I have a confession to make...about Confessions of an Angry Girl!

Confessions of an Angry Girl
Louise Rozett


Rating: 5


"Bad things happen whether you're scared or not, so you might as well not bother being scared. It's a waste of time.”


Rose is a straight-A, word-a-holic.
Rose has erythrophobia (n) - a fear of blushing or turning red
Her (popular, cheerleading-loving) best friend Tracy is intransigent about the fact that being popular = life's meaning/divine calling.
Rose isn't popular.


Rose Zarelli has enough on her plate, simply by being a teenager going to what people call 'high school' but what should be renamed 'the Tenth Circle of Hell' - but to top it all off, she has had the worst summer of her life. Why? Because her father died, leaving her family in a mess, earning sympathetic looks and leaving Rose to deal with more anger than she's ever felt before. 


Anger at her mum.
Anger at her brother.
Anger at Tracy.
Anger at her school.
And anger at herself.


But when Rose gets seated near Jamie - her long-standing crush, with his dark hair, brooding demeanour and ink stains on his hands from his artistic scribbles - in study hall, she begins to realise that maybe she feels more than anger. Maybe she feels loneliness, helplessness, hurt and even love. 


Rose struggles to sort out her feelings, whilst having to deal with the pressures of school, friendship and family. Everyone seems to expect something from her - they all seem to expect Rose to be someone she isn't sure she knows; that she isn't sure she is. Rose feels like the people around her are moving on and changing, but doesn't allow for the sliver of a possibility that the person who has actually changed is her.


This book is flawlessly written to deliver a raw recount of what it feels like to be in what I like to call an 'emotional rollercoaster with no restraints' - when life throws you curveballs you weren't expecting and suddenly you have more emotions than you know what to do with, pressures from every angle, tears stuck behind your eyes that you can't let out and that strong wish that everything could be the way it was.


The 'angry girl' part struck me too. Alot of the time, Rose is seen as the 'straight A' girl, her 'brother's sister', the 'dead soldier's daughter', the 'psychiatrist's daughter' - so many labels, just like many teens today get either from belonging to a certain cliche or from being associated with certain things. But sometimes, we want to break this label. 


And after her father's death, and the anger associated with it, Rose labels herself as the 'angry girl' - though not directly - and because she believes that this is what she is, she continues to feel a sense of helplessness and grief. She feels stuck. But when she sees what others - e.g. Jamie - see about her, and when she comes to terms with what has happened, she realises that labels that are self-given cause as much harm as labels that others give you.


Maybe she doesn't like being the 'dead soldier's daughter'. But being the 'angry girl' is even less appealing. 


I loved how down to earth the book was, with Rose's fiery temper and yet her quiet longing for something more. Like every human being at some point, she gets stuck and she resists change. The change in Tracy, the change in her brother, the change of her family life, the change in school, the change in her feelings - all these changes scare her, but resisting them, she realises, is futile.


Confessions of an Angry Girl is heart-warming, movie-worthy and will make you 1.) laugh at the jokes, 2.) shake your head at the antics, 3.) cry at the heartbreak and finally 4.) get angry at the injustices. And perhaps you'll drop your own labels and start channeling more positive emotions too :D

Clockwork Princess COVER RELEASE!!

Get ready to tip your top-hats!! Cassandra Clare's exhilarating Infernal Devices series is, coming 2013, to be hitting off on a high note - the gorgeous cover has been released, featuring the story's very own heroine Tessa Gray. Does she live up to your expectations and imagination? Let me know below on your thoughts about the cover and the book to come!! (Book countdown is at the very bottom of my blog's homepage (Scroll down))

In Tandem ~ Meet Joel & Cat

Joel & Cat Set the Story Straight
By Nick Earls and Rebecca Sparrow

Rating: 5

“I don't hate you...you're just the most annoying person in my life.” 

Joel hates Cat.
Cat hates Joel.

And frankly, they are quite happy with things being that way. 

That is, until Cat's surprise hayfever attack and Joel's pen-ink disaster end up paving the way for a paired Extension English Assignment. 

Together. 

And to make it that much worse, the task is a tandem story, which means each one of them must submit a paragraph of the story at a time. No discussions. Just working with what the other's imagination has conceived.

But that's ok, right? It's only two weeks...

Yet, in two weeks alot can happen. 

Cat - on top of the hayfever - must deal with a younger brother with a sweet tooth, her father's fake tan, her mother's emotional rollercoaster, her friend Emma's Barbie IQ and the injustice of being paired with Joel. 

Joel - on top of his obvious dislike of Cat - must put a stop to the weirdo dating his mother (who insists he is of Mexican/Spanish heritage but cannot even make decent tacos), fight off the rumours from his friend Luke the pool boy and try to make sure Cat stops killing off his main characters.

But when they find out their parents are considering dating, all fighting halts as they team up to concoct the ultimate plan to return their lives to normal. 

With funny paragraphs of nonsensical writing (about men who parachute with knives, ladies who drink Lady Grey tea and a version of Pride and Prejudice crossed with the XXX factor), sarcastic e-mails, medical research on the symptoms of appendicitis, superheroes, mangoes and elephants on the table, the tale becomes as tantalising as Anna and the French Kiss, hitting the heart and the funny bone.

And yet, the lingering question surfaces - is normal all it's cracked up to be? And could the comradeship between these two rivals become something neither had expected? 

Joel and Cat set the story straight, in this heart-warming novel about not judging the book by its cover.

MOST WANTED SOON-TO-COME RELEASE!!

IRON PROPHECY

BY JULIE KAGAWA

Iron Fey Book #4.5 

(Between Iron Knight and the next book to come, Iron Prince)

HAVE YOU HEARD? THE NEXT INSTALMENT IN THE FAVE SERIES IS COMING SOON - EXPECTED September 1st 2012 

(Synopsis from Goodreads.com.) Meghan Chase is finally getting used to being the Iron Queen, ruler of the Iron Fey. Her life may be strange, but with former Winter prince Ash by her side at last, she wouldn’t have it any other way.

But when they travel to the Summer and Winter courts’ gathering for Elysium, the oracle from Meghan’s past returns with a dire prophecy: “What you carry will either unite the courts, or it will destroy them.” Now Meghan faces a devastating choice that may determine the future of all fey—and her and Ash’s unborn child… 

I think the next book is going to be:

Top 5 Addictive Reads of the Month

Number #1:
Anna and the French Kiss

By Stephanie Perkins

Rating: 5+

'I mean, really. Who sends their kid to boarding school? It's so Hogwarts. Only mine doesn't have cute boy wizards or magic candy or flying lessons.' 

This is the kind of book you re-read a million times.

I got that bubbly, slightly-teary feeling (that I associate with awesome chick-flicks) whilst reading this book. It had everything - humour, romance, the magic of Paris, school shenanigans, heartbreak, friendship, and a myriad of culture problems (like ordering soup instead of bread and grapes, and spelling that oui (yes) as w-e-e!)

The highlight, of course, was accompanying our quirky film-and-disinfectant-crazed female protagonist named Anna, as she struggles to sort out her muddled, tangled feelings. 

Anna's dad is kinda like a cheesy version of Nicholas Sparks - a writer of books to do with three things:

1.) Soppy romance

2.) Heartbreak and 

3.) Cancer or heart disease. 

He decides to send her away from Alabama and to the City of Love - otherwise known as  France - to the School of America in Paris (or SOAP).

Needless to say, Anna is horrified. She is terrible at languages, scared of being alone and is a clean freak on top of it all. 

But when she meet Etienne St Clair (a British-American-French masterpiece!) Anna's French-catastrohpy starts to look a whole lot brighter. 

Touring the beautiful sights, nibbling on croissants, downing many cups of coffee and sneaking into movie theatres, Anna finally feels like something is turning out right in her messed-up life. 

But it will take a lot more than a wish made on a star to help Anna hold on to what matters most. 

Can she balance her family, her friends and her confusing relationship with St Clair? And will she ever get her kiss in the most romantic city in the world?

A real treat of a book that will have you laughing hard at the cute friendship between Anna (Banana) and St Clair, crying when Anna's heart breaks and feeling full of happiness in those moments where she feels that sense of belonging in her loveable group of mix-mashed friends. 

France and Stephanie Perkin's story-writing magic will have you caught and in awe of this tantalising tale of a girl named Anna who attend the French non-magical equivalent of Hogwarts and found herself a Darcy!

Number #2:

Croak

By Gina Damico

Rating: 4.9

“What happened to YOU old partner?" Lex asked him. "Suicide I take it?"

He frowned. "Worse - business school. Can you believe it? Two years of Croak, then one day the kid decided he wants to be the next Donald Trump. So we threw him in a car, dropped him off near Woodstock and now he think he spent the past two years in a drug-addled haze at some hippie commune.” 

With witty lines, a wonderful bunch of motley characters, and of course Gina Damico's brilliant world featuring Reapers and the town of Croak, this book is a roller-coaster ride of grim-humoured fun!

Croak has everything to keep you entertained - mystery, thriller-ish elements, romance, adventure, comedy and of course, a spunky heroine who isn't afraid to punch your lights out to get what she wants!

Number #3:
Intrinsical 

By Lani Woodland

Rating: 4

“Wanna dance?" he asked

"I guess you'll do. All the cute guys are already taken," I answered with a grin.
"You wound me with your callousness," he sighed dramatically, taking me in his arms.

"I do have a black belt in demolishing overstuffed egos.”

A girl that can see ghosts.
A boy that can astral-project his soul.
And a best friend whose obsession about an eerie curse could put them all in danger.

Yara, Brent and Cherie are three teens who share two things in common: the prestigious private school they attend and the fact that they all believe in ghosts. 

Yara belief is strongest of all, mainly because she is a Waker - a person who has the gift of communicating with and seeing ghosts, a gift passed down through her family. But Yara doesn't want this gift. She doesn't want to be 'crazy' or shunned by those around her.

Hoping for a fresh start, she and her best friend Cherie come to Pendrel, school where Cherie hopes to discover more about the rumoured Pendrel Curse. Yara begs her to leave well enough alone, already having visions and ghostly sightings that don't bode well. But the lure of adventure is to tantalising to resist. 

Yara is drawn to new acquaintance Brent and eventually discovers that he has the ability to astral-project. The beginnings of a relationship start to bloom...but her new found peace doesn't last for long. 'Accidental' suicides, murders and drownings start to occur and as the body count goes up, Yara and her friends are in a race against time and the supernatural.

Can they discover the murderer's true identity? And at what cost?
I loved how the romance element didn't overpower the storyline at all - we got to discover alot about the whole Waker thing, and see her abilities and Brent's in action. When an author takes the time to create a concept it's nice to see them explain it at length and use it in the plot. Actually, it's nice to see a book like Intrinsical that keeps to the plot, and doesn't simply mention the plot here and there. Brent and Yara's subtle draw to one another is adorable and adds to the general emotional response of this book. 

Cherie's humour, Brent's wicked comments (he's more than just a pretty face!), Yara's determination and of course the best scene - the 'Dallin asks Yara to the dance in front of an invisible Brent' scene - all made for an spectacular paranormal YA book that I will most certainly read time and time again.

Number #4:

The Gathering

By Kelley Armstrong

Rating: 4.5

Shapeshifters. 
An unknown past. 
A secretive and in-the-middle-of-nowhere town, whose medicine and education standards are more advanced than any other country's. 

All of these come to together in an adventure unlike any other. 

Maya has always wondered about her connection with animals...but she soon starts to realise that it is alot deeper than she is willing to admit. 

Still dealing with the shock accidental drowning of her best friend, Maya forces herself to concentrate on building back her life, and trying to discover her origins. What she didn't plan on was also having to fight off the unwanted advances of new-boy Rafe. 

But as the days pass, sinister truths about Maya's abilities will unfold, as well as a startling revelation about the town which is supposedly the safest place on earth.

What did I love most about this book? The fact that the main character, Maya, is not a foolish idiotic teenager who believes the hot new guy when he says "all those other girls weren't the right ones but when I saw you I knew you were the one."(not a direct quote...but close!) 

I wanted to hug her when she dismissed him and his charms - here was finally, finally, a heroine who didn't fall for the 'I found the girl of my dreams in the blink of an eye Romeo-style' routine and who made her own decisions. I gladly award Maya the HAB Award (Heroine with A Backbone).

Here's the actual quote - I hope you love her as much as I do!

Rafe sat on edge of the desk. "You're right. I chase hard, but once I get to know a girl, I realise he's not right for me." He met my gaze, his eyes earnest and soulful. "I guess I haven't found the one I'm looking for."
I sputtered a laugh. "And you think I might be it. The girl you've been yearning for. Dreaming of. Your soul mate." I laughed even harder and shook my head. "Please tell me that line doesn't actually work on-"

And then she gets cut off by Sam. But the truth stands - this girl as backbone people!!

Number #5:
Halo

By Alexandra Adornetto

Rating: 4.4

“Love you,” Xavier said just before he drifted back to sleep.
“Love you more,” I said playfully.

“Not a chance,” Xavier said, fully awake now. “I’m bigger, I can contain more love.”
“I’m smaller, therefore my love particles are more compressed, which means I can fit more in.”

Xavier laughed. “That argument makes no sense. Overruled.”

“I’m just basing it on how much I miss you when you’re not around,” I countered.
“How can you possibly know how much I miss you?” he said. “Have you got some sort of built-in miss-o-meter that can give us a reading?”

“I’m a girl; of course I have a built-in miss-o-meter.” 

This is a tale...a tale of an angel who dared to embrace the most precious aspect of being a human.

Love. 

Beautifully written, with so many gorgeous truths in there about life and what truly matters, Halo is a simple yet sweet story that explores what it means to be human.

And what it means to believe strongly in something and to want to fight to keep it with everything you are.

Quick Picks ~ Top 4 Reads

Number #1:
Forsaken (Demon Trappers #1)
By Jana Oliver

Rating: 5+

Demons are on the loose. 

And as a demon trapper's daughter it falls to Riley Blackthorne to learn the tricks of the trade.

These include the basics: how to find, lure, hunt and trap demons, but most importantly...how to stay alive whilst doing so. 

But things are no longer so easy. 

The demons are hunting as packs, the tools used for trapping them are impotent and they are far stronger than they should be. Worst of all, they seem to be after one trapper in particular.

Riley.

Full of sarcastic and witty banter, heartbreaking realisations, true friendships and true malevolence, this story has it all. With the help of Beck, Simon, Peter, and a combination of unearthly forces, Riley must keep the city safe and stay alive to fight another day.

She'll be forced reconsider the job she's always dreamed of and the chaos it causes. 

Can she save herself? The world? Those she loves? Or will she be forced to chose between them?


My thoughts on the book:

Thrilling. Genius. Amazing.

A world that, despite the dangers, I would love to live in! 

And as for Beck...southern drawls have a place in my heart alongside British accents! He's a great partner for Riley, even if he doesn't realise it yet.

A few of my favourite quotes:

#1:
'The guy behind the counter had been seriously adorable. Model-level cute. She had mentioned that, and Allan, her then boyfriend, hadn't taken it well.

That's when she'd learned that male egos and fruit had a lot in common: Both bruised easily.' 

#2: 
“Ozymandias controls not only the dead, but the living. He works the dark magics, and it is said he knows the paths between the worlds and walks them without fear. He wields the-"
"Stop! In English, okay?""

"In English?" she asked, throwing the empty wineglass into the picnic basket. Riley nodded. "You're in serious shit.”

#3:
“Riley. How bad has it been?"
"Just fabulous. The demonic kitten really made my night.” 

Number #2:

The Adoration of Jenna Fox 

By Mary E Pearson

Rating: 5+

“Some things aren't meant to be known. Only believed.” 

A story about what it means to be human, to be alive.

A story about what means parents would take to save their child.

A story about how far we'd go to hide the truth from ourselves.

And above all, a story about whether or not we have the strength to choose red over blue.


My thoughts on the book:

This book is magical and one of the best books I have read in a long time. 

I know I rate a lot of books 5 stars, but 5 stars felt like such an understatement when it came to this novel. Its quality is of so rare a grade, that I just feel so frustrated that I can't put into words how life changing and alive this book is! 

The style the author has used, the wording, the careful construction of such a human, fragile and broken protagonist, the characters with their own problems and the deep thought-provoking lessons learnt are simply stunning.

I highly recommend this to everyone, everywhere. This is one of those books you need to put on your bucket list to read at least once.

Number #3:

Caged (Talented #2)
By Sophie Davis 

Rating: 5

Talia's back.

Subjected to tonnes of medical procedures, Talia is physically fine. But there are some things science can't fix. 

Like the hollow feeling of unfulfilled revenge.

Forced to rest and remain in isolation, Talia grows restless. She jumps at the chance to get back in the field, after her failed mission attempt to kill Ian Crane. This time, her job is as a spy at the school. 

Because there is a spy is in Toxic's midst. A spy who was the reason for Talia's near-death experience. 

Talia is surprised to learn that Donavon will be at the school too. As an instructor. A less than perfect arrangement, but one that she'll have to put up with if she's to prove herself capable of professionalism. But at least there's the presence of Erik to ease the pain of Donovan's reappearance.

Find the spy. Get out. Simple, right?
But finding the spy isn't as easy as it sounds. Because the spy most likely isn't a stranger - a faceless nobody for Talia to uncover and hand over to Toxic for punishment.

The spy might be one of the people closest to her. 

Talia struggles with the weight of her responsibilities, and her deteriorating health. She's at war with herself, as everything she believes in starts to crumble, and as lie after lie begins to unfold. She's overcome by a sense of crippling weakness at how helpless she is.

And if there's one thing Talia hates, it is being weak.


My thoughts on the book:

The first book in the Talented series, Talented, was brilliant. I can admit that I thought "There is no way it could get better than this. Great plot. Well-explained concepts. Exceptional characters. Unseen twists and turns. Cliffhangers. How can you improve on that?" 

Well, Sophie Davis must be a magician because she has managed to do just that and more in her second instalment in the series, Caged.

The end of Talented left so much unanswered. I was confused over Erik, suspicious of Toxic in general - especially Mac, whose name brings to mind cheeseburgers - and heartbroken over the fact that Talia was probably dying before our eyes and Donavon was the one to find the letter. 

As such, the beginning of Caged had me hooked from the first word. The story suffers no drops in audience engagement and if anything it treats the audience to even more action than the previous book. 

And then there was Erik...

Ah. Erik. I swear, there need to be more people in real life like Erik. He was amazing in this book - I will admit, in Talented, I had some doubts about him, but in Caged he was the perfect balance of Will Herondale-like wit and innuendo, and Darcy-like consideration and chivalry.

Which = perfect guy. Just so you know!
When Talia finds out who the traitor is...be prepared to have a sob fest!

I was heartbroken, especially at the traitor's trial. I bawled my eyes out. I could literally feel Talia's heart breaking. Sophie Davis' ability to evoke an emotional response within readers is executed at its finest in Caged's conclusion.

And that leads me to what I love the most about Sophie Davis' writing - the realism.

Talia such a real heroine. Her emotions are so human and relatable. I know it probably sounds cheesy, but she is down to earth. She experiences, not the normal character echo-of-an-emotion brand of emotion, but raw emotion. Emotions as they feel in the flesh.

Her pain, her indecision, her reasoning, her heartbreak - all of it is raw and unadorned. I adore the way she views her slow descent into madness. That feeling of overload, too much to handle, hysteria. 

When she is at her lowest, Talia is at her most relatable. And that is a sign of a well-developed and brilliantly created character.

If you have not read this amazing book, or the series even, I suggest you do immediately! A world full of Talents, of mind manipulators, Brains, Telekinetics and, even better, Erik. It's the kind of world you'll fall in love with. I know I did!


Number #4:
Fearscape (The Devouring #3)
By Simon Holt

Rating: 4

Witness the Vours taking over mankind. 

Reggie and her friends must face the twisted Vours and their force once and for all. 

But with the battles taking their toll, will they manage to keep together or will they bring themselves as well as the Vours down? 

The best kind of thriller - the one that seems almost too real to be fiction...


My thoughts on the book:

Brilliant, freaky and addictive. 

I read it all in one sitting and now I'm kinda afraid of going to bed, seeing that it's cold and dark. 

Cold weather = Vours, now. Forever. 

This is why you read books in a well-lit daytime  environment when the birds are singing and everyone else is awake to help you fend off evil beings!