The Fifth Petal by Brunonia Barry

Title and Author-The Fifth Petal by Brunonia Barry

Publisher- Crown

Pages- 432

My rating- 4 of 5 stars

 Reviewer- Stephanie

The Fifth Petal is a good book that had a great flow and that can be hard to find in a book like this. I was very surprised that the pacing of this book was fantastic! This book did not disappoint at all, but it did not give anything away until the very end.

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Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow

Title and Author-Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow

Publisher- Delacorte Press

Pages- 416

My rating- 5 of 5 stars

 Reviewer- Stephanie

Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow is a fantastically written book that was very interesting from the first page to the very last. This book was very serious and a great read when you are looking for something that you will think about for long after you read it.

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A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess

Title and Author-A Shadow Bright and Burning by Jessica Cluess

Publisher- Random House BFYR

Pages- 416

My rating- 5 of 5 stars

 Reviewer- Stephanie

A Shadow Bright and Burning was one of my most anticipated reads of the year, and I was not let down! Jessica Cluess is able to create a fantastic storyline with so many twists and turns! I would highly recommend this book! The only problems that I had with this book was the characters did not seem to be developed as well as they could have been. I am looking forward to the next book!

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The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis

Title and Author-The Wolf Road by Beth Lewis

Publisher-The Borough Press

Pages- 400

My rating- 4 of 5 stars

 Reviewer- Stephanie

The Wolf Road is a thrilling novel that can be very dark at times. Once I read the synopsis I was hooked! The wolf road wasn't what I expected, but it was still a great read. This book can be hard to get through at times, but it is well worth reading through to the end. Beth Lewis is a great author and this book is a must read! I was very pleased with the writing style.
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Hostis Humani Generis by Ethan Howard

Title and Author-Hostis Humani Generis by Ethan Howard
Publisher-Imprint Publishing 

Pages- 297
My rating-  5 of 5 stars

 Reviewer- Stephanie

Another great read by Ethan Howard. This story continues to unfold into a more exciting story. Hostis Humani Generis is very thought provoking and a wonderful read. Ethan Howard has a wonderful writing style! I would recommend it to anyone who loved the first book as much as I did!

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Punderdome: A Card Game for Pun Lovers by Jo Firestone

Title and Author-Punderdome: A Card Game for Pun Lovers by Jo Firestone

Publisher-  

Pages- 200

My rating- 1 of 5 stars

 Reviewer- Stephanie

I recently read the description of this game and thought that I HAD to have it! Who doesn't like puns? Well, this Game was quite a letdown... there are some jokes on the front of the cards that seemed a little too easy to guess and the fact that I knew most of the answers didn't seem fair to the other players. playing this game with only three or four people didn't seem to make it any better. I was expecting a lot more and was let down.

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Synopsis- 

From the daughter-father duo that created Brooklyn's beloved live pun competition comes Punderdome, the "Punderful card game [that] will replace Cards Against Humanity at your next party" (Mashable.com).

One part game, one part conversation starter, you don't need to be a pun master to master Punderdome: the goal is to make bad jokes and have fun along the way.

A player (the prompter for that round) draws two prompt cards from the deck, and then reads the prompts to the rest of the group, who have 90 seconds to create a single, groan-worthy pun that combines the two prompts.     

When time is up, pun makers share their puns with the prompter, who awards the prompt cards to the player whose pun he or she likes best. The winner then draws the next pair of prompt cards and the process repeats. Players win by obtaining 10 pairs of cards.

Every Game Set Comes With:
·         200 double-sided cards (100 White and 100 Green)
·         2 Mystery Envelopes with fill-in prize slips
·         2 80-page pads for drafting puns
·         1 instruction card and 1 pun example card
·         A stu-PUN-dous time for 3 or more players

READING PROGRESS

06/27	marked as:	currently-reading
06/27	marked as:	read

Silence is Goldfish by Annabel Pitcher

Title and Author-Silence is Goldfish by Annabel Pitcher

Publisher-  Orion Children's Books

Pages- 365

My rating- 5 of 5 stars

 Reviewer- Stephanie

This book was amazing, The character development was completely wonderful and this book was a fun and fast read. Silence is Goldfish is a book that I would reread. I love this book and would suggest it to anyone looking for a great read!

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Synopsis

My name is Tess Turner - at least, that's what I've always been told.

I have a voice but it isn't mine. It used to say things so I'd fit in, to please my parents, to please my teachers. It used to tell the universe I was something I wasn't. It lied.

It never occurred to me that everyone else was lying too. But the words that really hurt weren't the lies: it was six hundred and seventeen words of truth that turned my world upside down.

Words scare me, the lies and the truth, so I decided to stop using them.

I am Pluto. Silent. Inaccessible. Billions of miles away from everything I thought I knew.

Tessie-T has never really felt she fitted in and after what she read that night on her father's blog she knows for certain that she never will. How she deals with her discovery makes an entirely riveting, heart-breaking story told through Tess's eyes as she tries to find her place in the world.

READING PROGRESS

02/22	marked as:	read
02/22	marked as:	to-read
02/22	marked as:	have-but-haven-t-read-yet
06/18	marked as:	read

Shallow Graves by Kali Wallace

Title and Author- Shallow Graves by Kali Wallace

Publisher- Katherine Tegen Books

Pages-360

My rating-2 of 5 stars

 Reviewer- Stephanie
"Shallow Graves" was a book that I thought tried to branch out, but it REALLY didn't work for me. I thought that this novel could have used better transitions and more developed storyline. The beginning of the novel was amazing! The story started to become very interesting, but after the first 100 pages, I started to lose interest. Breezy is a wonderful character that went through an interesting change. I wouldn't read it again.

Synopsis
Breezy remembers leaving the party: the warm, wet grass under her feet, her cheek still stinging from a slap to her face. But when she wakes up, scared and pulling dirt from her mouth, a year has passed and she can’t explain how.

Nor can she explain the man lying at her grave, dead from her touch, or why her heartbeat comes and goes. She doesn’t remember who killed her or why. All she knows is that she’s somehow conscious—and not only that, she’s able to sense who around her is hiding a murderous past.

Haunted by happy memories from her life, Breezy sets out to find answers in the gritty, threatening world to which she now belongs—where killers hide in plain sight, and a sinister cult is hunting for strange creatures like her. What she discovers is at once empowering, redemptive, and dangerous.

READING PROGRESS

12/26	marked as:	read
12/26	marked as:	have-but-haven-t-read-yet
01/02	marked as:	currently-reading
01/02	page 25		6.0%
01/03	page 50		13.0%
02/07	marked as:	to-read
02/07	marked as:	have-but-haven-t-read-yet
06/18	marked as:	read

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The After Party: Poems by Jana Prikryl

Title and Author- The After Party: Poems by Jana Prikryl

Publisher-  Expected publication

Pages-112

My rating-2 of 5 stars 

 Reviewer- Stephanie

"The After Party" is an interesting collection of poems. Some poems are very short -about one stanza- or longer (a few pages). The idea of this collection seemed very thought out, but the order of this collection didn't flow the way that I was expecting. Some of the poems didn't have that flow that most poems have. Many of them were kind of confusing and very dull. Overall I wasn't impressed with the execution of the book.

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Synopsis 

Jana Prikryl’s The After Party journeys across borders and eras, from cold war Central Europe to present-day New York City,from ancient Rome to New World suburbs, constantly testing the lingua francas we negotiate to know ourselves. These poems disclose the tensions in our inherited identities and showcase Prikryl’s ambitious experimentation with style.

“Thirty Thousand Islands,” the second half of the collection,presents some forty linked poems in a great variety of structures and incorporating numerous voices. Rooted in one place that fragments into many places—the remote shores of Lake Huron in Canada, a region with no natural resources aside from its beauty—these poems are an elegy that speaks beyond grief.

Penetrating, vital, and visionary, The After Party marks the arrival of an extraordinary new talent.

READING PROGRESS

06/17	marked as:	currently-reading
06/18	marked as:	read

Oil Painting Essentials

oil painting essentials is a great book with wonderful pictures! This book has a lot of wonderful pictures, but it doesn't include some tips and tricks to oil painting. This book also focuses on tonalism more than anything else. This book is great for starting to learn more about oil painting, but it isn't great for someone who has been painting for 10+ years. Overall great book for starters. 

College Rules!, 4th Edition: How to Study, Survive, and Succeed in College by Sherrie Nist-Olejnik

Title and Author- College Rules!, 4th Edition: How to Study, Survive, and Succeed in College by Sherrie Nist-Olejnik

Publisher-  Ten Speed Press

Pages- 336

My rating- 5 of 5 stars

 Reviewer- Stephanie

College Rules! Is a great tool that I will take with me to college in the fall. Everything was very well written and explained!

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This updated classic gives students the tools they need to successfully transition from high school to college, avoid rookie mistakes, and set themselves up for academic success from day one. 

College can be the most exciting time in your life, but it also throws you into the deep end, with new academic and social responsibilities often seeming impossible to juggle. College Rules!will save you time and trouble, setting you up for academic success from the get-go. Whether you’re graduating at the top of your high school class or returning to college as an adult, this updated and expanded edition offers practical advice on how to successfully transition into college. Including tips and strategies that won’t ever be taught in lectures, you’ll learn how to:

- Study smarter—not harder
- Use technology in the classroom
- Choose an app for every occasion
- Excel at time management [Read: Balance homework and parties]
- Stay motivated—even in those “yawn” classes
- Plan a manageable course schedule
- Interact effectively with profs
- Become a research ace—online and at the library
- Survive the stress of exam week
- Set yourself up for stellar recommendations

With sad but true stories that teach tough lessons the easy way and inside scoops that provide advice based on actual research,College Rules! will help you make the most of your college years.

READING PROGRESS

05/19	marked as:	currently-reading
05/19	page 100		29.0%
05/19	page 336		100.0%
05/19	marked as:	read

Delano in Hollyhook by Cameron Glenn

Title and Author- Delano in Hollyhook by Cameron Glenn

Publisher-  Howling Wolf / Ravenswood Publishing 

Pages- 366

My rating- 4 of 5 stars

 Reviewer- Stephanie

Delano in Hollyhook is a fantastic read! The characters are very well developed and have an amazing journey, which includes magic and an epic adventure! I would recommend it to anyone looking for a book that will leave you thinking.

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Delano Farnsworth is one of the few ‘lucky unfortunates’ chosen to receive an invitation to the magical Camp Hollyhook. After he arrives, however, he quickly discovers that not is all as it seems. With his new camp friends the ‘quirky’ Jackie, the ‘dour’ Lenore and the ‘lonely’ Wheeze, Delano seeks to uncover the sinister true purpose of the camp, as well as learn about his missing parents who abandoned him when he was three, his kidnapped uncle as well as his own self and destiny.

READING PROGRESS

04/25	marked as:	to-read
05/17	marked as:	currently-reading
05/17	marked as:	read

Choked by Cameron Glenn

Title and Author- Choked by Cameron Glenn

Publisher-  CreateSpace

Pages- 168

My rating- 5 of 5 stars

 Reviewer- Stephanie

Choked was everything that I expected and even more! This very quick read with developed characters and a wonderful storyline! I would recommend this to anyone who loves "The Catcher in the Rye" and "The Great Gatsby".

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It starts out as kind of a hybrid between "The Catcher in the Rye" and a YA version of "The Great Gatsby" but then becomes it's own type of little thing, providing an overall interesting read. The basic setup is that Kent wants Chole to be his girlfriend.

READING PROGRESS

04/25	marked as:	to-read
05/17	marked as:	currently-reading
05/17	marked as:	read

Loot By Chris Keane

Sunday, May 8, 2016

Loot: Chris Keane

Publisher: Pennant Collective

Page Length: 36

Rating: 3.5/5 

Reviewed By: Cayla Douglas
       This story was an OK read. The setting is creative as well as the character motivation. I got a Goonies vibe from the story giving me a nostalgic feel as I read. The characters are a little cliche, but not to the point where they came off boring. I enjoyed the backstory of the Aunt and the nephews I wish it was brought up a lot more. My problems for Loot stem from the fact it’s only 25 pages long. If it had been longer it would of been fantastic! More story time would have added more room for the creativity I’ve seen while reading it.The suspense at the end of the story had me biting my nails, and the ending was unexpected. Loot is a worthy read.

Goodreads page: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26836460-loot

Amazon Page:

https://www.amazon.com/Loot-Chris-Keane-ebook/dp/B015WJHZGU?ie=UTF8&keywords=loot%20chris%20keane&qid=1462715778&ref_=sr_1_1&s=books&sr=1-1