take the package into the kitchen and set it on the counter. I slide open the junk drawer and pull out a pair of scissors. Then I run a scissor blade around the package and lift off its top. Inside the shoebox is a rolled-up tube of bubble-wrap. I unroll that and discover seven loose audiotapes. Each tape has a dark blue number painted in the upper right-hand corner, possibly with nail polish. Each side has its own number. One and two on the first tape, three and four on the next, five and six, and so on. The last tape has a thirteen on one side, but nothing on the back. Who would send me a shoebox full of audiotapes? No one listens to tapes anymore. Do I even have a way to play them? The garage! The stereo on the workbench. My dad bought it at a yard sale for almost nothing. It's old, so he doesn't care if it gets coated with sawdust or splattered with paint. And best of all, it plays tapes. I drag a stool in front of the workbench, drop my backpack to the floor, then sit down. I press Eject on the player. A plastic door eases open and I slide in the first tape. 

                                                          

I really love this book because it discusses suicide, a real issue, and makes you think of all the reasons or ways you could push someone that far, even if you didn't think you were doing anything. I actually don't have a lot to say about this book other than it was amazing and reading this book should be on your MUST DO BEFORE I DIE LIST (for those of you who have that list. I need to make one...) In the book, as the synopsis tells you, Clay is on the list. Just a warning, Clay is not the first one to be talked about, and I know some people are impatient like me and would want to just skip to the part that has him in it. DON'T. If you want any of the emotional effect this will create for you (it's a good effect. Affect?...:/) then just read, and you will feel every single emotion that Clay and Hannah feel. Also, and I am completely serious, this book has saved people's lives. I'm sure there are at least a thousand people out in the world who are alive and healthy and happy because they read this book. So, if you're interested, go check it out!!! 

Thirteen Reasons Why's Official Website:  http://thirteenreasonswhy.com/ 

Books! And Their Upcomingness :)

  Today's special? Upcoming books! And possibly one or two books that JUST came out. I picked these books out specially because they sounded intersting so people might think "Hey, this book comes out in two weeks! I think I shall put that on my calender..." and so on. So, read and tell me in the comments on what you would like me to just mention, or read and review, or anything else.

UPCOMING BOOKS:

THE HOUSE I LOVED by TITANIA DE ROSNEY

Paris, France: 1860’s. Hundreds of houses are being razed, whole neighborhoods reduced to ashes. By order of Emperor Napoleon III, Baron Haussman has set into motion a series of large-scale renovations that will permanently alter the face of old Paris, moulding it into a “modern city.” The reforms will erase generations of history—but in the midst of the tumult, one woman will take a stand.

 Rose Bazelet is determined to fight against the destruction of her family home until the very end; as others flee, she stakes her claim in the basement of the old house on rue Childebert, ignoring the sounds of change that come closer and closer each day. Attempting to overcome the loneliness of her daily life, she begins to write letters to Armand, her beloved late husband. And as she delves into the ritual of remembering, Rose is forced to come to terms with a secret that has been buried deep in her heart for thirty years. The House I Loved is both a poignant story of one woman’s indelible strength, and an ode to Paris, where houses harbor the joys and sorrows of their inhabitants, and secrets endure in the very walls... 

PUBLICATION DATE: February 14, 2012

NO ONE IS HERE EXCEPT ALL OF US by RAMONA AUSUBEL  

 

In 1939, the families in a remote Jewish village in Romania feel the war close in on them. Their tribe has moved and escaped for thousands of years- across oceans, deserts, and mountains-but now, it seems, there is nowhere else to go. Danger is imminent in every direction, yet the territory of imagination and belief is limitless. At the suggestion of an eleven-year-old girl and a mysterious stranger who has washed up on the riverbank, the villagers decide to reinvent the world: deny any relationship with the known and start over from scratch. Destiny is unwritten. Time and history are forgotten. Jobs, husbands, a child, are reassigned. And for years, there is boundless hope. But the real world continues to unfold alongside the imagined one, eventually overtaking it, and soon our narrator-the girl, grown into a young mother-must flee her village, move from one world to the next, to find her husband and save her children, and propel them toward a real and hopeful future. A beguiling, imaginative, inspiring story about the bigness of being alive as an individual, as a member of a tribe, and as a participant in history, No One Is Here Except All Of Us explores how we use storytelling to survive and shape our own truths. It marks the arrival of a major new literary talent.   

PUBLICATION DATE: February 2, 2012

LONE WOLF: A NOVEL by JODI PICOULT

 

In the wild, when a wolf knows its time is over, when it knows it is of no more use to its pack, it may sometimes choose to slip away. Dying apart from its family, it stays proud and true to its nature. Humans aren’t so lucky.
Luke Warren has spent his life researching wolves. He has written about them, studied their habits intensively, and even lived with them for extended periods of time. In many ways, Luke understands wolf dynamics better than those of his own family. His wife, Georgie, has left him, finally giving up on their lonely marriage. His son, Edward, twenty-four, fled six years ago, leaving behind a shattered relationship with his father. Edward understands that some things cannot be fixed, though memories of his domineering father still inflict pain. Then comes a frantic phone call: Luke has been gravely injured in a car accident with Edward’s younger sister, Cara.
Suddenly everything changes: Edward must return home to face the father he walked out on at age eighteen. He and Cara have to decide their father’s fate together. Though there’s no easy answer, questions abound: What secrets have Edward and his sister kept from each other? What hidden motives inform their need to let their father die . . . or to try to keep him alive? What would Luke himself want? How can any family member make such a decision in the face of guilt, pain, or both? And most importantly, to what extent have they all forgotten what a wolf never forgets: that each member of a pack needs the others, and that sometimes survival means sacrifice?



PUBLICATION DATE: February 28, 2012

MUDWOMAN by JOYCE CAROL OATES

Mudgirl is a child abandoned by her mother in the silty flats of the Black Snake River. Cast aside, Mudgirl survives by an accident of fate—or destiny. After her rescue, the well-meaning couple who adopt Mudgirl quarantine her poisonous history behind the barrier of their middle-class values, seemingly sealing it off forever. But the bulwark of the present proves surprisingly vulnerable to the agents of the past.
Meredith “M.R.” Neukirchen is the first woman president of an Ivy League university. Her commitment to her career and moral fervor for her role are all-consuming. Involved with a secret lover whose feelings for her are teasingly undefined, and concerned with the intensifying crisis of the American political climate as the United States edges toward war with Iraq, M.R. is confronted with challenges to her leadership that test her in ways she could not have anticipated. The fierce idealism and intelligence that delivered her from a more conventional life in her upstate New York hometown now threaten to undo her.
A reckless trip upstate thrusts M.R. Neukirchen into an unexpected psychic collision with Mudgirl and the life M.R. believes she has left behind. A powerful exploration of the enduring claims of the past, Mudwoman is at once a psychic ghost story and an intimate portrait of a woman cracking the glass ceiling at enormous personal cost, which explores the tension between childhood and adulthood, the real and the imagined, and the “public” and “private” in the life of a highly complex contemporary woman.


PUBLICATION DATE: March 20, 2012


THE COVE by RON RASH

Deep in the rugged Appalachians of North Carolina lies the cove, a dark, forbidding place where spirits and fetches wander, and even the light fears to travel. Or so the townsfolk of Mars Hill believe–just as they know that Laurel Shelton, the lonely young woman who lives within its shadows, is a witch. Alone except for her brother, Hank, newly returned from the trenches of France, she aches for her life to begin.
Then it happens–a stranger appears, carrying nothing but a beautiful silver flute and a note explaining that his name is Walter, he is mute, and is bound for New York. Laurel finds him in the woods, nearly stung to death by yellow jackets, and nurses him back to health. As the days pass, Walter slips easily into life in the cove and into Laurel's heart, bringing her the only real happiness she has ever known.
But Walter harbors a secret that could destroy everything–and danger is closer than they know. Though the war in Europe is near its end, patriotic fervor flourishes thanks to the likes of Chauncey Feith, an ambitious young army recruiter who stokes fear and outrage throughout the county. In a time of uncertainty, when fear and ignorance reign, Laurel and Walter will discover that love may not be enough to protect them. 


PUBLICATON DATE: April 10,2012




About the read and review, I just want to clarify. Yes, you can ask me to read a book and review it, and I would appriciate it if you did. But right now, I'm not accepting any reviews, unless I've told you personally otherwise. Also, if you do ask me to read and review, I will try to do it ASAP but please don't excpect it in two days unless it happens to be a book I've read already.

Hello People of the Blogging World :D

  Hello there, fellow book lovers! My friend Julia and I decided to make a blog for our favorite things in the world: books!!! So first, I guess you want to know what we'll be posting on here. Pretty much this is what you'll be seeing: new books, old books, must read and throw away books (disclaimer: I have never actually thrown out a book and I advise not doing it yourself. Maybe sell it or something), books that are coming soon, and of course, once I figure out how to use this website, we'll be hosting some pretty awesome contests in the future. Also, (and I'm just basing this on the assumption that I can learn to be pro-technology) we might have a Hall of Fame post/page (?) for the hands down best books in the world. To start out, we have a few books to share so you can have a sample of the appetizers on our Menu of Stuff. Hope you deem us worthy of following :) Happy reading!!




WINGS by Aprilynne Pike

Laurel discovers she is a faerie, sent among humans to protect the gateway to Avalon. Thrust into the midst of a centuries-old battle between faeries and trolls, she's torn between a human and a faerie love, as well as her loyalties to each world. In this extraordinary tale of magic and intrigue, romance and danger, everything you thought you knew about faeries will be changed forever.

Julia: Wings is a very good book. I really liked it because it was written with a different take on faeries than most books about these things are, which is good because the same thing all the time is boring and unintersting, but Wings wasn't either of those things. But I would say that anyone younger than teen status shouldn't read it because they might not understand all of it, but if you're an excelling reader, have at it. Yea, so overall this book was really good.

A CURSE DARK AS GOLD by Elizabeth C. Bunce 

                

A spellbinding fairy tale, spun with mystery and shot through with romanceThe gold thread shimmers in the fading light . . .
It promises Charlotte Miller a way out of debt, a chance to save her family's beloved woolen mill. It promises a future for her sister, livelihood for her townsfolk, security against her sinuous and grasping uncle. It might even promise what she didn't know she needed: lasting hope and true love.
But at what cost?
To get the thread, Charlotte must strike a bargain with its maker, the mysterious Jack Spinner. But the gleam of gold conjures a shadowy past -- secrets and bonds ensnaring generations of Millers. And Charlotte's mill, her family, her friends, her love . . . What do those matter to a powerful stranger who can spin straw into gold?
                   

                                                            Julia: I loved A Curse Dark As Gold a lot. Mainly for two reasons.
1) It takes a faerie tale that everyone has heard at somepoint in their life (I won't say which one due to spoilers) and it answers a lot of questions that I wouldnn't have even thought to ask until then. And 2)While a lot of faerie tale stories are joyful and cute with happy endings, there are a couple stories that have a darker view on it (Grim Brothers, etc). I was pleasantly surprised to find out that this wasn't a cliche faerie tale, and it actually had that darker viewpoint.


THINGS I KNOW ABOUT LOVE by Kate le Vann

Things I know about love.

1. People don't always tell you the truth about how they feel.
2. Nothing that happens between two people is guaranteed to be private.
3. I don't know if you ever get over having your heart broken.

Livia Stowe's past experiences with love have been nothing but disappointing, but all that is about to change.  After years of illness, she's boarding a plane for the first time to spend the summer in Princeton, New Jersey, with her brother who's studying abroad.  This Brit is determined to make the most of her American summer and to record every moment of it in her private blog.

America is everything that Livia's ever dreamed of.  And then she meets Adam.

                                                          Swept up in the promise of romance and the magical New  York  City that Adam shows her, Livia is smitten, but with all she knows about love, is Livia really ready to risk   her heart again?

Me (Millie): I loved this book so much because it was really sweet, but not too lovey-dovey or obnoxiously love-centered (*cough cough* TWILIGHT *cough cough*) so that was a nice surprise. Also, despite Livia's disease, she isn't completly dependent on others. Books with needy heroines aren't good, so that's another plus for this amazing book. 




CITY OF BONES by Cassandra Clare

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder — much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Clary knows she should call the police, but it's hard to explain a murder when the body disappears into thin air and the murderers are invisible to everyone but Clary.
Equally startled by her ability to see them, the murderers explain themselves as Shadowhunters: a secret tribe of warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. Within twenty-four hours, Clary's mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a grotesque demon.
But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know....



Millie: Let me just say right now that this book is JUST. AWESOME. Many, many reasons to love this book to pieces. First, City of Bones has a strong plot and a strong heroine. Strength in books is ALWAYS appreciated. Second, basically all of the characters are lovable and relatable. And be honest, who DOESN'T love an action/romance/fantasy/kickbutt book? 



*If you have any questions or personal comments, you can contact me or Julia who is the funny looking cat on the members list thing (right now she's the only member/follower, so she should be fairly easy to find.