YA Review: Enders by Lissa Price

Title: Enders (Starters & Enders #2)

Author: Lissa Price

# of Pages: 288

Publisher: Random House

Publication Date: January 7th 2014

Source: ARC 

Level: Young Adult

Rating: 5 Hearts

Synopsis

With the Prime Destinations body bank destroyed, Callie no longer has to rent herself out to creepy Enders. But Enders can still get inside her mind and make her do things she doesn't want to do. Like hurt someone she loves. Having the chip removed could save Callie's life - but it could also silence the voice in her head that might belong to her father. Callie has flashes of her ex-renter Helena's memories, too ...and the Old Man is back, filling her with fear. Who is real and who is masquerading in a teen body? This is the thrilling sequel to "Starters".

My Verdict

Since it had been over a year since I read the first book in this set, Starters, I decided to do a re-read before jumping into Enders so I wouldn't have any problems connecting all the little pieces. However, the author did a good amount of recapping at the beginning so I probably would have been fine without the re-read but it got me back into the world and mindset so I'm still glad I did.

Callie, Tyler, and Michael are finally free from Prime Destination and are living like normal claimed Starters. That is until Callie starts hearing the voice of the Old Man in her head, proving to her that she will never be completely free. This book went in a lot of different directions than I was expecting, it's full of twists and turns that will keep you on your toes!

We get a few new characters this time around, some joining Callie's side, others fighting to bring her down. There's a certain new character I'd like to gush about but you're just going to have to read it for yourselves *que evil laughter* ;)

I think fans of the first book will be happy with where things go in Enders. For those who haven't read the first book yet, what are you waiting for?! While there is only supposed to be two books in the set the ending seemed like the perfect setup for a third. Hey, a girl can dream right? =) 

Mini Reviews: After Math, Crash, & The Elite

Title: After Math (Off the Subject #1)

Author: Denise Grover Swank

# of Pages: 250

Publisher: Createspace

Publication Date: March 12th 2013

Source: BEA

Level: New Adult

Rating: 2 Hearts

My Verdict

I’m normally not a fan of the New Adult genre. I am one of those people who feels it is just an excuse to throw in some explicit content to what would normally be YA. As I read this book, I was beginning to think maybe I had misjudged the genre but than it took a turn for the predictable (a.k.a. explicit content.)

I loved the slow build of Scarlett and Tucker’s romance. It started out as a tutoring job, grew into a friendship, and then exploaded into a romance. I loved watching their relationship grow, the way they looked into one another's eyes and could see each others deepest secrets, the tutoring sessions, and gym workouts. Sadly, this all disappeared once they became a couple and the only thing they did was have sex.

Title: Crash (Visions #1)

Author: Lisa McMann

# of Pages: 233

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Publication Date: January 8th 2013

Source: Library

Level: Young Adult

Rating: 3 Hearts

My Verdict

Interesting concept but slow paced, fairly predictable, with average characters. Your typical Romeo & Juliet style romance with Jules and Sawyer being forbidden to see each other because their families run waring restaurants. As for the visions, one day all of a sudden Jules sees a vision and it just keeps playing over and over on every billboard, TV screen, window. Not only was the cause of Jules visions never explained, but it also got extremely monotonous to have her describe the same vision over and over for 200 pages. While the second book is on my TBR, I'm in no rush to read it. 

Title: The Elite (The Selection #2)

Author: Kiera Cass

# of Pages: 323

Publisher: HarperTeen

Publication Date: April 23rd 2013

Source: Purchased

Level: Young Adult

Rating: 4 Hearts

My Verdict

Ugh, America Singer you may just be the death of me! Your inability to choose who it is your in love with makes me SO angry. I thought a decision would finally be made in this book but no, America continues to bounce between Aspen and Prince Maxon like a ping pong ball. At this point, I'm going to feel bad for whatever guy gets kicked to the curb because they've both been lead on for so long. The one good thing about this infuriating love triangle is that I do like both guys, which pretty much never happens, so either way I'm happy. 

Cass continues to do a great job of drawing the reader into the world she has created and leaving us emotionally invested. After all that's what it's all about right? Getting lost in another world, caring about the characters as if they are real, feeling all the different emotions when things go bad or things work out. Even though it drives me crazy most of the time,  I still love it. 

Hope you enjoyed these mini reviews! I'll probably  be doing a few more before the year ends to help me catch up. 

YA Review: Once We Were by Kat Zhang

Title: Once We Were (The Hybrid Chronicles #2)

Author: Kat Zhang

# of Pages: 352

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publication Date: September 17th 2013

Source: BEA

Level: Young Adult

Rating: 4 Hearts

Synopsis

"I'm lucky just to be alive"

Eva was never supposed to have survived this long. As the recessive soul, she should have faded away years ago. Instead, she lingers in the body she shares with her sister soul, Addie. When the government discovered the truth, they tried to “cure” the girls, but Eva and Addie escaped before the doctors could strip Eva’s soul away.

Now fugitives, Eva and Addie find shelter with a group of hybrids who run an underground resistance. Surrounded by others like them, the girls learn how to temporarily disappear to give each soul some much-needed privacy. Eva is thrilled at the chance to be alone with Ryan, the boy she’s falling for, but troubled by the growing chasm between her and Addie. Despite clashes over their shared body, both girls are eager to join the rebellion.

Yet as they are drawn deeper into the escalating violence, they start to wonder: How far are they willing to go to fight for hybrid freedom? Faced with uncertainty and incredible danger, their answers may tear them apart forever.

My Verdict  

I was lucky enough to snag a copy of this book at BEA back in June. I hadn't even left Kat Zhangs autograph line yet and I was cracking this puppy open! For the rest of the day, whenever I was waiting in line for something I was reading this book. 

A lot of the time with series, I don't like the sequel, but in this case I was pleasantly surprised. I didn't like it as much as the first but it's still a great continuation of the story and characters we grew attached to in book one. 

In the first book, Eva was fighting for her voice and slowly learning how to take control of their body. Now Addie & Eva slip in and out of control on a regular basis. Their body is just as much Eva's as it is Addies. Now living as part of the Hybrid resistance, Addie & Eva are starting to learn more about their kind. One of the biggest things they learn is how one of them can "sleep" to give the other privacy. This comes in handy for the romantic aspect of things, allowing Eva and Ryan's relationship to grow. However, it also brings about a whole new set of problems when the girls start keeping secrets from each other about how they're using that time. 

In the first book, I liked Eva a lot more than Addie. This time things completely flip-flopped. Eva was driving me nuts and Addie was the one I agreed with (most of the time). There were a few new characters that joined the picture: Sabine, Christoph, and Cordelia, all of which were well written; I just didn't like them. 

Overall this was a very enjoyable sequel that you don't want to miss!! If you haven't read the first book, WHAT'S LEFT OF ME,  go grab a copy, you'll breeze right through it and be back for this one. 

Breathtaking Book Cover: Monument 14

Todays Breathtaking Book Cover is...

Monument 14

by

Emmy Laybourne

Book Review: Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi

Title: Through the Ever Night

Author: Veronica Rossi

# Of Pages: 352

Publisher: Harper Collins

Publication Date: January 8, 2013

Source: Library

Level: Young Adult

Rating: 5 Hearts

Synopsis

(From Amazon.com)

It's been months since Aria learned of her mother's death.

Months since Perry became Blood Lord of the Tides, and months since Aria last saw him.

Now Aria and Perry are about to be reunited. It's a moment they've been longing for with countless expectations. And it's a moment that lives up to all of them. At least, at first. Then it slips away. The Tides don't take kindly to former Dwellers like Aria. And the tribe is swirling out of Perry's control. With the Aether storms worsening every day, the only remaining hope for peace and safety is the Still Blue. But does this haven truly exist?

Threatened by false friends and powerful temptations, Aria and Perry wonder, Can their love survive through the ever night?

My Verdict

I’ve seriously had this book from the library for eight weeks. It wasn’t until the day before it was due for the second time that I finally started it. I knew it was going to be good so I don’t know what took me so long to pick it up.

Once again author, Veronica Rossi, wastes no time diving right into the action, which I love! Since all the world building already took place in book one this book was able to focus more on the characters and developing their relationships with one another.

I wasn’t that big of a Perry fan in the first book but we really got to learn a lot more about him in this book and I started to like him a lot more! That said, Roar is still my favorite. He was a lot more prevalent in this book and we learned a lot about his past with Liv.

Once again the ending was both perfectly satisfying yet left you dying for the next installment!! When the third book comes out I won’t make the same mistake by letting it sit there for eight weeks, I’ll start reading while I’m still in the store.  

Book Review: The Bridge by Jane Higgins

Title: The Bridge

Author: Jane Higgins

# Of Pages: 344

Publisher: Tundra Books

Publication Date: October 9, 2012

Source: LibraryThing

Level: Young Adult

Rating:  3 Hearts

Synopsis

(From Amazon.com)

The City is divided. The bridges gated. In Southside, the hostiles live in squalor and desperation, waiting for a chance to overrun the residents of Cityside. 
 


Nik is still in high school but is destined for a great career with the Internal Security and Intelligence Services, the brains behind the war. But when ISIS comes recruiting, everyone is shocked when he isn't chosen. There must be an explanation, but no one will talk about it. Then the school is bombed and the hostiles take the bridges. Buildings are burning, kids are dead, and the hostiles have kidnapped Sol. Now ISIS is hunting for Nik. 
 


But Nik is on the run, with Sol's sister Fyffe and ISIS hot on their trail. They cross the bridge in search of Sol, and Nik finds answers to questions he had never dared to ask. 
 

My Verdict

I don’t really have any strong feelings about this book. I mostly feel indifferent.  

The book is told from the perspective of main character, Nik, whom I thought was a girl for the first few pages before it told me otherwise. I didn’t dislike Nik, he was a good person who kept getting into trouble for nothing which made me mad; I felt so bad for him. My favorite character, however, was Fyffe, she was so brave in the face of danger, and willing to do whatever it took to get her brother back. The character names were all really original which I loved: Dash, Jono, Fyffe, Sol, Jeitan, Levkova, Coly, Lanya. I really loved Levkova, it was just fun to say.

The world building is a big thing in dystopian fiction. I find it really has the power to either make or break a book. While the war-torn City divided into Southside and Cityside is well described visually and easy to imagine yourself in, the politics behind it became really confusing to me, especially near the end. 

There is a lot of action to keep you turning pages and the ongoing search for Sol that keeps you interested. I was both happy and upset with the ending but you can’t always get the best of both worlds I suppose. I’m not really sure if this is a standalone novel or the beginning of a series? It works perfectly fine as a standalone but I could also see it going further.

Book Review: Starters by Lissa Price

Title: Starters

Author: Lissa Price

# Of Pages: 352

Publisher: Delacorte Books

Publication Date: March 13, 2012

Level: Young Adult

Rating: 5 Hearts

Synopsis

(From Amazon.com)

In the future, teens rent their bodies to seniors who want to be young again. One girl discovers her renter plans to do more than party--her body will commit murder, if her mind can't stop it. Sixteen-year-old Callie lost her parents when the genocide spore wiped out everyone except those who were vaccinated first--the very young and very old. With no grandparents to claim Callie and her little brother, they go on the run, living as squatters, and fighting off unclaimed renegades who would kill for a cookie. Hope comes via Prime Destinations, run by a mysterious figure known only as The Old Man. He hires teens to rent their bodies to seniors, known as enders, who get to be young again. Callie's neurochip malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her rich renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, even dating Blake, the grandson of a senator. It's a fairy-tale new life . . . until she uncovers the Body Bank's horrible plan. . . .

My Verdict

When this book first started making its way around the web I didn’t really know much about it and wasn’t really interested. However, after seeing the books trailer I decided I wanted to read it. I was bummed to see a lot of mediocre reviews of it and my hopes for it dropped. I’m here to say that this book surprised me with its brilliance! I’m so glad I didn’t let those things keep me from reading this amazing book!

The plot line is so intricate and detailed. I felt like every little detail had been planned and was critical to the story. All these details click together sooner or later, and the things that didn’t come together by the end of this book I’m sure will be solved in the next. I don’t think there will be any loose ends with this series.

I’m going to warn you, the first half of the book is pretty slow as the world, characters, and story line are being built up, but once it hit the second half I was totally engrossed!

Callie was a strong and loving heroine whom I really enjoyed. She was smart, and could hold her own. She had strong beliefs of right and wrong and always did what she believed to be right in her heart. Another character I loved was Callie’s little brother, Tyler. We don’t really get to know Tyler’s character first hand but rather grow attached to him through Callie’s love for him.

I admit the book could be really confusing on occasion, but it just took me a few minutes to collect my thoughts or flip back and reread a passage and I could usually figure it out.

The ending wasn’t exactly a cliffhanger but boy did it pack a punch! I’m so excited for the next book, Enders, and was disappointed to find out it’s not coming out until sometime in 2013 because the back of my book said December 2012. I’m a little nervous because this is the kind of book where all the little details are important, so if the wait ends up being too long I know I’m going to forget everything and be totally lost when I pick up the sequel.

Take my word for it, this is one series you don’t want to miss!

PS. 

Here is the book trailer that got me hooked!

MINI REVIEW

After finishing Starters I needed more! I was super excited to discover The Unhidden Stories: three short stories offering a little bit more of a focus on the characters. I quickly snapped up the first one “Portrait of a Starter,” which followed Michael and how he came to draw the famous sketch of Callie (which is on the cover of the book.) It was a little extra that I enjoyed reading but something I could have easily lived without.  

After paying $2.99 I was disappointed that it was only 15 pages! I was finished within 5 to 10 minutes and would have easily breezed through the other two short stories, “Portrait of a Marshal” and “The 3^rd Unhidden Story” had they not cost $2.99 each. I came to the decision that while, yes I wanted to read them, $3 for 15 pages is kind of ridiculous. 

Book Review: Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky

Title: Awaken

Author: Katie Kacvisnky

# Of Pages: 320

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children

Publication Date: May 23, 2011
Level: Young Adult

Rating: 5 Hearts

Synopsis

(From goodreads.com)

Maddie lives in a world where everything is done on the computer. Whether it’s to go to school or on a date, people don’t venture out of their home. There’s really no need. For the most part, Maddie’s okay with the solitary, digital life- until she meets Justin, Justin likes being with people. He enjoys the physical closeness of  face-to-face interactions. People aren’t meant to be alone, he tells her.

Suddenly, Maddie feels something awakening inside her- a feeling that maybe there is a different, better way to live. But with society and her parents telling her otherwise, Maddie is going to have to learn to stand up for herself if she wants to change the path her life is taking.

In this not-so-brave new world, two young people struggle to carve out their own space.

My Verdict

This book was AMAZING! Definitely one of my favorite dystopian novels ever! The author did such a great job at creating a futuristic world that is completely driven by technology and completely believable. She painted this world so vividly across the pages that I really felt like I was there, living the story alongside the characters.

  
All the characters in this book, from the main ones to the ones who only played minor roles, were all such strong characters.

  
Maddie is such an incredible leading lady. She is strong, confident, brave, and beautiful, the best part is that she doesn’t even realize it. She possesses all these qualities but isn’t all cocky about it, she doesn’t even see these qualities in herself until others point them out. Of course there is also Justin, the totally incredible leading male. Justin is strong, brave, sweet, protective, the list could go on and on, or I could just sum it up by saying that he is one of my all time favorite YA leading male characters ever.

  
I have to admit that as much as a loved this book, it wasn't love at first sight. It took me a little while to get sucked into the story, but once I was, you would have had to pry that book from my fingers with the jaws of life to make me stop reading. 

  
Needless to say I’m sitting on pins and needles waiting for the sequel (a.k.a. Middle Ground) to come out in late 2012. My only wish is that it would come out sooner! 

Book Review: Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Title: Delirium

Author: Lauren Oliver

# Of Pages: 448

Publisher: HarperCollins

Publication Date: February 1, 2011
Level: Young Adult

Rating: 5 Hearts

Synopsis

(From Goodreads.com)

Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love--the deliria--blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold.

Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the government demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Haloway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy. 

But with ninety-give days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: she falls in love.

My Verdict

BEAUTIFUL!!! If I could choose only one word to describe this book that is the word I would use. Lauren Oliver does an amazing job of creating a totally believable futuristic world where everyone has been taught that love, (otherwise known as Amor Deliria Nervosa) is a disease that ends with nothing but pain or death and therefore must be cured. Everyone is required to get this so called “cure” on their eighteenth birthday.

     
The main concept of love being viewed as a disease was a very interesting plotline, that resulted in a very interesting, unique, and wonderful book! Lena is an incredibly strong, brave, and lovable main character. One of MANY things that I loved about this book was the fact that Lena’s best friend, Hana, is just as complex and likable as Lena. I feel like I never really like the so called “best friend” in most YA books that I read. Most of the time I feel like they are all just cookie cutter replicas of each other that could be swapped out between books and no one would even notice. Not with this book. So thank you, Lauren, for creating a strong, independent, and unique best friend for Lena!

    
Now on to other matters, Alex. Ahhh... what can I say about Alex. More like what can’t I say! Alex is an unbelievable character who I fell in love with immediatley.  I don’t want to say too much so you’re just going to have to go read it yourselves to find out exactly how amazing Alex is.  Mwahahaha  =)

     
The next two books could not come fast enough! I am sitting on the edge of my seat with anticipation for the next installment. I recently bought the special edition of Delirium just so I could read those few pages of Pandemonium (the next book) that were in the back. That’s how bad I have it.