Andye Reads

This post is my attempt to encourage my fellow teens to read. In my opinion, teen reading is way, way too rare. When was that last time you saw a teenager in public with their nose buried in a book rather than clicking away on their iPhone? It’s a sad thing, really. So, here’s what I’m asking: Share this post. I’m not trying to toot my own horn here; I’m not claiming to be an amazing writer or anything. But it’s become a goal of mine to share my love of reading with other teens. It’s important; essential, even. I want this love of mine to spread like a plague. Too many teens are spending their time watching videos of that adorable kitten on YouTube, when they could be spending their time in Middle Earth. So if you like this post, pass it on. Let’s see if we can make a difference in the teenage community. Reading is a marvelous thing. Odds are, if you’re on this blog, reading this post, you’re probably a fan of this whole reading thing.  But maybe you aren’t, in which case I a...

Reading level: Ages 14 and up Hardcover: 384 pages Publisher: Amulet Books (January 1, 2013) Language: English ISBN-10: 1419704281 ISBN-13: 978-1419704284 Buy the book: Amazon Visit the site: A.G. Howard Follow Anita on Twitter Go check out the fabulous giveway of Splintered!  This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s  Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland . Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now. When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far dar...

Shel Silverstein is not only an incredible poet but also a lyrical genius. "Once there was a tree... and she loved a boy." So begins a story of unforgettable perception, beautifully written by the gifted and versatile Silverstein. There are many who would say that Shel Silverstein is a less nonsensical Dr. Seuss . I would heartily disagree; Silverstein is entirely his own writer. He takes any and every subject, making the words rhyme with a magical flow. Some of his work is funny, some whimsical. Other still make you smile at the sheer cleverness of the story. "Who wants a pancake, Sweet and piping hot? Good little Grace looks up and says, 'I'll take the one on top.' Who wants a pancake, Fresh off the griddle? Terrible Theresa smiles and says, 'I'll take the one in the middle.'" All of the different characters and personalities that Silverstein portrays on paper are the purest form of creativity I can imagine. Over the years, no matter how m...

Hardcover : 88 pages Publisher : Quirk Books (August 1, 2008) Buy the Book:   Amazon In 1897, Arch ibald Constable & Company published Bram Stoker’s  Dracula , the most famous horror novel of all time. For reaso ns still debated by scholars, the first chapter of Dracula was cut from the book just weeks before publication. Here, it becomes the central clue in a spine-tingling original interactive mystery. Dracula’s Heir  begins 10 years after the horrific events described in the original novel. Jonathan and Mina Harker are happily married and enjoying life in Bixby, England. Meanwhile, their friend Dr. John Sewa rd is tracking a string of crimes that seems eerily familiar: A 14-year-old girl sleepwalks out of her parents’ house and disappears into the night. Two “accident victims” are found drained of their blood, yet there is no crime scene evidence  to explain its loss. When Seward shares his discoveries with the famous vampire hunter Abraham Van Hels...

Reading level:  Young Adult Hardcover:  400 pages Publisher:  Bloomsbury USA Childrens; First Edition edition (September 27, 2011) Language:  English ISBN-10:  1599907038 ISBN-13:  978-1599907031 Billy is a street urchin, a pickpocket, and a petty thief. Mister Creecher is a giant of a man whose appearance terrifies everyone he meets. Their relationship begins as a matter of convenience. But before long, a bond develops between these two misfits as they embark on a bloody journey that will take them from London northward on the trail of their target . . . Doctor Victor Frankenstein. It seems the good doctor had promised Mister Creecher a bride, and Mister Creecher will stop at nothing to get what he's been promised. Nothing.  My Review  Mister Creecher. A book I picked up at BEA in May. The title, cover, and description immediately caught my attention. This was a book that I couldn't really say no to. So, they want me to read ...

We are giving this book away for this months READING CLEAN SPOTLIGHT, just click HERE to enter. Reading level: Young Adult Hardcover: 480 pages Publisher: Greenwillow Books (March 29, 2011) Language: English ISBN-10: 0062001035 ISBN-13: 978-0062001030 BUY THE BOOK: AMAZON Visit the site: Heather Dixon Harper Teen Azalea is trapped. Just when she should feel that everything is before her . . . beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing . . . it's taken away. All of it. The Keeper understands. He's trapped, too, held for centuries within the walls of the palace. And so he extends an invitation. Every night, Azalea and her eleven sisters may step through the enchanted passage in their room to dance in his silver forest. But there is a cost. The Keeper likes to keep things. Azalea may not realize how tangled she is in his web until it is too late.   My Review This is originally an old German tale "Twelve Dancing Princesses" written by the Broth...

By Ayn Rand - Plume (1999)  Paperback - 256 pages   ISBN 0452281253 Summary In Anthem, Rand examines a frightening future in which individuals have no name, no independence, and no values. Equality 7-2521 lives in the dark ages of the future where all decisions are made by committee, all people live in collectives, and all traces of individualism have been wiped out.   Despite such a restrictive environment, the spark of individual thought and freedom still burns in him -- a passion which he has been taught to call sinful. In a purely egalitarian world, Equality 7-2521 dares to stand apart from the herd -- to think and choose for himself, to discover electricity, and to love the woman of his choice. Now he has been marked for death for committing the ultimate sin.  In a world where the great "we" reign supreme, he has rediscovered the lost and holy word -- "I."  Background Anthem is closer in length to a very long short story (or novella, a...