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Hey guys. Quick update post. I'm actually blogging right now from a hotel in San Francisco! Which means I'm on vacation! So for all you people expecting the much-delayed Cosmic  review as well as many other awesome book reviews and top tens and how to's, don't be surprised if I don't post for the next week or so (well, at least hold my promise of every day). It's kind of like winter break. Who really does there homework over the break and saves it until the last minute (if you said Me!, than you're a liar)? There's a bunch of stuff I want to do, and as much as I hate to say it, I may not have enough time to log on and post.

Ok so... five books/series you haven't heard about. Of course, some of you probably have read these books countless times over and over, but I'm talking about my main audience: the group of 12/13 year olds at the upper-octave of Middle Grade and starting their endeavor into YA. 5. School For S.P.I.E.S Series by Bruce Hale: Kicking off the list is the first spy book I ever read (even before Spy School by Stuart Gibbs!) When Max Segredo, and orphan who's bounced around countless foster homes, lands in Merry Sunshine Orphanage, he doesn't expect to be learning Karate and Breaking Codes. The School of Spying is run by Hantai Annie Wong, and the team needs to stop LOTUS's diabolical plan. If you love Spy School, you'll love this book. 4. Millions by Frank Cottrell Boyce: Millions is about a family living in England, two boys and their dad and no mum. Damien, the only kid in the world that can tell you the saint of anything, and Anthony, the kid who loves money, a...

Ok, I know I've been stalling for a really long time trying to get these reviews out, but I keep posting Updates and Top 10's and really avoiding the true reason I became a blogger: to review books. I have a couple reasons for my lack of reviews. First of all, I just finished a PSAT summer prep program at my school, but in a couple weeks, I'm starting back up with another day camp. Don't forget, I volunteer at the library, have a math tutor, and I have a vacation coming up. Tommorow will be a review of Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce, and after that, I'll try my best to get out reviews. -Justin

Hey guys! I know this has absolutely nothing to do with books but... IT"S MY BIRTHDAY. I'm now officially a teenager. But have you guys noticed that on your birthday, it's not like you're making a leap through time? I mean, yesterday felt exactly like today, but apparently today is when everybody cheers you on and sings for you and gives you stuff. Like I still feel like I'm 12. I don't know if this happens for you, but I finally feel thirteen about a couple months after I've turned thirteen. it takes that long for the mindset of being older to sink in. It's also like, for kids taking school, when you're in 7th grade, you don't feel it until May, and by then your year is basically over. Who knows if I'm going crazy, but that's just me.

Woo! This is an exciting update post. First of all, my birthday is coming up in two days! Ah! On the 24th, I will finally be 13 and I can't wait. Also I will be leaving on a vacation soon and I'll try my best to keep up with the reviews, but if the wi-fi at my hotel is crappy and my laptop keeps shutting down, expect a delay of posts for a week. Some other cool book stuff: Middle School: Just my Rotten Luck Came Out Today! Since it's not one of my top priorties, I haven;'t bought it yet, but I'll ask for it for my birthday. Also, the third book in the School for S.P.I.E.S. series by Bruce Hale is out tomorrow in e-book form.

I was trying to figure out what book to review, but I went to a huge family gathering and I didn't have a computer so I ended up going with a Top 5. To all your Dad's out there, you are awesome. 5. Football Genius by Tim Green: Troy's Dad throughout the series is more of a nuisance than a help. After Troy lands a 5 million dollar deal with the Jets, Troy's dad proceeds to take all of it and use it on bets, which he never pays back to Troy. But after everything, the family still loves him and all and in the end he's a decent guy. 4. Big Nate Series by Lincoln Pierce: Nate's dad is the comedic crack-up that ties the whole story together. Depicted as a really fat an angry old man, Nate's dad has his tempers at times, especially after he sees Nate's report card. He's the horrible chef that always yells at Nate, which makes the book so much funnier and enjoyable. 3. Roomies by Sara Zarr and Tara Altebrando: Man I have used this book a lot recently. ...

Since I just received three thousand total views, I took a quick look at exactly where  those views are coming from. And it turns out, in the past week, I've gotten more than 20 views from countries that aren't the US. So to those people who can't even read with I'm writing as well as my US viewers: Thank you so much. I know I haven't been on the ball with reviews and posting everyday, but thanks for sticking with me. It seriously means a lot to know my opinion means something. Thanks. -Justin

Ok, so I know I've already addressed this topic briefly in other update pasts and whatnot, but I figured i needed to make it's own posts. That way, I can get more views when somebody asks me as a blogger what I like in a good book. 5. Character Personalities: While I don't stress about this a lot, in a lot of my favorite books, the main character has some trait or multiple traits that make them stand out from other kids there own age. For example, in Belly Up by Stuart Gibbs, Teddy Fitzroy's knack for animals, as he lived in the Congo for many years, allows him to know more about animals than kids his own age. Also, boredom and curiosity added to the plot and made Belly Up that much better than it would've been if it was a normal, boring, average 12 year old who said "Meh" and decided to try to figure out what happened to Henry. 4. Profanity: Yes, everyone knows the 7 -12 words you shouldn't say in public, but while you shouldn't say  them, who...

Quick update on things right now. If you haven't noticed, I'm starting to skip days and make up for it the next day. It's mostly because in the Summer, I'm starting to juggle more things and it's tough to keep up with all the craziness in my life not to mention my blog. Please, stick with me, and expect tons more reviews. On Thursday, I finally got a spot to volunteer at my local library. You had to have been a certain age and I just missed the cut last summer, so i was glad to get accepted. My job was to oversee these little kids make father's day cards for their dads. it's so fun to hang out with random middle and high school kids you don't even know and make some kid's day. I definitely recommend volunteering, anywhere to be exact. I've slowed down how many books I've read, mostly to really push and try to get my third draft written by July. I'm still reading though, re-reading classics and trying out new YA books. I honestly don...

I've been wanting to do this post, but I hat re-advertising. I hate it when somebody says "You should buy this!" and you're like yeah yeah, and then the next day they're like "Go buy this!" It just makes you want to scream. But I'm going to be totally hypocrytical because I need to remind you of a few things. One: Stop signing the petition for the Spy School movie. Go  here , where not only can you support it, but you also get to cast directors, actors, writers, and the composer. too (anybody up for Arnold Schwarzenegger to be Alexander Hale?) Two: The Summer Book Club. AHH there's only three people in it. Please, if you want to be in a book club with people who like books and Stuart Gibbs as much as you do, please email me @ justindoan8@gmail.com. It'll be fun and I'll let you in on some awesome insider info. Three: If you want a shoutout, I'll gladly give you one, just ask me for one in the comments. There goes my rant for t...

Ok, normally, I don't get emotional, but when I hit three thousand views, I literally started tearing up. I got into blogging because I wanted to just voice my opinion, and thought I would get maybe five views a day. Now I'm averaging at least 30 views a freaking day! Now, that doesn't sound like much, considering some viral videos get millions of views, but this is a blog, which is usually about books, which relate to school (ew!) while some dog running over a guy is hilariously funny. Seriously, thanks so much. I want to give some awesome shoutouts. Shoutout to all my HMS friends (sorry for forgetting you): Nathan Root, Ivan Munoz, Hae-jeen & Tae-Hyun Ryou, Megan Ngo, Zackary Laymance, Michael Lord, Joshua Perea, and so many more. You've really made HMS awesome for me and I can't thank you enough. Thanks to Deborah Mutombo & Megan Ngo: For drawing for me when I couldn't draw diddly-crap, and doing it all as a favor Thanks to Jonathan Chaidez-Sola...

Man, I haven't done a hot to in awhile! So I get asked a lot by my friends what books I like, because they want to know where to go when they step foot in a library. But I can't just tell them 'Spy School' because what if they're into fantasy. So I just tell them what they like in a good back and they usually reply with "Uhh". This is for all you people wanting to try new material but not knowing where to start! Step 1: Read Books. It seems simple but is a very important step. If you want to read more exciting and thrilling books, then you have to at least test the waters (this is for the people who've never touched a book in there life) See what books you would like to re-read and make a list, either physically or in your head. Step 2: Once you've read a ton of books, and amassed a good list, check out/buy as many of those books on your list as you can. You're going to need to do some examining, but you need to get the book again so you ca...

So this is going to be a quick update, because in the past week a lot of thins have happened. First of all, Stuart Gibbs is ironically acting all spy-like. He says he would be off social media until the month of June is over, but he's favorited a few of my tweets in between his promise of to cut social media from his life, so either he just wants to interact with his fans (porbably the case) or his computer is hacked (if it is, then I would be a martian right now, so I'm going to go with theory #1) As for FunJungle #4 info. let's just say I got some awesome news that is going to be exclusive to my book club. What is this book club you ask? Well I'm going to start a book club for kids who are fans of Stuart Gibbs, and the whole thing will be via e-mail. We'll start with Stuart Gibbs classics and as we progress through summer, you can recommend another book and we'll vote on if we should read it or not. Our meeting will probably be around twice a week. Can...

I guess I have to make an apology. To the readers of justintalksbooks- I apologize for not writing my reviews. This is true. For the last few days, I've been stalling with Updates Top Ten's and this post. Why I can't just write a review? First of all, I'm taking a PSAT summer course that requires for you to do homework every night (and we're not talking simple equations, we're talking pre-calculus, trigonometry and functions) Also, I'm trying to read books for reviews. Fan Libni from Chicago suggested for me to read The CandyMakers by Wendy Mass. But I'm also trying to re-read my whole Stuart Gibbs collection and some new books from the library, such as Cosmic by Frank Cottrell Boyce and Pickle by Kim Baker. Don't forget I am trying to write a book, and it hasn't been easy. With all of that, it's actually quite hard for me to sit down for an hour and pour out my opinions. I also try to have a first draft so that I don't look unprofessiona...

After the response I got from the Top ten male Characters post, I knew I would have to put up one for female characters. 10.- Kira Howard- Space Case by Stuart Gibbs- Kicking off the list with a Stuart Gibbs Character! She would be higher, but she didn't have the world's biggest role in the book...for now. 9.  Judy Nazemetz- I Funny Series by James Patterson- The crack up comedian who happens to be Jamie's stiff competition / girl who secretly kissed him comes in at number nine! 8. Cara Landry- The Landry news by Dan Gutman- The creator of the questionable newspaper may be in serious trouble after one intense(-ish) story published without "proper" authorization. 7. Hannah Spivero- Charlie Joe Jackson series by Tommy Greenwald- Charlie Joe's crush since second grade has broken Charlie Joe's heart by going out with another guy. Other than that, she's basically perfect, I mean, good looks, athletic, and academically gifted all in a package? Perfec...

I released a picture on my IG (justindoan8) of a new book I found at the library called Crossing Lines. It's about a new kid at school who is gay and wants to be a girl, and he sports lipstick and a lavish dress. But the other kids call him "gay" and "fag". Enter Adonis, a third party whose sister is best friend with the new kid Alan. With all his fellow football teammates/bullies turning on him for trying to get them to lay off the harsh comments on Alan, Andonis has to make a decision on whether or not to take his teammates side and be a bully, take Alan's side and become a victim of harassment himself, or stay a third party and not get involved, though this could mean he does get involved (it's...complicated) It's actually a really good book, but I've been holding off mostly because...well. it's a long review. I just haven't had enough time to finish it. But trust me, once I finish it, either tomorrow, or the next day, you'll want ...

I guess since Stuart Gibbs is off all social media, I can finally write this post and send it out as a surprise. Hi, my name is Justin Doan, and I'm currently going into the 8th grade at my middle school in Texas. For the past year, I've been blogging, mostly for my love of books. But if you haven't noticed, I'm biased about blogging about one particular author- Stuart Gibbs. Why I love him so much? Why I've dedicated a blog in his honor and spent 2+ years and done everything I have? Let's start at the beginning... *Boring Alert* From Kindergarten to about 2nd grade, I grew up loving reading books before I could spell the word "favorite" (Up until the third grade, I'd always spelled in "favroite") I was reading Chapter Books and such, Magic Tree House and whatnot, but I started to decline. In Fourth Grade, I would read those short non fiction books to get me by with the daily reading logs. In fifth grade, I would do bascially the sa...

Ok, so a month ago I started a petition and you could sign it and if we got enough signatures we could convince movie producers to turn Spy School into a movie. But it was pretty boring. So, after an hour of searching, I finally came up on Iflist. On I flist, not only can you recommend a book to be a movie, but you also get to choose who should direct it and who the main characters should be (so technically, if you wanted Brad Pitt to be Alexander Hale and Angelina Jolie  to be Erica, you can suggest it). Click here  to help endorse Spy School to be!come a movie. On a side note, help me create some awesome info wikia's! Go  here  to help add some info to the FunJungle series wikia and  here  to add some stuff to the Moon Base Alpha Series Wikia

Today, I bring an update on...things. First off: the good news. I have started the third (and hopefully last) draft of my novel! I'm insane for making the third draft my final draft? Well it's not really my final draft- I still have to micro-edit everything, but the bid ideas and the plot and stuff (basically the info.) should be done. I am going to California (San Francisco Bay Area) where I might go see Stuart Gibbs in his own state (it's a long shot to make the trip to LA though). If you're a fan who resides in the Bay Area, I'd love to meet you! (of me, not Stuart Gibbs, although who says you can't be both!) The next book in the Rafe Katchadorian series: Just my Rotten Luck is set to come out June 22nd. Also Charlie Joe Jackson's guide to Planet Girl will be out, and Big Game, the 3rd book in the swawesome FunJungle series is going to come out October 13th. Then, the bad news: Stuart Gibbs has decided to cut himself off from the internet for ...

WooHoo! Today is my last day of school, and while I was sad because some of my friends are moving away, I was happy BECAUSE IT WAS THE LAST DAY OF SCHOOL! So, in honor of the kid who absolutely despises school (and doesn't know what despise means) I give you Charlie Joe Jackson's Guide to Summer Vacation. Summary: After being psychologically manipulated by his own parents and his mind, Charlie Joe Jackson is on his way to a Summer Camp, where they do more learning than partying (it's basically a summer school disguised as a summer camp) He gets a happy surprise, as when he gets to Camp Rituhbukkee (pronounced "read-a-bookie) he sees his long time girl/friend (not girlfriend) Katie. And he's already making ways in the first week. With the biggest basketball game coming up, even though Charlie Joe has never been a basketball man, he gets picked as the captain (mostly because all the other players are nerds) Nerd Camp doesn't stand a chance against the camp down...

Another fun top ten list! This one is for authors who are just so cool. 10. Jeff Kinney- author of Diary Of A Wimpy Kid Series- I think if you write probably the most successful series in children's book history, you've got to make the list. 9. Erin Fry- Author of Losing it- The author of an inspirational story about an overweight kid trying to lose weight to not only fit in at school, but live another day 8. Tommy Greenwald- Author of Charlie Joe Jackson Series- The author of some hilarious books that make you want to smile every time you read them 7. Tim Green- Author of Football Genius Series & More- This former football player makes sports seem more exciting than running around a field holding a ball, with blackmails, death threats and more. 6. John Feinstein- Author of Last Shot Series- This YA author is rising to the top of the sports fiction world, with his intense and well written Sports Books. 5. Frank Cottrell Boyce- Author of Cosmic & Millions- Wh...

Since there isn't really anything major for me to blog about, i guess I'll post another schedule update. On Friday (at least for me) is the last day of school. So I plan to finish out the Charlie Joe Jackson Series and post Charlie Joe Jackson's guide to Summer Vacation Review (because school's out, he hates school, and summer vacation begins) Tomorrow should be a top ten of something, and upon request, I will do a review on a Wendy Mass books, though juggling two Stuart Gibbs books and a book for class makes it hard for me to finish it. I guess that's all.

Woo, another how to post! I guess that's all I have to say. Oh well. Step 1: Figure out when you can meet an author. This part should be pretty easy. First, figure out if there are any conventions or festivals you favorite author is attending. Think it's too far? I'd say for you average fans, an hour drive is reasonable. For you superfans, you should be able to handle three hours in a car. If they're not coming to any conventions any time soon, see if you can arrange a personal Skype visit. It's a long shot, but that's for times of desperation. Step two: Get prepared. Once you figure out you will get the chance to see an author, talk to them via e-mail or on their blog. See if you can arrange something. This part is probably the hardest part. Authors hear from their fans about wanting to have one-on-one moments all the time. See my post about becoming a superfan  here . Not willing to waste a year to become a superfan, or only have three weeks until you get ...