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. 

Mini Reviews: The Death is Terrifyingly Close Edition

Lair of the Serpent
by T. Lynn Adams
Tombs of Terror, book three

Book Description:

A humanitarian trip to Cambodia turns deadly when Delilah, a young medical volunteer, is kidnapped. When Jonathon arrives in the jungle and discovers that his friend is missing, he recruits the locals to search for her. Every clue points to the followers of the Naga Mani--- a sacred stone with legendary powers that only work with a human sacrifice. With time running out, it's up to Jonathon to rescue Delilah.

Review:

While the premise for this book was very exciting, I found it didn't really capture my attention all that well. It wasn't until Jonathan reached the Naga Mani that I found myself unable to put the book down, and that was pretty much at the end... I think some readers would be totally into it, but it just wasn't the book for me.




Rootless 
by Chris Howard

Book Description:

17-year-old Banyan is a tree builder. Using salvaged scrap metal, he creates forests for rich patrons who seek a reprieve from the desolate landscape. Although Banyan's never seen a real tree--they were destroyed more than a century ago--his missing father used to tell him stories about the Old World. Everything changes when Banyan meets a mysterious woman with a strange tattoo--a map to the last living trees on earth, and he sets off across a wasteland from which few return. Those who make it past the pirates and poachers can't escape the locusts . . . the locusts that now feed on human flesh. But Banyan isn't the only one looking for the trees, and he's running out of time. Unsure of whom to trust, he's forced to make an alliance with Alpha, an alluring, dangerous pirate with an agenda of her own. As they race towards a promised land that might only be a myth, Banyan makes shocking discoveries about his family, his past, and how far people will go to bring back the trees.

Review:

This book drew me in from the first pages. In Banyan's world the sea has overtaken us, the only food is popcorn, and death lurks around every corner. I found it utterly dark and captivating. I look forward to the next book!




Trapped
by Michael Northrop

Book Description:

The day the blizzard started, no one knew that it was going to keep snowing for a week. That for those in its path, it would become not just a matter of keeping warm, but of staying alive. . . . Scotty and his friends Pete and Jason are among the last seven kids at their high school waiting to get picked up that day, and they soon realize that no one is coming for them. Still, it doesn't seem so bad to spend the night at school, especially when distractingly hot Krista and Julie are sleeping just down the hall. But then the power goes out, then the heat. The pipes freeze, and the roof shudders. As the days add up, the snow piles higher, and the empty halls grow colder and darker, the mounting pressure forces a devastating decision. . . .

Review:

In the same way that I reacted to Pfeffer's Life as We Knew It, this book made me shiver and curl up tight against my doggies. I found myself so sucked into this book that I read it all at once, unable to turn the pages fast enough. I cried and I honestly worried about how many of the kids would actually survive... utterly compelling.

Review: Secret Letters

Secret Letters
by Leah Scheier

Book Description: 

Inquisitive and observant, Dora dreams of escaping her aristocratic country life to solve mysteries alongside Sherlock Holmes. So when she learns that the legendary detective might be her biological father, Dora jumps on the opportunity to travel to London and enlist his help in solving the mystery of her cousin’s ransomed love letters. But Dora arrives in London to devastating news: Sherlock Holmes is dead. Her dreams dashed, Dora is left to rely on her wits—and the assistance of an attractive yet enigmatic young detective—to save her cousin’s reputation and help rescue a kidnapped heiress along the way.


Review: 

I really enjoyed this historical mystery. Dora has characteristics that make her very similar to her father, Sherlock Holmes, his analytic mind, an astute observational sense... but, she's much easier to relate to as a main character. She's charmingly flawed, but still smart. I loved her interactions with the other investigators she meets and watching her walk the line between her station and the career path she'd like to pursue. I hope that more books come out featuring Dora. I'm sure other historical mystery fans (those that like Y.S. Lee's books, especially) will also enjoy this one.

Gold Star Review: Fox Forever

Fox Forever
by Mary E. Pearson
The Jenna Fox Chronicles, book three

Book Description:
Locke Jenkins has some catching up to do. After spending 260 years as a disembodied mind in a little black box, he has a perfect new body. But before he can move on with his unexpected new life, he’ll have to return the Favor he accepted from the shadowy resistance group known as the Network.

Locke must infiltrate the home of a government official by gaining the trust of his daughter, seventeen-year-old Raine, and he soon finds himself pulled deep into the world of the resistance—and into Raine’s life.

Review:
What an amazing end to the trilogy. I've loved Jenna Fox's story from the start and Pearson ended Jenna and Locke's story masterfully. The entire series has been thought-provoking, emotionally intense, and impossible to put down. The final book lived up to its predecessors without fail. Locke's journey was both exciting and introspective. It's sort of impossible to thoroughly review this book without giving spoilers for books one and two, but I do need to say that the bad guys get their due, Locke finds the love he truly needed, and Jenna finally finds the closure that her life had been lacking. All around an amazing story and Pearson deserves a GOLD STAR not only for this book, but for the entire trilogy.

The only other trilogy that I've read that I feel is as strong as this one is Neal Shusterman's Skinwalker Trilogy. If you haven't read those, go pick up Everlost right now!

Review: Dark Star

Dark Star
by Bethany Frenette

Book Description:
Audrey Whitticomb has nothing to fear. Her mother is the superhero Morning Star, the most deadly crime-fighter in the Twin Cities, so it’s hard for Audrey notto feel safe. That is, until she’s lured into the sweet night air by something human and not human—something with talons and teeth, and a wide, scarlet smile.

Now Audrey knows the truth: her mom doesn’t fight crime at night. She fights Harrowers—livid, merciless beings who were trapped Beneath eons ago. Yet some have managed to escape. And they want Audrey dead, just because of who she is: one of the Kin.

To survive, Audrey will need to sharpen the powers she has always had. When she gets close to someone, dark corners of the person’s memories become her own, and she sometimes even glimpses the future. If Audrey could only get close to Patrick Tigue, a powerful Harrower masquerading as human, she could use her Knowing to discover the Harrowers’ next move. But Leon, her mother’s bossy, infuriatingly attractive sidekick, has other ideas. Lately, he won’t let Audrey out of his sight.

When an unthinkable betrayal puts Minneapolis in terrible danger, Audrey discovers a wild, untamed power within herself. It may be the key to saving her herself, her family, and her city. Or it may be the force that destroys everything—and everyone—she loves.

Review: 

I liked this book. It had an interesting premise, a good main character, and a well built world...but it just didn't grip me the way I'd hoped it would. While I wanted to know what happened, this was a book that when I put it down I did not have that intense, immediate desire to pick it back up. I'm not quite sure why.

Things I liked:
*Audrey knew her own limitations, yet felt compelled to do the right thing and to help people even against great odds.
*Audrey and her mom's relationship. It just read really "real" to me.
*The romance.
*The demon mythology and the idea of the Beneath, the Guardians, the Kin, etc.
*The surprise of discovering what really made Audrey so special.

So, why wasn't this book amazing? I have no idea. I think maybe I wasn't in the right mood...or it just too a little too long for the suspense to really build? I'm really not sure. 

Review: Hallowed

Hallowed 
by Cynthia Hand
Unearthly, book two

Book Description:
For months part-angel Clara Gardner trained to face the fire from her visions, but she wasn't prepared for the choice she had to make that day. Now, torn between her love for Tucker and her complicated feelings about the roles she and Christian seem destined to play in a world that is both dangerous and beautiful, Clara struggles with a shocking revelation: Someone she loves will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.

Review: 

Oh, Cynthia Hand. I love and hate you. Truly. When you had Clara and Tucker have that little, "I just had to tell you I love you, but you don't have to say anything back until you're ready" moment in the first book and I got all swoony, my heart sang... And now, now... my heart is breaking epically. (*See! No official spoilers, but you KNOW that something devestating is happening!! LOL*)

I know, realistically, that in real life there are no truly happy endings. There are always shades of gray and that we have to know that you embrace the joy to balance out our saddest moments, but man, I felt like Clara just could not catch a break in this book! Her love life, her home life, and her destined life all took a big hit. It was one whammy after another!!

While not everything came as a surprise (Hand does a great job at hinting towards two big revelations without actually giving anything away), it was brilliant to see new facets of Clara's world come to light. New aspects of the life she must lead. AND it was great to see that Clara would actually be able to make her own choices. That, I think, was my favorite bit... I LOVE when a character breaks out of the "I can only do what I'm destined to do..." mold.

Let me tell you, though this book hit me in the gut emotionally, I immediately put a hold on book three. I MUST know how it all ends. Clara's story has me well and truly hooked.

Review: The Essence

The Essence
by Kimberly Derting
Pledge, book two

Book Description: (contains slight spoilers for book one)
At the luminous conclusion of The Pledge, Charlaina defeated the tyrant Sabara and took her place as Queen of Ludania. But Charlie knows that Sabara has not disappeared: The evil queen’s Essence is fused to Charlie’s psyche, ready to arise at the first sign of weakness.

Charlie is not weak, but she’s being pushed to the brink. In addition to suppressing the ever-present influence of Sabara, she’s busy being queen—and battling a growing resistance determined to return Ludania to its discriminatory caste system. Charlie wants to be the same girl Max loves, who Brook trusts, but she’s Your Majesty now, and she feels torn in two.

As Charlie journeys to an annual summit to meet with leaders of nearby Queendoms—an event where her ability to understand all languages will be the utmost asset—she is faced with the ultimate betrayal. And the only person she can turn to for help is the evil soul residing within.

Review:
Book one of this series, The Pledge, was the first book that I gave a GOLD STAR review to in 2012. Now since it had been almost a year and a half since I'd read that first book, I was a little worried that I would not remember exactly what happened, and while to an extent that was true... (I'd forgotten the names of a lot of the characters, but Derting managed to reintroduce everyone extremely well) there were events and pieces of the world that were still etched so deeply into my brain that I sort of fell right back into Charlie's story without a hitch.

I was immediately creeped out again by the idea of Queen Sabara being in Charlie's head. I was fascinated by the language barriers amongst the social classes, and how some reveled in their new equality while others passionately rebelled. I was immediately drawn back into Charlie's love for Max, her best friend Brooklyn, and her baby sister.

Then Derting took it another step further and I just loved the world even more. To find someone else who has an ability that is going to throw Charlie's world into complete chaos. To have her begin to be emotionally torn as she begins to feel for Sabara. To have rival Queens...both as allies, and as women who might want to see Charlie dead...

Everything was more emotional, more dangerous, more intriguing.  I was both extremely satisfied and frustrated when the book finished.  Why? Because it was SO good and now I have to wait until sometime NEXT YEAR for book three... AHHHHHHH....so long to wait! 

For making me itch to be back in Charlie's world IMMEDIATELY. For making me hate Derting *just a little bit* for not having book three already on the bookshelves... I give this book a GOLD STAR.



*Sigh* And now, I have to sit back and wait for more... *taps foot impatiently...*

Review: The Peculiar

The Peculiar
by Stefan Bachmann

Book Description:

Don't get yourself noticed and you won't get yourself hanged.

In the faery slums of Bath, Bartholomew Kettle and his sister Hettie live by these words. Bartholomew and Hettie are changelings—Peculiars—and neither faeries nor humans want anything to do with them.

One day a mysterious lady in a plum-colored dress comes gliding down Old Crow Alley. Bartholomew watches her through his window. Who is she? What does she want? And when Bartholomew witnesses the lady whisking away, in a whirling ring of feathers, the boy who lives across the alley—Bartholomew forgets the rules and gets himself noticed.

First he's noticed by the lady in plum herself, then by something darkly magical and mysterious, by Jack Box and the Raggedy Man, by the powerful Mr. Lickerish . . . and by Arthur Jelliby, a young man trying to slip through the world unnoticed, too, and who, against all odds, offers Bartholomew friendship and a way to belong.

Review: 

The world that Bachmann built here was very intriguing. I was impressed that the author is only a *teenager!* He managed to drop me into a world that felt very real, and very alien from our own. As a lover of all things fairy, a fan of the steampunk sub-genre and a murder mystery fan, this book hit just about every right note for me. Bachmann did an admirable job mashing several genres together while not overwhelming the reader.

I distinctly enjoyed both the new world and the concept for this book. At times, though, I felt slightly disconnected to the main characters. While I found Bartholomew to be a character I felt great sympathy for, at times he was hard to connect to, and when the perspective would jump to Arthur, I found that to be even more true. I was very interested in seeing how things unfolded. I wanted Bartholomew to save his sister. I wanted Arthur to uncover his government's corruption...

Essentially, I enjoyed this book a lot and I hope there might be another in the works... I hope in the second that I have an easier time connecting to the characters, though, too.

Review: Four Secrets

Four Secrets
by Margaret Willey

Book Description:
"I don't know if all schools are like mine, but at North Holmes they have this thing that can happen, from out of the blue, and there is even a code word for it it's called getting stung."

Katie, Nate, and Renata had no farther to fall.

"They become like scorpions; they sting you till you die."

But when they hit the bottom of the social ladder, they found each other. Together, they might be able to change things. To stop the torment.

"We were united. We were going to take a stand."

So they made a plan. One person seemed to have everyone's secrets and all the power. If they could stop him...

"We needed first of all to get Chase alone. Away from his friends."

But secrets are complicated, powerful things. They are hard to keep. And even a noble plan can go horribly wrong. 

"What a dark and terrible place this school is."

Review: 

This one will suck you right in. It starts with Katie, Nate, and Renata being in juvenile detention for having kidnapped Chase and keeping him hostage for almost a week. Told in alternating chapters from each of their perspectives, you slowly learn what happened. Why they ever thought this idea might work and how they got caught.  You find out that they each had a secret...a secret that they'd do almost anything to keep everyone else from finding out... I couldn't put this one down. 

Review: Under the Never Sky

Under the Never Sky 
by Veronica Rossi

Book Description:
WORLDS KEPT THEM APART.

DESTINY BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER.

Aria has lived her whole life in the protected dome of Reverie. Her entire world confined to its spaces, she's never thought to dream of what lies beyond its doors. So when her mother goes missing, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland long enough to find her are slim.

Then Aria meets an outsider named Perry. He's searching for someone too. He's also wild - a savage - but might be her best hope at staying alive.

If they can survive, they are each other's best hope for finding answers.

Review:
I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this book. We've had so many dystopias come out lately that I've kind of become leery of new ones.  A few of my friends really enjoyed this one, though, so I decided to give it a good shot. 

I'm glad I did! This one has a very cool world where the upper cast of human society has gone to live in sealed domes, protecting them from the elements...and from the less desirable portion of humanity.  These people engage in a whole virtual world to keep them from being bored.  That technology aspect was pretty cool.  

What was even cooler, though, was seeing what had happened to the humans that lived outside the domes.  Perry and his tribesmen had some neat abilities.  Watching Aria adapt to surviving amongst them was fascinating and I found her to be a surprisingly strong character in the end.  

I'm very much looking forward to seeing how things progress in the second book, Through the Ever Night. 

Review: Poison

Poison

by Bridget Zinn

 

Book Description:

Sixteen-year-old Kyra, a highly-skilled potions master, is the only one who knows her kingdom is on the verge of destruction—which means she's the only one who can save it. Faced with no other choice, Kyra decides to do what she does best: poison the kingdom's future ruler, who also happens to be her former best friend.

But, for the first time ever, her poisoned dart…misses.

Now a fugitive instead of a hero, Kyra is caught in a game of hide-and-seek with the king's army and her potioner ex-boyfriend, Hal. At least she's not alone. She's armed with her vital potions, a too-cute pig, and Fred, the charming adventurer she can't stop thinking about. Kyra is determined to get herself a second chance (at murder), but will she be able to find and defeat the princess before Hal and the army find her?

Kyra is not your typical murderer, and she's certainly no damsel-in-distress—she's the lovable and quick-witted hero of this romantic novel that has all the right ingredients to make teen girls swoon.


Review:
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVED this book.

It was funny, it was exciting, it had a great main character, and took place in an interesting world.

The cover is a little deceiving. It makes Kyra look like a really tough character, a la Katniss, and while she does have some of that in her, the overall tone of the book and the characters is much, much lighter. I found myself giggling a lot and I read this one really quickly because I was enjoying it so much... 

In fact, I loved the lighthearted tone of this book so much that I am giving it a GOLD STAR review and recommend that everyone pick it up!!

 

Review: The Madness Underneath

The Madness Underneath

by Maureen Johnson

Shades of London, book two

Book Description:

After her near-fatal run-in with the Jack the Ripper copycat, Rory Devereaux has been living in Bristol under the close watch of her parents. So when her therapist suddenly suggests she return to Wexford, Rory jumps at the chance to get back to her friends. But Rory’s brush with the Ripper touched her more than she thought possible: she’s become a human terminus, with the power to eliminate ghosts on contact. She soon finds out that the Shades—the city’s secret ghost-fighting police—are responsible for her return. The Ripper may be gone, but now there is a string of new inexplicable deaths threatening London. Rory has evidence that the deaths are no coincidence. Something much more sinister is going on, and now she must convince the squad to listen to her before it’s too late.

 

Review:

While I enjoyed this sequel to the thrilling The Name of the Star, I found that it did not hold my attention quite as thoroughly as the first. While I found Rory's story to be interesting and there were sections that I thought were phenomenally done, there were also bits where I found my attention wandering...

Perhaps it was the initial focus on Rory's "recovery" from her ordeal that left me feeling a little detached. I'm not sure. It wasn't until she really got back into ghost hunting that the book really picked up for me...and when the kidnappings occur...and the romantic tension...and... well, you'll have to read it to see. The last third of the book had me on the edge of my seat!

Overall, though, I really enjoyed it and I cannot wait to read the next book. This one leaves you hanging off a very interesting cliff...

Review: Three Times Lucky

Three Times Lucky

by Sheila Turnage

 

Book Description:
Rising sixth grader Miss Moses LoBeau lives in the small town of Tupelo Landing, NC, where everyone's business is fair game and no secret is sacred. She washed ashore in a hurricane eleven years ago, and she's been making waves ever since. Although Mo hopes someday to find her "upstream mother," she's found a home with the Colonel--a café owner with a forgotten past of his own--and Miss Lana, the fabulous café hostess. She will protect those she loves with every bit of her strong will and tough attitude. So when a lawman comes to town asking about a murder, Mo and her best friend, Dale Earnhardt Johnson III, set out to uncover the truth in hopes of saving the only family Mo has ever known.

 

Review:

Though this book is aimed for a slightly younger audience, it is a GREAT read. 

 

It has murder, it has mayhem...it has a killer storm, it has a kidnapping, it has HUMOR.  There is action around every corner in this story and Mo has a funny little sarcastic remark about every bit of it.

 

Mo is one of my favorite narrators to date. She is smart and a smart-alek.  She doesn't take nothing from nobody and when she decides she's going to do something she gets it done!

 

Try this one out. You won't be sorry.



Review: City of Lies

City of Lies

by Lian Tanner

The Keepers Trilogy, book two

 

Book Description:

Goldie Roth is a trained thief and a skilled liar. Along with her friend Toadspit, she's supposed to be one of the Keepers of the mysterious Museum of Dunt. But although she desperately wants to be a Keeper, she will not leave her sick parents to do so. But when Toadspit's sister Bonnie is stolen, he and Goldie are forced to follow the child-stealers to the neighboring city of Spoke. Along the way, Toadspit too is captured, and Goldie is caught up in the Festival of Lies, where every word she says means something else and no one can be trusted. There, Goldie discovers some dangerous secrets—secrets that the child-stealers will kill to protect. She will need all her skills as a thief and a liar if she is to survive and save her friends.

 

Review:

While I did not love this book as much as I did the first book in the series, Museum of Thieves, I did enjoy it a lot. I think that what was missing for me here was the actual Museum of Dunt.  It was such a huge PRESENCE in the first book and almost all of the action in this story takes place elsewhere. I did love following Goldie's adventures again and thought it was neat to see more of the larger world in this dystopian series, but I can't wait to get back to the Museum in book three!!



Review: Wildwood

Wildwood

by Colin Meloy

 

Book Description:

When her baby brother is kidnapped by crows, Prue McKeel begins an adventure that will take her and her friend Curtis way beyond her hometown and deep into the Impassable Wilderness. There they uncover a secret world in the midst of violent upheaval, a world full of warring creatures, peace-loving mystics and powerful figures with the darkest intentions. What begins as a rescue mission becomes something much bigger as the two friends find themselves entwined in a struggle for the very freedom of this wilderness. A wilderness the locals call Wildwood.

 

Review:

I wanted to love this book. In the beginning, I liked it very much. It has a folksy sort-of feel in the storytelling. It has a kidnapped brother, and an intrepid sister, out to recover him... it has a dark, mysterious wilderness that captivates Prue and readers alike.

 

 

As I continued reading, though, the story began to lag for me. I'm not sure exactly why. Partially, I think, because I personally do not particularly like books where main characters are talking animals. It just doesn't work for me and there were definitely some important characters here who were of the non-human variety. Also, this delved a lot into politics and (unlike in M.W. Turner's books which are full of political intrigue that I couldn't help but be fascinated by...) it just became too much.

 

 

I think that there were a lot of factors that just added up to not quite a win here for me. I think maybe if the book had been a little shorter, not quite so complicated, I might have persevered and possibly even have enjoyed my reading experience, but in the end, I really only enjoyed the first third of this book.

Review: Glow

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glow

by Amy Kathleen Ryan
Sky Chasers, book one

Book Description:

If a violent battle destroyed the only world you’ve ever known, would you be brave enough to save who was left? Would love be strong enough to survive the fight? Either way, there’s no turning back.

The Empyrean is the only home 15-year-old Waverly has ever known. Part of the first generation to be successfully conceived in deep space, she and her boyfriend Kieran will be pioneers of New Earth. Waverly knows she must marry young in order to have children who can carry on the mission, and Kieran, the handsome captain-to-be, has everything Waverly could want in a husband. Everyone is sure he’s the best choice. Still, there’s a part of Waverly that wants more from life than marriage, and she is secretly intrigued by the shy, darkly brilliant Seth.

Suddenly, Waverly’s dreams are interrupted by the inconceivable – a violent betrayal by the Empyrean's sister ship, the New Horizon. The New Horizon’s leaders are desperate to populate the new planet first, and will do anything to get what they need: young girls. In one pivotal moment, Waverly and Kieran are separated, and find themselves at the helm of dangerous missions, where every move has potentially devastating consequences, and decisions of the heart may lead to disaster.

Review:

Whoa. This book got me from page one and I could NOT put it down. It was compelling, it was creepy, it was... it just was. I sat down and I read and read and read and read.

The characters were great. Kids put into the most difficult of situations...the adults they relied upon have been either killed or taken from them, and now they must take on roles that none of them are truly prepared for... Kieran steps up as "Captain," only to be overthrown by his rival, Seth. Waverly and all the other girls have been kidnapped to be used to populate the other ship that knows it will slowly die out if they cannot procreate...

Each of the teens must decide what their role will be in their new existence. Though they continuously hope to reunite with the remaining parents, they must learn to survive for themselves until that becomes a possibility. There's a little bit of a "Lord of the Flies" thing going on here...

While there is most certainly the start of a love triangle here, what I loved about this book was that there was so much development into why each character would have developed into the person that they've become that they are each strong on their own. No one person is willing to be defined by their relationship to anyone else. While the romantic feelings are a strong factor for the teens trying to reunite, it is not ultimately in any way the driving force that leads them.

With scary themes about morality, experimentation, and societal expectations, Glow was one of those books that I thought about for weeks after I read it. Things just kept rolling around in the back of my head and popping back up to the surface. It was powerful that way.

For that, I bestow an "I can't stop thinking about it" GOLD STAR!!



Just Announced - Sever by Lauren DeStefano!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sever

by Lauren DeStefano

The Chemical Garden Trilogy, book three

Publication date: Feb. 12, 2013

 

Book Description:

What if you knew exactly when you would die? In the not-too-distant future, genetic engineering has turned every newborn into a ticking time bomb — males only live to age 25 and females only live to age 20.

In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out. When 16-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by “the Gatherers” to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Rhine has only one purpose after she has been married to her new husband, Linden: to escape and find her twin brother.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden’s eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant to whom she is dangerously attracted, Rhine is desperate to learn the truth and protect those closest to her. But, as her sister wife Cecily keeps insisting, her role may be much bigger than that.

In the first two books of the Chemical Garden trilogy, Wither and Fever, Rhine struggles to escape the mansion and then to navigate the brutal world outside. Now in Sever, the third and final book, Rhine uncovers some shattering truths about the past that her parents never had the chance to tell her and the alarming implications regarding her own genes. She may be the one who can save the human race.

Not only do I *need* to know how this trilogy will finally end, but they came up with another gorgeous "broken doll" cover, though here Rhine looks significantly less "broken." Symbolism anyone? 

What do you think? Are you as desperate to finally read the end of this series as I am?

Review: Where I Belong

Where I Belong

by Gillian Cross

Book Description:

In the hot desert of Somalia, Mahmoud is kidnapped and held for a ten thousand-dollar ransom. His older sister, Khadija, is in London, thousands of miles away; and yet Mahmoud s life is in her hands. Someone has discovered her identity, that she is Qarsoon the Hidden One the face of famous fashion designer Sandy Dexter s newest collection. Who can Khadija trust to help her? She now must appear as planned on the Fashion Week runway. Only then can she possibly earn the money to save Mahmoud s life. Also involved is Abdi, a fourteen-year-old boy coming to terms with the mysterious disappearance of his father, and Freya, the totally unfashionable daughter of Sandy Dexter, trying to find her place in her mother s world of haute couture.

Review:

I thought that this was an interesting way to learn a lot about Somalian culture.  I hadn't really known anything about it before.  Khadija, Abdi, and Freya each brought a totally different viewpoint to the story and it was intriguing to read how they interacted with each other and the adults around them. I had trouble sometimes keeping track of who was the narrator of the different chapters, though. 

There was a lot of exciting stuff in this book and it had short, easy to read chapters.  While I thought the storyline was really interesting, it didn't completely capture my interest. I'm glad I read it, but it's not my favorite new book.

Review: I'll Be There

I'll Be There

by Holly Goldberg Sloan

Book Description:



Sam Border wishes he could escape. Raised by an unstable father, he's spent his life moving from place to place. But he could never abandon his little brother, Riddle.

Riddle Border doesn't talk much. Instead, he draws pictures of the insides of things and waits for the day when the outsides of things will make sense. He worships his older brother. But how can they leave when there's nowhere to go? Then everything changes. Because Sam meets Emily.

Emily Bell believes in destiny. She sings for her church choir, though she doesn't have a particularly good voice. Nothing, she feels, is mere coincidence. And she's singing at the moment she first sees Sam.

Everyone whose path you cross in life has the power to change you--sometimes in small ways, and sometimes in ways greater than you could have ever known. 

Review:

This novel reads beautifully. It is touching and compelling. I think that almost every reader would find something here to love.

While Sam and Emily find each other, the romance is only a fraction of this book. There are great examples of familial relationships and there is also the perfect example of a horribly dysfunctional family.

There is danger, there is excitement, there are secrets, betrayals, and hidden agendas.

There is beautiful music, art, and cooking.

There are facets and hidden nooks in this book that make it wonderful and it reads very quickly. I would highly recommend this book to anyone.