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Frostbite (Vampire Academy, #2), by Richelle Mead

Release Date: April 19th, 2008
Publisher: Razorbill
Age Group: Young Adult
Categories: Paranormal, Vampires, Romance, Action, Vampire Academy
Source: Web
Overall: 5 Monkeys
Interest: Series
Date Read: December 2010

Summary from Goodreads:

Rose loves Dimitri, Dimitri might love Tasha, and Mason would die to be with Rose…
It's winter break at St. Vladimir's, but Rose is feeling anything but festive. A massive Strigoi attack has put the school on high alert, and now the Academy's crawling with Guardians—including Rose's hard-hitting mother, Janine Hathaway. And if hand-to-hand combat with her mom wasn't bad enough, Rose's tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason's got a huge crush on her, and Rose keeps getting stuck in Lissa's head while she's making out with her boyfriend, Christian! The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy's not taking any risks… This year, St. Vlad's annual holiday ski trip is mandatory.
But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only create the illusion of safety. When three friends run away in an offensive move against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. But heroism rarely comes without a price…

My Opinion:

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Wintergirls, by Laurie Halse Anderson

Release Date: March 19th, 2009
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Age Group: Young Adult
Overall: 5 Monkeys
Source: Bought

Summary from Goodreads:

“Dead girl walking,” the boys say in the halls.
“Tell us your secret,” the girls whisper, one toilet to another.
I am that girl.
I am the space between my thighs, daylight shining through.
I am the bones they want, wired on a porcelain frame.

Lia and Cassie were best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies. But now Cassie is dead. Lia's mother is busy saving other people's lives. Her father is away on business. Her step-mother is clueless. And the voice inside Lia's head keeps telling her to remain in control, stay strong, lose more, weigh less. If she keeps on going this way—thin, thinner, thinnest—maybe she'll disappear altogether.

In her most emotionally wrenching, lyrically written book since the National Book Award finalist Speak, best-selling author Laurie Halse Anderson explores one girl's chilling descent into the all-consuming vortex of anorexia.

My Opinion: 

I'd never read anything by LHA, and I think this was a good book to start. Wintergirls shows us the inner workings of an anorexic girl's mind very clearly. We get to see why they live like they do, what drives them -in this case, what drove Lia, the MC- to develop an eating disorder.

I was astounded by Lia and Cassie's stories, how they made a pact to be the thinnest girls in school at the mere age of twelve. Twelve! When I was twelve, I was worried about which secondary school I'd get into the following year, not about how thin I was.

The present tense narrative wasn't my cup of tea in this book. I kept feeling like there was something off about it. But I did love how Lia told her story, how she felt like no one understood her.

After Cassie dies, Lia is haunted by the memory of her. She sees Cassie every night, and Cassie always tries to take her with her, to the other side.
There was always something new to keep you wanting to read more, the pace wasn't too fast, and the writing was amazing.

One thing I loved was the relationship Lia had with her little sister, Emma. Emma's nine years old and adores Lia. She's basically the only reason Lia makes some of her best choices.

It's a short book, which you can read in a sitting or two, and very insightful. I'd recommend it to anyone who knows someone with an eating disorder. It might help you understand them better.

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Other Titles in the Series: Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices, #2), Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices, #3)


Summary from Goodreads:


Magic is dangerous--but love is more dangerous still.

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by--and torn between--two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world... and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

My Opinion:

What an awesome book! Truly amazing; I'm embarrassed to say that this was my first Clare book (if you don't count her fanfiction, which is amazing as well). 

The the first book in the prequel series to The Mortal Instruments is beautifull

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Elixir (Elixir #1), by Hilary Duff, Elise Allen (Contributor)

Other Titles in the Series: ?


Summary from Goodreads:

As the daughter of a renowned surgeon and a prominent Washington D.C. politician, Clea Raymond has felt the glare of the spotlight her entire life. And though she dreads the paparazzi who track her every move, she herself is a talented photojournalist who takes refuge in a career that allows her to travel to the most exotic parts of the world.

But after Clea’s father disappears while on a humanitarian mission, eerie, shadowy images of a strange and beautiful young man begin to appear in Clea’s photos—a man she has never seen in her life.

When Clea suddenly encounters this man in person she is stunned—and feels an immediate and powerful connection. As they grow closer, they are drawn deep into the mystery behind her father’s disappearance and discover the centuries-old truth behind their intense bond.

Torn by a dangerous love triangle and haunted by a powerful secret that holds their fate, together they race against time to unravel their past in order to save their future—and their lives.

When I first heard Hilary Duff was releasing a book, I thought, "Yeah, right. How much did she actually write?". But now I can definitely see that (with help), she's the one who wrote it. Elise Allen helped, how much, we don't know. 

So you've read the summary, Clea is a rich girl who travels the world, camera in hand, and takes pictures of everything she sees. Until a man starts showing up in her photos, and she can't explain how he's there. 

Ben and Rayna are her friends, Rayna is your typical "OH MY GOSH, tell me now, what happened with that guy!" sort of girl, and Ben is more reserved, nerdy and quiet. 

Only, the man isn't just in her photos, but in her

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Other Titles in the Series: Red Glove (The Curse Workers #2)

Summary from Goodreads:

Cassel comes from a family of curse workers -- people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail -- he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago.Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen.
Holly Black has created a gripping tale of mobsters and dark magic where a single touch can bring love -- or death -- and your dreams might be more real than your memories.