A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray tells the story of Gemma. Gemma is a 16 year old girl raised in India, in the last 1800's, but sent to England after her mother is murdered. After Gemma's mother dies Gemma begins to have visions. These visions are often of terrible things. The visions are just one of the bad things in Gemma's life; she also is the newest student at Spence Academy. What's worse having to make new friends or having magical visions? When Gemma stumbles upon the diary of another girl who had magical abilities she begins to learn more about herself and her new found friends.
Pants on Fire by Meg Cabot is a pretty awesome tale. See the thing is this: Katie Ellison is a liar. She can't help it. Her life is built around all these little lies and that works great for her. Well, it does until the day Tommy Sullivan returns to town. Tommy Sullivan her one time best friend who was run out of town four years earlier. Only now Tommy's a hottie and Katie suddenly wants to tell everyone the truth, even if she has to give up everything else.
Princess Mia by Meg Cabot is the ninth book in the Princess Diaries series. I was thinking that the series is getting better and better as it goes along. Like Beth, I am am totally rooting for JP and I don't know what will happen with book 10 but I really hope that Mia doesn't forgive Lilly right away. Anyway, Mia's a bit depressed and she starts to see a shrink. But the craziest thing of all is this: Mia and Lana kind of become friends and Lana totally isn't that terrible. Color me shocked.Books Read in 2008:
Princess Mia by Meg Cabot
Pants on Fire by Meg Cabot
A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
Fly on the Wall by E. Lockhart
Stowaway by Karen Hesse
The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart.
Spike: Asylum by Brian Lynch and Franco Urru
5 comments:
I always kind of disliked Lilly b/c she truly is a jerk to Mia often. But of course since they've been friends for so long Mia never really noticed until other people pointed it out. So, yay.
What are your thoughts on A Great and Terrible Beauty? Everyone raves and raves over it but I was not that hot for it. It may be because I listened to it on audiobook and the person who read it was sort of annoying and also I get distracted from listening when I drive and sometimes miss things (this often happens for me--see: Looking for Alaska), but really, I wasn't that impressed with Gemma, and there wasn't nearly enough steamy fun stuff with Kartik or whatever his name is (I only heard it, never saw it spelled), and her 'friends' were frakking irritating. And the story was only eh. Maybe I would have been really sucked in if I had read it myself. If I give the second book a try I'll do that. Anyway, interested to hear your thoughts.
I think A Great and Terrible Beauty is pretty good. I agree with the horrible friends part and the not enough steaminess with Kartik but I think its a solid story. I do wish Gemma would figure some things out and not be so dumb all the time. I am reading the second book in the series, Rebel Angels, now and Gemma is still acting kind of dumb but I am hoping she figures it out soon. I mean, I am not that good at sussing out anything who-dun-it wise and even I can tell who the bad guy is. So, I am sort of reserving judgment until I finish this book and decide whether or not I care to read book three.
As for Lilly and Mia, I agree with you. Lilly so mean to Mia all the time and has no desire to even understand her. I think Lilly is one of those friends who you are friends with them because you always have been but then as you get older you grow apart because you have nothing in common. I think Tina is a much better friend to Mia than Lilly has ever been. I wish they had put Tina in the movies. Of course, I would have changed a lot about the movies. Heh.
Yeah, like making the second movie have ANYTHING AT ALL to do with the books? That would have been nice.
I am really thinking that my blah-ness about the GATB series is the result of listening to them. I think I lost a lot by listening b/c I occasionally zone out with my own driving thoughts and distractions. But it's also probably b/c Gemma acts so dumb sometimes too. I have blogged before about how one of my biggest YA book pet peeves is that the girls always seem stupid and take a year to figure out what the reader figures out on page 2 (see: all Meg Cabot books, even though I adore her and them--let's face it, Mia is pretty freaking blind to the obvious). On the other hand, most teenagers live in bubbles so I suppose it's somewhat true to life, and perhaps we notice it more b/c we, ahem, aren't exactly teens anymore (sigh).
And that was a nice long thesis for ya. Sorry!
I agree with you on the teen girls being stupid thing is bad. But I do think that teens in general do live in an "all about me" bubble that can make it hard for them to see the really obvious things (like the fact that JP was in love with Mia, which an fool could have figured out three books ago, including Lilly).
And, yes much of this perspective comes from not being a teen and not ever wanting to be a teen again.
As for the Princess Diaries movies, I can't even watch the second one because it's so terrible. And to think that Shonda Rhimes (creator of Grey's Anatomy) wrote that piece of junk. Aaaaaah! It drives me crazy.
I'm so sorry about your aunt....
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