Books #26-30 - Jessica Darling Series by Megan McCafferty

Let me start of by saying what a fan I am of book series in general. From Twilight to Harry Potter to the Little House books, I'm just in love with the idea of taking a journey with a cast of characters throughout the span of their lives. This series grabbed my heart from the beginning and held on to it throughout five books. Jessica Darling is seriously battling Harry Potter as my all time favorite.

To briefly sum up, Jessica Darling is a high school junior who is full of smarts, angst, and snark. The books are written in first person journal form where Jessica begins to write after her best friend and hetero life mate Hope moves to Tennessee. There are a lot of typical YA novel themes in the first two books such as Jessica's family not understanding her, the trauma of being without her best friend, her unrequited crush on a senior, and of course the age old question of when am I *finally* going to laid. I identified with Jessica so much because in high school I was SO her with the exception of the running (she's on the track team). I was an avid journal keeping brainiac who was without my best friend during high school, I had a hopeless crush on a guy who knew I was alive but didn't really care, and my family did not get me at all.

Then, there is Marcus Flutie. Marcus and Jessica shouldn't make sense. She's the brainiac, he's a juvenile delinquent/druggie. He's a manwhore, she's a virgin. Inexplicable forces brought them together and the five books chronicle their relationship or(lack thereof in some cases) as well as Jessica's transformation from angsty snarky girl to mature, confident, Ivy League educated young woman.

I could go on and on about this series and how much I loved it but just trust me when I say read them. There's plenty of witty observations, pop culture trivia, and crazy characters to keep you turning pages throughout all five books. Oh and as a bonus, there are haikus in the fifth book. Haikus so intimate, so sexy, that the word nerd in me did a reread of them 3 0r 4 times before proceeding with the rest of the book! You're welcome.

#85 - Visit 5 tourist destinations in my hometown

Destination: The Viper Room in West Hollywood

On August 6th, I went to a rock show at the Viper Room. That is definitely a path not taken. My first and only concert to date was seeing *N'Sync in 1999. (Stop judging. Then stop laughing.) I have of course wanted to see plenty of other concerts since then but I just never had the chance. Well thanks to my book club boards and Twilight obsession, the opportunity finally presented itself!

Now I'm not sure if people who live in middle America think of The Viper Room as a definite tourist stop when they plan a trip to Los Angeles, but for the purposes of this task, we'll just go with it. When The Viper Room first opened in 1993, I was 14. I had no concept of rock shows or clubs, I just knew that my favorite actor Johnny Depp (yum!) was a co-owner, River Phoenix overdosed in front of it, and all of young Hollywood trekked through there in the mid 90s. I also decided at 14 that one day I was going to party hardcore on Sunset and rub elbows with celebrities and what not...but 17 years passed and I never had the chance to even think about going to The Viper Room...until last week.

So let's break it down. I am a Twilight fan, this we know. In embracing my Twilight freakery, I found a message board full of women like me who have a serious and inappropriate obsession with all things Twilight including the cast of the movie. Before this board, I was strictly a fan of Robert Pattinson who plays Edward (duh, I know) and never really looked at the other cast members as anything other than window dressing. Well I soon discovered that the actor that portrays Jasper is named Jackson Rathbone, he's a hottie, and he has a band called 100 Monkeys. Lots of the ladies on the board had pics that they had taken at different 100 Monkeys shows with Jackson, whom I will now refer to as Rathboner (as in I totally have one at the thought of him) and stories of how they had the chance to meet him, how nice he was, etc. Once I found this out I immediately hit their MySpace page to listen to their music (delightful) and their website to see their touring schedule. Through this and the magic of Twitter, I was able to get two tickets to their show at The Viper Room about a month before the show. As soon as I got the confirmation email I started practicing the different poses I would give in my pics with Rathboner.

Unfortunately, my Viper Room experience wasn't exactly the red carpet event I was expecting. It was a dark room that basically consisted of a curtained stage, a few tables, a tired and stressed out staff who looked as if they'd rather be anywhere else, and a bar. ($13 for a Red Bull and Stoli thank you very much) The place was packed with fangirls fully equipped with the prerequiste emo outfit of tunic and leggings, expensive cameras or BlackBerrys for photo ops, and of course the screams with enough lung capacity to deafen a Jonas Brother. I had the misfortune of standing in front of one fangirl in particular who seemed to be having a difficult time dealing with the fact that Rathboner would not be performing with the Monkeys that night since he had just started rehearsals for Eclipse (3rd Twilight movie...keep up) which I found out earlier that day thanks to my book club ladies. She started bitching and moaning to her friends about getting her money back, then flailing her arms back and forth to further demonstrate her point and of course...she knocked into me causing my camera to fall on the ground and break. Did she apologize? Negative. Was she wearing an Edward Cullen t-shirt and green Crocs? Affirmative. Was it obvious that she had enough problems without me getting all confrontational about my camera? Affirmative once again, so I made the decision to let it go and just seethed inwardly contemplating her violent and painful death.

Don't think that the lack of Rathboner and the previously mentioned camera breaking spoiled my good time. It was actually a really fun and liberating experience. I ended up going to the show alone, I knew absolutely no one and just kind of disappeared into the crowd and listened the two bands that went on before 100 Monkeys. One of them was called The Absolute and I loved them...really great sound! I was able to hear 100 Monkeys play, I listened to the first few songs and then some chick behind me wearing a marabou vest (and no I'm not kidding) kept screaming in my ear, so I decided to call it a night. I ended up standing in front of the club's marquee and decided that even though my camera was broken (chagrin) I took a pic of the awning with my cell. I also had a lovely interlude with the lead singer of The Absolute who just so happened to be outside. Good times, and I got to have kind of a groupie moment. All in all, the Viper Room experience was much different than I expected, but still fun and definitely interesting. If I get the opportunity to go to another show either there or anywhere, I'm definitely going to take it.

Oh and here's my G-Fab cellphone pic of the awning:










Oh and so you can understand me a little better, and because after reading all of my rambles you deserve a special treat, here's some pics of Rathboner:















































































All kinds of yum right? :-D

Book #25 - Such a Pretty Girl by Laura Wiess

Gripping. Haunting. Disturbing. Mesmerizing. This are just the few simple adjectives I can come up with to describe this debut novel.

Meredith is a fifteen year old girl who's father is being released from prison after sexually molesting her and four other children 3 years ago. He was supposed to be inside for 9 years so that she would be 18 upon his release, but he is paroled early for good behavior. Now she is stuck in a waiting game, because she knows that it is only a matter of time before the two of them are alone, and her father strikes again.

This book and subject matter aren't for everyone. If you are severely disturbed by themes of incest and child abuse, then this book will make you uncomfortable. It was definitely disconcerting for me to read, but from the first paragraph to the last, I was riveted. The pace moves quickly, told in Meredith's point of view. There is not a lot of description of the actual act in the books, but still you feel Meredith's fear, her despair, and her utter hopelessness. I found the story so well written, and especially love the underlying message of facing your fears and taking back your power. I was hooked from the first page, and the last line is perfection.

There are quotes from other writers on the back of the book, and I agree with Ellen Hopkins bestselling author of Crank. "This is the first book in a very long time that made me say, 'Wish I'd written this'".

Book #24 - Angels & Demons by Dan Brown

This review isn't going to be long. Why? Because everyone and their mother has read this book except for me. I wish I could say I loved it, but I can't. I probably ruined it for myself reading The DaVinci Code first. If I had, I'm sure that I would have loved Angels & Demons, and not liked The DaVinci Code as much. Why? Because they're pretty much the same book, but instead of France and Jesus Conspiracy as in DVC, it's Italy and Catholicism conspiracy. Robert Langdon has to solve the puzzle or Vatican City will be blown to bits, there's an attractive and exotic woman he has to pal around with, oh and centuries of religious theories are exposed for fraud. I'm not saying that these things aren't interesting, I'm just saying that maybe Dan Brown should not have made them so similar. I was bored with A&D by the 100th page, because I was just waiting for the inevitable twist, and when it finally occurred I was underwhelmed to say the least. I say if you haven't read it yet give it a whirl, it was just ok for me.