The Bookworm is in London

Hey Bookworms,

I am really sorry that I haven't posted much this month. I was on vacation last week in London and I had no internet connection whatsoever, besides the occasional internet café.

London was amazing and I was very busy sightseeing, but, I did manage to go into a couple of bookstores there and I bought the two first books of The Hunger Games trilogy. The Hunger Games is a trilogy that was kindly reccomended to me by The Anonymous Pug. Thanks Anonymous Pug! I have started to read the first book and it is very good. It is not the type of book that I am used to but it is a good change. 

In London I went to some markets (like flee markets) which had lots of used books.  At one market (at Greenwich) saw a box set of 10 Horrible Histories and got all ten of them for the price of one! The books are brand new and I have all ready whipped through one of them! They are just short reads that you pick up every once and a while. They talk about all of the bad things that happened during kings and queens reigns (boys would like them too). They are great to read on a grey day!

At another market (this one on the Southbank-near the OXO tower where I later had lunch) I passed by a whole bunch of books laid out on tables. The books were mainly for adults but a couple of books caught my eye. There were some books about old kings and queens of England that looked interesting, but I didn't end up buying any of them.

I did of course go into a couple WHSmiths, but I found that all of the books there were to expensive and that they didn't have most of the books that I was looking for.  Waterstones was a whole different experience--they had lots off good deals (like buy get one for £1) and a better selection. Why isn't there one in Paris?!

I think that after being in London and seeing all of the books and bookstores that they have, I will admit that I love Waterstones and I am going to add it to my 'Where I Get My Books' page.

I hope that all of the Bookworms out there are reading a lot and having a great school year!

-Gia

Every Soul A Star

Every Soul A Star

By Wendy Mass

Summary:

Three people will be brought together for an eclipse: Ally, Bree and Jack. Are they friends? No.  Are they related?  No.  What do they have in common? Nothing.

Ally has lived at Moon Shadow Campground (her family's campground) all of her life, and she is interested in nothing but stars, galaxies and anything in the sky. The campground is in the middle of nowhere. It is a campground built 'under the stars' and it focuses on teaching people what is in the sky (like stars). Since Ally is in the middle of nowhere she doesn't have any friends.

Bree has spent her life training to be a model. She is the most popular girl in her class, is gorgeous and has a perfect modern life and likes to live in her own world and in her own way. She is not the best student be makes it through life easily enough. All Bree really needs is to calm down and slow down with her social life.

Jack lives with his mum and his extremely popular brother, Mike. He has lived with his dad, SD1 (Step dad number 1) SD2, SD3 and his mom is looking for SD4. He spends most of his life in his tree house reading and eating chips and drinking orange pop. He is lonely, fails all of his classes and is bored by his life and his over-popular brother. All that Jack needs is friends.

But this summer Bree and Jack end up at the Moon Shadow Campground and meet Ally. Bree wants to leave the camp because it disgusts her and Jack doesn't know or want to know anything about the stars.  

When a powerful event pulls these three teens together they realize that they could maybe help each other find their true selves. 

In the middle of one of the solar systems most incredible moments, 3 people will develop an amazing friendship and find out who they really are... Join them on their journey.

Review:

Before I start my review, I would like to thank my grandmother for sending me this book when she knew that I was in a book rut and didn't know what to read. She sent me this book by Wendy Mass, one of my favorite authors.  Every Soul a Star is probably the best book that I have read all year. The importance of friendship was shown very, very well, but this book also reminded me that a very different people could be friends, no matter what their background. 

Every Soul A Star also had an educational side to it. I learnt a LOT about galaxies. Ally is always telling us cool facts about stars and planets, so along the way of this amazing story we learn a bit of astronomy!

Another thing that I really liked about Every Soul A Star, was reading about how Bree changed so much throughout the story. She changed just by seeing a different side of the world and by making good friends. Bree started to make better choices in life and decided to lie low on always being the center of attention. It made me think a lot about the fact that there are many, many different types of people in the world and that some of them want to change, and that sharing a bit of your own knowledge can give others a different way to look at things. 

Jack has a very different life compared to Ally and Bree, because he has to go through a worried life. He doesn't have a dad anymore and he is at an age that he needs one to be around more than ever, so for me, it is neat to compare his life and his actions to ones of other boys his age. 

I think that having three extremely different characters in this book, with three very different personalities was a good idea. Mainly because, I think that three personalities plus a great story, is enough to make a great, fun to read and adventurous book. 

The two Wendy Mass books that I have read, both are books that show the importance of friendship, and they each have an adventurous twist to them. I have to say though, that Every Soul A Star was just a bit better, because there was an educational side of the story and I think that every book should teach you something. It just makes the book even better...

Recommended to any tween aged 12+

336 pages