MEME: What are you reading on Mondays? (1)

J. Kaye's Book Blog is holding a weekly Meme called: What are you reading on Mondays? To join, and for more information, please check this page on her website out. If you join, please make sure to visit the other bloggers' lists as well. ;)

Last week was a terribly busy week that's why I was only able to finish around 1-3 books along with a couple of magazines. :( This week, I decided to begin reading more before school starts once more on the 4th. Here are my lists:

CURRENTLY READING:

• Purge by Sarah Darer Littman
• The Guy Next Door by Meg Cabot
  

UPCOMING READINGS:

• The Amanda Project: Invisible I by Stella Lennon/Melissa Kantor
• Love Is The Higher Law by David Levithan
• Looking For Alaska by John Green

What are yours? Tell me what you think!

Book Review: Diana Mini's Shoot Forever

Surprise YA-unrelated review!

I was having second thoughts while building this review. Mainly because this doesn't concern any Young Adult literature, which is the essential aim of Parasol Reviews. But then, I decided that I needed more blog content as well as practice in doing reviews. For today, I'll be reviewing a small gift book included in a single package of a Diana Mini. If you would like to have more information regarding Lomography, please check this out. On the other hand, if you would like to learn more about the Diana Mini, go here. To purchase, stumble here.

Now, I've seen tons of gift and Lomography books before. (Y'know, the books that are just meant for pure entertainment and other awesome stuff?) But Shoot Forever exceeds my expectations. The book has such an eccentrically cute design. The book extends, is cut to a side and is flapped open the opposite side, which means that there are two parts of the book. I truly enjoyed the cover with the young boy taking a good roll at the meadows. It truly exemplifies the Diana spirit (mini-sized!) right there at your fingertips.

The book is predominantly inhibited by photos, different pictures of lifestyles and casual living. There are different tips for enhancing the user's Diana experience with user-submitted content. On the other side, there are separated sections with Diana Mini Missions. (What are they? Go check 'em out yourself!) My favorite part of the book has got to be the centerfold. When you pull on both ends of the book, an amazing collage of compiled pictures taken from the Diana Mini are assembled right on the page. So far, I can say that this book is truly a collector's item. It is also a hundred percent colored, just so you know. ;)

Below is a picture of the Diana Mini itself. (Word of Note: The flash came from my Mr. Pink Diana. ;) It is not included in the Diana Mini package.) Woops! Looks like Mr. Mini is exposing some of my future book reviews. (Bad, Mr. Mini!)

2010 Young Adult Reading Challenge

J. Kaye's Book Blog is hosting this year's yearly Young Adult Challenge. For more information about the rules, or to join, please visit: here. This challenge is valid for the entire year of 2010. (January 1, 2010 to December 31, 2010)

I read fairly often, but I only read or finish a single book whenever I like it. So this'll be quite a challenge for me. :) I promise to play this challenge effectively and truthfully. Scout's honour. ;D I am going to take it to the next level and join the 'Stepping it Up' Level. My aim is to be able to finish reading 50 books. :)

THE BOOKS:

Review: Get Well Soon

TITLE: Get Well Soon

AUTHOR: Julie Halpern

PUBLISHER: Feiwel and Friends

PUBLISHING DATE: October 2007

COPY INFO: Hardbound || Personally Owned/Bought

SUMMARY: Anna Bloom is depressed - so depressed that her parents have committed her to a mental hospital with a bunch of other messed-up teens. Here, she meets a roommate with a secret (and a plastic baby), a doctor who focuses way too much on her weight, and a cute, shy boy who might just like her. But wait! Being trapped in a loony bin isn't supposed to be about making friends, losing weight, and having a crush, is it?

MY REVIEW:

Since I'm such a book shelf scanner, I've spotted Get Well Soon in the bookstore for ages. I never really bought it because it was expensive, seeing as it was in hardcover. So, I had to wait for quite awhile, until I asked for it from my parent's this year Christmas. :) It was so worth it, however. It's strikingly yellow cover art is easily noticeable and striking. I adore the simplicity of the design, as if it is shaped out to be a typical 'get well soon' card. Moving on, I found the first parts of the book rather quick at first. I felt rather bombarded with all the information about Anna and her situation in the first few chapters. The readers are immediately presented with her situation, something that I found rather unappealing. I would've rather preferred to delve right into Anna's emotions and thoughts of being in the mental ward instead of what was already happening to her surroundings at that very chapter.

However, despite my disputes with the first parts of the book, I enjoyed the succeeding chapters. Over-all, I found Anna's character very likable. She thought of the same things as a normal female teenager does, and is rather a rebel in many ways. Anna has her own thoughts and opinions. This is what made me like her quite a lot. Sadly, I do think that the other characters were quite undeveloped. Because Anna was the book's POV, you could barely have a more in-depth characterization of the other characters. Somehow, all that was seen about the other characters was how Anna saw them, and how she perceived them to be. I would've like to see their POVs most of all, just to see how they felt to be in a 'loony bin'. :)

Get Well Soon is a light read, spanning only a total of 193 pages. Although there were some parts that absolutely begged to be expanded (Anna and Justin's development, yes?), this book is definitely worth your time. My favorite character has got to be Matt O. Did I mention that this book was quite entertaining? It didn't make my eyes burn from tears of laughter, but good enough. If you like books with very expressive narrators, I suggest picking this up.

Archives

This is the archive for all the products that I have reviewed. They are broken in two different categories: YA Books and Others. The latter category contains miscellaneous books from different categories. I hope that you find what you are looking for. :) Oh, and if you would like to suggest any item for review, shoot me up here: sendtherain[@]mail.com!

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My Rating System

Want to know how a certain book fares in my opinion? Check this out!

This is terrific! I definitely recommend this! Pick it up as soon as possible!

This is wonderful! Definitely wonderful. Pick it up if ever you can.

This is good. It is definitely good quality. Only pick it if it piques your interest.

I must admit that this item borders between good or bad. This is not the best, yet it is not the worst.

I do not recommend this at all. Buy at your own risk.

Blog Information

Welcome to Parasol Reviews!

This warm abode is maintained by me: Elle. I am very proud to give you all my detailed reviews on different pieces of Young Adult literature (as well as some other genres every now and then). As a teenager myself, I would like to honestly share my opinions with others, my truthful experiences in a wide-array of books. I would like to be able to meet other bloggers as well as fellow readers. Also, I hope that you enjoy your stay here at PR Headquarters. Oh, also, come again! :)

Parasol Review’s Review Policy:

I am not affiliated with any company regarding all my reviewed products. This is to clear-up any future misinterpretations about where I get my books. They are all 100% bought unless specified. Also, I am very honest about all my reviews. These are all 100% my truthful and honest opinions.

I will only review Young Adult (every now and then)that are personally bought and owned. I’m sorry, but I do not accept promotional items and ARCs. This is because I would like to clear myself up from any misunderstanding. :D However, if you have any contest or game that you would like to promote, feel free to contact me so that I can help share the word.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: Did you make your header?/Can you make me a header?

A: Yes, and Yes! I can help make you your own header. ;) Feel free to shoot me an e-mail then we’ll talk! But please note that I cannot make one right away because time is a little bit constraining every now and then.

Q: Where do you get your books?

A: I don't acquire ARCs (nor will I ever accept any), so my books are either received from my parents/others or purchased personally.

Q: How come you don't accept ARCs?

A: I don't understand why people value ARCs very much. I mean, Book Blogs (or any review blog for that matter) are meant for us readers to share our opinions on a variety of books - not just ARCs. Sorry, no offense, but I would rather pick a book from a bookstore or wait for the release of the book itself rather than go through any drama or unnecessary time waste to acquire one. That is all. Please don't take it personally because I'm not aiming at anyone. :)



Send Me An E-mail?:

Feel free to send me an e-mail anytime if you have any concerns or would simply like to talk. Ring me up here: sendtherain[@]live.com!

Welcome Post

Hi, guys! I'm Elle, and I'd like to welcome you all to my newly created Book Blog called Parasol Reviews. The inspiration for this website came from some of my good friends who're into books as well. (They're also about to do their own blog as well. I promise to keep you all posted when their sites come up.) Well, I really do love to read so I decided to make this page to share to everyone. This'll be a fun page for me to share my thoughts/tips/anything about writing and books.

Feel free to add me anytime. (^^)/