Book: The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

Book Info: Published by Harlequin Teen; 267 pages; purchased for my Nook

Genre: YA: Mythology

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Goodreads.com Summary: EVERY GIRL WHO HAS TAKEN THE TEST HAS DIED.

NOW IT’S KATE’S TURN. 

It’s always been just Kate and her mom–and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate’s going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear that her mother won’t live past the fall.

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld–and if she accepts his bargain, he’ll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.

Kate is sure he’s crazy–until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she suceeds, she’ll become Henry’s future bride and a goddess.

IF SHE FAILS…

I really liked The Goddess Test, and thought it was a refreshing take on Greek mythology.  I remember thinking at one point that the search for a new Persephone reminded me of the Dread Pirate Roberts from The Princess Bride.

But I liked that the council, composed of the Greek gods and goddesses, made the decision and that there was a series of tests that Kate had to pass.  I also liked that Henry (or Hades) would fade if he didn’t find a new queen.  I’m glad the tests were contained to one book and weren’t spread out over several books.  Plus, I would like to see how Kate adjusts to being the “new Persephone.”

I think the only thing that irritated me was the “reveal” at the ending.  Finding out that she knew most of the council was predictable and while it did make sense within the confines of the novel, I still found myself irritated.  Did Carter even try to do something else with the ending?

The character development wasn’t great, which is a shame, because they clearly are more than just gods and goddesses.  But hopefully we’ll see more of them and who they really are in the next book.  The romance was okay- a little forced, of course, but not irritating.  And the relationship between all the different characters were just okay too.

Overall, I really liked it, and it’s definitely a really interesting take on Greek mythology.  I like that it focuses on the Hades and Persephone myth and I can’t wait to read the next one!  It gets a 4 out of 5.

Book: Looking For Alaska by John Green

Book Info: Published by Dutton Juvenile; 221 pages; hardcover; borrowed from the library

Genre: YA: Contemporary

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Goodreads.com Summary: Miles “Pudge” Halter is abandoning his safe-okay, boring-life. Fascinated by the last words of famous people, Pudge leaves for boarding school to seek what a dying Rabelais called the “Great Perhaps.”

Pudge becomes encircled by friends whose lives are everything but safe and boring. Their nucleus is razor-sharp, sexy, and self-destructive Alaska, who has perfected the arts of pranking and evading school rules. Pudge falls impossibly in love. When tragedy strikes the close-knit group, it is only in coming face-to-face with death that Pudge discovers the value of living and loving unconditionally.

I LOVED Looking For Alaska!  It was sitting on my to-read list for a while, but after seeing it pop up on quite a few lists a few Top 10 Tuesdays ago and decided I needed to read immediately.

Initially, I wasn’t sure about the book, and was convinced that I wouldn’t like it.  But I kept reading, and I’m glad I gave it a chance, because it was funny and heart-breaking.

I loved the structure of it, with a countdown leading to the event, and then a countdown leading away from the event.  I liked that the event, which I’m not going to say here because I don’t want to ruin it for anyone who might want to read it, took place halfway through the book.  And that you don’t know what the event is until it happens.

And!  A male lead!  I liked Pudge and his awkwardness.  Actually, I liked all of the characters, and thought the flaws they had were pretty realistic.  I think Alaska is my least favorite character, and while I don’t get why Pudge has a crush on her, I still thought their feelings and their relationship were pretty spot-0n.  And overall, I thought it was a pretty realistic book.

I give it a 5 out of 5.  I think this book has cemented my love of John Green!

Book: Anew by Chelsea Fine

Book Info: Published by Acacia Publishing; purchased for my Nook

Genre: YA: Fantasy/Romance

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Goodreads.com Summary: Two years ago, Scarlet awoke in the forest alone, afraid, and unable to remember anything. Lost and confused, her life was a mystery…until she met a boy with a familiar voice. 

Gabriel Archer has a voice from her past, and Scarlet’s determined to remember why. She immerses herself in his life only to discover he has a brother he’s kept hidden from her: Tristan Archer. 

Upon meeting Tristan, Scarlet’s world becomes even more muddled. While she’s instinctively drawn to Gabriel, she’s impossibly drawn to Tristan–and confused out of her mind. As she tries to piece together her history Scarlet realizes her past…might just be the death of her.

I liked Anew.  There are some great ideas out there, and Anew is definitely one of them!

The curse is definitely interesting, and I like that having some immortal blood makes her die and come back to life, over and over.  And I thought the Fountain Of Youth element was really interesting too.  I don’t know much about the Fountain Of Youth myths, but I thought her take was definitely interesting.

There is a love triangle (of course) and it isn’t terribly annoying.  While Scarlet is torn between 2 brothers, one can love only her, while the other’s presence slowly kills her every time, literally breaking her heart.  It is refreshing to see a love triangle that’s so interesting and isn’t predictable.

While Scarlet’s guardian rarely appeared, I get the feeling there is more to her story that we’re not getting.  I hope we learn more about her in the next book.

Speaking of all the characters, I just couldn’t connect with any of them.  While the plot was interesting and engaging, I just didn’t care about what happened to the characters.  I thought they were boring and they are your standard characters for a YA novel.

I give it a 3 out of 5.  Interesting plot but boring characters.

Book: Angelfall by Susan Ee

Book Info: Published by Ferral Dream; 255 pages; purchased for my Nook

Genre: YA: Paranormal/Post-Apocalyptic

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Goodreads.com Summary: It’s been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels’ stronghold in San Francisco where she’ll risk everything to rescue her sister and he’ll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

Angefall…where do I start? So, I did like Angefall.  It’s definitely an interesting book.  You get dropped right into the book, with no real idea of what was going on or why things were so bad.  You get bits and pieces of what’s happening throughout the novel, and surprisingly, it didn’t irritate me like it normally would.  Actually, it kind of worked for the novel, because things go to hell in a handbasket.

I loved Ee’s version of angels, and how there definitely seems to be a hierarchy.    I liked that angels had swords that were loyal to them (until they weren’t) and that angels could die. The setting is interesting, and I like the idea of angel-human war.  It is fast-paced, and it was hard to get bored. Even though I liked it, it need a little more world-building.  The fact that you get dropped right in the book worked, but at the same time, it wasn’t perfect.  Things aren’t always clear, and most questions are not resolved by the end of the book.  It is an interesting world, though, and hopefully we’ll learn more about this world and why things were they were.

I give it a 3 out of 5.  I liked it, but it doesn’t really stand out, and too many things were left unanswered.

Book: When She Woke by Hillary Jordan

Book Info: Published by Algonquin Books Of Chapel Hill; 344 pages; hardcover; borrowed from the library

Genre: Adult/Dystopic

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Goodreads.com Summary: I am red now. It was her first thought of the day, every day, surfacing after a few seconds of fogged, blessed ignorance and sweeping through her like a wave, breaking in her breast with a soundless roar. Hard on its heels came the second wave, crashing into the wreckage left by the first: he is gone.

Hannah Payne’s life has been devoted to church and family. But after she’s convicted of murder, she awakens to a nightmarish new life. She finds herself lying on a table in a bare room, covered only by a paper gown, with cameras broadcasting her every move to millions at home, for whom observing new Chromes—criminals whose skin color has been genetically altered to match the class of their crime—is a sinister form of entertainment. Hannah is a Red for the crime of murder. The victim, says the State of Texas, was her unborn child, and Hannah is determined to protect the identity of the father, a public figure with whom she shared a fierce and forbidden love.

A powerful reimagining of The Scarlet Letter, When She Woke is a timely fable about a stigmatized woman struggling to navigate an America of the not-too-distant future, where the line between church and state has been eradicated, and convicted felons are no longer imprisoned but chromed and released back into the population to survive as best they can. In seeking a path to safety in an alien and hostile world, Hannah unknowingly embarks on a journey of self-discovery that forces her to question the values she once held true and the righteousness of a country that politicizes faith and love.

I loved When She Woke.  I immediately thought of The Scarlett Letter, which I need to read, and The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood (which I tried reading but gave up on).

I thought the idea of Chroming people according to their crime was really interesting, as was the idea of a secretary of faith.  The book does make you think about things like freedom, separation of church and state, abortion and religion and faith.  It’s definitely a future that I can see happening, which made the book slightly scary.

As for what I didn’t like: I thought it wrapped up a little too nicely.  I don’t have a problem with the slightly ambiguous ending, but the ending felt a little forced.  What I found to be really irritating was the fact that Hannah’s transformation from beginning to end was pretty dramatic, given that it takes place over a few weeks.

We also don’t a lot of information about the society- we get bits and pieces, but there were things that didn’t make sense.  How is it that Hannah is 25 and not married?  It seems like her world is one where people get married very young, and yet she is not.  Or how her parents are super-strict and ultra-conservative, but she can get “forbidden” books at the library.  Something just seemed off about the way the society was set up, which may (or may not) be related to the lack of information we get about them.

Overall, though, it gets a 5 out of 5.  I loved it, and it’s not something I’m going to forget anytime soon.  Despite losing it’s way towards the end, and some of the issues I had with the book, it was still a great read.