Moxy Maxwell Does not Love Writing Thank-You Notes

Moxy Maxwell and her twin brother Mark are supposed to spend the last week of Christmas vacation with their father in Hollywood. They are supposed to go to a big Hollywood party, with big Hollywood stars. But first Moxy has to write twelve thank-you notes for the Christmas presents she received the day before. This task is a lot harder than it seems.


Moxy Maxwell Does not Love Writing Thank-you Notes is short and fun. It did not have the charm that I expect out of a children's book though. The photographs were a nice touch, but in many of them it was hard to tell what was going on, because they were shot in color, but copied in black/white. I felt the chapters were much too short, and I didn't really enjoy the dialog. It tried to be funny but just didn't work out. I would have enjoyed the narrative better if it had been from Moxy's point of view instead of an unknown third person. While the book is OK, I wouldn't recommend it.

(An actual review) The Crazy School

Madeline Dare is a reformed Debutante from Syracuse, New York. In the fall of 1989 she moves to the Berkshire Mountains in Massachusetts with her husband Dean. She takes a job as a history teacher at the Santangelo Academy, a “therapeutic” boarding school for outcast teens. One night a student named Mooney punches his fist through a window, and then revels in secret to Madeline that his girlfriend Fay is pregnant. Madeline vows to tell no one but her best friend and fellow teacher, Lulu. When Fay and Mooney are poisoned at Fay’s birthday party, Madeline is arrested for murder. She must then uncover the secrets of this “crazy school” and clear her name at the same time. The Crazy School is a follow-up to 2006’s A Field of Darkness.

The Crazy School is a somewhat accurate portrayal of damaged teens. The Santangelo Academy is a place my parents would most definitely send me if it were real. In fact I’m pretty sure my three brothers would’ve been sent there as well, though they would’ve ran away. The story does not divulge too much into the lives of the mentally-ill and drug addled teens, but instead focuses more on the murder mystery at hand. While I would’ve preferred a deeper look into their lives, I definitely enjoyed this story. Having not read the synopsis or the first book, I was very surprised when the two teens turned up dead, especially since the characters Fay and Mooney were so easy to relate to, I really felt sad for them. Though the book quickly turns into a darker more serious novel, it is filled with dry humor and silly characters like Madeline’s lawyer Markham and the stuffed-toy obsessed Mindy. It is nicely balanced out with the heartbreak felt within the character of Dhumavati, who is the school’s Dean of Students. This novel tackles hot topics such as teen pregnancy, without the political narrative being too overpowering, which I really liked. The ending was definitely not predictable, in fact I was a little shocked when the murderer was finally revealed. Actually I was very shocked! Though at times the book was a little slow-moving, The Crazy School is a good read filled with lots of mystery, a little suspense, and a dash of silliness good for those nights when you just can’t sleep.

I wrote this review a while ago, in fact it was one of the first I did. To sum it up, I love this book, and highly recommend it.

Freeze Frame Review

Heidi Ayarbe’s debut novel, Freeze Frame is certainly very exciting. It’s fast pace, short sentences and back-and-forth timeline makes it almost TOO exciting. Reading this book just nearly drove me into panic attack mode. The novel stars Kyle Caroll, a 15-year-old from Nevada. On a cold Winter morning Kyle and his best friend Jason decide to into the shed. The next thing Kyle knows, Jason is lying on the floor bleeding to death. Kyle has apparently shot his best friend. He then wakes up in police custody, not knowing where he is or that Jason is even dead. The novel is set up like a movie, some scenes are re-shot, and it is filmed out of order. It may seem confusing but it was really easy to get into. I felt really bad for the characters Jason and Kyle. Being a huge movie nerd, I loved all the Pop Culture references. The story’s format makes it all the more heartbreaking, since you only get bits and pieces of the story at a time and it’s up to you to piece them together. This made it a very unique read and though it’s a hefty 300+ pages, I read it in one day. I would definitely recommend this novel for the teen who likes darker stories, but it’s probably not for the Gossip Girl crowd.

A very short review of Emmaline and the Bunny

Emaline lives in the very tidy town of Neatasapin, where Mayor Orson Oliphant has banned everything untidy. Spaghetti is a no-no, and all the wild animals had to go! But the one thing Emmaline longs for most is a wild bunny companion. She finally meets one! But her parents think it's just a dream. What can Emmaline do to convince her parents to give the wild bunny a home?

Emmaline and the Bunny is an adorable book. It's a perfect bedtime story, or anytime story. It'd be good for new readers. I really enjoyed the pictures also, they were simple but very cute.


Yeah I know this is short, IDC it was for the Firstlook thing and they don't care how much you write, OK?

Lion Eyes review

Claire Berlinski is the author of a spy novel called Loose Lips. She lives in Paris and begins exchanging emails with an Iranian man whom she calls the “Lion”. When Claire takes a visit to Istanbul to meet the Lion , she finds herself in the middle of a real-life spy novel, and realizes that not only is the Lion not who she thinks he is, but she isn’t who the Lion thinks she is.



The plot of this book is a little more than confusing at first. In real life, there is an author named Claire Berlinski, and she really did write the 2004 novel Loose Lips. So you could consider Lion Eyes sort of a memoir of another dimension. Now, besides the fact that Lion Eyes was pretty much just a long advertisement for Berlinski’s first novel, Loose Lips, I did enjoy it. The main plot with Claire’s adventures in Istanbul was indeed thrilling, but the ending was kinda blah, and I actually enjoyed the subplot with Sam and Lynne more. Their love story was really sweet, and the ending for them was adorable. Claire’s story didn’t seem to really have an end though, and it kind of left me even more confused then when I started reading the book. I think it does well for a romance/spy novel though, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes those genres.

The Child- Review

Stewie is a gay 15-year-old from a troubled family. He begins a relationship with a 39-year-old man named David, whom he met on the internet. When he is arrested at Grand Central Station and his family finds out, David is charged with molestation. Stewie is forced to testify against him, though he maintains he was not forced into sexual contact. His family does not want him in their house anymore and is upset when a social worker refuses to put him in a juvenile detention center. Eventually he is accused of killing his 7-year-old nephew and tried as an adult.

Eva and Hockey are David’s defense attorneys. Eva is a lesbian who is having issues with her lover Mary. She is also battling health problems. Hockey is a HIV+ gay man whose lover has just died of AIDS. Together they struggle to create a defense for their client without putting too much blame on Stewie, who they feel is also a victim.


The controversial premise may stray people away from The Child, but those who pick it up will not be disappointed. Sarah Schulman is no new face to the LGBT community, and what other authors may avoid like the plague, Schulman takes head on. Dealing taboo subjects- AIDS, homophobia, and teen sexuality, and even pedophilia, the author shows us just how important it is to be educated on these subjects. The Child is a book everyone can learn something from, and it will be appreciated by people of every type.

Review- Run by Ann Patchett

Tip and Teddy were abandoned by their mother as babies and adopted by Bernard and Bernadette Doyle. Four years later Bernadette dies of cancer. The story is set 12 years after their mother dies, Tip and Teddy are now university students, Tip studying to be an ichthyologist (fish specialist), and Teddy considering the priesthood (the Doyle's are Irish Catholics). Their father is the former mayor of Boston and is disappointed since his sons do not want to go into politics. One night they are scheduled to attend a lecture taught by Jesse Jackson with their dad, and after the lecture they get into a heated argument. Tip walks into the middle of the street and narrowly avoids being hit by an SUV, only saved by a woman named Tennessee who is with her daughter Kenya. It is then discovered that Tennessee is Tip and Teddy's biological mother and has been watching them all these years, carrying her daughter Kenya along with her.



Run brings together many concepts- interracial adoption, religion, politics, and family. It has many main characters, and everyone in this story is a protagonist. It has a lot going on at all times, and takes place over the span of just 24 hours. Though I did enjoy the book it is a little more chiclit-ey than I hoped for, and not something I would normally read. I'm not into reading about religion and I didn't enjoy that aspect, but I did like aspect of the Virgin Mary statue, and I think that tied in with the book well. Run is a book you're likely to find at an airport shop. It's perfect for long trips, or maybe a day on the beach.

Weekly Update

Hello everyone that has stumbled across my blog. I decided on Fridays I will do a little update of what books I've gotten this week and whatever else I feel is important. M'KAY


I got the following books this week:

Dark Dude by Oscar Hijuelos (Simon PulseIT)
We All Cant be Rattlesnakes by Patrick Jennings (Harper-Children Firstlook)
Run by Ann Pratchet (BookDivas)

I have read zero (0) of them so far! Yay me!

In other news- I accidentally ate the little push-in gem thing that went on the top of my lip stud. OOPS! I was so engrossed in that delicious pizza I didn't even notice until I started chewing on the stud itself and was like WTF MATE WHY IS THERE A BONE IN MY PIZZA. It wasn't a bone! So I am off to order a new one because I am definitely allergic to the metal in this ring I'm wearing now. I think this time I'll get the pink gem instead of red.

This is all very interesting, yes? I know you love reading about some random persons mouth jewelery. I do it all for you, my creepy stalker friend.

Review- Freefall by Anna Levine

“Absolutely nothing is fair in love and war”

It is 2006, and Abigail Jacobs has just turned 18. She now has to do at least two years of compulsory service in the Israel Defense Force. Aggie does not want a boring desk job so she decides to try out for the elite girl’s combat unit. The first boot camp is really hard, hauling sand bags up and down hills, eating meat out of a can and sleeping with no blankets or pillows on the floor of a little tent. She makes it through and even meets some new friends, she also runs into her crush, Noah, who is also on a combat force. When the Lebanon War of 2006 breaks out, Noah goes to the front-lines and Aggie goes to northern Israel to help her new friend Lily, whose house has been destroyed by a rocket. As the rockets go soaring through the sky, both of their lives are in great danger.

Freefall is a very interesting look at life in Israel. The beginning has a lot of fluff that I didn’t really enjoy, but the middle and end of the book were really good. I liked reading about the Lebanon War of 2006, and the impact it had on the lives of Israelis. Though there are some sad parts, it is mostly a very light-hearted book about war. It definitely could’ve pulled off being gut-wrenching but I’m glad it wasn’t. If you’re looking for a short and fun but informational read about a different culture, Freefall is definitely a book to check out.

First review- Wake by Lisa McMann

Janie doesn’t dream. Well not exactly anyway. When someone around her falls asleep, she is sucked into their dream. She can’t control it and it’s getting annoying. When one of her favorite residents at the nursing home she works at dies and leaves her a mysterious note, Janie’s life is turned up-side down. Janie goes on a school trip to Canada and has a seizure on the bus. This forces her to reveal her secret to her crush, Cabel, who then admits that knew she was in his dream. Janie then goes on an adventure to discover her true powers and take hold of her life. But can she juggle being a “catcher”, her crush Cabel who is apparently selling drugs, and getting into college all at once?


At first I thought Wake was the perfect YA novel. It wasn’t scared of swearing, and tackling hard subjects. It was fast-paced and fun. But at the end it got really corny. The sex scenes were unbearably cliché, and the story-line became even more unrealistic than it already was. The author definitely did her research on dreams, but it didn’t have that paranormal feel I was hoping for. It was an OK quick read, and I’ll probably pick up the sequel at the library when it comes out, but I wouldn’t recommend it.

Welcome

Helllooo....I decided to put all my book reviews on a blog. This is not my main blog. My main blog is on Xanga, and the link is on the right side. It's not very suitable for little kids to read though, because there's lots of swearing, and cursing of Jesus.


Please note that my reviews are not in-depth chapter-by-chapter analysis of an authors work. It is simply two paragraphs, the first a summary and the second an explanation of why I did or did not like a book. OK? Thanks.