The Giver by Lois Lowry: Review

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Published Houghton Mifflin Books 1993

Genre: Young Adult Dystopia

Format: Hardback from the library

Other books in this series: Gathering Blue, Messenger, Son

Buy This Book: Amazon - Barnes & Noble

Jonas' world is perfect. Everything is under control. There is no war or fear or pain. There are no choices. Every person is assigned a role in the Community. When Jonas turns twelve, he is singled out to receive special training from The Giver. The Giver alone holds the memories of the true pain and pleasure of life. Now, it is time for Jonas to receive the truth. There is no turning back.

To be totally honest, I really don't know what to think of this book. For many people, it is the ultimate classic and example of what a dystopian novel should really be. And I truly understand that. I just don't think it lived up to the hype for me. 

My main problem was that the book was short at only 225 or so pages. There are very little books nowadays that are published saying too little. However, it felt like the story was shoved into such a small space. This didn't really allow for the character development of Jonas or The Giver. The secondary characters were also just thrown aside for the most part. It really could have been improved if I related to Jonas, but I really did not care. The writing style was also very detached from the characters. The book was written in third person, but it felt so different because the way it was written. 

The story idea was also good, but it was not expanded upon enough. I had no idea a year had passed until the end of the book when they mentioned Jonas' ceremony of the thirteen, which really threw me. I thought, until that point, the book was within a month. There are not many descriptions of time passing. I also wanted to know more about the memories that were being given to Jonas. The ending felt strange too, like it didn't totally belong in the book. It just appeared at the end randomly and I could not figure out why they were doing this. That scene came in a rush as did most of the book.

Overall, I understand that this book is influential and defintely very good, but I just wasn't sure about the execution and description given to the topic. 

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen: Review

Just Listen by Sarah Dessen

Published: Viking 2006

Genre: YA Romance

Format: Hardback from the library

Other Books by this Author: The Truth About Forever, This Lullaby, Along for the Ride

Buy it from: Amazon - Barnes & Noble - Twitter

Last year, Annabel was "the girl who has everything" — at least that's the part she played in the television commercial for Kopf's Department Store.

This year, she's the girl who has nothing: no best friend because mean-but-exciting Sophie dropped her, no peace at home since her older sister became anorexic, and no one to sit with at lunch. Until she meets Owen Armstrong.

Tall, dark, and music-obsessed, Owen is a reformed bad boy with a commitment to truth-telling. With Owen's help, maybe Annabel can face what happened the night she and Sophie stopped being friends.

Just Listen was a fun, light, quick read. As with all of Sarah Dessen's books, she delivered with a cute romance and a few life lessons thrown in there. The main theme of this book was, of course, music. There are many different types of music strewn throughout this book, most of which is shown through radios and CDs. Ahhh...the days when CD players were used instead of iPhones! Also known as 2006...

The main character, Annabel, isn't really particularly likable or even considerably warm. She is a bit hard to connect to, due from the uniqueness of her position. Annabel is a model whose world has just crashed after her best friend dumps her after she reportedly hooked up with her best friend's boyfriend. After a summer filled with modeling, she returns to school. Where she meets Owen. Owen is a bit better in the character department. Both go through lots of character development throughout the book, but their romance was also a little bit lacking. I loved his sister and she was just so adorable throughout the entire book. The main part of this book, for me, was focused on Annabel's family situation. 

Annabel's sister, Whitney, is recovering from an eating disorder after her retired modeling career and Kristen is trying to start her life again after she too drops out from modeling. Even Annabel herself no longer likes it. This was my favorite part of the book - the relationship between these sisters throughout their struggles. I loved Annabel and Whitney's relationship and my favorite scene was the weekend they spent together while their parents were away for the weekend. It was so interesting to see as their relationship developed. 

The book was well paced and the perfect length. The relationship between Annabel and Owen was a little bit lacking for me, but Annabel's home relationship kept the book going. I really liked the way she developed her relationship with her friend Clarke and all her sisters, including the topics that were dealt with along the way such as eating disorders. There is also a little part of this book about rape, which felt a little strange to me since it occurred at the very end of the novel, so there wasn't a lot of time to fully develop this plotline. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book!

Virals by Kathy Reichs Review

Virals by Kathy Reichs

Published: Penguin 2010

Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction

Format: Paperback as a gift

Other books in the series: Seizure, Code, Exposure

Buy it from - Barnes & Noble - Amazon - Twitter

Tory Brennan, niece of acclaimed forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan (of the Bones novels and hit TV show), is the leader of a ragtag band of teenage "sci-philes" who live on a secluded island off the coast of South Carolina. When the group rescues a dog caged for medical testing on a nearby island, they are exposed to an experimental strain of canine parvovirus that changes their lives forever.

As the friends discover their heightened senses and animal-quick reflexes, they must combine their scientific curiosity with their newfound physical gifts to solve a cold-case murder that has suddenly become very hot if they can stay alive long enough to catch the killer's scent.

Fortunately, they are now more than friends. They're a pack. They are Virals.

This book was probably the most fun reading experience I have had thus far this year. Virals was a crazy, fun mystery with many cool sci-fi elements involved. It was also a very smart book. All of the clues had something to do with biology or anthropology. As I was reading this book, I also got to learn about those fields. It made the book a fun read that pushed the mystery to keep reaching farther. 

Our main character, Tory, was a strong character. Tory stood up to all the people around her for what she believed in and led her team of boys. She was a good leader for the group and really helped them all without getting overly commander. I really liked her friends on the island. They were all very different and great compliments to Tory's character. The romance in the book was well developed and interesting, especially in where it ended up at the end of the book. Even the villains were unique and well preserved in their motives.

Virals was action packed from beginning to end. There were many great action scenes as they ran around on the islands. Some of the surrounding area could have been explained a little bit more to really build the action. There are multiple islands around South Carolina that they travel too and more description could have helped separate them. Throughout the book, there were lots of high intensity moments that really contributed to the story and made the mystery even more hyped. 

Overall, I loved where this book went and how it got there. I will be continuing on with this series to see more of this type of smart mystery. 

Trapped by Michael Northrop Review

Summary (via Goodreads): The day the blizzard started, no one knew that it was going to keep snowing for a week. That for those in its path, it would become not just a matter of keeping warm, but of staying alive. . . .

Scotty and his friends Pete and Jason are among the last seven kids at their high school waiting to get picked up that day, and they soon realize that no one is coming for them. Still, it doesn't seem so bad to spend the night at school, especially when distractingly hot Krista and Julie are sleeping just down the hall. But then the power goes out, then the heat. The pipes freeze, and the roof shudders. As the days add up, the snow piles higher, and the empty halls grow colder and darker, the mounting pressure forces a devastating decision. . . .

Review: This book was okay, but it was the plot and description that really did it. If this book had a little bit more character development, it would probably be stellar. The descriptions of the building snow were all amazing and beautiful. The school was very well described. Every way that they stayed alive was very well written and accurate to what they would do. There were just a few problems in their priorities - like having acne problems and trying to pop pimples, lots of descriptions of the hot girls. Literally, there was nothing else to Julie or Krista except that they were hot and so beautiful, even though they were only freshman. 

As for Scotty, he was okay. Same with all the other characters. I did like Jason a little bit more than the rest for some reason, but everyone else was okay. All cookie cutter types of the high school crew - the bully, the hot girl, the best friend, the jock, the goth, the teenage boy controlled only by getting the girl, the smart leader who comes from nowhere. It was a typical high school - in description, in characters. Even the few encounters at the beginning of the book with teachers were nothing special, and most of them seemed to not care at all about any of the students. 

The plot was well described. While the level of snow was a bit unbelievable, the way that the school building shut down was brilliant. The heat shutting down, the electric, the roof falling down from all the snow. All of this was a very nice process and timed well so that just when they had everything figured out, they would start again with another problem. 

The ending really did the book justice. I will not spoil anything, but it was brilliantly done. It didn't wrap everything up at the end in a beautiful bow - but it left enough that the brain could fully imagine what would happen without directly stating anything. 

Overall, this book is worth the read. It is well written and descriptive, but the characters were a bit lacking and boring. 

4/5 Stars

Seven Minutes in Heaven by Sara Shepard: Review

4/5 Stars

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS! *look for an upcoming post about the entire series without spoilers later this week. 

The Lying Game series is finally over (fingers crossed) and ended all wrapped up in a cute little bow. I even shed some tears toward the end. This final book is as crazy and twisted as all the rest, leading the reader down crazy pathways and adventures. The second half of the book is a lot more put together and action packed than the first, but I've just come to expect that from Sara Shepard. 

Now, onto the actual book review:
The entire first half I knew it couldn't be Garrett. It just didn't make sense. Why was all of this stuff just now being found out about him? It was all happening way too quickly. Towards the end, they began to have me convinced, up until Nisha's house. I loved the thing with the tampon box. That was brilliant.

So, Ethan Landry was it the whole time. Never expected that one coming. Emma and Ethan were always so good together, I never suspected him. That was the whole point though... Anyway, I do like the way the mystery was solved and wrapped up, all thanks to Nisha and Mr. Banjeree.

Another crucial part of this book was when the detective found out she wasn't Sutton. I found it quite shocking the way their family reacted though. After just talking about how much they wanted to meet Emma, they turned her away at the door without giving her a chance. And the whole thing with the school? That was strange too. It makes me wonder about the actual law in this situation, if it were real. (Let's all hope this never happens.)

The end was so beautiful, with all the stars that Grandmother Mercer made. I love the concluding sentence, wrapping up everything very nicely. It was a great conclusion to a series that I hope stays six books. 

If I want one thing for Christmas, it would be that Sara Shepard lets Emma live her life after this. Without falsely committing anymore felonies.