Stolen by Kelley Armstrong

On the Back of the Book

Elena Michaels is a wanted woman. She hasn't done anything wrong. Well, not recently anyway. But 10 years ago her lover turned her into a werewolf: the only female werewolf in the world in fact.

And now, just as she's coming to terms with it all, a group of scientists learns of her existence. They're hunting her down, and Elena is about to run straight into their trap. But they haven't reckoned on Elena's adoptive family, her pack, who will stop at nothing to get her back. They haven't reckoned on Elena herself, either, and that's a very big mistake...

My Thoughts

I really enjoyed this book. Saying that though, this book had a completely different feeling to it than book one, Bitten. That's because this is the first book that was written with the intention of being a series. That doesn't lessen the enjoyment of the book though. The plot is different to a lot of paranormal's that I've read (although Carrie Vaughn's Kitty Norville books did have a similar plot line. They were written after this though). It had a nice pace that didn't leave me feeling disappointed.
My favourite character is Elena. She's feisty and intelligent and refuses to be what others want her to be. Unlike most other leading ladies, she doesn't need to hang on to her man as though her life depends on it. Which is lucky really, it makes the book a lot better.
I think that this is one of my favourite paranormal books of the year. The only down side was I got a bit confused at the end. That was entirely my own fault though and is no reflection of the quality of the book.

My Rating

4 stars - A really good, entertaining novel. I thoroughly recommend it fans of adult paranormal romance/urban fantasy.

A Final Note

This book is for an adult audience and contains sex, violence and swearing. Definitely not for teenagers.

• Book Summary from the back of the book


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The Sixth Form at St Clare's by Pamela Cox

On the Back of the Book

'That's exactly what I'm suggesting,' broke in Isabel impatiently. 'I think there are TWO Doras!'

The O'Sullivan Twins are now head girls! And two heads are better than one when dealing with Dora, a new first former.

There's more trouble at St. Clare's'

My Thoughts

Something is immediately off with this book. The reason for this is, although it's a continuation of the St. Clare's series by Enid Blyton, this book hasn't actually been written by Enid Blyton.

It has all the hallmarks of a St Clare's novel, a thief, a misunderstood teen, all of my favourite characters. It's enjoyable enough but there's something missing and there's no denying it. It just doesn't feel right.

Another thing I noted which made me realise just how different these authors are is xhaptewr length. Enid Blyton tended to have eight pages per chapter at the longest but Pamela Cox's chapters just go on.

My Rating

2.5 stars - An okay book but it doesn't fit in the series if you're a die hard Enid Blyton and have been brought up reading her stories. If that doesn't bother you however, then this is a lovely book for children and adults alike.

• Book summary from the back of the book




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Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Sepetys

On the Back of the Book

That morning, my brother's life was worth a pocket watch...

One night fifteen-year-old Lina, her mother and young brother are hauled from their home by Soviet guards, thrown into cattle cars and sent away. They are being deported to Siberia. An unimaginable and harrowing journey has begun. Lina doesn't know if she'll ever see her father or her friends again. But she refuses to give up hope.

Lina hopes for her family.
For her country.
For her future.
For Love - first love, with a boy she barely knows but knows she does not want to lose...
Will hope keep Lina alive?

My Thoughts

I am absolutely blown away by this book. The writing is, quite simply, sublime. When you read a book with such a heavy storyline, you find you're psyching yourself up to reading but with Between Shades of Gray, the writing is so beautiful that you find time is falling away as you get pulled into the horrors of Lina's story. Before you know it, you've finished the book.

The characters are many things, some are vile, some are evil, some are desperate and helpless, but my favourite is definitely Lina, the main character. To have hope despite everything that has happened to her is incredible. I love how she uses her art as a way to vent how she feels about her captors. It's such a dangerous thing to do but she documents her struggles anyway. It's really admirable.

My Rating

5 stars - This is my absolute favourite book of the year so far. If I could give it more than five stars I would. I think this book is going to be with me for a long time.

A Final Note

If you are of a sensitive disposition you probably shouldn't read this. As much as I adored it and am raving about it there is some violence and death. There are also two instances of swearing. Not recommended for younger teens.

• Book Summary from the back of the book



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Fifth Formers of St Clare's by Enid Blyton

On the Back of the Book

'Felicity!' Must you play that awful, gloomy tune again?' said Anne-Marie. 'I'm trying to get the last verse of this poem right.'

The fifth form are sharing studies this year. And tempers are fraying. t's going to be a very tense term!

There's more trouble at St Clare's

My Thoughts

I liked this book but I'm not quite sure what I want to say about it. I enjoyed the story but I read this one straight after reading book six and it did feel like more of the same thing.

The characters have some problems that teenagers today still face: exams. As there does tend to be in Enid Blyton books, there's even a thief!

Although I did like the book, the amount of narrators did get a bit confusing. The point of view would change really suddenly and I'd find myself back tracking in an attempt to figure out what had just happened. A sense of stability in the chapters would have been marvellous.

My Rating

3 stars - It's a good read that you can enjoy in a matter of hours. It's not one of my favourite Enid Blyton's but it's worth a read none the less.

• Book Summary from the back of the book


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Claudine at St. Clare's by Enid Blyton

On the Back of the Book

Mam'zelle beamed. 'You will like little Claudine! For she is French. She is my niece!'

But Mam'zelle is in for a shock! Out to break every school rule, new girl Claudine is no teacher's pet...

There's more trouble at St Clare's

My Thoughts

The sixth book in the St Clare's series is nothing new. In fact it's exactly the same as the rest of Enid Blyton's books but with a different set of characters. Saying that, I still found the story engagingand didn't see some of the plot twists coming - in a kid's book! I normally see plot twists a mile off, but Enid Blyton got me good.

There's nothing extraordinary about the characters. They're a bunch of middle class teens with the occasional token poor girl and a snob who hates the poor girl. Some of the girls aren't very nice people but by the end of the book they've learnt their lessons and are having a wonderful time.

It's another quick read that I thoroughly enjoyed. Enid Blyton was one of my favourite childhood authors and I still love to read her books today.

My Rating

3 stars - A lovely read that fills your heart with joy and a sense of how jolly nice the world used to be. It's not a groundbreaking piece of literature but it was still good enough to keep me entertained.

• Book Summary from the back of the book



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Mud City by Deborah Ellis

On the Back of the Book
Fourteen-year-old Shauzia dreams of seeing the ocean and eventually making a new life in France, but it is hard to reconcile that dream with the terrible conditions of the Afghan refugee camp where she lives. Making things worse is the camp’s leader, Mrs. Weera, whose demands on Shauzia make her need to escape all the more urgent. Her decision to leave necessitates Shauzia dress like a boy, as her friend Parvana did, to earn money to buy passage out. But her journey becomes a struggle to survive as she's forced to beg and pick through garbage, eventually landing in jail. An apparent rescue by a well-meaning American family gives her hope again, but will it last? And where will she end up?



My Thoughts

This is such a beautiful story. Although this book is part of a series, I don't think that you have to read the first two books to understand what's going on in this one.

The heart of this story is so touching and it helps to move the story along at a nice pace. The story really makes you think of the consequences that come from war are.

Shauzia's character is well written and I found myself willing her on in her journey. Every single one of her actions was understandable and the only difference is if I was in those situations I wouldn't have the courage to do what she did.

I found that I had tears in my eyes as I read the last few pages. I won't say what happened but it was such abrave thing for the characters to do that and if anyone has really done that then I am in awe of you.



My Rating
5 stars - This is one of those rare books that is filled with a sorrowful story that won't let you go. It's a really quick read, there are less than 200 pages and I read it in a couple of hours, but they were a couple of the best hours of my day with Shauzia's story playing like a movie in my head.



A Final Note
There is a bit of violence but as the story is set in Pakistan, a country that ended up with refugees from Afghanistan it's understandable. Just in case you're interested the first two books are:

and:

They're also both stunningly beautiful books that should be read.

• Book Summary from Goodreads
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Gossip Girl: I Will Always Love You by Cecily von Ziegesar

On the Back of the Book

Blair, Serena, Nate, Dan, and Vanessa went off to live their lives.Now they're coming home for the holidays.

A lot can change in a few months . . . but some things never do.

It finally happened: we went to college. We started over. No one knows who we've coveted, what we scored on the SATs,where our parents live, or when we became debaucherous. We've learned new things, made new friends, and maybe even met the loves of our lives. We've changed.

Or at least, some of us have. But old habits are hard to break-especially when faced with your former besties and former flames. With everyone back in the city for the holidays, this break is guaranteed to be filled with makeups, breakups, and shakeups.

Lucky for you, I'm here to report all the scandal as it happens. Let the games begin!

You know you love me,

xoxo Gossip Girl

My Thoughts

This is the final Gossip Girl novel but with the previous three efforts not living up to expectations I wasn't expecting much from this one. I was pleasantly surprised. Gone where the endless designer references and the childish behaviour (mostly). They've all grown up and are a lot more mature. This book made me remember why I liked Gossip Girl so much in the first place.

This book has a really nice pace once you've got into it but it struggles a bit at first. The character development was a breath of fresh air. I was so sick of reading about people who didn't change. It was almost as though time stood still for them, in a bad way. So yeah they've grown up and this made me a very happy bunny.

This is definitely one of the better Gossip Girl novels and is worth a read if you've read the rest and weren't happy with the initial ending. (A bit like I wasn't.)

My Rating

3 stars - Overall it's a really enjoyable, quick read. Saying that it takes a while to get into it and I don't think I'd have finished it so quickly if I wasn't feeling ill. I'd say that this was for hardcore fans that made it to the end of the series.

A Final Note

Swearing, sex, drugs, it's a Gossip Girl novel, I think you've got the message by now.

• Book Summary from Goodreads


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