Delirium by Lauren Oliver

They call it Amor Deliria Nervosa and you will be infected without the cure. It kills you when you have it and it kills you even if you don't have it. The cure is the only way you can be happy. Everyone when they turn 18 receives the cure. You can tell the cured from the uncured by a three pronged scar on the neck from a needle which immobilizes you during the procedure. It isn't safe for the uncured to be alone with other uncured of the opposite sex, to prevent infection of course. The disease is sitting like a ticking time bomb in all of us, waiting to spread. You will be safe from infection if you follow the rules. Curfew at 9pm for the uncured. Do well on your school board exams. Do well in your evaluations. You will be rewarded with a mate who is best suited for you. You will be happy once you have been cured.

Lena has been counting the days until her own cure since her Mother died of the disease. Lena is terrified of being infected. Lena's worst fear comes true when she meets Alex. She is infected with Love. There are the sympathizers and resistors of course, as there are with every insane government movement. There are even the invalids, those who have lived outside of the grid. Alex was born in The Wilds, the area outside of city limits. He is an invalid, uncured, infected, diseased. Lena discovers all the lies about the disease, her Mother, and herself through learning to love Alex.

This book gave me goosebumps several times. Not because, we as a society, are expecting people to line up for lobotomies but because we probably aren't far off. This book is what happens when you drink too much of the cool aid someone else is feeding you. There is the ever present totalitarian government, acting for the safety of its people. Lies and fear are always effective in brainwashing people into thinking they need something fixed, cured, or changed which wasn't broken.( See cable news organizations)

I liked this book. I even liked that the ending isn't picture perfect. Most, if not all, endings aren't what we want them to be in reality. It is easy to want those pretty moments in books, but it is refreshing to have a book end on both a happy and depressing note. It makes the book feel more real. This book leaves several things unanswered. I have heard there will be a sequel coming out sometime next spring.

I recommend this book to those who like awesome writing, dig apocalyptic stories, and or political stories.

While writing this review I was listening to Poe - Terrible Thought off of Haunted.

Along For The Ride by Sarah Dessen

Auden just graduated high school and has a summer to kill before heading to college. She has been so wrapped up with pleasing her parents and getting excellent grades she has forgotten to do basic things, like have fun. So she is off to Colby, for a summer at the beach.

I liked this book the most of all the Sarah Dessen books I have read thus far. I am sure I have said that before but this one was more developed and I didn't feel a lacking of understanding for any of the characters, even the side characters were whole.

I love that Sarah Dessen mentions other characters from her other books. Just slight mentions that if you aren't familiar with her writing wouldn't mean anything. It is like a secret between you and the writer that you know about these other people that are only passing through a paragraph. In a lot of ways it makes her writing better, it isn't that she is creating a world per se it is that she is pointing out how small our world really is. Every one has a story, you just may not have read it yet.

In this story Auden develops the child in her. This is something I can relate with. I often let fear hold me back from behaving like a kid sometimes. I was so uptight, and still am in a lot of ways. I could relate to being uptight and also letting go of a lot of it while still maintaining who you are. This book made me want to go bowling in the middle of the night while drinking excessive amounts of coffee.

I recommend this book to my friend Miss A. I also recommend this book to anyone who likes Sarah Dessen or a good read that doesn't take a year to get through.

While writing this review I was listening to Emma play with her bone by throwing it around the room and pouncing on it.

Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner

Kate Cline is the main character of this book. She discovers a neighbor stabbed to death in their kitchen. Kate finds herself engrossed in figuring out who killed her neighbor. The murder mystery makes Kate remember who she was before she was a married house wife with three kids. Kate is dissatisfied with her life. She isn't happy just being a housewife and mommy.

This book reminded me how much I am sure that becoming a Mother might not be the best idea for everyone. I think that all too often women get wrapped up in the idea of being a Mother and don't take time to consider what it really means. While I don't have children I wouldn't jump into it without realizing that I would be giving up so much of what my life is. Oddly, this murder mystery novel got me thinking about it.

Over all I dug this book. I wouldn't say that it was an all time favorite or anything but it was a decent night time read. I found the interactions between the "Mommy's" in this story to be interesting. Women compete with each other way too much. Who has the best hair, who is the best Mom, who landed the best husband. All of these things come up in the book. I have never been one of those girls who competes in such things. I will say that I do have a competitive streak, I always want to have the highest grade in any class I take. I don't know what is wrong with me!

While writing this review I was watching Ugly Betty. I love Amanda!

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

Remy is a lot like the other characters we have seen from Sarah Dessen. I am still not sure how she keeps writing the same basic book over and over again but I genuinely like each one. Remy has Daddy issues as well as Mommy issues. Of course there is a dude, but he doesn't really come to the rescue. We often see the male love interest in Sarah Dessen's books come to the rescue of the female lead.

Nothing overly remarkable stood out about this book. I liked the dynamic between Remy and her friends. I would have liked a little bit more with the group as a whole. They have an interesting exchange every time there are together and I think it was a missed opportunity to not have more with the group of friends.

I would recommend this book to Dessen fans. I would also recommend this as a light summer read for anyone who likes a light but good writer.

While writing this blog I am listening to the Rachel Maddow Show.

Wither By Lauren DeStefano

Wither: The Chemical Garden Trilogy
This book is post apocalyptic America. Basically the fit has hit the shan in more ways than one. Most of the countries we know and love have literally been blasted off the face of the planet. And America is sadly what is left. Don’t get me wrong, I dig America or what have you but I am kind of tired of all of the stories that have every other place in the world destroyed. Let’s be honest here folks, Americans fuck shit up way more than other places; our homeland is included in that. To think that America will outlast or out live other places in the world is just unlikely. Plus we are all heathenistic, at least that is what the churchy folk tell me.
So geneticists have been tweaking the human code to rid the species from illness. Cancer and terminal diseases are erased but along with these things the science folks have deleted our longevity. They aren’t sure why but girls kick the bucket at 20 and men kick it at 25. Our story in Wither is about Rhine, yes like the river. She is 16 and snatched away from her life in industrial poor New York and taken to riches in Florida to be wed. Rhine is half of a set of twins. Her brother Rowan is left behind with no idea where his sister has been taken or if she is even still alive. Poor girls are snatched off the street and sold as wives to rich young men. They then are forced to make babies. All the while everyone is killing over at really young ages.
I dug this book. My friend suggested this book to me a few months back when she read it. You can read her review here . I like the main character; while she is strong she is also human. She struggles with Stockholm syndrome and remembering where she comes from. She learns to really care about other people around her. I found the concept of sister wives in this book to be interesting. It made me wonder if the author has had experience with polygamists. It wasn’t a negative portrayal of sister wives which is so common when talking about polygamists. There is not a religious angle to this book at all, but being from Utah you learn the term sister wives pretty early on.
I would recommend this book to people who enjoyed The Hunger Games. I would suggest this book to those who dig YA lit. I liked the writing style of this author. I read her bio and she seems like a nerd, which of course I can relate to.

While writing this blog I am listening to Norah Jones.

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Samantha Kingston is exactly like a lot of the mean girls I went to school with. Samantha's friend Lyndsay is a lot like I was in high school. The leader of the mean team. I think in a lot of ways this books feels like it was written by Tina Fey during her mean girls phase had she been obsessively watching Groundhog Day. I know that this comparison to this book has been made multiple times but it is the best way to some up this book. Sam lives the same day over and over seven times.

Sam is faced with her own harsh reality and the harsh reality of those around her. She is also made acutely aware of consequences for actions big and small. The writing style of Lauren Oliver took a little getting used to for me. I blame this on my recent re-reads of Harry Potter, it can be a mind fuck to go from dramatic wizards to dramatic popular girls. Once I adjusted I found the way the characters interacted to be authentic, meaning, that while these girls are mean girls they are also incredibly loyal to one another. They may be bitches, even to each other, but they each have redeeming qualities if you take the time to look for them.

Kent is the love interest in this book. I like that he is kind of over the top with his checkered shoes and bowler hats. I used to spend a lot of time with guys like Kent in high school. It made me miss all those guys for a little bit.

Over all I dig this book. I plan on picking up Lauren Oliver's second book after I finish all the other books I have started right now. I would recommend this book to formally overly bitchy girls such as myself, and or, currently bitchy girls. I liked the message this books sends. I will say though if you have recently dealt with suicide or bullying this book might not be the best thing for you to read.

Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen

Ruby is 17 and living alone. Her mother took off about two months ago and had Ruby not had nosey landlords she probably could have continued living alone for a long time. She was keeping up with the basic bills, mostly, and keeping things together, mostly. Long story short it is discovered that Ruby has been abandoned by her mother and is shipped off to live with her older sister. This story is about Ruby figuring herself out.

Like all the other books by Sarah Dessen that I have read we follow Rudy through some tough situations and a lot of emotional growth. However, in this book we get something that I wanted in other Sarah Dessen books. We get better and more in depth character development with the male love interest. Nate is a great guy who helps Ruby come to terms with herself and her situation.

The twist(ish) of this book is that Ruby in turn helps Nate. We have not seen the female lead help the male lead in other Sarah Dessen books that I have read thus far. I liked that we got more of the male(ish) persepective in this book. I also liked that the guy who did all the rescuing needed to be rescued. I think this is closer to reality. I would say in most healthy relationships the "strong one" flips between people and isn't isolated to men.

I would recommend this book for peeps looking for a light and fast read.

While writing this blog I was listening to my boyfriend talk about his job.

Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire by JK Rowling

Wooooooooooops! I was suppose to post this weeks ago as part of the Harry Potter read a long with

Harry is getting wiser and older in this book. Harry doesn't seem anywhere as whiney in this book as he has in other books. In this book we getting better insight into Death Eaters and the Dark Lord. I think they way the Dark Lord runs his crew is interesting. I also still can't help but to think, seriously Lord Voldemort, you can't kill that kid? You are like a fucking immortalish snake dude, you can't off some kid? Whateves.

Harry is thrown into the TriWizard Tournament in this book. This is where Hogwarts and other magical schools compete with one another. I liked seeing the snooty French witches and the bad ass Bulgarian wizards. There is more diversity in characters in this book than in the others. In this book the Dark Lord is rebodied and is super bad dude again.

I liked the really normal bits in this book. Ron and Harry are having a hard time finding girls to take to the school dance. Ron is grumpy that Hermione is going to the dance with someone else. I like the normal kid life aspects thrown in with the wizard shit. I think perhaps that is why I have been able to read these "fantasy" books and not others. I like having normal things to relate to.

While writing this half assed review I am listening to Lady Gaga - Bloody Mary

Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen

Colie is the girl we walk with through this book. She is being shipped off to live with her eccentric Aunt while her Mother goes on a European tour for her fitness crazed career.

Colie used to be a heavy girl. She lost 45 pounds with the help and determination of her Mother who is basically the hottest thing to hit fitness since Tae-Bo. Colie's Mother is doing a summer long European tour promoting all of her fitness what not so Colie is shipped off to stay with her "art freak" aunt in a small town.

As a heavy girl I could relate to the main character. She was treated like dirt for being fat. I have always been treated like shit for daring to be fat. I have had random people say mean things to me in the grocery store to people in high school saying the only reason boys talked to me was because I gave good head. Colie has had to deal with a lot of the same bullying behavior. I never let it get to me as much as Colie does. I always stood up for myself. I never let people call me a slut and get away with it. Colie is a lot like many girls I knew in high school. Taking every insult and turning it into a twisted form of self punishment.

Yes this book has a cliched ending, but I didn't mind it. I liked that Colie ended up with an Art dude while learning to accept her art freak aunt. I think the art nerd in my soul smiled a bit at the cheese of the ending.

I would recommend this book as a fast summer read.

While writing this blog I was listening to Lady Gaga - Americano

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

Annabell is a girl who on the surface appears to have everything until she and her best friend Sophie get into a huge fight. This book is about learning about that fight and the truth behind it for Annabell.

Annabell is sexually abused by Sophie's boyfriend. Annabell opted not to talk to anyone about what had happened to her. We the reader can kind of guess what happened to her if we pay attention to the clues but it isn't the lead topic by any means. I liked this book.

I liked the character development in this book. Annabell has to figure out how and when to speak up. I can relate to characters who have a hard time coming into their own voice. When I was much younger I had a really hard time talking to anyone. I was bound so tightly in my own head that once I learned to speak up it mostly came out in dramatic flare up and shouts. I still have a tendency toward the dramatic self expression, I am a poet after all.

Annabell develops a friendship with a fellow lunchtime outcast named Owen. This is your typical pissed off white male character who has gone through anger manangement classes. He helps Annabell learn to deal and speak about what has happened to her. His character development is the only character I had a hard time with. I wanted to know a bit more about him and his motivations for some of his behavior. Over all though I would say I still liked Owen.

I would recommend this book to those who enjoy the pink books (chick lit) as much as I do, younger girls trying to figure themselves out, older women in the mood for a walk down memory lane.

While writing this review I was listening to Lady Gaga - Government Hooker.