DBR B-Day Challenge Review: Carbon Diaries 2015, by Saci Lloyd Review

Title: Carbon Diaries 2015

Author: Saci Lloyd

Publisher: Holiday House

MSRP (Hardback): $17.95

Pages (numbered): 330

Rating: * * */5 stars

Summary: The enviro's gone completely mad. After the Great Storm hit London, everyone was like, "It's 2015 already. Stop global warming now." So the gov volunteered Britain to be the stupid guinea pig freak and ration carbon while the rest of Europe flew to Ibiza on holiday.

At first it was weird- blackouts, looting, food shortages. But I still hads my lifeline- my band. the Dirty Angels. And the hope that Ravi would notice me. Eventually.

But then everything got bare twisted. All winter the country was a frozen tundra. Then after months of no rain, Europe literally caught fire, and the mayor had riot police shoot protesters with live bullets! I'll give him a carbon footprint- right up the arse.

Now, as I write this, the highest-category storm in history is headed straight for us. People have died all around me this year, and I'm dead scared. I just wish things would go back to normal, but I don't know what that means anymore.

MY REVIEW:

PLOT: The plot kind of skipped around, and I kept getting lost! I'd pick up where I'd left off and have no idea what the significance of what was happening was, or what had happened prior. BUT, when I knew what the heck was going on, it was exciting and a good theory on what will happen if we don't work to control global warming.

START/ENDING: Start (and most of the middle) I really didn't enjoy. Like I said, it was confusing and I kept getting lost. BUT (in most of these there will be a but) it had a fantastic ending and around page 200 I started really liking this book. However, 200 pages is too long to wait to like a book, in my opinion.

CHARACTERS: I didn't much like the characters. It's written in diary form, so it's not like there was much of an oppurtunity to get to know them, but what I did I didn't enjoy much. They were supposed to come off as quirky, original and real, as I guess was the intent, BUT (see?) they were just plain annoying, if you ask me. There was some good times though, where they were hilarious!

SETTING: The author did an excellent job with the setting of this book- it was thoroughly detailed, and wonderfully imagined, and totally true to the situation. More believable than most sci-fi books acheive.

WRITING: I wasn't much a fan of the writing- kind of blah, and she (Laura Brown, the main character writing the diary) used a lot of slang that I didn't know and even when I did got on my nerves majorly.

OVERALL/ ANYTHING ELSE?: Overall, I think it's something I'd recommend. Definitely not a favorite, but something that really makes you think. ANYTHING ELSE PART- I totally thought of the perfect theme song for this book!

Do The Panic, by Phantom Planet

I always want to do a little feature on my reviews with a theme song for each book, but few times can I get it right enough to do it. This one, though, I think I NAILED it *smug grin* :)

Ok, 3 books down, 5 to go...

Movies, Music and Mondays: The PHAAAANTOM OF THE OPERA IS HEEeeeEeRE...

Heylo people! I am SO totally excited right now, wanna guess why? *sigh* so many reasons...

I just found this really awesome photography technique called "bokeh" (Japanese for fuzzy) and I went on Flickr and found awesome pics using it, look for the collage soon

I just watched Degrassi Goes Hollywood (erm, plz to be not mocking mmkay? My guilty pleasure, like CocoPerez is too! Oh NO, I'm such a typical teenager, what hope is there for me?! ;) Just kidding, all) and was vaguely dissapointed in Ellie but not enough to keep me from watching more Degrassi

AND... most importantly,

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA IS IN ST. LOUIS, AND I'M GONNA SEE IT!

*ahem* Oops, sorry, caps got stuck there. *pats down hair*

But anyways, have you SEEN/READ this fantabulous thing? Readthebookwatchthemovie(s)seetheplayNOW! Drama, romance, mystery, an extremely brooding and therefore hot
"phantom"... and, y'know, some extremely campy singing in between.

AND I'm going to a town in St. L, whose name I forget, where I shall...

Go to bookstores
Go on a hunt for the perfect cupcake/coffee combo
And, most importantly...
go to a vinyl record store and buy the place out!!!! Thank you to Googel for all the wonderful maps.
(Note that all of these will involve obscene amounts of allowance spending!)
As seen in my Paper Towns review, I have recently acquired a penchant for the 80's (well, I always had it, but now it's more than just the movies, but also the music! Esp. the vinyls), sans the fashion choices *insert shudder here*, and I can't wait to start a record collection. Ooh, and they have CD's too. AND, I just discovered, movies. Note that this little extra tidbit just doubled the obscene allowance spending.

Ok, happy Monday (my history teacher always says that... and I always want to yell at her "WHAT'S SO GREAT ABOUT IT?" or some other, er, "WITTY" comeback of mine (:P)... but that would break the perfect and utter silence I have during the school day. Also, I get funny stares if I yell ;D), and may your movies, music, and all other Monday-related things be great.

Assigned Reading...

So really soon, in my English class (I have the same teacher as last year... *sob*), we are getting an assigned novel for assignment. ANOTHER thing to hate about that class. Last year, our two assigned reads were "The Great Gilly Hopkins", and "M.C. Higgins the Great", both of which were nothing but torture! I can only wonder what it is this year. I think Holes. I hope not! I'll just have to off my education if I will be forced through THAT torture!

Don't get me wrong, I love classics and all- but I resent the fact that just because it's a reeeeallly old book it's called a "classic" and thusly forced upon us until we claim to lovelovelove it. In truth, I think we should be able to read more contemporary teen fiction- something teens in these classes can relate to. A really great benifit of that is the fact that, by reading something we can relate to (let's be honest- Jane Austen is a lovely author, but can we really relate to the various social -isms and rules of conduct of the 1700's? Not me!)- say, maybe something by Sarah Dessen?- it might give students of today a love of reading, and maybe they won't resent it so much when they're older, having bad memories of The Bell Jar or Jane Eyre being forced upon them.

Do you have anything assigned to you to read? Do you like it so far? What would you rather have as an assignment, and how do you feel about required reading?

P.S. World, I think I just found my essay topic.

Movie Review: (500) Days of Summer

I just got back from the movies, after watching (500) Days of Summer. And I'm absolutely floored! I didn't think they make movies as good as this now (actually, at least 2 besides this one comes to mind- Whip-it! and Paper Heart- ah, 'tis a geek luvluvluv story I plan to see and lurve!), but obviously I was wrong.
As soon as it was five minutes in and they had their little Sid and Nancy breakup conversation at the diner, I knew this was a movie I would love. And I was right.
I kind of didn't want to see it at first, because I thought it would be yet another one of those sappy, oh-so-predictable love stories. And it wasn't- it was unexpected, utterly original, and just a story of... well, love that goes to deep to even do anything about it, so complicated and messy that you just have to move on.
At first, once it was over, I was a little angry. It seemed a bit anticlimactic. But now that I've thought about it it fits better with the story.
So overall, it's definitely something you should go see before it's out of theaters!
P.S. Another thing I love about this movie? Their love of The Smiths.

In My Mailbox: September 6

Thanks to The Story Siren for this cool little meme!

THE RECIEVED: None!

FROM THE LIBRARY:

Along for the Ride, by Sarah Dessen. YAY!!!! I FINALLY GOT IT! I was about to buy it, I was so desperate. But then the library called, and I squealed a little. I'm not a person who usually squeals with joy :)

Animal Farm, by George Orwell. I've been wanting to read this for a while, and for the first time ever I checked something out from the school library- this. And ma I say that they actually have a decent selection of books? It's truly amazing, for being just another middle school in Kentucky.

Sleeping Freshman Never Lie, by David Lubar. Also from the school library. I don't know if I'll finish it, I read the first few pages and wasn't exactly enthralled... but maybe it'll pick up?




THE BOUGHT:

Cathy's Book (I don't see the author's name on it!) I read about this trilogy on a blog somewhere... don't remember which one. I bought it on a random whim and have no idea what it's about- can anyone tell me?

How to Steal A Car, by Pete Hautman. Yay! It was between this, and "The Blonde of the Joke", and also "Imaginary Enemy" was a contender. I can't wait to read it, it sounds really cool and I love the cover, a gorgeous blue with a squad of police cars chasing a red car. Better than it sounds :P


Overall, it was a pretty good week (bookwise, at least!). So what'd everyone else get?

Waiting on Wednesday

Before I Fall, by Lauren Oliver, to be published by Harper Collins in March 2010

"What if you only had one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?Samantha Kingston has it all: the world’s most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High—from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life.Instead, it turns out to be her last. Then she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death—and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing."

I DESPERATELY WANT THIS BOOK!!!! Every time I see books coming out soon, I get all sad- I know I won't have the money for them. As is the case with this one.

Bookalicious just ran a review for it (omgomgomg how did she get this book!?!?!), go check it out for her thoughts :)

P.S. A cool book just released today, that I was going to feature (too late now!) is An Off Year, by Claire Zulkey. Go look at it! :)

Something, Maybe by Elizabeth Scott review

Title: Something, Maybe


Author: Elizabeth Scott


Publisher/Date: Simon Pulse, March 2009





MSRP (Hardback Edition): $17.99



Pages (numbered): 224



Rating: * * * */5

Plot: While it's definitely been done before, it wasn't boring, as others along these lines tend to be-- Ms. Scott did a lot with it ot make it good, and it still had great twists and turns that kept me laughing and flipping pages throughout the book.

Characters: Awesome characters! They all had great personalities, were enormously flawed (in the way you want to see, in a real sense) like us, and Hannah could have been a friend from school, telling me her story, for how much like me she was. And Finn... sigh... Finn was definitely the best male lead in a book I've read in a while!

Start/ending: Not a remarkable start, but it was *mostly* uphill from there. Mostly, meaning there was some corny conversations in between. But it had a good, final ending.

Writing: It doesn't blow you away or anything, but it was really funny and interesting- like my best friend wrote it :)

Overall/anything else?: While not my favorite Elizabeth Scott book, and not something truly remarkable, it was still an enjoyable, funny, romantic read that I would recommend.