Books during Leaf Part 3

Deep Down Popular
Phoebe Stone
280 pages

Summary: Direct from Amazon.com

6th-grader Jessie Lou is deeply, madly, passionately in love with Conrad Parker Smith. Too bad she's a tomboy with only one on-again, off-again friend, and hair so short you can't spit on it. Too bad he's the most popular boy in their small-town school.
But then Conrad hurts his leg and suddenly can't keep up with his old pursuits anymore. Jessie Lou and Conrad start spending a lot more time together, but she can't help wonder -- is she just a substitute friend? And will Conrad forget her when his leg brace comes off and he's king of the school once again?

My Opinion:
This is for ages 14 and under. It is a cute book.


Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone 
J.K Rowling  (Illustrated by Jim Kay)
247 pages

My Opinion:
I have never read any of the Harry Potter books, but I have seen all of the movies. The movies did a great job of following the book, as many movie adaptations do not. This book was wonderful. I am so glad I finally read it. The drawings brought a smile to my face.


Invisible Monsters
Chuck Palahniuk
297 pages

Summary: Direct from Amazon.com (https://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Monsters-Novel-Chuck-Palahniuk-ebook/dp/B004SO5SD8/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1473527030&sr=1-1&keywords=invisible+monsters)

Love, betrayal, petty larceny, and high fashion fuel this deliciously comic novel from the author of Fight Club.

She's a fashion model who has everything: a boyfriend, a career, a loyal best friend. But when a sudden freeway "accident" leaves her disfigured and incapable of speech, she goes from being the beautiful center of attention to being an invisible monster, so hideous that no one will acknowledge that she exists. Enter Brandy Alexander, Queen Supreme, one operation away from becoming a real woman, who will teach her that reinventing yourself means erasing your past and making up something better. And that salvation hides in the last places you'll ever want to look.

My Opinion:
Plot twist after plot twist. Never expected any of it. Everyone should read this book.


Gone Girl
Gillian Flynn 
418 pages

Summary: Direct from Amazon.com (https://www.amazon.com/Gone-Girl-Novel-Gillian-Flynn-ebook/dp/B006LSZECO/ref=sr_1_1_ha?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1473526320&sr=1-1&keywords=gone+girl)

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?

My Opinion:
Everyone in this world was crazy and went hard. Amy has deep psychological issues. Ironically, her parents were psychologists. They are both pathological liars. Somehow Nick and Amy are perfect for each other since they are both heavily messed up. It was such a wild book. I wish someone would write a closed ending for it, possibly Amy and Nick with their child. A little snapshot in fanfiction would be nice.


The perks of being a wallflower
Stephen Chbosky
212 pages

Summary: Direct from Amazon.com (https://www.amazon.com/Perks-Being-Wallflower-Stephen-Chbosky-ebook/dp/B003TSEEDY/ref=sr_1_1_ha?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1473526439&sr=1-1&keywords=the+perks+of+being+a+wallflower)

Read the cult-favorite coming of age story that takes a sometimes heartbreaking, often hysterical, and always honest look at high school in all its glory. Now a major motion picture starring Logan Lerman and Emma Watson, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a funny, touching, and haunting modern classic. 

The critically acclaimed debut novel from Stephen Chbosky, Perks follows observant “wallflower” Charlie as he charts a course through the strange world between adolescence and adulthood. First dates, family drama, and new friends. Sex, drugs, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Devastating loss, young love, and life on the fringes. Caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it, Charlie must learn to navigate those wild and poignant roller-coaster days known as growing up. 

A #1 New York Times best seller for more than a year, an American Library Association Best Book for Young Adults (2000) and Best Book for Reluctant Readers (2000), and with millions of copies in print, this novel for teen readers (or “wallflowers” of more-advanced age) will make you laugh, cry, and perhaps feel nostalgic for those moments when you, too, tiptoed onto the dance floor of life.

My Opinion:
I really liked how the reader could see Charlie's growth throughout the story through his writing. It was an interesting book. I can see why people like it.

Books read during LEAF part 1

Inkheart
Cornelia Finley
563 pages
Inkheart Trilogy

My one-sentence summary:
This is what happens when you let storybook characters out of their pages and the worst villain you have ever known comes out to conquer you, your family, your world, and your powers.

Summary: (Direct from Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005OBBV44/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1)

From internationally acclaimed storyteller Cornelia Funke, this bestselling, magical epic is now out in paperback!

One cruel night, Meggie's father reads aloud from a book called INKHEART-- and an evil ruler escapes the boundaries of fiction and lands in their living room. Suddenly, Meggie is smack in the middle of the kind of adventure she has only read about in books. Meggie must learn to harness the magic that has conjured this nightmare. For only she can change the course of the story that has changed her life forever.  

This is INKHEART--a timeless tale about books, about imagination, about life. Dare to read it aloud.

My opinion:
I liked this book. I am glad I finally read it. However, I am still unsure if I will read the rest of the series.


The Princess, The Crone, and the Dung-Cart Knight
Gerald Morris
310 pages
The Squires Tales

My one-sentence summary:
New take on Arthurian legends from the point-of-view of a girl.

Official summary: (Direct from Amazon.com: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003K16PCI/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1)

Ever since the murder of her mother and guardian, Sarah has been searching for the knight she holds responsible for their death. But vengeance may not be as satisfying as she thought it would be.

My Opinion:
A real page-turner with nice plot twists, imagery, and things that made me happy. I really enjoyed this book. All the characters were really cool and enjoyable. The ending was pleasant. I love that you can enjoy the book as stand-alone novels, because that’s how I found this one. Also, the historical accuracy about the treatment towards Jews was A1. A book can be a fantasy and still have historical accuracy. If fiction books are sometimes the only way people remember/lean history, then start least put the right facts in there.I recommend this book to ages 14 and under.

Anna Karenina
Leo Tolstoy
853 pages

My one-sentence summary: 
This a book sorta on the butterfly effect as the actions of one character's appearance in life changes the whole dynamic of everyone's relationships.

Summary: (Direct from Barnes & Noble.com :http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/anna-karenina-barnes-noble-classics-series-leo-tolstoy/1105958283)

Vladimir Nabokov called Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina “one of the greatest love stories in world literature.” Matthew Arnold claimed it was not so much a work of art as “a piece of life.” Set in imperial Russia, Anna Karenina is a rich and complex meditation on passionate love and disastrous infidelity.
Married to a powerful government minister, Anna Karenina is a beautiful woman who falls deeply in love with a wealthy army officer, the elegant Count Vronsky. Desperate to find truth and meaning in her life, she rashly defies the conventions of Russian society and leaves her husband and son to live with her lover. Condemned and ostracized by her peers and prone to fits of jealousy that alienate Vronsky, Anna finds herself unable to escape an increasingly hopeless situation.
Set against this tragic affair is the story of Konstantin Levin, a melancholy landowner whom Tolstoy based largely on himself. While Anna looks for happiness through love, Levin embarks on his own search for spiritual fulfillment through marriage, family, and hard work. Surrounding these two central plot threads are dozens of characters whom Tolstoy seamlessly weaves together, creating a breathtaking tapestry of nineteenth-century Russian society.
From its famous opening sentence—“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way”—to its stunningly tragic conclusion, this enduring tale of marriage and adultery plumbs the very depths of the human soul.

My Opinion:
Weird book. Two main characters’ actions dictate/influence the actions of all other characters. I did not like Anna as her incapability to make a decision on anything made everything harder for everyone else. Plus she was two-faced and vindictive. I was not torn up by her fate. She sorta deserved it. Levin was just confusing and too intellectual for myself. Most of the time, I could not understand most of what he had said. However, I am glad he found happiness.

I can understand why this book is a classic. However, it is not one of my favorites. Nor will I recommend this to you. Read this at your own risk.