Review: Dash and Lily's Book of Dares

Synopsis:
“I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”

So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the New York Times bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have written a love story that will have readers perusing bookstore shelves, looking and longing for a love (and a red notebook) of their own.

Book: Dash and Lily's Book of Dares
Author: David Levithan and Rachel Cohn
Release Date: October 26th, 2010
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Pages: 272

Review:
Wow! This has to be one of the smartest YA novels that I have ever read. Not only did authors, David Levithan and Rachel Cohn use big, yet understandable words, they wrote their characters in an intelligent, witty way that most teenagers can relate to.

I loved the realness (is that a word?) of this novel. Not only could you actually find a red notebook on a bookstore shelf, but the characters, like mentioned above, are vastly similar to ones self , and, therefore, you understand them and want to get to know them better.

Dash's parents are divorced and haven't talked to each other since their initial separation. This makes it very easy for Dash to trick his parents into letting him stay in New York by himself for Christmas break. Dash tells his mother that he will stay at his dad's house while she's away from the break, and vice versa with his father.

Just the fact that Dash's parents are divorced makes him a normal teenager, and most readers can relate to him. My parents have actually been through a seperation, and, although they do talk to each other, they do go through their fair share of problems, and often prefer to communicate through my sister and myself, rather than with each other. Because of this, I understand exactly what Dash is going through during the Christmas break.

Lily, it seems, is the exact opposite of Dash. Lily's parents are still happily together (in fact, they've taken an anniversary trip to Fiji together for Christmas break), she gets along amazingly with her brother Langston, and she is the stereotype for the perfect, all around good girl. Lily's never been kissed, let alone gone any farther, where as Dash has been a lot further with his ex-girlfriend.

If you can't relate well to "bad-boy" Dash, then you can certainly relate to "good-girl" Lily. This is definitely a nice touch to the story for every teenager because it leaves the book loveable.

Overall, I loved this book. I only had one problem with it, involving the crimson alert, for anyone who's read the novel. But it didn't change my rating.


Overall Rating: *4 Stars*
Cover Rating: *5 Stars*

I'm Back!

So, I'm pretty sure I haven't posted on either of my blogs in nearly a year. Lately, though, I've been getting back into the book community and following people on Youtube.

I've read MANY books in the past couple of months and I will be reviewing them all as soon as possible.

I am also revamping my blog. I'm looking for a new template and the one I'm currently using will most likely bee changed soon. I will be adding a Review Policy page, along with an About Me page, and possibly more.

Feel free to contact me to make suggestions because I would really appreciate it.


Yours' Always,

Isabelle <3

REVIEW: Tan Lines (Katherine Applegate)

Title: Tan Lines
Author: Katherine Applegate
Series?: Yes
Description:
Summer can''t wait to get back to the Florida Keys. She, Marquez, and Diana have already decided to get an apartment so they can spend the whole summer together. But even with her friends by her side, Summer is in for more boy trouble.

Summer''s boyfriend, Seth, is ready to take their relationship to the next level, but he''s all the way across the country in California. Enter Austin, the hottie from spring break whom Summer hasn''t stopped thinking about.

With Austin flirting 24/7 and Seth hundreds of miles away, Summer is about to learn about true love...

Review:
Tan Lines is the sequel to the best selling novel Beach Blondes by Katherine Applegate.

I have to say, I really enjoyed this book. Once again, I found myself relating to nearly all of the main characters.

Katherine does a very good job of mixing plot twists in with a great summer romance.

My favourite twist in this book is when you discover that Jared, the boy who nearly killed himself by driving off of an embankment in Germany that Summer is taking care of for the summer, turns out to be good old Adam. Throughout the entire story, I was wondering why Adam just kind of fell off the face of the earth and why we never hear about him anymore. I have to say, even though Adam was a jerk for not caring about Diana and Summer's near rapes, Adam is probably my favourite male character throughout the entire series.

When I first decided to read the second book in the series, I wasn't quite sure which one I was supposed to read first, Tan Lines, or Spring Break. I decided to go with Tan Lines, and though I was quite confused about a few things, I loved Tan Lines.

Tan Lines, I find, was better written than Beach Blondes was, it had more of a plot.

I recommend reading the entire series.


Rating:

Writing: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Ending: 3/5
Originality: 3/5

Overall: 21/25 = 84% = B

REVIEW: Beach Blondes (Katherine Applegate)

Title: Beach Blondes
Author: Katherine Applegate
Series?: Yes
Description:
Three months. Three guys. One amazing summer.

Summer Smith is in for the best summer of her life. Between the cold weather and her boyfriendless existence in Minnesota, Summer is ready for sun, sand, and boys in the Florida Keys. And by the end of the first day, she has more than enough to keep her busy:

Adam, the senator''s son, has looks, power, and all the money in the world.

Diver, the mystery man, is mellow, intriguing, and definitely unique.

And Seth, the perfect guy...only he has a girlfriend.

But with new friends, cute guys, and miles of hot white sand, Summer''s in for more trouble than she thinks....


Review: Beach Blondes was certainly a fantastic book. Katherine Apple gate did a great job in writing this teen read.

I could really relate to all of the main characters in this novel, which is quite surprising because they're all so different.

Summer Smith is the typical girl next door kind of girl. Summer sets off to live with her Aunt Mallory and cousin Diana in the Florida Keys for the summer. On her plane ride down, Summer sits next to a crazy tarot card lady. The old lady reads her future through the tarot cards, revealing that this summer she will meet three boys. One boy will seem to be dangerous, one will seem to be a mystery and one will seem to be the right guy.

I can relate to Summer in a big way. Summer is just a normal, every day girl. She has no baggage, no strings attached, nothing. I can relate to her when she begins to get caught between two guys. I have definitely been caught between two guys. Like Adam, I had the bad boy, the one who I knew wouldn't be good for me, and would lead me to heartbreak. But, I also had a Seth, the sweet one, the boy who would give his life for me, the one who loved me to the fullest.

Another character that I related with well was Diana Olan, Summer's cousin. In Beach Blondes, Diana is perpetually depressed. She hates contact with actual humans, she can't stand talking, and, despite her better judgment, she always finds herself looking through her mother's medicine cabinet and pulling out her sleeping pills. She uses her mom's pills to reassure herself that if at any time the depression could get to be too much, she always had her mother's pills as an easy way out.

Now, I'm not suicidal, or anything, and I'm not looking for an easy way out, but I've certainly been in that depressed state. I didn't want to have human contact, or talk to anyone at all. If eating was optional, I chose not to, and I certainly never thought I would ever get out of my depression. Of course, like Diana, I eventually got happy again, and increasingly became more social, but I'll never forget that time, or why I was that depressed.

Finally, Maria Marquez, who would rather be called Marquez, becomes Summer's friend in the keys. Marquez is very... outgoing. You can always count on her to speak her mind and she loves being the center of attention. Also, Marquez hates being involved in other peoples' problems, and definitely hates emotions.

I, like Marquez, hate my first name and for the same reason. In Beach Blondes, Marquez admits that she hates her first name because there's too many cuban-american girls whose names are Maria. Me, my reason for using my middle name is that there are too many girls--period--named Hannah, in fact, in my classes in school there was always at least one other Hannah and an Anna.

Also, like Marquez, I hate emotions. I can't express my emotions to people very well, normally I have to write them for people to understand. In the novel, Marquez gets through to other people by painting to show her emotions.

Katherine Applegate is a fantastic author. I love the way that she wrapped romance in with a very dramatic book. I thought this book was a fantastic summer read for all teenage girls and can't wait to read any of her other many books.

Rating:

Writing: 4/5
Characters: 4/5
Plot: 5/5
Ending: 5/5
Originality: 2/5

Overall: 20/25 = 80% = B

REVIEW: Pretty Little Liars (Sara Shepard)

Title: Pretty Little Liars
Author: Sara Shepard
Series?: Yes
Description: Everyone has something to hide-especially high school juniors spencer, aria, emily, and hanna.

Spencer covets her sister's boyfriend. Aria's fantasizing about her English teacher. Emily's crushing on the new girl at school. Hanna uses some ugly tricks to stay beautiful.

But they've all kept an even bigger secret since their friend Alison vanished.

How do I know? Because I know everything about the bad girls they were, the naughty girls they are, and all the dirty secrets they've kept. And guess what? I'm telling.

Review: I really enjoyed this book. I've read it several times before but reading it again hasn't made a difference; I still get that crazy feeling when A does something knew to hurt one of the girls.

Honestly, I would have to say that I could relate to all of the main characters in the book (Even Alison). All five girls were the best of friends originally but once Alison disappeared, they all completely drifted apart. In a sense,I can really relate to that. I mean, no, I haven't had a friend disappear but I have been best friends with a group of girls and then all of a sudden we drifted apart and found new friends.

Spencer Hastings is the uptight, know-it-all who kisses her sister's boyfriend back in the seventh grade and then again in present day. I can really relate to her. Not that I've coveted my sister's boyfriends (which would be extremely weird because my sister's 10), but I'm definitely an uptight know-it-all. I love showing off my knowledge and if something doesn't go my way, there's a problem there.

Aria Montgomery is the weird, kooky (as Sara Shepard once described her as), girl who moved from Rosewood to Iceland shortly after Ali's disappearance. She hooks up with her teacher in the beginning of the novel without knowing it was him and then continues to do so throughout the book. No, I haven't made out with a teacher but I have been that girl that no one really understands. I've been that person that doesn't really fit in with the rest of the crowd.

Emily Fields. Oh, poor, confused Emily. Emily was the one who fell for the new girl. She was the girl that was very confused about her sexuality, and though I have never really been in that situation, I, obviously, know how it feels to be in that confused estate.

Hanna Marin is a character that, I think, any girl could relate to easily. She's the girl who has always been chubbier than the rest. The one with braces. The dorky girl that everyone only likes because she's friends with Alison. After Ali disappears, she decides to get in shape and be the more popular girl. Aside from sharing a name with Hanna (My first name is Hannah, but I go by Isabelle), I've also been that girl who would do anything to be "more popular". Obviously, that never works and it's never really worth it, but still.

Even Alison DiLaurentis, the stuck-up, in control, bitch that can rap everyone around her tiny pinky finger, I can relate to. I've been that girl who just wished I could be in control everyone and everything and when nothing went the way I planned, trust me, is wasn't funny.

Sara Shepard, in my opinion, is a great author. She did an amazing job at mixing mystery in with a love story, and doing it in a way that young girls would love. I swallowed this book whole, along with the rest of the series, and can't wait until Wanted, the 8th book, comes out in June!

Rating:

Writing: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
Plot: 5/5
Ending: 4/5
Originality: 3/5

Overall: 22/25 = 88% = A!