YA Historical Fiction Challenge

I've decided to try the YA Historical Fiction Challenge, started by Sabrina over at YA Bliss.  The point of it is to read five (if you're on level one, like me) historical YA novels in 2011.  Here's a list of the books I want to read:

1.  Between Shades of Grey - Ruta Sepetys
2.  The Stolen One - Suzanne Crowley
3.  The Vespertine - Saundra Mitchell
4.  The Luxe - Anna Godbersen
5.  The Book Thief - Marcus Zusak

Head on over to YA Bliss to sign up and get more information!

Polar Bears!!!!!

This is the most adorable video ever about the polar bears who are very curious about the spy camera hidden in a snowball!




Isn't that adorable???

WoW - December 29th

WoW is a weekly meme hosted by Jill, over at Breaking the Spine.  WoW stands for Waiting on Wednesday.  This week, I'm waiting on:

Unearthly by Cynthia Hand

Summary: In the beginning, there's a boy standing in the trees . . . .

Clara Gardner has recently learned that she's part angel. Having angel blood run through her veins not only makes her smarter, stronger, and faster than humans (a word, she realizes, that no longer applies to her), but it means she has a purpose, something she was put on this earth to do. Figuring out what that is, though, isn't easy.
Her visions of a raging forest fire and an alluring stranger lead her to a new school in a new town. When she meets Christian, who turns out to be the boy of her dreams (literally), everything seems to fall into place—and out of place at the same time. Because there's another guy, Tucker, who appeals to Clara's less angelic side.
As Clara tries to find her way in a world she no longer understands, she encounters unseen dangers and choices she never thought she'd have to make—between honesty and deceit, love and duty, good and evil. When the fire from her vision finally ignites, will Clara be ready to face her destiny? 

Why I want to read it:  I'm tired of the main character being normal.  In almost every book I've read, the main character is normal until they meet some fallen angel, or demon, or something in the likes.  In this book, it seems that the character is different, and knows it, and I look forward to a change in the pattern!  Also, I'm very curious as to what her dreams really are.

Songs and books

Have you ever heard a song, and the first thing that you think about is a book that you've read?   'Cause I sure have.  Whenever I come up with a new one, I'll post about it.  So, I was listening to a song that I recently got, and it made me think of Beautiful Creatures and Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stoll.  It's called Iridescent, and it's by Linkin Park.  Here are the lyrics:

When you were standing in the wake of devastation
When you were waiting on the edge of the unknown
With the cataclysm raining down
Your insides crying, "Save me now"
You were there, impossibly alone.

Do you feel cold and lost in desperation?
You build up hope, but failures all you've known.
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go.
Let it go.

And in a burst of light that blinded every angel
As if the sky had blown the heavens into stars
You felt the gravity of tempered grace
Falling into empty space
With no one there to catch you in their arms.

Do you feel cold and lost in desperation?
You build up hope, but failures all you've known.
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go.
Let it go.

Do you feel cold and lost in desperation?
You build up hope, but failures all you've known.
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go.
Let it go.

Let it go.
Let it go.
Let it go.
Let it go.

Do you feel cold and lost in desperation?
You build up hope, but failures all you've known.
Remember all the sadness and frustration
And let it go.
Let it go.

 

As I was listening to it, I just suddenly thought of those books.  I think it reminds of BC and BD because I thought of Lena.  It seems like something that Lena would say or write.  It's also a really good song!

Cover Crazy (1) - December 27th

Cover Crazy is a weekly meme hosted at The Book Worms.  The rules are simple.  Just come up with your favourite cover for that day (Monday, if possible), post it on your blog, and just give a couple sentences about how you like it.

I have always loved the cover for Fallen.  It has such pretty colouring on it, and I love the gothic touch.  I love the lighting; with the light streaming in, and she's almost a silhouette, but not quite.  My only question is: Why is her hair long?  In the book, her hair has been cut short.

Christmas!

I know I've already done a post today, but I need to show pictures of three of my presents!

Here's the front of the mug and shirt. . .

And the back!!!!  I loved it when I saw that.  I am completely on team Peeta, so I adored it at first sight!

 

Sorry if this picture is a bit out of focus, but it's an awesome poster!  It got designed for me online and it was sent to me for Christmas!  They included my favourite book covers, along with favourite books!  I immediately put it up in my room; I have a cork board covering a whole wall to put posters up!

Hush Hush

Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

My rating:  4.5/5


Summary (from Goodreads):  For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her...until Patch comes along.
With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment, but after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is far more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.
For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.

My review:

Hush Hush was gorgeously written.  It seemed like a dark, shadowy, Gothic book at first, but it wasn't, not really.  In some parts it was creepy, and dark, but nothing made me feel like I did when I looked at the cover.


It was creepy just to start with.  Patch, Nora's new desk partner knows everything about Nora, more than a lot of her friends know.  She's obviously quite freaked freaked out about this, and her imagination -- or is it just that? -- starts acting up.  While she's driving to her house, she almost runs into someone, but she doesn't hurt them.  She thinks that he then grabs her shoulder, but when she finally arrives at her house, she realizes that there's no hole in the glass, so he couldn't possibly have grabbed her.  


I liked Nora as a main character.  Her emotions all felt real to me, and I could understand them.  She was scared because of all the things she was starting to see, and her mom wouldn't be home for another week or two.    I felt the urgency she felt to figure out what was going on.  Nora keeps on seeing Patch everywhere, and isn't sure if he's stalking him or something like that.


I had mixed feelings about Patch.  He seemed a little bit like Edward, from Twilight, which I didn't like to much, but he was also a little different.  He was still mysterious about he was, but he didn't seem to want Nora to stay away from him.  I didn't like him as much as other characters in books that I've read.  He's too common of a character.  Recently, I've read a lot of books with characters like him: dark, mysterious, and intriguing.  I'm getting a little tired of reading books with the same sort of people in each one.


I loved the fight at the end, though.  The description was amazingly vivid, which I loved.  In my mind, I could see every heart-stopping moment, especially when Nora was on the beams.  I liked that it took place at the school, which is normally thought of as a place where nothing exciting happens.

Quick Quotes - December 25th - and a Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!  Today is a Saturday, so I'll be doing a weekly meme called Quick Quotes.  The point of Quick Quotes is to share just a couple sentences from a book, that you absolutely loved for whatever reason.  They can be funny, serious, touching, threatening, or anything in between.  This week, mine is quite a bit longer than other ones that I'll do.  Here it is:

"Have you fallen in love with the wrong person yet?'
Jace said, "Unfortunately, Lady of the Haven, my one true love remains myself."
..."At least," she said, "you don't have to worry about rejection, Jace Wayland."
"Not necessarily. I turn myself down occasionally, just to keep it interesting."
— Cassandra Clare, City of Bones

Oh, Jace.  You are so self-centered, but also amusing.  Jace is my favourite character in the City of Bones, and definitely the most arrogant.  He likes to think himself the best person in the world.  As I read this, I thought once more about how much he loves himself.  And, I totally believe what he says about turning himself down to keep things interesting.  Sometimes I feel a little sorry for him, even though he isn't real.  Sigh. . . Oh, Jace, honestly. . .

'Twas The Night Before Quidditch

So, this is a poem that my friend and I made to celebrate Harry Potter and Christmas at the same time!  It was based on the poem 'Twas The Night Before Christmas.

'Twas the night before Quidditch, when all through Hogwarts,

Not a wizard was stirring, not even Harry Potter;

The flying brooms were stacked on the field with care,

In hopes that Gryffindor would win the game there;

The young wizards were nestled all snug in their beds,

While visions of Snitches danced in their heads;

And Hagrid in his hut, and I in my tower,

Had just settled down for a nap that lasted an hour,

When out on the grounds there arose such a clatter,

I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.

Away to the common room I flew like a flash,

Tore open the shutters and drew in a huge gasp.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow

Gave the lustre of midday to dark wizards below,

When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,

The Dark Lord, my greatest fear,

With a circle of Deatheaters, so sly and scary,

I knew in a moment that this night wouldn't be merry.

More rapid than eagles his Deatheaters they came,

And he hollered, and shouted, and called them by name;

Now! Lucius, now!  Bellatrix, now!  Greyback and Crabbe

On!  Severus, on! Pettigrew, on!  Karkaroff and Draco!

To the top of the tower!  To the top of the wall!

Now blast away!  Blast away!  Blast away all!

As dry leaves that before the wand battle fly,

When they meet with an obstacle, wands to the sky,

So up to the castle his followers they flew,

With their sticks full of magic, and dark revenge too.

And then, to my terror, I heard on the roof

The sound of Deatheaters trying to break through.

As I drew out my wand, and was turning around,

Down through the ceiling, Voldemort came with no sound.

He was dressed all in black, from his head to his foot,

And his cloak was so dark it was the colour of soot;

A Dark Mark was showing on his arm,

And he looked like a snake, about to do harm.

His eyes - how they flashed!  His skin as grey as stone!

And in his hand was his wand, the colour of bone!

His thin little mouth set hard and cold,

Knowing the terrors this night would behold;

And the light, it gleamed off his teeth,

As he gave me a wicked grin that gave me grief;

For I knew that any breath could be the end,

That by the time dawn glowed, I could well be dead.

But in a blur and a flash, there he stood,

Harry raised his hand, ready to cast what he could,

With a cackle and a twist, away the lord went,

And I knew that I had no more to dread;

Harry spoke not a word, but went back to bed,

And I stood in the common room, glad not to be dead.

And from outside, Voldemort  gave me a glare,

Before disapparating to who-knows-where;

I sprang back to my feet, and went to my room,

Trying to ignore the danger that loomed.

And as I lay down, I said to myself,

"What a mess to be cleaned by that poor, little house-elf!"

I made it to be in Hermione's point of view, but you can really say it's anyone, like Ron or Neville.

City of Bones

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

My rating:  5/5
Summary (from Goodreads):  When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder - much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing - not even a smear of blood - to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know.... 

 My review:


City of Bones rates five stars with ease, as with the other books in the Mortal Instruments series.  I'd been looking for it for a while, and finally decided to get it out of the library.  I wish that I had bought it.  i could have read it again and again without getting tired of it.


I loved the characters, but I'll start with the beginning first.  It gets a little bit complicated at some points.  The main character, Clary Fray goes to the Pandemonium Club, and when she's there, she sees a boy about her age with lots of tattoos kill someone.  She goes to talk to him, and he's surprised that she was able to see him.  Clary ends up at the Institute, which is the home for Shadowhunters, a race of warriors who try to to rid the world of demons.  There, she formally meets the boy she talked to in the Pandemonium Club.


His name is Jace.  I must admit, I adored Jace, he is probably one of my favourite characters of all time.  I think that the only person he comes behind is Peeta, from The Hunger Games.  He sure doesn't seem like a very likable person at first.  He's arrogant, and seems to find everything funny, even when he should be being serious.  That was one of the reasons that I liked  him.  Clary finds him hot-headed and annoying, but eventually warms to him.  I liked him even when he was super frustrating.  Although he loved himself, and it seemed like only himself, you could see that he also began to like Clary, which was good.  That way, you could tell that he didn't live in his own little world, where he was the only one there.


Clary was also a great character.  All of her emotions felt real, no matter what they were.  You could feel her confusion and desperation as you read it.  You could also tell what she felt for Jace.  She loved him, but also hated him for all the pain he caused her.  She was always mad at him when he wasn't around for some reason, but when he was there, all that anger disappeared.


The world in the book was one that I would love to live in.  It was creative, and I loved the idea of the Shadowhunters, Downworlders and such.  It's interesting because in Clockwork Angel, which is set over a century before City of Bones, I get the idea that the Institute is quite shadowy, dark, and castle-like, with winding corridords, and tapestries on the walls.  In City of Bones, it seems like a brighter, cozier place.


Some thing about Cassandra Clare's writing keeps me craving for more, and once I finish a book by her, I'm frantic to read another, and I never stop thinking about it.  I loved the City of Bones, and it is easily one of my favourite books.  And also:  TEAM JACE!!!!!!!!!!!!

WoW - December 22nd

WoW, which stands for Waiting on Wednesday, is a weekly meme hosted by Jill, over at Breaking the Spine.  On Wednesdays, you make a post about the book that you are most looking forward to that week.  For me, this week, it's going to be. . .

The Gathering, by Kelley Armstrong

Summary (from Goodreads):  Maya lives in a small medical-research town on Vancouver Island. How small? You can’t find it on the map. It has less than two-hundred people, and her school has only sixty-eight students—for every grade from kindergarten to twelve.

Now, strange things are happening in this claustrophobic town, and Maya's determined to get to the bottom of them. First, the captain of the swim team drowns mysteriously in the middle of a calm lake. A year later, mountain lions start appearing around Maya's home, and they won’t go away. Her best friend, Daniel, starts getting negative vibes from certain people and things. It doesn't help that the new bad boy in town, Rafe, has a dangerous secret—and he's interested in one special part of Maya's anatomy: Her paw-print birthmark.

Why do I want to read it?  Easy.  I love Kelley Armstrong's writing.  I read the Darkest Powers trilogy and absolutely loved them.  She has descriptive writing, amazing ideas, and some amusing lines.  This sounds quite different from the necromancy and such, but still great.  I'm already curious about her birthmark, just from reading the summary.

Snow!

I love the snow, and probably will for the rest of my life.  It's so pretty and sparkly, especially when it hasn't been tread on, when it's in those waves.  Because it's the first official day of winter, I've written a poem about snowflakes, because I want to be an author, and this seems like a good time to write something publicly.

Chasing, laughing, fading, 

riding over the horizon,

Chilling the air, already frosty from the time of the year.

Falling to the ground in clumps of soft ice,

where they then meet to be one,

Cushion of sparkling diamonds.

Please give me feedback on any poems that I post on my blog!  I love to hear about what I'm doing well, and what I should work on!

Clockwork Angel

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

My rating:  4.99999/5
Summary (from Goodreads):

Loading...

Magic is dangerous--but love is more dangerous still.

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters,...moreMagic is dangerous--but love is more dangerous still.

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by--and torn between--two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

My review:

I have a lot to say about Clockwork Angel, starting with the beginning.  The introduction is honestly the only reason that this book doesn't rate five stars.  It just doesn't seem like a great start, and when I was only 35 pages in, I seriously wanted to put the book down, forget about it, and continue on Beautiful Darkness.  But because I loved The Mortal Instruments series so much, I forced myself to continue.  The reason that I didn't like the beginning was the characters.  You didn't really get a good taste of them, and Tessa didn't seem anything like she actually was.  She seemed like a little girl, helpless, and weak, when, quite frankly, she wasn't.  The Dark Sisters didn't seem quite real in that point of the book, nor did the setting.  The house wasn't quite real to my imagination, it was just a little too dark, a little too creepy.  But as soon as Will came in, I knew it would get better.  I laughed when Tessa threw the jug at Will, thinking that he was bad, not good.  I immediately saw him as another Jace from City of Bones and such, and I loved Jace.


Will was that mysterious, beautiful character, crafted out of pure imagination.  He's arrogant, but Cassandra Clare writes arrogant people well.  Very well.  He's got that humorous side to him, just like Jace, and finds almost everything amusing in some way.  He's always hiding a smile, though he hardly ever laughs.  Later in the story, you begin to see another side to him.  A side that is serious, emotional, and deep.  His love for Tessa begins to show, but he's always trying to deny it, to hide it from even himself.  Like Jace?  Definitely.  He's a difficult character to even begin to understand, but is a great person to read about once you begin to comprehend him.  I loved Will!


Tessa was a lot like Clary from the Mortal Instruments, and her relationship with Will was a lot like the one between Clary and Jace.  On and off, on and off.  Tessa was also a complicated character, but definitely not in the same way as Will.  She, like Clary, didn't really know anything about her parents, and no one is about to tell her.  I am still mystified about who -- or what -- her parents are.


Although there are a lot of similarities between the characters, I still loved Clockwork Angel.  It was very different from City of Bones in the way that it was set in the 1890s.  It was a great twist, and I loved seeing the Institute from over a hundred years ago.  I was surprised to see Church (the cat) in the 1890s, because he's in the Mortal Instruments, so that cat has been alive for over a century.  And I still loved the Institute in this book.  I get more of a picture of it in my mind.  I can see the winding corridors, the tapestries that aren't described so much in the City of Bones.


Oh, but the end.  I'm hanging on the edge of a cliff, wanting to know what Will. . . if you've read the book then you'll know what I'm talking about, if you haven't read it!  I want Clockwork Prince right now!  But, I guess I'll have to wait. . . 

And did I mention this?  TEAM WILL!!!!!

Poems

I really want to be an author when I grow up, so I need to practice some writing now.  Every now and then, especially around certain holidays, I'll write some poems that maybe someone will give me feedback on; I love to know what I'm doing right and what I'm doing wrong.  For my first time writing a poem publicly on my blog, I'll do three short poems, one stanza each.

Under the sea of glimmering darkness,

Of diamonds, of crystals, 

Of stars in the night sky.

There on the clifftop I stood, waiting for the spark of dawn,

So I could find a new hope.

I'm not quite sure how I came up with this one.  Maybe I was thinking of the night stars.  Maybe I wasn't.  It was just a time when I sat down to write, and this is what I came up with.

Looking up at the pencil,
scratching across my surface,

Like a perfect massage.
Ready for any type of novel;
Fantasy, sci-fi, romance, anything.
It makes me feel important,
As I am in the writing process.

For whether the story is typed and printed,
Or written upon me;

It doesn't matter.
I am still used,
Because I am the paper.

This poem is about writing.  I wrote it a while ago at a writing course that I took in in the summer.  We were told to write a poem about writing, and I decided to do it in the place of the paper.  I kind of had to put myself in the view of the paper (and, yes, I know that it is inanimate), and think about how it would feel about being written on.

Like a cherry glistening under the dew,

The flower begins to bloom,

Like a bird chirping it's first call of the morning,

It lets itself be seen and heard,

Like the rustling of a bush, as an animal searches for food,

It shifts in the wind.  

And in the last glow of daylight, it shows to the world,

That anything can blossom, in even the last hours of a day.

This is about a small flower, maybe a poppy, or a poinsettia, or some other type, that begins to bloom, and that even in the last hours of the sunlight, it can still grow.  It was weird, because when I was writing it, I was thinking about Christmas and poinsettias, but reading it now, it seems more like a springtime poem.  I guess it could be either.

Hope you liked the poems!

Quick Quotes (QQ)

So, I've been thinking, and I've decided that it would be fun to quote from a book every week.  I'm going to call it quick quotes, because it will be only a couple lines long, and either funny, touching, sad, or anything else in between!  I'll do it every Saturday (if I have time that is), and invite anyone else to join me by doing so on their blogs, too.

My first quote is going to be. . .
"Shut up and eat your pears!"
-Suzanne Collins (The Hunger Games)

I absolutely loved this line when I read it in The Hunger Games.  It just seemed like a funny thing to say when you're in an unnatural arena where everyone is watching you, and you could be dead at any time.  It's said by Katniss to Peeta, when he won't eat and isn't hungry, even though he hasn't eaten for probably around a week, maybe more (I don't know exactly how long).  I started laughing out loud when I read this!
Link to your blog for other people to see your favourite quotes!

Across The Universe

Beth Revis, the author of Around The Universe, is holding a contest for the book at her blog, http://bethrevis.blogspot.com/2010/12/epic-contest-of-epic.html.  There are a hundred prizes up for grabs, including 15 ARCs.  Everyone should go check it out; it looks like a great book!

WoW - December 15th

It's probably obvious (if you've read my last post, that is), what my book for the WoW is this week.  WoW stands for Waiting on Wednesday, which started over at Breaking the Spine, and on that day, you write a blog post about the book you're most looking forward to that day.  At the moment, I can not wait to read City of Fallen Angels, by Cassandra Clare.

Summary:  “Love, blood, betrayal and revenge — the stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels. Simon Lewis is having some trouble adjusting to his new life as a vampire, especially now that he hardly sees his best friend Clary, who is caught up in training to be a Shadowhunter—and spending time with her new boyfriend Jace. Not to mention that Simon doesn’t quite know how to handle the pressure of not-quite-dating two girls at once. What’s a daylight-loving vampire to do? Simon decides he needs a break and heads out of the city—only to discover that sinister events are following him. Realizing that the war they thought they’d won might not yet be over, Simon has to call on his Shadowhunter friends to save the day — if they can put their own splintering relationships on hold long enough to rise to the challenge.”

I have been waiting to read this ever since I finished the third book in the series, City of Glass.  I LOVED all the books that have come out so far, especially the latest one.  I love to read about the Shadowhunters, particularly Clary and Jace.  I can't wait to see who plays Jace in the movie that they're making.  I'm a little bit disappointed that it seems Simon is the main character, as I would definitely like to see a lot more about the Institute, Isabelle, Jace, Clary, and Alec.  Simon isn't a bad character to read about, and I definitely like him more than I first did.   I can not wait!!!!!!!!

City of Fallen Angels!!!

Great great great great great news!  The cover for City of Fallen Angels has finally been released!

Awesome, huh?  I was so excited when I saw it!  The people on the front are Clary and Simon!  It's funny, because this is the first book in the series that you can see the eyes of one of the people on the cover, and it's the first with two people.

I Am Number Four

I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

My rating: 4.5/5
Summary (from Goodreads):  In the beginning they were a group of nine. Nine aliens who left their home planet of Lorien when it fell under attack by the evil Mogadorian. Nine aliens who scattered on Earth. Nine aliens who look like ordinary teenagers living ordinary lives, but who have extraordinary, paranormal skills. Nine aliens who might be sitting next to you now.

The Nine had to separate and go into hiding. The Mogadorian caught Number One in Malaysia, Number Two in England, and Number Three in Kenya. All of them were killed. John Smith, of Paradise, Ohio, is Number Four. He knows that he is next. 


My review:

Wow.  What a thrilling book to read!  I never knew what would come next, what the next twist would be!


John Smith is a great character to read about, especially in first person, when you're listening to him.  I don't think that this book would have been as good if it had been written in third person form.  His description really came through to me, and I felt everything he felt, saw everything he saw, and heard everything he heard.My only regret was that it took too long to get to the climax, and not much really happened, so it started to get a little bit boring for, maybe about 75 pages. 

The battle at the end sure got me going, though.  It was a bit déjà vu for the setting, though, because I had just finished Hush Hush, and the big battle scene in that book is at a school, just like in I Am Number Four.  Like with the rest of the book, the description really called out to me.  All the emotions that ran through Johns mind swarmed in mine, and every little detail seemed to be sketched visibly on the page.  The beginning had the same sort of effect on me.  The first few chapters were so strong that I was on the edge of my seat wanting to read more.  The middle made me lose interest, but only for a little bit.  I think that  there wasn't quite enough going on to satisfy me.

Sarah was a simple character.  She was obviously the most popular girl in the school, pretty and smart.  She almost immediately fell in love with John, even though he was new, and not too many people liked him, especially Mark and his friend; the bullies of the school.  She was an interesting character to read about, but she could have been a little more brave.  At the end of the book, all she does, really, is just scream and cry.  I understand that that was probably the way that the publishers want her to be, but I still think she could have been a little more useful when the Mogadoriens (the evil aliens) attacked.

I Am Number Four was an amazing book altogether, and even the things that I griped about weren't that bad, honestly, and I would suggest that everyone watch the movie trailer!

A Great and Terrible Beauty

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray

My rating: 4.5/5
Summary (from Goodreads):  Sixteen-year-old Gemma has had an unconventional upbringing in India, until the day she foresees her mother's death in a black, swirling vision that turns out to be true. Sent back to England, she is enrolled at Spence, a girls' academy with a mysterious burned-out East Wing. There Gemma is snubbed by powerful Felicity, beautiful Pippa, and even her own dumpy roommate Ann, until she blackmails herself and Ann into the treacherous clique. Gemma is distressed to find that she has been followed from India by Kartik, a beautiful young man who warns her to fight off the visions. Nevertheless, they continue, and one night she is led by a child-spirit to find a diary that reveals the secrets of a mystical Order. The clique soon finds a way to accompany Gemma to the other-world realms of her visions "for a bit of fun" and to taste the power they will never have as Victorian wives, but they discover that the delights of the realms are overwhelmed by a menace they cannot control. Gemma is left with the knowledge that her role as the link between worlds leaves her with a mission to seek out the "others" and rebuild the Order.


My review:

Starting from the very first page, and going past the last, A Great And Terrible Beauty completely swept me away.  I'm not usually into books set in the 19th century, but this is definitely an exception.

This book was set in Spence Academy, a finishing school for girls in England.  Gemma Doyle is one of the girls sent there after her mother dies in India. Gemma wasn't my favourite character, for sure.  She was whiny and selfish, or at least it seemed that way.  Apart from that, she was pretty good, because she had life, reality, to her.  All of her emotions were very realistic, and I can easily see her being a person, well, at least back in the 1800s.  Felicity seemed a little snobbish at first, but I saw the other side to her eventually.  I could see that she was actually against Cecily (the real popular, snob, not Felicity).  So, in the end, I was pretty okay with her.   I only liked Ann for one reason; I felt kind of bad for  her.  She was the only girl at Spence Academy who didn't have money, or a family.  She was sent there from a scholarship.  She wouldn't have gone there otherwise, because she was an orphan.  I never liked Pippa.  She was Felicity's closest friend, but I have to say that, personally, I think she was worse than Gemma, honestly.  She was a little too rich and sweet for my taste.  She seemed to suck up to people a lot.

When Felicity invited Gemma to join her little clique, my first thought was that Gemma would never join.  She seemed too. . . I don't know what, but she just didn't seem like someone who would get along with people like Felicity or Pippa.

I loved the setting; it was probably one of my favourite things about the book.  Spence Academy, although it was really just a school, didn't appear to be one.  It was too classy to ever be anything like a school, even if it was a finishing school.  It seemed like a place that I might want to go if I had lived in the 1800s, no matter how perfect I would have to be, or how mean the teachers were.  But I really loved the realms.  The magic that filled them was so real, so lifelike I could almost feel it.  I loved the creatures that lurked, while Gemma and her friends were completely unaware.  The plot brought me right to the climax, which was a point where I couldn't put down the book.  The only complaint that I ever had about the realms was that I never bought Gemma's mom actually being there for even a second.

I loved A Great and Terrible Beauty, and when I finished, I couldn't wait to read the next in the series, Rebel Angels.

WoW - December 8th

So I haven't posted in a while. . . .  . But that's okay!  This is only my second WoW (click here to go to Breaking the Spine to learn more), so I've still got lots of books that I really want to read that I can post about!
Today it's going to be:  Steel - Carrie Vaughn

"When Jill finds a rusty sword tip on a Caribbean beach, she is instantly intrigued—and little expects it will transport her through time to the deck of a pirate ship. Will a dark enchantment, salty kisses, and a duel with an evil pirate captain leave her stranded in the eighteenth century forever?"

There's mainly one reason I want to read Steel is because of the idea.  It's not that I don't like the cover; I do, but I did fencing once, and it sounds like some sort of dark romantic book meets Pirates of the Carribean.  Since I enjoy both of these things, I think I'll love this book.  I like the idea of a girl from the present (or whenever she's from, I just know she goes back in time) going all the way back to the 1700s.  It seems to have a mystery aspect to it, because of the way she might be stranded there.  It reminds of Pirates of the Carribean mainly because it's set in the Carribean, and there's a duel with the evil captain.  I love the way that the summary pulls you in just from a few sentences, making you want more.  It seems like some sort of sword dueling rather than gun, or any other modern weapon, and although I didn't like fencing as much as I thought I would, I love sword fights the most.

Also. . . . . . . . .
I'm currently reading a book called I Am Number Four, which is absolutely amazing.  Here's the link to Goodreads, where there's the book summary, reviews, and all that sort of stuff.    Also, here's a trailer for the movie that's coming out. 

Matched

Matched by Allie Condie

My rating:  5/5
Summary (from Goodreads):  Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate . . . until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.
The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.


My review:

I wanted to do a review about Matched as soon as I finished it, but I didn't have time because I needed to go to karate right after I finished it.  But here it is now!

I felt like I was reading a poem as I flipped each page.  The way the letters flow into words that flow into sentences was absolutely amazing.  They were intricately designed, made to sound like lyrics you could sing out, high and strong.

I never once wanted to take my eyes of the book, and I never let it out of my reach, even when I wasn't reading it.  It all went together so easily.  It was breathtaking, really.

Matched really made me think.  What if i didn't have the choices that I have now?  What if the person I loved was chosen for me?  What if I couldn't decide where I wanted to work?  What if I couldn't decide when I wanted to die, where I wanted to die?  What if I couldn't choose what I ate, how much, and when?  My life would feel closed off, like there was something that I should be doing, but I wasn't doing it.

The characters really called out to me.  Cassia and Ky were my favourites.  I didn't like Xander very much.  It reminded me of The Hunger Games in a way, Cassia being Katniss, Ky being Peeta, and Xander being Gale.  I was definitely on Team Ky.

I really understand what Cassia must be feeling.  She must feel as though she's waking from a dream, realizing that she maybe does have choices.  Maybe she can defy the Society.  She would feel confused but, well, if I were her, determined to do what she thinks is right.

Ky drew me in from the very start.  I love people who are mysterious about their past, like him.  He was interesting to read about; I always wanted to find out more about him, but at the same time, I didn't, because he seemed so lifelike to me that I would feel like I'm intruding on his ground.

That's another thing about Matched.  I felt everything.  Everything that the characters were feeling, everything that they wanted.  And I could see all the last little details because of all the description.  I could see in my mind the City, the dress that she wore to the Matching ceremony.  I could see every little thing that the characters did.

Really, I could go on and on about all the detail, the characters, the lyrically beautiful words, the depth of the writing, but I won't.  I may have to write another post on Matched when I re-read it, but let me just say that I absolutely adored it.

Hush Hush

This isn't a real review, since I'm only about fifty pages in, but I want to share my thoughts so far.  I just got Hush Hush, because I've been hearing good things about it for a while now, and, also, the cover is absolutely beautiful in that gothic sort of way.  I've always adored books that are about fallen angels, it seems, so I thought, why not?  From what I've read so far, I think that this will be one to add to my favourites.  The author, Becca Fitzpatrick seems to know exactly what her readers want to hear, and has the ability to write it that way.

Nora appears to be quite normal in the beginning (where I am), but it's not hard to tell, as it is with tons of other YA books, that she'll find out that maybe she's not so ordinary.  She's one of the characters that tends to draw me in; she's confused, frightened, curious, and frustrated.  She fits all of these traits because of Patch.  He makes her confused by not telling anything about himself.  She's probably frightened of him because of his creepy way of knowing everything about her.   That would also make her curious about what he is that he can do that, and frustrated because she can't get anything about him.

I already like Patch.  I can't say much about him, because, honestly, I don't know much about him.

I'll post a real review when I'm done the book, but those are just my thoughts for now.

WoW

I've signed up to do WoW at Breaking the Spine.  WoW stands for Waiting on Wednesday, so each Wednesday I'll put a post about the book I most want to read that week.  My first one is:

Entangled by Cat Clarke

Summary: 

The same questions whirl round and round in my head:
What does he want from me?
How could I have let this happen?
AM I GOING TO DIE?

17-year-old Grace wakes up in a white room, with a table, pens and paper - and no clue how she got here.

As Grace pours her tangled life onto the page, she is forced to remember everything she's tried to forget. There's falling hopelessly in love with the gorgeous Nat, and the unravelling of her relationship with her best friend Sal. But there's something missing. As hard as she's trying to remember, is there something she just can't see?

Grace must face the most important question of all. Why is she here?  

WHY DO I WANT TO READ THIS???
That's the question that I have to ask my self.


1.  The cover.  Astounding!  I wish I could find a better word for it, but. . . No, I can't.  I have always wanted to dye my hair that colour, that bright shade of red.  Her expression says everything on the cover.  She's confused.  She's innocent.  She's helpless.  She doesn't know what to do.


2.  The plot/idea.  It should sound like a regular amnesia story, right?  Well, to me it doesn't.  The white room does it for me.  From the summary, I want to know everything that she's remembering in that room. . . And what she isn't.  What is that thing that she can't remember?  Why can't she remember it?


3.  Reviews that I've read.  Apparently, it has amazing description.   You can feel her love and her hate, and every other emotion that she feels.   The book has been described as painful, and although that doesn't sound good to most people, to me it does.  If you can feel her pain, then the author has to have written it well.  I love reading books with emotion.