The Summoning by Kelley Armstrong

The Summoning - #1 in the Darkest Powers Series by Kelley Armstrong

Going to an art school for classes about film directing was a normal day for Chloe Saunders. Until the day her monthly cycle came and she saw a janitor with burn scars chasing after her in the hallways.

That janitor, though? He wasn't alive. He was actually a ghost trying to talk to Chloe, as she was the only one who would see him.

After that episode, where the teachers had to sedate Chloe as she was trying to run away from the ghost, Chloe was sent to a "house for troubled teens". Now she has to prove to everyone that she can't see ghosts - that it was just a mistake.

Which is kind of hard to do when ghosts keep popping out of nowhere scaring her each time. The more time Chloe spends in the Lyle House with the other teenagers, the more she realizes that things are not as they seemed when she first got there.

With the other teenagers: Derek, a 6 foot, acne face 16 year old; Simon (Derek's older brother); Rae, a girl who likes looking at fire; Liz, the perky, happy one of the bunch; and Tori, the snarky, queen of the House, Chloe learns more about each teenager and how they are not so normal as she first thought...

After teenagers have left the house, Chloe forgets the idea of trying to be a "normal, non-ghost seeing girl" and starts to contact the spirits. What she finds would make anyone in that situation get goose bumps...

My Thoughts/Reflections
I was sure what I would think of this book. I've read great reviews and I read Armstrong's newest book series The Gathering, so I wanted to see how this book would pan out.

After figuring out some mysteries, I'm now hooked. There aren't too many books being written about talking to the dead/ghosts, so the storyline was new and refreshing. Also, there wasn't a heavy romantic appeal - at least in this first book of the series - which kept me hooked on the story rather than who the main girl would choose to fall in love.

This was a very easy and fast paced book to read. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes paranormal but is getting tired of the fallen angel/vampire/werewolf stories that are being over written lately.

This is also the first book of a triology, which all books are finished and available for purchase/checking out so there is not waiting for the start/ending of the story!! Yay!

Reviews will be up for the second and third book very soon (As soon as I read them :))

Rosebush by Michele Jaffe

Jane has always wanted to fit in. She wanted to be a part of the popular crowd and have friends to count on. When she moved to a new school and found one of the popular girls crying in the bathroom, she instantly became "one of them".

After a party gone wrong, though, Jane wakes up in the hospital temporarily paralyzed and mute from a hit and run.

Jane can't remember anything. She has a feeling that one of her friends did this to her, but her mind is only coming back in pieces. After talking to her boyfriend, friends, and random visitors, he memory slowly comes back - but nothing makes sense.

On top of that, Jane is getting gifts from a "Secret Admirer" and seeing things, getting random, unknown calls from the person who is going to come back and finished what they started.

No one will believe Jane when she says the murderer is coming back for her. They already found a suspect in which they had Jane's purse and phone, so the case was closed.

The more Jane's memory comes back, the more she is remembering, and hopefully, can figure out the person who tried to kill her before it's too late.

My Thoughts/Reflections
This was a great book! Jane struggles through the whole book to figure out what had happened that night at the party while also trying to keep her sanity, and proving to everyone that she is sane as well.

Throughout the whole book I kept trying to figure out who the suspect would be. I didn't guess until the very end right before it was revealed, but even then Michele Jaffe tried to trick me. She will literally keep you guessing who the killer is until the last few pages.

Jane is one tough cookie. She wakes up, can't move, can't talk, and she still tries to fight against what happened to her to figure out who would do something horrible to her. She knows it's one of her friends with the little she remembers from the night of the party, but not enough to remotely remember who ran her over.

I would recommend this to any reader because, while there are random love interests in here, this is mainly about finding out who hit Jane and why - it's a mystery that I think anyone would want to read and try to solve the mystery before Jane does herself!

Are You Alone on Purpose? by Nancy Werlin

Alison has always been more mature for her age. That's because her twin brother, Adam, is autistic and Alison has had to watch for signs of his temper tantrums and such.

In eighth grade, Alison got picked on a lot from Harry. He made fun of her for being nerdy (since her father is a math/science genius) and made fun of Adam without blinking - so Alison wasn't a fan of Harry's.

A few weeks before beginning high school, Adam tried diving at camp and ended up breaking his spine, paralyzing himself from the waist down.

When Adam was preparing for his bar mitzvah, Harry and Alison started to talk to one another. Slowly, Harry realized that, even though Alison was a nerd, she was smart and almost a normal girl. Alison slowly started to find out why Harry was so mean all of the time and who he really was as a person.

My Thoughts/Reflections
This was a different book than what I've read before.

First, the characters are younger than what I normal read (ages 14 and 15) so they were thinking more the lines of "being popular and well liked" than "I want a boyfriend/girlfriend".

Second, Adam. I liked Adam. I've never been around an autistic person, so reading about his abilities and habits was very interesting to me.

This is a book about growing up and self-identity. Harry was a bully at the beginning of the novel, but after his accident, he changed as a person. I always like seeing character development happen in a book and I really think Harry and Alison grew more into the adult they will become throughout the events that unfold in the story.

I would definitely recommend this book. It's a stand alone, suited for both guys and girls because the chapters alternate between Harry and Alison's thoughts, and the content in this book might help the reader fully appreciate their life and friends that they have.

The Long Night of Leo and Bree by Ellen Wittlinger

For 10 hours, Bree and Leo have the longest night of their life. Leo is hurting because it’s the day where his older sister was brutally murdered four years ago. Bree wanted to get away from the demands of everyone in her life.

Who knew they were going to meet and go through a rollercoaster of emotions?

Bree went to the shadier town than she’s used to, to experience an adventure. She didn’t know what was coming her way.

When Leo saw Bree walking the streets, he thought that she should have been her sister and that her sister should still be alive today.

After their crazy, long night of their life, nothing will ever be the same.

Nothing.

My Thoughts/Reflections

I wasn’t sure where this book would go after reading the descriptions online, but I knew I desperately wanted to find out.

It wasn’t what I thought – but I did enjoy the story and the struggle both characters were going through.

This is a very short book. I mean very short. Just 100 pages of alternating narrations between Leo and Bree, so we get both of their stories and why they do what they do in this novel.

I would recommend this book to others! Guys and girls, teens and adults. It’s not a fairy tale story, though, although it’s not gruesome either. It’s just a story about a boy struggling with his troubled past and a girl who wants to escape her predictable future. 

Beautiful Disaster by Jamie McGuire

It's Abby's first year in college, in a town where she didn't grow up in, and only one person knows her past life (her best friend, America). This is a chance for Abby to start over and be the mature, grownup, and law abiding person that she's always wanted to be.

At first, it was working wonders. Then, Abby met Travis Maddox. Travis, a fighter, tattooed, bad boy who, after seeing Abby, started hanging around her, even after she showed no interested in starting something with Travis.

That didn't fly so well with Travis. He could have every and any girl that he wants - what's a little challenge? Everything.

After staying with Travis and America's boyfriend, Shepley, when the water heater broke in her dorm room, Abby and Travis make a bet: If he doesn't get his once in his fight, Abby has to stay with Travis for a month. If he gets hit once, Travis will remain abstinent for the next month.

Throughout Travis and Abby's relationship, they go through so many ups and downs that it would give anyone whiplash, but the following months will test both Abby and Travis's restraint toward one another and the chemistry that flares up whenever they are around one another.

My Thoughts/Reflections
Wow. This book made my top 5. No, maybe my top 3.

First, the chemistry between Abby and Travis is ridiculous. Half the time when they were fighting, the reader could still see sparks flying between them, and when they kissed and made up? Let's just say, I'm very envious of Abby. Very.

Okay, so I think I liked this story because it was set in college and because Abby was very resistant to the idea of being with Travis. Travis represented her past and what she did not want to happen to her future. Boy, did that girl put up a fight. I'm very impressed.

Beautiful Disaster was very real, to me. The events that happened can definitely happen in real life and many college students do go through most of the things Abby and America went through. Life is not easy. College is not easy. But if you fight for what you want, the results could end in your favor. Like what happened with Abby and Travis.

Since this book is now my top 3 (Please don't ask what the other two are - I have no idea) I would most certainly recommend this book. However! I'm recommending it to older teens, and mainly girls, because of some content in this novel (sexual content, gambling, illegal fighting, etc.)

Of course, now that I've mentioned those content, it might be a book that everyone wants to read, but I'm sticking to my recommendation of older teen readers. If you are older, and want a swoon worthy book to fall in love with and to never end, the go buy this book on Amazon today!

Trust me. You won't regret it!

The Fine Art of Truth or Dare by Melissa Jensen

Being the student who's on scholarship at a high society school can be tough. Being the student who's in the "invisible" club while crushing on popular and rich boy who doesn't know she exists? That makes it a little tougher.

Ella is okay with her secret crush though. She has Edward to keep her company. The only problem is that Edward Willing died in the 1900's. He was a painter who Ella has falling in love with and is researching about for her art history paper.

Ella and her two best friends, Sadie and Frankie, play the game of Truth and Dare. It's one way they find out information about each other where they all know they will tell the truth no matter what.

After being obsessed with Alex for a few years, Ella finds herself being tutored by Alex for her French class. She has no idea how to talk to him at first, but then the connection between the two starts to catch on fire and they are talking about everything and nothing.

Will Ella and Alex overcome the society differences they are encountering at school, or are they supposed to stay in their separate worlds? Read The Fine Art of Truth and Dare to find out!

My Thoughts/Reflections
This book had a twist of art/museums, society differences/groups, and overcoming judgmental thoughts about others.

I really liked Ella. She is Italian and has a big family who owns a restaurant, so the interaction with her and her family was just hilarious. Then she has Frankie, the lovable, gay guy friend who seems fearless and daring, whereas Sadie is a talented singer, but a shy girl trying to find her individuality away from her demanding mother.

And Alex. Smart, caring, and so not how you would think a son of a politician and a news reporter would be. I liked Alex. He got Ella to open up in a way that not many people could do. He was considerate of Ella's feelings, but also to everyone else's feelings.

I enjoyed this novel. With the historical information about Edward Willing included in here it was definitely different than other YA romance novels because it has historical facts that Ella was trying to find on an artist - I'm not sure if it was all legit or not, but it seemed that Melissa Jensen took a lot of time with the content about Willing.

I would recommend this book for any female wanting a flirty romance story that also has an art history context thrown in there.

Friday Night Lights (TV show)

I just watched the complete series of Friday Night Lights - the television show that was on NBC from 2006-2011 (so 5 seasons altogether).

This show is set in Dillon, TX, a small community where everyone loves football. And I mean everyone. There is a new coach in town, Coach Eric Taylor, and his family: wife, Tami Taylor and 15-year-old daughter Julie Taylor.

Everyone is suspicious if Coach Taylor can take this team to state, which is the only thing anyone can think about when talking about football.

Coach Taylor even has the next all-star quarterback, Jason Street, to play for his team the first year coaching. After the first game, though, Jason gets hurt and Coach Taylor's preparation for the season is messed up.

Now Coach needs to use the second string quarterback, Matt Sarcean, to finish the game. Surprisingly, after a few messups, Matt was able to win the first game for the Dillon Panthers before the team went to see how Jason was doing.

When everyone finds out that Jason was paralyzed from the waist down and will never recover his legs again, the whole team, plus the whole town has to adjust to Matt being the quarterback and still try to aim for state.

As seasons went on, players were changed and new stars were found through Coach Taylor and his ability to coach good athletes into amazing players and people.

My Thoughts/Reflections
Now, I'm not a big football fan. Actually, I really could care less about football to be honest. However, during all of the games that were played on this show, I was yelling things like, "Defense! Pick it up, defense!" or "That's a flag, ref!"

Let's just say, I got into not only the storyline, but the game as well, whether I was a football fan or not.

This show was amazing! They went in depth with all of the main characters, having their own background story and problems they have to deal with while also feeling the pressure from the town while on the football team.

I also like how the show kept the students in the grades they were supposed to be in and graduated when they were supposed to (although I got confused at first who was what grade because they never really talked about who was what age in the first season. Just Jason, who was a senior, was the only one I was sure of first season.).

I would recommend this show to teenagers and adults. There are a lot of relatable events that happen in this show: loss, love, sports, family, friends, problems in school, heartbreak. And it's set in a small town, so anyone from a small town will definitely be able to relate to the atmosphere of Dillon, TX.

I'm glad that I watched all of this show and I wish that there could be more. Even though it was 5 seasons of football, there were new characters to meet, different problems that arouse, and we got to see the older characters in their new life, whether it was college, working, or with a new family.

Since it is all finished, you can try to find it online for free (like I did) or all 5 seasons are available in one collection on Amazon.com (Click here if you're interested).