Review: Gone by Michael Grant

Synopsis:

In the blink of an eye. Everyone disappears. GONE.

Except for the young. Teens. Middle schoolers. Toddlers. But not one single adult. No teachers,

...more

In the blink of an eye. Everyone disappears. GONE.

Except for the young. Teens. Middle schoolers. Toddlers. But not one single adult. No teachers,

...more

In the blink of an eye. Everyone disappears. GONE.

Except for the young. Teens. Middle schoolers. Toddlers. But not one single adult. No teachers, no cops, no doctors, no parents. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what's happened.

Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents—unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers—that grow stronger by the day.

It's a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen, a fight is shaping up. Townies against rich kids. Bullies against the weak. Powerful against powerless. And time is running out: On your birthday, you disappear just like everyone else..

Specs: YA fiction, dystopia, published July 2008, 558 pages, Gone #1.

I'm not sure how to review this book. I liked it, especially the plot of everyone 15 years and older disappearing. It set the road for intrigue. But Gone wasn't outstanding. I really enjoyed the beginning, but after the initial shock of the disappearance, the quality went slightly downhill from there.

Some things weren't surprising, like *SPOILER* Sam not disappearing when he turned 15. I was like "well, of course I knew that wasn't going to happen. It would've been cool if the author would've made him disappear, but then somehow fight his way back to the world of the living. *END OF SPOILER*

Review: Animal Farm by George Orwell

Synopsis: A farm is taken over by its overworked, mistreated animals. With flaming idealism and stirring slogans, they set out to create a paradise of progress, justice, and equality. Thus the stage is set for one of the most telling satiric fables ever penned--a razor-edged fairy tale for grown-ups that records the evolution from revolution against tyranny to a totalitarianism just as terrible.

Specs: Adult fiction, dystopia, published in 1945, 97 pages.

I'm not sure what happened to my review of Animal Farm on this blog, or if I forgot to write one or what...but I finished this about a month or more ago.

Here's my thoughts on it:

I'm into books with storylines that have double meanings, but I'm not so much into political books. Because I don't know much about politics, I didn't understand a lot of what was going on. I did get the communistic government that the pig Napoleon had going on. And I picked up on an abortion reference.

The beginning was cool, the whole section where the animals overthrew their farmer, but after that it got SO into politics.
A farm is taken over by its overworked, mistreated animals. With flaming idealism and stirring slogans, they set out to create a paradise of progress,

Review: The Sky Inside by Clare B. Dunkle

Synopsis: Martin lives in a perfect world.

Every year a new generation of genetically-engineered children is shipped out to meet their parents. Every spring the residents of his town take down the snow they've stuck to their windows and put up flowers. Every morning his family gathers around their television and votes, like everyone else, for whatever matter of national importance the president has on the table. Today, it is the color of his drapes. It's business as usual under the protective dome of suburb HM1.

And it's all about to come crashing down.

Because a stranger has come to take away all the little children, including Martin's sister, Cassie, and no one wants to talk about where she has gone. The way Martin sees it, he has a choice. He can remain in the dubious safety of HM1, with danger that no one wants to talk about lurking just beneath the surface, or he can actually break out of the suburb, into the mysterious land outside, rumored to be nothing but blowing sand for miles upon miles.

Specs: YA fiction, dystopia, published March 2008, 229 pages, The Sky Inside #1.

I loved the plot line where everyone in Martin's world lives under a bubble, with fake sky, no UV rays, no wind, no rain, and no flowers (real, that is). And since I love animals, I enjoyed having Chip (a German Shepherd...most of the time) as one of the main characters.

Those are the only positive things I have to say about The Sky Inside. Most of the book seemed like it had no direction. The author filled the pages with words that weren't going anywhere for the most part. I was confused at some parts, like toward the end of the book with the robot traveler who taught Martin outdoor skills...what was the point of having that plotline?

I think the author should've waited until she had more substance and heart, and then wrote the book. It could've been better.

Review: Genesis by Bernard Beckett

Synopsis: Set on a remote island in a post-apocalyptic, plague-ridden world, this electrifying novel is destined to become a modern classic.

Anax th...more Set on a remote island in a post-apocalyptic, plague-ridden world, this electrifying novel is destined to become a modern classic.

Anax thinks she knows her history. She’d better. She’s now facing three Examiners, and her grueling all-day Examination has just begun. If she passes, she’ll be admitted into the Academy—the elite governing institution of her utopian society.

But Anax is about to discover that for all her learning, the history she’s been taught isn’t the whole story. And that the Academy isn’t what she believes it to be.

Specs: Adult fiction, dystopia, published April 20, 2009, 150 pages.

It took me a while to get used to the way Genesis was written, with the formal speaking, question-and-answer sessions, and the story of their history right in the beginning.

For a dystopia, this one was disappointing. It wasn't what I expected, and not in a good way. I read it only because I wanted to see where on earth this story was going.

Whenever Art, the robot, opened his mouth, my mind went on a vacation. In a lot of paragraphs he kept on going on about something that made no sense to me. He was too technical and the science went right over my head (not my best subject for sure).

I of course didn't like the evolution aspect of it, and if I'd have known this book was going to go on about it, I wouldn't have read it.

I did, however, like the ending twist. It came completely as a surprise!

Library Loans (7)

• The Sky Inside by Clare B. Dunkle
• Gone by Michael Grant
  
• Genesis by Bernard Beckett

Waiting on Wednesday (13)

Okay, so this is obviously not Wednesday, but I was swamped yesterday....ok fine, I forgot, ok?? You got me. ;)

The Replacement sounds cool. Here's the synopsis I got from Amazon:

Mackie Doyle is not one of us. Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, he comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. He is a ReplacementÑleft in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is fighting to survive in the human world.

Mackie would give anything to live among us, to practice on his bass or spend time with his crush, Tate. But when TateÕs baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the Slag Heaps and find his rightful place, in our world, or theirs.

Edward Scissorhands meets The Catcher in the Rye in this wildly imaginative and frighteningly beautiful horror novel about an unusual boy and his search for a place to belong.

Pretty awesome, right? I love books about changelings. And if it's anything like Edward Scissorhands, it's got to be good.

Review: Veracity by Laura Bynum

Synopsis: Harper Adams was six years old in 2012 when an act of viral terrorism wiped out one-half of the country's population. Out of the ashes rose a new government, the Confederation of the Willing, dedicated to maintaining order at any cost. The populace is controlled via government-sanctioned sex and drugs, a brutal police force known as the Blue Coats, and a device called the slate, a mandatory implant that monitors every word a person speaks. To utter a Red-Listed, forbidden word is to risk physical punishment or even death.

But there are those who resist. Guided by the fabled "Book of Noah," they are determined to shake the people from their apathy and ignorance, and are prepared to start a war in the name of freedom. The newest member of this resistance is Harper -- a woman driven by memories of a daughter lost, a daughter whose very name was erased by the Red List. And she possesses a power that could make her the underground warriors' ultimate weapon -- or the instrument of their destruction.

Specs: Adult fiction, dystopia, published January 5, 376 pages.

Veracity is a devastating book where citizens pretty much have no freedoms, and every day their freedoms become more limited. For example, Red Listed words are specific words that are announced which no one can use. If they do, they are either dead or tortured by Red Coats (police who are definitely not there for our safety).

I enjoyed the book because it was raw and could happen if the government turned all-controlling. Laura Bynum didn't sugar-coat anything to be more acceptable to readers.

After Harper Adams, the main character, went into the tunnel of the Resistance, it got dull compared with the previous half of the book. But after they started the war, it went back to exciting and can't-wait-to-flip-the-next-page action.

Also, I loved what the Book of Noah turned out to be! I wasn't expecting that.

I like what Greg Bear said about Veracity: "Too close for comfort."

Review: Ninth Grade Slays by Heather Brewer

Synopsis: High school totally bites when you'’re half human, half vampire. Freshman year sucks for Vlad Tod. Bullies still harass him. The photographer from the school newspaper is tailing him. And failing his studies could be deadly. A trip to Siberia gives “study abroad” a whole new meaning as Vlad connects with other vampires and advances his mind-control abilities, but will he return home with the skills to recognize a vampire slayer when he sees one? In this thrilling sequel to Eighth Grade Bites, Vlad must confront the secrets of the past and battle forces that once again threaten his life.

Specs: YA fiction, paranormal, published April 17, 2008, 278 pages, The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod #2.

This is a pretty big step down from the first Chronicles of Vladimir Tod book. It wasn't as absorbing. It kept going and going. If the 2nd book was the 1st, I wouldn't continue reading the series. I'm just hoping it gets better after this.

I liked how Vlad met with a teacher in Siberia. It shows us how Vlad's progressing and learning as a teenage half-vampire. I'm interested in what other abilities Vlad will develop as the books continue, and what else he'll learn from his uncle.

Review: Insatiable by Meg Cabot

Synopsis: Sick of vampires? So is Meena Harper. But her boss is making her write about them anyway, even though Meena doesn’t believe in them. Not that Meena isn’t familiar with the supernatural. See, Meena Harper knows how you’re going to die (not that you’re going to believe her; no one ever does). But not even Meena’s precognition can prepare her for what happens when she meets—then makes the mistake of falling in love with—Lucien Antonescu, a modern-day prince with a bit of a dark side . . . a dark side a lot of people, like an ancient society of vampire-hunters, would prefer to see him dead for. The problem is, he already is dead. Maybe that’s why he’s the first guy Meena’s ever met that she could see herself having a future with. See, while Meena’s always been able to see everyone else’s future, she’s never been able look into her own. And while Lucien seems like everything Meena has ever dreamed of in a boyfriend, he might turn out to be more like a nightmare. Now might be a good time for Meena to start learning to predict her own future . . . If she even has one.

Specs: Adult fiction, supernatural, published June 8, 451 pages.

This is a huge step up from Cabot's recent releases. She seemed to have lost her fire for writing, but if Insatiable is any indication, she's baaaack!

A few problems I have with this book: the slight homosexual storyline and the evolution reference. I realize some of you wouldn't have a problem with these things, but I wouldn't be an honest book reviewer if I didn't include these as issues I had with this book (and some of Cabot's other books I've read).

While I don't think I could ever get sick of reading vampire books, the vampire media explosion has had a toll on my excitement for our fanged friends. But Insatiable was non-stop action, with the typical Meg Cabot humor and fluffy air we've come to expect. I enjoyed reading about vampires from her perspective.

Waiting on Wednesday (12)

Synopsis: Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she’s made it out of the bloody arena alive, she’s still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what’s worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss’s family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins’s groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year.

Specs: YA fiction, dystopia, releases August 24, 2010, 400 pages, The Hunger Games #3.

It seems like forever since I've posted a WoW post. (The last one I did I just found out I accidentally posted an In My Mailbox as WoW....whoops.) But now since my mom and I are settled in and not completely living out of cardboard boxes anymore (and I got my first job), I'm getting back into the groove of book blogging. Yay!

Anywho, I can't wait for Mockingjay to be released. Catching Fire ended so up in the air that I want the third book now....right NOW, I tell you!!

Review: The Bride Collector by Ted Dekker

Synopsis: FBI Special agent Brad Raines is facing his toughest case yet. A Denver serial killer has killed four beautiful young women, leaving a bridal veil at each crime scene, and he's picking up his pace. Unable to crack the case, Raines appeals for help from a most unusual source: residents of the Center for Wellness and Intelligence, a private psychiatric institution for mentally ill individuals whose are extraordinarily gifted.

It's there that he meets Paradise, a young woman who witnessed her father murder her family and barely escaped his hand. Diagnosed with schizophrenia, Paradise may also have an extrasensory gift: the ability to experience the final moments of a person's life when she touches the dead body.

In a desperate attempt to find the killer, Raines enlists Paradise's help. In an effort to win her trust, he befriends this strange young woman and begins to see in her qualities that most 'sane people' sorely lack. Gradually, he starts to question whether sanity resides outside the hospital walls...or inside.

As the Bride Collector picks up the pace-and volume-of his gruesome crucifixions, the case becomes even more personal to Raines when his friend and colleague, a beautiful young forensic psychologist, becomes the Bride Collector's next target.

The FBI believes that the killer plans to murder seven women. Can Paradise help before it's too late?

Specs: Adult fiction, published April 2010, 448 pages.

So I was going into this book thinking it was mystery, which I don't particularly like, and I was happy to find that it wasn't. We already know who the killer is, because it switches on and off to his POV.

One thing I really liked about this book was that it had a lot of psychological stuff in it. I love psychology and think a lot of it is extremely fascinating. Ted Dekker successfully linked mental illness into the story and made it more interesting than it otherwise would've been.

I've read a few of Dekker's other books, like the first two of The Circle series, and wasn't that impressed. But after reading The Bride Collector, I'm definitely going to read the third and his other books.

So what's your favorite Ted Dekker book??