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It's eleven o'clock at night and I'm writing this from my iPod.... Wow, 111 page views. I'm so proud.

The Fault in Our Stars Video Review!

I really liked the written one better, but I tried my best, so...

The Chain Letter Book Trailer

The trailer is finally here! The whole class worked really hard on it, so thanks for your participation and support! You can also find it on YouTube. Click here to redirect to YouTube.

Pretty Little Liars

What would you do if you blinded someone? And saw something horrible? Spencer, Aria, Emily, Hanna, and Alison are best friends. They do everything together. So on one night, when a neighbor, Toby, is seen looking through their window while they're changing, they want to get revenge together, too. So Alison sneaks out to Toby's treehouse with a firework. She sees something horrible, and it surprises her so much that she sets off the firework. She blinds Toby's stepsister Jenna. It is not revealed until later why Toby kept Alison's secret and took the blame.

Years later, Alison has disappeared, and the girls have drifted apart. Then, problems arise and they start getting frightening text messages, emails, and notes from someone named "A." Then people start dying. And eventually, the old A dies, too. But then, a new one is coming.... It is revealed that Alison was actually Alison's twin, Courtney. Courtney was in a mental hospital so she pretended to be Alison while Alison got sent back. Alison wanted revenge. She dies in one of the books, but did she really die??

When I first heard of this series, I was a bit skeptical, because I don't really like mystery. But this book was good because there was normal teen drama as well a serious drama. I would recommend this book because it is interesting.

Modelland!!

I really want to read this book! I had heard abut it and initially was reluctant to pick it up, but I read the first few pages on a preview, and it was really good! I had no idea that Tyra Banks could write. It is on my summer reading list and I will definitely pick it up at Barnes & Noble soon!

My Summer Reading List

My Summer Reading List (Books I Plan to Read While Lounging on the Beach.... Or Pretending to Lounge on the Beach):

1. Modelland by Tyra Banks
2. Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Biography by Lemony Snicket
3. Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

That is all I've gotten to so far, but I'LL BE ADDING MORE!

The Fault in our Stars by John Green

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings."

Hazel Grace Lancaster is sixteen years old. She has terminal cancer and has been diagnosed with clinical depression. She goes to support group for other kids with cancer. It is there she meets Augustus Waters, who had osteosarcoma. They bond over a book, The Imperial Affliction, written by Peter Van Houten. The book ends mid sentence, so Augustus writes to the author and asks him what happens after the story ends. Van Houten then answers that he couldn't tell them in a letter, that they must come to Amsterdam (where he lives), and that he will tell them there.

So they travel to Amsterdam. They find that Peter Van Houten won't tell them anything and that he is very rude and offensive. Hazel and Augustus go back to their hotel, where he tell her that he has a tumor. He knows that he is dying.

When they get back to the States, Augustus asks Hazel and their friend Isaac to have a prefuneral, so that he can watch it. He dies eight days later.

Augustus always told Hazel that one day he would write an epilogue An Imperial Affliction.

The Fault in our Stars was sad, but it was also something more. It was something special.

Chain Letter Movie Trailer

Note: The movie is VERY different from the book.

Chain Letter by Christopher Pike Summary/Review (SPOILER ALERT)

What if you and your friends did something very, very bad last summer? What if someone found out? This is what happens to Alison, Joan, Fran, Brenda, Neil, Kipp, and Tony, as someone called "The Caretaker" sends them letters and messages in the classified ads in the newspaper and tells them to do dangerous dares. Throughout the book, each one of them must complete a deed. The group notices a pattern in the deeds they must do: They all have mean something important to them. For example, Brenda has a role in the school play, You Can't Take It With You. The caretaker says that she has to tell the director of the play that he is the worst teacher in the world. She gets kicked out of the play. Also, Fran drew a picture of the school mascot, which is a bear. The caretaker says that she must spray paint the picture in black and red to make it a goat. This being said, it is clear that the Caretaker is someone close, or watching all of them, all of the time. Near the end of the book, Neil dies with a green ring on his hand, which seem to be the only indication it is him. But then the story takes a turn for the worst. It in  fact isn't Neil, it is the man they accidentally killed last summer. But Neil had taken the ring. And he had claimed it as his own. The day before he "died," he told his best friend Tony to give that emerald ring to Alison, with whom he had been in love, and who was dating Tony. At the very end, it is revealed that the Caretaker was Neil. He dies and never gets to graduate with the rest of his group. A lot of other crazy stuff happens too, but I can't tell you everything! There is a sequel, which I haven't read yet but hope to get to soon. This book is not your average, cookie-cutter mystery. It had a lot of depth to it and was very sad but happy, too. I tink anyone who loves mystery or horror with a twist will enjoy this book.

And Now For a Reading Interview with Myself

Naja: Hello Naja, good morning. I would like to ask you a few questions about reading.

Me: Okay, sure.

Naja: My first question is: what do you like to read? Describe what you read and why.

Me: Well, I enjoy reading fashion magazines. I also like to read fiction books. I don't have a real reason behind what I read, I just pick up what looks good.

Naja: Funny, that sounds like something I would do also. What are your favorite books? Why?

Me: My favorite books are I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, Their Eyes were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston, Chain Letter by Christopher Pike, and The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins. I like all of these books because they are very poetic, depressing, and slightly nostalgic.

Naja: Thanks for that. I can tell you sad books. It's interesting, because I like sad books too! Anyways, what is your favorite genre?

Me: My favorite genre is young adult.

Naja: And how often do you read?

Me: I read all the time. In the car, in the bathroom, in the shower, at night when I'm supposed to be asleep....

Naja: List a few of the book you've read in the last year.

Me: I've read the Hunger Games Trilogy, The Clique Series, a few Sara Dessen books, the Twilight Series, and Slumber Party by Christopher Pike.

Naja: What books are you interested in reading, but haven't had a chance to read?

Me: The Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan.

Naja: Imagine the perfect book you'd like to read this summer. What's it about?

Me: I'd say it was a fictional story about two best friends who fall in love.

Naja: Well, that just about wraps it all up. Thanks for talking.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (NOTE: CONTAINS SPOILERS)

     The book starts with Marguerite around seven years old, in church wearing a purple taffeta dress.  From then on, we follow Angelou's life up until she is almost graduating high school. We watch her and her brother grow up, from living in Stamps, Alabama with her grandmother ("Momma" she was called), to living with her mother.

     Maya encounters all sorts of problems, for example, she gets raped, and after the rapist's trial, he gets killed. Maya has to deal with the guilt she has. Also, she has some questions about her sexual orientation, so she decides to have intercourse with a boy to prove that she is not a lesbian and ends up getting pregnant.

     Marguerite is a very strong person and it is quite evident that she is a compassionate person. You can tell because of the guilt and shame she feels for herself and the man who raped her after he was found dead.

    I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings was a beautiful story. I cried a lot but I also laughed. While the story is often depressing, there are hopeful bits in it also. I enjoyed it and believe that anyone who wants to understand one of the greatest writers of the 20th century should read this.