Why I Let My Hair Grow Out by Maryrose Wood

Title: Why I Let My Hair Grow Out
Author: Maryrose Wood
Age Group: Teens
# of Pages: 218
My Rating: 5/5

Out of like, six different books I'm reading and this as the latest, I've finished this one before all. (Probably because I won the sequel, How I Found the Perfect Dress to it at In Bed With Books so I wanted to read the beginning before starting it. Also reason why it took me so long to update because I was going from book to book).

Sixteen years old Morgan was happy with her intelligent and picky boyfriend, Raph. Was. Until he dumped her because she is not his type. Ouch. So to rid of her anger? She chomps of all of her hair, leaving a fuzz on her head. Her parents are absolutely horrified. Her punishment? She gets sent to Ireland for a bike tour so she can experience new things.

Being sent to another country people would find fun, but not for dear Morgan Rawlinson. She is hating everything. Well, except for a cutie who is four years older than her by the name of Colin who is into the technical age and has an adorable accent. All couldn't be better until one night she fell off her bike and hit her head on an area that is called faery mound.

She wakes up to find 1) Her hair has grown back 2) She is in a long princessy dress which is not what she wore earlier and 3) A horse is talking to her. Oh and his hunky warrior companion that looks awfully like Colin except the olden version. 4) And she is no longer in modern Ireland. Instead, she is stuck somewhere at a time period that could have been hundred of years ago!

Later, she finds out that she is half-goddess, Morganne, with a mortal father (who died long long ago) and a faery goddess mother in the other dimension. Pretty whacked when the last time she saw, her parents were perfectly normal. Scratch that, abnormal as a family but normal enough to know that they don't have any sort of super power.

She is brought to the other dimension because... she has to break off enchantments from the olden folks that were caused by her people (a.k.a. the faery folk)?? Given three riddles that are tasks have to be complete in order to lift the spells, how in the world will Morgan figure them out??

I have to say this is on fabulous read. It has a mix of fantasy and reality, which I love both type of genre but extremely rare to find. Especially for teen novels that I will like right away after I pick it up. Morgan is such a fun and loving character with a quirky attitude. You should see how excited I get once in awhile at some parts! Definitely recommend it!

Fairest by Gail Carson Levine

Title: Fairest
Author: Gail Carson Levine
Age Group: Tweens
# of Pages: 326
My Rating: 4/5

The very first thing that drew my attention to this book for making me wanting to read it was the cover. I simply adore this cover because of the unique medieval concept and the model at the front. The summary about the story also captured me. After reading it, it was satisfying though I need hope for a better ending. Nonetheless it was enjoyable enough for any fantasy lover. More so recommended for girls of course. The characters were interesting though I don't really like the prince. He was just sorta there if you know what I mean.

Aza was abandoned in her adoptive parents inn about one month old. She is raised by her loving family that treated her like she was blood-related and love her dearly as much as she loves them back. Aza has one of the most beautiful singing voice that anyone could ever heard of. She is able to "illuse" (a term that she created), meaning that she can throw her voice where it seems like it came from a different location. Of course within reasons because she can not make her voice appear on the other side of the world. It is a fantastic thing to to have lovely singing because it is one of the most prized quality of Kingdom of Ayortha. There is one other quality that everyone takes into consideration when judging a person on this mystical land that Aza does not have, beauty. In fact, she is on the other end of the spectrum. She is downright hideous! People would be completely rude to her because of her appearance.

One faithful day, a cat-loving duchess came to the inn. She was going to go to the royal wedding of King Oscaro and the commoner from Kyrrian, Ivi. The Duchess companion caught a cold so she had no one else to take. She decided to take Aza so she would not show up to the castle alone.

While at the castle, the queen made Aza lady-in-waiting. The queen has a jealous personality and wants many things. When she found out about Aza's talent, she asks her for a risky request that puts many in danger, including Aza herself.

Honey Hunt by Miki Aihara

Title: Honey Hunt
Mangaka: Miki Aihara
Age Group: Older Teens
# of Pages: Approx. 200
# of Volumes: 3
My Rating: 5/5

You would think life is dainty and fab if you have both parents as world-wide famous celebrities. Not for young Yura tho. Everyone expects her to be like her parents, confident and talented when she is nowhere near that level! She is a timid girl that wishes everyone to leave her alone so she is able to do her own thing.

If only life is just like that, but her family life is more twisted up than they are reported on the news. Her mother is a completely heartless bitch who lies endlessly and is having an affair with Yura's boyfriend/tutor! While her father is somewhere on the other side of the world with his mistress and they are about to have a baby! Oh the drama!

Yura is finally frustrated with everything after her mother bought a new mansion and having Yura's ex moving in. She decided to take things into her own hands and become an actress so she can beat her mother. She ran into many problems and she may have fallen in love!

I will not completely dish out everything and since I haven't read the last chapter of the second volume nor the third altogether, I shall say from what I know. This manga is simply amazing compared to Hot Gimmick in my opinion. It has plenty of twists and turns. I'm crossing my fingers that Yura will end up with Haruka instead of his brother. (You'll see what kind of parts they play if you check it out). In Hot Gimmick, the ending was very disappointing and it was up to like 12 volumes I believe. I'm sure the ending of this one will satisfy me but so far, the rating I give will be up the 9th chapter. I can't wait for the next one to be released on onemanga.com. All hard-core shojo fans should definitely check it out!

Detective Conan by Aoyama Gosho

Title: Detective Conan (Cased Close)
Mangaka: Aoyama Gosho
Age Group: Young Teens
# of Pages: Approx. 200 per volume
# of Volumes: On-going
My Rating: 4/5

Shinichi Kudo is a renowned famous young teenage detective that is known as the modern Holmes. He knows many brilliant facts and can solve murder cases within a day.

One day, Shinichi and his best friend Ran Mouri, went out to the theme park. A man got his head severed while they were on a roller coaster ride that went through a pitch black tunnel. It turned out to be the ex-girlfriend who sliced off his head with a string!

Later on that day, Shinichi saw a couple suspicious guys in black trench coats and decided to follow them. The two guys were doing some shady business with a man who later they killed right in front of Shinichi's eyes! He was caught soon after and was drugged with some new poison the villains have obtained.

Luckily, the poison did not kill him but when he woke up, he shrunk down to a child's body! Now he has to find those two men in the trench coats and find out how to reverse the potion so he could be bigger again! He has to disguised himself as Conan and a relative of a scientist friend that he lives with. Ran decided to take him in which is a good score for him because Ran's father work as a detective also and if anything suspicious about those men come up, Conan would be there to catch them!

I say this is a good series but the problem is that it is way too long! There exists over 600 chapters already and still have not ended! The mysteries are well done with how the murderer gets away with it, even though Conan always crack it in the end. I'm amazed how the author managed to come up with new ideas and characters! Most characters don't reappear again if they were in a certain murder case unless related to Shinichi or Ran. If only the author wrapped it up within 10 volumes, it would be much better.

Quid Pro Quo by Vicki Grant

Title: Quid Pro Quo
Author: Vicki Grant
Age Group: Teens
# of Pages: 160
My Rating: 5/5

To have a mother that ran away from home at a young age and had you when she was only fifteen, imagine what kind of life you would have now if you are only fourteen at the moment.

Well, for Cyril MacIntyre, it is a tough one. His single mother, Andy, drags him to her law school classes every night and forces him to help her study in their smoky kitchen until morning. He couldn't be more proud after she graduated from law school considering that she used to be an ex-street kid.

All was well until one day Andy didn't come home for awhile. Cyril panics. Why in the world would his mother go missing?? He thought his life was crap before but this is ridiculous! Asides just female and self-esteem problems, he has to add legal problems to his list now!

This book is absolutely hilarious. I re-read this novel many times and I don't get tired of it. The characters are all unique in their own way and has a good part to play in the story. You don't need to know law to understand it because every chapter title has a definition of a law word that describes that chapter. If you are looking for some comedy, try out this book!

MeruPuri by Matsuri Hino

Title: MeruPuri: Marchen Prince
Mangaka: Matsuri Hino
Age Group: Young Adults
# of Pages: Approx. 720 for whole series
# of Volumes: 4
My Rating: 5/5

How high are your standards when you are looking for a boyfriend or girlfriend? Well, Airi Hoshina is a young Japanese high school girl who dreams of having a perfect husband and gets to live in a cozy home. Her standards are set very high and she even once turned down a guy who asked her out at graduation because she didn't think they were meant to be. She is waiting for her perfect soul mate.

All changed when one day Airi was running late for school. She accidentally dropped a star-shaped mirror that used to belong to her great-great-great-(great?) grandmother. A young boy came out of the mirror and when Airi came back looking for it, he was holding the mirror in his hand. His name is Astale=Ei=Daemonia Eucharistia Aram, or Aram for short. Airi felt sorry for him because he has to wait for his companion so she decided to take him until he is picked up.

Little did she know, he is prince from a magical kingdom called Astale. He is trying to escape from his older brother who hates him earlier by crossing into her world for safe hiding. Unfortunately, before he passed through in time, his brother already casted a spell on him! It causes him to grow older every time he is in the absence of light. Imagine the shock Airi is in when she woke up with a handsome looking seventeen years old boy sleeping beside her!

The only way for Aram to turn back to his cute seven years old self is to get a kiss from his fair maiden. He chose Airi as his fair maiden but she refused to give away her first kiss in the beginning. Aram can not get back to his own world without his powers so Airi is stuck babysitting him! What in the world will happen to these two?

To be honest, the first time when I bought the first volume, I was not completely into it. It was about nearly a year later that I decided to get the second volume because I didn't know what else to buy for my manga collection. And oh my gosh! It gets so intense! The next day I bought the last two volumes and it was completely worth it! If you are a manga and shojo fan like I, pick up this book! My review for this series is very vague because I don't want to spoil anything. So go get it now!

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Title: Twilight
Author: Stephenie Meyer
Age Group: Young Adults
# of Pages: 498
My Rating: 2/5

You see the guy or girl of your dreams with his beautiful features and your heart flutters every time he or she glances over. Except, would you still be in love if you knew he could take away your life away any second because... he's or she's a vampire?

Bella Swan is a clumsy seventeen years old girl that just recently moved to the small town of Forks from the sunny Phoenix. She hates it. She wants to stay with her mother and her boyfriend but instead, she ends up moving in with her father, Charlie.

On the first day of school, she sees a group of beautiful teens around her age. One person in the group catches her eye in particular. His name is Edward. He is repulsed by her in the beginning but she desperately wants his attention each time.

Fast-forwarding later on, she finds out that he is a vampire. They are slowly falling in love at that time so she does not care for who he really is. Later on in the story, there is some complications that nearly resulted Bella's death.

To be honest, this book disappoint me. The whole frenzy of Twilight made me believe there is much more to the book. The characters themselves lack development and depth. They are very Mary-Sues and Gary-Stus in my opinion. I get very annoyed at every page that Bella has to describe Edward's body parts or action. He is a hottie, I get it. Just don't overdo it, please. The story itself is something that I would usually roleplay on chat sites for fun. It is a bit predictable and I wish Mrs. Meyer could've add more of a plot to it. The "climax" happens at the last 8 chapters or so. If the author threw in a bit more action instead of having Bella cooped up in a hotel room all day, it would have boost my rating.

But I can understand why people like it. The writing is simple and easy to follow but descriptive at the same time. You can skim through the book and not have to think so much into it. If you are someone who like to read without hurting your brain, trying to figure out what's going on and vampires, this is a read for you. Don't go into it if you expect a lot of plot and action with everything detailed out.