Review- Tiger Lily

Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair. . . .

Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland and immediately falls under his spell.

Peter is unlike anyone she's ever known. Impetuous and brave, he both scares and enthralls her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland's inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. Soon, she is risking everything—her family, her future—to be with him. When she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she's always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter.

With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it's the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who's everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart.

From the New York Times bestselling author of Peaches comes a magical and bewitching story of the romance between a fearless heroine and the boy who wouldn't grow up. (goodreads.com)

I've always loved fairy tales, and I've always loved adaptations on those fairy tales. I have Cinder at home right now and Scarlet is coming soon, I've watched a ton of those movies where they do a Grimm version of a fairy tale and Once Upon A Time is the only show I will shut down my life to watch. I would have to give this book like a 2.75 out of 5 stars. Not only was I intrigued by the idea of another Peter Pan story (I loved Forever Neverland) and even better, it was about Tiger Lily whom I've always like more than Wendy. Once chapter in you figure out that the book is narrated by Tinker Bell and I was hooked (I love her cranky nature).

I must say that it was hard to connect with Tiger Lily, she was such an internal creature and although Tinker Bell could almost read the thoughts of human and kept us in the loop on the thoughts of Tiger Lily, it was still hard to connect with Tiger Lily as a character. The emotion just wasn't there. I will say that I did feel for her during the moment when the Lost Boys were trying to decide if she was ugly or pretty, when Peter wasn't sure if she was a boy or a girl, and (BABY SPOILER) and when Wendy showed up they boys clearly approved of her delicate girl nature over Tiger Lily's rough one. I've been that girl and it sucks sometimes. However I'm not sure if I felt all of that compassion because the character made me feel it, or because I'm a suck for that kind of thing.

Anyway, what I loved the most about this story was Peter Pan. He's a child, but he's the man in charge, he longs for adventure, but he's tired of his mundane life. He'd do anything to protect is Lost Boys, but also longs for new companionship. I just about shed a tear for Peter during a few select spots in this book, the poor kid.

All in all, not the greatest book in my opinion, I just didn't feel as much for Tiger Lily as I wanted to, I had such high hopes, but I still enjoyed the book, I can think of a few kids who'd enjoy reading it. 

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Review- Saving Francesca

Saving Francesca is about a girl named Francesca whose mother has had a nervous breakdown and is fighting depression. In the Beginning of the book Francesca is about to be transferred from St. Stella’s to St. Sebastian’s, which was once and all boys school.

My favorite character is Thomas MacKee who does musical burping’s, he’s really funny and he doesn’t say mean or insensitive things to Francesca's mom when he sees her lounging in a nightgown.

I really liked this book because not only was Francesca able to keep herself from falling into a depression as her mom has, she also gains cool friends and possibly a boyfriend. 

*Review provided to you by TAG member Briyana

Escape From Planet Earth

Review- Identical

Kaeleigh and Raeanne are identical down to the dimple. As daughters of a district-court judge father and a politician mother, they are an all-American family -- on the surface. Behind the facade each sister has her own dark secret, and that's where their differences begin.

For Kaeleigh, she's the misplaced focus of Daddy's love, intended for a mother whose presence on the campaign trail means absence at home. All that Raeanne sees is Daddy playing a game of favorites -- and she is losing. If she has to lose, she will do it on her own terms, so she chooses drugs, alcohol, and sex.

Secrets like the ones the twins are harboring are not meant to be kept -- from each other or anyone else. Pretty soon it's obvious that neither sister can handle it alone, and one sister must step up to save the other, but the question is -- who? (review from goodreads.com)

***************Spoiler***************








I don't want to say that  a lot of books are predictable, because they're not, but I do think it's safe to say that in many books these days (maybe with the exception of mystery novels) but by the middle of a lot of books that I've read I have a good idea of what's going to happen at the end, who may die, who the killer is, who dates whom, and so on and so forth. 

There was no way I could see the end of this book coming. The entire book bounces back and forth the opinion of Kaeleigh and Raeanne, Kaeleigh is the more timid of the two sisters. She feels trapped in the life that her family has created around her having, taking control in only in her stress binging, and finding her escape in school and the boy her loves her, Ian.

Raeanne is the bad girl who sneaks out in the middle of the night hook up with guys for drugs and other "recreational" activities. She finds way to rebel in any and every situation and looks down on her sister for her "weak" behavior and giving in the want to their dad. Raeanne can't understand why
Kaeleigh wont tell someone what their dad does, or fight against him, and she tries to set up situations where Kaeleigh could tell someone her secrete.

In the end it turns out that Raeanne had died in the car accident caused her family to spiral out of control. To deal with the insanity that was her life, it appeared that Kaeleigh had developed a personality disorder becoming her dead sister Raeanne whenever she needed to draw out a misguided form of strength. 

This is the first book that I've read by Ellen Hopkins and I can't wait until I can find time to read more of them, the twist at the end of the book was crazy because Raeanne and Kaeleigh were two distinctly different characters and the fact that one person could portray both personalities is a fantastic idea.

Five stars to Hopkins.

Review- Divergent

 

The city is falling apart, it has divided it's self into five factions, each with their own views on how to achieve peace. Abnegation, our main character's birth faction, believed that you can only achieve peace through selflessness. Amity believed peace is achieved through fun and love, Candor believe that the truth will set you free, Erudite follow the thought that knowledge is power, and Dauntless believe in bravery wholeheartedly. 

At 16 every member of the community goes through a simulation test that points them in the direction of the faction that's the best fit for them. Beatrice defies the odds during her simulation test achieving things that no one should be able to. The instructor tells her not to tell anyone about the test, otherwise her life could be in danger. The test reveals that she might be Divergent meaning that she can control simulations, it means that she can achieve a type of free will that others in simulations can not, it also means that there are those in the world who wish to eliminate her.

At the choosing ceremony which is where each teen chooses the faction that they will reside in for the rest of their lives, Beatrice chooses Dauntless and is forced to turn away from her parents and brother. During Dauntless initiation Beatrice, now called Tris experiments with new foods, makes friends, experiences romance with a boy who may in fact be Divergent as well, all while attempting to discover what it means to be Divergent and why those who are, tend to die. She's works through all of this while fighting to survive the grueling Dauntless initiation.

Along the way Tris discovers a plot to force all of the Dauntless into a simulation allowing the Erudite faction to control all of their actions. Because Tris is Divergent the simulation wont work on her. What's a girl to do.

Teen Book Club

The Fault in Our Stars- Review

Hazel has cancer, so her mother, in a misguided attempt to keep Hazel from keeping herself house bound. At these support group meetings, also known as the literal heart of Jesus, Hazel has connected with another cancer patient Isaac through sighs of disdain. One day however another boy shows up, named Augusts who shares her witty quick tempted sense of humor. He asks her to his house to watch a movie and it’s the beginnings of what eventually becomes a loving relationship. Hazel and Augustus bond over a book called An Imperial Affliction, about a girl who has cancer and doesn’t try to romanticize it, much like Hazel and Augusts. However the book, told from the female characters point of view, ends mid-sentence, alluding to the fact that she has died. Hazel and Augustus then decide to hunt down the illustrious author of the book and ask him what happens after it’s over. Hazel in particular wants to know what happens to the girl’s mom. After getting no answers from the Author of the book after they visit him in Amsterdam, Hazel then learns that although the type of cancer that Augustus has a 80% survival rate, it looks like Augustus is going to be in the 20%, after at CAT scan the doctors see that “his body id made of cancer”. Hazel stands but Augustus and his family as Augustus’s body begins to fail him. Eventually he dies, and Hazel is forced to continue life without him. Before he died Augusts told Hazel that he would write her a sequel to An Imperial Affliction since that Author wouldn’t give them any more information about the characters. Instead he writes a eulogy for her, and sends it to the Author of An Imperial Affliction where he ask for assistance with his piece. Augustus’s words eventually make it back to Hazel, he writes about how many people in the world do all that they can to be remembered by a large number of people, because the idea of being forgotten frightens them almost as much as the idea of death, but Hazel does the opposite, she doesn’t want anyone to hurt over her death, so he makes a little contact as possible. Augusts praises her strength and says that although Hazel tries her hardest to walk to world unknown, he knows her, and loves her, and would miss her terribly is she died before him.

            This book gets mixed reviews, there are some that love it, others that don’t care, and others who may like it, but it will eventually fade in their mind. I was a lover of the book; I liked it because it was real. I had no problems feeling that Hazel, Augustus, and the other characters of the book were real. I agree with the characters in the book that there are a lot of movies, and books the make light of what it’s truly like the literally fight your own body for the right to live. There is sadness, doubt, tears, anger, and a vast array of other emotions that aren’t pretty or admirable, so people forget about those emotions once the people who displayed them are gone. I thought that Isaac’s tantrum in the book when he did nothing but scream and cry and break trophies at the loss of his eyes and the girlfriend who couldn’t handle his medical issues, was very real. I also liked how Green made the book An Imperial Affliction a focal point for Hazel and that the book assisted in creating a stronger bond between Hazel and Augusts. I constantly re-read and quote favorite books, even when I know those around me may not understand, the similarities between Hazel’s feelings for An Imperial Affliction and her constant re-reading and quoting of the book was similar to my own re reading and quoting of favorite books made her that much more of a real character. I think Green did a fantastic job bringing these characters to life.

Anime Club

Crank- Review

 
Once you get hooked onto something, there's no turning back...

Kristina was a very intellegent sixteen year olf girl who wanted to succeed in life and excel in school. But all that changed with just one visit to her dad's. Kristina met her first love, Adam, who encourages her to try crank which changed the innocent Kristina we all knew.

I thought this book was very easy to read and most teens can relate to Ellen Hopkins stories and it's also a life lesson not to do drugs.

*Book review written by TAG member Jodian*

Moonlight Story Time

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