Enclave by Ann Aguirre

Enclave  by Ann Aguirre

Hardcover, 259 pages

Published April 12th 2011 by Feiwel & Friends

Synopsis: In Deuce’s world, people earn the right to a name only if they survive their first fifteen years. By that point, each unnamed ‘brat’ has trained into one of three groups–Breeders, Builders, or Hunters, identifiable by the number of scars they bear on their arms. Deuce has wanted to be a Huntress for as long as she can remember.

As a Huntress, her purpose is clear—to brave the dangerous tunnels outside the enclave and bring back meat to feed the group while evading ferocious monsters known as Freaks. She’s worked toward this goal her whole life, and nothing’s going to stop her, not even a beautiful, brooding Hunter named Fade. When the mysterious boy becomes her partner, Deuce’s troubles are just beginning.

Down below, deviation from the rules is punished swiftly and harshly, and Fade doesn’t like following orders. At first she thinks he’s crazy, but as death stalks their sanctuary, and it becomes clear the elders don’t always know best, Deuce wonders if Fade might be telling the truth. Her partner confuses her; she’s never known a boy like him before, as prone to touching her gently as using his knives with feral grace.

As Deuce’s perception shifts, so does the balance in the constant battle for survival. The mindless Freaks, once considered a threat only due to their sheer numbers, show signs of cunning and strategy… but the elders refuse to heed any warnings. Despite imminent disaster, the enclave puts their faith in strictures and sacrifice instead. No matter how she tries, Deuce cannot stem the dark tide that carries her far from the only world she’s ever known.

My rating: 5 starts of 5

Short

Well-developed characters

Interesting journey

Cliff hanger

Enclave, Enclave, Enclave.

I first saw this book on this website and I searched and searched all of the Half Price Book stores that I could find. Nada. Not one store had it. Eventually, the library handed over this book to me. FINALLY, I was able to read it.



I just knew it would be good. I had high expectations and it exceeded them. For those of you who follow my reviews know that I'm a huge feminist. This book showed off the main character's agility and talent. Duece, went through the naming ceremony and was made a huntress. With her new partner, Fade, they go on a journey to Nassau, a city in their world that lies underground. They run into people that they call Freaks and meet new people called the Burrowers.



A scandal hits College, the city Duece and Fade live in. Duece steps forward and takes the blame for something she didn't do and is forced to go to Topside. Topside is the world above ground. Fade goes to Topside with Duece. As they travel, they run into more enemies and end up taking others with them named Stalker and Tegan.



After a long ride in Topside, Tegan gets injured and they are in desperate need for help.



This book kept me entertained from the very beginning. I just knew I'd love it. I don't really want to relate this book to The Hunger Games because they're completely different books but if you liked THG, then yes, you will love this book also.



This book was filled with action and romance. It shows the struggles of these teens who consider themselves Elders. The overall story was just so interesting that the reader just isn't sure how it could possibly end. I'm eagerly waiting the second book and I reccommend this to everyone. Short and straight to the point with well-developed characters.

"Waiting on" Wednesday: Project Organic.V4 (Please read!)

Project Organic.V4 by Daniel Arsenault

Kindle Edition

Published May 22nd 2011 350 pages

Synopsis: Whether as a hobby, career, art form, or passion, video games have been a powerful influence on culture for decades, but nobody expected a game like Naflem. Powered by the new generation of computers, the virtual-reality enabling System Cell, players can simply don a helmet and step into a whole new world. As so frequently occurs with technology, the invention of the System Cell led to an even more incredible piece of technology; Naflem is the first ever game to have a map larger than the Earth itself, and to mix real-world physics and organic science with magic for the first ever “truly realistic” adventure game.

For Jake and his friends, the new world of Naflem is more than just a programming masterpiece; it is their new life. After an in-game program malfunctioned, the three kids wake up to find not only can they not feel their real world bodies, but all five of their senses are fully active within Naflem. Homeless, hungry, and without direction, the newest residents of Naflem are forced to survive in the very world they had devoted countless hours to exploring.

How far can technology take realism?

I have yet to read this book but one of my best friends wrote it. He's a freshman at OSU and is an amazing writer with a huge imagination. I'm hoping that I can get a few more people to buy his book. It's only on Kindle but you can read it on your computer. It's only 99 cents. It would be greatly appreciated if he got some feedback on it. Thanks! 

Skinny by Laura L Smith

Skinny by Laura L. Smith

Paperback, 167 pages

Published September 30th 2008 by NavPress Publishing Group

Synopsis:  Teenager Melissa Rollins has got the eye of the cute new guy in school. The one thing Melissa doesn’t have is a perfect body. Strict dieting and throwing up can’t be all bad, can they?

 

My rating: 1 star of 5

Bad writing

Too short

Annoying

I often read books on self-help and disorders because I'm curious about them. I work at the library and always find books that I want to read (And then never get around to) and this was one of the books that caught my eye.



My first impression? The cover is amateur-ish (watch, that's probably not even how you spell it. Now I look like the dumb ass.) I just felt like I was looking at a book that had been published by a high school aspiring writer. I'm one of those people so I know what kind of work those aspiring writers are capable of. ;)



I'm usually not into books with religion woven into it. I'm a Catholic but I don't like to read books where everything relates back to God. Melissa, the main character, talks about "having a date" with her bible and the book contains bible passages. It's not that I found it pointless.. but Smith wrote the passages in the book and it just felt like she only put it in so she could fill up more pages.



Skinny wasn't even 200 pages long. The actual writing was not good. At all. I kept thinking about how I could write better. There were lines like, "The girls just had so much fun!".



I had a lot of problems with Skinny. Sorry if this review is quite annoying, choppy, and blah.



Smith definitley could have written more in some scenes. I felt like she didn't really have a grip on what teenagers are really like. I found myself scoffing at certain parts.



Sure, girls paint each others finger nails and eat popcorn but it bothers me how she wrote it. It just felt like it was me writing one of my stories back when I was into Twilight and wanted to be a writer. Back in like the 6th grade. . . .



Overall, I know this review didn't say a whole lot. But I wouldn't tell anyone to read this book. It's a huge waste of time and extremely annoying. Just put it down and read the other book Skinny with the green popsicle on the front. I promise it will be a helluva lot better.

Afterlife by Claudia Gray

Afterlife by Claudia Gray

Hardcover, 360 pages

Published March 8th 2011 by HarperTeen

Summary: 
Destiny awaits Bianca and Lucas . . .
Bianca and Lucas have always believed they could endure anything to be together. When a twist of fate not only transforms Bianca into a wraith but also turns Lucas into a vampire—the very creature he spent his life hunting—they are left reeling.
Haunted by his powerful need to kill, Lucas can turn to only one place for help . . . Evernight Academy. Bianca is determined to remain with him. But with the vampire leader of Evernight waging a war against wraiths, her former home has become the most dangerous place she could be, despite the new powers her ghostly transformation has given her.
A battle between wraiths and vampires looms, and Bianca and Lucas face a terrifying new reality. They've overcome every obstacle life has thrown at them, but is their love strong enough to survive the challenges after life?

My rating: 3 stars of 5
Dry, annoying, boring
Too mushy gushy
Ending was unpredictable



Unfortunately, this book took me forever to finish. Forever. I won't give you guys the whole excuse of, "It took me awhile to finish because school got in the way". No. I just wasn't that interested and man, Lucas and Bianca got on my nerves. . . .



Lucas is a vampire now and is seeking help. Evernight is his only sanctuary but Bianca is now a wraith and from recent discovery, Mrs. Bethany has traps for wraiths all over the school. While trying to show Lucas' mother that he's not a monster (Which doesn't turn out well) and figuring out what's going on with Mrs. Bethany, Bianca finally meets this "Christopher" that Maxie is always talking about. He isn't what she thinks he would have been like. . . . Lucas begins gaining trust with Mrs. Bethany and she reveals to him the secret she's been keeping.



While I found this book to be an easy read, I was annoyed by the drama and Bianca's unnecessary jealousy. I was annoyed with Bianca and Lucas. Period. They just seemed to be either extremely gross mushy gushy or pissed off at each other. Nothing inbetween. Mrs. Bethany's secret was surprising, honestly, the whole ending was not predictable at all.



I'm going to rap this up and make it short, sweet, and not sugar coated: I thought this book was boring and I was tired of the couple. The conflict with Charity was kind of just thrown away at the last few chapters and I was annoyed with how everything was settled. The ending was good though, I was satisfied. This has never been my favorite series but the last book was pretty damn good so I figured this one would be, too. I found this book to be kind of dry but that's just me. Claudia Gray is coming out with a book about Balthazar and yes I'll read it but will I get it and get all super geeked and excited? Probably not. Claudia Gray is an OK writer and this was an OK book.



View all my reviews

Oh, I miss thee.

Hello fellow bloggers!

I just finished the book Afterlife by Claudia Gray and I miss blogging and reading so much.

Working at the library has been amazing. I have found a lot of new books and met a lot of really cool people. I just got my mother started on a blog. Not a book blog, unfortunately. . . .

I'm trying to read a little faster to get reviews out quicker but we all know how school, extra curriculars, work, and such just don't mix well with finding time to read. The time I had to read before is now devoted to math tests, ACT/SAT vocab, and Journalism Editorials. :(

The Afterlife review will be here soon. I'm currently reading a book called Skinny. It's just 166 pages so hopefully I can knock this one out fast.

I'll catch up with you guys later.

Torment by Lauren Kate

Torment by Lauren Kate

Hardcover, 452 pages

Published September 28th 2010 by Random House Children's Books (first published January 9th 2010)

Synopsis: Hell on earth.
That’s what it’s like for Luce to be apart from her fallen angel boyfriend, Daniel.
It took them an eternity to find one another, but now he has told her he must go away. Just long enough to hunt down the Outcasts—immortals who want to kill Luce. Daniel hides Luce at Shoreline, a school on the rocky California coast with unusually gifted students: Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans.
At Shoreline, Luce learns what the Shadows are, and how she can use them as windows to her previous lives. Yet the more Luce learns, the more she suspects that Daniel hasn’t told her everything. He’s hiding something—something dangerous.
What if Daniel’s version of the past isn’t actually true? What if Luce is really meant to be with someone else?

My rating: 2 stars of 5
Annoying. . . .

I'm going to be honest here. I thought this book was extremely boring and annoying.



I thought I was really going to enjoy this series. I guess I'm a little annoyed with the new facination of angels that everyone seems to have now. Everyone went through the witches stage and thought that everyone needed to have magical powers then the vampires came along and everyone played the human girl + vampire boy = love and blood and then werewolves and then angels. Sometimes books have all of those put together for one huge confused and screwed up story!



Now, I don't mind this new facination with angels. I think they're kind of cool. If only there were major female ass-kicking involved, it would be better but, to be honest, this book and the Hush, Hush series tangled up in my mind together way too often and I began not to like this book.



To the point? Luce is shipped off to a new school while Daniel does top secret things. Daniel asks Luce to stay on school grounds. This obviously means she's not going to. When she starts to veer off with her new friends, Cam, her "nemisis" is around and shoots and kills someone that is hunting Luce, an Outcast. Everything is trying to get to Luce because of a bargain that was made. Daniel is hiding things and Luce isn't sure why Cam is siding with Daniel when they're supposed to be enemies.





Luce finds out a little more about her past and also starts to develop feelings for a new guy, Miles.





Alrighty tighty, the no sugar added part!



I really didn't like this book. Luce and Daniel argued a lot and it seemed like they were never ever going to just sit there and be happy for once! I was glad that Lauren Kate decided to be slightly realistic and let Luce wonder about her future with Daniel. Let her question her future, that is. I didn't like the concept, I'm bored with the past lives and Daniel seems a little controlling and weird. Miles, the new character, I LOVE! Overall, I think this book had some kind of direction, I just got bored reading it, I couldn't really find it. I'm getting tired of all the books where the boyfriend is always lying to his girlfriend. I don't know if that is supposed to be suspenseful, I just find it stupid.



I don't think I'd reccomend this series, honestly. I'm almost positive that the next book is going to be all about a new love triangle. I just wish authors could write a good book/series without thinking that a love triangle is going to be the part that makes it a best seller or something.



JD Robb's In Death series is a good example. Amazing series, no love triangle, and can continue the series without the unwanted romance and the whole "picking sides" and "team" things (Thank you, Twilight) that always seems to happen in love-triangle-books-series.



Final word: This book was just OK.

Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

Hardcover, 427 pages

Published October 19th 2010 by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

Synopsis: Nora Grey's life is still far from perfect. Surviving an attempt on her life wasn't pleasant, but at least she got a guardian angel out of it: a mysterious, magnetic, gorgeous guardian angel. But, despite his role in her life, Patch has been acting anything but angelic. He's more elusive than ever and even worse, he's started spending time with Nora's arch-enemy, Marcie Millar.

Nora would have hardly noticed Scott Parnell, an old family friend who has moved back to town, if Patch hadnt been acting so distant. Even with Scott's totally infuriating attitude Nora finds herself drawn to him - despite her lingering feeling that he's hiding something.

Haunted by images of her murdered father, and questioning whether her nephilim bloodline has anything to do with his death, Nora puts herself increasingly in dangerous situations as she desperately searches for answers. But maybe some things are better left buried, because the truth could destroy everything - and everyone - she trusts.



My rating: 4 stars of 5
Lacking something
Good overall
No romance



I finished this book a few days ago. Okay, maybe a little more than a few days ago. So, I'm behind on reviewing books, so what? I'm a busy gal.



Because it's been awhile since I've read it, I may be a little vague when talking about a few things.



Alrighty tighty, this book was not my favorite. Sure, it had some interesting parts but the lovey dovey mushy gushy was gone from this book.



A little bit of a spoiler right here in my synopsis, hurrwego:



Nora and Patch are in a continuous spat from almost the very virst page. Ironically, around the time that Nora and Patch are "split" (In which we all know they get back together, yada yada yada), an old "family friend" decides he wants to move back to the dank little town of Coldwater. During his stay, Nora notices that danger is always falling right in his path. She also realizes just how much time Patch is hanging out with. . . . Marcie Millar? The story goes on with new findings on Nora's father; Scottie, the "family friend", Marcie, and Marcie's father. . . .?



A lot of questions were left unanswered in Hush, Hush and all of your questions will be answered in this one.



The things I didn't like?



How ironic everything seems and how much Nora and Patch fought. I knew they still loved each other but goodness! I thought the arguing would never end and after awhile, it just got really annoying. . . .



Oh, and you find out Patch's real name!



Overall, this book was great, just lacking a few things. Doesn't mean it was my favorite though. . . .



No sugar added? The audience likes the gushyness. So I wanted to gouge my eyes out with forks when I couldn't find any romance. The only thing that was hiked up a notch was the action. Nora is pretty bad ass. Just wait until you read about her in this book. I got the romance that was needed in the very beginning and the very end. Also, we're left with a cliff hanger which, again, made me want to go and find a fork. I resisted.



I liked this book, I didn't love it. It was missing something. I just can't put a finger on it. The first book in a series is usually the best, right? Well, I think so. With this series, that's also the case.