Tag Archives: 2013 books

Book Review: Mind Games

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Mind Games CoverBook: Mind Games by Kiersten White

Published 2012 by|Pages:

Source: E-book|Nook Store

Series: Mind Games #1

Genre: YA Paranormal Thriller

Goodreads|Kiersten White’s Website

Summary: Fia was born with flawless instincts. Her first impulse, her gut feeling, is always exactly right. Her sister, Annie, is blind to the world around her—except when her mind is gripped by strange visions of the future. 

Trapped in a school that uses girls with extraordinary powers as tools for corporate espionage, Annie and Fia are forced to choose over and over between using their abilities in twisted, unthinkable ways…or risking each other’s lives by refusing to obey.

In a stunning departure from her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy, Kiersten White delivers a slick, edgy, heartstoppingly intense psychological thriller about two sisters determined to protect each other—no matter the cost.

When I saw that Kiersten White had a new book coming out, I knew I had to read it.  I liked Mind Games, but not as much as I expected.

I absolutely LOVE that there’s this school that uses girls who have these amazing abilities for corporate espionage and that there’s this corporation who has their hands in, like, everything.  And these powers are intriguing- I just wish we knew more about this school and powers and what people can do with them.

Fia and Annie have a really interesting relationship- Annie is the only one who can “see” Fia, which makes it easier for Fia to do what she’s told.  And if Annie doesn’t do what she’s told, especially in regards to Fia…well, let’s just say they’re in a very interesting situation.  What I find really intriguing is that they aren’t twins.  I know this might be a little random, but I’m glad they’re not twins.  Actually, I think them wanting to protect each other and keep each other safe is a lot more effective because they’re not twins.

Both Annie and Fia narrate the book, and I’m not sure how I feel about it.  It’s just…how the book was set up in terms of time didn’t work for me.  You have the past, which takes place over 2 or 3 years.  And then you have the present time, which takes place over the course of the week.  So, Mia gets 2 chapters- 1 for the past, and 1 for the present, and then it’ll switch to Annie for a couple chapters, 1 for the past, 1 for the present.  And it switches back and forth like that for the entire book.

In all honesty, the timeline was weird.  It really felt like 2 very different stories that didn’t quite work together, and I think that very much colored my thoughts on Annie and Fia as narrators- to the point that I spent more time paying attention to the timeline than I should have.  There were a lot of pieces, and for the most part, they work together fairly well.  I get understanding their past helps understand what’s currently going on, and the present makes a lot more sense when you understand how they got to that point.  And it is a thriller, with spies and whatnot, so I like that you have to piece things together, and don’t completely know what’s going on.

Mind Games does have White’s trademark humor, and there were a few times I couldn’t help but giggle.  It’s definitely different than her Paranormalcy series, but I’m intrigued enough to keep reading.

Final Thoughts:

I did like Mind Games, and even though jumping between past and present didn’t work for me, I’m intrigued enough to see what happens next.  Mind Games gets 3 stars.

Book Review: Whistling Past The Graveyard

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Whistling Past The Graveyard CoverBook: Whistling Past The Graveyard by Susan Crandall

Expected Publication is July 2, 2013 by Gallery Books

*This is an e-book received through netgalley.com*

Pages: 320

Genre: Adult Fiction: Historical Fiction

Goodreads|Susan Crandall’s Website

Summary: From an award-winning author comes a wise and tender coming-of-age story about a nine-year-old girl who runs away from her Mississippi home in 1963, befriends a lonely woman suffering loss and abuse, and embarks on a life-changing roadtrip. 

The summer of 1963 begins like any other for nine-year-old Starla Claudelle. Born to teenage parents in Mississippi, Starla is being raised by a strict paternal grandmother, Mamie, whose worst fear is that Starla will turn out like her mother. Starla hasn’t seen her momma since she was three, but is convinced that her mother will keep her promise to take Starla and her daddy to Nashville, where her mother hopes to become a famous singer—and that one day her family will be whole and perfect.

When Starla is grounded on the Fourth of July, she sneaks out to see the parade. After getting caught, Starla’s fear that Mamie will make good on her threats and send her to reform school cause her to panic and run away from home. Once out in the country, Starla is offered a ride by a black woman, Eula, who is traveling with a white baby. She happily accepts a ride, with the ultimate goal of reaching her mother in Nashville.

As the two unlikely companions make their long and sometimes dangerous journey, Starla’s eyes are opened to the harsh realities of 1963 southern segregation. Through talks with Eula, reconnecting with her parents, and encountering a series of surprising misadventures, Starla learns to let go of long-held dreams and realizes family is forged from those who will sacrifice all for you, no matter if bound by blood or by the heart.

I liked Whistling Past The Graveyard.  When I initially started reading it, I was reminded of both The Secret Life Of Bees and The Help.  And it was something that stayed with me throughout the entire book.  I think it’s the setting and time period, which makes for an interesting backdrop.  There’s just something about this time period that really piques my interest.

I found Eula’s story so interesting, and found myself connecting Eula a lot more than I ever expected.  My heart broke for her, and I’m so glad she found happiness in the end!

One of my favorite parts of the novel was when Eula and Starla became unlikely companions and started to see the other as family, showing that family can be more than people you’re related to.  I liked that Starla and Eula became friends with someone they never expected to.  There is an interesting contrast between Eula, who’s quiet and broken, and Starla, who seems to be really spunky.  Their characters, like so many of the other characters in the book, were well-rounded and memorable. From Starla’s grandma to her mom to Miss Washington…there’s certainly an assortment of characters who seem to fit into this period so well.   

It is a great coming-of-age story, and I like seeing Starla’s journey to Nashville and realizing that her image of her mother is not who her mother really is.  I really liked seeing her grow and want to make a difference.

I liked the setting and how authentic it felt.  I really felt like Crandall captured everything that was going on.

Final Thoughts:

Whistling Past The Graveyard was an enjoyable read, and I particularly enjoyed the relationship between Eula and Starla.  It’s a nice addition to the coming-of-age stories set in the South in the 1960’s.  I didn’t love it, but I did like it.  Whistling Past The Graveyard gets 3 stars.

Book Review: Requiem

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Requiem CoverBook: Requiem by Lauren Oliver

Published March 2013 by HarperCollins Publishers|432 pages

Source: E-book|Nook Store

Series: Delirium #3

Genre: YA Dystopic

Goodreads|Lauren Oliver’s Website

Summary: They have tried to squeeze us out, to stamp us into the past.

But we are still here.

And there are more of us every day.

Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.

After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor.

Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings.

Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it.

But we have chosen a different road.

And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose.

We are even free to choose the wrong thing.

Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.

Requiem.

Oh, Requiem.  Where to begin?

Here’s the thing.  I liked Requiem.

Requiem was also a disappointment.

I sort of liked the dual narration.  Multiple narrators can be hit or miss, but Requiem falls somewhere in the middle.  I LOVED Hana’s story, and how it was so very different than Lena’s story.  Their lives took very different paths in Delirium, and I did like how their stories came together.  It didn’t completely work for me, because I found Hana’s story so much more compelling, but I get why Oliver went with 2 narrators.

But…disappointment.  After Pandemonium, I was expecting A LOT more tension.  I was expecting more than what actually happened.  I liked seeing both sides, but I was disappointed that MORE didn’t happen.  I felt like there was very little conflict.  You have the Resistance and are expecting something HUGE to happen and for things to be resolved, and all you get is a glimmer of hope.  A seedling that things may be different one day.  I really was expecting so much more resolution.

And while I know that this is the final book in the trilogy, part of me feels like things are purposefully being left open…because of the lack of resolution I was just talking about.

That being said, the last few paragraphs were SO BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN.  They really were.  Like, teary-eyed beautiful.  I mean, Lena talks about how you don’t know what happens when you break down walls, but living in fear is no way to live.  That taking the chance is worth it.

Maybe it’s all about progress.  These things don’t happen overnight, so maybe a glimmer of hope is all we really need.

Actually, at the end, when people are tearing down the wall around Portland- which I assume is Portland, Maine, because I never got the Portland, Oregon vibe from it- I was totally reminded of the Berlin Wall and its destruction.  I have no idea why, but I was.

In all honesty, I know I liked it.  I loved how beautiful the last few paragraphs were and I loved how Hana’s story was an interesting parallel to Lena’s story.  But other than that, I’m not sure why I liked it.  I just know I did.

Final Thoughts:

I think Requiem was a book that I went into with high expectations, which explains why I was disappointed with it.  OVERALL, I did like it, so it gets 3 stars.

Book Review: Bitter Blood

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Bitter Blood CoverBook: Bitter Blood by Rachel Caine

Published November 2012 by Penguin Group|Pages:416

Source: E-book|Purchased from the Nook Store

Series: Morganville Vampires #13

Genre: YA Paranormal- Vampires

Goodreads|Rachel Caine’s Website

Summary: For years, the human and vampire residents of Morganville, Texas, have managed to co-exist in peace. But now that the threat to the vampires has been defeated, the human residents are learning that the gravest danger they face is the enemy within…

Thanks to the eradication of the parasitic creatures known as the draug, the vampires of Morganville have been freed of their usual constraints. With the vampires indulging their every whim, the town’s human population is determined to hold on to their lives by taking up arms. But college student Claire Danvers isn’t about to take sides, considering she has ties to both the humans and the vampires. 

To make matters worse, a television show comes to Morganville looking for ghosts, just as vampire and human politics collide. Now, Claire and her friends have to figure out how to keep the peace without ending up on the nightly news… or worse.

I just love this series, and being caught up is a little strange to me.  I’m looking forward to Fall Of Night, but I’m actually really glad I was able to read the first 13 in a pretty quick succession.

So…here we go with the usual stuff I talk about anytime I review a Morganville Vampires book.  The characters are pretty consistent, and even when they do things I don’t expect them to, there is a good reason for why their acting wonky.  Like…Shane reacted to a certain…event…in a way that I would expect.  Did Michael do something I didn’t expect him to?  Of course, but there was a really good reason it.   

Things are also really well-paced, and Caine does a great job (as usual) with building on previous books.

Now that the usual is out of the way…Morganville is very different now.  ID cards for all citizens (but very different depending on whether you’re human or a vampire) and Oliver and Amelie hooking up and a new Captain Obvious…which was surprising in a very unsurprising way.  If that makes any sense…and it might not, because I really don’t want to give that away.

Things do go back to normal- at least, as normal as Morganville gets.  I did find the reaction to Eve and Michael’s marriage interesting, and I also liked that Michael refused to divorce Eve, even though he’ll likely face a very public punishment for going against Amelie’s wishes.  I’m really intrigued by this punishment, which is a surprise that isn’t surprising.

That seem to describe the book really well.  Surprises that aren’t surprising…and Caine does it well.  Like, really well.  I can honestly say that certain things didn’t surprise me, but Caine does in a way that does surprise you.  It’s just one of those things that is impressing me more with every one I read.

The multiple perspectives work great, especially with everything going on.  I really love reading the Myrnin chapters, which really cement my love of Myrnin.  There’s a part of me that wishes Miranda narrated a chapter or two, because her story has a lot of potential.

Final Thoughts:

Bitter Blood is another great addition to this series.  You’d think after 13 books (and counting!) this series would feel tired, but it isn’t.  I just love everything about this book, and I can’t wait to see how things play out for everyone!  Bitter Blood gets 5 stars.

Book Review: A Corner Of White

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A Corner Of White CoverBook: A Corner Of White by Jaclyn Moriarty

Expected Publication is April 1, 2013 by Arthur Levine Books|Pages: 384

*I received A Corner Of White as an e-book through netgalley.com*

Series: The Colors Of Madeleine #1

Genre: YA Fantasy/Contemporary

Goodreads|Jaclyn Moriarty’s Website

Summary: The first in a rousing, funny, genre-busting trilogy from bestseller Jaclyn Moriarty!

This is a tale of missing persons. Madeleine and her mother have run away from their former life, under mysterious circumstances, and settled in a rainy corner of Cambridge (in our world).

Elliot, on the other hand, is in search of his father, who disappeared on the night his uncle was found dead. The talk in the town of Bonfire (in the Kingdom of Cello) is that Elliot’s dad may have killed his brother and run away with the Physics teacher. But Elliot refuses to believe it. And he is determined to find both his dad and the truth.

As Madeleine and Elliot move closer to unraveling their mysteries, they begin to exchange messages across worlds — through an accidental gap that hasn’t appeared in centuries. But even greater mysteries are unfolding on both sides of the gap: dangerous weather phenomena called “color storms;” a strange fascination with Isaac Newton; the myth of the “Butterfly Child,” whose appearance could end the droughts of Cello; and some unexpected kisses…

I wanted to like A Corner Of White, I really did.  It was an okay read for me.

I really liked the column that the Princess wrote.  It was hilarious and I started to look forward to it as the book went on.

There were things that didn’t make a lot of sense.  Like, the idea of Color Attacks was intriguing, but was never explained, and I had no clue why Colors were so important and what exactly the Color Attacks were.  I wanted to know more about the Colors and why they were so important.

I’m also not sure why Ada Lovelace, Lord Byron and Isaac Newton were so important.  I get Newton’s importance to the plot, but the many references to Byron and Lovelace made it seem like they’d be really important to what was going on, and so I was a little disappointed that they didn’t have a larger role.

Cello has a lot of potential as a setting, but for the most part, it didn’t work for me.  I know Cello was this magical world that parallels the real world, but it didn’t feel all that different from Cambridge.  It felt more like a neighboring town than a completely different world that has things like magic.  Cello does seem like a unique place, and it didn’t really have a chance to shine.

I couldn’t connect with any of the characters.  I felt like Madeleine was trying a little too hard to be quirky, and Elliot…I have no thoughts about him either way.  Overall, the characters just weren’t interesting, but I sort of wish that there was more of a connection between Belle reading auras and the Colors in Cello, because I think that could have been really interesting.

After seeing the summary, I was expecting something really funny; I was also expecting a lot more romance.  Unfortunately, it wasn’t as funny as I was expecting, and there was also no romance, other than a couple kisses.

A Corner Of White was hard to get through at times- I started to enjoy it a little about halfway through, but at that point, it was hard to care about what was going on.  It felt like a patchwork of things that didn’t quite fit together.  Sometimes the book was a little too descriptive, but other times it wasn’t.

As far as the ending goes, things started happening suddenly, so it felt a little rushed.

On a more positive note, I did like the letters that Elliot and Madeleine wrote to each other.  There was something about Madeleine talking about Isaac Newton and Elliot talking about Cello that was interesting to me.  I felt like their letters to each other were really authentic.

Final Thoughts:

I know it seems like I didn’t like A Corner Of White, but it really was okay.  There were things that were intriguing, but it’s just not my cup of tea, and I wish things were explained a little more.  A Corner Of White gets 2 stars.

Book Review: Epic Fail

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Epic Fail CoverBook: Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik

Published August 2011 by HarperCollins Publishers|Pages: 304

Source: E-book|Nook Store

Series: None

Genre: YA Contemporary

Goodreads|Claire LaZebnik’s Website

Summary: Will Elise’s love life be an epic win or an epic fail?

At Coral Tree Prep in Los Angeles, who your parents are can make or break you. Case in point:

As the son of Hollywood royalty, Derek Edwards is pretty much prince of the school—not that he deigns to acknowledge many of his loyal subjects.

As the daughter of the new principal, Elise Benton isn’t exactly on everyone’s must-sit-next-to-at-lunch list.

When Elise’s beautiful sister catches the eye of the prince’s best friend, Elise gets to spend a lot of time with Derek, making her the envy of every girl on campus. Except she refuses to fall for any of his rare smiles and instead warms up to his enemy, the surprisingly charming social outcast Webster Grant. But in this hilarious tale of fitting in and flirting, not all snubs are undeserved, not all celebrity brats are bratty, and pride and prejudice can get in the way of true love for only so long.

Epic Fail was really cute and it was a fun read!

Epic Fail is predictable in a lot of ways.  Elise is the new girl, surrounded by people who have a lot more money than she does.  She (SPOILER ALERT!) ends up with the guy in the end, but kind of likes this other guy first before realizing he’s an idiot.

But I still liked it.  There’s just something fun and cute about Elise realizing that people aren’t what they seem, and to look beyond first impressions.  I also liked the relationship Elise and Juliana had- it’s really nice to see siblings get along instead of hating each other or seeing each other as a rival…actually, they don’t seem to get along with their younger sister, but I’m an only child so that’s not a relationship I’m familiar with.

I’m not the biggest fan of Elise and Derek.  I really felt like they were together just to be together, and for me, they didn’t have any chemistry.  When they finally get together, I was like…”that’s it?”  I just found myself not caring about their relationship.  Plus, the ending was sort of…abrupt.

Elise’s parents were a bit much.  I liked what we saw of her dad, and it seems like they have a great relationship…it’s just too bad we don’t see a lot of it, because I like seeing great parent-child relationships in books.  As for Elise’s mom: she’s this strange combination of strict parent/principal who seems to dislike how snobby people are while sucking up to Derek and his parents.  I totally wish we saw why she was pushing Derek and Elise together, because her obsession with Elise and Derek dating for no apparent reason was just really weird.  In general, the characters were okay, and they did what they were supposed to.

Final Thoughts:

I’m not really sure what else to say about Epic Fail.  It’s cute and fluffy, which is perfectly fine, and I did like it…just not as much as I was expecting.  Epic Fail gets 3 stars.

Book Review: Beautiful Darkness

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Beautiful Darkness CoverBook: Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl|Narrated by Kevin Collins

Published October 2010 by Hachette Audio|Run Time: 15 hours, 56 minutes

Source: Audiobook|Audible.com

Series: Caster Chronicles #2

Genre: YA Paranormal

Goodreads|Kami Garcia’s Website|Margaret Stohl’s Website|Series Website

Summary: Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena’s family of powerful Supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.

Sometimes life-ending.

Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan’s eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there’s no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town’s tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.

I am really liking this series!  Beautiful Darkness picks up a few months after Beautiful Creatures, and we see the consequences of what happened on Lena’s birthday.

I have to say that Lena was so irritating in Beautiful Darkness!  After the events of her birthday, I totally get why she went off the deep end and had a lot of guilt, and I understood where she was coming from, especially by the end.  Hopefully, now that Lena has claimed herself, she’ll be a bit more bearable in the next one!

I really liked seeing the friendship Link and Ethan had.  While we saw their friendship in Beautiful Creatures, I really liked seeing more of their friendship in this one, because it was a side of their friendship we didn’t get to see in the first book.  I also liked Link’s story in this one, and Ridley was another really interesting character.  I can’t wait to see what’s in store for them, because there are so many different ways their story could go.

There were parts of it that were slow, and it took me longer to get into it.  I still enjoyed it and I loved all connections between Lena’s family and Ethan’s family, and how there’s a lot more to the caster world than I ever expected.  I think part of why it took me a bit longer to get into it is because nothing would happen for a while, and all of a sudden, quite a few things would happen at once.

I’m not sure what to think about Liv- there were times I liked her, but there were also times I didn’t like her.  I feel like we’re going to see more of her, so hopefully I’ll be able to make up my mind about her!

I also loved the sisters, who really need more appearances!  Lucille the cat was also a great character, and is Beautiful Darkness’ Boo Radley.

South Carolina really is a great setting for the series, and there’s this really cool feel to the books…especially the tunnels that seem to take the group to the most random places.  I kind of wish we got to see more of the tunnels, but I have the feeling that we’ll see more of them in the rest of the series.

I’m really curious about the 18th Moon that is mentioned at the end of the book.  I really do like the idea of the song and how it changes and how important it is!  It’s also interesting that things are so centered around Lena’s birthdays, and that each one adds something new and crazy.

Kevin Collins narrated Beautiful Darkness, and he did a great job with the narration.

Final Thoughts:

I really liked Beautiful Darkness…not as much as I loved Beautiful Creatures, but it was still a fun book to listen to.  I can’t wait to listen to the next book!  Beautiful Darkness gets 4 stars.

Book Review: Black Dawn

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Black Dawn CoverBook: Black Dawn by Rachel Caine

Published May 2012 by Penguin Group|Pages: 400

Source: E-book|Nook Store

Series: Morganville Vampires #12

Genre: YA Paranormal- Vampires

Goodreads|Rachel Caine’s Website

Summary: With its eclectic mix of vampire and human citizens, Morganville, Texas, has always been a risky place to call home. But with the invasion of the vampire’s deadliest enemy, Morganville isn’t just in danger–it’s dying…

Ever since the draug–mysterious creatures that prey on vampires–took over Morganville, the lives of student Claire Danvers and her friends have been thrown into turmoil. Most of the town’s residents have evacuated, but Claire, Shane, Eve and Michael have chosen to stay and fight.Using the city’s water system to spread, the draug have rapidly multiplied. Things in Morganville look grim, especially since vampire Amelie–the town founder–has been infected by the master draug’s bite.

Now, if Claire and her friends don’t figure out how to cure Amelie and defeat the draug, it looks like Morganville will become little more than a ghost town…

It’s been a while since I’ve read a Morganville Vampire book, and I had forgotten how addicting this series is, because this was a hard book to put down!

We see Morganville go to war against the draug, and unsurprisingly, Morganville wins.  There was a point where the draug had Shane, and you’re reading it and it’s like, is this really happening?  This can’t be real…and of course, it’s not, but it was not my favorite part of the book…mostly because it didn’t fit in with how things usually go in the series.

And the whole thing with Amelie and Naomi and Oliver…goodness.  That’s all I want to say about that, because who know how things are going to turn out.

I also liked Miranda’s storyline, and how it kind of brought you back to the first book- in a VERY interesting way.

What’s amazing to me is that 12 books in is that I’m still completely riveted by what’s going on.  There’s also something completely weird going on, and Caine really is doing a great job with keeping things interesting, and with keeping the characters interesting.  Which isn’t really surprising, because I think I bring this up in almost every single review for this series.

I have to say that this is the book where I wasn’t really surprised by the defeat of Magnus and the survival of Amelie.  You really have to wonder if and how this will change things in Morganville.

I loved seeing how Myrnin does have a certain affection for Claire.  Seriously, I love how ridiculous Myrnin- he is seriously off his rocker, and he has this whole mad scientist thing going on.  But he really is this interesting character, and one of my favorites.

I have to say, I’m a little sorry to see Richard Morrell go.  He really is one of the good guys, but it’s also no surprise that he’s also a character who’s easily expendable.

Overall, it’ll be interesting to see how Morganville rebuilds after the events of this book and Last Breath, the one that precedes this one.

I really am at a loss with this one, because I don’t want to give away anything huge, and because I don’t want to sound like a broken record.

Final Thoughts:

Black Dawn is a great addition to the series!  I love how things are constantly changing in Morganville and how I never know what to expect.  Caine is so consistent with her characters and her worlds.  Black Dawn gets 5 stars.

Book Review: Love, Aubrey

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Love Aubrey CoverBook: Love, Aubrey by Suzanne LaFleur

Published June 2009 by Random House Children’s Books|Pages: 224

Source: E-book|Nook Store

Series: None

Genre: Middle Grade Contemporary

Goodreads|Suzanne LaFleur’s Website

Summary: “I had everything I needed to run a household: a house, food, and a new family. From now on it would just be me and Sammy–the two of us, and no one else.”

A tragic accident has turned eleven-year-old Aubrey’s world upside down. Starting a new life all alone, Aubrey has everything she thinks she needs: SpaghettiOs and Sammy, her new pet fish. She cannot talk about what happened to her. Writing letters is the only thing that feels right to Aubrey, even if no one ever reads them.

With the aid of her loving grandmother and new friends, Aubrey learns that she is not alone, and gradually, she finds the words to express feelings that once seemed impossible to describe. The healing powers of friendship, love, and memory help Aubrey take her first steps toward the future.

Readers will care for Aubrey from page one and will watch her grow until the very end, when she has to make one of the biggest decisions of her life.

I don’t normally read middle grade, but I’ve had this one on my Nook for a while, and was so glad I took the time to read it.  I really need to read more middle grade, because this was such a sweet story!

Aubrey is, like, such a sweet kid, and I loved seeing her relationship with her grandmother and how she opened up about what happened.  There’s something really special about grandparent-grandchild relationships, and Love, Aubrey totally made me think of my grandparents.

I loved that her grandma was there for her after Aubrey’s mom wasn’t able to take care of her, and how her grandma let Aubrey decide where she wanted to live when her mom was finally ready to take care of Aubrey.  I totally loved that Aubrey decided to stay with her grandma until the end of the school year because she liked it there and because she has friends.

I can’t completely relate to having her mom abandoning her, but I can definitely relate to losing people who are important to you but also having people who really love you.  I didn’t particularly care for Aubrey’s mom and how she shut down after the accident.  Is it understandable?  Sure.  But…I don’t know, she had her own journey, but I just wasn’t interested in her part of the story.

I also loved the letters Aubrey wrote to Tilly, her sister’s imaginary friend.  They were all times really well, and the letters she wrote to her parents and sister were also a nice touch.

Final Thoughts:

I really enjoyed Love, Aubrey.  I felt like Aubrey’s voice and how she dealt with things were really real, and I liked seeing her journey.  Also, I loved the cover and how much it related to the book!  I didn’t love it, but I still thought it was a great read, so Love, Aubrey gets 4 stars.

Book Review: Contagious

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Contagious CoverBook Review: Contagious by Emily Goodwin

Published Januar 2012|Self-Published|Pages: 424

Source: E-book from the Nook

Series: The Contagium Trilogy #1

Genre: New Adult-ish: Post-Apocalyptic/Zombies

Goodreads|Emily Goodwin’s Website

Summary: “I wasn’t afraid of death. If I died, it would be over. My worst fear wasn’t of dying, it was of living. Living, while everyone around me had their flesh savagely torn from their bodies to be shoved into the festering and ever-hungry mouths of zombies. It terrified me, right down to my very core, to be alive while the rest of the world was dead.”

In the midst of the Second Great Depression, twenty-five year old Orissa Penwell doesn’t think things can get any worse. She couldn’t be more wrong. A virus breaks out across the country, leaving the infected crazed, aggressive and very hungry.

Orissa will do anything-no matter if it’s right or wrong- to save the ones she loves. But when she discovers that most of the world is infected or dead, she must decided if those lives are worth saving at all.

I liked Contagious.  I really like the idea of different kinds of zombies as the virus progresses, and I’m super-intrigued with the idea that a virus can turn people into zombies.

So while I initially REALLY LIKED Contagious, now…my feelings are a little more mixed.

I thought Orissa was selfish and really unlikable.  She didn’t always think about her actions, and sometimes went running off to save everyone, especially if it meant taking down some zombies.  Granted, it is the zombie apocalypse…but don’t act like an idiot.  Honestly?  Orissa really felt like this amazing, perfect super-girl that everyone loves.  She’s definitely sort-of Mary-Sue-ish.

There were some inconsistencies throughout the book too.  The one that immediately comes to mind is how the character has her appendix taken out and is out for a month at the very beginning of the novel, but gets a severe concussion and gets stabbed, plus a couple MAJOR cuts (one in her hand, one in her head) in a matter of days and keeps going.  The water is (allegedly) contaminated, so they can’t drink it, and yet they use that same water to take their showers and to CLEAN OPEN WOUNDS.  Plus, the zombies are zombies because a virus, and yet they’re not wearing personal protective gear like gloves or goggles.  I know gloves and goggles aren’t cool when you’re fighting zombies…but when it’s caused by a virus we know nothing about, it just seems like a bad idea.

Speaking of the virus, we don’t know anything about it.  The group that Orissa joins up with is trying to find a vaccine; there are also some theories about the virus that don’t go anywhere in this book.  I kind of wanted to know more about the virus.

The other characters didn’t really stand out, and it felt like they were just there.

Final Thoughts:

I did like Contagious, even if my feelings toward it aren’t as strong as they were right after finishing it.  Orissa was easily the most irritating character, and there were things that went nowhere or didn’t make sense, but the idea of a virus that turns people into zombies and the idea that as the virus progresses, your zombie-ness changes.  I’m intrigued but I don’t know if I’m intrigued enough to continue the series.  Contagious gets 3 stars.