Saturday, May 30, 2009

Books I've Been Reading

I did one of these back in January, and since I've been reading so many terrific books lately, I decided to do another one.


Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George is a fantastical retelling of the fairytale "The Twelve Dancing Princesses." In the story, a handsome soldier by the name of Galen finds a job in the palace gardens as he attempts to discover the curse put on the twelve princesses. Filled with unique magic, evil villains, and a touch of romance, this book will leave you begging for more.





In Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson, Lia and Cassie were best friends, both competing to become the skinniest girl ever. When Cassie dies, Lia is haunted by hallucinations and vivid, ghostly images of her best friend. Lia's health takes a steep decline as she strives to lose weight, going from around a hundred pounds to the high eighties in an attempt to "get rid of all the fat." This book was frustrating and disturbing, but painfully honest and wrapped up neatly at the end.




Mia is a talented musician. When she plays the cello, she feels like she is transported to another world. She sees the cello as a human, begging to be played. But when a disastrous car accident lands her in the hospital with fatal injuries, Mia's whole life changes. The question is no longer what she wants to do with her music, but whether or not she wants to continue living. If I Stay by Gayle Forman was a quick, touching story about realizing what family, friendship, life, and death mean. The story was a mix of past memoirs and current thoughts, which just made the book more interesting. This is something to definitely check out!




Jamie Carcaterra is fat. And she's not ashamed of it! Disgusted by the way America discriminates against "fat people," Jamie goes on a quest to show the truth to everyone. She starts a column in her school newspaper, Fat Girl Manifesto, in which she rants about her unfair life. At the same time, she is dealing with a loved one's bariatric surgery, afraid that he might die of something or other. Big Fat Manifesto by Susan Vaught was an intriguing book, and I definitely learned a lot from it, but reading it made me feel uncomfortable. I'm not sure if it was the content or Jamie's sassy attitude, but either way, I wouldn't completely recommend this book unless you are prepared to read something intense.

3 comments:

Bookworm said...

I really want to read Princess of the Midnight Ball now. I'm going to put a hold on it right now. If I stay sounds really sad so I'm not really sure if I want to read it.

Priya said...

If I Stay is sad, but it is really good.

Shannon said...

If I Stay is sad...yes, but it makes you really think about what you would do if you were in Mia's place. i cried multiple times,but it is a REALLY REALLY GOOD BOOK!