Read It With A Buddy #2 - Betrayed

Hello again! So Elyssa and I have finished our reviews for Betrayed, but I noticed that we had different ratings. Because of this, I will just post our reviews seperately. Hope you enjoy them,

--Zakiya, the walking butterfly and Elyssa, Black Disaster Fairy

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Betrayed (House of Night, #2)
By P.C. and Kristin Cast
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin, 2007
310 pages, paperback
Read: 7/17/2010
Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Coming of Age, Romance

First Line of Book: " 'New kid. Check it out,' Shaunee said as she slid into the big, boothlike bench we always claim as ours for every school meal served in the dining hall (translation: high-class school cafeteria)."
Last Line of Book: "I'll go back for you, Stevie Rae."


Zakiya's Review: Betrayed was even better than Marked. More guy drama, more fun with friends, Zoey's big moment as the head of the school (sort of). It was just a giant step up from the series debut that I was glad I continued the series. Hopefully, Chosen will be even better!

In this book, Zoey and her friends take over the Dark Daughters -- the House of Night's prestigious group of students. Zoey has also taken the position pf High Priestess in Training, a big deal to Neferet (the "principal"). Her first Full Moon ritual is coming up soon, but things always seem to get in the way.

Betrayed was an ah-mazing sequel. IT had some great kick-butt action near the end, which I really enjoyed. Something good (and bad) happens to Heath, but I'm not telling what :). Zoey's vampyre friends are defined just a little bit more, and they have some cool stuff going on with them. Meanwhile, Stevie Rae catches hell, and Zoey just might be able to trust Aphrodite now, even though Neferet is encouraging her not to.

I loved this book, the characters, and the plot. Basically every single letter! I can't wait until I can get ahold of Chosen!

Rating:


Quotes from the Book:

"Cats do roam free all over the school. They often followed "their" kid to class. Nala, in particular, liked to find me several times a day. She'd insist I scratch her head, complain a little, and then take off and go do whatever catrs did with their free time. (Plot world domination?)"

" 'What's wrong with you?' Stevie Rae said.
The attention that the four of them had been focusing on trying to figure out if there was a hair in Erin's salad or if it was just one of those weird strings of celery shifted instantly to me."

" 'We don't do ugly,' Shaunee said.
'Yeah, and pot's ugly. Plus, it makes you eat for no good reasom. It's a shame the hottie football players are into that,' Erin said.
'Makes them less hottie,' Shaunee said.
'Okay, hottie-ness and pot are not really the point,' I said."

"The cat was as fat as a Butterball turkey. I mean, her tummy looked like she had a pouch and could hide a herd of baby kangaroos in there. That's probably why she wheezed. Carrying around all that cat fat couldn't be easy."



Elyssa's Review: I enjoyed this second book of the House of Night Series more then the first time I read it. Probably because last time I did not get to read Marked before I received Betrayed from the hold list at the library.

I was a bit put off by the language that this mother and daughter team used. I was shocked at how much they used slut, skank, and hag bitch. What is with the tossing of these terms? And why is it that when a female is bad she is an automatic slut. Really. I think we could be better then that. All of the pop culture talk is also over done. Plus it really dates the book even though it really is not that old.

Zoey is now the head of the Dark Daughters and sons (a special group on campus) as priestess in training. The detail surrounding by their religion and her priestess duties was well done. Asking for guidance from her Goddess, Nyx, and receiving help must have felt amazing. The religion and Goddess offers some hint of humanity into the assumed horrible existence of vampires. I am just sorry for Zoey that she starts to question her mentors true intentions.

Zoey should really learn to trust the people she calls friends. It is hard to read and enjoy a character if they keep making the same mistakes over and over. For me it is more like banging my head against a wall (or telling my kids to pick up their toys).

Personally, I really loved how entertaining it was to read about her desire for blood. It is all apart of becoming a vampire. The change does not usually include this desire so soon. A fledgling does not also make it through a change. One of Zoey's friends did not make it through the change. It was absolutely a shock for me and I cannot image how she felt. Damion did say the darnest things and they were nearly almost always funny. It was too sad to watch her friends try to cheer her up without much luck.

Another part that I enjoyed was the fact that Zoey is now questioning herself over three different men. Her boyfriend, Erik, is absent from House of Night doing a monologue for a competition for most of the book. Zoey ends up meeting Loren Blake who is a part time professor whom she believes is very interested in her. We can not forget Heath, her human boyfriend/ex-boyfriend.

Overall this book was a fun read. However, you will find flaws in the book. But who picks up a urban fantasy paranormal romance for a literary masterpiece? I'm looking for a read that will transport me to another place that I can enjoy for a few hours. This book did just that.

Rating: 3

Fall Inspires.................... Eventually!

Black Disaster Fairy is finally admitting that it is now time for me to acknowledge that fall is here.

The other day I took the boys to the park, one of my favorite ones.

It is full of paths all around it that lead through the Wisconsin woods, it is such a 

wonderfully diverse place.

However, I pulled in a deep breath and said, "Ok, it is fall!"

There were only a couple of leaves but yellow was all around.  

Forest trees are so beautiful in fall.  

I decided that I would share my new found delight.

Now I can hardly wait to pull out my comfy sweaters, scarf collection, ingredients for pumpkin pie, and my favorite blanket for snuggly reading time.

Here is my Traveling Nook, changing leaves, and a babbling brook.

Yes, all of this is apart of the part system :)

Here are a few fall inspirational pictures to get you stoked for the season!

Fall In Love - Silk Rosette Headband Retro/Vintage Style

ETSY

The Secret Life of Plants

Go Ask Alice by Anonymous - A Guest Review

I'd like to welcome today's guest reviewer, Ashley Lamore. She is the author of My Written Thoughts as well as a part of our online goodreads group For The Love of Reading. WELCOME Ashley and I'm so glad that you could do this review for us!! *grins*

Title: Go Ask Alice
Author: Anonymous
Published: December 27th, 2005 by Simon Pulse
Pages: 185

Synopsis: This groundbreaking classic is more compelling than ever for today's readers. A sensation when it was first published and a perennial bestseller ever since, this real-life diary charts an anonymous teenage girl's struggle with the seductive--and often fatal--world of drugs.

Guest Review:

I've seen this book around Goodreads and couldn't help but read the book myself to see why everyone liked it so much. Even though it's a short book, it's very powerful . It is a personal account of a young girl's struggle with herself and drugs ( with names changed of course).

The main character has very low-self esteem and is always extremely criticizing herself. She never allows herself to enjoy certain situations or accomplishments. I can sort of relate ( not to the extent of the main character though). My mother even says I am so self critical. Here I made employee of the month for September and I'm beating myself up over a $5 shortage in my cash register. Anyways, I think everyone can sort of relate to the fact that we all struggle with self acceptance once or more in our lives. And I think that's why everyone likes this because it has a topic they can relate to.

Another great thing about this book, is that it's honest. In this diary is a true look at how a person addicted to drugs, struggles . Especially, when they are trying to make the effort to stop. Not only that, through this diary, we see how drugs can change a person from the different personalities when the main character is on and off drugs.

Overall this book was great and I definitely recommend it. My only complaint of this book is that because of the main character's negativity, it made the book a bit depressing and hard to read at times.

Overall Rating:

Speak Out Loud! SPEAK LOUDLY!

Banned Book week is shortly upon us, September 25 - October 2. We love this time of the year because this is when the readers get to speak out against the people who would like to take the right away from us to read any book we may choose. The first amendment of the Bill of Rights gives us the right - no the freedom - to do so. Black Disaster Fairy was lucky enough to venture over to the National Archives to see the Bill of Rights in all its preserved glory. It is just mind blowing how powerful a piece of parchment can be - a piece of parchment with a voice of its own.

On the current circuit of banning books is an article written by a Mr. Scroggins that has the book blogging community in an uproar causing everyone to SPEAK up! We are so proud of the blog community! It seems as everyone has gotten together to take our thoughts and stand up for what we believe in. As well as, those authors who would write and create books for those situations of discomfort.

Here is a link to the article that has created such a huge response:

Filthy Books Demeaning to Republic Education

I read the article, and my first thought was What the hell?! This guy says “ children at the middle school are being introduced to concepts such as homosexuality, oral sex, anal sex and specific instructions on how to use a condom and have sex.” Is this fantasy? Are there no homosexual people out there? Would he just rather the kids DIDN’T know how to use a condom and have unprotected sex? Because that’s what will happen. “Sex education curriculum in the fourth grade includes topics on reproduction.” Honey, do you really want your kids to get to university and get a medicine degree still thinking it was the cute stork that brought them home? I was exposed to that way before that and I’m not a sexually depraved psycho. Your kids won’t be either. Well, unless they were already sexually depraved psychos before they were exposed, but whatever. Also, would you want them to hear of that from TV? Their friends? I don’t think so.

No! And to top it off, Scroggins has spoken out against one of my favorite books of this year, Twenty Boy Summer. This deeply upsets me. And to top it off he is trying to get Speak banned, saying that the two rape scenes are considered soft porn. Really, if you are reading rape scenes and getting a bit turned on I think you just may have a problem you need to address. Sexual violence is not the same thing as porn!

Yes! And I wonder if the man has even read Speak. Just because of his atrocious article I bought the book and read it. The rape scene is barely described, as in it basically says it happens. Plus the tone of the book during all of the scenes that Scroggins is so dismayed about is almost sarcastic and regretful. Like what Melinda (the main character) thought about life before the rape is all just a joke to her now. When you read the words, you can feel their meaning, and that meaning is not that drinking and sex are what life are all about. So, Scroggins should get off his self-important duff and actually read this book. A book that is about teaching people to speak up. SPEAK UP!

This is a serious issue that needs to be brought out. Who is this guy to believe that he has the right to tell us what to read! What power does he have over us, the answer is absolutly none!This guy just wants control. If he feels so strongly on this subject then he doesn't have to read the books and talk about them with people, he can just forget about them. I've only heard a little about this recent issue and I'm not really to informed but I will be by the end of book banning week. Taking away books is taking away our freedom! It will NOT happen!

I've never got why people have this urge to ban books because each and every book has its own value - well, most of them at least. And to ban books like Twenty Boy Summer?
If he wants to ban Twenty Boy Summer or Speak, he can practically ban every book. Harry Potter, because of the violence and death. Every single vampire book, because of moral problem with vampires drinking human blood. My Sister's Keeper, because reading about illness depresses people.
Does he really think people will deal better with their problems if they have nothing they can relate to? Does he seriously believe the teens woudln't drink alcohol or have sex if they don't have the chance to read about them?

~ Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

~ Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

~ Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler

Laurie Halse Anderson's rebutle article:

This Guy thinks SPEAK is Pornography

"We" believe that it is not good to shelter your children from an issue as important as this. Rape and molestation should not be looked at as soft porn. It truly is dirty and degrading but unfortunately it is apart of life. It happens! To me, you, adults, children. Anyone. To be powerless, to feel powerless and to have no where to turn has to be the worst experience. To be afraid and alone, exposed. Banning books on this issue does not help or detour from the possibilities of such horrendous events. By banning books that write about these tough dark happenings... how could you not feel like you are supporting the issue by hiding it? We need to be aware, our children need to be aware. Do not take that freedom away from them!

However, we as parents... yes both of us are parents, need to be responsible as well. Parents should feel inclined to be apart of their child's life. We are charged with providing them with strong values and teaching them about life, especially the rights and wrongs. Censorship is not teaching them about rights and wrongs or providing them with a strong value to live by. Censorship covers up an issue and brushes it under the table. What!! Why would anyone want to do that? It is just outrageous! I feel like banging my head on a brick wall.

It's so true. There are so many issues now a days that are being swept under the rug and that is so often why teens feel that they cannot say anything. Like it's a taboo subject to bring up their molestation or rape. This topic hits close to home for me. I have a younger sister who was molested by some kid in her school and she almost didn't say anything! She almost let it all go by and sit and fester. If it had not been for a school nurse who was really close to the students who had the ability to coax it out of her she would have dealt with it on her own. There are so many REAL issues that need to be addressed and tackled in grade schools that never would if it weren't for books like SPEAK and Twenty Boy Summer.

Have this guy even read SPEAK? Has he even read about how Melinda felt for NOT having told anyone? How that could be considered and example so that is it does happen, the victim will speak? And how useful it might be that there actually IS a book on the matter because IT HAPPENS! IT IS UNFORTUNATE BUT IT HAPPENS!! Oh, but I forgot, people just want their kids to read fairy tales-except that even in them there’s an evil witch. Those books make people more aware of what is happening.
I haven’t read "Slaughterhouse Five." yet but in case you haven’t noticed, profane language is pretty much everywhere now. Open the window and *BAM* you’ll hear someone saying f*ck. Turn the TV on and there’ll be someone saying S**t.

I'm a teen and I have read Speak, I thought it was a very powerful moving book about how a girl deals with rape. This is bringing serious issues that may happen everyday, yes, possibly everyday. We all need to be aware of what's going on so we know how to handle it. It's something that affects us all, if not directly, indirectly. Think about it, these issues are being brought up in books today more than ever, which is a good thing because if we look into the past I bet you could find tons of these situations that were never brought to life, a bunch of people probably got away with doing these horrible things and a bunch of lives lost from eating disorders and stuff. Back then all this stuff was not new but if it happend, it was never spoken of because God forbid that we give someone the power to speak against whoever it is and then ultimatly the power to make a difference and stand up!

Authors try to lay out a serious problem and to show the readers how to deal with it. And reading about the issues doesn't make me feel like I should do it, but rather that I shoudln't do it. I'm not going to do drugs because I've read about it! More likely, I woudln't do it because now I know what the consequences would be!

I love taboo subjects. It is a whole new ballgame when you talk about something that shouldn't be talked about. Pushing the unwritten line of comfort. People, we are unique in the fact that we can think and have emotions, even in the way our brain presents certain issues as taboo. Why does a thing or event have to be classified in such a unnatural way? You said it, Jen! This schmuck should get of his duff and read the book. Banning such a book is just another way taboo exerts its power over us. I had to find out more about what this huge outcry was about. I rushed to my Nook and ordered Speak just because someone said NO! Well, that and I have to find out why this guy would consider the rape scenes in this book to be soft porn. Curiosity will kill the Fairy!!

So, far the book is amazing and I passed on the "You Must Read This" message to many of my bookish friends at school. The outcry and united literary community is just pure amazingness! (Ok, it is not a word but it should be!)

In the end, do you really think teenage boys and girls will stop going to parties and get drunk and –for the lack of a better word- screw up just because you’re banning some book? Do you really think it’ll stop kids from doing drugs and killing themselves?
But, more important, do you really think you have the right to tell them what is right and what is not? The right to stop them from reading books they want to read?

Agreeing with other things that were said, we can't all keep our heads in the sand about issues today, as so many people are. We don't live in a world where everyone is perfect and everything is perfect and there are flying hearts and everyone loves each other and we all eat the Willy Wonka land candy all day without gaining a pound. This is reality, these are real issues, and we can all work together to help people gain awareness and help stop these horrible things. These lovely authors are only trying to to do just that, spread the word. They are all doing an amazing job and I say keep the books coming! I can tell you that I will NEVER let someone tell me what I can and can't read.

In parting I guess I'd like to say this: To all you people out there who think that teenagers can't deal with these books, you are wrong! They deal with more than this kind of thing on a daily basis. Wonderful authors like Laurie Halse Anderson and Sarah Ockler have the amazing grace to send books our way that help through these times. They help us to know what to do in tough situations, who we can turn to. Because in an alternate reality, yeah, the world we live on would be perfect and teenagers wouldn't be having sex and drinking and doing some unspeakable things, but WE DON'T! We live in a world of chaos that needs some kind of control, some kind of guide through the mess we call life. Anderson - who also gave us Wintergirls for helping with eating disorders - and Ockler aren't the only ones either, some others are Julie Ann Peters who gave us By the Time You Read This I'll be Dead (bullying and suicide) and Jandy Nelson who gave us The Sky is Everywhere (death and grief).

So, don't tell me what I can and can't read and don't try to tell me what my children can and can't read. That's right, I have children of my own and I will decide what is appropriate for them. Not You. Not some elitist fascist who thinks he has the right to dictate his beliefs upon others.

The Thirteenth Chime

Book Name: The Thirteenth Chime

Author/s: Emma Michaels
Language English
Publisher, year: Bookheim Publishing
Page total:246
Date Read: September 12th-15th
Genre/s: YA, Paranormal
Synopsis/Description: No one knew of its existence until it was removed from the attic upstairs.

In a beautiful house that overlooks the sea, an antique clock has the power to change the course of their lives.

The power the clock resonates will not only force Destiny and ex-boyfriend David on a journey into the depths of one man's mind long dead, but into the mind of a man filled with hatred and bent on revenge.

With the only clues to the nature of the clock having disappeared into the sea, Destiny and David must retrace the steps the man had taken into the darkness, before they fall prey to the trap he had set in motion over half a century ago.

Hatred never dies.
First line of Book:"Destiny flipped her light brown hair into the flow of the wind."
Review: So... I finished reading THE THIRTEENTH CHIME 10 days ago and I'm just writing the review now because I was very busy with coming back to school and whatnot...Anyway, here it is.

This is a really nice story. The concept is quite original, and though you don't understand very well what the book is about in the beginning because the synopsis doesn't give much away, the story is quite entertaining, though not one of the best out there.

I don't usually talk about the way the book looks like because it's not relevant nor does it help form my opinion, but I really loved the cover but hated the font and size and the way the letters were in the paper. Throughout the book it sometimes confused me and I don't like it when something so mundane as the way something looks like doesn't let me fully experience the story.

The characters were a little flat at times, and David sometimes seemed to be too polished to even be true. However, what pissed me off the most was the way Destiny treated David and how he let her. I mean, who leaves someone for such a -for the lack of a better word-weird thing and then, one year later, after being engaged with someone else, calls that same person for help? And who would go? That I didn't get.

However, I loved the clock. The thirteenth chime. Sense. Everything. I can't tell you what is the cause of the 13th chime, but I can tell you it's amazingly cool. And that I'm going to read the next novel.
Rating: 3/5

Insatiable by Meg Cabot

Insatiable by Meg Cabot
Publisher: William Morrow, 2010
Pages: 451
Genres: Action, Adult, Romance, and Vampires

Reviewed by Kate

Sick of vampires? So is Meena Harper.

But her boss is making her write about them anyway, even though Meena doesn’t believe in them.
Not that Meena isn’t familiar with the supernatural. See, Meena Harper knows how you’re going to die (not that you’re going to believe her; no one ever does).
But not even Meena’s precognition can prepare her for what happens when she meets—then makes the mistake of falling in love with—Lucien Antonescu, a modern-day prince with a bit of a dark side . . . a dark side a lot of people, like an ancient society of vampire-hunters, would prefer to see him dead for.
The problem is, he already is dead. Maybe that’s why he’s the first guy Meena’s ever met that she could see herself having a future with. See, while Meena’s always been able to see everyone else’s future, she’s never been able look into her own.
And while Lucien seems like everything Meena has ever dreamed of in a boyfriend, he might turn out to be more like a nightmare.
Now might be a good time for Meena to start learning to predict her own future . . .
If she even has one.

Okay so I have to admit that, yes I have not yet finished the book. *Guilty shrug* I know the whole point of reviewing the book is to tell people about the whole entire book. But I'm almost done and I did read the last chapter so I know how the book ended. And I will also come back and edit this review if I feel that I need to fix it up once I'm done. And there is the fact that I just had to review this book now.

Now for the review! Okay so this book is not your typical vampire book. Meena, our main character HATES vampires. There stomping all over the world through book, movies, and now her T.V. show! I liked that she hated vampires rather than most vampire books where the main characters just don't believe in them until they figure out they're real, not Meena. She just plain hates them. I also liked that this book doesn't focus on the whole vampire theme but it revolves around her T.V. show. Well that is until the fact that vampires are real. Then it's a whole other ball game.

Another thing that I really liked about this book was the shorter chapters and the changes in perspective. I really like getting into different characters head every once in a while, and it shows you all the characters and why they do what they do. I did find however that the book was not as funny as I usually expect from Cabot, but it did really pick up around one character in particular, whom I really fell in love with, and guess what? It was not the vampire! I know, I actually preferred the normal, okay well not exactly normally he is after all a major hot vampire hunter working for the Palatine, human guy. I thought he brought so much to the book and I found myself preferring him to our other leading man, aka the vampire. I especially love when Meena and our hot human hunter got to together, they proved to be the pair which I normally look for and love in a Cabot book. So I know who I'm routing for! I do have to give the vampire some credit, he was a definite gentleman that I know millions of women would love. Oh, and let's not forget brother Jon, who's unemployed and living with Meena. He brings a lot of humor in the book, especially when he meets our Palatine employed hunter. So, for what I've read of this book, it is a very good book and I will be picking up my own copy, currently reading the libraries, and I'll be getting the next book in the series, which has yet to be named but I believe is coming out next year.

4 Kisses!





Quotes:

If you've ever read a Meg Cabot book you should know that's there's a funny quote around every corner of the book. I have a huge list of pages full of mention worthy quotes but since they'll take a long time to write I'm only going to put the first few random page that I go to.

"And how's my little man?" she asked. "Did you save the world today? I think you did. I think you saved the world from nuclear anihiliation, just like you do every single twenty-four hours. Look at you. Just look at you.:
Jack Bauer was a Pomeranian-chow mix Meena had insisted on bringing home from the ASPCA the first time they'd ever set foot in it, "just look at it", after David had walked out on her she'd been pretty much comatose with depression. The tiny mutt had been sitting in a big empty cage by himself, his huge brown eyes so filled with anxiety that Meena had remarked that, with his blond fur, he resembled Kiefer Sutherland during a particulary dramatic moment on the televison show 24.
When the dog had fallen into her arms as soon as the cage door was opened, showering her face with greatful kisses, the inevitable adoption was sealed, and the name Jack Bauer stuck, because the anxious look in the mutt's eyes rarely vanished all the way unless he was lounging in the apartment by Meena's side.
"He saved the world, all right," Jon said. "He tried to hump a maltipoo in the small dog run at Carl Schurz Park."
"My hero," Meena cried, scooping the dog up and hugging him. "Keep showing your male dominance, even though you've been fixed."

Chapter 35-39 are hilarious but I can't find any quotes that wouldn't be confusing without a whole page of words. I so wish that I could scan all those pages on here, but that would be copywrite.

"Meena Harper," Alaric went on in a completly deadpan voice, ignoring her, "is in grave danger. Lucien Atonescu is a souless monster. It is imperative that I find and destroy him and that you do exaclty as I say if you want her to live."
Jon started at the man with the sword standing in the middle of Meena's living room. Then he looked down at Meena, who mimed dialing a cell phone. Then she mouthed, call the police.
"Uh," Jon said to Alaric. "Sure. Right."
"Meena Harper," Alaric said, even though he wasn't looking in her direction. "I see what you're doing. If you don't stop, I will have no problem handcuffing you to something. In fact, I will enjoy it."

"Lift up your skirt." he said to Meena.
"No I'm not going to do that."
Then, more suddenly than she would have thought possible, he'd grabbed her by the arm and yanked her to her feet. Jack Bauer, woken by the shriek she let out, looked up at this sudden burst of violence. Jon now jumped to his feet in alarm.
"Hey now!" he cried.
"Stop that!" Meena yelled as Alaric Wulf reached down and began tugging up the skirt of her slip. "What do you think you're doing?"
"The femoral artery," Alaric was saying. He was practically dangling her by one arm as he pulled up her slip with the other. "I forgot, the sexual ones always go for the femoral artery."
"Hey," Jon said, looking uncomfortable."I don't think my sister likes you doing that-"

I laughed so hard as Meena was practically screaming bloody murder and her older brother just sat there saying "I don't think my sister likes you doing that-"



This is somewhat I imagine the infamous Jack looks like. Now it's off to break it to the family that we will be getting one soon!