Sunday, April 10, 2011

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Review: Glee- The Beginning by Sophia Lowell

Information:

Released: August 5th, 2010
Published by: Poppy
Series: Glee, 1
Overall Rating: 3 out of 5
Source: Chapter’s (Local Book Store)
Page Amount: 216
School Rating: C+
Age Group: Young Adult

Summary:

Fans are clamoring for more showmance, more mash-ups, more Cheeri-os...more Glee! Now, Gleeks everywhere can spend more time with uber-ambitious Rachel Berry, outrageous Kurt Hammel and dreamy Finn Hudson with these completely original stories about everyone's favorite Glee Club.

Want to know what was happening with Rachel, Kurt, Quinn and Finn before Will Schuster took over the Glee Club? Find out in the first Original Glee Novel, a prequel that transports readers to McKinley High's hallways before the show began.

Each Original Glee Novel reflects the show's intelligent comedic sensibility and quirky, heartfelt storylines.


First Line:


“Rachel Berry paused outside the door of Principal Figgin’s office just long enough to straighten her knee socks and smooth down the sides of her corduroy skirt.” - Page 1

Cheesy Back Cover Quote:


“It was interesting to see what happened to our favourite Gleeks before Mr. Shuester took over the Glee club. Lets just say things didn’t go as smoothly as you may think”

Review:


This book took me awhile to pick up. The first time I heard of it, I actually didn’t watch Glee, so naturally I didn’t want to pick it up because I didn’t watch it. Once I started watching the show, I wanted to read this book. This book was iffy for me.

The plot and story was… okay. A lot of it was incredibly inaccurate, but if it wasn’t for that, I think I would have liked it more. If I could get over that, I think I would have liked it a lot. I like the whole concept of knowing what happened to Glee club before Mr Shue came into the picture.

The writing, was again okay. It was written in third person, which I felt didn’t fit for the story. I think every chapter should have changed to a different POV, I think that would have been a better way to go.

I obviously love the characters to death, because its my favourite show and if I don’t like the characters, what’s the point in watching it? In this novel, Kurt is my favourite.

Overall, this novel was a overall okay for me. I think it would be a good read for some people, but I think I am such a perfectionist when it comes to my books that I could find all of the flaws in it. I do plan on reading the rest of the books, though, just to see if they end up getting Blaine into them.

Cover Comments:


I can honestly say I HATE this cover. I wish that they would have made it look less like a TV show cover. That may not make sense, but I wish they chose a cover that looked like a actual book cover. Maybe one that was shot at McKinley High?

Ratings:


Plot 10/10
Like able Characters 10/10
Problem Development 5/10
Solution Effectiveness 5/10
Writing Style 7/10
Character Development 4/10
Cover 2/10
Setting 10/10
Ending 8/10
Beginning 8/10
=
69%

Love,

Sierra

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Review: Beach Blondes by Katherine Applegate

Information:

Released: May 6th, 2008
Published by: Simon Pulse
Series: Stand Alone Title
Overall Rating: 4 out of 5
Source: Cole’s (Local Book Store)
Page Amount: 721
School Rating: A
Age Group: Young Adult

Summary:


Three months. Three guys. One amazing summer.

Summer Smith is in for the best summer of her life. Between the cold weather and her boyfriendless existence in Minnesota, Summer is ready for sun, sand, and boys in the Florida Keys. And by the end of the first day, she has more than enough to keep her busy:

Adam, the senator's son, has looks, power, and all the money in the world.

Diver, the mystery man, is mellow, intriguing, and definitely unique.

And Seth, the perfect guy...only he has a girlfriend.

But with new friends, cute guys, and miles of hot white sand, Summer's in for more trouble than she thinks....


First Line:


“I hate my life. I hate my life. And I hate Sean Valletti” - Summer Smith, Page 1.

Cheesy Back Cover Quote:

“Beach Blondes was a light, fluffy chick lit read that I would take to the beach any day. That is one thing that I can’t say about a lot of books.”

Review:


I always knew that BEACH BLONDES was a book. I have seen it in the bookstore before, and I remember thinking that the book looked scary because of its size. Other than that, I never gave it the time of day. I saw it in someone’s Youtube video one time, but I don’t remember who’s, but I remember them saying they really like it, so I decided to pick it up. I am really glad I did, because I found BEACH BLONDES to be a really enjoyable novel.
Although the plot is pretty cliché, I really enjoyed it. I would take this on one of my vacations and read it on the beach, because of its story and plot. The story didn’t take long to develop, within the first two chapters I would say it really started rolling.

I have never been a fan of third person writing, and that is what this was written in. It seemed to go well with the story though, because I seemed not to mind it as much as some books. I guess it fit the story, even though I wish she did write it in first person, because it would have shown a whole lot more of the emotion I think this book lacked.

I loved the characters in this book. Summer was a very nice character to read, she wasn’t crazy yet she wasn’t a goody two-shoes. The other supporting main characters were amazing too, and I loved Seth and Diver.

I think everyone should give this book a chance. I understand that it may not be for everyone, I just think that it’s a book that you should give it at least one chance, because it really is a good book. It may be too girly for some people, but I can’t say I didn’t like that about the book.


Cover Comments:


I think the cover is truly beautiful. One thing that they should have though about when they chose a cover like this was if you were going to bring this book to school it does bring a lot of attention to yourself, and your book. I do think it is pretty, though.

Ratings:


Plot 8/10
Like able Characters 10/10
Problem Development 6/10
Solution Effectiveness 5/10
Writing Style 9/10
Character Development 10/10
Cover 10/10
Setting 10/10
Ending 10/10
Beginning 10/10
=
88%

Love,

Sierra