Ally's World: Butterflies, Bullies and Bad, Bad Habits by Karen McCombie

Rowan's been acting strange (well, OK more strange than usual). One minute she's crying over who-knows-what, and the next she's tripping into the house with all this new stuff (which has to come from the shopping fairy, since I know she's got zero money). Then there's the graffiti at school: "Rowan Love is a muppet" (and I don't think it's meant in a friendly, Kermit-is-cool kind of way). Just what is going on with my sister? 

Review

Ally's got two older sisters, Rowan and Linn and a little brother called Tor. She lives with her Grandma and Dad since her mum passed away. Life isn't easy but it's starts to get really complicated when Rowan starts acting weirder than she already is. Something's going on and Ally deperately wants to find out what it is. Especially after what she finds scrawled on the back of a cubicle door...

An extract from the book

Just then, my eyes settled on something scribbled on the back of the cubicle door. It was right at the end of this really boring, long piece of graffiti that's been going on for a couple of months; graffiti that had started out with someone writing "Ellie F is a total muppet", then someone underneath added "I know who you are and YOU are the muppet!", then in completely different handwriting, there was "No, you are the muppet, you big MUPPET!", and it went on and on and on like that.

But now there was a new addition to the slagging.
Who's getting it this time? I wondered, bending forward to make out the red-penned scrawl.
Then I wished I hadn't bothered.
"The biggest muppit at Pallace Gates", wrote someone who couldn't write, "is Rowen Love".
Unless a new girl with a ridiculously similar name - give or take the odd vowel - had started at our school, then it looked like my sister had just been voted this week's muppet.
Uh-oh...

I would rate this book four stars as I liked the way it intrigued you to find out exactly what was happening with Rowan and it was a humorous storyline.

The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

Meg Cabot's award winning series of "The Princess Diaries" led me to start reading the first book and see just what was so good about these books. I am now on the sixth book and I am glad I chose to read them. This is a review on the 1st book of the series...

Your world is in chaos. Suddenly, your life changes in just a few minutes and you are not who you thought you were. This is the scenario of Mia Thermopolis in The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot. Mia, a 14-year-old freshman living in New York City with her artist mother, is a normal teen. Her main problems are dealing with the non-vegetarian food at her school, making sure her cat, Fat Louie, doesn’t eat ­another sock, and her social life, which is sadly lacking. This all changes one day when Mia goes to meet her dad at the Plaza Hotel and he reveals that he is the prince of Genovia, a small European principality, and she is the sole heir to the throne. Mia is horrified that she will one day rule Genovia. Plus, this means she will have to take lessons from her insane grandmother to learn how to be a princess. Even worse, Mia still doesn’t have a date for the Cultural Diversity Dance!

Review

Mia lives in New York City with her mother. Life is boring until her mum starts dating her algebra teacher, Mr Gianini! And Mia's flunking algebra! As if this isn't enough, her dad drops the news on her that she is a princess and the next heir to the throne of Genovia! In order to fulfill her needs as a princess, she has to take princess lessons with her grandmother who is no ordinary grandmother. She has eyeliner tattoed on her eyes, she smokes, owns a hairless dog and consistently drinks Sidecar. Plus, she is always moaning at Mia. The Cultural Diversity Dance is looming closer and Mia still hasn't got a date. She can't believe it when the hottest guy in school, Josh Richter asks her out! The book is the contents of Mia's diary and it reveals her personal feelings on her hard-done life. But it's hard to be yourself when the press are everywhere you look...

An extract from the book I found particularly interesting was:
There are four million people in Manhattan, right? That makes about two million of them guys. So out of
TWO MILLION guys, she has to go out with Mr. Gianini. She can't go out with some guy I don't know. She can't go out with some guy she met at D'Agostinos or wherever. Oh, no. She has to go out with my Algebra teacher.
Thanks, Mom. Thanks a whole lot.

A feature:

My favourite character is Mia because I can relate to her thoughts and opinions and I like the way she is very open in her diary. Her reactions to the situations she's put in are humorous and that's why it's hard to put the book down!

I would give this book four stars because although I enjoyed it, Mia repetitively notes down her homework and things to do list and it gets a little annoying!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rp9xRom9LZo

The Mediator 1: Love You To Death

Meg Cabot does it again and produces an epic but humorous story with all the ingredients that provide a girly read. It's the best book I have ever read!

Meet Susannah Simon. She's a typical teenage girl who just happens to be a ghost-hunter...oh and she's also dead-over-heels for Jesse - the hottest spook ever! But can this girl get her ghost? In "Love You To Death" Suze arrives in california and has barely unpacked when her mediator skills are put to the test. A viscious spirit in her new school is hell-bent on making her life a complete nightmare but Suze is more than ready to kick some serious ghost butt if she has to.

Review

The book begins with Suze arriving in California to stay with her mum, stepdad and stepbrothers, David, Brad and Jake. However, her new home isn't that bad and her mum is definitely trying to make her feel at home since life is completely different compared to New York. It isn't long before Suze meets Jesse, a totally hot ghost who has been living in what is now Suze's bedroom for one hundred and fifty years after being killed there. Suze is totally overwhelmed by him but it's just too bad that he's dead. When Suze attends her first day at her new school she has already made new friends and found out that her ability to see and communicate with ghosts is shared with the school principal and priest Father Dominic. Suze is releieved to find out she isn't the only mediator around. What she doesn't know is her regular ghost encounters aren't over and it isn't until she hears about Bryce Martinson and the death of his girlfriend Heather, that she realises her mediator skills are definitely needed. Saving Bryce when the ghost of his girlfriend attempted to kill him wasn't exactly how Suze planned on making first impressions but news spreads and Suze is really popular. Even Bryce (the hottest guy in California) is interested in her and asks her out on a date! Unfortunately for Suze, when Heather purposefully sends a large crucifix down upon him, and Father Dom tries to save him, both end up in hospital and it's clear Suze is not going on any date. With Heather's powers and her want of revenge on Bryce becoming stronger, it's up to Suze to send Heather to where she belongs and restore peace. Surely she can't fail. Isn't kicking some ghost butt what she's best at?

An extract from the book I found particularly interesting was:

I gave her a hug. I'm as tall as she is, in my ankle boots. "Sure, Mom," I said. "Sure, I'll be happy here. I feel at home all ready."

"Really?" My mom was sniffling. "You swear?"
"I do." And I wasn't lying either. I mean, there's been ghosts in my bedroom back in Brooklyn all the time, too.

She went away and I shut the door quietly behind her. I waited until I couldn't hear her heels on the stairs any more, and then I turned around.

"All right," I said, to the prescence on the window seat. "Who the hell are you?"

A feature

My favourite character has to be Suze because I love the way she speaks like a teenager and is very strong minded. It's very humorous the way she deals with the ghosts she meets and her longing to go out on a date can be compared to reality. She's a great character and I am constantly enticed by her ghost busting methods.

I would give this book five stars because I absolutely loved it and it was hard to put down.

Click on this link to watch a youtube clip to give you a rough idea of the storyline and characters. (They aren't the real characters)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=APULq8x9ySw

Mercy by Rebecca Lim

This isn't a particular book that I would choose to read but my mum bought it for me and after reading the first few chapters I was already deeply enticed by the magic that lay beyond the words...

An angel searching for answers, for her destiny...

Mercy is an angel, doomed to return repeatedly to earth, taking on a new human form each time she does.In this book, Mercy wakes in a school bus heading toward a place called Paradise. In Paradise , Mercy meets Ryan, an eighteen -year-old whose sister was kidnapped 2 years ago and is presumed dead. When another girl is also taken, she knows she has to act quickly and use extraordinary powers to rescue her, even if it means exposing her true identity.

Review
To expand in more detail, Mercy wakes up in the body of girl named Carmen Zappacosta. When the bus she is on arrives in paradise Mercy is taken into the home of Stuart and Louisa Daley with their son Ryan. Their daughter, Lauren, was kidnapped 2 years ago and Ryan is the only one who still believes she's alive. Mercy wants to help him find her and throughout the story they have many suspicions as to who might have kidnapped Lauren. Then news crops up of another kidnap and Ryan and Mercy recognise the link between Lauren and the girl in the paper, Jennifer Appleton. They both had a musical talent for singing... Mercy and Ryan investigate further with no success. Then unexpectedly, Mercy comes face to face with the kidnapper which is not at all who they expected...

An extract from the book I found particularly interesting was:

"There's something very wrong with me.

I can't remember who I am or how old I am, or even how I got here. All I know is that when I wake up, I could be any age and anyone, all over again. It is always this way."

A feature
My favourite character is Ryan because he becomes a great friend to Mercy and together they work well. I like they way he cares for his sister so much and still has hope left that she's alive. In the end, when he finds out who Mercy really is, he finds it hard to say goodbye and realises how much he will miss her.

I would give this book four stars because although I enjoyed there were some parts in the book that I found confusing.

Click on this link to watch a quick advertisement for the book
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AGjgJvvfs4