Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garicia and Margaret Stohl

Reading Level: Young Adult
(5 out of 5)

This book is right up there with Twilight for me. If you are a fan of Stephenie Meyer, Cassandra Clare, or Claudia Gray check out Beautiful Creatures. It's sooooooooo good! I loved the characters, the setting, the story, everything.

Ethan Wate has been having dreams about a girl. Then this girl moves into town. Lena Duchannes is the girl he has been dreaming about and he feels a undeniable connection between them and he is determined to figure the connection out. You can't help but fall in love with Ethan and Lena and their families. The characters are well developed and the story just flows. This book is full of romance, danger, and magic. I can't wait for the next one, Beautiful Darkness, that comes out in October.

Immortal by Gillian Shields

Reading Level: Young Adult
(3 out of 5)

Evie Johnson is sent to Wyldcliffe Abbey School for Young Ladies when her grandmother is put in a nursing home and her father is in the army. Wyldcliffe is housed in a Gothic mansion on the bleak northern moors, is elite, expensive, and unwelcoming.

When Evie gets to the school she finds that the teaching is strict, the students are snobbish, and the oppressive atmosphere leaves her feeling lonely. Her only lifeline is Sebastian who she meets by chance. Soon she is sneaking out to see him every night but something about him doesn't add up. Evie is haunted by a ghostly girl that looks a lot like her. Evie is slowly drawn into a tangled web of the past and present that she cannot control.

What I liked about this book is that the chapters alternate between Evie and the diary of Agnes. Evie is in the present while Agnes lived in the past. Of course I'm pretty sure there will be a second book because everything doesn't get resolved at the end but I couldn't find any information about a second book.

The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen by Teri Edwards and Serena Thompson

Teri and Serena liked to look for treasure and one day they thought why not hold a sale. The Farm Chicks Antique Show was started in the fall of 2002. They started out in a barn and eventually grew into covering two parks and the community center and its grounds. Then Country Living called and did a spread on them in their magazine. And then they did this cookbook. This book is really fun to look at. Not only are there some really good recipes but they have fun craft and organization ideas as well.

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

Reading Level: Adult
(4 out of 5)

Nicholas Sparks was inspired to write this story from an image. The image was of a marine staring at a photograph. Who was in the photograph? Why was he staring?

In The Lucky One Logan Thibault finds a photograph lying in the sand in Iraq. Once Thibault is in possession of the photograph he seems to get out of every deadly situation he gets in. His friend Victor says that the photograph is his lucky charm and that he needs to find the woman in the photograph. When Thibault gets back home he can't get the woman in the photograph out of his mind. When tragedy strikes Thibault decides to find this woman. Along with his German Shepherd Zeus Thibault walks from Colorado to North Carolina. He finds the woman in the photograph and his life will never be the same. This is a Nicholas Sparks book with a sad but happy ending. Mr. Sparks you need more of those.

The Pioneer Woman

I love, love, love the Pioneer Woman also known as Ree. A friend of mine told me about her blog a few years ago and I have been a faithful follower ever since. Pioneer woman is down to earth, funny, and she cooks drool worthy meals. It really makes you wish that your computer had a scratch and sniff component like some magazines do. What's really nice is that she does the recipe step by step with pictures. I love pictures.

Her cookbook is the same. Each recipe is broken down step by step and the whole cookbook is so colorful. Color on every page.

If you are a foodie or just love food check out her website and cookbook now. www.thepioneerwoman.com

Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard

So the book I read was titled "Pretty Little Liars" By Sara Shepard. This is the first book in a series of seven.

The book starts off telling you about four of the main characters. Spencer- is the popular field hockey girl, Aria- has a crush on her teacher, Emily- is on the swim team and might be bisexual, and Hanna- is the former queen bee. They all have been keeping a secret since 6th grade about their friend Alison who disappeared one night when they were hanging out. They have kept this secret from everyone but then during high school they start getting text, emails, and letters from an anonymous person who might be Alison or someone else. The secrets being revealed through the notes are big and little and could destroy all their reputations. They find Alison's body at the end of this book so they know its not her, but it is someone who knows all their deepest darkest secrets and won't stop till they get revenge. This book was excellent and intriguing not knowing who the anonymous writer is. It keeps you guessing and wanting to read more. I can't wait to read the next book.

Submitted by Cody

This book sounds good and it seems like you might want the second one handy when you finish the first. To find out more go to: www.prettylittleliars.com

Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia

Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia was first published in the late 1960's in Germany under the editorship of zoologist Bernhard Gryzimek. Years later Gale and the American Zoo and Aquarium Association worked together to completely revise and update the series for the first time in 30 years. Gale expanded the 13 volume set to 17 volumes, had new color paintings commissioned, and made the set easier to use.

This 17 volume set is organized by taxonomy. Taxonomy is the science in which various organisms are discovered, identified, described, named, classified, and catalogued. They start with the simplest life forms, the lower metazoans and lesser deuterostomes, in volume one, and then the series progresses through the more complex classes of animals, culminating with the mammals, in volumes 12-16 (pg x).

Grzimek's features 3,000 color photos that help enhance understanding.

If you need information on animal life take a look at these very informative books.