Blackbird by Anna Carey

Publishers Summary - 

A girl wakes up on the train tracks, a subway car barreling down on her. With only minutes to react, she hunches down and the train speeds over her. She doesn’t remember her name, where she is, or how she got there. She has a tattoo on the inside of her right wrist of a blackbird inside a box, letters and numbers printed just below: FNV02198. There is only one thing she knows for sure: people are trying to kill her. 

On the run for her life, she tries to untangle who she is and what happened to the girl she used to be. Nothing and no one are what they appear to be. But the truth is more disturbing than she ever imagined. 

Review - (4 Stars)

The summary of this book was my biggest draw for choosing this title. I'm a sucker for a good mystery and this sure had all the ear marks for piquing my interest. In fact I read the book in one day.... it was that suspenseful! So why did I only give it four stars instead of five? 

I liked how author, Anna Carey chose to lure us into the story by using the second person point of view; put us in the center of Sunny's action. There was plenty of action throughout the story as well as a crazy amount of twists and turns. Nothing is as it seems. The more Sunny finds out the more questions there are. The one area that REALLY annoyed me though is the ending. Let's just say I spent as couple minutes looking through the last few pages to try to understand why it ended so abruptly. I actually thought I had missed something in the story line and kept flipping through the last few pages multiple times to make sure... that is sooo annoying. I felt like Wile E. Coyote when the Roadrunner tricks him into running off the cliff....

Perhaps it was the author's way of giving us a suspenseful end that makes us excited to read the next book. Personally, I just found it annoying. Kind of like singing a song and stopping three notes before the end. 

So, would I recommend the novel? Yes, it was exciting, non-stop suspenseful novel with plenty of plot-twists and deceptions to keep the reader guessing. But I will be warning them about the ending too.  

Mini Reviews: The First Graphic Edition

The Earl and the Fairy, volume 1
by Ayuko

Book Description:
Lydia Carlton is a fairy doctor,one of the few people with the ability to see the magical creatures who share our world. During one of her rare trips to London to visit her father, Lydia’s quiet life is suddenly transformed when she is rescued from kidnappers by a mysterious young man!

Edgar Ashenbert claims to be descended from the human ruler of the fairy kingdom, and he urgently needs Lydia’s help to find and claim his birthright, the legendary sword of the Blue Knight Earl. Things will never be the same for Lydia as she is pulled into a dangerous quest against dark forces!

Quick Review: 

Okay. I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it either.  This one reads right to left which *always* throws me off, so I'm sure some of the problems I had were from that.  I got a little confused about some of the male characters motivations, too, but reading book two might help clear some of that up... 

Peanut 

by Ayun Halliday and Paul Hoppe 

Book Description: 

Before you write me off as a delusional psycho, think about what it's like to be thrown into a situation where everyone knows everyone... and no one knows you. Sadie has the perfect plan to snag some friends when she transfers to Plainfield High—pretend to have a peanut allergy. But what happens when you have to hand in that student health form your unsuspecting mom was supposed to fill out? And what if your new friends want to come over and your mom serves them snacks? (Peanut butter sandwich, anyone?) And then there's the bake sale, when your teacher thinks you ate a brownie with peanuts.

Quick Review: 

I loved the way this was drawn and I thought the story line was easy to follow.  I got really frustrated with Sadie, though. I hated her continuous lying and ended up really angry as I was reading. This one's also a book for high school and up due to some mature themes. 

The Year of Beasts

by Cecil Castellucci and Nate Powell 

Book Description: 

Every summer the trucks roll in, bringing the carnival and its infinite possibilities to town. This year Tessa and her younger sister Lulu are un-chaperoned and want to be first in line to experience the rides, the food . . . and the boys. Except this summer, jealousy will invade their relationship for the first time, setting in motion a course of events that can only end in tragedy, putting everyone's love and friendship to the test.

Quick Review: 

This book is half graphic novel, half regular prose.  I found it confusing at first because the two parts seem to follow very different stories and it's not until much later in the book that you realize how they intertwine.  Not my favorite book, but an interesting read. 

Review: I Represent Sean Rosen

I Represent Sean Rosen
by Jeff Baron

Book Description:
Sean Rosen knows what he wants. A ten-million-dollar deal with a big Hollywood studio. The only problem is, he's a kid. And he's busy with school. And he lives far from Los Angeles or New York City. But Sean does have a laptop and a phone, and he's smart. He's about to have the ride of a lifetime as he discovers the ins and outs—and dos and don'ts—of becoming one of the youngest movie moguls the world's ever known.

Review: 

Funny at times, but ultimately not as good as I'd expected.  This book was a fairly quick read, but I didn't really feel enthusiastic at all once I'd read it.  Sean never really learns not to lie and doesn't have to face any real consequences for all of his deceptions... I kind of found that disappointing and unrealistic.  If you love books where you really see inside the character's head, you might like this one, but I don't think it'll be a hit with everyone. 

Review: Second Chance

Second Chance

by Heather Brewer

The Slayer Chronicles, book two

 

Book Description:

The summer after Joss failed to kill the vampire Vladimir Tod, he gets a second chance to prove himself as a Slayer. He is sent to New York City to hunt down a serial killer that the Slayer Society believes is a vampire. It is up to Joss to lead his Slayer team, and through their detective work, they discover that there are actually four vampire brothers who are on the killing rampage. Joss must use all his skill to save the innocent people of New York City from the murderers. Joss's status as a Slayer depends on it.

 

Review:

Though I mostly enjoy these books as I'm reading them, I don't really remember them that well afterwards...I suppose that's a type of review in itself, right?  Like the first book, First Kill, Joss' story is full of action, danger, and deception. No one can be fully trusted and I know that I was kept on my toes throughout the book. 

 

What I liked best about this book, though, was the way that the author promised readers much more of a background to Joss and Vlad's connections later in the series.  Even as I was following along with Joss hunting down the serial killers plaguing New York City, I was really just dying to get more into his family's secrets and background...

 

I need to get my hands on the next book AND I really need to go back and read the Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series!


Review: The False Prince

The False Prince

by Jennifer Nielsen

The Ascendance Trilogy, book one

Book Description:

In this first book in a remarkable trilogy, an orphan is forced into a twisted game with deadly stakes.

Choose to lie...or choose to die.

In a discontent kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king's long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage. Sage knows that Conner's motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword's point -- he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. But Sage's rivals have their own agendas as well.

As Sage moves from a rundown orphanage to Conner's sumptuous palace, layer upon layer of treachery and deceit unfold, until finally, a truth is revealed that, in the end, may very well prove more dangerous than all of the lies taken together.

 

Review:

Danger, political intrigue, secrets, lies... Sage's story is full of suspense and moments that may shock readers. While I thoroughly enjoyed this book...and really loved the way the story was presented, when the "big reveal" came, I wasn't that surprised.  Despite that, I really enjoyed Sage's character, thought the storyline was excellent, and was left clamboring for the next book. All in all, a winner.

 

Terri's Thoughts: I thought the dialogue was smart and that Sage was a strong character throughout most of the book.

Review: Beautiful Creatures

Beautiful Creatures

by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

The Caster Chronicles, book one

 

Book Description:

There were no surprises in Gatlin County.
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

 

Review:

Okay, I have to admit it. This was one of those books that sat on my book shelf for years, literally years waiting to be read. I got this book about four years ago, when it first came out and I never took the time to read it!

 

Since then, I have had plenty of teens tell me how great the series is and we get requests for them at the library all the time, but it wasn't until I started seeing info for the movie that I thought to myself, "Gee, I should really finally read that."

 

I actually enjoyed this one. It's not my favorite series opener, but that's partly due to the fact that I'm not a real witch book reader. I love magic in stories, things like Harry Potter, but for some reason when the people are openly called witches, it just hits a switch in my brain that says, eh. Weird. Anyway, I loved the atmosphere of this book. It's Southern Gothic and yet it also manages to be modern. The flashbacks to the earlier generations and the way that Southerners hold so strongly to their heritage definitely give this effect.

 

I liked Lena and her awakening powers. I liked Ethan. I liked the supporting characters. I thought they were all quirky and kept my interest going throughout the whole story. I was amazed how quickly I got through this 600 page book. As I delved further into the story and had my suspicions about who was really good or bad or well... the pages just kept turning. Other than having to lug the gigantic book around, I almost forgot how long it was.

 

As I said, although this is not my favorite new series, I am very excited to see the movie now. There is something about this storyline that just translates to the screen, I think. I can totally see the larger than life magic and the epic good versus evil struggle making for an epic movie! I'll let you all know what I think once I've actually seen it. 

 

 

How many of you have read this? Did you love it? Hate it? Are you planning to see the movie? 



Review: Liar, Liar: The Theory, Practice and Destructive Properties of Deception

Liar, Liar: The Theory, Practice and Destructive Properties of Deception

by Gary Paulsen

 

Book Description:

Kevin doesn't mean to make trouble when he lies. He's just really good at it, and it makes life so much easier. But as his lies pile up, he finds himself in big—and funny—trouble with his friends, family, and teachers. He's got to find a way to end his lying streak—forever.

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Review:
Looking for a really quick read? Something to get you through an afternoon, but not necessarily something that will blow your mind?

This just might be the book for you.

With some humor, some reminders about how lying can really get you in trouble, and a character who really is just trying to keep everyone in his life somewhat happy (while also doing his bidding, of course :P) this book is a breeze to read!

Of course, if you're looking for a more profound read, I have way different recommendations for you!!