The Vampire Diaries by L.J. Smith

This captivating series is now a hit T.V. Show, so, before you watch the show, or if you have enjoyed the show, read where it all began...

1.The Awakening
2. The Struggle
3. The Fury
4. Dark Reunion
5. The Return: Nightfall
6.The Return: Shadow Souls

Still recovering from the loss of her parents, Elena Gilbert meets the evasive Stefan Salvatore. 
But what she doesn't know about him and his past won't hurt her. Or will it?...
Without anybody knowing, vampires exist, and now that this one vampire has come to the town of Mystic Falls, will anything ever be the same.
When Stefan's brother comes to town, Elena finds herself drawn to the two vampire brothers.
Can Elena keep their secret and choose who her heart really belongs to without destroying her once quiet home town?...


When I first started reading the Vampire Diaries, I was immediately sucked in.
Contrary to popular belief that the Vampire Diaries is a copy of Twilight, the Vampire Diaries was actually published 14 years prior to Twilight, using some of the same ideas, but putting a spin on the characters, Vampire Lore and the history of the characters that Twilight lacks.

The books are compelling and will keep you on the edge, wanting more and more of the wonderful world that L.J. Smith has created.

If you are a fan of the show, then try reading the books. They deviate from the series, but they are still really entertaining.
If you are a fan of the books, then you will love the series, it captures the best of the characters and portrays the main story line of the series well.

Interview with Jenna Burtenshaw

Here's the interview with fabulous author of Wintercraft, Jenna Burtenshaw.



Q: What type of stories have influenced you?

A: I have always enjoyed many different kinds of stories, but the ones that influenced me most have always been on the dark side.  I love reading anything with a supernatural theme, post-apocalyptic books, or stories where society has broken or gone wrong.  Elements of those themes often squeeze their way into my own writing.
 
Q: What kind of stories do you like writing?

A: I enjoy writing about characters who are not always what they first appear to be and sending them into places and situations that are dark and mysterious.  The best part of writing is letting the characters find solutions to problems themselves and trusting them to find their own way, rather than forcing them into situations that they would never choose in real life.  They don’t always take the easy path, but that’s what makes it interesting!
 
Q: What fascinates you about death and the supernatural?
 
A: It has to be the mystery of it all.  Everyone has a theory, opinion or belief about what happens after death.  The magic of it - for me - is that no one can ever know who is right.  Death is the one thing that connects every single one of us and it is something we know absolutely nothing about.  The ‘not knowing’ intrigues me.  People’s rituals and beliefs surrounding death are often so different and interesting.  I find death and the different elements surrounding it, such as spirits and the existence of the soul, fascinating subjects to explore through fiction.     


Q: Because Kate communicates with the dead does that mean that you  want to have that power? If so, if you could talk to someone who has passed on who would it be?
 
A: That is a very difficult question!  I think being able to speak with the dead would be very interesting, but would come with its own drawbacks too.  If I did have the chance to speak to anyone, it would be one of the people who built Stonehenge.  I’d love to know why they built it and what it was originally used for.     
 
Q: What do you hope a reader will come away with after reading your book?
 
A: I hope they enjoy the book and see something within the characters that they like.  Friendship and trust are very important in the story.  I hope readers take away the idea that true friends can change each other’s lives and enemies may not always be what they seem to be.
 
Q:  Your descriptions are so vivid, do you have really clear mental images of the characters and settings, or have you drawn the places  from real cities, artworks, or movies?
 
A: When I think about a place within the book – Fume for example – I see it very clearly within my mind: the winding streets, the ancient buildings and carriages rattling along the roads.  Fume is a graveyard city and was inspired by the architecture and atmosphere you find in old Victorian graveyards with their statues, stonework and twisted trees.  I did not use any particular cities to create the places described in the book, they’re all pieced together from my own imagination and I enjoy spending time in them when I’m working on my books.    
 
Q: Were your characters inspired by any real or fictional people?
 
A: Not directly, but there are some similarities between Edgar and my brother.  Some elements of his personality definitely seeped into Edgar during writing.  All of the other characters feel very individual to me.  They all walked onto the page with their own quirks and problems.  Each one is a personality in their own right and I like them all for different reasons.
 Q: What part of Wintercraft did you enjoy writing the most?
 
A: I definitely enjoyed writing the description of the Night Train.  It is such an ominous machine, patched together with gnarled metal taken from the remains of other old trains.  I was right there with Kate when the huge train pulled into Morvane’s station to carry the prisoners from her town away; a moving hulk of smoke and noise.  The thought of it still unnerves me a little when I read that chapter.

Q: Was the setting of Wintercraft influenced by where you grew up?

A: Elements of my local area have crept in to Wintercraft in small ways.  I grew up in a market town, just like Kate.  The underground sections of the story were inspired by a drift mine I visited when I was ten (a very scary experience!) and the idea for Fume grew from an abandoned chapel in an old cemetery I used to walk through every day on my way to school.  I still visit that cemetery sometimes.  It is a beautiful place to walk.    

Q: Do you foresee any sequels to Wintercraft?

A: Wintercraft is the first book in a trilogy.  I’ve finished the second book and I’m working on the third book in the series at the moment.  The second book is called Blackwatch and is due to be published in April next year.  There is a lot more of Kate and Silas’s story to tell.

Coming Soon...

Thanks to penguin, look out for these books being reviewed in the next few weeks...

SCOUT 
By Nicole Pluss

Growing up in Victorian England, 15-year old Kit Lovell has not had an easy childhood. She never knew her father – a sea captain who went down with his ship, the Invincible, before she was born. And now her strict and protective mother, having relied on the charity of her sister, has made the radical decision to sail with Katherine to the new colony of Australia on the strength of an arranged marriage to a lighthouse keeper on the lonely and isolated Kangaroo Island. But the journey to that faraway land – with its melting pot of passengers and crew, and the terrible events that take place – will shape their lives forever.
A powerful and beautifully wrought work of historic fiction with fascinating characters and dramatic action that propels us through this fascinating coming-of-age journey.

A LOVE STORY STARRING MY DEAD BEST FRIEND
By Emily Horner

Cass and her drama-crazy best friend, Julia, were planning a road trip to California. When Julia is killed in a car accident, Cass decides to follow the original plan anyway. Even if she has a bicycle instead of a driver's licence, and even if Julia's ashes are coming along in Tupperware.
This is a story about friendship. About Love. About traveling a thousand miles just to find yourself. And it's a story about the kookiest high school musical one quiet suburb has ever seen.


DEVIL'S KISS 
By Sarwat Chadda

Billi SanGreal is the first girl in the Knights Templar, and the most kick ass weapon-wielding heroine around. At fifteen, her life is a rigorous and brutal round of weapons practice, demon killing and occult lore – and a whole lot of bruises. But then, she didn’t have much choice. Her father, the Templar Master, forced her to take this path. There is no sacrifice Arthur will not make in his war against the Unholy. But Billi hates the Order, and she hates him too. Tempted by a chance to live a different kind of life and reject everything her father wants her to be, she learns to her horror that she may unwittingly have brought down the Tenth Plague upon humanity – the death of all first born. Faced with choosing her destiny, she must make sacrifices greater than she could have imagined.



THE CHRONICLES OF VLADIMIR TOD
BY HEATHER BREWER

CAUTION!!! SPOILER ALERT!!!

3. Tenth Grade Bleeds


High school can be so draining when you're half-human, half-vampire

It's another sucky year at Bathory High for Vladimir Tod. The evil vampire D'Ablo is hunting for the ritual that could steal Vlad's powers. His best friend Henry doesn't want to be his drudge anymore. And as if all that weren't enough, it's getting harder for Vlad to resist feeding on the people around him. When months go by with no word from Uncle Otis and D'Ablo shows up demanding Vlad's father's journal, Vlad realizes that having a normal high school year is the least of his concerns. Vlad needs to act fast, and even his status as the Pravus won't save him this time...

4. Eleventh Grade Burns


The penultimate chapter in the thrilling vampire series!
Things have taken a darker turn for the half-human teenager with an appetite for blood.  Joss, a vampire slayer and Vlad’s former friend, has moved back to Bathory.  A mysterious and powerful new vampire, Dorian, appears with a shocking secret and an overwhelming desire to drink Vlad’s blood.  And Vlad’s arch enemy, D’Ablo, has a sinister plan to eliminate Vlad once and for all.  With death threatening from every angle, Vlad will have to use every ounce of his skill and training to survive, but nothing can prepare him for what awaits him in the end.

 end of spoiler alert :)

NICHOLAS DANE
Melvin Burgess

When Nick's mother dies suddenly, the fourteen-year-old is sent straight into a boys' home, where he finds institutional intimidation and violence keep order. After countless fights and punishments, Nick thinks life can't get any worse - but the professionally respected deputy head, Mr Creal, who has been grooming him with sweets and solace, has something much more sinister in mind. The scarring, shaming experience he suffers at the hands of Mr Creal can never quite be suppressed, and when the old hatred surfaces, bloody murder and revenge lead to an unforgettable climax.

ARTEMIS FOWL & THE ATLANTIS COMPLEX
Eoin Colfer 

Artemis Fowl's criminal ways have finally got the better of him...

 Young Artemis has frequently used high-tech fairy magic to mastermind the most devious criminal activity of the new century. Now, at a conference in Iceland, Artemis has gathered the fairies to present his latest idea to save the world from global warming. But Artemis is behaving strangely – he seems different. Something terrible has happened to him . . .

 Artemis Fowl has become nice.

 The fairies diagnose Atlantis Complex – that's obsessive compulsive disorder to you and me – dabbling in magic has damaged his mind. Fairy ally Captain Holly Short doesn't know what to do. Because the subterranean volcanoes are under attack from vicious robots and Artemis cannot fight them. Can Holly get the real Artemis back ­­­before the robot probes destroy every human and life form.

 

I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

I am Number Four is the first book in the  Lorien Legacies series by Pittacus Lore.

John Smith is not what meets the eye.
He looks like your average teenager, but what you don't know is that he is actually an alien from another planet called Lorien. 
Invaded by Mogadorians, the people of the planet Lorien are forced to flee to Earth. 
There Were Nine. The Mogadorians have killed three.
John Smith is Number Four.
Can he save his life and those of Paradise, Ohio, before it's too late?

 Filled with amusing situations, characters that are of the believable, (some of them, I think...), I am Number Four is sure to keep you entertained with its fast-past action, and twists and turns that will keep you guessing, I am Number Four is a great read.

As soon as I picked up I am Number Four, I knew that I wouldn't be able to put it down. The pages kept turning and turning until there was nothing left to read, and an unhappy Book Slooth!

Due out in theaters in February 2011, this action-packed flick also has an awesome cast–including Alex Pettyfer as Number Four/John Smith, Glee star Dianna Agron as Sarah, and Callan McAuliffe as Sam!

Look out for I am Number Four!

Winner of Ghostgirl: Lovesick Giveaway- throuthehaze

I placed all the contestants' names on a green piece of paper and drew them out of a bowl, not looking! :)

{ the competition is now closed :( }