Princess Diaries Series Review by Natasha

Natasha Zwijacz

Extreme Reading

Hour: 8

May 25, 2013

            Did you want to be a princess when you were growing up?  Well Mia Thermopolis sure didn’t want to and when she was told that her father was the prince of Genovia, which made her the princess of Genovia, she wanted to run away.  Meg Cabot is an author of many novels and series but her most well-known series is the Princess Diaries.  In Meg Cabot’s Princess Diaries book series readers are introduced to a Mia Thermopolis’ growth over ten novels with a few novellas’s tucked in between.  Mia starts off as a quiet, shy, tall, flat chested female with uncontrollably wild hair but by the time we reach the end of the final novel in the series Mia is more outgoing has had a makeover and figured out who her true friends are and who her heart lies with.  So since Mia started off as a normal teen, she wasn’t perfect and wasn’t good with boys, it made her a very easy character to connect with and what made me want to read the entire series; it also helped that there was a character that Mia falls in love with who Meg describes so perfectly I wish I had a boyfriend like him.

            By the time readers read Forever Princess, the last novel in the series, Mia is getting ready to take on her role as heir to the throne Amelia Migonete Grimaldi Thermopolis Rinaldi princess of Genovia.  She isn’t exactly popular but she has friends who love her and a boyfriend who wants to take her to prom, which is one of the most important things about her senior year.  Now to the outside world Mia seems okay but on the inside she is fighting with herself because Lily still won’t talk to her, and it’s been that way ever since she started dating J.P, and Michael Moscovitz has been back in town and confusing all of Mia’s feelings.  Then prom happens and Mia becomes even more confused but can she really ever make out the truth?

            I was hooked so quickly on this series but Forever Princess really held my attention.  I couldn’t put the book down because Meg Cabot was so clever with her writing.  The most important thing about Mia is that she didn’t let what others say about her affect her in a negative way and she didn’t let the princess thing go to her head.  Now Mia is quiet and self-reserved unless it is something she is really concerned about, like the environment, then she puts her whole heart into it and makes sure that the world knows what is going on.  This is easy for many teens and even adults to connect with because when people care about something they tend to pursue it more strongly than if it is something they do not care about.  So although this is just a fictional novel Meg Cabot does such a fantastic job on writing Mia’s character so as to connect with anyone from teen to adulthood.

            Now the thing about Mia is that sometimes she becomes so hard headed about something that she doesn’t look at the in plain sight facts around her.  Mia wouldn’t listen to Lily when all Lily was trying to do was tell her that J.P. was bad news and that her brother, Michael, didn’t do anything wrong.  Since Mia refused to listen to Lily, Mia lost Lily’s friendship and ended up getting hurt at prom.  What this proves is that being strong headed is great when you are trying to be passionate about something like saving the planet, which Mia was, but being too strong headed can cause many to lose focus and miss important details that can save them from getting hurt.

            So in the end Meg Cabot made it very easy for me to connect with Mia in not only Forever Princess but all of the Princess Diaries books.  She is a very passionate person that I tend to look up to.  Forever Princess was a great end to a fantastic series!  I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who has seen the movies and liked them, likes strong heroines, or drama and romance.

By the Time You Read This I'll be Dead Book Review by Azure

By the Time You Read This I’ll be Dead is a deep with feeling. The book was written by Julie Anne Peters. In the book there is a young teenager who wants to pursue her death in perfection. My personal opinion on the book is I loved it.

After many suicide attempts Daelyn is sure to get it right. When she finds a website for completers-people who execute suicide with perfection, she is determined for death in twenty three days. With every change of school the same suffering is still there. With this new move Daelyn meets a boy a charming boy with the name of Santana. Isn’t it too late for Daelyn to be letting people in her life now?

I personally believe this is an excellent book. I prefer books written in 1st person, with knowing that this book did persuade me. I like how Peters keeps you on edge. She keeps you hanging at the end of the chapters, tries and makes you think as if you are Daelyn. I love how the author became Daelyn. She would make it seem as though you were in Daelyn’s head; you knew what she was thinking. How Daelyn actually felt about the situation but what she did not say or do to change the situation; she just dealt. I loved how this book portrayed the teen view. The author did an excellent job of making it sound like she was a suicidal fifteen year old female instead of a middle aged woman trying to be a teen again. This book made me grow emotions for Daelyn it made you feel and hurt. The author was great at describing you could almost see and feel the suffering of the character.

If I had to say anything bad about this book, it would be that it is very depressing. You want to jump into Daelyn’s life and be there for her. You want the character to know there is other ways out and that this is not a needed procedure to be at peace with yourself. You feel bad for the girl that is suffering and you want to help her, make it stop, hurt the people that did this to her. Then you also have to remember it is just a book and a very good one at that.

I believe that this book deserves 5 stars. I would personally read it again. I believe the book has a great message to it and really opens your eyes to the world, and reality.

Inkheart Book Review By Jake

          Inkheart by Cornelia Funk was a fantastic book. The book has so many twists and turns, you will never want to set it down! Inkheart is about a father who can read things out of books if he reads out loud to his daughter, who he dearly loves. 
          One day, he read the wrong person out of a book. The evil man he reads out of the book is named Capricorn. He wants to go back to his world so desperately, he is willing to use anything and anyone in his power to get that book back and to capture Mo, the man who read him out of the book. 
           I thought the book was great, including the development of the characters throughout the story and all of the plot twists. This story will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat. This book definitely deserves a five star rating. This has been one of the best books I have ever read and I am looking forward to reading the rest of the series. 

Fallen Book Review by Lizett

           Lauren Kate's novel Fallen is a story of romance with a supernatural twist. Fallen tells a story of forbidden love that I can't get enough of.
           Have you ever felt something oddly familiar about someone even though you've only just met them? That's what Luce Price feels about the strange and mysterious Daniel Grigori. He captures her attention from the moment she stepped foot at Sword and Cross Boarding School. Except Danial isn't interested and he makes it very clear, but Luce won't let it go. She wants so desperately to find out what Daniel is working so hard to keep secret, even if it means she won't be able to see the world the same again.
          Fallen is one of the best books I've read about fallen angels. The author wrote so many details that it wasn't hard to visualize the scenes in your head. How she mixed supernatural and romance blew me away, and that kept me waiting anxiously until the end. I loved everything about this page turner. From the beginning to the end nothing disappointed me.
           If you're looking for a dangerous, dark, and exciting book, Fallen is what you've been looking for. I promise you, it won't be a waste of time.

When It Happened Book Review by Bree

The novel that I read was “When It Happens” written by Susane Colasanti. Overall, the book was great; it kept you interested and it was difficult to put the book down.

“When It Happens” was a teenage love story about Sara, a high school senior who was academically driven and had dreams of attending New York University the following year for college. At the beginning of her senior year she thought she had found Mr. Perfect, Dave was the cute popular guy in school that everyone wanted to be friends with. When Sara started dating Dave, people started to notice her and the popular kids wanted to hang out with her, Sara gained the popularity but lost her true friends. While Sarah was dating Dave she lost herself and found that in their relationship, it wasn't the relationship she wanted it to be anymore; Dave pressured her into sex and only cared about what his friends thought, she wasn't happy anymore and Sara was already interested in another guy, Tobey. Tobey was the complete opposite of Dave, he was kind and intelligent and Sara was falling for him. Sara was confused with what she should do so she decided to end things with Dave because when she was with Tobey, she felt sparks fly and she wanted something happen between them.

The novel was a good book, you really felt the emotion of Sara and how she felt throughout each situation. The only thing that I did not like about the book was how it ended. At the end of the book they graduate high school and describe how great college is going to be and how much fun it will be. I wish the author would've written on about how the summer went.

“When It Happens” was a good book and Colasanti.  is such a good author. The book was exciting and it was about a high school relationship that I hoped would turn out good for Sara. After reading this novel, I want to read many more by Colasanti.

Someone Else Life Book Review by Yessica

“Someone Else’s Life” is a great book written by Katie Dale.  I believe none of us would really know how quite we would react if we found out our whole life is basically a lie.  This book does that for us, it puts us in the shoes of almost every character especially the main character named Rosie.   We are able to see how tragic her life and the people that surround her turn out when the truth is revealed.

Rosie is a young girl who is done with high school and like many of us can’t decide what to do with her life.  Yet, there are things that differentiate her dad died when she was young and her mom dies from a rare disease known as Huntington’s.  For the past years she had watched her mom slowly die and feared that she would too have this disease since it’s hereditary.   She had a 50% chance of having this disease until one day a family friend reveals the truth and turns that 50% to 0% by revealing the truth.  That the mom she saw die wasn't her real mom therefor; there was no way she was going to get it.  With her boyfriend this girl Rosie goes out to find her real mother, only to find out her mom wants nothing to do with her.  She finds more than her real mom, she also find her non biological moms real daughter.  At this point she has to decide to either go back home and just live with her life or to reveal the truth.  To reveal a truth about a deadly disease that this young girl might have and destroy not only her, but her family too.

Personally I really enjoyed this book and I’m very picky when it comes to liking book.  It had a lot of suspense which I think is a must because it makes you want to keep reading.  It was also very informative about this disease I didn't even know existed, so I learned a lot.  I also loved that it has a lot of twists and it narrated from two different characters.  It kept me guessing to what the outcome would be, but I got surprised every time.  As I had said before the author does a great job great a scenario, it makes us feel like we as a reader are part of the story?  The only thing I would have like better would be a more detailed ending.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes reading especially books that have conflict and lots of emotion.  I’m sure a lot of people would be able to connect to it, for example I had a connection because I love traveling and so did the characters and I have a mom with cancer so I know what it’s like to have someone you love ill.  I would give this book a big five ***** because I highly enjoyed and really recommend it.

Ender's Game Book Review by Andrew

Ender’s game, by Orson Scott Card, is the futuristic tale of a young boy who is conscribed into Battle School, a space age military school for boys. The story chronicles the protagonist, Andrew, ‘Ender’ Wiggins’ with many conflicts, both internal and external, as he progresses through trials of his destiny to save Earth.

Andrew Wiggins was born a Third, which is prohibited by Earth’s new two-child policy. In a deal to keep their son Ender’s parents agreed that he would be monitored by the Government in a program that searches for potential brilliant military officers for the war against an alien race known as the Formics. Eventually Ender is taken to command school, a military institution for young boys that orbits the Earth. Ender gradually works his way up the rungs of the power ladder when he shows his strategic prowess over his peers in battle simulations, but it is only after numerous grueling tribulations instigated by Commander Graff, who constantly monitors Ender and manipulates situations surrounding Ender to mold him into a strategic genius. When Ender is through with command school he is sent into exile on asteroid 433 Eros to be trained by Mazer Rackham, the man who will teach him everything he needs to know to save Earth from defeat in the war against the Formics. What happens after the war is over is the true surprise.

I think that Orson Scott Card wrote a very interesting and powerful book. I would go so far as to say that this book is a science fiction masterpiece. Card places you in the mind of the protagonist like only a masterful writer could, and the character development is very deep; as Ender goes through changes you can tell, they changes don’t smack you over the head, but they are obvious highlights of the book. Card constructed a story that is difficult to put down, a great plot filled with poignant physical and moral conflict. While the entire book is very compelling, it is in the ending of the book where Card demonstrates his writing prowess. The book resolves itself in a way that is unique and unexpected and it does so with the lilting cadence of a poem. The book’s resolution is Card’s stroke of creative genius. This book is rated a five out of five.