FURTHER ADVENTURES OF JACKY FABER

UNDER THE JOLLY ROGER
By L.A. Meyer
2005
518 pages

From Inside Cover:
After leaving the Lawson Peabody School for Young Girls in Boston-under dire circumstances, of course Jacky boards a whaling ship bound for London, where she hopes to be reunited at last with her beloved Jaimy. But when she sees Jaimy holding hands with a beautiful young woman, Jacky's bent for jumping to conclusions sends her off on an unexpected wild misadventure at sea. Taken aboard a ship against her will, Jacky thwarts the advances of its crazy captain, rallies the sailors to her side, and ultimately gains command of a ship in His Majesty's Royal Navy. But Jackie's adventures don't end there...Before she knows it, she's being called a pirate-and there's a price on her head!
My thoughts:
Picking up a Jacky Faber book is like getting in touch with a long lost friend. Grab a cup a coffee, settle in to a comfy spot and get ready to listen.
Under the Jolly Roger-Being an Account of the Further Nautical Adventures of Jacky Faber is the 3rd book in the series. The year is 1804 and our spirited heroine Jacky is 15. She's left the Lawson Peabody School for Young Girls(in ashes) and high tailed it out of Boston. The story picks up where Jacky has arrived in London after a few months aboard a whaling ship. London is where she finally hopes to find her long lost love Jaimy who she hasn't seen or heard from in months. Of course things don't go as planned and when Jacky finally meets up with Jaimy at the racetrack he is with another girl. Jacky flees the scene broken hearted only to be kidnapped by a gang press who mistaken her for a boy. She is taken aboard the HMS Wolverine where it is discovered that she is indeed a female. Unfortunately for Jacky the captain of the ship decides that she should stay on the ship and service him.
Thankfully Jacky finds her way out of the nasty situation, rises to the rank of privateer and takes charge of the British warship. And this is only the beginning of Jacky's story!
This book has it all...adventure, piracy, and romance. AND a character you are sure to fall in love with. Jacky has brains and heart.
I can't wait to catch up with her in book #4 In the Belly of the Bloodhound where her misadventures are sure to continue.
I recommend this book for readers 12 and up. There is violence and a PG sexual situation(involving the captain).
This book is available for check out at the Salmon Public Library. As is the first two books in the series.

I'M HOOKED!

The Princess Diaries

by Meg Cabot

2000

238 pages

Summery from Goodreads:

Mia Thermopolis is your average urban ninth grader. Even though she lives in Greenwich Village with a single mom who is a semifamous painter, Mia still puts on her Doc Martens one at a time, and the most exciting things she ever dreams about are smacking lips with sexy senior Josh Richter, "six feet of unadulterated hotness," and passing Algebra I. Then Mia's dad comes to town, and drops a major bomb. Turns out he's not just a European politician as he's always lead her to believe, but actually the prince of a small country! And Mia, his only heir, is now considered the crown princess of Genovia! She doesn't even know how to begin to cope: "I am so NOT a princess.... You never saw anyone who looked less like a princess than I do. I mean, I have really bad hair... and... a really big mouth and no breasts and feet that look like skis." And if this news wasn't bad enough, Mia's mom has started dating her algebra teacher, the paparazzi is showing up at school, and she's in a huge fight with her best friend, Lilly. How much more can this reluctant Cinderella handle?

My Thoughts:

Mia is an ordinary, average looking girl just trying to navigate to tricky world of high school.

She's crushing on a cute guy who doesn't know she's alive.

Her mom is dating one of her teachers.

AND she's in a huge fight with her best friend.

Then the bombshell-Her dad is the prince of Genovia and he can't have anymore kids. Mia is actually a princess and her life is about to change in a very big way.

I loved that this book was in diary form. It immediately puts you, the reader in Mia's head. We have a front row seat on this wacky, crazy ride. Mia is a great character, who I think teenage girls could easily relate to. She's insecure, stressed out about her math grades and just hoping the hot guy with a locker next to hers will notice that she's alive. There's humor and heart in the story. And I got a giant kick out of grandmere who drinks sidecars and tries to teach a reluctant Mia how to be a princess.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I can't wait to read the next installment of The Princess Diaries: Princess in the Spotlight. I'm hooked!

This book is available for check out at the Salmon Public Library. I recommend it for readers 12 and up.

BOOK BLOGGER HOP!

IT'S FRIDAY.....

IT'S TIME TO HOP!!

I hope you have all properly stretched-because it's all fun and games until someone pulls a groin muscle!

Now...get ready to hop!

The Book Blogger Hop is a super fun weekly event hosted by the super cool Jennifer of http://crazy-for-books.com/

Join the fun by following the link to her blog. This week's question is-

When you write reviews, do you write them as you are reading or wait until you have read the entire book?

I write them after I read them but usually take notes or jot down a great line I want to remember. And I try to write the review before I pick up another book just so I don't forget details I want to share. I can't wait to read what other bloggers do-I'm always looking for new or fresh ideas.

And why you're here don't forget to enter my-OMG!! ANOTHER GIVEAWAY!!! I'm giving away 3 SCARY BOOKS to celebrate Halloween! Check it out!

OMG! ANOTHER GIVEAWAY!!

ANOTHER GIVEAWAY!!

In an effort to make more room on my bookshelf...for more books(shhhhh-don't tell my husband) and to celebrate one of my favorite holidays-Halloween! I'm hosting a giveaway for THREE fabulous books

1. The Seer of Shadows by Avi

2. Gentlemen by Michael Northrop

3. Another Faust by Daniel and Dina Nayeri

All three of these books are a little creepy and a wee bit scary-Reading them will definitely help you get into a Halloween mood...just don't read them alone, at night.

To enter OMG! ANOTHER GIVEAWAY!

just leave your name and email address in comment section so I can contact you if you win. This contest is for US residents only and you must be 13 years old.

Contest ends October 22.

WINNER OF MOCKINGJAY!

A huge congratulations to Flippin Fabulous!!

You have won a brand new copy of Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins!

Stay tuned for another super cool giveaway!!

Thanks to everyone who entered my contest. Also welcome new followers!

CRASH INTO ME

CRASH INTO ME

by Albert Borris

257 Pages

2009

From Inside Cover:

Owen, Frank, Audrey and Jin-Ae have one thing in common: They all want to die.

When they meet online after each attempts suicide and fails, they make a deadly pact: They will escape together on a summer road trip to visit the sites of celebrity suicides...and at their final destination, they will do themselves in.

As they drive across-country, bonding over their dark impulses, sharing their deepest secrets and desires, living it up, hooking up and becoming true friends, each must decide whether life is worth living-or if there's no turning back.

My thoughts:

Is life worth living in spite of the pain? That is the question that I believe is asked and answered during this journey. Owen, Jin-Ae, Frank and Audry have formed an unusual bond. They met in an online "suicide" chat room and they all desperately want to end their lives.

This story is narrated by Owen-the quiet, observant one of the group. Besides Owen, the group includes Frank who has a drinking problem, Jin-Ae a closet lesbian and Audrey, a compulsive liar. Their pasts are revealed through IMs scattered throughout the story as well as Owen's flashbacks. The decision is made to take a cross country trip from New Jersey to San Francisco-to visit the graves of famous people who have killed themselves. The trip will end in Death Valley where the group have made a pact to do the deed and end their lives. We, the readers know that Owen has no desire to live. The reason is slowly revealed as the story unfolds.

Of course this story centers around the hard subjects of suicide and depression but what impressed me was that first time author Albert Borris was able to weave humor, friendship and love into his tale. He makes the each character stand out and become unforgettable. By the end of the journey I was hoping these friends would choose life. With friendship and love- pain is a little more bearable.

Crash Into Me is a great story that will stay with me long after I return the book.

I recommend this book for readers fifteen and up. The topics covered are death, suicide, sex, drugs and alcohol. I borrowed this book through the inter library loan system at my public library.