Waiting on Wednesday: Unwanted by Alivia Anders

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, which highlights upcoming book releases we're really looking forward to. My pick this week is:

Unwanted  by Alivia Anders 

Release date: 30th of July 2013

Goodreads Page

Goodreads synopsis

She would be his freedom. 

He would be her price. 

In a world overrun with people and narrowing resources, the basis of life has turned to do or die. No longer does the balance of wealth and power apply. A strict split between the rich and poor has made the lines clear- the more money you have, the more power you control. 

For seventeen year old Emily Beucant, life is an equal gift and curse. Having grown up pre- Unwanted society, she can still remember the days it was okay to play with children from the other side of the concrete wall, back when her father was still alive, and back when the Unwanted program was used to Mark and hunt criminals, not sign away the lives of ungrateful children or spouses with high insurance collections over their heads. 

But since her father's creation of the program, the government has taken control and made it into a lucrative monster. And as Emily is days away from her eighteenth birthday, and handsome inheritance, she will soon see just how bad it is to be Marked. 

When her soulless aunt places Emily up to be Marked an Unwanted, she is forced to go on the run from all she has ever known. No where is safe for her, and no one will protect her, least they wish to have the same fate as her. It isn't until she forms a tense, explosive alliance with a former doctor, Ben, that it looks like the tables may turn in her favor. Together they race against those searching for her, desperate to find a way to free her from an early death. But is it too late? 

My Thoughts

Doesn't that sound exciting? So intriguing! I love dysopian books, and this sounds like another great addition to the genre. :)

Top Ten Tuesday: Books Featuring Travel in Some Way

Top Ten Tuesdays is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's theme is:

Top Ten Books featuring travel in some way

I couldn't really think of any books featuring travel off the top of my head, so I had to scroll through my Goodreads read shelf looking for books I enjoyed that featured travel. Because of that this week's top ten are not in order.

 

 

 

1. Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi - I love this book very much, but that's only partly due to their long journeys, which are a vital part of the story.
2. Blood Red Road by Moira Young  - Saba travels so far in the book in order to find her brother and really develops as a character in this time. It's great to see the transformation and to join such a distinct character on her long journey.
3. The Scorch Trials by James Dashner - I really liked this book because traveling across the desert just seemed to impossible to me. Being somewhere so hot would truly be a nightmare for me and it was great to see how they all coped without much water in such boiling conditions.
4. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld - Tally has to follow her friend's instructions on how to find her, travelling through some tough places that are hard for her to cope with considering she comes from a dystopian society where they don't ever need to trouble themselves to get around.
5. Homecoming by Cynthia Viogt - I really enjoyed this book when I read it. Four siblings (aged 6-13) are abandoned by their mum in the middle of Connecticut and have to travels miles upon miles to their aunts house, however they can. 
6. The Kite Rider by Geraldine McCaughrean - This is a kids book but is really very good, as are all the books I've read by this author. The MC travels all around his country with boats, trains and even on his kite, which he straps himself onto for circus shows. Very good indeed.
7. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling - I love this book. It'a so different from the rest of the series but still so amazing. Their travels are exciting and very interesting to read about. 
8. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien - Although I don't like The Lord of the Rings I found The Hobbit quite sweet and charming. Bilbo's adventures all over the county are very exciting and fun to read about.
9. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown - In this Robert Langdon travels around Paris and even has to go to England to solve the mystery. Or at least, I think it's in The Da Vinci Code that that happens but it could be in The Lost Symbol or Angels and Demons. I read all three books quite close together and they've sort of become muddled up with each other in my mind.

Letter To: Minerva McGonagall

This letter is to Minerva McGonagall from the Harry Potter series. No Spoilers included.


Dear Minerva McGonagall,

I'm sorry to seem rude but you seem to have forgotten to post my Hogwarts letter. It was due a few years ago but never arrived. I've been ever so patient about it, and have even attended normal muggle secondary school for a few years, but I'm getting worried that it might never arrive now.

I can perfectly understand if you accidentally forgot to post the letter, after all, you must be in your late 70s now and are possibly losing your memory. On the other hand, it could simply be lost somewhere if you used an unreliable owl to post it. You didn't happen to borrow Pigwidgeon did you? Or perhaps Errol? Don't worry, I can forgive you if it was lost by an owl, I know that that can't have been your fault.

Anyway, if you could please send my letter as soon as possible I'd be very grateful. I'm already nearly 4 years behind on my magical skills so I really do need to get to Hogwarts as soon as possible to catch up before my O.W.L.s next summer.

Your truly,
Lilac
Future Hogwarts Pupil

Monthly Summary: May 2013

These are all the books I read in May 2013 and a little about what I thought of them. Click on the book cover to get to the Goodreads page.


 The Almond Tree by Michelle Cohen Corasanti, 348 pages
- ★★★★☆ - 06/05/13

I won this book through Goodreads First Reads and I've got to say it was so much better than I expected. It really opened my eyes to all the terrible things that happen in poorer countries, and was a real shocker. The story was really good and I definitely enjoyed it. Full Review Here


Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling, 766 pages, RE-READ
- ★★★★★ - 11/05/13

This was a re-read and I enjoyed it just as much as I always do. I don't know what else to say about it actually, just that Harry Potter is great, this book was great, and this certainly won't be the last time I re-read it. :)


 Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi, 461 pages
- ★★★★☆ - 12/05/13

Wow! I forgot how much I love Tahereh Mafi's writing style. It truly is unique. It perfectly shows Juliette as a character unlike any other. I love the way she expresses her emotions, and how she can't really handle herself to begin with. I actually love everything about this book and think that it's even better than Shatter Me. Full Review Here


Light by Michael Grant, 435 pages
- ★★★★★ - 18/05/13

Wow! The last book in the Gone series certainly didn't disappointing. I loved this book! I'm really amazed by how distinct all the characters were, and how much I cared for them all, even the baddies. I'm sad that this wonderful series is over but happy with how it ended. :)


Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, 149 pages, RE-READ
- ★★★☆☆ - 20/05/12

I had to reread this for school because I have an exam tomorrow. It isn't a bad book but it's not great either, and I've had enough of John Steinbeck to last a lifetime from almost a whole year of constant studying of this one book. I can't wait until next year when we'll be finished with it (unless we all do badly in the exam and have to resit). But when this is all finished I never want to lay eyes on it again.


 Telling the Bees by Peggy Hesketh, 305 pages
- ★★★☆☆ - 29/05/13

Very sweet book. Quite slow but still interesting. The main character is a sweet old man who's been a beekeeper his whole life and I loved learning loads of random things about bees from him. For example, before now I didn't know that a queen bee isn't born a queen bee, but is rather nurtured on stuff called royal jelly to make her develop into a queen bee instead of a normal worker bee. I found all these little bits of information very interesting and it really made Albert feel like a real person dedicated to his bees. Full Review Here


 Ohre by Jennifer Silverwood, 92 pages
- ★★★☆☆ - 29/05/13

A good sequel, short and sweet. It was good to read one of these novellas from Ohre's point of view but I've got to say I preferred Qeya's point of view a bit. Still very good little book and I'll definitely be reading the next novella, which is in Tamn's POV. It'll be interesting to see what that's like.


Scarlet by Marissa Meyer, 452 pages
 - ★★★★☆ - 31/05/13

I really liked this, it was at least as good as Cinder. It was really cool how we were following two different characters' stories instead of just one and they were both interesting. Marissa Meyer's twist on the Little Red Riding Hood story was very cool and I loved how there was a line or two from Little Red Riding Hood at the beginning of each part. I really need to find out which fairytales Cress and Winter will be based on now.

Review: Telling the Bees by Peggy Hesketh

Book: Telling the Bees
Author: Peggy Hesketh
Series: N/A
Pages: 305
Genre: Mystery/literary fiction
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Goodreads page

Usually, I wouldn't like a book like this very much. It was very slow and the main character was much more contemplative than in most books I enjoy. I'm not a huge fan of contemporary fiction or mysteries either. However, I did enjoy this book. I'm not sure why but I definitely liked it.

The main character, Albert, is an old beekeeper and has been his whole life. He's never really had any adventure or done anything interesting in his life. At first I thought he was going to be very boring, but he's not. He's full of interesting facts about bees that I never new before. For example, a queen bee isn't born a queen bee, but is nurtured on royal jelly to make her develop the right organs to be a queen bee instead of a normal worker bee.

Some would find these seemingly random facts about bees annoying and distracting but they actually all relate to the story. Albert will explain something about bees and a few pages later it will be revealed how a human character has done the exact some thing he just described with bees. The author uses descriptions of bees' lives to foreshadow all the time, so by the end I'd read something simple about bees and would be scouring my head for how that could relate to the story and what it meant. Plus, they were really interesting, and I much prefer learning random things in books than school and am much more likely to remember something I learnt while reading.

As for the mystery side of the book, it was decent. I'm not keen on mysteries but like I said above the author used the bees to foreshadow, which made it more interesting for me. It was quite well thought out and I didn't spot any plot holes. The thing is, the big revelation at the end of the book wasn't really a big shocker. It was more of a "yeah, that makes sense" while nodding head sort of thing. I guess a relaxed revelation matches the tone of the book though, which was very slow and laid-back. All the same, don't go expecting a big "wow, I never would have guessed that!" moment.

All in all a very sweet, simple book. No action or adventure, but a sweet old man and many hives of bees. It was a slow read, but still enjoyable. Though, come to think if it, if I'd read this two years ago I don't think I'd have been able to finish it; I'd have wanted a more interesting plot and more fast paced action and wit. I think this is the sort of book you have to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy properly, and maybe older adults would find it a more enjoyable read than teenagers and young people. Still, I liked it and I'm glad I got the opportunity to read it.

I won this book through Goodreads First Reads but in no way does that effect (affect?) my opinion of it.

Letter To: Maximum Ride

Every week I will post a letter to a fictional character. This week's letter is to Max from the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson. No spoilers this time.

Dear Max

You are extremely cool. Seriously cool. You're the most kick-ass heroine I've ever read. You're the epitome of awesome. Really, you are.

When I was first introduced to you at 11 years old I was completely blown away. How could such an amazing character exist? You were a 14 year old who talked back to adults, fought superbly against them and actually won arguments against them. You were sarcastic and witty and kick-ass. Not only that but you could fly. I couldn't very well not be amazed by a flying girl with an attitude. 

You were there when I started secondary school, showing me how cool I could be if I wanted to. Every year a new book featuring you and the flock would come out and remind me that I didn't have to wear loads of makeup and follow all the fashions and be a girly girl to be cool. I just had to be a 98% human with wings, on the run from mad scientists and half-human half-wolf creatures. Or, failing that, just be myself. 

Yes, you weren't as great in the later books. You lost some of your kick-ass-ness and started caring too much for certain characters I wasn't keen on. But you still kept your strength and were still so protective over your flock, especially little Angel. 

You were, and still are, one of the coolest characters I've ever met. I just wanted to write this letter to thank you for being so awesome and for making my boring life so much more interesting. Also, thank you for introducing me to YA books. Without the Maximum Ride series I might never have found that great genre. So thank you for everything, Max.

Yours sincerely

Lilac 

Old Review: Qeya by Jennifer Silverwood

Title: Qeya

Author: Jennifer Silverwood

Series: Heaven's Edge #1

Genre: YA Science Fiction/Fantasy 

Pages: 88

Rating: ★★★★☆

Goodreads Page

I'm reading the second book in the series at the moment so I thought I'd post my short review of this from October 2012.

I recieved this books as an R2R in the Goodreads group Young Adult Reads.

This is such a sweet little book that I really enjoyed reading. It's quite short so it's quick and easy to read and perfect for challenges. It's really easy to get into to the story and I was really intrigued to find out about these strange "hunans" that are similar to people but have gills and silvery hair. The story kept my attention the whole time and was very nicely written. I will probably be reading the next in the series at some point 'cause I want to know what'll happen with Ohre, the miner.

The only thing I wasn't too keen on was Ohre's way of speaking. Just about everyone in this book spoke normally but than Ohre would say something and I'd have to re-read what he said because it just didn't match the rest of the book. Here's an exaple of something Ohre says in the middle of a completely normal sounding conversation: “How it be cranking there, Navigator?”

For me this was just annoying but I understand why he speaks like this. It does set him apart from the hunans (he's a miner) but in my opinion it would have made more sense if he talked more normally.