Book Review: The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

 Title:  The Lovely Bones

Author: Alice Sebold

Synopsis: "My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973."

So begins the story of Susie Salmon, who is adjusting to her new home in heaven, a place that is not at all what she expected, even as she is watching life on earth continue without her - her friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her killer trying to cover his tracks, her grief-stricken family unraveling.  Out of unspeakable tragedy and loss, The Lovely Bones succeeds, miraculously, in building a tale filled with hope, humor, suspense, even joy

Review:

a.) Characters: 5/5 score.  Susie Salmon was fourteen when she was murdered.  Clearly insightful when she was alive, she is more so now that she is dead.  It was hard not to fall in love with Susie, even when you knew she was already dead and gone.  You love her life, her memory, and her character.  But above all, you love her hope.  

b.) Plot: 4/5 score.  Susie witnesses all.  We learn much through her life, her death, and her afterlife as she views her friends and family grow without her.  We learn through her heaven, and we see the aftermath of her removal.  I found myself weeping and laughing with each mountain that was presented.  

c.) Writing style: 4/5 score.  I was amazed at how Sebold could get Susie to sound like the teen she was and also as the ground up she would never become.  There was times when I would read chapter after chapter and I would skip dinner and stay up hours passed my bedtime because I got so wrapped up in the tale.  And that’s how you know it’s a good book.  

Rating: 13/15 total

From the beginning to the end, hard to put down and absolutely powerful.  If you've never read this, you should.  I absolutely LOVE this book!  I seen the movie first (by accident) and really thought the movie was grand.  But the book goes beyond that and really captures a surreal world into a perfect little snow globe.   It's so hard not to like this book.  When I watched the movie and then read the book, I was put off by the rape/murder of a fourteen year old.  (Still am.)  But the story focused on Susie- not the darkness that took her life, but the life that continued on after the darkness. 

Book Review: Lenobia's Vow by P.C. and Kristin Cast

Title:  Lenobia’s Vow

Author: P.C. and Kristin Cast

Synopsis: Before becoming Zoey's favourite professor and the House of Night's powerful horse mistress, Lenobia was just a normal 16-year-old girl - but with enough problems to last a lifetime. In 1788, Lenobia's father places her on a ship bound for New Orleans. An evil bishop, skilled in Dark magic, makes the same journey. His appetite for beautiful young women forces Lenobia to remain hidden, but she secretly visits the ship's stables, where a handsome young man and his horses capture her attention. Can they make it to the New World before the bishop discovers her true identity and a powerful evil breaks loose? And will Lenobia follow her heart, even if it puts lives at risk?

Review:

a.) Characters: 4/5 score.  This is not the same Lenobia that Zoey knows.  You can feel she is younger and hopeful.  But she is also haunted.  For a fifteen/sixteen year old, she is mature more than a teenager of this time would be.  I love her story, where she came from, her relationship with her mother, and her journey into a new life.  

b.) Plot: 3/5 score.  The plot was slow and, to be honest, weak.  The battle against evil was against the Bishop of Evreux, who possessed a jeweled cross that gave him his power (I think).  It wasn’t bad, and the ending was sudden and rushed.  But I was expecting more (like Dragon’s Oath).  Also, probably a little spoiler-ish, but she doesn’t actually get Marked until chapter eight.

c.) Writing style: 3/5 score.  They touched the dialogue with French.  And since I took three years of French in highschool, it was easy for me to read it and enjoy it.  But anyone else would probably have to use context clues to link the french to english.  

Rating: 10/15 total

Book Haul (4) 7 books

Title: Gone (Gone #1)
Author: Michael Grant
Synopsis: In the blink of an eye. Everyone disappears. GONE.

Except for the young. Teens. Middle schoolers. Toddlers. But not one single adult. No teachers, no cops, no doctors, no parents. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what's happened. Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents—unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers—that grow stronger by the day. It's a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen, a fight is shaping up. Townies against rich kids. Bullies against the weak. Powerful against powerless. And time is running out: On your birthday, you disappear just like everyone else... 

Super excited to start this.  I read the first page in HPB and just HAD to get it!  Since they had Hunger, I bought it too.  

 Title:  Hunger
Author:  Michael Grant
Synopsis: It's been three months since everyone under the age of fifteen became trapped in the bubble known as the FAYZ.

Three months since all the adults disappeared. GONE.

Food ran out weeks ago. Everyone is starving, but no one wants to figure out a solution. And each day, more and more kids are evolving, developing supernatural abilities that set them apart from the kids without powers. Tension rises and chaos is descending upon the town. It's the normal kids against the mutants. Each kid is out for himself, and even the good ones turn murderous. But a larger problem looms. The Darkness, a sinister creature that has lived buried deep in the hills, begins calling to some of the teens in the FAYZ. Calling to them, guiding them, manipulating them. The Darkness has awakened. And it is hungry.

 Title:  Linger
Author:  Maggie Stiefvater
Synopsis:  In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.

I was not a die-hard fan of Shiver.  But the way she left it, I was still interested in the storyline.  So I made sure this wasn't over five bucks, and got it anyway.  If I end up not caring for the series as a whole, I'll sell them back to HPB.  

  Title:  Psych Major Syndrome
Author:  Alicia Thompson
Synopsis:  Using the skills you've learned so far in Introduction to Psychology, please write a brief self-assessment describing how things are going in your freshman year.
Presenting Concerns: The Patient, Leigh Nolan (that would be me), has just started her first year at Stiles College. She has decided to major in psychology (even though her parents would rather she study Tarot cards, not Rorschach blots). Patient has always been very good at helping her friends with their problems, but when it comes to solving her own...not so much. Patient has a tendency to overanalyze things, particularly when the opposite sex is involved. Like why doesn't Andrew, her boyfriend of over a year, ever invite her to spend the night? Or why can't she commit to taking the next step in their relationship? And why does his roommate Nathan dislike her so much? More importantly, why did Nathan have a starring role in a much-more-than-friendly dream? Aggravating factors include hyper-competitive fellow psych majors, a professor who’s badly in need of her own psychoanalysis, and mentoring a middle-school-aged girl who thinks Patient is, in a word, naive.
Diagnosis: Psych Major Syndrome

When I first saw the cover, I wasn't thrilled.  But all I had to do was read that (above) and I was hooked!  I needed to get it and get the rest of her story!  Super excited to read this one too! 

Title:  Thirteen Reasons Why
Author: Jay Asher
Synopsis:  Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers thirteen cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate and crush who committed suicide two weeks earlier. 

On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list. Through Hannah and Clay's dual narratives, debut author Jay Asher weaves an intricate and heartrending story of confusion and desperation that will deeply affect teen readers. 

Call me a freak-  I absolutely love books about depression (if they are done correct).

Title:  Just Listen

Author: Sarah Dessen

Synopsis: Last year, Annabel was "the girl who has everything"—at least that's the part she played in the television commercial for Kopf's Department Store.This year, she's the girl who has nothing: no best friend because mean-but-exciting Sophie dropped her, no peace at home since her older sister became anorexic, and no one to sit with at lunch. Until she meets Owen Armstrong. Tall, dark, and music-obsessed, Owen is a reformed bad boy with a commitment to truth-telling. With Owen's help,maybe Annabel can face what happened the night she and Sophie stopped being friends.

Another guilty pleasure- reading about broken up families.  I love reading books like this.  It is only recently that I have discovered this- and I plan on looking into more books of this genre to fill this craving I have for them! 

 

Title: Blood Promise

Author: Richelle Mead

Synopsis:  Rose Hathaway's life will never be the same.

The recent attack on St. Vladimir's Academy devastated the entire Moroi world. Many are dead. And, for the few victims carried off by Strigoi, their fates are even worse. A rare tattoo now adorns Rose's neck, a mark that says she's killed far too many Strigoi to count. But only one victim matters . . . Dimitri Belikov. Rose must now choose one of two very different paths: honoring her life's vow to protect Lissa—her best friend and the last surviving Dragomir princess—or, dropping out of the Academy to strike out on her own and hunt down the man she loves. She'll have to go to the ends of the earth to find Dimitri and keep the promise he begged her to make. But the question is, when the time comes, will he want to be saved?

Now, with everything at stake—and worlds away from St. Vladimir's and her unguarded, vulnerable, and newly rebellious best friend—can Rose find the strength to destroy Dimitri? Or, will she sacrifice herself for a chance at eternal love?

Omg- I haven't read Shadow Kiss and already I can't wait to pick this one up.  I only bought it because it was in paperback, lol.  Besides, I'll read it eventually!  

Also- this is going to be the next 4-6 weeks:

 

BECAUSE I WON A COPY OF  

THIS IS NOT A TEST BY COURTNEY SUMMERS

I 

AM

PUMPED

I cannot cannot cannot wait for it to get here.  Whatever I am reading at the time will be put down so I can start on it ASAP.  Courtney Summers also did Cracked Up To Be- which I LOVED! 

Happy Reading folks!!! 

March Wrap up & April TBR

Posting this early because I know I won't have another one done by the end of this month.  I am hoping to actually get to Shadow Kiss this time, but I'm not holding my breath.  I borrowed a couple books from my aunt and have been indulging in these. 

So for March I have completed (in order of completion):

1. Past Perfect by Liela Sales (PulseIt)

2. Love Struck by Melissa Marr

3. Promise of the Wolves by Dorothy Hearst

4. Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer

5. Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer

6. Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr

7. Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr

8. Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr 

9. Stopping Time by Melissa Marr

10. Lenobia's Vow by P.C. & Kristin Cast

11. The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

12. Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton 

According to Goodreads, I am 15 books (20%) ahead of schedule! Yay!
On my To-Be-Read pile, I have:

1. Shadow Kiss (Vampire Academy, #3) by Richelle Mead
2. Linger by Maggie Stiefvater 3. Where It Began by Ann Redisch Stampler 4. Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver 5. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins 6. The Breakup Bible by Melissa Kantor 7. Interrupter by Rachel Coker
8. Halfling by Heather Burch
9. Bloom by Elizabeth Scott
10. Hold Still by Nina LaCour 

11. Gone by Michael Grant

12. Hunger by Michael Grant

I was so happy to cave and got the two first books in the Gone series.  I got lucky- they were at Half Price Books for cheap.  And I love cheap.  It means I have more money for more books! 

Happy Reading folks!

Book Review: Stopping Time by Melissa Marr

Title:  Stopping Time

Author:  Melissa Marr

Synopsis:  
Leslie walked away from the Dark Court, determined to reclaim her life and live it on her own terms-even if it meant leaving behind the two faeries who love her. She knows Niall and Irial watch over her, and she would give almost anything to keep them from hurting. But she resists the pull to be with either one of them.

Someone knows about Leslie’s past, however, and is intent on using her to reach the fey. And he doesn't care who gets hurt.

Review:

a.) Characters: 3/5 score.  Leslie has grown since we last seen her in Ink Exchange.  I think it’s cute how the faeries watch over her, but it would get annoying if she was trying to leave their world.  Leslie doesn’t seem to think much about that.

b.) Plot: 3/5 score.  I think this wasn’t needed, but it made me have more questions about Niall and Irial’s past relationship.  The whole time Leslie was being stalked, I knew who it was.  I mean, think about it.  It becomes pretty obvious.  

c.) Writing style: 3/5 score.  Simple.  It was only a 50 pages in the back of my Fragile Eternity copy (which is awesome!).  It was a short read, but we got to feel each character: Leslie, Niall, and Irial.  

Rating: 9/15 total

This kind of tied up loose ends for me but it also brought up a whole new set of questions!