The Lightening Thief

Percy Jackson and the Olympians is a series with 7 books so far. I've made it to book 5 and am still going strong. This is a many-layered story with Gods, Goddesses, and much more. Percy finds out, at age 12, that he is a demi-god- half-human and half-immortal. As the son of Poseidon (ruler of the sea) he is an extremely powerful half-blood, just as soon as he can get a handle on his powers. This is definitely a young adult read, but an excellent and fun take on Greek Mythology. Join Percy as he defends himself against a Minotaur, Ares, and many other mythological creatures in his quest to prove his innocence in the theft of Zeus' lightening bolt.

Rampant

Forget everything you ever knew about unicorns . . .
Real unicorns are venomous, man-eating monsters with huge fangs and razor-sharp horns. Fortunately, they've been extinct for a hundred and fifty years.
Or not.
This is about a girl, Astrid, who comes from a seemingly normal life, and ends up being sent to Rome during her junior year in high school to train as a unicorn huntress. Similar to the goddess Diana. Extremely intriguing, completely new spin on what I considered a white, precious, animal-- the Unicorn.
The characters are engaging and each one is integral to the story, very imaginitive.
I was hooked from the beginning, definitely a well-written story with plenty of adventure to keep you hooked from start to finish.

Vampire Kisses, The Beginning

Hands-down the most witty book I have read in a while. I love it, just read this excerpt and you will see why...

Halfway through kindergarten I tried to become a vampire. TrevorMitchell, a perfectly combed blond with weak amber eyes, was my nemesis from the moment I stared him down when he tried to cut in front of me on the slide.
He hated me because I was the only kid that wasn’t afraid of him. The kids and teachers kissed up to him because his father owned most of the land their houses sat on. Trevor was in a biting phase, not because he wanted to be a vampire like me, but just because he was mean. He had taken pieces of flesh out of everyone but me. And I was starting to get ticked off!
We were on the playground, standing by the basketball hoops, when I pinched the skin of his puny little arm so hard I thought blood would squirt out. His face turned beet red. I stood motionless and waited. Trevor’s body trembled with anger, and his eyes swelled with vengeance as I mischievously smiled back. Then he left his dental impressions in my expectant hand. Mrs. Peevish was forced to sit him against the school wall, and I happily danced around the playground, waiting to transform into a vampire bat.
“That Raven is an odd one,” I overhead Mrs. Peevish saying to another teacher as I skipped past the crying Trevor, who was now throwing a fit against the hard blacktop. I blew him a grateful kiss with my bitten hand.
I wore mywound proudly as I got on the school swing. I could fly now, right?

Need

Here is the synopsis: Zara White suspects there's a freaky guy semi-stalking her. She's also obsessed with phobias. And it's true, she hasn't exactly been herself since her stepfather died. But exiling her to shivery Maine to live with her grandmother? That seems a bit extreme.
First of all, I love the phobias, she has a new phobia for each chapter (with plenty more in between), even though the synopsis doesn't mention it, this book is full of magic and fae.... my sister is reading it now and keeps calling me about it, first because it was really good, second, because she was "freaked out" for the character (I know, my sister's funny like that), and now finally because she has less than 30 pages in the book and is mad she's going to finish it soon. Yes people, it's that good.

The Alchemist (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)

He holds the secret that can end the world.The truth: Nicholas Flamel was born in Paris on September 28, 1330. Nearly 700 years later, he is acknowledged as the greatest Alchemyst of his day. It is said that he discovered the secret of eternal life.The records show that he died in 1418.But his tomb is empty.The legend: Nicholas Flamel lives. But only because he has been making the elixir of life for centuries. The secret of eternal life is hidden within the book he protects—the Book of Abraham the Mage. It's the most powerful book that has ever existed. In the wrong hands, it will destroy the world. That's exactly what Dr. John Dee plans to do when he steals it. Humankind won't know what's happening until it's too late. And if the prophecy is right, Sophie and Josh Newman are the only ones with the power to save the world as we know it.

Cody and I are reading this together right now, first time we've ever tried this and we are on chapter 2, which I like to think of as the chapter where it gets really good. Definitely a good read.

Evermore

The story of a girl named Ever. A tragic accident claims her family and she is left behind. She faces the obvious pain, guilt and lonliness I'm sure many survivors face. But, for Ever, it's not just the guilt that she faces.
Since the accident, Ever has begun to experience many things, reading thoughts, seeing Aura's, and meeting Damen..... someone else who doesn't portray everything that he really is.
This is the beginning of a series, I enjoyed this first book immensely, but haven't been able to get into the 2nd book, maybe because it's named Blue Moon?..... it's a little to close to the sequel of another, more popular series......New Moon anyone? But, I don't want that to diminish this book, it was quite, quite good.