Review: Illuminae

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 599
Rating: 9.5 out of 10

Summary (Goodreads is illuminating): This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do.

This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

My Thoughts: It took me a long time to read this novel. I'm not sure why. Kristen kept ranting about how great it was. They are like...crazy though, so I try not to listen to anything they say ever. In this case, they were...I can't say right but I will say they weren't exactly wrong. This book was fantastic! Okay, actually this book was terrifying. It was the scariest thing I've ever read. I can't even tell you. I'm trying, I swear. Basically, this AI and the disease...it's all the scariest thing ever. It's the worst. By worst, I mean the best. 

I thought that the format of the book would make me hate it. The typography was pretty weird. Yet, it was also perfect. With any other book it wouldn't have worked but it worked. The images gave it a personality, which is ironic in this case because of the crazy computer. 

The only problem I really had with this novel was that you get so little description of setting and the characters. You really get thrown into the action and don't get the time or place described to you so you are left wondering what the hell is happening. I wish I would have gotten a little bit more information. I'm not sure how it would have been written into the story as it was but it might have helped a little bit. Luckily, after a little while it didn't matter. I caught up enough. Some more description might have also made me care about the characters earlier in the story.

I'm sorry this review is poopy. I tried, I swear. It's just good. That's all I can say. You have to give it a chance.

Basically, this novel is fantastic and beautiful and written in such a cool way that you should run to pick it up right this moment. Do it before the crazy computer makes you. 

This review took me forever to write and that makes me very sad because this novel really is fantastic and you should check it out but don't read it before bed because it's actually scary.

Review: Just One Day and Just One Year

I'm going to have a two for one special today on review. Let's take a look at the Just One Day series!





Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Gayle Forman
Format: Paperback
Pages: 369 and 336
Ratings for each 
(Just One Day): 8 out of 10
(Just One Year): 8 out of 10


Summary (For Just One Day): Allyson Healey's life is exactly like her suitcase—packed, planned, ordered. Then on the last day of her three-week post-graduation European tour, she meets Willem. A free-spirited, roving actor, Willem is everything she’s not, and when he invites her to abandon her plans and come to Paris with him, Allyson says yes. This uncharacteristic decision leads to a day of risk and romance, liberation and intimacy: 24 hours that will transform Allyson’s life.

A book about love, heartbreak, travel, identity, and the “accidents” of fate, Just One Day shows us how sometimes in order to get found, you first have to get lost. . . and how often the people we are seeking are much closer than we know.

The first in a sweepingly romantic duet of novels. Willem’s story—Just One Year—is coming soon!

My Thoughts: I absolutely loved this series. I loved being able to travel (in my mind sadly) back to places that I had been in real life (that Europe trip was totally worth it). It was incredible to see those places again but through somebody else's eyes. I was interested in the idea that a girl who never did anything could strike out on her own and do something wild. I was fascinated by Allyson and the interesting people she met along the way.

I was very passionate about Allyson's mother...as in, I really hated Allyson's mother. I didn't think that a book would be able to make my hate anybody or anything as much as this book did. I didn't think that she had any right to treat her daughter the way she did. I actually swore at her out loud (of course, this drew a lot of attention so I really worked hard to repress the desire). My mom, while reading this series, felt the same way. She used it as a reason why she was a good mother, if that convinces you to read this at all...

I enjoyed the strange characters in the diner and at the school. I think the variety of people in the world was really captured in this story. It made for many interesting scenarios. Also, her grandmother is hilarious. 

I think that I might have enjoyed Just One Year a little bit more. I was already in love with the characters and I was dying to know what happened to Willem. Even when my mom was reading Just One Day she kept asking about him. The audience really needed the second in order to understand how we felt about him. It may have changed your perspective a little bit. It was a great book too. If you read or have read Just One Day, you really need to read Just One Year. It's important to get the whole picture.

Both Just One Day and Just One Year are full of wild adventures and moments that capture your heart. The characters are funny and hold nothing back. You will be happy with Allyson and you will be sad with her too. You will find yourself wanting to do something crazy, to travel the world, to try something new. I already suffered from all of these sad conditions and these books just made it all worse...but a good idea of worse. I mean, if Allyson can do all that she did, you can sign up for that race or say hi to someone new or apply for that job, whatever it was. Maybe I'm making up inspiration where it doesn't exist but I guess you will just have to read the series and find out if I'm crazy or not. 

So, basically, I think that if you like love stories, adventure stories, or stories that you can relate to than you should read this series. You will cheer on the characters and groan at their embarrassing moments but you will want to be right there in the action with them. I related to this series, especially Just One Day, too much. I already want to reread them.

Review: Mystic City

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Theo Lawrence
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 397
Rating: 5 out of 10

Summary (Goodreads rules): Aria Rose, youngest scion of one of Mystic City's two ruling rival families, finds herself betrothed to Thomas Foster, the son of her parents' sworn enemies. The union of the two will end the generations-long political feud - and unite all those living in the Aeries, the privileged upper reaches of the city, against the banished mystics who dwell below in the Depths.

But Aria doesn't remember falling in love with Thomas; in fact, she wakes one day with huge gaps in her memory. And she can't conceive why her parents would have agreed to unite with the Fosters in the first place.

Only when Aria meets Hunter, a gorgeous rebel mystic from the Depths, does she start to have glimmers of recollection - and to understand that he holds the key to unlocking her past. The choices she makes can save or doom the city - including herself.

What I Think: This book was given a five out of 10 because it was pretty convenient and predictable. There weren't too many surprises in this one. I figured the plot out almost right away. It was a very basic young adult novel. Hero girl, hero guy. Falling in love. You know how it goes. I would say that it firmly belongs in the YA section due to its ease of reading and language. It was well written but didn't make me think about anything at all. I wasn't considering the schemes or the characters. I didn't have to read deeper into any of the conversations or anything like that.

That said, I thought this novel was a decent one. I enjoyed reading it and there were a lot of cute moments in it. I struggled with my anger over what was happening to this girl and the situation she was in but I didn't relate very well to her. It claims to be a Romeo and Juliette novel but that is a very superficial description since she is forced into that role and it has nothing to do with her choice. So don't pick up this novel because of that description (and don't get me started on how wrong Romeo and Juliette "romances" are, okay, because they are always a disaster...PEOPLE DIED, OKAY?! Sorry...it makes me mad). 

It was interesting enough. It was a fast enough read. It was just unique enough. It was just enough. Not outstanding, not horrible. I enjoyed it and would consider finishing the series but I'm not going to put this on the top of the reread pile. If you really enjoy YA than you will enjoy this book but I can see you it could be too young for many readers.

Review: Kalahari (Corpus #3)

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Jessica Khoury
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 368
Rating: 6 out of 10

Summary (Thanks, Goodreads): Deep in the Kalahari Desert, a Corpus lab protects a dangerous secret…
But what happens when that secret takes on a life of its own?
 
When an educational safari goes wrong, five teens find themselves stranded in the Kalahari Desert without a guide. It’s up to Sarah, the daughter of zoologists, to keep them alive and lead them to safety, calling on survival know-how from years of growing up in remote and exotic locales. Battling dehydration, starvation and the pangs of first love, she does her best to hold it together, even as their circumstances grow increasingly desperate.
 
But soon a terrifying encounter makes Sarah question everything she’s ever known about the natural world. A silver lion, as though made of mercury, makes a vicious, unprovoked attack on the group. After a narrow escape, they uncover the chilling truth behind the lion’s silver sheen: a highly contagious and deadly virus that threatens to ravage the entire area—and eliminate life as they know it.
 
In this breathtaking new novel by the acclaimed author of Origin and Vitro, Sarah and the others must not only outrun the virus, but its creators, who will stop at nothing to wipe every trace of it.

My Thoughts: Side note: this is the third in a series but the other novels only provide basic background information. They aren't actually important to this novel at all. New characters, new plot, new location. I'm assuming that eventually all the novels will tie together but it wasn't an issue here.

ANYWAY, this novel was full of twists and turns. Surprises were around every corner. The beginning worried me because I wasn't sure that I could get into a novel that was full of whiney teenagers (I didn't read the summary before I began, to be honest with you; I just like the author) but it turned out to be fine. The various characters ended up rounding out the novel very well. The cast was necessary for all the twists and turns, for the excitement. I thought that they oddly worked well together and they seemed like real people in many ways. Their priorities were a little messed up, even for spoiled rich kids, but it was fine, I suppose.

I was a little disappointed in the major "plot twist" that was built up to be much larger than it actually was. Even so, I wanted the kids to survive, to make it through. I thought that Sarah was a genius and was constantly impressed with the survival skills. Obviously she had to have some but I am a city kid and know nothing of surviving in the wilderness (not that I want to after reading this novel). I lived a unique life through the reading of this novel.

The bad guys were an interesting sort. It was further away from the corporation that the rest of the series was but that was okay. The bad guys were still bad enough and you didn't know enough about them to think you had everything figured out. I believed that they were horrible people that would do whatever it took. 

Basically, the survival skills taught you something and that plot was kept busy and moving at a fast pace with enough near misses and character development to keep everyone happy. I enjoyed this novel quite a lot. I almost wish that it was a little bit longer. Check it out.

Review: The Killing Woods

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Lucy Christopher
Format: Paperback
Pages: 384
Rating: 8 out of 10

Summary (Goodreads kills me): Ashlee Parker is dead, and Emily Shepherd's dad is accused of the crime. A former soldier suffering from PTSD, he emerges from the woods carrying the girl's broken body. "Gone," he says, then retreats into silence.

What really happened that wild night? Emily knows in her bones that her father is innocent -- isn't he? Before he's convicted, she's got to find out the truth. Does Damon Hilary, Ashlee's charismatic boyfriend, have the answers? Or is he only playing games with her -- the kinds of games that can kill?

My Thoughts: Look, it's a book with another beautiful cover. 

I read Stolen a very long time ago but I loved it. Nothing in it was quite how it seemed and it was impossible to guess what would happen next. This book was similar in that way. I found myself surprised frequently. How the characters were feeling was so believable (okay, the romance stuff was a little strange but when is it not, right?). They were having a melt down right in front of me. It was the kind of melt down that friends watch and don't know what to do to fix, that affects everyone around you. It was perfect because that's exactly what this novel needed for me to believe it. I could believe that horrible things happened in the woods and that people would avoid someone whose father probably committed a murder. It was the psychologist stuff that made this novel what it was. It was marvellous.

Of course, that said, teenagers are stupid sometimes. Yes, let's go wandering in the woods with people we barely know or worse, alone. Let's just run off on your own and do stupid things while you are clearly unstable. Let's antagonize people that clearly hate you. Sure, it all needed to happen to get to the end but a few times I felt like I was in the audience of a horror movie, yelling at the screen and blood girl #6 to stop going up the stairs while when the crazy neighbour keeps calling the house and hanging up. No, you shouldn't run into the garage with all the chainsaws. Yes, it's a fantastic idea to let your phone die on Friday the 13th, while you are home alone but supposed to be out of town in the middle of the storm of the century. What is wrong with you people? 

...On another note, although I understood why it was important to the story, alternating points of view have to be done very carefully. At times, I thought that it was too heavy on one side of the story while the other was just being used to move forward. Yes, sometimes a character needs help figuring things out but would these characters have interacted as much as they did? I doubt it. I would have stayed the hell away from them, but that's me. I did enjoy watching them both fall apart and watching both of them ask questions, however.

So, I thought that this novel was really great. It's creepy and a good mystery. I enjoyed watching the characters fall to pieces but was mad at many of their decisions. This was a very easy to read story that had you rushing to figure out what happened. I needed to know how it would end. I was more than satisfied with how it ended. This novel was very well done.

Review: Dreamtreaders

Review: Kelsey
Author: Wayne Thomas Batson
Format: Paperback
Pages: 289
Rating: 5 out of 10

Summary (I dream of Goodreads): People are fascinated by dreams, and the Bible has a great deal to say about them. From Jacob s dream of the heavenly stairway in Genesis 28 to angels visiting Joseph during dreams in Matthew 1 to the Apostle John s waking dream from which he obtained the book of Revelation dreams have been powerful ingredients of God s plan as revealed through Scripture.

Fourteen-year-old Archer Keaton discovers he has the ability to enter and explore his dreams. He is adreamtreader, one of three selected from each generation. Their mission: to protect the waking world from the Nightmare Lord, who wreaks chaos in the Dream World. But as Archer s dreams become more dangerous and threatening, so too does his waking life.

Rigby Thames, the new kid from England, builds a suspicious rock star-like following at Dresden High School a little too quickly. Even Archer s best friend and confidant, Kara Windchil, seems taken in by the cool guy with the wild blond hair, which definitely rubs Archer the wrong way. Archer must face two foes in two worlds, but he cannot succeed alone. Archer sets off to find other dreamtreaders in a desperate attempt to defeat the enemy terrorizing his friends and family.

My Thoughts: First of all, the cover of this novel is totally magnificent. The colours are wonderful and the birds are reflected inside the book as well. The tagline is a little simple sounding but easily overlooked. It's great...except for this name because my brain has a hard time understanding the word "treader" and also I can't figure out if it's supposed to be one word or two (Thanks for nothing Goodreads...) but, alas, it is what it is.

From great cover to not so great dialogue. The dialogue in the novel seemed a little off. Nothing was said quite how it should have sounded coming from the characters that were speaking. The inflection was also a little strange. It just sounded not right. It couldn't have been spoken by a real person. This kind of thing bothers me because pretty much everybody speaks so people should understand how regular people sound, right? The language being off made the novel seem much more middle school than it could have been (not that there is anything wrong with middle school aged novels, they just really aren't my thing). It was just too young for me, I guess.

There was also very little explanation of things. The reader was thrown into a very interesting world. This novel had a fantastic and imaginative concept but it lacked follow through. The missing explanations made the story feel rushed and cramped. It could have been longer and the extra pages would have helped a lot. It would have seemed more realistic. It would have been much easier to follow. It would have pulled the reader in more. It would have built up more suspense. It would have made me care about the characters. It would have made me care about the issues the world was facing. It would have done so much but it wasn't there and I missed it a lot.

I mean, the characters were sufficient but could have been so much more. The world story could have been more.

Basically, it wasn't enough for me. It was too young and too fast (not in a good way). I expected and needed more to fully immerse myself in the story. With what I was given,  I just couldn't get into it. I won't be reading the next book but I think I will keep this pretty cover on my shelf.

Review: An Ember in the Ashes

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Sabaa Tahir
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 446
Rating: 7 out of 10

Summary: Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

My Ponderings: This novel was not what I expected. Laia does so many things that you would not think she could or would after first meeting her. 

[Moment of honesty for the day: I don't remember much about this novel. I promise that I really am working on getting better at reviewing right away. I am. I swear, everyone, I swear.]

Recap what I remember? Elias made some stupid choices when he could have done better at keeping himself secret. He should have just shut up and he would have been fine. Laia made as many stupid choices. Stupid risks all around. 

Can I cut to the chase? Okay, this was a very good book and I didn't see a lot of stuff coming. Looking back I thought their choices were stupid but in the moment I could see where they were coming from. Elias was a unique character and Laia's love of family was admirable. The world this was set in was interesting and different enough to be a change of pace. I liked this novel and would read it again. I think that it would be better the second time, actually. I think that you would understand a lot of foreshadowing and would be better able to understand the characters.

Basically: I think that if you like adventure or solider stories than this is a pretty good one for you. It's good, I swear (even if I mostly forget what happened in it...)

Review: Fangirl

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 445
Rating: 7.5 out of 10 (1.5 of that is just for Levi, to be clear.)

Summary (I'm a fan of Goodreads): Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan...

But for Cath, being a fan is her life—and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words... And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this?

Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?

My Thoughts: Kristen really loved this book from what I remember. I liked it but it wasn't my favourite ever. The main reason so this is that I never got into the fan fiction parts  of the novel. That meant that I found myself skipping entire sections of the novel and that made me sad. I still couldn't make myself read it. I didn't feel like I was missing out exactly but one shouldn't really feel the need to skip large portions of a novel, right? Also, I was mad at the resolution of her lack of interest in working on her school assignment.

Why did I like the novel? Well, Levi. Levi was pretty great. Sure, he made mistakes; he's human. I loved the sass and the sarcasm and the quick wit. I loved that he was kind and willing to do anything to help people out. I loved that he lives such a different life than the one I do so his life experiences were all new to me. I also loved that he needed help. He enjoyed making other people happy and was comfortable around basically everyone, which I envy. He was just fantastic and I want one right now. 

Cath? Cath was alright. I could relate to a lot of what she felt. I like reading novels with characters who write because I enjoy that. Right away I have something to bond with them over. I also really felt for her and her family situation. 

But, honestly, I wish it hadn't been fan fiction. I couldn't care less about the fan fiction. 

Even so...it was a good book. Easy. Ends happy. I don't know. Check it out.

Review: Mortal Heart (His Fair Assassin #3)

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Robin LaFevers
Format: ARC
Pages: 444
Rating: 9 out of 10

**This is the third in this series. The review for Grave Mercy is HERE but I don't think this is too spoilery**

Summary (Bless Goodreads heart): Annith has watched her gifted sisters at the convent come and go, carrying out their dark dealings in the name of St. Mortain, patiently awaiting her own turn to serve Death. But her worst fears are realized when she discovers she is being groomed by the abbess as a Seeress, to be forever sequestered in the rock and stone womb of the convent. Feeling sorely betrayed, Annith decides to strike out on her own.

She has spent her whole life training to be an assassin. Just because the convent has changed its mind doesn't mean she has...

My Thoughts: I won this novel from the love of my life, Goodreads. 

I really enjoyed this novel. I think that it might have been better than the first (I haven't read the second but I have it). I love the time period it's set in. It affects everything about the novel, especially in this one, I think. 

The characters are great because they don't take anything from anyone. I fell in love with this characteristic in Grave Mercy and it seems to have been something the author continued on with. And I felt bad for Annith. All she wanted was to serve the person she joined the convent for and they wouldn't let her. All she wanted to be was who they made her to be. She was the most loyal of all the girls in that place. 

I knew what was up one of the characters before anything happened with them but that didn't make it any less important when it happened. Guessing didn't make me sad because it was so well-written that it didn't matter. 

I think the ending was sufficient but I'm not so sure that immortal characters would react in the ways that we write them. 

My favourite thing about this novel is that it's the kind of novel that puts you in another place with a bunch of people that you feel like you know. You go on an adventure that you could never go on otherwise (not that I would necessarily want to) and you get to experience a million things that will never happen to you (in most cases, it's a good thing). It's just so outside your experiences that you learn something else about the world and you get to be somebody and something else. This is the kind of book everyone means when they say that reading means living a thousand different lives because you get to be something new when you read it. I love that this book, this series, had the ability to make me feel strong and smart and like I can do anything (not unlike Black Widow, I won't lie to you). I think that we need more books like this one. They are the best kinds of books.

So: If you are into that adventure/action thing and are looking for a good series, you can kind some kickass female leads in this series. They are strong and do what needs doing. I like that these books can be read together or apart. Check it out.

Review: Through to You

Review: Kelsey
Author: Emily Hainsworth
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 272
Rating: 3 out of 10

Summary (Only Goodreads can get through to me): Camden Pike has been grief-stricken since his girlfriend, Viv, died. He’d give anything to have just one more glimpse of her. But when Cam visits the site of Viv’s deadly car accident, he sees an apparition. Her name is Nina, and she’s a girl from a parallel world. When Cam follows her there and makes an unbelievable discovery, it’s as if all his wildest dreams have come true. But things are very different in this other world. Nina is hiding a secret, and the window between the worlds is shrinking every day. As Cam comes to terms with the truth, he’s forced to make a choice that will change his life forever.

What I Think: This book had a very interesting concept. Sadly, I think it might have been poorly executed. The problem was that there was nothing spectacular about this novel. The writing was decent but that was all. I wasn't floored by the vocabulary, nor was I made to think about too much. I didn't come to question my existence and I didn't fall madly in love with any characters. The characters were on the page and I was holding the book, more aware of my surroundings that I was of the plot and that's not because anything exciting was happening to me while I was reading this novel. I just don't think that it was my thing. I think that Camden was kind of stupid and a little creepy. I thought that it was bizarre that Nina knew so much about what was happening and that she was able to figure it out at all. Then, it wasn't really explained to the reader. Maybe it just wasn't the right time for me to read this novel. I'm not sure. I can tell you that I was excited for it and then, after I read it, I was horribly disappointed. The cover is beautiful and the blurb sounds half unique but I think it wasn't all it could be. There was too much teenage angst and drama and not enough moving on or growing up or making reasonable decisions. It was just not what I needed to read.

Review: The Fire Sermon

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Francesca Haig
Format: Hardcover (Given to us in exchange for a fair review)
Pages: 384
Rating: 5 out of 10

Summary (Via Goodreads): Four hundred years in the future, the Earth has turned primitive following a nuclear fire that laid waste to civilization and nature. Though the radiation fallout has ended, for some unknowable reason every person is born with a twin. Of each pair one is an Alpha - physically perfect in every way - and the other an Omega burdened with deformity, small or large.

With the Council ruling an apartheid-like society, Omegas are branded and ostracized while the Alphas have gathered the world's sparse resources for themselves. Though proclaiming their superiority, for all their effort Alphas cannot escape one harsh fact: Whenever one twin dies, so does the other. Cass is a rare Omega, one burdened with psychic foresight. While her twin, Zach, gains power on the Alpha Council, she dares to dream the most dangerous dream of all: equality. For daring to envision a world in which Alphas and Omegas live side by side as equals, both the Council and the Resistance have her in their sights.

My Ponderings: Ah yes, a novel with a great division between people that must be overcome for the good of humanity lest they wipe each other out completely...where have I heard this one before. Okay, so the idea isn't alone, but it was actually still pretty good. I felt bad for Cass. I was mad that she was being forced to go through all that she was and that there was little she could do to help herself. I'm glad that once she was finally able to do something for herself, she also took the chance to help someone else along the way. That character trait was a huge plus for me. Zach, on the other hand, was just a lot of nasty words that I can't repeat in front of the children.

What else? Oh, like with The Hunger Games, I don't want to live in the world that Haig paints for us at all. A place where siblings hate each other just for existing. Siblings are (in my mind) always supposed to look out for one another, to love each other when nobody else does, to protect each other and Haig turns this idea on its head, pitting everyone against the person most like them in the world. It's a heartbreaking concept.

The whole world they live in is terrifying, especially when scientists get involved. Prisons? This novel was upsetting...

I loved Kip when he finally made an appearance. He was just an interesting mystery (that I figured out too soon and too late because I already loved him).

The ending of this book made me so angry. It wrapped up just enough for it to be an ending without a cliffhanger but not enough to satisfy me. It was just plain rude what happened. I understand why it happened and that it needed to be done but I am still not pleased and you can say nothing to make me feel better about it.

Basically: This was a good book. It wasn't as good as The Hunger Games but it was better than Divergent. It's suitable for teens but very dark. It fit very well into the YA category. This is not a happy story so don't say I didn't warn you.

Review: Winterspell

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Claire Legrand
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 454
Rating: 6 out of 10

Summary (I'm under Goodreads spell): New York City, 1899. Clara Stole, the mayor's ever-proper daughter, leads a double life. Since her mother's murder, she has secretly trained in self-defense with the mysterious Drosselmeyer.

Then, on Christmas Eve, disaster strikes.

Her home is destroyed, her father abducted--by beings distinctly nothuman. To find him, Clara journeys to the war-ravaged land of Cane. Her only companion is the dethroned prince Nicholas, bound by a wicked curse. If they're to survive, Clara has no choice but to trust him, but his haunted eyes burn with secrets--and a need she can't define. With the dangerous, seductive faery queen Anise hunting them, Clara soon realizes she won't leave Cane unscathed--if she leaves at all.

Inspired by The Nutcracker, Winterspell is a dark, timeless fairy tale about love and war, longing and loneliness, and a girl who must learn to live without fear.

What do I think?

I've never read a retelling for The Nutcracker before. I've never done much The Nutcracker before, except for a scary Barbie version. I kind of want to now.

I love that Clara was such a strong character. She was brave and physically strong too. She seemed so kick-ass in the beginning. But I'm also glad that she was sensible enough to be afraid of some things. It wasn't that she was without fear, it's that it was used to protect her family and to keep fighting. Okay, it pissed me off a little bit, but looking back it was fine.

Nicholas was great...until he was suddenly horrible and I had the worst time forgiving him. I don't think I would of but I'm not Clara so I guess she can make her own choices...

Anise was just bloody weird! Well, I could sort of understand how she could become attached to Clara but what Clara did around her was really the weird thing. Her reaction to being around Anise was aggravating to say the least and not at all what I expected. 

Actually, I didn't see much coming in this novel. It managed to create interesting twists and turns. It was a little younger than what I am reading lately but it kept surprises coming and it kept me interested. The characters didn't sit still for very long. I only wish that the ending would have gone a little more slowly so that I could more easily believe the resolution to Clara's problems. 

It was good but not the best. I wouldn't reread it but I don't regret this book.

Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Ransom Riggs
Format: Paperback
Pages: 352
Rating: 6 out of 10

Summary (Goodreads knows that I'm peculiar): A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of curious photographs.

A horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

A spine-tingling fantasy illustrated with haunting vintage photography, Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children will delight adults, teens, and anyone who relishes an adventure in the shadows.

Thoughts: This book was cool. The pictures were really interesting, especially when you get to the back of the book and you see the collection information. The historical aspects of this book make it much more exciting than it would be any other way. I think the pictures being in the book where they are mentioned is perfect. They were the coolest thing. The pictures are why I picked up the book in the first place.

I found myself pulled into a world of murder and mystery and wild fantasy. This novel was one that had just about everything, even a little growing romance. It was quite an adventure for Jacob to go on and I felt bad for him in some ways. I could understand his curiosity but I would have had a mental breakdown. I also don't think that I would have wandered around by myself after seeing the things that he saw.

This novel has quite the cast. Each one is a character worth of their own book. Each is so unique. I wonder how the author came up with them all. Sadly, it was a little hard for me to follow who each one was. The author does a fairly good job of reminding the reader frequently and the second novel comes with a list (I already have it).

My only real problem with this novel is that it felt more like a middle school novel because of how young the protagonist was. The vocabulary and writing were outstanding, so that sure wasn't the problem. I guess I just had a bit of a hard time connecting with Jacob.

If you like paranormal/fantasy novels or historical (but not at all accurate...because of the paranormal stuff) novels than this one is for you. I think that even if you are just into old photos you should at least flip through the book. It's interesting. Check it out.

Review: Paper Towns

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: John Green
Format: Paperback
Pages: 305
Rating: 4 out of 10

Summary (Goodreads...I don't have a witty comment for Paper Towns but you're swell): 

Who is the real Margo?

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs into his life—dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows. After their all-nighter ends, and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues—and they're for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees the girl he thought he knew...

Thoughts: What's colour does a Smurf become when it's chocking? Oh...you didn't want that kind of thoughts, did you? Want a thought about this book? THIS WAS THE WORST BOOK I'D EVER READ. Na, I'm just kidding. Well, I'm kind of kidding. I didn't like this book at all. Okay, that's a lie. Wow, this post is one heck of a train wreck. 

I didn't like Margo. I liked that she helped to bring Quentin out of his shell and that he was able to do wild and crazy things and grow as a human being and that he became more interesting for having spent time with Margo. I still hated her though. I thought she was self-centred and only cared about herself and that she was plain rude. Yeah, that was probably the point of her, I know.

In general, I enjoyed the sense of adventure and craziness that this book focused on. I absolutely loved the road trip scenes (the rest of the cast of characters were great). It was funny and scary and always a surprise. The rest of the novel, not so much after the opening Margo experiences. 

I still like John Green. This book just wasn't my favourite and it's getting a lot of hype lately. I wouldn't say that it was a waste of time. It had its highlights and exciting moments. Other characters in it had redeeming qualities. I just don't think that this novel is worth the hype. 

You know what though? I am glad that this novel was this novel. I'm glad that I was able to read something aside from the gooey romances or dystopian nightmares or fantasy weirdness or mythical character mayhem. I'm glad that I choose to read something easy and still thought provoking yet not at all like everything else there is to read out there, in the world of YA right now. It's no The Fault in Our Stars (Sorry John Green that people will forever compare your books to that; it's not fair) but it was still a half-decent book. Just don't believe all the hype.

Review: Plus One

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Elizabeth Fama
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 373
Rating: 4 out of 10

Summary (I'll be your Plus One, Goodreads): It takes guts to deliberately mutilate your hand while operating a blister-pack sealing machine, but all I had going for me was guts.

Sol Le Coeur is a Smudge—a night dweller in an America rigidly divided between people who wake, live, and work during the hours of darkness and those known as Rays who live and work during daylight. Impulsive, passionate, and brave, Sol deliberately injures herself in order to gain admission to a hospital, where she plans to kidnap her newborn niece—a Ray—in order to bring the baby to visit her dying grandfather. By violating the day-night curfew, Sol is committing a serious crime, and when the kidnap attempt goes awry it starts a chain of events that will put Sol in mortal danger, uncover a government conspiracy to manipulate the Smudge population, and throw her together with D'Arcy Benoît, the Ray medical apprentice who first treats her, then helps her outrun the authorities—and with whom she is fated to fall impossibly and irrevocably in love.

Set in a vivid alternate reality and peopled with complex, deeply human characters on both sides of the day-night divide, Plus One is a brilliantly imagined drama of individual liberty and civil rights—and a compelling, rapid-fire romantic adventure story.

So: I'm tired of novels about the struggle that is social justice. Don't we have enough of those? It's our normal life a struggle enough. Sigh.

The night versus day concept was interesting and the cover was beautiful but the follow through was lacking. WHO JUST KIDNAPS A BABY? A character that does that is a hard character to get behind. Is it really worth your life? It's nice that you want to help your only remaining family member but I bet he would tell you not to do this too.

I loved D'Arcy but, man, was he stupid too. I thought his father was pretty great. 

Also, to make matters worse. The ending sucked. It just stops, leaving you in the middle of nowhere, on a desert road where robbers will come and rob you and take everything you own, leaving you to die and let the bird pick out your eyes...okay, sorry, I'm bitter. 

This novel wasn't as good as I'd hoped. I think that this novel is for younger readers who can deal with a little violence but don't expect too much from a story. It was too... simple (?) in many ways. It was a story with conspiracy but little detail or explanation at how we arrived at ideas or how a teenager managed to accomplish all that she did. 

I didn't like this novel. What do you think about it?

P.S. I think a prequel book for this series could be something really cool with a bit of work. I want to know what happened to get us to the point we are at in this novel. 

Review: Vitro

Reviewer: Kelsey
Author: Jessica Khoury
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 384
Rating: 6 out of 10

This is the sequel to Origin (Click here to view) but I don't think there are any spoilers.

Summary (Nothing is equal to Goodreads): On a remote island in the Pacific, Corpus scientists have taken test tube embryos and given them life. These beings—the Vitros—have knowledge and abilities most humans can only dream of. But they also have one enormous flaw.

Sophie Crue is determined to get to Skin Island and find her mother, a scientist who left Sophie behind years ago. She enlists hunky charter pilot Jim Julien to take her there. But once on the island, Sophie and Jim encounter more than they bargained for, including a charming, brilliant Vitro named Nicholas and an innocent, newly awoken one named Lux.

In a race for their lives, Sophie and Jim are about to discover what happens when science stretches too far beyond its reach. 

My Thoughts: I don't think that this novel was quite as wonderful as Origin was. Mostly, I think that the characters in this novel were much stupider than they were in Origin. Really, you see a scary island that everyone says horrible things about but you think that it's a fantastic idea to try to waltz right onto it? WHAT PART OF THIS TRIP WAS A GOOD IDEA? Who are you? Ditzy girl #5 in a horror movie? You just gotta run back up the stairs. You know what? Here's a concept. LISTEN TO WHAT PEOPLE TELL YOU AND DON'T GO THERE. Your mother is a grown adult and can take care of herself since she sure as shootin' wasn't taking care of you all these years...stupid head.

The island sounded pretty? You know, except for all the horrible things happening there...

Jim was just as stupid as Sophie. Maybe more so because he knew all the stories and had been there this whole time. 

Plus, I mean, the plot twists weren't major plot twists that you wouldn't see coming. 

All that said, it wasn't a terrible novel. It was written well enough and was easy to read and follow. The characters had redeeming qualities and it openly led into the next novel (which I have waiting for me at home, by the way). I concept for this series is just terrifying enough to keep you reading while worrying about the future of the world and wondering what scientists are really doing out there (Conspiracy theories ftw). 

So that's my rant.

Basically, check our Origin first. If you like that than read this one. Maybe the next one will be better.  If you are concerned about whether or not you will like this novel, I should tell you that I didn't really put it down just because I wanted to see how badly everything would end up. It wasn't not worth it.

Review: The Winner's Curse (The Winner's Trilogy)

Reviewer: Kristen
Author: Marie Rutkoski
Pages: 355
Format: Paperback
My Rating: 6.5 out of 10

Summary (How could I live without you, Goodreads): Winning what you want may cost you everything you love... 

As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. 

One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. 

But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined. 

Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.

My Thoughts: I'm going to be honest with you, bookish friends. This book was more like a 4.5 for me until the last chapter. And then, the last chapter happened. And it's like Marie Rutkoski knew exactly how to pull me in and want to continue this series. It's like she knew that I have a serious thing for angst-filled marriage follies and that I love a good love triangle, so long as it is done correctly. So, had the last chapter not happened, I probably wouldn't be finishing this trilogy. But it did, so here we are.

I tried picking this book up a long time ago (December 2014, according to goodreads) but I just wasn't feeling it at that time. I read the first chapter, wasn't interested, put it down and didn't think about it again. Fast forward to August, and I was cleaning off my shelves and rearranging my books and saw this one again. And that beautiful cover pulled me in. So, I stopped cleaning, started reading and finished half the book in one go. Apparently my mind had made up how bad I thought the first chapter was because I couldn't stop. But, once I did stop, I didn't start again for about a week. So while I liked it, I didn't love it, and I don't know how else to describe it other than by saying just that. My biggest issue was that the characters fell a little flat for me. While Kestrel was clearly intelligent, some of her motives confused me. It's like the author wanted the reader to connect with her, but in doing so left something out about her. I just didn't love her as much as I wanted to and that was disappointing. Arin was another character I didn't understand - maybe it was the whole slave/owner dynamic that was uncomfortable but it felt a little insta-lovey to me, even though it wasn't really. I just didn't swoon for Arin like other people did. So, while they were going through the awful things they were going through, I just didn't really care. Things happened all at once and a little too easily - some things were just too much of a coincidence for me to really get behind it. But other than that, i plowed through, and though it doesn't seem like it, genuinely enjoyed most of it. And I know that I've said this enough, but the last chapter offered enough promise for me to continue on; I like the potential that I see building.

Final Thoughts: While I enjoyed this, I didn't love it either. I thought it was a little too predictably young-adultish (not that there is a problem with that!!) for my taste, but the ending really did seal the deal for me.