Book: Counting Backwards by Laura Lascarso

Published August 2012 by Atheneum Books For Young Readers|187 pages

Where I Got It: the nook store

Series: None

Genre: YA Contemporary

You can find Counting Backwards on goodreads & Laura Lascarso on Twitter & her website

Goodreads Summary: 

Three weeks ago I tried to run away from home. Now all I want is to go back.

When troubled Taylor Truwell is caught with a stolen car and lands in court for resisting arrest, her father convinces the judge of an alternative to punishment: treatment in a juvenile psychiatric correctional facility. Sunny Meadows is anything but the easy way out, and Taylor has to fight hard just to hold on to her sanity as she battles her parents, her therapist, and vicious fellow patients. But even as Taylor struggles to hold on to her stubborn former self, she finds herself relenting as she lets in two unlikely friends–Margo, a former child star and arsonist, and AJ, a mysterious boy who doesn’t speak. In this striking debut, Laura Lascarso weaves together a powerful story of anger and self-destruction, hope and love.

What I Thought:

Counting Backwards is a book I’ve been meaning to read for a while, but I never managed to get around to it until now.  I liked Counting Backwards but not as much as I was expecting.

A big reason why I didn’t like it as much as I thought is Taylor herself.  Her time in a psychiatric correctional facility is interesting, especially because she has a lot of issues to work through.  But I really wish we saw more of her life before she ends up in court.  Her issues with her parents definitely come up, but I really wanted to see a bit more of her relationship with them before.  I think it’s because I wanted a bit more context and history.

I do like that we see how she deals with things and how she manages to find a couple friends.  We don’t know what her life is like after leaving, but it does seem like things are headed in a good direction for her.  I do wonder if she keeps in touch with Margo and A.J. afterwards.  And I like that pretty much the entire book is set in the facility she’s at.  Even though she’s fighting this the entire way- even saying what she thinks they want to hear- she does finally start to make changes because she really wants to change.

At the same time, though, Taylor starting to work through things…I didn’t quite believe the changes she started to make. It wasn’t fake or inauthentic, but she spent so much time resisting it that it didn’t seem as believable as it could have been.

Let’s Rate It:

I liked Counting Backwards but not as much as I was hoping.  I did like see how much Taylor changed, even when I found those changes to be not quite believable.  Counting Stars gets 3 stars.

Book: Splintered by A.G. Howard

Published January 2013 by Abrams, Harry N., Inc.|303 pages

Where I Got It: nook store

Series: Splintered #1

Genre: YA Fantasy/Re-telling

You can find Splintered on goodreads & A.G. Howard on Twitter, Facebook and her website

Goodreads Summary: 

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

What I Thought:

I’ve been looking forward to reading Splintered for a while, and finally managed to read it!  I definitely liked Splintered, but not as much as I was hoping.

I definitely like that it’s such an interesting take on Alice In Wonderland and that it’s very connected to her family.  And  that Wonderland and Alice’s trip there started this HUGE thing.  Also: I love that the women in her family seem to be some variation on Alice.  because it makes it seem very connected.  However, I disliked that Alyssa kept calling her mother Allison.  I get she doesn’t really know her mother, but it always took me a while to remember who Alison was.

I thought all of the tests were really interesting, but as we’re talking about Wonderland, things are not what they seem. Because this Wonderland is pretty scary, especially after all of the Alice stuff that happened and the curse on Alyssa’s family. And the truth about what really happened, which I should have seen coming. But didn’t, of course.

What I also really like about Splintered is that it stands alone on it’s own so well!  I mean, there’s certainly a lot there, and I can certainly see a sequel or two.  But while I like Splintered, I’m not sure if I’m interested enough to keep going.  Especially because Howard does such a great job at writing a story that stands alone so well.

I also like how everything is described, but I couldn’t clearly picture this Wonderland well.  And I could picture a lot of the characters really well, and I liked seeing how different they were from how Lewis Carroll wrote them.  It was definitely interesting to see Howard’s fictional characters different from the original characters.

 Let’s Rate It:

Splintered is a dark but different and interesting take on Alice In Wonderland.  I didn’t love it as much as I thought, but I still liked it!  Splintered gets 3 stars.

Book: Wild Awake by Hilary T. Smith

Published May 2013 by HarperCollins|259 pages

Where I Got It: Nook store

Series: None

Genre: YA Contemporary

You can find Wild Awake on goodreads & Hilary Smith on Twitter and her website

Goodreads Summary: 

In Wild Awake, Hilary T. Smith’s exhilarating and heart-wrenching YA debut novel, seventeen-year-old Kiri Byrd has big plans for her summer without parents. She intends to devote herself to her music and win the Battle of the Bands with her bandmate and best friend, Lukas. Perhaps then, in the excitement of victory, he will finally realize she’s the girl of his dreams.

But a phone call from a stranger shatters Kiri’s plans. He says he has her sister Suki’s stuff—her sister Suki, who died five years ago. This call throws Kiri into a spiral of chaos that opens old wounds and new mysteries.

Like If I Stay and The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Wild Awake explores loss, love, and what it means to be alive.

What I Thought:

Wild Awake is definitely a book I was intrigued by, but it’s also a book that turned out to be just okay for me.

I kind of felt like Wild Awake was a bit scattered and wasn’t sure where to go.  I felt really disconnected from what was going on, and I couldn’t completely connect with Kiri.  She seems all over the place, and I felt like she was just going through the motions.  There are quite a few issues we see in Wild Awake- like love and grief and mental illness, but they all see to be randomly thrown together and oddly disconnected and disjointed.  It definitely meanders, and that made it a hard book to get into because I wasn’t always sure what was going on or where the book was headed.

Usually I have no problem talking about why I feel the way I do about books, but Wild Awake is one of the books where I have a lot of trouble pinpointing my feelings about it.

I will say, I don’t get her parents.  They won’t let their daughter drive, because they’ve told her that her sister Suki died in a car accident, but they go on a cruise for 6 weeks, and leave her by herself. And as it turns out, Suki was murdered…I mean, I get her parents have to be gone and leave a 17 year-old girl by herself for weeks on end in order for things to happen, but it just makes no sense to me.  Even if Suki did die in a car accident…why would you leave your 17-year-old daughter home alone for 6 weeks with no one to check up on her?  And they didn’t seem surprised that she finally learned that Suki was murdered. I felt like they were all, “oh, you found out Suki was murdered? That’s nice, that you finally know.”  At least, that was my impression.

Wild Awake is definitely different, and there is, I suppose, something very different about the chaos that is Kiri.  It’s definitely something people are going to either love or hate, and it’s not the book for me.  There is something compelling about Wild Awake, but I couldn’t tell you compelled me to keep going, other than a bizarre need to see what was going to happen next.

Let’s Rate It:

Wild Awake is an okay read for me, for reasons I can’t really pinpoint.  I think what I expected was something different than what I found in Wild Awake.  I couldn’t completely get into it, and nothing really stands out.  Wild Awake gets 2 stars.

Book: A Million Suns by Beth Revis

Published January 2012 by Penguin|318 pages

Where I Got It: Nook store

Series: Across The Universe #2

Genre: YA Sci-Fi/Dystopic

You can find A Million Suns on goodreads & Beth Revis on Twitter, Facebook and her website

Goodreads Summary:

GODSPEED WAS FUELED BY LIES. NOW IT IS RULED BY CHAOS. 

It’s been three months since Amy was unplugged. The life she always knew is over. Everywhere she looks, she sees the walls of the spaceship “Godspeed.” But there may just be hope: Elder has assumed leadership of the ship. He’s finally free to act on his vision–no more Phydus, no more lies. But when Elder learns shocking news, he and Amy must race to discover the truth behind life on “Godspeed,” all the while dealing with the love that’s growing between them and the chaos that threatens to tear them apart.

Beth Revis catapulted readers into the far reaches of space with her “New York Times “bestselling debut, “Across the Universe.” In “A Million Suns, ” Beth deepens the mystery with action, suspense, romance, and deep philosophical questions. And this time it all builds to one mind-bending conclusion: THEY HAVE TO GET OFF THIS SHIP. 

What I Thought:

I liked A Million Suns more than I expected!  It’s definitely interesting to see how different Elder is from Eldest and how much Elder wants to do things differently.  Elder’s job is definitely difficult given that people are rebelling and everything. Which is the result of no more Phydus.

Elder definitely changed over the course of the book, and finally started to become a pretty good leader by the end of it. And we also see quite a bit of change in Amy, who has her own stuff to work through.  Plus, there are a lot of clues left behind by Orion, who thinks Amy is the only one who can make this really big decision for the entire ship because she’s the only one who’s lived on Earth and not a ship.

I have to say that I was not expecting what Orion revealed!  Just when you thought you knew what was going on, you learned that you didn’t know everything.  It did seem the teensiest bit convenient, but I’m also a bit fuzzy on the details since I waited a bit to review the book.

Still, Revis created this really interesting world, and I can’t wait to see what awaits them off of the ship. There is a part of me that’s hoping we’ll still get a glimpse or two of life on the ship, since we’ve spent so much time there.  I’m really curious as to whether anyone who was frozen will be unfrozen at some point, especially since there’s a group leaving the ship.

On a random but sort of related note: while I love the world Revis has built, I’m getting really irritated by how much frex and chutz are being used.  It’s cool when authors come up with their own slang, I feel like chutz and frex are being overused.  And it kind of feels like they have no other words that they could use in their place.

Let’s Rate It:

I really liked A Millions Suns!  This series is definitely going in a very interesting direction, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.  I thought the big revelation of the ship seem unusually convenient, but I’m still curious about what it means for the characters.  A Million Suns gets 4 stars.

Book: Through The Ever Night by Veronica Rossi

Published January 2013 by HarperCollins|250 pages

Where I Got It: the nook store

Series: Under The Never Sky #2

Genre: YA Dystopic Fantasy

You can find Through The Ever Night on goodreads & Veronica Rossi on Twitter, Facebook and her website

Goodreads Summary: 

It’s been months since Aria last saw Perry. Months since Perry was named Blood Lord of the Tides, and Aria was charged with an impossible mission. Now, finally, they are about to be reunited. But their reunion is far from perfect. The Tides don’t take kindly to Aria, a former Dweller. And with the worsening Aether storms threatening the tribe’s precarious existence, Aria begins to fear that leaving Perry behind might be the only way to save them both.

Threatened by false friends, hidden enemies, and powerful temptations, Aria and Perry wonder, Can their love survive through the ever night?

What I Thought:

I liked Through The Ever Night!  Not as much as Under The Never Sky, but it was still a great book to read! So, the thing with Through The Ever Night is that I was in this weird funk when I first read it, and while I was reading words, they didn’t actually stick or sink in, and I couldn’t remember anything that happened, even though I had just read it.  So I knew a re-read was in order if I wanted to properly talk about this book.

Through The Ever Night did start off slow for me and it was hard to get into at first.  It does pick up where the first book left off, and I liked seeing what was going on with Aria and Perry after Under The Never Sky ended.Still, there’s a lot of action once things get going, and I liked getting a better look at Perry’s group.  I did like how he realized that things weren’t as easy as he thought they would be, and that he had to do things his own way.

I will say that I’m glad we got to meet Liv (finally!) but I’m really wishing she stood out more to me.  Something that happened didn’t have a huge impact on me, and I think a lot of it is because the book focuses on Perry and Aria (and not Roar and Liv), so we don’t get a lot about their relationship, or anything about Liv.  I felt like I knew she was there, and was with Roar, but she did seem like a character who was mentioned a handful of times.  I do believe there is a novella about Roar and Liv, and I’m not sure the impact of what happens with Liv would have been different had I read the novella.  But there is a part of me that wishes it were shown in the actual book, and not the novella.  (Assuming that the novella actually would change my mind about it, of course.  Because it might not).

I did like the connection between Cinder and the Aether and the Still Blue, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how it all comes together!  Because I’m not sure how everything is going to happen, and I’m definitely wanting to see how they get to the Still Blue.  And if it’s really all that it’s cracked up to be.

One random thing that I’m wondering about is Aria’s dad.  I doubt we’ll ever learn more about him, but considering she’s part “Dweller” and part “Mole,” I’m curious to see if more will come from it, or if it’s just there so she can fit in everywhere, and be all, “hey, I’m one of you…sort of.”  I get why we learn it, but considering that nothing’s really been done with it yet, it still feels like it’s there just to be there.

Let’s Rate It:

I’m glad I gave Through The Ever Night another read before talking about it!  It did start off slow, and there are a couple things I didn’t like or am wondering about, but overall, I’m glad we got to see both Perry and Aria after the events of the first book.  Especially with Perry, because we got to see him as Blood Leader and we got to spend so much more time in his world.  Through The Ever Night gets 4 stars.

Book: Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers

Published April 2013 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt|361 pages

Where I Got It: the Nook store

Genre: YA Historical Fiction

Series: His Fair Assassin #2

You can find Dark Triumph on goodreads and Robin LaFevers on Twitter and her website

Goodreads Summary: 

When Sybella arrived at the doorstep of St Mortain half mad with grief and despair the convent were only too happy to offer her refuge – but at a price. The sisters of this convent serve Death, and with Sybella naturally skilled in both the arts of death and seduction, she could become one of their most dangerous weapons.

But her assassin’s skills are little comfort when the convent returns her to the life that nearly drove her mad. Her father’s rage and brutality are terrifying, and her brother’s love is equally monstrous. But when Sybella discovers an unexpected ally she discovers that a daughter of Death may find something other than vengeance to live for…

What I Thought:

This is such a different series!  I like the idea of assassin nuns, who serve Death.  It really is a unique idea!  So, I liked Dark Triumph, but not as much as I liked Grave Mercy, the first book in the series.  I think part of it is that I’m in this weird funk right now, so I wasn’t completely in the right frame of mind when I was reading it.  I was, a little bit, because I liked it and all, but…just not as much as Grave Mercy.

I did like Sybella’s story, and how the story that started in Grave Mercy continued with a different perspective.  I definitely felt for Sybella as we learned more about her history and why she’s at D’Albert’s court, but I also felt like there was less going on in this story than in Grave Mercy.  I’m not sure if it’s because I wasn’t as interested in Sybella’s story as I was with Ismae’s story, or what, but I wasn’t as drawn in as I was expecting.

There s something about this series that just pulls me in, and I can’t wait to see Annith narrating the next book.  I definitely like the historical part of the book, and there’s part of me that wants to learn more about the time when the book takes place because it’s not a time/place I’m familiar with at all!  I do like that the assassin nuns work really well with everything else going on.

So, I really liked Dark Triumph, but it did start off a little slow, so it took a while for me to actually get into the book.  Still, I did start to get into it once things got going.  And the slow start did add to Sybella’s story and give a peek at her past.

Let’s Rate It: 

I liked Dark Triumph, but not as much as I liked Grave Mercy.  I’m not sure if I would have liked it slightly better if I read it at a different time or if I just didn’t connect with Sybella’s story as I did with Ismae’s or what, but I just didn’t get into it as much as Grave Mercy.  Dark Triumph gets 3 stars.

Book: Seeing Light by Michelle Warren

Self-Published by Michelle Warren in October 2013|296 pages

Where I Got It: the nook store

Series: The Seraphina Parrish Trilogy #3

Genre: YA Paranormal

You can find Seeing Light on goodreads & Michelle Warren on Twitter, Facebook & her website

Goodreads Summary: 

As the corruption of the Society intensifies and the questions surrounding her mother mount, Seraphina Parrish embarks on a journey to find Terease in the terrifying Wandering city of Nocturna. But the information she learns there only sends her team on a dangerous mission to fulfill an ancient prophecy. Delving deep into the disturbing secrets of their world, the revelations quickly unravel, revealing shocking truths about the Society and Sera’s life. In the end, power and courage clash in a mission for freedom that may shatter the Wandering world completely.

What I Thought:

This has been such an interesting series to read, and Seeing Light is no exception!  I liked seeing how everything came to an end, and there’s no way i could have predicted anything that happened, or how things I thought were true were so wrong.

Everything really did come together so well, and I liked seeing how things really unfolded.  Everything really is slowly revealed over the course of the series, and I liked seeing the events that led to everything going awry in the first place.  Which I know is vague, but I also don’t want to spoil it because it definitely makes you seeing the first two books so differently.

I really like Seraphina and how much she’s changed since we first saw her in Wander Dust.  She really is a great character, and I love that she has people can depend on.  Namely, her team, and I love that they work together to figure things out.  I’m so glad she could set things right.

There are so many little details that make this world seem real, and Warren did such a great job with revealing everything at the right time.  Everything gets resolved really well, but the one thing I’ve always wondered is why this world exists and how it came to be.  There really is a lot more to this world than we’ll ever know, but there is that part of me that always wondered why they have the abilities they do and what sorts of things they do when they’re done with school.

Let’s Rate It:

Seeing Light is a great conclusion to this series!  So much happens and I liked seeing how everything got resolved…even if I’m sad to see the series end.  Seeing Light gets 4 stars.