#1 Favorite Book And My Birthday

So my favorite book of all time is… Drum roll!

The Only Alien on the Planet

by Kristen D. Randle

I first picked up this book when I was in middle school. It was in the teen section and I was on a Sci-fi high (not a Sci-fi book). I saw the cover and instantly thought, yes! And then I took it home to read. Not only is it not a sci-fi book about a lonely alien trying to get back home, it’s not your average teen read. At least that’s what I thought when at eleven I wanted to read it over and over again. I grinned, my eyes got teary, I got angry, all from this book. The new cover… I’ll admit, not a fan of.

Old Cover (very 90s)/New Cover:




















Smitty Tibbs is the boy who doesn’t speak, doesn’t laugh, and students avoid him like the plague. Ginny Christianson has just moved to town and doesn’t realize there are unspoken rules about interaction with Smitty. With her persistent curiosity Ginny is able to unmask a secret about Smitty some would have rather kept hidden. I love this book and still re-read my battered copy.

Check this out: Breaking Rank – by Kristen D. Randle This novel challenges stereotypes and stigmas when an unprecedented friendship develops between two teens of rival high school groups. "Randle is adept at conveying ingrained prejudices as well as the frustration and alienation that leads some youths to forsake the `straight' world for a more friendly and accepting one of their own making” (PW).





EDITED: And! Today happens to be my 21^st birthday! And I was sick all day… Yay!

Where Are My Bookstores Going?

A couple of weeks ago I took this picture(1)/And in January this closed(2):











Do I really need to tell you how I felt? Those two bookstores accounted for almost 76% (total guesstimate) of the book traffic in my area. (Maybe exaggerating?) Of course we have other bookstores, a sort of new Joseph-Beth about 15 minutes away, another borders about 18 minutes away (filled with boxes that have been keeping its customers company for over a year now, and newly emptied book shelves…) What the heck? I feel like they’re slowly killing off my best friends. They’re cementing their doors shut and when I talked to some employees, they’re not being relocated.

What really gave me a headache was walking into Wal-Mart the other day and seeing their newly expanded book section across from the party supplies and streamers. I found books that were sold out at Borders or hadn’t been shelved yet for 75% to almost half the price of my local bookstores. As exciting as that was… Wal-Mart??? I just want my B&N back with its carpeted floors and atmospheric lighting…

If B&N is selling (read article here) then what does that mean for the rest of the bookstores across the country? No more SSR?

Red Glove by Holly Black

Umm… Have you seen this gorgeous cover for Holly Black’s Red Glove?

Favorite Book #2

The Hero and the Crown

by Robin McKinley

I was assigned to read The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley in the fifth grade and no one wanted to read it (including me). I was in that phase where I didn’t want to read anything assigned to me especially because I’d hated all of the previously assigned books. Everyone complained; the boys didn’t want to read a book with a girl protagonist and the girls were turned off by the cover on the left.

But once I started reading I realized its story was similar to many of the books I had been staying up late to read in the middle of the night. Aerin’s voice carried me throughout the entire book through royal lineage, a destiny, dragons, knights, mystery, and love.

The Hero and the Crown is one of those classic fantasy novels where the princess is itching to escape the castle and goes against everything that is expected of her.

From childhood, Aerin had been haunted by the story of her mother-a "witchwoman" who enspelled the king and then died in childbirth, leaving behind a newborn daughter and an heirless land. Left to her own devices, Aerin grew up wild, doing her best to live up to her reputation as the disappointment of the realm. But little did the young princess know the long-dormant powers of her mother would wield their own destiny, and leave Aerin with a duty to her scornful homeland that she couldn't refuse (Amazon).

Favorite Book #3

The moment I read the first chapter of Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë I was floored by its grittiness (compared to the Jane Austen novels I previously devoured). Jane has a distinct voice, almost cruel in its honesty. I would stay huddled in the corner of my seat on the bus to school, escaping into Jane Eyre’s unfair and eerie world. I wanted the other characters to understand Jane the way I understood her, to realize most of them weren’t anywhere near as sophisticated as she was.

An orphan unwanted by her relatives, Jane Eyre is a coming of age story about a girl thrust into the woes of life and love. Until at eighteen, she becomes a governess and meets the “brooding” Mr. Rochester. As much as I wanted to dislike Edward Rochester, I fell for him just as Jane did. Not only a Gothic Romance which had me cringing more than once, this is a story about a girl who refuses to be placed in the boxes society has made for her.

Check this out: JANE – by April Lindner

Forced to drop out of an esteemed East Coast college after the sudden death of her parents, Jane Moore takes a nanny job at Thornfield Park, the estate of Nico Rathburn, a world-famous rock star on the brink of a huge comeback. Practical and independent, Jane reluctantly becomes entranced by her magnetic and brooding employer and finds herself in the midst of a forbidden romance (Amazon). RD: OCT 2010

The Vampire Diaries: Season 2 (Year of the Kat)

Did anyone watch the season premiere of The Vampire Diaries?

All I have to say is, “Wow.” I have been counting down the days till the premiere, reminding my mom everyday and anyone who will listen; that The Vampire Diaries is (was) back on September 9^th.

Katherine, Katherine, Katherine, could she be more evil? And Damon! Could he be more tormented? Even though I was rooting for Damon and Elena last season, this season premiere brought out a side of Stephen that I was excited to see.

The next episode (Carnival) airs on September 16^th @ 8pm on The CW.