Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Summary: Benevolence is not your typical princess--and Princess Ben is certainly not your typical fairy tale.

With her parents lost to assassins, Princess Ben ends up under the thumb of the conniving Queen Sophia. Starved and miserable, locked in the castle's highest tower, Ben stumbles upon a mysterious enchanted room. So begins her secret education in the magical arts:mastering an obstinate flying broomstick, furtively emptying the castle's pantries, setting her hair on fire... But Ben's private adventures are soon overwhelmed by a mortal threat to her kingdom. Can Ben save the country and herself from tyranny?

My review: I really liked this book. I love novelizations of fairy tales, and this was a good one with a bit of a twist. It was part Sleeping Beauty, part Cinderella, some Jack and the Bean Stalk thrown in for fun, and then something all its own. Princess Ben is not your typical princess. First of all, her name isn’t pretty and feminine – it’s Ben, short for Benevolence( don't get me wrong, Benevolence is a beautifully name and there is absolutely).  Secondly, she is chubby (once again there is absolutely nothing wrong with begin chubby) and graceless. And her life is far from perfect, especially after her parents and her uncle, the king, die on the same day. I love that the story is told from a future Ben’s point-of-view, as she attempts to set the story straight on the events that made her famous. If I being honest: Princess Ben is one wicked awesome princess. The book has four parts. Part one,  went slow to me,even though they were explaining the fantasy world, it was still slow. Part two kept me interest and made me love Ben so much! Part 3. Whole thing was an adventure that I would go on again.  Part four had awesome laughs, good adventure, and some funny but interesting scenes. Altogether, the book was good enough for me to keep reading. The ending, has to be my favorite part of the book, because of the laughs, scenes, adventure, and how much it made me smile. The beginning was slow, but it made me realize, THAT YOU MUST READ 100 PAGES BEFORE YOU GIVE UP ON A BOOK. I was on page 76 when it finally got interesting.  Plump princess, saves prince, lives normally ever after...what more can you want? True their were times I pretty much wanted to smack Princess Ben. In the beginning the main character, Ben, was just a brat with very few redeeming qualities. The other characters (aside from Frederick) were pretty much the same, but the you will learn to like all the characters 
I give this book a 3.5 out of 5. 

Cinder (The Lunar Chronicles, #1) by Marissa Meyer

Summary:Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

My Favorite quote: "That you prefer to rule through fear rather than justice? So sorry, Your Majesty, I’m afraid I already knew that about you"

Check out the book trailer below!!!(it's not amazing. The book is better)

Marissa Meyer has created a fabulously fun and different vision of the future, and a truly awesome take on Cinderella. The characters were wonderful: the stepmother was truly wicked, Cinder was endearing, the prince was charming . . . the world was fascinating, and I loved every minute of it.

This book is bada**. I mean, come on. Robots, Cinderella, China, and creatures on the moon. How awesome does that sound? CINDER was absolutely mind-blowing, and let me tell you, I now have a huge author crush on Marissa Meyer. The writing is absolutely gorgeous and brilliant . If you don't believe in love at first read, after this book you will. This book is basically about Robot Cinderella. In China. In the future. Since I happen to be a total nerd, I LOVE LOVE LOVE this book. Even if you don't consider yourself to a nerd, You will love this book,because who does not love

1) Robots

2)Cyborgs

3)A handsome Asian prince

4) Androids

5) A kickbutt andriod version of Cinderella

If you click on the audio book tab to listen to the book. When you get to the page just scroll down until you see it(underneath it is the title Cinder) 

The Selection

Summary: For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself--and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

My favorite quote: “I hope you find someone you can't live without.I really do. And I hope you never have to know what it's like to have to try and live without them.” 

 This book is basically a sort of messed world meets 'The Bachelor'. Warning : This is NOT The Hunger games. I repeat NOT  the Hunger Games. There is NO death or killing( but yes it can still be condeired  dystopian .... sort of ...partly :) ) .
 It was insanely easy to fall into America's world and I really ended up rooting for her during The Selection; perhaps more importantly, I loved her as a character--she's strong, stubborn, and kind all at once. I should probably also mention Aspen although, to be honest, I didn't love him--I think this has something to do with their relationship already being established and me having a hard time falling for the guy in question when it's like that (and he wasn't present that often either). But don't worry, I do believe that we'll be seeing more of him in the next book--although I seriously don't think that he'll woo me away from Prince Maxon. An absolutely surprising, fun, and engrossing surprise, I couldn’t believe much I loved this book and the characters included. I absolutely adored this book. It was sweet, witty, funny, and a lot better than I imagined it would be.  I'm not going to say that this book is revolutionary and life-changing (it's not :)   ) or anything, but it is more than worth your time. This book far exceeded my expectations. I didn't exactly have high hopes for a novel advertised as The Hunger Games meetsThe Bachelor, seeing as everyone and their cocker spaniel is writing Hunger Gamesclones and The Bachelor is kind of awful, but I was pleasantly surprised.In all honesty, I highly recommend this book to people who don't normally read this genre. If Cass can make me squeal like a fangirl, then there is high hopes for you, my friend

Mind games By Kristen White

Summary: Fia was born with flawless instincts. Her first impulse, her gut feeling, is always exactly right. Her sister, Annie, is blind to the world around her—except when her mind is gripped by strange visions of the future. Trapped in a school that uses girls with extraordinary powers as tools for corporate espionage, Annie and Fia are forced to choose over and over between using their abilities in twisted, unthinkable ways…or risking each other’s lives by refusing to obey.In a stunning departure from her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy, Kiersten White delivers a slick, edgy, heartstoppingly intense psychological thriller about two sisters determined to protect each other—no matter the cost.

My review: This book was something. If it was something good or bad I just can"t decide. For one this book's plot looked a lot like Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me trilogy. Don't get me wrong the book is different from Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me , but the bottom line was the same, which is there's a school that uses children with “special abilities” (the ability to see the future, telekinesis, etc) and uses them for evil. As much as I love most of Kristian White's writing I just think this one is way too close to about a thousand other books out there. I am not going to lie, the book was pretty good, I just think it could have been better.  Some of the characters in the book could have used just a little more life. Fia and Annie are practically the same person. Not only do they sound alike, but they act alike as well. They’re so similar; it’s hard to distinguish them apart. Another thing was that Annie REALLY bothered me. These days, there’s been so many YA books being written about the power and love sisters have for each other ((Hunger Games, The Fifth Wave, Angelfall; ; I could go ON AND ON!); but honestly Annie was the worst sister I’ve read about yet. She doesn’t even THANK her sister for continually risking her life to help keep her alive. She just seems too ungrateful to me in this book.  Another thing that bothered me was Kiersten White never explained how her world formed. She never explained what caused America to so drastically change; what happened to the government, or how these kids even got these superpowers! In all honsety what really attracted me to the book was the cover. Before you go thinking" WOW, She really hates this book " ; understand that I don't. It was a nice book. It was interesting for the most part, it just didn't do it for me. I loved Fia's strength and her desperate need to protect her sister at all costs.  She's strong, sassy, and understands sacrifice better than any YA character I've ever seen. Her character was incredibly complex, and I pretty much wanted to stay in her fragile mind the entire time. When I started looking at the book from a psychological point of view, I began to see how crafty Ms. White had been. Don't get me wrong, it was a bit irritating at first - the constant switching back and forth of POV and from present to past. But, I really began to appreciate the style that White put into the book. And the end? Holy crap! I never saw that one coming. I did understand about Anna's vision while she had it, but Fia's final move? Wow.  I am looking out for second book. OK so you got me. As many issues that I have with this book I still want to find out what happen to the characters . 

I give this book 3.8 stars !!!!!!!!

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Summary:The fifty contestants in the Miss Teen Dream pageant thought this was going to be a fun trip to the beach, where they could parade in their state-appropriate costumes and compete in front of the cameras. But sadly, their airplane had another idea, crashing on a desert island and leaving the survivors stranded with little food, little water and practically no eyeliner.What's a beauty queen to do? Continue to practice for the talent portion of the program - or wrestle snakes to the ground? Get a perfect tan - or learn to run wild? And what should happen when the sexy pirates show up?Welcome to the heart of non-exfoliated darkness. Your tour guide? None other than Libba Bray, the hilarious, sensational, Printz Award-winning author of A Great and Terrible Beauty and Going Bovine. The result is a novel that will make you laugh, make you think, and make you never see beauty the same way again

My favorite quote: 
1)Why do girls always feel like they have to apologize for giving an opinion or taking up space in the world? Have you ever noticed that?" Nicole asked. "You go on websites and some girl leaves a post and if it's longer than three sentences or she's expressing her thoughts about some topic, she usually ends with, 'Sorry for the rant' or 'That may be dumb, but that's what I think.” 
                                                                                          
  2)“You’re prefect just the way you are” is what your guidance counselor says. And she’s an alcoholic. – Pg. 212

BEAUTY QUEENS is a hilarious jab at — well, the American society in general. This book is controversial. Seriously, how can you resist that? There’s the creepy President MoMo who has an Elvis addiction & he has a stuffed dead animal for a General (General Good times) who wears PJ’s to bed that say Silent Killah on them. Where can I get a pair Ms. Bray?Beauty Queens, by far, was the funniest & raunchiest YA I have ever read. Kudos to Scholastic for publishing it! Now what are you waiting for? Go buy a copy now damn it! I need more people to quote it with! Trust me, it’s TOTALLY worth the hardcover price! If you have not read this book, you MUST. Find it and read it. I have heard some people say that this book is a waste of time. All that means is that those people did not look though the obvious, and look at the many amazing messages the author (Ms.Libba Bray) was trying to get us to see.  I thought this book was hysterically funny!! It took a bit to get into this one since it's so different than anything I've read, but I really enjoyed it. The whole thing is fantastic, and Libba Bray really took it to a level of crazy that made it so amazing. It's like Miss Congeniality, Lost, and Pirates of the Caribbean with teenage girls all smooshed and package together. 

The fault in our stars

Summary- Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

Favorite Quotes:"I'm a grenade and at some point I'm going to blow up and I would like to minimize the casualties, okay?"

(Warning : Even those this book it sad. It is amazing, and so worth it. It is a great read. You will laugh, smile, chuckle, and cry.)

This book turned out to be one of those books that you hate so much , yet it is impossible not to love. I hate that it made me laugh and cry all at once. I hate that it made me so sad that I was happy. After reading this book I sat and cried. I hate that it made me smile so  much.  After I was done with this book, I asked why did I do this to myself? I hate that this story is stunningly overwhelming, insightful, irreverent, raw and devastating...and to quote Markus Zusak, it's the kind of story reading which" You laugh, you cry and then you come back for more." 

This book decided  armed itself with adorably precocious teenage characters ( that I fell in complete love with) delivering insanely quotable lines while dying from cancer. All I have got to say is.... that's not cool,  not cool at all. For most of this book I was like, " I not crying, my eyes are just really sweaty" . After reading this book I was all like

I wish so badly I could give this book more than 5 stars. John Green is absolutely amazing(and sort of a twisted dude for coming up with something so sad and happy at the same time) . The Fault in Our Stars had me laughing and crying, then laughing more and crying more. I will reread this over and over again. And even better..... there is a movie coming out based on the book the trailer is below. 

Hunger games By Suzanne Collins

Summary-In a dark vision of the near future, a terrifying reality TV show is taking place. Twelve boys and twelve girls are forced to appear in a live event called the Hunger Games. There is only one rule: kill or be killed.When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her sister's place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.



My favorite quote(s):
1) I volunteer! I volunteer as tribute.

2)Here's some advice. Stay alive.

3)May the odds be ever in your favor!

(I know I only ever pick one favorite quote, but this book just had so many!!!!!!)


I LOVE THIS BOOK! I've said to a few people that if I could, I'd have to marry this book. :) THE HUNGER GAMES is a fantastic, breathless and somewhat brutal read that once you start you simply can’t put down again. At first I had no idea what this book was about or what to expect in terms of YA writing, it had just been recommended to me by so many people and had such a buzz surrounding it that I had to find out for myself why.

Allow me to rant for a second : oh my god, this book is outstanding. I love Katniss!!! I loved Peeta!!! I love this world that Suzanne Collins has created!!! At times I found myself wishing I lived in this world( even though that may not be a smart or reasonable idea)

Once you start this book it is impossible to put back down. I remember carrying this book with me every where I went. I remember staying up till 5 am and not noticing because I wanted so badly to know what would happen at the end.

This book is a definite 5 out of 5  

Heist Society Ally Carter

Summary:When Katarina Bishop was three, her parents took her on a trip to the Louvre…to case it. For her seventh birthday, Katarina and her Uncle Eddie traveled to Austria…to steal the crown jewels. When Kat turned fifteen, she planned a con of her own—scamming her way into the best boarding school in the country, determined to leave the family business behind. Unfortunately, leaving “the life” for a normal life proves harder than she’d expected.

Soon, Kat's friend and former co-conspirator, Hale, appears out of nowhere to bring Kat back into the world she tried so hard to escape. But he has a good reason: a powerful mobster has been robbed of his priceless art collection and wants to retrieve it. Only a master thief could have pulled this job, and Kat's father isn't just on the suspect list, he is the list. Caught between Interpol and a far more deadly enemy, Kat’s dad needs her help.For Kat, there is only one solution: track down the paintings and steal them back. So what if it's a spectacularly impossible job? She's got two weeks, a teenage crew, and hopefully just enough talent to pull off the biggest heist in her family's history--and, with any luck, steal her life back along the way.

My Favorite Quote: "It is an occupational hazard that anyone who has spent her life learning how to lie eventually becomes bad at telling the truth."

Heist Society is a brilliant read! It was fun and fast paced and I loved every minute of it. Katarina(Kat) is a 15 year old retired thief or was until she was forced to get back in the family business in order to save her Dad. Her father has been set up, and accused of stealing paintings from a mobster type of guy that lead to some very dangerous consequences. With help from her crew including the amazingly yummy Hale she is going to steal the painting back and clear her father's name. But this is the biggest and most dangerous heist of Kat's life.

Ally Carter has written a well thought out plot. They were surprises around every corner and it certainly kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved that I could never predict what was going to happen next.There not many book that can do that. It was exciting and wonderfully addictive. 

 I'll be honest, what first drew me to this book was the cover. I was not expecting much out of this book. I was just expecting it to be one of those books you read before you find another good one. I was wrong. I have no clue how to describe how awesome this book was. Who would have thought I would feel sympathy for a thief? Not me, but Ally Carter made Katarina such a normal, relatable girl with quite a problem on her hands. I couldn't help but like her and her crazy family.