Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Title: Twilight
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Teen, romance, fantasy, modern
Published Date: 6 September 2006
Personal Rating: 4.4/5
Money's Worth: Better than it sounds.

When it first came out, I was skeptical about buying it. Everyone in school was reading it, and being a closet rebel, I purposely didn't read it. Everyone said it was nice and at first I thought it was a thriller. I purposely go out of my way to avoid the thriller section in bookstores.

Then there was a clearance sale at one of the stores and amongst the books marked 1/2 price was Twilight. This time I actually picked it up and read the back. I was surprised to say the least that it was about vampires and was a teen story. I bought it but never removed it from the packing. About 6-7 months later, the third book came out and within 2 days I had finished Twilight.

I couldn't resist, they were all talking about it and I had the book, so why not?

The story begins with Bella, the child of divorced parents. Her mother is sending her to stay with her father in a relatively obscure town. She goes though she needn't like it. There, she was so convinced she would hate everything.

Gradually she made friends and even had a relatively good relationship with her father. In school however, a group of students intrigued her. The Cullens were a group of five students alienated by the other students. Or rather the Cullens Alienated them.

Of the group was Edward Cullen. Her friends warned her that he was bad news, but how bad could he be when he saved her from being sandwiched between two trucks? VERY bad news, that's what, because he stopped the car from slamming into her with his bare fist. The body of the car was severely dented, but his hand and arm were unblemished.

Later Bella finds out that Edward is a vampire along with his other adopted brothers and sisters. So are their adoptive parents. Strangely, Carlisle Cullen(the father) is a vampire, but he is also the resident doctor. Over years, he had managed to practice the restraint with blood until he was able to treat people in emergency rooms without batting an eyelash.

Bella and Edward gradually grow closer than normal friends, and she is perfectly fine with the whole Cullen family. Her father seems to feel that as long as she's not moping nothing bad could be happening.

Everything is not roses as a new trio of vampires enters the vicinity while Bella was with the Cullens. One of the males sets his eye on Bella as his prey, regardless that Edward and the whole family have declared her as off-limits. The new hunter feels that all humans are cattle and begins stalking Bella.

Through an elaborately designed plan, Bella manages to lure him away from Fawkes (the town) with the help of the Cullens. With enough of wounds on either side, Edward manages to kill the hunter who actually managed to kidnap Bella, and all return home.

This book is relatively filled with humor. Not overflowing, but just enough for it to be well written. Though most vampire novels I read are usually leaning more towards the sensual, or horrific creatures, the Cullens are a good mix of both. The novel also tells the story of a girl, coping with the modern that almost every other girl faces with the exception of having vampire for a boyfriend.

Many modern issues are present such as divorce, peer-pressure, coming of age and the choice between friends.

It is a book all ages would love, though personally I still haven't seen an adult reading it. It is the type of novel guys would not be caught dead reading; in my school none of them even touched it. But girls... it has enough romance, but not enough to be smutty or fluffy. There's the vampire factor to consider and it's not too bloody or gory, but just enough to make it a read impossible to put down.

The Ranger's Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flannagan

Title: Ranger's Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan
Author: John Flannagan
Published Date: 16 June 2005
Genre: Teen, Adventure
Personal Rating: 4.2/5
Money's Worth: At first it doesn't sound very interesting but by the middle of the book, it keeps you at the edge of your seat.

When I first saw it in a bookstore, I thought it was a book solely for guys, then through a program in school, where we get the books at a discount, I decided in a fit of recklessness, to buy it.

Imagine my surprise when I actually got hooked on it. The story starts off with five children, 3 boys and 2 girls who have come of age. In the fief where they live, once the orphans come of age, they are dividede into different crafts.

Will is a scrawny young boy and dreams of entering Battleschool as he was old his father was an amazing warrior. But being of slight build has put a wedge in his dreams. He was rejected from Battleschool and Horseschool. Then, amongst the Masters assembled, Halt the ranger steps forward and gives a letter to the lord.

That night, Will tries to gain access to the office where the letter is stored and gets caught by Halt. Will is then accepted by Halt to become a Ranger's apprentice. He studies hard and is an apt learner.

Then one day, Halt says that there will be a Ranger's meeting as an ancient evil is rising. Along the way there are some problems in the plan and Halt and Will have to go off and start first while they wait for backup. In the terrain where they're traveling, there live 2 monsters that the evil has created and Halt takes them on while he tells Will to stay back.

In the end the back up does come, but not before Halt is gravely injured. Will is initiated into the Ranger's core without a formal testing because he actually managed to kill one of the monsters.

My summary may not seem much, but it truly is a good book.