Book Review: Stolen by Lucy Christopher

January 18, 2013 by 5 Comments

Stolen by Lucy Christopher Stolen by Lucy Christopher
Release Date: May 1, 2010
Publisher: Chicken House
Source: Borrowed
Rating: ★★★★☆ 
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

Gemma, 16, is on layover at Bangkok Airport, en route with her parents to a vacation in Vietnam. She steps away for just a second, to get a cup of coffee. Ty – rugged, tan, too old, oddly familiar – pays for Gemma’s drink. And drugs it. They talk. Their hands touch. And before Gemma knows what’s happening, Ty takes her. Steals her away. The unknowing object of a long obsession, Gemma has been kidnapped by her stalker and brought to the desolate Australian Outback.

Stolen is her gripping story of survival, of how she has to come to terms with her living nightmare – or die trying to fight it. – Goodreads

Review:
Stolen by Lucy Christopher will straight up mess with your head. I’ve been wanting to read it for over two years now and when I had the opportunity to borrow it, I immediately jumped at the chance. I expected that this would be a hard read because, hello, we all know about abduction cases in real life and they are a worst nightmare.

Lucy Christopher definitely captured the nightmare side of things and it was so unsettling to read about Gemma’s terrifying experience of being drugged and taken by some guy to the middle of nowhere. I’m not even exaggerating when I say “middle of nowhere” because reading about the desert and the lack of anything out there made me sick to my stomach. I felt Gemma’s need to escape, but I also felt her terror of not knowing where to go and feeling so trapped by the vast open space.

Ty, her captor, is no doubt terrifying because he is definitely unhinged. He has long obsessed over Gemma and he plans to keep her with him forever. However, Lucy Christopher allows a glimpse into his past and brings his vulnerabilities to the surface which, in turn, allowed me to sympathize with him to a certain degree. It was conflicting because, on one hand, he’s so messed up and he was wrong to take Gemma, but on the other, I was able to somewhat understand his motives.

Make no mistake, there would be no sympathizing with anyone’s captors in real life, but as far as Stolen goes, I loved that Lucy Christopher didn’t have a clear definition of right and wrong. This book stressed me out, yes, but it also made me think about reasoning and intentions.

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Book Review: Just One Day by Gayle Forman

January 7, 2013 by 7 Comments

Just One Day by Gayle Forman Just One Day by Gayle Forman
Release Date: January 8, 2013
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Source: ARC for review
Rating: ★★★★☆ 
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

When sheltered American good girl Allyson “LuLu” Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines. – Goodreads

Review:
I went into Just One Day expecting to be swooning over the romance between the two characters, Allyson and Willem, but instead Gayle Forman had me gripped to Allyson’s journey of self-discovery. As much as I love a good romantic storyline, this focus made for a very gratifying read in a different way.

Allyson was an easy character to relate to — especially when I found her completely frustrating. While I could be sympathetic to her situation, there were points when I was internally screaming, “GET IT TOGETHER, GIRL.” And yet… I knew exactly what she was going through because Gayle Forman made the pressures and the disappointments that she faced very real. Allyson didn’t immediately bounce back from what she was dealing with, but she certainly grew and gradually allowed herself to be open to change. It was in those moments that I found myself really loving her because, no, things weren’t going to be smooth sailing just because, but she was willing to try. Gayle Forman has such a good grasp on the ups and downs of growing up and had Allyson navigating through in a realistic way.

I expect Gayle Forman will peel back the layers of Willem’s character in Just One Year, but I must say that I wasn’t too into him in this one. He’s mysterious for sure, but he’s simply too unpredictable for my tastes. I don’t know that I can really get behind the urgency between him and Allyson either, but I’ll wait and see what Gayle Forman has up her sleeve before I completely make up my mind.

While I may not have had an adventure abroad like Allyson (anyone want to sponsor me?), Just One Day is a book I found much to identify with. Oh, and that ending? NEXT BOOK NOW, PLEASE.

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Book Review: Every Day by David Levithan

August 28, 2012 by 6 Comments

Every Day by David Levithan Every Day by David Levithan
Release Date: August 28, 2012
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Source: SDCC 2012
Rating: ★★★★☆ 
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

Every morning, A wakes in a different person’s body, a different person’s life. There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.

It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.

With his new novel, David Levithan has pushed himself to new creative heights. He has written a captivating story that will fascinate readers as they begin to comprehend the complexities of life and love in A’s world, as A and Rhiannon seek to discover if you can truly love someone who is destined to change every day. – Goodreads

Review:
Every day, A wakes up in a new body: different race, different size, different gender… A is not defined by any of these characteristics and tries to respect the host body as much as possible during the time spent in it. Then A, in the body of Justin, meets Rhiannon and everything changes. A feels a connection that has never happened before and A can’t let go of that feeling. From then on, each day as someone new, A and Rhiannon form a bond that gives a new meaning to love without restriction.

David Levithan truly made the feelings between Rhiannon and A palpable. It’s not smooth sailing for the two, as there was a certain amount of uncertainty along the way, but it was easy to understand their closeness and how easy it was to be themselves with each other. There was never any issue about their feelings and that was a powerful thing to me because so many relationships are judged based on their race, gender, and other reasons that shouldn’t even be an issue. Love is love and it should be respected; ridiculous notions presented against it should be done away with. The end.

Every Day is the type of book that will stick with me and I’m thankful that David Levithan came up with such an ambitious concept. With his beautiful writing, I can only hope that it will open the eyes of readers who may have a more restricted definition of what makes love true.

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Book Review: Storm by Brigid Kemmerer

August 24, 2012 by 3 Comments

Storm by Brigid Kemmerer Storm by Brigid Kemmerer
Release Date: April 24, 2012
Publisher: Kensington
Source: Purchased
Rating: ★★★★☆ 
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

Becca Chandler is suddenly getting all the guys – all the ones she doesn’t want. Ever since her ex-boyfriend spread those lies about her. Then she saves Chris Merrick from a beating in the school parking lot. Chris is different. Way different: he can control water just like his brothers can control fire, wind, and earth. They’re powerful. Dangerous. Marked for death.

And now that she knows the truth, so is Becca.

Secrets are hard to keep when your life’s at stake. When Hunter, the mysterious new kid around school, turns up with a talent for being in the wrong place at the right time, Becca thinks she can trust him. But then Hunter goes head-to-head with Chris, and Becca wonders who’s hiding the most dangerous truth of all.

The storm is coming. – Goodreads

Review:
Brigid Kemmerer’s Storm immediately had my attention from its opening scene where Becca, the main female lead, saves Chris Merrick from a brutal beating. From there it was a roller coaster of intensity as she uncovered all the details of the difficult situation she found herself in — from discovering that there are individuals who can control the elements to dealing with the torment she deals with at school.

While Brigid Kemmerer had a lot of action — and I think the use of elements was so cool and different — the real highlight of Storm was how realistic her characters were. Having grown up with three brothers, I found that the dynamic between the Merrick boys was especially authentic. I loved that they were foul-mouthed, volatile, frustrating, and completely unpredictable. In addition to that, I also loved how Brigid Kemmerer handled the bullying Becca endured at school. Becca’s hurt was palpable and, as difficult as her situation was, I liked that Brigid Kemmerer had such a strong focus on it.

If there was one issue that I found with Storm, it was the relationship between Becca and Chris. Don’t get me wrong, I really liked them and they were the ones I was rooting for! But…I wish there had been more. Hunter and Becca got plenty of scenes where I saw their growing friendship and I feel that I missed that sort of gradual development with Chris and Becca. Still, I did enjoy what I did get.

In conclusion, if you’re looking for an exciting, fast paced read, look no further than Brigid Kemmerer’s Storm. You really can’t go wrong with the use of elements and the hot boys that can control them. Can it be Tuesday now? I want to get my hands on Gabriel, I mean, Spark.

Psst, there’s currently a Kindle and Nook deal for this!

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Book Review: Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake

August 5, 2012 by 7 Comments

Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake
Release Date: August 7, 2012
Publisher: Tor Teen
Source: ALA 2012
Rating: ★★★★☆ 
Buy It: Amazon | Book Depository

It’s been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can’t move on.

His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live–not walk around half dead. He knows they’re right, but in Cas’s eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.
Now he’s seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he’s asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong…these aren’t just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.

Cas doesn’t know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn’t deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it’s time for him to return the favor. – Source

Review:
Anna Dressed in Blood was fantastically spooky so I was very eager to get my read on with Kendare Blake’s sequel, Girl of Nightmares. It’s hard to say which book I liked more, but I can definitely say that Girl of Nightmares was just as creepy and fun as the first book.

First up: Cas, I missed you! Kendare Blake continued to write his character with such an authentic teenage boy voice. He’s snarky, dramatic, and he curses — A LOT. I’ve been in one of those weird reading funks again, but it was so easy to get caught up in Cas’s adventures because his character is so charismatic.

Along with Cas, Carmel and Thomas were great to see again. This trio continued to have several hilarious moments that had me laughing late into the night, but I also came to appreciate the depth of their friendship. They don’t deal with easy stuff and I really liked that Kendare Blake explored how difficult and straining that can be.

The main mystery of Girl of Nightmares was finding out where Anna went after the events in Anna Dressed in Blood. There is plenty of creepy between the two books, but I found Girl of Nightmares to be somewhat more unsettling because Cas deals with a lot of his fears internally. There are still several moments of “in your face” creepiness, though, so worry not if that’s what you’re looking forward to.

Finally, there’s the ending. Could Kendare Blake write a more brilliant conclusion? Maybe, but it’s hard to imagine because what she has already is so perfect. I’m going to miss these characters, but I am so in love with how their story wrapped. I’ll eagerly look forward to reading what Kendare Blake writes next.

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