Review-A Monster Calls

I picked this book up because I needed to read a critically acclaimed book for my English class and the notes we had to turn in are due in less then a week. Thus this book was one of my choices, and it sounded really good and I had heard nothing but good things about it. First, yes, the protag is a little young, he's a thirteen year old boy, but I still think it's more of a teen book then a middle grade novel. Yes, there are pictures, but I think that the pictures are darker then the ones you would find in a middle grade book, and the premise is darker as well. There were so many things in this book that I loved, and I think the pictures only added to it. The messages in this book, and some of the great quotes that are in it as well, really make you think about life, and about who you are. I haven't read anything else by Patrick Ness, and I haven't read any of Siobhan's four books, but I'll have to check out books from both authors because this book was very good. It was beautiful in a way that most teen novels aren't (that most novels aren't) and has that whole John Green feel to things. I think it has a deeper meaning then just what appears on the surface, and it's pretty cool the way that Patrick structured the story, almost like a story inside a story, or at least some of the book was a story within a story. It was a quick read, the writing style different then just about anything out there at this point in time, and it's nice to see a change in the genre, especially when the book holds some significance to the world around you, and teaches you a lessen, even if you aren't a thirteen year old boy. That and the whole story is really beautiful. I suggest you pick this book up one way or another and skim through it to see if it's something you would be interested in. If you don't want to buy it go to your local library and request it there.

4.5/5 dust spirits

Review-Slide

Say what you will about weird covers but I like this one, and when I learned it had killing in it I was all for reading it! (Yes I am well aware that makes me sound like a crazy person, but I'll do a post on that later.)  If you know me at all you will know how much I love books by Kimberly Derting and how I just gush over her Body Finder books, so when I read the back of this one and it reminded me a lot of Violet I was like "uh, heck yes.".  I really enjoyed this book because it had pretty much everything I like in it, kissing, mystery, and of course a dead body or two.  The idea was fully new to me and I was very pleased with how Jill wrote it.  When the character "slid" she had to figure out who's body she was in.  After that it was all about secrets, because what would happen if you tried to tell someone you were inside of their body and saw what they did?  You would be branded as a crazy person, and to make sure that didn't happen Vee had to hide it all.  I read this book really quick, it was short, less then 300 pages, but it was still good.  There was a lot of action in the last few chapters, some good kisses, a nice mystery story that I kind of figured out right before the main character (yes, it's hard to throw me off the trail!), and with some dead bodies there was also some insight into what we do and how it effects others.  I'm a lot like Vee (well, except for the fact that I can't slide into people's bodies at random times) in that I'm not in the popular crowd, and I really liked that Jill had her main character that way.  I was also very pleased with some of the other flaws her characters had, because, let's face it, a perfect character is kind of a game-ender.  I also have information from the author (and goodreads) that there is going to be a sequel titles Impostor (for the time being) and I can't wait to see what happens next.  Hopefully there will be more kissing and dead people, because we all know how much I love those things!

Out March 27, 2012

5/5 dust spirits

Review-The Scorpio Races

This review is really hard to write, not because I didn't like the book, I really did, but because I feel it hasn't had the time to sink in even though I finished it about three hours ago.  Maggie calls this her favorite book, which she says is dangerous because her other books may come and murder her in her sleep, and I can't say that I don't agree.  It's different from her bestselling series Wolves of Mercy Falls series but not in a bad way.  I felt that this book was a lot like the movie Hidalgo and although I'm not a fan of horses I was plesently surprised.  When I read that the book was about flesh-eating horses I was game, and Maggie really portrays them well.  The ending, without giving anything away, was perfect in all the right ways and leave things to the imagination, which is really something I feel Maggie does well, in this book especially.  The action is there from the first page and even though the race doesn't begin until about 50 pages from the end of the book it still seems to keep you interested the whole way through.  I also enjoyed the fact that it stood up for women in a way, and that there was still that small hint of romance and friendship that makes you warm and fuzzy inside.  I'm sure that this is a stand alone novel (granted I thought that about Shiver as well) although I would love to see into the world again, because Thisby was such a beautiful place.  It had that feel where you weren't quite sure what time period it was set it, but some how that didn't really matter.  I can't wait to see what Maggie cooks up next because all her novels are magical with a sort of twist that only she can pull off without being killed in her sleep by a crazy fan.

Released October 18, 2011

4.5/5 dust spirits

Review-The Dead-Tossed Waves

I was really pleased with this companion novel to Carrie's The Forest of Hands and Teeth because we saw some old characters, met some new ones, and we really got to see past the Forest and some of the reasons for the Return.  I think that when we leave a book we all want to know what happens next but sometimes a sequel isn't always the best way to do that.  A companion novel can be great as long as it's set up right, and this one was set up very well.  Returning to the same world was really great because you leared about the world before, and now you're building on what you already know.  Gabry was a really great character because I think she's what most people in zombie, excuse me Mudo/Unconsecrated books (and movies) aren't; afraid.  In all of the movies and books you have a head-strong hero/heroin who seems to not be afraid of anything, but I think that honestly in that situation most of us would be scared sh*tless, and I think that sometimes writers/authors forget that fact because they feel that it's unapealing in a character.  Carrie is such a great writer and I think that she really hit her calling when she started writing YA zombie suspense novels.  The thing is, she's not afraid to kill characters, which I think is something a lot of YA writers are afraid to do because they feel it will be too dark.  Honestly I did like this book more than the first in the series, maybe it was the characters, maybe it was the setting, maybe it was the romance that seemed to blossom, and maybe it was because I could see myself as Gabry but she was so much stronger than I think I would be in her situation, which is why I really admire her.  It was a riveting sequel and I can't wait to see if we see more of Gabry in the last companion novel, The Dark and Hollow Places.

5.5 dust spirits

(Technically it's more like 4.75/5 dust spirits, but since it would be weird to cut a dust spirit into 3/4 and then everything would ger REALLY complicated we'll just round up to 5)

Review-Small Town Sinners~Blog Tour

Before I start this review I want to let you guys know something, I'm not a religious person.  My father is religious but I myself have no feelings towards God and am fine with some of the things extremist's are upset about, mainly abortion (I'm pro-choice) and gay marriage (I'm all for it).  I know that when you go into reading a book, especially as a reviewer, you want to be objective, but every person brings their own experiences and beliefs into the books they read and they really do shape what we think about a book.  I did come into this book with an open mind, and I'm actually surprised at how much I did end up enjoying this book despite the religion that was a huge part of the book.  I think that all teenagers are trying to figure out who and what they are, and Melissa does a great job at showing how difficult it can be to do that, especially when you're told exactly who you are supposed to be from the moment you were born.  This novel is really about two things, finding yourself and then finding your place in the world when you're not sure what you believe anymore.  The main character was really great, and although I wanted to bang my head against the book and yell at some of the characters Lacey Anne was not one of them.  It was really great to see how she goes to just blindly following the things she's been taught to finally starting to question the world around her and thinking for herself. Also, can you say yum when it comes to Ty? He's pretty much what I want in a guy, well, maybe minus the whole deep secret thing, but I could get over that because he's actually the exact kind of guy I think I would like.  The Hell House part of the book was really fascinating because I had heard of them but they had never actually been incorporated into a teen book before, so that was really interesting.  As I said I didn't exactly agree with all of the things that were being said in the book but that was okay because all in all it turned out to be a good read.  I think that even if you don't believe in God like me it's a good book to read because it's an interesting take, and if you do maybe you should read it too because it might change how you look at the things around you.

Out Now

4/5 dust spirits