Dream Catcher by Day and Night

Fade by Lisa McMann

The night that I started this book, bear in mind that I have already finished the first book of this series by this time, I had the most vivid nightmare. This might not be that surprising because people have dreams all of the time. The difference is that I do not remember my dreams probably 99% of the time. I’m one of those people that are genuinely surprised when I actually do remember a dream. And I’ll say something like, I had a dream last night, even though studies state that everyone dreams every night, of course I say it because it’s rare for me to remember my dreams. Back to the point I was making, I had the most vivid dream that night and of course it has to be because I was thinking about these fictional character’s dreams. The dream that I had was too horrible to talk about.

Janie Hannagan and Cabel Strumheller have a very different relationship than most teenagers, Janie is a dream catcher hired secretly by the Fieldridge police department to search dreams to catch criminal acts in their own subconscious. Cabe is an undercover employee of the same police department to find drug dealers and other law breakers. Cabe and Janie are in love and enjoying that new found love even with the bumps along the road. One added bonus is that they have to hide their relationship because of their jobs. As their love grows, Janie finds out more and more about what being a dream catcher is all about and will have to make hard decisions about not only her future, but her future with Cabe as well.

I am enjoying the premise behind this trilogy. The books are a fast pace read, while the story stays true to the plot and does not deter from the original story line. I find with some YA novels the plot is all over the place or there are separate novels within one book. This trilogy is one story, from one character’s perspective and I have enjoyed the linear feel of this book.

I have also enjoyed the simplistic-ness of the characters and their teenage relationships. Sometimes and author makes the 17 year old relationship too adult too quickly. Where these characters had to grow up too fast, both of them living on their own or having to take care of themselves100% of the time the romantic relationship seemed to stay on a young first love status throughout the first two books.

I’m sure there are plenty of reasons not to like this book, but I decided that I like it enough to ignore those and continue the series. Only one complaint would be the amount of cussing. Thanks for reading! Have you read this series or have you thought about it? Keep Reading my friends!

Your Dreams Are Not Your Own

Wake by Lisa McMann

Janie Hannagan is not a normal seventeen year old girl, she visits dreams. If someone is in the same room as she is and falls asleep, she is a part of those dreams. This secret that she doesn’t even share with her mom is a burden that she has to bear alone. Of course what’s a young adult novel without a good love story, and as their relationship grows, she struggles with keeping her secret more and more.

I enjoyed this book, it has been a long time since I’ve read a book in less than 24 hours, with a full day’s work in those hours. It is not earth shattering amazing life changing book, it’s just an original idea that’s written pretty well and has an unbelievable plot that is fun to get lost in even though it was short. I have the second book, Fade and I’m thinking about downloading the third book on my nook, which is called Gone. If you are looking for a quick fun read that will keep your attention, then this is a great suggestion. Always keep in mind that it’s young adult fiction of course.

I have seen this on reading blogs for a few years, what are your thoughts?

The Shadow of the Wind

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon

We start the journey with Daniel when his father shares a secret place with him; a secret place that he has been forbidden to tell anyone about. “Welcome to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books, Daniel.” The Cemetery has a long tradition, that the first time a person visits, they must take a book with them and give it a home , where the book will never disappear and will have a life of its own. Daniel found The Shadow of the Wind. A book that immediately knew that this book was meant for him, he went home and read the entire book that same night. After he had finished the book he didn’t even want to sleep for fear of losing the books magic as if it had put a spell on Daniel. He had to know more about the unknown author, Julian Carax. This begins Daniel’s years of searching and learning more about Carax and his past.

I do not want to give too much away about this book, so I will tell you how I felt, leave you with some quotes and hope upon hope that this book will land in your lap and you will find it at intriguing as I did. This gothic novel had me enraptured from the very beginning. The promise of a secret, a secret called the Cemetery of Forgotten Books had me fascinated. I wanted to jump in and tag along with Daniel and his father to pick out my very own book to take home and keep safe. The parallel between the plots was uncanny and the subplots had subplots, yet it was easy to keep up. There was so much going on within these pages that I was lost in a fictional world never wanting to leave. The writing was exceptional and the story was a great escape.

As promised, here are some of my favorite quotes, enjoy!

“This is a place of mystery, Daniel, a sanctuary. Every book, every volume you see here, has a soul. The soul of the person who wrote it and of those who read it and lived and dreamed with it. Every time a book changes hands, every time someone runs his eyes down its pages, its spirit grows and strengthens.”

“Once in my Father’s bookshop, I heard a regular customer say that few things leave a deeper mark on a reader than the first book that finds its way into his heart. Those first images, the echo of words we think we have left behind, accompany us throughout our lives and sculpt a place in our memory to which, sooner or later- no matter how many books we read, how many worlds we discover, or how much we learn or forget- we will return. For me those enchanted pages will always be the ones I found among the passageways of the Cemetery of Forgotten Books.”

“There are worse prisons than words, Daniel.”

“Love is a lot like pork: there’s loin steak and there’s bologna.”

“I threw up my breakfast, my dinner, and a good amount of the anger I was carrying with me.”
“The art of reading is slowly dying, that it’s an intimate ritual, that a book is a mirror that offers us only what we already carry inside us, that when we read, we do it with all our heart and mind, and great readers are becoming more scarce by the day.”

The Power of Six Aliens... can destroy, um, the other Aliens?

The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore

The Power of Six picks up where Lore left the audience in I am Number Four. The Lorien Legacies are the stories of the Lorien aliens that have come to earth to save the humans from the Mogadorian alien race. Where I am Number Four leaves off we pick up with an introduction to number Seven. Who like Henry, Sam’s Cepan or guardian, is in constant hunt for others. She knows from the three scars that one, two and three are dead and she has her suspicions that John Smith is number Four. After the battle at the school in Ohio, John (Number 4), Sam and Six are running not only from the Mogadorians, but from the human authorities as well. It doesn’t take Four and Six long to realize that the charm that protected them is gone and that the only way to survive is to find the others. The Power of Six is the theme of the book, to get the remaining Six Lorian Legacies together for the epic battle that is soon to come.

I try not to be too hard on Young Adult fiction. I know that the writing will be good but not too in depth for young readers to be able to enjoy. But I do hope for something with a little more depth than low education banter between the characters. Simple sentences with no complex thought, and maybe a little more thought behind character development.

The author did not do a good job of capturing the essence of a teenager. It sounded like an adult writing what he thinks a teenager would say instead of actually finding out what a teenager would say and replicating it. There is a point where an adult no longer is able to capture that spirit or tenacity and must do research. I do not know any15 year olds that say “Wicked” or ‘“Sam, you’ve been nuts since the first time I met you,” I kid.’ Wow, that’s a good one, you really got him with that comeback. I just think that John Smith (Number 4) is supposed to be this cool, hot alien savior that is starting to become what he’s supposed to and he says these totally dorky off the wall sayings like he’s 40 instead of 16.

Another issue I had was the fact that there was no tone differences in characters, Six, Four and Sam they all sounded the same. Although Four (John Smith) was the main character I did not feel as if I knew him better than any other character. No insight to his feelings except for his lust for 2 girls. Character development was weak. From the words that were said, if the author didn’t say who was saying them, I had no idea who was talking. I want to read a book that I know the characters so well that there can be no “I said” or “Six replied” or “Sam questioned.” Everything that each character said could have come from all three of these characters and the audience could just make up whoever they wanted to say it.

As with I am Number Four, the battle scenes are well thought out and thrilling. I was on the edge of my seat and had no idea if the characters were going to be safe. Whenever an author breaks the rules by killing off an important character you know that no one is safe and that he could kill off any character he wants. The author is in control of the story instead of allowing the audiences feelings dictate where the story is going to go.
I enjoyed the new character of Seven or Marina and the introduction to Ten. From the beginning we knew that there was a second ship, but the introduction to Ten was a surprise and we will be continued to be surprised as the story continues by events that we have not been introduced to. Marina is a fighter even though unskilled due to her Cepan’s fear and loathing attitude for what she’s been through. Marina is a survivor and I love how her story has started to develop and I hope that it is not ruined in the third book.

What do you think? Have you read this series and will you continue to? Keep reading my friends!

Is Anyone Listening? What's the Point of Speaking if no one is Listening?

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

A nightmare. Melinda Sordino starts her freshman year but it’s more like a walking nightmare. It’s worse than not having friends, she is absolutely alone. Melinda has pissed off every student in her new high school, but it wasn’t her fault. Slowly throughout the book we piece together the events that took place on that horrendous night that turned her entire life upside down.

I had been seeing this book pop up in the blogosphere and the cover absolutely intrigued me. When I saw Speak on my friend Kathy’s (The Literary Amnesiac) bookshelf I had to borrow it.

The very first time I picked it up, I knew that it was going to be one of the saddest books I have ever read. Although the book was very sad and it was a struggle to watch this poor helpless girl fall deeper into the trap of depression, it was also empowering. It was fascinating to watch this girl healing from such a horrible action of hate and selfishness.

The entertainment world wants us to view high school on a level more like Glee or Vampire Diaries, where the main characters biggest fear is not getting into the college they want or falling for a hot vampire and struggling with the impacts of those decisions. This book lets us into a real world situation that is a lot more realistic than slushies in the face or being hunted by a half breed vampire/werewolf. The world of safe high schools is over (or never existed), where bullies are real and the fact that every high schooler is dealing with or knows someone who is dealing with cutting, thoughts of suicide and disorders that are detrimental to their overall wellbeing. This book lets the audience into the head of a fictional but very real 9th grader who is having a rough time for trying to get help. If adults would listen more maybe these children that are experiencing real pain, would speak up more.

I loved how Anderson wrote this book. Written in first person, we are enclosed in Melinda’s thoughts. She is trapped and therefore we are trapped. No one offers help, they just force solutions on why Melinda changed so drastically in such a short time. There were very few spoken words, the book was mostly filtered through Melinda’s thoughts. When Melinda did speak, the reader was ready to listen. There was also a lot of symbolism in this book. I believe that the author uses everything around Melinda to symbolize how miserable and alone she was. From the book the class is reading in English (The Scarlet Letter), to the lack of school mascot, to the art assignment of drawing a tree. It was fascinating watching this story unfold in so many different facets. I’m not sure how Anderson can write like she is a freshman in high school, but with all of my experiences of being a youth pastor’s wife, she did a fantastic job of getting into Melinda’s head.

I don’t think that this book is for everyone. Although I do believe that all middle school and high school teachers should read this. It was not a fun read, but it was inspiring. If you have read it, you’ll have to let me know how you feel afterwards. Keep reading my friends!

Introducing Sirius Black!

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling

This is the third book in the Harry Potter series, as with my other blogs so far for Harry Potter, if you have not read the series and do not enjoy SPOILERS then don’t read this blog. I have written these blogs more for people who have read the series and love them or people who will never read them (what a sad existence).

This is my absolute favorite book in the series. There is just something special about the new found relationship between Harry and Sirius. I love that he has someone in his life that doesn’t want to be around him because he’s the famous Harry Potter, the boy who lived. It’s more of a family love; Sirius loves him like he would love a nephew. It’s hard for me to put into words exactly why I love this relationship so much, but if I had to sum it up, it would be in the last couple of pages. Harry, Ron and Hermione are on their way to King’s Cross from Hogwarts and Harry receives an owl. When he opens it up, it’s a letter from Sirius with an extra letter giving him permission to go to Hogsmeade next term. When I finished the book for the first time, I remember running into the living room of our apartment at the time and squealing to Simon how wonderful the book was and how much I loved Sirius Black. Memories…

Sirius Black is my all time favorite Harry Potter character (If I can’t pick Harry himself). I love that he is very much the dark wizard that is after Harry during this entire book. This is the only book of the series that Voldemort doesn’t make a physical appearance and therefore Sirius is the scapegoat for the bad-guy of this book. The reason I love Sirius is that after 13 years of prison and quite frankly, hell. He still wants to get to know Harry. The example of this is that he immediately invites Harry to live with him, which of course makes the audience’s heart happy. Knowing how happy it makes Harry is a great feeling, “Some sort of explosion took place in the pit of Harry’s stomach.” The poor kid had never experienced happiness in this way that he couldn’t even think of how to describe it. I love it!

Another character that must be mentioned is the headmaster. Dumbledore is not all knowing, but he sure knows a lot. An enjoyable factor for me is that he knew exactly what was going on the entire time Hermione and Harry were going back in time to save Buckbeak and Sirius, but had no idea that Sirius, James Potter, and Peter Pettigrew had turned themselves into Animagus’ when they were under his supervision at Hogwarts. Within the first three books, it just doesn’t seem like much get’s by him. He always seemed to know when things were going on with any of the given characters. Of course the biggest example of this in Prisoner of Azkaban is mentioned above when he tells Hermione to turn back time and save 2 innocent lives.

I’ll end with this thought. The first time I read this series, I sat on the edge of my seat. Literally I was scared to death that Harry was going to get caught in one of his many rule breaking adventures, but I still kept reading. It’s funny how I am definitely not usually up for adventures, but I am so into the many adventures of Harry, Ron and Hermione. Harry gets into so much trouble it’s hard to even believe he gets away with it all, but he does. Professor Snape of course is very hard on Harry. He is overly harsh with him in class, he’s so stern with him when he meets him in hallways and anywhere Harry’s not supposed to be. Although I am not a Snape fan, I almost have to agree with Snape as an adult that follows the rules. Harry is always out of bounds, going in areas he’s not allowed, breaking the rules or just an overall disregard for authority. But I still love Harry like he’s my BFF.

Well that’s it literary friends. I hope you enjoyed! Keep Reading my friends!

It's the End of the World as we Know it!

World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

What an intriguing pick for Book Club this was. When Lydia announced her book choice, many members moaned, while I rejoiced. I had not heard of this book before, but it sparked my interest. With all of the women of book club being so different, it’s fun to jump into new genres and read books that I would have not known about without one of my fellow book-clubbers pointing it out. After all of that rejoicing I did at book club some months ago, I guess I should just throw it out there and confess that I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I thought I would.

As an oral history of the Zombie war, the entire book was reports of survivors from around the world. These personal stories made up how the audience learned what happened during the war. The issue I had with the way the book was written was that the author/interviewer did not return to the reports from earlier sections. Each section had new people and we did not learn about how stories ended until the last couple of pages. These goodbyes were from some of the survivors that were interviewed in preceding sections and were not enough to appease me.

There were times when the book was a little slow. It did not take me a long time to finish the book, but when I put it down, it was difficult to pick it back up. It was such a depressing subject matter, who wants to read about the end of the world as we know it? I mean the whole earth is decimated by this horde of our loved ones and friends. These monsters aren’t faceless creatures (well unless his face was eaten off by his attacker); these are the neighbors of the victims of this war. Even though the stories do not go into details of people being attacked by someone they knew before they were infected, I can only imagine that it happened, and often.

Overall it was an interesting plot and was executed well. That being said, I had to wonder if the zombies were really some political propaganda instead of the living dead. Like some ploy to get the reader to recycle more or some other world issue that is heavy on the author’s heart. Maybe not, maybe it is actually about the walking dead or Zack. On a completely different note, I will probably not go watch this movie, December 21, 2012; I will probably not be at the movie theater waiting in line for the midnight show to watch Brad Pitt take on the undead. I can use my imagination and picture how this movie will probably be very scary. Even though what I’m about to say is very contradictory to the usual, I could leave my imagination at bay while reading this horror book because this book was about people surviving and not really about zombies. I would usually say that the opposite is true that reading is more alive than screen, but I think actually watching the zombies on the big screen would be too much for me to handle. We’ll see…

I think I’m going to take my friend Josh’s advice and read something happy now. This book was a little depressing. Anyone else read this book? If so, what did you think?