I Heart You, You Haunt Me Book Review by Megan E

                The book I read was “I heart you, you haunt me” by Lisa Schroeder.  This book is quick, sad and heart-warming all at the same time.  I wasn't crazy about the verse set up, but the story itself was really good, and it really connected you to the characters.

                A teenage girl, Ava, just lost “the love of her life”, in a tragic accident.  Now, her dead ex-lover, Jackson is literally haunting her, reminding her constantly of their love together.  Her parents start to become worried about her because she never leaves the house.  Then one day at the beach, she meets a boy named Lyric, and once he asks for her number, she quickly withdrawals, thinking of Jackson, and went home.  Then one night, her friends want her to go to a party with them and her parents insist that she goes.  She tags a long and it ends up being at the place where Jackson died.  One of her friends wants to introduce her to a boy they like, and it ended up being Lyric.  After a while of being at the party, Ava starts losing it and Lyric ended up driving her home.  Towards the end, Ava begins to discover that even though she will always have a place in her heart for Jackson, she can’t separate her life from actual living people and makes a decision that will change her life for the better.

                The only thing I did not like about the book was how it was written in verse.  Otherwise, I thought it was phenomenal.  The author cut right to the chase, and did not make it unclear that someone had died.  It lets me as a reader feel more emotionally connected to the character and story.  “ I've never been to a funeral until today” is the opening sentence, even though it’s really short, it holds so much meaning and sets the tone.   This book showed the stages of grief when you lose someone, and that is something that almost everyone can relate to.

                This book hold a lot of purpose, it showed someone struggling to let go of her best friend, her other half and they had to learn how to cope and live life without them.  They started finding themselves and moving on, but never forgetting.  I loved this book; I would recommend it to anyone.  I give it four out of five stars.

Alice in Zombieland Book Review by Ray

Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter is about a girl named Alice and how her whole world changed after the accident. At first I thought this book was boring so I didn’t really want to read it or get into it but soon after the first chapter I started to get interested. The more I read this book the more I got into it and the more I enjoyed it.

In the book Alice and her family gets into an accident and all but Alice died. Alice life starts to change from where she lives, goes to school, and the people she hangs out with. She goes from this shy fragile girl to a courageous strong girl. She makes many enemies as long as many friends in the end. In the beginning Alice would have never guessed her life would end this way and now she won’t give up what her life has become.

Over all, this book was great; I love the secrets that go on between Alice and Cole. It keeps me on my toes and wanting me to keep reading to know what is going to happen. I didn’t like the very beginning it just really bored me when it was just Emma and Alice talking in the yard. This book doesn’t have too many hard words to read. I also like how the author put the italic words showing that Alice was talking to herself in her head, this made me feel like I knew what she was thinking all the time and that I knew everything about her.

          Alice in Zombieland overall was a great book about Alice and how her whole life gets turned around after the accident. I encourage everyone to read this book if you enjoy zombies and mysteries. This book just keeps you on your toes and gets you hooked the more you read it. I would have to give this book 5 stars.

Flawless Book Review by Yessica

This book is name Flawless and the author is Lara Chapman, this is a fiction book written in 2011.  It’s a book I really enjoyed reading and would encourage others to take the time to read it as well.

A girl named Sarah Burke’s has a body image issue that really makes her self-esteem go down.  She tells everyone that she accepts herself just the way she is, but in this book we see how that small detail of her body really makes up her low self-esteem character.  A new cute boy arrives at her high school and Sarah finds they are perfect for each other, sharing the same like and dislikes.  The only thing that holds her back is that her best friend in the entire world likes that same exact guy.  Being the loyal friend that Sarah is, she has to let go of the idea of having this guy be hers and actually help her friend get into a relationship with a guys she thinks is perfect for her.  The question is... Will she let this small body defect affect her? Will she lose that loyalty towards her friend, in order to get with the guys of her dreams? I suppose you will have to read to find out.

I personally enjoyed this book and would be something I would recommend to anyone.  I believe there are many valuable lessons any reader can learn from this book.  It teaches the reader how important loyalty is, how to embrace our body, how to always speak with the truth and truly try to be happy.  I really liked how the author conveys that perfection isn’t the most important aspect of a person, especially when it comes to body image.  I would have liked if she had added a little more detail at the end , but besides that It was a book I enjoyed reading. 

For anyone who enjoys reading love story’s with conflicts, or anything having to deal with friendship or insecurities, I would highly recommend this book.  I would rate it a 4 star book because I liked it and I’m sure other people would to.  I’m not implying that everyone is going to love this book; many of you can take a meaning out of this book if you gave it a chance.

Speak Book Review by Ashleigh

Speak

            The Book Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is about a teenage girl who has problems with feeling liked and accepted, and even having a problem with even liking herself. In my opinion of Speak; I think it is a great book.

High School days are filled with cliques, and groups that live off of judgment and lies. Trying to be accepted and liked as much as the next person.  Melinda’s freshman year is already ruined and makes high school way much scarier than it already has to be. Melinda is a shy girl and doesn’t like to be exposed and not in control of her life. She finds ways to deal with herself hatred for who she is as a person as her emotions take complete control of her way of thinking.  Melinda’s only close friend left her, instead of helping become the beautiful kind girl that she is, she left Melinda to be destroyed and ashamed of what she has become. Through freshman year she tries to find herself and who she really is and how to speak out to someone that is willing to help.

I think Speak was a stunning book, because it’s Realistic Fiction; they are giving examples of how girls think in high school all the way from freshman to Senior. I think it’s a great book because it’s a book where a girl is insecure about herself image and I can relate to that. For example Melinda is a very timid shy girl that only has a few friends that she really trusts. Melinda is depressed and doesn’t except that she is thin and beautiful. Also Melinda feels like if she does the things she does because she is the one who get to decide whether or not to stop.  In my own opinion there is nothing that is dislikable about the book Speak.  

            The book speak is a great book and could be enjoyed by teens through adults.  I rated this a four out of five, this book is a book about how a girl tries to find herself and tries to come to terms with the past. When she figures out how to deal with the past she understands that her body and her face are not the problem she will open up and just maybe even make a new friend.

Itch Book Review by Bri

Reading "ITCH" by Simon Mayo has really changed my perspective on how I view science. This book made me itching for more, a marvelous piece of work by Mayo. We follow the story of Itchingham   Lofte, "Itch", and his epic adventures revolving around a single rock. When I started this project I was immediately excited when I read the back and seeing that there is an featured augmented reality animation app,  the animation was truly fantastic a short snippet of the book, which part... well you're gonna have to read the book to find out.

Itch is 16 year-old teen who has an unusual hobby: he collects all the elements on the periodic table and it gets him in trouble with his mom, a lot. For instance like an explosion that burns off Itch's eyebrows and automatically demotes his collection to the shed in the back yard and weekly check-ins of his room and his collection. It's just not Itch's week, so to protect his most valuable pieces he brings them to school, which includes wallpaper laced with arsenic. Itch and his cousin Jacqueline, Jack for short, are in the same class, and they are on a trip to the school's greenhouse and when everyone becomes violently ill Itch blames himself because he brought the wallpaper to school. But when Itch and Chloe, Itch's little sister, met up with Cake Itch's "supplier" of almost all of his collection, says that there wasn't enough arsenic to make arsenic gas, so Cake gives him a rock saying that it is an element.  

However when Itch brings the rock to his professor Mr. Watkins, he suggests that they inquire the help of another professor Dr. Flowerdew a chemist; when Dr. Flowerdew runs tests on the rock they find out that it is highly radioactive and Dr.Flowerdew runs out of the school saying that he has a lead container at home. Itch agreed to let Dr. Flowerdew to take it but when Dr. Flowerdew doesn't return it, that's when things get crazy. Itch, Jack, and Chloe are in a race for their lives and a race against time, with the police, secret organizations, and multiple other countries following the three teens every move they only have letter to follow and help them make their decisions. Will Itch, Jack, and Chloe be able to beat the clock before their time runs out, or will the rock fall into the wrong hands?  

I loved this book, I usually don't read books from this genre and I was really surprised on how much I liked the action and thrill. Not trying to be cliché or anything, but this book keep me at the edge of seat the whole way. This being written by a British author, there were a few terms I didn't quite understand. Over all a marvelous book, with a sensational ending that I didn't expect. I would definitely recommended this book to science lovers and to people who don't know what "2Na + 2H2O = 2NaOH + H2" creates, I give this book a 5 out of 5 hands down. An excellent work that should be in everyone's collection.

Hey,

I can’t wait for the sequel that is coming out in 2014. Try to take a moment and look at the Sterling Publishing website for the book, I put the link at the bottom and check the book out, Itch came out this April and is now available and don’t forget the about the app!

http://www.sterlingpublishing.com/itch

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Itch AUTHOR Q&A
AN INTERVIEW WITH SIMON MAYO

SIMON MAYO

is one of Britain’s best-loved and well-known radio DJs. He works for BBC radio, and in 2008 he was recognized as the "radio broadcaster of the year" at the 34th annual Broadcasting Press Guild Awards and the "Speech Broadcaster of the Year" at the Sony Radio Academy Awards. Itch is his first novel, and he’s working on a sequel, Itch Rocks!, scheduled for 2014. Simon lives in England. 1. What gave you the idea for ITCH? A number of things all happening at once! Firstly, my son Joe started to take a real interest in science. Not just a passing interest—a real "let’s talk about quantum mechanics" interest. This was new to us. I thought I’d write him a short story, but it turned into a slightly longer one.
Also, I had just finished a nine year run on a talk show for BBC Radio where we made a point of inviting the world’s top scientists on to explain their ideas. When you have the best teachers, it is impossible to be unmoved by all this stuff! Then I read that someone who collects the periodic table is called an element hunter, and that was that. I was sure someone else must have written the adventures of an element hunter (it seemed such an obvious thing to do). But they hadn’t, so I did! 2. Itchingham Lofte is different from other children his age–his hobby is collecting elements! He doesn’t have a lot of friends and is often teased by his peers. Was it important for you to show your young readers that being different is okay? I didn’t set out with that intention; I just wanted to tell a good story. But I did want to write about an outsider, someone who doesn’t fit the mold of what a 14-year-old boy is "supposed" to be like. The pressure to be the same as everyone else is overpowering for pretty much everyone. Itch is lucky to have Jack and Chloe, though; many outsiders are really just on their own the whole time. Great minds can develop there, but that’s not always a great alternative to friends. 3. Where did your interest in science first begin? Did you have a favorite teacher who was highly influential, like Mr. Watkins? Actually, I never liked science at school. I’m a history and politics man, but when you spend your day researching the great theoretical physicists of the day, it kind of rubs off on you. I think it took me a few decades to realize the beauty and wonder at the heart of science, so I’m playing catch-up here. But this is not a science book. It is an adventure story about a boy who collects the periodic table. 4. The Periodic Table of Elements is almost its own character in the book. Can you explain a little more about the periodic table, and its important history? Well the somewhat baffling lines of boxes, letters, and numbers are everything that there is in the known universe… and unknown universe. You can’t get more important than that! When you look at a chart you can see that it is a bit like the castle that Jude observes, with Hydrogen and Helium being the turrets and the rare earth elements as the moat at the bottom. She doesn’t really get it though! Itch thinks of it more as a map around the known universe.
It was all put together in this form by a Russian chemist called Dmitri Mendeleev in 1869. The elements are listed in order of increasing atomic number—the number of protons in the atomic nucleus (this gets tough quickly). The "period" bit refers to the horizontal rows where there are recurring or "periodic" similarities in some elements. The vertical columns or groups are more important and often the elements in these "families" have very similar properties. In the book where Jacob Alexander is checking his charts and figures he would have found element 126 fits under the Fe, Ru, Os, Hs column (Iron, Ruthenium, Osmium, Hassium).
Of the 118 elements, 92 are found naturally on earth; the rest have to be made in labs, with expensive things like particle accelerators. Chances are your school won’t have one. 5. Element 126–Itch’s discovery–could change the world. Is it possible that more elements could be out there, waiting to be discovered? Yes, absolutely. The Golden Book of Chemistry, which is referred to in the book, came out in 1960 and its table of elements stops at 103 (Lawrencium), but now it stops at 118 (Ununoctium, a temporary and very dull name!).

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6. The book delves into topics like "Gaia Theory" and "The Island of Stability." How much of the book is factual, and how much is not yet reality but still rooted in scientific principles? Can you talk a little about these ideas?I wanted a story where the magic really exists and can/could one day happen. So yes, it is all rooted in science. Gaia Theory is the idea of James Lovelock, "one of the most original and influential living scientists," to quote the UK’s Astronomer Royal, Martin Rees. Lovelock suggests that the earth should be thought of as one big living thing, not a billion different ones; that the earth is alive and looks after itself and disapproves of much that humans do. I know it sounds crazy, and Itch and Jack think so too when Jacob Alexander explains some of his ideas. But James Lovelock is widely respected now and has changed the way many view the earth.
The island of stability really does exist! Or at least, I didn’t make it up—it has been talked about for many years. All the elements at the top end of the table are fantastically unstable and some have only existed for seconds or fractions of seconds. There are scientists who think that there may be some, as yet undiscovered, elements that will be sufficiently stable and courteous enough to hang around for long enough to be quite useful; element 126 would be one of them.7. Some very dangerous and powerful people come after Itch for element 126. How is Itch an unconventional hero in the book? He’s heroic in as much as he wants to do the right thing and has staggering amounts of courage and determination. He makes a mistake early on in the book and is trying to make amends. I think most heroes are unconventional. Very few real heroes would be considered normal. Who wants to be normal?8. Itch uses his science know-how to get himself and his family out of trouble, and to protect his discovery. Do you hope Itch’s adventures could inspire kids to be more interested in science? I have come to realize how thrilling science is and I wish I had discovered this a long time ago! There is a particular need here in the UK for girls to be more interested in science and take it up as a career. Maybe that’s true for the US as well, but with Chloe and Jack at Itch’s side I hope girls find this journey every bit as thrilling as the boys.9. This is your first novel. After successfully working for years in the radio industry in Britain, what made you decide to write fiction? I am constantly surprised by this! The honest answer is that it had never occurred to me before. It was the peculiar coincidence of the events I described above that led me to take pen to paper (or keyboard to screen, if that works). Once I had the element hunter idea I couldn’t stop for fear someone else would get there first. Mid-book, I watched in horror as Daniel Radcliffe sang the periodic table on a British chat show. This was a calamity! The biggest boy hero of our age and he was reciting the whole list (well, as many as Tom Lehrer’s song listed anyway). Surely someone else would get there first! But they didn’t, so here we are…10. What’s next for Itch in the second book, coming out in 2014?AHA! Well I can promise more bone-crunching action. Itch has become the most protected boy in the world and hopes that his drastic actions in book one have been enough to deal with element 126 once and for all. But the forces unleashed by his discovery are very powerful… I don’t want to spoil it by saying any more!
Summary
FOURTEEN-YEAR-OLD ITCHINGHAM LOFTE, nicknamed Itch, has an unusual passion: collecting specimens of every element in the periodic table. But when he gets his hands on a suspiciously warm rock made of a new, previously unknown element, things really begin to explode. Soon, a malevolent teacher, an evil corporation, and a top-secret government agency are all after Itch. Can his science know-how keep him one step ahead of everyone...and help him stay alive?Available at bookstores everywhere. | Visit
sterlingpublishing.com/itch for fun downloads!

Death Note Manga Reveiw by Sterling

Death Note, probably the best manga series I have ever read in my life! Written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata, Death Note has me on the edge of my seat waiting to get my hands on the next one. About a teenage boy who finds himself in the biggest situation and has not only the cops on him or the state and country after him but his own father, all because of a single notebook.              

It takes place in the big city in Japan that is known for not many killing besides the last few years. There is also another world which contains Gods that are called “Death Gods”, they kill people/ anything from other worlds to keep their life going, they each have a notebook to write down in it whether someone is going to die and how and also when.  When a 17 year old boy named Light comes to find one of the Death Notes on the ground he picks it up as a prank. Yet finds out that this single notebook has changed his life forever, he wants to change the world as it is and turn it into a Utopia because of all the current murders. He uses the “death note” to kill all the murderers and “bad” people and finds himself in a bad position getting chased by the cops, a secret organization, and even his own father. Will he be able to find a way to get out of the position he’s currently in, or will he be caught?

Personally I thought that it was very good! It has intense, it makes you think and best of all has a fantastic story line! The book at times would tell you one small thing but if you don’t pay enough attention to it then you won’t get it. For example at one point in the book he says he’s got to find a place to hide the Death Note, and the reader thinks, “Oh ok”, but then later on it becomes amazingly intelligent by the way he hides it, but I’m not going to tell you that…you got to figure that out by yourself.

In total the entire book is great! I, myself, have read the first three books and thought it was fantastic and can’t wait to pick up the next one! I rated this book a four out of five, the story line and plot is probably what keeps me hooked even though I think my favorite part is that Light is able to think the way he does and how he makes you guess threw out the whole book. So if you’re into Manga and graphic novels and confusion, this book is perfect for you.

Interview with Tiger's Curse Author Colleen Houck

Anyone who loves a good romance will not want to miss Colleen Houck's Tiger's Curse series, especially now that the first book in the series is out in paperback!  What I love about these books is that they have a little bit everything: mystery, romance, folklore, and adventure.  To see my reviews of the first two books in the series that I wrote for Daisy Chain Book Reviews click HERE.

In celebration of the paperback release of Tiger's Curse I am posting an interview with Colleen Houck.  Also, after the interview there is a special treat - the recipe for Ren's favorite cookies!!

Happy Reading - Jen

What makes the paperback release different from the hardcover? 

The paperback release will bring in a whole other group of readers. I have several friends who prefer reading paperbacks over carrying around the heavier hardcovers and they're very excited to get their hands on this new version. There is also the chance to update the book and add bonus material which all my fans know I love to write. 

What are you most excited about with the paperback? 

I'm very excited to share Kelsey's recipes! I'm a foodie as most of you can tell from my books and I can say from experience that there's nothing better than sitting down with a new paperback and a hot batch of Ren's cookies. Light a sandalwood candle too and it's like you're in the story. 

Is there something you can tell us about Tiger’s Curse that no one else knows? 

Yes! Pay close attention to Kelsey's dreams because they are foreshadows of things to come later on in the series. 

Ren or Kishan? 

I honestly love both brothers and want both of them to get their happy endings. I didn't think I'd love Kishan as much as I do but he has solidly wedged himself into my heart. 

 Kelsey can be sassy! Why did you choose to make her character so empowered? 

I wanted a heroine who could do all the cool things I'd like to do. I was a big fan of Wonder Woman. She was beautiful and could do amazing things. That's what I wanted for Kelsey. My hope is that my female readers will see that ordinary girls can do extraordinary things. 

Has your day-to-day changed since becoming a NYT bestselling author?!? What does your husband think about it? 

My day to day just gets busier and more hectic every week that passes. My favorite time is when I can just sit down at my computer and get lost in my story. My husband is proud and amazed. He likes to brag about his author wife to perfect strangers and hands out book marks to everyone he meets. 

Last question—do you plan on visiting India? You’ve already done so much research about it! 

I have no immediate plans but I would LOVE to go. I think it would be amazing to see all the locations I've written about. I made a real effort as I wrote to layer my fantasy world on top of real world places because I like the idea of feeling like you could actually step through a doorway into another world. 

Ren’s Cookies 

2 sticks of butter 

••• cup sugar 

••• cup brown sugar 

2 eggs 

1 ••• tsp vanilla 

••• tsp salt 

••• cup dark coco powder 

2 cups flour 

••• tsp baking powder 

••• tsp baking soda 

1 bag of chocolate chips 

••• cup smooth peanut butter 

••• cup brown sugar 

Cream the butter then add sugars. When it’s light and fluffy, add eggs and vanilla. Sift the next 5 dry ingredients and mix with the wet until thoroughly combined. Add one package of chocolate chips (or as many as you like!) to the dough. Mix together the next 2 ingredients to make the peanut butter filling. Then place a spoonful of the chocolate dough on a baking sheet, top with some peanut butter filling, and cover with some more chocolate dough. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-20 minutes depending on cookie size.