Skip Beat! Volume 2 by Yoshiki Nakamura

Title: Skip Beat! Volume 2
Author: Yoshiki Nakamura
Type: Manga
Genre: Shoujo
Series: Yes, Volume 2
Pages: 208
Copyright: 2006
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
Rating: 3.5 out of 5


Summary: from Good Reads
Kyoko Mogami followed her true love Sho to Tokyo to support him while he made it big as an idol. But he's casting her out now that he's famous enough! Kyoko won't suffer in silence--she's going to get her sweet revenge by beating Sho in show biz!

Feelings:
I enjoyed this volume more than the first. It developed the main character, Kyoko more. She is funny in a dark way. Sometimes I find the drawings a little bit overly dramatic but that is the case with many mangas I've read.

Kyoko finds a second opportunity to become a star in show biz and even though she has to get people to love her as part of a Love Me Section of the company she decides to go for it. 

Zlata's Diary by Zlata Filipovic

Title: Zlata's Diary: A Child's Life in Sarajevo
Author: Zlata Filipovic
Type: Nonfiction
Genre: Diary
Series: No
Pages: 208
Copyright: 1994
Publisher:Viking Penguin
Rating: 3 out of 5


Summary: from Good Reads
In a voice both innocent and wise, touchingly reminiscent of Anne Frank's, Zlata Filipovic's diary has awoken the conscience of the world. Now thirteen years old, Zlata began her diary just before her eleventh birthday, when there was peace in Sarajevo and her life was that of a bright, intelligent, carefree young girl. Her early entries describe her friends, her new skis, her family, her grades at school, her interest in joining the Madonna Fan Club. And then, on television, she sees the bombs falling on Dubrovnik. Though repelled by the sight, Zlata cannot conceive of the same thing happening in Sarajevo. When it does, the whole tone of her diary changes. Early on, she starts an entry to "Dear Mimmy" (named after her dead goldfish): "SLAUGHTERHOUSE! MASSACRE! HORROR! CRIMES! BLOOD! SCREAMS! DESPAIR!" We see the world of a child increasingly circumscribed by the violence outside. Zlata is confined to her family's apartment, spending the nights, as the shells rain down mercilessly, in a neighbor's cellar. And the danger outside steadily invades her life. No more school. Living without water and electricity. Food in short supply. The onslaught destroys the pieces she loves, kills or injures her friends, visibly ages her parents. In one entry Zlata cries out, "War has nothing to do with humanity. War is something inhuman." In another, she thinks about killing herself. Yet, with indomitable courage and a clarity of mind well beyond her years, Zlata preserves what she can of her former existence, continuing to study piano, to find books to read, to celebrate special occasions - recording it all in the pages of this extraordinary diary.

Feelings:
Zlata starts keeping a diary before the war breaks out in Bosnia. When she starts her diary we see that she is a normal young girl who thinks about school, her friends, and popular culture. when the conflict starts in a near by city she does not think it will come to Sarajevo. Over the two years that Zlata kept her diary we see the changes that come over her city and her family.

I am using this book with a student who is learning English. I have found so far that the level of the writing is such that it is easy to understand and we are able to have conversations about the book and what is happening. Reading about this reminded me of hearing about the conflict when I was growing up. This book made it real for me when it hadn't been before.

I highly recommend this book. It is easy to read and Zlata is strong even when things are falling apart around her.

The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman

Title: The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story
Author: Diane Ackerman
Type: Audiobook
Narrator: Suzanne Toren
Genre: Nonfiction history
Series: No
Copyright: 2007
Publisher: Blackstone Audiobooks
Rating: 2 out of 5


Summary: from Good Reads
The New York Times bestseller: a true story in which the keepers of the Warsaw Zoo saved hundreds of people from Nazi hands.

After their zoo was bombed, Polish zookeepers Jan and Antonina Zabinski managed to save over three hundred people from the Nazis by hiding refugees in the empty animal cages. With animal names for these "guests," and human names for the animals, it's no wonder that the zoo's code name became "The House Under a Crazy Star." Best-selling naturalist and acclaimed storyteller Diane Ackerman combines extensive research and an exuberant writing style to re-create this fascinating, true-life story—sharing Antonina's life as "the zookeeper's wife," while examining the disturbing obsessions at the core of Nazism.

Feelings:
This book was a bit hard for me to get into even as an audiobook. The narrator did a really good job. It was hard for me because while this was a story it often wandered off on tangents. While these were interesting, I often didn't see how they related to the story of the war and the zoo.  

I had originally gotten this as a paperback book, however, I am glad I didn't try and read it because I never would have made it through. I appreciated Suzanne Toren reading this because it added to the story and without it being something I was listening to on my drives to and from work I don't think this would have been a book I continued. I do admit that the ending didn't really work for me and I think the book could have been shorter and probably better for it. I do not recommend that anyone sit down to read this book because it is very slow passed and at times drifts from the story of the Nazi occupation of Warsaw and leaves you wondering why that was important to the book and story of Antonina, the zookeeper's wife.
 

Skip Beat! Volume 1 by Yoshiki Nakamura

Title: Skip Beat! Volume 1
Author: Yoshiki Nakamura
Type: Manga 
Genre: Shoujo 
Series: Yes, Vol. 1
Pages: 184
Copyright: 2006
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Summary: from Good Reads
Kyoko always thought that Sho, whose family took her in when she was small, was her prince charming. However, when Sho heads for Tokyo to make it big as a musician, Kyoko goes with him and has to quit high school to support his dream. But soon, being in the big city makes Kyoko realize that she has show business ambitions of her own!
 
Feelings:
I have been hearing about this manga for years now. It isn't the fantasy that I normally read but I thought I would give it a try.

The first volume was funny. A girl follows a guy to Tokyo and supports him in his endever to become a pop star. However, she finds out he brought her because she was like a maid and he didn't even like her. What follows is a good laugh. 

In Seconds by Brenda Novak

Title: In Seconds

Author: Brenda Novak

Type: Novel 
Genre: Romance

Series: Yes, Bulletproof #2

Pages: 400
Copyright: 2011
Publisher: Mira
Rating: 3 out of 5


Summary: from Good Reads
They're back...

Laurel Hodges has changed her identity twice. She's been on the run for the past four years, trying to outdistance the gang members who blame her for the death of one of their own. She's finally found peace and stability in the small town of Pineview, Montana. But just when she thinks she and her children are safe...the nightmare starts all over again.

Feelings:
I was sorting books at work, probably not the best idea in retrospect, and I picked this up and wondered if it was romance or thriller. It was a little of both but I think mostly romance. By the time I realized I had done more than find out what the book was I was hooked and thus I read the book at home later. This is not what I look for when I'm looking for a book to read but I did enjoy reading this. I'm not going to read the others in the series. I had no idea I started with the second one. I didn't seem to matter much. This was an enjoyable brain candy stop. 

The Big Wave by Pearl S. Buck

Title: The Big Wave 
Author: Pearl S. Buck 
Type: Novella  
Genre: Fiction 
Series: No 
Pages: 64 
Copyright: 1986 
Publisher: HarperCollins 
Rating: 3.5 out of5

Summary: from Goodreads
Kino lives on a farm on the side of a mountain in Japan. His friend, Jiya, lives in a fishing village below. Everyone, including Kino and Jiya, has heard of the big wave. No one suspects it will wipe out the whole village and Jiya's family, too. As Jiya struggles to overcome his sorrow, he understands it is in the presence of danger that one learns to be brave, and to appreciate how wonderful life can be.

The famous story of a Japanese boy who must face life after escaping the tidal wave destruction of his family and village.

Feelings: 
I remembered reading The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck and thinking it was a really good novel. This was good but it wasn't as strong of a story. This is a story of life and the ability of people to go on living even when everything is taken from them.

I would recommend this story. It is quick read and it shows the strength of humans to give and to forgive nature.

Black Bird Volume 1 by Kanoko Sakurakoji

Title: Black Bird, Volume 1
Author: Kanoko Sakurakoji
Type: Manga 
Genre: Shoujo 
Series: Yes, Vol. 16 of 23 
Pages: 194
Copyright: 2011
Publisher: VIZ Media LLC
Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary: from Good Reads
He loves her blood, but does her love her?!

There is a world of myth and magic that intersects ours, and only a special few can see it. Misao Harada is one such person, and she wants nothing to do with magical realms. She just wants to have a normal high school life and maybe get a boyfriend. All that changes one day when Misao is attacked by a demon. Her childhood friend Kyo suddenly returns to save her and tend to her cuts--with his tongue! It turns out Misao is the bride of prophecy, whose blood gives power to the demon clan who claims her. But most demons want to keep her power for themselves--by eating her! Now Misao is just trying to stay alive...and decide if she likes it when Kyo licks her wounds.

Feelings:
I really enjoyed the first volume of this series. Misao Harada is a high school girl who wants to be normal but she can see demons no one else can see. They are attracted to her as she gives the energy. When she is attacked by a demon for her blood she is shocked. Her childhood friend Kyo returns at the same time and saves her. She doesn't remember him being a tengu and is surprised to see his wings. Yet when she is with Kyo the other creatures do not attack her. Kyo wants to make her his bride but Misao isn't sure that is what she wants.

I'm really looking forward to reading this series.