Jessica+Jacobsen

For this blog, I decided to read __Shattering Glass__ by Gail Giles. The reason I chose this book is mainly because of the title and cover. It just interested me and caught my eye at first. So, of course, I picked it up and started reading the beginning to see if it'd be a writing style I was into (I go by the philosophy of "never judge a book by it's cover") And, what really made me want to read this book is the first paragraph. "Simon Glass was easy to hate. I never knew exactly why, there was too much to pick from. I guess, really, we each hated him for a different reason, but we didn't realize it until the day we killed him."
 * January 6th, 2011**
 * FINAL BLOG:**

This book is told from the point of view of Thaddeus R. Steward IV (or just Young), a junior in high school. But it really captures the story of five boys in high school. Young, Rob Haynes, Cooper, "Bobster", and Simon Glass. The first four boys are the creme of the crop, the most popular students in their class. Simon, at first, is a nerdy loner, made fun of endlessly for his social awkwardness and lack of style/personal hygiene (among other things). The leader of the group, Rob Haynes, is a rather emotionally tormented young man. He gets the idea (mainly to show his power over others in the school) to turn Simon Glass into the most popular kid in their school. The book follows their plan and actions to achieve this goal, at the expense of almost all five of the high school boys. It's a very heated mystery, mainly because you're wondering when Glass is going to die, and how. And why.

I had a love-hate relationship with this book. I loved the beginning and the ending, and the quotes from other students post-murder to help with the suspense. I hated how sometimes it dragged on, and wasn't the best written book. But, over all, my view of this book is good. I think that it was a very interesting book. The way it was ended was definitely to my liking, because it was short and sweet and rather abrupt. But it left some up to the imagination, helped with the quotes from students about what had happened. Also, a bit of this book analyzes the minds of the most important characters, which I loved because I loved the whole psychology deal. At times, however, this book can see like a little too much to handle, because of all that's thrown at you. Over all, it's a very good book.

For this blog, I decided to read __Burned__ by Ellen Hopkins. The reason I chose this book for this blog is because I LOVE ELLEN HOPKINS. So much. She's a very insightful writer, and she is a very __good__ writer. Her poetry set up just makes me happy. And she chooses topics that are controversial, but she isn't afraid to talk and write about them. These books are very long, but I honestly don't think they're long enough! I just cannot put her books down, because I'm so interested in them. These books seem like they're made for me.
 * December 6th, 2010**
 * Blog 3:**

The main character in this book is Pattyn, a seventeen year old Mormon girl. Her family are extreme Mormons. She spends her days taking care of her six sisters, because she's the oldest. They go to service every Sunday, she has a bible class, and her family makes their own clothing and believe that woman are subservient to men. Her mother and father believe that women are only on this world t procreate and make men happy. Pattyn is considered a horrible child for questioning her religion and, after some bad decisions on her part, is sent to Nevada for the summer to live with her father's sister. Through out the book, she is forced to face the secrets of her father's past, her aunts past during the nuclear testing in Nevada, and decide who she actually is as a person. During this summer, she meets Ethan, the love of her life. And when she returns to her home, to her family and her religion, she's a completely different person.

I love this book because it deals with three major topics. Religion and the effect on children, the effects to the citizens of the nuclear testing in Nevada during WWII, and domestic/child abuse. I'm not big into religion. In fact, I'm not into it at all. I believe it's not necessary in a person's life and that it's not quite a great thing in society today. However, this book made me realize that religion doesn't always harm a person, sometimes it's the influence of others because of the religion. In this book, I don't think that it was Pattyn's religion that ruined her life, it was her father's actions because of the religion. It's a very good book, and it's a very __exciting__ book. It entertained me a lot, and I love how it talks about the nuclear wasteland that was once Nevada. In the back, there's an authors note about how Ellen wanted to tell the story about the government testing before all the people effected by it died. She wanted people to know about their story so they would have recognition before they left, she wanted people to know how it ruined their lives. So, in my book, Hopkins is a great person and a great writer. (:

For this blog, I decided to read __Choices__ by Deborah Lynn Jacobs. The reason I chose (hahah.. it was one of my //choices//.. funny) this book is because I was looking for a different kind of read than my usual hot-or-cold, drama filled books. I either read things like Dessen's feel good books, or Hopkins' completely messed up dramas. This book is neither. It's more of a psychological warfare kind of book.
 * November 18th, 2010**
 * Blog 2:**

In this book, the main character (who has different names through out the book, so she can be called Kathleen, Kay, Kate, or Kathy) is dealing with the death of her brother. Mixed between the grief of loosing him and blaming herself, she assumes she's going crazy when it seems that her memory starts to split daily. However, after she meets Luke (or Michael) it all starts to make sense. Because Luke is that same. They're both //shifters//, shifting between universes, worlds, and personalities. And what causes the shifts would be the CHOICES that they make in life changing situations. Smoking pot and dyeing your hair bright blue, or refusing to do either, getting in a fight with your best friend and letting her walk away, or chasing after her and apologizing. Soon, Kathleen realizes that she can shift between the worlds by force. Does she take the chance to shift into a world where her brother exists, and the grief of his death (as well as Luke) doesn't?

I really like this book, because, honestly, it made me question my own sanity! It was very well written. However, the only thing I didn't really enjoy about this book (besides for the fact that it's an easy read) is that it kiiiiiind of turns into a sappy love story. "Ohhh, do I save my brother's life, or do I stay with my supposed soul-mate?" Uhh, duh.. YOU SAVE YOUR BROTHER LIFE! Why would you wonder about that? Mmmm, brother, guy who killed brother (even if you love him).. tough choice. Still, however silly that may be, it was an incredible plot. And very well executed. Plus, I like the whole set-up, with the different point of views, even though it's the same person. And I got exactly what I wanted, it's definitely a different read than my usual. It was very interesting, exciting story, and I'm glad that I read it.

For this blog, I decided to read __Dreamland__ by Sarah Dessen. I know that last time, I was kind of ragging on Sarah Dessen, saying that she wasn't very realistic with her plot lines and everything.. but I went back to her. I couldn't resist, I suppose.. but this showed me really how diverse Dessen can be within her genre, because this doesn't necessarily end happily.
 * November 4th, 2010**
 * Blog 1:**

This novel by Dessen is about the life of Caitlin after her sister Cass decides to run away. If there is such a thing as perfect, then Cass is the epitome of it. Student body president, homecoming queen, star soccer player, and accepted into Yale, with their mother being the queen of all "soccer moms". Caitlin has always been in the shadow of her older sister, never quite the best at what she tried. So it's hard to fill her shoes when her leaves. Finally, to satisfy her parents - cheerleading. And she finally finds something to define herself away from Cass (not just be known as "Cass's inadequate little sister") - Rogerson. Soon, we find both aren't what they were cut out to be.

I found this novel interesting because the beginning topic hits home. This summer, my older sister (who I was very close to) moved out. After 15 years with someone, seeing them almost everyday and spending so much time with them, you can't help but feel a hole when they leave for good. However, what I liked most about this book is the ending and the situation with Rogerson. I thought it was weird, because Sarah (going against what she usually does) introduced Rogerson (the supposed "knight in shining armor") very early in the book, and their relationship takes off very early. And then, the reality of the situation with Rogerson, what happens at the end-ish part of the book, how the "perfectness" of their relationship just kind of fell apart.. that really got me. It surprised me to see this type of situation in a Sarah Dessen book, on top of the fact that (as much as I'd hate to admit it) she's a very good writer!

For this blog, I decided to read __Glass__ by Ellen Hopkins.



This book is a sequel to the book __Crank__ by Hopkins. The reason I decided to read this one is both because I love Ellen Hopkins' work, and because I read Crank, so I obviously had to read the next installment. Also, this is in freewrite poetry form, which is something I find very interesting.

The main character of this series is Kristina.. or Bree, depending on how you look at it. The book picks up where __Crank__ left off. We find out that Kristina(/Bree) has been free from crystal meth since the birth of her (their) child. Bree (who comes out when Kristina decides to do bad or illegal things, not limited to crystal meth) had been locked up in the inner most chambers of Kristina's mind since the birth of her son. But, soon, the need for a fix becomes to much for the both of them, so Kristina goes to one of her old hook-ups and her fall to the drug begins once more. And this time, she doesn't have a reason to get better. You have to read the book to find out the ending, but (unlike in __Crank__) that the ending isn't exactly a "happily ever after."

I love this book because it's so different from normal books that are aimed for girls at my age. This is no Sarah Dessen book. They are alike in the way that Sarah's book usually includes the life of a girl drastically changing. However, that girl is usually saved by "the guy" and her life, although not back to normal, is once again perfect in it's own way. This doesn't happen in Ellen Hopkins' books. And that interests me because I like the fact that it's more like real life. Nothing is perfect. Plus, the format just adds to the suspense and the drama. I suggest this book to anyone who anyone who likes to read books that are different. And not fake and overly happy with a happy ending that would never happen in real life.