MAJOR decision about the blog/All We Know of Heaven

Okay, so I've been thinking, and I've decided something major about this blog.

About fifteen minutes ago I was watching a review video about Gayle Forman's If I Stay (good book, BTW--I think I'll review it next week when I've had the chance to reread it), and I was thinking, "I like how she doesn't only review new books, just the ones she's just read." (I'd watched a few videos by the reviewer in question.) So then I thought, "I wish I could do that." Not only review older books when I read them, but also review books in a way that doesn't have to sound all scripted-School-Library-Journal-Booklist-professional-MBA-type. And then I thought, Well, you do have a blog, where you REVIEW YA BOOKS.

Thus, two major changes:

I will review whatever (YA) book I am reading at the time, and it will probably not be professional. If this bothers you in any way, sorry. (If anyone actually reads this.)

Now on to the review.

All We Know of Heaven by Jacquelyn Mitchard

This book is about two girls who have been best friends since grade school, Bridget Flannery and Maureen O'Malley. They are really close and look very much alike. One December night, when they're driving home after cheerleading practice, they get into a horrible accident. Both girls are criticially injured, and one dies on arrival. The other is in critical condition. The girl dead is identified and buried (I can't tell you who's who, because I have a no-spoiler-unless-it's-on-the-book-jacket rule).The dead girl is is mourned, and the community rallies around the other as she eventually wakes up and begins a slow transition back into normal life (and I mean slow).

But the story doesn't end there. One day, a dental specialist comes to the hospital where the alive girl is at and checks her teeth. Everything seems perfectly normal, but as the doctor checks the records against the girl's teeth before the accident, he slowly comes to realize that the hospital has made a horrible mistake...

Basically, I have to say that I really liked this book. Mitchard--who is the author of many bestseller adult novels--tells the story of Bridget and Maureen without sounding boring, blase, repetitive, or extremely cliche. The characters seem real enough that even when they're doing something completely wrong, stupid, mean, or just evil, you understand what they're doing and their reasoning behind it. The dialogue doesn't seem forced, nor does the ending. Basically, this is a book that you really should read. And, like, it's good, and all. Yeah.

Rating: 8

312p

HarperTeen

2008

$16.99 / buy here

TODAY'S QUOTE:

Jamie and Lance arrive at play practice with matching hickeys on their necks. I've never understood the appeal of hickeys. It's like, "Hey, I'm into you, so let me give you a bruise. I'll just latch onto your neck like a leech and suck on your skin until I break enough blood vessels to leave a mark. That way everyone will know just how much I care about you."

from TMI by Sarah Quigley (Dutton, 2009) (will probably be my next review)

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Oops, I did it again.../Along For The Ride

Again, I forgot to review. So here is a review of a book that's sort-of new (yeah, you'll have to expect that:)

Along for the Ride

by Sarah Dessen

(I actually wrote this review upon reading the book, but I forgot to post it.)

High school is finally over, and the extremely studious Auden is facing three blank calendar pages before she starts at the prestigious Defriese University. What to do? In an unusual turn of events, she decides to spend the summer with her father, his new wife, and her new baby sister in Colby, a town by the beach. She makes several critical mistakes upon her arrival, most notably hooking up with a random guy and then running into his girlfriend the next morning. This does nothing to help her reputation, by the way. A little while later, she gets a job at her stepmother's boutique. The other girls who work there attempt to interact with her, but believing that they are all just "fluffy and insubstantial," Auden mostly ignores them. Soon enough, however, she finds herself drawn to a strange boy with a bicycle who encourages her to relive her lost childhood. In doing so, she discovers that "being a girl could be about interest rates and skinny jeans, riding bikes and wearing pink. Not about any one thing, but everything."

I've read several of Sarah Dessen's books, and by far this is one of her best. She uses her gifts of pathos and initiative to great affect to create another story that no one will want to end. (I certainly didn't.)

Rating: 9

383p

Viking Juvenile

$19.99

buy here (Amazon.com)

or here (Barnes and Noble.com)

Interested in winning a copy of an ARC of Suzanne Collins' CATCHING FIRE? Just go to Confessions of A Wandering Heart and follow the instructions to enter!

http://confessionsofawanderingheart.blogspot.com/2009/06/contest-win-catching-fire-by-suzanne.html

Bermudez Triangle/ TBB Rules and Regulations.

Welcome to THE BERMUDEZ BOOKSHELF. I hope your needs have been met so far. If not, feel semi-free to comment.

Obviously, the first book I should review is Maureen Johnson's THE BERMUDEZ TRIANGLE (Razorbill, 2005). The reason for this is, well, look at the title of the blog.

So here goes...

(UK cover. Presumably 2005, Puffin.)

Avery Dekker, Melanie "Mel" Forrest, and Nina Bermudez have been best friends for years, and it seems like nothing short of a nuclear bomb could take the "Bermudez Triangle" (name bestowed upon the three now-seniors by a jealous peer back in grade school) out of commission. But one summer, two things happen: Nina goes to precollege across the country for a summer, and Avery and Mel fall in love. When Nina comes back to New York, she notices something's up-but nothing could have prepared her for this.

Will Nina ever come to accept them? (Okay, I have to spoil this one for you: yes.) Will Avery finally come to terms with her sexuality? Will Mel gather the courage to tell her parents? Will Carter (oops, spoiler) ever figure out which of the BT girls he actually likes? And finally, will PJ Mortimer's ever become an actual good restaurant? (Another neccesary spoiler: probably not.) You'll find all the answers to the previous questions (I think) and more when you read Ms. Johnson's excellent sophomore offering, THE BERMUDEZ TRIANGLE.

Overall rating: Worth all eight hearts on the cover, along with all the ones inside. (Read--excellent.)

(US First Edition, 2005, Razorbill.)

Well, that wasn't too bad, was it? (SUBLIMINAL MESSAGE: COMMENT. DON'T FLAME, JUST COMMENT.) Okay, now on to rules. Credit to Karin's Book Nook for some of these ideas, by the way.

Sometimes I will get bored and not post just reviews. I will also do other things. For instance, every Monday I'm going to post some information about a book I really want (hence, Must Have Monday.) Fridays will be quotes (see below for Quotes on Friday), YMR--You Must Read--will be on Wednesday (WYMR), and Sunday will possibly play host to (really crappy) contests. (More on that later.)

For now, enjoy this quote from my fifth-favorite book of all time...

Quotes on Friday

THIS WEEK'S BOOK: Looking for Alaska by John Green

PAGE 64

"I am suffering from the nausea and dizziness typically associated with a mild concussion," I recited. While Takumi went to go get the Eagle and Lara changed pants, I lay on the concrete sidewalk. The Eagle came back with the school nurse, who diagnosed me with --get this--a concussion, and then Takumi drove me to the hospital with Lara riding shotgun. Apparently I lay in the back and slowly repeated the words "The. Symptoms. Generally. Associated. With. Concussion."

Ah, a classic. If you haven't read Alaska, you really should--it's even better than Bermudez Triangle. And that's saying something.

JAH