The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May and June

Today's book that I just finished is called...

The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May and June

By: Robin Benway

Recommended ages: 14 +

Rating: 4 stars!

      When they move to a new town after their parents' separation, sisters April, May and June recover special powers that they had from childhood.  Powers that come in handy when dealing with the living nightmare... High school.  

The powers also help them cope with the hardest year of their lives.  But could the magic have a greater purpose?

April the oldest can see the future.  The middle-child May can literally disappear.  And the youngest, June, reads minds.  But when April sees a vision of disaster, the girls must come together to save the day or risk falling apart forever.

This book was so good I finished it in three days!  I loved the sisters' relationships with each other, some of the things they said to one another made me laugh out loud a couple of times! 

 Each of the sisters had their own unique personality that fit with their superpowers.  Like for example, April, she is very overprotective so she can see the future and help her sisters when they are in danger.  I especially liked the ending of the story it was really cute!  Another thing I  loved about this book was their names, April, May and June.  It's so cool that their names are months!  Their names also go in order of how old they are, since April comes first on the calender she is the oldest and so on with the May and June. I would definitely recommend this if you want a fast-paced book that will make you laugh out loud! 

Thanks

-Alyssa :)

Max Quick The Pocket And The Pendant

Today I finished a great book called...

Max Quick The Pocket and the Pendant

By: Mark Jeffrey

Recommended Ages: 11 +

Rating: 4 stars!

Max Quick is a pickpocket, an orphan and a thief.  Even so, nothing about him seems particularly special...until one day when time mysteriously stops.  Suddenly, nearly everyone in the world is frozen in time-except for Max.   

Now Max must journey across America to find the source of the Time stop.  Along the way, he meets others who aren't suspended in time, like Casey, a girl who's never been on her own until now.  Together, as they search for the cause of this disaster, Max and his companions encounter ancient mysteries, magic books, and clues to the riddle of stopped time.  But relentless and mysterious villains are hot on Max's heels and will do everything in their power to prevent Max from ending the Time-stop.  And the closer Max gets to the answers, the more it seems that his own true identity is not what he once believed.  Racing against a clock that no longer ticks, Max must embrace his past to save his future-and the world-from being altered forever.

I thought this book was great!  The beginning was a little slow but everything that the author says leads up to the EPIC  ending!  This book was really well thought-out and had a really, really good ending, I was so amazed by it!  It was literally just so crazy!!  I liked Max and Casey but I thought they could have been developed a little bit more.  All in all this was a great book and I'd definitely recommend it if you want a quick, but thought-provoking read!

Thanks

-Alyssa :)

The Espressologist

 Today I finished an adorable book called...

The Espressologist.

By: Kristina Springer

Recommended Ages: 14 and up.

Rating: 5 stars!

The Espressologist was an AMAZING 5 star book, here's the summary: 

What’s your drink of choice? Is it a small pumpkin spice latte? Then you’re lots of fun and a bit sassy. Or a medium americano? You prefer simplicity in life. Or perhaps it’s a small decaf soy sugar-free hazelnut cafe latte? Some might call you a yuppie. Seventeen-year-old barista Jane Turner has this theory that you can tell a lot about a person by their regular coffee drink. She scribbles it all down in a notebook and calls it Espressology. 

So it’s not a totally crazy idea when Jane starts hooking up some of her friends based on their coffee orders. Like her best friend, Em, a medium hot chocolate, and Cam, a toffee nut latte. But when her boss, Derek, gets wind of Jane’s Espressology, he makes it an in-store holiday promotion, promising customers their perfect matches for the price of their favorite coffee. Things are going better than Derek could ever have hoped, so why is Jane so freaked out? Does it have anything to do with Em dating Cam? She’s the one who set them up! She should be happy for them, right?

The Espressologist was such a cute book!  I loved how Kristina Springer described the different coffee flavors and how she makes the coffee, it made me want to just cuddle up by the fireplace and have a hot cup of coffee or hot cocoa!  This book had a lot of humor, and I really liked the main character, Jane Turner.  I do think some of the characters could have been more developed, but other than that, it was such a great book!  This is great to read over the holidays, because that's when it takes place!  I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a quick, cute and frothy read that you'll totally savor!! :)

Thanks

-Alyssa :)

The Cupcake Queen

I'm really sorry I haven't been posting here for a while guys!  I've been super busy!

Anyway I just finished a really cute book called...

THE CUPCAKE QUEEN

By: Heather Helper

Recommended ages: 12 and up

Rating: 3 1/2 stars!  Very cute! :)

          The Cupcake Queen was an adorable book about a young girl named Penny.  Penny has to cope with life living in a new place, called Hogs Hallow rather than living in New York City, where she used to live. 

 Penny has to adapt to going to a new school, meeting new friends, (and enemies,) and working at a cupcake bakery that her mom has just opened called the Cupcake Queen!  

Penny doesn't know how she'll survive high school without her lifelong friends and big city comforts.  To make matters worse, her father is staying behind, and her mom isn't talking about what the future holds for them.  

         But Penny discovers that small town life isn't bad.  Penny finds bright spots in Hogs Hollow-like the art studio and her free-spirited friend Tally.  Then there's Marcus, the cute and enigmatic boy who's always running on the beach with his dog Sam.

Just when Penny is settling in, her parents ask her to make a choice that will turn everything upside down again.  This novel about love, creativity and accepting life's unexpected turns is a sweet confection brimming with charm, humor and romance.  

I would definitely recommend this book for anyone who is looking for a quick, fun read.  This book is cute, romantic and sweet (in more ways than one!)

Thanks for reading

-Alyssa :)

Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

 Today I finished an amazing five star book called Snow Flower and the Secret Fan written by Lisa See, a New York Times bestselling author!  I rarely come across a book that's five stars, it's almost always four, but this book was truly breathtaking.  Here's the summary!


     In nineteenth century China, in a remote Hunan county, a girl  named Lily, at the tender age of seven, is paired with a laotong, an "old same," in an emotional match that will last a lifetime.  The laotong, Snow Flower, introduces herself by sending Lily a silk fan on which she's written a poem in nu shu, a unique language that Chinese women created in order to communicate in secret, away from the influence of men.

As the years pass, Lily and Snow Flower send messages on the fan and compose stories on handkerchiefs, reaching out of isolation to share their hopes, dreams and accomplishments.  Together they endure the agony of footbinding and reflect upon their arranged marriages, their loneliness and the joys and tragedies of motherhood.  The two find solace in their friendship, developing a bond that keeps their spirits alive.  But when a misunderstanding arises, their relationships suddenly threatens to tear apart.

A wonderfully written book that is well researched and well thought out.  I loved both characters, Lily and Snow Flower and I really loved to see their bond when growing up from little girls to becoming adults and eventually, mothers.  Snow Flower and the Secret Fan had love, hope, tragedy, and female friendship throughout the book.  This book was so mesmerizing that the pages float away and the story remains clearly before you from beginning to end.  I would definitely recommend it!!!


Thanks
Alyssa :)

Time Riders

Yesterday I finished a fantastic book called Time Riders by Alex Scarrow. This book is in a series of six, and this is the first one.  OK here's the summary!




Three teenagers have cheated death.

Liam O'Connor should have died at sea when the Titanic sank in 1912.
Maddy Carter should have died in a plane crash in 2010.
Sal Vikram should have died in a fire in 2026.

But moments before death, a mysterious man told them to take his hand-and they were whisked away to safety.
Now Liam, Maddy and Sal are working as TimeRiders for a top-secret agency with only one purpose: to stop time traveling from destroying the world.  Yes, it's possible to travel through time, and there are those from the future who will try to change the past for their own immoral gain.  The teens' first assignment pits them against Paul Kramer, a brilliant physicist from the future who plans to lead Nazi Germany to victory in World II- with apocalyptic consequences.  Can they save humanity and fulfill their destinies as keepers of time?

This book kept me in suspense the whole time, it was definitely what I'd call a page-turner.  It was fast paced and I loved all of the characters!  This is really hard to say but this book was 4.9999999999 stars, wasn't quite five but as close to five stars as you can get.  Very good book, I would recommend this to anyone, especially someone really into sci-fi!



 A little more than four hearts on the rating scale!



Thanks
Alyssa :)

Radiant Darkness

Today I finished an amazing book called Radiant Darkness by Emily Whitman.  At the end of the book it said  that this was the authors first novel which I couldn't believe at all since it was so good!  Anyway here's the summary:

              Persephone lives in the most gorgeous place in the world.  But her mother, the goddess of fertility, grain and agriculture, named Demeter, is as overprotective as she is powerful.  Paradise has become a trap to Persephone, she feels as if her mother is controlling her every move and won't let her grow up and become a women.  
Just when Persephone feels there's no chance of escaping the life that's been planned for her, a mysterious stranger arrives.  A stranger who promises something more-something dangerous and exciting-something that spurs Persephone to make a daring and possibly deadly choice.  A choice that could destroy all she's come to love, even the earth itself.  In a mysterious land where a singing river can make you forget your name, Persephone is forced to discover who-and what- she really is.

This book really hit the spot for me.  It kept me turning pages constantly.  I also have to note the amazing descriptions the author used.  It was so beautiful and made me feel like I was really there with Persephone!  If you know much about Greek Gods you may know the story of Persephone and who she was captured by, but in this story, the tale has a great twist that I really came to enjoy and love.  I would definitely recommend this book!




This book:  Four hearts on the rating scale!       



Thanks
-Alyssa :)