Gone Girl

The Bookworm says... ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY YES! Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn was terrifyingly excellent. Nick and Amy have been married 5 years, happily for the most part. Well, maybe not so happily. On their fifth anniversary, Amy goes missing and Nick is the number one suspect. Nick can be hostile and he's definitely not perfect, but would he murder his wife? This novel was outstanding. The sharp plot twists you never saw coming, the amazing characterization, the literary excellence. The ideas put into this book are unheard of. I've never been so disappointed that a book ended.

"It's a very difficult era in which to be a person, just a real, actual person, instead of a collection of personality traits selected from an endless Automat of characters."

The Infinite Moment of Us

The Bookworm says... Yes. The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle was an excellent book. Wren Gray is eighteen years old, but she always does what her parents say. Always. Her parents raised her, and they know what is best for her, right? Wren thought so, until her high school graduation. Her parents decided she is going to the college of their choice. Wren wants to go to Guatemala with the Peace Corps. Then, Charlie Parker comes into her life. Everything Wren wants is right in front of her, but she can't have it all. She has to choose: Charlie, college, or Guatemala. Are there any possible combinations? Wren needs to choose, her heart or her parents ideas? It's time to make a decision.

"You're saying the mysteries are worth examining, even if they're too big to be understood. That maybe they're bound to be too big to understand, but that doesn't  take anything away from them, and in fact just adds to their beauty."

Previously reviewed: Let it Snow (co-written with John Green and Maureen Johnson)

Before I Fall

The Bookworm says... Yes! Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver was a lovely read. Samantha Kingston was killed in a drunk driving accident. She is dead. Was dead. The one problem: she wakes up the next morning. And everyone around her? It's like it never happened. She relives this day, her death day if you will, several times. Each day she changes things she realizes she has done wrong. being the most popular girl in her high school, Sam has messed up a few times. Now she has a chance, or seven, to fix her ways, and die peacefully. I adored this book. Absolutely adored it. The main reason I had picked it off the shelf was because of the review on the cover from Jay Asher, one of my favorite authors. I'm indescribably happy with Before I Fall, and Lauren Oliver. In fact, it drove me straight to Barnes and Nobles to buy another one of her novels, Panic. I think I just found a new favorite author.

"Maybe for you there's a thousand tomorrows, or three thousand, or ten, so much time you can bathe in it, roll around in it, let it slide like coins through your fingers. So much time you can waste it. But for some of us there's only today. And the truth is, you never really know."

The Whole Stupid Way We Are

The Bookworm says... No. The Whole Stupid Way We Are by N. Griffin was not my favorite book. Skint Gilbert and Dinah Beach live in a small town in Maine, and they are best friends. It's the dead of winter, but Skint refuses to wear a coat. Dinah, thinking she is looking out for him, tries to get him to wear a coat. All Dinah ever wants to do is help people, but she doesn't realize that sometimes, people don't need help. Or, her "help" is just worsening the situation. Help help help. Dinah helps everyone from Skint to a dancing donkey to Skint's dad. Skint's dad suffers from dementia, and Dinah just wants to help. But is it really Mr. Gilbert that needs help? This novel was written in the third person point of view, but there were certain points in which the line between third and first person was blurred. I also found it perplexing how Dinah sometimes referred to her parents as "Mom and Dad", and sometimes "Mr. & Mrs. Beach". The use of nicknames was confusing. I feel that the plot took much too to develop, and the amount of side plots was excessive. Over all, I did not really enjoy this book. 

"Go back, go back. Undo these days and let us go back to before."

Every Day

The Bookworm says... Absolutely! Every Day by David Levithan was a brilliant book. Every day, A wakes up in a different body. Always a sixteen year old. Accesses the body's memories, and lives its life. At midnight, he changes bodies again. He leaves lives untouched, and doesn't remember any details about former lives. Until one day, he's  in a boy named Justin's body. While in this body, he falls in love with Justin's girlfriend Rihannon. Every day, A tries to contact Rhiannon. Every day, A loves her more. Every day, she doubts him. Will Rhiannon be able to overlook the constant body/gender change, or will A be able to stop changing bodies? This novel was absolutely breathtaking. The ending was not very satisfying, I'll admit. Ending aside, an amazing book. I wish there was a sequel to this fantastic story. 

"If you stare at the center of the universe, there is a coldness there. A blankness. Ultimately, the universe doesn't care about us. Time doesn't care about us. That's why we have to care about eachother."

Previously reviewed: Will Grayson, Will Grayson  (cowritten with John Green)

Lovely, Dark, and Deep

The Bookworm says... YES! Lovely, Dark, and Deep by Amy McNamara was an outstanding novel. Mamie Wells was a perfect student, but also an avid partier and social butterfly. One accident causes this girl to disappear forever. She moves from New York City to live in a secluded home in Northern Maine to live with her artist father. She no longer goes by Mamie, but Wren. She completely abandons everything from her old life, and tries to build a new one. This being said, she promises herself that someday she will return to NYC and go to college as planned. One day, after nearly being run over by his car, Wren meets a boy named Cal. They keep in touch, but not often. After months of living like a recluse, Wren's parents intervene. She is forced to get a job, and help out around the house. After being pushed to go see a therapist, Wren heads out on a stress run, forgetting it's nearly midnight. There she runs into Cal, who is with his ex girlfriend. She jumps to conclusions and runs away, back into the woods. In her stress and confusion, she ends up hospitalized with hypothermia. She recovers, and is seemingly happier. Until, that is, her best friend from her former life arrives with a stack of letters she had been meaning to send and two bottles of champagne. Will Wren welcome Meredith back into her life, and return to her old self, or will she continue to push Meredith away and sink back into seclusion, accepting her life for what is? After having this book recommended to me by a close friend (and then proceeding to steal her copy), I wasn't sure how much I would enjoy it. I even put off reading it for a while; once I started the novel I couldn't put it down until two hours later when I finished it. This book is outstanding, and I would recommend it to any young person that may have, not unlike Wren, lost themselves whilst loosing someone else. An excellent debut novel.

"The only constant is change."

The Maze Runner

The Bookworm says... YES! The Maze Runner by James Dashner was an absolutely enticing novel. From the moment I started reading, it was painful to put it down. When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only think he can remember is his name. He gets hoisted out of the lift into an utterly unfamiliar setting: The Glade. When all the boys start talking with slang words he doesn't understand and talking about locations he doesn't recognize, his head begins to spin. He learns that they are stuck in a maze, and they have to get out. They get one new person a month, always have and always will. Once Thomas arrives, things start to go haywire. He gets attacked by a boy Ben that was stung by Grievers, crazy half animal half machine creatures in the maze. The next day, they get another recruit. Two in one month. And it's a girl. She delivers a message sure to terrify them all, and then slips into a coma. Thomas learns the rules of the Glade, and the jobs. He feels a need to be a Runner, those who run the maze and learn it. One problem: the walls change every night. One night Thomas breaks the number one rule, and goes into the maze. He gets trapped overnight, but manages to survive. When he returns from the maze, things get weirder. He hears a girls voice in his head, and realizes it's the new girl. She tells him she triggered The Ending, whatever that is. The doors stop closing. The sun disappears. Even worse, one person gets killed by a Griever per night. They need to do something, and quick. Will Thomas sacrifice himself? Will they sacrifice someone else? Will someone voluntarily get stung by a Griever to get back some memories? Will they find a way out of The Maze? And if they do, is what's outside any better? This book was amazing, and had me up until the break of dawn reading. 

"If you ain't scared, you ain't human."

Chasing Lincoln's Killer

The Bookworm says... Not for me. Chasing Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson was not an enjoyable book for me to read. This is the documentation of President Lincoln's assassination, other attempted murders, and the manhunt that followed. The thrilling chase filled with blood, sweat, and lies lasted days until John Wilkes Booth was shot in a tobacco barn. This was an assigned summer reading novel, and I did not find it to be intriguing; unless of course, you are a fan of nonfiction novels! Based off of telegrams, documents, letters, and photographs from the manhunt, Chasing Lincoln's Killer was an educational recollection of President Lincoln's Assassination.  

"The newspaper articles described some aspects of the assassination but cut off before the end of the story. I knew I had to find the rest of the story. This book is my way of doing that."- James L. Swanson, author 

Let's Get Lost

The Bookworm says... YES. Let's Get Lost by Adi Alsaid was a gorgeous book. Leila takes off on a 4,268 mile road trip from Louisiana to Alaska, with only her car, some clothes, her wallet, and her credit card. When passing through different places, it's outstanding to see how Leila and her red car effect other peoples lives. At the beginning of her trip, she decides she should probably get her car tuned up so it makes it all the way to Alaska. At the mechanics, she meets Hudson. Hudson takes her on an adventure, showing her all of the hidden treasures of plain old Vicksburg, Mississippi. Their final, late night destination, is Hudson and his friends secret island, the oxbow. They find Hudson's friends there, and join in a game. When the police arrive, Hudson and Leila lie low, not wanting to risk Hudson's pending scholarship. They end up falling asleep on the oxbow, and sleeping in. This caused Hudson to miss his meeting with the dean of University of Mississippi. He blames Leila, and tells her to leave. She continues on her road trip, but doesn't forget about Hudson. She keeps driving, and she comes across a young girl hitchhiking. Leila stops, and picks up a girl we come to know as Bree. Bree is just hitchhiking around the country after running away from her sister, post-death of her parents. Bree's philosophy is to "Seize the Tuesday". So, her and Leila rob a gas station. Then, they sweet talk a valet worker into letting them take a car for a while. This gets them sent to jail, where they are forced to call Bree's sister, Alexis, with whom Bree has not spoken in nine months. Alexis bails them out, and gets into a fight with Bree. Bree attempts to make up with her, and Leila continues on her trip. She is making good progress, until she nearly runs over a drunk boy named Elliot in the middle of the street. He has just been rejected by the love of his life in the middle of his senior prom. Leila takes it upon herself to make sure Elliot get hits perfect movie ending, and learns a few things about herself along the way. When his movie is over, whether the ending was a happy one or not, Leila keeps driving. When she comes out of a rest stop, she finds a sobbing Sonia leaning up against her car. She asks for a ride, and Leila is happy to oblige. Sonia explains that she lost her boyfriend to a heart disease, and then fell in love with his sisters fiancées brother. She feels awful because she isn't over Sam, so she leaves Sams sisters rehearsal dinner and asks Leila for a ride from Canada to the US. While at a rest stop, Jeremiah calls Sonia and tells her the jacket of his she took had the wedding rings in it. Leila and Sonia turn around to bring the ring back, only to find Sonia's passport stolen. Leila tries to go over, but border patrol dubs it a suspicious re-entrance. They then try to run through the woods, but get caught sent back. They manage to get smuggled across, and Leila leaves Sonia to sort out her relationships. When Leila arrives at her destination, she can only hope that the Northern Lights will be as fulfilling as hoped. This novel was absolutely outstanding, and a brilliant debut novel for Adi Alsaid. A must read for all lovers of John Green, Let's Get Lost is a fresh new story. 

"Four teens across the country have only one thing in common: a girl named Leila. She crashes into their lives in her absurdly red car at the moment they need someone most." 

The Program

The Bookworm says... Yes! The Program by Suzanne Young was an excellent book. When suicide becomes an international epidemic for adolescents and teens, the government must step in. They start trying out The Program, and one of the facilities happens to be in Sloanes town. After her brother Brady's suicide, her parents are on the alert for the slightest sign of the depression. A bad day could send Sloane off to The Program. Her boyfriend James is the only person she can be herself around, and vice versa. They make a deal to do whatever it takes to keep each other out of The Program. When James gets taken to The Program, Sloane follows not long after. Will they make it out of The Program memories intact, or will they end up brainwashed like the rest? Either way, what happens next? This novel was absolutely outstanding while reading it, and while nearing the end I assumed there would be a sequel due to the amount of unsolved conflict. I turned the page expecting a sneak peak to the sequel, but instead I was greeted with an epilogue. Though there is a sequel released entitled The Treatment, the epilogue was confusing. Ending aside, this book was hauntingly realistic, and will surely leave you with chills. 

"Everyone who's been through The Program returns as a blank skate. Because their depression is gone- but so are their memories."

Prom

The Bookworm says... Maybe. Prom by Laurie Halse Anderson was an alright book. Ashley Hannigan s a very normal girl. Her best friend is in charge of the prom committee, and Ashley stays as far from prom as possible. When they find out that their math teacher stole all of the money for prom, they need to think quick. Ashley is dragged down into prom buisness, everything is crazy.  Will they pull of the prom, and will everyone manage to attend? This novel is not like other Laurie Halse Anderson book I have read. It is a very normal book, written for the normal kids out there. 

"Prom was stupid for me, but not for them, and I wasn't such a butthead that I couldn't see the difference. But I didn't know what to say or do." 

Previously reviewed: Speak, The Impossible Knife of Memory

We Were Liars

The Bookworm says... Yes. We Were Liars by E. Lockhart was a very interesting book. The Sinclairs are a perfect family. No one is a thief, no on is a liar. No one is a failure. Cadence is the eldest Sinclair grandchild, therefore heir to the private Beechwood Island. All of the cousins go to Beechwood every summer. The Liars have been a group since summer five when Gat started coming to the island. Gat and his father Ed are the only non white residents of the island. The Liars are all best friends planning revenge and crazy pranks. Cadence is in love with Gat. Was in love. Is in love. Whichever. One summer, everything goes wrong. A rebellion with a bad ending. Cadence is found on the beach unconscious after "The Accident". She lost her memory. This is the tale of Cadence, trying to remeber what happened that summer, Summer Fifteen, the fate of her loved ones, and if the motto still stands. Are the Sinclairs perfect? Or have they just created a perfect facade? 

Amazon Book of the Month.

"Someone once wrote that a novel should deliver a series of astonishments. I get the same thing by spending an hour with you." 

The Symptoms of My Insanity

The Bookworm says... Maybe. Symptoms of My Insanity by Mindy Raf was a good book. Izzy seems like a normal girl. A normal girl with a not-so-normal mom, and a not-so-normal bra size. Izzys mom has a rare stomach cancer, and her condition is worsening. Izzys sister is at college, leaving her to care for her mom. Also, she is constantly self conscious of her large breasts. On top of this she is extremely paranoid about everything, and tends to self diagnose herself with various diseases using Symptomaniac.com. Plus, she has a huge art portfolio due. In three weeks. Her best friend starts to act strange, and Izzy has no idea what is going on. Then, her major-long-time crush starts hitting on her. She tries to handle everything, but were her impressions of people wrong? Does he really like her, or is he using her? Is her mom keeping things from her? And at this rate, will she ever make it to graduation? In my opinion, the book itself was great. But, there is always a hamartia (fatal flaw). This story's fatal flaw is the subplots. There are subplots upon subplots upon subplots, which I was not a fan of. 

"The only prescription is a dose of reality." 

Willow

The Bookworm says... Yes! Willow by Julia Hoban was a fantastically real book. It was a dark and rainy night, and Willows parents had an extra bottle of wine at dinner, so they asked Willow to drive them home. On the way home, Willow hit a tree and both of her parents were killed. Now she is stuck living with her older-college professor-brother David and his wife and daughter, and the pain that she killed her parents. She has to move out of her house, and start a new school. The only way she is able to deal with the pain is by cutting herself. She engages in this activity daily, and it is her secret. Until a student she is helping at the library names Guy spots the bleeding scar ripped open. He immediately makes Willow his project- but she eventually becomes less of a project and more of a friend. Will they become more than friends? Will Willow be able to talk to her brother like a normal person? Will she stop cutting? Will she ever turn the page of this tragedy that happens to be her life? This book was brutally honest, which isn't something you see every day. The only thing I didn't like was the ending. The book ended with a "..."  The story actually finished with a dot dot dot. I HATE books that end like that. The three little dots almost killed the book. But, aside from the dot dot dot, this book was stunning. 

Florida Teens Read Nominee

"It's hard to keep a secret when it's written all over your body..."

Hate List

The Bookworm says... Yes! Hate List by Jennifer Brown is a very original story. A good original. Valerie is going out with a boy named Nick, and couldn't be happier. They are the "losers" at school, and are picked on often. To vent, Valerie starts a "Hate List". Nick helps her with this list, and they hate the popular kids together. On May 2nd, 2008, one of these "popular kids" broke Valerie's MP3 player, and Nick says he has the perfect revenge. Valerie assumes he is going to insult her, maybe spit on her shoes or punch her boyfriend. But instead, he walks over to Christy Bruter, and says "You've been first on the list for a long time", pulls out a gun, and shoots her. He then proceeds to shoot many people on the list, and some that were just in his way. Valerie jumps in front of a girl named Jessica Campbell, with whom she is not even close to friends, and saves her life. Nick then turned the gun on himself. It is a long recovery for those injured,and a long grieving process for those who lost loved ones. Valerie is a suspect of the shooting, because it was her hate list. Valerie struggles to get her name cleared, her leg healed, and her conscience cleared. Will the stress of this event be too much to handle? This book was excellent, and surely not anything I have ever read before. 

ALA Best Book for Young Adults

VOYA Perfect Ten

School Library Journal Best Book of the Year

"The list was my idea. I didn't mean for anyone to die. Will you ever forgive me?" 

Love and Other Perishable Items

The Bookworm says... Maybe. Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo was not a bad book, it just wasn't outstanding! Amelia is 14 years and 9 months old, and working her first job at a supermarket. Leave it to Amelia to fall in love with her co-workers. That in itself is an issue, but this particular co-worker happens to be a 22 year old uni student named Chris. Amelia tries to keep her cool around Chris, and succeeds. They become close friends, but nothing more. Until one night at another co-workers birthday. They are both drunk, and Chris kissed Amelia. They both leave the party with very different expectations of where their relationship will go. This book starts out in Amelia's point of view, then transfers into Chris's point of view through his journal entries. 

William C. Morris Debut Award Finalist

"Love is awkward. Amelia should know."

Brain on Fire

The Bookworm says... Definitely. Brain on Fire -My Month of Madness- by Susannah Cahalan was an outstanding memoir of disease. Susannah has her life put together, living on her own in Manhattan, working at the New York Post. Then, she has a bedbug scare. She begins to obbsess over this bedbug scare. You could call this the beginning. There were never any bedbugs. Susannah begins to have extreme mood swings, and high anxiety, until one night with her boyfriend Stephen, she has a seizure. She is diagnosed with bipolar disorder, then schizophrenia, then alcoholism, and multiple other things. None of these diagnosises seem to make sense. She is admitted to the epilepsy floor of NYU, and is a very difficult patient. Many doctors join and depart from her case, but the most effective will be Dr. Najjar and Dr. Dalmau. Almost a million dollars are spent on blood work, PET scans, CT scans, MRIs, and more tests, to figure out what is going on with Susannah. It turns out all they needed to do was have her draw a clock. The doctors discover that the right side of her brain is inflamed. Through a brain biopsy and multiple spinal taps, it's confirmed that Susannah is dealing with anti- NMDA receptor autoimmune encephalitis. She is the 217th person to be diagnosed. She will survive this, but will she ever be the Susannah everyone knows and loves? This was an outstanding book, based off of an article written by Susannah entitled "My Month of Madness". Susannah is an inspiration for young women around the globe fighting anti- NMDA receptor autoimmune encephalitis.  

Heaven Is For Real

The Bookworm says... Wow. Heaven is For Real by Todd Burpo and Lynn Vincent was a stunning story. Todd Burpo is a pastor in Imperial, Nebraska. His health slowly starts deteriorating. First, he breaks a leg in three places and his ankle. Then, he passes kidney stones. Finally, a breast cancer scare. On the way to their family vacation celebrating good health, their son Colton begins throwing up. He has to have an emergency appendectomy, and his future is grim. He barely makes it through the surgery, but he does. In the months following his surgery, Colton begins hinting that he was lifted from his body during the surgery. He describes sitting with Jesus, what his parents were doing during his surgery, and features of Heaven that no illiterate three year old would know. It becomes apparent that Colton had a heavenly encounter, from meeting deceased family members to giving exact details about Heaven. I haven't been to church in a few years, but this book makes me want to be a nun. 

Side Effects May Vary

The Bookworm says... Yes! Side Effects May Vary by Julie Murphy was an outstanding novel! 

Then

Alice was diagnosed with leukemia one year ago. She always thought life was guaranteed, but now tow weeks aren't even guaranteed. So, there are some things she must do before she dies. Blackmail her ex boyfriend into embarrassing himself after cheating on her, telling people her private information, and making fun of a gay boy in their grade. She must break into the amusement park from when she was little and go on the tea cups. She has to humiliate her former dance rival, and constant enemy onstage during the school play. She needs to buy a puppy for the little girl next door. And finally, she has to go to a prom. For all of this she enlists her childhood best friend Harvey. 

Just after all of Alice's issues are settled, she feels she could die peacefully. She tells Harvey her feelings for him, and falls asleep content with death. Only to learn the next day she has gone into remission. She was living life like she was dying, but now she is going to live. 

Now

Things are extremely awkward between Alice and Harvey. Alice has to return to school. Alice is still weak. She returns to school and faces her dance enemy Celeste. Celeste and her side kick Mindi are horrible to Alice, saying she should have died. While Alice tries to figure out her feelings for Harvey, she doesn't realize that she is leaving his feelings in the dust. She kisses him, but won't say she loves him. She doesn't talk to him at school, yet she is jealous when she sees him with other girls. She doesn't know what to do. Celeste and Mindi are trying to plan something awful for Alice, and it happens. They make her a shrine type memorial that would have happened if she had died. Alice witnesses her own memorial. Harvey has a girlfriend. Alice confronts her mom about what she saw in the window one day. Life is going down hill. Alice realizes that in her quest for revenge and good deeds, she never did soemthing for Harvey. So, she tries to find his dad, and in the process finds her feelings for him. 

This book was excellent. It switches point of view and time period every chapter which is usually enough to make me close a book. But, it works. Julie Murphy, well done. 

It's Kind of a Funny Story

The Bookworm says... YES. It's Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini was am excellent book. Craig Gilner was always a model students and studied his butt off for the admittance test for Manhattan's Executive Pre-Professional High School. He spends all his time studying, and the pressure pushes him to his breaking point. He begins to become more and more depressed. Once he gets to the school he realizes that he will never be an A+ student, just normal 93's which aren't bad but they aren't outstanding and if they're not outstanding, he won't get into a good college and he won't get a good job. The stress keeps piling on and Craig stops eating and sleeping. He finally decides to kill himself. In the middle of the night, he prepares to jump off the Brooklyn Bridge. He calls a suicide hotline and they tell him if he is considering harming himself he should check himself into a hospital. Craig decided that death probably falls under the category of harming yourself, and checks himself in. While in the Brooklyn Mental Health Facility, he finds people that are non-verbal, transsexuals, depressed teens, drug addicts, and... love? Will Craig manage to get his depression under control (or experience the Shift as he calls it)? And what will he use to make this happen? Will he escape this hospital and find true love? 

The Impossible Knife of Memory

The Bookworm says... Maybe. The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson was a pretty good book! It is the touching story of a girl named Hayley Blue who lives with her father who struggles with sever PTSD from fighting in the army. Hayley has been traveling the country in her Dads truck, but it's been decided she needs to live a real life. Hayley struggles with depression and anxiety. She very clearly knows how to spot people that are living their lives, and those spending it trying to fit in. She refers to the latter as zombies. She is constantly worried about her dad, and does not try very hard in school. When her dads horrible ex Trish makes an appearance, her life starts to go downhill. Her dad seems to be getting better, but then there's a bar fight. And he starts drinking again. Will she get her dad to turn his life around before he starts playing around with the lines between life and death? This book didn't have a major climax until the end, but it was great! It was also somewhat confusing, but it was great for the most part. 

Laurie Halse Anderson is the author of previously reviewed novel Speak. 

Asylum

The Bookworm says... YES (if you like scary things)! Asylum by Madeleine Roux was an excellent book, and a thriller to top it off! I am a huge fan of scary things, so this was an upside for me, but it could also be a downside. If the cover creeps you out, I would advise you not to look any farther. Sixteen year old Daniel Crawford is going to a summer college prep program at New Hampshire College Prep, or as referred to by the locals NHCP. But, before beginning the program Dan received a letter saying that the dorms were under construction, and college prep students would be staying in the newly renovated Brookline Phsyciatric Hospital dorms. This would be enough to make a sane person shaken, but not driven Daniel Crawford. Upon arrival, Daniel meets two people named Abby and Jordan. They become friends instantly. When Daniel is shown to his dorm room, he finds a picture of a man wearing glasses, but the problem seems to be that his eyes had been scratched out rather brutally in pen. This rattles Dans bones. That night, Jordan, Dan, and Abby begin exploring the locked up hallways of the asylum. They find more disturbing photos, and one particularly gory photograph of a young girl. They continue to explore, and Dan begins recieiving strange notes. One night as they sneak up from the cellar, they realize they have walked straight into a crime scene, and someone has been attacked. More attacks, more strange notes, mysterious texts, and hidden relations. As the students dig deeper into the asylum than they should, behavior begins to waver and ancestry starts to show between the students and patients. There are some secrets meant to stay buried, and some doors meant to stay locked. It seems the only way to stay sane is to get out of the place whose very purpose is to make people sane. Asylum was an excellent book, full of haunting photos from real life asylums. This is a must read for all horror lovers, also for lovers of Miss Peregrines Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.

Eleanor & Park

'The Bookworm says.... Maybe. Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell was a decent book. The beginning was very, very slow.  Aside from that, it was pretty good.  Eleanor is the new girl in school. Weird, chubby, dresses weird. But is it her choice? Her stepfather kicked her out for a year, only to comeback to a completely different house where his wish was their command (or else). On the bus on the first day, an Asian boy named Park swears at her, but let's her sit. Everyone at her school is rude to her. Except Park. He begins leaving her comic books to read, then mixed tapes. Eleanor's gym class was the worst. The girls in her class flushed her clothes in the toilet, and call her names. But Park is always there for her. Eleanor and Park begin to uphold a steady relationship, of course not telling Eleanor's family. Dirty messages begin showing up on Eleanor's text books, and Park accuses her of writing them. After a day or two, he comes to his senses and realizes it wasn't her. Park gets in a fight defending Eleanor. Parks mom is an Avon lady, and gives Eleanor a makeover. One of Eleanor's five siblings finds the makeup, and blackmails her into sharing. One day when she came home from Parks, Eleanor heard yelling and found her belongings destroyed. Who was writing the notes in her books? Was it really the girls in her class, trying to be cruel? Or was it someone that kept their friends close and their enemies closer? Will Eleanor and Park end up together? 

"Eleanor & Park reminded me not just what it's like to be young and in love with a girl, but also what it's like to be young and in love with a book." - John Green

Other Bookworm-Reviewed books by Rainbow Rowell: 

Fangirl 

Fangirl

The Bookworm says...YES!! Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell was a fabulous book. Being a fangirl myself, I was a huge fan of this book. Cather and Wren are a set of twins who's mother walked out on them when they were 8. Wren has always been outgoing, and Cath has been quiet. But even thought they have differences, there is one similarity. Simon Snow. Both girls are obbsessed with the Simon Snow book series by Gemma T. Leslie. Both girls are also renowned authors Magicath and Wrenegade on FanFixx.com, a site for writing fanfiction where the girls write Simon Snow fanfiction. The girls are heading off to college, and are separating for the first time. They still go to the same school, they eat lunch together, but that's it. Wren is living with another freshman, Courtney, and they go out and get completely drunk everynight. Cath is living with a junior, Reagan. Reagan goes it every night with a friend-boy Levi, but Cath stays home. Levi is ever present in the dorm. Halfway through first semester, in Caths junior level fictions writing class, they get an assignment to alternate paragraphs in a story with a partner. Cath writes with a boy named Nick, and they make it a weekly routine. When they are assigned their final assignment to write a story, Nick turns in one of their stories, and Cath doesn't turn anything in. One day when Cath was working on her fanfiction, Levi came in and asked her to help him study for a test. Cath ends up reading to him all night, they kiss, and fall asleep on Caths bed. Cath thinks she just kissed Reagan's boyfriend, and panics. She and Levi don't see each other until Cath sees him kissing another girl. After Levi is the only one there for Cath in two family emergencies, she is wondering what's up. Will Levi and Cath end up together? Will Wren and Cath forgive each other? Will Cath finish her fanfiction Carry On Simon before the eight books release? Will Cath do her assignment? So many loose ends that can only be tied up by reading the book. This book was amazing, and honestly I couldn't put it down!