Mrs.+Neary+7

=Mrs. Neary's Important Book=

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[|Take Me There] by [|Carolee Dean] My rating: [|4 of 5 stars] I so wanted to give this book 5 stars. I loved the main character, Dylan. He had a horrible life and he always wanted to make the right choices, but trouble seems to follow him. Dylan Dawson's narration goes back and forth in time. Dylan's father is in jail, Dylan was six when his father went to jail and is on death row for killing a police officer who was also his friend. Dylan's father was selling drugs on the side and since he went to jail any information he wanted about his father was not provided by his mother, grandmother, and uncle. In the present, Dyland and his friend Wade are running from a drug lord Two Tone but Dylan is also trying to find his father in the Texas jail to ask his father if he was born "bad" and would he ever find happiness. Even more important than his unfortunate life is his deep love for Jess. Dylan has loved her since he was 12 years old and Jess has dropped in and out of his life over the years, but Dylan knows he is not good for her and tries to stay away but life just isn't helping him. Even after he tells Jess trouble seems to follow him and she should just stay away, and Jess tells him despite his history, he is decent,real and genuine. I love the way Dylan speaks and thinks. "There was a light in her eyes that reached all the way to the corners of my soul, telling me that I could start over. That I could leave my past behind and be worthy of a girl like Jess. It was like a small explosion shaking me all the way down to my roots." I had so many passages marked throughout this book where I was just so moved by Dylan's plight and his love for Jess. I wanted him to get the girl, have a happy life and leave all his trouble behind. A really, really, really good book (guys and girls will love it) and a PA Young Reader's Choice title for this year!
 * This book is important to me** because it showed me there are teens who struggle daily with bad choices, bad situations and bad breaks in life, BUT they never give up. The main character, Dylan Dawson is an example of someone who has no self-confidence because of the many curve balls life throws at him again and again. He tells it like it is but he always holds out hope and I think this is such an important life lesson for teens today, to always have HOPE no matter what.

[|Something Like Fate] by [|Susane Colasanti] My rating: [|5 of 5 stars]

The characters in this romance novel are all really finely drawn by Colasanti and I found Lani very believable as a teen who doesn't follow the crowd and realizes she has angered friends by distancing herself (they think Lani thinks she is too good for them) and becoming very involved in her own club to save the earth. Her good friend, Blake is gay but hides it for fear of his father's anger. Lani and Blake are compulsive about checking their horoscopes and Lani truly believes in fate (hence the title). As the narrator, we find out from Lani about how her best friend, Erin, saved her when they were younger and they have been inseparable since. Lani has also become friends with Danielle in her ecology club. But Lani is insecure and also unaware of herself as being interesting to guys. She has never had a real boyfriend and when she meets Erin's latest flame, Jason, she has no reason to believe he might be interested in her. But it becomes obvious to Blake that Jason is interested in Lani and when they start hanging out together, Lani likes Jason but just sees him as a friend and nothing more. It is when Jason finally tells Lani he cares about Lani, that things get really interesting. Jason is a great guy;athletic, funny, a mentor to younger kids and a lifeguard during the summer. With only 2 months left before summer, Lani and Jason stay friendly; when Erin leaves for summer camp, Jason breaks up with her in an email and Lani and Jason begin seeing each other and it is a pretty perfect summer, what will happen when Erin returns? A great book for girls.


 * Why this story is important to me:** I found the dynamics between the characters was so important in terms of friendships. When things were good between friends, all was well. But when it was not, girls and guys turned on each other, viciously. I think friends need to be true to each other and not try to destroy reputations. Give your "real" friends some credit, talk to them, and work things out.