Lauren Reviews The Leaving by Tara Altebrando

The Leaving by Tara Altebrando
Published: June 2016 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Source: NetGalley
Rating: 3 Stars

Six were taken. Eleven years later, five come back -- with no idea of where they've been.

Eleven years ago, six kindergarteners went missing without a trace. After all that time, the people left behind moved on, or tried to.

Until today. Today five of those kids return. They're sixteen, and they are... fine. Scarlett comes home and finds a mom she barely recognizes, and doesn't really recognize the person she's supposed to be, either. But she thinks she remembers Lucas. Lucas remembers Scarlett, too, except they're entirely unable to recall where they've been or what happened to them. Neither of them remember the sixth victim, Max. He doesn't come back. Everyone wants answers. Most of all Max's sister Avery, who needs to find her brother -- dead or alive -- and isn't buying this whole memory-loss story.

I liked this book for what it was - six children disappeared and five later returned. I enjoyed the mystery along with the characters. Their memories seems to be wiped clean. Some were sure they wanted to know where they had been and a couple thought maybe it was best they didn't know. I'd want to know. I'd want to know who to kick in the nads for stealing so much of my childhood from me. 

The characters were well rounded and you could easily follow their evolution from naive teenagers to adults facing their past, one thing most of us find extremely hard to do. I think I liked Avery the most. She was not one of the taken who was brought back. She was one that lived her life with this hanging over her head. Her brother was taken, but was not brought back like the others. She wanted so badly to know where her brother was and what the truth was. Was it aliens? Was is a psycho kidnapper? Maybe mad scientists who conduct experiments on children to make super human teenagers? You could go on and on with all of the possibilities, but Avery wasn't buying the memory-story and wanted to get down to the facts. Where was her brother? Why did this horrible incident rear its ugly face again, eleven years later? You've got to admire a teen who not only faces reality, but does it with the sort of determination that should make any parent proud.

The only think that kept this book from getting a higher rating is the ending. It honestly was a good book and I'm glad to have gotten the chance to read it. I think that my love of the sci-fi and horror genres have started to run YA books for me. I expect more outrageous or unconventional endings these days, and this book was too realistic for my taste of late. If you're looking for a thrilling YA novel full of mystery, I'd suggest you pick this one up. You won't be disappointed.

Jamie Talks Truthwitch by Susan Dennard

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard
Book #1 in the Witchlands series
Genre: High Fantasy, Young Adult
Rating: 5 stars

Buy It | Add It To Goodreads

What It's About: Safi and Iseult are best friends live in a world where some people are born with a witchery that gives them a special skill. Iseult is a Threadwitch which makes her see invisible bonds between people. Safi is a Truthwitch, which is super rare, and she can tell the difference between the truth and a lie. Iseult, whose heritage makes her not always welcomed where they live, and Safi have worked hard to keep that a secret because if any of the three empires caught wind of it they'd want to scoop Safi up and use her for their purposes against the others.  They just want to live free away from all the stuff they are fighting against and the things people want them to be/not be especially as war is on the mind of the empires. Their plan is screwed up when people find out their secrets and they are pulled into things they don't want to be in and they find themselves on the run aboard Prince Merik's ship with his crew with the likes of nobility and dangerous Bloodwitches chasing after them.

If you follow me in any capacity on the interwebs (especially on Twitter) you know that my most anticipated book of 2016 was Truthwitch by Susan Dennard (you should also totally read her debut series!). I was lucky enough to pick up a copy at the Book Expo of America this past June and I devoured it immediately upon returning home. And I have to say....I'm 6 months since my first read of the book and pretty much every month since I just had this very strong urge to reread it already. And I'm not a person who feels that way often. THANK GOD I HAVE MY FINISHED COPY BECAUSE A REREAD IS A HAPPENING.

I think Truthwitch is perfect for people who have been reading high fantasy for 10 years+ and crave some of those classic high fantasy type stories just as much as it is also perfect for readers who are newer to the genre. There's an elaborate world and magic system (which is incredibly enthralling and unique) and, while I found it a little slower for me to get REALLY into the world in the first 50-75 pages or so, I could NOT put it down -- I love the world, the magic, the action, the emotions, the struggle and most importantly the AMAZING characters. I'm honestly still in awe of how truly incredible this book is.

So let's break it down shall we:

1. The world and magic system Susan weaves is incredible: I was so fascinated by all the different witcheries and magic! I loved learning more about how it all worked and specifically how all the witcheries were rooted within the elements. We've got Windwitches, Truthwitches, Threadwitches, Bloodwitches and more! As I said, it took me a little bit to get my bearings with it all in the first 75 pages but once you do it’s like so absorbing and you will not want to come up for air. True story..I didn't.


2. Truly unforgettable characters: I love the main characters so much it's probably borderline a problem. I love books where I can 100% feel the characters struggles and emotions. This was entirely one of those kinds of books. These characters are all fighting for something or really grappling with something big in their life and you can FEEL it. You understand it. They are just characters who have so much heart. They are so incredibly complex and you see that in their individual pursuits as well as the ones that they end up sharing. You can feel the conflict to protect themselves but also to work together. I really loved how well that was clear when Safi and Iseult meet up with Prince Merik and his crew. They all have different goals and things they are pressing matters and I could feel that tension pushing and pulling them in their actions. Even the baddies are compelling as much as the people you are rooting for!


3. Badass ladies abound: What I loved about Truthwitch is how badass all the ladies are in this book -- the main ladies and the side characters alike. And it's not all physical shows of badassery -- they are smart and brave and cunning. I loved seeing all sorts of badassery represented because there were some seriously inspiring ladies.


4. FRIENDSHIP FEELS: This book is just rooted in friendship. It's a friendship story...nay...really it's #friendshipgoals. I'm serious though. I love good, solid friendships and this book had a really great friendship in Safi and Iseult as well as Prince Merik and Kullen. The friendships were real and honest and they made me quite emotional at times as you saw the pure love that flowed between each pair.


5. SO MUCH ACTION I CAN'T EVEN: SO MUCH GOES DOWN. SO MUCH. I don't want to give any of it away but there were so many scenes that made me flip out/gasp/sit straight up from my lounging position/die.




In short: If you call yourself a fan of high fantasy in any capacity, this needs to be on your priority list for this 2016! It's a must read filled with a compelling world and magic system and characters whose journey will make you crave a reread as soon as you put it down.

Daisy's Review of The Vanishing Throne by Elizabeth May

Title/Author: The Vanishing Throne (The Falconer #2) by Elizabeth May
Publisher/Date published: Gollancz, November 19th 2015
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley, thanks!

Goodreads summary: My name is Lady Aileana Kameron.

First the fae murdered my mother. Then they destroyed my world.

Now I’m fighting for more than revenge.

Aileana took a stand against the Wild Hunt, and she lost everything: her home, her family and her friends. Held captive by her enemy, and tormenting herself over her failure, escape seems like only the faintest possibility. But when she gets her chance, she seizes it... to rejoin a world devastated by war.

The future is bleak. Hunted by the fae, running for her life, Aileana has only a few options left. Trying to become part of a society scarred by – and hiding from – the Wild Hunt; trusting that a fragile alliance with the fae will save her; or walking the most dangerous path at all: coming in to her own powers as the last of the Falconers...

***SPOILER FREE FOR THE FIRST BOOK IN THE SERIES***

So I totally adored The Falconer, the first book in the series. If you haven't read it, you really should be doing that instead of reading this post. You can also see some of my fangirling over it here. But really, just go on and read it and then we'll talk some more about this sequel.

For some reason fae books and I don't normally seem to click, which is a shame, cause in theory I should love them. But Elizabeth May makes it work for me! I feel like this series doesn't get nearly enough attention and A Court of Thorns and Roses (though admittely amazing) steals all the spotlight, I think that if you like ACOTAR, you will also really like The Falconer and The Vanishing Throne, but I might be biased as they're basically the only fae books I've liked so far.

I was totally going GAAAAAAAH at the ending of The Falconer, because OMG CLIFFHANGER!! And then I had to wait for what felt like FOREVER for The Vanishing Throne, but you guys, the wait it totally worth it! I loved that Aileana is still her amazing ass-kicking self, but with a little extra something because of everything she's experienced. I love seeing how the relationships shift and how we meet new characters like Kiaran's sister, who fast became of my favourites, along with Derrick, who is still adorable while also being more than a little dangerous.

I also really liked tat Elizabeth May gave us more of the backstory of all the major players and how the Falconers came into being and while I did kinda see what happened at the end coming, I'm SO intrigued to find out how Elizabeth May will make this work in the third book! And also: I totally can't wait to read it because these characters are part of my heart and I think I loved The Vanishing Throne even more than I did The Falconer. This is one of those novels that absolutely did NOT suffer from second book syndrome, like so often happens in a series (and which never fails to annoy me).

And also, this quote:
"Your scars aren't flaws, Galloway. They're not imperfections. They're stories written on your skin."

LOVE.

Mostly, what I'm trying to say is: if you like your fantasy filled with fae (and even if that's not usually your thing), a kickass heroine, a ship that is very much worth shipping, BANTER, lots of characters to love, worldbuilding that is beautiful mixed with a historical setting, you definitely need to pick up this series!

My rating: 5 stars

Jamie Talks About The Last 3 Books She Read

Hey all! September was an awful reading month for me as I've mentioned on here earlier in the month (great month otherwise!). I only read 2 books and, while that's great compared to probably the rest of the world, it's so bizarre to have read so few books for me. But October is here and I've already read one book so hopefully I'll get back into the swing of reading!

Let's talk about the last 3 books I did read though!

Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman: 

This was such an adventurous romp through the Wild West! Definitely digging the Western setting -- gold mining, shootouts, lots of horse riding, gangs, etc. I enjoyed this book but it didn't quite make me LOVE it because I just didn't feel much for the characters. The main character is someone I felt badly for -- she lost her mother early on in life and now her dad just got murdered by a notoriously awful gang and she is driven by revenge to go find them and settle the score. But the problem was I didn't feel like she ever became more to me than a girl who was hellbent on exacting revenge. You see hints of other aspects of her character but I never felt anything except this revenge. There were some surprises in this book and I thought as far as the action and adventure went it was compelling but it was lacking in the character department for me.
I received this book for review consideration and this did not affect my opinion in any way.

Rating -- 3/5 stars

 

All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr: 

 This book was soooo hyped so I added myself to the library request list and waited until like literally 500 other people read it before me. FINALLY I received it! And guess what? It was JUST AS GOOD AS EVERYONE SAID. I loved it so much! I'm always a sucker for a WWII setting (probably one of my favorite settings for historical fiction) and I loved both POVs so much. I love the way it flipped timeframes and how that allowed their stories to unravel as we awaited how their path's would cross. COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN. Worthy of the praise!

Rating -- 4.5/5 stars

 

 

 

The Status of All Things by Liz Fenton & Liz Steinke: 

This was a quick and enjoyable read! It's about a woman whose marriage-to-be has fallen apart and she gets the chance to go back and change things. It had a supernatural sort of method like Landline by Rainbow Rowell for how she gets to go back and change things to make it better between she and her fiance though I found Landline to be more impactful and thoughtful for me. I also really enjoyed the conversation about social media and how it can be good but also how it can be deceiving. 

Rating -- 3/5 stars

 

 

Have you read any of these books? Thoughts? Tell me the last 3 books YOU read!!

 

 

Lauren Reviews Powerless by Tera Lynn Childs & Tracy Deebs

Powerless by Tera Lynn Childs & Tracy Deebs 
Published: June 2015 by Sourcebooks Fire
Source: eARC
Rating: 2 Stars

Kenna is tired of being "normal". The only thing special about her is that she isn't special at all. Which is frustrating in a world of absolutes. Villains, like the one who killed her father, are bad. Heroes, like her mother and best friend, are good. And Kenna, unlike everyone else around her, is completely ordinary— which she hates.

She’s secretly working on an experiment that will land her a place among the Heroes, but when a Villain saves her life during a break-in at her lab, Kenna discovers there’s a whole lot of gray area when it comes to good and evil and who she can trust.. After all…not all strength comes from superpowers.


So the world is literally full of heroes and villains, both of whom have powers. Kenna is the daughter of a hero.. her mom is basically a genius that works at a super secret hero facility doing lab experiments to help develop more hero powers or instruments to aid the good guys. Kenna spends her days and nights in the lab helping her mom and doing little experiments for herself. She is powerless. She's what the heroes and villains call an ordinary. 

One night some villains break into the lab looking for a relative that they believe is being held captive by the heroes. Kenna holds her own, even with no powers. But she isn't exactly powerless. She is also immune to other people's powers. This is a well kept secret between Kenna and her mom, who used her genius skills to develop a serum for Kenna to take on the regular to stay immune to danger. 

And here comes the real interesting part... Kenna stops seeing the heroes and villains as good and bad/white and black. She sees there's a grey area. Now she meets a slew of new people with devastating information that changes everything she's ever known. 

This was definitely a fast paced novel with some quick YA romance. I needed a little more world-building to get a better feel of the place. I'm also a little bored of the teenagers falling in love after 3 days of life or death action, but I think I'm just getting old. This was an interesting read, but it felt too short and that a lot of details were missing.

Tahleen gives two mini reviews

Tahleen here!

So I'm the worst and am only now getting my post up for today, and for that I'm sorry. I'm going to do a quick little review of the last few books I read, just enough to whet your appetites for some nice YA books.

The Story of Owen: Dragon Slayer of Trondheim by E.K. Johnston

This one is a Morris Honor book for this year (for those of you who don't know, the Morris Award is given to the most outstanding YA debut of the year). Dragon slayer, you think; must be a high fantasy of some sort. Well, kinda. Not really.  It's more like urban (rural?) fantasy, set in a small town in Canada outside of Toronto. Just, dragons are normal here. And Owen is the nephew of the most famous Canadian dragon slayer since St. George, and the son of two more dragon slayers. He doesn't tell his own story though; that is Siobhan's job, a girl who turns out to be his bard.

What I liked about this book was Owen was just kind of this scrawny kid, who happened to be super famous by association with his Aunt Lottie, and because he was also training to be a dragon slayer (as is custom; the job is hereditary). It's a school story, but with dragons. And maybe a little outside investigation of possibly true nutso theories about the surge in the dragon population. The world Johnston has created here is very clever, so kudos!

That said, this one wasn't my very favorite book ever, and it took me a loooooong time to get through it. Speaking of the end, though, it was pretty abrupt and part of me is wondering if another one is in the works. It could go either way the way this one ended, to be honest. I was also annoyed to see some typos in there, but what can you do.

Mortal Heart (His Fair Assassins, Book 3) by Robin LaFevers

Yay, it's Annith's turn to get a story! Quick catch-up: This trilogy is about assassin nuns of the convent of St. Mortain, god of death, in 15th-century Brittany. These ladies are pretty intense.

 Annith, to escape the Abbess's plot to make her the next Seeress of the convent of St. Mortain, has escaped to the wider world and quickly gets caught up in a band of Hellequin, dead men who serve the god of death in order to atone for sins they committed in life. She falls for Balthazar, their broody dark leader, but worries they are indeed hunting her because of her choice to abandon the convent. So once again she escapes, and finds her way to her sisters Ismae and Sybella who are serving the Duchess of Brittany in their attempt to keep their country free and safe.

We get some doozy revelations here, so I won't say a whole lot, but I thought this was a fitting end to a well-written trilogy. This one did start to feel a little long toward the end, but everything wrapped up well, so I can't complain too much. I especially liked the author's note at the end, providing readers with fact vs. fiction has far as history is concerned. Gold star for that.

Quick note on the audio version of this: I didn't think it was particularly good, but not awful. It wasn't as good as the second book's narration (excellently done), and it was not as bad as the first. So, whatever. It got the job done and I'm happy.

Did you read either of these? What did you think?

Disclaimer: I got these books from my local library (and you should too!)

Daisy's Review of Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins

Title/Author: Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
Publisher/Date published: Dutton, August 14th 2014
How I got this book: bought a shiny hardcover

Goodreads summary: Love ignites in the City That Never Sleeps, but can it last?

Hopeless romantic Isla has had a crush on introspective cartoonist Josh since their first year at the School of America in Paris. And after a chance encounter in Manhattan over the summer, romance might be closer than Isla imagined. But as they begin their senior year back in France, Isla and Josh are forced to confront the challenges every young couple must face, including family drama, uncertainty about their college futures, and the very real possibility of being apart.

So we read Isla for Book Club October and it was AMAZING! 3 of us loved it and our fourth member not so much, she actually DNF-ed it, but we still gushed about it over dinner (sorry Mel!). It was probably one of the most anticipated books of 2014 and it was very much worth the wait!

Let me start off by saying that I'm a huge fan of Stephanie Perkins' writing. She manages to pull me into the story and it just flows and I wanted to keep reading and had me laughing and going NOOOOOO!!! and just made me FEEL everything. It was awesome.

I liked Isla, she and Josh made sense together and the way their relationship developed felt real. And then they were blissfully happy and I was like: we have over half of the book left, this has to go wrong somehow right?? And it did. And it was painful and I wanted to shake Isla and tell her to stop sabotaging her relationship and just OMG I could just SEE it go down like that and it was awful.
But the book isn't called Isla and the Happily Ever After to mess with you, it's really a happy ending and I adored it. It was sweet and just fit Isla and Josh's personality and their bond and it made me swoon and just all the happy sighs.

I really liked the way sex was handled in this book. It was realistic and even though it's obviously a big deal, it wasn't overly so. Am I making sense? It was just a natural part of their relationship and also: I can now never look at bunnies the same way again (you'll know what I mean if you've read the book), so thanks for that.

I also loved the return of Anna, Etienne, Cricket and Lola, I so love those characters, especially Etienne with his 'Anna and I are headed out for a celebratory dessert. I'd ask you all to join us, but I don't want you there', AWESOME. If Anna one day decides she doesn't want him anymore, I volunteer to soothe his broken heart!

I could probably go on and on about all the things I loved about Isla and the Happily Ever After, especially after re-reading some of the quotes (which are all AMAZING), but I'm just going to say this: READ THIS BOOK. And Anna and the French Kiss (which is still my favourite of the 3 and now I'm dying to re-read it) and Lola and the Boy Next Door and let them make your heart happy, like they did mine.

My rating: 5 stars

A View from Page Thirty: Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys

The Great Reading Slump of 2014 continues on into October for me, so I’d say that means I should take another stab at The Slumplist. This View from Page Thirty* features a selection recommended by two commenters: Rockyriverteenlibrarian and Incredibraian (I am sensing a theme here). Incredibrarian’s recommendation said, “I haven't had a truly GOOD read since Out of the Easy.” With words like that I say no? Also, Jen reviewed this back in July of 2013 if you want to check out a full review.

The Book: Out of the Easy by Ruta Sepetys
Release Date: February 2013
Publisher: Philomel Books
Genres: Historical Fiction, YA

Series: Surprisingly, it’s a standalone!!

Summary:

It’s 1950, and as the French Quarter of New Orleans simmers with secrets, seventeen-year-old Josie Moraine is silently stirring a pot of her own. Known among locals as the daughter of a brothel prostitute, Josie wants more out of life than the Big Easy has to offer. 
She devises a plan get out, but a mysterious death in the Quarter leaves Josie tangled in an investigation that will challenge her allegiance to her mother, her conscience, and Willie Woodley, the brusque madam on Conti Street. Josie is caught between the dream of an elite college and a clandestine underworld. New Orleans lures her in her quest for truth, dangling temptation at every turn, and escalating to the ultimate test.
With characters as captivating as those in her internationally bestselling novel Between Shades of Gray, Ruta Sepetys skillfully creates a rich story of secrets, lies, and the haunting reminder that decisions can shape our destiny.

The View From Page Thirty:

First thought after reading the summary? Hell yeah! New Orleans! A setting I can vividly picture since I was there recently and the French Quarter has such an old world feel that I doubt much has changed since the 1950s aesthetic wise.

And I just got the title. It’s late, whatever. I mean, they even call it The Big Easy in the summary. Wow. Anyway, this book starts off with a powerful first paragraph. 

“My mother’s a prostitute. Not the filthy, streetwalking kind. She’s actually quite pretty, fairly well spoken, and has lovely clothes. But she sleeps with men for money or gifts, and according to the dictionary, that makes her a prostitute.”

Nice. I like this. I like knowing where she is coming from. The whole first chapter is a flashback to arriving in New Orleans in 1940 and how her mom got her prostitute job.  Josie isn’t a conventional kid in this chapter which make me believe that the bulk of this story we won’t be dealing with a conventional 17 year old.

The rest of the first five chapters are setting up the main plot and setting up Josie as an adult. She’s not had the easiest childhood and is trying to figure out how she wants to forge her future. One thing she does know is she wants out of the Easy (ha. See that? Now that I got the reference, I had to use it again. I wonder if this is a metaphor for her growing up and “out of the easiness” of childhood as well as the literal out of New Orleans thing. Probably. I like this title a lot if you haven’t noticed).

What I am Loving:

I am really liking the turns of phrases that just keep popping up. It is really easy to get lost in the words of this story. I am liking Josie so far. It’s easy to get attached to her. I don’t know much really about the other characters yet to make any sort of assessment on them.

What I am Unsure Of:

Damn it. I think this is a love triangle. We’ve already met the boy who has all the girls following him around but could never like me. Then there is the shop owner’s son who is that bff who probably has a secret crush on her but is like her brother or whatever. Sigh. I hope I am wrong about this one. I don’t think I am. I am so over this.

I hope that this book focuses more on her growth into adulthood and the amazing New Orleans 50s vibe that I am getting.

Final Verdict:

I am definitely continuing on with this one. The prose has some beautiful turns of phrases already and it’s easy to get lost in the story. Josie, our lead, is someone that is easy to get attached to and someone who you want to see succeed. I am holding judgment on our two male love interests, but other secondary characters have already leaped out of the pages of history and into my mind. The setting is so vivid and rich in my mind is it easy to picture every location. I haven’t read much set in New Orleans, and nothing set in a historic New Orleans, so I am looking forward to this quite a bit. Let’s hope that it lives up to what I am hoping is going to be an enjoyable ride back in time into the 50s French Quarter.

EDIT: This isn’t really an edit, since I haven’t posted this yet. But I wrote this entry after chapter 5, but I didn’t stop reading. Now I am on page 147. Remember when I was gushing over that beautiful turn of phrase? I just came across this gem and it made me laugh “God I need that coffee. I feel like a bag of smashed assholes” Ha!

EDIT 2: Again not really an edit since I haven't yet posted it. But I read this book through the night and finished at four in the morning. It was one of those stories that you just get sucked into and doesn't let you go. Sine I didn't have anything to do this morning, I figured, why not stay up and read? Anyway my fears were not realized. It was a love triangle but it wasn't a normal love triangle. I really liked how it was played. Also the story doesnt focus on her love triangle. The focus is on Josie and on Josie growing up. This was a great read and it really transported me into New Orleans. I would highly recommend this to anyone who likes historical fiction and wants to read something set in a time period you dont normally read much about. Great book! I'd give it 4.5 stars! Thanks for the recommendation guys!

*For those not familiar with a View from Page Thirty, basically it is me giving my thirty page first impression of a book. I have a personal rule that every book I start gets at least thirty pages. If I am not feeling it by then, time to move on. So I figured it would make a fun feature. 

Tahleen reviews: "Sabriel" by Garth Nix, narrated by Tim Curry

Title: Sabriel
Author: Garth Nix
Publisher: HarperTeen, 1997 (first published 1995 in Australia)
Narrator: Tim Curry

Rating: 5 stars

Sabriel has been around for 17 years at this point, and I read it back when I was in 8th or 9th grade for this first time. Recently I discovered a prequel is coming out in October of this year, and to prepare I decided to reread the three books in the series.

Sabriel is 18, and gets excellent marks at Wyverly College, where she has been a student since age 5. Her father, Abhorsen, visits every once in a while, either in the flesh or via the spirit world, as his work requires he be in the Old Kingdom across the wall. He is Abhorsen, necromancer and sorcerer who lays the dead to final rest, when they might walk the earth instead of staying in death. But when Sabriel receives her father's sword and his bandolier that holds the bells which control and banish the dead, she knows something is wrong and sets out to find her father, whom she suspects is trapped in death. Little does she know what kind of journey she will be undertaking; there is much more than her father's life at stake, and it is up to her to bring the Old Kingdom back from the chaos that has taken hold.

Garth Nix is a master. The world he has created is incredibly lush, dark, and complex, one that stuck with me long after I finished reading the books. And Sabriel is one admirable and amazing heroine. I remember wishing I were brave like her, comparing some of my discomforts with what she has to go through in this book and thinking my life wasn't so bad. Plus, the magic (both free and Charter) and dead creatures that walk in life are thrilling and chilling. I don't think I realized this is kind of a zombie book when I first read it; I loved it just as much upon rereading it, and zombies usually freak me out. So high fives to Nix for creating world with all kinds of zombies that is creepy, but won't give me nightmares. There is too much beauty and excitement in the Old Kingdom to keep me from reading about it.

One little note: I did listen to the audiobook the second time around, and as it's narrated by Tim Curry, it was pretty great. I did find myself having to rewind a lot though, as Curry's voice is pretty soothing and I found myself zoning out. But, I recommend it.

Disclosure: I got this audiobook from my local library.

Jamie Reviews Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer

Belzhar by Meg Wolitzer
Published: September 2014 - Penguin
How I Got This Book: BEA
Why I Read This Book: I knew it was related to The Bell Jar & Sylvia Plath's work which I LOVE.
Rating: 3 stars..maybe 3.5 stars.

Add it to your to-be-read-list! // Buy it! 









I talked more personally about this book on my blog, The Perpetual Page-Turner, and how The Bell Jar was important to me and about how this kind of took me back to a time in my life that was hard. So if you want to read THAT...go here! But I wanted to actually let you know more what I thought about it here!

What I Liked:

1. The plot -- it was super interesting! A girl whose boyfriend dies and she isn't handling it well at all gets sent to a special school with other kids who have some issues and needs therapy. She gets put into this mysterious English class that is super hard to get into and nobody even KNOWS how you get picked to be in it. They study the works of Sylvia Plath the whole semester and are given a journal they HAVE to write in. And what happens with the journal I'm not telling you! I was VERY much engaged and interested!

2. So quoteable: I can't tell you how many dog-ears I made with just really great lines or passages. The writing was pretty solid and it was very thought-provoking!

3. I thought I had this book's number but NOPE -- I thought I knew the trajectory of the story pretty much and let me tell you...it took me for a bit of a ride. I didn't see something coming and how it was revealed and built-up to was SMART.

4. Some of the characters and their stories were intriguing!  I really liked our main character and some of the friends she made. I LOVED how their group came together and supported each other. I wish we would have seen a LITTLE more of the teacher because she intrigued me a whole lot.


What I Didn't Like:

1. The pacing wasn't consistent -- there were times I was racing to read this and there were other times it just was DRAGGING and DRAGGING. Too much in some places, not enough in others.

2. Way too "this is the message/lesson" -- This was a really thought-provoking novel! However, it felt almost as the author didn't quite trust the reader to glean some of the important things out of it. At the end it was super THIS IS THE MESSAGE and I felt like it was dumping it all out there to make sure I got it. Which I did.

3. Sometimes I felt we were being TOLD stuff rather than shown --  There were certain areas where I think I was supposed to feel more but instead I felt like it was just being told to me and I was like okay so this is happening. Like instead of FEELING changed attitudes and hearts..I was just told that there were changes.



Overall, Belzhar was enjoyable and engaging. It wasn't always consistent but at its highs it was GREAT. It felt unique and I loved how thought-provoking it was. In certain ways I think this could have been better but I did like it.

Julia Reviews The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

Title/Author: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
Publisher/Year Published: December 2008 by Walker
How I got this book: The Library
Why I read this book: This book was recommended to me by Hayley, Susan, Kritka and rrteenlibrarian on my reading slump post
Rating: 4 stars

Well guys, I did it! I finished a book from my View from Page Thirty series that was actually worth adding on to the review. A few weeks back I posted my initial reaction to The Knife of Never Letting Go. The general sentiment was that it was pretty darn good and I wanted to continue with it. Here was my overview reaction:

"I am really curious to see how the story unfolds and what the rules and limitations of this world are. It sounds like a different twist on the dystopian thing, rather than just the controlling government makes us do something strange that our main character is rebelling against. I want to know more and can't wait to continue on!"

Well it didn't completely fall into that general dystopian genre, but it didn't stay as unique as I wanted it to. A few chapters after my initial reaction, things started moving into normal dystopian YA territory. Our hero was becoming special, some of the things I really enjoyed fell apart when things were reveled, and I was not as entertained as I wanted to be. 

I had high hopes for this book, and I wasn't necessarily not entertained. It was a good book to read, just it feel into old tropes as the book went on that I thought it was breaking away from. It also ended on a cliff hanger which really bothered me. It's book one! Usually book two is the cliffhanger. I really like it when my books wrap up, even if only a little. Thinking more about the ending, I guess it could be considered wrapped up, but I know that it's not and it bothers me.

Surprisingly, the narration did not bother me like I thought it may. I didn't mind Todd's colloquial phrasing and spelling of certain things. His being 14 annoyed me a few times like when his pride got in the way of doing things that made the most freaking sense (like with the book). But whatever, he's 14 and it fits with his characterization. No points off. It just was a personal pet peeve.

I really liked the pace in the first 30 or so pages, and I am happy to say that this story did not drag. It clipped along pretty much the entire journey. The plot was always moving the characters forward and into new adventures on the way to their goal.

Overall, it wasn't bad but it wasn't as good as I was thinking it was going to be from my first 30 page visit. Am I glad I read it? Sure. Am I going to read on? Maybe? I haven't decided. It may be after a while but I haven't ruled out coming back to this series. Just not right now.

Thanks for the recommendation guys! I can't wait to take a look at another one off the slumplist! By the way, if anyone wanted to view the compiled slumplist, I put it into a google drive document here. It's all messy and just my compilation of the comments people left on the original post. But just in case you wanted to see it, there it is :)

Jamie Reviews We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

Book/author: We Were Liars by E. Lockhart
Publication date: May 2014
Publisher: Random House
How I Got This Book: I received it as a galley for review.
Rating: 5+ stars


You've probably heard about this book. If you haven't, well you are ESPECIALLY who I want to talk to today. You have no expectations or preconceived notions. The hype hasn't invaded your mind!

I was lucky enough to read this book last November and I didn't know anybody else who had read it yet because ARCs had not gone out yet and nobody was really talking about it on Twitter. I don't say this to sound like a DOUCHE all HEY LOOK AT ME I'M SPESHEL..I say this because I hadn't heard anything about it AT ALL. Truly and in the purest sense. There were NO expectations. And that is the place that I think is the best place to be for this book. To have randomly picked it up on a whim and gone into it blind as opposed to hearing a lot from the book community about it. Not to say you still can't enjoy it having heard about it, oh certainly you can, but I'm saying that is the BEST place to be.

We Were Liars was a book that surprised me. It had me weeping and I totally didn't expect what this book contained. I loved E. Lockhart's prose (seriously the writing is gorgeous!) and I really enjoyed reading about the Sinclair family (super rich & dysfunctional & I wanted to punch certain characters). The main character's memory loss and her return back to the family's island was just so compelling and I became addicted to find out what the Liars did and know all the secrets and lies that were just bubbling on the surface of this family.

It's suspenseful, beautiful and heartbreaking. Honestly one of the best books I read this year. And it came as such a surprise to me. I knew I'd probably like it by the summary but it hit me like a freight train.

So, if you haven't read it. Don't read anything more. Just don't. Go pick up the book and read it. It's much different than what I've read from E. Lockhart previously (all which I enjoyed) and I LOVED IT TO PIECES.

Have you read this one? What did you think??

View from Page Thirty: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

It's been a while since I've done A View from Page Thirty, so I thought I would bring it back. And what better way to bring it back then with a new graphic and using the list of suggestions that you guys gave me during my reading slump post.

For those of you not familiar with this, A View from Page Thirty is a feature where I read thirty or so pages into a book and give you guys my first impression. Some books are great out of the gate, some take a little bit of warming up to. Some are just books that you know right away are going to be tough to read.

My general rule with books is that if I am not interested at all by around page thirty, I don't have to go on. There are too many books in this world for me to waste my time on something that I don't enjoy. But every book I start (barring some rare cases) get's thirty pages.

Hence was born A View from Page Thirty.


Today's book as I mentioned comes off of the reading slump post. I compiled all of the suggestions into a list of 65 books, which I am lovingly calling the slumplist, and I plan to look at them all. Of those 65 books I've already read 4, so only 61 more to go. I decided to start with Patrick Ness' The Knife of Never Letting Go. Four people, Hayley, Susan, Kritika, and Rockyriverteenlibrarian recommended it saying:

"It's the first in the Chaos Walking series, and it's really amazing. I've been recommending it to everyone since I read it in January." - Hayley

"The narration in the Ness series is a little hard to get used to at first, but don't let that dissuade you -- it's a great, unique YA series." - Susan

"I love both of those series! I'd recommend the audio for both of them as well - the narrators are excellent." - Kritika

I am going to go into detail on what happens in the first thirty pages. While it is nothing that isn't in the summary, if you consider that spoiler territory, jump down to my Final Verdict.

The Book: The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
Release Date: January 2008 
Publisher: Walker
Genres: YA, Dystopian, SciFi Fantasy

Series: Chaos Walking #1

Summary:

Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee -- whose thoughts Todd can hear too, whether he wants to or not -- stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden -- a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives.
But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought?

The View From Page Thirty:

The book starts off with a first line that is quite intriguing, "The first thing you find out when yer dog learns to talk is that dogs don't got nothing much to say." From that I have learned that this is some sort of alternate Earth where dogs can talk I guess, and that this is going to be a book with annoying first person misspelled like the person thinks narration. Surprisingly both the first person and the 'yers' and 'thrus' stopped annoying me almost immediately because the story starts off right away.

Our narrator is Todd, the youngest boy in a city of men on the verge of becoming a man himself (he's 13 turning 14 in our years. Years in this world at 13 months so he keeps mentioning his 13th birthday, but I stopped and did the math). Todd explains through these 31 pages (first three chapters) that this is a new world of some kind where women and men went to colonize for maybe religious freedom (?). But once they arrived they got into a war with some sort of native people they call the Spackle who release some sort of chemical weapon that killed all the women. Todd was the last baby to be born before the women died. 

That right there would be interesting enough right? But remember that talking dog? Apparently when that happened it also warped reality into making every human and animal telekinetic. So Todd can think to his dog Manchee and Manchee can think back. They call this noise because there isn't really much control over it. Holy hell, is that a scary thought. I couldn't imagine being around people who can always hear my thoughts. No secrets, no privacy. But I guess it would be cool to talk to dogs and things...

Anyway, the story kicks off in the first chapter with Todd coming across silence. Something is there and it has no noise. He high-tales it back to town where since there are no secrets his adoptive fathers immediately know what's up. The last line I read in the selection was, 

"But all Ben says is, 'Oh, my God," real quite like, and then he says it again, 'Oh, my God," and then, without even moving or looking away, he says, "We have to get you outta here. we have to get you outta here right now."

What I am Loving:

I am really liking the pace of this. It is clipping right along and getting me into the action. At the same time, it is slowly revealing the rules of this world and not just telling me how it works. It's all show. I love that. I'm interested to find out more about their enemies and why all the women died off. And obviously what this silence is and why it is chasing him...

What I am Unsure Of:

I was unsure of the narration, with the colloquial speech patterns in the writing, but that grew on me quickly. I guess I am still unsure of my narrator Todd. Will I be able to connect with the 13 year old boy who is coming of age? I had a hard time of doing that when I read The Outsiders in my twenties (I loved it when I read it at 13 though). This isn't going to deter me from reading on though. I am very interested in this story.

Final Verdict:

Yeah I am totally reading on. I am really curious to see how the story unfolds and what the rules and limitations of this world are. It sounds like a different twist on the dystopian thing, rather than just the controlling government makes us do something strange that our main character is rebelling against. I want to know more and can't wait to continue on!

Daisy's Mini-Review of The Half Life of Molly Pierce by Katrina Leno

Title/Author: The Half Life of Molly Pierce by Katrina Leno
Publisher/Date published: HarperTeen, July 8th 2014
How I got this book: received it from the publisher as an egalley

Goodreads summary: You take it for granted. Waking up. Going to school, talking to your friends. Watching a show on television or reading a book or going out to lunch.

You take for granted going to sleep at night, getting up the next day, and remembering everything that happened to you before you closed your eyes.

You live and you remember.

Me, I live and I forget.

But now — now I am remembering.

For all of her seventeen years, Molly feels like she’s missed bits and pieces of her life. Now, she’s figuring out why. Now, she’s remembering her own secrets. And in doing so, Molly uncovers the separate life she seems to have led... and the love that she can’t let go.

So at first glance I thought this would be a paranormal read, but it's actually contemporary, which I was kinda glad to know about before I went in, because it's a bit of an adjustment in expectations.

The Half Life of Molly Pierce is a fast read, I breezed through it in a couple of hours and Katrina Leno's writing style made it easy for me to do this. It's interesting and I did want to know what was going on, but in the end I wasn't all that invested in the story. I really want to recommend another book if this is your kind of thing, but I'm afraid to spoil things for you, so if you do want to know, just tweet me and I'll tell you what book I'm talking about (@DBetweenpages).

There's a whole lof of confusion and a whole lot of stuff that is messed up and that I went WTF about, but it all adds up and I liked it. One thing I really liked was seeing how everybody else was handling Molly's blackouts (I don't really know what else to call them) and especially her sister, her sister is awesome.

I'm being cryptic, I know, but bottom line: I liked it, but it didn't blow me away, but it also took me no time at all to read it, so it was ok.

My rating: 3 stars

My Last Kiss Blog Tour!

Hey everyone! Today we welcome everyone from the My Last Kiss Blog tour. To help celebrate the release of My Last Kiss on June 10th, the author Bethany Neal is here to give us her top seven ghost stories!

Top 7 Ghost Stories

I made this list a top seven instead of top ten because you’re going to need the lucky number’s help to make it through watching/reading these terrifying—and sometimes heart wrenching—afterlife tales. 

1. Ghost (1990 movie version)
Patrick Swayze plays a man just starting his life with his 90s hot girlfriend Demi Moore when he’s tragically murdered for reasons that only Whoopi Goldberg and the power of love can help him reveal. Get ready to put pottery wheel lessons on your to-do list!



2. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
This is one of maybe three novels that I’ve walked away from, but couldn’t resist going back to finish. The reason was not at all because it was bad, but because it was so good it hurt to read it. Get the Kleenex ready and visit Susie Salmon in the In Between.

3. The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg
This one’s an I don’t know I’m a ghost ghost story. It’s lighter than the rest of the list (Casper excluded), but the love story sneaks up on you and tugs on your heart strings from high up above the Golden Gate bridge (which is sorta kinda Heaven in this San Francisco-based tale).



4. The Sixth Sense (movie)
Get ready to sleep with the lights on for a week after you watch this movie so chocked full of ghosts walking among us that you will never again ask someone what they’re looking at when they seemingly stare off into space. With a catch phrase like ‘I see dead people,’ it’s seminal M. Night Shyamalan before his ah-ha! twist endings passed on into the gimmicky realm.




5. Casper (1995 movie version)
On the surface Casper McFadden is a lonely, playful ghost-boy with three crazy ghost-uncles (that make you wonder if “unfinished business” doesn’t run in the genes) who just wants a friend. But underneath the silly walk-through-walls premise is a soul that died before he got a chance to really live and longs to be real if only for ten minutes—granted by Christina Ricci’s dead mom—so he can get his first kiss. See, everything always goes back to a kiss!



6. The Ring (2002 movie version)
This is another one that will keep you up at night and glad that nobody owns a VCR anymore. There’s nothing creepier than a creepy little kid. Especially when she crawls out of your staticy TV screen and glowers behind a long, straggly mess of hair to tell you you only have seven days to live.

7. The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
They made a movie out of this called The Haunting with Liam Neeson and Catherine Zeta-Jones, but do yourself a favor and read the book instead. If you’ve read other interviews I’ve done, you may know that Shirley Jackson’s novel We Have Always Lived in the Castle is one of my all time favorite books. She is the queen of subtle creep factor. Penguin actually just reissued her entire collection of novels and short stories, including Hill House. I suggest reading each and every one of them outside. The house is usually half the problem for her characters.

A big thanks to the awesome top 7 list! 

My Last Kiss by Bethany Neal comes out June 10th. 

Summary: 

Cassidy Haines remembers her first kiss vividly. It was on the old covered bridge the summer before her freshman year with her boyfriend of three years, Ethan Keys. But her last kiss--the one she shared with someone at her seventeenth birthday party the night she died--is a blur. Cassidy is trapped in the living world, not only mourning the loss of her human body, but left with the grim suspicion that her untimely death wasn't a suicide as everyone assumes. She can't remember anything from the weeks leading up to her birthday and she's worried that she may have betrayed her boyfriend. 

If Cassidy is to uncover the truth about that fateful night and make amends with the only boy she'll ever love, she must face her past and all the decisions she made--good and bad--that led to her last kiss.