The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya by Nagaru Tanigawa

Title: The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya

Author: Nagaru Tanigawa

Publisher:Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Age Group: Young Adult

Grade: 85% or B

It's one week before Christmas Eve, and Haruhi and the S.O.S. Brigade (a club for her high school's strangest and most extraordinary students) are gearing up for holiday festivities. But just before the fun kicks off, Kyon, the only "normal" member, wakes up in a weird alternate dimension, one where Haruhi attends another school entirely, Nagato the time traveling robot is just an ordinary human, and Mikuru (the cute girl of Kyon's dreams) doesn't even recognize him-in other words, S.O.S. Brigade never existed.

The only clue Kyon can find is a bookmark left by the robot version of Nagato, which leads him on a quest back in time, where he interacts with the storyline from "Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody", a short story from the previous Haruhi book, The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya.

As you all know, I've been reading these books for some time now. I like the concept and the humor. This one was no different, except..maybe I liked it more.

This book involved more time travel than the previous books, which gave my mind something to chew on. I was constantly thinking "if this, then that". That's the way time travel works. You have to do something in the future so you can do something else in the past. It sounds crazy, but it is really interesting.

The characters continue to develop as always. At first I thought there were too many important characters to possibly keep up with, but now things are different. Each character's abilities, personalities, and background fit into the story nicely. In fact, I think I know them all so well, and love them, that I would love love love to read a series of books based solely around one character and the world that they are used to. In fact, can you get on that soon Tanigawa?

Surprisingly, this books took me on quite the journey. Several things happened that I definitely was not expecting. At some points though I was a bit confused. The main character, Kyon, will say something, but it will only be a thought. Yet sometimes its...not. It makes the story a little muddled at times because I am unsure about what is going on.

Overall I continue to love the story and I am becoming more attached to the characters. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed the previous novels. If you haven't checked these books out yet, you should!

Book received free from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a post where I tell you the books that I received this week either by buying them from the bookstore, going to the library or from my mailbox. In My Mailbox was created by Alea and turned into a meme by Kristi.

My mailbox was empty this week, but I'd still love to hear what you received!

Contest Saturday

Here are some contests that are currently going on right now. Click the links to enter them. I will hold my own contest on the last day of each month. That means my next contest will be on June 30th.

Win one of two prizepacks HERE. Ends 6/9

Win a copy of Popular HERE. Ends 6/10

Win 7 books in a supernatural giveaway HERE. Ends 6/14

Win one of two copies of Cut HERE. Ends 6/15

Win a copy of Starcrossed HERE. Ends 6/15

Win a $20 gift card to Amazon or the Book Depository HERE. Ends 6/16

Win a copy of The Secret Year HERE. Ends 6/17

Win a BEA prizepack HERE. Ends 6/17

Win a Shift prizepack HERE. Ends 6/18

Win a copy of Graveminder HERE. Ends 6/20

Win two supernatural books HERE. Ends 6/23

Win a copy of Ashes or Shatter Me HERE. Ends 6/27

Win one of 3 prizepacks HERE. Ends 6/30

Win a copy of The Goddess Test HERE. Ends 7/5

Win a copy of Clarity HERE. Ends 7/5

The Island

Title: The Island

Director: Michael Bay

Writer: Caspian Tredwell-Owen (screenplay+Story), Alex Kurtzman (screenplay), and Roberto Orci (screenplay)

Starring: Scarlett Johansson and Ewan McGregor
Grade: 88% or B+

I know this movie isn't exactly new or anything, but I added it to my netflix queue because it looked pretty good. This is exactly the kind of thing that I love to read about, so watching it is always a joy for me as well.

Lets start with the acting. I think both of the main characters did a very good job. Even though this movie was mostly action and suspense, they did a good job at letting in some humor. They were just so innocent and unknowing about the outside world, so it was very fun watching them have simple concepts explained to them, or their confused faces when something different happened. Their innocence also made me feel for them even more because it was almost like watching someone hurt a child. You know..if the child had like ninja moves.

The plot was very engrossing, it always is when it revolves around the lies and betrayal of a super company. Every time something new was revealed to me, I was surprised. I didn't see any of it coming. Each twist left my mouth agape. I sat at the edge of my seat the entire time.

The setting was very interesting as well and practically made the movie. The place where the main characters lived is portrayed as a safe haven to a deadly outside world. This gives it a very dystopian feel. Everything was white and very much structured. The "outside" was pretty cool as well. New future technology was shown and made the movie that much better.

Overall I have to say that The Island was a good flick. It kept me interested and even provoked some thoughts. I would recommend this movie to people who like a good "evil corporation" storyline.