Third Sentence Thursday (3)

Hosted on Sniffly Kitty's Mostly Books

"Then night comes again and we're still waiting."

 - Reached by Ally Condie

       This sentence really explains the whole entire book. With the Plague as the night, and they're waiting for a cure.  With Ky and Cassia waiting to be reunited with each other.  With Cassia and her family waiting to be able to see each other and steal a few words.

Happy Reading,

Alivia :)

Friday Finds (1)

Friday Finds are hosted by MizB of Should be Reading

My Find:

Title: Obsidian (Lux #1)                  

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout    

Synopsis:                                         

Starting over sucks.                                     

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring.... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something...unexpected happens. 

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades. 

If I don't kill him first, that is.

     It looks really good; my friend is reading it right now and she says it is amazing.  Eventually, I'll read it.

Happy Reading,

Alivia :)

Crossed (Matched #2)

Author: Ally Condie

Date Published: November 1st, 2011

Pages: 367

Synopsis:

Cassia and Ky both narrate their quests crossing the ochre mountainous Carving to reach their love. She seeks the resistance, The Rising led by the Pilot, but does he? New teen friends red-haired Indie, fishing Vic, and chatty Eli, join them. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.


Genre: Dystopian

My Review:

     I started this book thinking that it would be just as great as Matched was. Boy was I wrong.  Don't get me wrong, the book started out great and progressively got worse, much, much worse.

     This review will probably be about me saying how terrible and slow this book was. Trust me, I was literally dragging my way through this book, it was pure torture.  I hope I never have to read another book like it.  But, I've already started Reached, and it was well worth the torture. So far, I've loved it, but that's not what this review is about.

     I think the main thing wrong with this book is that it's about Cassia finding Ky, but they find each other waaaay too fast. If more things had happened to them when they were apart, then the book would have been a lot more interesting. Another thing that I wished to hear more of was Xander. No where in the book do you hear a word from him.  

       When they actually do find the rising, Cassia gets sent away immediately. That leaves Ky without her, once again!  If I finish this review, it would be about how bad this book was, so for now...

Rating: ★★

Happy Reading,

Alivia :)

Waiting on Wednesday (1)

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill of Breaking the Spine

Title: Gameboard of the Gods

Author: Richelle Mead

Synopsis: 

     In a futuristic world nearly destroyed by religious extremists, Justin March lives in exile after failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups and supernatural claims. But Justin is given a second chance when Mae Koskinen comes to bring him back to the Republic of United North America (RUNA). Raised in an aristocratic caste, Mae is now a member of the military’s most elite and terrifying tier, a soldier with enhanced reflexes and skills.

     When Justin and Mae are assigned to work together to solve a string of ritualistic murders, they soon realize that their discoveries have exposed them to terrible danger. As their investigation races forward, unknown enemies and powers greater than they can imagine are gathering in the shadows, ready to reclaim the world in which humans are merely game pieces on their board.

Why am I anticipating the arrival of this book?

     I've always enjoyed books about mythology and the synopsis sounded really interesting to me.

What are you waiting for?

Musing Mondays (2)

Musing Mondays are hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading

What are you reading right now - what do you think of it, so far; why you chose it; what you are or aren't enjoying.

My Answer:

     Right now, I'm reading Reached by Ally Condie.  So far, it's a really good book and I chose it because I immensely enjoyed the two predecessors to Reached; Crossed and Matched.  I really like how the action started right away from the beginning and stayed the same throughout the book, so far that is.

Happy Reading, 

Alivia :)

Crank (#1 in the Crank Trilogy)

Author: Ellen Hopkins

Date Published: October 5th, 2004

Pages: 537

Synopsis:

     In Crank, Ellen Hopkins chronicles the turbulent and often disturbing relationship between Kristina, a character based on her own daughter, and the "monster," the highly addictive drug crystal meth, or "crank." Kristina is introduced to the drug while visiting her largely absent and ne'er-do-well father. While under the influence of the monster, Kristina discovers her sexy alter-ego, Bree: "there is no perfect daughter, / no gifted high school junior, / no Kristina Georgia Snow. / There is only Bree." Bree will do all the things good girl Kristina won't, including attracting the attention of dangerous boys who can provide her with a steady flow of crank. 

     Soon, her grades plummet, her relationships with family and friends deteriorate, and she needs more and more of the monster just to get through the day. Kristina hits her lowest point when she is raped by one of her drug dealers and becomes pregnant as a result. Her decision to keep the baby slows her drug use, but doesn't stop it, and the author leaves the reader with the distinct impression that Kristina/Bree may never be free from her addiction.

Genre: Realistic Fiction

Review: 

      When I first picked up Crank, I thought, Yet another amazingly depressing Ellen Hopkins book. Then I started reading.  I was confused for the first 50 stanzas or so. After that, I realized how depressing this book is really going to be.  

     Kristina Snow was an amazing student who cared about her family and friends, that all changed when she met the monster.  As a first impression, I really liked Kristina.  I continued to like her throughout the rest of the book, I cared about what happened to her.  In a way, I pitied her walk with the monster.  She could have been such an amazing person, but one wrong choice leads to another, leads to another.  One guy leads to another, leads to another.

      Adam was the first person to introduce Kristina to the Monster, I was slow to forgive him for it.  I thought he was a pretty good guy at first, but then he turned into a sleazy jerk.  When Kristina finally returned home, Adam told Kristina that he wanted to date other people but that he still loved her.  What kind or guy would tell a girl that?  And then there was Chase.

     Perfect Chase, sure he was walking with the monster, but at least he had a conscience.  He really loved Kristina, cared about her.  He kept on loving her, even when she cheated on him with Brendan.

        Evil Brendan, I tell you, that man is pure evil!  Kristina claims that he's just a meth connection, but what he does to her is malicious, malevolent, malignant, wicked.  I wish that he had never come into Kristina's life; he stole what was left of her innocence.  And when they all left, Kristina was left methless, I had hope for a while that she might quit. Then Robyn came into the picture.

         Skinny Robyn, turns out cheerleaders have their own way at getting skinny. Result: instant meth connection.  Robyn's a good kid, besides the whole meth deal, she could go on and be a great person if she quits now, I mean now.  Eventually, they all left.

           Now I have to stop, else I'll give away too many spoilers.  Crank was an amazing book that I will never forget.

Rating: ★★★★★

Happy Reading,

Alivia :)

Third Sentence Thursday (2)

Hosted on Sniffly Kitty's Mostly Books

"The monster shaped our lives, without our ever touching it,"

-Fallout by Ellen Hoppkins 

     In the book, the main character is addicted to crystal meth. Fallout is told by her children and how her addiction changed them. It's a really, really depressing book, but happy at the same time. It was nice to read a book that was "real." This book was loosely based on  the author's daughter.  Not fiction, fact.

Happy Reading,
Alivia :)

Matched (Matched #1)

Author: Ally Condie

Date Published: November 30th, 2010

Pages: 369

Synopsis: 

     Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate... until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

     The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

Genre: Dystopian 

My Review:

     As you may have noticed, I read a lot of dystopian books.  I like the genre because it's cool to read about what other people think about the future. Although it's likely that none of it will actually happen...  It's still fun to dream.

     I really like the main character Cassia. I know this may sound fangirly but, she reminds me of me. Not who she is just what she stands for.  Her looks too, brown hair, green eyes.  She's one of my favorite characters, not just in the book, just as a character alone.  She like hiking like me, she also wants more than just what everyone else is having.  Conformity.  She's actually been through a lot.  First she finds out she's going to be married to, what looks like, two guys. But then later, she finds out what one of them is and that it could have never worked in the first place.

     If I really had to choose my next favorite character in this book it would be Ky.  His morals are so strong.  He knows exactly what he wants to do, but he does it in such a subtle way that no one notices. He's so smart. His relationship with Cassia I kind of rebuked at first, but then closer to the end of the book I wished that they could run away together and leave Xander behind.

     Xander is a whole different story. He's sweet, but not passionate.  I was actually trying to tell Cassia that she should just stay with Xander and not even bother with Ky. Oh, how I was so wrong.
     I really did like Matched, I'd recommend it to anyone who'd listen.

Rating: ★★★★

Happy Reading,
Alivia :)