Book Review: The Awakening

The Awakening by Kelley Armstrong

Description:Chloe has been captured by the Edison Group. She wants to know why they seem to be after her and her friends with special abilities. (Chloe can raise the dead and speak to ghosts - she is a necromancer). Her getting captured means two things - an opportunity to find out what is really going on and an opportunity to get back and save her friends.

Simon has always liked Chloe and he is protected by his werewolf brother Derek. Derek seems to not appreciate Chloe but will do anything to protect her. Add to that the complication of someone who seems like a friend who isn't and maybe someone who doesn't seem like a friend truely being one.

They need to escape the Edison Group and stay together. But is that possible? Why are they really here?


Thoughts: I had forgotten how much I liked this series until I picked up this book and started reading. The characters are great and not your normal run of the mill story line. I have my very own suspicions as to who is supposed to end up with who. Who is good and who is bad. And all of those kinda thoughts show me what a good book that this is.

It definitely is appropriate for teens. Other than the paranormal twist there is no sex - some limited violence (but not graphic).

In fact I like this teen series even better than Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld series. And I always thought that was good.

What genre would you consider this?
Teen/Paranormal

Overall:

Book Review: Lovestruck Summer

Lovestruck Summer By Melissa Walker
Description:Priscilla "Quinn" likes being the alternate girl. She thrives being the girl with the blue short hair that loves bands and alternative music. When an opportunity comes up to go work for her favorite bands music label she jumps on it. Even if she is only 18 years old. So off she goes to Texas to live with her cousin "Party Penny". Penny is everything that Quinn hates - pink, bubbly, and a sorority girl. When Quinn meets the guy of her dreams - Sebastian she thinks her summer is made. But why can she not stop thinking about her cousin's friend Russ.

Russ is exactly what Quinn thinks she doesn't want. I mean he likes country music. Can Quinn get past her own reservations and preconceived notions about what people are like? Will that help her really enjoy her summer?

Thoughts: What can I say - I love Melissa Walker. I loved all of her Violet books (Violet in Private, Violet by Design, and Violet on the Runway). Melissa has been kind enough to stop by a Blog of Books and give both an interview and guest post. And based on the response that I have gotten - more people then just me love her.

For me this was a classic Melissa Walker book. Lighthearted and fun but with a lesson in it that isn't preachy. Do we sometimes get so focused on who we want to be (or think we should be) that we start to close ourselves off to new experiences and people? Add to that a romance with a couple boys and a girls first adventure out on her own and you have a great entertaining book. While I know it is geared towards the 14 year old (and up) set - for me this book is something anyone who likes teen lit - would like.

I look forward to reading more of Melissa Walker in the future!

What genre would you consider this?
Teen Romance

Overall:

Book Review: Hunted

Hunted by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast (A House of Night Novel)

Description: Zoey and her friends saw the bird man Kalona unleashed on the school and its participants by headmistress Neferet at the end of the last House of Night Novel. They escape into the world only to be forced back into the school.

Zoey has always had special abilities and her loyalty to her friends as well as Nyx has served her well. She now is surrounded by different vampires then the kind that were originally created when teens like herself transformed. She knows it is up to her friends and herself to save the world. Kalona is out to get them - especially Zoey and she is the only one that can figure out a way to stop him.

Zoey has to figure out if all of those who seem to be her friends really are. Are the red fledglings someone she can trust? What about the students who are still back at the House of Night? Zoey has been burned before can she figure out who is good and who is bad in time?


Thoughts: I liked this series when I first started reading it. As time has progressed I have grown to like it more and more. You don't know who is the good guy and who are the bad guys. You instead focus on relationships of teens - within groups as well as individual friendships and romantic relationships. Tie all that in with a girl who maybe has a little too much responsibility and it may have hurt her in these relationships. But she is loyal - both to her friends as well as Nyx - the goddess.

The way things are progressing Zoey learns to rely on her friends a little more and more and that group is ever expanding. The red vampires, her special guards, as well as her circle. The story is interesting and inventive and if anything the only thing wrong with it is that it ends - and you keep wanting more.

I personally would recommend starting at the beginning of the series - as I think many of the things in it would be things you don't necessarily need to know about - but would start out as confusing (why are some of the teens dead, how do they become vampires, who Kalona and Neferet are and what is up with Heath the human teen who seems to be attached to Zoey).


What genre would you consider this?
Paranormal/Teen

Overall:

Need

Need by Carrie Jones

What was this book about?

Zara watched her father die of a heart attack. Being left behind when someone you love dies almost killed her. She was so depressed that her mother sent her to live with her step-grandmother in Maine. What kid wants to go live in Maine? It was cold and all of a sudden she was the new kid in school.

Something odd is happening in this small town in Maine. Boys have begun to disappear. It had happened years before where none of them were found again. There is a strange man that keeps appearing before Zara and seems to want something from her. Is she in danger?

Zara is also trying to deal with the things every kid does – fitting in at school and finding friends.

What did you think about the book?

This was a great book. I love it. I don’t know if this is the first in a series or a single book (it does have a rather complete ending so it could be either). I like it enough that I even tried to find out and the answer is…I don’t know.

Anyways this book was great. Yes it is in the genre that is taking off – all things paranormal for teens. But it isn’t totally like anything out there that I have read. I really think my favorite part is the buildup. You spend a large part of the book not knowing if there really is just a creepy guy kidnapping young boys or if there is something supernatural going on. And if it is supernatural then what exactly is out there? How does it tie in with Zara and her friends?

For any teen (or even adult) that likes the Stephanie Meyer, Kelly Armstrong, Melissa De La Cruz and are a little tired of just reading about vampires – this is a great book for you. It has a good story that keeps you interested throughout! I know once I started it I didn’t want to put it down.

What genre would you consider this?
Teen/Paranormal

Overall:

Question for You!
Did your parents ever keep secrets from you? For your own good? If you are now a parent - do you feel differently about them now?

Violet in Private

Violet in Private by Melissa Walker

What was this book about?

Once again Violet has decided to swear off modeling. She is ready to go to college and be a normal teen again. Vassar though is only a few hours from New York so when her contractual obligations come up – she is willing to jet into the city and take care of them. Violet is also ready to be exposed to a new part of the fashion world – the fashion magazine. She is invited to be an intern at Teen Fashionista and she can’t turn it down.

College is definitely a lot of work. Add to that the fact that Violet is very confused about her long time friendship with Roger. They kissed and things have just not been the same since! Does she love him – that way? Roger has a girlfriend though – so where does Violet belong?

Violet can’t just turn off her old modeling days. She is known as a model even on campus. Which means people are constantly looking and judging her appearance. She is definitely tired of it and wants to be known for being Violet- not for what she looks like. How can she do that?

What did you think about the book?

Like I said in regards to the last book – I was afraid that half the appeal of this series was the fact that Violet was a model. So if you take out the modeling – would I enjoy it as much? And the answer is yes.

This is the first book where you get to explore a little more of what a normal life for Violet would mean. She is a model – and can’t get away from that part of her existence. But she is so much more. She is a normal teen in college who wants to have friends, be accepted, and find someone to love. But we all know it isn’t that easy.

I can’t say it enough but you should definitely go out and get these books. They are spectacular! They are an easy read (fun) and also have messages that I think are important to teen girls. While because it has to do with modeling a lot of it focuses on body issues – even more importantly they focus on self.

What genre would you consider this?
Teen

Overall:

Question for You!
Was there ever anyone in your life that you didn’t realize you had feelings for (or they had them for you) until it was too late?

Violet by Design

Violet by Design by Melissa Walker

What was this book about?

Violet was discovered, became the “it” model of the New York Fashion Week and decided she really just wanted to quit. So she went home to relax. Meanwhile she gets an opportunity that she doesn’t think she can turn down – the Sao Paulo Fashion Week. I mean who wouldn’t want to go someplace like that?

So she goes. And gets back into that world she had left behind. She meets Paulo- designer extraordinaire who seems to have a thing for her. But is he true – or is he just using her. Her old roommate is back – Veronica – and finally healthy. She seems to realize that Violet is a friend and she should treat her like one. Wasn’t she the only one to stand by her back then?

But being a model is tough. Add to that a lot of criticism about Violet’s body. Is she too thin or not thin enough? What happens when you think you look good but everyone around you is telling you that you don’t? Is Violet willing to do anything to be a model this time around?

What did you think about the book?

So if you haven’t guessed there is a reason that I am having a “violet” week. And it is because I enjoyed every book in this series. I have to say with both this one and “Violet in Private” I was afraid I would not like it as much because she doesn’t want to model. But it really wasn’t a problem. (Especially in this one because well she decides to give modeling another try).

I also really appreciated the body issue talk. Every person has something about themselves that they would like to change. And it is true that in today’s society we put a lot of measure on people (especially models) being very skinny. And we all know that it is more important to be healthy then anything else.

And in the recent past we have encouraged designers to not use bulimic, aneroxicly skinny models. So they are doing their best to do so. But not always with the most sincere actions. Making a statement is not the same as acting.

I think that any girl who is a young adult would appreciate this series (in fact I am trying to think of every person I know that age that I can recommend it to). And I may not be a teen – but I enjoyed it as well!

What genre would you consider this?
Teen

Overall:

Question for You!
Have you ever had body image issues? How did you find a way to live with them?

Violet on the Runway

Violet on the Runway by Melissa Walker

What was this book about?

Violet Greenfield is your average teen living in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Her two best friends are Jill (a want to be writer) and Roger (a hipster in a town that doesn’t quite appreciate it.

Violet has always had body issues. I mean who wouldn’t when you are 6’1” in your stocking feet? She has always tried to hide herself and desperately wants to fit in. But high school is never that easy. When one day a woman notices her at her job in the movie theater – gives her a card and tells her that she should be a model. And this isn’t any trick – this woman is a manager.

Before you know it Violet is on her way to fashion week. How can a girl who used to be ashamed of how she looks fit in the modeling business? Can she become the “it” girl? What about Roger and Jill? What happens when you leave your friends behind to start on a new adventure?

Life isn’t just catwalks and glamor, Violet soon finds out. The fashion industry is a tough world to live in.

What did you think about the book?

I LOVED this book. Yes LOVE with all capitals. Actually I loved the whole series but the first book hooked me in like nothing else. I wonder if everyone has a secret wish of someone coming up to them and asking them if they want to be a model and whisking them off to some exciting new life? Or if not a model – then a singer? Or actor? Or whatever. That dream that you could be someone “special” with just a chance meeting.

To me that is what this book represents. Someone getting that lucky shot. Add to the lucky shot a huge dose of realism. Yes it would be kinda fun to have someone grab you and ask you to be a model – but what affect does that have on your friendships? Is that the kind of life for a teen? It is a dog-eat-dog world out there and not everyone is going to have your back. Does that make you jaded?

What genre would you consider this?
Teen

Overall:

Question for You!
What did you secretly wish would happen to you as a teen? Did you want to be famous? A movie star, a singer, a model?

The Midnight Twins

The Midnight Twins by Jacquelyn Mitchard (Book 1 – Midnight Twins)

What was this book about?

Twin sisters Mallory and Meridith have spent their lives connected. They can talk to each other without talking, they have their own special language, and they can feel when the other is hurt. On their thirteenth birthday they are involved in a horrible fire that almost takes their lives and the lives of their cousins and brother. But they save them all.

Dealing with this drama as a teenager is difficult and they figure out that while they seem to be perfectly healthy – they haven’t walked away from this experience as the same people. They no longer are as close as they once were – they don’t dream the same dreams for instance.

But they also have a newer and scarier power – one of them dreams of things that are going to happen, while the other dreams of things that have happened. This combination allows them the ability to change the future. Make things turn out better. But doing that as 13 year old girls is terrifying. They would be risking their lives to make the world a better place. Can they deal with it all?

What did you think about the book?

I really liked this book! I can’t wait to see where the series goes from here. It has a nice twist of family including what I believe to be a true bond between some twins. Where they just know a little more, feel a little more, then they should. Jacquelyn Mitchard has taken it to the next level. She has added in a twist of family abilities that are eventually explained.

The girls are like any other teen except for they have each other, and now these powers. Dealing with having this sort of knowledge is definitely something they are not looking forward to – they are having enough trouble just being teenage girls.

What genre would you consider this?
Paranormal/Family Dynamics, Teen

Overall:

Frostbite

Frostbite by Richelle Mead (A Vampire Academy Novel)

What was this book about?

We return to Rose and Lissa at the Vampire Academy. Rose is still out to protect her best friend Lissa. Lissa is living a complicated life trying to figure out how to best user her “spirit” powers without hurting herself. Meanwhile Rose is trying to balance her jealousy of Lissa and Christian’s romance. Christian is taking up all of Lissa’s time.

When the Moroi royal families begin to be murdered by Strigoi in attacks that are unusual everyone in the Academy and many of their families escape to a ski trip.

Can the Gaurdians stop the Strigoi? Before anyone else gets hurt?

What did you think about the book?

I ran home to read this book after finishing Vampire Academy and I wasn’t disappointed. I couldn’t wait to see more into Lissie and Rose’s world. A touch of paranormal, a touch of love, a touch of teenage angst, and throw in a touch of mystery about what is happening and you can’t help but love it.

What genre would you consider this?
Paranormal

Overall:

Vampire Academy

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead (A Vampire Academy Novel)

What was this book about?

Rose Hathaway is dhampir – and a guardian of the Moroi. And she has picked which Moroi she will protect when she gets older, best friend Lissa, a Moroi queen. Lissa and Rose have a bond that was forged years before that allow Rose to step into Lissa’s mind.

Moroi and Strigoi are both vampires – Moroi are living, breathing, blood drinkers who do not kill. Stirgoi have turned to the dark side, they are blood drinking (and killing) immortals. It is a gaurdian’s job to protect the Moroi from the Strigoi.

Something weird is going on at the Vampire Academy. Someone seems to want to hurt Lissa. But who? And why? Is it a so-called harmless teenage trick or something more? Rose must figure it out all the while fighting her attraction for Dimitri her tudor.


What did you think about the book?

Great! I don’t know why I took so long to read it. An interesting and unusual take on vampires which kept me interested while giving me enough to go on.

These are the sort of books that make me happy to read books marketed as “Teen” when I am definitely past that point in my life. Yes, it has an audience that is younger, but it doesn’t protect them in telling a story of love, passion, violence, and hate.

What genre would you consider this?
Paranormal

Overall: