Forever: Maggie Stiefvater

She is such a good writer. A really entertaining, not corny teen book about Werewolves. I just learned this is a trilogy and I read the last one. This is a book I would recommend for anyone.

Ashes Ashes: Jo Treggiari

As I read more Apocalypse teen books I realize the quality of the Hunger Games Trilogy. This is a story about EVERYTHING happening- global warming, zombie-like people, viruses, and a love story. Only the protagonist can save the world and escape the evil doctors, dun dun dun because she was the chosen one immune to the virus. I think I am done with this genre.

Writing Effective Speeches, The Ultimate Guide to Making Every Word Count: Henry Ehrlich

I was expecting this book to be rather dull, but informative. I was delightfully surprised. It was very interesting to read and not a chore due to the humor and educational tidbits included throughout. Who else would one want to learn to write from, than someone who is an excellent writer. A very well thought out and useful book in learning how to write good speeches for the correct audience in the perfect amount of time.  

The Eleventh Plague: Jeff Hirsch

I am on a teen Apocalypse kick for some reason and this one was ok. Not much to say about it- the protagonist was a 15yr old boy who lost his family and was taken in by a town. He brings destruction with him and finds love.

The Black Banners: Ali H Soufan

Wow, an insightful book about everything Al Qaeda and the Taliban as well as about how our government agencies work against each other. It was sickening to find out how many things the US knew about and did not even attempt to stop. I am really hoping things have been corrected, but since it all appears to stem from power struggles one wonders how many other things will be "Overlooked". This book was a very interesting read though the black out spots made me start to loose interest since it broke up the smoothness of reading. It did set the mood effectively on how the reader is sorting through classified information.  

The Craft of Lyric Writing: Shelia Davis

A really interesting book. I hadn't really thought about how most music follows one of a few different patterns and only really talented artist can deviate from the norm and have a hit song. The authors observances and examples were great and she really knew what she was talking about.

Unorthodox The Scandalous Rejection of My Hasidic Roots: Deborah Feldman

My thoughts as I read this book is how amazingly strong this woman must be to leave her community knowing there will be backlash from not only the extremists in her community but her family as well. I checked out her blog and was so happy to see how she is not bitter about the hate mail she probably receives, but that she uses her intelligence to point out that her Hasidic community will collapse and she just wants to better life and provide opportunities for those trapped. Her book was eye opening and inspiring about all cult like religions who shun education knowing the educated will leave. It starts with her childhood and how she came to be raised by her grandparents then moves through her life as she realizes door after door is closed to her by religious restrictions. The section with her marriage and how she is blamed for not consummating it was so primitive it was laughable, yet irritating. I am proud of her for making a better life for her son and hope she finds the peace and happiness she has lived without.

Legend: Marie Lu

An excellent teen read. In a dystopian United States two 15yr olds from different worlds find out they have a lot in common. This was a modern day Romeo and Juliet-ish read where the characters were very real. I think teen readers would really connect with the story and can see this becoming a best seller. I really enjoyed it and I am old :)

The Writer's Handbook for Editing and Revision: Rick Wilber

A helpful tool to get your writing cleaned up and sounding intelligent. It included sections on commonly misspelled, misused and unnecessary words. There was a chapter to prepare the writer for plenty of revisions and not to get discouraged.It listed legal terms to be conscious of if your story is published.