Let It Snow

The Bookworm says...YES. Let It Snow by John Green, Maureen Johnson, and Lauren Myracle was a great book. It is a collection of three holiday romances: The Jubilee Express (Maureen Johnson), A Cheertastic Christmas Miracle (John Green), and The Patron Saint of Pigs (Lauren Myracle). All three stories are wrapped around the same basic plot, and all the loose ends get tied up at the end. The recurring plot: a huge snowstorm hits Gracetown, North a Carolina on Christmas Eve. The cast of recurring characters: Jubilee, Jeb, Stuart, the 14 cheerleaders, Duke, Keun, JK, Tobin, Dorrie, Tegan, Addie. All these characters have their ups and downs, resulting in love from the storm. The storm seems like a Christmas tragedy, but could it be a miracle? Make sure you read the stories in the order, or it will not make sense. If you like me are a major nerd fighter (John Green fans), and bought this book because of John Green, do not skip to his story (second). Do not, I repeat DO NOT skip to his. You may find your self with two more favorite authors. 

Allegiant

The Bookworm says... Yes. Allegiant by Veronica Roth was a terrific finale to the Divergent trilogy. Now that Tris, Tobias, Cara, and the rest of the crew are out of Chicago there are many changes. They are told that a while back the Bureau decided to genetically enhance people which resulted in genetic "damage". The Divergent are said to be "genetically pure" and everyone else is "genetically damaged". The GP's are treated better in society, and the GD's decide to rebel. The GD's trick Tobias into believing that they are breaking into the Weapons Lab to steal the memory serum, but is this their true intention? During the attack, and explosion went off and killed Uriah. They did not achieve their mission, and many ended up under arrest. A few days later Tris overhears a plan to reset the Chicago experiment. They can't let this happen, so they come up with a plan to overtake the Bureau. They are going to sneak into the Weapons Lab, and steal the memory serum. They will prevent the Bureau from releasing the serum on a Chicago, and they will then release it on the Bureau. The flaw: breaking into the Weapons Lab without the password releases the vaporized death serum. There is no escaping the death serum, not even the Divergent are immune. So who will be the sacrifice? Who has betrayed? Who is not favored? Caleb. Tris and Caleb stay behind while Tobias, Cara, and the crew go back to Chicago. Tobias manages to establish a treaty between Johanna and Evelyn.  Tobias also tells Uriah's mom, Hana, and his brother, Zeke what happened. While they are preparing for the mission, there's an emergency lockdown at the Bureau. The Bureau is onto Tris and Caleb. Will Tris let Caleb sacrifice himself? Will the mission succeed? This was an amazing book, with a touching end. Well done Ms. Roth.

Insurgent

The Bookworm says... Yes!!! Insurgent by Veroncia Roth was an excellent sequel to Divergent. This will be brief to avoid spoilers. Tris and Tobias are still together, going strong. Now that Abnegation has been destroyed, there is a lot of devastation. There is  also quite a bit of rebellion. Suddenly, Dauntless is split. There are half of them with Erudite (the traitors), and half with Amity (the good). The leader of Erudite, Jeanine Matthews began a hunt for the Divergent. But what does she want with them? Since the Dauntless have been forced out of their home, they need to find new allies. But will they make an ally of the faction less? And will the rebellion happen? I'm going to stop there, to avoid spoiling the end. This book was amazing, but absolutely do not read this until you have read Divergent. 

Counting by 7's

The bookworm says... Yes. Counting by 7's by Holly Goldberg Sloan was a fabulous book. Willow a Chance had an un ordinary life that was about to get stranger. Willow lives in Bakersfield, California. She was adopted when her mother found out she could not have children. Willow is what many people may consider a genius,with obsessions over botany, medical conditions, and the number seven. When she got nervous, she would count up by sevens in her head. On the first day of middle school, she was accused of cheating on a test because she got a perfect score in seventeen minutes. She was sent to the counselor Dell Duke. At one of their appointments she meets Mai and Quang-Ha Nguyen. Dell drives them home, only to get to Willows house and find the news that her parents died. The Nguyen family takes her in behind their nail salon in their garage. When child custody services come, they use Dells apartment. After many custody hearings, who will Willow end up with? After the accident, Willow stopped counting by seven. After the hearing, she started counting by seven. There is always rainbows after rain. This whole, book was amazingly inspiring, from the story of Willow, to the theme, to the quote on the cover, "If you're lost, you might need to swim against the tide". Well done Holly Goldberg Sloan. 

Speak

The Bookworm says...Yes! Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson was a wonderfully powerful book. The summer before ninth grade, Melinda went to a party. A big high school party her ex-bestfriend's brother got them into. When some bad things happened, Melinda called the cops, getting a lot of people in serious trouble. Everyone instantly hated her. She had no friends left. Her parents argue. All the time. The janitors closet she transformed into a little room is the only safe place at school. Her only friend is the new girl Heather. Heather turns on Melinda and the boy from the party invades her closet. She is almost done when the girls lacrosse team runs into the closet and saves Melinda's...life. Finally, the end of the year has come. Only three more years until she can get out of this school, and get out of this town. 

Speak is a great book. It tackles hard issues with much humor. It is a great way to encourage teenagers to... Well...Speak. Thank you, Laurie Halse Anderson, for giving this gift to our generation. 

Will Grayson, Will Grayson

The Bookworm says... Yes! Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan was a great book! Both authors are amazing! There are two boys both named Will Grayson. Will Grayson has a best friend named Tiny Cooper, who is 6'3", 300lbs, and gay. He is also a football player. will grayson has a sometimes friend named maura, and an internet boyfriend issac. Will Grayson's friend Tiny wrote a musical, and is producing it. Will, Tiny, and another friend Jane went into the Windy City for a night to see a favorite band, but Wills fake ID said the wrong age, so he was not let in to the club. He walked across the street to a small shop, figuring he could make use of his ID. will grayson was im-ing isaac, and he said they should meet up at a store in chicago. will goes, and finds out that Isaac is a cruel joke by one of his friends. when he hears someone call "Will Grayson" ad turns. so does someone else in the same shop. they are both will grayson. Will Grayson brings will grayson to meet his friends Tiny and Jane. will grayson and Tiny fall in love! after their relationship comes to an end, it is time for Tiny's play. will grayson goes, and lets tiny know how much he appreciates him. the musical was a ht, as was this book. 

Yes. The lowercasedness of some of this review means something. The chapters from one Will Grayson's point of view was in proper case. the other will grayson's point of view is in all lower case. there is a meaning, but i won't give it away. This book was amazing. Well done! 

Paper Towns

The Bookworm Says....YES!! Paper Towns by John Green was an amazing book! John Green is amazing. I have read four books by him and all four were amazing. He is a spectacular author. Margo Roth Spiegelman and Quentin Jacobsen find a man dead and bleeding in a park. They run home to their parents and are terrified. Later, seniors in high school, they don't talk much, but neither forgets. Margo knocks on Q's window in the middle of the night and demand he take her on a crazy trip of revenge. Margo is quite outgoing, the opposite of Q. Margo has run away many times and is known to leave mysterious clues. She runs away again, and it is her longest time ever. These clues are much more vague, including some things about paper people and paper cildren. "All those paper people, living in their paper houses, burning the future to keep warm... I've been living here for 18 years and not once have I come across someone who cares about something that actually matters." Does she want to be found? Is she alive? And will Q find her in time? (Ill stop there as to not give away the ending) Another truly spectacular book. Well done John Green, well done. You will love this book if you are the kind of person that likes metaphors. You will also like most John Green books if you are a fan of Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher or Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson.

Boys R Us

The Bookworm says...Yes. Boys R Us by Lisi Harrison was a pretty good book. It wasn't spectacular go call your friends amazing, but it was good. The Pretty Committee has disbanded. Now it is a battle of the Soul M8s- Alicia, Dylan, Kristen, Dempsey, Derrington, Josh, and Cam against MAC (Massie And Crew)- Massie and her hired actresses- Jasmin, Lilah, Mia, Cassidy, and Kaitlin. Claire is neutral. Massie fires Mia and replaces her with Cassidy. Massie and Alicia are the two alphas and are competing for the spotlight from the general OCD and the boys. Kristen decides she likes Dempsey, so Massie and Layne MUST get revenge. Hence the hired actresses from Laynes aunts talent agency. After much drama, the clique comes together again. It's the PC (pretty committee) back to life. This book was the Sixteenth book in the Clique series. You have to read all books except for numbers 9,10,11,12, and 13 to understand this book. This book is great for fashionistas, divas, and middle school girls.

Thirteen Reasons Why

The Bookworm Says...YES! Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher was a wonderful book. Hannah Baker is dead. She committed suicide a month ago. She is dead. Gone. There is no turning back. No one will hear her voice again.
Or will they?
A select 13 people will.
Hannah recorded thirteen suicide tapes on a cassette recorder and mailed them to the person that Cassette 1: Side A was about and then swallowed the pills. Each person that listens to the tapes will view life differently, and have to live with the fact that in some way- whether by being rude to her or worse- they are part of the reason she committed suicide. Clay Jensen's point of view on the tapes and the part he played in Hannah's suicide are very interesting. Who could have stopped Hannah? Who knew? Who could have stopped her? Why didn't they?
This is brief because I don't want to give away any surprises. If you want to listen to Hannah's tapes yourself go to youtube on the channel Hannahsfriend13.
Enjoy!

If I Stay

The Bookworm Says...Yes. If I Stay by Gayle Forman was a pretty good book. It was somewhat sad and gory but oh well. It was a snowy day in Oregon, and everything was closed. So, why not take a trip down to your mothers house with your kids for dinner? That's exactly what Mia's family did. But on the way there... Something tragic happened. A car accident. Maybe they slid, maybe the truck hit them. Maybe. When Mia woke up, all she could hear was the radio playing the classical music station she had to fight to get on. She tried to find her family in the wreckage, but failed. She was lifted onto a stretcher and brought to a hospital. Her brother Teddy, her parents...What happened? She finds herself able to step out of her body that is in a coma, and listen to the people around her. The one thing she hears over and over, is that she gets to pick whether she stays alive or not. Of course, it would be easier to leave. It would be more painful to stay, but worth it in the end? What are the pros and cons? What will happen if I stay?
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.
.
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I would recommend this book to any strings players, or anyone who is into classical music. Also, any hard-core rockers, as Mia's parents and boyfriend are or were all in rock bands. On the cover, it says fans of twilight would love this book, and you would. Even if you hated twilight, you might still love this.

An Abundance Of Katherines

The Bookworm Says.... Yes. An Abundance of Katherines by John Green was excellent. John Green is one of my all time favorite authors EVER. I don't think I could ever think badly of a book written by John Green. Colin Singleton is a child prodigy. No a genius though. Just a prodigy. He is also a dumpee. He is one that gets dumped. He has been dumped 19 times to be exact, by 19 girls named Katherine. Usually the dumping doesn't affect him much, but Katherine 19 really gotta him. So he and his best friend Hassan decide to go on a road trip. They end up in Gutshot, Tennessee. While in Gutshot, Colin decides to make a graph-able formula that could predict relationships. In Gutshot, they are staying with a girl named Lindsey, and her mother Hollis. Hollis puts the, to work, interviewing the citizens of Gutshot for a documentary. Colin struggles to complete the Theorem, and may end up trying a girl that IS NOT named Katherine. Read all of this and more in An Abundance of Katherines. I would recommend this book to all John Green lovers, and anyone looking for a good romance. Also, if you enjoy math, this book is the place for you!

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants

The Bookworm says... Yes. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants by Ann Brashares was a pretty good book. Later there was a movie made based on this book. Is is going to be Bridget, Tibby, Lena, and Carmen's first summer apart since birth. They were all going their separate ways- Lena to Greece, Bridget to soccer camp, Carmen to her dads house, and Tibby staying right at home sweet home in Bethseda, Maine. While at Goodwill shopping for a prom dress for Lena's sister, Carmen found The Pants. She bought them simply to buy something. One day, many days after this event, when all the girls (except for Tibby) are packing, Tibby asks if she could have the pants. Her and Carmen are completely different body shapes, so they shouldn't fit, but they did. Then Lena tried them on. They fit. Then Bridget. They fit. Miraculously, the pants flattered all four girls. So, the Sisterhood of The Traveling Pants begins. You mail the pants around the world, documenting what happens while wearing them. Open is book and learn what wonders the pants do for these four best friends over this very special summer.

Radiance

The Bookworm says...maybe. Radiance by Alyson Noël was an okay book. It is the first book in the spinoff series from "Immortal Series" also by Alyson Noël-Evermore is number one in "The Immortals". Riley and Buttercup area cross the bridge, and are starting school There. Riley gets her assignment as Soul Catcher. Her job will be to travel back to earth, and encourage lost souls, like ghosts, to cross the bridge. Her first soul she is assigned is Radiant Boy. There have been many other Soul Catchers that had failed with Radiant Boy. Will Riley succeed. She also must go along with her guide, Bodhi, to watch his mission. Once they both are complete, she is promised a trip to London, and a flying lesson. Will she make it to her lesson? Radiance is the first of a series, and you MUST read the "Immortal" series first. This book was very interesting, and exciting to read. I do not think I will finish the series, because it didn't quite hook me.

Looking For Alaska

The Bookworm says...YES. Looking For Alaska by John Green was fantastic. Just hearing John Greens name should make you go out and buy it. Miles is a nerd, loser, outcast, etc. He decides to restart his life at a boarding high school called Culver Creek. He gets there and meets his roommate Chip, aka The Colonel. The Colonel introduces Miles (who was immediately nicknamed Pudge) to Alaska Young and Takumi Hikohito. They all become best friends. They pull many excellent pranks on The Weekday Warriors- the snobby rich kids that go home on the weekend- and on The Eagle(the principal). After a long night of truth or dare, and hopeless drunk ness, Alaska gets a call. During it she starts to cry and scream. She runs to her car, and has Pudge and The Colonel make a distraction. She leaves and.... Well I'm not going to give away the surprise. This book was by all means wonderful, and seeing as you are still reading this, there is no way you could be buying the book. So stop reading this and go!!

Beautiful Creatures

TheBookworm says...Yes. Beautiful Creatures by Margaret Stohl and Kami Garcia wasa great book! If I had to put an age recommendation on this book, I would say12+. In the small town of Gatlin, nothing ever changed. No way, no how. But oneday it does. A strangely beautiful girl named Lena Duchannes moves in with thetown shut-in Macon Ravenwood. Strange things start happening with this girl...But right when Ethan Wate sees her, he knows she is the girl from his dream. Hehas been having dreams of a girl who is always just out of reach, and she alwaysfalls through his grip. He wakes up, covered in dirt, as if he were actuallycrawling around the mud, holding on to her. One morning after one of theseepisodes, he finds a new song on his MP3 player. It is titled "SixteenMoons" it goes:

SixteenMoons,

Sixteenyears,

Sixteentimes you dreamed my tears,

Fallingfalling through the years. 

 

Afterthis girl cause a few strange occurrences, Ethan learns she is a Caster, almostlike a witch. He also discovers that on her sixteenth birthday, at midnight,she will be claimed, either dark or light. He is wondering what exactly"dark" is when he encounters Lena's cousin Ridley. She tricks himinto escorting her for dinner at The Ravenwood place. He later learns she is a siren.Ridley creates chaos, and nearly kills Ethan. She shows up again at their schooldance, Accidentally causing Lena to destroy the dance. They school committeehas a trial to get Lena out of their school, but when her uncle Macon starts spilling the school boards dirty little secrets. they agree to let Lena stay. On the night of Lena's sixteenth birthday, shortly before midnight, Ridley reappears, and gets the "popular" girls to throw Lena a surprise party. Lena begs to go, and Macon relents. Is it a trap? Will she still be out when she gets Claimed? Does she have to be Claimed tonight? If you read this book, all of these questions answers will become clear. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes sitting on the edge of their seat, and biting their nails over suspense.

The Fault In Our Stars.

The Bookworm says... ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY 100% YES! Is is my favorite book. Simple as that. The Fault In Our Stars (TFIOS) by John Green was amazing. Heartwarming. Sad. Touching. Call it what you want, it was fabulous. Hazel Grace was diagnosed with stage IV thyroid cancer at age thirteen. She has become depressed, which is a side effect of cancer, which is a side effect of dying. So she joins a support group in the Literal Heart Of Jesus at her local church. One day, her soon to be blind friend Isaac brings his friend Augustus. Augustus has been NEC (no evidence of cancer) for 15 months. He and Hazel Grace are immediately attracted to each other. He says she looks like Natalie Portman in "V for Vendetta". She tells him she has never seen it, and they go to his house to watch it. After the movie, they trade favorite books. Hazels was "An Imperial Affliction" by Peter Van Houten. Augustus' is "The Prince of Dawn". August calls her that night to say he was upset with the ending, as it ends in the middle of a sentence. The next day, they write Peter Van Houten an email. He replies, saying that if they ever find themselves in Amsterdam, pay him a visit. However, you never do know when your Last Good Day will be.This book had me in tears, feeling like these people were my best friends, and I was living this with them. Everyone will love this book. John Green, I applaud you. You did an amazing job

The Lucky One

The Bookworm says... YES!! The Lucky One by Nicolas Sparks was an absolutely stunning book. It was one of those books where you just stop for a minute and... cry. Logan Thibault lived in Colorado. His family wasn't wealthy enough to send him to college, so he enlisted in the marines. He went to Iraq three times. He tried his hand at poker while over-seas, and lost an equivalent to all the money he had made so far in the army. One night, walking back to his tent after a bad loss, he spotted the glossy edge of a photograph peeking out through the dirt. He posted it on a message board, and no one claimed it, so he took it back. His best friend Victor convinced him that it was his good luck charm, and not to let go of it. After surviving many close calls, Logan and Victor decided their time in the army was done. Victor went back to California, and Logan to Colorado. A few months later, they met up for a fishing trip on a small lake. Victor convinced Logan that he owed something to the woman in the picture.  Shortly after, A speedboat crashed into their rowboat, and Victor was dead instantly. Logan walked away unscathed. So Logan set out to find her. He noted the fair in the back of the picture, the boy with the Hampton, NC t-shirt, and the three evergreen trees. Also, the note on the back that said "Keep safe!E". After narrowing down many google searches, he chose Hampton, in Hampton County, North Carolina. He set out the next morning on foot. After about a month, he and his German Shepard Zeus, arrived in Hampton. He flashed the photo around, and managed to find her quickly enough. Her name was Elizabeth. He applied for a job at the kennel she ran and got it. Gradually, they became closer, and closer. He also became close with her son Ben, and came to be aware of her ex husband Keith Clayton. He did not however, tell her about the photograph. He learned that her brother Drake was a marine, and it was his photo that he found. After Keith did some snooping through Thibault's home, he found out about the photo. He told Elizabeth, and she ordered Logan out. Later, after they made up (Or she forgave him for the stalker like behavior) Logan was heading back to the kennel. There was a large rainstorm going on, and the creek in the backyard was swelling, the current rapid. Ben had overheard Elizabeth and Keith fighting, and ran out to his "hideaway" or the tree house his grandfather built him. It was gradually decomposing, and the storm was not helping. Zeus, Logan, Beth, and Keith rushed out. But it was too late. Ben was hanging on to the rope of the bridge, holding for dear life. All but Beth went in after him, as she had injured her ankle. In the end, only three of the four came out alive. The Lucky One was a heartwarming story, and was amazing. I would recommend this book for anyone with time to kill :)

(Note: The Lucky One was made into a movie, starring Zac Efron and Taylor Schilling rated PG-13. I have never seen it, but heard great things!)

Goddess Bootcamp

The Bookworm Says....YES!!!!! Goddess Bootcamp by Tera Lynn Childs was a great book. It is a sequel to Oh My Gods, and they were both excellent. Phoebe Castro is enjoying her summer, before she has to enter level 12. You see, Phoebe lives on a small Greek island of Serfopoula. Se is also the goddess Nikes great grand-daughter. All of the people on the island are part god, maybe not as closely related as Phoebe, but still related. She is beginning training in the morning with her dreamy boyfriend Griffin for the Pythian Games trials. The Pythian Games are like the Olympics, and she has to try out for the team. Phoebe also has troubles controlling her powers. Past incidents include: thinking about the ocean, and making it so her serious stepdad Damian was no longer in his office in a suit, but outside her door in a bathing suit. Damian gets a call from the gods saying she must take a test, and pass it or else... So he makes the only reasonable decision. Phoebe should be sent to Goddess Boot Camp. On the first day of camp, she is horrified when she steps inside. The room is full of 10 year olds. (Phoebe is 17) She thinks it can't get any worse, but then the counselors walk in. Adara Spencer, Griffins ex, and her enemy. Stella Petrolas, her evil stepsister. Then, a ragged, rebel boy named Xander. She struggles through camp, and suspects Griffin of cheating on her with Adara. One day, she is at home with Stella, and the doorbell rings. There is a note to Phoebe with a sequence that her friend identified as a call number for the library. She went to the library, and the book is in the secret collections. This book is about her dads trial at Mt. Olympus that got him killed. The librarian agrees to show her, but the book is missing. Later, Phoebe receives an email about the book, but when she goes to print it, it is blank. She goes to the schools computer geek, and asks him to find the sender. He is unable to, so she does what the email says. "Go to the courtyard at 12:00pm". She goes, and it is Damian. He gets her the book, but she chooses not to read it, afraid of what it says. A few days later at the Pythian Games, something strange happens. She is in third place, and confident because the top 3 get on the team. All of the sudden, a brunette girl shows up in front of her. No matter how hard she tries, she can't catch the lead. When her feet hit the finish line, she is heavily embraced. The brunette was an apparition. That was her test. She passed. And she made the Pythian Games team. This was a great day. I would recommend this book to almost anybody, but especially if you are interested in Greek history. But- I would advise reading Oh My Gods first.

The Graveyard Book

The Bookworm says......Maybe. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman was an okay book. I was reading it for a school assignment, and I'm not sure I would have just picked it up and read it. In The Graveyard Book, a little boy is sleeping, and a man called Jack went into his home and murdered his family. The little boy escaped, and crawled to the graveyard. Next, a ghost couple called The Owens, found him, and decided to protect him. They gave him the gift of the graveyard, and named him Nobody Owens, Bod for short. The reader realizes that this boy is the main character. One day a little girl named Scarlett is visiting the graveyard with her parents. She and Bod run off, and go down into a crypt. While down there, they are visited by The Indigo Man and The Sleer. They escape, but it was close. The next day, Bods guardian Silas leaves, and puts Bod in the care of Miss Lupescu. One night during Miss Lupescu’s stay, some ghouls snatched Bod up and took him to Ghulheim, the ghoul city. Miss Lupescu in the form of a grey dog saves him. When they got home, Bod went back down to visit The Sleer. He steals its brooch, and tries to sell it to an antique shop with the hopes of buying a ghost named Liza a headstone. The worker at the antique shop locks Bod in a back room. The worker calls The Man Jack that murdered Bods family but with the help of Liza the witch ghost, Bod escapes.

Bod gets home to the graveyard, everyone is acting strange. Not talking, just working and cleaning. Whenever he asks them a question or says hello, they sing a song that ends in “Lets all dance the Macabray”. Later on that night, they do just that. They had a great time, and Bod met some living children. This made him decide that he wanted to go to a real school, instead of being taught by Silas. So he does, and immediately sees bullying at its finest. He tries to stop it, and they target him. He outsmarts the bullies, and they vow not to bully again. Bod decides he has run his course at real school, after a run-in with the police. After a few years, there is exciting news. Scarlett has moved back from Scotland! She and Bod are at a local historian, Mr. Frost’s house having tea, and Bod goes to see a letter concerning his parent’s murder. Mr. Frost pulls out a knife, and tries to kill Bod. Mr. Frost is The Man Jack. He and his crew chase Bod and Scarlett back to the graveyard. This is the climax of the book. Scarlett hides with The Sleer, and Bod outsmarts The Man Jacks crew. They lure The Man Jack into the crypt, and resolve the conflict by tricking him into staying with The Sleer forever. All in all, it was a pretty good book. But,it was a little bit frightening, so I wouldn't recommend it for younger children.