Review: The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen

The Moon and More
by Sarah Dessen
Release Date: June 4, 2013
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Pages: 384
Synopsis:

Luke is the perfect boyfriend: handsome, kind, fun. He and Emaline have been together all through high school in Colby, the beach town where they both grew up. But now, in the summer before college, Emaline wonders if perfect is good enough. Enter Theo, a super-ambitious outsider, a New Yorker assisting on a documentary film about a reclusive local artist. Theo's sophisticated, exciting, and best of all, he thinks Emaline is much too smart for Colby.Emaline's mostly absentee father, too, thinks Emaline should have a bigger life, and he's convinced that an Ivy League education is the only troute to realizing her potential. Emaline is attacted to the bright future that Theo and her father promise. But she also clings to the deep roots of her loving mother, stepfather, and sisters. Can she ignore the pull of the happily familiar world of Colby? Emaline wants the moon and more, but how can she balance where she comes from with where she's going? Sarah Dessen's devoted fans will welcome this story of romance, yearning, and finally, empowerment. It could only happen in the summer. 

Review:

After reading The Moon and More I can say with the utmost confidence that Sarah Dessen is my favorite author of all time. Her writing is completely mesmerizing and it just gets better with every book. However, I feel that The Moon and More falls slightly short of all of Sarah Dessen's other works. This book is no This Lullaby. And while it is expected that Dessen's books can't all be as good as This Lullaby, I was a bit disappointed.

I think the thing that bothered me the most with this book was the romance. Neither of the romances were developed enough, and I didn't feel any attachment to either guy. Sarah Dessen attempted a love triangle but I didn't really like the way she went about writing it. Luke was a douchebag, of course I didn't like him, and although Theo was slightly better, their relationship was never explained very much, and it came to a dead end. At the end of the book, Emaline never said what happened with her and Theo, even though they broke up. I thought there should be some sort of closure at the end, but there wasn't. There just didn't seem to be a central plot direction. Maybe there was, and I'm just completely missing it, but I don't think so. So therefore, the romance kind of sucked.

Emaline as a protagonist was ok. Sarah Dessen's heroines usually have some sort of gusto that is different from other heroines seen in YA fiction, but Emaline is definitely at the end of the list for me. She seemed cold, rude, and I just wasn't able to make connections with her that well. I understand that she had gone through a lot, but her character was... not really relatable and obnoxious.

But, of course, reading this book was a definitely a treat. Sarah Dessen's writing is perfect, when I say perfect, I mean MORE than perfect. Each sentence was perfectly formed and fit together like a puzzle. I can't get enough of the words she writes, and despite my complaints, I was sad when this book was over. No more Sarah Dessen until...I don't know when, but not for at least a couple years. There are still some Dessen books I haven't read, so I'm definitely on those soon.

If you're hesitating to read The Moon and More, I would say that there are some legit things to be hesitant about, but if you are a Sarah Dessen fan, then go for it! Most of the reviews I see are 5-star perfect, but this just wasn't my favorite Dessen. So this might be me just being picky and you might LOVE this book.

Review: Speechless by Hannah Harrington

Speechless
by Hannah Harrington
Release Date: August 28, 2012
Publisher: HarlequinTeen
Pages: 288
Source: bought
Links: Goodreads
Stars: 5/5
Synopsis:

Everyone knows that Chelsea Knot can't keep a secret. Unt now. Because the last secret she shared turned her into a social outcast--and nearly got someone killed. Now Chelsea has taken a vow of silence--to learn to keep her mouth shut, and to stop hurting anyone else. And if she thinks keeping secrets is hard, not speaking up when she's ignored, ridiculed, or even attacked is worse. But there's strength in silence, and in the new friends who are, shockingly, coming her way--people she never noticed before; a boy she might even fall for. If only her new friends can forgive what she's done. If only she can forgive herself. 

Review:


I am totally in love. Speechless was an amazing adventure for me that I doubt I'll ever forget. I'm so thankful for all of you who persuaded me to read it, because every syllable of this book was worth reading and every ounce of it was bliss. I just loved watching this story unfold, the miraculous character development, and the sweet and subtle romance. If I hadn't been recommended this book, I think I would have overlooked it--not on purpose--but the cover is plain and white and I don't think it would have captured my attention. Now that I've read the book I love the cover but I don't think I thought that before I began the book.

Chelsea Knot is just one of those characters. Do you know what I mean? She's special, rare. Ive only come across a few characters like her in my entire time reading, and she's the best out of all of them. At the beginning I was conflicted about her. I disliked her snobbery, her want of attention, her constant insecurity, etc. But then I realized about midway through the book, "If every protagonist was perfect, than the whole existence of books would be one big lie." I loved the way that Chelsea was flawed and it made the story so much more believable.

The idea of not talking for as long as Chelsea did blew my mind. I talk a lot (sometimes too much) and it's actually sort of difficult to get me to stop talking sometimes, although it really depends on whom I'm with (my closest friends = you don't want to even go there). After I read Speechless I tried to go around not talking for a few days. But I only lasted a couple hours. But for me, that's semi-impressive. I know that what happened to Chelsea was really scarring and horrible, but I still found it amazing that she was able to go on not talking for as long as she did, considering the amount of talking she did before she went speechless.

I loved Sam so much. He wasn't hot or sexy or all of that crap that YA authors use to describe their love interests, he was just a nerdy, normal guy and I really do have a thing for guys (real and fictional) who are kind of geeky and nerdy-cute and just charmingly imperfect, so that's what made Sam so appealing to me. His character was incredibly believable, and every sentence of his made me just want to reach into the book and hug him like there was no tomorrow.

Anyway, Speechless was a truly amazing experience and I think I'll need to indulge myself with more of Hannah Harrington's writing from now on because it was absolutely mind-blowing.

Legend by Marie Lu: review

Legend
by Marie Lu
Series: Legend #1
Release Date: February 2, 2012
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 295
Source: borrowed
Links: Goodreads
Stars: 4/5
Synopsis:

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives might not be as malicious as they seem. From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths--until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets. Full of nonstop action, suspense, and romance, this novel is sure to move readers as much as it thrills. 

*This review contains spoilers, but I have marked them off with brackets like **[[this]].

After finishing Legend I had no doubt about its amazingness.  However, when I first began the book I was a little bit conflicted. Not only had one of my friends hated it, I had a bit of trouble getting fully enraptured in the story until several pages in. 

This book is about two 15-year-olds. One of them is Day, the world's single most notorious criminal. And the other is June, the only person to ever score a perfect 1500 on the trial, a test that each citizen takes once they reach a certain age. This book shifts perspectives between June and Day, and although I enjoyed both of their POVs, I really liked Day's. All of his feelings were poured from the pages and into my heart. I could feel his pain at certain especially difficult moments in the book. I found it hard to make much of a connection with June unless she was with Day, because otherwise, she was cold and stiff. But when she was with Day, she was just a normal girl and I liked that about her. She wasn't just the Republic's pet. I also liked the fact that the characters were only 15. It made things more realistic and I felt like I could connect to them more, because in a lot of books I read the characters are 16,17, or older. I could connect more to June and Day, even though they still have 2 years on me.

I have to admit that I nearly gave up on this book within a mere 30 pages of it. I guess I went into it with mixed feelings because I've heard lots of hype surrounding it and if there's a lot of hype surrounding a book, I tend to be disappointed. One of my friends loved it, but my other one hated it, and I usually like the same books as the other friend who hated it so I didn't know what to think. But then I hit page 40 or 50 and the story fell in place, giving me a scenario and keeping my fingers unconsciously turning the pages until I finished the book. I've never been so fully engrossed in a book as I was in Legend, and that shows you Marie Lu's undeniable skill for writing. Although I ended up loving this book I still have to admit that the first pages were rough to get through so that is why my rating is a 4 not a 5.

The other complaint I have is that I found this book to be very predictable. I totally guessed who Metias's murderer was right from the start. Also I feel like there should've been more suspects other than Day and **SPOILER ALERT: [[[[Thomas]]]] because it just made things way to easy to figure out who it was. **SPOILER ALERT: [[[[Even though I predicted it was Thomas from the beginning, I wish there could have been a distractor to make me think its someone else. ]]]]

I loved the story so much. It was an interesting twist on a dystopian society, I felt like it was portrayed so realistically. I love dystopian books because they always get the wheels in my brain turning. Legend is no exception. I thought about the world that Marie Lu portrayed so much that my head kinda hurt. (In a good way :P)

This book gave me a lot to think about. It left me yearning for more, of the stories of these two young people, and their fates. I can't wait to see where Marie Lu takes this series in Prodigy, and she definitely provides a thrill ride for her readers.

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson: review

Book: Wintergirls
Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Release Date: March 19, 2009
Publisher: Viking Juvenile
Pages: 278
Source: Library
Links: Goodreads
Stars: 4/5

"Dead girl walking," the boys say in the halls. "Tell us your secret," the girls whisper, one toilet to another. I am that girl. I am the space between my thighs, daylight shining through. I am the bones they want, wired on a porcelain frame. Lia and Cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the skinniest. But what comes after size zero and size double-zero? When Cassie succumbs to the demons within, Lia feels she is being haunted by her friend's restless spirit. In her most emotionally wrenching, lyrically written book since the multiple award winning Speak, Laurie Halse Anderson explores Lia's descent into the powerful vortex of anorexia, and her painful path toward recovery. 

MY THOUGHTS:

I loved Anderson's Speak and Chains (although the second book in that series was a bitter disappointment, but that's a whole other rant), so I was interested to see what she would do with the concept of anorexia in Wintergirls. Well, let's just say that Anderson is a pro when handling the tough subjects, and she portrays them in a such a way that it makes it not uncomfortable to read, but interesting.

Lia is 18 years old and been struggling with anorexia for years. At the beginning of the book, she is 99 pounds and 5'5" tall. As her weight slowly lowers to practically less than 90, the reader gets to see her desperation to become as skinny and weightless as she can possibly be. Her best friend, Cassie, was bulimic, and recently died from it. Lia is haunted by this every day, especially since the day Cassie died, she called Lia and Lia didn't pick up.

 As a character, Lia gave a desperate, confused, and lonely vibe. At the end of the book, she really shined and left her past to be her past. The chacacter development was stunning and really luminous.

I have a friend who had problems with anorexia, so I knew a little bit about it, but not enough that I knew absolutely everything. This book helped me gain knowledge on the subject. At school, it's considered cool to pretend you have an eating disorder just so that people will give you compliments, which I really think is disgusting. Eating disorders are horrible, awful things that shouldn't be joked around about. Lia came close to death.

This book not only dealt with anorexia but it also dealt with bulimia. The idea that someone would make herself vomit just to get rid of the food inside her body was terrible and foreign to me. However, it helped me learn more about it and some of the struggles people go through when dealing with bulimia. Although Cassie had a tragic ending, Lia did not and ended the book as a full flower in bloom.

Anderson's writing is poetic and lovely. The sentences flowed together and her style is all-around artistic and unique. The writing was one of my favorite parts, because through the writing, she showed Lia's emotions. The writing was repetitive and choppy when Lia was feeling desperate, hungry, or sick, and beautiful and flowing when she was feeling happy. I loved that about the book.

The one problem I did have with this book was the fact that the middle of it seemed cluttered and the ending seemed rushed. The beginning and ending were good, but the middle seemed to drag a little, and the story didn't really go anywhere for 50 or 60 pages, but that's only a minor complaint.

Wintergirls is definitely not a book for the faint of heart, but I really enjoyed it, and I think I'll read more of Anderson's works since she is a truly talented writer.

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare: review

Book: Clockwork Princess
Author: Cassandra Clare
Series: The Infernal Devices, #3
Release Date: March 19, 2013
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Pages: 568
Source: bought
Links: Goodreads
Stars: 5/5

Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy. Tessa Gray should be happy- aren't all brides happy? Yet as she prepares for her wedding, a net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. A new demon appears, one linked by blood and secrecy to Mortmain, the man who plans to use his army of pitiless automatons, the Infernal Devices, to destroy the Shadowhunters. Mortmain needs only one last item to complete his plan. He needs Tessa. And Jem and Will, the boys who lay equal claim to Tessa's heart, will do anything to save her. 

MY THOUGHTS:

*spoiler free section*

Clockwork Princess broke my heart. More than once. was the book that caused my heart the most pain. Each sentence was like a sword, tearing through my heart, the cuts getting deeper and more painful as the book progressed. And yet, this book is one of the most uplifting books I've ever read, despite being tough on the heart.

The story is romantic and inspiring, the characters luminous. At first when I started this series, I wasn't sure that I liked Tessa. I disliked how all the attention revolved around other people saving her, not her saving herself. Although this was but a minor complaint (I don't believe I ever mentioned it to anyone before), Tessa in Clockwork Princess was a different girl from who she was before. Her character was beautiful and radiated off strength, truth, and beauty. This cast of characters is one of my favorites that I have ever come across, because of the way that Cassandra Clare makes us as the readers so attached to them in ways I can't properly explain through words. She compels her readers to be deeply and emotionally involved with her characters. There was something deep and gorgeous in the demeanor of the characters, and that is why I adore this series so much.

Jem and Will are, of course, integral puzzle pieces to the story and I loved both of them as much as could be. In this book, Jem was his sweet, understanding self. Although he was the one that was ill and slowly fading away, Will is by far the more tragic one. He is self-destructive and suffering deeply from all of the trauma and pain inflicted on him in his life. My heart broke for Jem, but I think it broke the most for Will. Even though it was clear that Jem loved Tessa, Will's love was fierce, brutally irrevocable, and tragic. The only words for Will are beautiful and tragic. And yet as he radiates off tragedy and heartbreak, he also has a wry sense of humor and was still, deep down, Will Herondale, with his sarcasm and ability to make me blush or laugh out loud. He was perfect. And you know when I say perfect, I mean seriously flawed, but in a way that makes the character beautiful.

*spoiler section BEWARE*

I have left my review spoiler-free for way too long. The spoilers are just waiting to spill out, because they are really what caused me the most heartbreak in this book.

I could not believe it when Will and Tessa slept together right after Jem died. Even though I ship Will and Tessa that just didn't seem right. I wanted their love to develop gradually after Jem's death, not just explode suddenly like that, and it seemed as though Tessa was just waiting for Jem to die so that she could be with Will, even though that wasn't the case, it felt like it . I almost threw the book down in disgust. But then--there was this one sentence in the book, that made me feel differently about this.

"Can one forget a thing that, however unwise, was beautiful?"

And yes, I realized, it was beautiful. It showed that two people cared for each other in a profound and lifelong way. Then I read this quote:

"They say you cannot love two people equally at once," she said. "And perhaps for others that is so. But you and Will--you are not like two ordinary people, two people who might have been jealous of each other, or who would have imagined my love for one of them diminished by my love for the other. You merged your souls when you were both children. I could not have loved Will so much if I had not loved you as well. And I could not love you as I do if I had not loved Will as I did."

 And that paragraph was I think the most beautiful in the entire book.

I can't believe that Cassandra Clare made it so that Tessa could end up with both boys. And if you're reading this even if you haven't read the book, then it's not what you think. Tessa is with both Will and Jem, and she made all of her fans equally satisfied. I'm having a hard time putting my feelings into words at the moment so I'm sort of pacing around the room thinking about what I could write without sounding like a complete psycho. But I'm just going to leave the whole love-triangle stuff like that.

Before I read the book I spoiled it for myself. Not only had I read spoiler reviews on Goodreads, I also took the jacket of the book off and looked the family tree before I started it, and there were HUGE spoilers back there, and I think I would've enjoyed the romances better if I hadn't spoiled them for myself, but a family tree can't tell you everything, and there were still some unexpected twists with the character romances.

Cecily and Gabriel are one of my favorite couples in the book. (One of) my favorite quote from the book:

"Cecy," he said, and closed the distance between them, though it was not much, and then he was kissing her--his hands awkward around her shoulders first, slipping on the stiff taffeta of her gown before his fingers slid behind her head, tangling in her soft, warm hair. She stiffened in surprise before softening against him, the seam of her lips parting as he tasted the sweetness of her mouth. When he drew away at last, he felt lightheaded. "Cecy?" he said again, his voice hoarse.
"Five," she said. Her lips and cheeks were flushed, but her gaze was steady.
"Five?" he echoed blankly.
"My rating," she said, and smiled at him. "Your skill and technique may, perhaps, require work, but the native talent is certainly there. What you require is practice."
"And are you willing to be my tutor?"
"I should be very insulted if you chose another," she said, and leaned up to kiss him again.

AH! I LOVE GABRIEL! ***SWOOON****

Sophie and Gideon also ended up together! I'm so happy! :D And Sophie became a Shadowhunter?

You know what, I should nickname myself, "The Spoiler Machine".

The ending of this book was absolutely insane. It filled me with newfound emotions that I didn't even know existed. I can't even express what I felt at the end, just that it was a mixture of grief, happiness, glee, and a lot of other nameless emotions in my head that captured the essence of what it is like to read a great book. I could say so much more about this book but I'll just leave it at that, and now I have to go off and read other books, but it's possible none of them will be quite as good as Clockwork Princess. 

Favorite Quotes from the Book: 

"I don't think you can fight because you're wearing a wedding dress," said Jem. "For what it's worth I don't think Will could fight in that dress either."
"Perhaps not," said Will, who had ear's like a bat's. "But I would make a radiant bride."

"You know that feeling," she said, "when you are reading a book, and you know that it is going to be a tragedy; you can feel the cold and darkness coming, see the net drawing close around the characters who live and breathe on the pages. But you are tied to the story as if being dragged around a carriage and you cannot let go or turn the course aside."

"Miss Cecily," she gasped, and then her eyes went to Will. She clapped a hand over her mouth, turned, and bolted back into the house.
"Oh dear," said Tessa.
"I have that effect on women," Will said.

There are lots more, but these are the ones that I marked. I could sift through the pages and find hundreds of quotes that I loved, but I suggest you read the book and find them for yourself. :)

Emotions I felt during Clockwork Princess:

~Cover Talk~

I have been fangirling over this cover for months, but it is even more beautiful in person! When I saw this book at the bookstore for the first time, I literally gasped and sprinted up to hug the book to my chest, marveling over its beauty. Beautiful Tessa reading a book--what could be a better cover than that? Not only is the cover beautiful but the content inside is amazing. The cover literally glows and radiates beauty and power. I just love it. 

Review: Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

Book: Dreamland
Author: Sarah Dessen
Release Date: May 11, 2004
Publisher: Speak
Pages: 250
Source: bought
Stars: 5/5

Ever since she started going out with Rogerson Biscoe, Caitlin seems to have fallen into a semiconscious dreamland where nothing is quite real. Rogerson is different from anyone Caitlin has ever known. He's magnetic. He's compelling. He's dangerous. Being with him makes Caitlin forget about everything else--her missing sister, her withdrawn mother, her lackluster life. But what happens when being with Rogerson becomes a larger problem than being without him? 

MY THOUGHTS:


Disclaimer: The following review might seem slightly melodramatic, but trust me, it's not melodramatic for me

Sarah Dessen has delivered something that is not typical of her books. She has delivered a haunting, heart-pounding story of a girl who struggles to find out who she is. The book was raw and intense, words that I seriously cannot believe I'm using to describe one of Sarah Dessen's books. But to be honest, this one seems to have a silver lining surrounding it, making it truly different and unique from her other books. The other books, of course, are wonderful--anyone who knows me knows that I am a diehard Sarah fan. But this one--just something about it was beautiful, even though the book was filled with painful, tear-worthy scenes that made me clench my fists so hard that my knuckles turned completely white.

If you've ever read a Sarah Dessen novel, then you know what you're coming into. You can expect a fast-moving, slightly addicting story with a strong and unique heroine, whether he be a tough and no-shit Remy or a quiet and transparent Caitlin, and a guy, whether he be a clumsy and lovable Dexter or, in this book's case, a penetrative, dark, and enigmatic Rogerson. Even though I knew that there would be a teenage protagonist and her boyfriend, I never would have expected this. I didn't know what I was getting into when I went into this book, and I have to say, it gave me a surprise. Even though Sarah Dessen's books are sometimes slightly mindless, this one radiated off desperation and pain. Through the pages, I could feel Caitlin's pain, her sense that things weren't real and she was in some kind of dreamland, and after I finished it, my head and heart felt sore, as if something had been repeatedly twisting them up into knots.

As a character, Rogerson was interesting. And I hate to use the word interesting as it is so ambiguous, but interesting perfectly describes his character.  The reader doesn't get a great sense of him, other than the fact that he is exceptionally smart and, ultimately, abusive. The way he treated Caitlin made me so angry that sometimes I wanted to tear the pages of the book (don't worry, I didn't), or read faster, hoping that his abuse would stop.  But then, Caitlin mentions several times that his father beats him, so Rogerson's pain is taken out on Caitlin. This by NO means makes it okay (it's the most not-ok thing ever...) but it made me think, Hell, what's wrong with the world? Why are people so unhappy? And why do they take it out on people that they love? Because to be honest, I think that somewhere deep down, Rogerson loved Caitlin, just like she loved him. But through his anger and emotional struggles, he didn't love her, he abused her.

Caitlin reminds me, coincidentally, of Echo from Saving Zoe, in the sense that her older sister is really, really beautiful and amazing and sets the bar for the younger sister's success extremely high, and that she is almost trying to be her sister now that she is gone. Of course, Caitlin's and Echo's sisters were gone in different ways, but still, the books seemed like practically shadows of each other. Sisterhood is a really mind-boggling concept. My sister is 10 years older than me and is beautiful, smart, and successful, you name it. Although we are ultimately fairly equal, I have often felt as if I have to be just like her, even though no one ever told me this directly.

I couldn't stop thinking of the song Haunted by Taylor Swift as I was reading this book. For those of you who don't know, the song goes: "Come on, come on don't leave me like this, I thought I had you figured out. Something's gone terribly wrong, you're all I wanted." Although Taylor Swift is clearly not singing about physical abuse, the song seems to run deeper than what she is actually singing about, and I every time Caitlin expressed her fear of Rogerson, it seemed like the song was on repeat in my head.

When I was reading this book, I felt so much pain by it that I wanted it to be over. I wanted Caitlin's pain to end and for the ending to somehow be happy. And while this book ending was not happy, it also wasn't tragic like I expected it to be. Although this is kind of a bold thing to compare it to, the feelings I got reminded me so much of how I felt during The Fault in Our Stars--like I wanted it to end so the pain of the characters could be over. For a while, during the book, I just silently cried, tears running down my face. And when I finished it, I was all set to give it 2 or 3 stars because of how terrible it made me feel.

But then I was reminded of the fact that if a book makes that strong an impact on you, then it must be a good book because the writer is doing a good job. So instead, I give it 5 stars because of the way it made me feel empty.

Dreamland was a mysterious, haunting book. Although I seem to say this about every Sarah Dessen book, this one is the one that REALLY stands out, and I think the silver lining around it will always stay there, making the experience of reading this book an incredible experience. Just writing this review, reflecting on my thoughts, has realized how much this book made me think about life in general. A beautiful book. Sarah, you've done it yet again.

Review: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Book: The Immortal Rules

Author: Julie Kagawa

Series: Blood of Eden #1

Release Date: April 24, 2012

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Pages: 485

Source: bought

Links: Goodreads | Amazon 

Stars: 5/5

IN A FUTURE WORLD, VAMPIRES REIGN. HUMANS ARE BLOOD CATTLE. AND ONE GIRL WILL SEARCH FOR THE KEY TO SAVE HUMANITY. 

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten. Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die… or become one of the monsters. Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad. Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike. But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for. 

MY THOUGHTS:

In reality, when faced with death and the great unknown that came after, my survival instinct snatched wildly at whatever lifeline was offered.

Best. Vampire. Book. Ever. Written.

As someone who is openly derisive and mocking of the whole vampire craze, I wasn't sure what to expect from The Immortal Rules.  It had a potentially interesting idea but I felt that my scorn for vampires would pretty much cloud over all the good stuff in it, despite all of the insistent pleas from friends that I should read it. However, upon reading this book, I am compelled to think otherwise, because this book was so beautifully written and structured that I could hardly keep from dancing around my room after I finished it.

Allison Sekemoto is a street rat when the book opens, a Fringer who every day struggles to both survive and help those around her survive. As an Unregistered (a human not forced into being a vampire's blood bag, but also a human who does not receive food), some days she feels as if she is right on the verge of death. Then, when she discovers cans and cans of food outside the city walls, she realizes that this food is the key to her survival. Guiding her "friends" to the food, the group is attacked by rabids, and before Allison dies, a vampire finds her and gives her the choice. Either she can die. Or she can become a vampire, the thing that she loathes the most in the world.

You can tell from that somewhat vague recount of the opening of the book that  The Immortal Rules is haunting and not for the faint of heart. There was lots of murder, blood, and violence in this book, but the way that Julie Kagawa told the story made my heart twist in anticipation for the next event. Her writing made me pretty much wonderstruck. It enraptured me from page on, and the sequence of events was perfect, each event slowly bleed (ha-ha) into the next, was just magical. I never knew what to expect throughout the time when I was reading this book, and I find myself clinging to the plot and writing, devouring it as if it were 100 spoonfuls of chocolate frosting.

Allison, as the heroine of the book, went through her highs and lowes throughout the book. At times I felt she was being stubborn and inconsiderate, and at times I totally got her. It was interesting to see what Julie Kagawa did with her character throughout the book. Despite the fact that she was now a bloodsucker, Allison gripped onto her humanity stubbornly and even though her vampire instincts overpowered her at times, she still seemed as if she were a normal girl (if not a little jaded from her years of near starvation) which was why she did such a good job disguising herself amongst the humans. Although Allison went through her ups and downs, I think, now that I've finished the book, that it's safe to say that Allison ended up being a pretty stable protagonist.

The love interest of this book, Zeke, stole my heart in ways that I didn't think were possible. His determination, bravery, and unconditional love for those around him made him lovable and tragic at the same time. In addition, he is completely sweet and protective and trusting. Although he was hurt, confused, and frightened when he found out what Allison was (a vampire), he came around and trusted her, despite her longing for his blood (now that was the only part I found a little creepy). The ending of the book is tear-worthy and I can't wait to see where Julie Kagawa takes this series.

I also liked Kanin although I don't think of him as a potential love interest for Allison, although I know that some people might think of him that way. *****SPOILER ALERT: I hope that Allison can save him, but also come back to Zeke, who she loves.*****

I hesitate not to say that this was not only the best vampire book that I've read (not that I read that many vampire books) but also the best paranormal romance I've read in a long time, possibly ever! No question that this book deserves the 5 stars that I have awarded it. This book was pure, utter bliss, and has also opened my eyes to the fact that not all vampire books are bad.

Review: Unraveling by Elizabeth Norris

Unraveling
by Elizabeth Norris
Pages: 445
Format: Finished Copy
Source: Bought
Release Date: April 24, 2012
Publisher: Baltzer + Bray
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Sixteen-year-old Janelle Tenner is used to having a lot of responsibility. She balances working as a lifeguard in San Diago with an intense academic schedule. Janelle's mother is bipolar , and her dad is a workaholic FBI agent, which means that Janelle also has to look out for her younger brother,Jared.
And that was before she died... and is brought back to life by Ben Michaels, a mysterious, alluring loner from her high school. When she discovers a strange clock that seems to be counting down the days to the earth's destruction, Janelle learns she has twenty-four days to figure out how to stop the clock and save the planet.

I'll say in truth that I never would've looked twice at this book were it not for the fact that I got an ARC of its sequel. I am not the type for complicated science-y books, but this one seems to be an exception. When I was reading it, the world around me seemed to fade away, the sounds around me becoming faint echoes and only the words that Elizabeth Norris wrote pounding into my mind.

As a writer, Elizabeth Norris is truly talented. Not only does she provide her readers with an intriguing, completely out-of-the-box plot, she provides thought-provoking characters and an intriguing love interest. I'll start with this idea that she has come up with for her readers. In this book, high-schooler Janelle Tenner is hit by a truck out of nowhere one day toward the end of the summer. Inside of her, Janelle knows that she has died. But then, she is suddenly revived, seemingly by the strange loner Ben Michaels, a boy who she has never talked to, though she's gone to school with him for years. I'm not going to spoil the rest for you, but there are some fascinating elements that make up the rest of the story--Janelle's being brought back from the dead only a fraction of what the book is about.

Our heroine Janelle definitely kicks butt. She's witty and down-to-earth, and on the outside she seems tough and not-taking-any-shit. But really, she struggles to act like the adult in her family--her mother is bipolar and her father a full-time FBI agent. It's up to her to take care of her younger brother, Jared. One of the things I liked the most about Janelle was that she was completely no-nonsense, even with her relationship with Ben.

I LOVE BEN. I'm not exaggerating. I TOTALLY IN LOVE WITH BEN. He was just adorable and perfect (ok, not perfect, but you know what I mean) and totally cute and amazing. And now I have added yet another book boyfriend to my ever-expanding list. Sorry, Four, you might've just been outshined by Ben <3 <3 <3 I could go on and on and on about him, but for your sake I won't. :P

The one thing--and the only thing--that I think could've been slightly improved was the fact that until about 3 days before the supposed apocalypse no one was rushing around urgently to save the world. I mean, the world was going to end. So. . . um, isn't it better to start earlier rather than later?

This one was most certainly a page-turner! I stayed up late to finish it, and the exciting and grabbing plot was just scrumptiously amazing. 4.5 stars!

Review: Saving Zoe by Alyson Noel

Saving Zoë
by Alyson Noel
Pages: 230
Format: Finished Copy
Source: Borrowed
Release Date: September 4, 2007
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Stars: 4.5 out of 5

It's been one year since the brutal murder of her older sister, Zoe, and fifteen year old Echo is still reeling from the aftermath. Her parents are numb, her friends are moving on, and the awkward start to her freshman year proves she'll never live up to her sister's memory. Until Zoe's former boyfriend Marc shows up with Zoe's diary.

At first Echo's not interested,doubting there's anything in there she doesn't already know. But when curiosity prevails, she starts reading, becoming so immersed in her sister's secret world, their lives begin to blur, forcing Echo to uncover the truth behind Zoe's life so that she can start to rebuild her own.

Prepare to laugh your heart out and cry your eyes out in this highly addictive tale as Alyson Noel tackles the complicated relationship between two sisters and shows how the bond can endur elong after one of them is gone.

Saving Zoe is a truly heartbreaking, luminous book! I started this book late last night and stayed up until I was completely wiped out, and then woke up this morning and finished it. A light page-turner, but this book certainly has a layer of sadness and hollowness that Noel portrayed really well.  Her writing made the book glow, and it was a definite improvement over Faking 19. This book made a beautiful impact on me and I don't think I'll be forgetting it any time soon.

In this book the main character Echo (isn't that name, just, perfect?) is 15 years old and faced with the ever-present weight upon her shoulders that her older sister, Zoe, was murdered the year before. Her mother takes "happy pills" but as Echo says, Despite the external mask she puts on to people who don't know the family well, her mother's eyes are "more vacant than ever". Echo remains silent and seemingly clueless, entering her freshman year in high school tentatively, knowing people are pitying her and thinking of the tragedy that became her family.  Echo's character really shines. At the beginning of the book it was hard to get a sense of what kind of person she was, but towards the middle of the book, her character came out in several ways, most of them being small. I could relate to Echo more than Alex because Echo is only a couple years older than me and she seemed to be going through the basics of high school. Even though I've never been to high school I could relate.

Echo's name is perfect for her character. Whereas Zoe was the sister who was determined, bold, fearless, and as Echo says "the one that people will miss", Echo was merely a vague echo of her sister's defined personality. Her sister's personality was like a scream--loud and clear--and hers could get strong but grew faint and faded after some time. I don't know if Noel meant for the reader to interpret it that way, but that was definitely the way that I analyzed it. Although Echo struggles to find who she is, because most of the book is spent with her trying to be the person who her sister was, her character was unique and slightly tragic.

A great portion of this book is Zoe's diary, and I usually loathe books with diary entries mixed in with regular narration, just because it provides unnecessary confusion and also I find it hard to stay focused on both ends of the story. But for this book it worked really well. The combination of Zoe's bright and (figuratively) loud entries and Echo's quiet and reserved narration really made for an awesome combination.

All in all this book was just spectacular! At times the storyline slowed down and then picked up so fast that I hard a hard time keeping track of some things, but I only minded it a little because the book just positively astounded me. If you're looking for a chic-lit that has at least some inner layer of intelligence and won't lower your IQ score, then this is definitely the book for you.

Review: Faking 19 by Alyson Noel

Faking 19
by Alyson Noel
Pages: 224
Format: Finished Copy
Source: Borrowed
Release Date: March 1, 2005
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Stars: 2 out of 5

On the surface, 17 year old Alex has it made; she is beautiful and smart. Plus, she's best friends with M, the absolute most popular girl in school. Feeling bored with their fancy Orange County suburban town, Alex and M decide to check out LA's glitzy nightlife scene.

Pretending to be 19, Alex and M meet Trevor and Connor, two rich older guys. At first Alex can't believe her luck--she gets to hang out at hip Hollywood houseparties and downton LA clubs. There weekend trips into the city become the perfect distraction for Alex, who is secretly struggling with her failing senior grades,her absentee father,and her clueless mom.

But after the initial fun wears off for Alex, she is forced to reevaluate her cfriendship with M., who is hiding some secrets beneath her perfect Burberry clad exterior...

Chic-lit, for me, is a guilty pleasure. I don't read a whole lot of it, and the only chic-lit author I really like is Sarah Dessen. I was expecting this book to be cheesy, girly, and mindless. And it was, but you could tell that Alyson Noel tried to add a layer of depth to it that just didn't really end up working out that well.  Alex, 17, is beautiful, popular, and smart. But she's failing all of her classes, despite her talent for writing that she has been secretly hiding away. Her parents are divorced, her father has no interest in her life, and her mother is lonely and vacant. Her best friend, M, is even more beautiful and more popular than she is. So to get away from their seemingly sucky lives, Alex and M visit LA and explore the  clubs and meet older guys. And even though the premise seems remotely interesting, and the cover is your typical chic-lit cover, the inside of the book wasn't so great. The staging was atrocious and the writing was absolutely terrible. There were also grammar mistakes which I almost never see in books. I have to admit, I was disappointed with this book, especially since my friend said it was so good.

I think what made this book so uninteresting to me is that it wasn't very relatable. I've never faked my age to be with an older guy or anything like that (obviously :p). This book revolves around the lives of two 17 year old girls, and needless to say I couldn't relate to anything that they were talking about. There didn't really seem to be any central plot line, and that drove me crazy. I kept waiting for something interesting or action-packed to happen, but it just didn't. It seemed like a typical mindless read.  The writing wasn't too great either. Noel would write something and then repeat herself two sentences later. The paragraphs were long and rambling, and sometimes I just wanted to scream, "Get to the point, Alex!" Speaking of which, Alex, as a character, drove me insane. All of her decisions were immature and stupid. I knew that she was under stress with everything with her parents, but she drove me up the wall. I also hated M, her best friend.

This book was just your typical chic-lit and I didn't see anything special or note-worthy about it. Sometimes there would be good moments where I'd want to keep reading but this was a fast read that didn't make me think at all. The characters and writing were what really annoyed me, though, and I really wish I liked this book more. Hopefully there'll be some better reads next.

PS. So sorry for the rambling review. I feel like it wasn't very good... I'll do better next time, promise!

{Review} Tiger's Curse by Colleen Houck

Book: Tiger's Curse
Author: Colleen Houck
Series: Tiger Saga #1
Pages: 403
Format: Finished Copy
Source: Purchased
Release Date: January 11, 2011
Publisher: Sterling
Rating: 1 out of 5 stars

Passion. Fate. Loyalty.

Would you risk it all to change your destiny?

The last thing Kelsey Hayes thought she'd be doing this summer was trying to break a 300-year-old Indian curse. With a mysterious white tiger named Ren. Halfway around the world. But that's exactly what happened. Face to face with dark forces, spellbinding magic, and mystical worlds where nothing is what it seems, Kelsey risks everything to piece together an ancient prophecy that could break the curse forever.

Tiger's Curse is the exciting first volume in an epic fantasy romance that will leave you breathless and yearning for more. 

MY REVIEW:


My first thought after reading this book: Kelsey must be viciously attacked by white tigers and killed.

I know what you thought after you read that: "Whoa there, violent much?" Well if you read the book you would see my point. Kelsey Hayes is one of the worst characters I have come across in the nearly 2 years that I have been reading YA fiction.

Kelsey's dialogue was insufferable. She talked like she was straight out of a Jane Austen novel. I'm sorry, but we're talking about a 21st century 18 year old right? The dots just don't connect. Every time I read a sentence where she talked like that I'd have to stifle a laugh because it sounded so wrong.

Clearly this girl has been socially deprived for the vast majority of her life. Case in point: She reads Shakespeare to a tiger (Um, yeah, that's totally normal). She takes off to a country she's never been to with an unfamiliar guy taking care of a tiger. This girl is not a normal teenager.

Along with sounding like she was from the eighteenth century she also sounded like she was 11. She was a sniveling baby for the entire book and treated others around her like crap, especially Ren.

This was Kelsey for most of the book:













This was my reaction to Kelsey:











There were only like 4 characters in the book: Kelsey, Ren, Mr. Kadam and Kishan. Ren was arguably as bad as Kelsey. I mean what's to like about him? All Kelsey says about him is that he's gorgeous and can turn into a tiger and looks like Brad Pitt. So that's supposed to make me like the guy? Um no. I'm not going to like a guy like that.

The only character I really liked was Kishan and he was barely in the book.

The pacing was atrocious. The beginning was so rushed. Within like 30 pages Kelsey was in India. Ok that's an exaggeration but it seemed so rushed even if it was over more like 100 pages.

Everything about the plot was terrible, too. I thought I would love the plot because it has to do with white tigers which are one of my favorite animals. Well I was wrong. I ended up skimming through most of the second half because I just didn't give an F about the stupid curse.

The romance was terrible too. All I could think when Kelsey and Ren were kissing was "Ugh, get a room." Usually romance gives some sort of good vibe but for this book it just didn't. It was terrible.

My reaction to the romance:

(Don't stare at that gif too long. Trust me.)

It also makes me so mad that in a lot of books the main girl character refuses to believe she's pretty. NOTE: When a guy tells you you're pretty, say, "Thank you." DO NOT scoff and say, "Me? Pretty?" That's exactly what Kelsey did. And Kelsey goes out of her way to tell the reader that she's plain and never wears makeup. So what? Are we supposed to like Kelsey better now? Just because she says she doesn't wear makeup or think she's pretty? Sorry but no.

The writing was ok at best and I think it would've been a lot better if Miss Kelsey Hayes hadn't been narrating. Some of the descriptions of things were cool, but they were quickly forgotten about once Kelsey went back to being her dim-witted unlikable self.

I'm surprised I finished this book and to be honest I was considering giving up several times but I always feel really guilty when I leave a book unfinished.

For some reason I thought I would love this book. Maybe it's because it's about white tigers and all that, but I was definitely proved wrong. I know I'm not going to read the sequels, no way. This is the first book I've rated 1 star in a long time and trust me, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK. Save yourself from it.

{Review} Slated by Terri Terry

Book: Slated
Author: Terri Terry

Series: Slated #1
Pages: 448
Format: Finished Copy
Release Date: May 3, 2012
Publisher: Orchard Books
Rating: 4/5

Summery:

Debut author Teri Terry has written a brilliantly compelling, original and thought-provoking novel about an uncomfortably plausible future.

 Kyla has been Slated—her memory and personality erased as punishment for committing a crime she can’t remember. The government has taught her how to walk and talk again, given her a new identity and a new family, and told her to be grateful for this second chance that she doesn’t deserve. It’s also her last chance—because they’ll be watching to make sure she plays by their rules.

As Kyla adjusts to her new life, she’s plagued by fear. Who is she, really? And if only criminals   are slated, why are so many innocent people disappearing? Kyla is torn between the need to know more and her instinct for self-preservation. She knows a dangerous game is being played with her life, and she can’t let anyone see her make the wrong move . . . but who can she trust when everyone is a stranger?

 MY REVIEW:


It's been kind of awhile since I've read a dystopian book, and I'd forgotten how much I liked all the different ideas authors came up with for a post-apocalyptic setting. A long time ago, it used to be my favorite genre, and my friends and I would fangirl like crazy over dystopian books. I don't know what happened, but I started to pick up paranormal romance and contemporary, and I just kind of forgot about the genre. BUT, this book reignited my interest in dystopia, even though dystopian books (like this one) often have eerie and slightly frightening ideas surrounding them. And yes, in her debut novel Terri Terry (how I do pity her for having such a name) has taken the creepy route but also manages to make this book highly intriguing.

"If the past is unbearable, why choose to bear it?"
I shrug. Because it is mine.

This quote sums up the level of depth and intensity that the author put into this book. I really like the ideas she gave her reader to think about, and she definitely got the wheels in my brain cranking. Sometimes, when I was reading, I'd just pause and look out the window, lost in thought about what it would be like if our world turned into this, and what the side effects would be.

The book started out promisingly enough, what with the whole being brought to her new family and stuff, but it didn't amaze me or make me wow or anything like that. The writing seemed a little disconnected and it didn't flow very well, and sometimes I had to read sentences a few times. And then there was the protagonist, Kyla. I understood that she'd been Slated and was basically new to the world, but her naivety annoyed me. She kept having these recurring dreams and never really thought anything of them. At times I wanted to scream, "Wake up!" to her, not literally but when she was just not really thinking about her dreams.

But then, it started to get good. Really really really good. ♥

The pace picked up, and Terry provided some really exciting plot twists to make the reader more interested in the story. From then on, I was totally hooked and read at a rapid speed because I just needed to figure out what happened. And boy, was it amazing. I just couldn't stop reading. The writing got better too, and it went from not flowing very nicely to flowing extremely nicely. In fact, I loved reading the writing by the end of the book.

It did take a while for the action to start. The climax didn't happen until like 80% through the book, but the events that built up to it were key, so I think if the climax had been any sooner, the book would've been ruined. So I didn't really mind that the climax was so late in the book.

One thing that made this book different from a lot of dystopians: The author mentioned the particular year in which all of this was happening, and in this case, it was in the late 21st century.  Which is (obviously) the future, but the near future. If you think about it, to have society turn out the way it was in this book would take years and years, possibly hundreds of years. Terry said that the whole government change happened in the 2020's, but that seems kind of unrealistic, and also, 2020 is only 7 years away, so in 7 years this book's time range will become strange since Terry will now be talking about the present. I don't feel like I'm making any sense right now. And again, this isn't the U.S. we're talking about, it's the U.K., since this book is British.

Oh, and I think the idea of the Levos is so cool and interesting, even though it was basically the curse of all the Slateds' existence. I think Terry got the idea of the Levos from people with diabetes, but I'm not sure. It was such an awesome and original idea.

Even though at the beginning I wasn't sure what I thought of Kyla, by the end I respected her as a character, but she wasn't my favorite character. It would be a lie to say that Ben wasn't my favorite character, because he WAS ♥. He was awesome and sweet and normal and nice, while a lot of guys in young adult books these days are overly sexy and mysterious, he was refreshingly normal and I just adored him to bits. The romance was slow-paced, but that was something I really liked about it. A lot of authors rush into romance way to fast, but Terri Terry eased into it, with Kyla and Ben being friends before they started to think of each other romantically. "Ben the rebel. As far as kisses go." That's one of my favorite quotes from the book :)

And boy, that ending! It really broke my heart, and what a cliff hanger!! I NEED the next book, ASAP.

All in all, Slated was such a creative, wonderful book and I definitely had a fun time reading it, even though it was intense and a little creepy. But I really loved it, and if you like dystopian books, then don't hesitate to read this one--It was a great dystopian read.

~Cover Talk~

This cover is soooooo scary! I almost didn't buy this book just because of its creepy cover. The girl's expression is truly scary, but the cover just screams intrigue. I'm not sure I'm a fan of it, though--a little too dark and mysterious for my taste, although it does really fit the tone of the book. One thing, though--is the girl supposed to be Kyla? Because in the book, it says that she has blond hair, but the girl on the cover has dark hair. . . hmm. 

P.S. I know my reviews have been kind of long and rambly lately, and I'm sorry. I feel like I'm not writing very good reviews :( I'll try to shorten them up and make them better soon! 

{Review} Unspoken by Sarah Rees Brennan

Book: Unspoken
Author: Sarah Rees Brennan
Series: The Lynburn Legacy #1
Release Date: September 11, 2012
Publisher: Random House Books
Pages: 370
Links: Goodreads /  Purchase 
Stars: 5/5

Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met . . . a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.

But all that changes when the Lynburns return.

The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?

I have lots to say about this book, firstly though:

A definite thumbs-up for our extremely talented writer, Sarah Rees Brennan!

It feels as if I have discovered my true love upon reading Unspoken. I know I say that quite often in my reviews but I truly mean it this time. I have fallen deeply in love with this book's writing, characters, plot, its everything! All of it was sweet, perfect, and utterly perfect (wait, I said perfect twice). I began this book with expectations that soared high above the sky. I will admit that I am easy to impress and quick to fall for books, but this book I was truly blowen away by it!

Before I began this book I did not know that it took place in England, and when I discovered this, I had some very fangirly moments because I love anything British or having to do with England. At time this book was so cute and so British that it made me want to squeal. Just looking at its deliciously pink cover was enough to get me to start fangirling. In short, I wish that this book was a cute boy so that I could flirt with it. (Just kidding...kind of.)

As a little girl, I never had an imaginary friend, but I always did find the prospect quite intriguing and thrilling. My imaginary friends were always my storybook characters, not legit imaginary friends. Several times I pretended to talk to an imaginary friend when I was little, but I'd always get bored with them and go back to my books. Well, this book displays the idea of an imaginary friend, but at the same time, the imaginary friend is not so imaginary after all! Even though I never had an imaginary friend, I just tried to imagine what it would be like if my imaginary friend was, in fact, real.  That was what got me interested in the story: its amazing synopsis. Well, that, and the several people who practically convinced me to buy it!

The beginning of this book was quite slow and dull but to be honest I didn't mind because I was just busy absorbing the beautiful writing. I don't mind slow-paced books as long as they have action eventually, and this book definitely started to get action-packed, which was my favorite part of the book. Sarah Rees Brennan did a splendid job of portraying the action. This book's plot was crystal-clear, and there was no confusion or messiness. The author eased the reader into the plot carefully, and then when things started to get more complicated, she swooped into things fearlessly and ended up with an amazing, amazing book.

The characters are really what make this book shine, although all aspects of it are perfect. Our heroine, Kami Glass, is indeed one of the best heroines of all time I might venture to say. She is witty and kick-butt (while at the same time manages not to be an assassin or Hunger Games tribute) and I simply adored her. Ah, and she is a writer! Any heroine who writes is a favorite heroine of mine. Kami is definitely the most colorful character in this book, but that doesn't mean that the other characters weren't great as well. They were almost as good as Kami. Sarah Rees Brennan did an excellent job foreshadowing events to come in the book, and it gave me an idea of which characters to trust and which not to trust, although I never would've guessed...never mind never mind! I am making this is review spoiler-free. But anyway, the characters were remarkable, and let's give Sarah Rees Brennan a hand, shall we?

But wait! I'm not done with them.

Jared. He is a very flawed character and sometimes it was hard to see past those flaws, but as I often say, the flawed characters are the best. He was incredibly hard to figure out and was a man of mystery to me as we as the reader don't get to know Jared very well, despite the fact that he can communicate with Kami through his mind. I think I liked him but I am not entirely sure, as I didn't get to spend enough time with him. I hope his character will be further developed in this book's sequel (which by the way...I need. Like, NOW.)

And Ash. Ohhh Ash. I had trouble figuring out whether I hopelessly loved him or whether I wanted to do this to him:

(Hey, I used 2 Santana gifs. Points, anyone?)

And yet, at times, I felt:

(HA! I used 3 Glee gifs!! Now I should really get some points!)

Ash was not a very big part of the story but to be honest I wish we had more of him. That is my only complaint: Sarah Rees Brennan did not spend enough time with characters I would have liked to have spent more time with.

All in all this book was simply fabulous! I think it is my new true love and an amazing story. The ending was quite ambiguous and I honestly have no idea where this story will go in the book following it. One thing is for sure, though, I cannot wait to read it!!

I feel the need to share a few quotes that I think are key to this book:

“Sorry-in-the-Vale, Sorriest River, Crying Pools," said Jared. "Is the quarry called Really Depressed Quarry?”

You’re crazy,” said her best friend, Angela, as the bell rang to signal five minutes before the first class on the first day back at school.
“They said that about all the great visionaries.”.
“You know who else they said it about?” Angela demanded. “All the actual crazy people.” 
“She clenched her fist in his T-shirt, put her other arm around those too-broad, too-real shoulders. When he tried to pull away, she held on tight. Kami felt the surrender in his mind a moment before he laid his face in the curve of her neck. The whole world was so real it hurt. Kami whispered into Jared's hair, "I'm always on your side.” 

“I can try to wheedle information out of people," Holly offered. "For which I'll need a lower-cut top.” 

“I only date college guys.”
“You don’t know any college guys,” Kami pointed out.
Angela’s gaze went to Kami, and she smiled. “Which leaves me with more time for napping.” 

“You couldn't do it?" Rob Lynburn sneered.
"I know her," Ash said in a low voice. "I can't... hurt someone I know.” 

Well, that pretty much sums it up! This book was a pleasure to read and it was like discovering a whole new world. I hope if you decide to read this book that you'll enjoy it as much as I did. :)