Here by Denise Grover Swank

 

Title: Here

Author: Denise Grover Swank

Publisher: Createspace

Release Date: November 11, 2011
Received From: Author via Teen {Book} Scene

Summary:

Sixteen year old Julia Phillips buries herself in guilt after killing her best friend Monica in a car accident. Julia awoke in the hospital with a broken leg, a new talent for drawing and false memories of the accident, in which she dies and Monica lives. The doctors attribute this to her head injury, but no one can explain how a bracelet engraved with her name ended up at the scene of the accident. A bracelet no one has ever seen before.
Classmate Evan Whittaker paid Julia no attention before the accident, let alone after. Now suddenly he’s volunteering to tutor her and offering to drive her home. She can't ignore that his new obsession started after his two-day disappearance last week and that he wears a pendant she’s been drawing for months. When the police show up one night looking for Evan, he begs Julia to run with him, convincing her that Monica is still alive. Julia agrees to go, never guessing where he’s really from.

Review:

This book was not what I expected. From reading the first chapter/prologue I was unsure what to expect, but once I got into the meat of the book I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.

 

Here is a science fiction book. But it also seemed to lean into the paranormal feel. After the accident Julia has new abilities and she has memories that did not actually happen, that combined with the popular boy suddenly paying more attention to her made me think that it was a paranormal book all the way up to when it becomes clear that it is a sci-fi novel.

 

The fact that Evan all of a sudden starts paying attention to her, and the fact that she all of a sudden starts being motivated was really odd and unfounded. Until I got into the story and started to understand why Evan was acting that way it was driving me nuts.

 

The other thing that didn’t make very much sense how all of a sudden everything started happening. Evan paid attention to her bracelet and then all hell broke loose. It was very strange and I wish it had been paced a little better.

 

The ending also seemed a little rushed but since it is a series I guess that is okay.

 

Even though the pacing could have been better I kept wanting to know what was going to happen. I was drawn in and did not want to stop until the end. This helped me to enjoy this book more, despite the pacing issues.

 

Overall this was an okay book, I would recommend it to fans of paranormal romances because the feeling was the same even though it wasn’t

 

 

 

Frost

Title: Frost

Author: Marianna Baer

Publisher: Balzer & Bray (Harper Collins)

Release Date: September 13, 2011
Received From: Publisher in return for a honest review

Summary: 

Leena Thomas’s senior year at boarding school begins with a shock: Frost House, her cozy dorm of close friends, has been assigned an unexpected roommate: confrontational, eccentric Celeste Lazar. But while Leena’s anxiety about a threat to her sanctuary proves valid, it becomes less and less clear whether the threat lies with her new roommate, within Leena’s own mind, or within the very nature of Frost House itself. Mysterious happenings in the dorm, an intense triangle between Leena, Celeste, and Celeste’s brother, and the reawakening of childhood fears, all push Leena to take increasingly desperate measures to feel safe. Frost is the story of a haunting. As to whether the demons are supernatural or psychological . . . well, which answer would let you sleep at night?

Review:

I received this book right before i went to college. I found this ironic because while I am living in a huge dorm, the whole living with different people and the oddness of living in an old building I could totally relate to. Also I was hoping that my dorm was nothing like Frost House. (It’s not )

This book was creepy, but not overly, I mean if you stopped and thought about what was going on then yeah, but if you just read through it, it’s not scary till the end. (But I’m a huge wimp so take that into account.) It was mostly creepy, like creepy beyond all reason.

The only problem I had with this book was Leena. She was aggravating and dull, in my opinion she had some serious issues that while addressed a little in the book should have been elaborated on. Also it seemed like some of the stuff she did that was wrong she wasn’t called out for enough, like maybe it was mentioned but I feel like it should have been a bigger part of the story.

So basically I liked the plot but the characters with the exception of David who I loved. I did enjoy it but I just couldn't get past Leena.

If you want a creepy book for the Halloween season and don’t mind putting up with Leena then I totally recommend this book!

 

 

Luminous

Title: Luminous

Author: Dawn Metcalf

Publisher: Dutton Children’s Books

Release Date:  June 30, 2011

Received From: Teen {Book} Scene

Summary: 

As reality slips and time stands still, Consuela finds herself thrust into the world of the Flow. Removed from all she loves into this shifting world overlapping our own, Consuela quickly discovers she has the power to step out of her earthly skin and cloak herself in new ones-skins made from the world around her, crafted from water, fire, air. She is joined by other teens with extraordinary abilities, bound together to safeguard a world they can affect, but where they no longer belong.
When murder threatens to undo the Flow, the Watcher charges Consuela and elusive, attractive V to stop the killer. But the psychopath who threatens her new world may also hold the only key to Consuela's way home.

Review:

I had mixed feelings about this book.

I love the cover, its beautiful! The butterflies and the swirls fit in with the book well without giving anything away. I also liked how they kept her ethnicity on the cover, since a lot of books are whitewashed I appreciate the fact that the publisher kept the ethnicity on the cover.

I liked how different the premise for this book was. It was unlike anything I had ever read. Unfortunately the way it panned out was kind of confusing to me. I didn’t really understand the concept of the Flow and I think that sort of made it hard for me to connect to the book and the characters.

All of the characters were very different and their personalities were very original. I wish I could have connected to them a little better.

I did like this book but I wish I could have connected and understood the Flow a little better. But the parts that I understood and what I got from the characters I really liked. I will read a book from Dawn just to see if I connect to her quirky style next time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kings & Queens Review

Title:  Kings & Queens

Author:  Courtney Vail

Publisher:  Little Prince Publishing

Release Date:  July 16, 2011

Received From:  Teen {Book} Scene

Summary: 

Seventeen-year-old Majesty Alistair wants police to look further into her father’s fatal car wreck, hopes the baseball team she manages can reclaim the state crown, aches for Derek…or, no…maybe Alec…maybe. And she mostly wishes to retract the hateful words she said to her dad right before slamming the door in his face, only to never see him again.
All her desires get sidelined, though, when she overhears two fellow students planning a church massacre. She doubts cops will follow up on her tip since they’re sick of her coming around with notions of possible crimes-in-the-works. And it’s not like she cries wolf. Not really. They’d be freaked too, but they’re not the ones suffering from bloody dreams that hint at disaster like some crazy, street guy forecasting the Apocalypse.
So, she does what any habitual winner with zero cred would do…try to I.D. the nutjobs before they act. But, when their agenda turns out to be far bigger than she ever assumed, and even friends start looking suspect, the truth and her actions threaten to haunt her forever, especially since she’s left with blood on her hands, the blood of someone she loves.

Review:

This book was kind of confusing. The beginning of the book jumps back and forth with seemingly no purpose, and information that is seemingly unconnected is thrown at the reader. After getting used to that, the story comes alive.

I liked Majesty, she was really interesting and has normal reactions to situations she is put in which I really appreciated. I also liked Alec and Derek, they were complex characters in of themselves and I liked what they added to the book.

This book will keep you reading, even though at times its hard to understand, because you want to know what is going to happen next and how the story is going to be resolved!

 

 

 

 

 

Future Imperfect

Title: Future Imperfect
Author: K. Ryer Breese
Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin
Release Date: April 26, 2011
Received From: Publisher via Teen {Book} Scene

Summary:
Ade Patience can see the future and it's destroying his life. When the seventeen-year-old Mantlo High School student knocks himself unconscious, he can see days and decades into his own future. Ade's the best of Denver's "divination" underground and eager to join the heralded Mantlo Diviners, a group of similarly enabled teens. Yet, unlike the Diviners, Ade Patience doesn't see the future out of curiosity or good will; Ade gives himself concussions because he's addicted to the high, the Buzz, he gets when he breaks the laws of physics. And while there have been visions he's wanted to change, Ade knows the Rule: You can't change the future, no matter how hard you try.

His memory is failing, his grades are in a death spiral, and both Ade's best friend and his shrink are begging him to stop before he kills himself. Ade knows he needs to straighten-out. Luckily, the stunning Vauxhall Rodolfo has just transferred to Mantlo and, as Ade has seen her in a vision two years previously, they're going to fall in love. It's just the motivation Ade needs to kick his habit. Only things are a bit more complicated. Vauxhall has an addiction of her own, and, after a a vision in which he sees Vauxhall's close friend, Jimmy, drown while he looks on seemingly too wasted to move, Ade realizes that he must break the one rule he's been told he can't.

Review:

This book was very odd. The main character felt the need to give himself a concussion so he could see the future. I personally would NEVER harm myself so drastically just for that high. But I guess people do that sort of thing all the time so who am I to judge. That little aspect made parts of this book uncomfortable for me. The other part that was odd to me was his mother. She basically encouraged him to damage himself so she could see the future through him. I found this very disturbing and strange.

But beyond that it really was a brilliant idea. So different and fast paced. Vauxhall was a good addition to the story because without her the story really would have fallen apart completely. While I found her very annoying she was very, very important to the story’s development. I appreciated that because characters who don’t contribute to the main storyline drive me nuts.

While this book had its flaws in storytelling and in execution. It was overall a good book.

 

 

Oblivion Road

Title:  Oblivion Road

Author: Alex McAulay

Publisher:  MTV

Release Date:  November 13, 2007

Received From:  Other Shelf Tours

Five stranded teenagers must battle for their lives against a group of escaped convicts, and each other, in this shocking survival thriller from the author of Bad Girls and Lost Summer. Courtney Stanton thinks she's on just another ski trip with her friends -- until a horrific car accident strands them all on an isolated Colorado road during a blizzard. Frightened but alive, Courtney and her companions discover an abandoned vehicle nearby, and seek help. But the vehicle turns out to be a prison van, with the inmates missing, and the guard's dead body in the front seat....

This was my first experience with Alex's work but the premise really captivated me. The book sounds scary and it is, but not overly scary, Alex wove a story with rich detail that made me believe I was actually in the cold (even though it was 95 degrees outside.)

I liked the characters, they were different and interesting and I was really rooting for them to escape. But the book was very slow, it took forever for the inmate to even show up at their vehicle, and it took a long time for them to make any decisions. I almost put the book down because it was so slow, but wanting to find out what would happen kept me reading. And even though I figured out the ending there were different twists that I was not expecting.

Boys will also be a fan of this book because it is gory and scary at times, and there is not too much mushiness.
The plot was really cool, but it went very slowly, which really hurt this book, I think if it had been less slow I would have enjoyed it more. But if you are looking for a semi-scary novel to keep you cool this summer and don't mind a slow book pick this one up.

The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, and June

Title:  The Extraordinary Secrets of April, May, and June

Author:  Robin Benway

Publisher:  Razorbill

Release Date:  August 3, 2010

Received From:  ATWT

Three sisters, three extraordinary, life-changing powers!

I hugged my sisters and they fit against my sides like two jigsaw pieces that wou...more Three sisters, three extraordinary, life-changing powers!

Three sisters share a magical, unshakeable bond in this witty high-concept novel from the critically acclaimed author of Audrey, Wait! Around the time of their parents’ divorce, sisters April, May, and June recover special powers from childhood—powers that come in handy navigating the hell that is high school. Powers that help them cope with the hardest year of their lives. But could they have a greater purpose?

This is Robin's sophomore novel. Her first book Audry wait was amazing and loved by all! So I was really excited to read this book. But even though there is a great premise I felt that this book fell kind of flat.

I expected more world saving I guess. The story is basically about 3 sisters who learn that the most important thing is each other, and the plot is only thickened a little by the powers.

That being said each of the girl's were there own character, and they were very different, which I appreciated. Their relationships with each other and with the other characters were real and believable. Basically the characters kept me going in this novel, without that I would have hated this book, but because of the characters it made the book tolerable.

Still Sucks to be Me

Title: Still Sucks to be Me: More All-True Confessions of Mina Hamilton Smith, Teen Vampire (Sucks to be Me, #2)

Author:  Kimberly Pauley

Publisher:  Mirrorstone

Release Date:  May 10, 2010

Received From:  ATWT
Definite spoilers for the first book so beware! 

With vampire boyfriend George and best friend Serena by her side, Mina thought she had her whole life—or rather afterlife—ahead of her. But then Mina’s parents drop a bomb. They’re moving. To Louisiana. And not somewhere cool like New Orleans, but some teeny, tiny town where cheerleaders and jocks rule the school. Mina has to fake her death, change her name, and leave everything behind, including George and Serena. Not even the Vampire Council’s shape-shifting classes can cheer her up. Then Serena shows up on Mina’s doorstep with some news that sends Mina reeling. Mina may look a lot better with fangs, but her afterlife isn’t any less complicated!

I only read part of the first book, just enough to get the idea, before I tried this one. I did not read the whole first book because I found it boring. and I could not connect to the character in anyway.

I did read this whole book, I started connecting with Mina a little more, and while I did not get some references, from the first book, it was really ok. I liked all the different characters in this book, all of the personalities were different which was nice. It was also cool to see a different take on vampires for a change.

Parts of this book were still kind of boring but it was better than the first book. I still felt a kind of disconnect from Mina but it was better than in the previous novel.

The characters really made this book, I think I would have not liked it at all if the characters were not as vibrant and different.

Fire Will Fall

Title:  Fire Will Fall

Author:  Carol Plum-Ucci

Publisher:  Harcourt Children's

Release Date:  May 3, 2010

Received From:  ATWT

ShadowStrike poisoned the water of Trinity Falls two months ago. Now the Trinity Four, the teens most affected by the poison, have been isolated in a remote mansion under 24-hour medical care while scientists on four continents rush to discover a cure. Meanwhile, U.S. operatives scour the world for the bioterrorists responsible for this heinous crime, as two teen virtual spies, also infected, hunt for the criminals on the Internet. The danger remains real—for ShadowStrike has every reason to pursue the Trinity Four, and their evil plan will unleash a new designer virus that’s even deadlier than the first.

Let me first say that I want to be a Biomedical Engineer when I grow up so I was really excited to read this book, I had not read the first book but I figured it would be ok, and I could catch up as I went along. While I was able to understand what was going on for the most part, I was really, really board.

I am not sure whether the first book was more interesting, but this book had too much whining for me, and even though I came to care about the characters, I could not really get into it. Maybe I will try again after reading the first book. If I change my mind I will be sure to let you guys know.

3/5

The Unwritten Rule

Title: The Unwritten Rule

Author: Elizabeth Scott

Publisher:  Simon Pulse

Release Date:  March 16, 2010

Received From:  ATWT

Everyone knows the unwritten rule: You don't like your best friend's boyfriend.
Sarah has had a crush on Ryan for years. He's easy to talk to, supersmart, and totally gets her. Lately it even seems like he's paying extra attention to her. Everything would be perfect except for two things: Ryan is Brianna's boyfriend, and Brianna is Sarah's best friend.
Sarah forces herself to avoid Ryan and tries to convince herself not to like him. She feels so guilty for wanting him, and the last thing she wants is to hurt her best friend. But when she's thrown together with Ryan one night, something happens. It's wonderful...and awful.
Sarah is torn apart by guilt, but what she feels is nothing short of addiction, and she can't stop herself from wanting more...

This was only my third Elizabeth Scott book. And while I always love her books this one left me with something to be desired. It did not have the broken heroine that is typical in Elizabeth's books. And the story was not really original.

But besides that this story was pretty good. Sarah and Ryan's relationship was sweet and Brianna and Sarah's friendship was very typical in real life so I really liked that.

Overall I found this book to be a little sparse for me but I still love Elizabeth Scott and her books!

3/5

Spell Hunter

Title: Spell Hunter (Faery Rebels #1)

Author: R.J. Anderson

Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books

Release Date: April 28, 2009

Received From:  Library
(Summary from Goodreads)

Forget everything you think you know about faeries. . . .
Creatures full of magic and whimsy?
Not in the Oakenwyld. Not anymore.

Deep inside the great Oak lies a dying faery realm, bursting with secrets instead of magic. Long ago the faeries mysteriously lost their magic. Robbed of their powers, they have become selfish and dull-witted. Now their numbers are dwindling and their very survival is at stake.
Only one young faery—Knife—is determined to find out where her people's magic has gone and try to get it back. Unlike her sisters, Knife is fierce and independent. She's not afraid of anything—not the vicious crows, the strict Faery Queen, or the fascinating humans living nearby. But when Knife disobeys the Faery Queen and befriends a human named Paul, her quest becomes more dangerous than she realizes. Can Knife trust Paul to help, or has she brought the faeries even closer to the brink of destruction?

Spell Hunter was an interesting detour from the normal fae books, which was really refreshing. While I could definitely tell this was a MG book, it was pretty captivating.

I wish Anderson would have gone into greater detail about the reason the magic was gone. I was really expecting more from this book, so I was slightly disappointed, She did not really go indepth into the storyline, just skimmed the surface.

But Knife was a really fun character and her relationship with Paul was really cool, I enjoyed her take-charge, no holds-barred spirit, which I think really needs to be instilled in young girls.

While I was expecting more from this book, it was pretty good, the characters were cool and different.

Adventuring Tip: A quick, light, ok read.

3/5

Inside Out

Title: Inside Out

Author: Maria V. Snyder

Publisher: Luna

Release Date:  April 1, 2010

Received From:  Around the World Tours


I'm Trella. I'm a scrub. A nobody. One of thousands who work the lower levels, keeping Inside clean for the Uppers. I've got one friend, do my job and try to avoid the Pop Cops. So what if I occasionally use the pipes to sneak around the Upper levels? Not like it's all that dangerous - the only neck I risk is my own. Until I accidentally start a rebellion and become the go-to girl to lead a revolution. I should have just said no.

I received this book just as I was starting to read Maria's first novel Poison Study (Review of whole series to come). So I was kind of comparing the different styles of the different series. That was probably not very fair because I absolutely loved the Poison Study series, while I was not as enamored with this book.

Because of all of the amazing dystopian books that are available, this one needed to be amazing to really stand out in such a large market. And while I enjoyed it, it kind of fell flat. The premise was good and overall it was ok, but the middle was really boring, I trudged through it because I wanted to know what would happen.

The characters, well there weren't very many of them until the end, when they showed up one after the other, so I did not feel that I was able to understand more than Trella and a few others, at the end all of the unknown characters were confusing.

While this book could have been fantastic, it was ok, and I will be reading the next book to find out what happens, but the middle was monotonous and the ending was rushed. Overall an ok book. It did not really stand out like in needed to. Hopefully the next book will be better.

Adventuring tip: Bring a notebook to remember all of the names!

3/5

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

The undead can really screw up your senior year . . .

Marrying a vampire definitely doesn't fit into Jessica Packwood's senior year "get-a-life" plan. But then a bizarre (and incredibly hot) new exchange student named Lucius Vladescu shows up, claiming that Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess by birth—and he's her long-lost fiancé. Armed with newfound confidence and a copy of Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire's Guide to Dating, Health, and Emotions, Jessica makes a dramatic transition from average American teenager to glam European vampire princess.
But when a devious cheerleader sets her sights on Lucius, Jess finds herself fighting to win back her wayward prince, stop a global vampire war—and save Lucius's soul from eternal destruction.

It was nice in this age of wimpy vampires to have a book with nitty gritty scary vampires that sometimes have a nice side... or not. 

The plot of this book was ok, parts of it kind of droned on for a while and the book would have been fine without them. Also once the real action started at the end it was really, really fast and not long enough to the end. So a better outline might have helped.

Besides that, the characters were somewhat relate-able and realistic (besides the vampire part) and the overall story when it all came together was good. It was a nice change.

3/5
 

Cathy's Key by Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman

Cathy was your average high school student--doodling in the margins of her journal, crushing on a cute boy, and hanging out with her best friend Emma.

As this story begins, she's trying to keep a job, her journal is stolen, the cute boy is not who he seems to be, and even Emma's side project/start-up company, Doubletalk Wireless, is about to get caught up in the mystery surrounding Cathy and her search for the truth about her father.

Her presumed-dead father.

It's just a simple story really: Girl loves Boy, Boy disappears, Girl discovers secret that will alter the course of humanity....


This book was a good sequel to Cathy's Book, it answered some unanswered questions from the first book plus added a few more that will hopefully be answered in the next book. 

In my review of Cathy's Book I mentioned that there were 2 color drawings in the margins of the book and some people did not understand so I will clarify. On the margins of the book there are illustrations that go with the story in blue ink which use the white of the paper creatively. So I hope that is more clear now.

Moving on to the story, it was well drawn out and and characters were somewhat developed, but not as much as I would have liked. Again having the evidence was really nice. One of the main things I had a problem with was the fact that the author would allude to things and then never explain them. But maybe they will be answered in the next book. Overall an ok book.

3/5