Blog Stats

So I haven't really written posts on this blog in a long time. But... something surprised me today. This blog's stats. Holy mackerel, I had no idea that so many people were viewing this blog!!

It makes me wonder... should I start posting here again?!

p.s.: By the way, I'm not a teenager anymore!

The Graphic Bee ...

Hiya, don't know if anyone's reading this blog, but the reason the number of my posts is dwindling on this blog, is because I've started another blog this year. Here's a link to there, if you're interested! I have to say though, it's not on books, but instead on all the beautiful and random things that I've come across on the Internet, etc. Sort of specialising in art/graphic design now, seeing that it's my major at university!

Have fun, and I'll post as soon as I read something really really interesting! :D

Toodles for now!!

Long time, no see!

Gosh, it's been a long time since I've posted anything here! That's because I was sort of drifting away to my other blog, thegraphicbee. But I visited the library today, and that's when I decided to post something here.

So I got some books out. I haven't started reading them, but I'll post the cover blurbs here:

Princess Academy - Shannon Hale

Miri lives in a poor, quiet mountain village. But just before winter's first snowfall, a group of strangers arrives with an exciting message. The King's priests have divined that Miri's small village is home to the future princess.

All girls over the age of twelve must leave their families behind to live in a special academy and learn the ways of a princess. Miri has to go, but there is no way she can prepare herself for what awaits ...

What I think: I think this is going to be a great read, and what's more is that it promises a twist. Awesome!

Angel - Cliff McNish

Two girls are inextricably linked by destiny, not choice ...

Stephanie is friendless, strange, a misfit.

Freya can't stop seeing angels.

But when one of those angels begins to stalk her, its shadow following her everywhere, Freya is forced to make decisions with a devastating reach - and from which there is no turning back.

What I think: Well, The Times has called it "an outstanding prose", so that pretty much sums it up for me!

Cathy's Book - Stewart/Weisman/Brigg

[Well, it's one of those books that have no blurbs, but anyways, I don't think I'll read it, I've just taken it out because I like the design of the book (it reflects a magazine I designed last year)]

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaand ...

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - J. R. R. Tolkien

Almost everyone knows what this book is about. And I've finally started to read it. And I will finish reading it. I've taken this book out three times before, and just returned without leafing through it. [With The Hobbit, I read some chapters before keeping it down. Oh well, we can all just watch the movie!]

AdSense?

I know this isn't a review.

It's all about AdSense. Does it actually make sense? To put it on my blog? I know I generally hate looking and getting distracted by ads while reading something good ... decisions, decisions ...

A Summer of Kings!!!

Awesome, awesome book. I cried, I laughed, I read, and now I recommend. Here's the blurb on the back of the book:

Last summer a murderer came to live with us. Well, that's what I had called him. Our neighbor Pip, and my Auntie Pie called him the cold-blooded killer, but my mother and father said he was just a victim of prejudice and circumstance.

It's 1963 and fourteen-year-old Esther Young is looking for excitement. Overshadowed by a family of accomplished performers, Esther craves attention and vows to get it by initiating a romance with King-Roy Johnson, a black teen accused of murdering a white man in Alabama.

King-Roy arrives on Esther's doorstep an angry young man who feels betrayed by the nonviolent teachings of Martin Luther King Jr. His anger and frustration are fueled by a follower of Malcolm X, who advocates black revolution. Both fascinated and frightened by King-Roy's hatred, Esther is empathetic even as she questions his beliefs. As their friendship deepens, Esther and King-Roy each find the strength and courage to stand up for what is truly important.

In the unforgettable character of Esther Young, National Book Award-winning author Han Nolan has forged a brave new voice - by turns funny and poignant, innocent and worldly - that ignites this powerful coming-of-age story set during the turbulent struggle for civil rights.

---

Angelica's Note: Yes, this was certainly a book that I couldn't keep down willingly. Awesome, awesome book. Esther is such a funny character, and she really is unforgettable. I especially loved all dialogues between her and Pip.

Lurlene McDaniel

I'm reading a nice but sad book written by Lurlene McDaniel called 'Always and Forever'. Here's the cover blurb:

Sixteen-year-old Melissa Austin has always worked hard to get what she wants. As the school year begins, her work is paying off: her grades are up and she's landed a coveted spot on the Brain Bowl team. She and her best friend, Jory Delaney, are determined to have the best junior year ever.
Then Melissa receives devastating news about her health. At first she refuses to accept the doctor's diagnosis, but as her illness gets worse she cannot deny the truth. Jory watches her friend's courageous battle and is overwhelmed by a sense of loss. Jory has always had lots of money. But there's one thing she knows she can't buy - her best friend's life.
Only with the loving support of her family, and especially of Jory, can Melissa come to terms with the mysteries of living ... and dying.

-- End of Review --

And here's Lurlene's lovely site: http://www.randomhouse.com/features/lurlene/ where she's got little blurbs for all her books.

New books I read.

Secrets of my Hollywood Life - Jen Calonita

[This is the official book blurb]

What if ... your picture were taped inside teenage boys' lockers across America, your closets were bursting with never-worn designer clothing, and the tabloids constantly asked whether you were losing your "good girl" status?
It's a glamorous life, but sixteen-year-old Kaitlin Burke, costar of one of the hottest shows on TV, is exhausted from the pressures of fame. Then she hits on an outrageously daring solution, one that has to remain top secret or it will jeopardize everything she's ever worked for.
--
Yeah, yeah. Miss Burke decides to wear a wig and glasses and itchy clothes from the supermarket and be the common girl and go to school. Not the best novel that I've ever read, but certainly not bad.

Books for the Break!

Once Upon A Time: Before Midnight - Cameron Dokey

Etienne de Brabant is brokenhearted. His wife has died in childbirth; leaving him alone with an infant daughter he cannot bear to name. But before he abandons her for king and court, he brings a second child to be raised alongside her, a boy whose identity he does not reveal.

The girl, La Cendrillon, and the boy, Raoul, pass sixteen years in the servants' care until one day a very fine lady arrives with her two daughters. The lady has married La Cendrillon's father, and her arrival changes their lives.

When an invitation to a great ball reaches the family, La Cendrillon's new stepmother will make a decision with far-reaching effects. Her choice will lead La Cendrillon and Raoul towards their destiny - a choice that will challenge their understanding of family, test their loyalty and courage, and, ultimately, teach them who they are.

Angelica's Note: Without giving anything away, I'll say that I just love this retelling of Cinderella. A 'must read' for Cinderella lovers.

Blood Red, Snow White - Marcus Sedgwick

The time for princes and Tsars and holy madmen was gone. In its place came a world of war and revolution, tanks and telephones, murder and assassination.

Beyond the vast plains, deep in the snowy forest, the great bear that is Russia wakes from a long sleep and marches to St Petersburg to claim its birthright.

Its awakening will mark the end for the Romanovs, and herald an era that will change the world. In 1917 the Bolsheviks hold power in the newly renamed Petrogard. Lenin and Trotsky govern from palaces where the Tsars once danced till dawn.

Another man played a part in it all. His name was Arthur Ransome, a journalist and writer who left his English home, his wife and daughter, and fell in love with Russia and a Russian woman, Evgenia. This is his story.

At times bleak, at others rich, poignant and tender, Marcus Sedgwick blends a fairy tale, spy thriller and love story in a novel that lingers long in the memory.

The Celebutantes: On the Avenue - Antonio Pagliarulo

Okay, so I took this book out to take a glimpse into the life of celebutantes. Just started, and the point of view changes at each chapter, which I am thankful for.

This is the official blurb:

The Hamilton triplets - Madison, Park, and Lexington - are accustomed to living in the public eye. Heiresses to a billion-dollar media empire, they have been raised in New York's most elite circles and, at sixteen, know firsthand the demands of being celebutantes. It isn't always about designer labels and lavish parties. There are people to impress, appearances to make, and paparazzi to outrun. Not to mention high school to finish.

But when fashion editor Zahara Bell is found dead in a one-of-a-kind frock from Lex's unreleased clothing line, and then the priceless Avenue diamond goes missing, getting to class is far from the triplets' minds as their first pair of Manolos. One of the girls is a suspect, and the sisters find themselves in the middle of a scandal that could sink their reputations and their father's companies for good. And the press is ready, willing, and able to lend a hand.

The Hamilton sisters need to stick closer together than ever before - the killer is still out there, and if they don't solve the case, their (sometimes) good name could become dirtier than a certain hotel chain.

Saving Francesca - Melina Marchetta

My old school, St. Stella's. only goes to Year Ten and most of my friends go to Pius Senior College, but my mother wouldn't allow it because she says the girls there leave with limited options and she didn't bring me up to have limitations placed upon me. If you know my mother you'll sense there's an irony there, based on the fact that she is the Queen of Limitation Placers in my life.

Francesca is at the beginning of her second term in Year Eleven at an all boys' school that has just started accepting girls. She still misses her old friends, and, to make things worse, her mother has had a breakdown and can barely move from her bed.

But Francesca had not counted on the fierce loyalty of her new friends, or falling in love, or finding that it's within her power to bring her family back together.

Angelica's Note: I haven't read this book yet, but judging from Ms. Marchetta's previous novels that I've read [Looking for Alibrandi and On the Jellicoe Road] I'm thinking this book will be just as fantastic.

Reading on the Jellicoe Road ...

Oh. My. God. On the Jellicoe Road is such a fantastic book by Melina Marchetta [who also wrote Looking For Alibrandi]. You've just GOT to read it. The book is confusing [to the point that I actually dropped it and thought I couldn't take it any more. Lucky for me, I did pick it up again!] in the beginning, but as you progress through it, everything actually makes sense!! And the pieces all fit in together, like a jigsaw puzzle. I actually thought that this was one the books where the author, so ecstatic about making up a name [like "Jellicoe"], uses it so often that it gets really irritating. But I was pleasantly surprised, because Ms. Marchetta doesn't do that. Phew!

Anyways, this is the official blurb on the back of the book:

I'm dreaming of the boy in the tree. I tell him stories. About the Jellicoe School and the Townies and the Cadets from a school in Sydney. I tell him about the war between us for territory. And I tell him about Hannah, who lives in the unfinished house by the river. Hannah, who is too young to be hiding away from the world. Hannah, who found me on the Jellicoe Road six years ago.

Taylor is the leader of the boarders at the Jellicoe School. She has to keep the upper hand in the territory wars and deal with Jonah Griggs - the enigmatic leader of the cadets, and someone she thought she would never see again.

And now Hannah, the person Taylor had come to rely on, has disappeared. Taylor's only clue is a manuscript about five kids who lived in Jellicoe eighteen years ago. She needs to find out more, but this means confronting her own story, making sense of her strange, recurring dream, and finding her mother - who abandoned her on the Jellicoe Road.

---

I give it ***** !!


p.s.: A word on John Jellicoe. He joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in 1872. [Got this from Wiki when I searched for "Jellicoe" because it's an interesting word] Might be an inspiration for this book? I've no idea!

Half Blood Prince and Beedle the Bard!

As all of you Harry Potter lovers out there know, the HBP is releasing next year and Beedle the Bard's releasing this year. Woo hoo!