Finding Lubchenko by Michael Simmons

Sorry about the lack of paragraphs, guys. The HTML is being funky. I'll fix it when I can. No Spoilers. Title: Finding Lubchenko Author: Michael Simmons Year of Publication: 2005 Genre: Fiction Pages: 280 First Line: "So this is basically a story about a murder." Summary: "Let me offer a preliminary description of myself. I was a poor kid trapped in the surroundings of great wealth and oppulence." So says Evan Macalister, the slacker anti-hero of Michael Simmon's new novel. Since his tightfisted millionaire father never gives him any money, Evan "liberates" equipment from Dad's business and sells it online. But when a man is murdered at the office and Mr. Macalister is accused of the crime, Evan is faced with a terrible dilemma. he alone can clear his father's name -- but only by revealing his own theft operation. And then he'll be grounded forever. There's just one thing to do: find the real murderer himself. Armed only with a cryptic e-mail from someone named Lubchenko, Evan sets off on a quest that catapults him and his two best frineds into a world of danger and international intrigue. Source: Back of book Review: Another reviewer, Jen Robinson, compared this book to Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and I think that's a great analogy. She examines this analgoy a bit more closer (and I recommend reading her review, especially after you read the book, but before is fine, too) and makes it really interesting. In any case, this story is slow-moving in the first half then quickly pick sup the pace and moves too fast for the second half. However, the story is interesting and, especially in the climax, almost overly-complicated. That said, I reccomend this to older teens because of that. Besides this, the voice of Evan is very strong and the book comes off as someone is telling you this story, rather than you are reading it in a book. It makes it personal and interesting for the reader, and it is easy to relate to Evan, even though he's unlike anyone you've ever met. Worth the time it took to read, but nothing absolutely spectacular, despite the clever witicisms and general idea. Worst part: The odd pacing was frustrating. Best part: Characters were pretty well developed for the kind of novel it was. Grade: B Other Books by This Author: The Rise of Lubchenko

6 / 100 books. 6% done!

Lucky T by Kate Brian

No Spoilers.

Title: Lucky T
Author: Kate Brian
Year of Publication: 2005
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 291
First Line: "On a warm and sunny Saturday morning, Carrie Fitzgerald stepped out of her walk-in closet wearing a lime green miniskirt."
Summary: Some girls have all the luck. So far, Carrie Fitzgerald's sixteen years have been pretty sweet. Straight A's, an adorable boyfriend, a starting position on the varsity basketball team. . .

But Carrie's luck is about to, well, change.

Suddenly, her boyfriend dumps her (to "hang out with his friends"), she and her best friend have a massive blowout, and she gets a D on a biology test. Carrie knows what's wrong -- her mom accidentally donated her lucky T-shirt to Help India. That one adorable, perfect T-shirt was the source of all her good fortune.

So Carrie does what any girl would do: she's going to India. Cross your finger sand hope that Carrie finds adventure, love, and maybe just a little good luck along the way. . . .
Source: Back of book

Review: A bit slow in some places. I previously read Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys which is also by Brian and enjoyed that more than this novel. This is a cute and fun read, but not challenging in any way. I expect this would be the same for any age reading it. The novel was missing something that I can't quite put my finger on that made it just an "okay" book (or even a step below "just okay"). Furthermore, I found the fact that she would go to India to find this shirt incredibly unrealistic. While the summary on the back of the book addresses that with a sort of joke, I found it too implausible for a "realistic" novel which made it less enjoyable as a whole. Despite this, I found her character otherwise (especially her flip-flopping) to be very real and believable.

Worst part: The pace kind of jumped all over. It was weird and jolting.

Best part: I liked everything to do with Doreen.

Grade: C-

Other Books by This Author: Megan Meade's Guide to the McGowan Boys, The Princess and the Pauper.

5 / 100 books. 5% done!

Return to Paradise by Simone Elkeles

No spoilers.

Title: Return to Paradise
Author: Sarah Mlynowski
Year of Publication: 2010
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 291
First Line: "Some people are damn lucky."
Summary: Caleb Becker left Paradise eight months ago, taking with him the secret he promised to take to his grave. If the truth got out, it would ruin everything.

Maggie Armstrong tried to be strong after Caleb broke her heart and disappeared. Somehow, she managed to move on. She was determined to make a new life for herself.

But now Caleb and Maggie are forced together on a summer trip. They try ignoring their passion for each other, but buried feelings resurface. Caleb must face the truth about the night of Maggie's accident, or the secret that destroyed their relationship will forever stand between them.

Source: Back of book

Review: Although most of Elkeles' books have a basic formula to them, each of them manages to be individual. They are wonderful books and this one was just as good. Her characters are entertaining but also real and easy to relate to. I love her stories and plots and her dialogue is wonderful.

Worst part: This one was not long enough for me. I wanted more.

Best part: The characters.

Grade: A

Other Books by This Author: Perfect Chemistry, Rules of Attraction, Leaving Paradise, and others.

4 / 100 books. 4% done!

Fishbowl by Sarah Mlynowski

No spoilers.

Title: Fishbowl
Author: Sarah Mlynowski
Year of Publication: 2002
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 360
First Line: "Allison, Jodine and Emma are going to set their apartment on fire."
Summary: Allison can't wait for Jodine and Emma to move in to her apartment -- until she realizes having roommates means living in a fishbowl. You are never alone. When one small, sightly accidental fire leads to one big repair bill, all efforts to avoid each other are finally abandoned: They've got to raise money. . .fast ("Insurance? You mean you have to pay for that?"). This means joining forces. Bonding? Well, at least they're talking to each other!

Amazingly, they agree on a plan: shamelessly exploit their conbined expertise on the male species for hard cash. Tactics: sell tickets to their swanky soirees and How To Pick Up Women seminars. . . . But their grand scheme sweeps away any last shreds of privacy with startling consequences. Now that they're forced to take a long hard look at themselves, Allie, Jodine and Emma's lives -- and budding friendship -- are about to change in ways they never imagined.

Source: Back of book

Review: Just as with Milkrun, Mlynowski captures the 20-something female voice spectacularly, except this time her characters have a little more life and personality to them. Part of what makes this novel so interesting is her ability to show characters through the eyes of other characters. This totally changes your perspective on how you see each of them, and makes for an all-the-more interesting conflict. The story is hilarious and the boys are fantastic. A great book to share with friends!

Worst part: I think some of the characters (Jodine's boy, for example) were somewhat underdeveloped.

Best part: The general cleverness of the book. The last page blew me away, and the title does too, after you've read it.

Grade: A

Other Books by This Author: Milkrun

3 / 100 books. 3% done!

Milkrun by Sarah Mlynowski

No spoilers.

Title: Milkrun
Author: Sarah Mlynowski
Year of Publication: 2001
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 281
First Line: "Jerk. Jerk, jerk, jerk."
Summary: Of all the ways to find myself Single Again, this has to be the worst. A "Dear Jackie" e-mail from my supposed boyfriend, who claimed to be "finding himself" in Thailand. Instead, he's found someone else. And dumped me.

But I, Jackie Norris, will bounce back! I will become Crazy Dating Girl and prove to Jilting Jeremy that I am over him! One snag: Why do all the guys I meet either have groping hands, lunatic tendencies or a worrying interest in putting up shelves? I need a man who wants to rip my clothes off, feed me pizza, then have stimulating, intelligent conversation.

Single in Boston -- c'mon, there has to be someone!

Source: Back of book

Review: I love Mlynowski's voice. She is great at capturing 20-something city girls and her stories are creative and memorable. I felt she left the end of the story (as in the tying up) a little too late in the book (like, last page late), but in general I like how she ended it. I would love to see a sequel of this one, although I don't expect one.

Worst part: I'm not sure how I felt about the room mate character. She could have been done better.

Best part: Mlynowski's voice!

Grade: A-

Other Books by This Author: Fishbowl

2 / 100 books. 2% done!

New Blog

Hello.

I wanted to invite all readers and writers to take a look at my new blog, A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words, or, http://worth10k.blogspot.com/. More information can be found on the blog. I encourage you to read through it.

Also, I have read several books but simply have not had the time to review them. They will be up as soon as possible. Some of those books to be looking out for are. . .

The Collected Poetry of Sylvia Plath - Sylvia Plath (ed. Ted Hughes)
Milkrun - Sarah Mlynowski
Fishbowl - Sarah Mlynowski
Return to Paradise - Simone Elkeles

Keep an eye out for new posts soon!

P.S. I Love You by Cecelia Ahern

No spoilers.

Title: P.S. I Love You
Author: Cecelia Ahern
Year of Publication: 2004
Genre: Fiction
Pages: 470
First Line: "Holly held the blue cotton sweater to her face and the familiar smell immediately struck her, an overwhelming grief knotting her stomach and pulling at her heart."
Summary: Holly and Gerry are the kind of perfectly happy married couple that others envy. Then, at the age of thirty, Gerry is diagnosed with a terrible illness. Months after Gerry's death, Holly receives a package of letters that he's left for her, instructing her to perform a series of unexpected tasks. with the help of the letters -- and her fun, quick-witted girlfriends and a raucously endearing family that smothers, loves, and drives her crazy -- Holly wobbles, weaves, and jokes her way toward a new life, even larger than the one that she's been forced to leave behind.

Source: Back of book

Review: Not quite as romantic as I expected. The characters were fairly colorful, but I felt that they weren't really real. I think the story might have been better if it had been told in first person rather than third, as it was. The concept was interesting, and I understand Ahern wrote the story to deal with the possibility of grief and losing a loved one, but I'm not sure it would help those who are looking to deal with grief.

Worst part: The end was disappointing.

Best part: I like that she did not characterize Gerry a whole lot and let the reader fill in a lot of the blanks for him.

Grade: B-

Other Books by This Author: Love, Rosie; If You Could See Me Now; and There's No Place Like Home

1 / 100 books. 1% done!