Just Listen - Sarah Dessen

Last year, Annabel was "the girl who has everything"—at least that's the part she played in the television commercial for Kopf's Department Store. This year, she's the girl who has nothing: no best friend because mean-but-exciting Sophie dropped her, no peace at home since her older sister became anorexic, and no one to sit with at lunch. Until she meets Owen Armstrong. Tall, dark, and music-obsessed, Owen is a reformed bad boy with a commitment to truth-telling. With Owen's help,maybe Annabel can face what happened the night she and Sophie stopped being friends.

I really enjoyed this novel, Sarah Dessen is such a good role-model for teens and tweens. Most of her books are about acceptance and loving what's real, which is exactly what this book is about.

I fell in love with Owen, he was such a sweetheart and I loved that he wasn't the perfect guy, but the perfect one for her. The way he talked her her and healed her heart was just adorable and when she's finally learning the lesson she was supposed to, you just want to jump for joy and be a part in the party.

****

I'll Fly Away - Wally Lamb

With I'll Fly Away, Lamb offers readers a new volume of intimate pieces from the York workshop. Startling, heartbreaking, and inspiring, these stories are as varied as the individuals who wrote them, but each illuminates an important core truth: that a life can  be altered through self-awareness and the power of the written word.

Pretty good read - kind of hard to read at times but it's a short and quick book to get through because it's short stories. Some stories are the prisoners as children, some as teens, and some while in prison. I wanted to get it because I love Wally Lamb. He didn't write the stories but helped in editing the material.

*****

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - JK Rowling

Of course I needed to add this book on the archive ;) I read it the night it first came out and my love affair still isn't over with it. Some might disagree with me and not have liked the ending, but I thought it was good. While I was disappointed Harry didn't get with Luna and Draco didn't get with Hermione (yeah I'm a hopeless shipper!), I thought it ended the way it was destined.

I loved the nonstop action and the never ending 'poor Harry' lines I thought during the book! You can't help but to love Harry and I loved how nonchalant he was and how he always took his abilities in stride. I bouight the audiobook the same night as the book, and I still listen to it every night while I hit the sack! ;)

Now we need to convince Jo to write a series about the Marauder era! (More Snape/Lily please? Thank you!) ;D

*****

Mercy - Jodi Piccoult

 Police chief of a small Massachusetts town, Cameron McDonald makes the toughest arrest of his life when his own cousin Jamie comes to him and confesses outright that he has killed his terminally ill wife out of mercy.

Now, a heated murder trial plunges the town into upheaval, and drives a wedge into a contented marriage: Cameron, aiding the prosecution in their case against Jamie, is suddenly at odds with his devoted wife, Allie -- seduced by the idea of a man so in love with his wife that he'd grant all her wishes, even her wish to end her life. And when an inexplicable attraction leads to a shocking betrayal, Allie faces the hardest questions of the heart: when does love cross the line of moral obligation? And what does it mean to truly love another?

I thought this book was excellent. Cameron MacDonald is a chief in his small town when they discover the body of a dead woman in the truck with her husband. The man loved his wife so much that he was willing to grant her every wish, even if that was to end her life. It really challenges morality and how far someone would truly be willing to go for love.

***

This Lullaby - Sarah Dessen

When it comes to relationships, Remy doesn't mess around. After all, she's learned all there is to know from her mother, who's currently working on husband number five. But there's something about Dexter that seems to defy all of Remy's rules. He certainly doesn't seem like Mr. Right. For some reason, however, Remy just can't seem to shake him. Could it be that Remy's starting to understand what those love songs are all about?

I've read this one before in high school, but decided to pick it up again for a reread. I was just as impressed as I was the first time! I really enjoyed it and Remy is such a cynical person but you have to love her. She and Dexter are such an adorable match made in heaven!

*****