Mini Reviews: When You Reach Me, Reborn! vol. 4, Ashfall (Ashfall, #1), Sophie & Carter

Title: When You Reach Me
Author: Rebecca Stead
Pages: 208
Publication: July 14, 2009
Publisher: Yearling
Summary taken from goodreads:

This remarkable novel holds a fantastic puzzle at its heart.

By sixth grade, Miranda and her best friend, Sal, know how to navigate their New York City neighborhood. They know where it's safe to go, and they know who to avoid. Like the crazy guy on the corner. 

But things start to unravel. Sal gets punched by a kid on the street for what seems like no reason, and he shuts Miranda out of his life. The apartment key that Miranda's mom keeps hidden for emergencies is stolen. And then a mysterious note arrives, scrawled on a tiny slip of paper. The notes keep coming, and Miranda slowly realizes that whoever is leaving them knows things no one should know. Each message brings her closer to believing that only she can prevent a tragic death. Until the final note makes her think she's too late.

4.5 STARS - I REALLY REALLY LIKED IT

MY REVIEW:

Just, wow. I'm still in awe at Miranda's revelations at the end.

This is one of those books that you'll be re-reading just to catch all of the clues you missed the first time you read it.

Title: Reborn! Volume 4
Author: Akira Amano
Pages: 184
Publication: July 3, 2007
Publisher: Viz Media
Summary taken from goodreads:

It's a reunion—mafia style! Dino, the 10th-generation of the Chiavorone family, and Reborn's former student, brings his squad of goons to pay Tsuna a visit. The explosive little Lambo decides to liven things up a bit by tossing several grenades at the goons. Things quickly escalate as Dino springs into action in a battle of whips versus grenades!

3 STARS - I LIKED IT

MY REVIEW:

Lambo is an idiot. His stupidity is hilarious.

Title: Ashfall (Ashfall, #1)
Author: Mike Mullin
Pages: 466
Publication: October 11, 2011
Publisher: Tanglewood Press
Summary taken from goodreads:

Under the bubbling hot springs and geysers of Yellowstone National Park is a supervolcano. Most people don't know it's there. The caldera is so large that it can only be seen from a plane or satellite. It just could be overdue for an eruption, which would change the landscape and climate of our planet. 

Ashfall is the story of Alex, a teenage boy left alone for the weekend while his parents visit relatives. When the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts unexpectedly, Alex is determined to reach his parents. He must travel over a hundred miles in a landscape transformed by a foot of ash and the destruction of every modern convenience that he has ever known, and through a new world in which disaster has brought out both the best and worst in people desperate for food, water, and warmth. With a combination of nonstop action, a little romance, and very real science, this is a story that is difficult to stop reading and even more difficult to forget.

3.5 STARS - I LIKED IT

MY REVIEW:

Being able to witness the slow degeneration of humanity is what makes this book -- and hopefully series -- so great.

It also makes you wonder how you would react in a situation like that. Would you willingly give away food and supplies to strangers when you've barely enough to survive yourself? Are you that kind? And how far are you willing to go in order to eat? In order to survive?

Can't wait for Ashen Winter!

Title: Sophie & Carter
Author: Chelsea Fine
Pages: 117
Publication: January 13, 2011
Publisher: Acacia Publishing, Inc.
Summary taken from goodreads:

While other high school seniors are dreaming about their futures, Sophie and Carter are just trying to make it through each day. Carter is overwhelmed by issues at home as he struggles to support his mother. Meanwhile, next door neighbor Sophie is left to care for her three younger siblings in place of their absent and troubled mother. All that holds these two best friends together is each other, and knowing that each night they'll sit together on Sophie's front porch swing and escape from their troubles, if just for awhile. But as their relationship reaches a turning point and high school graduation nears, what lies ahead for Sophie and Carter?

3 STARS - I LIKED IT

MY REVIEW:

A sweet, short read.

Tumblr Pics 20 [extra long edition]

BLARGGGG. SO TIRED~

I went shopping with Emily earlier today to look for business-y clothes for our upcoming DECA competition, and we ended up going to 10 different stores. And I ended up only buying from three of those stores and getting a smoothie from Baskin Robbins/Dunkin' Donuts. -__-" Why is it so hard to find nice heels around here?

Anyway, I came home around five or six and I'm still tired. I think I'm gonna go finish reading DJ Rising now. :P 

Enjoy the pics!

so true~

OMG, THEY'RE SO CUTE! XD

In My Mailbox (47)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren.

All of the books that I received in the past three weeks.

Review: 

DJ Rising by Love Maia

Melody Burning by Whitley Streiber

12 Things to do Before You Crash and Burn by James Proimos

Bought:

The World Ends With You

Titanium Internet Security 2012

A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

The Piano Teacher by Janice Y. K. Lee

Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky

Ebooks:

Betrayal by Mayandree Michel

Everblue by Brenda Pandos

Intrinsical by Lani Woodland

Songs for a Teenage Nomad by Kim Culbertson

Hush Money by Susan Bischoff

Unveiled by Trisha Wolfe

EXILED by RaShelle Workman

Destiny Binds by Tammy Blackwell

Hereafter by Tara Hudson

Liar Society by Lisa Roecker & Laura Roecker

Mortal Obligation by Nichole Chase

Destined by Jessie Harrell

Netgalley:

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews

Supergirl Mixtapes by Meagan Brothers

The Peculiars by Maureen Doyle McQuerry

Lexapros and Cons by Aaron Karo

Life is But a Dream by Brian James

Replication by Jill Williamson

The Night She Disappeared by April Henry

Street Dreams by Tama Wise

me@you.com by K.E. Payne

After the Snow by S. D. Crockett

New Girl by Paige Harbison

Invisible Sun by David Macinnis Gill

The Humming Room by Ellen Potter

On A Dark Wing by Jordan Dane

Endworlds by Nicholas Read

Alias Dragonfly by Jane Singer

It's a Wonderful Life by Jesse Goossens

Welcome, Caller, This is Chloe by Shelley Coriell

Halflings by Heather Burch

There You'll Find Me by Jenny B. Jones

Rebel Fire by Andrew Lane

The Merchant's Daughter by Melanie Dickerson

Courtney Crumrin vol. 1 by Ted Naifeh

Friends With Boys by Faith Erin Hicks

Skyfall by Michael Dahl

The Avalon Chronicles vol. 1 by Nunzio DeFilippis & Christina Weir & Emma Vieceli

The Last Dragon by Jane Yolen

Lots of ebooks! I finally joined Netgalley the other week, and as you can tell, I went a little overboard on requesting, lol. I have no idea when I'll be able to read all of these books. D:

Senior Quotes! Or just some random quotes... :D

Today was the last day to turn in our senior quotes for the yearbook, so the other night, I was online searching the web for any interesting/funny/relate-able/deep/inspiring (not really :P) quotes that suited me. I found all of these instead, lol. 

I decided to use "Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing." by Helen Keller since my friends that it seemed the most like me. It was that one or "Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted." but I decided not to use that one since it seemed like I was talking about school. I didn't not enjoy wasting my time in school. :P Not all of the time anyway. XD

Anyway, here are the rest of the quotes! Enjoy!

• If you ever forget something, be sure it's your homework, not a friend.
• Some see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not.
• Those of you who think you know everything, annoy those of us who really do.
• Last night I lay in bed looking up at the stars in the sky and I thought to myself, where the heck is the ceiling.
• "Never think about the mistakes you made. Think about the mistakes you will make."
• A conclusion is the part where you got tired of thinking.
• Just because I don't care doesn't mean I don't understand. - Homer Simpson
• "Que Sera Sera" (What ever will be will be)
• It's always darkest just before it's totally black.
• Don't tell me worry doesn't help. Whenever I really worry about something it never happens.
• No matter where I go, there I am.
• Motivation is what puts the work clothes on my dreams.
• I was planning to procrastinate, but decided to put it off.
• All stressed out, and no one to choke.
• How can I miss you if you won't go away?
• Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time.
• True terror is to wake up one morning and discover that your high school class is running the country. ~ Anonymous
• No one knows what he can do until he tries.
• Life is too important to be taken seriously.
• Time you enjoy wasting was not wasted.
• Life is uncertain; always eat dessert first.
• Life is a constant oscillation between the sharp horns of dilemmas.
• Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.
• Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. - Marie Curie
• Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood. - Helen Keller
• Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear. - Mark Twain
• As we light a path for others, we naturally light our own way. - Mary Anne Radmacher
• It's the friends you can call up at 4 a.m. that matter. - Marlene Dietrich
• Lead, follow, or get out of the way. - Thomas Paine
• "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe." - Albert Einstein
• "If you die in an elevator, be sure to push the Up button." - Sam Levenson
• I'm very pleased to be here. Let's face it, at my age I'm very pleased to be anywhere. - George Burns
• I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying. - Oscar Wilde
• Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the world together. - Oprah Winfrey
• Life is really simple, but we insist on making it complicated.
• Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing. - Helen Keller
• Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood. - Helen Keller
• As we light a path for others, we naturally light our own way. - Mary Anne Radmacher
• It's the friends you can call up at 4 a.m. that matter. - Marlene Dietrich
• Lead, follow, or get out of the way. - Thomas Paine
• Life is uncertain; always eat dessert first.
• Life is a constant oscillation between the sharp horns of dilemmas.
• If you ever forget something, be sure it's your homework, not a friend.

Manga Review: Rockin' Heaven vol. 1 by Mayu Sakai

Title: Rockin' Heaven vol. 1
Author: Mayu Sakai
Pages: 176
Publication: June 15, 2006
Publisher: Shueisha
Summary taken from Mangaupdates:

Sawa applies to Heaven’s Wing Academy, thinking she would look cute in the uniform. But she never expected the academy to be a previously all-boys’ school! And the head honcho of the school, the class president himself—Ran—doesn’t seem to like her one bit and takes no pains to hide it. At first, adjusting to life at the academy is tough. Sawa is bullied and teased, and the boys in the class even throw her new shoes in the water. While attempting to retrieve her shoes, she falls into the water and is unexpectedly saved by Ran, who up until this point has made her life hell. The newfound gentleness in Ran intrigues her—and she finds herself falling for him. What will her days be like for the rest of her school life?

3 STARS - I LIKED IT ENOUGH

MY REVIEW:

It's been a while since I've read shojo manga. I'd forgotten just how much screentone and sparkles could fill a page. And the huge eyes and naive protagonist that seems to be ubiquitous in this genre.

But yeah, I decided to reread this manga since I found out that it was finally finished at eight volumes, and remember totally loving this series back in middle school when I first started reading it.

I've read a lot of shojo manga since then, so now it's easy to recognize the usual cliches and standards in this genre whenever I start reading it, which is why I haven't read one in a while.

Unfortunately, Rockin Heaven falls in with the usual shojo trope. Heroine is a cute, optimistic girl who eventually falls for the leader of the guys in her school since he saved her and helped her out a few times. She manages to win over the unruly guys in her class because she's persistent and does nice things for them. SPOILER: There's going to be a love triangle. There's the perfect ex-girlfriend who's still in love with him. The usual.

The series isn't bad, per se, it's just not that original. But I can't help but be a little biased since I still do like it enough to want to finish reading the series.

I HAVE A PROBLEM. SOMEONE NEEDS TO STOP ME. LIKE, NOW.

Aughhhhhhhh... I spent around $75 on books last night online at Barnes & Noble because there was a sale and I had a $5 giftcard (courtesy of Mercer) and I am so very very weak. D: I was only going to buy $25-35 worth of books, but I couldn't narrow the books down any further than 11... -__-"

DON'T JUDGE ME! BOOKS ARE MY ULTIMATE WEAKNESS NEXT TO CUTE ASIANS WITH AWESOME HAIR. XD

Any you know what's worse? I'm litterally running out of room to for my TBR books! I don't need to be buying anymore books, especially super thick ones that are over 350 pages (which, unfortunately, were at least a third of the books that I ordered ._.) because they take the longest time to read and because I don't like lugging a super heavy and bulky book around school when I already have textbooks that do that. :P

Yeah, those piles of books? ALL of them have yet to be read (except that little pile of books at the bottom right corner; those are books that I'm going to sell). And those aren't all of my TBR books either. I have four shelves full of them and four tall piles in my closet, too. 

I cannot afford to buy as many books as I did last year (they're the majority of my TBR books) or else my room really WILL turn into a YA library where I'll be tripping over books everywhere trying to get to my bed. And I highly doubt that I'll be able to read even half of them before I start college, which will undoubtedly give me even less time to read anything outside of class. :(

So! I will not be buying anymore books for the rest of this month, and I will have to finish off at least one and  a half piles of books before buying anymore in February. That's going to be around 15-18 books. :c And I'm posting this new rule on here because I will have a physical reminder that will hopefully restrain myself from spending anymore money, lol.

And I'm going to need to save as much money as I can since I gave up and agreed to go to prom. I kind of knew that I'd end up going, but I put up a fight just because I still didn't really want to go, lol. :P

Now I have to go and help my bro with some problem he has on iTunes, and you know, get started on reading those books. :P

Later~

pointy.star 

Top Ten Tuesdays: Books I'm Excited To Read in 2012

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by the Broke and Bookish. 

It seems like I'm particularly interested in the first book in a series this year, lol. 

Top Ten Books I'm Excited To Read in 2012:

1. Cinder by Marissa Meyer (I heard this was really good. :3)
2. Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore (I HAVE BEEN WAITING AGES AND AGES FOR THIS BOOK TO COME OUT! :c)
3. Article 5 by Kristen Simmons (The summary! XD)
4. Scarlet by A.C. Gaughen (THE MAIN CHARACTER'S POSING AS A BOY AND IS PART OF ROBIN HOOD'S GANG OF THIEVES :D)
5. Grave Mercy by R.A. LaFevers (IT'S ABOUT A GIRL WHO'S TRAINING TO BE AN ASSASSIN. ENOUGH SAID.)
6. The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken (DYSTOPIAN. KIDS WITH POWERS. AGAIN, ENOUGH SAID.)
7. The Gathering Dark by Christine Johnson (I'm a sucker for books that involves music in any way of shape or form. XD)
8. The Chosen Ones by Tiffany Truitt (The coverrrrrrrr. The summarryyyyyyyyyy. XD)
9. Stormdancer by Jay Kristoff (FEUDAL JAPAN SETTING IN A DYSTOPIAN WORLD ABOUT CAPTURING A LEGENDARY BEAST. :D)
10. Shadow & Bone by Leigh Bardugo (MAGICAL KINGDOMS. ENOUGH SAID. )

Oh hey there. :D

Well, it's finally 2012. Sure doesn't feel any different than last year. :P Not yet, anyway. I'll prolly feel its full effect once I get back to school and have to date my papers, lol.

But yeah, I'm not one for resolutions, so I'll just keep on working on my usual restraints: stop spending so much money, read more, sleep more, study more, have fun. :D

Anyway, I mainly wrote this just because I wanted to have a first post of the year. :P

Ta!

pointy.star