Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.

Hello there!

I hope everyone had a nice holiday! My review today is on Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. by Judy Blume.

If anyone tried to determine the most common rite of passage for preteen girls in North America, a girl's first reading of Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret would rank near the top of the list. Adolescents are often so relieved to discover that someone understands their body-angst that they miss one of the book's deeper explorations: a young person's relationship with God. Margaret has a very private relationship with God, and it's only after she moves to New Jersey and hangs out with a new friend that she discovers that it might be weird to talk to God without a priest or a rabbi to mediate. Margaret just wants to fit in! Who is God, and where is He when she needs Him?

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Right from the start I'm going to say: This is a banned book and if you are offended easily please turn away from this page. Really though? I don't see a problem with it other than the reference of God and puberty. This is a book designed for middle schoolers. This book is a classic. My mom read it as a youngster as did my aunts and many people I've talked to. (And they weren't harmed by it) This was the first time I read this book and I'm 21. If you're not offended by God or puberty I would suggest you give this book to your daughter to read. What better way to get insight on living through middle school than reading someone else do it. This book is about how girls deal with what is handed to them and it is written so well. I applaud Judy Blume for taking on this topic and giving these young girls the gift of survival. It was a quick read and perfect for young middle school girls. I gave this book a 4 out of 5 stars.

Happy reading!
Mackenzie

About a Boy

Hey everyone!

So, I'm sure some of you have heard of or seen the new TV series "About a Boy" well guess what! It's based on a book and a movie. So I just happened to read About a Boy by Nick Hornby.

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Alright, so if you have seen the TV show it is nothing like it. People keep asking me what this book is about and I can't really describe it other than it's about a boy. I can round that summary out a little more; it's about a boy who is trying to find his way in the world and what life is about. It's a book about connections and family. This book was quirky and strange. The connection between characters are strange and it definitely sends a strange but good message. All around it's a strange book but a good book. The characters are well developed and so is the plot. It's almost a coming of age story and Marcus is forced to grow up too soon. About a Boy was cute. I can't put my finger on who I would recommend it to. It's not really a light book but it's not very heavy. It's in the middle of everything. I would suggest it to anyone who wants to branch and I would tell everyone to give it a try. I gave it a 3 out of 5 stars because I wasn't quite sure how I felt about it, it was kind of middle of the road.

Keep reading!

Mackenzie

Allegiant

Hey everybody!

So the final review for this trilogy is Allegiant by Veronica Roth. If you missed the first two reviews here are the links:

Divergent Review
Insurgent Review

Let's find a place in the challenge for this:

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I'm making some good headway on the challenge, despite not specifically looking for books for the challenge. Well, this book was better than the second but not as good as the first. I sobbed. This book, similarly to the second it continues right where it left off. It's like one big giant book. Allegiant has a totally different writing style, but it works. This book goes back and forth between two characters. It was hard to determine who was talking when though. The ending is not what you expect, not at all what you expect. You can feel the pain radiating from the characters in this book, like the two before it. When you just thought that the lines between good and evil were blurred enough....you're so wrong. Roth tests the limits of our understanding of everything. I gave this book a 4 out of 5 stars. 

Happy reading!

Mackenzie

Long time! and Among School Children

Hey everyone!

I'm back! I see I still have some readers and that gives me hope that maybe I can keep reviewing books on here and maybe even continue with my challenge. So I've read quite a few books since the last time I posted and I plan on reviewing those books starting from where I left off and hopefully fitting them into the challenge. This being said, from here on out not every book will fit in my challenge but I'll still review it for everyone's enjoyment.

So let's start.

Before going MIA I had mentioned I had read a few books and that I was in the middle of a book. The first book on that list was Among School Children by Tracy Kidder.

Luckily this fits in my challenge. It's my last A!

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I'm a little rusty at reviews but here we go:
I highly recommend this book to anyone going into a profession in education. This was a really interesting book. It's based on a real classroom written from a teacher's perspective. As an aspiring teacher I found this book so helpful as well as a good story. It shows the challenges teachers face and the amount of work teachers truly put into their students. Teaching is not just glorified babysitting! I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars because it was funny at points and displays a real classroom to the world.

I'll be back tomorrow with another review
Keep reading!
Mackenzie

Aunt Jane's Hero

So I just read Aunt Jane's Hero by Elizabeth Prentiss. I would give you a summary of it but I don't really know what the whole plot was. It had a lot to do with converting to Christianity.

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I start reading this book thinking it's going to be an easy read, but man that was painful. There was no storyline, yes the characters were the same throughout the book but I had no idea what was going on. It obviously didn't flow since there wasn't much of a storyline and it would make huge jumps. For example, talking about two characters getting married and the next minute they had a two year old. Where did their baby come from? It just appeared. A BIG issue was there was at least 10 mistakes a page. 10!!! Seriously, figure out how to spell. A lot of this problem though could be because it was a Kindle book but feel was spelt feci, I don't know anyone who spells feel like that. I'm a religious person in general and if you're not don't read this book. It was all about converting to Christianity and finding Christ. I guess it had a good message if you could understand it. It definitely challenged what I thought as my religion. Also, the title made no sense, no place in the book did they talk about Aunt Jane's Hero. Finally, the ending. I won't give anything away but the ending was not meant to be part of this book, it was like it was taken out of another book and slapped in there.I do not recommend this book, but if you want to give it a try, all the more power to you.

So, starting in September I'm going to review some old books I've read that won't count towards this challenge, just so my posts aren't so spaced out.

I'm going to read Angela's Ashes next.

Happy reading!
Mackenzie

And the Mountains Echoed

Hey everyone! I was a little unattached from the world for a while. I went on a trip to West Virginia and Virginia. Well, I got a lot of reading done and finished And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini. This book was about family ties and how poverty and war can change the connection that a family bears.

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This was an excellent book. This book was such a powerful book and Hosseini's word choice definitely played a part in that. This book truly shows how words can impact. This book showed the bonds between family members and how strong they can be, which was another piece that made the book more powerful because we've all felt strain between family members and how much love for family members we have and this really made the book more relate-able. I loved the glimpses of the characters background, when you only got a little bit at a time. One thing that was a little confusing was the timeline, there were points that it wasn't clear if it was a flashback or not. Also, there were a lot of extra characters that I felt didn't need to be included, they didn't add anything to the story. With these extra stories it felt like a lot of short stories that sort of connected to each other. It was almost like he took the most round-about way to get to the end just to add pages. This was one of the best books I've read for this challenge so far. Since I'm very close to my family, I really felt for the family in this book. I highly recommend this book.

I'm going to now read Aunt Jane's Hero.

Happy reading!
Mackenzie

Along for the Ride

Sorry I didn't update you guys, but I started and finished Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen. I think for the time being I'm just going to give up on All Enemies, sorry :( . Along for the Ride is a teen Chic Lit book about a girl who is academically inclined and who didn't have much of a childhood. She goes to visit her father for the summer before going off to college and finds something she wasn't expecting.

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Next to Stephen King, Sarah Dessen is one of my favorite authors. I found this book was a guessing game. Although, it was a typical teen plot and somewhat predictable at the beginning I was playing the "Guess What Will Happen Next" game. Sarah Dessen is like the female version of Nicholas Sparks. This book followed the guidelines to a good book. First, the chapters and breaks in chapters ended with a powerful sentence or a cliff hanger to make you want to keep reading. Second, I could really feel for the characters. When the main character was nervous, I was definitely nervous. I also, got very frustrated at the main character, which like I always say is the key to a good book. At the end of the book, I got very worried that things weren't actually going to work out the way I wanted it to. There were a few nit-picky things about the book. First, the main character had a few beers throughout the book and I found it weird that the alcohol didn't affect her when it was clear she had never had any alcohol before. Second, there were a few swears throughout the book and I understand it's a book for teens but swears ether need to be cut out completely or like full on. The ones that were in the book seemed out of place because that wasn't really the type of writing style that was used. Finally, the cover was very misleading. I know, I know, "Don't judge a book by it's cover" but seriously. This cover made the book look like it would be about some girl who has it all and isn't socially awkward, and honestly I think that would turn away a reader. If I didn't absolutely love Sarah Dessen I might not have read it due to the cover. It turned out to be a really good book, and if you're into teen Chic Lit, read this book. It's an excellent beach and summer read.

I'm going to read And The Mountains Echoed. Since, it's a new book I hope you haven't become jaded of reviews about the book.

Happy reading!
Mackenzie

Angel Sister

Yay! I made it to 1000 pageviews!! Anyway on book related topics, I finished Angel Sister by Ann Gabhart. This book takes place in the 1930's when a little girl is dumped off at the local church, the church has to decide what they think is best for this little girl.

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So I really liked this book, at first it was very jumpy and a little confusing but it smoothed out. This book has flashbacks which I love in books because I get part of the characters' past. Gabhart also nicely tied together three generations which was awesome to see how the different generations felt on certain topics. I was surprised at how much religion was intertwined in this book, there was a lot of quoting the Bible and the big question "Do you believe in God?" came up A LOT. So, if you're not into religion I wouldn't suggest this book. I had such a nervous feeling reading this book because I felt for the characters and I was nervous for certain ones. I had such wide range of emotions reading this book. One night I was sobbing, the next I was so angry at the book. This book is radiating with so much hate and tension you could cut it with a butter knife. There were even a few Romeo and Juliet type romances in the flashbacks. I related to the character Kate the most, she and I definitely share the same personality and character traits. I don't think this book closed nicely, I think relationships were left of hanging I didn't like it and I don't think justice was served. There is another book after this one but the ending didn't make you feel like you needed to read it.

So, I'm going to try to read All Enemies again, but I may come back to you soon with a back-up book.

And thanks to all of you for sticking with me!

Happy reading!
Mackenzie

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass

Hey everyone! I just finished Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll, which I'm counting only as on book. Sorry, it took me a lot longer than it should have. I've been so busy and sick lately. But this is a classic story most people have read about a little girl who gets lost in this crazy mixed up world and comes in contact with many different creatures.

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So I had never read this book before and I really wish that I had, but better late than never. This is definitely a book I will read again and again and to my children. The chapters are short so it makes it a quick read. Carroll is truly a clever writer to be able to create this world is crazy and twisted and exactly opposite of ours, which makes it so much fun and you can really escape reality in this book. The creatures were brilliant and so like the whole story so creative, and the descriptions were so well done you could really see what he was talking about. It's also funny, which it's hard to get an adult to laugh a children's book. I thought it was funny how everything was taken very literally, something that doesn't happen now a days because we don't say what we mean. I liked how there were real poems in there, not just ones Carroll wrote. I found myself forgetting I was in Wonderland and not in Oz. The characters and worlds are so similar. If you have never read it, go out and buy a copy and start right away. Such a good book.

My next book is a book called All Enemies, which was written by an old friend's dad. I'll give some more background in a later post. Also, I'll be writing a statistics post later this week.

Happy reading!
Mackenzie

Angels and Demons

I promise I haven't abandoned you. I just finished Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. This is a great mysterious, suspenseful book about a Harvard symbologist who is called to help find a murderer who is suspected to be part of an underground organization that was thought long deceased.

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I love this book. It is a quick read because the chapters are shorter and the book is so captivating. It is so creative and the book really comes to life when Brown uses real life references to statues and building that are still standing. As I was reading this I started remembering bits and pieces but I think my knowledge of this book and The Da Vinci Code kind of blurred together because parts of the book I thought were in the other book were in this one and vice versa. Even though I have read this book before, it was a long enough time span that the book was still fairly unpredictable. There are so many twists and turns throughout the book. Dan Brown had to be very knowledgeable about history, religion, and science to write this book. It was truly a work of genius.It is a good idea when reading this book to have Google open at all times. I used it a lot, especially to look up certain sculptures and buildings referenced in the book. It was nice also to do some extra research on Christian rules and the underground group that resurfaced.

I'm going to read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass as one book.

Happy reading!
Mackenzie

Angel in a Fur Coat

I'm back! I didn't think I'd be back so soon, but I was closer the end than I expected. Angel in a Fur Coat by Cynthia Enuton is a cute book about how angels go through training to become dogs and help humans. This is the first book in a series of three following a little angel named Sparky through training. That leaves me with three letters left in ELEPHANTS:

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I started reading this book because unfortunately I can't read in the car and I had a three hour car ride ahead of me. I had this book on my Kindle and, although its a very robotic voice, my Kindle will read it to me. This is nice so I can read on long rides. There isn't much to say about this book really. It's harder reading children's books as an adult because it's meant to be simple for children to read, but you also notice little details and appreciate it more. This book was definitely made for children. Putting that aside, it was a very cute story fit for younger children. It had a great concept behind it and this crazy, little dog could make her way into any reader's or dog lover's heart. I didn't like the ending because it basically forces you to read the next book. There's not much else to say other than it was a pretty good book for what it was and was very cute.

I am going to start I Am Legend in memory of Richard Matheson.

Happy reading!
Mackenzie