Ali Reccommends~

Gone by: Michael Grant

Wow. That's really all I can say. WOW!

Gone is one of those books that you pick up thinking, "Hmm. This might be nice for a little light reading." And than you open it and get sucked into a worlwind of "What If's." "

What If" everyone over the age of 14 suddenly disapeared? "What If" you started developing mysterious "super powers"? "What If " all of a sudden there were no rules? No one to break up fights between angry kids? No one to put food on your plate every day? No one to keep things from getting dangerous, and bloody? Everyone but the kids are just Gone?

These are the questions that 14 year-old Sam and his fellow peers have to face and awnser, in this amazingly suspensful and captivating young adult novel. I reccommend this book to just about anyone. I warn you that if you have a weak stomach you might wantto skip over a few different pages. Grant does a marvalous job of illustrating what would very likely happen if you were to lock 400 kids in a small California town with no adult authority. Even with the surreal super powers that several of the towns kids have developed, Grant manages bot only to keep readers on the edge of their seats, but to make it realistic. No small feat, but one that he accopmlishes amazingly well in this dramatic page-turner. A great read for all ages. :)

Ali Reccommends~

Lock and Key by: Sarah Dessen

This over all was a great book. However I feel it important to start this review with th ething that I didn't like, so that I can end on a positive note. :)

There was a fair amount of language, some drinking, some drug use, and a few other things that aren't all that great.
However all of these things, while I don't really like them, give a very real elememt to this novel. Dessen does an amazing job of making her novels realistic and easy to relate to.

Ruby Cooper, a senior in highschool who has been living with her alchoholic mother, moving all the time, and with minimal contact to the outside world since first her father, than sister extract themselves from her life. When Ruby's mother suddenly go missing social services drop her off with a sister she hasn;t seen or heard from in 10 years. Lock and Key allows you to travel with her on a journey of self-discovery and acceptance.

It is beautifully and realistlically written to draw readers in and let them experiance a life most of us have never seen. Overall I give it a thumbs up. :)
~Ali~

Ali Reccommends~

The Vampirates Series by: Justin Somper

Demons of the Ocean, Tide of Terror, & Blood Captain

The Vampirates series by Justin Somper tells the story of 14 year-old twins Grace and Connor Tempest. Their story begins in Demons of the Ocean when, after the tragic death of their father, the twins head out to sea. They are caught in a vicious storm and are seperated by the current. Connor is saved by Cheng Li, a young deputy aboard the pirate ship The Diablo. He is brought aboard and made one of the crew, where he enjoys an exciting life of piracey and adventure. Meanwhile, Grace on the other hand is rescued by 17 year-old Lorcan Fury, who pulls her out of the seething ocean and aboard the Vampirate ship The Nocturn. Throughout this series you get to journy with the Tempest twins through all of the excitment, and terror of their lives aboard two very different kinds of Pirate Ships.

Most recently I read The Blood Captain. While I was reading this book I was Grace and I was risking everything for the people I loved. I was brave and strong. Books offer great escapes and fantastic adventures, and this is one journey that you don't want to miss!

Happy Reading!

~Ali~

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Ali Reccommends~

Maximum Ride: The Angel Expirament
By: James Patterson

The Angel Expiriment is the first installment in a five book series. It tells the gripping story of Maximum Ride, a twelve year-old orphan. Max and her "flock" of friends were the tragic victims a cruel genetic expirement. Scientists graphted avian DNA into thier blood, and the result was that they all grew wings.

This book is fantastic for a light read. I wouldn't reccommend it if you wanted to read something deep and meaningful, but if you just want to kick back and relax with a good book, Maximum Ride is perfect. It was reccommended to me by a good friend of mine, and now I'm reccommending it to you, my friends. :)

Happy Reading!

~Ali~

Ali Reccommends~

Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn by: Stephenie Meyer

This is a fantastic series as a whole, and even if you just read one of the books it would definatly be worth your time. Age is not an obstacle for this series of books. I have great friends who refer to themselves as "Twilight Mom", and another friend we refer to as the "Twilight Grandma". So as you can see, these are not exclusivley for teenagers. Sort of like Nacy Drew, the classics don't have age limits.

We first meet 17 year-old Bella Swan in Twilight, and follow the story of her other worldy connection with Edward Cullen through New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn.

When Bella Swan moves to Forks, Washington she imediatly becomes intrested in the reclusive, and goregeous Cullen family. Dr. Carlise Cullen and his wife Esme, along with their adopted children Edward, Alice, and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale have never really fit in. Too beautiful for words, and alarmingly graceful, they are just to good to be true. The people of Forks are wary of their mysterious and frightning perfection. All except Bella. She imediatly becomes entranced with the adopted siblings, 17 year-old Edward in particular.

Come along one her journey of self discovery, and breathtaking romance.

Meyer's elequent language and suspensful writing techniques will pull you in the moment you open the cover.

I highly reccommend this serie to anyone who is willing to take an adventure.

Happy Reading! :)

~Ali~

~Ali Reccommends~

Twilight by: Stephenie Meyer

This novel by Stephenie Meyer first took the world by storm in 2005 after a two year writing and publication period. The film version of this awe-inspiring novel has caused an entirely new wave of fans and obsession that has sent the entire series and author sky-rocketing to stardom.

I must confess that I have read this book at least 5 times in the last year and am completly in love with nearly everything about it. I finished Twilight in 2 days only coming out of my room for the neccesities (food, ect.). I nearly died of anticipation while waiting for the library to get the second book in the series in on an interlibrary loan, and repeated the process again with Eclipse, the third installment in this quartet of fabulously amazing novels. I also have to say that I threw my own Breaking Dawn party at the release of the fourth and final addition to this captivating series. I read the first 4 or 5 chapters of Breaking Dawn while walking through Wal-Mart "helping" my mother grocery shop, and finished the book within two days of picking it up at the library. (I had a hold on it for 3 months before it hit the shelves!) Through this book I have made some very valuable friends and become amazingly closer to pre-Twilight friends.

Now that you have been "inside my obsession", you can probably deduce that I highly reccommend the story of 17-year old Bella Swan and the mysterious Cullen family to anyone, and everyone, that can possibly get their hands on this book. Whether you like to read, or have never read a book in your life, this is a fantastic place to turn for an unforgettable adventure!

~Ali~