Happy New Year

Challenge completed!  I didn't make it entirely to 52 Books, coming just shy at 49 (There's a book I didn't count here being too personal,) But I'm still pretty proud of myself.  The genre I read the most was historical fiction,  which I found surprising.
Here's the tallies for that:
Historical Fiction:  11
Children's Literature: 10
Time Travel: 10
Mystery: 9
YA: 6
Fantasty: 5

The Total Amount of Pages Read: was 16,502. *Squee!*
The longest Book Read  was Gone With The Wind

My Favorite Book Of 2012:  Cinder.
My Least Favorite Book of 2012: Gone With The Wind.

I completed the 2012 Time Travel Challenge at the level: Mind Boggling Journey.

I am so grateful for this opportunity and have loved stretching my mind with books! I've learned a lot and grown a ton and I can't wait to see what's in store for 2013.

The Book Of Mormon

Title: The Book of Mormon
Author(s): Written by God's prophets in the ancient Americas.
Length: 531 pages
Summary: Wherefore, it is an abridgment of the record of the people of Nephi, and also of the Lamanites—Written to the Lamanites, who are a remnant of the house of Israel; and also to Jew and Gentile—Written by way of commandment, and also by the spirit of prophecy and of revelation—Written and sealed up, and hid up unto the Lord, that they might not be destroyed—To come forth by the gift and power of God unto the interpretation thereof—Sealed by the hand of Moroni, and hid up unto the Lord, to come forth in due time by way of the Gentile—The interpretation thereof by the gift of God.

 An abridgment taken from the Book of Ether also, which is a record of the people of Jared, who were scattered at the time the Lord confounded the language of the people, when they were building a tower to get to heaven—Which is to show unto the remnant of the house of Israel what great things the Lord hath done for their fathers; and that they may know the covenants of the Lord, that they are not cast off forever—And also to the convincing of the Jew and Gentile that Jesus is the Christ, the Eternal God, manifesting himself unto all nations—And now, if there are faults they are the mistakes of men; wherefore, condemn not the things of God, that ye may be found spotless at the judgment-seat of Christ. (Translated by Joseph Smith Jun)

My Testimony:  I am so grateful for the Book of Mormon and for Joseph Smith in restoring the true church once again upon the earth. I know this church is true, and believe that Christ will come again. If there are any questions you have about the LDS church or this Book, please check out the website, lds.org, or better yet, read the Book for yourself.

May God watch over you and your endeavors and may we always be thankful for His guidance in our lives.  

Happy 2013. :)

RANSLATED BY JOSEPH SMITH, Jun.

Steel, Carrie Vaughn

Title: Steel
Author: Carrie Vaughn
Publisher: Harper Teen
Publishing Date: 2011
Length: 287 Pages
Summary: (from book) Sixteen-year old Jill has fought in dozens of fencing tournaments, but has never held a sharpened blade.When she finds a corroded sword piece on a Caribbean beach, she is instantly intrigued and pockets it as her own personal treasure. 
The broken tip holds secrets, though, and it transports Jill through time to the deck of a pirate ship. Stranded in the past and surrounded by strangers, she is forced to sign on as crew. But a pirate's life is bloody and brief , and as Jill learns about the dark magic that brought her there, she forms a desperate scheme to get home-one that risks everything in a duel to the death with a villainous pirate captain.

My Thoughts:  Wow. This book had so much potential  and just tanked. You never get to see inside the heroine's head and the entire book is just one chain after another of everything falling into place. The descriptions were terrible. "They studied each other, eyes only inches apart, so it wasn't as if they could really see each other."  And the romance had no build up whatsoever. She's just stuck with this guy, never hints that she likes him, and then all of a sudden, starts kissing him. I would have liked the book better if there hadn't been any romance at all. It felt thrown in there just for the heck of it.
And the sword, again so much potential. But nothing much happens to it as a story piece until you find out fifty pages from the end that ohmygoodness it's a magical sword made from blood.
What the heck.
So she gets it into her head to fight the bad guy and that will send her home. There's not a clear logical explanation of how exactly she got to that point, but she does it anyway. That fails, she magically decided to try something else and that's what sends her home.
This book as a whole felt very....shallow. Definitely not the adventure I was looking forward to from the cover.

Things To Be Cautious Of:  Swearing. Several uses of some bible swearing, violence: sword fighting, bleeding, nothing descriptive believe me, and mentioning of rough pirate activity of a inappropriate nature.

The Time Thief, Linda Buckley-Archer

Title: The Time Thief (Book 2 in the Gideon Trilogy)
Author: Linda Buckley-Archer
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publishing Date: 2007
Length: 488 Pages
Summary: (From book) Peter Schock has been left behind in 1763. Kate Dyer is beginning to suffer some disturbing side effects from time traveling. And the Tar Man, who was terrifying even in the eighteenth century, is loose and wreaking havoc in twenty-first century London with twenty-first century technology at his disposal! Can Kate find a way to bring Peter back and stop the Tar Man for good?






My Thoughts: This series is so creative! And certainly thought provoking. I'm feeling really sick right now, so I don't have much of a review, but the sequel definitely gets a thumbs up.

Things To Be Cautious Of:Minor Violence, character death, mild swearing.

What I Learned: Time travel might not be such a good idea.

Montmorency, Eleanor Updale

Title: Montmorency: Thief, Liar, Gentleman?
Author: Eleanor Updale
Publisher: Schoolastic
Publishing Date: 2004
Length: 232 Pages
Summary: (From book) When a petty thief falls through a glass roof in his attempt to escape from the police, what should have been the death of him marks the beginning of a whole new life. After his broken body is reconstructed by an ambitious young doctor, he is released from prison, and -with the help of Victorian London's extensive sewer system-he becomes the most elusive burglar in the city. He adopts a dual existence as a respectable, wealthy gentleman named Montmorency, and his degenerate servant Scarper. But Montmorency must always be on guard. The smallest mistake could reveal his secret and ruin both his lives.


My Thoughts:  Yay! Another book series about Victorian London! I've never read a book that has so little dialogue in it. You get the whole story from the point of Montomrency. It was really neat. Montmorency is a character that isn't a hero, but isn't a villain either. As this book is the first in a series, you can see that there will be lots of development for him along the way. (And maybe more of that young Doctor Farcett? *hopeful*)
The POV looked at London in a kind of grimy, crude sort of way; different than the usual fluff, skimming, over romanticized versions of Victorian London that I've read prior to this book, and I found I kind of liked the change. The idea of him leading double lives is pure genius and I fell in love with it instantly.
I'm hoping the series holds up to expectations.

Things To Be Cautious Of:  Rather a darker look at the crime and happenings of London. The word 'dang' used like twice. Montmorency's habit for stealing.

What I Learned:  Everyone can change.

The Time Travelers, Linda Buckley-Archer

Title: The Time Travelers, (Book one in the Gideon Trilogy)
Author: Linda Buckley-Archer
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publishing Date: 2006
Length: 400 pages
Summary: (From Book)  1763, Gideon Seymour, thief and gentleman, hides from the villainous Tar Man. Suddenly the sky peels away like fabric and from the gaping hole fall two curious looking children.
Peter Schock and Kate Dyer have fallen straight from the twenty-first century, thanks to an experiment with an antigravity machine.
Before Gideon and the children have a chance to gather their wits, the Tar Man takes off with the machine-and Peter and Kate's only chance of getting home.
Soon Gideon, Peter and Kate are swept up into a journey through eighteenth-century London and form a bond that, they hope, will stand strong in the face of unfathomable treachery.

My Thoughts: What a cute book! I've already picked up the sequel to read as well. I thought the ending was creative and I can't wait to see how it plays out.
I am very much in love with Gideon, but I do feel a lot of sympathy towards Tom and Sidney as well. I'm hoping Tom gets a bigger part in the series. And the Tar Man! Talk about tragic back stories. I thought I was harsh in my writing, but his story is positively heart wrenching. I'm very curious to see how his character develops.
Book challenge almost completed!

Things To Be Cautious Of: The word dang used infrequently, and I found, quite humorously ('Dang your eyes!') Throughout. The Lord's name taken in vain.

What I Learned: Friends are important. People can change.

Fever 1793, Laurie Halse Anderson

Title: Fever 1793
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publishing Date: 2000
Length: 243 Pages
Summary: (from book)  During the summer of 1793, Mattie Cook lives above the family coffee shop with her widowed mother and grandfather. Mattie spends her days avoiding chores and making plans to turn the family business into the finest Philadelphia has ever seen. But then the fever breaks out. 
Disease sweeps the streets, destroying everything in its path and turning Mattie's world upside down. At her feverish mother's insistence, Mattie flees the city with her grandfather,. But she soon discovers that the sickness is everywhere, and Mattie must learn quickly how to survive in a city turned frantic with disease.


My Thoughts:  I feel dumb for not even knowing there was a huge outbreak of Yellow Fever in late Colonial America. This book was great for telling me otherwise. I've seen this book around for a few years, but never picked it up because the cover kind of freaks me out. But I was at the library and spotted it as a quick read to help me get to my book quota for the year. I'm glad I read it.
Mattie was a likable female protagonist and her story very believable. I admired her love for her grandfather and her persistence on survival and independence.

What I learned: It taught me a lot about the innate sense we all have for survival and made me wonder what I would do in a situation like hers.

Things To Be Cautious Of:  The Lord's name taken in vain I think...twice. And the nastiness of disease and how they treated it and the sick patients.