Hey, Soul Sister-Train

Title: Hey, Soul Sister
Artist: Train
Language: English
TTS: No

Wdebo's Notes: I. Love. This. Song! Period (or exclamation point). Even though most of you know that I don't listen to English songs at all, but after the summer program I got addicted to so many English songs, especially this one.

I remember listening to Drops of Jupiter when I was really young and just being in love with it. Now Hey, Soul Sister is wonderful, addicting, and such an amazing song. Listen and love!

Enjoy!



Hope you enjoy! And please comment!

Wdebo :)

Twisted By: Laurie Halse Anderson

Title: Twisted

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

PAPERBACK

Amount of Pages: 250
Publisher: Speak

Release Date: March 20, 2007

Geared Towards: Older Teens

From: Library

"A lot of kids would tell you that being taken away in a squad car was the coolest thing I'd ever done."

Summary (From B.O.B):

EVERYBODY TOLD HIM TO BE A MAN.

NOBODY TOLD HIM HOW.

High school senior Tyler Miller used to be the kind of guy who faded into the background. But since he got busted for doing graffiti on the school, and spent the summer working outdoors to pay for it, he stands out like you wouldn't believe. His new physique attracts the attention of queen bee Bethany Milbury, who just so happens to be his father's boss's daughter, the sister of his biggest enemy-and Tyler's secret crush. Soon his life is a roller coaster, with fantastic highs, devistating lows, and no seat belt to protect him. He has no choice. He'll just have to ride it out...

Wdebo's Review: Ever since I read Speak, I have always been a Laurie Halse Anderson fan. I love how she can weave all of these stories and just keep pulling you through them with the fine touch of a great storyteller. Twisted, though not my favorite of all of Laurie Halse Anderson's books, but it was still pretty good.

The story, like all of her books, is a very good idea. The writing was good and it was pretty addictive. However, I was not the biggest fan of the whole, hormonal-teenage-boy writing. (It's always awkward to read...in other books too), but she did create a good character and I do like how he matures and fights for himself and the whole dork to super bully stopper idea...nice! :)

Apart from being hormonal/perverted at times Tyler is actually a very good character. He embodies the confusion of being a teenager and trying to feel comfortable in your own skin and newfound "popularity." I was very happy with his relationship with his sister, they had a great brother-sister relationship, which is very nice to read about.

Cafe Cover Chat: The cover is cool, it shows the twisted side, of, well, Twisted (B+)

All in all, a good book that most Laurie Halse Anderson fans will enjoy and it posses great writing and it becomes very hard to put down.

Grade: B+

Wdebo :)

Fairytale-Michael Wong (光良)

-ENGLISH SUBBED-

Title: 童話

English Title: Fairytale

Artist: 光良 (Guang Liang/Michael Wong)

Language: Chinese (Mandarin)

TTS: No

Wdebo's Notes: The program I went to this summer in Taiwan, for our last week we went on a tour around Southern Taiwan. And on our bus, they would always sing this song (then I had never heard it) but it just got stuck in my head. So when I came back I started listening to it, now it is stuck in my head. It's such a good song and the mv is sad. But I still really love this song.

Enjoy!

Hope you enjoy! And please comment!

Wdebo :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!

Yep it's that time of year again...my birthday!!

I'm so happy...I'm finally seventeen and will be a senior :)

So what awesome gifts did I get this year?

Well...

-PLL Books #2-4
-Cute mini highlighters
-Braclet with my name
-Cute journal
-Wicked Lovely
-"Alice In Wonderland" Soundtrack
-Cold Stone gift card.

Hope this year goes well!

Wdebo :)

The DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) By: Kody Keplinger

Title: The DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend)

Author: Kody Keplinger

HARDBACK

Amount of Pages: 288

Release Date: September 7, 2010

Geared Towards: Older Teens

From: Publisher

"I needed something to distract me-anything far away from my parent's drama-just for a second. And when I saw my chance I didn't stop to think about how much I'd regret it later. An oppurtunity sat on the bar stool beside me, and I lunged at it. Literally.

I kissed Wesley Rush."

Summary (From B.O.B): Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie, Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "Duffy," she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren't so great at home right now. Desperate for a distraction, Biance ends up kissing Wesley. And likes it. Eager for escape, she throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with Wesley.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out that Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Biance realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

Wdebo's Review: After I first saw the summary for The Duff I was so excited to read it, stories about falling in love with the wrong guy/the guy you hated have always been my favorite. So when I got it I was so excited and started reading it right away, and didn't put it down until I finished it.

At first glance The Duff seems like a total bubble gum, YA Chick Lit novel wannabe. From its all so cliche summary to the bubble gum on the cover (even though that wasn't the cover I got). But Bianca, the main character, was nothing like characters from other YA Chick Lit. She's loud, assertive, and loves to speak her mind. Bianca is a total commentor on life. Which, is quite refreshing, because she thinks like me, except sometimes she says "slut" and "whore" way too much. Though in the end she learns about lables that are apart of us but that don't define us, such as "duff."

This novel is way more complicated then other YA books, it shows the struggle to feel loved after being hurt so badly, the need of love but also the fear of it.

I did really enjoy the writing even though Bianca is a total anti-romantic (which can be pretty annoying at times for a total romantic like me) but she was totally setting herself up for a big time cliche moment. (So I loved the ending...because though clicheness can be annoying at times, it is still sooooo addicting

And might I also add that Wesley (or as Binca calls him, the man-whore) is soooo addicting and just well hot. He was such a good character choice...love! And I love how *Spoiler Alert* he doesn't run away after being pushed away by Bianca because he knows she loves (uh hum "strongly likes") him and he strongly likes her back *End of Spoiler Alert*

I finally need to add that it is so cool that Kody wrote this when she was so young, and almost the same age as me!! So her writing is very authentic and a true "teeange" voice.

Cafe Cover Chat: I like the cover, I love bubble gum and I love bubbly letters, so it's great! (A-)

All in all, a great debut book for teens that many are sure to relate to and can read with much amusment and addictive-ness, there is a wonderfully strong protagonist/narrator, that most teens should enjoy a lot.

Grade: A-

Wdebo :)

Manifest: A Mystyx Novel

Title: Manifest: A Mystyx Novel

Author: Artist Arthur

PAPERBACK

Amount of Pages: 256

Release Date: August 1, 2010

Publisher: Kimani

Geared Towards: Teens

From: Publisher

"No, what I need is another life, one where I'm not going insane and kids with marks and spirits with attitude aren't giving me grief."

Summary: Krystal Bentley is dealing with way more drama then her fifteen-year-old body can handle. Her parents have divorced and she is stuck with her mother and new, hated stepfather Gerald in her mother's hometown, Lincoln, Connecticut.

At first, the biggest drama that Krystal has to deal with is adjusting to the tight class structure of her new high shcool and to learn to live with her mother and Gerald, but soon something bigger comes up, and it has a name, Ricky Watson.

Ricky is cute and a great guy, except for one small thing, he's dead, and he needs Krystal's medium-like powers, that she's been denying, to help him cross over. So, Krystal needs to equip the help of two other students who have the same curious M shaped birthmark as Krystal to help fight a darker power that is coming towards them.

Wdebo's Review: I first decided to read Manifest because of the plot I really like supernatural stories that also have romance in it.

When I first started Manifest it was ok, but it was kind of hard to go through becase the writing seemed to try too hard to act like a "teenager." But towards the end the plot line got very addictive and was hard to put down.

I was hoping there would have been a bit more action at the end of the book, because it seemed to take a long time to build up then it seemed to end really fast. The ending ended in a cliffhanger, so I am actually looking forward to reading the next book in the series, but I hope it doesn't try too hard to act like a "teenager" again, because I am pretty sure I don't talk and think like Krystal and some of her friends.

I was not a big fan of the character of Krystal, she acted too much like a spoiled brat to be liked. Even though she did seem to mature a bit at the end she was still very annoying, but I did pity her a lot, her life was kind of sucky, to tell you the truth.

Cafe Cover Chat: I am glad to see someone of color on the cover :) It is a pretty good cover and it shows the essence of the book. (B-)

All in all, quite a nice book, even though it was not amazing, but it had a good idea and it did get pretty good at the end.

Grade: B-

Wdebo :)

North of Beautiful By: Justina Chen Headley

Title: North of Beautiful

Author: Justina Chen Headley

PAPERBACK

Amount of Pages: 373

Release Date: February 1, 2009

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Geared Towards: Teens

From: Library's Summer Reading Program

"Let the glossy spreads have their heart-stopping, head-truing kind of beauty. Give me the heart-filling beauty instead. Jolie laide, that's what I would choose. Flawed, we're truly interesting, truly memorable, and yes, truly beautiful."

Summary (From B.O.B):

It's hard not to notice Terra Cooper.

She's tall, blond, and has an enviable body. But with one turn of her cheek, all people notice is her unmistakably "flawed" face. Terra secretly plans to leave her small, stifling town in the Northwest and escape to an East Coast college, but gets pushed off-course by her controlling father. When an unexpected collision puts Terra directly in Jacob's path, the handsome but quirky Goth boy immediately challenges her assumptions about herself and her lfie, and she is forced in yet another direction. With her carefully laid plans disrupted, will Terra be able to find her true path?

Wdebo's Review: When I first got this book, I wasn't really sure what it was about and what to expect of it. Though in a beginning I wasn't too found of Terra because she used the line "Not to brag or anything," and I just hate it when people say that because they are TOTALLY BRAGGING! But after a bit I started to quite like the book.

The writing was pretty good, it had a good idea and a pretty good storyline. Though there were some parts that seemed boring and cliche and, sometimes I just wasn't very captivated so I could just put it down and leave it for a while. But I do like how the novel had a very lovely message that showed just how all of us, no matter how we look on the outside, are truely beautiful on the inside.

I wasn't the biggest fan of Terra, she seemed too weak for my taste, and she only became stronger after she met Jacob, and it angers me that she couldn't use her own power to become strong, that she has to rely on a guy to become it. And it angered me also how she allowed every one to walk all over her, just because she felt "lucky" to be liked by these people. Jacob seemed quite cliche, but I liked him. He was Chinese and it made him even better ;)

Cafe Cover Chat: I think the cover is pretty good, and I know the compass is a big significance of the book and title, but I think it looks kind of meh on the cover. (B)

All in all, quite a nice book with a good storyline, that is a good read for everyone.

Grade: B+

Wdebo :)