Currently reading

Check this out! This challenge was started by Crystalexternal link: 28 books in 2008!. Basically, it's a challenge to read 28 books by the end of 2008! I will write down the books I've read and give a short summary of each.

1. Fahrenheit 451
Author: Ray Bradbury
Published: 1953
Start date: Feb. 13th, 2008
Finish date: Feb. 14th, 2008
Summary: This story takes place in the future United States. Guy Montag is a fireman whose job is to actually start fires to burn books. He never questioned this practise until he meets a 17-year-old girl and a retired professor who tell him that the world was not like this before. Guy suddenly realizes how scared this world is of knowledge and what he has to do to stop it.
Opinion: Ha, now I know why this is considered one of the best books ever written, the hidden meanings are truly amazing.

2. This Green Land
Author: John Fullerton
Published: 2004
Start date: Feb. 14th, 2008
Finish date: Feb. 14th, 2008
Summary: John Fullerton reveals the cruelty and unfairness of the world by weaving a story of two completely different people living in Lebanon; a beautiful country torn apart by war. fueled by a personal vengeance, Reem is a terrorist who has been told to distract Nick, a UN worker, to ultimately get to her enemy, a right-wing warlord who killed her entire family.
Opinion: Awesome book, really sad at the end, but teaches a lesson.

3. The Grail Conspiracy
Author: Lynn Sholes and Joe Moore
Published: 2005
Start date: Feb. 14th, 2008
Finish date: Feb. 15th, 2008
Summary: Cotten Stone, SNN rookie reporter, travels to the deserts of Iraq to get her latest story, but what she discovers is something completely different. Strangers keep telling her that she "is the one", in the secret language she shared with her dead twin sister, and others who fear that she knows too much are trying to kill her. With the help of John Tyler, a priest, Cotten must figure out who is behind this conspiracy before she runs out of time.
Opinion: This was a great book because I love historical stuff about the grail, but it was a bit too... unrealistic for me. Nevertheless, I enjoyed reading this one.

4. Theories of Relativity
Author: Barbara Haworth-Attard
Published: 2003
Start date: Feb. 15th, 2008
Finish date: Feb. 17th, 2008
Summary: Sixteen-year-old Dylan is living on the streets after he was kicked out of his unstable home. He needs to learn fast to be able to survive out in the harsh world. Dylan observes, and is learning fast; he developes some interesting theories, such as how every fourth person will throw him some spare change.
Opinion: I loved the way Barbara Haworth-Attard put poverty and violence/abuse in perspective. This opened up my eyes to how terrible things are for these kids who are forced to live on the streets.

5. The Bird Is a Raven
Author: Benjamin Lebert
Published: 2005
Start date: Feb. 25th, 2008
Finish date: Feb. 28th, 2008
Summary: Henry and Paul are two strangers with completely different histories, but the same destination: Berlin. They find themselves sharing the same bunk on a train going to the previously mentionned location. Along the way, Henry confides in Paul and tells him of his past, while Paul is silent, keeping a secret far beyond the boundaries of postadolescent angst.
Opinion: It was a very descriptive book and I enjoyed it a lot. The ending has a really big twist!

6. The Catcher in the Rye
Author: J.D Salinger
Published: 1951
Start date: Feb. 22nd, 2008
Finish date: Feb. 28th, 2008
Summary: Holden Caulfield, a teenager boy who has recently been kicked out of his 4 boarding school, is a depressed and confused teenager with his own opinions and morals. This book covers 48 hours of Holden's life after his expulsion from Pency Prep. During that time, he wandered around in New York, and finally goes home to his family.
Opinion: A lot of symbolism and metaphors in this book. Even though the language isn't very adult-like, the content is very dense and Holden's obviously a basketcase observant young teenager. I didn't like this book a lot because of the excess swearing, but we had to read it for English class.

7. Things Hoped For
Author: Andrew Clements
Published: 2006
Start date: Mar. 3rd, 2008
Finish date: Mar. 4th, 2008
Summary: Gwen is a young girl living with her grandfather in New York. Suddenly, her grandfather disappears, but leaves her a message telling her not to worry, and to let no one know he's gone. The timing could not be any worse as Gwen has violin auditions and is already stressed out. With the help of her new friend Robert, they solve the mystery behind Gwen's grandfather's sudden disappearance.
Opinion: I've always loved Andrew Clements' books, and this one certainly didn't let me down. It was witty and humorous at times, and sober when necessary.

8. Twelfth Night (or what you will)
Author: William Shakespeare
Published: Elizabethan era?
Start date: April 4th, 2008
Finish date: April 10th, 2008
Summary: Viola loves Orsino, but Orsino loves Olivia. Olivia loves Cesario, who is really Viola in disguise. It's a complicated love polygon, go figure.
Opinion: The funniest Shakespeare play I have read, there's a lot of wit and general confusion (between the characters). That's not saying much since I haven't read a lot of Shakespeare. Though, I felt disappointed at the end because I think he could have developed some things even more.

9. Les Histoires Inedites de Petit Nicholas
Author: Goscinny and Sempe
Published: Can't recall
Start date: March 15th, 2008
Finish date: April 1th, 2008
Summary: 80 never before published short stories of le Petit Nicholas, a beloved schoolboy who gets into trouble wherever he goes.
Opinion: This book took me a while, but it was definitely worth it since the stories are so funny.

10. Little Women
Author: Louisa May Alcott
Published: 1868
Start date: April 14th, 2008
Finish date: April 16th, 2008
Summary: Four sisters, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy are growing up in New England. This book talks about all their experiences through adolescence and their own discoveries of their "castles in the sky".
Opinion: I haven't read this book in a long time, so I thought I'd read it again. It is absolutely my favourite book of all times.

11. The Black Sheep
Author: Yvonne Collins
Published: 2007
Start date: April 25th, 2008
Finish date: April 26th, 2008
Summary: Kendra Bishop, tired of her over-controlling parents, decides to apply for an exchange program to swap lives with another teenager from across the US. She get picked (no surprise) and learns that reality TV and fame is not all that great.
Opinion: This book was witty and humourous. It was sort of silly at times, but it was just what I needed at that moment. I could actually related to it a lot (the controlling parents part), and therefore understood Kendra's problems and hardships.

12. After The Rain
Author: Chuck Logan
Published: 2004
Start date: May 1st, 2008
Finish date: May 7th, 2008
Summary: Paul Broker and his wife Nina track down a drug smuggler who is also hiding explosives.
Opinion: Very suspenseful and fun to read. The ending just shocked me entirely!

13. The Power of One
Author: Bryce Courtenay
Published: 1999
Start date: May 1st, 2008
Finish date: May 4th, 2008
Summary: A gripping story about a little English boy named Peekay living in South Africa during and after the Second World War.
Opinion: One of my favourite books of all times. Bryce Courtenay told this story with wit. It made me laugh as much as it made me cry.

14. Dedication
Author: Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
Published: 2007
Start date: June 27th, 2008
Finish date: June 28th, 2008
Summary: A woman's encounter with her now famous ex-boyfriend thirteen years after he vanished before prom night.
Opinion: I think it was very well written and realistically told. It was entertaining throughout.

15. The Idea of Perfection
Author: Kate Grenville
Published: 1999
Start date: June 30st, 2008
Finish date: July 3rd, 2008
Summary: Two people, both with previous marriage problems, come together andfind that they just might have a last chance at love.
Opinion: This book was a bit confusing for me, mainly because when the character's talked, their speeches weren't in quotations.

16. The Abortionist's Daughter
Author: Elisabeth Hyde
Published: 2006
Start date: July 1st, 2008
Finish date: July 5th, 2008
Summary: A well-known abortionist is found floating in her pool with a bruise the size of a golf ball visible on her forehead. Who had killed her?
Opinion: Satisfying, though I would have liked the ending to be a bit more developed.

17. Heart's Desire
Author: Laura Pedersen
Published: 2006
Start date: July 21st, 2008
Finish date: July 22nd, 2008
Summary: Hallie is finishing up her first year at the Cleveland Art Institute when she is called upon by her friend and mentor Bernard Stockton to help him win back Gil, his boyfriend. With eight younger siblings, life is hectic at home as Hallie struggles with her own concerns.
Opinion: Absolutely hilarious. Laura Pedersen's writing style is just so raw and to-the-point. In fact, it's so good that I'm going to read the sequel!

18. Through A Glass Darkly
Author: Karleen Koen
Published: 2003
Start date: July 25th, 2008
Finish date: July 30th, 2008
Summary: Set in the 18th century, this is the story of one of the most powerful families in England, their struggles and dreams.
Opinion: I felt bored sometimes and skipped a few sections; in all it's just an average historical fiction book. I would have liked a more spontaneous and twisted ending, and most of the characters annoyed me, though they were all very well-developed.

19. The Big Shuffle
Author: Laura Pedersen
Published: 2006
Start date: July 24th, 2008
Finish date: July 35th, 2008
Summary: Hallie Palmer must return home once again to take care of her 8 younger siblings due to her father's sudden death and mother's mental breakdown.
Opinion: Toldya I'd read the sequel. Laura Pedersen never disappoints; underneath the hectic mess, readers can actually appreciate what Hallie is doing for her family and can sympathize with multiple characters.