How To Steal A Car

How To Steal A Car by Pete Hautman
Published: September 1, 2009 by Scholastic Press


Some girls act out by drinking or doing drugs. Some girls act out by sleeping with guys. Some girls act out by starving themselves or cutting themselves. Some girls act out by being a b**** to other girls.


Not Kelleigh. Kelleigh steals cars.

       I had seen this book around before but only got really interested in reading it after I read The Big Crunch by the same author and really enjoyed it. Pete Hautman is definitely a contemporary author that writes realistic stories and does it well. My only major complaint is that there really isn't a clear plot at times, which is my main issue with contemporaries in the first place. 

Why I love this book:

• Kelleigh- her head can be a weird place at times, but she is overall a very unique character with a funny outlook on life
• Kelleigh's essay- I'm not sure if her tips on car theft add up to the 500 words she's supposed to have on how to do something, but these little asides are clever and reflect what's going on in her life
• plot- the way the story develops is very realistic. The reason Kelleigh steals cars unfolds slowly. It sneaks up on you and makes you think duh, of course she had a better reason than fun and excitement.

Huh, what?:

• Kelleigh's friends- Kelleigh's friends are lame. Jen is so self-absorbed and dramatic, while Will is just bland. He's about as interesting as a cardboard cutout.
• Kelleigh's dad- Is it just me or is someone way too excited about defending a rapist/possible rapist in court? Especially since he has a daughter around the same age of the victims? I would have freaked like Kelleigh's mom too if he'd kept updating the family at dinner about his pet rapist's chances of getting off. 

Favorite quotes:

• The fact that I had-technically-stolen four cars recently was purely a matter of irresistible opportunity, dire necessity, or peer pressure. I mean, twice it hadn't even been my idea.    - Kelleigh  pg. 76
• My head was spinning with what she'd said. I mean, I was trying to understand it, trying to make sense of her words. Dad could only say I love you if it wasn't true? Did that make sense on any level other than the multiple-apricot-martini level?    - Kelleigh  pg. 97

4 Robots

A short contemporary with a realistic main character and clever writing

Acquired: swap.com

Uncomfortable Books (Top Ten (Five!) Tuesday (On Wednesday!))

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Click the picture to visit them!

Top Ten Five Books Out of my Comfort Zone

These are the top 5 books I have read that were out of my comfort zone. There are only ten because apparently I don't read outside of my comfort zone too often. But hey, I know what I like!

1. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

Liked it. First of all, my aunt gave me this book so I was hesitant to begin with. My aunt has pretty good taste in books (she gave my The Phantom Tollbooth too), but giving me a book I haven't told you I want is like taking your life in your hands. It's scary. Plus it wasn't really a YA book and it wasn't a book I would have chosen for myself.

2. Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

Loved it. So when I bought this one, it didn't have this pretty cover with all the green details. It also lived in the regular Fiction section of the bookstore instead of the YA shelves. Really I don't see why it isn't shelved as YA. The only weird things in here were the torture scenes. And Valek :)

3. I Am American And So Can You! by Stephen Colbert

Liked it. It's non-fiction, enough said. I don't even watch the Colbert Report (which I recently learned is not even pronounced with the 't' sound on report). It was my brother's book and my brother reads books only if the author died a really long time ago (aka: the classics I find boring and only read if forced for school. And sometimes not even then.), and it's basically a comedic rant about a bunch of topics I don't have a specific interest in.

4. Ready or Not by Meg Cabot (sequel to All American Girl)

Hated it. Noooo Meg Cabot noooo. Why? I had no idea this one was going to be uncomfortable and then it ended up being all about sex. It just...nooooo. Creeeeepy things. 

5. Soulless by Gail Carriger

Loved it. Another non-YA book so I was a little wary at first. It runs rampant with paranormal creatures. The first book since that one book (you can probably guess which one) involving both vampires and werewolves that I wanted to read. A book that doesn't take itself too seriously. I highly recommend this series!

Beauty Queens

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray
Published: May 24, 2011 by Scholastic


The fifty contestants in the Miss Teen Dream pageant thought this was going to be a fun trip to the beach, where they could parade in their state-appropriate costumes and compete in front of the cameras. But sadly, their airplane had another idea crashing on a desert island and leaving the survivors stranded with little food, little water, and practically no eyeliner.
What's a beauty queen to do? Continue to practice for the talent portion of the program-or wrestle snakes to the ground? Get a perfect tan-or learn to run wild? And what should happen when the sexy pirates show up?

Libba Bray is a genius. Her books are all over the map: A Great and Terrible Beauty could not be any more different than this book. Beauty Queens is absolutely absurd in the best and most hilarious ways. I really enjoyed reading it.

Why I love this book:

• footnotes - Every single footnote about a product from The Corporation was brilliant! You don't see many footnotes in YA fiction, but don't be scared - these are awesome footnotes, which may be a new thing. They helped show how outrageously staged the pageant was meant to be, and how crazy The Corporation really was.
• plot - First of all, if someone told me that changing one ingredient in a beauty product could it into an explosive, I would probably believe them - there are some crazy chemicals in the stuff we are willing to put on our faces for the sake of beauty. The whole premise of this book is absurd, but Libba Bray manages to work a lot of social commentary into the story in a way that makes you laugh.
• fake pirates - Yes. This book is so cool that it has fake pirates. And their explanations for how they came to be on the island are hilarious!
• bio pages + commercial breaks - More genius! These pages are so funny and show the influence of The Corporation on the girls in the pageant while helping us get to know the girls better.
• cover - This cover immediately drew my attention to this book. The lipsticks instead of bullets is so cool.

Huh, what?:

• problems - I know this book is meant to be crazy and it's awesome that way, but some things required more suspension of disbelief than others. Tons of people die in the plane crash, which is definitely realistic. But the girls are stuck on an island and not one of them has a health problem. Miss New Mexico has an airplane tray stuck in her forehead and the only ill effect is that she has a headache for a day. It would have been intense to see some attempts to fix that, or some wounds or something.
• ending scene - The ending was way too chick-flick cheesy for my taste. A dance party on a boat with virtual freeze frames highlighting each girl's future? It's great that everything worked out ok for them getting home, but this just puts it over the top into everything's hunky-dory for the rest of their lives, they all achieve their dreams kind of cheesy.

Favorite quotes:

• "I came to Miss Teen Dream via a new program for at-risk girls that takes them from juvie to pageants, or as I like to call it, from one correctional facility to another.*     *Pageant officials didn't think this was funny. Pageant officials not big on the jokes."             - Jennifer (Miss Michigan)  pg. 60
• "The Corporation would like to apologize for the preceding pages. Of course, it's not all right for girls to behave this way. Sexuality is not meant to be this way - an honest, consensual expression in which a girl might take an active role when she feels good and ready and not one minute before. No. Sexual desire is meant to sell soap. And cars. And beer."           - pg. 178

4 Robots
A wild, fun, and smart story that's absurd to the last drop

Acquired: swap.com

Emotional Books (Top Ten Tuesday)

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. Click the picture to visit them!

Top Ten Books I Had Strong Emotions Over

This is a weird one for me because while I get really into the books I read, I don't tend to have strong reactions or emotions over them too often! The only one to pop into my head when I saw this topic was #1!

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling

Sad. I teared up at the death of a certain very loyal house elf. He was so annoying and helpful to Harry for so long.

2. City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Impatient. What? Why? How many ways can you possibly find to keep Clary and Jace apart? Is this really going to keep happening for 2 more books? Gah!

3. Ready or Not by Meg Cabot

Creeped out. I loved All American Girl so much so I was completely surprised when the sequel turned out to be all about Sam thinking about sex with her boyfriend. I gave it another try a handful of years later when I was a bit older, but it was still just blah.

4. The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Overly happy. Oh my goodness! I didn't know this was a book first and then I read it. I couldn't stop thinking I love this book and this movie they are so genius!

5. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Enamored. I love this book so much and I can't believe I waited until last year to read it! The movie is great and Calcifer is downright hilarious.

6. The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

Doubtful. What? Why are you doing that? Why are you being so stupid? I can't believe you've managed to survive this long!

7. The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

Shocked. Did that really just happen? That thing just came out of nowhere and killed that guy! How on earth is anyone going to survive this?!

8. Soulless by Gail Carriger

Excited. I am so goofy happy because there is funny and sexy and awesome and octopi! This may be the greatest thing ever involving paranormal creatures.

9. Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Confused. Uh...what? This is sexy? There was a lot of wanting to kill/stalking/threatening to kill going on here. I don't understand how that gets redeemed by one sexy scene. Even if said scene involves tacos. The tacos can't even make it better in this case.

10. The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Bored. Everyone raved about this one, but I felt like beating my head against the wall. This was boring for me and I gave up about midway. Trust me, midway was pushing it. 

Zompacolypse Winner!

Why is this zombie so happy? He heard that the winner was being announced for the Zompacolypse giveaway!

The winner of the book from the Book Depository is....

Iani

Congratulations Iani! I will email you and you have 72 hours to get back to me with your book choice!

Thank you to everybody who entered and everyone who became a follower. You will definitely be getting bonus entries for that in my next giveaway (which may be soon since I have so many followers now! You all planned that didn't you?).

If you didn't win I hope you will stick around. This kitten wants to give you a hug....or eat your brains....I can't quite tell.