10) Hope Was Here and 11) The Night Room and my ranting about My Sister's Keeper

Wow! That was a really long title....ok so i've got a very short amount of time to get this typed up, so this is gonna be short and sweet:

• Hope Was Here by Joan Bauer has become number 10 on "The List." It's a great little short read about life, love, loss, and politics. Hope, a waitress lives with her aunt, who is a cook. They are always moving around from place to place for various reasons. Hope likes to write "Hope Was Here" descreetly in places that she's lived right before moving. It's her way of leaving part of herself behind and showing that she made a difference there. Hope and Aunt Addie's most recent move is to Wisconsin. Hope isn't too thrilled because she considers herself a city child after living in NYC. That's all i'm telling. It's a great book, even if it IS a little predictable at points.

• The Night Room by E.M. Goldman has now been added as number 11 on "The List." Another very short read, but it kept me on the edge of my seat the entire time. I read it in one day (which is saying something seeing as how i have school and homework and such) and was very pleasantly surprised by how much i liked this book. My brother had to read it for an English class when he was in middle school and it was lying around our house when we were cleaning for a garage sale. I saved it from being sold because he'd told me about it and i was interested in reading it someday. Apparently, my "someday" was Thursday. After finishing Hope Was Here, i was trying to figure out what to read next and so i scoured my bookshelf for something new to read and came across The Night Room. I've never been a fan of science fiction novels, so i was very skeptical at first, but i kept reminding myself to keep an open mind. However, as soon as i started it, i got sucked in. My mind was constantly occupied with the plotline and i couldn't quite pay attention in class because i wanted to read so badly. It was even affecting my mood because when i was worried about a character, i would start feeling all sad and depressed and then when they were happy, i was happy. I haven't come across a book that made me react this way in a long time and it definitely deserves a spot on "The List." This, ladies and gentlemen, is what reading is all about. So, brief summary: Ira (average guy), Sandra (popular girl), Tess (school newspaper's reporter), Joy (actress), Mac (football jock), Barbara (brainiac), and Graham (slacker) are all selected to take part in a project called Argus at the local university. It's a computer program that gives a possible projection of each person's future selves. These seven classmates have been programmed to meet at their tenth high school reunion. However, there are twists and turns both in the future and the present as attitudes and decisions change. It truly is a great, and kind of reminds me of The Breakfast Club in that all the stereotypical groups are represented, which makes it all the more enjoyable (just ask K....we've had a discussion before about how Bender is so attractive and awesome because of his bad boy attitude despite the fact that everyone else we know think Bender is just a jerk and a criminal. to those people i say "shut up". ahhh young judd nelson :) ok ok i'm done now....i swear....maybe? ok lemme just say that at the end when Bender and Claire get together i was like jumping up and down with excitement and then the fist pump just made me happy inside. ok i'm done now.) This book has intrigue, sci fi, romance, and mystery. It's awesome and I'm considering making this K's book swap book...hmmm....we'll see. Darn, now i really want to watch The Breakfast Club....:) what can i say? it's awesome.
• My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult doesn't even deserve to be underlined like a real book title. i'd heard it was really sad and i knew the gist of it before starting it and i really didn't want to read it. at all. however, it was assigned by my English teacher. thanks a lot. i will now list the things i didn't like about it:

1. there were different POVs every chapter, which would've been fine, except that they alternated between soooo many different characters that i got really confused and halfway throught the chapter i would forget who was talking so i'd have to go back and look at the start of the chapter. also, some of the chapters went back in time, which was even more confusing to keep track of the past vs. the present.
2. it was too reliant on the side topic of astronomy. no one cares about supernovas and nebulas.
3. Anna was such an unlikable yet likable character. she was irritating the entire book because she simply couldn't make up her mind and was being immature.
4. Campbell was such a conceited jerk.
5. Anna's mom, Sarah. she needs to learn to listen to her kids and stop obsessing over Kate bc she's obviously neglecting to care for the other two. she's such a controlling person.
6. It was SO FREAKING LONG!
7. I wanted more chapters from Jesse's POV.
8. the ending was depressing and made me want to cry...in a bad way...not like The Notebook crying, but One Day crying (if you haven't seen this movie, i would say watch it but be warned now YOU WILL CRY, but theres something calming about the depression of it. plus, it's anne hathaway and who doesn't love her? exactly my point.)

Now, i shall list the things i liked about the book:

1. how ultimately Anna had a voice
2. Jesse :) he was such a likable bad boy (see above about Bender....hehehehe)
3. the romantic tension between Julia and Campbell. it was very entertaining with all their banter and denial.
4. we didn't have to do a project or report on it for class, which was definitely a plus.

Yup, so you can obviously tell that the Dislikes list heavily outweighs the Likes list. Therefore, it got a measly one star from me. I know, that's harsh, but it was deserved. Jodi Picoult is a jerk for writing such an ending. How dare she?! For those of us that were emotionally involved in the book, you can't just do that to us. It's like a dagger in our backs. thanks a lot, Jodi.

• I figured i should probably write about the book swap book i read, When it Happens by Susane Colasanti. When i was reading it, i texted K and told her that Ms. Colasanti should've ended it at Chapter 29 and i wouldve been happy. Then, i agreed with myself again when i finished the book. It. Should. Have. Stopped. At. The. End. Of. Chapter. 29. Everything after that was unnecessary...they were just being sex-crazed, if you ask me. That sort of stuff is not what i like reading about especially since i have pledged to remain a virgin until i'm married. That's my belief, sorry. The only good thing that came out of the the chapters after 29 was *SPOILER ALERT* when Tobey recreates the Say Anything boombox scene. i really appreciated that and thought it was cute and there was that little place inside of me that was screaming "why can't that happen to me?" So, that was why i only gave it three stars. The first half of the book was fine and good, but i lost respect for it due to the second half. However, i really liked the alternating POVs. That's one of my favorite things in a book, especially when it's a guy and a girl. I always like to know what's going on in their minds and what their motives are. It's like an insight into the guys in my life...or at least i like to imagine that it is. I thought it was really cute how Tobey was pursuing Sara...once again "why can't that happen to me?" Ok i'm done pitying myself because, as we all know, "the number one killer of teenage girls is self pity." (i'm hoping someone got my The Kid reference...if not, then i came off as a creeper, but whatever.) In conclusion, it was a great 1st half and had some moments of greatness in the 2nd half, but it was for the most part unnecessary.

ok, i'm done now. enjoy your lives. enjoy your reading.
-M