Review: The Fault in Our Stars

Author: John Green
Publish date: January 2012
Source: Library
"Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now. 

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind."

I'm a big fan of John Green, but until now, I'd only read Paper Towns and Looking for Alaska. I adored Paper Towns, but I'm wondering if that was because it was my first John Green. Regardless, he is a talented author and The Fault in Our Stars is certainly no exception to that.

One of the things I like best about John Green as an author is how he infuses humor into most situations, and intelligent humor at that. I've read his books as an adult and I love that he does not "talk down" to his readers. He treats them as the smart people that they are. He certainly has a way with words--I loved the vocabulary in this book. Sometimes I thought the dialogue might have been a bit much for teenagers, but overall it was fantastic.

In every review I read of TFIOS, the reader said that he/she cried. Well, folks, here's where I reveal my heart of stone: I do not cry at books. And I did not cry at this one. There were obviously some heavy, emotional moments in this book (full of poignant humor, of course), but I didn't cry. Be prepared to, though. I certainly felt sad...but no tears.

All in all, a great book by a great author. I don't feel that I loved it as much as others, but definitely liked it and finished it in two days. Hazel and Augustus were great characters that I felt I could relate to and I think teens will as well. This is not your typical "cancer book" at all.

Former Favorites: The Face on the Milk Carton

Former Favorites is a fairly new feature in which I highlight a book series that I loved as a child. So far, I have done the BSC, Animorphs, Little House, and Sweet Valley. Today's series is:


The Face on the Milk Carton by Caroline B. Cooney


There are four books in this fantastic series: The Face on the Milk Carton, Whatever Happened to Janie, The Voice on the Radio, and What Janie Found. I remember much more about the first two than the last two, so I will focus on those.

The series is based around a girl named Janie Johnson who, while eating lunch at school, discovered that the picture of the missing child on her milk carton is actually HER. She recognizes her toddler picture and remembers the itchy feeling of the dress. When I read this in late elementary school, it blew my mind. I couldn't even IMAGINE finding out that I was a missing child. It freaked me out, but was insanely intriguing at the same time.

The Face on the Milk Carton basically follows Janie as she tries to find out who she really is and if her parents actually kidnapped her. Her boyfriend, Reeve, is a major part of the story, and probably one of my first book crushes. He was a bit older than her and pretty awesome, as I remember it. I wanted a Reeve.

One of the great things about this series and all Caroline B. Cooney books is that each book is short. They are pretty appealing to people because of that, especially middle schoolers. She is a great writer and I am always sucked into her books immediately, including this series. Give it a try if you never read them as a kid!

Top Ten Tuesday: Playing Hooky (or Spring Break Reads)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is top ten books I'd play hooky with, but I'm changing mine to:

Top Ten Books I Want to Read over Spring Break Next Week



1. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green: Currently reading this one and anticipate being finished soon. As always, the humor is perfect.

2. Graceling by Kristin Cashore: I bought this one and plan to devour it soon.

3. The Vespertine by Saundra Mitchell: Intrigued. On hold at the library.

4. Hallowed by Cynthia Hand: Bought this one and need to read it before I go to RT Teen Day!

5. Lay that Trumpet in Our Hands by Susan Carol McCarthy: This is part of our 10th grade curriculum where I work and I need to read it still! Reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird.

6. Born Wicked by Jessica Cahill: I requested this through the Michigan e-library (MeL), meaning it will come from a library somewhere in the state. Can't wait!

7. The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott by Kelly McNees: I love historical fiction about real people and about LMA? Sounds fun! Another MeL book too.

8. Austenland by Shannon Hale: This one sounds kind of awesome, I'll be honest. Should be ready at the library tomorrow.

9. The Birth of Venus by Sarah Dunant: I have read the first 20ish pages of this and really need to finish it!

10. The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness: My current audio book, which is fantastic.

Review: Cinder

Author: Marissa Meyer
Publish date: January 2012
Source: Library
"Cinder, a gifted mechanic in New Beijing, is also a cyborg. She's reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister's sudden illness. But when her life becomes entwined with the handsome Prince Kai's, she finds herself at the centre of a violent struggle between the desires of an evil queen - and a dangerous temptation. 

Cinder is caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal. Now she must uncover secrets about her mysterious past in order to protect Earth's future."

Cinder got a lot of attention toward the beginning of the year, as it was released on January 3rd. I only read good reviews and really wanted to read it, so I was pretty pleased when my library ordered it and my hold finally arrived last week. I thought Cinder was great and lived up to the hype!

I think Cinder is one the first fairy tale retellings that I've read and it's really making me want to read more. (Feel free to suggest your favorites!) Obviously I had an inkling about what was going to happen since I know the Cinderella story (and I predicted a huge part of the plot about 20 pages in), but the story itself was a lot of fun. The world of New Beijing and the idea of a moon colony was pretty interesting and I think we'll learn a lot more background in the books to come.

I'll admit, it took me a while to get into the story. I knew the plot was interesting, I knew I wanted to read and learn more, but I wasn't completely sucked in until halfway through. At that point, I was barely able to put it down and stayed up entirely too late on a work night to finish. I am really looking forward to the next three books and hope that more of Marissa Meyer's fascinating science fiction world is explored along with continuing Cinder's story. 

Review: Cryer's Cross (audio book)

Author: Lisa McMann
Narrator: Julia Whelan
Publish date: 2011
Source: Library
"Kendall loves her life in small town Cryer's Cross, Montana, but she also longs for something more. She knows the chances of going to school in New York are small, but she's not the type to give up easily. Even though it will mean leaving Nico, the world's sweetest boyfriend, behind. 

But when Cryer's Cross is rocked by unspeakable tragedy, Kendall shoves her dreams aside and focuses on just one goal: help find her missing friends. Even if it means spending time with the one boy she shouldn't get close to... the one boy who makes her question everything she feels for Nico.

Determined to help and to stay true to the boy she's always loved, Kendall keeps up the search--and stumbles upon some frightening local history. She knows she can't stop digging, but Kendall is about to find out just how far the townspeople will go to keep their secrets buried..."

Cryer's Cross is one of those books that has a great premise and some good elements, but just ultimately did not work out for me. I wanted to like it, but it was just disappointing.

The setting in Cryer's Cross was one of the best things about the book. The tiny town in Montana is the same as the title of the book and only had about 200 residents. I love tiny towns that no one has ever heard of, especially ghost or near ghost towns, so I was really excited while listening to the description of the setting. The small town feeling was like another character.

However...there just wasn't enough of anything else in the novel. I didn't feel like Kendall was fleshed out enough as a main character and I didn't like the third person present tense narration. For me, at least, past tense would have been better. Unfortunately, the plot wasn't enough to overshadow the characters. There just wasn't...enough. There could have been a lot more to the mystery and overall plot. It was almost boring at times.

As an audio book, I wasn't too impressed either. The narrator's voice was flat and didn't have much emotion, although my guess is that a different narrator wouldn't have changed my mind about the book.

Top Ten Tuesday: Spring TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is top ten books on my spring to be read list, of which there are MANY. These are books that either aren't out yet or I just haven't read them yet.

The first 3 are in order; not sure about the rest...


1. Insurgent by Veronica Roth

2. Shine by Jeri Smith-Ready

3. Graceling by Kristin Cashore

4. Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

5. Hunting Lila by Sarah Alderson

6. White Cat by Holly Black

7. Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

8. The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

9. Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

10. The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

Review: The Mockingbirds

Author: Daisy Whitney
Publish date: 2010
Source: Library
"Some schools have honor codes.

Others have handbooks.

Themis Academy has the Mockingbirds.

Themis Academy is a quiet boarding school with an exceptional student body that the administration trusts to always behave the honorable way--the Themis Way. So when Alex is date raped during her junior year, she has two options: stay silent and hope someone helps her, or enlist the Mockingbirds--a secret society of students dedicated to righting the wrongs of their fellow peers.

In this honest, page-turning account of a teen girl's struggle to stand up for herself, debut author Daisy Whitney reminds readers that if you love something or someone--especially yourself--you fight for it."

I don't remember hearing about The Mockingbirds or its sequel, The Rivals, at all when they came out. I saw a little bit of chatter about them on twitter and after reading the summary of The Mockingbirds, I gave it a try. I liked the premise and characters, but I didn't like the overall message.

First of all, I love the idea of the Mockingbirds as the actual group at school. A type of secretish society that takes care of problems at school? Love it. All the references to To Kill a Mockingbird were great, although I would caution to read TKAM first so you aren't spoiled by anything. I like boarding schools in novels, because that of course takes parents out of the equation. Themis Academy sounded like a cool place to be with good friends, although I did NOT like how teachers were portrayed as not knowing/caring about students outside of class. I am a teacher, friends, and I am not that naive.

THERE ARE SPOILERS FOR THE ENDING IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH. BEWARE. I REPEAT, SPOILERS.

Onto what I had an issue with: how the main conflict was actually taken care of. Alex is date raped (twice, actually) by a fellow classmate at Themis but never in the entire novel does she GO TO THE POLICE. She went to the Mockingbirds, who proceeded to hold a trial and then punish Carter as they see fit. I don't want young people, especially high schoolers who read this, to get the idea that a group of classmates can take care of this very serious crime. Rape is a crime and you go to the POLICE. Not your classmates. Police. Alex does tell a teacher toward the end, but I was unhappy with how that was portrayed as well. A teacher is not a friend. We are teachers and we take appropriate action, since we are mandated reporters. So yeah, I don't like how the outcome was written. Rape is a crime that deserves police, not teenagers.