Meridian

Meridian has just turned sixteen and since she can remember she has been surrounded (literally) by death/dying since she was born. On the day of her sixteenth birthday a car crashes in front of her house and her entire body explodes in pain, her parents then proceed to rush her into the car and sends her off to her Aunt Meridian's house in Revelation, Colorado. She learns there, after nearly dying in a snow storm, that she is what is called a Fenestra. The half-angel, half-human link between the living and the dead. Her Aunt Meridian is trying to teach her everything she knows before she passes on, something that seems to be coming closer with each passing day. With the help of her Aunt Meridian, and her sworn protector Tens, Meridian tries to learn all she can and save as many people's souls as possible while battling the Aternoci, the band of dark forces that want to capture the souls and cause more chaos then is already there. This book is one that I really enjoyed reading and definitely hope that there will be a sequel too. This is a book that not all would truly enjoy because it is a bit darker then most books because of the Aternoci, but for those who can get past it will probably really enjoy this book. So overall grade...B

The Bounty Hunter

Here is a romantic comedy movie that both men and women can enjoy. It has most of the aspects of a romantic comedy mixed in with some good old action, some awesome mystery and even a bit of suspense. This movie starts off with Jennifer Aniston's character, Nicole Hurley, who is a journalist trying to find out the truth behind this suicide she reported on earlier. She finally gets a lead but it is on the same day and time that she is supposed to be in court for assaulting an officer, after she skips her meeting her ex-husband gerard Butler's character Milo Boyd, who has become a bounty hunter since he was let go from the police force, finds out that he is to bring her in. This is just the beginning of this funny movie. It includes some extremely funny chase scenes, an overturned golf cart, an aging Atlantic City diva, and much much more. While I know there are some people who just won't watch romantic comedy's there are those who sometimes just need a good laugh, and the people who refuse to watch these movies just aren't laughing as hard as they should. I have watched more then just one or two romantic comedies in my day and this one is definitely one of the better ones. So overall grade B+

As You Wish

The first thing I can say about this book is that it is as good as it looks. Honestly at first I was a bit skeptical since I had read very mixed reviews about it, but honestly this book was NOTHING but good. I loved it from the VERY beginning all the way to the end. It starts with Viola who has spent every day since her boyfriend broke up with her wishing she could find someone to love her again. Her old boyfriend is still best friends with her, but the problem is, he's gay, and he didn't tell her until it was too late to save her from serious heartache. Then one day when she must of been wishing really hard or just that deserving, she meets Jinn. He's one of many and is eager to return home but can't until he grants Viola three wishes. Viola is so terrified of wishing for the wrong thing that she is hesitant to wish at all. They spend so much time together that by the time Viola wishes for her first wish she realizes that she has fallen in love with Jinn, and he with her. She knows that is she wishes twice more he will not only disappear from her world, but from her memory as well, forever. She is desperate to keep him with her but with forces pressuring them both Viola will have to make a decision, one that may chance their lives forever. Overall I truly loved this book and that is why my overall grade has to be an A.

Oh. My. Gods.

Before reading this book I had heard very good things which made me REALLY want to read it, I also now REALLY REALLY REALLY want to read the sequel as well. This book starts off with a great start where Phoebe's mother tells her that she s getting re-married and they are moving to Greece. Phoebe had just won this huge race that pretty much guaranteed her a full athletic scholarship to USC. It continues to where Phoebe finds out that her new step father is part God, that's right GOD. Like Zeus, Hera, Apollo, etc. Super cool right?? Well Phoebe doesn't think so, and she doesn't believe him at first either, until she sees a demonstration of his power after her new (somewhat evil) step sister uses them on her to snap her backpack strap that incidentally hits her in the face instead of Phoebe. Phoebe them meets Griffin. He's this amazing guy who's even on cross country, the problem is that he happens to a huge jerk, which this awful girlfriend who immediately hates Phoebe. Phoebe doesn't really fit in at her school since she's the only person who isn't descended from a god. There she meets two new people who end up becoming good friends with and after one or two times where she accidentaly lets something slip to one of her best friends back in California, she seems to start getting the hang of things...until it seems that she may be falling for Griffin. Overall this book is very good and it's such a cute novel you just can't put it down. So overall, I'd have to give this book an A-

Front And Center

So this is the third book in the "Dairy Queen" series, but the problem is, I haven't read the first two books!! While reading Front and Center I didn't understand some of what happened, like how her brother win ended up in the hospital, why she and this guy Brian had broken up, what this HUGE deal about her playing football was, and so much more. Then it all started to come together the more the book progressed. The one thing I for sure DIDN'T know and still don't though, is what happened to Win. All I knew was that something REALLY bad happened to him and put him in a wheelchair and may have effected his ability to type and dial as well. This book other then the things I didn't know, was actually quite good and I really enjoyed it which kind of surprised me since I hadn't read the first two books. One part I really enjoyed was how D.J. had to go through a LOT of personal issues in order to choose what college she wanted to go too. I really enjoyed seeing that since I went through something very similar around the same time that I read this book. I thought that this book was something that a lot of people would enjoy since it pretty interesting and now I really want to read the first two books. So, overall grade...B-

Nothing Like You

I hate to say this about a book that I tried REALLY REALLY REALLY hard to like...but I really just didn't this book. It just plain wasn't very good. It was very short which was probably the only plus. This book start off strong and then went downhill from there. At first you feel very strongly toward Holly but after you get to know her, you see how whiny she can be and after she keeps screwing up time after time and does nothing but complain, you start to lose interest fast in both her and the book itself. Though I have to admit there was a pretty good conflict in the story and had Holly not seemed to be such a reved up version of Bella from Twilight this book could have been much better. sadly the main character was just much of a nut job who screwed with peoples heads and feelings and really should have just sat at home with her dog. The ending was thankfully better then I had hoped around the middle of the book but this book is short with bigger print so it's not only a quick read but it doesn't have a lot of subject matter either. This book has a of potential to be much better then it was but sadly the main character is what kills it. So overall grade...D.

Hold Still

Caitlin's best friend Ingrid has committed suicide and left Caitlin a journal of farewells. Caitlin just can't seem to get over Ingrid's death, and at the beginning this seemed to just kind of get out of hand. Then LeCour introduces Caitlin's new friends Dylan, Dylan's girlfriend, and Caitlin's crush/new friend Taylor. The best part about that though, is that LeCour doesn't make Dylan's sexuality into this huge issue. That is something you don't see very often anymore, and is great when the author has enough class to make the book about the issues the main character is facing and not involve more and more issues just to make the book more interesting. LeCour didn't need to do that, her book was interesting enough on it's own and I really enjoyed reading about Ingrid's last thoughts, words, feelings, etc. Another part I truly loved about this book was how Ingrid and Caitlin had shared a love of photography. While Caitlin thought that Ingrid was a genius and that she herself would never come close, you start to see that maybe she was wrong, maybe she was selling her self much shorter then she should have since her photography teacher is not only grieving for Ingrid as well, but is also trying to tell Caitlin that she can do better, and that she is just plain better then she used to believe. Another part I liked was how through Ingrid Caitlin learned that she had a crush on Taylor, and how to deal with her feelings in ways Ingrid never could. As Caitlin reads more of Ingrid's journal she starts to realize just how insecure and depressed Ingrid really was, and how much Caitlin actually seemed to help her when she could, she starts to see that Ingrid was just beyond help and no matter what nothing could have really saved her, no matter how much Caitlin wishes she could. Overall grade...A-

Little Black Lies

Sara Black has just been enrolled in on of the most prestigious public high school, Anton High, no one gets in after their freshmen year and it's almost impossible to pass the test, she got in as a junior. Which helps her stick out more then she usually would riding in her dad's old VW bus. When her new classmates mistake her coming from Lundon, Massachusetts, for London, England, she doesn't correct them. She rather likes this new found popularity she has started to develop, until another girl at Anton becomes jealous of Sara's social climbing. When the girl is close to discovering the truth behind Sara's lies one little slip up could ruin Sara's reputation and blooming romance with one super hottie, Leo, the guy who also happens to be dating her new found friend Carling. the problem is Leo and Sara just keep bumping into each other, sometimes literally. Sara doesn't want to hurt her new friend Carling, especially since Carling knows a bit to much about her, but also because she just doesn't want to become one of those obnoxious boyfriend stealing girls she hates. This is a story that is filled with real life situations like divorce, OCD, honesty, lies, and starting over. All these things happen every day whether we deal with them or not, and it all fit together very well in the story. Everything seemed to really connect and the way the story progressed was done excellently in my opinion. So, overall grade...B.

Toy Story

Since Toy Story 3 is coming out in June, I thought I should review a movie that changed the movie industry...for the better. Toy Story was the first full-length fully animated film. People from Pixar had messed around with this concept in other movies, like the Pixar Shorts, and Rescuers Down Under, but Toy Story really made Pixar into what it is today. The story is about Woody, he is a toy that can talk, move, sing, dance, etc. And so can all the other toys. Then his owner Andy, has a birthday party and gets Buzz Lightyear. Woody feels like he's being replaced and so he knocks Buzz out a window. So when Andy goes out for the night he takes Woody, who feels so guilty about what he did to Buzz he grabs Buzz and puts him into the car with him. Then when Andy's mom is getting gas, they start fighting and end up rolling out of the car, so they try to make their way to Pizza Planet, where they end up being captured by the evil Sid, the next door neighbor who destroys toys. Woody tried to convince his friends, Hamm, Rex, Mr. Potato Head, and the others that are still at Andy's. They go through various silly experiments trying to escape, but still don't succeed. This movie is silly, sweet, and all-around heartwarming. You really see how Buzz and Woody come together to become good friends. They are some of the best characters and they make a great movie for anyone of any age. This is one movie that is especially timeless and will be shown for years to come...overall grade...A

Of All The Stupid Things

This book starts off with one of the characters, Tara, and soon after the first few pages you realize that her boyfriend, Brent has been having sex with a guy, Chris Sanchez, one of the male cheerleaders. This "rumor" does more then just hurt Tara, it starts breaking up a previously inseparable trio, Tara, Whitney Blaire, and Pinky. Whitney Blaire has a male friend, David, who is in love with Whitney Blaire, but Whitney Blaire just can't seem to fall in love with him back. She seems much more interested in herself then poor David who is strung along through pretty much the whole book. I did like Pinkie in parts, though in others she annoyed me to no end. I liked how much she seemed to mother her friends and keep them together, but didn't like how she was obsessed with knowing where everyone was, and constantly calling everyone. I know we all have our quirks but this was just TOO MUCH sometimes. Then we come to Tara. She has just been heart-broken by a guy she thought she loved and this wasn't the first time either. She had been burned before when her dad left a couple years before. Then Tara meets Riley, a girl who Whitney Blaire hates, while Tara seems to be falling in love with her. Tara seems to be the one who goes through the most in this story. She deals with her boyfriend having sex with a guy, falling in love with a girl, fighting constantly with her two best friends, and worst of all, an accidental meeting with her father and his new family. All while training for a twenty-six mile race. This is a story of finding yourself, finding your real friends, and overall loneliness I guess. This is a book that most wouold find alright, but it seems more often, that most wouldn't like it all that much since it isn't their taste. I thought this too at first but found I was wrong, since this book has something for almost anyone to relate too. Overall grade...C