Name: My Sister's Keeper

Author: Jodi Piccoult


Brief summary: Anna is tired. Tired of living for her sister. She was concieved as a perfect genetic match for her sister, who has been sick with Leukemia since a very young age. Anna makes a choice that will tear her family apart, more than it already is. She decides to sue her parents for the rights to her own body.

Grade/Age level: 14 and up, maybe older, maybe a little younger. My sister was thirteen when she read it, but she's a very mature thirteen year old.

Cautions: You should have caution to the whole book. This book, as wonderful as it is, is very disturbing.

If you like this book, you will also like… I've found that Jodi Piccoult is very much the female version of Nicholas Sparks, so anything by Nicholas Sparks. I highly recommend a Bend in the Road or a Walk to Remember.

Personal Opinion: This book is one of the saddest, but one of the most amazing books I have ever read. Anna's personality is great, she reminds me so much of my younger sister. :D

Rating: 10/10

Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Halfblood Prince

Name: Harry Potter and the Halfblood Prince

Director: David Yates

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Helena Bonham Carter, Rupert Grint, and Emma Watson

Rated: PG

For: scary images, some violence, language, and mild sensuality

Brief summary: Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger are back at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for their sixth year of school. Over the summer, the trio saw Harry's enemy, Draco Malfoy, at a sketchy store. Harry is convinced that Draco is a Death Eater, a follower of the evil wizard, Voldemort. Ron and Hermione, however, are convinced that Harry is biased and overreacting. Also during the summer, Albus Dumbledore, Harry's mentor and the headmaster of Hogwarts, takes him to convince an old teacher, Horace Slughorn, to come back to Hogwarts to teach. During the year, Harry goes to regular meetings held by Dumbledore, to help Harry understand what Voldemort was like before he went bad. This movie was filled with action, humor and, believe it or not, a great deal of APPROPRIATE romance.

Age level: Eight and up

Cautions: A girl kisses a boy passionately, A boy makes a sexual face to a girl, A boy and girl kiss, there is some violence and blood.

If you like this movie, you might also like . . . Any of the other Harry Potter movies.

Personal Opinion: I have to admit, after the disappointment I experienced after "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", I was expecting "Halfblood Prince" to have the same outcome on me. However, as soon as the movie had started, I was happily proven wrong. The movie not only had supberb filming, directing, acting, and cinematography, it also stayed much more true to the books than any of the other movies, except maybe for the first or second movies. The one thing I was disappointed in was that they cut out one of my favorite parts in all the books. "Roonil Wazlib". Not that it was at all important in the book, it was just funny. There were somethings that happened in the movie that made me raise my eyebrow (I won't say what, just in case you haven't seen the movie yet and plan on seeing it), just some stuff that was random and didn't happen in the book. And, ummm, is MAYBE NEEDED in the next movie?? I dunno. *shrug*

Overall rating: 9/10

Random tidbit: Rupert Grint was my first celebrity crush. I am now in love with him again. *giggle*.

Name: The Host


Author: Stephenie Meyer


Brief summary: The Host takes place in an alternate universe, a world where alien souls have taken over the earth, and each soul lives in a human body, their host. Melanie, a human, has just been taken over by an alien, Wanderer. Although they are not supposed to, Melanie still lives in her head, tormenting Wanderer. Wander falls in love with Melanie's love, Jared, and goes on a quest to find him and the rest of the humans that live undetected.

Grade/Age level: 15 and up

Cautions: This is a horrifying world. Just the idea of it gives one nightmares. There's some kissing, violence, gore, blood, etc.

If you like this book, you will also like… I have never read a book like The Host before...

Personal Opinion: Um. This is a hard book to decide whether I like or not. It was WAY sci-fi, like I didn't realize it was gonna be THIS Sci-Fi when I bought the book. Towards the end, I realized I kinda liked it, it was romantic. So, yeah.

Rating: 4/10