Reviews-Week of 5/2

Wither

What if you knew exactly when you would die? 

Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out. 
When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home. 
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 Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left.
So I had a little read-a-thon day and read Wither, and for once I didn't throw it across the room, but I was left with a lot of questions... First and foremost I liked it (I think) and I would recommend it to any teen in my library.  I think I just need to talk it out.


Things I liked about it:

• I liked the story and the separate girl's stories. For the most part, I even liked the girls (There is a 'but' in the bottom section)
• I liked the Jane Eyre feeling of the novel. I had the whole women in the attic feeling throughout the whole novel. It was a haunting story.
• I LOVED the way it was written, no matter if it's within the series, I will read Lauren Destafano's next novel.
• I liked the way the dystopian world was built int he novel. I felt like I know a lot about the world in which they live. 
• I am not trying to be saucy, but I liked that teen sex and pregnancy were apart of the story. It was refreshing that there were no apologies, it was just apart of the characters life.
• Gabriel was dreamy

Things I didn't like:

• Seriously, in Florida it doesn't snow! No matter what the time frame. I wish this was justified.
• Instead of it "just ending" like I usually complain, it ends suddenly. Like after this whole drawn out beautiful 330 pages, she announces it's her last day in the mansion... and then they just leave without anyone finding out, no fight, no confrontation, just happily ever after for Gabriel and Rhine. 
• I am questioning my last remark already but I'll still put it out there. By the middle of this novel I was questioning how it was a series. And by the end I was really wondering... Rhine's story seems complete, but as I look back on my remarks I realize that the other character's story isn't finished. And maybe that's the direction the series will go...
• Cecily... That's all. 
• Linden and Vaughn kind of bored me. Linden revealed little about himself, his father Vaughn is painted as the bad guy and never, truly does anything wrong (at least he isn't confronted, Linden knows nothing of his father's actions). 
• I'll make this point again... There was a general lack of confrontation in the novel. No one was told they did anything wrong, and no one truly changed as a person, they just changed to fit their circumstances.

Catching Fire

Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark won the annual competition described in Hunger Games, but the aftermath leaves these victors with no sense of triumph. Instead, they have become the poster boys for a rebellion that they never planned to lead. That new, unwanted status puts them in the bull's-eye for merciless revenge by The Capitol.

This book is in three different parts and I have to say it I had 3 very different feelings while reading it. 

The beginning I was kind of bored, and then very much on edge and stressed out, even more so when they announced the new rules for the quarter quell. 

When they entered the games, I enjoyed the characters smartassness. Effie and Haymitch left them up to their own devices, so for once you were able to see Katniss and Peeta truly interact without acting a part. I believe they really fell in love in this novel. And they can't even admit it to themselves.

The last part, left me confused, especially the last words of the novel. I didn't know what was going to happen and I still don't fully understand it. But I'm not meant to, that's why Mockingjay exists.

It's Friday, Friday, Friday!

For your musical pleasure: Most obnoxious Friday song ever.

The Hunger Games

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her district in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before-and survival.

So I finished Hunger Games. Yes I know I am the last one on earth. I literally went from disliking this book so much I didn't want to read the whole thing, (much less the series) to reading the whole thing in 24 hours. I just finished it and threw it across my living room because it just ends! Thank god I can go get the sequel tomorrow, but those people who had to wait, I feel for them.

I liked Katniss. She was strong, stupidly stubborn and smart. I felt like she played the martyr card a lot, but not so much so that it was annoying. Peeta was humble and kind of dreamy, understated. I wish Katniss would just open her eyes and see him. Stupid loveless girl. I have a crush on Peeta by the way.

This is a good examply of dystopian lit. I feel like I am reading only in this genre and it has a lot of competitors. They lived in a truly cruel world, in which no one is left unscathed. Children die and their parents mourn. That is scarier than big brother. Bad example of dystopian lit is XVI, I tried to read it again and just couldn't do it. I was forced into this weirdo world with nothing explained to me. 

The Goddess Test

Every girl who has taken the test has died.

Now it's Kate's turn.
It's always been just Kate and her mom--and now her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall.
Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld--and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.
 Kate is sure he's crazy--until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess.
 If she fails...

I read this early courtesy of NetGalley. It will be released April 19. I absolutely loved it. I needed the break from dystopia and this was the perfect brain candy.

Kate was a very well rounded character, Henry was dreamy. And Aimee Carter wove in mythology very well. It didn't seem over done or under explained. I can't wait for the next one! (I think I liked this book too much, can barely give it a proper review!)

Another Challenge

Challenge courtesy of A Few More Pages

Guidelines for the 1st in a Series Challenge 2011

1. Anyone can join. You don't need a blog to participate. If you're not a blogger, leave your information in the comments.

2. There are four levels for this challenge:

• Series Novice: Read 3 books that are the first in any series.
• Series Lover: Read 6 books that are the first in any series.
• Series Expert: Read 12 books that are the first in any series.
• Series Fanatic: Read 20 books that are the first in any series.

You can list your books in advance or just put them in a wrap up post. If you list them, feel free to change them as the mood takes you. Any genre counts.

3. The challenge runs from January 1 through December 31, 2011.

4. You can join anytime between now and December 31, 2011.

5. If you're a blogger, write up a sign-up post that includes the URL to this post so that others can join in. Feel free to use the button above. When you sign up in the Linky, put the direct link to your1st in a Series Challenge sign-up post.


I am going to go for the Series Expert level and read 12 books.

What I've Been Reading

I finished Hex Hall. It took me a while to get into it (mostly my own time constraints) but once I did, I literally could not put it down. Sophie Mercer is amusing and honest. Her school is a mismash of different supernatural beings. That is a part of the plot that could have been explored more, the shape shifters were left out a bit. But I guess that's what makes it a great first in a series, I am really looking forward to Demonglass and to see what happens to Sophie next. Sidenote: as much as I am against the whole every teen book becoming a movie, I could see it becoming a movie. It will fill the void in our hearts when the Harry Potter and Twilight movie franchises conclude this summer and fall.

I started reading Bumped (via NetGalley) and quickly got bored of it. On the other hand I have started The Goddess Test, (also via NetGalley) and it is addictive. Love Greek mythology.

I am also reading the Hunger Games. Again. I am now going to eat my own words... it is not boring, I was wrong. I should have given it a better chance the first time I tried to read it.

It only took me a whole month...

I have had this book from NetGalley since before it was released, but did not have the proper software at the time to actually read it. Then it came in a couple weeks ago in the February order... and then finally I had the correct software to read it. I need a Nook. Now. Please?

Anyway... To make a short story shorter, I finally finished Delirium.

Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy. 

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

I loved the story in Delirium. I am a huge fan of Dystopian stories. I like that Lauren Oliver took the time to fully explain the world in which Lena lived. A lot was explained with excerpts from their rule books. Some days I would think the story was moving too slow, and maybe that's why it took me so long to read. But at the end of the book, I was truly satisfied and immersed into Lena's world where Love is a scary.

"Love, the deadliest of all things: It kills you both when you have it, and when you do not... the condemner and the condemned. The executioner; the blade; the last minute reprieve; the gasping breath and the rolling sky above you and the thank you, thank you, thank you, God. Love: It will kill you and save you, both"

I also thought this book was a great introduction to the series as a whole. The story took place over a span of about 3 months... and the last few chapters happened in a matter of days. The pace seriously picked up at the end of the book, I am not going to say that it needed to... but it felt right, it got me waiting impatiently for the next installment of Lena's life.

Friday night at the library...

It's buzzing in here with weekend excitement... They all want movies! They want to get on the computer! But the teens are no where to be found here. The kids have taken over half the library!

Things I have done:

• Read a whole manga in an hour. I understand why the kids and teens love them, not that I didn't before. But I understand the other reason now... they are so short. I immediately felt accomplished, I clicked that I had read another book on my Goodreads.
• I actually read 3 books last month! Considering I read 3 books in the 6 months previous to that, it's an amazing feat. 
• Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers is about a a girl named Regina who was frozen out of her mean girl club. It was both deserved and undeserved, Regina and her former friends were just evil malicious bored girls. They spend the entire book going back and forth. It was kind of frightening really. Is this how teenage girls are? Serious trust issues. But apart from that, I was insanely addicted to the story to see how Regina would come out on the other end. I hearted it. 
• Fallen by Lauren Kate is about a girl named Lucinda who was shipped off to reform school for her slightly crazy behavior. It is the first book in a series and it felt like it. She is drawn to Daniel, a boy who is trying hard to stay away... you know for secrets and what not. (I don't want to give away the ending by saying too much about the plot details.) Pretty much, creepy southern setting, boys falling in and out of love with a silly girl, supernatural secrets, and did I mention the soapy love story part? It's another version of Twilight. I hearted it. 
• Hold Me Closer Necromancer, previously reviewed.
• I am now reading:
• Delirium by Lauren Oliver provided by NetGalley. Mostly because I haven't put in the February order yet. It's moving a little slow, but Ms. Oliver is creating a whole bizarre world, so it still has my attention. 
• I have also started Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney. I'm ambivalent on this one, I'll give it a couple more readings until I put it aside. 
• At home I have Tricks and Blue Bloods. I am starting my reading for the Teen Book Festival, since those authors are coming. I want to have read at least one of their books. Really I just need a reason to pick up random books. It's hard for me not to just read the new books (like the copy of XVI by Julia Karr that was just processed and shelved) So I devised a rule, for every new book I want to read, I read 2 older ones. I'm sure this will change when I get caught up a bit. 

Okay I have jinxed myself, teens are back, now we just have a full library period. 

Hold Me Closer Necromancer

I recently finished Hold Me Closer Necromancer.


Description:
Sam leads a pretty normal life. He may not have the most exciting job in the world, but he’s doing all right—until a fast food prank brings him to the attention of Douglas, a creepy guy with an intense violent streak. Turns out Douglas is a necromancer who raises the dead for cash and sees potential in Sam. Then Sam discovers he’s a necromancer too, but with strangely latent powers. And his worst nightmare wants to join forces . . . or else.  With only a week to figure things out, Sam needs all the help he can get. Luckily he lives in Seattle, which has nearly as many paranormal types as it does coffee places. But even with newfound friends, will Sam be able to save his skin?

Things I heart: I loved the characters and the humor. I also really liked how Sam was very accepting of his new found power, instead of the typical teen-angst-poor-me stuff, he took it very much in stride. 


Things I didn't heart: The only thing I didn't love, and it could just be me, I didn't think they explained the concepts of Necromancy very well. I understand why, and I get the author's over all point. I think that every time Douglas spoke about "the powers" he was a little full of himself so he spoke about them in these flowery vague terms, assuming prior knowledge.  I don't want to give too much away, but the mother, Tia also kind of bothers me. Mostly because she is typical. 

I would recommend it to anyone, but especially high school boys. It is sarcastic, funny and shows true friendships.