Size 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot

Size 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot.

Heather Wells Rocks!

Or, at least, she did. That was before she left the pop-idol life behind after she gained a dress size or two -- and lost a boyfriend, a recording contract, and her life savings (when Mom took the money and ran off to Argentina). Now that the glamour and glory days of endless mall appearances are in the past, Heather's perfectly happy with her new size 12 shape (the average for the American woman!) and her new job as an assistant dorm director at one of New York's top colleges. That is, until the dead body of a female student from Heather's residence hall is discovered at the bottom of an elevator shaft.

The cops and the college president are ready to chalk the death off as an accident, the result of reckless youthful mischief. But Heather knows teenage girls . . . and girls do not elevator surf. Yet no one wants to listen -- not the police, her colleagues, or the P.I. who owns the brownstone where she lives -- even when more students start turning up dead in equally ordinary and subtly sinister ways. So Heather makes the decision to take on yet another new career: as spunky girl detective!

But her new job comes with few benefits, no cheering crowds, and lots of liabilities, some of them potentially fatal. And nothing ticks off a killer more than a portly ex-pop star who's sticking her nose where it doesn't belong . . .

I love Meg Cabot and all that she writes. This was definitely no exception. I read it all in about three hours, most of which were interrupted because I was at work, but I have to say I enjoyed it a lot. She was definitely aiming at people, like me, who feel uncomfortable in their skin at a size 12 and trying to talk them into feeling better about themselves, but she did it in a very clever, mildly cute way.

The fact that I got to snitch it from the library because it was being discarded didn't hurt any either. I'm not fully sure where they send their discarded books, but I doubt they end up in the hands of a new reader, which is a little disappointing. I plan on either handing it to my little sister to read when I get home, or donating it. The cover is ratty and the pages are yellowed, but the binding isn't about to fall apart and someone else can definitely read it with no problems. (I suppose the BBQ smothered book might be a different problem.)

The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff

The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff

The Ninth Legion marched into the mists of Northern Britain—and they were never seen again. Four thousand men disappeared and their eagle standard was lost. It’s a mystery that’s never been solved, until now . . .

Marcus has to find out what happened to his father, who led the legion. So he sets out into the unknown, on a quest so dangerous that nobody expects him to return.

Is it wrong to find that summary horribly lacking for what actually occurs in the book? At heart, this book is a bromance against odds, and a story of devoted friendship and reads a lot like a coming of age novel set in Roman held Britannia. The main plot point may be Marcus and Esca on a mission to reclaim the lost eagle standard, it's really a story about discovering what's important to a person and how to overcome past losses and moving forward from them.

Not So Quiet: Stepdaughters of War by Helen Zenna Smith

Not So Quiet: Stepdaughters of War by Helen Zenna Smith

This story offers a rare, funny, bitter, feminist look at war from women actively engaged in it. Published in London in 1930, Not So Quiet...(on the Western Front) is a novel in autobiographical guise that describes a group of British women ambulance drivers on the French front lines during World War 1. As Voluntary Aid Detachment workers, the women pay for the privilege of driving the wounded through shell fire in the freezing cold, on no sleep and an inedible diet, under the watchful eye of their punishing commandant, nicknamed Mrs. Bitch.

This book was assigned to me for the women and gender studies course I had to drop from last semester due to work overload, but I had been really eager to read it when I first got it. Fortunately, I got the pleasure to finally sit down with it while flying home, and coincidentally back to school.

It's one of those grittier war books where you just know the main character shall either be dead, or all her friends will be and the journey that it takes to get there will be godawful. This summary was entirely accurate for what the book tells the story of, so I'd suggest finding something lighter to read on the side, or you'll be in a dark mood for the better part of a day.

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner & Ruined by Paula Morris

The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner

"I can steal anything."

After Gen's bragging lands him in the king's prison, the chances of escape look slim. Then the king's scholar, the magus, needs the thief's skill for a seemingly impossible task -- to steal a hidden treasure from another land.

To the magus, Gen is just a tool. But Gen is a trickster and a survivor with a plan of his own.

Ruined by Paula Morris

Rebecca couldn't feel more out of place in New Orleans. She's staying in a creepy house with her aunt, who reads tarot cards. And at the snooty prep school, a pack of filthy-rich girls treat Rebecca like she's invisible. Only gorgeous, unavailable Anton Grey gives Rebecca the time of day, but she wonders if he's got a hidden agenda.

Then one night, among the oak trees in Lafayette Cemetery, Rebecca makes a friend. Sweet, mysterious Lisette is eager to show Rebecca the nooks and crannies of New Orleans. There's just one catch.

Lisette is a ghost.

A ghost with a deep, dark secret, and a serious score to settle.

As Rebecca is drawn deeper into a web of old curses and cryptic customs, she also uncovers startling truths about her own history. Will Rebecca be able to right the wrongs of the past, or has everything been ruined beyond repair?

I highly recommend both. They're fast, enticing reads and you end up racing through simply to see how they're going to end and both have whalloping plot twists, though I found I was guessing at Ruined's twist about halfway through and was eager for it to be revealed.

The Thief is the first novel in a series, but it can very easily stand alone and I find that to be a good thing in it's favor. There's plenty of room for it to continue, but there aren't any glaring cliff hangers left that might irritate a casual reader. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the next three in the series as soon as I can.

Is there a fandom for these books yet? I feel like there must be somewhere, hidden. Tell me I'm not wrong.

The Expressologist by Kristina Springer

What’s your drink of choice? Is it a small pumpkin spice latte? Then you’re lots of fun and a bit sassy. Or a medium americano? You prefer simplicity in life. Or perhaps it’s a small decaf soy sugar-free hazelnut caffe latte? Some might call you a yuppie. Seventeen-year-old barista Jane Turner has this theory that you can tell a lot about a person by their regular coffee drink. She scribbles it all down in a notebook and calls it Espressology. So it’s not a totally crazy idea when Jane starts hooking up some of her friends based on their coffee orders. Like her best friend, Em, a medium hot chocolate, and Cam, a toffee nut latte. But when her boss, Derek, gets wind of Jane’s Espressology, he makes it an in-store holiday promotion, promising customers their perfect matches for the price of their favorite coffee. Things are going better than Derek could ever have hoped, so why is Jane so freaked out? Does it have anything to do with Em dating Cam? She’s the one who set them up She should be happy for them, right?

Good, quick read if you're like me and love coffee drinks and silly YA romance novels with plot twists you can see miles off, which, let's be honest, I completely do. This was a cute, little love story set up around matchmaking through coffee orders. There was nothing here I disliked. It took me about three hours to read the whole book while working.

Eyes Like Stars & Perchance to Dream by Lisa Mantchev

Eyes Like Stars and Perchance to Dream by Lisa Mantchev

I can't tell you how much I love these two books. They're probably by and far the ones I enjoyed the most in the past two months. Some people apparently have issues following certain parts of the story, or trying to understand the setting, but I didn't encounter those issues. The world building is gorgeous. If you've ever been interested in theatre or part of a play, you'll be in love.

I could make a gushing post about this trilogy (The 3rd book comes out next year) but I'll leave you all with both summaries instead. They say it better than I can.


Eyes Like Stars:

All her world’s a stage

Enter Stage Right

Beatrice Shakespeare Smith (Bertie): Our heroine.

Nate: A dashing pirate who will do anything to protect Bertie.

Cobweb, Moth, Mustardseed, and Peaseblossom: Four tiny, mischievous fairies, and Bertie’s loyal sidekicks.

Ariel: A seductive air spirit. Disaster follows in his wake, but Bertie simply cannot resist him.

Welcome to the Théâtre Illuminata, where the characters of every play ever written can be found behind the curtain. The actors are bound to the Théâtre by The Book, an ancient and magical tome of scripts. Bertie is not one of the actors, but they are her family. And she is about to lose them all because The Book has been threatened, and along with it the Théâtre. It’s the only home Bertie has ever known, and she has to find a way to save it. But first, there’s the small problem of two handsome men, both vying for her attention. The course of true love never did run smooth. . . .

Perchance to Dream:

Act Two, Scene One

Growing up in the enchanted Thèâtre Illuminata, Beatrice Shakespeare Smith learned everything about every play ever written. She knew the Players and their parts, but she didn’t know that she, too, had magic. Now, she is the Mistress of Revels, the Teller of Tales, and determined to follow her stars. She is ready for the outside world.

Enter BERTIE AND COMPANY

But the outside world soon proves more topsy-turvy than any stage production. Bertie can make things happen by writing them, but outside the protective walls of the Thèâtre, nothing goes as planned. And her magic cannot help her make a decision between—

Nate: Her suave and swashbuckling pirate, now in mortal peril.

Ariel: A brooding, yet seductive, air spirit whose true motives remain unclear.

When Nate is kidnapped and taken prisoner by the Sea Goddess, only Bertie can free him. She and her fairy sidekicks embark on a journey aboard the Thèâtre’s caravan, using Bertie’s word magic to guide them. Along the way, they collect a sneak-thief, who has in his possession something most valuable, and meet The Mysterious Stranger, Bertie’s father—and the creator of the scrimshaw medallion. Bertie’s dreams are haunted by Nate, whose love for Bertie is keeping him alive, but in the daytime, it’s Ariel who is tantalizingly close, and the one she is falling for. Who does Bertie love the most? And will her magic be powerful enough to save her once she enters the Sea Goddess’s lair?

A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper

Finished another book yesterday which I quite enjoyed.


A Brief History of Montmaray by Michelle Cooper

“There’s a fine line between gossip and history, when one is talking about kings.”

Sophie Fitzosborne lives in a crumbling castle in the tiny island kingdom of Montmaray with her eccentric and impoverished royal family. When she receives a journal for her sixteenth birthday, Sophie decides to chronicle day-to-day life on the island. But this is 1936, and the news that trickles in from the mainland reveals a world on the brink of war. The politics of Europe seem far away from their remote island—until two German officers land a boat on Montmaray. And then suddenly politics become very personal indeed.

A Brief History of Montmaray is a heart-stopping tale of loyalty, love, and loss, and of fighting to hold on to home when the world is exploding all around you.