Tag Archive | 15+

Book Review: Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

*Please note this is only a two book series.

Cas has survived his battle with his father’s killer, but now suffers from taunting dreams of Anna trapped in Hell. As a ghost hunter he’s supposed to forget about the ghosts he encounters, not fall in love with them. Anna is everywhere, in more pain through each encounter. Cas refuses to forget about her and embarks on a journey to bring her back.

Yet there’s more to his father’s knife than Cas is aware of. When a mysterious picture arrives in the post, Cas knows he’s going to do whatever it takes to open the door to hell and rescue Anna from the torture she doesn’t deserve. Even if it means killing himself.

It took some time to process how I felt about this book. I was expecting it to be a part of trilogy and was epically sad that there are only two books in this series.

However, I really liked that there are only two books. It’s so different from everything else currently being published. With characters are so full of personality that it’s impossible not to fall in love with this series.

There is love on a (somewhat) real scale, scary scenes and adventure that waits across the pond. I praise Blake for creating such a fantastic series that can blend both a realistic teenage life along with a paranormal existence that hasn’t been conquered yet. I wish there was more but am glad there isn’t at the same time.

Be warned however, there is a lot of swearing and some scary scenes that are truly terrifying. I loved every single sentence! Give it a go if you dare!

Book Review: Teeth by Hannah Moskowitz

Apr16

Rudy is 16, lives with his parents and terminally ill five-year-old brother Dylan. He needs a lung transplant. Their parents learned of an isolated island that grows a miracle fish. It doesn’t spoil, it doesn’t smell and whoever eats it magically becomes well over time.

There are other things that live in the water, and secrets about the people that reside on the island. When Rudy rescues Teeth from a fisherman he embarks on a journey of discovery about human nature and the ethics of power. Alone on this freezing piece of Earth, Rudy must choose between family and what’s right.

What a fantastic read! Although parents – be forewarned there is a lot of swearing in this book. The language aside, this book was interesting, different and held my attention the likes I haven’t come across in a few weeks. Full of inner conflict this book will hook you into debating what you would choose to do in Rudy’s situation.

Can I also say that one of the characters is male and gay? Absolutely fantastic to get some diversity in the genre! You’ll feel the cold wind blow and smell the salty air. Give Rudy’s story a chance and open your heart to Teeth. Everyone deserves to explain their own point of view.

Angelfall by Susan Ee

Feb2

Seventeen-year-old Penryn used to live in what was known as California. Six weeks ago she was concerned with makeup and teenage angst. Now it’s fight for survival. Food is scarce, safe shelter unheard of and above all else; watch the skies. The skies are the keepers of the danger that rip off limbs: Angels.

All Penryn tried to do was keep her seven-year-old paralysed sister Paige safe. Together with their schizophrenic mother they fled their home for a new hiding place. It wasn’t supposed to be easy, but they didn’t think a group of angels would fall to the ground, trying to execute an archangel. One false sound and Paige is abducted. Gone. Taken away in the sky.

Penryn will do anything to find her sister, even if it means saving a dying angel. It’ll take going into the lion’s den and seeking help from the angelic demon himself to bring her family together.

This isn’t your traditional Angelic story. The tales of angels being godly and kind are transformed into the opposite. Instead they are evil beings that are unsure of why they are on Earth, this story only gets more interesting as each page is turned. This is a totally surprising read and as one progresses through the chapters the better it gets. Penryn reads a bit younger than seventeen, where the rest of book follows along general fiction.

For a Young Adult read it’s also startlingly grown up. Violence is present and shockingly adult. For being post-apocalyptic, Ee has hit the nail on the head with how humanity loses all aspects of right and wrong. Yet, there is also hope in this novel, on a scale that even Penryn is surprised to see. I really enjoyed this book, but I’d recommend this to older readers. I loved changing the Angel theme from good to evil, it’s not something I expected and there is lots of room for the story to grow. I patiently await the second book!

Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Jan22

R is a zombie. It’s hard to tell how long he’s been dead or how long the zombies have been around. What R does know is that there is a hunger inside him that must be fed or he’ll die. What starts as a routine feeding session with his best friend M changes the moment he sets his cold grey dead eyes on Julia.

In that moment something alters. Something inside him stops. He protects Julia but does savour her boyfriend’s brain. R stumbles upon a beautiful love story through ingesting one’s memories.

R doesn’t understand why Julia is so special; there is just a feeling deep in inside that has been still until now. It’s as if Julia somehow has breathed new life into R’s decaying corpse and he’ll do anything to keep her safe from his kind.

What a TREAT this book is! I was turned on to this story by seeing the movie trailer, and by luck my friend had been given this book for Christmas! (I read it in two days to make sure I got my share) I was also ecstatic to learn that Marion is from Washington State himself! It’s rare to read about a male focused romance YA, but this book is done cleverly with humour and insight out of the ‘normal’ zombie genre.

I found this book to be a delightful read. It’s also short, and I loved how the chapters are separated by old school drawings of body parts. In a time where the zombie genre has arisen to its height, this book has the goods to keep it around for a long time. I hope the movie lives up to the book, and I also hope that the series continues in this strange ‘love conquers’ all track. It’s a simple story of hope and that message makes it essentially timeless.

Many thanks to my dear friend Rachael for letting me read her book and to her friend Michael for being awesome and winning it for her.

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Dec18

February 12^th, also known as ‘Cupid Day’ for senior Samantha Kingston at Thomas Jefferson High School. Every American High School has a day like this. Students buy flowers, write a message and send them to whomever throughout the day. It’s a race for popularity to see who receives the most. Sam’s one of the most popular girls in school along with her best friends Lindsay, Ally and Elody. Her boyfriend Rob is the hottest guy in school and tonight she’s going to lose her virginity to him.

With popularity comes a way to act and for Sam this is no different. Cruel and cold to all the other students in her class, she doesn’t bat an eye to painful pranks pulled by Lindsay against her enemy Juliet Sykes. When the group attend a party by geeky guy Kent in school, Sam watches as her life pools at her feet. Tired and drunk from the festivities, Sam sits in the front of the car as Lindsay gets behind the wheel. They were supposed to make it home, Sam is too young to die, but the car hits something and suddenly she’s falling.

However, that isn’t the end of Sam’s story as she wakes up to a brand new February 12^th. Stuck in the ‘in between’, Sam must figure why she’s reliving her last day on Earth. A journey of self-discovery that comes too late, Samantha Kingston, this was your life.

This is the kind of book that you might not originally like whilst reading, but it’s after you finish that it creeps into your heart. Sam Kingston is your typical mean girl and I really struggled with her character throughout most of the book. Her redeeming qualities took forever to come about and I felt as if most of the novel was just an excuse for her to piss all over everyone simply because she could.

Yet, the ending gives me what I want and as each day begins anew there’s a little bit more of Sam that is less snobbish and more genuine. This isn’t a story of the Mean Girls; it’s a story behind every insecure teenager trying to get through High School in one piece. Sam does evolve and I grew to like her for learning to stand up for herself. This is the kind of book that does take you back to those four years when everyone though they were invincible, that the future was bright and open. You’ll anxiously await turning the pages, wondering what Sam is going to do or learn next.

Many thanks to Stacey of PrettyBooks for this book!

Fallen by Lauren Kate

Dec11

A truly spectacular cover.

It’s rare to find a book that only has one cover around the world.

Lucinda Price is seventeen, has had her head shaved by her parents and deposited at the Sword & Cross reform school. It’s gonna be a great year. Her first day is filled with meeting the other students, following the rules and him. Daniel: the fellow teenager that can only be described as beautiful. As their eyes meet, Luce’s heart thumps madly and Daniel, he flips her off.

There’s something about that him that prevents Luce was staying away. She’s drawn to him like a former lover, but with every step she gains he pushes her further away. As she tries to adjust to this caged life, Luce’s feelings are constricted between for desire for Daniel and affection for the thoughtful and charming Cam. With tough and rebellious reform school girls making her life a living nightmare, Luce is determined to keep her secret that landed her in this place a secret. But there’s more to this world of Sword & Cross and Luce is stuck in the middle of it.

I liked the premise of Fallen. It had a good mix of mystery but for adults like me I could still make some educated guesses. I love, love, loved that this was set in a reform boarding school! This isn’t a privileged boarding school, but a dark and dismal setting that really made the world come alive. For some kids, this is their life. It’s a jail that serves as a school where the teachers try but after so many years….

It’s good versus evil mashed with a love triangle. Who does the reader want our Luce to end up with? Cam or Daniel? Daniel or Cam? This is the current YA of excellence and it made me feel like I was seventeen again. Yet, there’s so much more to the story and this first book only lightly touches on the countless secrets that the main characters are holding within. The series finished this year and I am beyond excited that I can read through the rest at my leisure. I hope Kate is able to keep the story going with more depth rather than just focusing on forbidden love.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!