Haunted Week: Day 8

October 31st - Beware of Book Review

To finish off a week of spook-tastic fun, review a scary story of your choice!
Boy how time flies! I can't believe it has already been a week, which means that today is the last day of Haunted Week =( Thanks so much to Cheyenne for putting this whole thing together!!!  It really was a blast!!  Okay, so I haven't read anything too scary lately but I didn't want to miss out on the last day of Haunted Week "Beware of Book Review," so I'm stretching the rules a little! 
The Raft is about a girl who's plane goes down over the ocean and she and one other survivor are stranded in the middle of the ocean on an inflatable raft. Not much else could be scarier than being stuck in the middle of the ocean, on a little raft, with sharks!!  You can check out my review in the post below =)

Book Review: The Raft by S.A. Bodeen

Title: The Raft

Author: S.A. Bodeen

# Of Pages: 240

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends

Publication Date: August 21, 2012

Source: Library

Level: Young Adult

Rating: 2 Hearts

Synopsis

(From Amazon.com)

Robie is an experienced traveler. She’s taken the flight from Honolulu to the Midway Atoll, a group of Pacific islands where her parents live, many times. When she has to get to Midway in a hurry after a visit with her aunt in Hawaii, she gets on the next cargo flight at the last minute. She knows the pilot, but on this flight, there’s a new co-pilot named Max. All systems are go until a storm hits during the flight. The only passenger, Robie doesn’t panic until the engine suddenly cuts out and Max shouts at her to put on a life jacket. They are over miles of Pacific Ocean. She sees Max struggle with a raft. 


And then . . . she’s in the water. Fighting for her life. Max pulls her onto the raft, and that’s when the real terror begins. They have no water. Their only food is a bag of Skittles. There are sharks. There is an island. But there’s no sign of help on the way.

My Verdict

My standards for this book were heightened by the fact that I just recently read Survive, which I loved and that was also about a girl who finds herself in a crazy life or death situation.

I found the main character, Robie, hard to care about, which isn’t good when you’re supposed to be rooting for her survival. She was immature, whiny, and selfish. When you’re stranded with another person fighting for survival wouldn’t you think it would bring the two of you together and you would take care of one another? Nope, that wasn’t the case. The only food on the Raft is a bag of Skittles but does Robie share them? NOPE. She eats them all while Max is sleeping, and later when she catches a fish once again she eats her share and leaves nothing for Max.

The “big plot twist” was easily guessed early on and when this “twist” was finally revealed at the end we are practically beaten over the head with it to make sure we fully comprehend what happened. This just frustrated me.

I did like that the ending wasn’t abrupt. It went further than just the conclusion of this horrible event, which I found very satisfying.

For a book where the main characters life hangs in the balance for most of the book it was way too easy to put down and forget about. I should have been enraptured in her fight for survival; instead I could’ve cared less.

Haunted Week: Day 7

October 30th - Written in the Tombstone

The epitaph is the inscription on a tombstone—you could say it's a person's last words. Today, quote the last line of five books. (No spoilers, please!)

" I love you. Remember. They cannot take it."

" It was a sign something exceptional was going to happen."

" This girl is starting now."

" Maybe I never was."

" And while Luce dreamed below of the most glorious wings unfurling--the likes of which she'd never seen before-- two angels in the rafters shook hands."

Do you think last lines are as important as first lines? 

What do you think of these last lines? 

Haunted Week: Day 6

October 29th - Tricked or Treated

Some books aren't at all what you expected—which can be good or bad. Today feature five books you read that were either a pleasant or nasty surprise.

Pleasant Surprise:

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

My first experience with fallen angel books wasn't a pleasant one so even though this series was on the New York Times Bestseller list I steered clear of them. Then one day I finally caved and decided to give it a try, and guess what? I LOVED IT!!

The Selection by Kiera Cass

I really knew nothing about this book going into it, except that it was dystopian, had a gorgeous cover, and there was a lot of hype about it in the blogosphere. 

I read it, I loved it, I can't wait for the next! 

Starters by Lissa Price

I had been seeing a lot of not so great reviews for this book, which dropped my expectations, but I still wanted to read it.  I'm so glad I did because I stinkin loved this book! 

Nasty Surprise:

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Gorgeous cover = lots of online hype.
This one just didn't live up to it for me. It was strange, Mara was crazy, there is random violence and Noah was a jerk.

Such a Rush by Jennifer Echols

Another book surrounded by a lot of hype (gorgeous covers tend to do that.) This didn't sound like my normal type of read but I wanted to read it anyways because everyone was talking about how much they liked it. I guess I should have stuck with my gut because this absolutely wasn't for me. The main character drove me crazy and the romance was just messed up.

What are some books that surprised you?

Haunted Week: Day 5

October 28th - It Came From the Web

You never know what's going to creep onto the web. Sometimes, however, you get a pleasant surprise. Today feature and link to five amazing book blogs you've found recently. 

1. Supernatural Snark

2. Forever 17 Books

3. Forever Literary

4. Late Nights With Good Books

5. Book Overdose

Have you discovered any book blogs lately?

Haunted Week: Day 4

October 27th - Back From The Grave
Get ready to dig up your past and bring some of your old friends back to life: Today feature five books you read and loved as a kid.

The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and THE BIG HUNGRY BEAR 

by Don and Audrey Wood

Just seeing the cover of this again makes me smile! I remember this was a book that my mom frequently read to me as a kid =) 

Small Fur by Irina Korshunow

I seriously used to return this book to the library, sit there and wait for them to re-shelf it and then check it out again! 

The Aunt Eater Mysteries by Dough Cushman

Another library favorite 

The Sword in the Tree by Clyde Robert Bulla

I honestly don't even remember what I loved about this book I just know that I LOVED it. 

 Magic Tree House Series by Mary Pope Osborne
I still have the first fourteen books of this series on my shelf. I loved them so much as a kid I just can't bear to part with them. 

What were some of your favorite childhood books?

Haunted Week: Day 3

October 26th - Skeletons on My Bookshelf

Supposedly, everyone has a few skeletons in their closet—I think everyone has a few on their bookshelves, too. Today feature five books you've owned for a long time but never read.

Article 5 by Kristen Simmons

I bought this book with a gift card I got for Christmas. It's practically Christmas again, and I haven't picked it up from the shelf even once. I almost forgot I had it. 

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

I honestly don't know what's wrong with me. I've heard nothing but AMAZING things about this set of books yet for some reason I still haven't read them!

The Arm of the Starfish by Madeleine L 'Engle

Another one that I bought with Christmas giftcards, and has been sitting on my shelf ever since.

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

I won this book from another blog over a year ago. I remember being so excited at the time but never actually got around to reading it...

Love & Leftovers by Sarah Tregay

Of all the verse novels I've read that aren't very well known, here is one that is wicked popular and I'm probably the only person left who hasn't read it. 

Have you read any of these books? 

If so which would you recommend I finally dust off and read?