Most Entertaining Books of 2008

These books made me exceedingly happy during the year. Some I waited months to read, some I picked up on a whim. I know not all are "2008" but since I read them this year, I'm counting them on the list. Of course there are some I might be missing. And these are only a handful of books I've read this year.

Best book that made me think of Jane Austen's era.

Best Snarkiness, plus I just love the idea of cheerleaders as spies. V. Clever.

Best College series

Best new series

Best Jewelry idea

Best fate book

Best new author to watch

Best sequel

Best Series end

Best Mythology

Best Zombie book

Best gaming book

Best beach romance

Best books (also the sequel) with a look into the political world

Best Action book

Best new mystery series

Best historical fiction

Best magical book

Best new fairytale

The series I want to continue...tomorrow

Funniest book about high school stereotypes

Best online companion: Awesome start to a great new addicting series.

Best Books of 2008

Purge (I know this comes out next year, but It's AWESOME. Everyone should read it.)

Hunger Games: Crazy Good

Audrey, Wait: funny, very funny

Skies over Sweetwater: great historical tale -about a little known piece of history

13 Reasons Why: tapes from a girl who committed suicide

Other 2009 Movies I'm anxious for...

Bride Wars

Inkheart

Confessions of a Shopaholic
(even though I think it might be completely butchered as far as the books goes)


Angels and Demons

X-Men Origins: Wolverine


Ghosts of Girlfriends Past

My Sister's Keeper

The Proposal

The Year One (no photos available yet)

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

New Moon

Night at the Museum 2 Trailer

Really like this trailer, anxious to see the movie now

Dark Whispers: Book 3 in the Unicorn Chronicles

The land of the unicorns,Luster, is in danger. Their ultimate enemy, Beloved now holds a key to entering their world. The unicorns know that time is precious while they wait for the blood moon to enter the sky and Beloved to enter their world. There's rumor of a greater threat, one behind Beloved, who's secret lies in their ancient history. But when they look in the books, it's clear pages are missing. Thinking that this story might be useful in their upcoming battle, Cara's grandmother, the Queen of the Unicorns, sends Cara, three unicorns, and the keeper of the stories to the Valley of the Centaurs to gather this tale. They need to move quickly and quietly across the land. But they do not make it there without detection. Delvers track them and in a battle, take Cara as prisoner leaving the others behind. Cara doesn't know what they want with her, but she suspects, they want the amulet she wears, the amulet that allows her to cross back into Earth. Will she allow them to take it or will she fight back, even though she's alone?

I Love this series and this book is no exception. There's drama, action, betrayal, and friendship found in these stories. I was a little disappointed because I thought this series was a trilogy, but it is not. I'm hoping the wait to the next one isn't too long. because the cliff hanger at the end is HUGE.

4th and 5th grade book group

Ingraine the Brave:

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Middle School January Book Group

Middle School Choice: HOOT

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Reviews from www.teensreadtoo.com

Damosel plays by the rules.

The Lady of the Lake creates the sword Excalibur for Merlin’s new champion. Damosel doesn’t like crowds, so
when she receives an invitation to Camelot, she sends her cousin, Nimue, instead. Nimue craves power and she finds herself drawn to Merlin. When Merlin teaches her a powerful spell, she traps him in a cave with magic. With Merlin out of the picture, Camelot could be in serious danger. Damosel finds Merlin and promises him to watch over Arthur and guide his decisions. Unfortunately, she finds Pelleas, a heartbroken knight. When she heals him, she falls in love with him. All other thoughts, including her promise to Merlin, fly out of her head. She doesn’t realize that while they become content in their lives together, Camelot’s falling. Can she stop the fall of a kingdom?

With DAMOSEL, Stephanie Spinner pens a unique tale of the Arthurian Legend from the Lady of the Lake’s point of view.

Savannah didn’t ask for a fairy godmother, but after her boyfriend dumps her for her sister, she’ll take all the help she can get. Instead of a fairy godmother, she gets Chrissy, a fair godmother. Chrissy doesn’t fully listen to her wish because she’s late for a shopping expedition, so she sends Savannah into the Middle Ages, as Cinderella.

Savannah’s stuck as a servant, in a life she never wanted. Chrissy doesn’t come back until she’s met Prince Charming (who’s not a nice guy). Savannah’s home for a few minutes trying to explain her wish, when Chrissy sends her to become Snow White. Savannah’s beyond frustrated with her fair godmother.

She’s stuck back in the Middle Ages with dwarfs treating her like an airhead because she doesn’t remember anything and she can’t cook. Finally, her fair godmother answers her calls. Savannah returns home. Frustrated beyond belief, she tries to explain her feelings, hoping that she won’t be sent off on into yet another fairy tale.

Instead, she’s pleasantly surprised when she stays at home. She loves the luxurious amenities of home compared to the Middle Ages. The next morning she discovers that her possible prom date went MIA. Finally, she connects the dots and figures out that he’s been sent back to the Middle Ages to become the prince she wanted. He can’t return home until he’s become a prince. Can she go there and rescue him - or will they both disappear into the Middle Ages?

Janette Rallison writes a very funny and unique novel about love, wishes, fairy tales, and how to list all the ideals of a boyfriend (carefully, of course). If you like fairy tales, you won’t want to miss this one!

The Carlyle triplets are back in the spotlight and shaking up Manhattan.

Baby’s decided that Manhattan looks good right now, and that includes J.P. With that decision made, she has to worm her way back into the heart of Constance Billard. All she has to do is revive the school’s art magazine. Will her bohemian ways match the artsy direction of the magazine and push her further away from the elite crowd? Avery’s busy with board meetings with ladies at least fifty years older than she is. The almost daily meetings consists of gossip and very little else. It’s hard to imagine that Avery’s almost friendless, but will the last remains for her reputation be shot now that the word is out that she’s never had a boyfriend?
Owen’s having his own love troubles. He’s still hung up on Kelsey, but since Rhys adores her, he’s trying to stay away from her. But sooner or later, they’re going to have to confront their emotions.The scandalous secrets flow from the new socialites and they’ll do almost anything to stay on top. How far is too far?
This is one series that will grab your attention and not let go. And I LOVE the background of the cover.

Murphy and Leeda plan on traveling home for the summer, Murphy to escape city life and Leeda to listen to her grandmother’s will. Leeda expects to be gone within two weeks, back to the city and her boyfriend. The reading of the will changes her plans and potentially her life’s direction. Murphy’s trying to run away from her feelings about a certain boy she left behind at the end of last summer. Will she see him again this year and, if she does, what is there left to say?

Birdie didn’t plan on coming home this summer. Recently engaged, she decided to spend her time in Mexico. But on a whim, she rushes home, breaking things off with Enrico. Then she hears the news that her father plans on selling the orchard and its decrepit house to retire. Her heart breaks twice over the summer and she desperately needs something to help her heal.
Together the girls have one more summer on the orchard while they deal with their lives in separate ways. Friendship, love, and survival guide the girls together. Jodi Lynn Anderson wraps up her amazing trilogy wonderfully, leaving readers fully satisfied.

Facebook Flair

I've created a page of facebook flair and I LOVE it. It's quickly becoming my new addiction. You can only post 20 a day and it takes a day for them to appear. So it's going a bit slowly, but surely. Check it out here and let me know what you think. And, of course, pass them along to all your friends. *if you want to make some for yourself, just add in teen books in the tag, so they all show up together!*

Writing Contest: What My GF Doesn't Know

Are you a teen writer? Check out THIS contest then. It's based off of Sonya Sones's book and your entry could be posted on her blog!

Wolverine Trailer

I'm wicked excited for this movie given my love for Hugh Jackman plus Wolverine is my fave character in the X-men series. See what the new movie looks like

Like Meg Cabot? Chat with her Live!

READERGIRLZ are chatting it up with Meg on Thursday, December 18th, 6:00 pm, Pacific or 9:00 pm Eastern, at the rgz MySpace group forum! Meg's up for talking about all of her work so feel free to drop in. You can chat about the READERGIRLZ book of the month, or ask any questions. The chat lasts about an hour. And it's going to be great

I know I'll be there...

Happy Date of Birth Jane Austen!

Born December 16th 1775
I ADORE her and her novels. Although she only complete six novels in her life, she's one of the greatest authors ever. Besides Pride and Prejudice, my other favorite novel is Sense and Sensibility. Jane adored her sister Cassandra, as evidenced from her many letters. They wrote to each other every day they were apart. For more on this amazing author, go here.

Gamer Girl: Cover Story

Check out the story behind the cover to this fabulous book over at Melissa Walker's page. She features a new book/author each week, which I love reading.

Love Actually

In spirit of Sarah Dessen's equal love for this movie and because she posted a clip on her blog HERE. But this one, is my favorite of the movie, which is excellent by the way if you have yet to watch it. Enjoy!

Christmas Movies

Fred Claus wishes that his baby brother had never been born. It's hard living up to your parent's expectations when you're brother is Santa Claus. But when Fred needs money, he asks his brother for help. Instead of out right giving him the money, Nicholas makes his brother earn it at the North Pole. What he doesn't tell his brother is his company's in danger of termination. The North Pole must make their end of the year deadlines on line with out issues or this is the last year of operations. Fred has no knowledge of this and some of his actions create problems.

I thought this movie was pretty funny and loved Vince Vaughn.


The whole family comes together during the holidays - and almost each with a secret. One's hiding his promising musical talent because of his father and brother's behavior. Two sisters argue over the paths of their lives, with one sister sticking her nose into the other's marriage. A long lost brother comes home but it's clear he doesn't want to be home. One brother's hiding a secret wife and job troubles. With all the secrets comes drama drama drama mixed with humor and a heart warming ending.

It's really a funny movie, showing all the sides of siblings together under one roof. And yes, Chris Brown sings (twice)

The Formal: Sorority 101

Jenna, Roni, and Lora-Leigh made it through winter break and are more than ready to tackle the new semester. Jenna's convinced she can tackle her responsibilities with better planning and more communication. She's happy to be in relationship with Tiger and to be formally a ZZT sister. Roni's about to embark on the biggest challenge of her life. She's undertaken the formal assistant post for the social calendar of ZZT. Right now, she's supposed to be helping plan the Spring Formal, but so far her sister is making her do all the work and taking the credit. Will her frustrations and committments ruin her new relationship? Lora-Leigh's tackling the star football player now that the season's ended. But he has bigger dreams and might not be around on campus too much longer. Lora-Leight has dreams of her own, but is she ready to leave ZZT and her two besties for FIT? The sisters rock this semester with some drama, lots of romance, and a little heartache.

I really like this series. (I'm hoping it's not just a trilogy). I like that it's about college and gives a different look at sororities than most other books. It's more about sisters and friendship than backstabbing. I adore books with a strong friendship pull. Not to mention the addicting storylines. It was hard for me to put the book down. Check out the author's new upcoming series and the first two books of 101 Sorority here.

Envy Teaser

If you're clamoring to find out what happened to everyone's favorite socialite, find out a little something here

If on the other hand, you have no idea what I'm talking about READ THESE:

John Green conquering his fear

Gamer Girl

Maddy's parents have divorced, forcing her along with her mom and her sister to move outside of Boston. They're now going to live with their grandmother in New Hampshire. Not only will Maddy miss her friends, but she's also missing her school and her old life. Especially after the first day of school. Her mother leaves for work, leaving her to take the bus. Only her grandmother doesn't approve of her outfit. She makes Maddy change into her own clothes (old lady pants and a unicorn sweatshirt) and her grandmother insists on walking Maddy into school. Horribly embarrassed, Maddy just wants to disappear. However, things get drastically worse when her grandmother humiliates the most popular boy in school in front of everyone. Billy - not a nice guy- goes out of his way to make Maddy's life miserable. The only thing going for Maddy right now is playing an online fantasy game her dad bought for her birthday. Instead of playing with her dad (like she hoped) she's now playing with a boy who may or may not go to her school. More importantly, she's loving the computer game and loving the alternative life it brings her. Can she ever make friends at her new school or will she always be labeled Freak Girl?

I LOVED this book. Mari Mancusi (Boys that Bite) first caught my attention with her vampire series and I was eager to read this new book. Plus the cover is gorgeous. Plus I like computer games (I'm really bad at video games because I haven't played them much, but controlling the computer game is easier for me - still frustrating at times, but easier) I wasn't disappointed. Gamer Girl had the angst I like, dealing with a new setting, a little bit of fantasy element with the game, plus a little romance.

Bella's Book Club

If you're still clamoring for more Twilight and vamp books, check this out.

Why Giving Books =s the BEST gift

I really like this video
plus I LOVE getting books
I just took out new books that came in yesterday...even though I probably shouldn't have.





I'm just greedy with books. I swear though, I didn't take all that I wanted, leaving some for other readers.

Thanks to Jennifer Echols' site
for the video!

The Librarian: Curse of the Judas Chalice

I'm super excited for this movie, having loved the last two. Plus, it's about a librarian.
librarians = awesome

One False Note (39 Clues book 2)

Amy and Dan barely escaped with their lives in the French catacombs. Now, they're on their way to learn more about Mozart. They're not alone in tracking down these clues, but is someone tracking their movements? From the train ride out of France to the escape from Venice, Amy and Dan barely survive. They're not above stealing clues from other Cahills, breaking into hotel rooms, distracting store clerks in order to search their store, and entering the Janus branch's secret underground hideout. The trail for Mozart leads them through Germany, Austria, and Italy and all countries lead them into danger. but they're determined to play, after all, their life depends on finding all 39 clues first.


A great second adventure that left me anxious for Amy and Dan while rooting for them all the way. The action driven plot made me read it in one sitting because I couldn't put it down. Now, I'm anxiously awaiting the 3rd book. Here's the cover. Cool huh?

The Clique: the Movie

It's Massie and the Pretty Committee against newbie Claire.

It's pretty similar to the books (I say books, because I think they took plot from more than one book). It's a little cheesy, but ultimately entertaining. The Pretty Committee came across as spoilt, but also normal while Claire was innocent and sweet. It came out last week, straight to DVD. Check it out if you like the books.

Invisible Touch

Kara died...and stayed that way for 11 minutes. When she woke up, everything had changed. And not just because her father died in the same accident. Kara could see ghosts. Eventually the ghosts disappeared, but she found herself with a new ability: she can see signs. The signs add up to one event in which she must help the individual or suffer the consequences.
But when she confided in her mother, her mom didn't believe her. Instead, Kara was checked into a mental ward, forced into group session and therapy. Now, Kara knows better. She's living her life in secret. Outside she tries to be the perfect daughter, but it's not easy and cracks are beginning to show. Then she meets a boy from the bad side of town, but he's the only one that makes her feel safe. She decides to start an anonymous blog to share her story. Is it enough to keep her secrets from spilling out into her life?

I won this book in a contest (go me!) but I was going to read it anyways after hearing so much great buzz about it. So I went in with high expectations and it didn't disappoint! This book has mystery, paranormal qualities, and romance. Be sure not to miss this one.

Check out Kelly and Tina's blog here.

Read Also: Tattoo, Don't Die Dragonfly, and Prom Dates from Hell