Wednesday, September 7, 2011

Review Day: 5 books in 5 minutes!

These are the last five books I have read and a review/rating of each.  I did not pay for any of these books, they were free ebooks from Amazon/features on POI; however, I don't believe they are all still free.  If you want to borrow one via Kindle Lending, please contact me. :)  I've been on a YA kick lately, so sorry for all the YA books.

1. How to Dump Your Boyfriend in the Men's Room

Overall rating: 4 stars
This is a collection of short stories.  Each story is a plot of two or three different female characters and their crazy experiences.  Each story leaves you wanting more, but sadly there isn't more.. yet.  The author explains a bit about writing each story before the chapter of each one begins, which is actually really interesting.  If you're looking for something to cheer you up but isn't super long, try this out.  I must say there are quite a few stories inside this collection so don't expect to be done with the whole collection too fast.  It's labeled as 'chick-lit' but who cares? It's hilarious! And who says 'chick-lit' has to be sappy and boring? I laughed so many times throughout the collection.  This collection is light hearted, hilarious, 'chick-lit', fixes PMS and gives you so many different stories.  I love all of the characters, but Amber was my favorite.  Why only 4 stars? Sometimes I wish the stories were longer, even though I knew they were supposed to be short.

2. Blade Silver: Color Me Scared

Overall rating:  4 stars
This is a story about a young girl who's battling an addiction: cutting.  This is the 7th novel in the series, which I didn't realize until *after* I read it. (sigh) But it didn't seem to matter.  The novel takes you on a journey through Ruth Wallace's life of high school, family drama and boyfriends.  It's a typical YA novel, until you learn she's a cutter and she's dealing with a mother who is in a medicine coma, a father who's abusive and a brother who just doesn't care.  This is a gripping novel that is also hard to stomach at times, because of the intensity of the situation.  Why 4 stars? I loved this novel, just had a hard time reading it when I realized all of the horrible things going on.

3. Fall Girl

Overall rating:  5 stars
Annabell has a brother with bipolar disorder.  Her brother tries to hide his bipolar disorder from everyone, but he doesn't make it easy.  He's constantly getting into trouble, which Annabell cleans up.  This novel is a intriguing inside story of the struggles of dealing with siblings with disorders, and the affects it has on everyone.  This YA novel keeps you interested from the first chapter on.  It was very difficult to put it down! It had me laughing, feeling sympathetic and intrigued.  Why 5 stars? The writing was very descriptive and amazing.  The characters are easy to connect with and love.  This is a great novel for anyone.

4. Hello Kitty Must Die

Overall rating: 3 stars
An interesting novel to say the least.  It was hard for me to follow and enjoy.  This is a novel about a Asian-American young woman named Fiona who is incredibly successful, but not married, with very old-fashioned parents.  She has a very pessimistic and dark way of viewing the world.  Then she teams up with an old high school male friend, whom she falls in love with because of his love for murdering young 'Hello Kitties' and men.  Hello Kitties are Asian-American girls who are always smiling, courteous, quiet and do whatever it takes to please people (according to the novel).  Why 3 stars? After I got over how ridiculously annoying Fiona's parents were, Fiona's male friend took over for the spot of annoying.  I couldn't stand how nobody seemed to listen to anyone, and murder was committed way too often and overlooked by everyone including Fiona (a lawyer!).

5. The Outsider: A Novel

Overall rating: 4 stars
A novel about Shakers from the early 1830s and a new look on old ways.  I've never read a novel that did such a good job of detailing religion, war and romance from the 1800s all at once until this one.  It was a great novel that gives the reader a look into what it was like to live as a Shaker in the 1830s.  Gabrielle was born 'of the world' and then took up the Shaker religion with her Mother when she was very young.  She was the most devout of the believers for her age (I'm guessing around 16-18), until she met a doctor that made her believe that love is not only real, but what is meant to be.  She has a hard time deciding whether or not she belongs with the 'Believers' or to leave her comfort zone for the man she loves.  Why 4 stars?  Such a good novel that I had a hard time putting down.  The writing is excellent, however the plot moves very slow towards the end making me want to skip over chapters that were important.

Have a book to recommend? Have you read any of these already? If so, please email me or leave a comment with the subject line of *recommendation* or *review* along with the title and author.  Happy reading!

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