"A book, too, can be a star, a living fire to lighten the darkness, leading out into the expanding universe." — Madeleine L'Engle

Monday, January 30, 2012

Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Title: Paranormalcy
Author: Kiersten White
Published: September 2010
Rating: 5/5
Synopsis: Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie’s always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she's falling for a shape-shifter, and she's the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal.

Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal.

Review: Hearing all the good things about this book had made want to read it for a long while and when I finally got the chance to I was really happy. Evie doesn't know a different world from the one that she's been living in for most of her lifetime. She's used to being surrounded by things that are considered to be not normal. That doesn't stop her from wanting to have a normal life.

Evie is hilarious! I loved the way she looked at things we consider as normal as something amazing. She lives such a different life and has best friends that we only wish we could but she tries to be as normal as possible. She made the book and story so good by how she looked at things in a funny way and talked about her world in such a normal way. They way that she was concious of the things that the paranormals could do made me happy since she knew the consequences and tried to think straight even if at times she couldn't.

I'm glad that I was finally able to read this book and totally agree with those who think this book is amazing because really is! It had moments that were really funny but there also times when it took a serious tone that balanced each other out. I always end up loving books that make me laugh and keep me reading even though I have so much homework to do! If you haven't read it yet then you need to!

Monday, January 16, 2012

Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Title: Lola and Boy Next Door
Author: Stephanie Perkins
Published: September 2011
Rating: 5/5
Synopsis: Budding designer Lola Nolan doesn’t believe in fashion . . . she believes in costume. The more expressive the outfit -- more sparkly, more fun, more wild -- the better. But even though Lola’s style is outrageous, she’s a devoted daughter and friend with some big plans for the future. And everything is pretty perfect (right down to her hot rocker boyfriend) until the dreaded Bell twins, Calliope and Cricket, return to the neighborhood.

When Cricket -- a gifted inventor -- steps out from his twin sister’s shadow and back into Lola’s life, she must finally reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door.

Review: This was just as good if not better than Anna!

Lola seems to live an almost perfect life with a rocker boyfriend and 2 dads that love her. Everything seems fine until her used to be neighbors move in after years of not seeing them. After the way they left Lola doesn't want anything to do with them and also doesn't want to know about them. Unfortunately for her, it seems kind of impossible since each day her feelings towards them change, especially for Cricket.

Lola is the person that I could never be and I loved that! She had her own personality and she really distinguished herself from the rest. She was trying to get over what had happened with her neighbors and when they suddenly appeared everything came back to her which made her not want to see them. Of course, the one person that she doesn't want to see is the person she sees.

And Cricket is awesome! According to Lola he dresses well and can also invent stuff. He doesn't have that big personality that everyone can see that Lola does but he stands out in his own way. He was going through his own things and trying to figure out his own problems that were tormenting him. He actually seemed like he could be the boy that lived next door.

I can't decide if I liked Anna more or not but I know for sure that they are both amazing. I enjoyed reading every single minute and I can't wait to read her next book. I feel like anything that Stephanie comes out with I will buy even if I don't know what it's about. =)