Review: ROOK by @jcandrijeski 5 Star psychic read!

The world is dying. Everyone feels it, and yet, no one knows.

They said that when the end was near, a Bridge would come, and lead them out of the darkness of that dying world.

Allie Taylor's life was relatively normal...

Until Revik showed up.

And told her she was that Bridge.

ROOK: Allie's War Episodes 1-4

"You are the Bridge..."

Like most humans, Allie spent her life distancing herself from Seers, a race of human-like beings discovered on Earth in the early 1900s. Then she catches her boyfriend in the arms of a hot band groupie, and Allie goes from San Francisco artist slacker to the girl wearing the GPS anklet.

That's the least of her problems, though, compared to the shock of discovering who--and what--she really is.

Yanked out of her life by the mysterious Revik, Allie finds out that her blood may not be as "human" as she always thought. Through Revik she learns the truth: that Seers are nothing like she thought, that the world is nothing like it appears to be...and she has far more in common with Seers than she ever wanted to believe.

  

This book is so different from what I normally read, but damn, I was glad I picked it up! I started reading it on a Friday night, and could barely put it down long enough to sleep. The story has a metaphysical bent, making it different than other urban fantasy books, almost giving it a sci-fi feel. The psychics are not exactly human. The world-building is rich and beautifully complicated. Must have taken the author forever to flesh it all out.  

I grew to really love Allie. Everything Allie knew about herself and the world was shattered over night. But Allie handled it well, I thought. You could see her mature into a woman over the course of the book.

I enjoyed reading about the relationship between Allie and Revik. There is no insta-love here. Revik kind of treated her like crap by not explaining things well to her and having too high of expectations for her. I struggled between wanting to both strangle and kiss him at the same time. The chemistry grows to a slow burn over the course of the four episodes. In fact, even by the end of Rook, they still are not 100% solid. I love that because their relationship feels more realistic to me. You can’t expect people to fall madly in love while the world is crumbling around you.

Overall, I give Rook...

Plot - 4 1/2 bookmarks

Originality - 12 bookmarks (I don’t care if it is only a 1-5 scale. This was so inventive!)

Character development - 5 bookmarks

Romance - 4 bookmarks (only because it is still growing)

Dream cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) - Goran Visnjic (Revik), Rooney Mara (Allie), Olivia Munn (Cass), Dave Franco (Jon), Aaron Eckhart (President Caine)

Book recommendations for the reader on your list! #AmReading #Christmas

As many of you know, I read a lot. A LOT! Last time I counted, I finish about 250 books per year. That makes me somewhat of an expert when it comes to recommending books to people, especially this time of year when people are looking for gift ideas. So, I thought I would write some gift book ideas for you to help you on your shopping. 

For readers who liked The Hunger Games, I recommend Veronica Roth's Divergent Series. Within an action-packed dystopian world, it explores what it means to be human. It would also give the reader a chance to check out the book before the movie is released in 2014. 

For readers who like Twilight, AND for those who didn't like Twilight, I recommend Richelle Mead's Vampire Academy Series. This is how a young adult vampire series should be done. No dippy heroines, over-protective boyfriends and lots of kick-ass action. Not to mention, it has one of my favorite romances of all time. The first movie also comes out on Valentines Day, so your reader can get a head start.

For readers who liked the Anita Blake Series, I recommend Shannon Mayer's Rylee Adamson Series. Filled with action, supernatural creatures and humor, without going all "porny" like Anita Blake did. The first book is Priceless, but there are a total of five books out so far if you wanted to make your own boxed set.

                   

For readers who liked Fifty Shades of Gray, I recommend Sylvia Day’s Crossfire Series: Bared To You, Reflected In You and Entwined With You. The first three books are now available in a boxed set. 

Or check out Christina Lauren's Beautiful Series. The first book is Beautiful Bastard. 

For readers who like erotic fiction, but found Fifty Shades of Gray to be ridiculous, I recommend Tiffany Reisz’s Original Sinners Series: The Siren, The Angel, The Prince and The Mistress. This is one of my favorite series ever!!! It is erotic literary fiction, and the characters are amazing.

For those who liked Beautiful Disaster, I recommend Easy by Tammara Webber.

Or try M. Leighton's Bad Boys Series: Down To You, Up to Me and Everything For Us.

For readers who liked On The Island by Tracey Garvis Graves, I recommend Surviving Raine by Shay Savage. This is how a tortured, brooding man should be written. I officially have a new book-boyfriend in Bastian Stark. 

For readers who like alpha males, lots of action and are open to M/M romance, you have to look at the Cut and Run Series by Madeline Urban and Abilgail Roux. This is another of my all-time favorite series. The characters are beautifully flawed, hilariously written and sexy as hell. There are more books than this, but here are the first four:

 

For readers who think vampires should be sociopaths, not romantic heroes, I recommend a little known book called Scent and Shadow by Mercy Loomis. Horror readers will absolutely love this book! And the writing is brilliant. 

I hope these recommendations help. If you need more, I read many genres, and I'm happy to help you come up with something for the reader on your list. Leave a comment, or hit me up on Twitter - @Jesilea.  

And of course, my books are also available to the young adult, paranormal loved on your list.  #ShamelessSelfPromotion.  

Happy Holidays!!!!

Guest Reviewer Week! Brianna Soloski (@girlseeksplace) reviews Town of Shadows. #FridayReads

Town of Shadows by Lindsay Stern 

96 pages (PDF version) ~ 5/5 stars

“Enter the Town of Shadows, where noise is ‘the color of rain,’ and the self is a ‘hidden crowd.’ Indeed like shadows, the town's inhabitants are elusive—slipping in and out of mirrors, wandering down secret corridors of the mind, hiding in the spines of houses—and perpetually at risk of disappearing or being ‘deleted.’ Lindsay Stern's brilliant, urgent vignettes depict a people struggling to make sense of the limits of language and time. A dark and fascinating debut." — Hanna Andrews, American Poet

(Goodreads description)

I get a fair number of books to review, although it’s tapered off recently, which is fine by me. I have plenty to read and plenty to write. That being said, when Lindsay contacted me and said that J.A. Tyler from Mud Luscious Press had recommended me to review her book, I jumped on it, and I’m so glad I did.

In the vein of Matt Bell’s Cataclysm Baby comes Town of Shadows, a series of short stories all tied together with a bow. The main characters are Pierre and Selma – Selma is a writer and Pierre is doing a series of experiments. The other characters in the town of shadows are just that…shadows. We never fully get to know anyone, but we are still drawn into their stories. The mayor of the town likes to make up rules for the town, like not using vowels. Every time there’s a new rule, there is someone who goes around and fixes up the gravestones.

I am fast becoming a fan of dystopian, seemingly post-apocalyptic fiction. Perhaps that isn’t an accurate description of Town of Shadows, but it’s my gut instinct when trying to come up with something to describe this book. The stories are lyrical, different but all fitting together neatly into a puzzle of this nameless town.

My favorite story was What Will Happen in which Pierre asks Selma what will happen if he writes a novel:

“Suppose I try it,” said Pierre.

“Try what?’ Selma blinked.

“Writing a book.”
”Suppose you do.”

“What will happen?”
”Words.”

As a writer, I especially liked this because that’s exactly what happens when you write a book. Words appear and string themselves together into a coherent story for people to enjoy. It’s a process that is not easily understood, in my opinion. There’s not some magical thing that happens.

Town of Shadows isn’t available for purchase yet at major retailers, but can be found on GoodReads.

Disclaimer: I received this book directly from the author. I was not compensated in any way and all opinions are my own.

About the Reviewer

Brianna Soloski is an avid reader and writer. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities from Sierra Nevada College. She also obtained her teaching credential from the college. Although she’s not currently teaching, she enjoys spending time with her friends’ kids. In her spare time, she loves to travel and would love to book a world cruise – imagine the memoir that could come from an adventure like that! Girl Seeks Place is her first full length novel and will be released October 26, 2012. She can be found blogging at www.girlseeksplace.wordpress.com. She can also be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Brianna-Soloski-Writer, and @girlseeksplace on Twitter.

Review: “The Immortal Rules” by Julie Kagawa

In a future world, vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity.

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die…or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.

 

New Julie Kagawa series?  Vampires?  Dystopian?  Yes, please!!!!  I totally loved Kagawa’s Iron Fey series, so when I heard she had a new book out, I jumped at it. 

Allie is a fabulous YA heroine - tough, smart, brave.  This girl is a true fighter.  The world she lives in is bleak and desperate, but Allie is a true survivor.  It is a testament to her character that she makes the ultimate decision to chose life as a vampire over death.  That said, Allie hates the vamps and will do all she can to maintain her tenuous hold on her humanity. 

The world that Kagawa builds is rich and scary.  It was like I was in it, feeling the hunger, the darkness, the pain.  These are not sexy, brooding vamps who want to be human.  These vampires are true predators who view humans as food.  The rabids--a cross between vampires and zombies--are even more terrifying.

Zeke is a true good guy.  He’s noble, a formidable leader, kind.  He’s on a mission to lead a small group of humans to the city of Eden, a city he’s not even sure exists.  Zeke’s faith is the perfect foil for Allie’s skepticism.  Together, they make a strong team with undeniable chemistry. 

The entire last chapter of this book held me on the edge of my seat.  I am so in love with this book and can’t wait for the next installment in the series. My only complaint is that the Allie is Asian in the book, but the cover shows a more Caucasian looking girl.  I always get sad when publishers “white wash” their covers. 

Overall, I give The Immortal Rules...

Plot - 5 bookmarks

Character Development - 5 bookmarks

World Building - 5 bookmarks

Love Story - 4 bookmarks (Was not the main focus of this book, but I expect it to grow in importance over the series.)

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) - Brenda Song (Allie), Armie Hammer (Zeke), Juno Temple (Ruth), Kit Harington (Kanin)

4 Star Review: ‘Matched’ & ‘Crossed’ by @AllyCondie

Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

(Amazon Product Description)

 

I have to review both of these books together since I read them back-to-back and I have a hard time separating them out in my head.  I have read several dystopian YA series, but what makes Matched different is that the action is slower paced (at least in the first book it was) and Cassia as a character is not some girl is a natural fighter.  In fact, she starts off the novel very much a good little member of The Society, wanting all of the beautiful things in life that they promise her.  She knows that if she follows the rules, she will be healthy and (reasonably) happy until she is 80 years old.  The Society never makes a mistake, so she has complete trust in them.  That is, until the glitch.

This electronic malfunction which shows Ky’s face on her data card only last seconds, but it is the catalyst that very slowly turns her world upside-down.  When I say slowly, I don’t mean to say that the book is in any way boring.  It’s not.  In fact, I liked that it took Cassia almost the entire first book to have such a significant perspective and character shift.  It made the story realistic.  I would say though that this is a more character driven story than action oriented.  Crossed is a bit more plot driven of the two.  I have a feeling that the third book Reached, which is releasing in November will be a huge action-packed story. 

There is a love triangle in this book, which I generally like.  Xander is Cassia’s best friend and they have known each other since they were kids.  It does not surprise her at all to learn that he is her match, and that pleases her.  But it is Ky who makes her heart race.  It feels fairly obvious to me how this is going to turn out, but I’m hoping Reached will surprise me, or at least make the contest between the two boys more even to give it some interest.  Ky is great though.  The first book is told entirely in Cassia’s point of view, but book two alternates between them.  It’s wonderful to see his perspective and learn about the past that haunts him.  Maybe it is because of this that I don’t feel as interested or connected with Xander. 

A big thing that might jar some readers is that the two books are so different that it might bother some people.  Matched is a little sweeter, a little safer.  Cassia ends the book on an epiphany of sorts that you know is going to change her as a person.  Crossed is much darker.  Both characters are now living outside The Society (tiny spoiler, sorry) and are learning just how dysfunctional their world is.  In some ways, it feels like Cassia is a different character in the second book, but since I read them one after the other, it made sense to me why her character would grow in the direction that it did.  I can see though if someone had a significant time lapse between them, but might find her change jarring. 

Another wonderful literary device that the author uses is to frame much of the story around two poems, Dylan Thomas’s “Do Not Go Gentle Into That Dark Night” and Lord Tennyson’s “Crossing the Bar”.  I’m not a big lover of poetry, but Thomas is one of my favorites.  I love the way the author used these poems to both inspire the characters and as code to drive the plot.  Such a brilliant move! I hope that these books will encourage teens to read more by these poets and maybe see poetry in a different light.  If you are a parent who’s kid is reading these books, I encourage you to print copies of these poems and hang them on their wall by their bed where they can read and think about them.  Just a suggestion.  Like I said, I’m not a poetry person, but I had a poem hanging in my bedroom through my teen years and it meant a lot to me. 

Well, enough about me!  Overall, I give Matched and Crossed...

Plot - 3 bookmarks for Matched and 3 1/2 bookmarks for Crossed. 

Character Development - 4 bookmarks.  Cassia & Ky are very well developed.  We need more of Xander and Indie in the next book.

Love Story - 3 bookmarks. Hasn’t really reeled my in all of the way yet.  My fingers are crossed for book three.

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) - Ayla Kell (Cassia), Evan Williams (Ky), Nick Roux (Xander), Karen Gillan (Indie)

Review ‘Wither’ by Lauren DeStefano

“By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males born with a lifespan of 25 years, and females a lifespan of 20 years--leaving the world in a state of panic. Geneticists seek a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children.

“When Rhine is sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Yet her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement; her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next; and Rhine has no way to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive.

“Together with one of Linden's servants, Gabriel, Rhine attempts to escape just before her seventeenth birthday. But in a world that continues to spiral into anarchy, is there any hope for freedom?”

(Amazon description)

I bought this book because the cover is absolutely gorgeous, but also the premise sounded interesting.  While I liked the book, I can’t say I loved it.  Rhine is a strong character, even though her actions at times had my skin crawling.  For example, her sister wife Cecily is the most obnoxious, insensitive bitch, but Rhine continues to be kind to her and overlook her faults.  I kept waiting for Rhine to smack her or get revenge on her or something but it never happened.  Toward the end, when Rhine finally speaks up to Cecily, I felt like she was pulling her punches, holding back.  Rather than leaving the reader with a nice cathartic release, it left me wanting more. 

This also happens in Rhine’s interactions with Linden.  Every once in a while, Rhine says she is just being nice to him because she has to win his trust in order to escape, but her actions give us a whole different impression.  To me, it felt like she didn’t have enough fire in her belly for this man who essentially is her prisoner.  Linden is annoyingly oblivious to the world around him, and I suppose we should sympathize with him, but I just didn’t care about him at all.  I wanted Rhine to blow up and tell him the truth of how she came to be his wife and what happened to the other girls he rejected.  That never happens.  Then, when she is with Linden, all thoughts of Gabriel disappear, and that irritated me. So she is supposedly crushing on Gabriel, her servant, but when he is out of sight (which is most of the time) he is also out of mind.  We also don’t get very much sexual tension or emotional connection between either her and Gabriel or her and Linden.  If this was meant to form some sort of interesting love triangle, it left me lukewarm.  

(Side note:  Linden’s gold teeth made me picture Flava Flav.) 

The story was dark and captivating, but I thought the world building could have used a bit of fleshing out.  So there is this “virus” that kills girls at exactly 20 years old and boys at exactly 25 years old.  Since this is a science based book and not a paranormal, this seems a little too thrown together without much thought given to the science behind it.  Why the five year difference between the sexes?  Why does this virus suddenly kick in at exactly the right ages?  The only explanation I could come up with is that the author needed something quick and easy to justify her plot.  The thing is though, with a bit more realistic explanation, it could have taken this from a good book to a great book. 

Overall, I give Wither...

Plot - 4 bookmarks

Character Development - 3 bookmarks (We get a lot from the girls, but nothing from the boys)

Age Appropriateness - Warning: 20 year old Linden knocks up 13 year old Cecily. This may skeeve some parents out.  This child mother creeped me out and did not make me like Linden.

Romance - 1 bookmark (Just didn’t care about it.)

World Building - 3 bookmarks (Not bad, but could have been so much more with a little more thought.)

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) - Bridgit Mendler (Rhine), Willow Shields (Cecily), Nina Dobrev (Jenna), Blake Lively (Rose), David Henrie (Gabriel), Logan Lerman (Linden)

Review: ‘Ashfall’ by Mike Mullins

“Many visitors to Yellowstone National Park don't realize that the boiling hot springs and spraying geysers are caused by an underlying supervolcano. It has erupted three times in the last 2.1 million years, and it will erupt again, changing the Earth forever.

"Fifteen-year-old Alex is home alone when the supervolcano erupts. His town collapses into a nightmare of darkness, ash, and violence, forcing him to flee. He begins a harrowing trek in search of his parents and sister, who were visiting relatives 140 miles away.

"Along the way, Alex struggles through a landscape transformed by more than a foot of ash. The disaster brings out the best and worst in people desperate for food, clean water, and shelter.  When an escaped convict injures Alex, he searches for a sheltered place where he can wait--to heal or to die. Instead, he finds Darla. Together, they fight to achieve a nearly impossible goal: surviving the supervolcano.”  -- Amazon description

In this world of gray and cold, the action is red hot!

My readers might not be aware of this, but I have a geek-streak for geology, specifically volcanoes.  When I heard that Mike Mullin was writing a YA dystopian novel based on the eruption of Yellowstone, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it! 

My first impression of this book is how incredibly well researched it is.  Not only did Mullin have the science down -- he calculated the exact spot in the country to set the story based on the ashfall projected from such an eruption -- but he also knew how the characters would feel, both physically and emotionally over what was happening around them.  The opening scenes where Alex is experiencing the first 24 hours of noise and darkness were amazing!  I felt like I was there right alongside him.  This feeling stayed with me throughout the book, putting me on the edge of my seat the whole time.

Alex as a character was very likeable.  He came across as a regular kid.  He had some background in martial arts, but even in dangerous situations, but he never turned into a crazy ass-kicking superhero.  Instead, he behaved like a good kid who was scared and determined to survive.  I also like the character of Darla.  I’ve known farm girls like her before.  She was smart and tough, but also kind.  She doesn’t immediately take to Alex, because she’s afraid of having to stretch her and her mother’s limited food and resources to accommodate another person, but you know it’s not due to selfishness -- she’s truly scared of starving to death.  The danger comes at the pair from all angles -- weather, no utilities, lack of food and water, dangerous bandits on the roads willing to kill to survive -- but even so, they exhibit warmth and compassion to those around them. 

Lastly, on a personal note...I grew up in this part of eastern Iowa, so this book struck a particular cord with me.  I asked Mullin on twitter about his research of the location and he told me he and his wife traveled there and drove around to get a feel for the land.  Not only was I impressed by his spot-on descriptions, but he also captured something in the essence of the people who live there that I felt honored the toughness of the Mid-Westerners I grew up with. 

Overall, I give Ashfall...

Plot - 5 bookmarks

Character Development - 5 bookmarks

Scientific Detail - 5 bookmarks (Good research without overloading the reader with facts.)

World Building - 4 1/2 bookmarks (The camps completely creeped me out!)

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) - Aaron Johnson (Alex), Jennifer Lawrence (Darla) 

Review: Incredible dystopian read: 'Divergent' by Veronica Roth

If you are looking for an exciting summer read to get lost in, Divergent, the debut novel by Veronica Roth, is the book for you!


Set in a dystopian Chicago, Beatrice (Tris) Prior is faced with an impossible decision...stay with her family or be true to herself. The people of the city are divided into five factions, each based around a particular virtue they wish to live by; Candor (honesty), Abnegation (selflessness), Dauntless (bravery), Amity (peacefulness), and Erudite (intelligence). At sixteen years old, they must choose their faction for life. Beatrice's family are Abnegation, but she's not sure if that is what she wants to be for the rest of her life. But if she doesn't choose Abnegation, she may never see her family again.



Without giving too much away, Tris surprises herself and everyone else by her choice, but the hard part isn't over yet. Next comes a grueling initiation process, the failure of which could mean ending up factionless, and the struggle of harboring a dangerous secret about herself from those who might kill her if they knew.



This book is a fascinating mix of action, danger with just a touch of romance. Roth creates a world that is detailed and interesting. I love that she uses different buildings and places from the real Chicago to serve as anchors, making it that much more real. That she chose to align the factions with different moral virtues was interesting, but these people are far from being saints. Aristotle believed that a good moral exists somewhere between two extremes. In other words, too much of a good thing can go bad. That is certainly what the world of Divergent illustrates. There are no completely good or completely evil characters, only beautifully flawed human beings.


Speaking of flawed human beings, I have to comment on Tris's romance for a moment. While not the central plot in this book, the romance is well constructed and believable. Four is her instructor, but also a huge mystery. At times he can be cruel, but you soon learn there are reasons for everything he does. He is an interesting and deeply conflicted character in his own right, but he's not the brooding emo boy that so many YA's have these days. Underneath is hard shell, there is a kindness that not everyone can see. I can't wait to see how he develops in the coming books.



Overall, I give Divergent...
 Plot - 5 bookmarks

Character Development - 5 bookmarks

World Building - 4 1/2 bookmarks (Still have many questions about how Chicago became like this, but that might be explained in future installments.)

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) - Jodelle Ferland (Tris), Shane Harper (Caleb), Rooney Mara (Christina), Emile Hirsch (Peter), Kellan Kutz (Eric), Avan Jogia (Four)

Review: MOCKINGJAY by Suzanne Collins

I always get sad at the end of a series that I really like.  Part of me just wants it to go on and on.  I want to know what is going to happen to the characters after the final curtain.  So, it was with a heavy heart that I finished Mockingjay, the last book in the Hunger Games Trilogy. 

While I really liked this book because I was so invested in the series, I had a few problems with it.  Let’s start with what I liked. 

Mockingjay finds the country of Panem in a full revolution led by the President of District 13 against The Capitol.  Because of Katniss’s popularity and identification with the rebellion, she is enlisted to become The Mockingjay, the face of the revolution.  Peeta is being held prisoner in The Capitol, where he is compelled to give interviews condemning the rebellion.  I really think that it is in this book where Katniss goes from being girl to a woman.  She is no longer playing a game, but using her skills to further a cause which will change the whole country.  This series is a rollercoaster ride of action and this book moves super fast!

Now, for my concerns.  We get a chance to see more of Gale in this book, which is nice, but I really thought we would have seen a more intense love triangle.  Gale didn’t fight for Katniss, and that seemed contrary to his character.  This wasn’t hugely distracting, since this is more of an action series than a love story, but I saw it as a missed opportunity. 

My main problem with this book was the change in the writing style.  Collins had so much that she needed to pack into this book, that she forgot one of the basic rules of writing – Show Don’t Tell.  In between the main action scenes, there were long passages of the author telling the audience what happened, rather than allowing the reader to experience it with the characters. 

Overall, I give Mockingjay…

Plot – 4 bookmarks

Character Development – 4 bookmarks

Love Story – 3 bookmarks

Social Commentary – 5 bookmarks

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Kristin Stewart (Katniss), Hunter Parrish (Peeta), Phillip Kelley, my best friend from high school (Gale), Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Haymitch), Megan Mullally (Effie), Tim Gunn (Cinna), Chris Pine (Finnick), Kelsey Batelaan (Prim), Andre Leon Talley (Plutrach)

Review: CATCHING FIRE by Suzanne Collins

If I don’t make my word count for NaNoWriMo, I’m blaming it on Suzanne Collins!  After finishing The Hunger Games, I thought I could set the other books aside for a couple of weeks.  Um…no.  My mind kept thinking about the characters and wondering how it was all going to turn out, so I gave in and read the next book, Catching Fire.

This book catches up with Katniss six months after the Hunger Games.  She and Peeta now both have houses in Victor’s Village alongside Haymitch.  Just as she and Peeta are about to embark on their Victory Tour through the Districts, Katniss receives a surprise visitor…President Snow.  The President tells her that her little stunt in the Hunger Games with the berries was interpreted by the Districts are an act of rebellion and it is up to her to tamp down the revolutionary wind sweeping the country.  If she fails to do so, he will have people she loves killed. 

               

As she and Peeta travel, they witness this rebellious attitude personally and it seems no amount of hamming up their romance for the cameras will make any difference.  They even stage a public engagement, which turns on the wedding fever in the Capitol, but does little to change feelings in the Districts.  Once they arrive home, they get devastating news…they are both going back into the arena for the 75^th Anniversary of the Hunger Games.

Beyond having an exciting story, this book has a lot to say about government oppression, rebellion and how small acts can be interpreted as symbols, setting off unintended consequences.  I love YA novels with depth.  Each of these characters are dual-natured in that they have both good and bad qualities.  Even the dizzy people of the Capitol grow on you once you realize they are innocents. 

I love the character of Peeta.  (I am definitely Team Peeta all the way!)  He is probably the most genuinely good person in the books, yet he is strong and brave as well.  He is not afraid to take risks for Katniss whom he loves.  While I am still in the point of Katniss not committing her heart to either Peeta or Gale, I definitely see Peeta as the better match for her.  They have had such a shared history of the most traumatic times of their lives.  Gale seems like trouble to me.  His rebellious nature is reckless, where as Peeta’s comes across as smart, calculated and brave.  Peeta always frames his rebellion in such a way that the people are on his side and therefore, the government can’t afford to retaliate against him. 

Overall, I give Catching Fire…

Plot – 5 bookmarks

Character Development – 4 bookmarks

Love Story – 4 bookmarks

Social Commentary – 5 bookmarks

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Kristin Stewart (Katniss), Hunter Parrish (Peeta), Phillip Kelley, my best friend from high school (Gale), Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Haymitch), Megan Mullally (Effie), Tim Gunn (Cinna), Chris Pine (Finnick), Kelsey Batelaan (Prim)

Review: THE HUNGER GAMES by Suzanne Collins

First off, for my regular blog readers, the reason I’ve not been posting as much lately is because I’m spending almost all of my free time working on NaNoWriMo.  I promise that once December gets here, I will be back to my regular reading schedule.    

Okay…The Hunger Games.  I am not a huge fan of dystopic novels.  Not sure why, I guess I don’t like to think about life as I know it ending and some horrible system cropping up in its place.  That said, I loved, loved, LOVED this book!  It had everything…exciting adventure, political and socio-economic themes and a nice emerging romance that I look forward to the playing out of in the next books in the series. 

The story takes place in a sparsely populated country which emerged when the United States was destroyed.  The country is ruled by an oppressive government in The Capitol.  The rest of the country is divided into districts where the people work to supply goods to The Capitol.  The people living in the districts are not free to travel or speak against the system.  Most of them are kept in extreme poverty, starvation and malnourishment being leading causes of death. 

Katniss is a sixteen year old girl living in District 12, the coal mining area of the country.  She lives in the Seam, an impoverished area where food is scarce.  To supplement the meager rations her family is allowed to receive from the government, Katniss and her friend Gale spend their time illegally hunting and gathering in the forest beyond the fences, where people of the District are not allowed to go. 

In order to keep the citizens in the Districts from rebelling against The Capitol, the government devises cruel ways to keep the people under their thumb.  One of these ways is by staging the annual Hunger Games.  Each year, the names of children between the ages of twelve and eighteen are placed into a lottery.  One boy and one girl are drawn at random and forced to participate in the games.  The games are broadcasted countrywide and watching is mandatory.  The game players are whisked off to an enormous outdoor area that can be any landscape and can have any number of perils in it.  The object is, players fight to the death.  The last one standing wins.  The prize?  Fame, fortune and food for their District. 

The game is basically a modern version of human sacrifice for entertainment…not much different than the Romans sending the Christians in to arenas with hungry lions.  What I loved about this book is that it was more than just an entertaining story.  What is says about human nature and social-classism is brilliant.  Players in the game can go from being normal, good kids to savage murderers over night, all for the sake of survival.  The lottery system is structured so that poorer children are entered into the drawing more times than rich children, increasing their chances that their names will be called. 

I also enjoyed the strategy part of the games.  Everything that happens from the time the name is drawn to the time when the victor returns home is carefully staged for the entertainment of the citizens in The Capitol and for players to land wealthy sponsors.  Katniss discovers the difficulty in knowing what is real and what is strategy when her competitor, Peeta, the boy from District 12 reveals something on national TV right before the kick-off of the games.  I don’t want to give anything away, but it lead to one of my favorite plotlines in the novel.

Overall, I give The Hunger Games…

                          

Plot – 5 bookmarks

Character Development – 4 bookmarks

Love Story – 4 bookmarks

Social Commentary – 4 ½ bookmarks

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Kristin Stewart (Katniss), Hunter Parrish (Peeta), Phillip Kelley, my best friend from high school (Gale), Phillip Seymour Hoffman (Haymitch), Megan Mullally (Effie), Jodelle Ferland (Rue), Tim Gunn (Cinna)

Review: “The Host” by Stephanie Meyer

They say the first step in confronting addiction is to admit you have a problem.  So, I am going to be complete honest with myself and anyone else who might be reading this blog.  Not only am I a reading addict, but Stephanie Meyer is like my own personal gateway drug.  Seriously.  I used to be a lit snob in the worst way.  Last summer when I was laid off, someone suggested I read the Twilight books.  Other than a brief stint with Ann Rice as a teenager, I had no experience reading vampires, YA or romance.  Twilight changed me.  I became a new person… someone I didn’t recognize.  Suddenly, I couldn’t get enough of the blood sucking vamps.  I started perusing the YA sections of the local book stores.  I even went to started attending RWA meetings and went to the Romantic Times Convention.  This I blame on Stephanie Meyer. 

Now, about The Host – I first picked up a used copy about a year ago when I was getting into her vamp books, but knowing that it is a sci-fi, I wasn’t too motivated to read it.  I don’t read sci-fi.  Honestly. However, given my recent experience with The Passage, I gave The Host a shot.  And the result?  I’m falling back in love with fictional characters!!!!  Ian makes me feel like Edward did.  I couldn’t put the book down, and I never wanted it to end. 

One of my fears with reading sci-fi is that I was afraid it would be hard for me to get into, but Meyer sucked me right in to The Host world.  In summary, this is the story of Earth after a group of parasitic aliens take over the human race.  These centipede like parasites are implanted into the brains of a host human and they take the body over.  Most human “souls” just fade away, leaving their memories for the parasite.  However, when an alien named Wanderer is implanted into a host named Melanie, something goes wrong.  Melanie doesn’t fade away.  Her strength of character and love for her boyfriend and little brother urges her to hold on.  Now, there are two souls in one body.  Wanderer has the gut wrenching decision of whether to switch bodies, thus killing Melanie, or helping Melanie find her lost human family. 

This might sound confusing… and as a writer, I can’t imagine taking on the task of two separate souls in one body while showing both thought processes… but Meyer pulls it off brilliantly.  She uses different fonts to keep the reader from being confused and it all flows really well.  Perhaps Meyer’s biggest talent comes in her ability to handle complex and confusing emotions.  Melanie’s love her Jared and Jamie bleeds over into Wanderer and causes her to feel the same things.  At the same time, when Wanderer gets close with Ian, Melanie begins to feel close with him also.  These feelings cause the women to be jealous of each other, while at the same time, they form a bond of love themselves.  It is all really much easier to understand when you read the book.  Don’t let me two minute summary scare you off from this book.  I strongly recommend it.

Overall, I give The Host…

Plot – 4 bookmarks (Very original and complex.)

Character Development – 5 bookmarks (I can’t express enough how well these characters were written.)

Love Story – 4 ½ bookmarks.  (Again, very complex.)

Age Appropriateness – This is not supposed to be YA, but lots of teens will want to read it because of Meyer’s other books.  I don’t think there is a lot in it that would be objectionable to parents.  There are some intense make-out scenes, but no real sex to speak of.  There is some violence, but the context excuses some of that.  Keep in mind though, this is meant for adults, so teens might not like it as much as they might hope to. 

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – Rachel Bilson (Melanie/Wanderer), Ian Somerhalder (Ian O’Shea), Kellan Lutz (Kyle O’Shea), Jared Leto (Jared), Mariska Hargitay (The Seeker)

Review: “The Passage” by Justin Cronin

I first learned of this book when Justin Cronin was interviewed on Good Morning America.  A couple of days afterward, I went to hear him speak at the Printers Row Lit Fest in Chicago.  He is such an intelligent and interesting man, that I just had to read his latest book, The Passage. 

The Passage is about a little girl who saves the world, and begins in the near future.  The US Military gets it’s naughty hands on a virus which basically turns people into vampires.  (Not the supernatural kind, more like a biological changes as a result of the virus.)  These vamps are animalistic, lethal, amazingly strong, powerful, fast and have the potential for being the perfect weapon of war.  Of course, the military loses control over the vamps and they get loose, decimating the population of the North American continent (possibly the world, the few survivors don’t know who is left out there).  After almost a century, a small group of human set out on a mission for survival. 

Really the book is much cooler and more involved than I can give it justice within one paragraph.  Seriously, this book is a work of art.  While this is defiantly a plot driven novel, the characters are compelling, sympathetic and very different from each other.  The survivors of the “vampocalypse” are like a perfect cross-section of the current US population.  There is someone for everyone to identify with. 

I liked about this book is it gives us a glimpse into what humans in the future will think about us based on the artifacts that we leave behind.  They read our books and look at our photographs, but think of them as fantasy… not really a real thing they can relate too.  It makes you think about the traces of your life that you will be leaving behind. 

Oh, another thing!  You have got to read Cronin’s description of the Gulf of Mexico in the future.  Given the current oil spill crisis and the fact that he wrote this prior to the oil spill, it is just creepy!

This book is the first in a trilogy.  I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel! 

Overall, I give The Passage…

Plot – 5 bookmarks

Character Development – 4 bookmarks

Interpretation of Vampire Lore – 5 bookmarks (He takes elements of the vampire myths and makes them real.  For example, the humans fight the vamps with crossbows because they have no ammo for guns anymore.  They call them crosses.  Similar to the myth that a crucifix can ward off a vampire.  Genius!) 

Fight Scenes – 4 bookmarks (plenty of action)

Dream Cast (otherwise known as who I pictured while reading) – I gave this a lot of thought, because it was a long book.  Bradley Cooper (Bradley Wolgast), Ruby Jerins (Amy), Mehcad Brooks (Peter), Natalie Portman (Alicia), Freida Pinto (Mausami), Eric Close (Greer), Reese Witherspoon (Sara), Michael Graziadei (Michael)