Paper Towns

This is a teen book. I picked it up on a whim, and I am oh so glad I did.
It takes place in Florida, with a guy named Quentin as it's main character. Quentin is in love with his childhood friend and neighbor, Margo. They have grown apart though, now that theyre in high school.

Then one day, Margo knocks on Q's window late one night dressed up as a ninja and asks to borrow his car, and asks if he can drive it. Hesitatingly, he agrees. (Q doesn't like to get in trouble, Margo does) :) But he is in love with her, so what is he gonna do?! Of course he is going to say yes. They spend the ENTIRE night getting revenge on all of Margo's friends who aren't really her friends, she realizes. And then, just like that, she disappears the next morning.

Q is distraught and can think of nothing but trying to find her. In his search he comes to find that he never really knew Margo at all. And this is my favorite part. He stumbles on her music collection and finds out that she loves stuff like Bob Dylan, Woodie Guthrie and Billy Bragg. Walt Whitmans Leaves of Grass also plays a really important part in Q's search for Margo.

This one was very well written. It was extraordinarily dark at times, and also very humorous (Q's friends are a riot). There were times when i was reading it late at night and I had to put it down because it was getting a little too dark for me...but I loved it a lot a lot a lot.

The Reading Group

I re-read this book and fell in love with it all over again. The characters are breathtakingly real. Elizabeth Noble is a fantastic writer. She writes about mothers and friendship extraordinarily and brilliantly. She writes about books beautifully. There was not one single character I didn't understand and there was only one character I didn't love (because you weren't supposed to) Everyone was just so so so so so so amazing.

The Art of Racing in the Rain

This book is told from the perspective of a dog. A dog named Enzo. (good name). Oh, that dog was wonderful. I wanted to hug him!
I wasn't sure about the title when I first started to read this one. I assumed that Enzo was into racing other dogs playfully. Nooooo. In this story, Enzo's owner is a race car driver who is known for racing in the rain better than anyone else. Enzo's favorite thing to do is to sit down with his owner and watch racing tapes. Denny talks to Enzo about technique and racing, and Enzo takes it all in.
Enzo is a beautiful dog and what he brings to Denny is more than companionship. What he brings to Denny cannot be described or explained. And what Denny brings to Enzo is so much more as well.
This book has a lot of sadness. Denny goes through some unfornuate times, which were so sad, I almost stopped reading it. It started to make me almost upset. (as upset as a book can make someone). There was something about Denny. Something I understood. I could understand his reaction to things, they would have been my reaction to things. Down to the conversations he had with his daughter...and so when things started to go bad for him, it hurt me a little more. So it was tough to read at times, but it was a wonderful book. And when I get another dog, you bet he is going to watch some dvds with me.

My Custom Van

The title of this book is "My Custom Van: and 50 other Mind Blowing Essays that will Blow Your Mind all Over Your Face." Ahahahaha. How could you not laugh at that?
With essay titles like,

"An Open Letter to the Hair Stylist Who Somehow Convinced Me to Get a Perm When I Was in Sixth Grade."

"Announcing the Imminent Arrival of the Handlebar Mustache Certain People Said I'd Never Be Able to Grow"

and my all time favorite,

"Hey, David Sedaris-Why Don't You Just Go Ahead and Suck It?" You can only imagine the essay that follows, and it is laugh out loud funny and gross me out disgusting. Oh, I love Michael Ian Black. Always have, always will. :)

Tigerheart

I have never ever read Peter Pan, nor have I seen any movies. I've seen "Hook", yes. And I have seen "Neverland" but this book made it quite clear, I need to read the book.
This story is about a boy named Paul whose Father tells Paul all the stories of adventures that The Boy takes place in...in a land called anyplace.
One day, Paul stumbles across a dead pixie and succeeds in bringing her back to life by believing. And the pixie then informs Paul of why she died in the first place. Because The Boy ceased believing in her...and she is eager to seek revenge on PP.
Together, Paul and the pixie travel to anyplace and find that The Boy is now a pirate! The story pretty much continues to be amazing and adventurous! It actually reminded me a little of the Matrix. Apparently, anything The Boy believes is possible is possible. And if he believes he is in danger, he is in danger. So the similarities are def. there.
This book is a story of dreamers, the imagination, pirates and the wonderful world of youthful hope. I loved it...and to be honest, I loved that this book isn't a childrens book, but one for adults. Heehee, there were some subtle adult like things mentioned..or left to the imagination. I liked it a lot.

The Book Thief

It took me a while to really get into this book. It took me a really long time to get used to the Narrator-Death, and his way of explaining things.
In the end, I warmed up to him and I love love love the way he gave you a glimpse of what was going to happen without giving you any details until he got to that part of the story. And for me, knowing the outcome and finding out how it happens is actually pretty exciting!
I liked this book a lot and I liked all the characters. I even liked Liesels foster mother!!! I was actually quite fond of her and her determination.
But, yes, mostly I loved Rich and Max. Max for his compassion and Rich for his personality. Both of them were really great characters. I am extraordinarily glad I read this book it gave me a few new insights to life. :)

I Love You, Beth Cooper

So, I needed a book like this today. And let me just tell you, aside from helping me cope with the last 24 hours, this book was pretty great. It made me laugh and I loved all the references to motion pictures and I really loved the character "Rich". :) He was a cutie pie and I love the friendship he shares with Denis. Def a mix between Superbad and Weird Science. Plus the opening chapter had a quote from a James Dean movie. That pretty much seals the deal for me in literature. :)
It really is a great read and I totally pictured the whole thing in my head as a movie.