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=__The Five People You Meet in Heaven__= =review from Goodreads= From the author of the phenomenal #1 //New York Times// bestseller //Tuesdays with Morrie,// a novel that explores the unexpected connections of our lives, and the idea that heaven is more than a place; it's an answer.

Eddie is a wounded war veteran, an old man who has lived, in his mind, an uninspired life. His job is fixing rides at a seaside amusement park. On his 83rd birthday, a tragic accident kills him as he tries to save a little girl from a falling cart. He awakes in the afterlife, where he learns that heaven is not a destination. It's a place where your life is explained to you by five people, some of whom you knew, others who may have been strangers. One by one, from childhood to soldier to old age, Eddie's five people revisit their connections to him on earth, illuminating the mysteries of his "meaningless" life, and revealing the haunting secret behind the eternal question: "Why was I here?"

This book is important to me because I really enjoy the way Mitch Albom (the author) describes the afterlife, because I've never imagined it that way. The way that it explains how everyone's lives are intertwined and the endless ways strangers can change each others lives is fascinating to me. It changed the way I look at life and human interactions.

=__Divergent__= =Review from The Book Smugglers= > //In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.// > During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she’s chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she’s kept hidden from everyone because she’s been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves. . . or it might destroy her. > Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

This is one of my important books because I am a little obsessed with distopian fiction. I love the way each of the factions represent a different human quality, yet can't help thinking that no one can belong in just one of them the way they do in the book. Amazing sequel (which is hard to come by) with great cliff hangers! I love how it makes you think "What would I do in that situation?" and "Which faction would I fit into?". The whole plot was very well thought out.

=__This Lullaby__= =Review from Teen Book Review= Sarah Dessen’s __This Lullaby__ is one of the best teen books I’ve ever read. It’s the story of Remy, a girl who has no faith in love. Part of this is because her own father never even saw her, only wrote a now-famous song, called “This Lullaby,” about her before he died. It certainly doesn’t help that her mother has been married four times, and, at the beginning of the novel, is about to have her fifth wedding. Remy says about her mother’s marriages, “She takes on husbands the way other people change their hair color: out of boredom, listlessness, or just feeling that this next one will fix everything, once and for all.” Remy likes to feel in control of things when she’s got a boyfriend. She knows all about getting into relationships, the first romantic rush, and ending them before there’s any emotional attachment. She’s almost always the one to dump guys, not the other way around. She’s got plenty of pratice at it, too. One day, at the car dealership owned by her mother’s next husband, she meets a guy named Dexter. He’s very determined to get to know Remy, and, at first, she thinks he’s ridiculous and ignores him. Dexter, however, is persistent. When the two finally get together, everyone is shocked that Remy’s staying in the relationship. Dexter is so many things Remy could never put up with. He’s messy and impulsive, but, most of all, he’s a musician. Until Dexter came along, Remy and a no musician rule, and now she’s broken it. Signs point to Remy ending this relationship and not looking back. Everyone thinks that’s what will happen. Everyone except Dexter, who wants it to be more than a summer thing, who has faith in their relationship. How will it all end?

This is one of my important books because I find it really easy to relate to Remy. Our families are similar, but naturally hers is a bit more extreme than mine; however, having separated parents leads to growing up with a line of their boyfriends/girlfriends, and after a while you come to think that people just come and go. The book helped me realize that the right people can be permanent. The first romance novel I've read in a while, and I was pleasently surprized by how realistic and non-mushiness of it all.

= checked by Mrs. J 9/28/12 45/45 points =

=I really enjoyed reading __This Lullaby__, normally I don't like romance novels and romance in general makes me wanna gag but this wasn't in your face with mushiness! it discussed real family issues which I could also relate to much like remy my parents are seperated and have new significant others. it was a nice light read to start of my year. - tralala julia :) /10 pts from Mrs J to JH=