GUEST REVIEW: The Mara Dyer Series - Michelle Hodkin

  

 

Summary

Mara Dyer doesn't think life can get any stranger. She wakes from a coma in hospital with no memory of how she got there or of the bizarre accident that caused the deaths of her best friends and her boyfriend, yet left her mysteriously unharmed. The doctors suggest that starting over in a new city, a new school, would be good for her and just to let the memories gradually come back on their own. But Mara's new start is anything but comforting. She sees the faces of her dead friends everywhere, and when she suddenly begins to see other people's deaths right before they happen, Mara wonders whether she's going crazy! And if dealing with all this wasn't enough, Noah Shaw, the most beautiful boy she has ever seen can't seem to leave her alone...but as her life unravels around her, Mara can't help but wonder if Noah has another agenda altogether...

 

This book trilogy is one of my favourites purely because I fell in love with three things:

• The Plot
• The Characters
• The Endings (even though the second one wanted me to cry for ages)

 

The plot:

 The plot of the three books of course are an after effect of what happened in the previous book (except for Unbecoming as it was the beginning which caused the after effects). The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer is about a 16 year old girl called Mara who discovers she is an only survivor a terrible accident. And she is terrified. To make this even harder for Mara she cannot remember anything from the accident, which killed her three closest friends is very traumatic for her. To try and escape from the relentless guilt, she convinces her family to move the Florida. However, Mara’s misfortunes soon catch up to her and she finds herself finding it hard to run away from her problems. In the midst of all of her problems…she falls in love. What eventually happens to Mara? Does she defeat all the odds and comes standing tall with her lover by her side? Or does she have a reoccurring person from her past who is set in destroying everything she loves?

 

REVIEW: I'd Tell You i Love You, But Then I'd Have To Kill You - Ally Carter

GENRE: Contemporary YA

PAGES: 320

PUBLISHER: Orchard Books

FORMAT: PB

BUY IT: Waterstones

RATING: 4 Stars

SUMMARY

Gallagher Academy might claim to be a school for geniuses - but it's really a school for spies. Cammie Morgan is fluent in fourteen languages and capable of killing a man in seven different ways (three of which involve a piece of uncooked spaghetti). But the one thing the Gallagher Academy hasn't prepared her for is what to do when she falls for an ordinary boy who thinks she's an ordinary girl. Sure, she can tap his phone, hack into his computer, and track him through a mall without his ever being the wiser, but can Cammie have a normal relationship with a boy who can never know the truth about her?

REVIEW

Cammie and her friends go to an exclusive school for exceptional girls. But really, it's a cover for a school for SPIES. Whilst on her first training mission shadowing a teacher, Cammie meets a boy that she can't stop thinking about. How can she risk blowing her cover for a boy she doesn't know?

I put off reading this series for so long because the cover made me think they were going to be shallow stories about girls who are obsessed with makeup, clothes and sneaking out to see boys. I was so wrong. It is a smart, witty novel that made me totally jealous that I had to go to a normal boring school for normal boring non-spy people.

The female characters are fantastic role models: they are serious about their schoolwork, are ambitious about their careers and make the most of each particular skill set they have. I liked that although they had to be privileged and of a good background to attend the school, the don't squander it. They recognise how lucky they are and know that their lives will never be normal or safe. They're also really loyal friends, which is what a girl needs when you have to spend the whole of you life looking over your shoulder for impending danger.

The school itself is also as much of a cool character. If you have never visited the school you would think it was just an academy for over-rich, bored 'preppy' types, but you would never make it up the drive; a series of booby traps would stop you on your way. And if there is ever a surprise visit the school can go all Harry Potter and convert itself inside. It's so much fun. They learn lessons like 'Covert Ops' and have to speak different languages on different days. It is so smart, and so witty.

In terms of Cammie's relationship with Josh, the boy she meets in the town, I was worried that it would go really soppy, that she would forget about her studies and because a helpless depressed damsel. I'm so glad she didn't. She still tries to have a normal life, growing up and starting to notice boys, and although she is nowhere near a normal teen, she is still relatable for any teenage reader.

The writing style is simple and easy and I devoured it, so my advice is to read these, they're so much fun. I recommend them for anyone wanting an easy fun read, or for any parents who want something for their girls to read that isn't smutty, depressing or just bad for the psyche.

These girls can kick anyone's ass, and most importantly they could outsmart you in a second.

- Bex.

REVIEW: Skulduggary Pleasant - Derek Landy

GENRE: Childrens 9-12

PAGES: 398

PUBLISHER: HarperCollins

FORMAT: PB

BUY IT: Waterstones

RATING: 5 Stars

SUMMARY

Meet the great Skulduggery Pleasant: wise-cracking detective, powerful magician, master of dirty tricks and burglary (in the name of the greater good, of course). Oh yeah. And dead. Then there's his sidekick, Stephanie. She's...well, she's a twelve-year-old girl. With a pair like this on the case, evil had better watch out.. Stephanie's uncle Gordon is a writer of horror fiction. But when he dies and leaves her his estate, Stephanie learns that while he may have written horror, it certainly wasn't fiction. Pursued by evil forces intent on recovering a mysterious key, Stephanie finds help from an unusual source - the wisecracking skeleton of a dead wizard. When all hell breaks loose, it's lucky for Skulduggery that he's already dead. Though he's about to discover that being a skeleton doesn't stop you from being tortured, if the torturer is determined enough. And if there's anything Skulduggery hates, it's torture...Will evil win the day? Will Stephanie and Skulduggery stop bickering long enough to stop it? One thing's for sure: evil won't know what's hit it.

REVIEW

Skulduggery Pleasant is the coolest, smoothest, most awesomest (and probably the deadest) Detective around and you may not know he exists, but he saves you from some of the evilest supernatural people and creatures around on a daily basis. And it's not easy, no. In fact it's most dangerous. 

Made-up words aside, I am thoroughly in love with this series already - don't let anyone tell you that 'grown-ups' can't enjoy reading books for younger kids. It just proves that done well books can be accessible to anyone. It has an incredibly spot-on humour: kind of dark in places and completely sarcastic. Its straight up my street. I don't know what took me so long to actually get round to reading it but now I'm completely hooked.

Stephanie, our main heroine and guide, is a great character. She is down to Earth, tough and really funny. She has a fantastically dry sense of humour and finds a great, loyal friend in Skulduggery who shows her the world that her beloved late Uncle had inhabited. And more importantly he sweeps her away from her humdrum ordinary life. I love Skulduggery for that ironic reason of how 'fleshed out' he is. He is so set in his ways, like his love of his Bently and his noir-style crime fighting dectection. He's a brilliant father figure and semi-moral compass for Stephanie. He also has a really interesting, if not grim, backstory that is eeked out in this book:

“I woke up, a bag of bones. Literally. They had gathered up my bones and put them in a bag and thrown the bag into a river.”

Even through his humour you can sense a darker side, the feeling that there is so much more to him that will be both uncovered and developed in the following books. Having said this you could quite easily read this on its own and be satisfied. In fact I dare you, because it's virtually impossible to read this and not want to run out for the next.

In fact every character is a burst of colour and fun. It's accessible and there is something for everyone. Girls will love the role model that Stephanie is and boys will love how cool Skulduggery is. An lets face it, everyone loves a bit of action. This should be a staple read in anyone's library.

Each book in the series is a quest in itself. Its almost formulaic: introduces a baddy, world is in jeopardy, massive battle scene and world is temporarily saved. I like that I know what to expect and I have to admit that I don't read these for the action - it's wholly for the banter. I find it hilarious. I really want to show you a few examples of my favourite quotes, it doesn't matter how good a review I write I know these will convince you how awesome this series it.

This is one used on the back of the book:

"So you won't keep anything from me again?"

He put his hand to his chest. "Cross my heart and hope to die."

"Okay then. Though you don't actually have a heart," she said.

"I know."

"And technically, you've already died."

"I know that too."

"Just so we're clear."

Another of my favourites:

"If there is one regret that I have had in my life, it is that I never fathered any children. There are times, when I look at what Fergus and Beryl have produced, when I consider myself fortunate, but there are also times when it breaks my heart.”

This illustrates so well that it is not just one of the funniest things I have ever read, but it has emotion. Yes this book has been around for quite some time now, but you don't even need to be afraid of spoilers because there's so much more to get your teeth in to. This is writing you'd be happy to read in adult literature.

- Bex.

GUEST REVIEW: Requiem - Lauren Oliver

GENRE: Dystopia

PAGES: 352

PUBLISHER: Hodder

FORMAT: Paperback

BUY IT: Waterstones

RATING: 4 Stars

SUMMARY

It is the rule of the Wilds You must be bigger, and stronger, and tougher. A coldness radiates through me, a solid wall that is growing, piece by piece, in my chest. He doesn't love me He never loved me. It was all a lie. 'The old Lena is dead', I say, and then push past him. Each step is more difficult than the last; the heaviness fills me and turns my limbs to stone. You must hurt, or be hurt. Lena can build the walls, but what if there's no one left to take them down?

REVIEW

Requiem is the third and final book for the Delirium series by Lauren Oliver. If you haven’t read the first two books of the series, I suggest that you do not read this review as THERE ARE SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST TWO BOOKS. (If you are unsure about reading the series, check out my review for Delirium and Pandemonium). Lauren Oliver writes this book in the same way as she has done in the previous books; gripping

So Requiem is written differently from the previous books as it is in the perspective of Lena and Hana which I really like as it shows that the book series goes in a full circle and we get to see the girls reunited again. It also gives the story extra depth as we get to compare a life with love and a life without love.

Lena’s POV: In Pandemonium, we see the rebellion underway and in Requiem, we see it turn into a full out revolution with Lena (of course) being in the centre of it. As you know, in Pandemonium, Alex returns and he is angry and cold at the fact that Lena has moved on from him, when Lena was only trying to forget him as she thought he was killed when he got captured (*sighs due to feelings*). Even though Lena does love Julian, the more she interacts with Alex, the feelings and memories are resurfaced and the guilt and pain of moving on gets to her, especially she sees Alex moving on himself with a a girl called Carol (WHY CANT REAL LOVE PREVAIL?). Trying not to show her jealously, Lena pushes her feelings to one side and tries to keep her family safe and also develops her romantic relationship with Julian.

Hana’s POV: In Portland, Hana has been cured and is planning her wedding with Fred Hargove, her pairing. Even though she is cured, and in the government’s eyes, her life is now ‘perfect’, she is afraid as new feelings are developed, and she relives her memories, she thinks of; Lena, her old life, how she resisted to be normal, being her own person and the feelings of regret, guilt and unhappiness of not doing something hits her hard. She is surprised when she sees Lena, part of the resistance and even more shocked when she finds out that she ran away from Portland, to fight the DFA. Hana also see a different side to her fiancé, which is very frightening and she feels that her life is in danger. She finds out that her fiancé had a wife called Mealana who was sent to prison for being ‘psychotic’, when actually Fred tried to kill her. When Hana and Lena do meet and Hana reveals something which takes this book into a whole new level.

Main Characters:

Lena Haloway: I love her character. Honestly. She gets put under so much guilt by Alex (I love you Alex but sorry you are stupid) and I feel so bad for because she has been told, once you’ve been captured by the government, the chances of you surviving (and escaping) are next to nothing, so of course she automatically thought that Alex and her were never going to meet again. she may have got over him a lot quicker if she fell in love with someone else so she seemed determined not to put herself through the misery she would have faced grieving Alex, so she was going to find some happiness so she moved on to Julian. I love the fact that she is so strong and so willing to put herself in front to defend in what she believes in.

Alex Sheathes: ALEX IS BACK, YAY!! I love Alex, I honestly do but he is a big, fat douche. When he was going out with Carol, all I kept thinking was, it should of been Lena (I am a Alena/Lenex shipper). I am upset in a way because I don’t like how his character develops.

Julian Fineman: JULIAN OMG!! I feel so sorry for him, I honestly do. He is an absolute cutie and he gets heartbroken. I don’t like what happens to his character so I prefer Alex over him.

Hana Tate: I don’t like Hana. I do feel sorry for her but she does something that disturbs my happiness (that’s not cool).

Overall I was disappointed with the ending (The ending was meh) because it didn’t live up to the hype and expectation I thought it to be. This book is my least favourite in the series however it is still beautifully written.

- Ambi.

GUEST REVIEW: Lola and the Boy Next Door - Stephanie Perkins

GENRE: Contemporary/Romance
PAGES: 384
PUBLISHER: Usborne
FORMAT: Paperback
BUY IT: Waterstones
RATING: 3 Stars

SUMMARY

Budding designer Lola has an outrageous sense of style, a hot rocker boyfriend and big plans for the future. Everything is perfect - until Cricket Bell returns to the neighbourhood. When he steps back into her world, Lola must reconcile a lifetime of feelings for the boy next door. And perhaps discover that true love can be closer than you think.

REVIEW

So Lola. Strange but cool. When I say I love this book, I seriously mean it. This book is beautiful.

I love how Anna and Étienne feature in this. I adore the fact that Anna has taken a big sister role over Lola. But I have to be honest. I love Étienne way more than I do Cricket Bell.

Cricket Bell is adorable in all aspects but he is no Étienne. Let’s be real now. No-one can be as beautiful as Étienne is.

Serious question though. How do you get from Delores to Lola? This is the one thing that bothered me throughout the whole book. I love the name Lola because it’s one of my own but how do you get such a drastic name change?

Anyway back to the point.

I like Lola because she is strange and cool. The issues she has with Calliope Bell are certainly interesting and the young romance with Cricket are some of the aspects that I love the most about this book.

Cricket is cute. I definitely imagine him as tall and quietly handsome. He is a very quiet character and I love him for it but I think that this is one of the reasons I prefer Étienne- he shows his affection more openly.

I like the fierceness that Calliope shows and she reminds me of Isabelle Lightwood (The Mortal Instruments, Cassandra Clare) in that sense. Calliope is one of those characters you don’t expect to change but you hope for it to happen.

My favourite line in this book would have to be the last but you can read that for yourself. When you read the whole book and the get to that last line, it just made me smile so I am hoping to share the joy.

- Makayla

GUEST POST: The Mortal Instruments Series

I have recently read The Mortal Instruments series. I have read many reviews about this series of books with a negative perspective however I’m proud to say that I disagree with all these opinions. I must admit I started this series with some reluctance but I loved it because these books take you on an adventure in a realistic yet surreal way. You have ordinary people like Clary and Simon (kind of ordinary, they change through the series) and then mysterious people like Jace, Alec and Isabelle.

Order of the Series

1. City of Bones
2. City of Ashes
3. City of Glass
4. City of Fallen Angels
5. City of Lost Souls
6. City of Heavenly Fire

Click through to read more. This is partly of a recap of the series before City of Heavenly Fire so contains spoilers.

Messenger of Fear - Michael Grant

From Michael Grant's website:

MESSENGER OF FEAR 

If you’ve been bad the Messenger will make you live your worst fear…

Are you afraid of cockroaches? Tight spaces? High places? Needles? Premature burial? Chthulu? Kittens?

The Messenger knows your secret weakness, the fears that can drive you to madness.

- - -

Love Michael Grant? Now that the Gone series is pretty much finished it's time for something NEW. Introducing the Messenger of Fear series - Grant's new project! You can click on the picture below to read the first two chapters, basically 500 words. It sounds AMAZING.

There's a pretty cool countdown clock on Michael Grant's website.

REVIEW: The Bone Season - Samantha Shannon

GENRE: Adult fantasy
PAGES: 496

PUBLISHER: Bloomsbury
FORMAT: Paperback
BUY IT: Waterstones
RATING: 5 Stars

This review refers to an uncorrected advance edition.

SUMMARY

The year is 2059. Nineteen-year-old Paige Mahoney is working in the criminal underworld of Scion London, based at Seven Dials, employed by a man named Jaxon Hall. Her job: to scout for information by breaking into people's minds. For Paige is a dreamwalker, a clairvoyant and, in the world of Scion, she commits treason simply by breathing. It is raining the day her life changes for ever. Attacked, drugged and kidnapped, Paige is transported to Oxford - a city kept secret for two hundred years, controlled by a powerful, otherworldly race. Paige is assigned to Warden, a Rephaite with mysterious motives. He is her master. Her trainer. Her natural enemy. But if Paige wants to regain her freedom she must allow herself to be nurtured in this prison where she is meant to die. The Bone Season introduces a compelling heroine and also introduces an extraordinary young writer, with huge ambition and a teeming imagination. Samantha Shannon has created a bold new reality in this riveting debut.

REVIEW

Paige's world is so exciting; it's full of magic, mystery and danger!

It's a very refreshing take on a dystopian genre with the beautiful writing, the language which is used and the imagery that has been created. It's more literary, and more *clever* than The Hunger Games and Divergent etc., but by no means does that mean it's more boring; I was completely enthralled by the plot, I loved Paige and Warden! The relationship that builds between them is not what I expected, and as the plot progresses and we learn more of Sheol 1 and the Rephaim, this adds an extra element of intensity. To me it's one of those books that you just want other people to read so you can talk to them about it - there are plot elements that aren't resolved (as you'd expect for what is projected to be a 7 book series) so I want to know if other people think the same things as me!

What I will say is that I hadn't realised there was a glossary as if I turn to the back I have a naughty tendancy to read the last few lines, so make use of that, it will help you get to grips with the different characters much quicker than I did. 

I cannot wait for The Mime Order. So excited!

Look out for The Bone Season coming soon to the Waterstones Book Club!

- Gem.

REVIEW: The Elite - Keira Cass

GENRE: YA

PAGES: 272

PUBLISHER: HarperCollins Children's

FORMAT: Galley

BUY IT: Waterstones

RATING: 4 Stars

SUMMARY

The Selection gets fierce as rivals stake their claim on the prince. Six girls, one life-changing prize...America Singer will leave her pre-destined life for a world of glamour and luxury, if she wins...But surviving The Selection is tough. Rivals are battling to become Prince Maxon's bride as the threat of rebel violence just beyond the palace walls escalates into war. Only six girls are left and sworn friendships are tested to breaking point. America's feelings for Maxon grow stronger, but she suspects darker mysteries in his royal past. With ex-lover Aspen waiting for her in the shadows, where do her loyalties truly lie?

REVIEW

What is it that I love about this series? I can't quite put my finger on it. On one level it's reality TV trash. It's over obvious in the comparisons its trying to draw, even down to calling the protagonist America Singer. But on a level it's absolute entertainment and I love it. As soon as it came up on NetGalley I snapped it up and devoured it in a couple of sittings.

This 'episode' isn't so much a sequel as an extension of the first book, there's not much of an overlap and it jumps straight back in to the plot. There are some episodes, like the hosting of the foreign royalties that are so sickly sweet but this is not why I read it. The real reason?

Maxon.

No, I don't read him and think "OMG he's so hot she'd be mad not to go with him", no, I'm sucked into America's way of thinking. As soon as he goes away I too am doubting everything that comes out of his mouth and thinking 'why are you bothering? At least you know that Aspen is true'. But then you think, isn't it better to be in a position where you can change the world? Even if it means sacrificing your own happiness?

I could never guess what was going to happen next, or who was going to be eliminated, and every time I think I've got it all pinned down and realigned my expectations, I'm proved wrong. These are the things that I love. If you haven't read the first book, The Selection, then I hope I haven't ruined too much and you want to read it. It's great entertainment and although it's not a long read and there probably isn't too much under the surface I think you'll find enough in it to keep you thinking about what you would do long after you've finished reading.

- Bex.