Bleed

Laurie Faria Stolarz 

Young Adult, Contemporary Fiction

Paperback, 240

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Release Date: April 22, 2008

Overall Rating: 0.5/5

Over the course of a single summer day, ten teenagers in Salem, Massachusetts, will discover important truths about themselves and each other. 

There is Nicole, whose decision to betray her best friend will shock everyone, most of all herself; Kelly, who meets the convicted felon she has been writing to for years; Maria, whose definition of a true friend is someone who will cut her. Then there is Sadie, a chubby eleven-year-old whose mother forces her to wear a "please don't feed me" sign stapled to her shirt; while Joy, a fifteen-year-old waitress hoping for true intimacy narrowly escapes a very dark fate. Derik discovers that his usual good looks and charm won't help him hold onto the girl he wants, while nineteen-year-old drifter, Mearl, is desperately looking for a place to call home. Sean is torn between his loyalty to his girlfriend and the possibility of finding something more with her friend, while Ginger's single-minded pursuit to bring down her nemesis only proves that they may be more alike than she thought.

Seamlessly woven together, this incredibly powerful and compelling collection of stories chronicles the very real trials of today's teen experience.

Um?

I read the book because I like this author. All of the other things I read by her I ended up buying and rereading. All but this one. Honestly I just couldn’t see the reason for this at all. I guess you could say that some kids go through some of the things that the characters went through, but that's about it. The book had no kind of anything. It just wasn't a book for me.  Maybe I didn’t get it and that’s fine but this book did noting for me. I read it and was so upset that I wasted my time. Maybe someone will read it and love it.

Nightshade

Andrea Creamer

Nightshade Book 1

Young Adult, Paranormal Fantasy

Published by Penguin Group (USA)

ISBN-13: 978-0-39925-482-6

Overall Rating: 4.5/5 

            

First I was drawn to the book by the beautiful cover then the description. When I opened the book I was sucked in, from the first chapter. I surprised by Calla because now a days in books it’s all about female heroines who meet their dream boy and discover that he is apart a world she thought real only in dreams. And it’s rare to find a main character so unbelievable strong and so young at the same time. From the beginning Calla stole my heart and made me want to find out more about her, I found myself wishing that I was a part of Calla’s world. There were many likable characters in the book, I was rooting for everything to work out the way it was supposed to, but of course things never turn out the way we would like them to.

Calla will become Alpha female of a new pack and mate with Ren who will become Alpha male. This was decided upon their birth and everyone knew this. I love the relationship between the two and I was really for them to make their pack. You can tell that no matter how Calla might fight it she has a strong feelings Ren.

Then in comes Shay a hiker that Calla saved from death. Calla and Shay meet again in school and it is clear that they share a bond, that part I found believable. What I just couldn’t get into was the “love” that they supposedly shared. I could see Calla and Shay having some kind of feelings for each other because of the bond that they share and their search for the truth about Shay’s past but love? No I couldn’t even believable that for half of a second. The Calla/Shay love was a little too forced for me, it was seemed like it was just something added to throw a wrench in Calla and Ren’s relationship. I tried to view the so called “love” between the two from Calla’s point of view and understand it but I just couldn’t.

Aside from that one problem I had with the book I found it amazing, fast paced, and exciting. Usually when I read a book by the time I get to the middle I can tell you what will happen in the end, but when it came to this book I can honestly say that this is probably the second time I have ever been wrong about the ending. So with that being said I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a great book whatever the genre.