Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

 

Pages: 316

Publisher: Tor Teen

Release Date: August 30, 2011

Rating: 4/5

Points Earned: 12/12

Theseus Cassio isn't your normal teenage boy. He's a ghost hunter. After his father died while hunting a ghost, Cas vowed to avenge his father's death.
Cas gets a request to track down Anna Dressed In Blood, a tortured spirit who haunts her old house, killing whoever dares step forth into it.
Except, when Cas get's thrown into the house by butt-faced Mike, Anna spares him.
Despite the feelings Cas grows for Anna, he is determined to bring her down. Or, is he?
First and foremost, I must say that this would make a kick-ass movie if done right, no?
Some of the images this book gave me were downright frightening. That one particular scene when Anna peers out the window in her "evil" form has just stuck itself into my mind, and it's creeping me out.
Speaking of Anna, I felt so much for her. Her backstory just broke my heart into pieces. I was hoping her the best throughout the story.
Cas, as good as he was, bothered me a bit. His cocky attitude just got to me sometimes. He is the only one who can hunt ghosts. He is the only one who can wield the athame. Jesus, boy, who made you God?
At the same time, I loved his character, and as weird as it sounds, I loved his love for Anna. It was so deranged, but at the same time, cute.
This is probably one of my favorites this year. I can't wait for the next book to come out.
I was never a fan of ghost stories, but I think everyone should give this book a try. (:

Awakened by Kristin + P.C.Cast

Awakened by Kristin + P.C.Cast
Pages: 290
Points: 13/13

This book actually surprised me with the way it turned out. I was getting bored with the series and I wasn't sure if this book would turn out any good. It was actually quite good.

The characters are still the same so I don't feel the need to go over all of them. But the main ones you need to know are Zoey, Stevie Rae, Rephaim, Kalona, Stark, and Neferet. Zoey is the main girl who defeats everybody woo hoo. Stevie Rae is her trusty anoying hick sidekick. Rephaim is Stevie Rae's half bird lover (my favorite character <3) Kalona is one of the bad guys. Stark is Zoey's guardian thing. And Neferet is the worst of the bad guys.

The plot was basically about Neferet trying to get Zoey killed because Kalona didn't do it like he was supposed to in the Otehrworld. It was quite an interesting plot to be honest. I can't really explain it much without spoilers, so just know that it was really good.

I finished this book in less than 24 hours because I couldn't put it down. The authors definately brought back something good. I would recommend for you to start reading this series but be prepared to get bored, but once you start reading, read till you finish the series!

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Before I Fall
Pages: 470

Points 18/18


What if you had only one day to live? What would you do? Who would you kiss? And how far would you go to save your own life?
Samantha Kingston has it all: the world’s most crush-worthy boyfriend, three amazing best friends, and first pick of everything at Thomas Jefferson High—from the best table in the cafeteria to the choicest parking spot. Friday, February 12, should be just another day in her charmed life.
Instead, it turns out to be her last.
Then she gets a second chance. Seven chances, in fact. Reliving her last day during one miraculous week, she will untangle the mystery surrounding her death—and discover the true value of everything she is in danger of losing.


This book was quite spectacular actually. When Tye asked me to read it and I aked her what it was about I thought that it sounded dumb and that nobody could do that without getting cheesy or repetitive. But boy was I wrong.

The main character in this book is Samantha Kingston, and pardon my french but in the beginning of the book she kind of is a bitch. But by the end of the book she has a change of heart and actually does the right thing. Her friends are Elody, Ally and Lindsay. They're all pretty cool but they definately have their problems. They're the stuck up mean girls of high school. Samantha's boyfriend Rob was a jerk who didn't understand anything. It was kinda great. Kent was the wierd kid that liked Samantha, they had been friends forever. (He was my favorite character. <3)

The plot of this book was that Samantha died and kept waking up on the day she died, given seven chances to relive her last day and make everything right again. Again, I thought that nobody could pull off this plot but Lauren Oliver did it wonderfully.

This book took me less than a day to read due to the fact that it was just so amazing I couldn't put it down. I recommend this book greatly. It's a must read!!!

Fearscape by Simon Holt

Fearscape by Simon Holt

 

Pages: 320

Publisher: Little, Brown

Release Date: October 5, 2010

Rating: 4/5

Points Earned: 11/11

Review:

Where we left off in Soulstice, Reggie was finally able to break Quinn free of the Vour's hold on him. Unfortunately, Reggie also get's sent to Home, a mental institute run by Dr. Unger, and Vours.

Reggie is forced into people's fearscapes in order for Unger to conduct research.

All the while, Aaron, with the help of Quinn and ex-tracer Machen, plan on freeing Reggie before it's too late.

I had forgotten how much I loved this series. It must have been the boring, slightly unsettling cover that's put me off for so long.

My only real problem with this book was the ending. It was resolved, but at the same time, it wasn't. I felt that Holt could have wrapped things up a little better. This is, I believe, the last book in the series after all.

I loved the new fearscapes in this one. They still kept on with their creepy nature. The descriptions of the horrors were just incredible.

The twists in the story were unpredictible, and added great tention, and sometimes a bit of hope, into the story.

I really just wish there was more. The way it ended could be left open for at least another book, which I doubt will happen.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

Speak
Pages: 198
Points: 8/8




Melinda Speaks: I wasted the last weeks of August watching bad cartoons. I didn't go to the mall, the lake, or the pool, or answer the phoe. I have netered high school with the wrong hair, the wrong clothes, the wrong attitude. And I don't have anyone to sit with.
I am Outcast.
The kids behind me laugh so loud I know they're laughing about me. I can't help myself. I turn around. It's Rachel, surrounded by a bunch of kids wearing clothes that most definately did not come from the EastSide mall. Rachel Bruin, my ex-best friend. She stares at something above my left ear. Words climb up my throat. This was the girl who suffered through brownies with me, who taught me how to swim, who understood about my parents, who didn't make fun of my bedroom. If there is anyone in the entire galaxy I am dying to tell what really happened, it's Rachel. My throat burns.
Her eyes meet mine for a second. "I hate you." she mouths silently.


This book was really touching. That's the only way I can describe it. I can't really explain much of the book or it could lead to spoilers and  hate spoiling books. But this book isn't that long, it's an easy read and a lot of teenagers can compare to it.

The characters mostly are the parents, Heather, Rachel, and Melinda. Melinda, the main character is super quiet and barely ever talks. But she had gone through a lot so it's understandable. The parents are never there and when they are they're (for lack of a better word) butts. Melinda has a terrible home life which is just one of the many things that adds to the horribleness of her life. Heather is just annoying. Enough said. Rachel is a go with the crowd type of girl. I don't know why Melinda wants to be her friend so bad honestly.

I'm not going to say much about the plot because it kind of unfolds as you go along. But the plot was excellent and there was one major twist in it that I wasn't expecting.

It only took about 2 days to read this book because it's so short and easy to read. It was an amazing book. For the win Laurie Anderson. Quite an exceptional book.

The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff

The Space Between by Brenna Yovanoff

 

Pages: 365

Publisher: Razorbill

Release Date: November 14, 2011

Rating: 5/5

Points Earned: 0/13 (Test not taken)

Review:

Daphne is the youngest daughter of Lilith and Lucifer. She isn't quite like her sisters, the Lilim. Daphne is more human than them. She doesn't want to feed off of men's pain and sorrow; she's never even left Pandemonium. That is, until her brother, Obie, says he's leaving, that he fell in love with a human girl.

Daphne sets after him when her mother sees a vision of blood, thinking that the Angel of Death, Azrael, and he's minion, Dark Dreadful, have found him.

But first, she must seek out Obie's human friend, Truman Flynn, because he was the last person to see Obie when he left.

Truman is in no shape of helping anyone, being a cutter and alcoholic. The only thing he wants is to drop dead. When Daphne find him at a party, comatose in the bathroom, she has to beg her cousin Moloch to spare his life.

His time on Earth was up, but Daphne needs him to find her brother.

It took me a couple days to get fully into this book, but when I did, I was hooked. This book had be laughing, crying, and just going "Awwww!"

This book goes from first to third person, in a way that is wonderfully done. The chapters in first are from Daphne's point-pf-view, and the third person follows Truman.

Once again, I think I enjoyed reading about Truman than I did Daphne. Truman's development throughout the book was just outstanding. By the end, he did fully understand that he isn't just some screwed up bastard, and that he is capable of accomplishing things in life.

Daphne was, in my opinion, just adorable. Her ignorance of just the simpliest "human" things, well, adorable! Her development throughout the book, while not as strong as Truman's, is just as great.

The romance was refreshing. Yes, this is in the span of about three days, so technically, they fall in-love pretty quick, but it was gradual throughout the book. In the beginning, all Daphne wanted from Truman was information about her brother's whereabouts. By the end, she wanted to save them both.

Another character I loved was Obie's daughter, Raymie. She was cute in a creepy sort of way. From what I understood, she wasn't even a year old, but could speak full sentences, and knew all about medical terms and stuff (Obie was a doctor while on Earth). I just wanted to hug her.

The writing was dark and beautiful. It had a way of drawing you in and not letting go until the very end.

Speaking of the end, it was both heart-wrenching and beautiful. It gave you just enough to be satisfied (you know, after I was tearing up from the sad part ;-;).

This was probably one of the best "demon" books I've read. Yovanoff didn't water the demons down. She didn't make them pleasant. Not to mention she didn't screw with Lilith's story. Props to her.

This is certainly one of my favorite books of 2012 so far

The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove by Lauren Kate

The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove by Lauren Kate

 

Pages: 235

Publisher: Razor Bill

Release: November 12, 2009

Rating: 1/5

Points Earned: 0/8 (Test not taken)

 

Review:

 

We all know how much I love Lauren Kate, right? I have pretty much no respect for her as an author, but I can't help but pick up all of her books. Perhaps I enjoy putting myself through literary torture.

The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove is a modern retelling of Macbeth, and what an epic fail it is!

All Natalie wants for her senior year is to be crowned Palmetto Princess (prom queen, for all you normal people out there). He long-term boyfriend, Mike, is a lot less enthusiatic. At this rate, pretty-boy Justin Balmer is going to get crowned Prince. That is, until a prank the night of Rex's Mardi Gras party goes horribly wrong.

How on Earth is she going to get her crown, while at the same time covering up her tracks? And why is it she is still seeing Justin wherever she goes?

The first thing I have to say about this book: unrealistic. I mean, yes, this book does boarder on paranormal, but I mean on more of a high-school-level.

You know, like how you see on television. There is always that one girl who dreams of being crowned homecoming/prom queen. Times that by ten and you get Palmetto High.

Not everyone is set on being crowned, but they are all pretty into the whole thing. To the point where they have a day on just showing off their jessamines, rightly named Jessamine Day.

Now, I don't know about your schools, but at mine all the grade levels pretty much get along. I don't know any "Bambies" and none of my Junior friends are hippies. Maybe you do?

The way people talk in this book is just odd. Most people my age wouldn't use the word "polyamorous" (well, except my friend Alex) and little to none know what a "thespian" is (I'm just a freak like that), so using the phrase "polyamorous thespian" just doesn't work.

Then again, Kate is known to use big words in her books.

Another problem: grammar. I can let commas and stuff slide, but "more softly" is just not acceptable. Perhaps this is to prove that Nat is uneducated? But, then again, she used the phrase "polyamorous thespian," so I don't know.

Really, wouldn't it just be easier to say "whore?"

Normally I can tell from the beginning whether or not this book with be enjoyable. The first paragraph was pretty good, and then the style just went juvenile.

Once upon a time, we knew nothing--like ohmigod! I sooo want those shoes

The ending was no better...until the last paragraph. I think we have a pattern!

*SPOILERS*

We all know that in the play, Lady Macbeth kills herself. Well, not in this story! Instead of killing herself, Natalie planned to run away to New York. Her plans went wrong (again) when she got into an argument with Mike in their "secret spot." It resulted in him pushing her off the edge of a cliff to her ultimate death.

This was obviously supposed to take you off-guard, make you sad. I say that she deserved it.

*END SPOILERS*

Natalie was just an unlikeable character: selfish and manipulative. She didn't even really have any character development. I suppose there was a small hint of remose in the end, but not really.

All-in-all, this is a standard Lauren Kate book: a gorgeous cover with terrible content.