Book Review: The Raven Boys

The Raven Boys

by Maggie Stiefvater

Blue, the daughter of a psychic, has always been told that she will kill her true love. Gansey, a rich boy from the private school of Aglionby, is on a personal quest to find magic in the world. When the two are thrown together through a series of events, they find that their lives are intricately connected by forces that are beyond their control. Stiefvater once again works her own magic in creating the mysterious atmosphere and the very unique characters of the town Henrietta. While the plot moves fairly slowly and there are more questions than answers, it is the compelling characters that pull you along.  The Raven Boys is beautifully written and a wonderful start to a new trilogy.

Rating: ★★★★

Book Review: "The Body Finder"

The Body Finder

by Kimberly Derting

Violet Ambrose has a special ability to feel "imprints" left behind by the dead, especially those who were killed violently.  As her junior year starts, her ability is the farthest thing from her mind as her feelings for her best friend, Jay, begin to change.  However, when Violet stumbles upon a dead girl in the lake and other young girls go missing, she begins to realize that her ability could help catch the killer.  While well written, The Body Finder is definitely a book that is more suited for teens than adults.  The plot was alright and moved along at a good pace, but the climax was fairly anti-climactic.  The characters, especially the side ones, were one dimensional and the romance was predictable and juvenile.  What eventually docked the overall rating for the book were the jokes that occurred throughout the books.  Some of the jokes told were crude and offensive, and didn't have any place in the book.  They did nothing to further the plot or develop the characters, and are not jokes that teens should think are okay to make.  However, the book was decent and I would most likely recommend it to teens that enjoy mysteries with a paranormal twist.

Rating: ★★

Book Review: "Bewitching"

Bewitching

by Alex Flinn

In this delightful re-telling of Cinderella with a twist, we meet Kendra, the witch - or fairy godmother - behind most of our beloved fairy tales, and Emma, the girl she is currently trying to help.  Told in alternating voices between Kendra, Emma, and some of the people Kendra has tried to help, we learn that sometimes things don't always go the way we want, especially when there is magic involved.  Similar to her previous novels, Alex Flinn has once again taken something that we thought we knew and changed it into something more.  Bewitching is a fun tale, filled with misadventures in romance and characters you love to hate.  The short stories that are interspersed can be distracting, especially when it interrupts Emma's story, but it's entertaining to see familiar tales from Kendra's perspective. 

Rating: ★★★

Book Review: "The Sweetest Spell"

The Sweetest Spell

by Suzanne Selfors

Emmeline Thistle is an outsider, both to the world and to her village.  While her village believes that she is unnatural, the rest of the world sees her and her people as nothing more than barbarians, descendants of those who tried to invade the country and therefore banished to the Flatlands.  When tragedy strikes, Emmeline unexpectedly survives and discovers that she has the ability to make chocolate, a power that has been lost for ages and that is even more precious than gold.  Soon, Emmeline is thrown into a whirlwind adventure as she sets out to save her father and the rest of her people.  Beautifully written, the story is reminiscent of other teen fantasies such as "The Goose Girl", "The Princess Bride", or "Ella Enchanted".  Emmeline is kind, but still spunky and brave.  The romance that blooms is sweet and the book doesn't fail to mix in a some adventure and action.  The alternating viewpoints were a bit disconcerting at first, but once both characters are introduced, it gets less confusing.  Overall, the book was extremely delightful and charming, and will have the reader craving for chocolate by the last chapter!

Rating: ★★★

This book was obtained as an eGalley from Bloomsbury Children's Books.  The expected publication date is August 21st, 2012.

Book Review: "Throne of Glass"

Throne of Glass

by Sarah J. Maas

When Celaena Sardothien, the kingdom's most celebrated assassin, is given the chance between further imprisonment or possible freedom, she leaps at the chance to leave the mines forever.  However, freedom comes with a price.  Celaena must compete in a competition to become the King's Champion.  If she wins, she must serve a cruel king who imprisoned her and is bent on destruction.  If she loses, she must go back to the mines.  As she adjusts to palace life and begins the competition, Celaena finds herself fighting for her life as an ancient evil threatens everyone around her.

"Throne of Glass" is an enchanting and mesmerizing fantasy tale, fast paced, action packed, and filled with many unique and interesting characters.  Celaena was a force to be reckon with; she's deadly, but has a surprising amount of emotions for someone who is rumored to be so cold and ruthless.  There's the Crown Prince Dorian, who struggles with being the son to a king who is bent on conquests and destruction.  Lastly, Captain Chaol also struggles with his role as Captain of the Royal Guard and his feelings for the assassin as his thoughts about what is right and wrong are forever changed when he meets Celaena.  Overall, Maas does a wonderful job at developing the characters while keeping me guessing with the mystery of the book.  I definitely recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good, solid fantasy, as well as to those who enjoy books with a strong, female heroine.

Rating: ★★★★

This book was obtained as an eGalley from Bloomsbury Children's Book.  The expected publication date is August 7th, 2012.

Book Review: "Keeping the Castle"

Keeping the Castle

by Patrice Kindl

At the age of seventeen, beautiful Althea Crawley must marry well in order to support her mother and her little brother.  Her home, a crumbling castle, is in complete disarray, and her stepsisters refuse to help with the repairs or upkeep.  When Lord Boring arrives in their town, Althea devises a way to ensnare him in marriage.  The only hiccup in the plan is Mr. Fredericks, Lord Boring's clumsy cousin, who manages to get in Althea's way at every turn.  Althea herself never fails to remind us about how beautiful she is; while she may have good intentions, she comes off as manipulative and selfish throughout most of the book without ever really redeeming herself.  There are a few gems in the book, especially when Althea demands to know why it is acceptable that men marry for beauty, but women can't marry for wealth.  Althea's own stepsisters were also amusing in their wickedness.  Kindl works hard to imitate the wit and irony that Austen managed so capably, and fans of Regency romances may also enjoy this book.  I may have to read more of Austen novels and Regency romances to compare, but personally, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I had hoped.

Rating: ★★

Book Review: "Seraphina"

Seraphina

by Rachel Hartman

Goodreads Summary: Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.

Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

Review: Not many books immerse me to the point where I feel as if I'm in the world along with the characters; Seraphina is one of the lucky few.  The world was highly imaginative and incredibly detailed, complete with full rituals and customs and religion.  Seraphina herself was a plucky and prickly heroine, with a core of strength, intelligence, and kindness.  Her garden of grotesques were fascinating, another detailed world within a world, and one that I want to know more about.  All the other characters were also wonderful in their own right: Orma, the cold and unfeeling dragon closest to Seraphina; Kiggs, the intelligent but slightly mischievous prince; Glisselda, the seemingly ditzy yet perceptive heir to the throne.  It might be too slowly paced for some people, but I enjoyed the intricate world and character building.  I'm looking forward to the next book.
 

Rating: ★★★★

This book was obtained as an eGalley from Random House Children's Books.  It's expected publication date is July 10, 2012.

Book Review: "The Girl in the Park"

The Girl in the Park

by Mariah Fredericks

Goodreads Summary: When Wendy Geller's body is found in Central Park after the night of a rager, newspaper headlines scream,"Death in the Park: Party Girl Found Strangled." But shy Rain, once Wendy's best friend, knows there was more to Wendy than just "party girl." As she struggles to separate the friend she knew from the tangle of gossip and headlines, Rain becomes determined to discover the truth about the murder. Written in a voice at once immediate, riveting, and utterly convincing, Mariah Frederick's mystery brilliantly exposes the cracks in this exclusive New York City world and the teenagers that move within it.

Review: I very rarely read mysteries but synopsis for The Girl in the Park seemed promising enough for me to risk it (also, I checked the book out through Overdrive for my Kindle, so the urge to peek ahead was pretty much gone).  I'm glad I did since it proved to be thoroughly enjoyable.  The unraveling of the mystery was done just right, and Fredericks does a good job at managing the pacing so that it wasn't extremely slow but didn't race through to the end.  Rain is an extremely fascinating character: a teenage girl who has her own personal problems but struggles through them to find the killer.  She's resilient and intelligent, which I was glad to see in a character.  I was a little bit disappointed because I was able to guess the identity of the killer fairly early, but the book did make me question my guess here and there.  All in all, The Girl in the Park was a solid and satisfying read.

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

Book Review: "Painted Blind"

Painted Blind

by Michelle A. Hansen

Goodreads Summary: Seventeen years old and agoraphobic, Psyche Middleton vows her dad will never see the risqué photos she took during a summer modeling stint abroad, but one of them ends up on a billboard in her Montana hometown. Now everyone—especially her dad—can see it. And yet, somehow, those are the mundane things in her life because she is about to fall unexpectedly, head-over-heels in love with Erik, a mysterious young man who rescues her from a crowd of admirers, and who she’s never actually seen because…he can make himself invisible.

As strange as this may seem, it’s about to get even stranger. Erik takes her to his palace in an idyllic kingdom, and she is swept into the beauty and culture of his world, but his affection has one condition: she may not see him. Overtaken, intrigued, and still not wholeheartedly believing he’s real, Psyche is going to have to decide if she can love him blindly; because if she can’t, she may lose him forever.

Review: Painted Blind is a wonderful adaptation of the myth of Cupid and Psyche.  It remained faithful to the original story while mixing in some new elements that made it exciting and fun to read.  Psyche is an admirable female lead.  She knows she has her flaws and problems, and despite her beauty, she has been able to remain humble and level headed.  Her beauty is left to our imagination, and I only wished that Hansen had spent more time detailing the problems she's had with her appearance as well as her agoraphobia.  The relationship between her and Erik felt real, unlike some YA books I've read, and Hansen deals with the more mature parts of the relationship very well.  Erik himself was a great character.  He's not a typical male lead and I loved his mischievousness.  Hansen does a fantastic job developing the side characters as well, and the plot and main story was nicely balanced with the character development.  This is a must read for anyone who enjoys mythology!

Our library doesn't have a copy of the book, but I've put in a staff suggestion to purchase it.  Hopefully we'll get it soon so I can start raving to my co-workers and teens!

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

This book was obtained as an eGalley from Createspace Publishers. 

Book Review: "Heartless"

Heartless

by Anne Elisabeth Stengl

Goodreads Summary: Princess Una of Parumvir has come of age and will soon be married. She dreams of a handsome and charming prince, but when the first suitor arrives, she finds him stodgy and boring. Prince Aethelbald from the mysterious land of Farthestshore has traveled far to prove his love--and also to bring hushed warnings of danger. A dragon is rumored to be approaching Parumvir. Una, smitten instead with a more dashing prince, refuses Aethelbald's offer--and ignores his warnings. Soon the Dragon King himself is in Parumvir, and Una, in giving her heart away unwisely, finds herself in grave danger. Only those courageous enough to risk everything have a hope of fighting off this advancing evil.

Review: It's not often that I come across a book that I really couldn't stand to read (of course, most of the time it's because I'm able to flip to the end - with my Kindle, unfortunately, I had to read through it if I wanted to know the ending).  Unfortunately, Heartless falls into this category.   

None of the characters were likable, especially Princess Una.  She was rude, shallow, and juvenile, with absolutely no redeeming qualities.  She's not very intelligent, courageous, or kind, and this doesn't change throughout the entire book.  For this reason, I have no idea what Prince Aethelbald was so in love with her.  Aethelbald himself could have been such a great character, but instead was reduce to a somewhat bland personality.  The evil Dragon King was fairly one dimensional too, and both Una's father and brother were not very interesting (the brother was somewhat of a whiny brat, to be honest).

The plot itself was okay, but there were things that are brought up but never mentioned again or explained.  It annoys me when authors throw in seemingly important hints but then never bother to fully address them later on, and unfortunately, this happens quite a lot in Heartless, both with plot and with other characters.  

I would have a very hard time recommending this book to anyone.  Una ruined the book for me, and unfortunately, the plot couldn't redeem her character.

Overall Rating: 1/5

Note: Apparently, this book was a giant Christian allegory.  I found this out after I had already written my review, so I'd like to put in a disclaimer that my rating and review have nothing to do with my personal beliefs.

Book Review: "Dark Companion"

Dark Companion
by Marta Acosta

Goodreads Summary: When foster teen Jane Williams is invited to attend elite Birch Grove Academy for Girls and escape her violent urban neighborhood, she thinks the offer is too good to be true. She's even offered her own living quarters, the groundskeeper's cottage in the center of the birch grove.

Something's not quite right about the school -- or is it Jane? She thinks she sees things in the birch grove at night. She's also beginning to suspect that the elegant headmistress and her sons are hiding secrets. Lucky is the gorgeous, golden son who is especially attentive to Jane, and Jack is the sardonic puzzling brother.

The school with its talented teachers and bright students is a dream for a science and math geek like Jane. She also loves her new friends, including hilarious poetry-spouting rich girl, Mary Violet. But the longer Jane stays at Birch Grove, the more questions she has about the disappearance of another scholarship girl and a missing faculty member.

Jane discovers one secret about Birch Grove, which only leads to more mysteries. What is she willing to sacrifice in order to stay at this school...and be bound to Birch Grove forever?

Review: Dark Companion is an interesting re-telling of Jane Eyre that combines Gothic elements with subtle magical undertones. Acosta brilliantly develops the eery atmosphere of Birch Grove Academy, as well as the strangeness of the Radcliffe family. The book had a lot of surprising twists and turns, and wasn't as predictable as I originally thought it would be. I enjoyed the character of Jane, who was intelligent and steady, but not naïve at all. Her bluntness was refreshing to see in a character. The side characters were wonderful as well, most notably the flamboyant Mary Violet and her fabulous poems. While it lagged somewhat during the middle and the magic was a bit out of place, the clever humor, witty dialogue, and creepy mystery held my interest to the end.

Overall Rating: 3/5

This book was obtained as an eGalley from Tor/MacMillian Publishers.  It's expected publication date is July 3, 2012.

Double Feature Book Review

Anna and the French Kiss

Lola and the Boy Next Door

by Stephanie Perkins

I'm doing something a little different with these two books by reviewing them at the same time, mostly because I didn't have time to write an actual review of Anna and the French Kiss before finishing Lola and the Boy Next Door.  They're companion novels and written by the same author.  Anna comes first, but it's not necessary to read them in order.  The summaries for each of these can be found here and here.

Another first for me is that I actually have two different ratings for each of these books.  They differ because one is my own personal enjoyment of the book and the other is based on a more professional level.  Sound confusing?  I'll try to explain.  As a librarian, I would recommend these two books to any older teens looking for a fun romance story.  They were well written and full of awesome characters, and they did a great job at talking about the confusion that comes with love at that age.  They also did a good job at addressing issues like alcohol, drugs, and sex, but because those do make an appearance in both books, these books are definitely for the older age group of teenagers.  Overall, both these books got a 4/5 rating on a professional scale.

Personally, however, I did knock both of them down a full point.  I would have loved both of these books ten years ago!  They are perfect for teenagers - they address love, and finding yourself, and the confusion that comes with both.  For someone in her late 20's, however, not so much.  It was hard for me to relate on a personal level.

But like I mentioned before, it's only based on a personal bias that these books didn't score higher on my rating scale.  They're a lot of fun to read, and they're filled with quirky, lovable characters, and the best part is that Anna, Lola, and the boys they love feel like real people with their flaws and imperfections. 

Overall Rating: 3/5 (for both books)

Book Review: "Insurgent"

Insurgent

by Veronica Roth

 

Goodreads Summary: One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

 

Review:  Insurgent starts up almost exactly where the first novel of the series, Divergent, ends.  This was one of my most highly anticipated novels of the year and it didn't disappoint.  I was worried that it would suffer from the middle-book syndrome, but my worries were unfounded.  Instead, Roth once again does an amazing job at delving deeper into each of the main characters' personalities, especially Tris and Tobias, while maintaining a steady stream of action in every chapter.  Tris, in particular, is a very interesting character.  While she very obviously suffers from the trauma that happened to her in the first book, she still goes on to be an amazingly strong character.  She is by no means a delicate flower, and I love her strength.

I also love it when authors don't make a person or group the clear villain.  There are people in Insurgent that are clearly the antagonists, but when you throw in the motivations and find out that there is a reason behind their actions, things get blurry.  Not everything was entirely black and white in this book, and books like this that challenges me and makes me think are some of my favorite books.  

The only thing that I liked less about Insurgent than I did about the first book was the crazy fast paced action.  Roth does an amazing job at throwing twists and turns into the book that don't seem out of place.  However, it was very hectic, and I wished she had interjected more slower scenes like she did in Divergent to balance out the action.  This was definitely a book that needs to be read carefully instead of breezing through.  While I suspected what would happen at the end, it was still surprising and paves the way for the third book by answering some questions by opening a whole slew of more questions.

 

If you haven't read Divergent yet, and are a fan of The Hunger Games, I highly recommend that you do.  It was one of my favorite books last year, and Insurgent does a fantastic job of following up.  Both books make you question society, your role in society, and how society shapes you as a person.

 

Overall Rating: 4/5

Book Review: "Bitterblue"

Bitterblue

by Kristin Cashore

 

Goodreads Summary: Eight years after Graceling, Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisors, who have run things since Leck died, believe in a forward-thinking plan: Pardon all who committed terrible acts under Leck’s reign, and forget anything bad ever happened. But when Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle—disguised and alone—to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year spell of a madman, and the only way to move forward is to revisit the past.

Two thieves, who only steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. They hold a key to the truth of Leck’s reign. And one of them, with an extreme skill called a Grace that he hasn’t yet identified, holds a key to her heart.

Review: If I were to write a single sentence review of Bitterblue, it would be this: Bitterblue is gorgeously written with fantastic characters in an amazing world.  Is that gushy enough for you?

Let me start over.  I absolutely loved Graceling, and now I absolutely love Bitterblue, but for a completely different reason.  Graceling was fast paced and action packed, but Bitterblue, on the other hand, is a much slower paced book, and took its time unraveling its mysteries. It's a much more complex and intricate read than either Graceling or Fire, and during a good part of the beginning it felt like one giant puzzle with many interconnecting pieces that I knew connected, but couldn't figure out.  While it may have started out slow, it picked up towards the end, and the answers that are revealed are stunning.

Cashore packed Bitterblue with a plethora of returning and new characters.  I was overjoyed to see Katsa and Po come back, and loved reading about the intensity of their relationship once more.  Bitterblue herself was an absolute joy to read.  She was plucky, defiant, self-deprecating, and stubborn, yet at the same time regal as the Queen of Monsea, with an underlying core of strength and kindness.  She is easily one of more complicated characters to ever have existed, and I loved her for that.  There were more than a dozen recurring characters, and Cashore did an amazing job at making each and every one of them unique.  I was ecstatic to see Raffin and Bann in this book - they were two of the characters that I wished had more pages in Graceling.  Bitterblue's love interest, Saf, was also a fantastic character; he's reckless and wild, yet gentle and sweet, and although Bitterblue doesn't fully trust him, she loses her heart to him anyways. 

Bitterblue is a much darker book than either Graceling or Fire, which didn't surprise me since it deals with much of the aftermath that Leck left behind.  There were twists and turns that I didn't expect, and the overall tone was so sad and bittersweet that tears came to my eyes at certain parts of the book.  My heart broke with Bitterblue as she discovered truths and unraveled the mysteries of her kingdom.

Okay, so how many times did I say the word "love", or "wonderful", or "amazing"?  I cannot stop raving about this book.  However, a word of caution: if you were a fan of the previous books, I can't guarantee that you'll love this one as much as I did.  It is very different from Cashore's earlier books, and it shows her maturation as a writer, but I can see how not everyone would enjoy the direction her writing and books have gone.  Nonetheless, it takes a true genius to meld together a fantastical world with an exciting plot, and have many characters that are unique that the readers actually care about.

Overall Rating: 5/5

Book Review: "The Pledge"

The Pledge 

by Kimberly Derting 

Goodreads Summary: In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she's spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she's never heard before . . . and her secret is almost exposed.

Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something much bigger: her country's only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime.

Review: The book is marketed as a dystopian, but I believe that it fits best as a fantasy.  The world of this book bears some resemblance to Earth, but not enough for it be a future world (unless the structure of the world drastically changes to having queens with magic as the ruling power of all the countries). 

With that being said, I thought the world that Derting constructed was very intriguing.  Can you imagine a world with a class system that is based on language?  It's an interesting concept and it was well constructed in this fantasy world.  The character of Charlie wasn't as dynamic as I would have liked, and I didn't really feel the connection between her and Max.  However, this is one book where the plot and story took precedence over the main characters.  The class system and social structure were very interesting ideas, and I loved that magic was prevalent in the world.  I do wish that Derting took more time to really develop all the characters, but I was pretty satisfied with how the characters shaped up.  This could have worked as a standalone book, but it is part of a trilogy.  The sequel will be out next year.  I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys fantasy novels similar to Graceling by Kristin Cashore.


Overall Rating: 4/5

Book Review: Scarlet

Scarlet

by A.C. Gaughen

Goodreads Summary: Posing as one of Robin Hood’s thieves to avoid the wrath of the evil Thief Taker Lord Gisbourne, Scarlet has kept her identity secret from all of Nottinghamshire. Only the Hood and his band know the truth: the agile thief posing as a whip of a boy is actually a fearless young woman with a secret past. Helping the people of Nottingham outwit the corrupt Sheriff of Nottingham could cost Scarlet her life as Gisbourne closes in.

It’s only her fierce loyalty to Robin—whose quick smiles and sharp temper have the rare power to unsettle her—that keeps Scarlet going and makes this fight worth dying for

Review: I have a confession to make before I start my actual review: for most of my childhood - thanks to Disney - I thought Robin Hood was a fox.  As a result, I was not very interested and therefore not very familiar with the Robin Hood legend.  I know the basics, but none of the details, including who Will Scarlet is or was supposed to be.  In a way, it was good because I was able to read the book without many preconceptions.

First off, I really enjoyed the premise of the book.  I love the idea that one of Robin Hood's Merry Men was actually a feisty girl thief in disguise.  I wasn't very surprised at Scarlet's true identity, but nonetheless loved the idea of it.  However, there were a few things that stopped me from really enjoying the book.

I liked that Gaughen kept the writing and speech in style with that time period and consistent throughout; however, personally, I had a very hard time reading it.  It took quite a bit of work for me to decipher what Scarlet actually meant at times.  If I could have changed one thing about the book, it would have been for Scarlet to speak that style, but narrate normally.  Perhaps that would have changed my overall opinion about the book.

The other big thing about the book that I didn't enjoy very much was how Gaughen portrayed Robin Hood.  In most adaptations, Robin is dashing and charming with a fairly jovial, but still responsible, nature.  With this adaptation, Robin - or Rob as he was called - was portrayed as a brooding, tragic hero.  Basically, I felt like the author turned Robin Hood into an emo teenager, which was not how I pictured him at all.  While I like the depth Gaughen gave him, with his past, responsibilities, and burdens weighing him down, it seemed like that became the predominant trait of this version's Robin Hood.

Unfortunately, while I liked the idea of the book, I didn't enjoy the execution of it very much.  However, if you're a fan of Robin Hood, you might still enjoy this interesting spin on a classic tale.  (Call me shallow, but I did love the cover of this book!)

Overall Rating: 2.5/5

Book Review: "Crossed"

Crossed

by Ally Condie

Goodreads Summary: Chasing down an uncertain future, Cassia makes her way to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky--taken by the Society to his sure death--only to find that he has escaped into the majestic, but treacherous, canyons. On this wild frontier are glimmers of a different life and the enthralling promise of a rebellion. But even as Cassia sacrifices every thing to reunite with Ky, ingenious surprises from Xander may change the game once again.
 

Narrated from both Cassia's and Ky's point of view, this hotly anticipated sequel to Matched will take them both to the edge of Society, where nothing is as expected and crosses and double crosses make their path more twisted than ever.

Review: I enjoyed the first book of the series, Matched, quite a bit.  The setting that Condie creates in intriguing and makes for good discussion: in a world where Society dictates every part of your life and takes away all choices because they say they know what's good for you, how far would you go to break free of that?  If they say it's perfect, is it really perfect?  Would you be content living in a world where everything - where you live, what you wear, what you eat, where you work, who you're married to, how many children you have, when you die - is dictated, yet it supposedly gives you the contentment of life that you need?

With Crossed, Condie continues Cassia and Ky's love story.  Unfortunately, I feel like the entire book could be summed up as "not much happens".  Not many, if any, questions are answered, more questions are introduced, and the entire book felt like a bridge for the third book.  Not to mention, the alternating voices between Cassia and Ky (something new in this book) made it fairly confusing at times to read.  Fortunately, I still liked the book because Condie has a wonderful, lyrical way of writing that is a joy to read.  And, although this is quite shallow of me, I love the cover art of the books (the third one is in red!). 

I would recommend both the first and second book for anyone who enjoys dystopian novels.  Be aware though, this isn't action filled like The Hunger Games or Divergent; instead, it's mostly a love story.

Overall Rating: 3/5

Book Review: "Out of Sight, Out of Time"

Out of Sight, Out of Time

by Ally Carter

Goodreads Summary: The last thing Cammie Morgan remembers is leaving the Gallagher Academy to protect her friends and family from the Circle of Cavan--an ancient terrorist organization that has been hunting her for over a year. But when Cammie wakes up in an alpine convent and discovers months have passed, she must face the fact that her memory is now a black hole. The only traces left of Cammie’s summer vacation are the bruises on her body and the dirt under her nails, and all she wants is to go home.

Once she returns to school, however, Cammie realizes that even the Gallagher Academy now holds more questions than answers. Cammie, her friends, and mysterious spy-guy Zach must face their most difficult challenge yet as they travel to the other side of the world, hoping to piece together the clues that Cammie left behind. It’s a race against time. The Circle is hot on their trail and willing stop at nothing to prevent Cammie from remembering what she did last summer.

Review: The latest installment of the Gallagher Girls series is much, much darker than any of the previous books.  Cammie comes back a changed person; she's stronger and scarier, doing things that she previously never knew how to do before.  Carter does an amazing job at conveying Cammie's thoughts and emotions.  She's confused and scared, but still has a strong core that ultimately pushes her to do things she never done before in order to protect her friends and family.  However, the humor and wittiness that marked the previous books does make its appearance in this one.  I have always highly recommended the Gallagher Girls series for something that's a little bit different from any other teen book series, and Out of Sight, Out of Time is no exception.  Just be prepared for a darker novel.

Overall Rating: 4/5

Book Review: "Cinder"

Cinder

by Marissa Meyer

Goodreads Summary: Cinder, a gifted mechanic in New Beijing, is also a cyborg. She’s reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s sudden illness. But when her life becomes entwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she finds herself at the centre of a violent struggle between the desires of an evil queen—and a dangerous temptation.

Cinder is caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal. Now she must uncover secrets about her mysterious past in order to protect Earth’s future. 

Review: I love fairy tale adaptations, so when I found out this was going to be about a cyborg Cinderella, I was immediately interested.  Unfortunately, I didn't love this book as much as I thought it would.  While the premise was original and the main characters were likable, it felt like the author was trying to tackle too much.  First, there's the original Cinderella story.  Then, it was layered with a futuristic world where cyborgs, androids, and hovers exist on Earth that is completely different from what it is now (the story itself takes place on New Beijing, where there is an emperor that rules).  Third, there's tension with Queen Levana, ruler of the Lunars who live on the moon and have the power to manipulate people's thoughts.  And on top of all that, there's a deadly plague that's killing hundreds of people quickly with no cause or reason, and there's no cure.

Meyer was certainly ambitious with where she wanted her story to go, but I felt like it was too much.  None of the different aspects were really explained or detailed in a way that made me feel satisfied.  Instead, it almost seemed like Meyer was afraid that the reader would lose interest if there wasn't action in every page.  As a result, she sacrificed a lot in details and explanation about the world, characters, and background that would have made it more real to me.  It was enjoyable, but not very satisfying.  

Overall Rating: 3/5

Book Review: "Froi of the Exiles"

Froi of the Exiles

by Melina Marchetta

 

Goodreads Summary: Three years after the curse on Lumatere was lifted, Froi has found his home . . . or so he believes. Fiercely loyal to the Queen and Finnikin, Froi has been taken roughly and lovingly in hand by the Guard sworn to protect the royal family, and has learned to control his quick temper with a warrior's discipline. But when he is sent on a secretive mission to the kingdom of Charyn, nothing could have prepared him for what he finds in its surreal royal court. Soon he must unravel both the dark bonds of kinship and the mysteries of a half-mad princess in this barren and mysterious place. It is in Charyn that he will discover there is a song sleeping in his blood . . . and though Froi would rather not, the time has come to listen.

Review: Marchetta returns to the fantastical world of Lumatere in this riveting sequel. While Finnikin of the Rock could be a stand alone book, Froi of the Exiles ends in a cliff hanger and has me biting my nails to find out what happens (the next book doesn't come out until October!).  The magic of Marchetta isn't in the action or plot, although both are spectacular, but it's in the development of the characters themselves.  All of the characters are so wonderfully developed that you almost don't care where the main storyline goes - in fact, for most of the book, the antagonist is almost never directly present or involved.  Instead, you care more about the characters and what happens to them as they struggle to persevere.  This next book in the series was certainly more ambitious than the first book, with many different viewpoints and story lines, but it was absolutely wonderful, and I can't wait until the third book comes out.

Overall Rating: 5/5