Banned Book Week

Santa Olivia by Jacqueline Carey

Synopsis:
There is no pity in Santa Olivia. And no escape. In this isolated military buffer zone between Mexico and the U.S., the citizens of Santa Olivia are virtually powerless. Then and unlikely heroine is born. She is the daughter of a man genetically manipulated by the government to be a weapon. A "Wolf-Man", he was engineered to have superhuman strength, speed, stamina, and senses, as well as a total lack of fear. Named for her vanished father, Lupe Garron has inherited his gifts. Frustrated by the injustices visited upon her friends and neighbors by the military occupiers, Loup is determined to avenge her community. Aided by a handful of her fellow orphans, Loup takes on the guise of their patron saint, Santa Olivia, and sets out to deliver vigilante justice--aware that if she is caught, she could lose her freedom... and possibly her life.

My Rating: 8/10

My Thoughts:
First off I just wanted to say that the synopsis only describes what happens in the first half of the book. The second half takes a completely new direction. If the vigilante justice had been the main story of the book, I think it would have been better, however, with that said, I still loved it. Loup was fascinating with her not quite human thinking, and all the secondary characters where beautifully imagined. I loved Miguel Garza the most. As for the ending, it's set up so a sequel is possible but it also could end with this book. The ending was not what I would consider amazing, but still satisfying. Overall very entertaining book.

The House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones

Synopsis:
When Charmain Baker agreed to look after her Great uncle's house, she thought she was getting a blissful parent-free time to read. She didn't realize that the house bent space and time and did not expect to become responsible for an extremely magical stray dog and a muddled young apprentice wizard. Now somehow she's been targeted by a terrifying creature called a lubbock, too, and become central to the King's urgent search for the fabled Elfgift that will save the country. The King is so desperate to find the Elfgift, he's called the intimidating sorceress named Sofie to help. And where Sofie is, the great wizard Howl and the fire demon Calcifer can't be far behind. How did respectable Charmain end up in this and how will she get herself out?

My Rating: 5/10

My Thoughts:
I was so excited for this book, because I loved the first two. I was even more excited when I found out the main character was a bookworm, which is my favorite type of character. However I was soon disappointed to discover that Charmain is just annoying. It is never explained why she has not been allowed to do anything all her life, except that everything she doesn't know how to do, like cooking and laundry, is considered unrespectable by her mother. And rather than learn how to do all these things now that she is on her own, she just ignores them. It made it very hard to care about her.

Besides the main character I didn't really like any of the other characters either. I can't describe exactly what it was about them, but they all annoyed me to no end. Perhaps it was their simple mindedness, or the fact that they never seemed concerned by major crisis, but I couldn't stand them.

The final issue I had with this book was that Charmain seemed to have no real purpose to the plot. In the end everything was resolved and Charmain did nothing. She was simply there to witness.

Overall, it was a quick read, but it really did not impress me.

101 Fantasy Novels

There is a new challenge over at A Bibliophile's Bookshelf that I found really interesting. To see the rules click here. They compiled the top 101 fantasy novels and created a list. I'm not sure if I want to participate in the challenge yet, but I did want to list the books and see how many I've read. The ones I've read are in bold.

1. ROWLING, JK – Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows
   
2. MEYER, STEPHENIE – Twilight
3. ROWLING, JK – Harry Potter & the Philosopher’s Stone
4. ROWLING, JK – Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban
5. ROWLING, JK – Harry Potter & the Half Blood Prince
6. ROWLING, JK – Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire
   
7. ROWLING, JK – Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix
8. ROWLING, JK – Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets
9. MEYER, STEPHENIE – Eclipse
   
10. MEYER, STEPHENIE – New Moon
    
11. MEYER, STEPHENIE – Breaking Dawn
    
12. TOLKIEN, JRR – The Fellowship of the Ring
13. NOEL, Alyson – Evermore
14. TOLKIEN, JRR – The Return of the King
15. TOLKIEN, JRR – The Two Towers
16. NOEL, Alyson – Blue Moon
17. TOLKIEN, JRR – The Hobbit
18. LEWIS, CS – Chronicles of Narnia
19. CLARE, Cassandra – City of Bones
20. MEAD, Richelle – Vampire Academy
21. CASHORE, Kristin – Graceling
22. CLARE, Cassandra – City of Glass
23. COLLINS, Suzanne – The Hunger Games
24. CLARE, Cassandra – City of Ashes
    
25. MEAD, Richelle – Shadow Kiss
    
26. MEAD, Richelle – Frostbite
27. L’ENGLE, Madeline – Wrinkle in Time
28. BRIGGS, Patricia – Moon Called
29. SNYDER, Maria – Poison Study
    
30. MEAD, Richelle – Blood Promise
    
31. BRIGGS, Patricia – Bone Crossed
32. MARR, Melissa – Wicked Lovely
33. HARRIS, Charlaine – Dead Until Dark
    
34. BRIGGS, Patricia – Iron Kissed
    
35. BRIGGS, Patricia – Blood Bound
36. DE LA CRUZ, Melissa – Blue Bloods
37. SHAKESPEARE, William – A Midsummer Night’s Dream
38. ARMSTRONG, Kelly – Bitten
    
39. PAOLINI, Christopher – Eragon
40. HARRIS, Charlaine – Dead to the World
41. SNYDER, Maria – Fire Study
42. ARMSTRONG, Kelley – The Summoning
43. FROST, Jeaniene – One Foot in the Grave
44. DE LA CRUZ, Melissa – Masquerade
45. DE LA CRUZ, Melissa – Revelations
46. FROST, Jeaniene – Halfway to the Grave
47. SNYDER, Maria – Magic Study
48. GAIMAN, Neil – Stardust
49. MARR, Melissa – Ink Exchange
50. HARRIS, Charlaine – Club Dead
51. WARD, JR – Dark Lover
52. MCKINLEY, Robin – The Blue Sword
53. VINCENT, Rachel – Stray
54. RICE, Anne – Interview with the Vampire
    
55. KENYON, Sherrilyn – Acheron
56. HARRIS, Charlaine – From Dead to Worse
57. HARRIS, Charlaine – Dead as a Doornail
58. HARRIS, Charlaine – Living Dead in Dallas
59. HARRIS, Charlaine – Definitely Dead
60. WARD, JR – Lover Awakened
61. FROST, Jeaniene – At Grave’s End
62. HARRIS, Charlaine – All Together Dead
63. MARR, Melissa – Fragile Eternity
64. CARROLL, Lewis – Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
65. VINCENT, Rachel – Prey
66. HARRISON, Kim – Dead Witch Walking
67. BRAY, Libba – A Great & Terribly Beauty
68. DE LA CRUZ, Melissa – The Van Alen Legacy
69. VINCENT, Rachel – Pride
70. VINCENT, Rachel – Rogue
71. WYNNE JONES, Diana – Howl’s Moving Castle
72. PULLMAN, Philip – Northern Lights
73. MONING, Karen Marie – Darkfever
    
74. MONING, Karen Marie – Bloodfever
    
75. STOKER, Bram – Dracula
76. PULLMAN, Philip – The Subtle Knife
77. CARD, Orson Scott – Ender’s Game
78. PULLMAN, Philip – The Amber Spyglass
79. MCKINLEY, Robin – The Hero & the Crown
    
80. WARD, JR – Lover Eternal
81. MONING, Karen Marie – Dreamfever
82. LEVINE, Gail Carson – Ella Enchanted
83. WILLIAMSON, Jill – By Darkness Hid
84. PIERCE, Tamora – Trickster’s Choice
85. MURPHY, CE – Urban Shaman
86. WARD, JR – Lover Revealed
87. NIX, Garth – Sabriel
88. WARD, JR – Lover Unbound
89. HAMILTON, Laurell K – Guilty Pleasures
90. PAOLINI, Christopher – Eldest
91. BEAGLE, Peter S – The Last Unicorn
92. KENYON, Sherrilyn – Night Play
93. MEAD, Richelle – Succubus Blues
94. BAUM, Frank – Wizard of Oz
95. WARD, JR – Lover Enshrined
96. MEAD, Richelle – Storm Born – 54
97. GAIMAN, Neil & PRATCHETT, Terry – Good Omens
98. ANDREWS, Ilona – Magic Strikes
99. MONING, Karen Marie – Faefever
100. MCKINLEY, Robin – Beauty
101. HARRISON, Kim – The Outlaw Demon Wails
     

Countdown 2010 Challenge

Countdown 2010

The goal of this challenge is to read the number of books first published in a given year that corresponds to the last digit of each year in the 2000s — 10 books from 2010, 9 books from 2009, 8 books from 2008, etc.

The total number of books required, therefore, is 55.This challenge lasts from 9/9/09 through 10/10/10

Crossovers with other challenges are allowed and your lists may change at any time.To find this challenge click here.

2010 (10/10)
1. Hourglass- Claudia Gray
2. The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott- Kelly O'Connor McNees
3. Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs
4. The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
5. The Man From Saigon by Marti Leimbach
6. The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
7. The Line- Teri Hall
8. Boys, Bears and and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots- Abby McDonald
9. The Body Finder- Kimberly Derting
10. Naamah's Curse- Jacqueline Carey

2009 (9/9)
1. Santa Olivia- Jacqueline Carey
2 Liar- Justine Larbalestier
3. Murder at Longbourn- Tracy Kiely
4. Heart's Blood- Juliet Marillier
5. Fire- Kristen Cashore
6. Fall of Light- Nina Kiriki Hoffman
7. Catching Fire- Suzanne Collins
8. The Maze Runner- James Dashner
9. Front and Center- Catherine Gilbert Murdock

2008 (8/8)
1. House of Many Ways- Diana Wynne Jones
2. The Adoration of Jenna Fox- Mary E. Pearson
3. Life As We Knew It- Susan Beth Pfeffer
4. The Hunger Games- Suzanne Collins
5. Impossible- Nancy Werlin
6. Graceling- Kristen Cashore
7. Perfect Chemistry- Simone Elkeles
8. Kushiel's Mercy- Jacqueline Carey

2007 (2/7)
1. The Declaration- Gemma Malley
2. The Off Season- Catherine Gilbert Murdock
3. In The Woods- Tana French
4.
5.
6.
7.

2006 (3/6)
1. Dairy Queen- Catherine Gilbert Murdock
2. Dear John- Nicholas Sparks
3. Nothing but the Truth (And a Few White Lies)- Justina Chen Headley
4.
5.
6.

2005 (0/5)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

2004 (0/4)
1.
2.
3.
4.

2003 (0/3)
1.
2.
3.

2002 (2/2)
1. Feed- M. T. Anderson
2. Coraline- Neil Gaiman

2001 (1/1)
1. The Eyre Affair- Jasper Fforde

Evermore by Alyson Noel

Synopses:
Ever Bloom has just moved to California from Oregon after a tragic accident claimed the life of her parents and sister. But while dealing with the guilt of being the only survivor, Ever is also dealing with new found psychic abilities that alienate her from the rest of her peers. However, when a mysterious boy, Damen Auguste, shows up with the ability to block all the thoughts and emotions that Ever can not claim as her own, she is intrigued and may just be able to learn why these things are happening to her.

My Rating: 5/10

My Thoughts:
This book started off interesting, I was curious to learn exactly what Damen was and if he was good or bad, but at about the half-way mark I became irritated with Ever's reluctance to get answers. She constantly pushes away everyone who tries to explain anything to her. Then when all was revealed, I felt a little dissapointed. Plus everything was tied up a little to neately for my taste. All in all an ok read, but nothing special.

What's in a Name Challenge

The Challenge: Choose one book from each of the following categories.

1. A book with a "profession" in its title. Examples might include: The Book Thief, The Island of Dr. Moreau, The Historian

2. A book with a "time of day" in its title. Examples might include: Twilight, Four Past Midnight, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

3. A book with a "relative" in its title. Examples might include: Eight Cousins, My Father's Dragon, The Daughter of Time

4. A book with a "body part" in its title. Examples might include: The Bluest Eye, Bag of Bones, The Heart of Darkness
Heart's Blood- Juliet Marillier

5. A book with a "building" in its title. Examples might include: Uncle Tom's Cabin, Little House on the Prairie, The Looming Tower
Done: House of Many Ways- Diana Wynne Jones

6. A book with a "medical condition" in its title. Examples might include: Insomnia, Coma, The Plague
Blindness- Jose Saramago

The host of the challenge can be found here. It ends December 31, 2009.

Jane Austen Related

I was thinking about all the Jane Austen related things there are in the world, and started to wonder how many of them I've read/seen. So, because I absolutely love lists, I wanted to write down exactly everything I've seen and read.

Read:
Pride and Prejudice- Jane Austen
Northanger Abbey-Jane Austen
Sense and Sensibility- Jane Austen
Persuasion-Jane Austen
Mansfield Park-Jane Austen
Emma- Jane Austen
Jane Austen in Scarsdale- Paula Marantz Cohen
Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict- Laurie Viera Rigler
The Jane Austen Book Club- Karen Joy Fowler
Becoming Jane- John Spence
Austenland- Shannon Hale
Murder at Longbourn- Tracy Kiely

Seen:
Pride and Prejudice (1995)
Pride and Prejudice (2005)
Northanger Abbey (2008)
Sense and Sensibility (1995)
Sense and Sensibility (2008)
Persuasion (1995)
Persuasion (2007)
Mansfield Park (1999)
Emma (1996 with Gwyneth Paltrow)
Emma (1996 with Kate Beckinsale)
Bride and Prejudice
Bridget Jones' Diary
Lost in Austen
Pride and Prejudice: A Latter-Day Comedy
Miss Austen Regrets
Becoming Jane
The Jane Austen Book Club

To Read:
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies- Seth Grahame-Smith
Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters- Ben H. Winters

18th and 19th Century Women Writers' Reading Challenge

Read between 4 and 12 books in 2009 by women writers who wrote between 1700 and 1900.

My list:
Little Women- Louisa May Alcott (1868)
Little Men- Louisa May Alcott (1871)
Persuasion- Jane Austen (1818)
Middlemarch- George Eliot (1871)

The challenge can be found here.

100+ Book Challenge 2009

The 100 book challenge can be found here.

My goal this year was to read 120 books, but now I don't know if I will even make it to 100. I still have some time, so here's hoping.

Most of these books I read before I had a blog, so I don't have reviews for them. But the ones I have read since have links to their reviews.

1. I'd Tell you I Love You But Then I'd Have to Kill You- Ally Carter
2. Wicked Lovely- Melissa Marr
3. If I Have a Wicked Stepmother, Where's My Prince?- Melissa Kantor
4. Perfect You- Elizabeth Scott
5. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian- Sherman Alexie
6. The Monsters of Templeton- Lauren Groff
7. The Hunger Games- Suzanne Collins
8. The Spellman Files- Lisa Lutz
9. Heart of Darkness- Joseph Conrad
10. Crown Duel- Sherwood Smith
11. Blood Bound- Patricia Briggs
12. Iron Kissed- Patricia Briggs
13. A Passage to India- E. M. Forster
14. Villette- Charlotte Bronte
15. Bone Crossed- Patrica Briggs
16. Curse of the Spellmans- Lisa Lutz
17. To the Lighthouse- Virginia Woolf
18. Develish- Maureen Johnson
19. If Andy Warhol Had a Girlfriend- Alison Pace
20. Lady Audley's Secret- Mary Elizabeth Braddon
21. 13 Little Blue Envelopes- Maureen Johnson
22. The Lonley Londoners- Sam Selvon
23. When It Happens- Susane Colasanti
24. No Telephone to Heaven- Michelle Cliff
25. East Lynne- Ellen Wood
26. Europe's Last Summer- David Fromkin
27. Revenge of the Spellmans- Lisa Lutz
28. An Abundance of Katherines- John Green
29. The Forest of Hands and Teeth- Carrie Ryan
30. A Room With a View- E.M. Forster
31. Stargazer- Claudia Gray
32. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks- E. Lockhart
33. The Serpent's Tale- Ariana Franklin
34. Eclipse- Stephenie Meyer
35. Love Story- Erich Segal
36. Breaking Dawn- Stephenie Meyer
37. Naamah's Kiss- Jacqueline Carey
38. Speak- Laurie Halse Anderson
39. Jellicoe Road- Melina Marchetta
40. What I Saw and How I Lied- Judy Blundell
41. Catching Fire- Suzanne Collins
42. Good Omens- Niel Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
43. Evermore- Alyson Noel
44. House of Many Ways- Diana Wynne Jones
45. Santa Olivia- Jacqueline Carey
46. The Portrait of a Lady- Henry James
47. Liar- Justine Larbalestier
48. The Adoration of Jenna Fox- Mary E. Pearson
49. Feed- M. T. Anderson
50. Murder at Longbo0urn- Tracy Kiely
51. Heart's Blood- Juliet Marillier
52. Fire- Kristen Cashore
53. The Declaration- Gemma Malley