Chance to win!

Misfit Salon is celebrating its three month blogiversary with a giveaway. You can enter for your chance to win
A) a $25 Amazon giftcard
or
B) An AUTOGRAPHED hardcover copy of Best Friends Forever by Jennifer Wiener, The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman, or The Last Dickens by Matthew Pearl.

This giveaway will end on October 5, 2009 so hurry!

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The Martian Child

Title: The Martian Child
Author: David Gerrold
Series: N/A
Rating: 3/5 stars
Review:

David Gerrold is a single gay man who wants to have a family. After searching for the perfect child to adopt, he stumbles upon a picture of Dennis. After looking into adopting Dennis, he begins to have second thoughts. Dennis is a hyperactive child who has a habit of getting into trouble. Oh yeah, and he thinks he's a Martian.

I enjoyed this book for the first half. I like how neither David nor Dennis were perfect - each one had his own flaws. Dennis is hyperactive and can't help but get into trouble and David is constantly worrying that he'll make a mistake and ruin Dennis's life - he desperately wants to help his son.

Like I said, I enjoyed the first half. I wish I could give this book two ratings - one for the first half and one for the second half. (WARNING! Possible spoilers!) In the second half of the novel, Dennis is still insisting that he's a Martian and can make things come true with Martian Wishes. Instead of trying to help Dennis understand himself, and try and help him fit in in the world, David starts to believe his son really is a Martian. I swear, this author started doing drugs while writing this. The dude sits there and starts watching his son closely and comes to the conclusion that his son is an alien that was implanted into a human's womb. The whole Martian thing was a cute subplot about Dennis trying to find himself and explain why he doesn't fit in. It got way out of hand when David started believing that his son really was a Martian.

I still recommend this book. It's a cute story about a man who wants to adopt a son. It shows the feelings that both man and son are going through. Most books will focus on the impact of one or the other, but this novel gives us both sides of the story.

Win a free book!

Everybody loves a free book! (Okay, maybe not everyone, but I sure do!)
Lynne's Letters is currently having a giveaway! You can enter at her blog to win a copy of either The Help or The Weight of Silence! Head on over to her blog today and enter for a chance to win one of these awesome books. =) http://www.lynnesletters.com/2009/09/book-giveaway-910-917.html

Trickster's Choice

Title: Trickster's Choice
Author: Tamora Pierce
Series: Daughter of the Lioness
Rating: 5/5 stars
Review:

What do you do when you’re the daughter of two extraordinary people? Alainne of Pirates Swoop is the daughter of George Cooper, the former King of Thieves and now second in command of Tortall's spy network, and Alanna the Lioness, the King's Champion to Jonathan of Conte. Her older brother Thom has followed after his name sake and left to study magic and her twin brother has followed their mother and has set off to become a Knight of Tortall, so where does that leave Alainne? Alainne wishes to follow in her fathers footsteps and become a spy, but he has forbidden it. Eager to prove herself, she sets off on her own only to be kidnapped and forced into slavery. Not long into her slavery a god appear - Kyrpioth the Trickster god and he offers here a wager. If she can keep two girls alive through the summer, he will send her home.

I really enjoyed this book. I liked the theme of a confused teen trying to find their way. It's always hard on a person to try and live up to someone else's reputation - whether it's a parent or an older sibling. Tamora Pierce did an excellent job with this novel, just like all of her other ones. The characters are deep, and interesting and her plot is well thought out.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who has liked Pierce's earlier novels. Even if you haven't read her novels before, but you enjoy fantasy, you should read this book.