Sunday, September 30, 2012

Miracle By Elizabeth Scott

Summary:(from goodreads) Megan is a miracle. At least, that’s what everyone says. Having survived a plane crash that killed everyone else on board, Megan knows she should be grateful just to be alive. But the truth is, she doesn’t feel like a miracle. In fact, she doesn’t feel anything at all. Then memories from the crash start coming back.Scared and alone, Megan doesn’t know whom to turn to. Her entire community seems unable—or maybe unwilling—to see her as anything but Miracle Megan. Everyone except for Joe, the beautiful boy next door with a tragic past and secrets of his own. All Megan wants is for her life to get back to normal, but the harder she tries to live up to everyone’s expectations, the worse she feels. And this time, she may be falling too fast to be saved.
Review: This is one of those books that focuses on emotional trauma of the main characters. It is definitely a character driven book and I enjoyed it. The plot was well paced and the story was wrapped up nicely but it was still easy to imagine where the characters are headed by the end. I liked Megan as a main character. The thoughts and feelings that she had seemed really realistic and it made me fell sorry for her and want her to do better. However, she was the only character I did like. The way her parents acted throughout most of the book was annoying to me. I also didn't really understand David's issues. His problem isn't really explained all that clearly and he seemed like a normal kid to me. I also didn't feel any real connection to Joe. Apart from that this is another pretty good book from Elizabeth Scott.  It is different from her other books but still really enjoyable.

Monday, September 24, 2012

All Unquiet Things by Anna Jarzab

Summary:(from goodreads) Carly: She was sweet. Smart. Self-destructive. She knew the secrets of Brighton Day School’s most privileged students. Secrets that got her killed.Neily: Dumped by Carly for a notorious bad boy, Neily didn’t answer the phone call she made before she died. If he had, maybe he could have helped her. Now he can’t get the image of her lifeless body out of his mind.Audrey: She’s the reason Carly got tangled up with Brighton’s fast crowd in the first place, and now she regrets it—especially since she’s convinced the police have put the wrong person in jail. Audrey thinks the murderer is someone at Brighton, and she wants Neily to help her find out who it is.As reluctant allies Neily and Audrey dig into their shared past with Carly, her involvement with Brighton’s dark goings-on comes to light. But figuring out how Carly and her killer fit into the twisted drama will force Audrey and Neily to face hard truths about themselves and the girl they couldn’t save.
Review: This book is one of those that has been on my wishlist for a really long time. I am glad that i finally got around to reading it because I really liked it. The premise of uncovering the mystery surrounding Carly's death was an interesting premise. The plot was well paced and as pieces of the puzzle started to get revealed I became more and more addicted to it. The ending was surprising and everything came together really well. I really liked Neilly and Audrey. They were both very well written and easy to connect with. I thought the way that all the characters were connected was really interesting and the many flashback scenes in the first half, really allows the reader to know about the history of this group of students. I did think that at some points the characters seemed older than they really were, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.  Overall, this was a pretty good mystery type story.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Things Change by Patrick Jones

Summary:(from goodreads) Sometimes things change, and sometimes they don't...Johanna always feels like she has to be perfect-the perfect student and the perfect obedient daughter, which leads her to being the perfect outcast among her high school peers. They say opposites attract, and that could be the only explanation for her attraction to Paul. Always the life of the party, Paul won his seat on the student council by running on an apathy platform. Wherever Paul goes, laughter follows, and Johanna longs to be a part of his inner circle. And whenever Johanna wants something, she plans and works hard to achieve her goal. Getting Paul into her life turns out to be the easy part. Keeping Paul happy while juggling all her other responsibilities is tough even for an overachiever like Johanna. Soon Paul's happiness becomes more important to Johanna than her own. More important than her relationship with her parents and friends. More important than her grades, her safety, and her future.
Review: I enjoyed this book quite a bit, but I didn't think it was amazing. This book follows the fairly typical outline of this type of story. I liked that there were a few chapters from Paul's perspective scattered throughout the book. These sections allowed the reader to know a lot more about Paul's past and maybe even offers and explanation of some of his behavior. I thought both of the main characters were very well written. Johanna is a character that is easy to understand and relate to, even though I have never been in her situation. I couldn't help but want her to be happy and get what she wants. Even if I did question some of her actions. I don't really have much else to say other than this book was pretty enjoyable and if you like this kind of book I suggest picking this one up.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Perfect Escape by Jennifer Brown

Summary:(from goodreads) Kendra has always felt overshadowed by her older brother, Grayson, whose OCD forces him to live a life of carefully coordinated routines. The only way Kendra can stand out next to Grayson is to be perfect, and she has perfection down to an art -- until a cheating scandal threatens her flawless reputation. Behind the wheel of her car, with Grayson asleep beside her, Kendra decides to drive away from it all -- with enough distance, maybe she'll be able to figure everything out. But eventually, Kendra must stop running and come to terms with herself, her brother, and her past.
Review: I have really enjoyed Jennifer Brown's books in the past so I had pretty high expectations for this one. I have to say I really enjoyed it. The characters were really well portrayed and I thought Grayson and Kendra were really easy to relate to. They both have plenty of flaws and and are slowly able to accept them by the end of the story. I did think the plot was slow in a few places. As fas as road trip books go, this was not quite as exciting and adventerous. It was more along the lines of I don't know where we are and we have no money. I liked the plot lines involving Zoe and Rena. I think without them the stroy would have been alot more boring. They both added a certain level of drama and allowed all the characters to grow. My only other problem was that I think it ended a little bit to soon. I would have really liked to see how their road trip ended and how kendra ended up solving her problems. Overall, I quite enjoyed this book and i think fans of Jennifer Brown's other books will enjoy this one as well.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

A Midsummer's Nightmare by Kody Keplinger

Summary:(from goodreads) Whitley Johnson's dream summer with her divorcé dad has turned into a nightmare. She's just met his new fiancée and her kids. The fiancée's son? Whitley's one-night stand from graduation night. Just freakin' great.Worse, she totally doesn't fit in with her dad's perfect new country-club family. So Whitley acts out. She parties. Hard. So hard she doesn't even notice the good things right under her nose: a sweet little future stepsister who is just about the only person she's ever liked, a best friend (even though Whitley swears she doesn't "do" friends), and a smoking-hot guy who isn't her stepbrother...at least, not yet. It will take all three of them to help Whitley get through her anger and begin to put the pieces of her family together.
Review: I thought this book was a pretty good read. The story deals with a lot of tough issues, mostly focusing on family problems. Despite this, there was still some light hearted and fun moments. This is definitely a character driven story, so the plot wasn't all that action packed. My only problem as far as the plot was the things that happened involving Facebook. I just didn't think that any of the characters reactions were all that realistic. Other than that, I loved the characters. I thought Whitley was a really well written character that was easy to relate to. I also really liked how much her character had changed by the end of the book. Nathan, Bailey and Harrison were also really great characters. I honestly didn't want this book to end. There were so many things happening when the book ended, like the wedding and Whitley going off to college, that I wanted to see happen. I wish this book wasn't a stand alone because I really connected to these characters. Fans of kody keplinger's other books will enjoy this one as well.

Monday, September 3, 2012

Legend by Marie Lu

Summary: (from goodreads) What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.
Review: This book was a pretty good read. The plot was well paced and although it follows the plot line of a typical dystopian book, I enjoyed the fact that the two main characters are from different sides of the situation. I really liked both of the main characters. Day and June were both really likable and I was rooting for them even with the odds stacked against them. They were both strong and determined to do the right thing. My main problem with this book was that there was no background or history about this society. I think that information about the war came about and how these societies formed really would have added alot to the story. Even the revelations of what this government is doing wrong weren't explained that clearly. I hope that more information will be given in the sequel. The way the book ended did make me excited to read the sequel.

Saturday, September 1, 2012

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

 Summary:(from goodreads) Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead. So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.
Review: I really liked this book. The plot was surprising and full of twists especially towards the end. I liked that this book was actually really creepy. A lot of young adult books that are meant to be scary sometimes fall short. I wouldn't recommend reading this one before you go to sleep, or if you are especially squemish. This book was much darker than I expected and i really enjoyed it. I really liked the characters of Cass and Anna, they were both well written and believable characters that I enjoyed getting to know. I don't really know what to say about this book, but if you are looking for a creepy read than I would recommend this one. I am really excited to read the sequel.