Word Out 2011

Blog down your fines posts! See what other teens are reading.

Earn $2 in library bucks towards your fines when you share your favourite reads.

Sophy reviewed Almost Perfect – By: Brian Katcher

I stayed up to finish reading this book, and now that I'm finished reading it; I think I'm still in a slight haze. This isn't just another 'after-the-book's-over' feeling… This book has incredibly made an lasting impression on me.
At first I dived into the book thinking it was going to be similar to a couple of other books I've grabbed from the teen section. They were a way of passing some time I suppose. As I began reading, I thought of reading the back to see what it was all about. It said (and I quote)
 "One day, Logan acts on his growing feelings for Sage. Moments later, he wishes he never had. Sage finally discloses her big secret: she's actually a boy… "
I was held back for a moment, stunned. This was definitely not a typical teen-read at all. I continued reading where I had left off, and waited for this Sage character to come in. At first I felt a tad bit awkward reading through the thoughts of a teenage boy, who was thinking of a girl he had developed a crush on. On the back of my mind, I knew and awaited for her secret to come out. When it did, I was even more eager now to flip through the pages and see what was going to happen next. I kept reading, and did not get disappointed. The plot and rawness of the entire book was really eye-opening for me, and I think a lot of people would enjoy reading this book. I did make a few judgments at first, but I'm glad I carried through with reading the whole book. It was truly inspiring.. and now I feel like my view of life has changed a bit. Great read.

Katie reviewed The Devil Wears Prada – By: Lauren Weisberger

This is a great book, and I would have to say that it is one of my favourites. It's about a girl who has just graduated from university and dreams of becoming a journalist for The New Yorker magazine. While she doesn't land that job, she does get the job that "a million girls would die for" – working for infamous magazine editor Miranda Priestly. The book follows her through her grueling work days and all that comes with it. The only thing that keeps her hanging on is the promise of a recommendation from Ms. Priestly herself.

If you love chick-lit books that follow working girls in the big city, then this book is for you. It is very well written and quite an easy read. As the story goes on you begin to sympathize with the main character, Andy, while still constantly laughing out loud. Definitely pick up this book; you will not be disappointed.

Borrsha reviewed Skin Hunger – By: Kathleen Duey

 This book is a must read for anyone who enjoys fast-paced, fantasy books. Skin Hunger is a book that told the stories about two different people who lived in two different times but whose stories were connected. Skin Hunger tells the story of a girl named Sadima as well as a boy named Haph. Sadima can understand animals in a way no one else can but she cannot tell her brother or father about it because they would not believe her and they hate magic. Haph who lives years after Sadima was sent to a school by his wretched father, in which only one out of ten students will live to be a wizard…or none at all.
 Throughout the book I saw connections between the two stories and I was constantly trying to make my own connections to see what happened in the past when Sadima lived, or what might be happening in the future. I love that the book made me think and make connections throughout the book.
 I would recommend this book to anyone who does enjoy fiction books which are fast-paced, make you think and have a hint of mystery on top of all of that.

Gasavan reviewed The Faithful Spy – By: Alex Berenson
   
               I found that this book is very interesting and hard to stop reading. The book is filled with nonstop action and the plot is great. The Faithful Spy is about a man named John wells, a CIA operative who was given the task of infiltrating al Qaeda Gathering information about the terrorist organization. John wells, was sent to Afghanistan to infiltrate Al Qaeda. The years that he spent in Afghanistan have changed him. He converted to being a Muslim and thinks America is decadent and shallow. Yet he hates al Qaeda and the way it uses Islam to justify its murderous assaults on innocents. The CIA doesn't trust him because of his failure to stop 9/11, the only person to trust wells is Exley and even then she wonders if he is telling the truth. Now John is on the mission in America to start a nuclear disaster. He must find a way to prevent the attack and maintain the cover he's worked so hard to get. I would recommend this book to people that like action and suspense.

Gail reviewed Assassin's Apprentice – By: S R Vaught and J B Redmond

This is the first book in a two part series.  The story revolves around three characters whos adventures end up becoming interwined together.  The world of Eyrie is made up of different areas controlled by different rulers.  The inhabitants of Eyrie are those that have magic powers or shapeshifters or those that have neither, deemed as silent.  First, we are introduced to Aron Brailing, a boy from a farmer's family living on the outskirts of Dyn Brailing.  Dyn Brailing is one of different areas controlled by rulers. Every few years, there is a Harvest.  The Harvest is when members from the two guids, Stone and Thorn.  Stone is the guild where they train assassins and Thorn the place where they train scholars and healers.  The guilds harvest children that have some indication of fae blood in them, essentially those that magic powers in them.  Aron is one of the children and is kidnapped from his family taken as a Harvest Prize.  While being kidnapped by the Stone Guild, Aron meets another child.  Her name is Dari and unbenowest to all, she belongs to a group of people that are shapeshifters thought to be extinct in the last great war.  When she accidentally reveals herself to save Aron and a Stone Guild member, Stormbreaker (who actually is nicer then one would think an assassin would be) the three swear an oath to keep the secret.  Dari also reveals that she is looking for her twin sister, who ran away from their home and is mentally ill and could become a powerful weapon in the impending war.  The third character in this book is named Nic Mab.  He is the last heir to the throne of Mab since all of his previous brothers, sisters and father have died before him.  After his sister's death, Nic rises as the heir but is soon betrayed by those close to him and pushed off a tower.  There he is found by a Stone assassin who treats him, knowing of his orgins.  Along the way, Aron and Nic share short conversations with one another, having no idea who the other is or where they are, through the use of their magic.  Later on, it is also revealed that as the war draws closer, Lord Brailing started to turn on his own people and Aron`s family is one of those that were killed.  Now Aron has no choice but to become an assassin and have the chance to avenge his family when he is strong enough but when the oppurtunity arises, will Aron avenge his family even though he would be commiting an unforgivable mistake in the process?
Assassin's Apprentice follows Aron Brailing more then any of the other characters.  The book is often told in different perspectives by one of the three characters.  This story was surprisingly quite interesting.  At the beginning, the many names and often terms made me confused but the more you read, the easier it becomes at understanding them.  This book definitely showed that for every action there is more then one perspective.  Reading different narratives really shows the feelings of one character that another would not know at all.  The character development was very well in this book. Each character has their own distinct personality that is created over the entire book.  You start to understand who is the sympathetic person or who is the person that would often scowl or laugh.  The plot in this series is also pretty solid.  It is unclear though which is the main plot which leads me to conclude that there are two, Aron's goal to avenge his family and Dari's, to find her sister.  This book completely drew me in and i couldn't stop until i had finished the entire book.   The beginning is sort of slow because they introduce each character and you're just getting used to each of them but later on in the book when there is a better understaind of each character, the story and the action and adventure in this book become much more exciting to read and to follow. If you're a fan of adventure, fantasy and action, you should definitely try this book!

Gail reviewed A Prince Among Killers – By: S R Vaught and J B Redmond

This is the second and last part of this two part series.  In this book, the focus is taken off Aron and Nic becomes the main character.  Also the change in the titles is also an indicaton.  There is also a more romance aspect in this book then adventure and the characters are less emotional at least the feelings you would get when you read about their emtotions.  A Prince Among Killers starts right where Assassin's ended.  Throughout the story, the focus is one Nic and Dari's budding relationship and the impending war.  Aron, after finding Nic and the Stone sister with him injured, races to rescue him, almost causing his death in the process.  When Nic sees Dari, it is clear to readers that he has special feelings for her, (think of them as soul mates) although perhaps Nic and Dari don't realize at first. Aron is in a jealous fit but when the war comes straight to Stone Guild's front gates, they have to put their emotions aside and work together to battle against armies ready to attack them.
To be honest, the second part of this series was much worse. I don't like the character Nic and found this change in focus to be quite dull. I also found this war to be ridiculus.  It is still unclear to me what the war was actually far, besides to march to one's death.  It would seem this story would have been better with a third book.  Many of the actions were short and everything was very quickly paced.  There wasn't any depth to the actions in my opinion that the first book had.  I never got to be completely attached to this book like its first part.  The plot also completely changes in my opinion. Now it's all about bringing peace to Eyrie by making Nic king. Finding Dari's sister becomes a sub plot and avenging Aron's family dissapears altogether.  I almost completely forgot about it until it was mentioned in the last 100 pages are so.  Truly, i am very dissapointed with this book but i got through it, just for the sake of how good the first one was and that i really wanted to know what the ending was .  The ending was horrible by the way.  I was completely shocked that the ending was so bad.  For such an exciting adventure and action book, you would think the ending would be a little better then what they chose. Anyway, I won't say don't read this book, all i can say is if you read the first book, then just remember how good that one was when you read this one.

Mical reviewed A Crooked Kind of Perfect – By: Linda Urban

Summary: So this book begins with a tween girl names Zoe Elias who has dreams of becoming a musician. She has paren'ts who are lower-middle class who can't really afford to get her a glossy grand piano so instead buy her a "wheeze-bag organ" as she puts it. Her thoughts are that she will become a prodigy and so thats what motivates her to keep striving through her organ lessons and recital. Even when there are obstacles in her way such as a dad thats afraid to leave home and a mom workaholic. And through all her strife she ends up gaining more than she thinks she would. I thought this was heart-warming book about the imperfections of a modern/everyday familyl working through their isues and their problems to overcome and reach a general goal all the while gaining experiences of life. This was truly an eye-opening story as well as a realistic escape into the world of someone else.
I really enjoyed this book and rate it 3.5/5.