HALO BY ALEXANDRA ADORNETTO

This book was one I've wanted to read ever since I heard it was being published. Alexandra Adornetto was first published when she was 15, and now she is 18 and Halo is her fourth book, the first in her second series.

Halo is the story of an angel named Bethany, who, with her siblings Gabriel and Ivy, are sent to earth to combat evil forces in the town of Venus Cove. They have to hide their true identities, and their wings. But it isn't long before Bethany falls in love with the school captain, Xavier Woods. Xavier is perfect, and it isn't long from then until they are an item. Then Bethany reveals to him her secret. All is wonderful for the couple even though they know they have limited time together, until a new person arrives, and starts to shake things up.

I loved The Strangest Adventures series, and this book was good, but I have to say it didn't amaze me like those other ones. The character Xavier was a little TOO perfect to be believable, and it all felt a lot like Twilight because of the supernatural being falling in love with a human theme.

That said, it was still a good book, and much better paced than Twilight. Xavier and Bethany are super cute together, so if you like that kind of thing then it's a great read.

And the fantasy side of it was very interesting, as it was based on facts found in the Bible.

Butterflies: 7 out of 10

Recommended for: teenagers over 14 (particularly girls, but guys could learn something from Xavier!)

Warnings: a bit of language, drinking and sexual stuff

THE TALES OF BEEDLE THE BARD BY JK ROWLING

The Tales of Beedle the Bard is a companion book the the immensely popular Harry Potter series by JK Rowling, that I happen to adore. The book is the very same one mentioned in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and is said to be translated by Hermione Granger from the original runes (Hermione being one of the three main characters in Harry Potter) and featuring comments from Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts.

The stories are reminiscent of the fairytales of the Grimm Brothers, in that they are fairly gruesome in their 'original form' and are apparently still told to wizarding children today. There are five short stories, each teaching a wizarding moral or lesson to wizarding children.

The highlight of the book for me was the notes, said to be written by Dumbledore. His notes are detailed and provide an excellent insight into the world of Harry Potter and the history of the wizarding world. Dumbledore is not writing for a Muggle audience, though, so JK Rowling has added her own notes to explain some things, like for example, the difference between a wizard and warlock.

I valued this book for it's contribution to Harry Potter, not for what it was alone. The stories themselves were good, but not amazing, but the book as a book was clever and an interesting read, particularly for a far of Harry Potter.

Butterflies: 7 out of 10

Recommended for: people who have read all 7 Harry Potter books. There are spoilers and it won't make sense otherwise!

Warnings: one of the stories is particularly gruesome, but it's meant to be a fairytale, so it's not very believable.

THE THIRD DAY THE FROST BY JOHN MARSDEN

Tomorrow When the War Began, the first book in this series, was made into a movie released a few months ago, and it's easy to see why when you're reading any of the books in this series. The action-packed story translates very well to the screen.

Ellie Linton and her friends Fi, Robyn, Lee, Homer, Kevin and Corrie were on a camping trip when Australia was invaded and they found themselves as some of the only free people in an occupied area. They started blowing up enemy camps and machinery, and throughout the first two books cause some major damage to enemy forces. But they also suffer lots of losses and their lives are constantly terrifying.

The Third Day, The Frost is the third novel in the series. It opens with the group with a very low morale after making a tragic discovery at the end of the second book. But they soon decide that they have to do something more to fight the enemy (which is a country that is never named in the novels). After being reunited with one of their friends, they plan a major attack on a port that has been taken over.

The book is fast-paced, at times heart-racing and terrifying, at other times very sad, and even sometimes funny. Although it sometimes seems very unrealistic the action elements and the well-developed characters make up for that. It's also a highly imaginative story, and because it was set in Australia I found myself able to relate to the characters' anger about their country being invaded and colonised.

This book was a quick, exciting read and I would really recommend the series. I don't normally read a lot of action but these books are different, possibly because of the interesting political aspects and the realistic aspects (ie this could actually happen, however unlikely!)

Butterflies: 7.5 out of 10

Recommended for: teenagers

Warnings: references to sex (though there isn't any actual sex in this book, there is in other books), swearing and lots of violence (including the main characters killing and injuring enemy soldiers)

exams again!

When I first started this project I was about to go into exams. Now, nearing the end, I'm going into them again!

Luckily I'm just about finished the project, however there is still some way to go. I'm going to try and finish two more books this week, and probably one or two next week... that way I can read longer books in the last week, the week after exams.

Have you ever had a really challenging deadline you've had to meet? Cause I feel this one will be hard, but I'm really looking forward to being able to get back to reading without all the pressure of trying to read quickly but still in enough depth to be able to write decent reviews! :)

THE WINDS OF HEAVEN BY JUDITH CLARKE

The Winds of Heaven is a story of two cousins, Clementine and Fan. They live a long way away from each other but they share a deep bond that stretches for many many years. Fan is beautiful, but her family is dysfunctional. Clementine can't decide if she envies or pities Fan, but over time as they grow older she realises that Fan's life is a lot more complicated than she first thought. And Fan realises that Clementine is one of the only people that ever understood her.

Both Clementine and Fan are very believable characters. Judith Clarke is a very talented writer, and both girls are distinct enough to not get them confused, but similar enough for the reader to understand why they are friends. As the book spans many years it could have failed in maintaining the personalities of the girls over the years, by making them change too much over time, but it didn't. The girls changed, but only as much as real people do.

I found the book to be a tragically beautiful read. It wasn't too full-on, but it really made me love the characters, especially Clementine and Fan. It's also historical, which I personally love. It was a bit slow at the beginning but I would recommend sticking with it because it turns out to be a really memorable and beautiful story.

Butterflies: 8 out of 10
Recommended for: people over 14
Warnings: a bit of language, references to sex (including teenage sex), domestic violence and a fairly disturbing ending.

THE SHORT SECOND LIFE OF BREE TANNER BY STEPHENIE MEYER

(Another surprise book! I got this out of the library yesterday and read it last night. It was a quick read!)

Some people say you have to either passionately love or hate the Twilight saga, but I am lukewarm. I got this book because it looked like an interesting new way to look at the story in Eclipse, and it didn't let me down, but it didn't shock me either.

Running off the success of the Twilight series, Stephenie Meyer released this book, marketed as an 'Eclipse novella' earlier this year. Although it did not have much publicity in Australia, the book has sold over 1.5 million copies. It is called a novella, however it's a long novella, almost the length of a novel. Though compared to the other Twilight books, which are roughly the same size as large bricks, I guess it is a novella!

The book is the story of Bree Tanner, a newborn vampire involved in the army of Riley, who is a slave of Victoria. Twilight readers (or movie-goers) will know Victoria as the redhead vampire who is out to get Bella, the narrator of all the other Twilight books. Bree is a young vampire, but she strangely has more control over her senses than the other vampires. She meets up with Diego, another newborn, who also has more control than the others, and they try and find out why Riley created them and what they are being kept for.

Overall, the book was... average. The story was, like the other Twilight books, could have been condensed into a much shorter format, and Bree was a lot like Bella. Diego was a lot like Edward. There wasn't much that was new, except that the violence was more graphically described, sometimes to the point of being actually quite disturbing.

I think next time Stephenie Meyer should try a new story. There are only so many spin-offs she can write and while this was good it also hinted at the fact that she was a bit over the characters. I could be wrong, though.

Butterflies: 6.5 out of 10 (sorry Twihards)
Recommended for: teenagers who have read the Twilight series. Or, if you want to just get a taste of Stephenie Meyer before plunging in to all the books, I guess you could read it, though you might get confused and it will spoil the story of Eclipse
Warnings: vampire violence (it's from Bree's perspective so it's a lot more graphic than the other Twilight novels)

A COMPANY OF SWANS BY EVA IBBOTSON

This book is about ballet, but it wasn't really what I expected with the cover featuring what appeared to be a fairly young girl and lots of shiny foil and floral designs.

I expected another, fairly cliched read about a young girl who overcomes poverty/oppression/injury to achieve her dreams but really, it was quite different to that.

Harriet is seventeen, older than the typical main character of these ballet novels. Her father is a professor who only allows her to dance for her health. She's a quiet character, described as quite plain but strangely beautiful when she dances. She is invited to join the Dubrov Ballet Company who are travelling to the Amazonian city of Manaus, but knows that her father will not let her go, partly because she is about to get engaged to Edward Finch-Dutton. She meets a young boy, Henry, at a large estate near her home, who, upon discovering her dream to travel to Manaus, asks that she search for a Boy who used to live at Stavely who he wants to meet. Harriet promises to do so.

She eventually decides to run away and she joins the ballet company. Once in Manaus she meets Rom, a wealthy Englishman, who she quickly realises is the Boy, and the two are instantly attracted to one another. When Harriet is pursued by Edward Rom rescues her, but their relationship is disrupted by a surprise arrival in Manaus.

I found that although some of the characters were well-developed and described (including Rom and Harriet's friend Marie-Claude), Harriet herself was not very well-developed. She had no interesting quirks that made her unique from any other girl, so it was hard, as the reader, to understand why Rom fell for her.

The book was also full of a lot of coincidences, so many so that it was slightly unbelievable. In a whole city, how likely is it that the director of the Opera House where Harriet and the ballet performs just happens to be the Boy who Harriet is searching for?

However I appreciated how ballet was not overused in the book. Harriet loves ballet, but the plot really isn't about her running away, it's about love and adventure. And a little bit about overcoming problems to follow your dreams, but not too much.

Butterflies: 7 out of 10

Recommended for: girls over 14. Boys can read it, but I really don't think they'll be that interested.

Warnings: unexpectedly, sex. It is treated very nicely (mostly), and not graphic in any way, but it's most definitely there, and any reader would be able to pick it up. Rom is widely regarded as a seductor who has had many partners, and the night they first meet Harriet believes he is going to rape her, though he does not. Also Harriet ends up involved in a seductive dance routine when she fills in for her friend (who cannot perform it because of a coincidental encounter) which is described in a fair amount of detail, though it's really not that bad.