Cathy's Book: If Found Call (650) 266-8233 by Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman

Overall Rating: 2 out of 10

I did not enjoy reading this book. It was confusing, unrealistic, and altogether boring. The book is in a format of the journal of Cathy, a failing highschool student and aspiring artist. Cathy's boyfriend, Victor, breaks up with her, and with the help of her best friend, Emma, she is determined to find out why. Little did she know, she would be plunged into a world of immortal ancestors, crime, and a fight to survive. Cathy also deals with a rocky relationship with her mom, fights with Emma, flunking school, and the death of her dad. And then there comes the twist that Emma's life is turned upside down when her father's job falls through. Furthermore, the characters are not fully developed. For example, Cathy's friend Emma is supposed to be an excellent student with the goal of having thirty million dollars by age thirty, and I understood that. Then, at the very end of the book, Emma is not only revealed to be British, but a bad cook too, and very worried about finances. Not only do readers not know the characters, but the things they do are hardly realistic. Cathy skips school every day - it is rare for her to attend. And she also breaks into a number of places with no problem at all. In addition, readers are under the impression that she is Asian, because of her drawings and references. But later in the book, she says she is white. The only good aspects of this novel are Cathy's humor, the doodles and comments in her journal, and the little flap on the inside cover containing documents, pictures and letters. Otherwise, the story was poorly constructed, the characters were under developed and the reader is thoroughly confused the whole entire time. For example, there are two IM conversations going on at once: one between Victor and Cathy, and one between Emma and Cathy. It is very hard to follow. Also, information regarding the mystery of Victor is very intricate and detailed. All in all, I do not reccomend this story. But, people who enjoy The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare, or The Uglies series by Scott Westerfield may like Cathy's Book.
Other books in the series: Cathy's Key, Cathy's Ring

The Host by Stephanie Meyer

Rating: 6 out of 10
       Stephanie Meyer's The Host was a compelling tale of love, war, and, of course, aliens. The main character, Wanda, is an alien from a species known as the souls. The souls invade Earth and take the body of humans. Wanda takes the body of a young girl, Melanie. However, Mel is not totally gone. She can still think, but cannot control her body. Mel can only feel, hear, and see what Wanda does. During the mental conversations that Mel and Wanda have, they begin to become allies against a mutual enemy, the Seeker, who is another alien. Wanda escapes her society of aliens and finds a refuge camp of humans where she must gain their trust in order to survive. Mel's old friends and family are there, including Jared, her boyfriend, and Jamie, her younger brother. Wanda develops a strong love for these two characters, as well as some of the other humans at the camp, including a friend named Ian. Wanda deals with conflicting loyalties and feelings at the refuge camp as well as a struggle to survive.
     Although they are very different, several aspects resonate in both Meyer's Twilight and The Host. For example, Wanda experiences forbidden love like Bella Swan. Jared is like Edward Cullen; Wanda loves him, but they could never be together. And then there's Ian. Ian is very similar to Jacob Black. Ian is Wanda's best friend, but he has stronger feelings for her that she cannot return, due to her love for Jared. Wanda herself is even like Bella. They are both stubborn and also choose to be with groups that they do not belong with. Wanda is an alien, yet chooses to live with humans and Bella is a human, but wants to join a family of vampires. Love acts as a strong theme in both stories, especially conflicting love.
     Meyer's The Host remains unique just the same. Her story is interesting and very different from anything I've ever read. Also, the perspective of The Host sets it apart from all other novels. Readers see the world from an alien's point of view, but Stephanie Meyer should have pursued this more and went into more detail about Wanda's past, which is touched upon, but only for moments. Additionally, the story contained many boring parts. Meyer extended many scenes that tired out after a while.
     This book will be a great read for anyone who enjoyed The Twilight Saga, or is interested in science fiction. But even for readers who are just looking for a interesting story, I strongly recommend The Host.

Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer

 Rating: 7 out of 10

When I chose this book, I chose it not only for the interesting cover, but for the unique plot as well. In short, during Miranda's sophomore year, the moon is hit by an asteroid and is knocked much closer to Earth. This leads to many natural disasters, such as volcano eruptions. Miranda experiences a near end to humanity. There's a lack of food, heat, and a breakout of a deadly flu. This story gained points for being very suspenseful, and containing unexpected twists in the plot as well as an array of interesting characters such as Matt and Johnny, Miranda's brothers. Additionally, readers were able to see Miranda's growth from a irresponsible child to an selfless adult. We experience the story head on, for its told through Miranda's journal. One of the authors most extraordinary feats, though, was creating the strong family bonds and realistic relationships. However, the story lacked some things that readers would certainly be interested in. Both of Miranda's best friends were mentioned about halfway through the book as well as her minor love interest. I would have enjoyed this better if the author pursued her teen social life, although there is the possibility it would have weakened the story. Furthermore, points were lost as the it was a bit repetitive and slightly boring at parts. Overall though, I definitely recommend Life As We Knew It, for it contains humor, tragedy, and adventure all rolled into one. Readers who enjoy science fiction, and novels like The War of The Worlds, will especially enjoy this.

Other Novels in the Series: The Dead and The Gone