Recommend & Review

[Katherine]

Has anyone read "The Devil Wears Prada Shoes" there's movie out or about to be released but I want to know whether its worth reading.

[seth_is_my_baby]

I recommend "Junk" Melvin Burgess..

Amazon.co.uk Review
Junk is an extraordinary book, and walks a terrain that is at once terrifying and totally compelling.

Tar and Gemma are in love. Tar has reasons for running away from home that run deep and sour, whereas Gemma, with her middle-class roots firmly on show, has a deep-rooted lust for adventure. Together they explore the dark world of the streets as, together, they explore the dark world of drugs, moving quickly on from the first hit of heroin that takes them towards bliss, to the next hit that ultimately leads to despair.

Melvyn Burgess packs one hell of a punch in Junk, a book that is certainly unnerving in its honesty about two teenagers and their very different reasons for wanting to flee their families and their lives.

The narrative is simple and to the point, adding fire to the characterisation of the two main protagonists as they dive deeper into their love affair with heroin and each other. Burgess hits hard with his convincing handling of controversial subjects ranging from alcohol abuse, prostitution, teenage pregnancy and child abuse, skilfully moving the plot and the characters forward with a pace that mirrors Tar and Gemma's spiralling relationship.

Junk is a must-read for any teenager who enjoys gritty realism and a gutsy, honest approach to the books they read. But be warned, this book is not for the faint-hearted: the language is realistic, the situations are occasionally terrifying, and Burgess certainly does not glamorise any aspect of Tar and Gemma's lifestyle. Parents of teenagers should take a close look too.

[tutor_ jess]

Originally Posted by Katherine Behr

Has anyone read "The Devil Wears Prada Shoes" there's movie out or about to be released but I want to know whether its worth reading.

I have and even thought it's been over a year I distinctly remember the feeling I felt when I was reading it which was happy as far as books were concerned. It is an awesome book and it is totally worth checking out. This book is great...and also works if you're looking for an escape.

[Katherine]

I love escapism books. Thanks...I'll definitely check it out.

[tutor_ jess]

No problem. After you're done with that one you should check out Everyone Worth Knowing, that's her second book and it is also awesome.

[Manon]

Originally Posted by Katherine Behr

Has anyone read "The Devil Wears Prada Shoes" there's movie out or about to be released but I want to know whether its worth reading.

omg i LOVED that book, it's so funny! I read it in like, a day.

[MizzUnderstood]

I'm quite the reader so can ya'll throw me some titles with authors: I'm interested in:
Mystery
Romance
Horror
Funny
Drama

Hope that helps!

S.a.r.a.

[Katherine]

I'll try my best.

Mystery - A mystery/thriller I enjoyed was "Along Came A Spider" by James Paterson. Don't rely on the movie - the movie sucked compared to the book.

Romance - I love classical romance so Pride & Prejudice, Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre are all great. For something more modern? Gothic romance I'd say look at Virginia Andrews. I (shamefully) also adore my Mills & Boons/Harlequin romances.

Horror - I don't read much horror. I love R.L. Stine though. Typical and structured but they're fun.

Funny - This could go under romance but Bridget Jones's Diary and The Edge of Reason both by Helen Fielding are HILARIOUS! And anything by Oscar Wilde. Witty and brilliant.

Drama - As in play? Or dramatic stories...once more Viriginia Andrews are total soap operas.

If you could give us an age range that'd make things easier

[Kari]

How about a little reviving this, because reading back just gave me an idea. Maybe we could pick a certain genre and then everybody can pick a book and recommend, so we get a nice lisiting here...

LIke maybe a book from your home country.

I'd recommend "The Clown" by Heinrich Böll then. Firstly, it's a testimony of post-war Germany and the development of the nation, the trauma war left for some people and the way it didn't get to learn way to many.
Then it is also a social satire, with dark sometimes cynical humour, that makes you laugh and yet think.

[seth_is_my_baby]

Okay, a book from Australia... I recommend "Looking For Alibrandi" by Melina Marchetta- its fabulous. Story of an Australian girl with an italian back ground growing up in Suburban Sydney.

Amazon.com
Seventeen-year-old Josephine Alibrandi is no stranger to conflict. If she's not caught between her strict single mom and her even stricter grandmother, then she's trying to choose between wealthy good boy John Barton and working-class bad boy Jacob Coote. Josephine is always in trouble with the nuns at her Catholic school (who everyone calls "penguins because of them wearing wimples and all that Sound of Music gear") because she fights with native Australian kids over her mixed Australian/Italian heritage. Just when she thinks her situation couldn't possibly get more complicated, her mysterious, long-lost biological father comes back and Josephine must decide if it's worth getting to know this person who abandoned her and her mother. But through it all--including a startling revelation from her grandmother and the suicide of a close friend--Josephine manages to hold on to her sense of humor, as in this reflective moment: "I could have been a model for Hot Pants. Except that when I finally put my glasses on, reality set in. Hot Pants would have to wait."

Award-winning Australian author Melina Marchetta has created a strong and sassy role model in Josephine, whom girls with growing pains on both sides of the Pacific will love. With its accurate and insightful portrayal of a young woman's coming of age, Looking for Alibrandi will have female teens waiting eagerly for Marchetta's next novel. --Jennifer Hubert

[Kay]

Country..as in UK not just England?
The Portrait of Mr W.H by Oscar Wilde [He is from Irland so...]

It such an awesome book, Oscar Wilde' view on for whom Shakespeare wrote his Sonnets. I love it.

[ephramwood]

i just recently read wuthering heights for english class and i didnt hate it but i didnt like it either. i felt that it dragged on way to much.

[Kari]

I really liked Wuthering Heights in a way. I mean, I would certainly recommend it to everyone of you. It's somehow a great piece of literature.
But then a little voice inside of me says how it is not actually a particularly gooood book. I mean, it has its very fascinating parts, but sometimes it is a little too goth for me...

[Katherine]

See I LOVE the goth novels. I grew up to V.C. Andrews which is a goth-romance if you ask me. I love the dark and nitty gritty side of love.

It's as unrealistic as fields and meadows sort of love...but I think it gives it more depth. It's raw and in your face...goth romances.

I LOVE Wuthering Heights. I honestly do. I don't know why. But Heathcliff and Cathy are love and it's gut wrenching and heart stopping...and it's just brilliant.

[Kari]

I know, I mean, it has its strongest parts, totally strong "ripping your heart out, throwing it to the floor and jumping on it" parts. It is a great love story.
Especially because the love story is so intense and immortal.
But there is something...I don't know. I guess, I will just never get around to saying it is a brilliant book...