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.

Feature and Follow Friday #2

  This weekly meme is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. It's a way for new bloggers to get more followers and find cool new blogs.
This week's features are ~ Bookingly Yours ~ and Book Junkie Joint.
This week's question is:

Q: The #FF is 150 weeks old! And we want to hear from you! What would you change about the hop? What do you like about it? Or just suggest a question to be used for next week!

Well, I'm sort of new to this so I haven't had enough experience with it to know what needs to be improved. I think it's fine as it is so far, and is a great way for new bloggers to get more followers and find interesting new blogs. I don't think I'd change anything.

. 

What about you?

P.S. Please follow via Bloglovin' or email. :)

Waiting on Wednesday #2: Unsouled by Neal Shusterman

"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:

Unsouled (Unwind #3)  by Neal Shusterman

Release date: 15th of October 2013

Goodreads Page

Goodreads synopsis

Proactive Citizenry, the company which created Cam from the parts of unwound teens, is planning to mass produce rewound teens like Cam for military purposes. And below the surface of that horror lies a sinister layer of intrigue: Proactive Citizenry has been suppressing technology that could make unwinding completely unnecessary. As Conner, Risa, and Lev uncover these shocking secrets, enraged teens begin to march on Washington to demand justice and a better future.

But more trouble is brewing. Starkey’s group of storked teens are growing more powerful and militant with each new recruit. And if they have their way, they’ll burn the harvest camps to the ground, and put every adult in them before a firing squad—which could destroy any chance America has for a peaceful future.

My Thoughts

Did you read that synopsis?? Squeee! I love this series! It's amazing! I can't wait for Unwholly to be released! Only 5 more months! If you haven't read Unwind yet I advise you to do so as soon as possible. You won't regret it (unless you have a weak stomach, in which case maybe you shouldn't read it). It is awesome and mind blowing and wonderful! 

Only 5 months left to wait for Unwholly! And the cover is just as great as the other covers! So creepy and great and relates to the synopsis! :D :D

Top Ten Tuesdays: Book Covers of Books I've Read

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

Top Ten Book Covers of Books You've Read

1. Matched by Ally Condie - I just love this cover so much. It's so simple and modern and cool. Plus all the covers from the books in this series have a lot of meaning. With this one she's trapped in the ball just as she's trapped in the society, the colour green represents the green pill which Cassia is strong enough not to need and she's wearing the green dress she wore to the matching ceremony. 
2. The Blemished  by Sarah Dalton  - The beautiful cover is what drew me to this book. I just love the shades of purple in it and love the background. Wonderful cover.
3. Unwind by Neal Shusterman - The reason this cover is so great is how creepy it is, with the thumb print covering up the trapped person. In that way it's just like the book.
4. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor - This is really really pretty! I love the blue colour and the font of the title.
5. Cinder by Marissa Meyer - I love how simple and modern it is. The red of the shoe really stands out against the pale lag and plain background.
6. Eve and Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate - This isn't the edition I read, but I prefer this one to the plain black UK cover. It's a lovely colour and the jigsaw apple is really cool.
7. Forever by Maggie Steifvater - I like all the covers of Maggie Steifvater's books but this one is my favourite. It pretty and it fits the story very well.
8. Under the Never Sky by Veronica Roth - It's the lovely warm colour and the swirly writing that I like most about the cover.
9. Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi - I really love this old edition of the cover. The new one's pretty cool too but  this one is just great.
10. Divergent by Veronica Ross - This isn't the cover that's on my copy but it's the cover that first drew me in to this book. I think this cover is perfect for this great book.
    

Anyone else love these covers? I think they're all really good.

I've just realised that all the covers I've picked are YA. I guess that means that means that YA books have the coolest covers. Either that or I'm only attracted to them because I'm a teen, in which case the marketing people have done a great job in guessing what sorts of covers appeal to teens.

Letter To: Tris Prior

Every week I will post a letter to a fictional character. This week's letter is to Beatrice Prior from the Divergent series by Veronica Roth.

SPOILER ALERT: Contains spoilers from Divergent and Insurgent

Dear Tris,

I have a bone to pick with you. And I'm sorry but it cannot wait; it's extremely important. The thing is, at the end of Divergent, you did something I can never forgive you for. 

You shot Will.

Why why why why why? Why would you do something like that? Why Would you shoot your best friend's boyfriend in the head?

What bugs me most is that it was in the head that you shot him. Not the leg of foot or something to stop him being able to walk until he was back to normal. Nope, you had to shoot him in the head. You had to kill him didn't you? Gah, Tris you frustrate me sometimes. Any normal person would have shot their friend in the leg so that they couldn't move, not the head! I hope you've learnt your lesson now, learnt that it is not okay to shoot your friend in the head, not matter how crazy he happens to be at the time. Understand? Good.

By the way Tris, I do like you. You're a cool character who shows that even small people can be kick-ass if they want to be. Yeah, I do like you, but I had to tell you the truth. You had to understand just how mad I was (am?) at you for your terrible crime. Just never do it again. That's all.

Your friend,
Lilac

Feature and Follow Friday #1

  This weekly meme is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. It's a way for new bloggers to get more followers and find cool new blogs.
This week's features are The Bookish Confections and Picture Me Reading.
This week's question is:

Q:  School is out! What is your favorite Summer Reading book?

All of you whose holidays have started are so lucky! I still have another 8 weeks left in school. :(

But, when the holidays do some I definitely have some summer favourites. In summer I have so much more time that I'll read anything really, but every year I like to read at least one kids' classic. My all time favourite for summer is The Secret Garden, but I've also found some other good summer books: Anne of Green Gables, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, Five Children and It and Peter Pan.

The thing with classic kids books is that they are so innocent and sweet. The Children play outside and enjoy the summer and have cute little adventures. These books will always mean summer to me. 

What about you?

P.S. Please follow via Bloglovin' or email. :)

Adult Dystopia Challenge

This great challenge comes from Lea at Uncorked Thoughts. The idea is to read as many adult dystopia books off the list of 70 as possible. It's an open-ended challenge so you can take your time with it.

Personally, I think this is a wonderful idea. I'm a huge fan of dystopian books, but find it very hard to find any adult dystopian books, mainly due the the huge trend in YA dystopia. Trust me, I love YA dystopia, but sometimes it's refreshing to read a dystopian book aimed at adults. It's especially great to read old ones so we can see how authors' ideas of the future have changed over the years. Hopefully this challenge will get me reading some more of the best adult dystopian fiction available.

So without further ado let's look at the list. I've crossed off all the books I've already read.

1. White Horse by Alex Adams

2. Feed by M. T. Anderson

3. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood 

4. Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

5. The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood

6. The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

7. Nod by Adrian Barnes

8. City of Bohane by Kevin Barry

9. Jennifer Government by Max Barry

10. Mountain Man by Keith Blackmore

11. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

12. The Postman by David Brin

13. The Sheep Look Up by David Brin

14. Armageddon’s Children by Terry Brooks

15. The End of This Day’s Business by Katharine Burdekin

16. A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

17. The Wanting Seed by Anthony Burgess

18. Veracity by Laura Bynum

19. The Death of Grass by John Christopher

20. The Passage by Justin Cronin

21. The Twelve by Justin Cronin

22. Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

23. Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde

24. Alas Babylon by Pat Frank

25. The Carhullan Army by Sarah Hall

26. The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway

27. Into the Forest by June Hegland

28. The Unit by Ninni Holmqvist

29. The Possibility of an Island by Michel Houellebecq

30. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley 

31. Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

32. This Dark Earth by John Hornor Jacobs

33. The Children of Men by P. D. James

34. When She Woke by Hillary Jordan

35. The Trial by Franz Kafka

36. In a Perfect World, by Laura Kasischke

37. The Stand by Stephen King

38. Always Coming Home by Ursula LeGuin

39. Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. LeGuin

40. The First Century After Beatrice by Amin Maalouf

41. I am Legend by Richard Matheson

42. The Road by Cormac McCarthy

43. A Creed for the Third Millennium by Colleen McCollough

44. I Have Waited and You Have Come by Martine McDonagh

45. A Canticle for Leibowitz by Walter M. Miller Jr.

46. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

47. V for Vendetta by Alan Moore

48. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami

49. Bend Sinister by Vladimir Nabokov

50. Sulphuric Acid by Amelie Nothomb

51. 1984 by George Orwell 

52. Anthem by Ayn Rand

53. Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson

54. Blindness by Jose Saramago

55. Seeing by Jose Saramago

56. The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson

57. Earth Abides by George R Stewart

58. Dies the Fire by S. M. Stirling

59. The Domination by S. M. Stirling

60. A Voyage to Kazohinia by Sandor Szathmari

61. Battle Royale by Koushun Takami

62. Far North by Marcel Theroux

63. The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks

64. The Sleeper Awakes by H.G. Wells

65. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

66. Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd Century America by Robert Charles Wilson

67. The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe

68. The Crysalids by John Wyndham

69. We by Yvengy Zamyatin

70. Corpus delicti by Juli Zeh

There we have it. As of the 15th of April 2013 I've read 4 books off the list, and have many more on my to-read list. To join this challenge head over to Uncorked Thoughts and sign up.

Top Ten Tuesdays: Books dealing with tough subjects

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

Top Ten Books Dealing With Tough Subjects

  

  

 

1. Ma, He Sold Me For a Few Cigarettes by Martha Long -This book records Martha's terrible childhood from the ages of 4 to 13. It tackles subjects of physical, sexual and emotional abuse but the author manages to keep it lighthearted at the same time.
2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosk  - Most of you probably know at least something about this book. Hidden within the amazing story is molestation of children, drug use and mental health issues. These are so well disguised with the interesting story that I barely realised the severity of what I was reading.
3. Unwind by Neal Shusterman - I'm a huge fan of this book. Not only does it have an amazing story-line and a scary vision of the future but also manages to tackle issues of death and pro-live vs pro-choice arguments, which are really big deals in some parts of the world.
4. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green - This book mixes humour, wit and interesting characters with the reality of cancer and what it does to the sufferer are all those around them. Very sad, but very good.
5. The Almond Tree by Michelle Corasanti - I reviewed this book just last week, which describes in more detail what I'm saying here. Really this book is such and eye opener to all the suffering in third world counties.
6. XVI by Julia Karr - Tackles issues of teen sexuality in a world where the media constantly shoves sexual ideas down our throats.
7. A Child Called "It" by Dave Pelzer - The very sad real life account of the author's childhood while being abused terribly by his cruel mother. When I read this as a nine year old I was utterly terrified and shocked.
8. You Against Me by Jenny Downha - About a rape trial and the effects such an accusation has on both families involved.
9. Noughts and Crosses by Malorie Blackman - In this dystopian book the roles of different races are switched round, giving us a closer look at racism and prejudice.

That's all, I don't have a number 10. I really liked this week's theme. It was a little dark but sometimes it's good to read books that tackle tough issues.

P.S. I've decided to only do Waiting on Wednesdays every other week.

Review: Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

Title: Unravel Me

Author: Tahereh Mafi

Series: Shatter Me #2

Genre: YA Dystopia

Pages: 461

Rating: ★★★★☆

Goodreads Page

4.5 stars

This. Was. Amazing.

Seriously, this book was really really really good. I absolutely adore Tahereh Mafi's wrting style. I can't believe I didn't read this book when it first came out in February. I went a whole year without reading Tahereh Mafi's amazing writing!

I especially love the crossing out of sentences. It's so much more effective in this book than it was in Shatter Me, when it was mostly to show how crazy Juliette was. Now it just shows her conflicting emotions and really adds so much to the book. And the repetition of words when she's stressed out and just can't can't can't can't handle it is great too. I mean, it's exactly how a person's mind works in tough situations.

Honestly, I think the writing is what makes this series great. Without it you'd still get a pretty interesting book but you wouldn't feel half as connected to all the characters. Juliette would just seem like a normalish teenage girl if the writing wasn't so unique. Instead she is this complex character with so many different thoughts and battles going on inside her head.

I think it was partly due to this that the author was able to wrench my heart out a few times during the book. This and the pure intensity of every scene. I changed my mind about what Juliette should do about certain things so many times while reading it. At one point I even shouted at the book! I was so mad about what she was doing!

The whole book was just tension, romance, action, tension, romance, tension, action, romance, tension, tension. It was great! So fast paced and unputdownable! I seriously couldn't put it down at all and devoured a huge part of it in one afternoon. Now I just need to sequel.

ASAP!

Letter To: Shane Collins

I've decided that from now on every week I'll post letters to fictional characters from my favourite books. This is my letter to Shane Collins, from the Morganville Vampires series by Rachel Caine.

SPOILER ALERT: Contains spoilers from The Morganville Vampires books 1 - 13!

Dear Shane Collins,

May I first may that I LOVE YOU! I love you so so so much Shane, you are the best book boyfriend out there and I can't believe I only get to spend two more books with you! You've no idea how sad that makes me! I love everything about you, from your witty sarcasm to your super amazing looks to your soft inner self. I just had to tell you that Shane, because I really do love you.

Now, let's get down to business. Here's what I need to say to you: get back together with Claire. You would be lost without her and you know it. Remember the time you thought she'd died?? Remember what you nearly did?? Eh? Eh? I remember. That's right, I remember what you were going to do. You don't want that to happen again do you? Nope.

The only way you can stop that happening is to get back together with your wonderful girlfriend. She is the best thing that ever happened to you. Now that you're out of Morganville and don't even have Michael and Eve you need her more than ever. Look after her while she goes to college. Do whatever she needs you to. Do whatever it takes to get her forgiveness. She will forgive you in the end, as long as you are super nice to her and NEVER betray her again.

After all, if you're not nice to her then I know someone else who will be. Someone with cute fanged bunny slippers  Someone who's not human. Do what you have to do, just make sure you get back together with her before she realises her love for someone else.

Please Shane, I'm begging you. Just do me this one favour.

Thanks,
Lilac

Waiting on Wednesday: Noble Conflict

"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:

Noble Conflict by Malorie Blackman

Release date: 6th June 2013

Goodreads Page

Goodreads synopsis

Years after a violent war destroyed much of the world, Kaspar has grown up in a society based on peace and harmony. But beyond the city walls, a vicious band of rebels are plotting to tear this peace apart. It is up to the Guardians - an elite peacekeeping force - to protect the city, without ever resorting to the brutal methods of their enemy.

When Kaspar joins the Guardians, he has a chance encounter with a rebel - a beautiful girl named Rhea. Haunted from that moment on by strange visions and memories - memories that could only belong to Rhea - he realises he hasn't been told the truth about what the rebels really want, and what he's really fighting for.

My Thoughts

Well, it's a YA dystopia, which is my favourite genre at the moment (and has been since autumn 2011 when I discovered the genre). Plus, it's written by Malorie Blackman, who wrote the really interesting Noughts and Crosses series. And the synopsis is just so intriguing, isn't it? All of that mixed together makes a really really good book that I can't wait to read!

Anyone else excited for this book?

Review: The Almond Tree by Michelle Cohen Carasanti

Book: The Almond Tree
Author: Michelle Cohen Corasanti
Series: N/A
Pages: 348
Genre: Historical Fiction - War
Rating: ★★★★☆


I won this book through Goodreads First Reads but that does not affect my opinion on the book.

I usually really like historical fiction books, and this was no exception. Just like any good books from this genre it provided insight into how people used to live. But this is different in one way: it is set in wartime Palestine (1955 and onwards).

Now, I'm ashamed to say that prior to reading this book I knew nothing, absolutely nothing, about the conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. I knew that there were always wars in the Middle East, but that's it*. You can imagine how shocked and disgusted I was to discover that Jews, after everything that'd happened in the second world war, had then gone and done something so terrible to Palestinians. It's explained more further into the book, but at first it was just a "wow" moment.

This book was such an eye-opener into how they lived too, and how terrible they got treated. I was so disgusted and saddened to read about the main character's life as a child, all the hardships and injustices his whole family faced. And the thing is that this sort of thing actually happened to millions of people, it's not just fiction. That was the thought that was nagging at me the whole time, that countless other people had to live through this.

I think what made this story good was that it was based on real history and exposed so much of the terrible life Palestinians had. But it was good in other ways too, of course. I was completely unable to put it down while I read the first two parts. It grabbed my attention from the first page and didn't let it go until I was 200 pages in. I was put off reading it around that point because I really didn't like the person that Ichmad (the protagonist) had become. In fact, I just wanted to slap him across the face. He didn't want to solve any of the problems in his home country, only take everyone to America, which he seemed to think was so perfect. He was just so selfish and naive when he was an adult, much more than he had been as a child/teen/young person. I forgave him in the end, and realised that the author was just trying to show us what a life like that can do to a person and show us that Ichmad was a real person, not a Mary-Sue.

All in all, a wonderful book which I highly recommend to anyone, even if you do not like this sort of thing. The Almond Tree really raises awareness about so many issues and everyone can learn from this book. If you read this book then I'm sure that the next time you're watching the news and see x number of people in ______ country killed and wounded, it won't just be more of the same thing, you'll feel connected to all these people suffering miles and miles away. Yes, you might feel guilty, but at least acknowledging that this sort of thing is happening is much better than turning a blind eye to it all.



(*Isn't that terrible that I knew nothing about any of it? I mean, we're not taught anything to do with this is school. We spend countless history lessons learning about the first and second world wars, yet get taught nothing about things in other countries, unless it's related to our country and we were in the right. That's really  annoying me right now)

The Book Notes Project

So, I've just come across this post at A Wordless Blogger. It's basically about putting nice little notes into library books when you return them so the next person to check them out can get a lovely surprise. I think this is a really great idea! You can't imagine how excited I'd be to find a note in a library book. I'd feel like there were actually other people like me in my area, fellow bookaholics. I'd probably start squealing in excitement  that's how great I'd find it!

I'm definitely going to do this next time I check a bunch of library books out, and just hope hope hope that there's someone else out there who'll do the same. Now that this is like "a thing", there might be, but most of the books I check out look almost unread, so I don't even know if any teens in my area read books from libraries. Oh well, whether I get one back or not it'll be a nice feeling to know that someone might be smiling because of a note I left in a book!

Thank you for thinking of this great idea Emma!