Gabby

=Gabby=

//Such a Pretty Girl// by Laura Weiss

**Review: (Jocelyn at teenbookreviewer.blogspot.com)**
New Jersey teenager Meredith was supposed to have nine years of safety from her father, so she'd be eighteen and out of the house when he was released from prison, but three years later, when Meredith is fifteen, her father gets out for good behavior. No matter what he did to Meredith and to other children before, Meredith's mother is more than ready to take him back. Meredith isn't alone, though. She has her grandmother, the mayor of the town, who wants Meredith to move in with her to escape her father. She has Andy, her best friend, the guy she is in love with, who was also scarred by Meredith's father as a child. She has Andy's mother, who moved across the street from Meredith's family just to keep other children from the horror from which she couldn't protect Andy. She has Nigel, a retired policemen who has a plan to get Meredith's father back in jail and away from children. Even though Meredith is far from alone, she still feels that way when she can't even count on the people every kid is supposed to be able to count on: her parents. Meredith wants to get her father back in prison. She wants her mother to go back to visiting him instead of having him in their house. She wants to be able to go into her own home without fear. She wants other kids to be safe, too. She doesn't know what that's going to take, and she's certainly not unafraid, but she isn't going to let him hurt her, or any other kids, again. Laura Wiess's characters are as well-written as the rest of the book, very realistic (in some cases, scarily so). They're three-dimensional characters in an equally (and, again, scarily) believable story that will certainly be a favorite of anyone who reads it. While I am so thankful that I cannot personally relate to this book, I think Laura Wiess did an amazing job at portraying the main character, Meredith's, feelings. I picked the book up not expecting to like it as much as I did. But the story gets you from the beginning and I finished reading in a day. I also loved that the story took place only over a few days and I haven't read many other books that are like this. The whole book leads up to a huge climax that you know is coming and I was shocked by the ending.
 * Why This Book is Important to me:**

Comment by Jenn Lehrman: This book was great. It's a short easy read that has so much emotion and action that takes place in such a small period of time that I couldnt put it down. It puts you in great suspense to what is to come at the end. This is a must read.

//I Am the Messenger// by Mark Zusak **Review: (Ann Gaines allreaders.com)** Ed Kennedy is 19 and very much aware of how little he has going for him. After all, both Salvador Dali and Bob Dylan were well on their way by the time they were his age. Ed? His little brother's a star at university. Ed himself is a reader, but has no hopes of going any further in school. He's lied about his age in order to get a job as a cab driver. His dad has died, an alcoholic. His chain-smoking mother wants him to do plenty of favors for her, but really doesn't care about him. Ed's out of the house, at least, living in a crummy little house with his huge and loveable but extremely smelly dog. He has a small circle of close friends. Marv's so obsessed with saving money that he drives a car that won't start nine times out of ten. Ritchie can't get it together enough to find a job. Audrey's a lovely thing (and how Ed loves her) but she's goes from one guy to the next, never letting anyone get too close. They get together mostly to play cards and once in a while to play soccer. Things are about to change for Ed, however. Inadvertently he stops a bank robbery. There's a story about him in the paper. Suddenly he receives a cryptic message - he's sent a playing card, the Ace of Diamonds, on which is written three addresses. Ed vacillates between wanting to find out what's going on in those houses and being afraid. But slowly he convinces himself to get involved in the lives of the people who live there, people who are also in desperate need to help. As the book progresses, Ed receives more messages. He meets a woman who's being raped by her husband, a girl who wants more than anything to run races, an old woman who's wandering in her memory, an immigrant family shunned by their neighbors.... Over time, Ed learns to see himself as a person capable of changing at least a tiny bit of the world.

I loved this book so much because of its overall meaning: anyone can make a difference. Eds character feels like nothing but a failure in his life and struggles to find himself and what his purpose is and i think many teens can relate to that. The characters Ed meets along the way are very realistic and its easy to become attached to them throughout the story. I loved all the quotes in this book. Zusak has a knack for getting the readers attention from the very start of the book and he keeps it intersting along the way with parts that not only made me cry, but made me laugh with his humourous tone that he uses through Eds character.
 * Why This Book is Important to me:**