Instructions:
Put an “X” next to the books you’ve read (I am linking the Xs by the books that I've reviewed)
Put a “+” next to the books you LOVE
Put a “#” next to the books you plan on reading

1. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy / Douglas Adams X
2. Kit’s Wilderness / David Almond
3. Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian / Sherman Alexie
4. Speak / Laurie Halse Anderson #
5. Feed / M.T. Anderson
6. Flowers in the Attic / V.C. Andrews X
7. 13 Reasons Why / Jay Asher
8. Am I Blue? / Marion Dane Bauer (editor)
9. Audrey Wait! / Robin Benway
10. Weetzie Bat / Francesca Lia Block
11. Tangerine / Edward Bloor
12. Forever / Judy Blume
13. What I Saw and How I Lied / Judy Blundell
14. Tyrell / Coe Booth
15. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants / Ann Brashares #
16. A Great and Terrible Beauty / Libba Bray X
17. The Princess Diaries / Meg Cabot
18. The Stranger / Albert Camus X
19. Ender’s Game / Orson Scott Card X
20. Postcards from No Man’s Land / Aidan Chambers
21. Perks of Being a Wallflower / Stephen Chbosky
22. And Then There Were None / Agatha Christie
23. Gingerbread / Rachel Cohn
24. Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist / Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
25. Artemis Fowl (series) / Eoin Colfer
26. The Hunger Games / Suzanne Collins X +
27. The Midwife’s Apprentice / Karen Cushman X
28. The Truth About Forever / Sarah Dessen
29. Little Brother / Cory Doctorow
30. A Northern Light / Jennifer Donnelly X
31. Tears of a Tiger / Sharon Draper
32. The House of the Scorpion / Nancy Farmer
33. Breathing Underwater / Alex Flinn
34. Stardust / Neil Gaiman X +
35. Annie on My Mind / Nancy Garden
36. What Happened to Cass McBride / Gail Giles
37. Fat Kid Rules the World / K.L. Going
38. Lord of the Flies / William Golding X
39. Looking for Alaska / John Green
40. Bronx Masquerade / Nikki Grimes
41. Out of the Dust / Karen Hesse X
42. Hoot / Carl Hiaasen
43. The Outsiders / S.E. Hinton
44. Crank / Ellen Hopkins
45. The First Part Last / Angela Johnson
46. Blood and Chocolate / Annette Curtis Klause
47. Arrow’s Flight / Mercedes Lackey
48. Hattie Big Sky / Kirby Larson
49. To Kill a Mockingbird / Harper Lee X +
50. Boy Meets Boy / David Levithan
51. The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks / E. Lockhart X
52. The Giver / Lois Lowry X
53. Number the Stars / Lois Lowry X
54. Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie / David Lubar
55. Inexcusable / Chris Lynch
56. The Earth, My Butt and Other Big, Round Things / Carolyn Mackler
57. Dragonsong / Anne McCaffrey X
58. White Darkness / Geraldine McCaughrean
59. Sold / Patricia McCormick
60. Jellicoe Road / Melina Marchetta
61. Wicked Lovely / Melissa Marr
62. Twilight / Stephenie Meyer X +
63. Dairy Queen / Catherine Murdock
64. Fallen Angels / Walter Dean Myers
65. Monster / Walter Dean Myers
66. Step From Heaven / An Na
67. Mama Day / Gloria Naylor
68. The Keys to the Kingdom (series) / Garth Nix
69. Sabriel / Garth Nix X
70. Airborn / Kenneth Oppel
71. Eragon / Christopher Paolini X
72. Hatchet / Gary Paulsen X
73. Life As We Knew It / Susan Beth Pfeffer
74. The Golden Compass / Phillip Pullman X
75. Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging / Louise Rennison X
76. The Lightning Thief / Rick Riordan
77. Always Running: La Vida Loca / Luis Rodriguez
78. How I Live Now / Meg Rosoff
79. Harry Potter (series) / J.K. Rowling X +
80. Holes / Louis Sachar X +
81. Catcher in the Rye / J. D. Salinger
82. Push / Sapphire
83. Persepolis / Marjane Satrapi
84. Unwind / Neil Shusterman
85. Coldest Winter Ever / Sister Souljah
86. Stargirl / Jerry Spinelli
87. Chanda’s Secrets / Allan Stratton
88. Tale of One Bad Rat / Brian Talbot
89. Rats Saw God / Rob Thomas
90. Lord of the Rings / J.R.R. Tolkien X
91. Stuck in Neutral / Terry Trueman
92. Gossip Girl / Cecily Von Ziegesar
93. Uglies / Scott Westerfeld
94. Every Time a Rainbow Dies / Rita Williams-Garcia
95. Pedro and Me / Judd Winick
96. Hard Love / Ellen Wittlinger
97. American Born Chinese / Gene Luen Yang
98. Elsewhere / Gabrielle Zevin
99. I am the Messenger / Markus Zusak #
100. The Book Thief / Markus Zusak X +

I've read 26, loved 7, and plan to read 3.

The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks
by: E. Lockhart

Challenges: YA Challenge

Published: 2008

# of pages: 352


It's hard for me to review this book. It was a mixture of what I typically think of as shallow young adult reading material and deep, well written young adult reading material. Frankie is a typical 15 year old girl entering her sophomore year at a private boarding school. She's concerned about her appearance, she's interested in boys, and she feels a bit lost without her older sister. What makes Frankie different is that she forces herself to leave her comfort zone and not be the typical 15 year old girl. It almost seems like it isn't quite natural for her to do, which is understandable. Most people want to fit in and Frankie feels the same way, but the part of her that wants to be different ends up winning.

Frankie changed a lot over the summer between her freshman and sophomore year. The changes are mainly physical, but she is also forced to become her own person after her sister goes to college across the country. Frankie discovers that her appearance changes her status at school in ways she never dreamed of. She grabs the attention of her biggest crush, but her quick thinking also plays a part in that. That's one thing about Frankie, she's constantly thinking. Thoughts go through her mind with lightening speed, she analyzes everything and chooses what to say or do in each situation. I greatly admire her character for this trait!

Frankie also discovers that she isn't content to sit in the background and let the seniors she hangs out with walk all over her. If she can't come right out and be a part of their secret society, she decides to take a less obvious approach. She ends up leading an all male secret society while keeping her identity a secret. She's clever, witty, and funny. I was interested to see what she would come up with next and where she was going with her thoughts and plans.

I very much enjoyed this book, in spite of the inevitable modern teenage situations that arise. Thankfully that wasn't overdone, it just made me shake my head at their word choices ("dog," "grodie," "nimrod") and the boy obsession that all the girls have. Frankie's thoughts and her play on words kept me entertained and made me genuinely like her. She's a strong female character (oh yeah, this is a girl power book!) and I thought the feminist ideas presented throughout the novel were appropriate and fit with the theme without being overdone.

I recommend this book to young adults and adults (who enjoy the YA genre) alike. It's appropriate and Frankie's personality and decision making skills are thought provoking.



Other Reviews:
Books Lists Life
Bold. Blue. Adventure.

Have you reviewed this? Let me know and I'd be happy to post yours as well.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
by: Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Published: 2008

# of pages: 274

Quote: "I knew that all children were gruesome, but I don't know whether I'm supposed to encourage them in it. I'm afraid to ask Sophie if Dead Bride is too morbid a game for a four-year-old. If she says yes, we'll have to stop playing, and I don't want to stop. I love Dead Bride.
So many questions arise when you are spending your days with a child. For instance, if one likes to cross one's eyes a lot, might they get stuck that way forever - or is that a rumor?" -Juliet to Sidney pg. 175


Great book! It's very well written and interesting, especially for lovers of literature and writing. What stuck out the most to me was how unique this book is. I've never read anything like it. I had never heard of the island of Guernsey and never heard of the Channel Islands and what life was like there during the German occupation during WWII. The entire book was an interesting view of WWII, one that is made even better by the variety of characters and their different experiences.

The book is completely written in the form of letters. Most of the letters are from or to Juliet Ashton. She is a writer in London in the 1940s who receives a letter from a random man on the island of Guernsey. Little does she know, but that is the beginning of multiple correspondences and friendships that she forms with an entire group of people on Guernsey. This group of friends accidentally started a literary society during the German occupation. While most of the members had never read books for pleasure before, they all discovered a love of literature that reflected their personalities. Juliet is intrigued and decides to learn more.

It took me a little while to really get into the book, mainly because I'm not usually fond of the letter format in novels. However, the second half of the book grabbed my attention and I fell in love with the characters. Juliet's letters are full of humor, there were several times where I laughed out loud. The novel has a little of everything - adventure, mystery, romance, humor... I definitely recommend it to all adults, especially if you are interested in the WWII era, literature, or historical fiction in general. Some older young adults may also enjoy this, but it may be a little intense, plus there is some mild bad language.

Let me know what you thought of this book if you've read it! And I can imagine that this may be made into a movie someday...what would you think about that?


Other Reviews:
Booknotes by Lisa
Dolce Bellezza
BookBound

Have you reviewed this? Let me know and I'd be happy to post yours as well.