Come Thirsty

General Analysis

Book Title: Come Thirsty

Author: Max Lucado

Publish Date: October 6, 2006

Genre: Christian Nonfiction, Inspirational

Overall Thoughts: This book was very inspirational.  It teaches about trusting in God, not worrying, and receiving God's love.  It was very inspirational and helped me to be less stressed.

The Summer I Turned Pretty

General Analysis

Book Title: The Summer I Turned Pretty

Author: Jenny Han

Publish Date: May 5, 2009

Genre: Young Adult Romance

Similar Author/Books:  I think her writing style was very similar to Sarah Dessen's writing style.

Plot:  Much like the last Sarah Dessen novel that I began reading (That Summer), I thought that there was a severe lack of plot throughout the book, but nonetheless there was more of a plot than in That Summer.  Belly, the main female character, measures her life in her summer and the events that happen in the summers. She vacations at a beach house every summer with her mom, her mom's friend (Susannah), and Susannah's two sons, Conrad and Jeremiah.

Calico Joe

I read Calico Joe a few weeks ago (before I started this blog).  It is a good book and I think that it is worth writing a review about it.  I cannot remember all the details about the book (I have read so many since then), but it left a good impression on me.  It is definitely a book worth reading.

General Analysis

Book Title: Calico Joe

Author:John Grisham

Publish Date: April 10, 2012

Genre: Adult Fiction, Sports, Historical Fiction

Plot:  The story takes place both in the present and the past.  The summer of 1973 to be exact.  Joe Castle was the best baseball rookie to ever play and Paul Tracey, son of Warren Tracy, was a big fan.  Warren Tracey, also a major league baseball player, did not like his son idolizing any baseball player but him.  The events of the present were greatly influenced by what happened on the baseball field in the summer of 1973. What exactly happened that summer?  Read Calico Joe and find out!

The Gathering

General Analysis

Book Title:  The Gathering

Author: Kelley Armstrong

Publish Date: April 12, 2011

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance

Similar Author/Books:  I think that the writing style is very similar to Neal Shusterman in the way that the author, Kelley Armstrong, leaves a lot of suspense to the main story line.  As the story progresses, you learn more about the main plot of the story and as soon as you think you have figured out the plot, Armstrong throws in a new bit of information that makes the story even more action packed and thought provoking.

Plot:  Maya, age sixteen, has grown up in a small town on Vancouver Island.  The town is a medical research community where even the residents do not know what exactly is being researched.  Maya takes care of injured animals that she finds in the forests around the medical town, but it seems when she is around they heal quite quickly.  Things seem strange even for this small town, when the number of cougars in the area seems to be increasing and they all seem to be attracted to Maya.

Anna and the French Kiss, That Summer, and XVI

I have started three books within the last week that I decided not to continue reading.  They were Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins, That Summer  by Sarah Dessen, and XVI by Julia Karr.  Below are my reviews of the books and why I decided not to finish these books.

General Analysis of Anna and the French Kiss

Book Title: Anna and the French Kiss

Author: Stephanie Perkins

Publish Date: December 2, 2010

Genre: Young Adult Romance

Plot:  For Anna's senior year, her dad decides that Anna needs to attend a boarding school in France.

Why I Started to Read this Book: It seemed like an interesting young adult book.

Why I Stopped Reading this Book: The main character was very self-centered and annoying.  The writing style was not enjoyable.

General Analysis of That Summer

Book Title:  That Summer

Author: Sarah Dessen

Publish Date: April 6, 2006

Genre: Young Adult Romance

Plot:  After reading half the book, there did not seem to be much of a plot.  The main character's father got remarried after cheating on his wife with a coworker.  The main character, Haven, also had a sister who was getting married for the first time.

Why I Started to Read this Book:  It was on a book club reading list on GoodReads and I wanted to read a Sarah Dessen novel because I have heard that she is a good author. 

Why I Stopped Reading this Book:  There was not much of a plot after reading more than half of the book.

General Analysis of XVI

Book Title: XVI

Author: Julia Karr

Publish Date: January 6, 2011

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia, Romance

Plot:  At the age of 16, everyone gets a tattoo on their wrists (XVI).  At this age, you are considered legal.  The main character, Nina, does not want to become legal.  This is because at the age of 16, you are expected to have sex with any guy that asks you.

Why I Started to Read this Book: The book seemed interesting and I when I picked up the book, I did not know that the book revolved around sex.

Why I Stopped Reading this Book: First off, the writing style was not very developed.  The author kept repeating herself and kept using acronyms for things that the reader does not know the meaning for.  It gets very annoying not knowing what all the acronyms mean.  Secondly and most importantly, the book seemed to revolve around the idea that you were expected to have sex at the age of sixteen.  The main character stated several times within the first 4 chapters that this is the reason she did not want to become sixteen.  Her best friend did want to become 16 for this exact reason.

Future Reviews and Reads

I am continuing to read Everyday Deserves a Chance by Max Lucado and Come Thirsty by Max Lucado.  I am enjoying both of these books greatly.

I plan on starting The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong, Breathless by Jessica Warman, and The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey.  As always, I am open to suggestions on books that I should read.

Maze Runner

General Analysis

Book Title: Maze Runner

Author: James Dashner

Genre: Young Adult Dystopia

Similar Author/Books:  This book is very similar to the Hunger Games series because of the fact that is Young Adult Dystopia and also because it is a survival type book that is filled with mystery and suspense.

Plot:  A boy wakes up in a box.  He does not know where he is, where he came from, or even his age.  The only thing that he remembers is his name: Thomas.  Thomas is not the only boy in this new society that he is placed into that has a loss of memory.  Thomas is the new kid in the Glade, a society full of young boys, and is frustrated that no one is explaining who he is or how he got to the Glade.  All he knows is that the boys around him are unhappy that the moment Thomas comes to the Glade things begin to change.

Hello Book Readers

Who am I?

I am a 20 year old follower of Christ who loves to read.  I love to read Christian fiction and nonfiction, such as books by Ted Dekker and Max Lucado.  I also love to read young adult (YA) novels, such as Hunger Games and books by Neal Shusterman.  I decided that since I read a lot of books, others may want to read my reviews of books and decide if they are of interest to them.  Since I read YA books, my other purpose is to provide a way for parents to investigate whether books are age appropriate for their children without necessarily having to read books that they are not interested in.  I am not a mother, but I have the desire to be one in the future and I understand the concern that parents may have for their children reading books that may not be appropriate for their age.

Below is the format for my book reviews:

Book Title:

Author:

Genre:

Similar Author/Books:  Here I will discuss books with similar themes, plots, or characters and also authors with similar writing styles.

Plot:  Here I will list a brief summary of the book (without spoilers) and how enjoyable the plot was.

Characters: Here I will talk about the characters (whether they are dynamic, static, ect.) and how "likable" the characters are.

Writing Style:  Here I will briefly describe the good and bad about the writer's style of writing.

Likes:  Here I will list what I enjoyed most about the book.

Dislikes:  Here I will list how the book could have been better.

Recommended Reading Age: Here I will discuss what I believe would be the best age group to read the book and why I believe that.

Overall Rating: Here I will list what overall rating I would give the book.

I will also include a link to my review on Goodreads, a link to the book on Goodreads, and places where you can purchase the book.

Edit: I no longer use this format.