Seventeen

When seventeen-year-old Sophia dares to prove to her she should stay alive, her suffering is at its climax, her predicament at its worse, and her adolescence at its most difficult.
Sophia is taking summer courses at a New York City college before her senior year of high school, lured to the program by Shauna, her best friend from California. Blessed with all that society considers attractive and intelligent, Shauna succeeds with guy after guy, course after course. Sophia, meanwhile, fails in every course, at every challenge(especially attracting date-worthy males), and with everything she touches....or so she thinks.
Constantly reminded of her own beauty and brains, haunted by pangs of worthlessness, and noticed by only her lanky friend J.P., Sophia begs life for a single decent reason to stick around. Days slip by and she continues her silent countdown until...the greatest hope she can find becomes the deepest threat imaginable.
As she makes her final attempt to confront life among adults, this bold adolescent and feisty storyteller shreds the life she comes to know.
Sophia's plight is the plight of every girl or woman who's ever felt substandard, who'd ever questioned her own value, indeed every person who's ever wondered, "is life worth the suffering?"

I was amazed at this book. I was very very disappointed to have to give up on reading it. I get very close to the characters in the book I'm reading and if the book is good enough, I'll start to almost feel what they feel, and as you can tell, Sophia is suicidal. Reading this book was starting to throw me into a deep depression even though it was so good, and I finally had to call it quites. Not after reading the end of course! What amazed me the most was how...the author, was right on the dime with almost everything! He might as well have been a high school girl himself! If there is a woman out there who hasn't felt what Sophia is feeling at least once in there life I'd LOVE to meet them! If there is anyone out there who loves a good book and does't get too close to the characters...you should read this!

Trissa and the Necklace of Nulidor

One day twelve-year-old Trissa discovers that everyone in her village is under a spell. Everyone but her! Desperate to find someone who can break the spell she flees, leaving her village behind. An old herbwoman tells her to seek help from a wizard who lives far away, and her journey takes her across the Three Kingdoms. Along the way she's joined by a kindly troll and a short, fat palace guard. They are pursued by the twin princes of Kallayne, the best hunters in the Blue River Kingdom, as well as by a huge, dangerous bird. Meanwhile, an evil wizard watches Trissa and her friends in his magic mirror and plans the second spell that will kill everyone in the Three Kingdoms.
I had a great time reading this book by Willow. I was impressed with her creativity. I think that this would be more of a book for preteens and maybe young adults as well. My favorite thing about books is reading about new, and mythical creatures and magic, and this book hit the spot. In the beginning I was a little insertion about Trissa and the Necklace of Nulidor, but my fears soon faded away as I got deeper, and deeper into Willow's story. Keep reading!!:)