Hearts at Stake

Hearts at Stake by Alyxandra Harvey

First book in the Drake Chronicles

I would give this book a 5 out of 5 stars.

This story is in the alternating point of view of Lucy Hamilton and Sloange Drake.

Lucy is Sloange's best friend and Sloange is Lucy's best friend, they have been since they were young.  There is one slight problem in their friendship--they are two different species. Lucy is human and Sloange is a vampire, or well she will be on her sixteenth birthday. Sloange is the first girl born vampire in the history of the ancient families. Sloange also has seven older and very protective brothers who won't let her out of their sight. Then Kieran Black, an anti-vampire agent, messes up everything. He's positive that the Drakes killed his family, so he's looking for revenge.

This series is one of my all time favorites.  Readers get to see the story from two points of view, a soon-to-be vampire and a fragile human.  Alyxandra Harvey is a phenomenal writer who catches readers in the first few chapters.  Readers can't help but fall in love with this story and the characters all with it.

This story is for late middle school and up, but high schoolers will enjoy it too.  I would say this is rated PG-13.

Outline

So I was just informed on how to do my outline today and it is due tomorrow.  I have volleyball from 4:45 to about 10:00.  I also have three quizzes tomorrow, so I can't work on my personal project. I will work on it over the weekend. 

Another talking with mentor

I talked with my mentor during Christmas break, but I forgot to log it so I am now.  We discussed the books I would be reviewing and what I should I add.  She answered most of my questions I had at the time.

Mentor Talking

I talked with my mentor who is also my teacher today about how to set up my outline and presentation.  She also answered some of my question on if she thought my goal was appropriate for the time given. I don't think I have stated this before so I will now.  My goal is to write at least 10 reviews, but I might be able to do a couple more than 10 depending on my schedule.  

Strange Angels

Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow

I would give this book a 4 out of 5 stars.

Dru Anderson has had a tough life.  She's only 16 and has lived in practically every state.  Her and her dad travel from state to state, city to city  hunting things from the Real World. When her and her father come to the Dakotas, things take a turn for the worst.  A zombie comes thrashing into their home.  Dru is left alone, terrified, scared with no where to go.  Soon Dru finds out she's not who she thought she was.

This series is one of my favorites.  This world is different from other supernaturals worlds in other books.  I would love to live in Dru's world.  Lili St. Crow is a captivating author with an eye for details. The characters in this series are well developed.

I would say this book is for around middle school and up. Also I would rate it as PG-13 for violence.

List of Books to review

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton....check
The Drake Chronicles by Alyxandra Harvey... check
The Secret Circle by L.J. Smith... check
Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare
House of Night by P.C. Cast and Kristen Cast...check

I am not sure if I want to review Mortal Instruments anymore, but I might have to if I can't find another good book to review.

Reflection #2

So I am not really sure what I am suppose to be doing exactly.  I know I need to create another blogspot for my actual review page.  I know I have to create an outline on the paper, but I'm not sure what all is suppose to go into my paper and how it should be set up. Also I don't know how many reviews I need to write, so far I have 3.  I have more books that I need to write reviews for, so hopefully when school and volleyball settle down a little bit I can write those reviews.  This has been a lot harder than I imagined, but I like writing them.  They help think about how each book was written and what could have been better about them.  Also I feel that they would help my writing in the future.

Reflection #1

I am really glad I chose this project to do.  I love to read, so this was a great project for me to do. My schedule has been very busy which has caused me to put this on hold for a little while, but I am back.  Writing reviews have been so much harder than I thought they would be.  Sometimes I have a hard time making my thoughts clear and get my point across, so hopefully this project will help me with my writing skills for the future. 

Why I am so behind..

So before Christmas Break I was very very busy studying for all my exams and making sure all my work was turned in, so I was very stressed and didn't get a chance to work on my personal project.  I did read though, so hopefully I will now have sometime to work on my project for a while.  I also just started volleyball and it is all the way in Cleveland, so that might cause me to be slow on writing my reviews and what not.  I will still be reading no matter what though.