Safe Haven

Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks

So, I have seen the movie for Safe Haven, but I haven't ever read the book until now, I KNOW, I KNOW, what a big no-no ;)

Katie has a secret. One that could ruin her new life. She came to the teeny town of Southport, North Carolina to start over, and create a new life for herself, a safe life. She definitely doesn't want to let her guard down, even to her super friendly neighbor, Jo. But after she opens herself up to Jo, she finds her heart opening up to little Kristen, the shopkeeper, Alex's, daughter. Which soon leads her to Alex. Who is a widow and more than cute. and loving & gah. But how can Katie possibly be falling for this guy when she knows love doesn't last... or does it? And can Katie even love this man when she knows her life will bring so much bad into his?

So personally I loved the movie! I did skip a couple parts in it, where there is a sex scene & makeouts, but for the most part I really enjoyed it. I was suuuuper disappointed though, because the book was much more crude. I don't even want to get into it too much, because it's just kinda gross/awkward to me. But lets just say it had much more sexual stuff in it. I would definitely not recommend. BOO! Thumbs down!!

Rate: PG13/R
   Some cussing, and lots of sexuality
GOOD OR GOODBYE?
    GOODBYE ;(

The Selection

The Selection is the first book in it's series by Kiera Cass. I know I say this on like every post, but ahhh I enjoyed this one a ton!! It was soooo good!!! Forreal, if you are into girls becoming Princess, a cute prince, some action, or all of the above, go pick up this book asap.


So it's about a girl named America, "Mer" who get selected to be sent to the castle in hopes to become the Princes's bride. Except this isn't her hope. It's her moms, and 34 other girls, and basically all girls in the country's hope. Mer doesn't want to marry the prince, she is already in love. The only problem is that her family needs money, bad. If she participates in this selection, her family will receive money from the royal family. True love or helping her family? But when her "true love" tells her to join in the selection for his own benefit, she agrees to do it. She meets the prince, and he isn't so bad. In fact, they become fast friends....now she just has to beat the other 34 girls in the competition. No problem, right? The only problem is she still isn't sure if she wants to win....
AH okay so ya'll probably think it sounds lame! BUT IT'S NOT I SWEAR!! I've only read the 1st one! & I'm dying to read the other 5!
Okay okay, so we established it's good, but is it clean? I would call it a mostly clean book! While it occasionally hints at sex, there isn't ever any in the book. At least not in the first one. Once I read the other ones, I will keep ya updated! However, even though there isn't sex, there is some VERY passionate kissing. Kinda inappropriate... I tried to skim read the makeouts because I don't think make outs are the best.
Rate: PG 
      5 cuss words, a few make out scenes
GOOD? OR GOODBYE? 
        I would say GOOD!! 
Okay so I realize I am saying how good it is, yet mentioning there is a small amount of bad stuff. I'm not excusing the small amount of bad that's in the book. But, I do think this book is much much cleaner than alot of other literature. However I would recommend to skip the makeouts and/or wait until you're 14 & up to read. 

The Nitty-Gritty:
    Okay so when I say it hints at sex, I mean it doesn't happen in the book.  It really just hints at the idea of sex. However, it does have a couple makeout  parts, with her "true love" at the beginning of the book & towards the end.
    Cussing- it does say the H & D words a couple times. :/

Finding Rose

Finding Ross by Stephanie Humphreys 

Review by Megan

Rose Sterling lives a carefree life in Utah. However,when her father is extremely sick and on his death bed, he asks her to consider Miles Crandall as a suitor (who is a good friend of Rose's brother). On top of that, she is sent to Spring Creek, Montana with Miles who is making his way towards them. Miles shows no interest in Rose (especially their first meet is bumpy), except being her physician and maybe an acquaintance. Rose doesn't know how she can obey her father's wishes, when they seem impossible. 

This book was absaloutley a good read! I couldn't stop reading it, it was so good! It was very clean, funny, cute, and shared the LDS standards.It was a total adventure & made me wonder what was going to happen next! It was definitely worth while to read & i highly recommend to cuddle up with this book!

Rating: PG

Good or Goodbye? GOOD!!

Edenbrooke

Edenbrooke by Julianne Donaldson

Review by Kierstin

After her mothers' sudden death, Marianne's life is flipped upside down. Her father sends her to live with her grand per, and she is torn away from everything she loves. Her twin sister, Cecily, her friends, and the beautiful countryside. Bath (the location of her grandmothers' estate) is too populated and too constraining for Marianne. So when she is invited to take a summer visit to the country estate Edenbrooke, she accepts without question. Over the course of her stay, Marianne takes daily rides and spends all her free time in the company of her new found friend. Life is blissful. However, in a sudden turn of events, Marianne is forced to choose between her heart and her dear friendship, or her loyalty to Cecily. "Will Marianne be able to rein in her traitorous heart, or will a mysterious stranger sweep her off her feet? Fate had something other than a relaxing summer in mind when it sent Marianne to Edenbrooke."

RATE: PG
GOOD OR GOODBYE?
GOOD!!! I read it 4 times in 4 days and is definitely one for the romance lovers!

Nitty Gritty: one or two kissing scenes but no language or violence. Nothing bad, really!

The Princess Bride

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Review by Marissa

"Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."
Chances are if you have heard this line, it was from the movie, not from reading the book. While the book and the movie are *practically* the same thing, it is a law of literature that the book is always better than the movie :) In this case, the book and movie are in close competition, but the book, (again, as ALWAYS) includes those details that don't make it into the movie. Since my own summary could not do justice to this classic, here is the book's own summary:
"As Florin and Guilder teeter on the verge of war, the reluctant Princess Buttercup is devestated by the loss of her true love, kidnapped by a mercenary and his henchmen, rescued by a pirate, forced to marry Prince Humperdink, and rescued once again by the very crew who absconded with her in the first place. In the course of this dazzling adventure, she'll meet Vizzini- the criminal philosopher who'll do anything for a bag of gold; Fezzik- the gentle giant; Inigo- the Spaniard whose steel thirsts for revenge; and Count Rugen- the evil mastermind behind it all. Foiling all their plans and jumping into their stories is Westley, Princess Buttercup's one true love and a very good friend of a very dangerous pirate."

This book is the perfect combination of romance, adventure, sinister plots, and humor. I HIGHLY recommend this book, even if you have seen the movie already. By reading the book, you get the real story, which (surprise!) the movie does not perfectly cover. I will admit that I was surprised to see how well the book-to-movie transition was done over, but in the end the book was more interesting and captivating than the movie.  You get to learn so much more about the characters, and you get a whole new view of their stories. For those of you who have not seen the movie, this book is a wonderfully written adventure full of surprising twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It will quite literally leave your broken and bruised one minute, and the next put you back on the edge of your seat with hope and anxiety and happiness and helplessness all wrapped into one moment. It's a page turner that you won't be able to put down! At least, that's what it was for me:) This book is for sure one of my new favorites.

Rate: PG13
For some violence, and brief use of strong language.
GOOD OR GOODBYE?
GOOD!!

The Magicians

The Magician by Lev Grossman 

Review by Grant 

Quentin Coldwater is a high school senior, but he’s still secretly obsessed with a series of fantasy novels he read when he was little, about the adventures of five children in a magical land called Fillory. Compared to that, everything in his real life just seems gray and colorless. That changes when Quentin finds himself admitted to a very secret, very exclusive college of magic in upstate New York, where he receives a thorough and rigorous education in the practice of modern sorcery.

But magic doesn’t bring Quentin the happiness and adventure and meaning he thought it would—until he and his friends make a stunning discovery: Fillory is real.

I discovered this book in my middle school library! At first it is an interesting story about magicians trying to fit in he real world, but there are concepts in this book that are nowhere near okay. This includes: profanity, crude jokes, sex references, homosexual sex, prostitution, and explicit descriptions. And I discovered it in MIDDLE SCHOOL LIBRARY! I only read halfway through, but this is a horrible book. Please don't read. 

RATE: R                                                                                                                                                  GOOD OR GOODBYE?                                                                                                             GOODBYE! 
                                                                                                                             
NITTY GRITTY: there is profanity, crude jokes, sex references, homosexual sex, prostitution and explicit descriptions

Sand Dollar Summer

Sand Dollar Summer by Kimberly K. Jones

Twelve-year-old Lise watches her what used to be safe world slowly fall apart when her mom is injured in a car accident. To recover Lise's mom takes her and her little brother to live rickety house on the beach in Maine for the summer. Lise's mom grew up there Lise has never seen the ocean, she is terrified of what might be in the water and is confused by the way Maine is changing her mother. as things from her mothers past start spilling out Lise has to learn how to go with the flow or risk falling apart.

I am absolutely in love with this book and I couldn't put it down, i have read it so many times and it never gets old. It has no swearing, making out, sex, NOTHING! This book is so clean and i love it, the story is a bit sad but it is good. Right from the time the book started I want to put it down. I find now every book is about romance and falling in love but this book barely even touches on romance which is a nice change.

Rate: PG
GOOD OR GOODBYE?
GOOD!!! this is one of the best books I have read in a long time