Three Black Swans by Caroline B. Cooney

Summary

When Missy hears an expert discussing newborn babies on the radio, it makes her wonder about her family. She and her cousin Claire are best friends who finish each other’s sentences and practically read each other’s minds. It’s an eerie connection—so eerie that Missy has questions she wants to put to her parents. But she’s afraid to ask. Still, Missy can’t let go of those nagging questions. So she decides to use a school project about scientific hoax to try to uncover the answers, and she enlists Claire to help. As part of the project, they perform a dramatic scene that is captured on video at school. After the video is posted on YouTube, Missy and Claire realize that they’ve opened up Pandora’s box. Not only are their identities called into question, but so is the future of everyone involved.

Number of Pages: 276

Review

A couple of posts back I wrote how I always wanted a twin, but then that book I read sort of scared me into not wanting one, well, after reading THIS book I change my mind . . . again. I want an identical twin!

Missy gets this seed of a theory into her mind about her and her cousin, Claire. She disregards it for a bit until she overhears an expert on identical twins talk on the radio. That watered her theory, and out came a plot to discover the truth! But what exactly does she want to find out? To see if her cousin really is her twin? To see how her parents react? To find out what is that feeling of a hole in her heart? All of the above. When she manipulates a science assignment into creating a hoax to see if people can believe if Claire and her can be long lost twins, everyone falls for it, hard. Of course being the 21-century, news of this hoax doesn’t stay contained for long. And when word spreads out, mayhem erupts. Is it true? Can they be twins? How is that even possible?

The last Caroline B. Cooney book I read was in 5^th grade I believe. I didn’t really remember how good her book was so I wasn’t expecting much in Three Black Swans. Boy, was I wrong. I was always interested in things like this, long lost twins reunited. I mean, how would they react? Would they automatically like each other? Would they stay in contact? How would it even be possible to find one another? This book answered those questions. And Cooney didn’t just create this possible scenario. There were lots of facts on identical twins that I knew this was how things would work out. How would they react? Like they were blind, but know they can see. Would they automatically like each other? No, they would automatically love each other, although maybe they would feel some hesitations and scared feelings for the future. Would they stay in contact? If they could, nothing could pull them apart. And the circumstances in which they find each other are always incredible. Maybe this isn’t how all long lost identical twins or triplets feel, but this is what I got from the book and it sounded legit.

The characters were very believable. They were all people that I can totally picture meeting on the street somewhere. Well, maybe Missy was portrayed as a little bit too giddy, but other than that it was exactly how I pictured it. There was also Genevieve, who isn’t mentioned in the jacketflap summary, but is important, very important actually for the outcome of the book. The title was something that very much interested me. It was explained several times throughout the novel. I thought it completely original, and perfect for this story. I also really loved how Cooney created this specific scenario in how all the sisters found each other. It was a mystery in and of itself and the way it was portrayed kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end. Which obviously means that I considered Three Black Swans an excellent book giving it form 1-10? An 8!

Happy New Years . . . Better Late than Never!

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!! Wooohooo! Yes I am aware that it's a bit late, but like I said better late than never. I was a little busy spending time with the family during the first days of 2011, not to mention school started again -.- actually i should be going to sleep right now being as it is 12 o'clock (school night) but I couldn't put this off any more or they would already be out by the time I got to it!

I have made a list. Of what you might be thinking? Well, obviously its going to be about books coming out in the new year. Duh. I have been making this list for quite some time. I found some of these myself, but actually I was kept posted on what books are coming out mostly through one of my friends, Adriana, who always finds the newest books so . . . THANKS DRI DRI!

I tried to get the date for these and put them in order of when they come out. Yes, this took forever to do, but what'eeerrr. So here they are, hope some of these interests you!

• Cloaked by Alex Flinn - February 8, 2011
• Mermaid by Carolyn Turgeon - March 3, 2011
• Where She Went by Gayle Forman - April 5, 2011
• The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Claire: Book 4 City of Fallen Angels - April 5, 2011
• Between the Sea and the Sky by Jaclyn Dolamore - June 7, 2011
• Passion by Lauren Kate - June 14, 2011
• Lost Voices by Sarah Porter - July 4, 2011
• The Night World Series: Strange Fate by L.J. Smith - July 26, 2011
• Bloodlines by Richelle Mead - August 23, 2011
• Hades by Alexandra Ardonetto - August 30, 2011
• The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Claire: Book 5 City of Lost Souls - (date unknown)
• The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Claire: Book 6 City of Heavenly Fire - (date unknown)
• The Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Claire - (date unknown)
• Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore - (date unknown)

Now it is said that after 2011, the world will end in 2012. I don't believe that at all, but if I have only one year left, then I am going to read as much as I can!

The Twin's Daughter by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Summary

Does not a child recognize her own mother?

Lucy Sexton is stunned when a disheveled women appears at the door one day . . . a woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to her own beautiful mother. The two women are identical twins, separated at birth and raised in dramatically different circumstances: one as a member of high society, the other in a workhouse. Lucy’s mother quickly resolves to give her sister the kind of life she has never known, and the transformation in Aunt Helen is remarkable. As time goes by, Lucy herself transforms into a young woman, falling in love with a childhood friend she was once sure she hated. But in what should be a happy household, something is very, very wrong. And as Aunt Helen and Lucy’s mother become more and more indistinguishable, Lucy begins to suspect that her aunt’s new familiar face may mask a chilling agenda.

Number of pages: 390

Review

Oh my God!! I have so much to talk about with this book. Hmm . . . where to start . . .where to start . . . ok! Well first I’ll give a quick recap of the story, though how I am to do this without giving any spoilers away is going to be hard, but I promise to do my best.

The entire story is through the eyes of a Miss Lucy Sexton. Starting out as a young, rich girl in the Victorian era (my favorite era). She is just sitting in her drawing room when out of the blue her mother knocks on the door in beggar’s rags! Oh, but of course that can’t be her mother. It turns out to be her mother’s identical twin. And identical they are. "Does not a child recognize her own mother?" I guess Lucy can’t. As the years go by and Aunt Helen and Lucy’s mother become impossible to differentiate between, and Lucy starts to feel unease at the sudden changes in both twins. Of course, aside from them three, the rest of the characters were a lot of fun to read about. My favorite had to be Kit. Kit is the talked about childhood friend that falls in love with Lucy. Sounds cliché, right? Not the way it’s written here. I really liked how the romance was played out. It didn’t take away from the story and the mystery. Kit is honestly the best. I love him.

There were some creepy parts that made the story sooo interesting. Lucy Sexton is one of the best narrators I ever read. She was the funniest, most sarcastic, opinionated, and outspoken girl in the 1900s. With the sharpest wit ever. Like I said, it is really hard to say what it's about without giving anything away. There were alway times when the little hairs on my arms stood up, and times when I was cheering them on. The Twin's Daughter fully engages the reader.

I've actually always wanted a twin. I don't know why, I just thought it would be fun, but after reading this it kind of scared me a bit! I was so excited about this book that, although I tried to keep some self-control, I completely spilled everything about the book to my friend. If she ever reads it, she will already know what is going to happen.

The jacketflap summary sort of tries to make you believe you know what's going to happen, but this story is anything but predictable. Never, I repeat, never assume anything at anytime when reading this book. You know what they say: don’t assume, it makes an ass out of u and me. You've been warned. So to wrap up this review from 1-10? I am delighted to give The Twin's Daughter a 9!!!

Note: I loved the cover on this book. At first I didn’t see anything unique about it, but if you look closely you see the shape the twins make is a dagger. It's a cool optical illusion. I have to say it came out so good. It basically portrays everything this story is about from the two innocent looking girls to the secret dagger and hidden danger within.

The Silver Blade by Sally Gardner

Summary

As the French Revolution descends into nightmare, Yann Margoza, a mysterious and extraordinary practitioner of magic, uses his skills to help spirit refugees out of France. If he fails, their fates lie under the blade of the guillotine. But the question of Yann's true identity and the kidnapping of his true love, Sido, expose him to dangers that threaten to destroy him. With Paris on the verge of collapse, Yann must summon all his strength and courage to rescue his beloved Sido and outwit the devil's own--this time for good.

Number of pages: 362

Review

My dear Sally Gardner has done it again with this amazing and extremely vivid telling of the French Revolution. Last time we left Yann and Sido to those times of Terror, Sido was safely deposited in England while Yann used his super duper gypsy powers to smuggle all kinds of people from the bloody lands of France into England. So it seems Yann has a secret reputation as the Silver Blade, but he doesn’t take much notice after mooning over Miss Sido who it seems isn’t answering his latest letter. Of course many of the original characters are in this new story. It really does complete the story of Yann and Sido. I was really excited to read it, though I find it hard to say which book is better The Red Necklace or The Silver Blade. Very tough decision indeed.

You do need a good attention span, though, because there is a very good chance that you might get lost a bit. There are so many twits and turns in this novel, and while those are what make a good story, there are times where getting “lost” in a story might not be a good thing.

The history part was very interesting. I can’t say that I know much of the French Revolution, but from what I read here I think it was accurate. It was really intriguing especially about how people escaped the country. The measures they took were incredible. But hey, to find out the tricked their way out, you’ll just have to read the book. So taking all that into consideration . . . from 1-10? I give The Silver Blade a 6.

Anastasia's Secret by Susanne Dunlap

Summary

For Anastasia Romanov, life as the privileged daughter of Russia’s last tsar is about to be torn apart by the bloodshed of revolution. Ousted from the imperial palace when the Bolsheviks seize control of the government, Anastasia and her family are exiled to Siberia. But even while the rebels debate the family’s future with agonizing slowness and the threat to their lives grows more menacing, romance quietly blooms between Anastasia and Sasha, a sympathetic young guard she has known since childhood. But will the strength of their love be enough to save Anastasia from a violent death?

Inspired by the mysteries that have long surrounded the last days of the Romanov family, Susanne Dunlap’s new novel is a haunting vision of the life—and love story—of Russia’s last princess.

Number of pages: 327

Review

Here is a good dose of historical fiction for you. I find that writing about a historic event or time isn’t as hard as writing about a person in history, I mean, what have you got to work with? What has been known about the person? Rumors of what could have happened in their lives? And then to write about that person in first person, to write the feelings that they might have had or their thoughts on this or that subject. I would think it takes more than a bit of imaginations and common sense to fill in the blanks. And then to make it interesting! I’d say that’s no small job! So what’s that got to say about Susanne Dunlap’s book Anastasia’s Secret? She nailed the facts and history part. It was informative, but definitely not boring. it was funny because a week after I finished the book, I was in history class when we started to learn about World War I and how the Russians affected a great deal of the events. I had already learned basically everything from this book. It talked a great deal about the conditions of the poor, and how bad the army was going into the war by sending in really you boys to fight when most had never even worn a pair of shoes before—which is where Sasha comes in.

I really loved taking a look through Anastasia’s eyes. The book tells her story from a little girl with a curiosity that may not be all that favorable to a Grand Duchess, up until her time as a young woman in the fate of those who wish harm on her, and her loved ones. So maybe it’s not the traditional way most thought of the youngest grand duchess, but I think it is a new refreshing way to look at her life story. It gives Grand Duchess Anastasia, who I always thought of as a rich girl with an unfortunate life, personality and depth. From 1-10? Anastasia’s Secret gets a 6.5

Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder

Summary

Restless souls and empty hearts.

Brooklyn can’t sleep. Her boyfriend, Lucca died a year ago, and now their friend Gabe has died of an overdose. Every time she closes her eyes, Gabe's ghost is there, waiting for her. She has no idea what he wants or why it isn't Lucca chasing her through her dreams.

Nico can’t stop. He’s always running, trying so hard not to feel the pain of missing Lucca. But when he begins receiving messages from his dead brother, telling him to help Brooklyn, emotions come crashing to the surface.

As the nightmares escalate and the messages become relentless, Nico reaches out to Brooklyn. But neither of them can admit that they're being haunted. Until they learn to let each other in, not one soul will be able to rest.

Number of Pages: 412

Review

First thing that I want to point out to you all is that this entire story is in the form of poetry. If there is one thing that bothers me is that when you read about how great a book is online, and you get it only to find that the book you ordered is in a completely different form than what you thought! Like getting for instance—I don’t know—a comic book (yes that has actually happened to me, you can imagine my disappointment). So when I read online about this really touching story of two grieving teenagers, and get it only to find that it isn’t a novel, but a bunch of poems, I thought of the comic book incident and got mad. But after my first initial feeling of annoyance, I figured I should give this book a try. I was impressed. This was the first poetry story that I read, and I liked it so much that it is most likely that it will not be the last. So I am giving you this information up front so that no one gets surprised. But I also want you to consider doing something new and maybe choose this story to read. Nico and Brooklyn are both grieving, both confused, and both being haunted, but by different spirits. Brooklyn is being full out haunted with nightmares, and sleepless nights by her friend, Gabe. Nico on the other hand isn’t being haunted so much, more like getting messages from his brother pushing him a bit to help the girlfriend he left behind, Brooklyn.

I loved the way poems keep everything honest, straight to the point. But if you are going to write a story completely created from poems, then it has to be done right. Chasing Brooklyn was done right. If the first poetry book I read was poorly created I can guarantee that I would be extremely hesitant to read another one. This book was sweet, sad, hopeful, and so many more emotions that connect the dots of these two people and their steps of letting go and finding love and comfort in one another. From 1-10? I am proud to give this book an 8.

Coming Soon

Hellooo there people! Ok, I realize I am EXTREMELY behind on my posts . . . sorry about that. Who would think that school took up so much time? Well, it does -.- and not to mention that I have this problem with reading a book, and jumping to the next before I can write my thoughts down (or time to breathe). I really shouldn't do that, but here are some book that I have read recently, currently reading, or planning on reading in the next, ooooh I'd say, week or so.

1. A Map of the Unknown World by Lisa Ann Sandell
2. Never Cry Werewolf by Heather Davis
3. The Twin's Daughter by Lauren Baratz-Logsted
4. Fire by Kristin Cashore
5. The Silver Blade by Sally Gardner
6. Anastasia's Secret by Susanne Dunlap
7. Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder
8. I am Remembrant's Daughter by Lynn Cullen
9. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Now that I have it written down I feel the need to speed things up a bit so expect these soon. Time to get down to the books!