It gets better the longer you read it.

It Gets Better: Coming Out, Overcoming Bullying, and Creating a Life Worth Living by Dan Savage
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Overall this book left me with mixed emotions which is probably because its all about mixed emotions. On one hand I found it to be a very dismal subject and on the other it gave hope and promise. There were some upsetting stories about the persecution gay people or people perceived to be gay had to endure. But at the same time many of the stories had positive endings or messages that attempted to persuade the readers that life does get better despite the bullying.

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It made me dizzy.

Dizzy in Your Eyes: Poems about Love by Pat Mora
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book of poetry from the very first. The first poem is about trying to write an email but being unable to do anything except type the loved one's name. I felt this way about my husband back when we were dating. I think you could find at least one love poem in here that speaks to you! The poems are not just about romantic love which is nice as well as the different stages of love.

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This isn't code.

Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two by Joseph Bruchac
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Readers, this book is a great book written in the style of a storyteller. It reminded me heavily of listening to my own grandfather tell the tales of his youth. Ned Begay tells his story of becoming a Code Talker during World War II in this historical fiction novel. He begins with his stories of going to school as a child to joining the Marines. Teens will enjoy reading this novel if they enjoy multicultural stories or World War II.

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Flying through this book!

Flygirl by Sherri L. Smith
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. The actual events of the WASP pilots was realistic and based on actual women pilots. It seemed to be well researched as the events of the book were true to the events it was based upon during WWII. It was a believeable book and for that I enjoyed it. Teens will enjoy this book particularly if they are interested in history.

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Unspeakable Evil is Unspeakably Funny

I am a Genius of Unspeakable Evil and I Want to Be Your Class President by Josh Lieb
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I truly enjoyed this book. Oliver is unspeakably evil and does want to be class president. But is running for class president worth losing a grip on his evil empire? Oliver portrays the ultimate dumb kid persona all the while running an evil empire. He begins a foray into school politics in an effort to cause unspeakable evil in his father's life but things begin to unravel as the election draws near. The book starts out with hilarity as we get a glimpse of Oliver's mind but as he loses his focus on his evil empire the book becomes less funny and more chaotic exactly as Oliver must feel. I would most definitly recommend this book to any parent who wants to encourage their reluctant readers to read. It has pictures, weird chapters (some with only two words!), scenes laid out in dramatic form, and footnotes that will make you laugh!

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I am finally getting the hang of this blog! Goodreads.com even gives me the neat code to put book reviews I do there into my blog with my ratings and book covers!

Lost Pride

I read Pride of Baghdad by Brian K. Vaughan, a graphic novel with the art by Niko Henrichon.  The story is based on the fact that a pride of lions escaped a zoo in Baghdad when the Americans were bombing.  If you expect a true to life story of the zoo animals roaming the city you're going to be very disappointed.  The main characters are lions, that much is true, but the lions are extremely humanized so much as to be talking to and making plans with antelope.  There were several events that didn't seem to progress the plot or if it did progress the plot did so awkwardly.  When Ali, the cub, is taken by the monkeys it only serves to get Safa to leave the zoo but overall I'm not sure what the point was for Ali to be kidnapped by monkeys.  And when Safa flashes back to remember a rape...well I had NO IDEA how that helped the plot at all other than to show her reluctance in leaving the safety of the zoo.  I'm sure this is an allegory full of double meanings that most young adults will not understand and frankly I didn't get most of them right away either.  The best part of the entire book was the wonderful art.  I really liked the artists ability to put expressions on the lions faces without making them look too human.