Judge A Book By Its Cover #2 (with my mom!)

Hey guys! What's up? Are we heading to WW3? Who knows.

I had so much fun when I made this the last time, so I thought  I would do one again. This time, my mom helped me.

I showed my mom 5 book covers and told her to describe the main character and the main plot. I knew nothing about the books I showed her so there's no cheating here. I recorded her, transcribed it, and translated the text. Here's what how it turned out (spoiler: she wasn't even remotely close.)

*In between brackets are my comments*

1) The Art Of Lainey by Paula Stokes

It's about a teenager of 20-something. She's really smart and lives in a lively city. The story is about the adventures this girl goes through while trying to discover the world. She's a really nice person and wants to find good friends. [Does the title tell you anything?] What's "Lainey?" [The name.] The art of Lainey? [Yes.] Okay, but I think the title doesn't refer to art as in sculptures and paintings. It's the art of being alive and being her.

Soccer star Lainey Mitchell is gearing up to spend an epic summer with her amazing boyfriend, Jason, when he suddenly breaks up with her—no reasons, no warning, and in public no less! Lainey is more than crushed, but with help from her friend Bianca, she resolves to do whatever it takes to get Jason back.

And that’s when the girls stumble across a copy of The Art of War. With just one glance, they're sure they can use the book to lure Jason back into Lainey’s arms. So Lainey channels her inner warlord, recruiting spies to gather intel and persuading her coworker Micah to pose as her new boyfriend to make Jason jealous. After a few "dates", it looks lik her plan is going to work! But now her relationship with Micah is starting to feel like more than just a game.

What's a girl to do when what she wants is totally different from what she needs? How do you figure out the person you're meant to be with if you're still figuring out the person you're meant to be?

2) The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer

It's sounds like a mix of Breaking Bad with something. Maybe it's a man who experiments on animals and is moving onto experimenting on humans. It's definitely darker than the previous book. [And what would the "plot" be?] What's a "plot"? [The problem of the story that needs to be solved. He experiments on animals, and then what?] No, he experimented on animals and now wants to experiment on humans. So the problem could be related to ethics and morals. I think he's not an ethical person so maybe it's about the risks and problems that come along with experimenting on humans. The main character is definitely a man.

In this gripping page-turner, an ex-agent on the run from her former employers must take one more case to clear her name and save her life.

She used to work for the U.S. government, but very few people ever knew that. An expert in her field, she was one of the darkest secrets of an agency so clandestine it doesn’t even have a name. And when they decided she was a liability, they came for her without warning.

Now, she rarely stays in the same place or uses the same name for long. They’ve killed the only other person she trusted, but something she knows still poses a threat. They want her dead, and soon.

When her former handler offers her a way out, she realizes it’s her only chance to erase the giant target on her back. But it means taking one last job for her ex-employers. To her horror, the information she acquires only makes her situation more dangerous.

Resolving to meet the threat head-on, she prepares for the toughest fight of her life but finds herself falling for a man who can only complicate her likelihood of survival. As she sees her choices being rapidly whittled down, she must apply her unique talents in ways she never dreamed of.

In this tautly plotted novel, Stephenie Meyer creates a fierce and fascinating new heroine with a very specialized skill set. And she shows once again why she’s one of the world’s bestselling authors.

3) From What I Remember by Stacy Kramer and Val Thomas

It's a summer romance story. They meet and have typical teenage trouble. [Bare the title in mind.] *reading* Oh, okay then they come up with crazy stuff to do and it ends in romance. [That was pretty basic, mom.]

KYLIE: Mexico? What a nightmare! I should be putting the finishing touches on my valedictorian speech. Graduation is TODAY! Wait! Is this a wedding band on my finger??

MAX: It started with Kylie's laptop and a truck full of stolen electronics and it ended in Ensenada. It was hot, the way she broke us out like some chick in an action movie. But now we're stranded here, with less than twenty-four hours before graduation.

WILL: Saving Kylie Flores from herself is kind of a full-time occupation. Luckily, I, Will Bixby, was born for the job. And when I found out she was stuck in Mexico with dreamy Max Langston, sure, I agreed to bring their passports across the border but there's no reason to rush back home right away. This party is just getting started.

LILY: This cannot be happening. It's like some cruel joke. Or a bad dream. I close my eyes and when I reopen them, they're still there. Max and Kylie Flores, freak of the century. In bed together. If Kylie thinks I'm giving him up without a fight, she's dead wrong.

4) Replica by Lauren Oliver (Replica #1)

[The title is the one in the middle.] And what's "Lyra" and "Gemma"? [The main characters.] Okay, so they're like total opposite people. One of them is really "dark" and the other one is like the sun. They're like twins that were separated and sent to two different worlds. But one day they meet and that's when the story unfolds. The story is told from their different points of view until they meet.

Lyra

From a distance, the Haven Institute, tucked away on a private island off the coast of Florida, looks serene and even beautiful. But up close the locked doors, military guards, and biohazard suits tell a different story. In truth, it is a clandestine research facility where thousands of replicas, or human models, are born, raised, and observed.

But when a surprise attack is launched on Haven, two of its young experimental subjects—Lyra, or 24, and the boy known only as 72—manage to escape. As they make their way through a new and menacing environment, they meet a stranger named Gemma, who has embarked on a perilous quest of her own. And as Lyra tries to understand Haven’s purpose, she uncovers earth-shattering secrets that will change the lives of both girls.

Gemma

Gemma has been in and out of hospitals her whole life. A sickly child, she has grown into a lonely adolescent whose life is circumscribed by home, school, and her best friend, April.

But after she is nearly abducted by a stranger claiming to know her, Gemma starts to investigate her family’s past and discovers her father’s mysterious connection to the secretive Haven research facility. Hungry for answers, she travels to Florida, only to stumble upon two human models, or replicas, 24 and 72—and a completely new set of questions. As Gemma tries to unravel the mysteries of Haven, she learnes terrible truths about herself and her family that will threaten to destroy everything she loves.

Two girls, two stories, one novel.

While the stories of Gemma and Lyra mirror each other, each contains revelations critically important to the other story. Their narratives can be read separately or in alternating chapters.

5) Unplugged by Donna Freitas (The Wired #1)

[Oh, wait. This is a second installment. Let me find the first one.] Okay, Unplugged, hmm. it's about people who are kept as resources. Like back-ups to be used in the future. It's science-fiction, of course. The main character, for some reason, get's unplugged and is able to see what's going on. So she wants to unplug the rest of the people there to get their freedom back. [It reminds me of that Scarlett Johansson movie.] Yes, that's what I was basing myself on, haha.

Humanity is split into the App World and the Real World—an extravagant virtual world for the wealthy and a dying physical world for the poor. Years ago, Skylar Cruz’s family sent her to the App World for a chance at a better life.

Now Skye is a nobody, a virtual sixteen-year-old girl without any glamorous effects or expensive downloads to make her stand out in the App World. Yet none of that matters to Skye. All she wants is a chance to unplug and see her mother and sister again.

But when the borders between worlds suddenly close, Skye loses that chance. Desperate to reach her family, Skye risks everything to get back to the physical world. Once she arrives, however, she discovers a much larger, darker reality than the one she remembers.

There you have it! My mom had some good ideas, didn't she? Not as good as mine on the last one, though. Check that one out.

Mom, if you're reading this (probably not), thanks!

See you next time!

Have you read any of these books? What did you think? Let me know.

Judge a Book by its Cover #1

Judge a Book by its Cover Challenge

Hello, there! How you doin'? I don't know about you, but when I'm bored, I love watching challenges. But by far, my favorite one is the Judge a Book by its Cover Challenge. I decided to do it, by myself (cause I'm forever alone.) Let's get started!

Judge a Book by its Cover is a challenge in which I pick random books without reading the blurb and I try to guess the plot of each one by looking at the cover.

1) Paradise by Judith McNaught (Contemporary)

Well, this cover is not that informative but I'm going to take a leap an say that this book is about a 30 year-old woman who gets promoted in her job. The thing is that this new position is in another city. She moves to this new city and tries to get adapted but can't seem to. Then she meets this guy one night and he tells her that the only way to know a city is to get lost there. And that's exactly what they do. They visit random places and spend the whole night together. 

If that's not what the book's about then someone please do something about it. That's a neat idea. 

What it's really about: Corporate raider Matthew Farrell had come a long way from the poor, scruffy kid of Indiana's steel mills. A long way from the country club where, feeling like an outsider, he had dared to fall in love with a beautiful blonde named Meredith Bancroft, and known a once-in-a-lifetime passion and betrayal that still haunted his memory... Now world leaders courted him, the media watched his every move, and he was ready to move in on the Bancroft empire.

A cool, poised executive in her family's legendary department store chain, Meredith had once defied her father for the sexually magnetic, intense Matt Farrell -- and their brief, ill-fated marriage was the disastrous outcome. Now, as the Bancroft firm is threatened by a hostile takeover, Meredith is forced to confront Matt. As tensions build between them, bittersweet memories rise to the surface, leaving them suspicious, restless, and uncertain. Will they be able to believe in each other -- and grasp the tender miracle that is before them?

2) The Pledge by Kimberly Derting (Sci-fi)

This book is about a rebellious girl of about 17-18, whose parents are pressuring her to get married. She doesn't want to do it, because she doesn't believe in the social conventions so she escapes and dresses up as a boy. While on the run, she gets mistaken for one of the participants of a contest called "The Pledge", in which 15 men go through several skill tests and the winner gets rewarded with a big sum of money. This is her big chance to start over, so she stays. Everything seems to be fine until she discovers a fellow contestant is someone from her past.

Doesn't it sound awesome? I sure do. Is there any book like this out there? I would really want to know.

What it's really about: In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she's spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she's never heard before . . . and her secret is almost exposed.

Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something much bigger: her country's only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime.

3) Welcome, Caller, This Is Chloe by Shelley Coriell (Contemporary)

This book is about a girl who is part of the high-school's radio station. There she hides behind a fake identity that allows her to speak freely without consequences. In one of the segments, the most successful one, she reads embarrassing stories from the listeners. One day, a live caller asks her to tell one of her embarrassing stories, and so she does. What she least expected was to enter school the next morning and see her face everywhere. Her identity was hidden no more. Now all the people she's shamed are demanding revenge. How will she get out of this one, without changing her name and fleeing the country?

Moral of the story: Never speak badly about someone behind their backs. Just say it to their face! Just kidding... maybe.

What it's actually about: Big-hearted Chloe Camden is the queen of her universe until her best friend shreds her reputation and her school counselor axes her junior independent study project. Chloe is forced to take on a meaningful project in order to pass, and so she joins her school’s struggling radio station, where the other students don’t find her too queenly. Ostracized by her former BFs and struggling with her beloved Grams’s mental deterioration, lonely Chloe ends up hosting a call-in show that gets the station much-needed publicity and, in the end, trouble. She also befriends radio techie and loner Duncan Moore, a quiet soul with a romantic heart. On and off the air, Chloe faces her loneliness and helps others find the fun and joy in everyday life. Readers will fall in love with Chloe as she falls in love with the radio station and the misfits who call it home.

4) The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (The Queen's Thief  #1) (Fantasy)

This is a tough one cause there are 6 books in the series. I think this book is about a Queen who has the ability to control people through their belongings. So she has a personal thief who steals items from different powerful citizens. That is until the thief is assigned to steal from a very smart and beautiful girl. This task requires time so this girl stops doubting him. With each day that goes by, the thief grows fonder of the girl, and the queen grows more impatient. Things change when the thief discovers that the object he's supposed to steal has some dark magic, and that someone is using it. How can he trust that the object is in good hands? An would it really be safer with his Queen? 

Oohh, so much intrigue!

What it's really about: The king's scholar, the magus, believes he knows the site of an ancient treasure. To attain it for his king, he needs a skillful thief, and he selects Gen from the king's prison. The magus is interested only in the thief's abilities. 

What Gen is interested in is anyone's guess. Their journey toward the treasure is both dangerous and difficult, lightened only imperceptibly by the tales they tell of the old gods and goddesses. 

Well, none of them were remotely close to the real plots, but it was so much fun! I think I'm going to turn this into a series, so if you have any books you'd like me to judge next, let me know! 

While I definitely didn't nail this challenge, I think I gave some pretty good plot ideas... you're welcome, authors.

Did you notice that I didn't use a single gif? What's wrong with me?

Hope you enjoyed it! See you later! (Well, not really "see" but you know what I mean)

Do you buy books by their covers? Shame on you. Don't worry I do it too. Let me know your thoughts and suggestions in the comments!