Miss Lowe's Book Nook

I make my triumphant return! I come bearing a new book! My most recent read is an intriguing one: Being Henry David  by Cal Armistead. The beginning of the book sets a dramatic scene. A lone teenage boy, waking up in a New York train station, with no recollection of who he is. All he has is a worn copy of Henry David Thoreau's Walden  and a ten-dollar bill. What ensues would have given Thoreau severe anxiety. Henry David, or Hank, as the boy decides to call himself, soon falls into trouble. Mishaps on the streets of New York eventually lead to his fleeing the city for Thoreau's hometown- Concord, Massachusetts. Hank is haunted by flashes of his past and dreams of Thoreau. What has he done that could cause him to want him to forget so fiercely? Bits and pieces of his past life float up through his adventures, and help him along the way. Hank is searching for something. But what is it? Armistead weaves us a gripping tale of regret, new hope, and simplicity. Hank's struggles a

My most recent read is Noggin  by John Corey Whaley. This is quite the unique tale. Whaley spins us the yarn of Travis Coates, a teenage cancer patient- who died. But then came back to life. Thanks to his head being cryogenically frozen for five years and then attached to a new body. Travis re-emerges into the world with a brand new sixteen year old body, while everyone from his life has aged five years. Travis feels like he saw everyone last week, but they have been missing him for what seems like ages. His girlfriend has moved on, his house in different, and he has to go back to high school with none of his friends. We follow Travis on his journey to readjust to the world that has suddenly changed for him. Whaley's snappy writing style and interesting habit of using the last words of the previous chapter as the next chapter's title (something that I particularly enjoyed) lend the book a fresh feel. I enjoyed this read, although I wish the ending had been a bit more developed.

I'm a bit off my book game at the moment! I haven't been reading as often, my schedule got cluttered up. However, I recently finished Kim Culbertson's Catch A Falling Star . Culbertson weaves us a semi-stereotypical story. Her writing is what really pulled me in. We follow a girl named Carter Moon in this story, a small town girl with little dreams. Carter justs wants to stay in her town (Little, California) forever. Even though she was offered a prestigious dance scholarship. And her sleepy little town isn't so sleepy this summer- famous movie star Adam Jakes, the latest of Hollywood's child star mess-ups. He's filming a Christmas movie (in July, because of rehab), and he needs to get back in the paparazzi's good graces- and more importantly, the people's. So what better way to improve his bad-boy image than to "date" a "small-town girl" whilst filming his "heart warming" new movie? Adam's manager, Parker, convinces Car

Whilst away on vacation, I went through the intriguing read of The Naturals  by Jennifer Lynn Barnes. In it, she weaves the tale that combines the thrill of Criminal Minds  with the drama of the average girlie TV show- basically, murder with teen drama. Barnes gives us the story through the eyes of one Cassie, a girl with a particular talent for reading people. Cassie is recruited by a special FBI program for teens with talents like hers. There, she meets other interesting characters including Michael, who can read emotions, and Dean, who can read people like her. Cassie's past, however, haunts her. Most specifically- her mother's murder. When a spree of murders similar to her mother's starts, Cassie can't help but become involved. In more ways than one. Barnes gives us a roller-coaster of a ride with this read, keeping you stuck in the story and still guessing until the last page. She brings a unique perspective to the world of criminal profiling, and I look forward to

Today's read is The Ring & The Crown  by Melissa de la Cruz. This book was... interesting. De la Cruz gave us a re-imagining of the world we know. In her world, magic is real, and hoarded by the rich. Britain conquered France, and never lost America. Britain basically rules the world, and has unlimited magic at its disposal. De la Cruz paints us quite a number of characters: a princess, a prince, a mage, a disgruntled Frenchwoman, an American usurper, among others. We see many POVs in turn, which made the book slightly confusing at first. However, once I got the characters and their relationships to each other straightened out, it was easier to understand. It's easy to sympathize with the plights of many of the characters, and there are many surprises and twists that change how you view some characters. All of the storylines interweave throughout the story, though nothing ends in the way you expect. De la Cruz's tale is one of heart-wrenching love lost, surprises, and h

Dorothy Must Die  is my most recent read. Danielle Paige leads us back to Oz for an thrill-seeking, mind-bending adventure that throws everything you know about the classic characters out the window. Our new heroine is Amy Gumm, another overlooked Kansas girl with a mother struggling with addiction. Amy is stuck in Flat Hill, Kansas with no way out. One day, a tornado sweeps up Amy (and her mother's pet rat Star) in their doublewide. They land in Oz, and not is all that it seems. Oz is drastically different than our books and movie tell us. Dorothy returned. And she is power-crazed, pulling all the magic from Oz. Amy makes interesting friends and allies as she tries to reach the Emerald City. Soon, though, Amy is called upon for a purpose- killing Dorothy. She goes undercover in the palace, trying to get close to the now-demented Dorothy. There are twists and surprises in every chapter, so beware. I suggest reading all of the classic books before you read Dorothy Must Die , as ther

Second Star  is today's book. This read was amazing. Alyssa B. Sheinmel's tale is a retelling of a classic- Peter Pan. She mirrors many themes and details from the original- you have a Wendy, a Tinkerbell, a Peter, fairy dust, and many other references. But Sheinmel's haunting narrative doesn't take place on an imaginary island. It's set in California! Wendy Darling is searching for her brothers John and Michael, fanatical surfers who disappeared months before. She meets Pete and his surfer friends, and Jas the drug dealer next door. Wendy is distraught and her family and friends think that she's gone off the deep end. Wendy is convinced she can find her brothers. Sheinmel puts you right in Wendy's mind as she finds love, loses it, thinks she's lost her mind, escapes, and comes back to life. A thrilling and excellently written novel, you'll be kept on your toes the whole way. (picture from goodreads.com)

I have added another book to the "excellent" pile. Breakfast Served Anytime is Sarah Combs' breakout novel, and it's fabulous. She tells the tale of Gloria, a native Kentuckian, sent off to "Geek Camp" for the summer. She befriends many interesting characters and revels in being away from home. She discovers many things about herself and about others as the summer progresses. The book is full of theatre references and references to famous books such as The Great Gatsby and To Kill A Mockingbird . I suggest reading those before you read this book. Having at least a passing knowledge of Shakespeare would be helpful as well. However, this is also a book full of friendship, love, and the sort of everyday adventure that everyone longs for. Combs' simple story-telling is sprinkled with letters between Gloria and her not-at-Geek-Camp friends. The book will leave you out of breath from the pace and the ideas spinning in your mind. (picture from goodreads.co

Stardust  by Neil Gaiman is one of my new favorite books. It's also a movie, which is actually how I was introduced to it. The movie is fantastic, but I'm discussing the book here! I love Gaiman's writing style. It feels like a tale from long ago, with an easy-going air and an omnipresent narrator. We visit several story lines that eventually converge. The book is the tale of Tristran Thorn. He grows up next to in the town of Wall, next to The Wall. Appropriately named, right? The Wall separates our world from the land of Faerie. The two lands have very little interaction beyond a fair held every nine years. Tristran is your average shop-boy, and is crazily in love with the town beauty, Victoria Forester. He claims that he will bring her back a fallen star, in return for his heart's desire. She laughingly agrees, thinking that he's joking. However, he soon sets off in search of a fallen star. He has many troubles and trials along the way. He does find his star. And

I most recently finished the charming tale Royally Lost  by Angie Stanton. I picked it up in a bookstore, having never heard of it. From the description on the back, it sounded vaguely interesting. And interesting it was. The basic plot concerns an American girl on holiday with her family, on a river cruise down the Danube, visiting many famous European cities. She meets a "mysterious cute boy" who just happens to be the runaway prince of "Mondovia", a fictional constitutional monarchy. They run around Europe, kissing in churches, avoiding paparazzi, and trying to not have their fling discovered by the girl's parents. The plot was fine. It was the writing that I had a problem with. Written in a third person POV, the author switches between Becca (the American girl) and Nikolai (the prince)'s views. Facts are reiterated over and over ("she couldn't believe she was hanging out with a prince!" etc) and the writing is weak. The style is reminiscent

The last book I read was The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender  by Leslye Walton. It is as the title implies: strange, and beautiful. Walton's writing style is very flowing and full of excellent descriptive words. You can feel the emotions of the characters seep through the pages and into you. The plot centers around a family and its many troubles with love, and their interesting qualities (i.e., one character turns into a canary, and another is born with wings). I thoroughly enjoyed this book mostly because of the vivid descriptions, and the characterization. Walton's word choice is lyrical, and using a POV (point of view) of a girl telling the tale of her family, you get the feeling that only you are being told the story. The characters seem like you have known them forever, with strong development and personalities. You can connect with each of them in their plight. The story takes place over the course of many years, from the early 1900's to the 1950's.

I am a book nerd. Have been since forever. So I decided to take my vast knowledge of excellent reading material, and make some of it known to the world. Thus, here I am. At this point in time, I plan to post reviews/recommendations/general fangirl rants about books. I shall try to avoid spoilers. Maybe people will actually use this. Maybe it'll just be me keeping track of all the books I read. No matter. If you're reading this, please enjoy.