It's been awhile since I read a novel from start to finish. Actually, that's a lie. The problem is, now that I've sort of switched to e-books (don't kill me), I kind of forget which books I read or that I read books at all. I guess the physical act of turning every page from one to finish really does have more of a lasting impression. Anyway, I see that my friend, Chris, has basically been carrying this blog for a long, LONG time, so I figured it's time I threw in my *cough* yearly *cough* submission.

For awhile now, I've heard of this book. Apparently it's all the rage with preteens and teens alike. I actually really like young adult literature. It's a not so well-kept secret that I would love to write a book for that age range one day. So I try to read what my students are reading so that I can kind of keep up with the whole "cool teacher" vibe. It's nice to have a discussion with my students that doesn't involve math equations or the "why aren't you doing your homework" tone.

So, enter Divergent. According to the youngin's who have recommended it, it was "better than The Hunger Games." Hmmm. This I've gotta see.

It took me awhile to read this. A lot of stop and go, but I was determined (and, quite honestly, forced) to finish it.

Well, it's definitely in the same realm as Hunger Games. I don't know if I would say it's better or worse. Just different. It's got the same idea in the sense that it's in the future and the city is divided up into factions where you are born into and then chosen for one (based on strengths) when you turn 16. You could either choose to stay in the faction you already occupy, or you could change it all together whereby you essentially disown your family and vice versa.

Of course, with every sci-fi(ish) novel, there has to be turmoil and corruption somewhere along the lines for it to work. Well, one of the factions (not telling which one -- okay, I can't remember which one) is plotting to basically pull a Hitler on another faction until the heroin of the book, Beatrice "Tris", saves what could've been a bigger disaster than one that already played out (and took the lives of both her parents).

Tris is divergent which means she doesn't really belong to one faction, but has the quality of many. Apparently, this is a very dangerous thing to be and could get her killed if people (the wrong people) find out about it. Book one of the series (there are three) ends in a way that would obviously lead to book two, so no resolution is in sight.

If you like young adult novels and you like sci-fi and you like The Hunger Games, then chances are you'll like this book. I haven't watched the movie yet, but will probably catch it when it comes out on DVD.

Maximum Ride: The Final Warning

This fourth installment of the young adult oriented Maximum Ride series does not disappoint fans of Max, Fang, Gasman, Iggy, Total or any of the characters we've grown to love in this series.

Patterson uses the story line of this novel to raise awareness of global warming as the gang finds themselves on a government mission in Antarctica to assist in research. Of course, they find themselves being hunted by an devious group of mechanical mercenaries. Patterson also digs deeper into the idea of a romantic bond between Max and Fang.

I really love this series so far, mostly because I really care about these characters and I have to say, this is arguably the best written of the books in this series up to this point.

Another very quick read that I believe you will enjoy if you've ventured into this series.

Maximum Ride - Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports

This series is marketed at young adults but I happen to enjoy them very much. This, the third in the series follows the adventures of an interesting group of kids. How interesting you ask? if I told you they can fly, would that peak your interest a bit more?

The classic Patterson easy to read short chapters, interesting characters that you will care about and a modern day take on science fiction thriller make the three books in this series worth the short investment in time it will take to read them (I started reading this book yesterday morning and finished this evening).

This title had a number of "oh, shit!" moments. The story and the book really move along, it's very well written...I'm impressed how Patterson so easily adapts to a younger audience without alienating adults.

Moxie and the Art of Rule Breaking

Disclaimer:  The author of this book, Erin Dionne, is a personal friend of mine, that affects this review in exactly two ways: 1. It's extremely unlikely I would have read a "Young Adult" novel had it not been written by a friend. 2. Had I not liked this book, I'd not have published a review.

I'll start this with the one line I wrote on Facebook to the "Books I've Read" section: "While this book is marketed as "Young Adult", if you like to read, appreciate good writing and a good story, this is really a wonderful book."

Moxie was just an ordinary middle school kid preparing to have that one last fun summer with her best friend Ollie before they left for different high schools and as the author put it, "social gravity" did what it always does. An unexpected visit from an impractically dressed red headed woman changed the landscape of the next two weeks (and probably the rest of) her life by landing her, and my default, her pal Ollie, in the middle of one of the great mysteries of the 20th century, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Art Heist.

Through one of the best Boston based band soundtracks, a simple set of creative and well crafted characters and a backdrop that features one of the most historic cities and it's great landmarks, the author brings us along with Moxie and Ollie on an adventure that made me curious, taught me something, got me to really care about the characters and try to guess what would happen next, it made me tap my feet to the sound of the music and sing along as I imagined them in the scenes as they played through my mind, it made me laugh, several times and it even brought some tears.

This is a well imagined story that I had a very hard time putting down, a real page turner that I truly loved. There are a number of other reviews out there on Amazon and other book sites but I suggest reading the book before the reviews, many of them reveal more than they need to about the wonderful cast and while they don't ruin it in any way, I think it's more fun to just jump in...the water is warm and it will feel great, I promise!

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I will take the liberty of lifting something from the author's blog regarding the music I refer to:

"I've made a playlist of some of Moxie's favorite songs. They were songs that I listened to a lot while I was writing the book, songs that Moxie listens to in the novel, and there's even one that Moxie doesn't like. You figure out which one that is. You can find the playlist on Spotify if you're into that (you can follow me there--bostonerin). If you're not, here's the track list:"

Aerosmith – Sweet Emotion
Aerosmith – Seasons of Wither (Live)
Dropkick Murphys – I'm Shipping Up To Boston
Mighty Mighty Bosstones – Where'd You Go
Dropkick Murphys – Memorial Day
The Del Fuegos – Don't Run Wild
The Cars – You Might Think
The Standells – Dirty Water
Letters To Cleo – Cruel To Be Kind
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – The Impression That I Get - Album Version (Edited)
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – Someday I Suppose
J. Geils Band – Freeze-Frame - 2006 - Remaster
The J. Geils Band – Musta Got Lost - Live
The Cars – Good Times Roll
The Mighty Mighty Bosstones – I Want My City Back
Dropkick Murphys – The Boys Are Back
Aerosmith – Come Together
Dropkick Murphys – Sunshine Highway
Dann Russo – Ruby Red Hair
Letters To Cleo – I Want You To Want Me

" If you're not familiar with these tunes, I hope you check them out. I'd love to know if you find a new favorite."

Slam by Nick Hornby

I read the blurb of the $13.59 copy of Nick Hornby's 'Slam', and my eyes didn't go wide with fascination, nor did my feet eagerly scuffle to the cash register. It was nothing new - teen pregnancy in the father's point of view, unsure of where his responsibilities lie and what is important. However, he is a bestselling author and I thoroughly enjoyed another three books of his, and so as a loyal fan, I ended up walking home with a plastic bag from Borders.

The little snippets of reviews from newspapers were quite promising, as was one of my friend's response to the novel. I began to read it, and instantly, I felt as if I'd known Sam for years. Yes, Sam is the main character; a sixteen-year-old skateboarder (or as he says, the more artistic term - skater) and the son of divorced parents, living with his mother. His family has been known to constantly screw up, and he's their biggest hope, but blood takes over all in the end - he gets his girlfriend, Alicia pregnant.

As I read on, having a nice chortle in between almost every paragraph, I could imagine Sam's every move and every facial expression. It did not occur to me as if it was a novel written by a fully-grown Englishman, but a friend sitting right next to me, telling me his life story over an ice cream. Despite a rather cliché plot, there were moments in the book where you thought, "Hah, he's definitely gonna do _____ next," and the character would do nothing like that at all.

In the end, I figured out that the story was not about the ordeals of dealing with teenage pregnancy, but that Hornby only used that as a vessel to convey a much bigger picture. Through Sam's dealings with the situation, Hornby slowly and handily, was able to encompass the process of growing up in only 342 pages, with the vocabulary of a teenage boy.

It started off as a not-too-promising novel, but with the charm and genuineness of the characters, the splashes of humor, and an experience everyone can identify with - it turned out to be quite worth my while. I think Nick Hornby's going to remain a favorite author of mine for the time being.

Gossip Girl

Okay, I admit it. I love the TV show Gossip Girl. It started as a guilty pleasure, something I watched secretly every week, hidden in my bedroom, but soon it grew. Since I enjoy it so much, I decided to check out the book series it's based on, penned by Cecily Von Ziegesar (an Upper East Side name if I've ever heard one.) Now, I'm going to be honest here and say that the first book was absolutely terrible. So bad, in fact, that I refuse to continue the series. And here's why.

1) The characters are terribly written. Each character is a complete stereotype. There's the brooding poet, the hot rich girl, the sex-crazed guy friend, and so on. And not one is likable. It's hard to feel bad for them when you can't stand them. From start to finish, the characters never learn or grow, they just stay the same. Yes, this is high school, I get it, but it's also a book. Give me some depth! The book has none.

2) The plot is everywhere. I wasn't exactly sure where the book was going. Was there a climax? Was I excited about anything? No, not really. The author writes a typical day fine, but that's the problem with the book. It's all very...boring. And when something "big" happens, it's nothing of note.

3) What was the purpose of "Gossip Girl?" A various blogger called "Gossip Girl" intermittently adds various pieces of information about the cast of characters. None of it is important though. I suppose it's showing that we live in a digital age, but it doesn't help the story progress, nor does it matter.

I hate saying that a TV show is better than its literary counterpart, but that's the case here. I think Ziegesar should take a few notes from the creator of the show, Josh Schwartz, and liven up the books a bit. Bring some truth into them, make the characters relatable. Because the first book is like a thrift store t-shirt. Trendy to get, but not always perfect. Clean it up and accessorize a bit and then you'll have something special.

Breaking Dawn

(If you plan on reading the Twilight Series, you may not want to read this review, as it discusses moments in the previous books.)

For starters, I admit that at the age of 24 I still enjoy young adult literature. There's something about the Twilight Series, by Stephenie Meyer, that's ridiculously addictive. The plot is enticing, the characters are so well drawn out that they become friends, and the overall books are satisfying. With that being said, the last book in the series, Breaking Dawn, is a bit underwhelming.

Eclipse, the third book in the series, leaves off with Bella's ultimate choice. After almost being murdered by a gang of young and angry vampires, she finally chooses that her love for Edward, her vampire boyfriend, is stronger than her friendship with (and possible love for) Jacob, her werewolf best friend. With that, she rejects Jacob and agrees to marry Edward. Breaking Dawn starts on a hopeful, gentile, and happy note: preparations for the wedding and honeymoon. There, Bella will, as planned, finally join her future husband in a life of bloodlust as a vampire.

Naturally, there are some complications. These early set complications, along with previously noted problems, all culminate to lead up to the climax 700 pages later.

In my opinion, the problems with the book start with the voice. Between Eclipse and Breaking Dawn, Meyer penned a book out of the series entitled, The Host. Although the characters in The Host sound exactly like those characters we've grown to love in the Twilight Series, some of her writing style changed and with that, left Breaking Dawn different. She lost some of her characters, giving them new personalities and new motivations. Jasper becomes friendly and winks at Bella. Rosalie becomes angrier than normal. Also, what's with the nicknames? Since when was Jasper "Jazz" and Emmet "Em"?

A third of the way through the book she changes voices completely. Rather than having Bella narrate the middle chapters, she has Jacob. The reason is unknown. After three books of learning, accepting, and loving Bella's narrative, this new voice is different and irritating. Important at times, definitely, but there could have been ways to explain what happened without changing the voice. And most importantly, it's not very masculine. Meyer tries too hard to make him sound like a teenage boy, which results in dialogue even movies wont use. Thankfully, the narration is changed back to Bella's at a very crucial part.

I think the biggest problem Meyer faced, however, were her fans. It's not unknown that these books have created quite a following. With millions of fans aching to read the last book, message boards were filled with predictions, hopes, and fears. Wanting to suffice every fan, Meyer created a plot that lacked the passion she originally had in the series. Wanting to appease the fans, she lost many.

The plot itself was endearing at times, yet ridiculously over the top at others. My wildest prediction was proved to be true, something I truly hoped would not happen. Sure, a story of a vampire, human, werewolf love triangle is a bit out of the ordinary, but that's acceptable compared to what she proposes in the book.

Complaints aside, the book was decent. Not nearly as satisfying or complete as the others, yet still good and still very enjoyable. It had moments where I couldn't put the book down, moments that I reenacted in my head while at work. Moments that made me smile because it reminded me WHY I loved the series so much. With liking the characters as much as I do, I wanted to keep reading. I wanted to love it. And because of that, I did enjoy it. I did like how it ended, a happy ending, as she promised, and I liked what happened with each character. It was a solid ending to the series.

Twilight

It's been a really, really long time that I've bought a book and read it from cover to cover in about 2 days (and this book is over 500 pages). This book brought me back to my old ways of getting lost in a story very quickly. From the first page of the first chapter, I was immersed immediately into the lives of these unknowns.

I must've passed by this book everytime I visited my bookstore a hundred or so times. And everytime I passed it, I would stop, pick it up, and put it back down. For some reason, I picked it up yesterday and decided I'd get it. My only regret is that I didn't buy the other two books that followed it as well.

This story is about vampires who live among humans. The concept of vampires has always fascinated me for as long as I can remember. I particularly am drawn to stories of vampires who have human characteristics about them. The ones who are able to quell their desires to drink human blood. The ones who fall in love and have relationships. Vampires are always perceived to be monsters, so when I read the back cover of this book, I knew that this was more than just vampires who sucked blood. I'm just a sucker for a love story I suppose.

This story is about a 17 year old vampire, (although he's more like 108 years old), Edward, who falls in love with a girl named Isabella (Bella for short). She is new to the town of Forks, Washington and has moved to live with her dad while her mom can travel freely with her new husband (who is looking to be signed to a minor league baseball team and isn't exactly stationed in one particular town). At first Edward tries to avoid her because he genuinely fears for her safety (he is afraid that he will give into temptation and drink her), but he takes precautions so that he can be with her. And she is utterly and completely intoxicated with him and, her learning what he is makes her feelings for him grow even stronger. His family is accepting of his love for her and go to great lengths to save her from a possible savage death by another vampire who tries to kill her. By the end of the book, Bella wishes to be transformed into a vampire so that she can spend eternity with Edward but he refuses to subject her to that. But, there are two other books that follow so who knows what will happen.

This is the author's (Stephenie Meyer) first book and I have to say that she did a really good job in getting the reader involved in the lives of these characters right off the bat. I couldn't put the book down. The love story she created was so forbidden, yet so beautiful and sacred at the same time. She created Edward to have such amazing human qualities that it was no wonder Bella could fall for him so easily ... I could not blame her one bit.

Well you can bet that I will be buying book two and three of this series. It was that captivating.

(Eclipse - the third book - was reviewed by Pam.)

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

I somehow got sucked into Meyer's Twilight series this past Spring. I blame the captivating cover for drawing me to the book on the shelf and then with the words "I found out he was a vampire" on the back cover sealed my fate. I flew through Twilight and quickly purchased New Moon to discover that the third book, Eclipse, would be released in August. Without giving too much of the series away, the story is set in northwest Washington State where it centers on Bella Swan and her relationship with the Cullen family (vampires), friends at her high school, Jacob Black, and Jacob's tribe on the nearby reservation. Anxious to revisit these characters, I could not wait to get this third book in my hands. Unfortunately, I simply thought that this book in the series was just mediocre. While Meyer does pace her stories slowly, the build up to the climax point in the book fell flat for me as there was not enough action and too much focus on back stories in my opinion. However, Meyer did a good job at both ending Eclipse and opening a doorway for the next book in the series. In the end, despite the slower pace of this book and those complaints, I enjoyed reading this one if only just to "catch up" with the goings-on with Bella in Forks, Washington.