Books to read

The old life is dead. But the old Lena is dead too. I buried her. I left her beyond a fence, behind a wall of smoke and flame. In this electrifying follow-up to her acclaimed New York Times bestseller Delirium, Lauren Oliver sets Lena on a dangerous course that hurtles through the unregulated Wilds and into the heart of a growing resistance movement. This riveting, brilliant novel crackles with the fire of fierce defiance, forbidden romance, and the sparks of a revolution about to ignite.

Luce would die for Daniel.And she has. Over and over again. Throughout time, Luce and Daniel have found each other, only to be painfully torn apart: Luce dead, Daniel left broken and alone. But perhaps it doesn’t need to be that way… .Luce is certain that something—or someone—in a past life can help her in her present one. So she begins the most important journey of this lifetime… going back eternities to witness firsthand her romances with Daniel… and finally unlock the key to making their love last.Cam and the legions of angels and Outcasts are desperate to catch Luce, but none are as frantic as Daniel. He chases Luce through their shared pasts, terrified of what might happen if she rewrites history.Because their romance for the ages could go up in flames… forever.

Gorgeous. Popular. Perfect.Perfectly wrong.Tally has finally become pretty. Now her looks are beyond perfect, her clothes are awesome, her boyfriend is totally hot, and she's completely popular. It's everything she's ever wanted.But beneath all the fun -- the nonstop parties, the high-tech luxury, the total freedom -- is a nagging sense that something's wrong. Something important. Then a message from Tally's ugly past arrives. Reading it, Tally remembers what's wrong with pretty life, and the fun stops cold.Now she has to choose between fighting to forget what she knows and fighting for her life -- because the authorities don't intend to let anyone with this information survive.

Also see: Alternate Cover Editions for this ISBN [ACE] \ ACE #1\ Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father.To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings — and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?In this breathtaking sequel to City of Bones, Cassandra Clare lures her readers back into the dark grip of New York City's Downworld, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation.

You can’t stop the future. You can’t rewind the past.The only way to learn the secret . . . is to press play.Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a strange package with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers several cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker–his classmate and crush–who committed suicide two weeks earlier. Hannah’s voice tells him that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he’ll find out why. Clay spends the night crisscrossing his town with Hannah as his guide. He becomes a firsthand witness to Hannah’s pain, and as he follows Hannah’s recorded words throughout his town, what he discovers changes his life forever.

Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father—an elusive European warlock—only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters. By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tag-along ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire student on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect. As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.

A SACRED OATHA FALLEN ANGELA FORBIDDEN LOVERomance was not part of Nora Grey's plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how hard her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch comes along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Patch draws Nora to him against her better judgment.But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is and seems to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.For she is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost Nora her life.

'R' is a zombie. He has no name, no memories and no pulse, but he has dreams. He is a little different from his fellow Dead.Amongst the ruins of an abandoned city, R meets a girl. Her name is Julie and she is the opposite of everything he knows - warm and bright and very much alive, she is a blast of colour in a dreary grey landscape. For reasons he can't understand, R chooses to save Julie instead of eating her, and a tense yet strangely tender relationship begins.This has never happened before. It breaks the rules and defies logic, but R is no longer content with life in the grave. He wants to breathe again, he wants to live, and Julie wants to help him. But their grim, rotting world won't be changed without a fight...

An alternate cover edition can be found here.Many hundreds of years ago, the city of Ember was created by the Builders to contain everything needed for human survival. It worked…but now the storerooms are almost out of food, crops are blighted, corruption is spreading through the city and worst of all—the lights are failing. Soon Ember could be engulfed by darkness…But when two children, Lina and Doon, discover fragments of an ancient parchment, they begin to wonder if there could be a way out of Ember. Can they decipher the words from long ago and find a new future for everyone? Will the people of Ember listen to them?

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without.Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human… until the cold makes him shift back again.Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human—or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

Meet Rochelle Evans: pretty, popular--and never been kissed. Meet Noah Flynn: badass, volatile--and a total player. And also Elle's best friend's older brother... When Elle decides to run a kissing booth for the school's Spring Carnival, she locks lips with Noah and her life is turned upside down. Her head says to keep away, but her heart wants to draw closer--this romance seems far from fairy tale and headed for heartbreak. But will Elle get her happily ever after?

There is an alternate cover edition for this ISBN13 here.In an alternate United States, love has been declared a dangerous disease, and the government forces everyone who reaches eighteen to have a procedure called the Cure. Living with her aunt, uncle, and cousins in Portland, Maine, Lena Haloway is very much looking forward to being cured and living a safe, predictable life. She watched love destroy her mother and isn't about to make the same mistake.But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena meets enigmatic Alex, a boy from the "Wilds" who lives under the government's radar. What will happen if they do the unthinkable and fall in love?

Once upon a time, I was a little girl who disappeared. Once upon a time, my name was not Alice. Once upon a time, I didn't know how lucky I was. When Alice was ten, Ray took her away from her family, her friends -- her life. She learned to give up all power, to endure all pain. She waited for the nightmare to be over. Now Alice is fifteen and Ray still has her, but he speaks more and more of her death. He does not know it is what she longs for. She does not know he has something more terrifying than death in mind for her. This is Alice's story. It is one you have never heard, and one you will never, ever forget.

Nora Grey's life is still far from perfect. Surviving an attempt on her life wasn't pleasant, but at least she got a guardian angel out of it. A mysterious, magnetic, gorgeous guardian angel. But despite his role in her life, Patch has been acting anything but angelic. He's more elusive than ever (if that's possible) and what's worse, he seems to be spending time with Nora's archenemy, Marcie Millar.Nora would have hardly noticed Scott Parnell, an old family friend who has moved back to town, if Patch hadn't been acting so distant. Even with Scott's totally infuriating attitude, Nora finds herself drawn to him - despite her lingering feelings that he is hiding something.If that weren't enough, Nora is haunted by images of her murdered father, and comes to question whether her Nephilim bloodline has anything to do with his death. Desperate to figure out what happened, she puts herself in increasingly dangerous situations to get the answer. But maybe some things are better left buried, because the truth could destroy everything - and everyone - she trusts.

I am shocked. I am speechless. I don't even think I can do this book justice by writing this review. My first reaction is just to scream "OH MY EFFING GOD!!!" (only I don't say "effing"! heh heh … Well, if you've read the books you get the joke) … which is exactly what I said about fifty times after I finished reading it last night.Seriously, it isn't often that a book like this comes along. I don't think a book has left me feeling this shocked and amazed in years––not even the first two books, which also totally blew my mind.All right, well, let's get down to business. I should stop ranting and get to reviewing.So, Monsters of Men is the third book in Patrick Ness's amazingamazingamazing trilogy, Chaos Walking. As I already said, the first two books––The Knife of Never Letting Go and The Ask and the Answer––absolutely blew me away, so I had very high expectations for the final chapter. Of course, when you have high expectations, you get nervous, too. I didn't know how on earth Ness was going to end this or what he was going to do with it … but I trusted him to write something incredible. And ohmygoodness he totally exceeded those very high expectations.Ha, so, funny story about this book. It came out in the UK in early May, and it is not scheduled to come out in the United States until late September. I was just about to explode with impatience, and I totally would have died if I'd had to wait that long. Fortunately someone told me about this website, The Book Depository, which allows you to order books from other countries with free shipping. (YESSSS!!!) So I ordered it and it came for me in the mail yesterday (after my last day of school, too! talk about the best day ever!) and I pretty much read it nonstop from 3:30 to 11:30. I even took it to my sister's middle-school graduation and read it standing up, because I could not bear to put it down. Teehee.So, anyway. The book. I do not even know where to begin. AL;KDFJSJF;SJKFD. Yeah, that's about all I have to say. Just kidding. But really, I'm trying to find the words to write this.Basically, these books are emotionally exhausting. I don't know how else to put it. You become so attached to Todd and Viola and you see them go through so much terrifying crap and it's just like … aaahhh … It gives you that total feeling of dread that eats away at the inside of your stomach, and your eyes are glued to the page and it's like "HOLY CRAP! What if one of them dies or both of them dies or AGGGH??!!! NO NO NO PATRICK NESS WOULDN'T DO THAT … Oh wait, he totally would. CRAP!" I was hardly breathing the whole time I was reading this. And at the end my heart was literally pounding because I was so shocked and so terrified and so devastated and so amazed and I had tears in my eyes and I was about to scream at the book and … GAH. Trust me, it takes a LOT for a book to affect me like this. Okay, I am hyperventilating all over again, just thinking about it. Moving on.So, Todd and Viola. Let's talk about them, because I love them like they were actual people. Firstly Todd … He has been our beloved narrator since book one––he's a sweetheart, he's funny, he's honest, he's confused, he's completely believable … And in Monsters of Men I loved him more than ever. He is definitely one of my favorite main characters of all time. I totally felt for him in this one, and it was heartbreaking to see how he gets caught up in the horrors of war … yet, his dedication to Viola keeps him from completely losing himself. (Awwww <3) And Viola is totally awesome too––strong and determined, and just as dedicated to Todd as he is to her. (AWWWWW! I'm gonna make myself cry. *sniffles*) Their adorable relationship really drives the plot along. Just about everything Todd and Viola do, they do for each other. Although the story is dark, disturbing, and violent, at its heart it is ultimately a story about how love triumphs over war.Patrick Ness. Let's talk about him now, because he actually IS a real person, and in my opinion he is a writing GOD. I know that a lot of people turn away from this series complaining that the writing gives them a headache. (Poopies on them. GRRR. Wait, what? I didn't say that.) And what these people don't recognize is something called originality, which I dare to say most authors lack these days. So, yes, Patrick Ness does write in a stream-of-consciousness style––one-sentence paragraphs, paragraphs that break off in the middle, occasionally spelling words phonetically, switching perspectives every two pages … And yeah, it takes a while to get used to it. I didn't like the first book when I started it, but after about 100 pages or so I got hooked, and I have been addicted to this series ever since. Part of its true power is in Ness's writing. Although it's not the typical "good" writing style, meaning it defies quite a few grammar rules, it is truly amazing writing. There's a difference between being a bad writer and making a choice to not write in a typical style. In this case, it's the latter, and it pays off. Patrick Ness writes in a concise manner––carefully choosing words and images so that each one is meaningful and sticks permanently in the reader's head. His writing is raw, emotional, and completely haunting. And it manages to do this while still being very subtle––that is, Ness doesn't have to outright say things to make them obvious, and that somehow makes them more powerful. I don't know how else to explain it, but you have to read it to see what I mean. I tried to do some writing last night after I finished reading and I just couldn't because I felt like I'd been put to shame! I'm not saying I want to steal his style, but I can only hope that I will find a writing style of my own that will affect someone as powerfully as his has affected and inspired me. :)This book is truly, truly amazing. It's a fascinating exploration of human nature and every aspect of it––how we make war when we want peace, how violence destroys us and how love heals us, how we mature from girls and boys to women and men, how love influences the choices we make … I could go on and on. But over all, these books are astounding, compelling, heartbreaking, touching, terrifying, and haunting. This is by far one of the best books and one of the best series I have ever read in my entire life, and if you have not read them you are missing out on an amazing story. GO READ THEM NOW.

I am a beast.A beast. Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright—a creature with fangs and claws and hair springing from every pore. I am a monster.You think I'm talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It's no deformity, no disease. And I'll stay this way forever—ruined—unless I can break the spell.Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I'll tell you. I'll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I'll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.

The first book in Alyson Noël's extraordinary new Immortals series. Enter an enchanting new world, where true love never dies...After a horrible accident claims the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever Bloom can see people's auras, hear their thoughts, and know someone's entire life story by touching them. Going out of her way to avoid human contact to suppress her abilities, she has been branded a freak at her new high school — but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste.Damen is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy. He's the only one who can silence the noise and random energy in her head - wielding a magic so intense, it's as though he can peer straight into her soul. As Ever is drawn deeper into his enticing world of secrets and mystery, she's left with more questions than answers. And she has no idea just who he really is - or what he is. The only thing she knows to be true is that she's falling deeply and helplessly in love with him.

Tally is about to turn sixteen, and she can't wait. In just a few weeks she'll have the operation that will turn her from a repellent ugly into a stunning pretty. And as a pretty, she'll be catapulted into a high-tech paradise where her only job is to have fun.But Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure she wants to become a pretty. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about a whole new side of the pretty world-- and it isn't very pretty. The authorities offer Tally a choice: find her friend and turn her in, or never turn pretty at all. Tally's choice will change her world forever...