The Gunslinger by Stephen King

Pages: 300

This heroic fantasy is set in a world of ominous landscape and macabre menace that is a dark mirror of our own.  A spellbinding tale of good versus evil, it features one of Stephen King's most powerful creations- The Gunslinger, a haunting figure who embodies the qualities of the lone hero through the ages from ancient myth to frontier western legend.  His pursuit of The Man In Black, his liaison with the sexually ravenous Alice, his friendship with the kid from Earth Jake, are part of the drama that is both grippingly realistic and eerily dreamlike, an alchemy of storytelling sorcery.  Complete in itself, THE GUNSLINGER is the first novel in an epic series. 

Review:

The characters in this book are The Gunslinger, The Man In Black, Jake, and Alice. Alice is The Gunslinger's lover, she helps him through sex, odd I know but you have to read it in order to get it. Jake is this adorable little 11-year-old.  He helps The Gunslinger through several situations and the Gunslinger  develops a soft-spot for him which could be dangerous.  The Man In Black is the person that the Gunslinger is after.  He is this creepy man, who wears a black robe which covers his face.  He turns people to his side, brings people back from the dead, your average creeper.  The Gunslinger is the main character (obviously his name is on the cover) He is very closed, even though he's the main character we don't know much about him other than the fact that he got to be the Gunslinger by killing his old mentor, (which was the passage from boys to men back then) and he is on a journey to find the dark tower, (Not sure why yet).

The plot of this book was kind of confusing actually, I wasn't exactly sure what he was doing till I got about halfway through it. It kind of switched back and forth from his childhood to the present.  You had to be careful or you'd miss the switch and be sitting there with this blank "wtf" look on your face. (trust me, I know, I did it.) But the plot is basically about the Gunslinger following the Man in Black to get answers, and hopefully to kill him.  But when he finally catches him, he finds out that what he wants to know isn't exactly what he wants to hear. Good plot, can't wait for the next book.

It took me about a day and a half to read this book because it was quite short (300 pages????), and it wasn't too deep.  Which is quite odd for Stephen King.  This is such a good book, kinda boring at first, but don't let that stop you. I would definitely recommend starting this series!

~C~

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

 Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Pages: 338

Publisher: Harper Teen

Release Date: November 15, 2011

Rating: 3/5

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

Review:

WARNING: This review contains major spoilers. Read at your own risk. Thank you. :)

Juliette hasn't seen the outside world--or what's left of it--in almost a year. For almost a year, she's been in a cell, caged like an animal. Dirty. Starved. Untouched.

Until he arrives.

Her new cellmate won't tell her why he's there. Of course, neither will she. But she knows him from somewhere.

Adam Kent.

The little boy with the deep, alluring midnight-blue eyes. How could she ever forget those eyes? Those eyes that watched her suffer all those years ago...

This book has a writing style that starts off very creative, but quickly turns into nothing but a distraction. She seems to have an obsession with numbers, too.

"I've been locked up for 264 days.

I have nothing but a small notebook and a broken pen and the numbers in my head to keep me company. 1 window. 4 walls. 144 square feet of space. 26 letters in the alphabet I haven't spoken in 264 days of isolation.

6,336 hours since I've touched another human being."

As well as the numbers, she has a way of striking things out, giving you an insight of what Juliette is really thinking, but isn't supposed to think.

"'You're getting a cellmate roommate,' they said to me.

'We hope you rot to death in this place For your good behavior,' they said to me.

'A psycho just like you No more isolation,' they said to me."

She also likes to repeat things three times in a row. For instance, reminding us for the upteenth time about Adam's "blue blue blue eyes."

It would bother me less if there were commas in there.

But, to make matters worse, she likes to do this two things AT THE SAME TIME.

His hands on my body his hands on my body his hands on my body his hands on my body

Mafi's writing style consists mainly on metaphors and analogies. Every time it gets a little steamy, you are going to read about the "fire and honey exploding in her mouth" or some other fire analogy.

There are only so many ways you can describe fire before it gets old.

What I'm saying is, her style seems too forced. It works some of the time. Mostly, it's just a mess. :(

Now, onto our characters~!

Juliette is our main protagonist, our heroine (and I mean that in the loosest way possible). She is basically shunned for her gift. She is able to drain a person's life force simply by coming into contact with them (Rouge, anyone?). It's cool, in a sense, but Juliette isn't very happy with it. She has a completely pure heart, and doesn't want to hurt anyone, despite other people's beliefs. Unfortunately, it got really annoying.

Adam is our second part of the love-triangle. He is bland, for lack of a better word. He has loved Juliette ever since the third grade, and is always there to defend her. Also, he is immune to her touch. Just. Great.

Our last part of the triangle is our main antagonist, Warner (<3). Warner is the leader of a sector of The Reestablishment. He is a gorgeous, power-hungry, sadistic man (nineteen...man-boy). He is by-far, the best, most well-rounded character in the story. 

Warner will do anything to get what he wants.

Oh, and he's also immune.

This book had a very X-Men feel to it towards the end. It's not a bad thing, really. I'm just not the biggest fan of superhero stories. I came into this thinking it was just a distopian novel. Oh well. I will be picking up the next book when it comes out, because I just NEED more Warner. :D

Skeleton Crew by Stephen King (#1)

Pages: 505

This is going to be a weird book review because it’s not A BOOK.  It’s a bunch of Stephen Kings’ short stories’ all in one book.  I’m not going to do a full out review on every story or the whole book, I’m going to give you the synopsis of every story and the point it was trying to make, and how I liked it.

The Mist:

The mist is about a city in Maine that got hit with this terrible storm. And the morning after the storm there was this thick white fog that covered everything. But it wasn’t just fog, there were things hiding in the fog.  This is a story about a group of people that were in the super market when they got stuck in this death trap.  It was very interesting and it held me through the entire thing. The only thing that I don’t like about it is that it had an ambiguous ending.  I hate all ambiguous endings because I like to know what actually happens because then I’m not sitting there trying to figure out if one thing or another ended the story.  But overall it was very interesting.

Here There Be Tygers:

Yes for the record, that is how he spells the title. Tygers with a “y” not an “I.” This short story confused me quite a lot actually. It was only about 6 pages, but I had to go back and read it three times before it actually clicked.  This story is about a little boy in kindergarten who really needs to go to the bathroom (or basement as he calls it) and he is too scared to ask his teacher, and when he does he enters the bathroom and finds a tiger lying on the floor.  A friend of his come in and tries to get him to come back to class, but the little boy has still not yet gone to the bathroom because of his fear of the tiger.  The boys’ friend goes around the corner and unfortunately gets eaten by the tiger, and then the teacher comes in and sees the boy still too frightened to go to the bathroom, and the teacher in turn, gets eaten by the tiger also.  Soon after, the boy returns to class as if nothing happened.  The theory that I came up with is that Stephen King wrote this short story to show just how overactive a young child’s mind is.  The tiger represents the deeper part of our minds that truly hates other people and wants them to be destroyed. The boy created the tiger (metaphorically or not is still a good question) from his mind to unleash his anger on the people he disliked. It also leaves it open to whether or not the reader believes that the tiger is real or not.  And this brings me also back to my statement of, I HATE ambiguity.

The Monkey:

This was a super creepy story. It was about this boys’ childhood plaything, a monkey with cymbals that was evil. It seemed broken, but really it wasn’t.  It wouldn’t clap the cymbals together when you wound it up, but on its own, and when it clapped the cymbals you knew that somebody was going to die.  In the end he got rid of the monkey with his son. This story actually creped me out a lot. I mean there wasn’t much killing in it but the way it was told…..*shudder*

Cain Rose Up:

This story actually took me about three times to read it because I didn’t understand it the first time. It deals with a depressed and homicidal college student, Curt Garrish, who goes on a murderous sniper rampage from his dorm room. It is the end of the school year. Curt talks frequently about how people should either do the best they can with their life or die. And it’s interesting how King worded this story, because you didn’t know what he was going to do until it happened because Curt didn’t show any emotions to wanting to do that. But it was quite good.

Skeleton Crew by Stephen King (#2)

Pages: 505

Mrs. Todd’s Shortcut:

This was a story about a woman who lived her life trying to save time.  Finding as many shortcuts as she possibly could.  Till one day she just disappeared.  I honestly just thought that this was a pointless story.  This was the first story that I didn’t like that Stephen King wrote. I have nothing more to say about it.

The Jaunt:

The Jaunt is about a man telling his kids a story, and the story is about a man who created the first portal, to travel from one place to another.  This is actually a really hard story to explain, it’s one of those books that you just have to read it in order to get it.  This story shows just how mysterious the mind really is. And how seconds physically, could be an eternity mentally.

The Wedding Gig:

This was an interesting story on Revenge.  A 350 pound woman, is getting married to her 90 pound husband, they are ridiculed, and are the laughing stock of the town.  Her brother doesn’t like that so he kills anyone who laughs at her.  Soon the Greeks (a mafia) shoot him down, and the sister has a shocking rise to power, and kills anyone who wronged her or her brother and she becomes the most powerful and most feared person in the world.  It was a very good story, pointless, but good.  Moral: Don’t mess with the little guys because they’ll get you even though you least expect it.

Paranoid: A Chant:

This is about a schizophrenic man telling about his hardships and everything that people have done to wrong him.  It’s a 100-line poem and extremely hard to interpret.  I ended up, (after reading it 3 times) going online and looking up the meaning and plot of it.  When I knew what it was about I went back and read it for a fourth time.  The fourth time made the most sense to me.  I wouldn’t suggest this if A) you don’t like poetry or B) you have a hard time interpreting things.  But I thoroughly enjoyed it. Very well written Mr. King

The Raft:

This was a gruesome story about 4 teenagers who swim out to the raft that the owners of the beach have planted in the ocean, it was late October. Two boys, two girls.  But when they got there they noticed this black thing in the water.  It would catch them and painfully eat them alive, although they had no idea what it was r where it came from, and it didn’t seem to have a face.  One by one the thing killed them all off.  It wasn’t a very deep story, but it was really good. It reverted back to Kings’ normal way of writing.

Skeleton Crew by Stephen King (#3)

Pages: 505

Word processor of the Gods:

This is a fantastic story about how a little boy named Jon created a word processor.  He gave it to his Uncle Richard for his birthday.  But his Uncle Richard found out that it was actually more than just a word processor.  Like if he typed in “I have a bag of coins” a bag of coins would magically appear on his floor when he pressed enter.  His nephew Jon and his sister-in-law Belinda, died in a car accident that his drunken brother caused, and in the end he wished for them to be alive again and his son and wife, not his brothers.’  This was an intriguing story because when it comes down to it he only had a few minutes left before the machine broke, he wished for love and happiness rather than riches, and fame like he originally was going to type in.  It basically came down to what people find most important to themselves.  It was a very good story.

The man Who Would Not Shake Hands:

This is about a man who would not shake hands (obviously).  Actually he wouldn’t touch any living creature, because if he did it killed them.  We found out why later in the story.  He was cursed by a man after his son was killed in his truck. That probably makes no sense to any of you. But hey, it’s a 16-page story, go read it for yourself! It was probably one of the best ones in this book.  Very well done.

Beachworld:

I thought this was a dumb story actually.  No point whatsoever except to scratch your head and say to yourself “Now why did he write this again?”  Yeah, it was about a spacecraft carrying three men in it, 8,000 years in the future, that crashed on another planet covered in sand.  One of the three was killed and the other two decided to go check things out. Well they found it was just san and sand and even more sand.  One of the guys listened to it and became hypnotized, but the other one fought it.  Soon help came, but when they tried to get man #1 out he fought them, and they let him stay to die because he wouldn’t leave.  The other man was more than happy to get on their spaceship.  But when he got on a giant sand arm reached up and tried to grab him.  He got away, and so did the spacecraft.  Then Man #1 sat down and started to eat sand.  Yes, it is as dumb as you think. I have nothing else to say.

The Reaper’s Image:

This is a story about an ancient Elizabethan mirror that is said to bring destruction.  A man wants to buy it from an old antique shop, and when the shop owner tries to tell him that he shouldn’t, that bad things have happened because of it, the buyer refuses to believe him.  The story behind the mirror is that if anybody looks into it and sees the Reaper they’ll disappear without a trace.  This happened to several people.  The buyer laughed and looked into the mirror, he saw the Reaper and was filled with uncountable fear, he ran out of the room and down to the first floor to go to the bathroom, and the owner stood up on the second floor waiting, and waiting and waiting, but the buyer was gone, nowhere to be found.  This was an okay story, not much to think about, but it does bring up the thought of what EXACTLY do they see in the mirror, and where exactly o they go? But other than that it was a whatever story for me.

Nona:

This is a story about a boy who runs away from college and meets a girl, Nona.  He meets her at a truck stop and she gets into his head and ends up making him kill several people, and go on the run.  A killing rampage.  Soon he finds himself alone in a graveyard, she had left him.  This story was told from his perspective after it had all happened.  He’s in jail.  In the end he’s preparing to kill himself because he can’t stand being without Nona whom everyone thinks he made up.  This was a really good story. It was gruesome, and sick, and everything that a Stephen King novel should be. Very good.


For Owen:

I don’t really know what to say about this story.  It’s a poem that King wrote for his son Owen. It was cute????


Survivor Type:

This is an amazing story; I love this one so much. It’s probably my favorite one out of this whole book.  It’s about a man who goes on a cruise and gets shipwrecked on an island by himself.  He has no food so when a seagull comes around he throws a rock at it and kills it.  He starts to go crazy when no more birds fly around, and in the end he goes cannibalistic and eats himself until he dies. It was so intense; this story was the best one EVER. Holy crap.  It’s freaking amazing. Love, love, love, love, love. <3

Skeleton Crew by Stephen King (#4)

Pages: 505

Uncle Otto’s Truck:

Uncle Otto crashed his truck while driving drunk. It kills his partner by rolling over him. He’s a millionaire so he builds himself a house across the street from the field that the truck crashed in.  He goes crazy, standing in his doorway watching the truck all day, and sleeping with one eye open all night.  He told his nephew, who brings him weekly groceries that the truck was getting closer to his house. The nephew laughs it off because it looks like the truck hasn’t moved.  Then one day he found his uncle dead in his house, and when he touches his face it starts to bleed oil out of his eyes, mouth, nose, ears, and he pulled a spark plug out of his mouth.  It looked to him like the truck had gotten him after all.  It was an okay story.  The ending was definitely the best but it was boring.

Morning Deliveries (Milkman #1):

This was an odd story at first. It was about a milkman who dropped off more than milk. Enough said.

Big Wheels:  Tale of the Laundry Game (Milkman #2):

………………………….Don’t get drunk…………………………..

End of story.

I <3 the milkman.

Gramma:

This is a story about a boy named George who is terrified of his grandmother.  His brother breaks his leg and his mother has to go to him in the hospital.  George was left alone to take care of his grandmother.  Strange things start happening and by the end of the story the grandmother died but her spirit was possessing George’s soul.  This was a very disturbing story and it actually makes me kind of leery to be around my grandmother now, which means that Stephen King did an excellent job writing this story.

The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet:

This story was about a man named Henry, called (“the editor” in this story) Henry receives a short story from the novelist Reg Thorpe, and considers the story to be very dark, but also a masterpiece. As he keeps in touch with Thorpe, Henry learns of – and, due to Henry's own addiction to alcohol, eventually begins to believe in Thorpe's various paranoid fantasies. Henry and Thorpe believe that their typewriters are homes for their Fornits (tiny elves) who bring creativity and fornus (good luck dust). Henry told the story at a work barbeque that he went to.  He talked about his descent into Thorpe's madness, and how he recovered. It was such a good story. It was very interesting to see into the mind of a crazy person.

The Reach:

Stella Flanders, the oldest resident of Goat Island, has just celebrated her 95th birthday. She has never crossed the reach, the body of water that separates the Island from the mainland, in her entire life. Stella comes to the realization that the cancer that she's known she has, and kept to herself, is it its final stages when she starts seeing the deceased residents of Goat Island. Her visions start with her husband inviting her to "come across to the mainland." As her impending death draws near, Stella encounters more apparitions of the dead of Goat Island, and she makes peace with the knowledge that it is her time to go. Dressed in her warmest clothes, plus her son's long johns and hat, Stella heads across the frozen reach toward the mainland. Soon it starts to snow, and sleet, and she starts to freeze to death, and on the way she sees friends and family that have passed on.  Her hat flies off sometime in the middle of her trek, and her dead husband Bill is there to give her his.  Stella Flanders is found, dead, sitting upright on a rock on the mainland. Her son, Alden, recognizes his father's hat. He comes to believe that the dead sing and that they love those still living. I think this was an adorable story. Thinking that the dead are still taking care of the living, it makes me feel reassured.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Pages: 452

Publisher: Simon&Schuster

Release Date: September 27, 2011

Rating: 4.5/5

Mara Dyer doesn't think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love.

She's wrong.

Review:

This is one book I can say you either hate it, or you love it. I, for one, LOVED it.

This is going to be a short review, mainly because I don't want to spoil anything. Basically, Mara Dyer is suffering from PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) after her best friend, her boyfriend, and her boyfriend's sister die. She cannot remember a thing that's happen. All she knows is that, for some reason, she survived. Most of the story is her regaining her memory.

Mara is downright insane. That's really all I can say about her--insane. Some of the thoughts she has were just...crazy! She belonged in the looney-bin.

Then there is Noah, the love-interest. He is a bit of a butt, and has pretty much slept with the majority of the school. Throughout the book, I was unsure on whether or not to trust this guy. Until the very end, it seemed his only goal was to take Mara's innocence. 

The ending of this book leaves you on such a cliff-hanger, and the next book doesn't even come out until next year! How will I survive!?

Christine by Stephen King

Christine by Steven King

Pages: 497

Christine is no lady, but 17-year-old Arnie Cunningham loves her enough to do anything to possess her.  Arnie's best friend Dennis distrusts her at first sight. Arnie's teen-queen girlfriend Leigh fears her the moment she senses her power. Arnie's parents, teachers, and enemies soon learn what happens when you cross her.  Christine is no lady.  She is Stephen King's ultimate, blackly evil vehicle of horror.

The main characters are Arnie, Dennis, Leigh, and Christine.  Arnie is a loser at first, and then he becomes a MAJOR jerk, and then you realize that it's not actually his fault because the spirit of the cars previous owner is possessing him, and the owner is an ass.  Dennis is pretty funny and a sex machine.  He made me want to get in the backseat of a car with him at some points.  Leigh is the beutiful girl who ends up being the strong-willed, stubborn girlfriend of first Arnie, then Dennis.  Christine is the possessed car, and let me tell you, Stephen King did such a good job creating this character, that it wasn't overdone and stupid sounding.  It was interesting to see how all the characters fit so well together.  None of them actually annoyed me in this book surprisingly.

The plot of this book was SO amazing.  Boy sees car, boy falls in love with car, car = possessed, boy becomes possessed, people are mean to boy, boys car comes alive and murders them all, car ends up being destroyed.  It stuck to that the entire time. But it was so much more than that. I grimaced several times in this book, and it takes A LOT to make me grimace while reading.  Stephen King did a wonderful job.

It took me about four days to read this book, not just because it's boring, but because it's one of the longer books.  It captivated me from the first page.  I love Stephen King, he's my favorite author, and he definitely kept up his image in my mind. If you want a book that keeps you interested, and disgusts you at the same time, I would definitely recommend picking up this book!

Devil's Kiss by Sarwat Chadda

Devil's Kiss by Sarwat Chadda

Pages: 327

Publisher: Puffin

Release Date: May 7th, 2009

Rating: 4.5/5

As the youngest and only female member of the Knights Templar, Bilquis SanGreal grew up knowing she wasn’t normal. Instead of hanging out at the mall or going on dates, she spends her time training as a soldier in her order’s ancient battle against the Unholy.

Billi’s cloistered life is blasted apart when her childhood friend, Kay, returns from Jerusalem, gorgeous and with a dangerous chip on his shoulder. He’s ready to reclaim his place in Billi’s life, but she’s met someone new: amber-eyed Michael, who seems to understand her like no one else, effortlessly claiming a stake in her heart.

But the Templars are called to duty before Billi can enjoy the pleasant new twist to her life. One of the order’s ancient enemies has resurfaced, searching for a treasure that the Templars have protected for hundreds of years—a cursed mirror powerful enough to kill all of London’s firstborn.

To save her city from catastrophe, Billi will have to put her heart aside and make sacrifices greater than any of the Templars could have imagined.

Review: 

Devil's Kiss is about a girl named Bilqis, or Billi. Her mother was killed by the Unholy, and her father is part of a group called the Knights Templar, fighters of the Unholy. Billi is training to be part of them.

The book starts off with a bang with Billi trying to pass her Ordeal. One must pass the Ordeal in order to be part of the Templar. The first line was was purely epic, for lack of a better word.

Killing him should be easy; he's only six.

Really, how awesome is that?!

Unfortunately, it slowed down quite a bit after the first couple chapters. Almost to the point where I just didn't want to pick up the book.

Billi was a strong character, but she was also flawed. This made her very enjoyable. Her relationship with her best friend, Kay, was also quite adorable. I found myself loving Kay from when he was first introduced. He's just so...innocent, but at the same time, a major bad-ass.

Kay was a very disturbed child, as he is an Oracle. The Templar knights found him when he was young and took him in. He'd have nightmares every night, and pretty much jump just at the sight of his shadow. He'd talk to things no one else could see, and have fits where he'd scream God-knows-what in several different languages.

Disturbed. Child.

I loved him so much!

The story did pick up again when Billi met Mike, the mysterious boy with amber eyes and tattoos stretching across his neck and torso. She couldn't help but be allured by this boy. So allured that she was blinded by his hideous secrets.

If I said any more, I'd be spoiling the whole book.

This book, though, is painfully obvious if you know anything about the Bible/angelology/ect.

The ending of the book made me tear up, and I really want to read the next book to see what happens. The ending was just not fair!

This was surprisingly a really good book. Don't be fooled by the synopsis. It is A LOT deeper than it sounds.

The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa

Pages: 359

Half Summer faery princess, half human. Maghan has never fit in anywhere.  Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen.  As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron fey -- ironbound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her.

Worse. Meghan's own fey powers have been cut off.  She's stuck in Faery with only her wits for help.  Trusting anyone would be foolish.  Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly.  But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart.

The main characters are Ash, Puck, and Meghan Chase.  Meghan was always, and always will be annoying. I just can't get over her stupidity, but hey, I'm gonna sound like a broken record, but you have to have at least one.  Ash is the every-so-sexy Winter Prince, who at first I thought was an ass but he got better in the second book. Then there's Puck, the infamous Robin Goodfellow.  He's super funny and I would love to meet him in real life. I like him but in the brotherly way, because he reminds me wayyyyyyyy to much of my brother.  The characters really bring out the best in each other. Like Puck and Ash's mini battles that always end up with them both still alive.

The plot of this book was really good.  I think Miss./Mrs. Kagawa really brought out the plot better in this book than the first one.  It kept me interested the entire time.  Plus, there was more going on, not just a quest, but also saving Ash, trying to keep hidden from Queen mab, and several other things. It wasn't just one, straightforward thing the entire time.

It took me about a day to read this book, because it was really, really good. I thoroughly enjoyed it. And I just want to say, that if you are going to read the Iron Fey series don't stop reading it because of the first one, I mean yes the first one was good, but kinda boring, but keep reading and once you get through  the first one the second one is way better, and I'm so ready to read the third!!

~Christina~

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Pages: 476

When Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother in Victorian England, something terrifying is waitning for her in London's Downworld.  Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, who are members of a secret organization called the Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she has the power to transform into another person.  The Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the club, will stop at nothing to claim tessa's power for his own.  Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons.  She soon finds her self fascinated by--and torn between--two best friends: James and Will.  As Tessa is drawn deep into a plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, she realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brther and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

OMG. I FREAKING LOVE. THIS BOOK. <3

Clockwork Angel in my opinion is the BEST book that Miss./Mrs. Clare has ever written, that I've read.  It definitely made up for my lack of interest in the fourth mortal instruments book. She regained my respect for her as a writer. I applaud you Miss./Mrs. Clare for writing one of the best books I have ever read, and trust me, it's very hard for me to find a book that I can say that about.

The main characters are Will, Jem, Tessa, Henry, Jessamine and Charlotte.  Cassandra Clare put just the right amount of annoying, stupid, funny, smart, sophisticated, and attitude into these characters.  Will Herondale is witty, amused rarely, and very sarcastic, he's my favorite character and his annoyance with the world never got over-done.  Jem (James) is funny, yet sophisticated and he is adorable.  Henry is the crazy inventor of the group. He is decently smart, and his passion is making things for the clave to use, unfortunately he never gets one to work right.  Jessamine is the annoying, stuck up, prick in this book, but like I said you have to have at least one in every book.  Charlotte, is the head of the Institute, but other than that she's just there, to help out and be the mother-like figure.  And lastly, Tessa who is the main, main character is witty, hard-headed, and makes this book amazing.  She's not one of the main characters that try to hard either. 

The plot of this book was incredible. Cassandra Clare stayed on topic and never strayed.  It was very interesting to see how everything unfolded in the end, with several plot twists that I wasn't expecting at all.

It only took me about two days to read this book because it was just so icredibly-fantastic that I couldn't put it down.  I definitely recommend everyone to start reading the Infernal Devices series.  I'm so excited for the next one, Clockwork Prince, to come out!

~Christina~

City of Fallen Angels by cassandra Clare

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Pages: 424

Love, blood, betrayal and revenge — the stakes are higher than ever in City of Fallen Angels. Simon Lewis is having some trouble adjusting to his new life as a vampire, especially now that he hardly sees his best friend Clary, who is caught up in training to be a Shadowhunter—and spending time with her new boyfriend Jace. Not to mention that Simon doesn’t quite know how to handle the pressure of not-quite-dating two girls at once. What’s a daylight-loving vampire to do? Simon decides he needs a break and heads out of the city—only to discover that sinister events are following him. Realizing that the war they thought they’d won might not yet be over, Simon has to call on his Shadowhunter friends to save the day — if they can put their own splintering relationships on hold long enough to rise to the challenge.

Okay, just to start this off, I actually didn't like this book as much as the first three. I mean, yea, it was good, but I think Miss./Mrs. Clare kind of slacked off a bit.  I like action, and this focused to much on the love lives of everybody, it wasn't until the last hundred pages or so that I started getting interested in it.

The main character, Clary, has always been annoying to me, but that's what makes the book enjoyable, I mean as much as we all hate annoying people there has to be at least one in every book.  I actually enjoyed the fact that she started her training as a shadowhunter. She wasn't a completely clueless idiot....well.....to a point.  Jace, well he's just amazing anyway, and I liked that it wasn't all about those two this time, I was glad to see that we got to get with Simon too.  Speaking of, Simon is pretty awesome, but not as awesome as Jace. <3 The other semi-main characters were Camille, Magnus, Alec, Isabelle, Maia, and Kyle.  They made the plot at least a little more interesting.

I actually didn't like the plot all that much. It was mostly focused on Jace and Clarys' tedious, never-gonna-happen relationship.  I like a lot of action, and comparing it to the first three books it just wasn't as good.  There was one major battle scene, and I wouldn't even consider it a battle.  More like Simon saving everybodys butts.  That was amusing actually. 

It took me a couple of days to finish this book because no matter how hard I tried I just could not get into it.  And I mean, I'm biased already because I absolutely LOVE Cassandra Clare, but this book actually diminished some of my love.  The ending.....oh. my. God. I hope she's writing another book, because if that's how she's going to end it, then I'm going to cry. So overall, it was decent, but not up to my expectations of her.

~Christina~

Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Crank by Ellen Hopkins

Pages: 544

Review:

This book was amazing. It actually made me stop and think to how vulnerable we, as humas really are.

The main character Kristina (Bree) is a confused, teenager who really just needs her mom to care for her, but knowing she can't get that, she turns to drugs.  She's very "out-there" for lack of a better term.  She knows how to put herself out there in order to get the things she wants. Kristina is the actually person, but Bree is the second person that she made up in order to give her that "bad-assed" image.  It's very similar to multiple-personalities. The other characters in this book aren't really the focus so we really don't learn about them, or see them very much.

The plot in this book is very obvious, very precise.  It's about a girl who goes to stay with her dad, and the "love of her life" (so she thinks) gets her addicted to Crank.  Leading her down the wrong path, he turns out to not be who she thought he was, and when she went back home she was still addicted.  She couldn't find the words to tell her mom, and they ended up finding out in the worst way. 

It took me like 3 hours to read this book because it's written in lyric so it only had an average of 30ish or 40ish words per page. I definitely recommend this book. It opened my eyes to just how dangerous the life of a teenager can be, in one aspect of things. I'm in the middle of reading Glass right now. :D

Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta

Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta

Pages: 416

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Release Date: February 9, 2010

My Rating: A

At the age of nine, Finnikin is warned by the gods that he must sacrifice a pound of flesh to save his kingdom. He stands on the rock of the three wonders with his friend Prince Balthazar and Balthazar's cousin, Lucian, and together they mix their blood to safeguard Lumatere.

But all safety is shattered during the five days of the unspeakable, when the king and queen and their children are brutally murdered in the palace. An impostor seizes the throne, a curse binds all who remain inside Lumatere's walls, and those who escape are left to roam the land as exiles, dying by the thousands in fever camps.

Ten years later, Finnikin is summoned to another rock--to meet Evanjalin, a young novice with a startling claim: Balthazar, heir to the throne of Lumatere, is alive. This arrogant young woman claims she'll lead Finnikin and his mentor, Sir Topher, to the prince. Instead, her leadership points them perilously toward home. Does Finnikin dare believe that Lumatere might one day rise united? Evanjalin is not what she seems, and the startling truth will test Finnikin's faith not only in her but in all he knows to be true about himself and his destiny.

Review:

I always get afraid when I read high fantasy/adventure books. For me, I either really love them, or really hate them. Finnikin of the Rock falls into the former. I. Loved. This. Book.

I will be the first to admit that I haven't read Jellicoe Road or Saving Francesca or any other of Marchetta's novels. I'm half tempted to pick one up, though, because this book was amazing.

The characters in this book were really well fleshed-out. There wasn't one I feel didn't have some sort of development throughout the story.

This is a very serious book, but also had its light, funny moments. I could help but laugh at all the sexual references. Yeah, this book is definitely for older teens.

I loved how the romance between Finnikin and Evanjalin wasn't rushed. They didn't lay eyes on each other for the very first time and automatically fall in-love. No, they first actually got to know each other before Finnikin wanted to bang her they got all lovey-dovey. Well, actually, they never really did get too lovey-dovey, but you get the idea. They wanted to make little ginger-babies.

The thing that brought this down that .5 of a point was the beginning. It was soooooo slow. I almost didn't want to read it. But, trust me. Just get through the first 100 pages. It does pick up a lot.

Ya know, I find it a lot harder to review books that I like. ._.

Perk!: The Story Of A Teenager With Bulimia by Liza F. Hall

 Perk!: The Story Of A Teenager With Bulimia by Liza F. Hall

Pages: 126
Publisher: Gurze Books
Release Date: October 6, 1997
My Rating: C

Filling the void in written resources for teenage girls with eating disorders, Perk! is the first title in Gurze's new education and prevention series for kids, teens, and young adult. Perk, whose real name is Priscilla, is a high school student with self-doubts, weight concerns, and puppy love--all of which impel her into bulimia.

 Review:

This is a book I read in my health class. At the time, we were learning about mental disorders. :D

Perk! is about a girl named Pricilla Sinclair (correct me if I'm wrong. I don't have the book on me), also known as Perk. It is her first day back to school after being out with bronchitis. She is VERY self-conscious and constantly refers back to her chubbiness. To make matters worse, she has a crush on the super-hottie, Dom, her "best friend's" ex-boyfriend. He pays her very little mind. She blames it on her "fat."

It is very clear that her distorted image of herself comes from her mom's verbal abuse. Her mother is super-model thin, and always reminds Perk that she was never Perk's weight when she was a teenager.

Good going, mommy. And you call yourself a student counselor?

To solve her problem, Perk turns to purging after she eats. This leads to disaster.

I will admit, Perk was annoying. NOT because of her disorder, but because of the way she spoke. She was always in a "baby-talk" mode. You know, the way you talk to something super cute? I've never been one to baby-talk, so it kind of bothered me.

*So wishing I still had the book on me xD*

I have never had an eating disorder before, so I don't really get why Perk is doing this to herself. As someone prone to migraines, and constantly puking up whatever I eat, I don't get why someone would willingly go through that. I suppose it's just something that only someone who has it would know how it feels.

I couldn't relate to Perk, so it made it harder to enjoy this book.

I think the best part about reading this was my class's commentary. My class is a bit of a...loud bunch, and said some stupid things.

"So, what's Perk's favorite activity?"

"Puking! :D"

"No, guys! It's art"

The ending was kind of...rushed. I don't like how they just threw Jason in there. It also seemed kind of too easy to get Perk to get help. She never seemed to have that "I'm going to die" moment. Maybe it's just me.

Unnatural by Michael Griffo

Unnatural by Michael Griffo

Pages: 420

Publisher: Kensington

Release Date: February 22, 2011

My rating: F

In the town of Eden in northwestern England stands the exclusive boarding school known as Archangel Academy. Ancient and imposing, it’s a place filled with secrets. Just like its students…

For Michael Howard, being plucked from his Nebraska hometown and sent thousands of miles away is as close as he’s ever come to a miracle. In Weeping Water, he felt trapped, alone. At Archangel Academy, Michael belongs. And in Ciaran, Penry, and especially Ciaran’s enigmatic half-brother Ronan, Michael finds friendship deeper than he’s ever known.

But Michael’s only beginning to understand what makes the Academy so special. Ronan is a vampire—part of a hybrid clan who are outcasts even among other vampires. Within the Academy’s confines exists a ruthless world of deadly rivalries and shifting alliances, of clandestine love and forbidden temptations. And soon Michael will confront the destiny that brought him here—and a danger more powerful than he can imagine…

Review:

I was so drawn to this book when I first heard about it, mainly because there aren't many M/M paranormal romances in the YA community. I literally jumped on it when seeing it in my local B&N, resulting in my mother yelling at me for inappropriate behavior in public (Sorry, Mommy).

So, can you tell me why I barely got past page 250? Oh, wait, it's my job to tell you...

This story is centered around Michael Howard, whom is raised by his lunatic mother, mute grandmother, and extremely homophobic grandaddy. Wow, I wonder why things went horribly wrong.

Michael is struggling with homophobic thoughts, and has no friends in school. The only one who talks to him is the really lame, self-proclaimed bully, Mauro, who's only real insult it "gaytard." Seriously? Bullies, you are only insulting yourself by using such a phrase.

To make matters worse, his mommy commits suicide. News quickly travels to his school, making Mauro tease him even more. The news also travels to his long-lost father, whom lives in London.

Guess where you're going, Mikey? Archangel Academy! :D

I really could not stand Michael as a character. If his name wasn't on each page a billion times, I'd think it's a girl speaking. I get that he's gay, but there are such things as "manly" gays. Not macho (though, I'm sure there are), but not downright feminine (though, I do know there are those, too). I think he should have had just a bit more of a backbone on him.

Then, there is Ronan, his sexy vampire boyfriend. Uuugh...He was just like Michael, but a little creepier. When he was first introduced into the story, I thought he was just going to jump Michael and drain him Thus making a better story.

The story would quite often go into the minds of several characters. THIS probably ticked me off the most. NO ONE THINKS LIKE THAT. Page long, complete sentence thoughts. REALLY?!

It seemed that every person in the boarding school was A) a vampire, and B) gay. I mean, there are a couple straight, human characters, but not many.

Forget gay clubs. You want a good time, go to Archangel Academy! -_-

The one thing that bothered me before I even picked the book up was that Michael Griffo, the author, named the main character after himself. That could mean one of two thing...

1: Mr. Griffo was writing about himself in a fantasy.

-or-

2: The dude is just uncreative.

I hate writing bashing reviews like this, but sometimes I just can't help myself. I do not think I will try picking this up again, nor will I continue the series if I actually do. It's really disappointing when a book you want to read doesn't come close to par...

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

She Can Control Her Pack, But Not Her Heart

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Pages: 454

Publisher: Speak

Release Date: October 19th, 2010

Rating: B

"Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she'll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But when she violates her masters' laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything- including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice?"

Review:

It took me so long to get through this book because school has finally started up again, but I am back to review it.

People keep saying it's impossible to tell who Calla will end up with when this series ends, but I find it really obvious by the end of the book, and let me tell you, I see a trend with me disliking the love interests...

Shay was okay at the start of the book, but as it progressed, I sort of wanted to rip his...Well, let's just say it'd be gory. Anyway, Shay is, what I would say, the most dangerous person in the book. He was constantly pulling Calla into trouble, totally ignoring the fact that the things he is getting her into may end up getting her killed. Way to go, hiker-boy.

Then there is Ren, who may have a bit of a temper, but you can tell he really does care for Calla, and doesn't get her into trouble. That's not to say he doesn't have his faults, but he is still a lot better choice than Shay.

Calla was a bit annoying as well. As I do like a heroine who can stand up for herself, she was a bit over-the-top; too tough. Towards the end, she did show a bit more emotion, but as they say: too little, too late.

The one aspect that did annoy me was that Cremer created all these interesting side characters and side-plots, but didn't develope them. I really liked the rest of the pack, specifically Mae (*cough*Mason*cough*). He has his own little problem with their, erm..."master" that was really awesome sounding (well, not for him), but after it was mentioned, all we get was something along the lines of "Logan's gaze lingered Mason" or something to that effect. Maybe it'll be explored a little more in the next couple books, because I'd really like to know what happens. :D

I have no idea when I'm going to get around to the rest of the series, but I can't wait to do so.

Passion by Lauren Kate

Passion by Lauren Kate

Pages: 420

Publisher: Delacorte Press

Release Date: June 14, 2011
Rating: F

"Luce would die for Daniel. And she has. Over and over again. Throughout time, Luce and Daniel have found each other, only to be painfully torn apart: Luce dead, Daniel left broken and alone. But perhaps it doesn’t need to be that way. . . .

Luce is certain that something—or someone—in a past life can help her in her present one. So she begins the most important journey of this lifetime . . . going back eternities to witness firsthand her romances with Daniel . . . and finally unlock the key to making their love last.

Cam and the legions of angels and Outcasts are desperate to catch Luce, but none are as frantic as Daniel. He chases Luce through their shared pasts, terrified of what might happen if she rewrites history.

Because their romance for the ages could go up in flames . . . forever."

Review:

I am very happy to say I have finally finished this book. It has been four days of complete agony.

When I started this series, I was completely in love with it, but as the series progressed, I have come to see many faults in it.

For one, Kate's writing style is over-all very choppy. It went something like this:

"She did this. She did that. She did this other thing. Then, she did this."

In Passion, Kate has brought us through all of Luce's past lives, except the one I think most of us were waiting for: the life in which Daniel and Luce first meet. She was trying to show us throughout just how deep Luce and Daniel's love was, but I didn't see it at all. All I saw was an obsessive relationship between a selfish teenage girl and a pathetic angel.

I will, however, say that it is clear Kate did her research, only to put it through the shredder and pieced it back together, taking out the parts she didn't like and adding things that really made me mad. I am fascinated by angels and demons, and it really agitates me when people mess with it.

The one that bothered me the most:

Not many people have heard of the story of Lilith, the demon goddess. She was Adam's first wife. Long story short, she refused to lay beneath Adam, even after he has stated that women belong beneath man. She was then cursed to bare one-hundred children a day, only to have them killed. Of course, she is also said to steal children, but I would be stealing them too if mine were all being killed.

Kate's version:

"They [Lilith an Adam] weren't together long before Lilith left him. It broke his heart. He waited for her for a long time, but eventually, he met Eve. And Lilith never forgave him for getting over her. She spent the rest of her days wandering the Earth and cursing the family Adam had with Eve."

Let's not forget to mention that Adam didn't "find" Eve, but had her created with one of his ribs.

Who's the evil-ish one, now? Yeah, Adam, I'm looking at you!

But enough with the religious stuff! How about a couple pros, hm?

Sadly enough, the star I have given this book is all thanks to Cam: the only interesting character in the bunch. Cam is so full of personality, it's kind of hard to believe most of the other characters either bore me to tears, or make me want to claw my eyes out!

For two books, I have been waiting to see why Cam is the way he is, and I finally got it! It's a happy day for all the Cam fans. Though, it did not satisfy me in the least. I was waiting for something epic, but it was just another tragic love story.

They didn't fall because of love, Kate, they fell because of lust.

As much as I dislike this book and want to tear it from it's bindings, I will be reading the fourth and final book in the series, Rapture. Hopefully it will renew my liking for the series.

Side Note: This is probably the the most I will ever ramble in a review, there was just so much that bothered me, and I hardly got the half of it,

Darklight by Lesley Livingston

Darklight by Lesley Livingston

Pages: 310

Publisher: Harper Teen

Release Date: 2010

Much has changed since autumn, when Kelley Winslow learned she was a Faerie princess, fell in love with changeling guard Sonny Flannery, and saved the mortal realm from the ravages of the Wild Hunt.  Now Kelley is stuck in New York City, rehearsing Romeo and Juliet and missing Sonny more with every stage kiss, while Sonny has been forced back to the otherworld and into a deadly game of cat and mouse with the remaining Hunters and Queen mabh herself.

When a terrifying encounter sends Kelley tumbling into the Otherworld, her reunion with Sonny is joyful but destined to be cut short.  An ancient, hidden magick is stirring, and a dangerous new enemy is willing to risk everything to claim that power.  Caught in a web of Faerie deception and shifting allegiances, Kelley and Sonny must tread carefully, for each next step could topple a kingdom...or tear them apart.

With breathtakingly high stakes, the talented Lesley Livingston delivers soaring romance and vividly magical characters in DARKLIGHT, the second novel in the trilogy that began with Wondrous Strange.

Review: 

This book was as amazing as the first, with the description and the characters and everything. I loved it so much. It definitely met my second-book-standards.

The main character kelley, kept up her not-so-annoying ways and I still like her.  She was still very hardheaded and stubborn.  Her love for Sonny Flannery was passionate and unending. Sonny Flannery my so hot Janus guard, is still amazingly perfect. Still my favorite character for the simple fact that he can give Kelley a rose and be sweet and then turn around and kick so Faerie butt. He's amazing,. Auberon nor Mabh was really in the book that often but they're still okay I guess. Nothing much changed with them.

Again, I'm not exactly sure what the plot of this book is but Lesley Livingston is just so awesome that she can make that work for her.  With or without a plot, this book was still utterly amazing and still met my standards.

It took me about 2 sittings to read this book also, because like the first book I just could not put it down.I definitely recommend the first and second book to anybody who needs something to read.

My rating:

A

("A" instead of an "A-" because in my opinion it is harder to write a second book than it is to write a first book)

Reason for rating:

• Still not sure what the plot of these books are
• I still love all the characters
• It meets my (very high) standards for second books
• It's not a normal "Faerie" book as one might expect

 -.:Christina:.-