“I’m so pissed I could punch a bunny right now.”

I know, I know… it’s not exactly the most “animal friendly” of sayings and I’m sure that once this review goes live I’m going to get email bombed by PETA, but hey…it’s my saying, and I like it.

See…it encompasses a vast variety of uses.  Have a bad day at work? The “man” got ya down? Maybe you found a book that really annoys the crap out of you and you have no idea how to explain how much you wanted to chunk it across a room. This phrase says it all!

You LIKE bunnies right? You think (that despite their alarming need to replicate) they are furry, and cute and make your kids happy on Easter…right? So what could be worse than wanting to punch one?

Oh yeah… a book that really annoys the crap out of you and you have no idea how to explain how much you wanted to chunk it across the room. (<– 2 points for wit!)

Alright, I’ll get to the point, but first (cue dramatic music) the synopsis.

“If a violent battle destroyed the only world you’ve ever known, would you be brave enough to save who was left? Would love be strong enough to survive the fight? Either way, there’s no turning back.

The Empyrean is the only home 15-year-old Waverly has ever known. Part of the first generation to be successfully conceived in deep space, she and her boyfriend Kieran will be pioneers of New Earth. Waverly knows she must marry young in order to have children who can carry on the mission, and Kieran, the handsome captain-to-be, has everything Waverly could want in a husband. Everyone is sure he’s the best choice. Still, there’s a part of Waverly that wants more from life than marriage, and she is secretly intrigued by the shy, darkly brilliant Seth.

Suddenly, Waverly’s dreams are interrupted by the inconceivable – a violent betrayal by the Empyrean’s sister ship, the New Horizon. The New Horizon’s leaders are desperate to populate the new planet first, and will do anything to get what they need: young girls. In one pivotal moment, Waverly and Kieran are separated, and find themselves at the helm of dangerous missions, where every move has potentially devastating consequences, and decisions of the heart may lead to disaster.”

Dear Sci-Fi,

My how I’ve missed you.

Wait… your not sci-fi? You’re actually a religious driven rant sloppily disguised as a space shuttle take over with barren women and one very sloppy plot?

My bad.

Ok, that was a tad rude. I apologize, but I feel the need to stress just exactly what you are getting yourselves into if you do (despite me advice *wags finger*) decided to purchase this book.

Yes, there are a shit ton (hmm… I think I used that same phrase in the last review, I need new material) of Sci-fi related elements to this book.  They are on a spaceship, it’s kinda hard not to talk about artificial gravity, but despite it’s obvious outer-limits roots, this book is more of a angry woman turns her ship into a cult and decides to whack some people read.  Don’t get me wrong… I like a good whacking as much as the next person, but the way in which it was handled was… well, it wasn’t handled, let’s just leave it at that.

The characters (despite Waverly…she was a little annoying at first, but pulled through) were bland. This was the biggest problem of all.  The Empyrean (Waverly’s ride) was overthrown by an evil mongrel (who does not deserve a proper name) and thrust into an upheaval of epic proportions. And what did we get from the characters. “Blah” that’s what we got.  I hate to sound mean, but (other than Seth) I didn’t care what happened to them.  Take them away, let them float amongst the stars, throw them a party and take embarrassing pictures of their oddly shaped party hats? I DON’T CARE.  I don’t know about you, but if I don’t care about the characters, I won’t care about the book.

Now, back to the whole “religious driven rant” I mentioned above.  I am a christian.  I can appreciate religious literature, but since when did Sci-fi and the Mother Mary start running in the same circles?  That’s like saying Charles Darwin and Jesus Christ like to hang out on the weekend and throw back some cold ones. I was genuinely confused by it.  This book had a fantastic premise, hell… despite my better judgement I will probably read book 2 (only because this one ended in a cliffhanger) but half way through the plot became a spiderweb of “good religion” vs “bad religion” not the fight for their lives that it SHOULD have been.

And  lastly… because this review is already longer than the Declaration of Independence. The narration was less than desirable.  Under normal circumstances I welcome duel narration, but I firmly believe Glow would have benefited for 1 perspective.  Does that mean I didn’t get anything out of Keiran’s slightly vapid narration? No… he had his moments, and even started some rather interesting bisecting plot lines, but instead of the writing making me feel closer to the intended party, it only made me grit my teeth and hope Waverly’s voice would come back soon.

The only GOOD thing I can say about this book is that it is 100% original, I’ve never read anything like it.

So…where does this leave me? In short, disappointed.  I really wanted this to be good.  It has been sooooo long since I have read Sci-fi and I was practically salivating when I got it in the mail, but alas… that’s what I get for throwing all my hopes and dreams at it.

Pass on this one peeps… you will only find yourselves annoyed and wishing for more.

Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: Sometimes you win some, sometimes you lose some, and sometimes you want to drown yourself in gummy bears and pretend you never even hear of it.

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**~~~ (2/5)

BOOK TRAILERS!!!

“You can’t touch me,” I whisper.

Azalea is trapped. Just when she should feel that everything is before her . . . beautiful gowns, dashing suitors, balls filled with dancing . . . it’s taken away. All of it.

Fifteen-year-old Will Besting is sent by his doctor to Fort Eden, an institution meant to help patients suffering from crippling phobias. Once there, Will and six other teenagers take turns in mysterious fear chambers and confront their worst nightmares—with the help of the group facilitator, Rainsford, an enigmatic guide. When the patients emerge from the chamber, they feel emboldened by the previous night’s experiences. But each person soon discovers strange, unexplained aches and pains. . . . What is really happening to the seven teens trapped in this dark Eden?

In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street—and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa’s powers for his own dark ends.

Eleven minutes passed before Delaney Maxwell was pulled from the icy waters of a Maine lake by her best friend Decker Phillips. By then her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. And yet she somehow defied medical precedent to come back seemingly fine -despite the scans that showed significant brain damage. Everyone wants Delaney to be all right, but she knows she’s far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can’t control or explain, Delaney finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her altered brain now predicting death, or causing it?Then Delaney meets Troy Varga, who recently emerged from a coma with similar abilities. At first she’s reassured to find someone who understands the strangeness of her new existence, but Delaney soon discovers that Troy’s motives aren’t quite what she thought. Is their gift a miracle, a freak of nature-or something much more frightening?

Before I get into paragraphs of explicit details, let me start off by saying this is NOT an overly pleasant read. The main plot aside (guilt for her father’s actions) Pfeffer decided to take a very serious issue (cutting) and treat is as though it were a verb like “jumping” or “smiling.” Now, while some of you may not see this as an issue, I view this as a personal injustice to the hundreds of teen readers who WILL decided to purchase this book. Why? Because if a writer makes light of an issue, who’s to say that they reader won’t as well.

Anyways…before I get so high and mighty that I find it difficult to come down, here is what “Blood Wounds” is about:

“Blood can both wound and heal . . .

Willa is lucky: She has a loving blended family that gets along. Not all families are so fortunate. But when a bloody crime takes place hundreds of miles away, it has an explosive effect on Willa’s peaceful life. The estranged father she hardly remembers has murdered his new wife and children, and is headed east toward Willa and her mother. Under police protection, Willa discovers that her mother has harbored secrets that are threatening to boil over. Has everything Willa believed about herself been a lie? But as Willa sets out to untangle the mysteries of her past, she also keeps her own secret—one that has the potential to tear apart all she holds dear.”

Ok, off to the races…

First, the writing was actually pretty good, it was the nature of the story (and how it affected the character development) that I took issue with.  Here was this girl (Willa) who in the first several chapters appeared happy and healthy.  Even though her dialogue was very obviously leading up to something tragic, the adjectives surrounding her family were of the pleasant sort, so imagine my surprise, when about 50 pages in, she all of a sudden started to rebel and (here’s the important part) blame everything on the people who had cared for her for years.  The intention (I’m certain) was to convey this overwhelming sense of disconnect and misguided guilt, but instead, Pfeffer managed to turn Willa into an insufferable, whiny, inconsiderate, bitch.  That’s right…I used the “B” word.

I am not insensitive, I can understand and even appreciate the complexities that loss will afford a person (especially a teenager) but in changing the way HER personality came across, it forced the rest of the family’s dynamic to morph as well, which made (almost) everyone  in the story unlovable. (It’s kinda hard to like a book when you hate everyone in it…right?)

Now, characters aside, lets talk about the plot. In short…it was odd.  We all know things like this happen, the news channels would be out of business if the world were all puppy dogs and rainbows, but the way that it all unfolded felt a little too bitter to be fiction. (Aka, Ms. Pfeffer watches a lot of CNN and this was a convenient way to vent her frustrations.)  If Pfeffer had picked 1 very solid topic (the murder angle) then maybe the read (as a whole) would have come off as slightly less arrogant, but the fact that she chose a heaping helping of social/emotional issues to hash out in 260 pages (murder, guilt, greed, abuse, neglect, cutting, phschosis…etc.) made the book feel heavy, and in the end…not worth the effort it took to swim through it.

In the end…I vote for no.  Spend your money elsewhere (maybe on her other books) and consider yourself lucky to have missed this trip down memory lane.

Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: If certain people of our past didn’t make it to our future, there’s probably a very good reason why. Don’t over-analyze it, just live with it.

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*½~~~ (1.5/5)

Before I jump into today’s review I wanted to give you a quick heads-up as to why I have been absent. #1 No, I am not dead. Though I do (humbly) appreciate the 50 or so emails I have received asking if I was. I am not in rehab, I have not been hit by a car, and no…my tendency to run into trees did not land me in traction. The truth: I quit my job. (This is a good thing not a bad thing so…don’t panic.) BUT because I did the job of roughly 5 people, I had a crap-load of loose ends to tie up…making it almost impossible for me to do anything by focus on math for more than 2 weeks. Thankfully, all of that is behind me now, leaving me time to get back to my books, (and roughly 70 loads of laundry.) I would like to thank all of you for being so patient with me the last few weeks, and I look forward to starting the brand-new (very weird for me) journey.

Mucho Love  – Misty

On to the good stuff…

It’s not often that I think of a movie when reading a book. A song yes, I have even encountered the exact opposite and thought of a book while watching a movie, but with “In The Arms of Stone Angels” the very first thing that popped into my head was “The Cell” from 2000. While the plots are similar (not enough to say either copied each-other) that is not what caught my attention, the imagery was.

In short “In The Arms of Stone Angels” is a murder mystery (don’t be fooled by the very YA Paranormal cover art – which is beautiful but a tad misleading)

Brenna catches (or so she thinks) her best-friend (and 1st love) in a very compromising situation…hovering over a dead girl with a bloody knife in his hand, and in a moment of pure panic she calls the cops and turns him in. Now, 2 years later she is back in town and (realizing she made a huge mistake) is determined to find out who the real killer was. But… her being in town isn’t exactly the healthiest of things for her or the people around her. Why? Because the real killer is very desperately trying to drive her out of town (or…at the very least drive insane like her now psychologically comatose friend.) The book follows Brenna (her very unique ability to see dead people) and how she struggles against convention (and herself) to find out the truth and set her friend free.

Now, back to the imagery…Jordan Dane did an absolutely breath-taking job of describing dream-state in this novel. At one point the reader is asked to step outside of their comfort zone and enter a state that is considered “real” when actuality it is all inside of her friend’s mind. While this could have (very easily) read as hokey or ridiculous it instead reads as original and unflinchingly creative. I had no problem visualizing the scenarios that were introduced and that (in my own opinion) is the mark of a very good storyteller. Even more importantly was the twist at the end of the story which until the last 20 or so pages you couldn’t see coming. (A must in any murder mystery)

Overall, A very original story with hidden lessons and great writing.

Highly recommended for lovers of both mystery and YA.

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****~ (4/5)

Big Al  has been an avid reader for more decades than he would care to admit. (*giggle) He was best known for his  music reviews, which spanned a variety of websites and magazines, until 1 day the big bad world of books caught up with him. (YAY!) How? Well, after having several readers and authors tell him, “You ought to start a book blog,” he said, “what the hell.”  And so was the beginning of Big Al’s Books and Pals.  Now… I could throw out a bucket load of reasons why I love Al, or better yet, share some slightly embarrassing stories about him, but in the interest of saving our friendship I’ll leave you with this instead…Big Al’s spectacdamundo (yes I made that up) review of the talented (and obnoxiously beautiful) Imogen Rose’s “Quantum”  Happy Reading!

If you would like to get to know Al better be sure to stop by his site Big Al’s Books and Pals, his Facebook page, or you can annoy him on Twitter like I do @BooksAndPals

Quantum – Book 3 of the Portal Chronicles

Genre: YA / Paranormal

Approximate word count: 70-75,000 words

Availability Kindle: YES Nook: YES DTB: YES

Author:  Globetrotter Imogen Rose is Swedish by birth, went to college in London where she received a PhD in immunology, and is now a Jersey girl. After her eight-year-old daughter insisted she write down her stories Rose wrote the first of the Portal Chronicles and decided to let it out into the world. The response was so positive that she’s continued. This is the third book in the series with more to come. Rose will be releasing Faustine, the first book in a separate, but possibly interconnected, series called The Bonfire Chronicles in the spring of 2011 with Momentum (Portal Chronicles Book Four) to follow. For more visit the author’s web site.

Description:

In Portal (Portal Chronicles Book One) teenager Arizona Stevens wakes up in a car to discover her life has changed. Her last name is Darley, she has an older brother she’d never met, a different father, and has transformed from a hockey-playing jockette into a blonde-Barbie cheerleader. As information comes out in this book and Equilibrium (Portal Chronicles Book Two) Arizona slowly learns that she was transported through both time and space via a “portal” by her scientist mother. Due to technical issues with the portal she is trapped in this new dimension for at least a year.

A year has passed. As Arizona Darley contemplates traveling back through the portal to see her dad life takes some unexpected twists.

Appraisal:

This is easily the best book of the Portal Chronicles series so far. Quantum starts out with a significant revelation in the prologue and continues with lots of plot twists you’d have never guessed, but that make perfect sense when they happen. As you learn more about the history of the characters in the series and how they relate to each you gain a deeper understanding of them and care more and more about what is going to happen next. When you finish, just as with the prior two books, you’re left with the satisfaction of a good story well told, yet are eager for the next in the series. With each book in the series Rose adds new layers to the ongoing story to continually jack up the stakes and the complexity of the story to hold the reader’s interest.

FYI:

While I think it would be possible for someone just starting this series to begin with Equilibrium (Portal Chronicles Book Two) if they hadn’t already read Portal (Portal Chronicles Book One) I would not advise starting with Quantum. This is because with each new volume Rose is expanding our knowledge of the world she has created. This volume, at least IMO, hits the point where knowledge of everyone’s back story is needed to understand the full import of the continuing saga of Arizona and her family.

***** (5/5)

Lani and Erin are BFF’s, but not your average BFF’s, they are the type of BFF’s that come with a spectacularly tangled past. But despite their love for each other, they are very different. Erin is self-obsessed and boy crazy, Lani is not, or at least not until she meets Erin’s new boyfriend Jason. Jason, though mushed into the interworking of the popular crowd (like Erin) is different. Taking pleasure in the smaller things in life (like kites and abandoned railroad tracks) is just part of the reason Lani suddenly finds herself so captivated by her friends new “soul mate,” but when a few stolen moments leads to something much more serious, Lani finds herself in the biggest pickle of all. Will a past bond help these best friends survive what could be the most challenging moment in their friendship? What happens when everyone finally discovers the truth, and will true love prevail, or be tossed away like yesterday’s trash?

I have read several of Colasanti’s novel’s before, and (while yes, I know they are intended for a younger audience,) I have never been disappointed. Until now. “Something Like Fate” should have been a no brainer in the realm of emotional transference. Plain and simple, girls always want what they can’t have, and 90% of the time, that thing (aka a boy) is already someone else’s, so capturing the emotion involved in making a story (ultimately about) “falling for your friends significant other” should have been easy. Unfortunately, instead of offering up “emotion” we were offered banter. Cheeky, vapid, hollow banter, that did nothing but detract from what was really happening. Let’s just say there was a significant lack of focus. I won’t lie though, there were one or two parts that showed the emotion draw needed to make this book successful, it’s just to bad both were 2nd party interactions and came just a little too late to make the read worth it.

So what did I think? Well.. I’m sure that’s pretty obvious at this point, but if you want it in plain (unadorned and mildly boring) English I guess I can give you that. Don’t waste your time, or your hard earned cash. This one was a first rate flop.

Let’s hope this isn’t a new pattern for the once talented Colasanti.

Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: 1 potato, 2 potato, 3 potato 4, put this book back on the shelf, walk out and shut the door.

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*½~~~ (1.5/5)

Aunt Peg is an artists, and like most artists she’s completely off her rocker. She’s unrealistic, completely unpredictable and has a tendency to run away; but when cancer finally catches up with her she decides to make amends and share her experiences with the niece she left behind. Ginny is the complete opposite of her Aunt Peg, so when she receives a letter (1 of 13) in the mail demanding she hop the next plane to London, she is a tad skeptical, but does as she is told, and continues to do what she is told for the next 11 letters; which (incidentally enough) ends of leading her on the most hectic, wonderful and emotionally draining experiences of her life. But, when letter number 13 suddenly gets swiped out from under her nose, will she have the courage to continue her journey? Will the secrets Aunt Peg wanted so desperately to share die with letter 13, or will Ginny realize she’s had the answer all along? And… more importantly, what does the key fit?

Like I said before this is a “beachy” type read. What does that mean? It means that it’s quick, cute and won’t drag you into a book 4, 6, or 14. The story was (unexpectedly) an interesting study into human nature, and the things we define our lives by. What would we see if we stop taking pictures long enough to look at what is actually in front of us, and… while the lead narration follows Ginny, (and her adventures,) the lessons come when we pay attention to what Aunt Peg is saying in her witty, free-spirited letters. The thing that caught me most off-guard however, was the enormous amount of travel knowledge introduced through-out this book. Thankfully it only adds to the depth and meaning of the particular quest Ginny is on instead of dragging it down. (Aka… Johnson was able to express the history of the location or object without going bonkers on meaningless details.) All of the characters were likeable (which is odd) and even the strangest of the bunch added perspectives only a talented author could slam out in so few words. For that reason alone I would call the read a success.

Now… while I’m certain that almost any female that picked this book up would (on some level) enjoy it, I want to specify the group I think should specifically take notice of it. Mother’s with Teenage Daughters. Why? Because I feel that if you sat down, and read this book together, it might help you bond over subjects you may have otherwise thought were moot, and who knows… it might even inspire y’all to step outside of your comfort zones and do some traveling.

Overall… cute (meaningful) FREE read, that shouldn’t take you more than a day or two to finish.

Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: Not knowing someone doesn’t make them a stranger, it makes them an opportunity.

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***~~ (3/5)

“If I Stay” (though abruptly finished) was a complete story, so when I found out that Ms. Foreman decided to write a follow-up I was confused. However, when I finally got around to reading “Where She Went” I understood immediately why she had.

(If you have NOT read “If I Stay” (and plan to) Please stop reading. AKA… there are spoilers)

It has been three years since Mia’s crash. Three horrible, unforgiveable, excruciating years, but not in the way that you would think. Things with Mia are just fine. Adam (her boyfriend at the time of the crash) on the other hand is self destructing. After being handing marching orders by Mia, Adam is forced to face his harsh (tabloid driven) life without the comfort of the only person who understands him, and being uncertain as to how to handle things, he resorts to bitterness and booze. With his world crumbling around him, and memories flooding his every thought, Adam decides to take a break. Just a quick one really, a walk through the park, but when he stumbles upon a flyer announcing Mia’s next concert he suddenly realizes his past will forever haunt his future unless he confronts it. With only one night left ahead of him to make amends or set her free for good Adam goes for it. Will Mia ever fully understand what she did to him? Will seeing her help or hinder Adams ability to let go, and will the reality of life keep them from saying the things they should have said three years ago?

While I enjoyed “If I Stay” I thought “Where She Went” blew it out of the water. The choice to abandon Mia as the main character and to focus on Adam was heartbreaking but (I think) a wise decision. In “If I Stay” we are introduced to Adam as Mia “everything”. The reason she chose to return to her life. So returning to the story three years later only to find out that Adam and Mia are no longer together was (in some parts) physically painful. The story (like the first) was written with a handful of flashbacks, but the means of communication between the two were drastically different. While Mia is a musician, she is not a songwriter like Adam, and when Foreman chose to change her lead character, the ability witness pain through lyrics, and poetic inner dialogue suddenly became available. It is important to note (though my love for the book is telling me not to) that the story is a bit slow in places, and I think there was a perfect moment (about 1 chapter from the end) that would have served as a better ending, but overall…a very good read for someone who doesn’t mind emotional journeys.

Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: Life is too short to be saddled with half truths. If you are unsure…ask.

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****~ (4/5)

I have always had this deep seeded fear of missing the obvious. Not hey-there’s-a-tree-don’t-run-into-it obvious, but a fear of not SEEING the person in front of me.  Every morning I walk into my shop and say good morning to my guys. I then immediately ask them how they are, but instead of listening to their answer as I walk away (as most people do) I stop and actually listen. Why? Because what if this one time, is the time they have something REALLY important to say; they got into a wreck on the way to work, their mother is in the hospital, or better yet, what if it is the one time they say nothing at all but you can tell by their eyes that they are hurt. This is the reason I read so many books about abuse. So I can understand. So I don’t miss signs. So if I am ever needed, by anyone of any age,  I won’t be too blind to see what is right in front of me. “Heart on a Chain” by Cindy Bennett is about this exact concept.  1 person stopping long enough to really see a person, who everyone else either ignored, or teased out of ignorance.

When Kate was a little girl life was beautiful. She had a loving family, a happy home life and a best-friend named Henry. Then one day… Henry moved away, things at home changed and instead of Kate growing up to be the lovely girl she could have been, she instead turns in to every-one’s joke. A broken girl too kick at will in order for others to feel more powerful. But all of that is about to change. Henry comes home. Noticing that Kate isn’t the same girl that he left behind, Henry makes it his personal mission to break her out of her shell, and just when he thinks he’s made significant progress tragedy strikes and send Kate back to square one.  Will Henry ever find out what has happened to his beautiful, confident friend, or will she push him away like her nature demands.

This book had me hooked within seconds, and never let up. While the story isn’t exactly original, the depth of emotion Bennett displayed in her characters was. The “physical” abuse Kate endured throughout the book, (though prominent) was NOT the main focus either, instead, as a reader, you will find yourself drawn into the INNER turmoil caused by the years of physical punishment. I found no blatant flaws in this book, who knows, maybe I was too deep into the story to notice them, but I will go on record as saying, that (despite it’s less than appealing cover) this is one of the best indie books I have read in a while. It teaches a hard lesson, with a harsh reality, but in a truly beautiful way.

Get it, Live it, Love it, Pass it on.

Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: It only takes one person to stop a cycle. Make sure your eyes are open.

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***** (5/5)

So… for all of my ladies out there that enjoy daily doses of reality avoidance (aka kids, dishes, husbands who refuse to pass over the remote so you can watch “What Not To Wear”) I give you this.

LOVE WEEK! <—- cue floating hearts.

Today’s lovey dovey read is “The Book of Luke” by Jenny O’Connell. Don’t fret… this is not a biblical reference.

Emily is nice. She brings cupcakes to new neighbors, holds doors, and always says please. For her, there was never another option; her mother is a renowned “etiquette guru” and if Emily couldn’t think of something nice to say, she was taught to say nothing at all. Unfortunately, her upbringing completely unprepared her for being dumped. Shouldering a backpack full of scorn she (with the help of her 2 best friends) decide that revenge is far more refreshing than regret, and devise a plan of action, but since getting even with Sean (her ex) wasn’t an option (she very conveniently moves away) she chooses Luke. The egotistical, extremely hot ex of her best friend Josie. The Plan: write down everything wrong with boys & then share them with the world. The Problem: said boy isn’t as crappy as everyone says he is. Can Emily keep herself together long enough to write the book? What would happens if her little secret got out, and will “nice Emily” every come home or is she lost forever?

I REALLY wanted to like this book, honestly… I did, but the more I read, the more it felt like I was reading the book version of “John Tucker Must Die.” There were (of course) several distinct differences, but I kept finding myself waiting for Brittney Snow to pop out of the book and flash me her annoyingly perfect smile and say something like “For reals!!” *giggle. It’s only redeeming quality (for me) was Luke, who (surprise) had more depth than the lead character. I felt bad for him, and at one point even found myself screaming “PAY ATTENTION YOU STUPID BOY!!!” at my Kindle (*hangs head in embarrassment*)

I know… I know… you are probably reading this review and asking yourself what in God’s name this book has to do with love, but I assure you… it is definitely in there. As a matter of fact, love is the big fat white elephant in the room throughout the entire read.

So here is my advice to you. If you HAVE NOT seen “John Tucker Must Die” and you don’t mind a little teen angst, (because this IS a YA novel) then go for it… the overall concept is a good one, and there are some genuinely sweet moments. If you HAVE seen JTMD, then don’t bother… you already know what’s going to happen.

Overall… cute, but overdone.

Happy reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: if you aren’t honest with yourself… who are you going to be honest with?

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***~~ (3/5) ** but only because I feel Luke needs a voice.

Cassia is a rule follower. Do not yell. Check. Do not venture outside of your designated area. Check, check. Raised in a society that monitors everything from the trees grown in her front yard to the amount of sugar in her tea, she has never known the emotions involved with making her own decisions. That is (of course) until a “computer glitch” lands right in her unsuspecting lap.  The day following Cassia’s match ceremony things suddenly start to go awry.  Her grandfather smuggles her forbidden poetry, her father looses a priceless piece of their family’s future, and more importantly Cassia starts to focus on the “Society’s” little mistake more than she should.  Is the world she has grown up in really the best there is? Why does she suddenly feel like her life is out of her hands when only a month earlier she was perfectly complacent? And… will her need for self-satisfaction break her heart, or make it stronger?

There are 2 very different things going on in “Matched” that need to be addressed. Yes, they intertwine to create a larger, more complex tale, but as a reader I feel it is important to understand clearly the roll each played in the completed story’s fabrication.

First is the world in which Cassia lives.  Unlike the rest of us, Cassia is forced to live a life of mediated structure.  Everything in her life (from who she will marry to the age in which she will die) is manufactured for her by her own special brand of government, and any deviation from that plan is considered traitorous.

The second is Cassia’s actual “story” (as in.. this is what she does, and this is how she does it) The dystopian surrounding that Condie plopped her characters down in to could have very easily been the whole she-bang, but instead we are offered a story of experience.  We get to experience that first sense of freedom.  We get to experience the butterflies of a girl stuck somewhere between her head and her heart, and in the end we get to ride the mother of all roller-coasters specializing in human emotion, (why me, why now, why this?)

Combing these two very differnt elements is what really made “Matched” shine.  So here’s to you Ms. Condie, a very hearty high-five for the woman smart enough to combine the “traditional” with the “unconventional.”

Happy reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: No one is ever truly alone, there’s always someone around the corner, or up the stairs, and the last time I checked they sold spy gear at Target.

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****½ (4.5/5)

Brewster is a loner, but not just any loner, he is Bronte’s loner. Voted “Most Likely To Go To Jail” is just one of his shining traits, and Tennyson (Bronte’s brother) is none to happy about his sis’s sudden love connection.  Hoping to rectify the situation,  Tennyson does what he does best… throws his weight around and threatens Brew, but what Tennyson doesn’t know is that it’s already to late to turn back.  See… Brew has this “gift,” he has the ability to take on the pain of those he loves, and SURPRISE he loves Bronte.  The kicker? The more he hangs around Bronte, the more he cares, and before he knows it, he’s knee deep in bruises and hell bent on keeping his secret.  Will Brew’s gift finally destroy him? Will Tennyson ever realize that you can’t grow if you don’t live and what about Bronte? Will she ever open her eyes and see the fate that is two feet in front of her face?

There is no question that Shusterman is a terrific story teller, his plots, his characters… they are (more often than not) flawless, so instead of focusing on his writing ABILITY, I want to focus on the way he chose to tell this particular story.  The easy take would have been a singular narrative, or even duel narration, but apparently that was just too damn easy, instead Shusterman decided to tell this story through the eyes of 4 different characters (Brewster, Bronte, Tennyson, & Cody – Brew’s little brother) That fact alone is commendable, but even THAT pales in comparison to the WAY in which he wrote the chapters.  Tennyson’s chapters were aggressive, self loathing and at times bitter. Bronte was written from the side of naivety and compassion. Cody was tapped with fear and Brewster’s chapters veered VERY far to the left and were written as poetry.  Talk about flexing the literary biceps.  The suspense in the book carried easily from character to character and in the end I found myself once again (Thanks Neal) crying like a 3 year old that lost her dolly.

Overall? “Bruiser” is one of the most “emotionally” moving books I have read in quite some time, and well worth the moola I threw down for it.  If you have had the opprotunity to read any of Neal’s work in the past and enjoyed it, I assure you… this one will not dissapoint, for those of you that have yet to venture into any of Shusterman’s alternative worlds, what are you waiting for?

Happy reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: Joy is insignificant if you’ve never experienced pain.

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****~ (4/5)

Zoey’s life is perfect, or at least a clone of it.  Money is not an option (with a wealthy dad,) and her life is full of the “good stuff” (like having a hoard of friends, and a spot as captain of the swim team.)  But perfect doesn’t last long when after an evening out Zoey comes home to find her mother in the worst possible position…barely alive, and completely alone.  In an effort to escape the daunting truth of her new (and not so improved) existence Zoey does the only thing she knows, hides behind the plight of teenage angst, unfortunately her running away doesn’t last long as she suddenly finds herself being drug from her crumbled car, and clutching to the one person she has sworn to despise for eternity, and the worse part… no memory of how she got there.  Will Zoey’s memory of that fateful night ever return?  Will she ever figure out why Doug is suddenly being so nice to her? And at the end of the day… will everyone be too broken to forgive or will things finally be glued back together?

This book surprised me by being a pretty decent read, but unfortunately its flaws (which are found mostly in the first 3-4 chapters) acted like a bad rash that just wouldn’t go away. The beginning of this novel was completely disjointed.  So much so that I felt as if I were reading single sentences instead of a fluid plot.  The groundwork (or the what & where I guess you could say) was sloppily (<– is that a word) established, and the characters dialogue appeared vapid and flat.  Now… (yes, I know you’re wondering why I called it a decent read and then continued to slam it) once I realized I would never enjoy this story if I continued to pick it apart, I did something I don’t normally do… I shut off my brain (which apparently had been working better than I expected) and just read.  This is the point in which I realized the story was pretty good, and even though there were 2 characters (Zoey’s Dad & Brandon) I wanted to smack the living crap out of, I discovered I had developed a genuine fondness for the rest of them.  Investment, I guess you could say.  Yes, there were a few places that seemed a bit trite, but more than anything I found myself completely captivated by the “Oh God… what really happened” factor.  I have to give it to Echols though when it comes to character development.  I did a complete 360 on my feelings for the hero in this novel, which only goes to show you… a little love, and a lot of artfully crafted actions can change even the most cold-hearted of us.

My recommendation…. read if you are a YA fan, or even a fan of interesting love stories, just make sure you don’t take it too seriously otherwise you are liable to be disappointed.

Happy reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: Everything you say to your child is heard, you may not think so from the grunt or nod you get… but trust me, they remember EVERYTHING!  Think before you speak.

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***~~ (3/5)

For those of you who were waiting with bated breath for my slew of holiday wisdom, I do humbly apologize for letting you down. I have in fact been otherwise occupied with taking care of not 1 but 2 sick children – Trin and David. (Yes, I’m aware that David is 29 but lets face it, he’s male, so by some sort of wildly mutated gene thing guys have going on; they…at the first sign of sniffling…revert to the age of 2… hence the need for him to moan and me accommodate his moaning with hours of “You’ll be ok honey…I promise…you’re not going to die…it’s just the flu.)

Anyhow… (sorry, got a little long winded there) 1st of all I would like to congratulate the Christmas Contest winner Emma! WooHoo… you go girl. 2nd. Surprise!!! I have a review for you. Enjoy!

“Hold Still” is a very unorthodox book. It’s not really all that happy, it’s got chapters of self-deprecation, and several very emotionally damaging messages from a suicidal girl. Now, keeping that in mind, I want to first explain to you my reasons for reading it, I’ll close with reasons I think you should or shouldn’t read it yourself.

Like Caitlin (the main character of this book) I had a friend whom commit suicide in High School, only I handled in horribly. I shut down, I talked to no one, I curled up in a ball…skipped school, and as result almost failed out. I thought that if I just slept I would eventually forget about it, unfortunately all that got me was 1 short step away from the looney-bin.

So, keeping all of that in mind, when I ran across this book I was instantly intrigued. All of these questions popped up in my head; What did I do wrong? Am I the only one that didn’t know how to handle this? Is there a right way? How in the world does someone write about this? Do they know the answer? How?

So I read it…looking for answers, but what I got was more of an understanding.

As I said before Caitlin’s best friend Ingrid committed suicide and she doesn’t exactly know what to do…or what to say. She goes to school, she gets angry with the teachers she thinks could be more understanding and she pushes away the people that are trying to help her cope. He parents are at a loss, she is at a loss, and most of all she is angry. Ingrid didn’t leave a note, she didn’t explain, she just left…and didn’t consider the people that loved her. Or so she thought.

After finding Ingrid’s journal under her mattress Caitlin starts to realize things aren’t so black and white…that the friend she knew was only half of a person. That the “whole” Ingrid was damaged, and sad…and desperate for someone to really see her.

As Catlin struggles with the truth, she builds herself back up, and eventually finds what she needs to move on.

“LaCour’s” writing was average, but for anyone that has actually committed themselves to reading something so sad, it hardly seems to matter.

I do not recommend this book for the everyday reader…because unless you have had this happen to you…it’s just not going to make any since to you.
I do however recommend it for anyone that does fall into the latter category and has lived through this. Not to punish yourself, not to relive it, but to understand the complexities that YOU were feeling…it’s a hard thing to understand, but to see it in black and white makes you feel a little more normal.

Happy reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember, when you ask someone how they are…actually listen to the answer.

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***~~ (3/5)

In case you are interested…here is the book trailer.