The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington

Jade Kelley wasn't the most popular girl in school. She had moved from her old home in Massachusetts to her new dream home in Boston. Being 17 years old and in her senior year in high school didn't make it easy for her to make friends. Finding out that her house was part of a murder scene was horrifying but discovering that her dream house was being haunted by Kayla, the girl who had died in the house, was unbelievable.

Her five-year-old half-brother, Colby, was the first to see the ghost of Kayla. Kayla possess Colby to find out who murdered her. Jade tries harder to find out who murdered Kayla so she'll leave Colby alone. Jade deals with her stepmother who won't believe her, a love triangle that involves the boy who was in a relationship with Kayla and a boy who was Kayla's best friend and her investigation of the unsolved murder.

Kim Harrington has created a book worth reading. Just like her series of books called Sleuth or Dare, it is filled with suspense, mystery, and horror but also with a touch of romance. Expect to read a book that you won't be able to put down.

Rating: 5

LOTR The Fellowship of the Ring by J R.R. Tolkien

The Fellowship of the Ring by J R.R. Tolkien, the first book of the trilogy The Lord of the Rings, begins the tale of hobbit Frodo Baggins's journey to save middle earth and continues the story of the dark and powerful ring that began in The Hobbit.

Frodo Baggins--nephew of Bilbo Baggins, who was a bearer for many years of the one ring of power made by Sauron, dark lord of Mordor, to wield--is set on this quest which unfortunately fell in his lap when his Uncle decides to call it quits on his "peaceful" time in the shire on his one hundred and eleventh birthday, leaving all of his belongings including the ring to his nephew. Frodo's quest is to destroy that one ring. Sauron seeks to increase his already immense power by reclaiming that One Ring that he has lost. The wizard, Gandalf, warns Frodo that he should leave the shire and keep the ring out of Sauron's hands. Frodo must destroy the ring by throwing it in the fiery pits of mount doom in the very center of Sauron's dark kingdom and cease his only opportunity to enslave all of middle earth. However the chances of Frodo successfully ending the ring's existence seem slightly dim. Not only is Sauron building an army of Orcs, Trolls, Variags and so on to capture Frodo, the ring too has a weapon of its own. It has the power to reel in anyone who possesses it and ultimately drive them mad. This is a burden that Frodo is brave enough to take on but not without help; thus the fellowship is formed. The author does such a good job introducing you into this fantasy world of good and evil that you'll become invested from the first page. The characters are uniquely built and it'll be hard for you not to love them. Friendship, honor, loyalty, and sacrifice encompasses the entire book and it's simply an amazing experience; it is greatly recommended.

Rating: 5

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

     Nicholas Sparks' The Last Song is a love story with a twist. Ronnie Miller was as angry as any teenager can be. Who could blame her--her parents were divorced and she was being sent to boring old North Carolina to live with her dad for the summer. Compared to the Big Apple, North Carolina wouldn't be much of a vacation. All Ronnie wanted to do was alienate herself from everyone. Too bad the town's hunky hero wasn't going to let that happen; she had made a bigger impression on him than he did on her. Not everyone was friendly to Ronnie and her family-- her dad had been convicted of burning down the town's church. 

Nicholas Spark's books are mainly about forbidden romance. Many do not know that he is the author of the famous book The Notebook. Hollywood adapted that book into a film and it became popular as one of the greatest romance movies of all time. The Last Song, which also was adapted into film, has become just as well-known as The Notebook. His stories have set unrealistic expectations for what love is suppose to be like. I believe that is the reason why we hope for happy endings when it comes to love. 

It is a must read, especially if you want to find out if everyone truly gets their happily ever after.  

Rating: 3

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is an allegory of escape. Gregor Samsa worked every day and did the same boring routine job. One morning, he has mysteriously transformed into an insect. Gregor's world slowed down and his life was now at a turning point. Gregor cannot get any medical help to return him to his human form. Is there any way he will be able to turn back into a human?

The word "Kafkaesque" has entered our culture. The word means "relating to or suggestive of Franz Kafka, especially having a nightmarish, complex, bizarre, or illogical quality." There are cartoons and TV shows that are related to this, Franz Kafka's most famous story. The author has written many stories that are all eerie and dark and that are similar to The Metamorphosis. I recommend this novella to anyone. I enjoyed how the author wrote specific descriptions of Gregor's body and the structure of the insect as he changed physically. I myself have not read a book that caught my attention as much as this one did. By reading the book you will find out what happens to Gregor as he goes along his journey as an insect and how his family's lives changes dramatically. 

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Thomas has no last name and no memories. He comes to consciousness in a cold, dark, metal elevator, making a slow and noisy ascent to the Glade, acreage surrounded by 100-foot-high stone walls that grind closed each night, keeping the occupants in and keeping out the nocturnal monsters known as Grievers who roam the enormous Maze outside the Glade.

In the Glade, he finds teenage boys like himself, boys who don't know why they are there, cannot remember where they came from, or who they used to be. All Thomas has is questions, and all the boys in the Glade have to offer is a rigidly controlled life of survival with strict rules. Rules for which there are harsh penalties for breaking. The biggest rule? Don't go out of the Glade after dark.

Each boy in the Glade has a job, and Thomas is supposed to spend his first weeks in the Glade rotating from occupation to occupation until he finds his niche. But, he knows right away what he wants to be. He wants to be a runner, one of the boys who leaves the Glade each morning and runs the miles of the Maze, trying to uncover the exit that will mean freedom for the boys of the Glade.

From the very first, readers of this book will be filled with questions, the same questions that Thomas has. Why do the Glade and the Maze exist? What happened to the boys' memories? What are the Grievers? Why are the boys imprisoned there? The promise of answers to those questions keep you turning the pages. The ending will have you smacking your forehead and eagerly searching for the sequel, The Scorch Trials.

Rating: 4