Uglies

I just finished "Uglies" by Scott Westerfield. My sister has been trying to get me to read this for awhile and I had too many other things to read. My bookclub has selected this for August and so I had to hunker down and read it. I liked it but I really struggled getting into it. It didn't just grab me and take off like "The Host" did, but I really liked the story. I wanted to read more and find out what happens next so I went to the library today and got the second book "Pretties". it's kind of Sci-Fy in that it's set in the future and they have alot of "advanced technology" stuff. The idea behind the story is that when you turn 16 you go from being an "ugly" to a "pretty" and you undergo major plastic surgery. They make you just the right height, weight, eye color, hair color, nose shape, eye shape, eye spacing, etc., etc.. Basically, everybody is the same and noone is prettier than another. Well, there are two girls. One can't wait to be a pretty and the other one wants to escape and be herself. It's a great story that gets you thinking about what the world would be like if people weren't judged on how they looked because in the end you'd all look the same. Becoming pretty was basically like growing-up. You never got old and wrinkly and you could do whatever you wanted when you crossed the line over to the pretties.
To be honest, I kept putting the Mormon philosophy on things and I kept thinking "this is exactly what Satan wanted. Everybody is the same. Everybody gets what they want and everyone is happy." A point that they make in the book is that everybody is basically "programmed" into believing that the way they look before the operation is UGLY. Your eyes are too close together or your too skinny or too tall or whatever the circumstance may be-you are just ugly. Then you have the surgery and you are pretty and happy with yourself and life is just one big party after that. There is a love story of course and I loved that the author brought out the points that you are beautiful in your own way. That your personality and character flaws and traits really make you the person that you truly are and that you are beautiful-even if your eyes are too close together or you are too skinny. David tells Tally that he thinks she is beautiful and she is shocked...and it makes her think that maybe she really is pretty without all the surgery.
It's a really good book, but just be prepared for a very slow beginning. The book takes some intersting twists and turns and I can't wait to find out what happens next!

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Titans Curse

I just finished reading the third book of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. I just love these books! There's so much action. I feel that the author does a really good job writing the action and resolving it. It's not over in a second and in unbelievable ways. It's really well written and I feel like I'm right there in the thick of it. I can't wait to read the 4th book and find out what happens next! If you like Greek Mythology or Harry Potter then you will love these books. These are great books for boys as well. I know that boys sometimes have a hard time reading books and these are so action packed there's no way you can get bored!

Fablehaven:Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary

I have really enjoyed all of the Fablehaven books so far. This one kind of surprised me. My sister in-law said that she felt betrayed. I already knew part of the secret but have to admit that I was shocked about the rest of it. It's hard not to discuss the details because I'm sure that a lot of you haven't read it. But, I'm also sure that most people don't read this blog so I'll just talk about it anyway.
So, Seth becomes a shadow charmer and I kept wondering if he was going to pull an Anakin Skywalker on me. He has the "dark" powers and Kendra (who is fairykind) has the "light" powers. I felt like the author was trying to do a Dumbledor/Lord of the Rings thing with his advice. Seth was worried that he was going to turn evil since he had these powers and people would say things like "it's up to you to choose how you use those powers" and things like that. Anyway, I hope he doesn't go to the dark side in the last book.
The big secret is that Gavin is really a dragon. I figured that out from the last book. I mean, how could he not be with all of his special talents? A dragon brother? Ya, like any mortal is going to be "adopted" by dragons. So, when he changes into a dragon I was not surprised at all. The shocker for me was that he is the dragon Navarog who is also the evil demon prince. That one I did not see coming. So, I kind of felt betrayed as well because I really liked Gavin. The good news is that he gets defeated by something you wouldn't expect.
One problem that I do have reading these books is that you do not know who is "good" and who is "bad." You learn to just distrust everybody and I don't like that. I don't mind the occasional shocker- like with Gavin- but it just seems like everyone in this book is working for the wrong team. To be honest with you, I wouldn't be surprised if this new character Trask is working for the Society. He seems a little shady to me.
Anyway, despite the twists and turns, I really enjoyed this book and look forward to the 5th and final book. I can't wait to see how it ends.

Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man

Ok, so this is not going to be a very good book review. This was written by Fannie Flagg. She also wrote "Fried Green Tomatoes." I haven't read that book but I have seen the movie. Not my favorite but I know a lot of women like it. Well, this book is just horrible!!! It's the diary of a young girl named Daisy Fay who is 11 when the book starts. She has a rough childhood and EVERYBODY in the book is always drunk. Then it skips to her high school years and that's when the book gets even worse. I was about ready to gouge my eyes out and because I was reading this for a book club I decided to skip to the last few pages to see if it redeems itself. I read the last two entries and thought- "Ok. It's going to get better. Things turn around for her. You discover a secret that I totally did not see coming and it ends mildly happy." NO!!!!! The last part of the book is the WORST part of the book. It says the F-word several times and there's so much swearing and lying and deceiving and the "redeeming" part I thought was going to happen was actually the worst part of the whole book. There's swearing throughout the whole book and I just had enough of everybody being drunk and all the sex talk and I am really disappointed in this book. I can't believe I read the whole thing! I kept saying to myself, "this book is horrible, put it down, don't finish it and just be honest about it at book club." Well, anyway I don't know if I'm at a time in my life when things like this bother me because I am a mom or because I'm trying to be a better person or what, but this is not a "make you feel good-this was a really good book I'd like to read it again" kind of book.
It's set in the late 50's so it's a troubling time when if you got pregnant out of wedlock you were shunned and you could secretly get an abortion and not think twice about it. Drinking was the fashion and everybody and I mean EVERYBODY drank and smoked. It's also set in Mississippi so there's the whole KKK thing as well as all the social classes like white trash and red necks and that sort of thing.
Trust me, you are not missing out on anything and your life will be better if you DO NOT READ THIS BOOK!!!!

The Sea of Monsters

This is the second book in the "Percy Jackson and the Olympians" series. I really liked it and it even had some humorous things in it. It's very adventure packed and just leaves you wanting more and more. I'm really liking this series almost as much as I like the Harry Potter books. I will definitely be collecting these to read to my kids!

Peter Pan in Scarlet

I just finished reading my book for one of the book clubs I belong to. "Peter Pan in Scarlet" by Geraldine McCaughrean. This is the only authorized sequel to the original Peter Pan book. The Children's hospital that Barrie donated all of his royalties to held a contest awhile ago to write a sequel and this was the winner. One of the ladies at book club suggested it for this month and said that she liked it better than the "Peter and the Star Catchers" series. I do not agree with her on that. I liked this book...and I didn't like it. I felt that the writing was a little choppy and it took a long time to get to things. I like books that just grab you right from the beginning and I guess this just didn't do it for me. I haven't ever read the original story and so I don't know if the author patterned her writing style after his. She had great details but she was very wordy in her details.
I like the messages she portrays. She talks a lot about Mothers. How sometimes you feel betrayed or unloved by your mother, but in the end she would do anything and everything for you. I think she portrays that you should always be a kid at heart but you have to be responsible and progress in life as well. You forget what it's like to imagine and have adventures like a child. Sometimes we get caught up in the world and all the grown-up things that we don't look at things in a simpler way and have fun anymore.
The message is awesome...the story is a bit dry for me. I would still recommend reading it though. You might like it better than I did and like I said, it made me want to be a better mother to my children and reminded me that it's ok to be a little childlike sometimes.