Saturday, September 29, 2012

The Hunger Games--Review

Author: Suzanne Collins
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Pages: 384

Synopsis:
In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the other districts in line by forcing them to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight-to-the-death on live TV.
One boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and sixteen are selected by lottery to play. The winner brings riches and favor tohis or her district. But that is nothing compared to what the Capitol wins: one more year of fearful compliance with its rule. Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she is forced to represent her impoverished district in the Games.
But Katniss has been close to dead before — and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

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Review:  I was not planning on doing a review for this book for the simple fact that I was so late in getting to it, that I figured just about everyone has already read it. However, I ended up loving it so much, that I thought, what's one more review.

The main reason that I decided to pick up this book was because my sister kept telling me that I wasn't going to like it, and it wasn't my sort of thing. She had read it a few years ago, told me about it, but I hadn't ever gotten around to reading it. So, a few weeks ago, I had gone to Costco with my parents, and they had the boxset on sale for $30, so I picked it up.  Also, I really wanted to read it before I watched the movie (I'm weird like that).

I knew what the book was about when I was getting into it, however, it completely surpassed any expectations that I had about it. I'm also just going to say that this was not a book that I would have just picked up on my own to read. I have give my sister some credit, if it wasn't for her constantly saying that I wasn't going to enjoy it, then I never would have tried. Initially, I had a bit of a hard time getting into the story based on the first few chapters, but I understand that a set-up is necessary. After that though I was completely hooked! I really loved the world that Collins has created, and in a lot of ways it has really made me think about a lot of issues that we're facing today.

The entire plot was completely unique and I really liked being submerged into the world of Panem. It was a really thrilling read, and it kept me up at night, I couldn't seem to put the book down. Along with the great plot are great characters. I really enjoyed Effie Trinket and Cinna, of course I really enjoyed Peeta and Katniss as well, and I'm really curious to see what happens with them in the next two books!

I feel a bit silly for being so behind on getting to these books, but better late than never. I'm willing to bet that most people have read the trilogy by this point, but if haven't yet, I strongly recommend that you pick it up as it is definitely a must read!

Rating: 5 Stars

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Wishlist Wednesday #2

Every Wednesday, Dani from Pen to Paper hosts a weekly blog hop, Wishlist Wednesday, in which you can list a book that you really want to read or that you have really been wanting to get. 

How to join:
  • Follow Pen to Paper as host of the meme.
  • Pick a book from you wishlist that you are dying to get to put on your shelves. 
  • Do a post telling you readers about the book and why it's on your wishlist.
  • Add your blog to the linky at the bottom of her post.
  • Put a link back to pen to paper (http://www.pentopaperblog.com) somewhere in your post. 
  • Visit other blogs and enjoy! 

My book for this Week: 

           Girl of Nightmares
          By: Kenare Blake

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.

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When I picked up Anna Dressed in Blood, I wasn't aware that there was a second book in the series. 
I finished reading Anna Dressed in Blood about a month ago, and ever since, I've been dying to pick up this book. I really enjoyed the story, and I really loved all of the characters, and I'm really excited to know what happens next. Along with that, I love the covers of both books, and I'm definitely really excited to be able to add this to my shelves! 

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Saving June-Review

Author: Hannah Harrington
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 336 

Synopsis: Everyone's sorry. But no one can explain why.
Harper Scott's older sister, June, took her own life a week before high school graduation, leaving Harper devastated. So when her divorcing parents decide to split up June's ashes, Harper steals the urn and takes off cross-country with her best friend, Laney, to the one place June always dreamed of going—California.
Enter Jake Tolan, a boy with a bad attitude, a classic-rock obsession…and an unknown connection to June. When he insists on joining them, Harper's just desperate enough to let him. With his alternately charming and infuriating demeanor and his belief that music can see you through anything, he might be exactly what Harper needs. Except…Jake's keeping a secret that has the power to turn her life upside down—again.

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Review: The first time that I heard about this book was on Dani from PentoPaper's blog. It was honestly her review that led me to pick it up, and all I can say is that I'm definitely not sorry that I did. I really think the whole idea about a road trip is really interesting (its also something I really want to do).  I think that part of this reason that I liked the book so much was that fact that it based on a road trip. 

Another part of the book that I really enjoy were the characters. Each were so different in their own way and they made the book that much better. It was really enjoyable to get to know Harper throughout the story, and to be learning everything from her point of view. She is an incredibly strong-willed invidivudal, but she also very mature for her age. I especially enjoyed her relationship with Jake, and it was great to see them getting to know one another better. I really like Jake's character as well. He doesn't quite fit the mould of the typical romantic interest.  

Another thing that I really, really liked was the whole incorporation of music. I loved how so many things in the novel are surrounded by music. In some ways it reminded me of Nick and Norah's infinite Playlist. 

Overall, I really loved this book. Once again, as it seems with my views, I've been reading things that I don't normally read. The whole concept of a road trip is completely new for me, and as it turns out, I absolutely loved it, I'm now looking to get more books about road trips. 
I think that if you haven't read this book, then you definitely need to pick it up. Its a YA contemporary, which I've really been getting into lately. 

Rating: 4.5 Stars. 




Thursday, September 13, 2012

Anna Dressed in Blood-Review

Author: Kendare Blake
Publisher: Tor Teen
Pages: 320

Synopsis:
Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.
So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.
When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.
But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life.

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Review: I'm going to start my review off by saying that I absolutely love the cover of this book! I sometimes have a habit of picking a book up just based on its cover. In this case, I picked this book up because I had seen that a lot of people had been talking about it, and it got pretty decent reviews on good reads.

Anna Dressed in Blood is not something that I would have picked up off the shelf for myself. I really wasn't too sure if I was going to end up liking it or not because to be honest, this genre isn't really my thing. I'm happy to say that I was pleasantly surprised. I absolutely loved this book, and I read through it fairly quickly. Cas' world is completely fascinating, and that's what had me hooked right from the first page.

One of the things that I most enjoyed was that this book was set in Northern Ontario (somewhere familiar to me, which doesn't happen to often in books that I come across). Although, the thing that I most enjoyed where just Cas and Anna's characters. Everything that unfolds in this novel is unlike anything that I've read. Blake does  really wonderful job at introducing he characters and including their histories. While the primary characters are really enjoyable, as are the secondary characters, who are also well developed. The entire plot of the novel as well is something that is completely new for me, and its been refreshing.

I definitely highly recommend this book! As I mentioned, it really is not something that I would have just gone into the bookstore and picked up off the shelf for myself. I'm looking forward to picking up the sequel.

Rating: 5 Stars. 

Sunday, September 09, 2012

Showcase Sunday

Hey everyone!
I haven't really posted anything in a little while, so I thought I'd change that. I've actually been thinking about starting a channel on youtube. I really enjoy watching  a lot of the videos and it looks like it would so much fun, so, its something that I'm still thinking about.

Anyway, I thought that I would do a Showcase Sunday. I went to a used bookstore today, and I have a bit of a haul that I thought that I would share.

From the used book store I got:






































































I've got a couple of reviews coming up in the next couple of days :)