Update

Goodness it's been a while huh?  I have been super busy with life and other things i'm involved with so I have not uploaded my reviews here but I have been reading books and writing them so all I have to do is actually write the post.

I wanted to update you all on a few things!
1st  I have been participating in a summer reading program for all ages with my local library so I will be uploading all of those books (Your reviews are giveaway entries so lets hope I win a prize!)

2nd I will be participating in a Gallagher Girl read-a-thon hosted by Books As You Know It and you can find the link at the bottom of this post.  I am so glad they are doing this because the whole GG series and HS have been a big part of my life.  I first read them while I was on vacation to Disney World back in 2008 so there were only two books published at that time. You should definitely check out the host blog because it's pretty awesome (I love the colors.)  Leave a comment if any of you are participating too!

3rd  I will be starting up with weakly reviews again (probably Sundays) so be sure to look for those.


http://booksasyouknowit.blogspot.com/2013/07/sign-up-gallagher-girls-by-ally-carter.html#more

Playing Nice - Rebekah Crane

Playing Nice

Rebekah Crane

Martina "Marty" Hart is really nice. At least, that's what people think. 

It's Marty's junior year at Minster High. Minster's a small town where making great grades, smiling pretty, helping old people, running the new-student Welcoming Committee, and putting up decorations for all the dances--including the totally awful Hot Shot fall hunting celebration--gets you ... what? Marty's not sure. Instead of dreaming about a sororities-and-frats future at nearby University of Michigan, she's restless, searching for a way out of the box her controlling mother and best frenemy Sarah have locked her in. When Lil--don't call her Lily!--Hatfield transfers to Minster, Marty gets her chance. Lil's different. She smokes, wears black, listens to angry punk records, and lives in a weird trailer with her mother. Lil has secrets--secrets that make her a target for all the gossiping and online bullying Minster can muster. But so does Marty. And Marty sees something different in Lil. Something honest. 

Something real. 

PLAYING NICE is the achingly true story of a girl who's been following the rules for so long she's forgotten who she was when she started. It's about falling in love with the wrong people and not seeing the right ones, about the moments in life when you step out of line, take a chance ... and begin to break free.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

First off I love the cover!  The font and the use of colors really makes this book stand out on a bookshelf.

There were a lot of things that irked me about this book and it seems like Crane never went to high school or knew anyone who went to high school.  For example:

1. Band kids do NOT wear their uniforms to school
2. There seemed to be all of these stupid 'rules' in this town/school that make no sense for example "Once you date someone in Minster, you're off-limits for the rest of your high school career.... It's unwritten dating law."   You're kidding me right?
3. She seems to think kids can't text in class whenever they want.

Some of the situations in the book are believable particularly the whole teenage 'Who am I?' crisis but others... eh not so much.  There was one particular thing Marty's mom said I think people could really relate too about how you could love somebody but not always like them.  I also found Marty's view on her and her best friend's relationship changing extremely relatable!  I have been through that myself and I am sure plenty of others have too.

I really thought Marty was an idiot for following Lil outside to sit with her while she smoked and then she was paranoid about people smelling it on her, well Honey if you didn't want anyone to smell it you shouldn't have been sitting next to someone who is smoking illegally.

"And then Matt winks at me. A deliberate, slow, super-sexy wink that makes his hair fall in his face." This just makes me go "What?"  I really wish someone would do this for me as an example because in my mind it just looks weird and how does just eye lid movement make your hair fall in your face?

I hate to say one of the most popular things used in my notes was 'Really!?'

Now lets address the main protagonist Marty!

I did not like her.  She seemed to have an obsession with sex and her virginity.  Some of the thoughts she has about a rocker boy who she has a crush on was just a little too much at times (and keep in mind I am young so this isn't coming from some middle-aged woman) and I was thinking 'What is this?  50 Shades of Teenagers?'.  She keeps referring to her 'rotten and stinky virgin vagina'  (not an exact quote) and I was getting really irritated/tired of it it.  Here is a quote from the book "I'm surprised at how steady my voice sounds and the fact that his leg is touching mine isn't sending my mind into a crazy montage of sex scenes"  reeeally!?.  You know how in some books with angst-y teens they always go on and on about something or how people fish for compliments and it gets really annoying? This was Marty's version of that. 

I understand teenagers have angst and disagreements with their parents but at certain parts of the book Marty was downright disrespectful, immature and overreacting.

She says at one point "It makes me want to tear off my skin and crawl into someone else's. Someone like Lil, who says what she wants, who can sleep with any body and not care and smoke cigarette after cigarette out in the open for the whole town to see.  Who can say you smell like a virgin and I want to get laid and 'Shot through the heart is a terrible theme because no one cares about Bon Jovi anymore!'"  why would you want to be somebody like that?

But what's up with her obsession to become friends with Lil?  Does she not understand that some people might not like her?  Does she think she's that amazing and perfect?   The answer to that is yes.  Through out the book you notice that she's not nice she's actually pretty rude immature and conceited.  She doesn't do things to be nice or helpful she does them for self gain and benefit. 

She seemed to judge and assume things about EVERYONE whether it was Lil when they first met or her mother.  At one part of the book she thinks "I touch my black jelly bracelet.  I was overreacting about Meghan. Matt's busy with guitar and school.  His pothead mom probably doesn't have a computer" did she ever think that Matt's mom feels the same way Lil and her mom do when it comes to stereotypes and people assuming things?

She has these ridiculous rules about dating boys!  For example  "But he's a jock, and I just can't date a jock. I hate the smell of sweat."   Has she never heard of showers? She also went to a party as one boy's date just so she could talk to another guy she even thinks "I'm not supposed to leave with Alex I'm supposed to be with Matt."  Who does that?

I got really tired of her always 'Because it's the nice thing to do' or 'Because that's what a nice person does' now when you just read it it doesn't seem that bad but it's all about context.  You shouldn't have to think about or remind yourself to be a nice person if you really are a nice person.   I also thought the fact that she used curse words was a little out of character for a character who has such high expectations from her parents and is just all around supposed to be perfect and nice.

She has no idea what humility is.

At the beginning of the book I thought I could really relate to Marty but I learned really fast that that was not the case.

I'm glad that Marty finds out who she really is inside and she does grow up some in the last chapter or two but she still has A LOT of growing up to do.  I was glad that she finally understood her mom at the end.

Now it's Lil's turn.

I did like that she seemed to be the voice of reason at certain parts but I found her pretty cliche a lot of the time.
That is all.

The book features quite a bit of poetry written by 'Marty' and I will be honest after the first few poems I started skipping over them.  I understand she write poetry but do we really have read everything she writes?  I found it unnecessary but I'm sure someone out there liked it.

I feel like the only person who would enjoy with book would have to be 13 years old but I wouldn't recommend it for anyone under 16.  I wouldn't consider this a coming of age novel because I don't think this shows Marty or Lil's transition to adulthood. Marty still has A LOT of maturing and growing up to do.   I ended up reading it just to see what happened not because I wanted to (thank goodness it's short!).

Pages:  270

P.S  I actually had to stop about half way through writing this review because It brought up all of my frustrated feelings I had while reading the book!

P.P.S  There is a huge spoiler for West Side Story in this book that I was not pleased about.

Watched - Cindy M. Hogan

It takes more than a school trip to Washington, D.C. to change fifteen-year-old Christy's life. It takes murder.
A witness to the brutal slaying of a Senator's aide, Christy finds herself watched not only by the killers and the FBI, but also by two hot boys.
She discovers that if she can't help the FBI, who want to protect her, it will cost her and her new friends their lives.

My view on the main character Christy was a roller coaster.  One second I thought she was okay and then the next second I couldn't stand her.  She would make decisions that she knew was wrong but just say 'Oh whatever' of course I mean that figuratively.  Another gripe I had was it seemed like a 13 year old wrote the book with the poor judgment, having two boys like her was very cliché, and those two boys carried her around frequently.

The worst part was I wanted to like this book and I would start to get into it but then something would be said or done and I would feel like throwing my tablet (what I was reading the book on) against the wall.

I couldn't stand Christy sometimes!  Here's a list of the things that annoyed me the most.  Don't forget she's only fifteen.
1.  She went to a club just to impress a guy.  She even pretended to drink alcohol to impress him.
2.  She says the only reason to applied for the trip and fully paid scholarship was to (and this isn't an exact quote) 'get out of the house' and get away from her parents.  She wants change because she was known as a nerd and picked on back home.  But keep in mind when she's explaining to the other kids in her group how she doesn't really care for the political and educational value her roommate who could have used the scholarship and deserved it more than Christine did is sitting right beside her.

I felt like some of the characters lacked substance sometimes.  I would have really liked to learn more about Rick.  Also the book never went into who the 'Ice man' was that watches her though out the book.  I really feel like he should have had a bigger part in the book and he would have been an interesting character if he had.

The grammar is this book was HORRIBLE. I really think the author should have found a better editor.  There was misinformation in the book that kept bothering me.

This was a trip for Juniors in high school but at one part they didn't seem to know there was a HUGE FBI HEADQUARTERS in DC.  That was one of the many face palm moments.  Maybe times have changed but it seemed like Hogan had never been on a youth trip back in her day.  There was a lack of security, and I don't mean security guards but the fact that these kids could just come and go at night without anyone noticing was ridiculous.  I know on my trips there was tape on the doors after curfew and the night hotel staff was on the lookout for teenagers running around.

Now I will talk about Jeremy, one of the FBI agents with the task of watching and keeping Christy safe.  I personally really enjoyed his character and wish he had a bigger presence.

What did you think about the book?

Pages : 349
Genre : Young Adult,  Suspense,  Adventure,  Romance,   Mystery,  Thriller,

This Is Why I Sometimes Hate Technology.

I was supposed too upload a book review but my Kindle app updated itself and deleted ALL of my bookmarks and notes!  I am so upset.  That included all of my times, highlights of favorite quotes, opinions, something that stood out, EVERYTHING!

I will try to get it all back and remember my times but just a warning some of my upcoming posts may be lacking substance, times, and quotes.

Rockettes, Rockstars, and Rockbottom - Keltie Colleen

After a foreword from Tony award winning director and choreographer, Jerry Mitchell, Keltie Colleen introduces herself - an average, everyday sort of girl from an average town with average parents. Ever since she can remember, she wanted to be a dancer. Throughout Rockettes, Rockstars and Rockbottom, we watch Keltie move to New York City and follow her dreams. She struggles and overcomes incredible odds to be invited into the world's premier dance company, The Radio City Rockettes. All of her dreams come true just as she falls madly in love for the first time with her complete opposite: a long-haired, whisky-drinking, rockstar. Keltie takes us on an adventure complete with painful missteps on her path to finding love, dealing with loss and working as a performer in the entertainment industry. When rockstar number one breaks her heart, Keltie replaces him with a long-haired, skinny jean wearing clone. And when that relationship ends, she finds herself dancing on the MTV Video Music Award stage making love eyes at her next skinny jean wearing future boyfriend, whose face in the coming months would taunt her from the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Keltie hits rockbottom after finding out that rockstar number three had not only been touring all over the world, but touring the beds of various women. Left in a state of disbelief, she vows to break her addiction to emotionally unavailable men in skinny jeans. She does what any women does when her heart is broken: she cries, stops eating and is sure her life is over. Keltie walks us through the steps of healing heartbreak and finding yourself after your identity is stolen by someone else's heart. Her ability to be honest to herself and then share that with the world is not only incredibly brave, but inspiring. Charmingly
awkward, her resiliency, determination and love of life are truly something to aspire to.
It's the one story we want to hear again and again, a love story with a happy ending.

First off, I liked the structure of dividing it into thirds based on Keltie's relationships and she comes across as very likeable and relatable throughout the book.  I also really enjoyed the design and color scheme of the cover.

I really enjoyed this book for multiple reasons 1. Keltie was a Rockette 2. She dated Ryan Ross (Those Chapters Were the main reason I wanted to read the book) I got this book as a Christmas gift and stayed up reading until 2am. I think all fans of Rocker, Singer, and Dreamer (Nick Perri, Butch Walker, and Ryan Ross) should read it because you see a side that you normally don't see. I also think any dancers who want to pursue a dancing career should read it because it shows you the pains and hard...more I really enjoyed this book for multiple reasons 1. Keltie was a Rockette 2. She dated Ryan Ross (Those Chapters Were the main reason I wanted to read the book) I got this book as a Christmas gift and stayed up reading until 2am. I think all fans of Rocker, Singer, and Dreamer (Nick Perri, Butch Walker, and Ryan Ross) should read it because you see a side that you normally don't see. I also think any dancers who want to pursue a dancing career should read it because it shows you the pains and hard work of being a professional dancer. I did enjoy some of the nicknames in the book like Spagatti and McCheese. In the end, would I recommend this book to someone? Yes! Most definitely. Will I read it again? Probably. (SPOILER ALERT) A few things in the book that "rubbed me the wrong way" was the fact that she says that she didn't even tell her mom about her miscarriage, but she put it in the book (I assume her mother read it) even though I did think it added a little something and that it seems like some of the things she said about her boyfriends (Mostly Ryan Ross) almost seemed like an invasion of privacy. If I were her and I wrote the book I think I would have kept some of the things in the book private (even though she does not actually refer to anyone by their real name it's not hard to figure it out and she's not very subtle if you read her blog) Pages(including thanks at the end): 168 Total reading time: about 3.5 hours