Title: Defiance
Author: Lili St. Crow
Date Released: April 19, 2011
Pages: 259
Rating: 5 out of 5
Review: I waited for just about FOREVER for Defiance to come out, since Jealousy had left off with a horribly suspenseful ending (For those of you who haven't checked out the Strange Angels series yet, do so!) And I definitely wasn't disappointed! There was so much tension in the novel, especially towards the end. I missed Graves a lot though :( love that Goth Boy. I liked the introduction of the character Nathalie too, and Ash! Well, what happens to him is great - I'll leave it at that. Something I love about the way these novels are written is that they're extremely direct - it's like you're IN Dru's mind. There aren't any silly introductions or explanations about previous books, and even when Nathalie was introduced, the information was pieced together in Dru's thoughts, and you eventually caught on, instead of long paragraphs of blah-blah-blah. I really think in this novel, that kick-ass Dru that we love so much really came out again, though at the same time, you could still see her more sensitive side. LOVED it, and can't wait for Reckoning to come out this fall!
Title: Saving JulietAuthor: Suzanne Selfors
Date Released: January 22, 2008
Pages: 256
Rating: 5 out of 5
Review: I actually already read this book once a long while ago, but that was before I read the legit play Romeo & Juliet (which is GREAT by the way, read it if you haven't - Shakespeare was a genius) so I decided to reread it. AND LOVE IT ALL OVER AGAIN. You're thrown into Shakespeare's world of Verona, only there's a whole new twist to Shakespeare's entire plot, with new depth to Romeo, Juliet, Benovolio, etc. I especially liked how Juliet was a mischievous, spunky, and adventurous girl - it gave her a great new side. And Mimi's narration of the book was really true to life - it was her thoughts, every single detail, nasty or not, told to you through a true teenager's mouth. If there's one moral this book also left, it was that judgments cannot be based on appearances. Romantic, hilarious, suspenseful, and original, this book is DEFINITELY a must-read.
Title: The Lonely Hearts Club 
Author: Elizabeth Eulberg
Date Released: January 1, 2011
Pages: 304
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Review: A girl needs a girly book now and then right? Maybe others would think it's kinda shallow, but I thought this book was AWESOME. So maybe Penny's decision to swear off boys for the rest of high school seems a bit extreme, but after being trampled over guys for so long, who can blame her? I loved the concept - her proclamation of independence. It's because of this that this book is so relate-able (is that a word? the internet doesn't think so :P) Since Penny sees all these girls being manipulated by guys, changing for the wrong reasons - something I see every day. Well this is her declaration of independence, and she becomes an icon for girl power. I really liked Diane's transformation throughout the book too, from cheerleader + Miss Perfect to average teenage girl. I also loved Penny's eccentric parents and their obsession with The Beatles; it added a unique flair to the novel, and all the references to them (including the awesome cover!) were really cool :D This book also makes me think of this quote by Thoreau - "Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you. But if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder..." ^-^ anyway check it out!
Review: A girl needs a girly book now and then right? Maybe others would think it's kinda shallow, but I thought this book was AWESOME. So maybe Penny's decision to swear off boys for the rest of high school seems a bit extreme, but after being trampled over guys for so long, who can blame her? I loved the concept - her proclamation of independence. It's because of this that this book is so relate-able (is that a word? the internet doesn't think so :P) Since Penny sees all these girls being manipulated by guys, changing for the wrong reasons - something I see every day. Well this is her declaration of independence, and she becomes an icon for girl power. I really liked Diane's transformation throughout the book too, from cheerleader + Miss Perfect to average teenage girl. I also loved Penny's eccentric parents and their obsession with The Beatles; it added a unique flair to the novel, and all the references to them (including the awesome cover!) were really cool :D This book also makes me think of this quote by Thoreau - "Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you. But if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder..." ^-^ anyway check it out!
Title: ShiverAuthor: Maggie Stiefvater
Date Released: August, 2009
Pages: 400
Rating: 4 out of 5
Review: When there's so many supernatural books out there that are incredibly shallow and doused too much in ... well skankyness, Maggie Stiefvater did a GREAT job in writing a unique, powerful, meaningful, novel. I'm not the greatest sucker for romance: usually if it dominates a book too much I get bored, but Shiver was just amazing. Stiefvater's style of writing is really beautiful, in a descriptive way that somehow still captures the teenage voice, without making anything too tedious. The plotline maintains a good level of originality, and towards the end, starts getting oh-so suspenseful, with this somewhat cliff hanger ending that makes you want to keep on reading. I also really loved how the font was BLUE! (I'm a color lover. Woot!) and how the story was told from both Grace and Sam's perspectives, so you got both sides of the story and you could see their sweet connection. Oh and the cover of this book is really cool - I love the colors, especially with the red splot sticking out, and the wolf - it gives you chills of winter that are all to appropriate for the book.
--->Psssst! If you haven't checked them out yet, Baylee's written a full review for Shiver you can see here and Cleo's also written a mini-review as well!
Title: Pretties
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Date Released: May 5, 2005
Pages: 370
Rating: 5 out of 5
Review: *WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS. SKIP BLUE SENTENCES* So I finally got my hands on Pretties, and from the start, it was this insane rollar-coaster ride of a plotline, that I immediately tore through. I don't know how Westerfeld comes up with this stuff, but it's not good, it's PHENOMENAL. Tally goes through this amazing adventure throughout the book, making your mind work, and definitely lived up, if not surpassed the first book Uglies. It was really interesting seeing Tally as the same narrator, but different since she is now a "pretty-head" and therefore more shallow. And then throughout the novel, is her gradual transformation to being clear minded and "bubbly" again. And then there were her choices - between her old and new life, represented respectively by David and Zane, the two guys in her life. I'll try to give away as little as possible, but in general, it's really ingenious and suspenseful the whole way through. I love the futuristic world that is created by the book: it's so thorough and interesting, and it's one of those settings that makes you wish you could jump into the book. If you haven't read Uglies yet, you're missing out!
Well that's the end of my mini review rant. Stay tuned for further reviews on epic reads! :D
keep on reading fellow book geeks!
MarMar<3
No comments:
Post a Comment
We love to hear from you guys!! And feel free to ask any questions! ♥