81/100

The Grand Finale by Janet Evanovich

My review

rating: 1 of 5 stars
This was the worst Evanovich book I have read to date. It was the same cheesy romance as the rest of her earlier books. But girl meets guy by spying on him while he is changing. And when she finally sees him naked eventually, he says something along the lines of "See it is more than a few inches." Ewww. The girl's name is Lingdonberry, which is the worst name I have ever heard for a character. There are three random old ladies thrown in, and I am not really even sure where they came from. There is also stuff about school and a pizza place. It seemed like a mess.


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80/100

'Tis The Season: A novel by Lorna Landvik

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
I was in a jam in the library because I didn't have any books to pick up and I needed something to read. I chose this book because I knew Lorna Landvik was an author that I really liked. I wasn't feeling very confident about this book, though, because it was a holiday book (and it's June) and it's written entirely in e-mail format (which is a style that I don't like). While I still don't like this format, I do like her writing. I thought the book had a little substance and it was a quick read.


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79/100

Finger Lickin' Fifteen by Janet Evanovich

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
For this book, I took my love of Stephanie Plum to a new level. I went to Barnes and Noble in Cherry Hill at 10:30 in the morning (would've been earlier if it wasn't for a flat tire) to purchase the book and get a wristband to meet Ms. Evanovich herself. I got wristband #362 and didn't think much of it.

I went to get new tires and I quickly blew threw the first 100 pages. Lula witnesses a murder where celebrity chef Stanley Chipotle is decapitated. Now the murderers are after her, since she is a witness. In order to find the murderers, Lula, Grandma Mazur, Connie and Stephanie infiltrate the barbecue circuit and hilarity and BBQ sauce ensues.

This book was more Ranger focused than Joe focused, which I am not really a fan of. Ranger was having break-in at his surveillance company so he asks Stephanie to help him figure it out. This makes no sense to me, since Stephanie is constantly bumbling through encounters and Ranger can make himself invisible. And honestly? I didn't really see the point to that story because it was wrapped up in like the last two pages and didn't really seem all that important unless it was setting up for another book.

I was nervous about meeting her in case she was mean or something, but it was fine. Her daughter was polling for Joe or Ranger and handing out pins. I bought two books so I asked for 2 pins since one was a gift for my aunt, but she said no, and that I would have to order one from the website and pay for it. I thought that was kind of ridiculous, but whatever. Janet was fine. I thanked her for doing the signing but she didn't answer. Don't know if she heard me or what. I'm still really glad I went, even if I had to drive all over New Jersey and wait 3 hours to get my book signed. I feel really bad for the people that were number 1600-something!


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78/100

The Tea Rose

by Jennifer Donnelly

book data

819 ratings, 4.17 average rating, 248 reviews (more data...)

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book data

all editions

819 ratings, 4.17 average rating, 248 reviews

this edition

741 ratings, 4.12 average rating, 224 reviews

rating	frequency	%
5		42%
4		35%
3		15%
2		4%
1		1%

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published

May 2nd 2006 (first published 2002) by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

my review

rating:
bookshelves:	read (edit)
status:	Read in June, 2009
review:	I read the first couple pages of this book and the thickness of it and the small print, among other things, made me really doubt my choice to read it. I even went back on Goodreads to check the rating to see if it was worth finishing. Fiona Finnegan is a young girl from Whitechapel, a poor area of London. She works at a tea shop and is quite an expert at identifying tea. She contributes her wages to her family (mom, dad, brother, Charlie, brother Seamus, sister, Ellen) but saves a li...more I read the first couple pages of this book and the thickness of it and the small print, among other things, made me really doubt my choice to read it. I even went back on Goodreads to check the rating to see if it was worth finishing. Fiona Finnegan is a young girl from Whitechapel, a poor area of London. She works at a tea shop and is quite an expert at identifying tea. She contributes her wages to her family (mom, dad, brother, Charlie, brother Seamus, sister, Ellen) but saves a little to share with her best friend, and love of her life, Joe. Their dream is to open a shop together within the year, and finally start their lives together. I wasn't really into the story until a number of tragedies enter Fiona's life. Eventually, I couldn't put the book down. My only complaint was I felt that if something could go wrong, it DID. I felt like the book could've had at least 100 fewer pages if only something went right for a change. But overall I loved the book and am so glad I stuck with it.

77/100

The Secret Life Of CeeCee Wilkes

by Diane Chamberlain (Goodreads author)

My review

rating:
bookshelves:	read (edit)
status:	Read in June, 2009
review:	I was a little iffy about this book at first. CeeCee Wilkes is a 16-year-old orphan who falls head over heels in love with an older student who comes into the restaurant where she works. He treats her terribly, but she embraces him as someone to finally love. He ropes her into a scheme to kidnap the mayor's wife in order to get his sister out of jail. The plot goes horribly wrong, and CeeCee's life changes forever. I think I was a little turned off by the length of the book beca...more I was a little iffy about this book at first. CeeCee Wilkes is a 16-year-old orphan who falls head over heels in love with an older student who comes into the restaurant where she works. He treats her terribly, but she embraces him as someone to finally love. He ropes her into a scheme to kidnap the mayor's wife in order to get his sister out of jail. The plot goes horribly wrong, and CeeCee's life changes forever. I think I was a little turned off by the length of the book because after the plan goes through, I was wondering where the book was going to head. I was pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed reading about what happened over the years, and I liked the letters from CeeCee's mom that played into the book at various times. Although there could've been a very unhappy ending, I was happy with how it all wrapped up in the end.(less) (edit)

76/100

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
It has been a long time since I have given a book five stars, but once I started reading The Hunger Games, I didn't have any doubts that it would be a 5-star review. It was literally a book that I could not put down. I stayed up late and finished it within 3 days. I couldn't wait to see what happened next, and I really enjoyed feeling that way about a book again.



After the dissolution of North America, 12 colonies remain. There had once been 13, but one had been destroyed in an uprising against The Capitol. In an effort to keep the districts under control, every year The Capitol holds the "hunger games." In this mandatory televised event, two children are chosen from each of the 12 districts: one male and one female. The 24 kids are expected to fight til the death until only one tribute remains. When the games get too "boring," the Gamemakers add elements like drying up the lakes, or letting loose a gang of mutant predators.



Each chapter basically ends in a cliffhanger, and the whole read was very enjoyable. I can't wait until the sequel comes out in September.


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75/100

Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
It really made me happy that a student brought in a book for me to read. I thought this book was a quick read and an example of how mob mentality can be detrimental, especially in a high school setting.


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