Bewitching by Alex Flinn

Publisher: Harper Teen
Reading Level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 366 pages
Series: The Kendra Chronicles #2
Summary
Bewitching can be a beast. . . .
Once, I put a curse on a beastly and arrogant high school boy. That one turned out all right. Others didn’t.
I go to a new school now—one where no one knows that I should have graduated long ago. I’m not still here because I’m stupid; I just don’t age.
You see, I’m immortal. And I pretty much know everything after hundreds of years—except for when to take my powers and butt out.
I want to help, but things just go awry in ways I could never predict. Like when I tried to free some children from a gingerbread house and ended up being hanged. After I came back from the dead (immortal, remember?), I tried to play matchmaker for a French prince and ended up banished from France forever. And that little mermaid I found in the Titanic lifeboat? I don’t even want to think about it.
Now a girl named Emma needs me. I probably shouldn’t get involved, but her gorgeous stepsister is conniving to the core. I think I have just the thing to fix that girl—and it isn’t an enchanted pumpkin. Although you never know what will happen when I start . . . .bewitching. (quoted from goodreads)

                                                           Review

       This book was amazing! I have read Alex Flinn's novel Beastly and really could not figure out why everyone was raving about it. Bewitching on the other hand I absolutely loved! When one reads the summary for this novel one probably thinks that this novel will be all about Kendra the witch, who we met in Beastly, but it actually is not. Sure, this novel is about Kendra's life but she is not the main character.

      I'm glad we readers get to know Kendra in this novel. What I thought about Kendra is so not true-- she isn't mean at all. kendra is just trying to help people, she has good intentions even though things don't always turn out the way she plans they will. This novel is basically about the people Kendra helps during her immortal life, there are a few short stories, and one big story that all the short stories are incorporated into. Even though some say readers are not given a lot of time to get to know the characters, I think that one does not need much time to like the characters in this novel, for they all seem very real and are relate able. The main character is Emma, who Kendra befriends and decides to help. I love how Emma may not beautiful on the outside, but she is such a caring person on the inside, and just wants to be accepted the way she is. What really stood out to me throughout this whole novel is something Alex Flinn voiced through the thoughts of Emma, she thought that no matter what the situation might be, people always want the beautiful one to be good. Sadly this is true, we as humans will forgive someone good-looking a lot more easily than someone who may be "ugly".
     You do not need to have read Beastly to enjoy this novel, but if you plan on reading both Beastly and Bewitching then I would advise you to read Beastly first because some characters are mentioned in  Bewitching, the second novel to the series. I recommend this book to people that like fairy tales(:

                                               Favorite Quotes:
Sadly, I do not have my own copy of this novel, and forgot my favorite quotes paper inside the library's copy, but don't worry! I will have the quotes in a few days! (:

Bittersweet by Sarah Ockler *spoiler alert*

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 378 pgs
Series: not a series

Summary
Once upon a time, Hudson knew exactly what her future looked like. Then a betrayal changed her life, and knocked her dreams to the ground. Now she’s a girl who doesn’t believe in second chances... a girl who stays under the radar by baking cupcakes at her mom’s diner and obsessing over what might have been.
So when things start looking up and she has another shot at her dreams, Hudson is equal parts hopeful and terrified. Of course, this is also the moment a cute, sweet guy walks into her life... and starts serving up some seriously mixed signals. She’s got a lot on her plate, and for a girl who’s been burned before, risking it all is easier said than done.
It’s time for Hudson to ask herself what she really wants, and how much she’s willing to sacrifice to get it. Because in a place where opportunities are fleeting, she knows this chance may very well be her last. (quoted from goodreads)

Review
Bittersweet is not the kind of book I usually read, but since it is on the BFYA reading list, and since it seems to have mostly good reviews I decided to give it a try. I am glad that I read this novel for not only is it interesting, it also gave readers a chance to see into the very realistic life of Hudson Avery and learn a life lesson of our own. Something that I have noticed about contemporary novels is that they never turn out the way one thinks they will.
I am very envious of Hudson because she is such a perfect daughter, an awesome older sister and the way she somehow miraculously seems to be keeping everything together with everthing that she is going through is just plain amazing, but she is also a tad too wimpy for my taste. My favorite character is Hudson's little brother, Bug he is just sooo adorable, and I love that he is such a little geek! Of the two boys interested in Hudson-Will and Josh, Will is my favorite because he genuinely seems to understand Hudson and wants the best for her, like when he figures out that Hudson has feelings for Josh he doesn't get angry, he just accepts the fact and tells her that she should tell him. there is nothing wrong with Josh he is actually pretty dreamy and really nice, but I just can't bring my self to like him better than Will, its probably because the "bad" boy always appeals to me more.
My favorite thing about this novel is that all the chapters are named after cupcakes. I would recommend this book to anyone that likes a light read and thinks that being there for your family is important.

Favorite Quotes

• No powdery residue. But definitely suspicious. Smell." He slides a makeup catalog from beneath a microscope made out of a plate, a toilet paper roll, and an intricate arrangement of pipe cleaners. "Any ideas?"I take a scientific whiff. "Gardenia. Looks like those Mary Kay terrorists are at it again.” 
• “Everyone says that the internet is so awesome because you can connect with people from all over the world, but I think it’s the opposite. The internet doesn’t make it easier to connect with anyone—it just makes it so you don’t really have to.” 
• “He turned the entire living room into an airport, complete with a four-foot-high LEGO traffic control tower and a fleet of paper planes, plastic army pilots taped safely into their cockpits. From deep beneath the couch, a large utility flashlight illuminates some sort of...landing strip? I crouch down for a better look.Oh. My. God.Stuck to the carpet in parallel, unbroken paths from one wall to the other are two lanes of brand-new maxi pads. Plastic dinosaurs stand guard at every fourth pad–triceratops and T rexes on one side, brontosauruses and pterodactyls on the other–protecting the airport from enemy aircraft and/or heavy flow.”

The Fault In Our Stars by John Green

Publisher: Dutton Books
Reading Level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 318 pages
Series: not a series

                Summary
Diagnosed with Stage IV thyroid cancer at 12, Hazel was prepared to die until, at 14, a medical miracle shrunk the tumours in her lungs... for now.
Two years post-miracle, sixteen-year-old Hazel is post-everything else, too; post-high school, post-friends and post-normalcy. And even though she could live for a long time (whatever that means), Hazel lives tethered to an oxygen tank, the tumours tenuously kept at bay with a constant chemical assault.
Enter Augustus Waters. A match made at cancer kid support group, Augustus is gorgeous, in remission, and shockingly to her, interested in Hazel. Being with Augustus is both an unexpected destination and a long-needed journey, pushing Hazel to re-examine how sickness and health, life and death, will define her and the legacy that everyone leaves behind.

Review
:'( I have read a lot of sad books but this has to be the saddest novel I have ever read, before even reaching the last chapter of this book I got tremendously mad at cancer, John Green, and even god for allowing things like cancer to even exist in this world. I'm glad that this novel is fictitious, but the sad thing is that kids with cancer live lives like the ones shown in this book everyday.
        I can't say that I enjoyed this novel. It has a little too much heartbreak for my taste but, The Fault in our Stars is very well written, considering that it is a middle aged man who writes from a sixteen year old girl's point-of-view.
        I loved Hazel and Augustus. Hazel Grace, for being so strong and keeping herself together most of the time, and Augustus for always looking at the better side of things. This book has taught me to be thankful for what I have and for what I don't. Most people don't stop to think about how much they have to be thankful for. Parents living in rural countries don't even have a slice of bread to give their children, and here, in most every household we complain when our parents force us to eat. This novel really humbles you, because when you think about it our lives are super easy compared to Hazel and Augustus's.
Someday when I'm smarter I would like to read this book again. I believe that there is more to be learned from this novel. If you plan on reading this book, I advise you to keep a box of kleenex near you. I recommend this book to those of you that like contemporary fiction.

Favorite Quotes:

• “Sometimes, you read a book and it fills you with this weird evangelical zeal, and you become convinced that the shattered world will never be put back together unless and until all living humans read the book.”
• “That's the thing about pain...it demands to be felt.”
• “What a slut time is. She screws everybody.”
• “Without pain, how could we know joy?"