Fire and Flood by Victoria Scott

Title: Fire and Flood

Author: Victoria Scott

Release Date: Feburary 25, 2014

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Format: eBook

Page Number: 304

Source: Netgalley

Synopsis(Goodreads): Tella Holloway is losing it. Her brother is sick, and when a dozen doctors can't determine what's wrong, her parents decide to move to Montana for the fresh air. She's lost her friends, her parents are driving her crazy, her brother is dying—and she's helpless to change anything.

Until she receives mysterious instructions on how to become a Contender in the Brimstone Bleed. It's an epic race across jungle, desert, ocean, and mountain that could win her the prize she desperately desires: the Cure for her brother's illness. But all the Contenders are after the Cure for people they love, and there's no guarantee that Tella (or any of them) will survive the race.

The jungle is terrifying, the clock is ticking, and Tella knows she can't trust the allies she makes. And one big question emerges: Why have so many fallen sick in the first place?

My Review

In a world dominated by dystopians, I think that Fire and Flood was really good. Though it had some things that could be compared to The Hunger Games, I still think that it held its own. 

One thing I want to mention is that Fire and Flood is not just another Hunger Games wanna be. Fire and Flood has its own unique story line with its own unique twists and turns. Though some things seemed rather close to the Hunger Games, the Pandoras and other elements in the story made it different. 

The main character Tella was kind of meh. She was really obsessed with Guy and her Pandora Madox, and it was kind of weird. I also felt she was trying to hard to be tough, and she was really naive at some parts of the book. The side characters of the book, especially Tella's friends were really interesting and it was cool to see their reasons for entering the race. 

There was a ton of awesome stuff that went down in this book. It was filled with tons of action and was really fun to read. Sometimes the writing made everything seem kind of awkward, but other times it was really good. The whole book was really engaging and it was a fast paced read!

Rating: 4/5 worms

Graphic Novel Review: The Undertaking of Lily Chen

Title: The Undertaking of Lily Chen

Author: Danica Novgorodoff

Release Date: March 25, 2014

Publisher: First Second Books

Format: Ebook

Page Number: 432

Source: Netgalley

Synopsis (Goodreads): In The Undertaking of Lily Chen, Deshi, a young man struggling to make a life for himself in rural China, watches his life comes unhinged when he accidentally kills his older brother in a fight. His distraught parents send him on a hopeless journey to acquire a bride for his brother to marry posthumously so he doesn't enter the next world alone—an ancient Chinese tradition with many modern adherents. Eligible female corpses are in short supply, however. When Deshi falls into company with a beautiful, angry, and single young woman named Lily, he sees a solution to his problems.  The only hitch is Lily is still very much alive. Danica Novgorodoff, author of Slow Storm and Refresh, Refresh, brings her distinctive voice and gorgeous, moody watercolors to this wry, beautiful, and surprising literary graphic novel.

My Review

This book was very different. And I didn't completely enjoy it. There was a lot of weird things going on through it, but some things I enjoyed. 

Since this is a graphic novel, I'm going to do a different kind of review.

Likes

• The Premise- The idea of this book was really different. It was something I had never heard before. 
• Super Quick Read- I read this book in about an hour and a half. It was really quick read. 

Dislikes

• The Creepiness of the Drawings- The art in this book was nice, however, it was so creepy that I couldn't enjoy it. 
• Weirdness- The whole book was just to creepy and weird. 
• Speed- Everything in this book went by too fast. 
• Ending- I didn't think anything in the ending really wrapped up the story. 

So, overall I didn't really enjoy this book. I just thought the whole thing was too weird, and not in a good way. 

Rating: 2/5 worms

Don't Even Think About It by Sarah Mlynowski

Title: Don't Even Think About It

Author: Sarah Mlynowski

Release Date: March 11th, 2014

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Format: Ebook

Source: Netgalley

Synopsis(Goodreads): We weren't always like this. We used to be average New York City high school sophomores. Until our homeroom went for flu shots. We were prepared for some side effects. Maybe a headache. Maybe a sore arm. We definitely didn't expect to get telepathic powers. But suddenly we could hear what everyone was thinking. Our friends. Our parents. Our crushes. Now we all know that Tess is in love with her best friend, Teddy. That Mackenzie cheated on Cooper. That, um, Nurse Carmichael used to be a stripper.

Since we've kept our freakish skill a secret, we can sit next to the class brainiac and ace our tests. We can dump our boyfriends right before they dump us. We know what our friends really think of our jeans, our breath, our new bangs. We always know what's coming. Some of us will thrive. Some of us will crack. None of us will ever be the same.
So stop obsessing about your ex. We're always listening.

My Review

I really enjoyed Sarah Mlynowski's Magic in Manhattan series, so I had high hopes for this book, and I can say that I wasn't disappointed. I really enjoyed this book, and I'm glad I got it for review. 

The concept of this book was crazy unique. I mean, come on! A flu shot that gives you telepathy! That's kind of awesome. I thought Sarah Mlynowski was able to deliver this topic through the kids very well, because we got to see what the kids with telepathy were thinking and feeling in this book. 

Although the plot was something I'd never heard of and played a major role in this book, I felt like this book was more character driven. The characters play a huge role in this book because you get to see their reactions to their new found superpowers, and you get to see what each person used their telepathy for. I also really liked how the characters, for the most part, stuck together as a group to try to figure out what was wrong with them.  

However, I didn't like trying to keep up with all the characters. It took me to the middle of the book to figure out who each one was, but after that it was easier to follow. 

In my opinion, the writing style of this book lacked some of the sparkle that it had in the Magic in Manhattan series. It didn't have the descriptions I was looking for, and it didn't have the funniness and wit that I remembered from her previous books. But, all in all, I think Sarah Mlynowski did a great job of creating this story. 

Rating: 4/5 worms

Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken

Title: Never Fade (The Darkest Minds #2)

Author: Alexandra Bracken

Release Date: October 15 2013

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Format: Hardcover

Page Number: 507

Source: Own 

Synopsis (Goodreads): Ruby never asked for the abilities that almost cost her her life. Now she must call upon them on a daily basis, leading dangerous missions to bring down a corrupt government and breaking into the minds of her enemies. Other kids in the Children’s League call Ruby “Leader”, but she knows what she really is: a monster. 

When Ruby is entrusted with an explosive secret, she must embark on her most dangerous mission yet: leaving the Children’s League behind. Crucial information about the disease that killed most of America’s children—and turned Ruby and the others who lived into feared and hated outcasts—has survived every attempt to destroy it. But the truth is only saved in one place: a flashdrive in the hands of Liam Stewart, the boy Ruby once believed was her future—and who now wouldn’t recognize her. 

As Ruby sets out across a desperate, lawless country to find Liam—and answers about the catastrophe that has ripped both her life and America apart—she is torn between old friends and the promise she made to serve the League. Ruby will do anything to protect the people she loves. But what if winning the war means losing herself?

My Review

I absolutely loved The Darkest Minds which I read last year, and so I was absolutely ecstatic to read Never Fade, and Alexandra Bracken did not disappoint. Everything about this book was absolutely amazing. 

I loved jumping back into the world of The Darkest Minds and seeing what happened to all the characters. After the first book ended I really wanted to know what happened to them and I was relieved that we got to see most of them again. 

Ruby really grew into an incredibly strong character through the course of these two books. She really learned how to use her powers and has come to terms that she's not a monster anymore. She would do anything to help people she loves, and I loved seeing her growth. It was also really interesting to see how much Chubs and Liam have changed from the first book. Chubs has really changed as a person and, well, we all know what happened to Liam. I also really loved the addition of new characters to add spark to the story. 

I loved that Never Fade was a continuation of The Darkest Minds, as well as having a story all its own. Ruby has to go on a quest so to speak, to find Liam and retrieve a flashdrive that contains important information. The plot of Never Fade was never boring and it was always fast paced with so much going on and I can't even describe the wonder that it was!

Rating: 5/5 stars

This book was just as good, if not better than The Darkest Minds and you should definitely read it!

Waiting on Wednesday (23)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine. It showcases upcoming titles that we are currently awaiting.

This weeks selection is...
Panic
by Lauren Oliver
Release Date: March 4th, 2014

Synopsis: Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a dead-end town of 12,000 people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do.

Heather never thought she would compete in Panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors, where the stakes are high and the payoff is even higher. She’d never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought.

Dodge has never been afraid of Panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game, he’s sure of it. But what he doesn't know is that he’s not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for.

For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of first love for each of them—and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most.

Waiting on Wednesday (22)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine. It showcases upcoming titles that we are currently awaiting.

This weeks selection is...
Dreams of Gods and Monsters (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #3)
by Laini Taylor
Release Date: April 8th, 2014

Synopsis: By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her, if there can even be a future for the chimaera in war-ravaged Eretz.

Common enemy, common cause.

When Jael's brutal seraph army trespasses into the human world, the unthinkable becomes essential, and Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people.

And, perhaps, for themselves. Toward a new way of living, and maybe even love.

But there are bigger threats than Jael in the offing. A vicious queen is hunting Akiva, and, in the skies of Eretz ... something is happening. Massive stains are spreading like bruises from horizon to horizon; the great winged stormhunters are gathering as if summoned, ceaselessly circling, and a deep sense of wrong pervades the world.

What power can bruise the sky?

From the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond, humans, chimaera and seraphim will fight, strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy.

At the very barriers of space and time, what do gods and monsters dream of? And does anything else matter?

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

Title: Fangirl

Author: Rainbow Rowell

Release Date: September 10th, 2013

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Format: Hardcover

Page Number: 448

Source: Own

 

Synopsis (Goodreads): 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? And does she even want to move on if it means leaving Simon Snow behind?
 

 My Thoughts

Fangirl caused a roar in the booktube and blogging communities, and after reading it I understand why. This book is a delightful story of growing up and changing, even if you don't really want to.

 

First of all, I want to adress that this book is us. And by us, I mean the Internet dwellers, the fanfiction writers, and anyone else who spends their days behind computer screens like me. Fanfiction please a major role in this book, and the main character Cath, writes fanfiction about a series very similar to our own Harry Potter. I loved this unique aspect and I though Rainbow Rowell did a great job carrying it through.

 

The main character, Cath, bothered me a bit. Cath starts off the book as a socially awkward freshman in college who doesn't want to do anything new. This annoyed me because she had so many opportunities to go out and do things to meet other people, but she waited until the end of the book to make any progress. However, she does make development as she goes from being a kid to growing into an adult through the course of this book. The side character were almost better than Cath in my opinion, especially Regan, who made me laugh like a crazy person with her witty dialogue, and the romance isn't bad either.

 

Speaking of dialogue, Rainbow Rowell has an incredible writing style, and she definitely didn't disappoint me in this book. She gives such realistic and witty dialogue to her characters that I believed that I was reading something that my friends said. There are now tons of sticky notes marking some of my favorite passages in this book. She also gave a really nice interpretation (in my opinion) of college life, since I haven't attended college yet. However, I felt that Rainbow could have delivered a little more on the plot, because I thought it was a little slow in some spots.

 

Rating: 4/5 worms

This book is a delightful treat for anyone who loves contemporary or is addicted to the Internet like me!