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Correction, this is the last post

What's interesting is that I haven't written for this blog in months and yet I supposedly am getting hundreds of visitors each month. Strange.  Also the most viewed post was not actually about books, it was about       A-Rod's steroid use....But still this is the real last post on this blog. It's going to stay up because people are still going to it and I want them to check out my new blog under my new account. The URL is rachelnotrach.blogspot.com. Check it out.

New Account

Last post, got a new account. New blog soon. New account name is rachelnotrach. Keep a look out!

Not My Typical Post

Hi to those still reading this blog which I never update- I am going to break away from book recommendations and reviews for a little while and just post whatever I feel about. Today it will be Tom Flash and the Lightning Band. It's gonna be quick. Tom Flash and the Lightning Band is in two words absolutely amazing. There is so much talent in that group it is crazy. I know some people who read this aren't from the U.S, but Google them and listen to some of their music. They are great. I had the pleasure to see them play live two nights in a row and it was one of the best weekends I've had this year. Please find them and listen to them. That's all for now.

My Most Excellent Year: A Novel of Love, Mary Poppins and Fenway Park by Steve Kluger

Wow. This book was good. I was looking on audible.com for a book to listen to, and saw this title and without reading a description knew I had to read it. Then I read the description and knew this book was perfect.

Boston natives T.C (short for Tony Conigliaro) Keller and Augie Hwong are now juniors in high school and one of their assignments was to write about their most excellent year. For them, and one other friend, it is their freshmen year where all of their lives change forever. First Alejandra, the daughter of a Mexican ambassador, moves from Washington D.C to Boston after her father takes a job at Harvard. Second, T.C falls in love with Alejandra, though she hates him (at least she pretends she hates him). Third, Augie discovers he is gay, which T.C knew for years. And fourth, a deaf child brings them all together in ways they never imagined when they try to grant his wish.


Baseball, love and musical theater make this a good book from the start. But it was cleverly written, switching perspectives and means of communication. A lot of it is written in diary form, some is narrated, other parts are emails or instant messaging and some are homework assignments. Augie and T.C have been best friends since T.C's mother died, they are so close that they call each other brothers. The characters were extremely well created in this novel, I especially liked the connection Augie and T.C had as brothers. I listened to this book on my iPod and I could not have thought of a better way to read it. This book was seriously meant to be read aloud. The actors reading for each of the characters didn't just read the book, they acted it out. For example, T.C has a very heavy Boston accent and the actor read it with one. I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes musical theater, Mary Poppins or the Red Sox.

Along for the Ride

Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen

Auden, an 18 year old insomniac, decides to spend her last summer before college with her father, his new 26 year old wife and her newborn sister Thisbee in the small beach town they live in. At first she just wants an escape from her mother and a change of pace, but soon she finds herself making friends, something she has never really done before. She also meets Eli, a loner and fellow insomniac. Together they  embark on a "quest" to help Auden experience the childhood she never had.

This is now one of my favorite Sarah Dessen books. It was extremely well written, but I expected that because of the author, and the characters had depth, but that was expected. What I didn't expect was how real the story was. Sarah Dessen's books are all things that could happen and do happen, but this one I feel more people can relate to than Just Listen for instance. Many of Sarah Dessen's books deal with difficult topics such as teen pregnancy, the death of a loved one or rape. While there was death in Along for the Ride it was not the main topic. This is a must read book. So read it. Really, go out get a copy and sit down and read it.  

A-Z Book Challenge

So today I realized I failed my A-Z Book Challenge miserably. The biggest problem was not being able to find the books, so I am going to try again starting now. So look for reviews of these books and the list being posted soon.

Book Recommendations and Comments

Hi everyone. I'm looking for book recommendations, so if you have any please leave a comment. And also please don't leave comments that are advertisements, I hate to say it but I will delete them. Please have comments relate to the blog or the post. Thanks!

Splendor and Gossip Girl

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted. I have a bunch of reviews coming up for all of you dedicated readers. So because I took so long to jump on the Gossip Girl bandwagon I'm not going to do a full review and because Splendor is the last book of a series I won't do a summary.

Gossip Girl: A-

I enjoyed the story and it is interesting to see into the lives of the wealthy. It is nice to see that those these kids party they are also dedicated to their studies and makes their characters a lot less annoying than those in similar novels. It was also a good look into how gossip can spread like a wildfire and really effect someone's life.

Splendor: A-/A

I really wanted to give this an A or an A+, but the ending disappointed me. I won't spoil it, but not all is well in the lives of our four girls. Two are happy, two are not to start the novel. The couples we love may not survive and new ones may come up. Secrets are revealed and threaten the lives of our beloved society girls. All and all it was a good end to the series and while the ending was not the one I wanted it was still good.

So if you're wondering why I put these two reviews together it is because I often describe the Luxe novels as the Gossip Girl of the late 1800's to early 1900's. While the girls in Gossip Girl are a bit wilder, the characters in each live very similar lives. The characters are at the top of New York society and are what everyone looks at with jealousy. Yet their lives aren't really all that enviable. There are rules to the ways they can conduct themselves and many find themselves wanting to rebel. If you've read both of these series you know what I am talking about.

New Blog

Hey everyone! Check out my new blog Teen Travel which can be found at http://teenagetravel.blogspot.com/. The blog is travel reviews written by teens for teens or families traveling with teens. It is often hard to know whether a location is teen friendly which is why Teen Travel was created. Check it out!