Zombie Blondes (Brian James)

Zombie Blondes, by Brian James, was a book I really enjoyed. While other reviews have said it sucked them in right away, it took me until about halfway through the book to get into it. But once I got into it, I was sucked in like my book was a vacuum and I was.. was... something a vacuum sucks up. :)

From the moment Hannah Sanders arrived in town, she felt there was something wrong.

A lot of houses were on sale, and the town seemed infected by an unearthly quiet. And then, on Hannah's first day of classes, she ran into a group of cheerleaders - the most popular girls in school.

The odd thing was that they were nearly identical in appearance: blonde, beautiful, and deathly pale.

But Hannah wants desperately to fit in - regardless of what her friend lukas is telling her: if she doesn't watch her back, she's going to be blonde and popular and dead - just like all the other zombies in this town...

As some of you know, I usually just give ya a summary myself, but I thought you'd be better off with the author's summary this time. Okay, so remember how I said it took a while to get into it? Well, once I did, I couldn't wait to find out the ending! I was in uber-reading mode!! Now, I know that i said there wasn't one, but thats not true. The ending, I will admit, was not my taste. I like knowing what happens. And when Brian James, the author of this book, commented on my post, I was shocked, and very embarassed. Now, when I wrote this post, I had just finished the book, and was kinda mad because I wanted to know what happened soooo badly, and I think I may have been a little bit to harsh on the review. Please, Brian, don't think I'm changing this to something I don't think is true. Because I'm not. I pinky promise. :) But just to let you know, I am SOOO EXCITED that somehow, you found my blog. And btw, you should totally write a sequel! :D And.... If ya want... you could check out my other blog. Its about zombies. :) I'm writing a story that is pretty much the blog, but... book form. :D

Hope to hear from you again,

Ending: 3

Characters: 5

Plot: 5

Writing: 5

Cover: 3

~Lily Benan

Oh yeh, i think my favorite character was either Maggie or Lukas. :D

Sneak Peek #4 and 5#

Zombie Blondes, by Brian James, is one of my two current reads. I usually don't read two books at once, but I forgot my book at school today, and my friend let me borrow hers, and it's really good! So, yup! Up first is a Sneak Peek from Zombie Blondes!

"There aren't any rules to running away from your problems. No checklist of things to cross off. No instructions. Eeny, meeny, pick a path and go." ~Hannah.

I chose this quote because, well, you'll see. I just started the book a few hours ago, and since I'm reading two at once, it might be a little while, but... since only one person reads this, i think she can wait. ;)

AND NOW... for my quote from a much much much different book, It's Kind of a Funny Story (by Ned Vizzini). And for this quote, I'm not gonna start at the beginning of the sentence because its... POINTLESS! And just so you understand why this person is saying this, they are in a mental hospital.

"....and just because I went to my doctor and told him, 'I'm not afraid of dying; I'm only afraid of living, and I want to put a bayonet through my stomach,' that doesn't mean I'm afraid of any of you." ~page 197... and I'm not really sure who said this. But i liked it. I flipped to a random page and... TAA DAAA! :D

Hope you enjoyed, I'll be out with these two reviews... eventually :D Adios!

~Lily

Thirteen Reasons Why (Jay Asher)

Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher, was a brilliantly written book, the idea was so creative! This book was about a girl named Hannah. She has already committed suicide already when the book begins. Clay, the main character (and whose perspective the story is in) finds a set of tapes on his doorstep. 7 tapes. 13 sides. 13 reasons why Hannah killed herself. And not just ANYONE gets these tapes. Only people that are on them get the grand honor of listening to a dead girl talk to them, and explain why they made her kill herself. Superfun! :P Anyway, Clay is confused as hell. Although he was barely friends with Hannah, he had had a big crush on her, and when I say big, I mean HUGE! Not obsessive and stalkerish, but a sweet and innocent crush. he had no clue why HE, the innocent bystander, was part of the 13 stories to why she killed herself. SUSPENSEFULL! Am I right or what?!

The book, instead of being divided in chapters, is divided into tapes. For example, instead of chapter 3, it would say 'Cassette Tape 2, Side A'. Creative, right? AND to make it even funner (not being sarcastic btw, i am a dork and I really think this is cool :P) whenever Clay pauses the cassette tape, it had a little | |> Pause sign. But its real. Not a bad attempt like mine. XD There is also play |> and stop, which I can't do on here. XD Yeh, but Jay Asher is an amazing author, and he has a fantabulous blog! Find it here! It has pictures of the covers from all around the world! They are amazing! Become a follower! Anyway, I definitely recommend this book! It may sound depressing, but I laughed out loud. It IS sad, I'll admit it, but its a great book. A must read! :D

Plot: 5

Characters: 5

Writing: 5

Cover: 5

A 5 star book! *****

~Lily Benan!

Looking For Alaska (John Green)

SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT! I usually never spoil, but I can't do the review without spoiling. I'll write spoiler alert before I spoil, so if you don't want to have this awful book spoiled, you don't have too.

Looking For Alaska, by John Greene.... sucked. No offense to all you lovers of this book, but in my opinion, it was awful. His writing was... uncensored. Now, I don't have a problem with that at all. ZERO problems. BUT this was a book i chose to read for school... my literature teacher does have problems. :P We had to find a quote, and all of the good ones had 'words that were inappropriate for school'. >:( But before I get way into the review, here's my quote. "Sometimes you lose a battle, but mischeif always wins the war." Its a great quote, I know. If only the book was that stunning...

okay, So the setting of this book is at a boarding school, Culver Creek, to be exact. The main character, Miles Halter, nick named and hereafter refered to as Pudge, goes to Culver Creek, the school where his father went. Hoping to start fresh, and have some friends for once, he moves from Florida, to Alabama. He meets his roommate, the Colonel. No clue why that's his nickname, but for some odd reason, it is! Then he meets Alaska Young, a funny, rebellious, self destructive chick. She was my favorite character.

Now, before I continue, I must explain. This book is separated into before and after. for example, instead of chapters, it says '184 days before', then maybe '178 days before' and so on. Then, after the AFTER, it says, '1 day after' and then '4 days after'. So yeh...

Pudge falls in love with Alaska. His friend Takumi (or something) and the Colonel are both friends with her too... bla bla bla.

SPOILER ALERT: do not go on if u don't want the what happened to know about.

Alaska dies. Yep. She does! the "135 days before" yeh well it was 135 days before Alaska died. John Green never even tells you if it was suicide or not. Yes, there were suspicions, but no one even knew for sure.

SPOILER FINISHED

Now, if I had liked this book and wanted you to read it, I wouldn't of spoiled. But I really disliked this book. i haven't disliked a book so much in a long time. So... I definitely don't recommend it.

Plot: 1

Writing: 2

Cover:2

Characters: 4

>:(

~Lily

OH YEH AND IT WON AN AWARD... A PRINTZ AWARD NONETHELESS! >:O

On My Bookshelf/ To Be Read

These are all books that are sitting on my bookshelf, waiting to be read. I'm not going to include Looking For Alaska, by John Green, because I'm currently reading that book. And I'm not doing pictures, too many of them. ;)

Rereading- (books I've already read, but I haven't reviewed because I read them before I started my blog)

ttyl -by Lauren Myracle

ttfn -by Lauren Myracle

l8r, g8r -by Lauren Myracle

the Host- by Stephanie Meyer

Confessions of a Shopaholic- by Sophie Kinsella

How to Ditch Your Fairy- by Justine Larbalestier

Summerland- by Michael Chabon

The Secret Garder- by Frances Hodgsen Burnett

Twilight- by Stephanie Meyer

New Moon- by Stephanie Meyer

Eclipse- by Stephanie Meyer

Breaking Dawn- by Stephanie Meyer

Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants -by Ann Brashares

The Second Summer Of The Sisterhood- by Ann Brashares

Girls In Pants, the third Summer of the Sisterhood- by Ann Brashares

Forever In Blue, the fourth Summer of the Sisterhood- by Ann Brashares

Harry Potter (all 7)- by J.K. Rowling

Not Already Read, but excited to read:

13 Reasons Why- by Jay Asher

Uglies -by Scott Westerfield

Pretties -by Scott Westerfield

Specials -by Scott Westerfield

Extras -by Scott Westerfield- I don't have Extras yet, but I'm going to get it tomorrow.

Blue Bloods -by Melissa de la Cruz

The Forest of Hands and Teeth -by Carrie Ryan

Blood and Chocolate -by Annette Curtis Klause

evermore -by Alyson Noel

Zombie blondes- Brian James

The Geek Girl's Guide To Cheerleading- Charity Tahmaseb and Darcy Vance

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane- Katherine Howe

Not sure what I'm reading after Looking For Alaska....

Can't wait to read 'em all!

~Lily

P.S. I just went to tag everything, but I couldn't because 'the combined length of all the labels must be at most 200 characters'. Crap. Oh well.

Fragile Eternity (Melissa Marr)

Before I write the review, I just wanted to say sorry I haven't posted on here in forever!! I kept wanting to get on, but forgetting!! :( Okay, so here's the review!!!!

Fragile Eternity, by Melissa Marr, was an amazingly well written book. They way she portrays ideas into your mind, you think, "Oh yeh! Why didn't I think of that before!?" I love it!!! How Melissa describes Faerie, I was constantly wishing I was there. Filled with so much art, such as weaving the sky, it was like Lily Heaven! :D

The story line was fantastic as well. I loved learning more about the High Court, Sorcha, and the world of Faerie. Seth is an even major-er (majorer? Don't know how I came up with that one) character in Fragile Eterity than in it's prequels; Wicked Lovely and Ink Exchange, which makes me super happy! Seth is my favorite character! He is so in-control of himself, kind, and artistic. *sigh* I wish he actually existed. Anyway, you'll love every minute that your reading Fragile Eternity.

Also, Radiant Shadows, the fourth book in Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely series, has yet to come out with a release date. As soon as I find that out, then I will post when its coming out! Can't wait!!! :D

Ink Exchange (Melissa Marr)

Ink Exchange, by Melissa Marr, was a wonderful sequel to Wicked Lovely! Unlike it's prequel, which is mainly about the Summer and Winter courts, Ink Exchange is about the Dark Court. Irial, the Dark King, has an ink exchange with Aislinn's mortal friend Leslie. She gets a tattoo that ties her to the king of the Dark Court. He uses her to feed on the emotions of other mortals, which makes his court stronger. Thats all I can really tell you about the story though.

Oh and I love Seth!!!!! He is by far my favorite character! He cares so much about Aislinn, and I often feel bad fore him. Seth 4ever!

One thing I really loved about this book was how Melissa describes all the emotions. The wisps of them, the faint traces, I love it all.

I can't wait to start reading Fragile Eternity!!!!!!!

Overall Rating: 5

Plot: 5

Writing: 5

Characters: 5

Cover: 5

Wicked Lovely (Melissa Marr)

Wicked Lovely, by Melissa, is definitely on my Top Ten Best Books list! (btw sorry I forgot to do a sneak peak! whoops)

Wicked Lovely is about faeries, invisible creatures to the human eye. But not to Aislinn (aka Ash).

Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries.

Rule #2: Don't speak to invisible faeries.

Rule #1: Don't ever attract their attention.

These are the rules Ash has lived by her entire life. has the Sight, inherited from her mother and her grandmother. She sees the faeries, as well as the awful things they do; trip, shove, pull, hit, bit, kick, kill, and torture.

One thing I didn't like was the fact that it took me about 80 pages to get interested. For a while I was just really confused, but once I caught on I understood and it was REALLY good!

Ash meets countless faeries, and becomes entangled with their world, their friends, and their fate. She must make very difficult decisions, many of them involving Seth, her closest friend (as well as my favorite characters),and Keenan, her biggest annoyance. Hearts are broken, rules are forgotten, and true love is felt as summer and winter clash in this enticing novel. Look for a sneak peek (hopefully) and a review of her next book, Ink Exchange!

Writing: 5

Plot: 5

Characters: 5

Cover: 4

~Lily Benan

Don't Judge a Girl By Her Cover (Ally Carter)

Don't Judge a Girl By Her Cover, by Ally Carter, is the third book of the Gallagher Girl series, and for now, the last. (I don't know if Ally is going to write a fourth book... I hope she does).

This book is more centered around Macey McHenry, daughter of U.S. vice-president candidate Senator McHenry. When Cammie visits her at the end of summer vacation, they are attacked, Cammie, Macey, and Preston Winters, the presidential candidate's son. On the roof of their hotel, Macey and Cammie, being the Gallagher Girls that they are, fought off the attackers (aka got lucky), but ended up with some injuries (broken arm, concussion). When Macey comes back to school, a member of the Secret Service comes with her. To class, to lunch, EVERYWHERE! She won't let her leave school grounds, even for a run!

While Macey is continuously taken out of school to attend rallies and parties for the campaign, Bex, Liz, and Cammie decide to follow and investigate. Many questions are asked, not all of them Cammie wants to know the answers to. Spies lie, thats what they do, but all Cammie wants is to find out whats going on!In this thrilling spy story, anything is possible.

Ally Carter really knows how to write to get your attention. Since these books are summaries of Cammie's spy-work (written from Cammie's point of view), Ally made sure to write how a girl in her junior year would probably talk and think.

The only problem I had with this book is that the majority of the many questions asked throughout the story remain unanswered. But, I'm almost sure she'll be writing a fourth, because there are many things left to uncover in Cammie Morgan's junior year at Gallagher Academy. I can't wait to read it (if IT exists, but thats classified :-) I definitely suggest this book!

Writing: 5

Plot: 5

Characters: 5

Cover: 4

ily,

~Lily

Cross My Heart and Hope To Spy (Ally Carter)

Cross My Heart and Hope To Spy, by Ally Carter, is the phenomenal sequel to I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I'd Have To Kill You. Its the second semester in Cammie's sophomore year at Gallagher Academy. Many things happen this year that Cammie never expected.

This book has a much better plot line than the first, you have more unanswered questions (they are answered at the end). One of my favorite characters was Zach. Although he can be a bit cocky at times... (a bit? Try a ton!) he is really sincere and funny.

I'm starting the 3rd book, Don't Judge A Girl By Her Cover, tomorrow. Sorry this review was short but, like all sequels, its hard to do a summary with out giving any thing away.

Writing: 5

Plot: 5

Characters: 5

Cover: 4

Five Stars!!!

~Lily

P.S. Sorry, no sneak peak for this book or the next one.

I'd Tell You I Love You But Then I'd Have To Kill You (Ally Carter)

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You, by Ally Carter, is a book thats really fun to read. While I read it in a day (I would of had the review out sooner but I haven't been on the blogs for long enough), and it was really easy, it had good writing and I didn't want to put the book down.

I'd Tell You I Love You, But Then I'd Have to Kill You is about Cammie Morgan (aka the Chameleon). Her mom is the headmistress at Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women, an all girls school for geniuses. But what normal civilians don't know, its really a school for spies, but they can't know that! They think the Gallagher Girls are just snooty, rich girls. The students take really cool classes, like Countries of the World (COW), Covert Operations (CoveOp), Culture and Assimilation (C&A), and many others. Each girl can speak fourteen different languages, and at meals they have assigned languages. A big sign tells them what language with what accent. For example; they first day of school, they may have ENGLISH:AMERICAN, which would bee English with an American accent. Or one night for dinner, CHINESE:MANDARIN, which, as you (probably) guesses, Chinese with a Mandarin accent. Anyways, the plot starts when their CoveOp's hot teacher Mr. Solomon takes his sophomore class out to a carnival. But its not to play games and win prizes, they've been assigned a mission. Cammie, not having been caught, is about to head home when someone sees her. And when I told you her nickname was Chameleon, NO ONE ever sees her if she doesn't want to be. No one. Even the most paranoid spy she's met (Mr. Smith, COW teacher) But Josh, the boy at the carnival did. She begins to like him, and learns the hard way that a spy girl should never like a normal, unsuspecting boy. None the less vice-versa.

Her roommates and best friends Bex, Liz, and Macey help Cammie through everything, from sneaking out of the mansion (you can't blame town people for thinking their rich little brats), to understanding his messages. Also, they have super cool spy gear, but you'll have to read the book to find out what they are!

Its a really great book, and if your looking for a quick and easy book, read it! I'm almost done with the second one. Review will probably be out later today. I if have time on the computer.

Writing: 5

Plot: 4

Characters: 4

Cover: 4

Overall Four Stars.

ily,

~Lily!

Sneak Peek #3

Okay, so I'm putting in two excerpts from this book. One of them will just be the 'normal' writing, and the other will be one of their 'Summaries of Surveillance'. She's a spy, remember?

Here's the normal context, page 224.

The projector clicked, the image changed, and we had two seconds to study the photo that flashed before our eyes.

"Ms. Baxter?" Mr. Solomon asked. "What's wrong here?"

"The umbrella," Bex said. "There's rain on the window and the coat on the hook is damp, but the umbrella is bundled up. Most people leave them open to dry."

"Very good."

That's crazy! She saw the picture for two seconds, but she identified whats wrong. Smartie. hah. So now the next excerpt is part of their 'Summary of Surveillance'. Its, well, you'll get the point.

Summary of Communication

On October 18, during a routine Driver's Ed assignment, The Operatives noticed that the "fill sign" was marked (in other words, the stone was turned) at the designated letter drop, so Agent Morgan faked a stomachache when everyone else was engaged in a Gilmore Girls marathon and went to retrieve the following:

Okay, so if you dad's not Aquaman, is he The Flash?

Translation: Please think I'm funny, because my self esteem is fairly low, and humor may be all I have got going for me. (Translation done by Macey McHenry.)

Okay, so, the Operatives are: Cammie, Bex, Liz, and Macey, the friends. The letter is from Josh, the boy from the carnival, and the stone turned means that he has put a letter there, and turned the stone so she knows. Its hard to explain though....

~Lily

The Sweet Far Thing (Libba Bray)

The Sweet Far Thing, by Libba Bray, was just as enthralling and amazing as the first two (A Great and Terrible Beauty as well as Rebel Angels). It was a long book (819 pages) but I loved every minute of it. Once again I can't give you a very good summary if you haven't read the first two because I don't want to give anything away. But I'll say somethings about it...

Some authors have a really good series, but then when they get to the last book, they end it, well, not the best way. Libba Bray did NOT do this!! She had a phenomenal ending to the great trilogy.

I loved the constant controversy of Felicity and Gemma, and their disagreements are hilarious, and if you haven't read the book and just flipped to a random page, you'd think they were mad! ;-) A few characters I really enjoyed were; Wendy, Kartik, and Fowlson (especially Fowlson in the climax). Parts of it were like a mystery, and the History of Secret Societies, by Wilhelmina Wyatt are found to have some possible clues.

Mrs. Nightwing, the current headmistress at Spence Academy, becomes a lot kinder to Gemma, and I loved her during The Sweet Far Thing.

Other than the climax, my favorite scene is when Gemma finds the Tree of All Souls. Libba Bray is such a talented writer, she describes it all so well! I wish I could say more, but then I would reveal the secrets that make this novel so great. Life and death, truth and lies, or good and evil, all of it is mixed together in Libba Bray's third book, A Sweet Far Thing. One of the best book series I've ever read!

Writing: 5

Plot: 5

Characters: 5

Cover: 5

Sneak Peek #2

Sneak peak for my book The Sweet Far Thing, sequel to A Great and Terrible Beauty and Rebel Angels. The Sweet Far Thing, page 509.

"You look like your mother. I'm sure she would have wanted to be here for this," Grandmama says, and the moment is ruined utterly. Whatever was struggling from the marble of me is gone.

You'll not mention my mother again, I think, closing my eyes. Tell me how beautiful I look. Tell me how happy we are. Tell me I shall be someone, and there's nothing but blue-sky days ahead.

When I open my eyes, Grandmama smiles at my reflection. "Dear me, aren't you a vision in that dress?"

"The picture of loveliness," the seamstress chimes in.

There. That's so much better.

I should be done with it soon. It taking me a long time to finish because I haven't had much time to read. It'll be out soon! (even though no one will read the review) :(

~Lily

The Book Blogger Contests

The Book Blogger is two great contests!

The first one: is for Revelations, a Blue Bloods Novel, by Melissa de la Cruz. Check it out here.

Post a comment below the post to win a signed copy. for extra entries:

+1 if you comment on the post

+2 for following her blog

+3 for blogging/twittering/etc. about the contest, you must post a link.

Its only for the US and ends July 3rd. Enter now!

The second one is for a SIGNED copy of Kiss of Life! Yay! Here's what you have to do for this one; click here to find the post. Comment something like "enter me!" and you'll be entered. Leave some way to contact you! then...

+1 if you comment on her Waiting on Wednesday post: click here to find that post

+2 if you follow Danielle's blog

+2 post something on your blog or sidebar (like I did right here)

This one ends on June 18th! Hurry and enter!

~Lily

P.S. I'm hoping to add some contests soon!

Rebel Angels (Libba Bray)

Rebel Angels, by Libba Bray, was an amazing sequel to A Great and Terrible Beauty!

Gemma, Ann, and Felicity must find the Temple before Circe does, and it proves a great struggle!

Although I usually give summaries of the books, and I would with Rebel Angels, but it would give too much away! So I'll just tell you about some of my favorite characters and scenes.

I loved many of the characters, most especially Simon. He's so... I can't even think of a fitting word. But he is so witty, and the things he says are so funny. (like the sneak peak). I also love the sirens. Not the evil part of them, but they're so interesting. Azreal is awesome, I loved reading with him in the scene. I love Hester Asa Moore so much, she is so helpful and listens to the girls!

Nell Hawkins, though often disturbing, is very... cool. Even though she is mentally ill, she serves very useful to Gemma.

One part of the book I really like is when Gemma finds the Temple and goes through the waterfall. Its so descriptive and amazing to picture in your head.

I wish Simon was in the book more though, but I still loved it! I'm sorry I couldn't write more, but I want you all to read it and be surprised! I'll start reading The Sweet Far Thing (the third one) straight-away!

Story: 5

Characters: 5

Plot: 5

Cover: 5

~Lily

Sneak Peek #1

I am publishing a 'Sneak Peek' from my current book Rebel Angels, the sequel to A Great and Terrible Beauty. Its on page 408... hope you enjoy. I will have the review out sometime soon. I'm on page 75. 

"There you are," he says, smiling. "Have you saved me another dance?"

I can't help myself. "I thought perhaps you might be dancing with Miss Worthington."

He frowns. "A dance with the carnivorous Felicity? Why? Has she eaten all the other available gentlemen?"

I'm so relieved by this that I laugh in spite of my friendship with Felicity, "I shouldn't laugh. You're being horrible."

"Yes," Simon says, raising an eyebrow. "I'm very good at being horrible."

Ahhh Simon. 

A Great and Terrible Beauty (Libba Bray)

A Great and Terrible Beauty, by Libba Bray, is about four girls that share a spectacular secret.

The book is set in Victorian times, in London. The main character, Gemma attends a boarding school named Spence Academy, after her mothers tragic death from... cholera. (but it was really a murder-don't worry, I didn't give anything away; that's in the first chapter.) The school's aim to turn rambunctious teens into proper ladies to be married off... the sooner the better. Charm, grace, and beauty, thats their motto. 

Gemma is roomed with Ann, a quiet girl who is going to Spence to be made into a governess; she has no money and no family. They are the outcasts, the unwanted, the lower class. The 'ruler of the older girls', Felicity, and her amazingly beautiful accomplice in crime, Pippa, REALLY hate Gemma and Ann. But when Gemma finds out a secret about Felicity that she could easily use against her, they immediately become 'friends'. When the new found foursome find a diary of a former student named Mary Dowd, they began to meet at midnight in a cave to read from it.  

Now I must inform you, Gemma is no ordinary girl. She has visions, she can see things that somewhere in the future come true. She is different.

Mary Dowd, they soon figure out, has powers, too. Along with Sarah Rees-Toome. They, with the help of some unknown group of sorceresses called the Order, can travel to a realm between worlds. Its a place where anything can happen. If you close your eyes and want a butterfly, there's a butterfly. This realm is between our world, and where the dead go for afterlife. The four girls, Gemma, Felicity, Ann, and Pippa, travel to this world through a door of light, created by them all, but mostly Gemma. She is the one with the real power, the one thats taking them to this realm. But when an old family foe is searching for Gemma, she must fight her off, and save the power of the realms and restore the Order. 

As the lies and secrets unravel into truths, Gemma is shocked to find out some awful things. Murders, power-crazed school-girls, and more.

A Great and Terrible Beauty was a '"curl-up-under-the-covers-" book. I enjoyed reading it at EVERY moment. Libba Bray is such a talented author; she conveys ideas so that you are always surprised... but in a good way. A very good way. 

The only thing I did not enjoy about this book was Ann. I really liked her character, which is why I wish she stood up for herself more, fought for what she believed in. She needs more confidence, Libba. 

Other than that I loved the characters! I loved how Felicity was strong and brave. Pippa was a bit conceited, but it made it funny to read. Gemma was so clever, and I really connected to her. She is scared of many things, and very confused. Another character I really loved was Mrs. Hester Moore. She is so creative, especially compared to the other teachers at Spence Academy.

All in all, this is one of my favorite books ever written. If you haven't already, you need to read this!!!

And... I just found out they are making a movie to be released in 2010!

Story: 5

Characters: 5

Plot: 5

Cover: 5

To Be Read...

I think I might start with A Great and Terrible Beauty. I have already read the whole series. But it was a long time ago, so I'm going to reread them and review them.

~Lily

Kiss of Life (Dan Waters)

 Kiss of Life, by Dan Waters, was an amazing sequel to Generation Dead! As we watch Tommy, Karen, Tak, Phoebe, Colette, Adam, and Pete, along with new characters Dom, DeCayce, and Duke weave into the story, you will dread putting the book down.

Phoebe and Adam become a 'thing', as she helps him become more... alive. I love how the chapters from his point of view are written how he would actually think, and how the become more normal as he becomes more functional. 

Tommy begins his trip across America (which he is doing in real life, coming to MY town...yay!) , and sends riveting emails of his stories of traveling the country. Phoebe gets angry at him, and I enjoyed watching their conversations over the internet. 

We meet more characters, like Duke, and you see the true feelings of others. Tragedies strike, deaths (or re-deaths) occur, and more people are turning against zombies.

A must read; I loved this book! I definitely suggest reading it, if you haven't already. Find Tommy Williams at myso-calledundeath.blogspot.com and Dan Waters at watersdan.blogspot.com     Enjoy!

Story: 5

Characters: 5

Plot: 5

Cover: 4

~Lily

P.S. Sorry it took me so long to review it, I finished it a while ago, but haven't had time to write lately. 

The School for Dangerous Girls (Eliot Schreffer)

The School for Dangerous Girls, by Eliot Schreffer, is about girls who go to a school called Hidden Oak, a school meant to make 'dangerous girls' presentable to society.

Angela Cardenas is a teenage girl who has, as a last resort, been sent to Hidden Oak School for Girls, after supposedly murdering her grandfather. When she arrives, the administrators strip her of her clothes, of her make-up, of her... pretty much everything. The put her into a 'school'. But its more like a prison; they beat the students, lock them in freezers, and they THINK they're helping them.

Angela and her fellow prisoners go through a month at the school before actual classes begin. They have 'games' that turn the girls against each other, forming some alliances, but mostly enemies. There is no way to talk their parents into letting them leave, because the teachers convince them that they are mentally weak and cannot be trusted. 

When the 'orientation month' has ended, the girls are separated into gold threads and purple threads. The gold threads are the girls who the teachers think can be helped, and put back into society. But the purple threads have been given up on, and no one knows where they are kept, or if they're even alive.

Angela is determined to expose the school for what it really is, but she's having difficulty, while EVERYTHING is being monitored. Angela devises many plans, most of them don't work. Will she find a way to get her and her friends out of Hidden Oak?

This non-stop thriller made me never want to put the book down. BUT, and thats a big butt ;) once I almost stopped reading. I just felt that she failed so many times, and it was so harsh, but I am glad I kept reading!

Writing: 5

Characters: 5

Plot: 5

Cover Picture: 4

~Lily

You Are So Undead to Me (Stacey Jay)

You Are So Undead to Me, by Stacey Jay, is about Megan Berry, a zombie settler. When people are buried, if they have any unsolved problems, they rise from they grave and find a settler, usually their age, to help them. That's what Megan is, by birth. Zombies come to her house to find her at night, and she gets the information needed to help them settle, then sends them back to their grave. Other than her family and other settlers, no one knows that Megan is one, in fact, most people don't know that zombies exist. Not even her best friend Jess, or her crush, Josh. When people find out that that Megan is going to homecoming with Josh, some sends a Reanimated Corpse after him. An RC (reanimated corpse) is a zombie that is raised by Black Magic, or evil spells, meant to harm or kill someone. They are usually fatal. When someone sends a Reanimated Corpse out to kill Josh, Megan doesn't think anything of it. Then, she decides to go to the homecoming with her settler tutor, Ethan. Someone sends a R.C. after him! Even when no one believes her, she must find out what's going on, and who's sending R.C.'s after all her homecoming dates! As she battles perverted zombies, clones, and obnoxious seniors, Megan Berry's story is made hilarious by the talented Stacey Jay.  Although this book has a few slow parts, I definitely recommend it. You won't stop being surprised by Stacey Jay's clever thoughts!

Hope you enjoyed this review!

~Lily 

Writing: 5

Characters: 4

Plot: 4

Cover Picture: 3

Generation Dead (by Daniel Waters)

Generation Dead, by Daniel Waters, is a phenomenal book that's sweeping the nation. Some, but not all American teens have begun rising from their graves (but they usually rise sooner than they get there). They are trying to live in a society that doesn't except them. Like living students, some zombies (or the politically correct terms "living impaired" or "differently biotic") are smarter than others. Most of the undead move and speak at a very slow rate, but some, such as Karen DeSonne and Tommy Williams speak and move as quickly as the living. Some of the living (breathers) think zombies deserve to be treated as normal citizens, while most others believe they are a sign of the apocalypse, and need to be 'killed'. 

Phoebe Kendall, a gothic teen, falls for the 'head of the zombies' at Oakvale High, Tommy Williams. As Phoebe and Tommy become closer and closer, Phoebe's other best friend Adam, star of the football team, who is in love with her, becomes jealous. It is obvious to everyone, except Phoebe, that Adams loves her. What will Adam do?

As each character changes, for the better, or for worse, you see how they really are, as they deal with America's bioism. Some stand strong, while others cave under the pressure. See what happens with Phoebe, Adam, Tommy, Margi, Colette, and This book is to die for, excuse the pun.

A must read book. Get it before it's gone! Check out Dan Water's blog:

watersdan.blogspot.com

~Lily

Writing: 5

Characters: 5

Plot: 5

Cover Picture: 5

Book Suggestions!

Hey everyone! This is where you can go to my comments folder and put in the name and author of a book that you think I should read n' review! Thanks!

~Lily Benan

Read to Live-Live to Read

Hey! This is my book review blog. I usually read Young Adult (YA) Books. Whenever I read a book, I will post a review on this webpage. I will tag the subject, author, genre, and title, if you wanna check if I have a certain review of a book on the blog. 

I will post a blog (you'll know which one it is) just for books you think I should read and review. Just go to the comments, and say the book and author. Thanks!

~Lily Benan 

P.S. I am trying to add a file (not a post) where you can post books for me to read.