Quote of the Day

“A room without books is like a body without a soul.”

~Marcus Tullius Cicero

Generation Dead

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Blog: Daniel Waters

My Rating: 4 out of 5

“Zombies, deadheads, corpsicles. What's the difference? They don't care. They don't have feelings to hurt.” 
-Generation Dead

Synopsis: Teenagers in America begin coming back to life after they are proclaimed dead, and nobody knows why the disease only affects teenagers. Soon, everyone must try to accept these students into regular society: these zombies who can think, read, and function just like normal students; except that they can't eat, they move slow and look slightly discolored. Not only that, but there are few laws protecting zombies, and they are being put back in the grave, often by their own peers. Pheobe, the school goth, begins falling for one of the zombie students, despite protests from her two best friends. Focus groups are started to figure out what makes the zoms so different from the regular teenagers, and why some of the zoms have higher functions than others. Pheobe and her friends, Margi and Adam, have their own zombie issues to get over, and sometimes it''s hard to tell if the study group is helping. Phoebe and her zombie crush, Tommy, have to overcome the pressures of society to try and be together. Adam sure doesn't like that, but he might just have to save Tommy's life to make Pheobe happy.

My Thoughts: I loved this book. I could not put it down and was interested from page one. Plus, look at the cover (usually I would argue to not judge a book by one... but man this cover rocks!). This is not your average love story, or your average zombie lit. It was totally unpredictable with a new character at every turn. The characters were all very well developed. I felt what Pheobe was feeling, and sympathized with the zoms. I would recommend this book to any teenager, though mainly teenage girls because Pheobe is 100% girl, even if she fronts a goth attitude. Also, romance is the main part of the plot, yet underneath it were strong themes of overcoming prejudice and learning to accept people that are different than you. The themes were so relateable and the plot was unique. No matter if your a zombie or a human, you can relate to the struggle of fitting in and learning to survive high school. The single second that I finished this book, I wished that I had the second in my hands. I would recommend this to high school and college aged girls. 

Quotes: “Transformation always requires radical action.”  

“What is it like.... what is it like to be dead?' Evan looked at him with his dull, unblinking blue eyes, ' I don't know, what is it like...... to be alive?

The Pledge

 

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Blog: Kimberly Derting

My Rating: 3 out of 5

 

 

“I loved voices, I always had.

Words held meaning, but voices held emotion.” 

-The Pledge 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Synopsis: In "The Pledge" people are put in classes based on the language they speak. The lower classes are not allowed to acknowledge the upper classes when they speak in a language they do not understand. Charlaina Hart is born to vendor parents are only allowed to speak Parshon (and of course the common tongue, Englais). Unfortunately, Charlaina can understand all the languages. Her parents have kept it a secret from others her whole life; Charlie is expected to do the same. Meanwhile, Queen Sabara, Ludiana's ruler, is looking for a female heir to transfer her soul to, so that she can remain immortal. She has two grandsons, who seem to be no help in her tyrannic quest, and no known female heir. At night the vendor class does what they can to escape the monotony of everyday life. Charlie's best friend, Brooke, likes to go clubbing, and always drags Charlie along. At the club one night Charlie meets a mysterious stranger named Max who speaks a language she has never heard before. She is drawn to him, and he seems to feel the same way. She becomes friends with Max and together they begin an adventure that just might save their kingdom, Ludiana, Charlie's sister Angelina, and Charlie herself from the greatest evil the kingdom has ever had to face.

My Thoughts: Events in the story were sometimes loosely connected, and the author makes quick jumps from one event to the next. I was not very connected to the love story, unfortunately. That's usually one of my favorite parts of dystopian books, because it gives hope to a hopeless society. The love story was rushed, things just seemed to happen too fast for me. Charlie's best friend Brooke was actually the most interesting character for me, she definitely had some surprises up her sleeves that changed the whole book, so keep an eye out for her. The evil queen was pretty...well evil, and the connections she had with other characters and with the plot were the strongest in the entire book.The concepts were intruiging, while I found the execution lacking. I would recommend it to girls between the ages of 15 to 20. I think the book is part of a series, and it ended very openly, yet I'm really not sure where Derting is going to take the story because I felt the characters were so underveloped. Overall it was a good read, and a pretty quick one at that. I'm hoping to read The Body Finder (another one of Derting's books) next because I've heard good things.

 

Quotes: “He leaned in then and kissed me again, sweet and soft and tender, silencing my arguments and stealing my breath, making me wonder how one simple gesture could be so tragically lovely.”  -Charlie

Quote of the Day

"be yourself; everyone else is already taken."

~Oscar Wilde

Beautiful Creatures (Caster Chronicles #1)

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Blog: Kami Garcia 

My rating: 3.5 out of 5

Darkness cannot drive out darkness;
only light can do that.

Hate cannot drive out hate;
only love can do that.

-Martin Luther King Jr.

Synopsis: Ethan lives in Gatlin: the most boring, predictable town in the South; that is until Lena Duchannes (rhymes with rain) moves into town. Lena is living with the town shut in, her uncle, Macon Ravenwood. Lena has been in Ethan's dreams long before she moves to town, and now that she has, he's determined to know her. Weird things begin to happen in town, and the civil war crazed town folk immediately place the blame on Lena. Despite the disapproval from the town, Ethan's friends, and both their families, Ethan befriends Lena and the two of them embark on a journey of self-discovery that neither of them expected. What do the numbers on Lena's hand mean? What will happen when she turns sixteen? Is love powerful enough to conquer a curse cast a hundred years ago? Pick up Beautiful Creatures and find out. 

My thoughts: I thought that Beautiful Creatures  was extremely compelling. I read it in two days because I just couldn't put it down. It wasn't the most well written book in the world, but the story line was enough to captivate me and allow me to forget myself for six or seven hours. There were some very powerful themes in Beautiful Creatures that I really enjoyed; true love, good versus evil, and the definition of family. I thought that the main character Ethan might have been a little too girlish (okay extremely girlish, as in he loves to spend time with his great aunts, talks a little to much about clothes girls are wearing, and is a bit emotional) , but I liked that he was willing to stand for what he believed in and he did play basketball, in his defense. There were some moments in the book where there were inconsistencies (some of them extremely unnecessary plot) and it was hard to suspend belief, but I liked the story line, so I kept reading. The last twenty pages of the book make no sense, so I am hoping that in the sequel, they are explained. If they are not, I won't be reading book #3. I thought it was comparable to Hush, Hush and Matched. One unique thing about this book was that it was told from Ethan's point of view and not Lena's, and almost too many books today (in my opinion) are told from the female point of view. Overall, I liked the book but it could have done a better job of remaining consistent, allowing Ethan to sound a little more masculine, and maybe staying a little more focused. I would say that this book was like a Chick Flick: cute, quirky, and interesting, but not for everyone. 

Some favorite quotes: "Mortals. I envy you. You think you can change things. Stop the universe. Undo what was done long before you came along. You are such beautiful creatures." -Macon Ravenwood

“So why did I think about her every second? Why was I so much happier the minute I saw her? I felt like maybe I knew the answer, but how could I be sure? I didn't know, and I didn't have any way to find out.
Guys don't talk about stuff like that. We just lie under the pile of bricks.”  -Ethan Wate

“Any book is a Good Book, and wherever they keep the Good Book safe is also the House a the Lord. ”  -Ethan's Mom

Thought this was exciting. Beautiful Creatures, is going to be a movie! Here's the preview if you

are interested. 

March 24th 2013 Update: Saw the movie! They totally did a good job...surprisingly pleased! 

Once Upon a Time

Once upon a time...

I decided that I didn't spend enough time around books, so I started a book blog!

I know there is about a million other book blogs out there, but I sure hope that you take the time to enjoy mine. (: I'm going to try to write a review a week, and I'll throw in some author spotlights, contests, and other fun things on occasion too. Let me know how you like the site, the reviews, and your opinion on the books (the most important thing!). (:

Happy reading y'all!