Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender (review by Viola)

Synopsis:
Alexis thought she led a typically dysfunctional high school existence. Dysfunctional like her parents' marriage; her doll-crazy twelve-year-old sister, Kasey; and even her own anti-social, anti-cheerleader attitude.

When a family fight results in some tearful sisterly bonding, Alexis realizes that her life is creeping from dysfunction into danger. Kasey is acting stranger than ever: her blue eyes go green sometimes; she uses old-fashioned language; and she even loses track of chunks of time, claiming to know nothing about her strange behavior. Their old house is changing, too. Doors open and close by themselves; water boils on the unlit stove; and an unplugged air conditioner turns the house cold enough to see their breath in.

Alexis wants to think that it's all in her head, but soon, what she liked to think of as silly parlor tricks are becoming life-threatening--to her, her family, and to her budding relationship with the class president. Alexis knows she's the only person who can stop Kasey -- but what if that green-eyed girl isn't even Kasey anymore?

Review:

So I wish Bella had told this book was a bit on the scary side before I started reading it at around 2 AM by myself and got completely caught off guard! Nevertheless, I ended up liking her choice for me, as usual.

Katie Alender named her book, Bad Girls Don't Die, well. No matter how many times you try, they just don't die. They just end up possessing teenager Alexis' young little sister, Kasey, who does the world's evil with a smile. Thanks to their residence's creepy history of a teased little girl falling to her death, the house is pretty much haunted. As if this wasn't bad enough, the only way to stop Kasey from murdering people is for pink-haired Alexis to get along with the super snotty popular girl in school who scared off her best friend by calling her fat. Now think about this... Is that really worth it?

No, this book really isn't that creepy. Promise. So don't let that scare you off from reading this. My only complaint? That everything worked out so perfectly... Otherwise you're in for a really great paranormal adventure!

Purchase Bad Girls Don't Die via Amazon here.

The School For Dangerous Girls by Eliot Schrefer (Review by Viola)

Okay, I'm starting off with a disclaimer on this one: The following review is about a book quite similar to Shelter Me, the last book I reviewed, so if you weren't into that book, you probably won't like this one.

Well, I recently got a hold of The School for Dangerous Girls by Eliot Schrefer, and as usual I read the book in a block of a few hours, refusing to engage in any communication with the outside world. I'm pretty excited that I haven't run into any not-so-great books recently.

This particular one sparked my interest with the whole 'Dangerous Girl' thing because I can to some extent relate. Angela Cardenas is the typical bad girl who gets way too involved with the wrong guys (*cough* older guys *cough*) and makes various other mistakes including something pretty close to murder.

Needless to say her parents have had enough and off she goes to reform school. Orientation is horrible, and one by one girls are being called away, leaving no traces of their existence behind. Soon, Angela is named, but to her surprise she's greeted with an actual school, better housing, and is reunited with a close friend, Carmen. However Juin, another acquaintance who seems to have become Queen over the girls, never reappears along with several other girls.

***SLIGHT SPOILERS AHEAD***

As difficult as it is to believe, Angela has been classified as a girl who will be able to improve and is a member of the 'Gold Thread'; the few girls who never come back are part of the 'Purple Thread.' Orientation for the Gold Thread members is quite like a birthday party compared to that of the Purple Thread. As good as the accommodations are for the Gold Thread members, that's how bad they are for the Purple thread members.

Angela eventually is placed with the Purple Thread girls. Their living conditions are absolutely atrocious and cause injury and death to many residents of the small, dank basement, until the girls decide that enough is enough.

***SLIGHT SPOILERS FINISHED***

I tried to be briefer with this review and to give a little less detail, though I seem to have failed miserably. I overall enjoyed the book, and the characters were well-developed. There were some points in the book where things got pretty unusual, which I personally don't mind too much, but others might find it difficult to digest. This is a decent read, so when you get the chance, pick it up- especially if you enjoyed or are hoping to read Shelter Me.

-Viola

The School For Dangerous Girls can be purchased here: http://www.amazon.com/School-Dangerous-Girls-Eliot-Schrefer/dp/0545035287/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232850652&sr=8-1

What Would Emma Do? by Eileen Cook (Review by Viola)

So far, I can honestly say that I've liked all the books I've reviewed, but I think this one's my favorite. When Bella first described it to me, she said it was something like a modern day version of Arthur Miller's play The Crucible, which I found to be pretty accurate.

Emma Proctor is a senior in high school, but her senior year isn't turning out to be much fun. She kisses her best friend, Joann's, boyfriend, Colin, over Christmas break and she is, of course, spotted because you can never get away with anything in the small town of super religious Wheaton. Emma absolutely despises the tiny Indiana town and is craving the adventure of the big city, Chicago, which she can only live in if she gets a full scholarship to Northwestern University; this can only be achieved with her track star skills, so she's pretty obsessed with training.

Emma chooses to speak with Colin, and tries to find out if there's anything between them. The two decide to go to a local hangout called the Barn, but once they arrive people are already wasted so they skip it. After Kimberly, daughter of the police sheriff, winds up in the hospital, she and Queen Bee Darci, daughter of Reverend Evers, have to cover their actions, so they come up with a wild story that they're being poisoned and blame the nerds of Trinity Evangelical School. Emma has to decide whether to spill what she knows and risk her scholarship or to let the innocent be punished.

This book started out as something that seemed like another teen love triangle book and ended as an entirely new story. The format Cook uses for her chapters is unique, and not something I've come across before. I actually added this book to my list of favorites on my personal MySpace, so I'd say it's pretty decent; however, it did have a bit of a flaw. Colin tended to tick me off on occasions. One minute he was sneaking Emma off somewhere to confess his everlasting love, and the next he was doting over Joann. I found that as a character he didn't have much dimension; in other words, he was a pretty flat character, but don't let one silly boy keep you from reading an otherwise totally wicked book!

-Viola

What Would Emma Do? can be puchased on Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/What-Would-Emma-Eileen-Cook/dp/1416974326/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1232761299&sr=8-1

Learn more about Eileen and read the first chapter of What Would Emma Do? on her website: http://www.eileencook.com/

Shelter Me- Alex McAulay (review)

After reading the back of this book, I was already excited to get started reading it. Then I actually opened it, and I was instantly wrapped in the story. No slow beginnings here.

Shelter Me by Alex McAulay is a book of non-stop action that will have you hooked immediately. When a book starts off with a girl innocently shopping with her risqué aunt one moment, and then getting bombed the next, you know you’re in for something wicked. Maggie Leigh is living in London during World War II with only her arthritic, religious fanatic mother for company. All of her friends have fled the city because of the constant bombing occurrences, so the only time she’s ever with somebody she likes is when she gets the semi-frequent visit from her aunt.

After the bombing, however, her aunt is seriously injured and her mother panics. She sends her off on a train with a mysterious letter to stay with an uncle, aunt, and cousins she barely remembers. She finally reaches her stop and at first, no one is there to pick her up from the seemingly deserted station. Then a black car creeps up the driveway and out comes a dark figure that surprisingly turns out to be a nun, Sister Bramley. Maggie is at first relieved and then horrified when the nun tells her she’s taking her back to a convent in dreary Wales by her mother’s orders, and is proven by the letter, that says her mother feared for her soul because of her associations with her ‘heathen’ aunt.

The convent is rather similar to a medieval castle and just as foreboding. Then she meets Mother Superior, a lipless burn victim who’s entire face is burned and has eyes for slits, who is her welcoming party. When Mother yells to Sister Bramley to do horrifying things to Maggie, Sister Bramley shows some kind of decency by not obeying Mother Superior’s requests, but a face-to-face confrontation with Mother Superior was quite enough punishment.

Soon after, she meets Kate, another off the beaten path character, similar to her aunt, who has the mouth of a sailor and believes in religion about as much as an atheist. The two hit it off, and Kate gives Maggie tips for survival at the convent. Maggie is then called from breakfast to confessional, but contrary to what all Catholic rules say, it is Mother Superior and not a priest is to hear her confessions. Afterwards, Mother Superior inquires about what Maggie fears most. Intelligently, Maggie lies and says she’s afraid of the ocean, and so her penance is to strip and cleanse herself of her sins in the frigid water of the Atlantic.

A younger girl, Eileen, who is also sent to do penance, joins her and the two make the treacherous climb down the cliff only to be greeted by a Nazi who hold Eileen hostage and tells Maggie to get a few odd things from the convent. By the time Maggie comes back however, Eileen has already shot the Nazi and the dying soldier is rambling about a crate. Maggie and Eileen open it, and the odd things requested are instantly explained; a baby is stowed inside.

The nuns soon discover what happened, and Maggie is blamed for helping the enemy and imprisoned and Eileen has mysteriously run away with the baby. With a little help from Kate, the Maggie escapes and the two find Eileen and the three are on the run. Not long after, Alison, a rich but nice girl who Kate automatically hates because of her social standing, joins the three. From then on, the group are constantly on the run and constantly face one unfortunate event after another.

A lot of the time, the book will have you thinking that you knew exactly what is going to happen but there are constantly new, shocking twists in the story that will throw you off track again, including the ending! This is one of the best books in a long time and I would 100% recommend it to anyone, even if it wasn’t their usual genre

.... Viola ...

Shelter Me (release January 6) can be preordered here:

http://www.amazon.com/Shelter-Me-Alex-McAulay/dp/1416545832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1229709673&sr=8-1

Amor and Summer Secrets- Diana Rodriguez Wallach (review)

So Bella Aire, yeah that girl, decided to give me a book a few days ago. I read the title and immediately thought it was not exactly my type of book, but decided to give it a try, and I was pleasantly surprised.

Amor and Summer Secrets is by an up and coming new author Diana Rodriguez Wallach who has done a wonderful job with her first novel.

The story starts out with Mariana, a girl who is just the average teenage train wreck. Sure she is perfectly behaved and never in trouble, has two best friends, and decent grades but her closed minded community has made her unwilling to change or try new things. Little does she know she’s about to get a major reality check.

Her parents decide to send her and her loser brother to Puerto Rico for the entire summer to spend time with relatives she’s never even met or heard of.. She is absolutely devastated at first; she will miss her best friend’s sweet 16 party not to mention not see either of her friends for two months.

At first the foreign country is everything her nightmares predicted. Nothing is air-conditioned, the food is too spicy, and she has to share a room with her brother. Plus the only other fluent English speaker, her cousin Lilly, who could double as her twin, is getting along perfectly with her brother and his not so nice habits.

After a rocky start, Mariana soon becomes close friends with her cousin and is even learning to tolerate her brother. This new world is opening her eyes to the shallowness of her home and the way her friends are seriously spoiled. She’s even started to fall in love with a Puerto Rican boy, Alex. Unfortunately, her new, happy life is utterly shattered when Alex cuts off all contact, and she finds out her seemingly perfect, upper class family has an ugly skeleton in the closet.

Although the novel ended with a characteristic happy ending, it still had enough twists and turns to keep you interested; I actually locked my door and turned off my phone for a couple hours to finish reading it. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed!

..Viola..

Amor and Summer Secrets can be purchased here:

http://www.amazon.com/Summer-Secrets-Diana-Rodriguez-Wallach/dp/0758225539/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1228778430&sr=8-1

The Firebrand- MZ Bradley (review)

Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Firebrand is a unique retelling of an old legend about Helen and the fall of the city of Troy.

The tale is told from the eyes of Kassandra, a Trojan princess who has no real desire for politics, but rather to become a priestess of Apollo in his temple.

In an attempt to try and get the idea of such nonsense out of her daughter's head, Queen Hecuba sends her daughter off with the Amazons, but though Kassandra comes to love and make lifelong friendships among the women, her decision does not waver, and when she returns she fights for her dream.

Despite her parent's disagreement with her decision, Kassandra is able to achieve her goal, but it does not come without a consequence. She has the 'gift' of foresight thrust upon on her and her visions are disturbing scenes of the ultimate destruction of Troy and all of it stems from the arrival of the most beautiful girl the city has and ever will see, Helen. Her visions come frequently and at the most inconvenient times, always in front of her disapproving family, who believes she has gone mad.

When her brother arrives with Helen, and Kassandra practically goes into convulsions, her family is not exactly thrilled with the impression their daughter is giving to this woman who could mean so much for Troy, and she loses all credibility.

Unfortunately for the community, Kassandra's visions come to life and the city is leveled. Her future is not completely desolate, however, because she later meets and falls in love with Zakynthos. Together they raise Kassandra's son and build a city together where the values instilled into Kassandra by the Amazonian women in her childhood are law, and men and women are not enemies, but partners and equals.

This novel is treasured as one of my favorites and Bradley's writing style always leads me to grow to love these characters as if they were actual people. It actually makes me feel like a real dork, but the way she makes her characters into believable humans is completely flawless.


..Viola..



Buy The Firebrand here:

http://www.amazon.com/Firebrand-Marion-Zimmer-Bradley/dp/0451459245/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226958732&sr=8-1

Meeting Viola Bront

"Hi, there! I'm Viola Bront and I'm a bit on the lazy side. I'm pretty obsessed with learning about history and I love reading books about history, ficional or not. I also enjoy reading nerdy science fiction and fantasy books. I have rather unmanagable curly dark hair that decides to behave on occasions, which comes with a set of matching dark eyes. I like to have fun, which sometimes comes with consequences, but I'm working on trying to stop breaking every rule that's set, especially the ones that are there for good reasons. My lifestyle is a bit out of the norm, but thankfully my friends, a couple are fellow NSCG's, have been pretty supportive about it and I love them for it."

..Viola..


Three songs:

She's a Freak- Hyper Crush
Talks about a girl who's pretty crazy and weird, but catches a lot of attention. It also says she's a freak on the dance floor, and I can't dance so it works out quite well.

Battle of Kadesh- Laurie Ann Haus
This one doesn't really describe me, but it talks about and ancient battle and I love histroy so I had to throw it in.

Jerry Springer- Weird Al
This is "our song" for I guy friend I've known forever, and he's kind of a big part of me.