2012 End of the Year Round-Up!

Ok this was a great year I read so many great books! 

Note: This will be a very long post but hopefully fun and interesting!

The Books I've Read:
(P.S. Many of these books don't have reviews on my blog because it was before I started my blog and some of the reviews are bad, but you can go see which ones I've reviewed under 'Bookworm Review Library')
Fruits Basket 5-23
Barajou no Kiss 1-6
Hiyokoi 1-6
Kitchen Princess 1-10
Shugo Chara 1-12
Divergent
Delirium
Hana
Pandemonium
Fairy Tail 1
Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25
The Chosen
Everlost
Bleach 1-2
Gentleman's Alliance Cross 1-11
To Kill a Mockingbird
Vampire Knight 1-12
Crescent Moon 1-3
The Red Pyramid
The Thrown of Fire
The Serpent's Shadow
Insurgent
Nevermore
Hana Kimi 1-4
Fahrenheit 451
Billy Budd, Sailor
The Lost Hero
The Son of Neptune
The Mark of Athena
The Giver
Bad Girls Don't Die
Halo
The Keeper's Calling
Princess Academy
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Sweet Venom
Palace of Stone
The Fault in Our Stars
The Invention of Hugo Cabret
Gathering Blue
The Book Thief
I have read a total of 113 books this year
83 Manga (it's a bit sad I know 73% of my books are Manga)
30 Normal Books


Favourite Manga:
 Fruits Basket (Barajou no Kiss, Shugo Chara, and Kitchen Princess are all also wonderful)

Favourite Dystopia: 
Delirium (The Giver and Divergent were also great)

Favourite Fantasy: 
Palace of Stone (and any of the Rick Riordan books I read this year)

Favourite Stand-Alone: 
The Fault in Our Stars which was one of my all time favourite books of the year (but The Book Thief is oh so incredible)

Favourite Historical Fiction: 
The Book Thief

Favourite Classic: 
To Kill a Mocking Bird

Most Boring: 
Billy Budd, Sailor but I had had to read it for school so I couldn't drop it sadly

Most Disappointing: 
Halo I was really hoping it would be better 

Favourite New Authors: 
Markus Zusak, The Book Thief blew me away and John Green I seriously Loved the Fault in Our Stars

A Book That Met All my Expectations and More: 
The Book Thief, so incredibly amazing and it was written do beautifully

Book That Killed Me Emotionally: 
The Fault in Our Stars I cried so much and I died and The Book Thief oh the ending

Favourite Book by an Author Read Previously: 
Palace of Stone by Shannon Hale I loved it even more than princess academy

Longest and Shortest Book Read in 2012:
Longest: The Mark of Athena
Shortest: Hana

Favourite Book Covers:
      

Hope everyone has a wonderful New Years!!!
-Jane :D

Book Review: Gathering Blue

By: Lois Lowry

Pages: 215

Published: 2006

Summary: It is a society ruled by savagery and deceit that shuns and discards the weak. Left orphaned and physically flawed, young Kira faces a frightening, uncertain future. Blessed with an almost magical talent that keeps her alive, she struggles with ever broadening responsibilities in her quest for truth, discovering things that will change her life forever.

Rating: 2

Review: This book was meh. It wasn't anything special. It is another book by Lois Lowry that depicts a different possibility for the future. It is very different from the Giver. In this book people have become less advanced. There is no technology and life is simply. There is a council that makes rules and makes decisions for trials. 

I really didn't enjoy it that much. maybe it is meant more for younger kids, I don't know. I was disappointed after I loved the Giver so much. I would definitely recommend The Giver and you can go read my review, but it is up to you weather you want to read this book.

Sorry the review is short but I don't have a ton to say.

I hope everyone has a Superb Day!

-Jane

Book Review: The Book Thief

By: Markus Zusak
Pages: 550
Published: March 14, 2006

Summary: It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.
By her brother's graveside, Liesel Meminger's life is changed when she picks up a single object, partially hidden in the snow. It is The Grave Digger's Handbook, left there by accident, and it is her first act of book thievery. So begins a love affair with books and words, as Liesel, with the help of her accordion-playing foster father, learns to read. Soon she is stealing books from Nazi book-burnings, the mayor's wife's library, wherever there are books to be found.
But these are dangerous times. When Liesel's foster family hides a Jew in their basement, Liesel's world is both opened up and closed down.

Note: I gave this book to my friend for Christmas so she read it as well and is co-reviewing with me. The first review will be mine then her's.

Jane's Rating: 4.5

Jane's Review: This book is different from almost any other book I have ever read. It seems like a book I would read for school. It took me five or six days to read the whole book which is longer than it takes me for most books. I think it is a deeper book that needs to be thought about. It's not just a light book that people would read that would make people super happy and cheerful. This book is narrated by death. It adds character to the book and make it very unique. How many books do you know are narrated by death?

The character's are amazing! Each have there own personality and are all very different. Liesel Meminger is the main character and is the book thief. You follow Liesel as she learns to read and as she gets books. Rosa Hubermann seems mean like she doesn't care about Liesel. Over time you realize how much she did care, she just has an odd way of showing it. Hans Hubermann is her accordion playing foster father. He teaches Liesel to read and is always there for her. Rudy, I loved Rudy, in the begining of the book he is such a kid and you get to see him grow up a tiny bit. He was funny and always made everything fun.

The writing is superb. It is different than a lot of other books but it was perfect. I savoured the entire book. My only problem was the constant swearing but besides that it was perfect.

It was an instant favourite. I recommend this to anyone who will appreciate it.

Jo's Rating: 5

Jo's Review: Today, I discovered the power of words. In The Book Thief the power is prominent.

Set in Nazi Germany, at the start of World War II, Liesel rides a train, to a new future. With a cough, her brother dies; the train stops. Her Liesel and her mother step out; the next day, they bury him. This is when she steals her first book, The Grave Digger’s Handbook. Even though she cannot read, this book symbolizes the last time she sees her brother, as well as her mother. Liesel and her mother get onto another train and travel to the city of Munich, Germany. With her mother not being able to support her, Liesel is sent off with new foster parents, Rosa and Hans Hubermann. Life is difficult at first. Rosa is a woman who will insult you any chance she gets. Liesel has nightmares over the death of her brother.In this, she finds her first friend, Hans. Hans teaches her to read slowly, and Liesel learns of a world where the Jews are not tolerated, and hiding them in your basement is risky.

 I personally cried at the end, and I am one like Jane. I don’t cry over books. Jane gave me this book as a gift, and it will remain one of my most cherished gifts. I was hesitant at first, as I have lately been fond of only dystopias and fantasy. This book struck a chord in my heart, and I highly recommend it. It is a 5 star book, and I’d give it 6 if I could. A book to be read over and over again, The Book Thief is a wonderful addition to any readers library.

Merry Christmas!!!

Hey everyone!
I hope everyone has a fabulous Christmas and a great day! I am reading a ton today which is so fun since I have time, hehe :D
-Jane :D

Book Review: The Invention of Hugo Cabret

By: Brian Selznick
Pages: 522
Published: 2007

Summary: Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks---like the gears of the clock he keeps---with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the train station, Hugo's undercover life and his most precious secret are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden massage from Hugo's dead father from the backbone of this intricate, tender, spell-binding mystery.

Rating: 4

Review: This book is intricate and brilliant. The drawings are so intricate that they are brilliant. This book has tons of pictures but it wasn't just some children's book, they were detailed and portrayed the story well. The drawing's are most of the book and instead of describing things in words the drawing shows you what everything looks like. The story is very interesting. It is about Hugo and and how he needs to get his notebook back. He meets Isabelle and she is wonderful she is adventurous and always wants to learn more and loves to read. 

I first heard about this book after the movie came and I like reading books that go with movie's. I wanted to know if the book or movie it better, and if the movie did a good job portraying the book. I personally like the movie a tad more, don't really know why. It might be because I saw the movie first. Well I recommend seeing the movie and reading the book, they are book great.


Hope everyone is having a great weekend!
-Jane

Book Review: The Fault in Our Stars

By: John Green 
Pages: 313
Published: January 10, 2012

Summary: Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 13, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now. 

Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault. 

Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

Rating: 5

Review: I Love this Book! Seriously I actually cried during it, and I never cry during books I get really emotional but I don't cry. The simple fact that I cried says a lot. I read this entire book yesterday I was up until eleven o'clock finishing it and it was so wonderful. The entire first half I couldn't stop smiling and it seemed so perfect and happy and then two-thirds through it gets so sad I just cry. I won't spoil anything because ruin the wonderfulness of the book.

Hazel is surviving cancer and she stays at home and watches TV and re-reads the same book over and over again. The book is An Imperial Affliction and it plays an important role in the book. Hazel's mom makes her go to a cancer support group and while she is there she meets Augustus Water's. I don't know if I can say how much I feel in love with him. He is wonderful! I don't even know what to say without giving anything away.

The writing is wonderful. John Green really is amazing. The writing is lush and wonderful and I can't believe he can come up with characters this amazing. They seem so real. I realize this is contemporary fiction but even I feel like I can relate and get attached to the characters and I have never been seriously sick with anything.

I can't decide who I love more the characters or John Green for writing this. I think I'll go with both because without John Green this book would not have been written and without the characters being who they are I am not sure I would have loved this book so much.

I think Markus Zusak put it perfectly when he said, "A novel of life and death and the people caught in between, The Fault in Our Stars is John green at his best. You laugh, you cry, and then  you come back for more."

If you have not read this book I would really recommend it!


This is the first book I have read by John Green, but I really want to read more of his books now.
Well have a good weekend and a fabulous Friday!
-Jane (who has emotionally died over this book and doesn't know what to do with herself.)

End of 2012 Challenge!

Oh Wow 2012 is almost at an end! 
Ok so, so far I have read 99 books this year (most are manga but they're still books nonetheless). 
So starting tomorrow, the 21 December, I will try to read the most books I can to finish off the year! It will end at midnight on the 31st December and then on the 1st of January I will post a list of all the books I read this year and what my favourites were!

I would love it if anyone else would like to join me by finishing the year off with reading!

Well I better get reading! 
-Jane

Book Review: Palace of Stone

By: Shannon Hale
Pages: 323
Published: August 21, 2012

Summary: Coming down from the mountain to a new life in the city is a thrill to Miri. She and her princess academy friends have been brought to Asland to help the future princess Britta prepare for her wedding.There, Miri also has a chance to attend school-at the Queen's Castle. But as Miri befriends students who seem sophisticated and exciting she also learns that they have some frightening plans. Torn between loyalty to the princess and her new friends' ideas, between an old love and a new crush, and between her small mountain home and the bustling city, Miri looks to find her own way in this new place.

Rating: 5

Review: I think I loved this book even more than the first. I loved Miri, she was trying to find her way in the world. Shannon Hale is a master of fantasy and creating a different world. She makes everything seem real. The Writing was wonderful and lush. She wrote and describe many things but never to much. I never got board reading this. There were twists and turns and some thing surprised me but it was perfect. 

I hated Timon. He was... oh just read the book and you'll figure him out. I loved Peder, he was as perfect as the first book. The characters were all special and important and different in there own way. 

The Queen's castle was wonderful and I wish as a school I could go there and learn. There was so much depth to the story. The royal family had stories that Miri learned about past King's and Queen's. I guess even Timon had depth even as much as he annoyed me. I think he had good intentions but he is still hated by me. Miri is a wonderful heroin and girl and the type of person who makes you feel like you wnat to be a better person.

-Jane

As Life Goes On: I've Returned... Finally

Tra la la la, la la la la
Yippee!! I am finally on break!

Which means I have time to read and blog!! I feel awful I haven't bloged in almost two weeks...

Well I have finished Palace o Stone so I will post that review today. I started reading Shatter Me and I read the first 100 pages and really liked it but I let my friend borrow it over break because she has nothing else to read and I have tons. So I am reading the Fault in Our and I Love it it is so wonderful! 


Here is a Fault in Our Stars teaser quote:
 ~ "'Sometimes I dream that I'm writing a memoir. A memoir would be just the thing to keep me in the hearts and memories of my adoring people."'

There are many others but I don't want to spoil anything... :D
If I don't get interrupted, then I will probably have it finished by tomorrow :D


Well to everyone who is on break already, Have the most wonderful break ever and to people who start break tomorrow have the most wonderful break after school ends :D
-Jane

Book Review: Sweet Venom

By:  Tera Lynn Childs
Pages: 345
Published In: 2011

Summary: Grace just moved to San Francisco and is excited to start over at a new school. The change is full of fresh possibilities, but it’s also a tiny bit scary. It gets scarier when a minotaur walks in the door. And even more shocking when a girl who looks just like her shows up to fight the monster.

Gretchen is tired of monsters pulling her out into the wee hours, especially on a school night, but what can she do? Sending the minotaur back to his bleak home is just another notch on her combat belt. She never expected to run into this girl who could be her double, though.

Greer has her life pretty well put together, thank you very much. But that all tilts sideways when two girls who look eerily like her appear on her doorstep and claim they're triplets, supernatural descendants of some hideous creature from Greek myth, destined to spend their lives hunting monsters.

These three teenage descendants of Medusa, the once-beautiful gorgon maligned by myth, must reunite and embrace their fates in this unique paranormal world where monsters lurk in plain sight.

Rating: 2

Review: I actually dropped this book which is really rare for me. I got this book on my kindle because it was free for a special deal, otherwise I am not sure if I would have gotten it since I have so many other books to read.

This book wasn't bad and I don't think it deserves one star even if I didn't finish it. It was meh for me. I was looking forward to it because I really enjoy mythology. I think I dropped it number one I just couldn't connect with the character's and it was taking forever to read it wasn't a book that I felt this urge to finish, other than the fact that I wanted to read something other than this. 

Of the character's I did like Gretchen the best she was just cool but as the book progressed even she seemed to somehow seem less cool. I didn't mind Grace she was mostly normal for a teenage girl and she wasn't perfect at all but she was annoying at times. I only knew Greer for like three chapters because I stopped reading the book, but she was so stuck up. I mean I get that she is rich and has everything, but was almost more annoying than Grace.

I really liked the idea behind the story and it was not a bad book, it just didn't catch my attention. I hope I am not making this book sound too bad because it wasn't awful, it seems that a fair amount of people on goodreads like it a lot so this is just another opinion and review to add to the mix.


Well I hope everyone has a good weekend, because I know I will be so busy doing homework and studying for finals.
-Jane (who is afraid she will die of to much school work and will probably be overstressed with finals coming up, so don't freak out if she disappears)

I Apologize in Advance

Ok... I haven't posted in almost a week since I have been so busy *tear*. I also have had zero time to read. I have finals coming up for school which are huge tests which I need to spend tons of time studying for, so if I suddenly vanish don't freak out. I will try to post when I can but until finals are over it won't be often, and with no time to read I won't have much to post about. 

I hope you understand and I feel sad thinking that I can't read. Well hope everyone has a good end of the week.
-Jane :D

P.S. just thought I would tell you since I thought it was cool, this is my 50th post since starting this blog :D

Poetry Corner #6

Let me start off by saying Happy First day of December! 

 One Art
        By: Elizabeth Bishop

The art of losing isn't hard to master; 
so many things seem filled with the intent
to be lost that their loss is no disaster,

Lose something every day. Accept the fluster
of lost door keys, the hour badly spent.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

Then practice losing farther, losing faster:
places, and names, and where it was you meant
to travel. None of these will bring disaster.

I lost my mother's watch. And look! my last, or
next-to-last, of three loved houses went.
The art of losing isn't hard to master.

I lost two cities, lovely ones. And, vaster,
some realms I owned, two rivers, a continent.
I miss them, but it wasn't a disaster.

- Even losing you (the joking voice, a gesture
I love) I shan't have lied. It's evident
the art of losing's not too hard to master
though it may look like (Write it!) like a disaster. 

Have a fabulous weekend. If everything goes well I hope to finish Sweet Venom by tomorrow but I am really busy so we will see.
-Jane