Summary from Goodreads:
Sixteen-year-old Delilah is finally united with Oliver—a prince literally taken from the pages of a fairy tale. There are, however, complications now that Oliver has been able to enter the real world. To exist in Delilah’s world, Oliver must take the place of a regular boy. Enter Edgar, who agrees to take Oliver’s role in Delilah’s favorite book. In this multilayered universe, the line between what is on the page and what is possible is blurred, but all must be resolved for the characters to live happily ever after. Check out our Youtube channel on the right! The Sno-Isle Libraries Teen Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/snoisleteens Twitter: @dontkillabiblio Tumblr: http://booksandthebeasts.tumblr.com/ Alise has her own channel for acting! https://www.youtube.com/user/lilylixi
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Princess Eadlyn has grown up hearing endless stories about how her mother and father met. Twenty years ago, America Singer entered the Selection and won the heart of Prince Maxon—and they lived happily ever after. Eadlyn has always found their fairy-tale story romantic, but she has no interest in trying to repeat it. If it were up to her, she'd put off marriage for as long as possible. But a princess's life is never entirely her own, and Eadlyn can't escape her very own Selection—no matter how fervently she protests. Eadlyn doesn't expect her story to end in romance. But as the competition begins, one entry may just capture Eadlyn's heart, showing her all the possibilities that lie in front of her . . . and proving that finding her own happily ever after isn't as impossible as she's always thought. Summary via Goodreads The Heir (The Selection #4) was written by Kiera Cass and published under HarperTeen in May 2015.
Honestly, I have mixed feelings about this book. I really didn’t like the Selection, although I did read them all (and I own them all as well). I found America Singer to be the most annoying protagonist—ever. Eadlyn really wasn’t much better in my opinion. In the beginning of the novel, she pissed me off so much that I considered not reading the book. But I was able to get through America, so I’d be able to get through any protagonist, right? My main problem with America had been her indecisiveness. Thankfully, Eadlyn didn’t have that same trait—but she was full of herself, and it wasn’t until the latter half of the novel that we slowly see her start to grow (yay for character development!). I didn’t like the side characters as much as I did in The Selection, but there’s still one more book to go, so I’ll give them a chance. Also, when I went into this book, I didn’t realize that there was going to be one more novel. I thought that this was the last book and that it was only going to be a single spinoff novel—not two. So the ending did leave me a bit surprised until I realized that yes, there would be one more novel. On a side note, I have to admit that this cover was by far the prettiest. The colors, the sparkles, the dress, the model—I loved this cover way more than the other three (although The One has a pretty good cover as well, The Heir just tops them all). I hope that the next cover will be just as pretty, if not better. Overall, I’d say that if you’ve read the other three, you might as well read this book too. And if you didn’t really like them (hey, I only thought they were okay), I’d still suggest reading it. (And I’ll be honest, I only bought my copy this early instead of waiting to find it cheaper because it was signed that the cover is just gorgeous). So fans of the other three books should definitely pick up this book and check it out. Small discussion below, but there are spoilers so you’ve been warned! Also since Mallory has also read this book, she has a mini summary after thoughts below. -Talia Bree, Olivia, Kitty, and Margot have nothing in common—at least that’s what they’d like the students and administrators of their elite private school to think. The girls have different goals, different friends, and different lives, but they share one very big secret: They’re all members of Don’t Get Mad, a secret society that anonymously takes revenge on the school’s bullies, mean girls, and tyrannical teachers. When their latest target ends up dead with a blood-soaked “DGM” card in his hands, the girls realize that they’re not as anonymous as they thought—and that someone now wants revenge on them. Soon the clues are piling up, the police are closing in . . . and everyone has something to lose. Summary by Goodreads After interviewing Ten author Gretchen McNeil, I decided to read another of her books--this time, the first of the Don't Get Mad series, the second book of which comes out in a few months--I can't wait!
This book is dark and suspenseful, almost more so than Ten, in fact, because it's set in such a nonchalant setting instead of a stormy, dark island with no one around. I enjoyed that it was set in a Catholic school, though a bit cliche at times. I think the characters in this book are a little bit static, but overall pretty relatable and their emotions were conveyed nicely through Gretchen's writing style. Fabulous job :) As for plot, it actually moved a tad slowly in the middle, but really fast at the beginning and the end. There seemed to be a lot of unrelated subplots that occasionally distracted from the overall goal, which can get frustrating, but my suspicion is that these subplots tie in to later books--oh, and definitely don't read this if you don't like cliffhangers! Can't wait to see how this one is resolved. However, as far as this book goes, it's a solid eight out of ten! Read on for further commentary/some spoilers! Thanks for reading! -Mallory Summary from Goodreads:
The Earth is dying. Darrow is a Red, a miner in the interior of Mars. His mission is to extract enough precious elements to one day tame the surface of the planet and allow humans to live on it. The Reds are humanity's last hope. Or so it appears, until the day Darrow discovers it's all a lie. That Mars has been habitable - and inhabited - for generations, by a class of people calling themselves the Golds. A class of people who look down on Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought. Until the day that Darrow, with the help of a mysterious group of rebels, disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside. But the command school is a battlefield - and Darrow isn't the only student with an agenda. The Sno-Isle Libraries Teen Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/snoisleteens Twitter: @dontkillabiblio Tumblr: http://booksandthebeasts.tumblr.com/ Alise has her own channel for acting! https://www.youtube.com/user/lilylixi It was supposed to be the weekend of their lives—an exclusive house party on Henry Island. Best friends Meg and Minnie each have their reasons for being there (which involve T.J., the school’s most eligible bachelor) and look forward to three glorious days of boys, booze and fun-filled luxury. But what they expect is definitely not what they get, and what starts out as fun turns dark and twisted after the discovery of a DVD with a sinister message: Vengeance is mine. Suddenly people are dying, and with a storm raging, the teens are cut off from the outside world. No electricity, no phones, no internet, and a ferry that isn’t scheduled to return for two days. As the deaths become more violent and the teens turn on each other, can Meg find the killer before more people die? Or is the killer closer to her than she could ever imagine? I first want to mention that this book takes place in our (the Bibliomaniac's) high school, so we're all familiar with the places mentioned in the book.
This novel is definitely suspenseful and keeps you at the edge of your seat. The first time I read it, I was alone at home and it was raining outside and I. was. freaking. out. To think that these events were happening to my fictional classmates and were at a place that I was familiar with. The book is very fast-paced and the people are dying one after the other so you're never bored. The second time I read this, I searched and found all the Easter eggs and references that I didn't the first time around and made all the connections that the reader doesn't make until the end of the book. So overall, reading this book was enjoyable for me both times around. -Alise Read more for a small Q&A with the author and to know why I would give this a 7 out of TEN! Fourteen-year-old Nick would have been murdered by the drug dealers preying on his family had Peter not saved him. Now the irresistibly charismatic wild boy wants Nick to follow him to a secret place of great adventure, where magic is alive and you never grow old. Even though he is wary of Peter's crazy talk of faeries and monsters, Nick agrees. After all, New York City is no longer safe for him, and what more could he possibly lose? There is always more to lose. Accompanying Peter to a gray and ravished island that was once a lush, enchanted paradise, Nick finds himself unwittingly recruited for a war that has raged for centuries—one where he must learn to fight or die among the "Devils," Peter's savage tribe of lost and stolen children. There, Peter's dark past is revealed: left to wolves as an infant, despised and hunted, Peter moves restlessly between the worlds of faerie and man. The Child Thief is a leader of bloodthirsty children, a brave friend, and a creature driven to do whatever he must to stop the "Flesh-eaters" and save the last, wild magic in this dying land. This is possibly my favorite book of all times.
Brom is a gothic fantasy artist and had drawn the picture for the cover and all the illustrations throughout the book, including the glossy character pages in the middle and they're all absolutely beautiful. They add to the story and help the reader imagine just how horrific and beautiful the world he builds really is. This is definitely a more plot-driven than character-driven novel. Still, each character is built, serve their purpose, and there's a favored character for everyone from the crazy Redbone, the strong Sekeu (my personal favorite), the confused and angry Nick, and the ever so beguiling Peter. The plot itself is intricate and the first half of the novel's chapters go back and forth from telling the current story and Peter's flashbacks that explain the current circumstances. Yet, Brom is able to not leave any plot holes as far as I can see. The Child Thief is classified as an adult horror fantasy retelling of Peter Pan, but it definitely also qualifies as YA so it's open to a wide range of readers even though it has some mature content. Read more for a discussion of the themes! -Alise A lyrical novel about family and friendship from critically acclaimed author Benjamin Alire Sáenz. Aristotle is an angry teen with a brother in prison. Dante is a know-it-all who has an unusual way of looking at the world. When the two meet at the swimming pool, they seem to have nothing in common. But as the loners start spending time together, they discover that they share a special friendship—the kind that changes lives and lasts a lifetime. And it is through this friendship that Ari and Dante will learn the most important truths about themselves and the kind of people they want to be. This book has a 4.29 star rating on Goodreads and a number that high is really rare to see, but this book definitely deserves it. Now, some may be put off by the cover and think it's a junior reading level book, but it's definitely YA which means everyone can and should read it. It falls into the LGBT genre and if you're interested in reading something from this genre, this is a great book to start with. The story is about the relationship between two friends rather than heavy controversial issues though it does bring the problem to our attention, but doesn't make it the core of the story. It is, in the simplest terms, a story about two friends growing up and discovering themselves (and the universe, of course).
The story is told from Ari's point of view though it could be argued that both boys are equally the main character. The boys themselves are complete opposites of one another, yet the same in their boyish fun. They spend their days during the summer at the pool and live in a Mexican prevalent society in El Paso, Texas where the two of them don't exactly fit in, Dante for not being "Mexican enough" and Ari for just not caring about anything or anyone. This, if nothing else, brings them together. It's a very character-driven book rather than plot-driven which is possibly the reason why it's so appealing. Read on for more discussion of the characters and spoilers -Alise You may not have heard of it before, but steampunk is a sub-genre of science-fiction (and sometimes fantasy) that usually features steam-powered machines rather than the more modern advanced technology. There's also stonepunk, dieselpunk, etherpunk, cyberpunk, and more that I don't even know about, but steampunk is definitely the most popular. This genre has definitely been picking up steam (get it?) in the last couple years in media, movies, games, and of course books. As of late, it's become a fashion-style for cosplayers and fans of the genre too.
Interested? Well, you're in luck! I recently went to the Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle (dressed in the steampunk style of course) and attended a steampunk writing panel of mainly YA authors. When I asked them what books would they recommend to start a reader on their journey into the world of steampunk, this is what they said... My mother always called it the eventuality. Not the maybe, or the probably. ‘It’s going to happen,’ she would tell me calmly. ‘I even know when. It’s a twist in my stars. It’s written there, and we have to accept it. My mother, Joanne Nielsen Crowe. She has a name, she’s not a was. Avicenna Crowe’s mother, Joanne, is an astrologer with uncanny predictive powers and a history of being stalked. Now she is missing. The police are called, but they’re not asking the right questions. Like why Joanne lied about her past, and what she saw in her stars that made her so afraid. But Avicenna has inherited her mother’s gift. Finding an unlikely ally in the brooding Simon Thorn, she begins to piece together the mystery. And when she uncovers a link between Joanne’s disappearance and a cold-case murder, Avicenna is led deep into the city’s dark and seedy underbelly, unaware how far she is placing her own life in danger. Goodreads Summary NOTE: Australian YA fiction is beginning to become popular in America!
Rebecca Lim is an Australian-based author and as of late, Australian YA novels are permeating into the mainstream flow of popular YA and I can see why. Though it's not one the best books I've ever read, The Astrologer's Daughter is definitely intriguing. The author weaves the complex layers together to keep the reader interested and wanting to know how the mystery ends up. There's a constant atmosphere of danger and mystic that makes the book appealing, yet the confusion with all the characters almost ruins it for me. Because it's a mystery with a lot of layers, there are constant characters that are constantly coming and going and there's never something prominent about the character that helps the reader remember who is who. Avicenna and Simon, Avicenna's love interest and probably the second most important character in the book, aren't developed as thoroughly as I thought they should have been. Consequently, their decisions were always unexpected and not necessarily in a good way. Since the book obviously advertises that it incorporates astrology, it does, but beware if you don't know a thing about astrology. Fortunately, I do know some astrology. Even so, I wasn't able to note the significance as Avicenna explained star charts to clients since their "harsh aspects between Mars and the sun conjunct Venus, between Mars and the ascendant, between the moon and Jupiter, between both the luminaries and Mars... Couple those stars with multiple afflictions to natal Mercury..." You get the picture. The author never teaches you anything about astrology or explains any technical aspect to it (sorry if you're disappointed). Thankfully, she does explain the characteristics that are created in the person by their star chart so something does come out of it, but the rest is almost extraneous. But if you can keep track of the characters and their names, I do suggest this book for you because underneath all it's flaws, it really is an intriguing book. Read on for spoilers and more discussion of the characters! -Alise What if all the crushes you ever had found out how you felt about them…all at once? Lara Jean Song keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her. They aren’t love letters that anyone else wrote for her; these are ones she’s written. One for every boy she’s ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she pours out her heart and soul and says all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly, Lara Jean’s love life goes from imaginary to out of control. Amazon Summary This was recommended to me by my fellow bibliomaniacs, and it does not disappoint. Lara Jean (love the name, by the way) is a very well-developed character that is very family-oriented but still becoming of a normal high school girl.
This sounds a bit like a gushy romance, but I can assure you that it is not--it is written from a very realistic point of view and the main characters are all very relatable. This book is cleverly and amazingly earmarked by its complexity and the emotional depth of the characters. Overall, I'd say around an 8/10 for this book. I am very much looking forward to the sequel, P.S. I Still Love You, coming out May 26th, 2015! Read on for spoilers! -Mallory |
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