Twilight--Stephanie Meyer

Title: Twilight
Author: Stephanie Meyer
Pages: 498 p.
Publisher: Little, Brown & Co.
ISBN: 0316160172

I don't know why it took so long for me to read this book. I mean, for me to pick it up in the first place. Once I started, I zipped through it.

Bella moves to a rainy, dismal town to stay with her Dad when her mom marries a traveling baseball player. At first she hates the town, until she discovers Edward--a strange, alluring boy that she can't stay away from. Turns out Edward is a vampire, but he's a "good vampire" that doesn't drink human blood as much as he may crave it. Much like Angel from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Edward drinks only animal blood and fights his desire for humans.

Bella and Edward fall in love, but being in love with a vampire has its obstacles.

When I say that I zipped through this book, I meant it. I loved it. I loved the unnatural forbidden relationship, much like Buffy and Angel, I loved Edward and his vampire family. The plot is interesting and thrilling and it's hard to put down the book. I can't wait to get my hands on New Moon--the sequel.

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Reading: King Dork--Frank Portman
On My Nightstand: More

Across the Wall--Garth Nix

Title: Across the Wall: A Tale of the Abhorsen and Other Stories
Author: Garth Nix
Pages: 305 p.
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: 0060747137

This is a collection of short stories that are either new--like Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case--or previously published--like most of the others. I only read the first one, the only Tale of the Abhorsen, Nicholas Sayre and the Creature in the Case.

Those of you that remember the Abhorsen series, will remember Nicholas Sayre as Sam's friend. This story is told from his perspective. He's back in Ancelstierre but yearns to go back to the Old Kingdom and see Sam and Lirael. He's given his chance when a mysterious free magic creature escapes from Ancelstierre and goes on a murderous rampage, heading for the Old Kingdom. Only Nick knows what the creature is and attempts to warn Lirael.

I liked the story, I liked reading Nick's side of things, but the very end was way too short. I wanted more between Nick and Lirael. I understand that this was just a story, and it was Nick's story of the creature, not a Lirael-Nick story, and I guess it's a good thing that I was left wanting more. But I really really hope I get more someday...

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Reading: King Dork--Frank Portman
On My Nightstand: more

Just Listen--Sarah Dessen

Title: Just Listen
Author: Sarah Dessen
Pages: 371 p
Publisher: Viking
ISBN: 0670061050

Annabel is a 17 year old girl with a lot of secrets. She doesn't see them as secrets, she just doesn't want to risk telling the truth and hurting someone's feelings. So she tells little white lies to make people feel better and supresses her own feelings. Until she meets Owen. Owen is brutally honest--because he has to be. If he's not honest he has anger problems and winds up punching people in the face. Being honest allows him to control his anger. They strike up a friendship and eventually a romance and help each other be better people.

I'm really not doing the plot any justice with that summary, but I'm somewhat tired and sick and groggy. I love Sarah Dessen, I always have. This one is no exception. It felt somewhat different from her previous stories-in a good way. I was dismayed at all the tiny editing problems--little words that were missing like "a" or "to"--but that's the editor's fault not really the author's. I devoured the book in 2 days and am ashamed to admit that I ignored my son during snack time so I could read it and wound up with crackers on the floor. But I just couldn't stop reading. Like the other Dessen books there's more than just a romance, there are family issues and friendship issues as well.

I'd recommend it to Dessen fans as well as junior and senior high girls. I think it might be a bit much for middle school kids.

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The Book of Night with Moon--Diane Duane

Title: The Book of Night with Moon
Author: Diane Duane
Pages: 390 p
Publisher: Warner Books
ISBN: 0446673021

This book is set in the same universe at Duane's Young Wizards series, but is about cat wizards instead of the human Nita and Kit. Nita and Kit do make a brief appearance, as well as the senior wizard Carl, but other than that it's all cat. It took me quite a while to get into the story. Cats are responsible for maintaining the transport gates at Penn and Grand Central Station that wizards use to make transits without having to use their own energy on transit spells. Something goes horrible wrong with one of the gates and the cats in charge have to go to the downside--the reality that our reality is based on--to see what the problem is. While there they run into even bigger problems. Once the story got going I was more interested in reading it and wound up finishing it quickly. I'm not much of a cat person, but I enjoyed reading their views on the inferior species--humans. I was surprised at how many references to cat balls there were, but they were funny so it was okay.

I don't think it's necessary to read this in order to appreciate the Young Wizards series. It was a good enough read once it got going, but not on par with the other books.

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