Review: The Ward

The Ward by Jordana Frankel

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Publication Date: April 30th 2013
Pages: 384
Source: Ebook For Review From Publisher
Genre: Dystopian, Magical Realism/Paranormal, Romance
Goodreads

Sixteen-year-old Ren is a daredevil mobile racer who will risk everything to survive in the Ward, what remains of a water-logged Manhattan. To save her sister, who is suffering from a deadly illness thought to be caused by years of pollution, Ren accepts a secret mission from the government: to search for a freshwater source in the Ward, with the hope of it leading to a cure.

However, she never expects that her search will lead to dangerous encounters with a passionate young scientist; a web of deceit and lies; and an earth-shattering mystery that’s lurking deep beneath the water’s rippling surface.

The Ward was a book I knew very little about when I started reading. Pretty much my expectations were based on the cover and I was very surprised in the end. The ward had it's goods and bad parts, in the end, this is going to end up a mostly negative review.

In general, the writing didn't really captivate me. The writing style seemed to go back and forth in this story, some parts were written the way the character thought and spoke, a more 'slang' version of English I suppose. When the book suddenly broke out into this 'slang' version of speaking, I was often caught off guard because the writing style was not consistent. The book would go between slang and formal English and it really bugged me.

This book was quite confusing in general. While I was reading I often did not know exactly what was going on. There would be points in which she was doing *insert random action here* and then all of a sudden it was like she was doing something else. I have no idea why this was happening, it might have been me, but because it happened  multiple times, I highly doubt that. There are also major parts in this book that take place in a futuristic type of car thing (I know, really descriptive Erika) and I could never tell exactly what they drove on. It seemed like at times they would be like boats on the water, and then I thought that they were underwater, and then the seemed like hover cars or roof jumping cars I HAVE NO CLUE, I'll just leave it at that. 

There are several instances of Magical Realism in this story, and some of them edge more to the Paranormal genre. I'm really not a big fan of Magical realism, I just can't get into it and I find it really weird in any book.

I know I really haven't written anything about any of the characters yet, but I really don't feel like I connected with any of them enough for me to want to write about them. The only character I really had much of an opinion about was Derek. For some of the book I was just 'eh' about him, and then when he started to have a bigger role I was just confused about where he stood. He was in and out, up and down and pretty much just a very confusing character.

Are you ready for my praises for this book? Of course you are. Despite all the 'eh' I felt for this book, there were some REALLY good lines in this book. Like- quotable quotes. I would share them for you but I'd have to compare them to a final copy and I don't have one of those at the moment. Maybe one day.

Review: The Elite

The Elite by Kiera Cass

Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: April 23rd 2013
Pages: 336
Source: Gift
Genre: Romance, Dystopian
Goodreads

Thirty-five girls came to the palace to compete in the Selection. All but six have been sent home. And only one will get to marry Prince Maxon and be crowned princess of Illea.

America still isn’t sure where her heart lies. When she’s with Maxon, she’s swept up in their new and breathless romance, and can’t dream of being with anyone else. But whenever she sees Aspen standing guard around the palace, and is overcome with memories of the life they planned to share. With the group narrowed down to the Elite, the other girls are even more determined to win Maxon over—and time is running out for America to decide.

Just when America is sure she’s made her choice, a devastating loss makes her question everything again. And while she’s struggling to imagine her future, the violent rebels that are determined to overthrow the monarchy are growing stronger and their plans could destroy her chance at any kind of happy ending.

Though I hate to have to say it, this is going to have to be a mostly negative review. I really enjoyed The Selection, so when I got a copy of The Elite I was extremely excited to dive back it. I suppose now, after reading The Elite, I think I really could have seen this coming. Everything that bugged me really started to show up at the end of the first book, and I was hoping that wouldn't continue. But it did.

If you read The Selection, you know that at the end of the book a love triangle starts to form. In the Elite, the love triangle is not only present, but it's almost one of the only prominent things that happens in the entire story. The main character, America, doesn't even seem to realize it's not okay to have serious relationships with two people and not say anything. She goes between the guys like it's perfectly normal and there isn't risk in doing so. She is so indecisive in this book, and I can't handle it. I just don't get it!

Obviously, I was often angry at America due to her lack of common sense, and her indecisiveness. I was also very upset with how the other characters acted in this story. Every time Aspen came into the story, I just wanted to tell him to go away. I never have liked Aspen, and he just kept showing up. Maxon.... I just don't know anymore. He doesn't seem like he cares about anyone, and I really think he's lying most of the time.

I think the reason why this book just didn't work for me is it felt like the entire story was based around lies. I think that every single one of the main characters were working off lies, and none of them saw the trouble that came with those lies, unless of course someone caught them in the lie. I really hate that about this book, it's so annoying!

The only thing I can really say that I liked about this book is that there was some world building... not a lot but there was some. I still don't really know why everything is the way it is. I don't understand the rebels very much, nor do I understand the whole relations with other countries thing... but it's a little clearer.

Review: Strangelets

Strangelets by Michelle Gagnon

Publisher: Soho Teen
Publication Date: April 9th 2013
Pages: 288
Source: Ebook for Review from Publisher
Genre: Si-fi
Goodreads

17-year-old Sophie lies on her deathbed in California, awaiting the inevitable loss of her battle with cancer…
17-year-old Declan stares down two armed thugs in a back alley in Galway, Ireland…
17-year-old Anat attempts to traverse a booby-trapped tunnel between Israel and Egypt…

All three strangers should have died at the exact same moment, thousands of miles apart. Instead, they awaken together in an abandoned hospital—only to discover that they’re not alone. Three other teens from different places on the globe are trapped with them. Somebody or something seems to be pulling the strings. With their individual clocks ticking, they must band together if they’re to have any hope of surviving. 

Soon they discover that they've been trapped in a future that isn't of their making: a deadly, desolate world at once entirely familiar and utterly strange. Each teen harbors a secret, but only one holds the key that could get them home. As the truth comes to light through the eyes of Sophie, Declan, and Anat, the reader is taken on a dark and unforgettable journey into the hearts of teens who must decide what to do with a second chance at life.

You might be able to catch this off of the title, but this book is STRANGE. I didn't really know what to think when I started it, and I just jumped in. I really can't imagine where the idea for the book came from it is so twisted and, like I said before STRANGE.

The first thing that I really liked about this book was the mix of various cultures. This story follows six different characters, being told in the alternating perspective of three of those characters. Each character is from a different place, and each character has a very interesting personality based off of their background. The story is told in the perspectives of an American named Sophie, an Irish boy named Declan, and an Israeli named Anat. Obviously, I'm American (If you hadn't already caught on based on my vocabulary and spelling) so I don't really know how accurately some of the characters were portrayed, but I thought it was very interesting.

The only thing I really didn't like about the mix of culture is that each character conveniently spoke English. The whole idea of the book is that 6 random teens were pulled to this location. Only 9% of people in the world speak English (source), so every single one of the those teens being able to speak English is fairly unlikely.

The plot. I am not going to try to explain it for two reasons. One- It's so complicated I won't make sense. Two- Any attempt to will spoil pretty much the entire book. I am just going to comment on it. It was not expecting the plot to go the way it did. I thought it would be more of a psychological/paranormal sort of thing, but it ended up being more dystopian/si-fi. There was nothing wrong with that, but it felt very fast and made little sense. The plot felt like it changing direction every few chapters. There was never a break and everything became extremely hard to comprehend. 

The end was quite convenient. It was very convenient that most of the characters survived. It was convenient that two of the characters got together. It was convenient that despite everything they went through they just happened to have a ways to get things back to normal. I didn't like it.

Overall, this book really wasn't for me. I liked some of the ideas but the story was just all over the place. It was very hard for me to get into this book and I had a hard time picking it up.

Waiting on Wednesday: Fangirl

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
Publication Date: September 10th
Goodreads

A coming-of-age tale of fan fiction, family and first love.

Cath is a Simon Snow fan.

Okay, the whole world is a Simon Snow fan . . .

But for Cath, being a fan is her life — and she’s really good at it. She and her twin sister, Wren, ensconced themselves in the Simon Snow series when they were just kids; it’s what got them through their mother leaving.

Reading. Rereading. Hanging out in Simon Snow forums, writing Simon Snow fan fiction, dressing up like the characters for every movie premiere.

Cath’s sister has mostly grown away from fandom, but Cath can’t let go. She doesn’t want to.

Now that they’re going to college, Wren has told Cath she doesn’t want to be roommates. Cath is on her own, completely outside of her comfort zone. She’s got a surly roommate with a charming, always-around boyfriend, a fiction-writing professor who thinks fan fiction is the end of the civilized world, a handsome classmate who only wants to talk about words . . . And she can’t stop worrying about her dad, who’s loving and fragile and has never really been alone.

For Cath, the question is: Can she do this? Can she make it without Wren holding her hand? Is she ready to start living her own life? Writing her own stories?

Or will she just go on living inside somebody else’s fiction?

 I  finished reading Eleanor and Park this weekend. I just need more of Rainbow Rowell's books. I just do. Give them to me.

Review: A Midsummer's Nightmare

A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger

Publisher: Poppy
Publication Date: June 5th 2012
Pages: 304
Source: Library
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Goodreads

Whitley Johnson's dream summer with her divorcé dad has turned into a nightmare. She's just met his new fiancée and her kids. The fiancée's son? Whitley's one-night stand from graduation night. Just freakin' great.

Worse, she totally doesn't fit in with her dad's perfect new country-club family. So Whitley acts out. She parties. Hard. So hard she doesn't even notice the good things right under her nose: a sweet little future stepsister who is just about the only person she's ever liked, a best friend (even though Whitley swears she doesn't "do" friends), and a smoking-hot guy who isn't her stepbrother...at least, not yet. It will take all three of them to help Whitley get through her anger and begin to put the pieces of her family together.

Filled with authenticity and raw emotion, Whitley is Kody Keplinger's most compelling character to date: a cynical Holden Caulfield-esque girl you will wholly care about.

This was another book that I picked up on impulse at the library. When I first heard about it, I thought it sounded so crazy and out there that I just needed it as some point. This is a great read for this very winter-like spring weather I've been living through, and I really enjoyed it.

This book is just... well... crazy. You can probably tell that from the synopsis. There are so many different things that pile on top of Whitley at once her life goes from hopeful to painful in a matter of pages; things just get worse for her. This might sound like it would be a bad thing but all of the crazy is what makes this book so good. I've only read one other book by Kody Keplinger, but between the two books I have read it seems like crazy is her trademark.

I really didn't like the main character, Whitley at first. She is a party girl who loves alcohol and boys and she isn't afraid to be known for it. Part of the book is that she sees the error in her ways and she begins to turn her life around, and once she does I start to like her more than I did in the beginning.

The boy in the book, Nathan, was really awesome. It was defiantly really awkward between Whitley and Nathan for a good part of the book, but he was really cool about it. Nathan was really a great guy and a great friend to Whitley when she needed him, plus he is both nerdy and attractive so he's very crush worthy.

Another character in the book, Bailey, I just loved. Bailey is Nathan's little sister, and she is adorable. She is about 13, and she adores Whitley. Just like a lot of young teens she is terrified about starting out high school the wrong way, and she looks to Whitely for guidance. She's also there for her when Whitely needs help later in the book, Bailey was just what this book needed.

This biggest thing that comes out of this book is that Whitley discovers who she is, and how she can live her life without drinking all the time. She has some major family issues that Whitley has to work out, as well as her future and all the other craziness that she has to endure that summer, and all of this is addressed in the book. I really like how this book handled all of this, and instead of taking the 'easy' route and just ignoring some of the issues that could have easily been ignored, Whitley took the issues head on.

Overall I really liked this book more than I liked The DUFF, it was a great summer read, with some humor and great characters.

Review: The Disenchantments

The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour

Publisher: Dutton
Publication Date: February 16th 2012
Pages: 307
Source: Library
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Goodreads 

Colby and Bev have a long-standing pact: graduate, hit the road with Bev's band, and then spend the year wandering around Europe. But moments after the tour kicks off, Bev makes a shocking announcement: she's abandoning their plans - and Colby - to start college in the fall.

But the show must go on and The Disenchantments weave through the Pacific Northwest, playing in small towns and dingy venues, while roadie- Colby struggles to deal with Bev's already-growing distance and the most important question of all: what's next?

Morris Award–finalist Nina LaCour draws together the beauty and influences of music and art to brilliantly capture a group of friends on the brink of the rest of their lives.

I picked up The Disenchantments on impulse at the library, remembering a few bloggers says some pretty good things about it when the book first came out. It looked like a fun summer read, just what I need right now when it's still acting just a little too much like winter for me. I quite enjoyed this book. It was the perfect read during this almost spring weather!

It's a road trip book- must I say more? I don't think I have opened a road trip book that I disliked before. (haha, that rhymed!) This book follows a group of friends that are part of a (not so good) band and they go on a short tour  before college starts in the fall. In each stop they preform and meet new people, and it's  very fun story.

The people this book are really great. Each of the main characters are all really artsy and open-minded people who just want to be who they are. I love how each character has a little trait about them that shines through in a different way, and they all accept one another despite their differences.

The main character in this story, Colby comes to terms with his love for his best friend, Bev as they travel. Though it's not all smooth sailing, there is some best friend love in this story. I like how it's not really the biggest part of the book, but it's more subtle in the background.

At the beginning, I really didn't like Bev very much, and I still wasn't sure of my feeling for her by the end. At the very start she totally throws the story in a loop, and I really wasn't sure I like how she handled what she did, she was kind of mean to Colby and everyone else on the trip. In the ends she kind of explains herself a little more but I'm still  not sure I really understood.

And finally, this book has a strong self-discovery theme as Colby and the band members start to discover what they might want to do with their lives now that they are about to start college and other adventures in their lives that have been thrown at them. This theme was  very well done, and I liked how everything ended up.

Waiting on Wednesday: How Zoe Made Her Dreams (Mostly) Come True

How Zoe Made Her Dreams (Mostly) Come True by Sarah Strohmeyer
Published: April 23rd 2013
Goodreads

From Sarah Strohmeyer, author of Smart Girls Get What They Want, comes this romantic comedy about one girl's summer job from hell. Think The Devil Wears Prada set in Disney World.

When cousins Zoe and Jess land summer internships at the Fairyland Kingdom theme park, they are sure they've hit the jackpot. With perks like hot Abercrombie-like Prince Charmings and a chance to win the coveted $25,000 Dream & Do grant, what more could a girl want?

Once Zoe arrives, however, she's assigned to serve "The Queen"-Fairyland's boss from hell. From spoon-feeding her evil lapdog caviar, to fetching midnight sleeping tonics, Zoe fears she might not have what it takes to survive the summer, much less win the money.

Soon backstabbing interns, a runaway Cinderella, and cutthroat competition make Zoe's job more like a nightmare than a fairy tale. What will happen when Zoe is forced to choose between serving The Queen and saving the prince of her dreams?

I really liked Sarah Strohmeyer's Smart Girls Get What They Want, so I'm excited to see how I like her next book!

Review: Who Done It?

Who Done It? By Jon Scieszka (And others)

Publisher: Soho Teen
Publication Date: February 12th 2013
Pages: 373
Source: Libaray
Genre: Anthology, Mystery, Humor
Goodreads

A star-studded anthology with a devilish hook, whose proceeds benefit 826nyc: the fabulous literacy non-profit founded by Dave Eggers.
 
Can you imagine the most cantankerous book editor alive? Part Voldemort, part Cruella de Vil (if she were a dude), and worse in appearance and odor than a gluttonous farm pig? A man who makes no secret of his love of cheese or his disdain of unworthy authors? That man is Herman Mildew.

The anthology opens with an invitation to a party, care of this insufferable monster, where more than 80 of the most talented, bestselling and recognizable names in YA and children’s fiction learn that they are suspects in his murder. All must provide alibis in brief first-person entries. The problem is that all of them are liars, all of them are fabulists, and all have something to hide...

This is a hard book to review, due to the fact that it's an anthology. I really liked the idea behind this book when I picked it up. More than 80 authors have come together to defend themselves, telling why they did not kill their editor. I thought the idea was so fun I was excited to see all of the different stories that would come about.

I really liked this book when I first started out. I thought that this story might introduce me to some new authors, and for the first third of the book I truly did enjoy it, but at about the midway point I started to feel like I was reading the same story over and over again. I thought that, with so many minds, there might be more variation in the story, but that was not the case. I think that the authors much have been given pretty much the same instructions (which makes sense) but there was nothing done to make sure that the stories were unique from one another. There's really only so much you can do with a description of an editor that you are supposed to hate, and a general frame of where you are... By the end of the story I really just wanted the story to be over because I didn't find it interesting anymore. I did, however, enjoy how the book ended. It was quite humorous, and just a great way to leave it off.

I was thoroughly impressed by a few of the author's stories and how they wrote each part. I really liked (of course) John Green's small part of the book. John Green is just an overall nerdy, funny guy, and he lets that shine in his work. Gayle Forman also had a spectacular chapter. She had her's written completely in tweets between her and several other people (a few of which I recognized!) and it was really fun and unique compared to some other author's takes on the story. David Levithan also approached the prompt differently, by telling his story in poem format and I loved that. There were also a smattering of illustrators in this story, and instead of writing, they would draw and that really added something to the story that just made it a little more alive.

Book Haul March 2013

 Bought:

Apollyon by Jennifer L. Armentrout

I found this  book on the shelves early at my B&N, so naturally I had to have it. I am so excited for this book. I really didn't think twice grabbing it from the shelves. I love this series more than I should probably admit

Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers

I went to a Robin LaFevers event, and got my copy signed! She wrote: "And out of the darkness-hope" <3 The signing was very, very fun. She talked a lot about writing and characters, and as you might remeber from back in November, I participated in NaNoWriMo, so I'm sort of a writer. I thought it was a great event, I'm glad I went!

For Review:

Dirty Little Secret by Jennifer Echols
I loved Jennifer Echols' book Such a Rush, so I'm very excited for this book!

The Ward by Jordanna Frankel
I read this book a few weeks ago. My review isn't posted yet, but I was a bit disappointed after reading it. 

ARCycling:

Variant by Robison Wells
I really don't know much about this book but I have heard some good things, so I'm hoping I'll like it as well!

Have you read any of these books? What did you get recently? Let me know down in the comments!

Meeting Jasmine

Jasmine, Left, Me (Erika), Right

After almost two years of blogging, I have officially met another blogger.

I know, crazy huh? You'd think that by this point I would have met another blogger. As it turns out, I have been at  book events with other bloggers, I just didn't know it.

It just so happened that I would be coming to her city, and we decided to say hello.

I have been occasionally chatting with Jasmine from A Room With Books, over the past year or so, so it was super fun to get to meet her!

Waiting on Wednesday: Two Boys Kissing

Two Boys Kissing by David Levithan
Published: August 27th 2013
Goodreads

New York Times  bestselling author David Levithan tells the based-on-true-events story of Harry and Craig, two 17-year-olds who are about to take part in a 32-hour marathon of kissing to set a new Guinness World Record—all of which is narrated by a Greek Chorus of the generation of gay men lost to AIDS.

While the two increasingly dehydrated and sleep-deprived boys are locking lips, they become a focal point in the lives of other teen boys dealing with languishing long-term relationships, coming out, navigating gender identity, and falling deeper into the digital rabbit hole of gay hookup sites—all while the kissing former couple tries to figure out their own feelings for each other.

This follow-up to the bestselling Every Day showcases David's trademark sharp-witted, warm-hearted tales of teenage love, and serves as a perfect thematic bookend to David's YA debut and breakthrough, Boy Meets Boy, which celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2013.

There has been a lot of controversy about this book, and I just don't care. I think this book sounds really funny, due to the fact that is about a kissing marathon? Yeah.