Tag Archive | 2009

Book Review: The Maze Runner by James Dashner

‘”If you ain’t scared, you ain’t human.”

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He’s surrounded by strangers–boys whose memories are also gone.

Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It’s the only way out–and no one’s ever made it through alive.

Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying.’

I. Loved. This. BOOK.

The language – fantastic.

The setting – aMAZing (haha)

The characters – brilliant

The creatures – I seriously need a visual, but the sounds – oh how the described sounds makes me want to hide!

The fact that you never really understand what’s going on – GIVE ME MORE NOW.

Written with a tone that shoves the reader head first into something I can’t really describe, this is YA writing at the best! The mystery that hangs in the air is intoxicating and the harsh realities of the characters and their fates is heartbreaking. How I haven’t read this sooner? Biggest mistake of my reading life.

My only hope is that the rest of the books in this series hold up the same. I am very excited to keep reading Dashner!

Book Review: Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Jun25

Angels. They’re supposed to be something believed in, heavenly creatures that act as guardians. What about those who fall?

Nora Grey is your average sixteen-year-old. With her best friend Vee, they go through the motions of high school. That is, until chemistry class takes a realistic turn when the handsome but mysterious Patch shows up and is paired as Nora’s partner. He’s smoking hot and irritating in all the wrong ways. As Nora tries to push him away he only succeeds in getting closer to her heart.

Then Nora runs into many just of luck chances. She has feelings of being followed and hears voices in her head. Others begin to warn her of Patch, but yet, she can’t stay away. As the danger lurks closer, Nora is going to have to make a choice to trust the voices of others or go with her heart. In the end it’s not just her life that will be on the line.

I’m such a huge fan of the covers. Terrible I know, but I am quite the sucker for a well-marketed book.

For the romance/series readers, this first book won’t disappoint. There’s thrill, sizzling, romance tension and lots of mystery. Nothing is really answered in this book, and as there are three more I’m happy with that. I was engaged and intrigued through every chapter, which is a rarity for me with romance.

I really liked Nora Grey as a character. I mean she’s got a great name. Due to family reasons’ dating wasn’t on her table until other characters come into play. I feel she’s relatively normal and relatable. She’s not blonde with blue eyes but has unruly curly hair and doesn’t wear makeup. I’m so curious to know more. There are nearly 400 pages and still I can’t wait to learn more in the next book!

Even the romance bit didn’t make me gag, which again is hard to do. I’m pleased with the beginning of the series, not overly sucked in, but pleased and happy to continue.

Book Review: Evermore by Alyson Noel

Apr30

Ever Bloom used to be the popular cheerleader. Tall, blonde and living the spoiled life in Oregon, looking good was her main responsibility. That is until her entire family died in a car crash. Ever survived, but can now read people’s thoughts and see the colour of the auras. Human touch creates thoughts and feelings that make life unbearable. Living with her Aunt in California is only the beginning of this new life.

Hiding from the world as much as she tries to hide from herself, Ever is confronted by the hot new guy Damen in school. His mind calms hers and he can make scarlet red tulips appear before her when he wishes. Falling in love is the least of Ever’s interests, but try as she might to ignore him; he always creeps up when she needs him the most. Can she find the strength to accept who she now is? Or will she fade into nothingness to reunite with her family?

For a paranormal romance, Evermore follows most of the traditional YA rules, making this first in a series one that teens and tweens will love to swallow up. I really liked Ever as a character. She’s not oblivious and has a good head on her shoulders. She’s still selfish and native about things, but she’s 16 and that’s to be expected.

Ever has guts and it’s nice to read about a strong female character in a romance YA book. It’s a rarity. Ever doesn’t even want a boyfriend, that’s not a concern of hers and it’s a refreshing thought to see that she understands she doesn’t need a man to consider herself worth something.

There’s a lot more to these books and I can’t wait to see here Noel takes this type of genre.

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!