Vampire Diaries

The Awakening is the first of four novels in L.J. Smith’s popular Vampire Diaries series.  Written for the Young Adult  market.The Vampire Diaries were re-released by HarperTeen in 2007 as a result of the flurry of popularity that YA vampire genre novels have received since Stephenie Meyer’s huge success with the Twilight series. 

Twilight Saga is shares the same, story line as VD. The story line, is ruffly about a teenager who falls in love with two brother vampires
The brothers expose themselves to her. while she process's this the diary does the same thing. 
The book had some really hectic moments, and some really hart felt ones. You can really feel the emotions, who said vampires don't have souls!
  This diary is probably worth more than her life.

The book was amazing, great everything, well done 

L. J. Smith

To writing a very cool book!   

Vampire Diaries

The Awakening is the first of four novels in L.J. Smith’s popular Vampire Diaries series.  Written for the Young Adult  market.The Vampire Diaries were re-released by HarperTeen in 2007 as a result of the flurry of popularity that YA vampire genre novels have received since Stephenie Meyer’s huge success with the Twilight series. 

The book shares character names with twilight.

The books about a girl with a Diary, this diary is probably worth more than her life, mainly because she encountered 2 vampire brothers who she fell in love with, the Diary contains all the vampire secrets and it is very important that nobody may ever read it 

The book was amazing, great everything, well done 

L. J. Smith

To writing a very cool book!

Knife Edge By Malorie Blackman

Knife Edge is all about Jude Mcgregor Callum's brother being eaten up with bitterness after his brothers death at the hands of a cross. He decides to blame all the tragedies of his family on Perserphone Hadley "Sephy". He then finds out that Sephy has his brothers child and goes for a little visit, but finds himself in a standoff between him, Sephy and Minerva Sephy's sister another of the Hadleys. While on the other hand Sephy get's kicked out of the house for carrying a nought's child and defiying to have an abortion.She then later moves in Callum's mother, later on to find out that the father of her child didn't love her at all and that the baby was just to get back at her father. She then finds out that Jude is dating a girl named Cara Imega a cross woman who loved Jude until he assaulted her. Jude is then caught for the assaultion of the cross and his life hangs on a knife's edge but will Sephy........

Find out more when you read the book

The Hunger games

Hunger games is, a gladiator tournament for children under 18. A poor girl called Katneis Everdeen, has been chosen along side a boy peter to fight for her district and win, or die!
The reason this hunger games was made, because in the binning there wear 13 Districts, ruled by a ruthless psychopath, who is drunk with power. President Snow called this country Panama. All the Districts rebelled and Snow felt threatene, so he eliminated the whole of District 13, and created the hunger games.
The story ended like expected They won the games.
The book was so epic, and so will the movie.

Well done: StePhany king

The Last Invisible Boy

The last Invisible boy is just like the title. Its about a boy whose father dies and, He feels invisibly, and soon after terns invisible.
The only way to become visible again  is if he commits a bad deed. So he thinks becoming a rebellion is going to fix his problems. But instead it backfires really fast.

The book is intense, it covers allot of ground in-terms of emotions. You can feel the frustration and sadness, coming from most of the characters.
 Well done to:Evan Kuhlman  

Half a Yellow Sun, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Review by Uli Vuma

To sum this up in a quote..."If we don't end war, war will end us."-H. G. Wells

And that is all there is to it. This book is about a war between people, between nations, between living in silence and loving in silence. It centers around 3 main characters, Ugwu, Olanna and Kainene and there struggles during and after the Biafran War. We journey into the book and its setting with Ugwu, a man servant. His inquiring mind and general need to impress his Master, Odenigbo, is heart rending. It just roots the seed of sadness within you and you constantly wonder how he is doing when another character is in play. To please Odenigbo is Ugwu's one and only desire and sometimes Odenigbo is ignorant of this because of his fixation with his new girlfriend, Olanna. Their love is the rebellious kind. This is because her family, excluding her sister, are whole heartily against her relationship with the Professor. They fancy her with a chief, one that can give them high rank and riches beyond their dreams. Olanna is opposed to this, and she explains what she goes through throughout the book.

Kainene, who I believe doesn't sit right in the story line, is the comic relief. She is free spirited and is currently dating a white man. But nobody notices because they are all occupied with Olanna, her bigger and much beloved sister. She puts on a shield, one that hides her anger and sadness that her sister is afforded all the attention. This is probably why she started dating Richard, for the attention. But nothing is said in the book to this effect. For now she is roughing it out behind the scenes and waiting for her time of attention. And it comes.....

Fast forward 4 years and the arrival of babies, I won't say who's, and the abounding dangers of Biafra, has caused some of the characters to escape to a place called Nsukku. They land up impoverished and lodging with some refugees. They eventually run out of food and Kainene, wanting to be the hero, desperate for the love and attention she needed, decided to go look for food. But then she goes missing...

Books like these have to be digested slowly. They are quite intense, long running and enervate. But well worth finishing. This book reveals how harsh war is on the people that live in it. The emotions are out in the open, especially with characters like Ugwu and Kainene. Towards the climax, it can get really suspenseful, giving it a thriller-like feel. Chimamanda's writhing is amazing. How she managed to display those feelings in 540 pages escapes me. She writes as if she was there and that reels you in. This book is emotionally charging and if it wasn't for the lack of moisture in my tear ducts, I probably would've cried.

8 out of 10.

Beloved by Toni Morrison, Review By Uli Vuma

WARNING: SPOILERS BE HERE:

This book centers around a woman who murdered her own child. It is quite depressing and offers a lot of emotional grief. Basically, it is set in the bleak wake of the American Civil War. Sethe was a mother of four, had just killed her eldest daughter, was in the process of recovering from the loss of her mother in law, Baby Suggs, and was coming to grips with the fact that her old master, Mr. Garner, was fast on her heels, ready to X her out. Its really some edgy stuff. Anyway, on top of this already brimming list of dilemmas, her friend/lover, Paul D (Not Pauly), has come back in search for her love. And his arrival is what sets the book in motion.

It starts off ambiguously and ends off on the same note. The beginning starts somewhere after the War and you have absolutely no idea that lives have been lost the way they have. This monotonous mood simmers a little until we see flashbacks from Sethe. Then fireworks and quick and devastating jabs coming from the past. We see images of tombstones, old, dying ladies and lovers lost. These build up tension until Paul D comes and the entire story manages to fold out towards the end.

There is not much to tell without revealing key factors in the book so I will just mention how it made me feel. I had all sorts of knots in my stomach, not because I was disgusted but I was in utter stupefaction of this character. Her methods where something to be worried about, but her intentions where understandable. She genuinely wanted the happiness for her children that she battled to find in her whole lifetime. And that resonates with me. Sure, in the end, there was a tumultuous conclusion, but her mentality and what she wanted to achieve still sits there, even if it wasn't as naked as I'd wanted it to be.

Overall, I would say this book certainly exposed me to a lot. Some good, some bad, some heartbreaking. Mostly heartbreaking. I hope that I won't have to go to the lengths that Sethe went through for her children's well being. But by that same token, if push comes to shove, I hope to have the same courage that Sethe had and have the boldness to fall on my knees with grace like she did.

This book reveals desperate times and the characters within them that persevered. It also offers the opportunity for self introspection. You'll find yourself asking many questions, wondering if you would have thought the same things, done the same things, and felt the same. And then you will finally close that book, sit and ponder on whether you could ever live in a time like that and still love the way that Sethe loved.

Good Read. Pick it up.

Alex Rider: Storm Breaker

This book is all about a boy named Alex Rider who 's uncle dies during a secret mission. Alex then takes it upon himself to avenge his uncle by joining the Army and looking for his fathers killer. Alex finds out about why his uncle was killed. He meets up with the head of the association that his uncle worked for. His sister then becomes worried about how Alex was going to take being a spy and learning more about the death.

Find out more about the book by reading the book.

This book was quite heart breaking in the beginning. But in the end it became very exciting as they folded out a plan on how to protect the president from being ambushed.

Great for action fans.

Mao's Last Dancer

This is about a poor Chinese family that lives in one of the poorest cities in China. The family had lived there for years. They had about seven children, four boys and three girls. The children where taken care of by the aunt who's name was Niang and the Grand mother. The uncle and grand father helped with the cutting down of trees and fixing things around in the house. A few years later one of the boys wanted to dance as a ballet dancer. in the end it turned out that the same boy competed in a city competition. All the other dancers had failed to compete due to injuries. So the boy was about to step up to compete until .....

This book got me addicted to reading.
I would have to say that the book affected me because it showed me how others are way less fortunate.

Dragon Lance

TAKE CAUTION. THIS BOOK IS KILLER FUNNY

The book was just way more than I expected, 

every page had me on the floor with stitches.

This book is brilliant if you need to lift your spirits.

The end defies the laws of physics.

Anyone who doesn't see that as cool, is majorly crazy.

THE BOOK WAS ABOUT:

dwarfs and humans, they can see each other but they can't be seen together. 

So a dwarf and human decide to break rules and go on a quest for a book, yes a book.

Now what you have to understand is that they didn't have Amazon, eBay, or Walmart. So everything was turned into a giant quest. So if you wanted to eat Ribs, you would essentially go on a hunt for pork. You probably had to "quest" for margarine as well. I'm glad I live in this day and age. In the end though, beside their alliance for the book quest, the human double-crosses the dwarf. And someone ends up with a knife stuck up their chest, yes, up their chest. I won't say who did what. 

Just read the book.

Jane Eyre

Besides all the weird parts, this book, just like a sunrise becomes hotter and hotter towards the end. There was a whole lot of stuff going on there.
For me there were too little comical events, the romance was way too deep. It was great how Charlotte made Jane's story so emotional! I also was fascinated that Mr. Rochester locked up his wife. In the movie, we are rewarded with Mrs. Rochester spitting out flies. That was cool.

Over and above, Jane had a hard life. And besides the love drama, her pain touched me.
The romance made me tear up (because of my boredom).

Since the movie is out I'll do a double review.
The movie had too much hair! And tents. ( I think those were dresses though)

To Charlotte,
Well done, on keeping me awake!

Much Ado About Nothing: By William Shakespeare, Review by Uli Vuma

This is Shakespeare's Midnight's Dream without Tinker Bell.

It's body-on-the-floor funny and "scandal" is not even a word in this thing. The names are larney and outdated, yet the characters can be seen in your everyday teenager.

Here's the jist of the story in Glee format:
Finn=Benedick
Rachel=Beatrice
Puck=Claudio
Quinn=Hero
Santana=Don John

Warning: this can only be understood from the views of a Finchel fan. The only explanation  for Finchel fans is the cast of characters above. Right?
For the rest of you,
Benedick and Beatrice are meant to be together. The only problem they have is their lack of communication skills. Classic Finn and Rachel, until Season 2 of course. On the flip side, Claudio and Hero are madly in love with each other and they don't mind the occasional PDA. Classic Puck and Quinn. The large standing problem between the couples and their engagement is the evil and Hero-(Claudio and Benedick in Santana's case)Loving Don John. Killer name. A chronic idiot though. Santana at her best.

In the end of all this Glee drama, when Don John is on to the next one, the happy couples marry and they sing and dance their way out until the curtain is prompted to close. Singing and Dancing. See why I used Glee as an example?

Brilliant Funny. I'm pretty sure Ryan Murphy wrote this.

The Help: By Katheryn Stokett, Review by Uli Vuma

I don't concern myself with things I believe to be boring. But usually when I'm confronted with these things at some point, a deep and dangerous love affair evolves. This happened with Golf, Reading and Liqourice(I thought it looked ugly. I also don't concern myself with things I believe to look ugly).

So, when the words "Civil" and "Rights" are brought up, I tend to prepare to build long and secure walls. Just before this "Civil Rights" wall is about to peak over my head, I am accosted with this golden & shiny (Me like Shiny) beacon in the name of The Help. And the only reason that the wall broke down is not my love for shiny things but my love for rave-reviews. And the air was a-tweeting with rave-reviews for The Help. All I could hear was how "deliciously good" the novel was. Or that it was the author's, Katheryn Stoketts's, "wonderful debut". And I latch onto rave-reviews like a vice. So the book had to be read. And it was.

This is my verdict before The Almighty God:
W.O.W

Never have I loved something I thought to be boring-beyond-tears like this before. Ever. The characters are the people that I confront in my head and heart everyday. And it is rare to find a book that has characters that sit so close to home.
I love all the characters. Even the hare-brained Minny. This is the the first book I've read without even knowing anything about the movie. And that is saying something. This book is amazing. Probably the best previously-boring thing that I have fallen in love with. I am totally in love. The impact that this book has left me with is irrevocable and will forever remain in my heart.

The Final Word on this Book?

Best Book I Have Ever Read.

Carte Blanche: By Jeffery Deaver, Review by Uli Vuma

The name's Bond. James Bond.

I have mixed feelings about this latest James Bond installment. Probably because I didn't understand most of it.
Basically the story is set in the 9/11 era in Afghanistan. Bond is "on it" as always. This time, the mission at the offset of the story is to stop the derailment of a freight train impregnated with deadly chemicals. The usual.
Anyway, as all Bond missions go, it is carried out with success. No. In fact, it wasn't a success more than that the train was derailed in an underpopulated area and the man who orchestrated the entire mess escaped. So no, we don't get the feel of an actual Mi6 black-site in the first few chapters. The man who escaped (who's name escapes my memory. Wow, he's good) works for the Mother of Psycho-Villains. Forget Mr. Doofensmirtz, this guy is the real deal. I mean, this guy spends his 'zen-time' fantasizing about exhuming dead people(one of them including his mother, I'm sure) and using them in your everyday canned product. Pretty gruesome stuff. Not for the faint at heart. Not for people on full stomachs either.

While you're thinking about how grotesque the above must look, Bond is busy befriending this deranged person. He meets him in Cape Town, South Africa (Shout out), and that is where this sinister bromance begins.
Bond becomes incredibly "close" to this guy and for a moment, he also becomes his right hand man. And just when he is about to fulfill his mission and turn the Psycho in,
[Enter Current Lover]
his beautiful, South African lover sabotages the whole project. I know; the guy should ditch the mysterious ladies and stick to Moneypenny. This girl imparts everything Bond has told her in confidence and we discover that she works for the Psycho. Bummer for Bond. But being Bond, nothing will end if not brutal and vengeful. And bonus, all those steroids that he induces had come to great use. It turned out to be peachy in the end.
[Enter signature theme]
Thrilling at times and astonishing at others.

This one is only for the fearless of Bond Fans.
 

Artemis Fowl and Atlantic Complex Review by WakhumziMhlanga

This book is the last book in the Artemis Fowl Series and the emotional Artemis Fowl full of drama, confusion and war. Making it all a mystery about what happens in the end. I was quite intrigued about the fact that Artemis actually wanted to destroy fairies until I found out the truth of the lie of that Artemis wanted to kill the fairies and side with the demons and the story got more complex with everyone losing trust in you and respect. Until towards the end everyone discovers it was all a lie.

I would like to thank Eoin Colfer for a wonderful series and thank you for the inspiration.

Journey's End, By R.C Sherriff. Review by Uli Vuma.

Well, this wasn't a novel as such. It was a play written by some English barney name R. C Sherriff. (He wasn't an actual police officer. I just thought, with the name and all, it was only fitting to call him that.) Unlike the modern day script, this 1920's classic lacks the descriptions of emotions and thoughts of a character and rather, relies on the character's words to tell the story. Okay, I know that the dude lived when "The Toaster" wasn't fully mechanized yet, but that doesn't give him an excuse to make the rest of us grumpy. Granted, the story had it's highlights and it was precariously funny on occasion, but I wasn't excited about the product as a whole. Don't get me wrong, towards the end, the story line turned out to be pretty profound, but the build up was just arid. Or maybe I'm just being picky and I should try to walk a mile in the shoes of a person who lived when there was no such thing as Satellite TV. Maybe it's because I'm arrogant and I've written 2 other book reviews, and now I feel like a full blown critic. Maybe. But I still think the whole thing was mediocre if not slightly edging the line between "OK" and "GOOD."

Now, instead of being a joy kill, let me at least state the things I liked about it. It had an underlying dankness to it. Not overdone, but it definitely kept me on my toes. And a Uli on her tippy-toes, makes for a good Uli. Raleigh was my favorite character, hands down. Everybody else was either, drunk, old or lying bloodless on No Man's Land. I loved Raleigh's desperation to be perfect in Stanhope's eyes. And I don't understand why Stanhope was perfect in Raleigh's eyes. I mean, I understand why Stanhope was the gaunt, merciless leader that he was, but he also struck me as this good-for-nothing-except-being-drunk-and-mean person. Even if he was shell shocked.

Overall, this was a little boring but it is a necessary read if you want more insight about how the soldiers who fought in WWI felt. Makes you glad that you were born much later.

3 and a half stars.

Artemis Fowl and the lost colony

This book was bad. Period.
it had bad:

1. grammar
2. spelling
3. the worst story ever it was just like the other

If I where Artemis I would kill myself just to keep sales up.
His fairy powers can do anthing except for keeping us enthralled.
While biting my nails, pretending read and crying of boredom I realized that I should just read it and tell you how much I hate it. In fact Buler should have a story of his own. The only interesting thing was the ring that sent him to the future, even though it was green and plastic it still flavoured it up a little bit.
The book was bad, enough said.

My Sisters Keeper, Review By Uli Vuma

I watched the movie before I read the book. It's a travesty of epidemic proportions, I know, but this was practically force-fed. You see, my chum and I were given a ginormous wad of cash (that is, if you are like me who lives in Poverty Lane and considers R200 (+-$30) to be ginormous) to hire movies. We have this law that we don't watch certain movies of the same genre. To deviate from this law, is to accept a wedgie that will be hoisted over your head. So you can basically imagine what punishment would be like if I disobeyed. The rules are: Per R200, you are permitted;
1x Gutty Action Movie
1x The Latest Slap-Stick Event
1x Taste-of-Thy-Salty-Tears Drama
1x Horror

The latter was another force-feed. I'm the girl that get's queezy at the sight of blood. Anyway, My Sisters Keeper was our Drama Movie. Here were some of the setbacks that we faced; We had a Kleenex shortage. This was nothing short of blatant carelessness on our part. I mean,to walk into this unarmed, well, I haven't seen The Office Idiot do worse. We substituted premium tissues(that were designed for these such events, mind you) for cheap 1-ply toilet paper. Big Mistake. In fact, the mistake was so colossal that we ended up looking like one of those angsty, suicidal teenagers who tried killing themselves by rubbing sandpaper against their cheeks. Our cheek-pores were on the verge of trickling with blood. Thank God for Petroleum Jelly.

Okay, so that was the fixed up thanks to Vaseline, but Vaseline did nothing to stop the repercussion the film left us with. The movie was a tear-jerker to the nth degree and it took us time to actually come to and exit our haze of devastation. But we did, at least I did. Until I read the book.
And guess what?
THE BOOK WAS WORSE!
Before the book, before I knew about the magnificent Jodi Picoult, I didn't know that tears could run in all directions. I didn't know how much salt water that hails from your eyes can make your face itch in ways that you can't imagine. I didn't know, that after hanging on to every word, and making it through the end in one piece, would make your eyes dilate in deeper understanding of the world. That after reading this, everything from there-forth would be shone in a new light.
If there are words to describe how daunting this book was to me, I don't know them. And I am the person who makes it a religious event to read segments of the dictionary everyday. I don't think I will come across a sizable amount of words that equate to the boggling complexities of this book.
It's the kind of book that makes you resent the writer a little bit. Not because you are mad at yourself for not thinking of it first, but because the piece was woven into a stunning, heart-wrenching piece of work that leaves a mark. She does this thing where, once you really delve into this book, you cannot help but be stuck in this elaborate knot that can only leave you mentally stained once you manage your way out of it. It is a beautifully conceived book. The relation between you and the characters is very tangible. I personally had a deep connection with Sara and her emotional struggle to make right in her family. And it was a tough venture, the family is pretty messed up. It was a sore realization when I found out the truth: that she couldn't have both her daughters in the end. But that was the nature of it all. You could only have either, or. Which is quite relevant to the Real World and a good lesson learnt.

I think that out of all of it, the one thing that I really appreciated about this book is that it made me realize how good I actually have it. And be happy that my life is nothing close to theirs. This was a real eye opener.

Lastly,
But this book, some Kleenex and read it. It is time to be thankful for what you have.

Artemis Fowl and The Lost Colony, Reviewed by Wakhe Mhlanga

In the beginning I was gob smacked by the fact that my uncle suggested we form a book club. I used to hate books, let alone the idea of people sitting down and discussing them. Since this whole thing, reading books and discussing them, was mandatory, I chose to read Artemis Fowl and The Lost Colony. It is the most splendid book I've ever read. And that is saying something, because my reading stock-pile included Beckham books. And Beckham books only. I took one glance at this book, and it already seemed too thick. So that put me off for a few seconds until I read the description at the back. I bought the book and that was history as they say. Let me just say that I've been attached to it the entire week. It was like eating ice-cream, all-season round, without the "brain-freeze". This was really, an unbelievable book.

I would like to thank Eoin Colfer for helping me enjoy my first proper book ever.

The Great Gatsby, Review by Uli Vuma

First off, I didn't even know that this book exists. I was destined to come across it through a little site called IMDb. You see, I was mischievously checking Leonardo DiCaprio when I found out he was given the "prestigious" role of Mr. Gatsby for the remake of some american classic written years before they invented "The Credit Card." So naturally, I was uninterested. But because i am i die-hard fan of Mr. DiCaprio, and quite honestly, a little obsessed with anything and everything he does, I checked out this "American Classic." Might I just add, thank goodness for Wikipedia, it gives you a mouthful for free. In this mouthful of information, I discovered everything there is to know about "The Great Gatsby." That is, of course, if you exclude a concrete description of the books plot, characters and how it ends. I blame "spoiler alert".  Anyhow, besides its hackneyed name and its ancient appearance, I found this book to be nothing short of awesome. In point form, I will elaborate on what I thought of it.

1. Boy, was I wrong for adding quotation marks on the word American Classic. This book, is hands down one of the best books I've read.
2. Wow, the affairs and what-sort that go on in this book. I say again, Wow.
3. East Egg, West Egg. Those are weird names for places.
4. Even I got combat-fatigue from all the falling-outs that took place in this book. Who knew Mr. Bunchanan can punch like that. And shootings taking place in swimming pools? Can i just mention how very original that was. I was floored by the ghastliness of that particular situation.
5. I feel a deep and overwhelming sorrow for Nick Carraway. His eyes must have itched and burned. My eyes itched and burned. And I was only reading. 
6. I don't think that everyone can enjoy this books capriciousness. This book is up and down, left right and center. You need VALOID for this one.
7. I will forever imagine a person called "Myrtle" to be an obnoxious home-wrecker. My apologies to all the future "Myrtles" that I will meet.
8. I must remember what "the wedding cake of a ceiling" is.

This is just a select few of the things that i questioned, pondered about and discovered while reading what must be the Holy Grail of American Classics. The only thing I need now, is for Mr. Fitzgerald to rise from the dead and explain more to me.

Artemis Fowl and Atlantic Complex Review by Khangi Vuma

Artemis Fowl, is really a fabulous book.Sure it had its bad moments(spelling & grammar).It still kept me blocked  out from the rest of the world. The book plot wasn't as good as Eoin Colfers best, but he sure did keep the action and excitement in. Before I read this, I loathed books and anything that involved me reading, I could easily have been in Iraq than pick up a book. This book kept me enthralled in Artemises bipolar tendency and crazy adventures. I am looking forward to reading more of Eoin Colfers books soon.

To Eoin Colfer congratulations on a splendid job.         

First meeting of the carrot cake and stick book club

Sunday the 7th of August heralded the kick off of our book club whose aim is to encourage a culture of reading in my children. Primarily, this blog is about reviewing books that we have read each week. Furthermore, we will use the blog to review visits to museums and art galleries or similar cultural happenings. The book reviews for the current week will be up shortly.