Gentlemen by Michael Northrop

It was the way it moved under the blankets, the way it shifted around. It seemed to have, I don't know, joints or something. I mean, furniture can have joints, like a lawn chair or whatever, but that was no frickin' lawn chair."
Mixer, Tommy, Bones, and Micheal (yes, it's spelled incorrectly. Blame his parents) are close friends. They're also not the type of people you mess with. Bones has been held back a year, and routinely beats up people for no apparent reason. Micheal's dad permanently damaged his, Micheal,'s face. Mixer gets in trouble for talking back to teachers. Tommy is... well, Tommy's nicer than the others, but still tough. Tommy, Mixer, and Micheal all have to go to another year of school. That's how they know Bones.
Everyone's scared of them.
Except for their English teacher. Their very weird English teacher. Who calls people like them "gentlemen" or the girls "ladies"?
And when Tommy mysteriously disappears one day after making trouble in math class (Darn that lisp of his), it looks suspiciously to Micheal, Bones, and Mixer, that their teacher knocked him off.
After all, what else could be in the bag?
As he goes along, Micheal learns what makes a friend, and what tears friends apart. He learns secrets about things he used to take for granted. He learns things aren't always as they seem.
First of all, was there a sale on commas? Second, that's a long way to go to say that the dude was broke and decided to duck his landlady. After an hour of that I needed a break and maybe an aspirin.
I got this book because, well, it has an interesting premise. An English teacher knocking off a student? A thing about friends? Mysterious circumstances? AWESOME! So I read it. And it was pretty good. Um... the ending is bizarre though. Just warning you. And there's swearing, violence, drinking, and smoking. So it's not the best role model book, either. But besides that, I really liked it. I'd give it about... three and a half stars.

The Straits by Jeremy Craig

"How much?"
"A grand." He looked at me, his eyes full of skepticism. I pulled out a wad of cash and handed it to him.
"You mind if I count it?"
"Go ahead."
Jim's life was completely changed with the hurricane that went through Florida. In one blow, he lost his sister and his mother. And he could have saved them. He could have helped them.
Several years later, he now lives in a "temporary" trailer park with his aunt. The previously unknown problem with "temporary" is now making itself heard:
they have to get out.
But when Jim loses his job at the construction firm, the only thing besides his aunt's construction of dog toys, it's going to be tricky. He doesn't want to end up being that homeless guy on the street.
So when the offer to join a high stakes gambling ring comes to him, he finds he has no choice to accept.
"So what you're saying is, after we do all this, we're still not going to know for certain how many sparrows there are?"
She thought about it for a second and then smiled. "Basically."
I liked this book a lot. It was an interesting book, with a plot that I haven't seen anywhere else. I've never been a big card player fan, and definitely not a fan of gambling (I'm still not), but this book was definitely interesting. It showed the struggles that Jim has to face to get him and his aunt out of the trailer. oh, and get revenge on his nemesis, AND get the girl, Kathy. Who happens to be his nemesis's friend.
I'd give this book around four stars.
Oh, and warning here: it has swearing. (I know that puts some people off, so I figured I'd warn you.) Swearing and smoking and underage drinking.

Dear readers of this blog

(IF we have any)

I, Cat, am completely aware that we have not had that many posts lately. I apologize sincerely for the fact that I have not posted a review in some time. I thank Angela GREATLY *pokes Angela* because she's awesome and has somehow found the time to post at least sometimes!

If you want a reason for this, I completely understand. In my case, and I'm pretty sure everyone else's case too, school has TAKEN OVER MY LIFE. I'm a freshman. I guess. Homeschooling=blurred line when it comes to grade level.  I have a LOT of homework and most of the things I've had time to read lately have been boring and unremarkable- for school purposes only. I really haven't had time to write a review, and most of the reviews I could have written would have been of no interest to you.

SO. Readers: Thanks for sticking around and reading this blog if you have, which I know some people are ending up here because, our page views haven't just stopped or anything. I'm going to try to post a review as soon as I can! (because I personally have not in a long time). Also, when summer comes or over Christmas break or something I'm going to try and increase my posting a lot!

LOVE, Cat, and probably the rest of the AMAZING people behind Books4hearts.

The Wager by Donna Jo Napoli

The moment felt classic. Recognizable. He could almost walk away from this trap. It had to be a trap. Did Pandora feel like this when she accepted the fateful box?
Don Giovanni has everything made for him. He's rich (at least he thinks he is), he has friends (or at least he thinks he does), people adore him (or, he thinks they do), and he's handsome (and so also does everyone else think.). But when a giant tsunami hits Sicily- and his town- his wealth is washed away just like the town. All of a sudden he's penniless, friendless, and a beggar in strange towns where no one knows who he is.
Until the man approaches him. He offers him a white purse that will contain as much money as Don Giovanni wants.
"But there's a catch."
The man is, in fact the devil. But instead of the classic "I give you this purse, you give me your soul," agreement, the devil offers something more interesting- to him. Don Giovanni can keep the purse, but he has to go three years, three months, and three days without washing, changing his clothes, trimming his beard, or combing his hair. If he can go that long, he'll be free AND he can keep the purse. If he breaks the rules? He forfeits his soul.
At first it's fairly easy. The money can pay for a room in the inn.. he doesn't even have to leave! But when he starts discouraging other customers, he learns it's a tad harder than it seems. And when people start running from him, when he starts reeking so bad he himself can't stand the stench, when he's shunned by everyone and everything except a dog named Cani, he learns just how horrible the wager he made is.
Freedom. Money could buy a slave freedom, but no amount of money could free Don Giovanni.
This was an excellent book. It is a fairy tale re-write (which of course gives it bonus points) of a fairy tale I love. And it takes place in Sicily. Which, according to the descriptions in this book, is lovely. Besides that, it was well written, and the author makes you feel very sympathetic for Don Giovanni. He's a kind person, really. For the first couple chapters, you are sort of "eh... he's a spoiled brat..." but then during the later chapters, you realize that he really changes and becomes, well, human again. I'd give this book five stars.

How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford

Ghost Boy: Nighty-night, Robot Girl.
Robot Girl: Nighty-night.
Ghost Boy is a liar, liar liar liar, I thought drowsily as I drifted off to sleep. He does too want a friend. Even if she is a little stiff. That night I dreamed of bridges made of diamonds.
Robot Girl isn't her name. Robot Girl is the name she uses for the radio. Her real name is Beatrice. Ghost Boy isn't his name. Ghost Boy is the name he uses for the radio. His real name is Jonah.
Both are fairly odd.
Stuck together because of the alphabet- "Szabo" and "Tate", at first they don't like each other. Bea thinks he's weird (which he is), and... we don't know what he thinks. He says he doesn't want a friend. But then he tells her- or, "Future Beatrice" tells her- of the Night Lights. A radio station that plays at, and a bit before, midnight.
This is their first connection.
Over time, they develop love. Not romance love, but love of friendship. They are connected by secrets, and the radio, by their need for each other.
I sometimes wonder whether radio geeks have some kind of symbol tattooed on their foreheads, or antennae growing out of their skulls, invisible to everyone except other radio geeks. they seem to find one another with shocking ease.
I really really enjoyed this book. It was funny at all the right bits (right after a truly emotional part), and it was definitely a thought provoking book. The characters were fantastic, and I truly became attached to them. The plot was, as far as I've read, unique, and the different dilemmas, while they definitely seemed surreal, were convincing enough to keep me reading. The ending is very bittersweet, and it made me cry. Overall, I'm going to give this book five stars.
"I think ghostliness is a good quality. I pretend I'm dead all the time."
"What?" He stopped rummaging through his locker to look at me full in the face at last.
"It helps me go to sleep."

The Secret Language of Girls by Frances O'Roark Dowell

Kate sat down on the top of the steps and began drinking her milk shake. Her next-door neighbor Courtney was standing in her front yard. Courtney was six, and she thought everything Kate did was terrific. Kate could dump a bucket of mud over her head and run in circles around her yard, and Courtney would say, I want to do that! Show me how to do that!
Kate and Marylin are best friends. They have lived on the same street for their entire lives. They compromise. They agree on who's good to kiss, and who isn't. They agree about things like who is stuck up and who isn't. And then a new girl moves in, and trouble starts. Or maybe it started long before. Who knows. But soon Marylin and Kate are experiencing drifting... Marylin is "growing up" and Kate still hates romance. They want to get their "language" back- the way they can understand each other with no words. But sometimes that's hard. And sometimes, sometimes change is a good thing. Both girls gain new friends, new interests, new outlooks, and learn to be individual.
Kate was amazed that little kids never seemed to care about what they wore. Once she had seen Courtney walk down the hall at school dressed in ballet slippers, overalls, and a sweater wrapped around her head like a turban. Courtney appeared to have no idea that at that moment she looked like the weirdest person in the world.
I had some issues with this book.
First, while overall, I think it has good messages, it was filled with the popularity stuff that I try to avoid. you know, the "he's a geek so you should hate him" and "She's a cheerleader so she's going to be amazing." I hate that stuff. I think this book was very contrary, because it was pointing at the messages "you should look beyond outward appearances," and yet it was actually shoving the "appearances are everything" at you. I did not like that. Second, I think the book gave a very unfair view of cheerleaders. They are not all uppity snobs. I know some cheerleaders- they're my friends. First, cheerleaders DO get along with geeks/nerds. Second, cheerleaders are NOT always smiling. Third, just because someone's a cheerleader doesn't mean they can't play basketball!!! golly.
So, overall, it wasn't a terrible book, but I didn't really like it. I'd give it about two stars. The two redeeming people in it were Paisley, Kate's new friend, and Petey, Marylin's brother. I liked Petey and Paisley a lot. :D