First They Killed My Father

Loung Ung was a opinionated five year old living a luxurious and sheltered life in Cambodia when the Khmer Rouge took over. Now, the life she once had could kill her, if anyone found out about it. Moving from village to village, Loung Ung and her family try to hide their former life of prosperity, becoming the villagers the Khmer Rouge want everyone to be. But the past has a way of catching up to you, and Loung Ung finds herself walking on eggshells, trying to forget the easiness she had once upon a time.

This book is not only a page-turner, but also an honest recount of what really happened to Loung Ung. The author easily could have written herself down as an agreeable, kindhearted young girl, but instead she truthfully wrote about the stubbornness, obstinance and hate she had build up inside of her. Loung Ung did an amazing job of writing everything in detail. I was very impressed at how descriptive a thirty year old woman could write about her early childhood. Granted, she was writing about the most eventful and horrible time of her life, but still, she remembers the specific items the Khmer Rouge found in her mother's bag, she remembers how she felt when the Khmer Rouge first came to Phnom Penh, she remembers that she was playing hopscotch when she first sees the Khmer Rouge. I loved Loung Ung writing and honesty, and I plan to read other books of hers.

Get Well Soon

Get Well Soon is the semi-autobiographical book about Anna Bloom, an overweight, over-depressed newly-admitted mental patient. Through her hilariously entertaining letters to her friend Tracy, Anna talks of her time at the mental hospital and her fellow patients, including the cutie Justin. Anna is confused- depression is supposed to be depressing, so why is she making so many friends and possibly a boyfriend? Will Anna and Justin be able to share their mutual feelings? Will Anna ever go back into the real world, or will she spend the rest of her life in the hospital with Matt O.? I guess you'll have to read to find out!
This book was amazingly, fantastically, hilariously good. The writing isn't the best because the whole book is letters from a teenager. However, I think the grammar mistakes, strange expressions and occasional cursing makes the book that much more realistic. Julia Halpern does a great job of writing from a adolescent's perspective and I was able to easily picture Justin, Colby, Anna, Matt O., Eugene and Big 'Do. The detail was fantastic! I found myself laughing out loud at multiple times while reading Get Well Soon. I have read it three times, and I plan to read it again and again. I strongly recommend that you do the same!