THE HOBBIT

Hey guy's, Carter again, I just wanted to say thank you for reading this post even though most of them are few and far between, I have a new book to review

The Hobbit

J.R.R. Tolkien

I know what you are thinking "Carter, we've all heard about this book, we've all tried to read it, it's too poetic!" 

And to respond I would say "Yes, it is very poetic, than you captain obvious,"

if you get past that, I love the book.

Summary: Hobbits are calm simple folk, their most distinguished feature is their hard, hairy feet, which make hobbit be able to walk without shoes. Hobbits stand about three feet tall, and absolutely hate adventure. Adventure is a change, a very big change actually, and Hobbits do not like change very much. So the life of Bilbo Baggins when on as one might think without any adventure, until the day that a very old wizard came to the door. Gandalf the Grey, as they called him, forced this little hobbit into an adventure that a human would think was crazy. With the help of 13 dwarves, old Bilbo started the perilous journey to slay the evil dragon Smaug and relieve the dwarves' hearts from the loss of their treasure. Bilbo comes face to face with trolls, goblins, Gollum, eagles, wolves, (no orcs, for all of you who have seen the movie) and Smaug himself to regain the treasure.

Who's it for: Anyone that loves literature and is will to read the subtext

Genre: Fantasy

Setting: Middle earth, not much else to say about that

Pages: 333

What I thought: The book was very good, I liked the entire story and it most of the time kept your attention, yet it wasn't my favorite, you have to be able to deal with all the songs, I think they would be okay, if you could put the rhythm and tune in the book too, too bad that's not possible.

Rating: umm.... 3.5

Hope you like, if you want to, you can see the movie too, but it ends in the 6th chapter

~ Carter

Wow, it's been a while

Hey guys! This is Carter, it's been a while since I wrote anything. Life has been busy, I speak for everyone here, and there isn't a lot of free time to do this. I've been hearing a huge buzz on the book The City of Bones lately, so I thought I would try it. Here it goes... I might be a little rusty with book reviews.

The City of Bones 

by: Cassandra Clare

Summary: Clary Fray starts her story the night of a murder.... at a nightclub. With her friend, Simon, Clary wants to check out the seen, but Simon doesn't see anything, or anyone, but Clary does clear as day a man walk out. Clary is sure that this happened. Is she going mad, was she Hallucinating? Confused, she lets it go and leaves for the night. The next day, she sees the man he saw yesterday in a coffee shop, once again invisible to everyone but her. After a quick talk with him, Clary is brought into a magical world she knows nothing about and is forced to learn everything about this magic in a few days. her mom is kidnapped, Her home has been broken into, and now she lives with a bunch of loons that think they can do magic, What a normal day! Clary starts a quest to find her mother, and defeat her captor, Valentine. Clary meets werewolves, vampires, magicians (of course!), and Valentine himself to reach her mother and rescue her.

Page number: 496

Genre: maybe fantasy, I don't know how else to explain it.

What I thought: I though the book was okay, it was really intense and violent, but I liked the idea behind it.

Who's it for: anyone who would like a little more violence in something like the Red Pyramid would like this a lot!

Rating: Probable a 2.5, not one of my favorites.


Thanks for reading, and sorry about the drought


~ Carter

Writer

Hey Guys,

Life is insane here in our world. So the review have dwindled to a small few. I am so terribly sorry cause I'm trying to do it and remember and work out my life. Anyway, why I'm here is very important. Sorry, it's not a book review; I'll do that later this week. It'll be on a random book of my choosing. You'll just have to come back later to find out.

No, this is way more important. I'm writing a new story. The one I told you about earlier, I got bored with; it wasn't something I wanted to finish, so I shoved into the black hole of my closet and will probably find it again when I move out of the house. I have another story or two that I'm working on and am really far along in, but I need a break.

Here's the thing: I have this great plot idea and storyline, but I'm missing a few things and I'd like everyone who looks on here's help. Pretty please?

What I'd LOVE for you to do it answer my questions in an email to bookseverywhere787@gmail.com or I guess you could comment, but email is preferred. Give your genius ideas to me and I will choose who's I think I want for the story giving them complete and total full credit. I might choose one person's name and another's city; we'll have to see. I'd love for y'all to help.

I need a girl's name, it has to be unique and fun. It can be a nickname like Jinx or something; just give me an idea for her real name. (I really do like Jinx, so if there is a name that I like better I will use it, but if you would rather think of something for it to be short for... that would be great too!)

I need a setting. I'm thinking big city, foreign country? Ideas are happily excepted.

One last thing for right now is: I need a name for the bad guy. Honestly, my mind is blank; please spark ideas.

Please help me. Thanks. Oh, yeah for sending it in an email do put AJ or Ideas or something like that in the subject bar. Please write soon! I will take ideas until midnight on October 31st. No longer.

You guys have potential to be awesome, don't let me down please.
Love and geniuses,
~AJ

Matched

Hey uniquely gifted and wonderfully different people who read this blog and will tell every one of their friends about it,

What's up? Sorry, for the long (snap, snap) what's it called? INTRODUCTION! Thanks disembodied voice I just heard. Rethinking that... that's a tad creepy: a disembodied voice. Spooky. Anyway, I know you are all so sad and blue that I have not posted in all of eternity. I forgot, then remembered, then forgot, then remembered, then didn't have time, then forgot. So sorry and I am fully aware that I am an awful person. Book review time.

Book: Matched

Author: Ally Condie

Important Characters: Cassia, Xander, and Ky

Page #: 366

Genre: Dystopian

Setting: Good question... It takes place in The Society. Sorry, hard to explain.

To sum it all up: In the Society the Officials are in charge. They decide everything in your whole life/ Cassia is the age for the Matching. She's always trusted what the officials say because, well, why not? It's worth it for a pretty good life if you obey the rules. The Matching Ceremony is where you get your "mate". So when Cassia's best friend, Xander, appears on the screen; she's very happy. But the thing is on the information card she was given a different face flashes up, Ky, who's not her mate and not what she expected. The officials contacted her and said it was a cruel joke but she can't seem to forget Ky and his face that flashed on her screen. Now she has to choose between Ky and Xander and a new life and something new.

What I thought: I really liked this book. I haven't read it in a while so that's what my sum-up is so short, but definitely read it. It's so worth it. I enjoyed it alot, this is one of my favorite types of books. I think that you guys and gals out there should read it.

Who's it for: Middle school, guys and girls

Books with it: Crossed and Reached which will come out shortly.

My Star Rating: 4 stars

That's all for me today. Bye bye.
Love and the future,
~AJ

Once on This Island By: Gloria Whelan

So Sorry guys haven't written in a while. Life has been busy. No colors today, SAD! AJ got mad at me so no colors. Here's a great book.

Summery:  It is 1812 and war has erupted in the United States and Michigan is caught in it. Mary's father has been called to war and her and her sister have to stay at home to tend the farm. On top of that her best friend Gavin , a native american rescued by settlers and raised by them, has gone back to his people. Will Mary and her sister be able to survive with handsome British soldiers knocking on their, stealing their chickens and more?
This book is short but sweet it has a great plot and storyline! Enjoy.
PS this book is set on Mackinaw Island!

-Avery

Rating 5 stars 

About 300 pages

Would You Rather?

Hello Guys,

I was bored so I thought I'd answer the would you rather questions, so I'm gonna do that. I will do a book review tomorrow or Sunday. Don't worry. Now would I rather:

1. Would you rather sit in an electric chair or drown? 
Electric chair, totally. It's quick and easy; unlike drowning.
2. Would you rather sacrifice your life for 10 friends or see your friends die?
Probably sacrifice my life...... probably
3. Would you rather have a rewind button in your life or a pause button?
Rewind. What would I want to stop, besides maybe aging. Peter Pan!
4. Would you rather change to someone else or be you?
Stay me. Why would I want to be anybody else.
5. Would you rather go back in time or into the future?
Back in time. There's some things in history I think would be cool to live through. 
6. Would you rather be forever underdressed (not fancy enough) or overdressed (too fancy)?
Not fancy enough (underdressed) I wouldn't really like to be fancy forever or forever fancy.
7. Would you rather have the power of invisibility or transportation?
Transportation, then I could go all the places I wanted. No long car rides or plane trips.
8. Would you rather be able to fly or breath under water?
Fly. I love being up high.
9.  Would you rather never use your computer again or never see your friends in person again?
Never use computer. I didn't actually say you couldn't use a phone or ipod. Haha.
10. Would you rather always anger people or alway disappoint people?
Anger, I can't stand to see peoples' disappointed faces.
11. Would you rather not be able to taste or not be able to smell?
Smell. I would still be any to enjoy ice cream! 
12. Would you rather not be able to understand sarcasm or not be able to understand any jokes?
Not understand jokes. I hardly understand jokes anyway. Also, I live on sarcasm.
13. Would you rather where an eyepatch or have a peg leg?
Eye patch, it's easier.
14. Would you rather be the last person on earth or be dead along with everyone else?
Dead, sorry. I'm gonna die anyway right? So why be lonely?
15. Would you rather have a comically large head or comically large feet?
Head, I think it'd be funnier.

That's all for my right now, though I'd still love to know you're answers. Bye guys.
Love and thoughts,
~AJ

20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, Jules Vern

I'm here again! I liked this book but it was really, really short.

Summary:  When a mysterious sea monster starts being sighted by numerous ships, the U.S. put together a team to take down the beast When the crew is suddenly "eaten" they learn about the amazing ship name the natilus where Captian Nemo lives and has his fantastic collection of ocean artifacts. I don't want to tell too much, but I hope you read the book.

Who's it for: Anyone that has an extra hour. Great little read.

Pages: 320

What I though: It may have 300 pages, but it goes by fast.

Genre: Fiction

Rating: 3 1/2 stars

Have fun!

~ Carter

October is Here.

Hey guys,

I was thinking about doing a book review today but then I decided I was totally and completely not in the mood. Dreadfully sorry to all y'all who are disappointed. I will do a book review this week though, so be waiting on the edge of your chairs for this one. Well, I guess you don't have to because I think that'd be rather uncomfortable. Oh, well. Onto my fun for today.

Since it's the beginning of October I thought I'd start it off with something fun, like, perhaps, a fun and quite riveting game of (drum roll please) Would You Rather? Don't ask me what insane reason I have for doing this to kick off October because I have absolutely no idea. Does everything have to have a reason, hmm? Anywho, onto this game. I would love for you to post your choices in comments because that would be awesome. Here are the questions:

1. Would you rather sit in an electric chair or drown?
2. Would you rather sacrifice your life for 10 friends or see your friends die?
3. Would you rather have a rewind button in your life or a pause button?
4. Would you rather change to someone else or be you?
5. Would you rather go back in time or into the future?
6. Would you rather be forever underdressed (not fancy enough) or overdressed (too fancy)?
7. Would you rather have the power of invisibility or transportation?
8. Would you rather be able to fly or breath under water?
9.  Would you rather never use your computer again or never see your friends in person again?
10. Would you rather always anger people or alway disappoint people?
11. Would you rather not be able to taste or not be able to smell?
12. Would you rather not be able to understand sarcasm or not be able to understand any jokes?
13. Would you rather where an eyepatch or have a peg leg?
14. Would you rather be the last person on earth or be dead along with everyone else?
15. Would you rather have a comically large head or comically large feet?

That's it for my questions. I know there is alot but they're fun, right? I would absolutely love to know your opinions, because that would be fun. You could even post as anonymous but still give your answers, for all I care. Would you guys like to know my answers? Yes? No? Don't care? I would like to know if you are worthy of being told.
Happy October to all of you!
Love and thoughts,
~AJ

Fluffy Cat and Red Horse

This is Mr. Fluffy. He is the best cat ever.  I miss him.

First of all, that is not the title of the book I am going to do a reveiw on. Second of all, I miss Mr. Fluffy (short for Fluffarino and long for Fluf). I miss him because me (Josh) and Carter are trying to work on our time machine, and we miscalculated something wrong, and so when we sent my cat into the time machine, he went into somewhere in 1000 A. D. ish. So that is why I am sad. How we made the time machine is interesting. We hooked up a CD thingamabob of all of history and then from the power of some magnets that we hooked up you press this button which completes the circut of the electricity and.... I could go on and on about how we made it, but now for the Red Horse part of the blog post.
P.S. I miss Mr. Fluffy. Have I told you that yet?

     Now, the Red Horse. I read this sweet book called The Blood Red Horse. It takes place during the third Crusade. A boy named William get's this beutiful and fast horse, and names it Hosanna. Then King Richard calls for another Crusade, and so Willam, Gavin, (Williams brother) Sir Thomas, (Williams dad)have to leave De Granville (The manor that they own) and join the Third Crusade.            

What I thought: It was a pretty good book. It was fun to read some cool history and have a story in it. It was interesting to see what the Christians believed and the Islamic believed (there are some chapters with a Islamic boy). Then at the end how Hosanna brought them together to do something and... I shouldn't give it away, so i'll stop there.

Rating:   I would give it three and a half stars.

Warnings: There are some bloody and horrible stuff that happened in the book, that actually happened back then. (like Black death and how bad it was on a ship and stuff) But besides that there is no warnings.

Setting: The Holy Land (Israel area) and Europe

 Pages: 277 

Series?: Yes. It is the first book of the De Gravilles Trilogy.

Author: K. M. Grant

P.S. I miss my cat, Mr. Fluffy

HAVE A GREAT DAY!

~JOSH

Heist Society

Hey Guys and Gals,

So sorry, I wasn't feeling that great on Friday and so I forgot about the post. I am fully aware that I am a despicable human being, now don't bug me about it. I got a book that some of y'all might like if you like mystery kind of books.

Book: Heist Society

Author: Ally Carter

Important Characters: Kat. W.W. Hale the 5th or just Hale. The Bagshaw brothers. Uncle Eddie. Nick. Gabriella. Arturo Taccone. Visily Romani. Bobby Bishop or Kat's dad.

Book Cover

To sum it all up: Kat left the family business, she was done. She got into Colgan School. She was going to be a normal girl. That was until she got kicked out. Kicked out for putting the headmaster's car on the fountain in the front lawn. The thing is she got caught; Kat never gets caught. 

When she was three, she went to the Louvre... To case it. For her seventh birthday Kat went with her Uncle Eddie to England to steal the crown jewels. At one point she went to the circus because the Bagshaw's dad needed to borrow an elephant. She scammed herself into fancy boarding school to get away from her life. Can you guess what the family biz is? She escaped it and Hale brought her back. 

A powerful mobsters rare collection of art was stolen by a master criminal. Bobby Bishop, Kat's dad, is not just on the list of Taccone's suspects, he's the list. Toccone is going to get rid of Kat's dad and she needs to help him. Her crew is going to do a job. A job that is not only not ever done, but almost forbidden. She has two weeks. She needs to pull off the greatest heist ever with a teenage crew and maybe get her old life back.

What I thought: I have to say this is one of my favorite series. It's so good. It's fast paced, you want to know what's going to happen. I didn't expect Nick to do what he did. I wanted to know if they could pull off the heist. I wanted to know what Visily Romani was going to do. I couldn't put it down all of the times I read it. It's the best. Ally Carter is an awesome author. She writes some really exciting books. I love that she wrote a spy-girl series who works for the government and a thief's story, who works against the government. Anyway, I suggest this book and her others. 

Genre: mystery, action, I guess

Setting: A bunch of places. Here, I'll tell you the countries:United States, Italy, Austria, Poland, England, and France. They do alot of traveling.

# of Pages: 287

Who's it for: Middle school, high school, doesn't really matter

Warnings: I don't think so.

Other books with it: Uncommon Criminals and Perfect Scoundrels will come out Feb. 3, 2013. Can't wait. Argh! 

My Star Rating: 5, I may be a tad high but I love it so so so so much. 

I think you all should read it. It's one of the best. It may seem to you boys out there that it's a girl book. Maybe it is. But it's so good, you should read it. I think that's all I have.

Bye bye. You guys rock.

Love and paintings,

~AJ

PS. Look at the girl's sunglasses on the cover. What do you see? Then read the book and figure out how it's connected.

The Red Pyramid

Hey Guys, Sorry for the missed week, got caught up in  Anyway, this post is on one of my favorite books

Summary: Sadie  and Carter Kane (no I was not named after Carter) were split up at a young age. Sadie with her grandparents and Carter with his always-traveling father. Once a year they come back to say hi to each other and hang out for the day. This time was different. When they went to the museum to see Rosetta Stone and their lives changed forever. Once their dad suddenly disappears, Sadie and Carter learn about their history and the life their dad was secretly living.

Who's it for: Fantasy fans, anyone into the Egyptian history would absolutely love this one.


What I thought: One of my favorites, The only book over 400 pages that I've read twice. It was even better the second time.


Genre: Fantasy

Pages: 516


Rating: 4.5 out of five, but probably because of the Egyptian Mythology

P.S. Carter is the best.

~ Carter

Happy Fall Equinox!

nounthe time or date (twice each year) at which the sun crosses the celestial equator, when day and night are of equal length....In other words... an equinox (|ˈekwəˌnäks; ˈēkwə-|)Well the equinox was actually september 22 (two days ago) But I forgot to do a post. Anywho that's an equinox if you wanted to know(see top for definition).
P.S. I like colors tooP.P.S That was funny right there :)P. P. S. S. That was also funny. BEcause instead of  P.P.P.S. It's P.P.S.S. :) :)P.P.P.S.S. I'll do another post (actually on a book) later today (or tomorrow if I run out of time)
Well, have a good day!~JOSH 

Sorry.

Guys.

Sorry for the delay in post. Josh (cough, cough) was supposed to do it last week. But he forgot. :P He said he'd do it this week, though. We'll see. Carter and Avery were gonna do it this week too, maybe you'll see that this weekend. Maybe. I don't know. I'll do it tomorrow, though, I promise. I'll even tell you what book I'm doing it on. Well, maybe not. :)

Also, we're still trying to work out a schedule for posting, so the delays are part of that problem. Sorry again. I got to go. You guys are all great.

Love and schedules,
~AJ

Lyrics To Listen To

Guys,

I'm trying something knew, tell me what you think. Here we go.

So, what you got to do is follow this directions carefully. Alright? No skipping ahead, no ignoring me (because that's rude) and I think it'll be cool. What I'm going to do if put some song lyrics on here and kinda say what they mean or why I like them, ok? (Politely nod.) Awesome. So follow these instructions.

1. Open playlist, or grooveshark, or where ever you can look up a song to listen too.

Done? No? Oh, sorry I'll give you a minute.

(Waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting, ect.)

2. Type in Skillet as the artist. Then hit search.

3. Look for the song: Monster. 

Did you find it? Yes? Good. No? Keep looking please.

4. Listen to Monster by Skillet. Be warned it's loud and fast. Don't look up the lyrics please because they're right here.

5. Look at these lyrics while listening to it or afterward.

The secret side of me
I never let you see
I keep it caged
But I can't control it
So stay away from me
The beast is ugly
I feel the rage
And I just can't hold it
It's scratching on the walls
In the closet, in the halls
It comes awake
And I can't control it
Hiding under the bed
In my body, in my head
Why won't somebody come and save me from this?
Make it end!

[Chorus]
I feel it deep within,
It's just beneath the skin
I must confess that I
Feel like a monster
I hate what I've become
The nightmare's just begun
I must confess that I
Feel like a monster
I feel like a monster

My secret side I keep
Hid under lock and key
I keep it caged
But I can't control it
Cause if I let him out
He'll tear me up
And break me down
Why won't somebody come and save me from this?
Make it end!

I feel it deep within,
It's just beneath the skin
I must confess that I
Feel like a monster
I hate what I've become
The nightmare's just begun
I must confess that I
Feel like a monster
I feel like a monster

It's hiding in the dark
It's teeth are razor sharp
There's no escape for me
It wants my soul,
It wants my heart
No one can hear me scream
Maybe it's just a dream
Or maybe it's inside of me
Stop this monster!

[Chorus]
I feel it deep within,
It's just beneath the skin
I must confess that I
Feel like a monster
I hate what I've become
The nightmare's just begun
I must confess that I
Feel like a monster

I feel it deep within,
It's just beneath the skin
I must confess that I
Feel like a monster
I'm gonna lose control
Here's something radical
I must confess that I
Feel like a monster

I, I feel like a monster [x4]

5. Now let me talk.

Has anyone ever heard this song before? Because if you have, you probably know what it means. If you haven't now you will. This guy doesn't mean he's literally a monster, like the Hulk, and there is no actual monster inside of him. Just sin. This sin can consume him and make him feel like a monster, hense, you heard him say. I like this song because it's just cool and it's not flat-out religious. It's also a nice song to help you get pumped up. I don't know I just like it.

I hoped you liked this, if you did please tell, if you didn't please tell. If you don't want to post publicly as a comment; send me an email. Put To: AJ or AJ in the subject line and tell me your thoughts. Also, I'm wondering if you would want to here song lyrics or parts of song lyrics that I've attempted to write myself. If you do want me to I would like to know and I want to know from more that just two or three of you. I care about your opinions, so speak!

I want to know, I'll listen, I care. Please talk.
Love and music,
~AJ

Curse of the Spider King

Hello, Hello, Hello,

I feel like I haven't posted in like forever but that alas cannot be true. Well, maybe it is. Dreadfully sorry. With school starting up, I was all messed up and posted less. I feel awful, but I can't redo it. Sadly, Josh and Carter haven't perfected their time machine. Sigh. The last time we tried it we sent Josh's cat back in time and sadly Mr. Fluffy is stuck somewhere in possibly the 17^th century. So sad, we miss you Mr Fluffy. Anywho, I read a wonderful book that I think everyone will love. Seriously. It's by a Christian author, but it's really cool because he doesn't just throw the religion stuff out there. It's subtle since the Elves worship God and stuff. Anyway cool book. Somebody suggested it to me a while ago and I finally read it. Here's the review

Book: Curse of the Spider King

Authors: Wayne Thomas Batson, Christopher Hopper

To sum it all up:  The seven elf lords ruled Allyra for hundreds of thousands of years. Then the Spider King's forces attacked the city. At the time all seven lords had small children and were celebrating their births. The Drefids (creepy assassins for the Spider King) kidnapped the babies and took them to their land. The city of the elves was demolished and the vast civilization of elves was reduced to quite a few. Those few escaped through the tunnels behind the thrones. The Drefids who captured the baby rulers had a problem. Those who killed those children before they had gained their powers would be cursed to eternal misery and stuff like that, but if you disobeyed the Spider King you would be cursed or killed or both. The Drefids were stuck between the Curse of the Spider King and the Elf Lord's Curses. They came up with a solution, send the young elf lords to Earth, where they can grow up thinking they're human and not be a threat to the Spider King.

Book Cover

About 13 years later Kat, Jett, Jimmy, Tommy, Autumn, Kiri Lee, and Johnny are living on earth, thinking they're normal teens, but they are far from normal. They start to be followed by suspicious people and start seeing lots of strange things. They all get given old books that are handwritten and beautifully written, and when you read it the story comes to life. Literally. Slowly, they start to find out their powers and who they truly are with the help of some teachers and close friends.

Will the Spider Kings forces get to the kids before the elves can? Will they be able to make it back to Allyra alive or even at all?

What I thought: I absolutely adored it. I love fantasy and a little violence. (There wasn't much don't worry in case you were) It tells the story switching from kid to kid, but it's not switching who tells the story, since it's in 3^rd person, so that's nice because sometimes that's kinda confusing to me, I don't know about you. Anyway, I wanted to know the powers everyone got. I really wanted to know why Jett had purple eyes and Kat had blue skin, I found that out. I wanted to know who the creepy guys were that were following everybody. And I guess I wanted to know how they were going to come together. 

Genre: fantasy

Setting: It's in a couple different places. Like all seven lords live different places (minus Autumn and Johnny) and the portal is in Scotland. There's also Allyra for bits and pieces of it.

# of Pages: 384

Who's it for: Anybody, well. I kinda think 4^th grade or older. I mean if someone too young reads it, it'll scare them.

Warnings: Zero. Zip. Nada.

Other books with it:  Book Two: Venom and Song,  Haha, I found a title of a book three: The Tide of Unmaking, yay that makes me happy that I found that. Is it out yet though? That's my question.

My Star Rating: 4.7

Oh please read it my dear friends, it's wonderful. I promise you'll love it. That's all I have today.

You're all great! 

Love and pointy ears,

~AJ

Book for next time, probably: The Hobbit 

James 1:3- "The light shines into the darkness but the darkness has not understood."

Into Thin Air

WARNING:

THIS IS AN ADULT BOOK. CHECK WITH YOUR PARENTS BEFORE YOU READ! IT ALSO HAS DEATHS IN IT MAKE SURE YOU CAN HANDLE IT.

Star rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ (Yep 5 stars)

Pages: around 300 a little less

Hey, Hey, Hey  Avery here,
SO SORRY!! I have not written like all summer. So this summer I did a lot and read a lot. One of my favorites was this book Into Thin Air. So here it goes...

Jon Krakauer's life long dream is to climb Mt. Everest. He finally has an opportunity to when he is working for the Outside. At first he is only to climb to base camp, but he convinced the owners to let him climb to the summit and also to give him the year off the prepare. When the time finally comes Jon is thorn into the busyness of preparing to summit. Dealing with trials such as H.A.P.E( high altitude pulmonary edema) and H.A.C.E.( high altitude cerebral edema). Once on the summit a storm comes up quickly and leads to the 1996 disaster. For more info click here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1996_Mount_Everest_disaster . 

This is a great book with great details and it is very personal. You also get the feeling that this is real (it is) though sometimes personal accounts are boring that isn't true about this book. 

Hope you like it! Adios, Chu, Sayonara / さよなら,Auf Wiedersehen,Au Revoir, Shalom,Arrivederci
Avery 


P.S. Go multi-colored

Books

Hey,

I was wondering if anyone has any books they would like to recommend. I'm on a search for good mysteries, but any books are good. If you'd really like us to do a post on a book you've read or a book you'd like us to know about. Do tell.

Thanks so much.

Graceling

Guys.

I read an awesome book called Graceling. It's by Kristin Cashore. Loved it. Have you ever wanted a special power. Something you could do special that other people couldn't. What would you want? A gift that gives you power?  A gift that gives you strength? A gift that makes you known? A gift that makes you feared by all? Are you willing to pay the price? Do you want to be marked for it? Is it worth it? You don't get to choose your gift; you don't get to choose to have a gift or not.

To sum it all up: Some people are born with a gift, a grace. If you are your eyes will change to two different colors. As soon as you eyes change you are sent to the palace to find out what your gift is. If you grace is useful to the King, you stay. If your grace is not, you get sent home. Everybody avoids the graced they're different and sometimes scary. If a family has a graced child set home, it normally does them no good. It's a gift and a curse to some.

Katsa was born graced. Her one eye is the color of the blue sky and her other eye is the color of the grass. She accidentally killed her relative at a young age. They determined her grace was killing. The king decided he liked that and as soon as she mastered her grace, she became his personal thug. You didn't pay you dues? The king will send deadly Katsa after you to torture or kill. Katsa is used to everyone avoiding her and not making eye contact. She's different from all other girls. Katsa never wants to get married and never wants to have kids; she has no interest in making herself pretty and attracting a husband.

One day everything in her life changes, starting with the graced fighter making eye contact. She notices his one gold and one silver eye, he stands out. He's also the prince of Lienid named Po. Po is a pretty good match for Katsa in fighting and is willing to stand up to her. He is searching for his grandfather who was kidnapped. Katsa plans on helping him find out who did it. They also need to save Princess Bitterblue.

As they go along Katsa starts to think that Po is a little off. He practically has eyes in the back of his head and can anticipate her almost every move. Maybe his grace isn't all he says it is. Po also starts to think about Katsa's grace. She's a little bit more special than just a killer, is it possible she's been lied to about her grace?

What I thought: Awesome. I'm all about fighting and survival and mystery. Katsa is one of the coolest heroines ever. I tried to figure out who kidnapped Po's grandfather along with the two. I couldn't figure out why Katsa was so tough. I didn't understand how ten-year-old Bitterblue was so independent. I couldn't wait to read more.

Genre: Dystopian (futuristic)

Setting: The seven kingdoms: Lienid, Monsea, Estil, Sunder, Nander, Wester, and Middluns. (You'll understand more when you read it.) I don't know how else to esplain how it takes place, sorry.

# of Pages: 480 but it's totally worth it.

Who's it for: I'm not sure, it's young adult so whatever that means.

Warnings: Zero. Zip. Nada. I don't think....

Other books with it: Fire is the prequel, Bitterblue is a follow-up

My Star Rating: 4.5 stars (Please remember I rank things higher than average critique.)

Read it! Read it! Read it! It's great, at least give it a chance.
That's all for tonight. Thanks y'all.
Love and killers,
~AJ

Bible Verse: Phil. 4:13- "I can do all things though him (Christ Jesus) who gives me strength."
Words to live by.

The Accidental Hero - Matt Myklush

This is the cover of the book

Carter here! and time for one of my favorites books!



Summary: Jack Blank has never known his parents, or even his last name. One day Jack gets stuck de-mucking the basement of St. Barnaby’s Home for the Hopeless, Abandoned, Forgotten, and Lost when his entire life changes. after accidentally blowing up a mysterious attacker, Jack is met by a new friend who takes him to the Imagine Nation. The Imagine Nation is the land where every super hero lives. Jack Blank is sucked into a world where Imagination is the ruler and heros and villains fight in the streets everyday and spaceships fly across the sky.

Who's it for: Anyone really, mostly fantasy and dystopian lovers though
what I thought:  This is one of my favorite books, there is a ton of plot-flipping and crazy twists that no one can expect. awesome.

Rating: 4.5 stars

Pages: 480

Genre: Fantasy, Dystopian

Setting: The Imagine Nation

Dark Life

Hello.

I am a despicable human being. I am so ever so terribly sorry. I broke my promise. BUT I didn't forget about doing a review. I'm doing it today. I was busy the past two days. Anywho, onto my book review; it's on Dark Life by Kat Falls. It's about people who live under the ocean. How AWESOME is that? Here you go:

Cover

To sum it all up: It's about a teenage guy, named Ty (apologies for my rhymes) who lives under the sea off the coast of what remains of New York. Topside had been destroyed and those who lived there are packed into super tall buildings. Topside, space is wealth, the more room you have; the better and more successful.

One day Ty was exploring and he found an abandoned sea-sub with the controls covered in blood. Exploring further he heard a scream and found a girl named Gemma. She was looking for her brother who went to live subsea. While helping her look for her brother, Ty tries to ward off the outlaws who are terrorizing the town.

Gemma keeps asking Ty about Dark Gifts. There was a story about a boy who could talk to fish that went through all the news. She wants to know if kids actually have been changed from living under all that pressure from the water. Ty tells her it's all lies, but is it really?

What I thought: It's super suspenseful. I wanted to know what the outlaw group was gonna do next. I wanted to know more about the Dark Gifts and if anyone had them because it sounded pretty real. I really wanted Gemma to find her brother. I loved it.
 
Genre: Dystopian (futuristic)

Setting: Under the sea. Nothing is better than under the sea. (Sorry my Little Mermaid memories) Though it does take place subsea. Off the coast of destroyed New York.

Number of pages: I don't know for sure, maybe 300-ish

Who's it for: Anyone I guess.

Warnings: None

My Star Rating: 4 stars

So that's it. Hope you read it. Ooh, one more thing! Ty glows! He eats glowing fish and it makes him glow! Haha! Wouldn't that be AMAZING!?!?!? That's all for me today. Bye-bye.
Love and oceans,
~AJ

Sorry!

Hey.

Totally and completely sorry about the long book review drought. I will do one later today or tomorrow. Promise. So, sorry though.

Love and apologies,

~AJ

Ashes, Ashes

Ring around the rosie
A pocket full of posies
Ashes, ashes
We all fall down

Depressing when you know the meaning of it, right? Oh, some of you don't know the meaning of it? Um.... You could look it up. It's about the Black Plague. 

Now, onto why my review is actually called Ashes, Ashes.

It's a great book I read by Jo Treggiari. I loved it, here's my review;

Book Cover

To sum it all up: The end of the world has come and gone to Lucy. Epidemics, droughts, floods, she's seen and lived through it all. Though, 99% of the world's population hasn't. All of her family is gone, she lives alone in a willow fort she constructed in the wilds of Central Park. She had always stood out at school, at home, anywhere. Now, she's the only one who she need knew who survived. Sweepers continue to take away plague victims.

One day out for water the hunting dogs start to chase Lucy, she runs and is rescued by a boy named Aidan. It's the first person she's seen in over a year, minus maybe some of the S'ans. Aidan tells her about Hell Gate, the place where he lives with other survivors. She realizes that she can't live on her own, she needs them.

When she meets with them new dangers await. The Sweepers are after her. There's something special about her and they will stop at nothing to have her in their hands. She always knew she was different but as she starts to find out, she shouldn't be alive.

What I thought: I really liked it. Before I read it I knew there was something special about her, I couldn't what to find out. I kept reading, couldn't put it down. I kept guessing at what was going to happen next. I couldn't believe what happened to Del and what she did. You meet a lot of unique characters and they're all fun. I hope you read it.

Genre: Dystopian (futuristic)

Setting: New York. The polar ice caps melted and the oceans flooded so much of the coastal land. NYC is now a collection of islands and suspension bridges. Central Park is practically a forest. What's left of the roads are mainly cracked and collapsed. The land close the ocean is swampy wetlands. It's crazy to think about.

Number of pages: Not sure, probably between 300 and 400

Who's it for: Middle School, Young Adult

Warnings: None

My Star Rating: 5 stars

If you liked the Hunger Games you'll like this one. Hope you read it.
Love and tsunamis, (read the book)

~AJ

Pencils Cont.

Hey Guys,

Thanks to Carter's brilliant idea of looking up names, (I do realize that some of you out there thought of that too, so you as well as Carter are pretty smart, unlike me) I found some really fun ones. So here they are:

Quinn: sporty, musical, crazy, tomboy, and nature-lover

Instead of Quinn, she'll be Jinx short for ???

Marisol: girly, rich kid, snobby, and shopaholic

Instead of Marisol, she'll be Sapphira.

Grace: nerdy, book-lover, super genius, and shy

Instead of Grace, she'll be Leyna.

Scarlet: wild-child, art geek, artist, and outdoorsy.

Instead of Scarlet, she'll be Nadia.

What do you think? Good? Bad? In between? Perfect? I think they're almost perfect, here's why:

Jinx is kinda unique, crazy name and her character is crazy as well. Also have you ever heard someone say something like You'll jinx it if you do that? Well, she's kinda a klutz too, so I think it's good. 

Sapphira is kinda like sapphire and since she's a girly-girl she's gotta like gems, right?

Leyna is a name that sounds like it belongs to a calm person and she is calm and shy. (BTW- it's pronounced like Laina, I think.)

Nadia's character is a wild-child, outdoorsy artist. Nadia is the name of water nymph, so I thought it worked.

So, that's why I like those names. Again tell me what you think. Also, I'm gonna have Jinx as a nickname so I need something for it to be short for. I was thinking Jeniveve, but I don't know if I like that. I would like some ideas.

I think that's all for today. One last thing though. The Olympics start tomorrow! Yes! I absolutely love watching them, it's so cool. What are your favorite sports to watch in the Summer Olympics? I like the swimming, gymnastics, diving, beach volleyball, and well, lots of the other sports too.

Bye-bye.
Love and Olympics,
~AJ

Books and Pencils

Hey Guys,

AJ here. Sorry, no book review today. I haven't read any books worthy of doing a review lately. Meaning I haven't had much time to read. Though I am reading a book called Monstromologists, though I may not finish it because it kinda turns my stomach. Not that it's bad, I just don't know if it's for me, you know?

So, I have this huge list of books that I want to read sitting on my desk in my bedroom. It's about 8-10 pages, I think; so not quite long enough. I need book ideas from all y'all. What should I read? I honestly don't care what kind of book it is at all. I'll try to read just about anything, but if it's too slow I just can't keep reading.

Now that I said that you're probably wondering, "How do you want us to tell you about these awesome book ideas?" Right? Okay, maybe not, but I'll tell you anyway. You can post it in a comment (so I should see a billion comments popping up about books) tell me what it's called, who it's by, and if possible, what it's about. You guys, can also tell me about books you would like me to read and review or read so you can know if it's good. Just, please..... BOOK IDEAS. Thank you.

Now onto the Pencils part of this post. I'm writing this story about these four unlikely friends at camp who start out making this annoying guy's ghost stories come true, but then the ghost stories actually come true and they have to figure out what's happening before it ruins the camp. I think I'll call it True Story. I know kinda tacky, but I like it. So, here's my dilemma: I need four unique and fun girl names. I also want the names to kinda fit with their characters. Here's what I have so far:

Quinn: sporty, musical, crazy, tomboy, and nature-lover
Marisol: girly, rich kid, snobby, and shopaholic
Grace: nerdy, super genius, book-lover and shy
Scarlet: wild-child, art geek, artist, and outdoorsy

Though I do like those names, I want something else. So, ideas for that would be awesome. For the names though send an email to bookseverywhere787@gmail.com and put AJ or True Story in the subject line. Thanks, again.

Love and writers,

~AJ

P.S. Watch the 2012 London Summer Olympics starting July 27th. I can't wait!

Divergent

Hello People of Earth and Citizens of Mars,

Your favorite AJ here. Well, maybe not your favorite, but do tell me truthfully, how many AJ's do you really know? Hmm? Not many? Didn't think so. Anywho, back to what I was talking about. Book review #? I don't count them. Today I'm doing a book review on a AWESOME book called (drum roll please) Divergent, by Veronica Roth.

Here's my review to your reading pleasure:

Front Cover

To sum it all up: There are five different factions in the city: Candor (the honest), Erudite (the smart and intelligent), Amity (the peaceful), Abnegation (the selfless), and Dauntless (the brave and daring). When a person turns 16 they go through the choosing ceremony, where they pick which faction they want to be apart of. They take aptitude tests to see which faction they would fit in with the best, but that doesn't have to affect their choice.

Beatrice Prior is from Abnegation, but she never quite felt like she fit in with them. She takes the aptitude test and is told that she is Divergent, meaning she fits into more than one faction. The thing is, the leaders don't like Divergents, they want them dead. She has to hide that fact from everybody or it'll mean her life.

She has to choose what faction she wants to join. Stay in her own or change? She makes her choice and changes her name to Tris. Meeting Four, Christina, Al, Will, Peter, and many others, she fights to find out where she belongs.

What I thought: I absolutely loved it. I couldn't put it down. I was done with it in a day and a half. I wanted to know what was going to happen to Tris, I wanted to see if I was right about who Four really was, I wanted Peter kicked out, I wanted to know where Tris decided she fit in, and I wanted to find out if the government and leaders would hunt down the Divergents and kill them. I also NEED to get the second book.

Genre: Dystopian (futuristic)

Setting: Chicago, but it's no longer called that. It's pretty much an abandoned city that was taken over by the people. Lake Michigan is the marsh/swamp that they talk about, which kinda made me sad that it wasn't a lake anymore. Navy Pier is a broken down, cleaned out, place. The John Hancock building is crumbling, but the twin lights on top of what used to be called the Sears tower still blink/shine, but now that building is called the Hub. 

Number of pages: 487

Who's it for: Middle School

Warnings: It's a tad violent, not much worse than the Hunger Games I don't think.

My Star Rating: 5 stars


Well, that's all for today. Just so you know, it's part of a trilogy.
Bye bye.
Love and zip-lining, (read the book to find out)
~AJ

Song: No More by Beckah Shae