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[Flashback Friday] - #57

Flashback Friday is a weekly event, hosted here, that highlights a past release that we're dying to get our hands on...

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Title: Pathfinder
   Author: Orson Scott Card
   Release Date: November 23rd, 2010

     A powerful secret. A dangerous path.

     Rigg is well trained at keeping secrets. Only his father knows the truth about Rigg's strange talent for seeing the paths of people's pasts. But when his father dies, Rigg is stunned to learn just how many secrets Father had kept from him--secrets about Rigg's own past, his identity, and his destiny. And when Rigg discovers that he has the power not only to see the past, but also to change it, his future suddenly becomes anything but certain.

     Rigg’s birthright sets him on a path that leaves him caught between two factions, one that wants him crowned and one that wants him dead. He will be forced to question everything he thinks he knows, choose who to trust, and push the limits of his talent…or forfeit control of his destiny.

My Stance:

     So going through a local-ish used bookstore I found the second book in this series (Ruins) and the condition was just flat out perfect. I read the synopsis over and over, and while I haven't read Ender's Game at all, just Ruins was a book that I couldn't pass up. This brings Pathfinder to a great topping chart of books that need to be added to my shelf. I also saw a few other books that completed some series, they will be featured in Stacking the Shelves later.

    Pathfinder is a book that frankly I wasn't sure of at first. I wanted to read Ender's Game to judge Card's work, and while I haven't I find that I am still interested in this book. The way Riggs is molded into a complex teen that has a talent that isn't as easy as it sounds. Being able to see people's past, he doesn't realize the path's he can see, he is able to change. Which immediately brings the question, would it be right to change their past? Morally speaking that is. And to what extent would it change reality and how would that change in the path change time and effect the current reality. The whole Back to the Future time continuum.

     I am curious to see where this book takes that talent, and the two groups that have polar opposite views on how his talent should be accounted for. In a world all alone just who will Rigg's trust and well what time is reality, will there be robots from the future and dinosaurs from the past? I love the amount of potential in this book. Further, hope that there is some romance or some relationship that gives Riggs a point to use his ability for a purpose and not just randomly to save other people. Give him a personal attachment to that talent, or a moral dilemma that haunts him.

[Movie Review] - Ender's Game


Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card


Title: Ender's Game
   Director: Gavin Hood
   Author: Orson Scott Card
   Release Date: February 14th, 2013
   Rating: 5.5 Out of 10

      Young Ender Wiggin is recruited by the International Military to lead the fight against the Formics, a genocidal alien race which nearly annihilated the human race in a previous invasion.

From the Book:
     Once Again, Earth is under attack. An alien species is poised for a front assault. The survival of humanity depends on a military genius who can defeat the aliens.

     But who?

     Ender Wiggin. Brilliant. Ruthless. Cunning. A tactical and strategic master. And a child.

     Recruited for military training by the world government, Ender's childhood ends the moment he enters his new home: Battle School. Among the elite recruits Ender proves himself to be a genius among geniuses. In simulated war games he excels. But is the pressure and loneliness taking its toll on Ender? Simulations are one thing. How will Ender perform in real combat conditions? After all, Battle School is just a game.

     Right?


Review

     The second book I need to read, and frankly this movie just doesn't do any justice to the book (at least from what I have heard). In High School, my best friend raved about this book, and when the movie trailer showed up in my youtube recommendations you can bet I was a bit intrigued. First I haven't read the book because my TBR pile is ever growing and I will dive into it sooner than later. Second I thoroughly enjoyed the trailer. It was packed with action and morality. However, I never thought that a Director and Screen Writer could butcher a potential this badly.

     First off, Ender Wiggin (played by Asa Butterfield) was a fantastic portrayal of a tactical genius. He thinks everything through, every little argument has a purpose, even if he doesn't win in the short-term. The way he flat out destroys his enemies, and he best describes it: "I don't see how you can't love your enemy, but in that moment when I truly understand and love them I destroy them. So they can't hurt me again," or something along those lines. Asa just portrays him grandly, which is the best part of the movie.

     Harrison Ford plays Colonel Graff and Viola Davis plays Major Gwen Anderson, both did mediocre jobs with Viola being better. Graff is just a grumpy old guy that for some reason is a military advisor in a alien invasion warfront. He makes a reference about raising horses and he knows a thoroughbred when he sees one, referring to Wiggin, and that just puts how ridiculous his character really is. He's not a cruel immoral general that I thought he'd be, but just some dumb schmuck who wants Ender to win the war for them, and he's too stupid to rally him. Gwen Anderson is the complete polar opposite who is completely concerned with their mental well being. Frankly there can't be one without the other, and while Graff overrules Anderson on nearly every decision, I am left wondering just why she even stuck around. The two do not see eye to eye, and frankly they fight more than they agree or work together in the war effort.

     Now to my favorite point, the plot. What a load of garbage. Humanity is at stake because some aliens (the Formics), yet it's never explained what part of humanity was at stake, was it the planet, massive lives? What? Than the major plot point is that Mazer Rackham, who is some war hero for sacrificing his life to destroy a ship and end the first invasion/war. So I understand that, but haven't we seen this over and over and over. It's just so boring nowadays. I also thought it was funny how every time they said his name, it was like it was one word (Maizorrackem). I expected more out of the plot and the very very very linear design. There wasn't a twist until the end, and frankly it was too late anyways.

     Furthermore, to add the never stopping fatality of a dream I had, this movie cut a lot out of the training program, or at least I feel like it did. Wiggin just frankly doesn't seem to make allies at all in the movie, there's no friendship at all, just random people being like, "Yeah, he's smart. I'll follow him." I found it degrading to the book. Frankly the size of the character building in this movie and what it needed to be done, you should have split it apart into two and elaborated on the first war with Mazer Rackham more. I don't know what to say, the cuts and the parts missing and how I never felt attached or interested in any of the characters left me wondering what the hell I just watched.

     In conclusion, if you want something to gouge your eyes out and will leave you haunted. This is probably for you. The only character worth noting was Ender Wiggin (and I'm not naming the sub-characters, because face it they weren't around enough to make an impact on the movie at all). The plot was just so linear and predictable, it will leave you yawning. Whatever they cut, whatever they did to the training portions of this book, it needed to be there. The interaction and relationships just weren't there that needed to be. I left the theatre and the DvD shaking my head, I made a fool of myself for watching it twice.

[Book Review] - Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Title: Just One Day
   Series: Gayle Forman
   Series: #1 - Just One Day
   Format: Hardback
   Release Date: January 8th, 2013
   My Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0

     A breathtaking journey toward self-discovery and true love, from the author of If I Stay

     When sheltered American good girl Allyson "LuLu" Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.

     Just One Day is the first in a sweepingly romantic duet of novels. Willem’s story—Just One Year—is coming soon!

My Review:

     Just One Day by Gayle Forman, I have to start by saying my expectations were probably too high for this book. I went into this thinking it'd be a 4.5 to 5.0 easily. I mean it's Gayle Forman, after If I Stay I didn't think she'd go down at all. I was wrong, but that's not saying I didn't enjoy the book a lot. I just had some higher expectations out of this book than I normally would. I have to apologize to Gayle for that, which is why I didn't rate this book until doing this review.

     Now that's out of the way. I did enjoy this book, however I had an issue with the rating going through my notes again and remembering the story. I knew for sure it was a 3.5, but to bump it up to a 4.0 I stretched some of my heart, and I may reduce it sometime, but I feel this is correct. This is the hardest book I've had to rate, it's just that I was looking for romance, but the growth of Allyson was what drove this book home.

     So the book starts with Allyson Healey in England and while she is bored of the normal sight seeing she takes this offer from Willem to go out and see an underground performance of Twelfth Night. Her entire world is turned upside down when instead of heading back to her friends house, she takes off with Willem to Paris. In a single day in Paris, their day is thrown for a loop and is strained by something sparks between the two or so Allyson thinks. I found that yea you tend to get pulled in, but at the same time there is no hesitation in Allyson at all, or any questions or reservations.

     When she wakes up the next day and finds that Willem is gone, she freaks and with a phone call to the tour guide to come save her and explaining her humiliation and feeling she got used and ultimately heartbroken. Even her friend thinks she is crazy and needs to get over Willem. However after going to college and taking a Shakespeare class she questions that idea. The way Allyson goes through her life and still questions whether he left her or if he had any feelings for her. The way she tries to get in contact with some of the people to contact him is almost stalkerish. But I have to agree, if you love someone that much, to what ends will you go through to find them again.

     What drove this book down for me, is how the emotion and romance just isn't there. Allyson grows wildly through the book as she makes new friends and learns what it means to be herself and not what some people see in you or expect you to be. That message was great. There is so much Shakespeare parallels in this book that I found myself wanting to read some afterwards.

     Another downside to this book was Willem, there just isn't much about him that we find out and I found it hard to remotely care about him. I need to read the next book to gauge a better view on him, but in this book exclusively he just wasn't there. He totes her around Paris, and during the night when they are sleeping he slips off and ____ (read the book) happens and he doesn't make it back. I have to ask, why didn't he leave a note, I left to get breakfast, go to the bathroom, Anything. It was just stupid and frankly would have saved Allyson and maybe his heartbreak as well. I expected more out of him.

     The second two-thirds or more of the book is where the book is at. The first third is a rollercoaster of romance and wondering Paris, but get beyond that and a sad rich girl deals with a heartbreak and depression. She learns who she is and ultimately what she wants to fight for. You find that you want Allyson to find Willem and made the story a sad realistic story. If you can get past how she views some of the cities and her whining about how the world isn't how she views it, there is meat on the bone in it. I loved it and cannot wait to get into the next book and see just what happened to Willem and the whole ordeal.

[Waiting on Wednesday] - #55

     Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

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Title: Ruin and Rising
   Author: Leigh Bardugo
   Format: Hardcover
   Release Date: June 17th, 2014

     The capital has fallen. The Darkling rules Ravka from his shadow throne.

     Now the nation's fate rests with a broken Sun Summoner, a disgraced tracker, and the shattered remnants of a once-great magical army.

     Deep in an ancient network of tunnels and caverns, a weakened Alina must submit to the dubious protection of the Apparat and the zealots who worship her as a Saint. Yet her plans lie elsewhere, with the hunt for the elusive firebird and the hope that an outlaw prince still survives.

     Alina will have to forge new alliances and put aside old rivalries as she and Mal race to find the last of Morozova's amplifiers. But as she begins to unravel the Darkling's secrets, she reveals a past that will forever alter her understanding of the bond they share and the power she wields. The firebird is the one thing that stands between Ravka and destruction—and claiming it could cost Alina the very future she’s fighting for.

My Stance:

     The Shadow and Bone series continues onward, however I don't now if this is the finale or if there will be more to come. I hope more I love her work and how she crafts her novels. Plus not to mention that Leigh Bardugo is a fantastic lady in which I have met once and have both books signed. I may not pick this up right away and will wait to get the book signed to complete the set. Alina and Mal have taken readers on a joyride through a darkened world. However can she keep up the great work and capture me again in this book?

     First, the whole nation is gone, the Darkling controls everything and his shadows choke the life out of anything that threatens him. However in doing so, he's weakened Alina and forced her underground with the Apparat and the zealots who believe in her far more than she can take. It's threatening having so many eyes look at you and wonder just how many lives rest on her shoulders. Mal was put in a tough spot with Alina, when the book ended and frankly left me rather sore on the subject. I love how Mal works and emphasizes Alina without sacrificing his character at all. Yet we find him being almost pushed away by Alina over and over. I wanted to smack her so bad. I hope this is addressed and works for the series as it continues(?).

[Teaser Tuesday] - #13

Hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.
  1. Take your Current Read.
  2. Grab 2 Teaser sentences from the book (please be sure to avoid spoilers)
  3. Post it on your blog with the title and author, so other Teasing Tuesday participants can add it to their To Be Read list.
  4. When visiting other Teasing Tuesday participants, leave a link with your current TT in their comments.

Title: Anna and the French Kiss
   Author: Stephanie Perkins
   Release Date: December 2nd, 2010

     Quote: "My face burns. I reach for St. Clair's arm to pull us away again, but St. Clair is already in his face. "Émile Zola  was a man," he corrects. "And  you're being an arse. Why don't you mind your own bloody business and leave her alone!"

--- Page 172


[Stacking the Shelves] - #58

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews and is all about sharing the books you are adding to your bookshelf, be it the physical one or your digital one!

     This is a rough start, but yet good. I wanted to get this out sooner (as in yesterday) but in doing so I thought it’d be disrespectful to the holiday. I firstly would like to thank all those that have served our country and are still serving. Its a choice I couldn’t make, but I support and pray for the best of all of you. While I did put out a movie review it was primarily done ahead of time and I just finished looking it over and got it out. It wasn’t something I would probably do in the future, but it was done for the most part and didn’t see anything wrong with putting it out. So why the difference between that and Stacking the Shelf? I thought that doing work and not spending time with my grandparents and family this weekend was more important than reading/posting this blog at the moment. I apologize if our views differ, but this is how I handled it.

     So this week is off a bit later, but I hope to get back on track. I have another post scheduled for this week, we’ll see if I get around to it or not. I want to do another movie review on Ender’s Game. I have to sit down with the movie again and watch it, before doing the review. That will take some time that frankly I don’t have a lot of anymore (working nights is getting in the way of everything still). I will get my normal postings done ahead of time before coming back to this. So if I do it, it’ll be later in the week. Thanks!

     So without further adieu:

Raging Star
Dangerous Creatures
Crown of Midnight
The Asssassin’s Blade
A Darkness Strange and Lovely
Hereafter
3:59
Gorgeous

Shelf Additions:

Title: Raging Star
   Author: Moira Young
   Format: Hardcover
   Release Date: May 13th, 2014

      Saba is ready to seize her destiny and defeat DeMalo and the Tonton...until she meets him and he confounds all her expectations with his seductive vision of a healed earth, a New Eden. DeMalo wants Saba to join him, in life and work, to create and build a healthy, stable, sustainable world…for the chosen few. The few who can pay.

     Jack’s choice is clear: to fight DeMalo and try to stop New Eden. Still uncertain, her connection with DeMalo a secret, Saba commits herself to the fight. Joined by her brother, Lugh, anxious for the land in New Eden, Saba leads an inexperienced guerilla band against the powerfully charismatic DeMalo, in command of his settlers and the Tonton militia. What chance do they have? Saba must act. And be willing to pay the price.






Title:  Dangerous Creatures
   Author: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
   Format: Hardcover
   Release Date: May 20th, 2014

      A new series returns to the world of Beautiful Creatures. Some loves are cursed...others are dangerous.

     Ridley Duchannes will be the first to tell you that she’s a bad girl. She’s Dark. She’s a Siren. You can never trust her, or even yourself when she’s around. Lucky for her, Wesley “Link" Lincoln can never seem to remember that; quarter Incubus or not, his heart is Mortal when it comes to Ridley. When Link heads to New York City to start a music career, Ridley goes along for the ride-and she has her own reasons. As if leaving small-town Gatlin for the big city, trying to form a band, and surviving life with a partially reformed Siren isn’t hard enough already, Link soon learns he has a price on his head that no Caster or Mortal can ever pay.

     Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, the #1 New York Times bestselling coauthors of Beautiful Creatures, are back and casting another magical spell. Their signature mixture of mystery, suspense, and romance, along with a dash of fun and danger, will pull fans in and leave them begging for more.






Title: Crown of Midnight
   Author: Sarah J. Maas
   Format: Hardcover
   Release Date: August 27th, 2013

     "A line that should never be crossed is about to be breached.

     It puts this entire castle in jeopardy—and the life of your friend."


     From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil.

     Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart.

     Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena’s world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie...and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for.






Title:  The Assassin’s Blade
   Author: Sarah J. Maas
   Format: Hardcover
   Release Date: May 11th, 2014

     Discover where Celaena Sarthodien’s thrilling saga began.

     Celaena Sarthodien is her kingdom’s most feared assassin. Though she works for the powerful and ruthless Assassin’s Guild, she yields for no one and trusts only her fellow killer for hire, Sam.

     When Celaena’s scheming master, Arobynn Hamel, dispatches her on missions that take her from remote islands to hostile deserts, she finds herself acting independently of his wishes--and questioning her own allegiance. Along the way, she discovers friends and enemies alike, and discovers that she feels far more for Sam than just friendship. But by defying Arobynn’s orders, Celaena riskes unimaginable punishment, and with Sam by her side, he is in danger, too. They will have to risk it all if they hope to escape Arobynn’s clutches--and if they fail, they’ll lose not just a chance at freedom, but their lives....

     A prequel to Throne of Glass, this collection of five novellas offers readers a deeper look into the history of this cunning assassin and her enthralling--and deadly--world.

     Included in this volume:

     The Assassin and the Pirate Lord
     The Assassin and the Healer
     The Assassin and the Desert
     The Assassin and the Underworld
     The Assassin and the Empire






Title: A Darkness Strange and Lovely
   Author: Susan Dennard
   Format: Hardcover
   Release Date: July 23rd, 2013

     Following an all-out battle with the walking Dead, the Spirit Hunters have fled Philadelphia, leaving Eleanor alone to cope with the devastating aftermath. But there’s more trouble ahead—the evil necromancer Marcus has returned, and his diabolical advances have Eleanor escaping to Paris to seek the help of Joseph, Jie, and the infuriatingly handsome Daniel once again. When she arrives, however, she finds a whole new darkness lurking in this City of Light. As harrowing events unfold, Eleanor is forced to make a deadly decision that will mean life or death for everyone.






Title: Hereafter
   Author: Tara Hudson
   Format: Hardcover
   Release Date: June 7th, 2011

     Can there truly be love after death?

     Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she’s dead. With no recollection of her past life—or her actual death—she’s trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but will him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive.

     Amelia and Joshua grow ever closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit named Eli is doing everything in his power to destroy their newfound happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world . . . forever.

     Thrilling and evocative, with moments of pure pleasure, Hereafter is a sensation you won’t want to miss.






Title: 3:59
   Author: Gretchen McNeil
   Format: Hardcover
   Release Date: September 17th, 2013

     Josie Byrne’s life is spiraling out of control. Her parents are divorcing, her boyfriend Nick has grown distant, and her physics teacher has it in for her. When she’s betrayed by the two people she trusts most, Josie thinks things can’t get worse.

     Until she starts having dreams about a girl named Jo. Every night at the same time—3:59 a.m.

     Jo’s life is everything Josie wants: she’s popular, her parents are happily married, and Nick adores her. It all seems real, but they’re just dreams, right? Josie thinks so, until she wakes one night to a shadowy image of herself in the bedroom mirror – Jo.

     Josie and Jo realize that they are doppelgängers living in parallel universes that overlap every twelve hours at exactly 3:59. Fascinated by Jo’s perfect world, Josie jumps at the chance to jump through the portal and switch places for a day.

     But Jo’s world is far from perfect. Not only is Nick not Jo’s boyfriend, he hates her. Jo’s mom is missing, possibly insane. And at night, shadowy creatures feed on human flesh.

     By the end of the day, Josie is desperate to return to her own life. But there’s a problem: Jo has sealed the portal, trapping Josie in this dangerous world. Can she figure out a way home before it’s too late?

     From master of suspense Gretchen McNeil comes a riveting and deliciously eerie story about the lives we wish we had – and how they just might kill you.






Title: Gorgeous
   Author: Paul Rudnick
   Format: Hardcover
   Release Date: April 30th, 2013

     Inner beauty wants out.

     When eighteen-year-old Becky Randle’s mother dies, she’s summoned from her Missouri trailer park to meet Tom Kelly, the world’s top designer. He makes her an impossible offer: He’ll create three dresses to transform Becky from a nothing special girl into the most beautiful woman who ever lived.

     Becky thinks Tom is a lunatic, or that he’s producing a hidden camera show called World’s Most Gullible Poor People. But she accepts, and she’s remade as Rebecca. When Becky looks in the mirror, she sees herself – an awkward mess of split ends and cankles. But when anyone else looks at Becky, they see pure five-alarm hotness.

     Soon Rebecca is on the cover of Vogue, the new Hollywood darling, and dating celebrities. Then Becky meets Prince Gregory, heir to the British throne, and everything starts to crumble. Because Rebecca aside, Becky loves him. But to love her back, Gregory would have to look past the blinding Rebecca to see the real girl inside. And Becky knows there’s not enough magic in the world.

     A screamingly defiant, hugely naughty, and impossibly fun free fall past the cat walks, the red carpets, and even the halls of Buckingham Palace, Gorgeous does the impossible: It makes you see yourself clearly for the first time.

[Movie Trailer] - #5 The Giver


The Giver by Lois Lowry


Title: The Giver
   Director: Phillip Noyce
   Author: Lois Lowry
   Release Date: August 15th, 2014

      In a seemingly perfect community, without war, pain, suffering, differences or choice, a young boy is chosen to learn from an elderly man about the true pain and pleasure of the "real" world.

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



Thoughts:

      The Giver, a book I hated in high school, mainly because it was forced on you. For me to pass english it was mandatory that I read The Giver, and recite some poetry. I absolutely hate books that I am forced to read, mainly because it's just not my style at the time and innately I just wasn't going to enjoy the book with it being crammed down my throat. Any school that forces their children to read a book, should be forced to read a book as well, the entire staff, and not something easy or enjoyable; lets do something like Pretty Little Liars, Twilight, or how about The Morganville Vampires.

     I am leery on this movie because of what I do understand about the book. The Giver is chuck full of metaphors, similes, and satire. How can do you do that and express it visually? I am curious on just the major portion of the book and the interpretation aspect will make it through the cuts and retakes. To be honest, I don't look for this movie to do all that well. I want it to for the YA community and to see more books get optioned for movie rights. I just have my reserves about this one.

     Okay so lets take a step back and I'm going to look at this again. It's been years since I have tried to stumble through this book, and I frankly don't remember anything about it at all anymore. So both the synopsis from the book and the movie are nearly identical, well that's a good start. Maybe they'll stick to the book. Yet, I find in a world without any pain, pleasure, war, well frankly everyone got Botox and can't feel any emotion. Great. However there is a person, The Giver, that seems to burden everything and gets a "real" life, and Jonas is chosen to receive special training. Hold on, so one person gets reality when the rest face some parallel substance? So what makes this unique again? And where is the antagonist or any sort of problem? It just seems like the movie and book should be renamed, The Life of Jonas.

     So, having looked at the trailer again, I have to question something else that strikes me as very unoriginal. From what I have gathered, the community or society views that if people have the right to choose for themselves, it will always be the wrong choice. So they have taken that choice away with some injection. I have read the similar dystopian plot over and over, that frankly it's not fun or interesting anymore. Maybe this is the first book to start that movement, I don't know, but still. I understand if they don't want to change it, and are sticking with the book. It's just simple, boring, and predictable.

[Movie Review] - Beautiful Creatures


Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl


Title: Beautiful Creatures
   Director: Richard LaGravenese
   Author: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
   Release Date: February 14th, 2013
   Rating: 7.5 Out of 10

     Ethan longs to escape his small Southern town. He meets a mysterious new girl, Lena. Together, they uncover dark secrets about their respective families, their history and their town.

From the Book:
     Is falling in love the beginning . . . or the end?

In Ethan Wate's hometown there lies the darkest of secrets . . .

There is a girl. Slowly, she pulled the hood from her head . . . Green eyes, black hair. Lena Duchannes.

There is a curse. On the Sixteenth Moon, the Sixteenth Year, the Book will take what it's been promised. And no one can stop it.

In the end, there is a grave.

Lena and Ethan become bound together by a deep, powerful love. But Lena is cursed and on her sixteenth birthday, her fate will be decided. Ethan never even saw it coming.


Review

      Well I have to say I haven't read the book at all, and this is the first movie that went against my rule to read every book-movie adaptation. Beautiful Creatures was a movie I had almost no expectations about, unlike The Hunger Games, I just hoped it wasn't a Twilight want to be. The cast was a bit new and frankly I didn't know any of them. So I guess what I am saying is I didn't have a single clue as to what to expect in this movie period. So enjoying the movie or not was completely up in the air.

     So after seeing the movie, I ha d a few issues with it, but other than that it wasn't overall terrible. The characters were pretty mediocre, they capture the everyday teenager life. The actors did a great job capturing that notion, and ideal. However the background of the characters, I found myself wondering and asking more of. In this case, it wasn't the case of them not having a background, but I felt it needed more depth and originality.

     The movie did a great job casting Ethan Wate (Alden Ehrenreich) and Lena Duchannes (Alice Englert). Alice is just so attractive and makes this role her own, she cast something that I doubt anyone else could do in that role. It's so sexy and yet sophisticated. Playing a girl who is so lost and alone in the world, she is striving to be accepted by someone and possibly fall for more. Its a typical teen girl love story, but she is so hard and stubborn it's a big refreshing. I just don't like how quick she is to always push Ethan away, it seemed a bit too much, almost like she never trusts him or his intentions at all.

     On the other hand Alden has this emotional character that expresses himself and fights back constantly that he just took it and ran. I loved Alden's portrayal, and just how he is able to express it, and while I know that it probably took maybe 100 shots to get that perfect expression I am gloating over, but it's just so good. In my opinion, he did a better job and shining through his character than what Theo did with Four. Blasphemy some of you are probably saying, but there is just more character in Ethan throughout the movie than what Tobias (Four) did.

     No for the parts that brings this down, the Castor heritage just isn't there. It's the past between Ethan and Lena's families that takes the main stage. I want to get to know or see the Castors more, but it just wasn't there. I wonder if this is part that was cut from the book, a reason for me to actually read the book now. I just don't understand why they didn't express it more. I mean Ethan is curious he wants to know more about it, but they just seem to glance over it and explain it all as, we are Witches but not exactly. It was aggravating.

     The last bit was the graphics of the Castor's spells. It just seemed so fake, normally or too generic would be a better word. I loved the bits when the graphics interacted with Ethan or anyone else, but when there was talking along with the Graphics of the spells, the movement or motion stopped (with the mouth) while the black overlay of the spell just clouded everything else. It was like we have to reshoot this if we do a cheesey and lame job at a black overlay and hope it works. I found it sad, and rather insulting to the movie itself. Try to do it better.

     In Conclusion, the characters and the overall plot was okay, it wasn't anything I would exclaim or crow over. The actors however were the best part of the movie casting a light on two rather generic normal character, but gave them a light that I don't think any other actors could have done in the same role. Alden by far took the stage in this movie, and I applaud him. However with the lame spells and the lack of some Castor history or influence really, it just lacked something I thought the movie needed to take from the book. If you want a movie that's good, lacks a bit of the book mechanics, but somehow pulls off a decently good movie, I would recommend this movie to you. Just be warned that at times it will drive you crazy and wish to know more about the Castors and see better spells than tables turning and walking through doors.

[Movie Trailer] - #4 The Fault in Our Stars


The Fault in Our Stars by John Green


Title: The Fault in Our Stars
   Director: Josh Boone
   Author: John Green
   Release Date: June 6th, 2014

     Hazel and Gus are two teenagers who share an acerbic wit, a disdain for the conventional, and a love that sweeps them on a journey. Their relationship is all the more miraculous given that Hazel's other constant companion is an oxygen tank, Gus jokes about his prosthetic leg, and they met and fell in love at a cancer support group.

From the Book:
     Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.




Thoughts:

      The Fault in Our Stars, a book that I have just finished not too long ago, and what a ride it was. I wasn't sure I would enjoy it at all, for the reason it is supposed to be a chick lit book. I will admit, I had it on my shelf for a while, and frankly for the lack of a better reason didn't feel the obligation or want to read it. However, when I heard about the movie, I frankly couldn't contain myself.

     After The Hunger Games and how I felt the book was so much better than the movie, I vowed I wouldn't watch another movie without reading the book. To my dismay I have broken that twice now and I hope to not repeat it again. With The Fault in Our Stars I loved the main character Hazel, she's earthly and realistic, but also somewhat morbid. She is a girl that I found I could relate to and want to get to know. Even from the trailer she has this superior intellect that just shines through.

     The movie has two of my favorite upcoming actors, Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort. Now both were great in Divergent, mainly Shailene who put up a better performance than what I think Jennifer Lawrence does at times during the Hunger Games. I spoke more on Divergent in an earlier review, check it out here. Ansel wasn't in it enough, but in this movie he takes front stage. I have high hopes for this movie, as does most of the YA book universe.

[Flashback Friday] - #56

Flashback Friday is a weekly event, hosted here, that highlights a past release that we're dying to get our hands on...

See something you like here?
Click the book title to add it to your Goodreads TBR List!



Title: Obsidian
   Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
   Release Date: May 8th, 2012

     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.

My Stance:

     Looking through Goodreads for a book for this week, I was struck by something I want to do but at the same time am not sure if it's going to be the best thing. I want to read a book that when I first looked at it, read the synopsis, rejected it and moved on. Than I stumbled upon Obsidian, the first book in the Lux series, and while I haven't really heard much about it, the synopsis didn't really interest me when I had just started reading. But than again my taste in books have and is ever changing. I read a lot differently than when I did say a few weeks ago.

     So onto the actual book, Obisidian. At first this is a simple my neighbor is an alien book that for some reason reveals himself to his neighbor. However, my question and the main reason I rejected this book, if he is able to stop time and save the main character (whose name isn't in the synopsis anywhere) and she is able to realize it. Now correct me if I am wrong, if he can stop time, that means all matter and time is stopped, so by her moving and recognizing that he did it, she isn't matter? It confuses my poor head and makes little sense to me. Sorry, but I am just stuck on this, and maybe if I give it a chance I will like it. I am not sure.

[Update] - 5/22/2014

     So, many of you may have already noticed that the blog has taken a slight turn for the wicked. I was working on getting a new blog layout up on my test blog, so I could work the kinks out, and well for some reason I put it up on the current Paper Critic blog and well I didn't have much of a choice. I apologize for being down earlier today, it was for that reason. I wanted to get something working up and going, because I am amazing and didn't make a save or backup my current layout. Either way, I am working on getting this up and making it better. I think visually it's better, it's more pleasing on the eyes. Let me know what you think and what I could do to change and make it better.

     As well, I made another change, I got rid of the old original title text and replaced it with a logo/image. If you haven't seen it yet.  I created it on the fly and while I enjoy how it's simple and conveys what I am trying to get across. I am going to review anything that can is written, I want to get into some Ellen Hopkins stuff for the fact it's poetry and not a normal story/plot driven. It would hammer that ideal home. But I want to do it on my own terms and not do it because I feel I need to. The site and my reading habits will dictate when I get around to them.

     So, now that I am up and running again, I will get around to a The Fault In Our Stars update, and my initial thoughts on the movie. Keep an eye out for it. As well, I hope to go back and review a few other movies that I have seen as well. However, I will go back and try to rewatch them so the review will be more accurate. I would prefer it was the first viewing but what bit late for that.

     Thanks!

[Book Review] - Slated by Teri Terry

Title: Slated
   Series: Teri Terry
   Series: #1 - Slated
   Format: Hardback
   Release Date: January 24th, 2013
   My Rating: 4.0 out of 5.0

     Debut author Teri Terry has written a brilliantly compelling, original and thought-provoking novel about an uncomfortably plausible future.

     Kyla has been Slated—her memory and personality erased as punishment for committing a crime she can’t remember. The government has taught her how to walk and talk again, given her a new identity and a new family, and told her to be grateful for this second chance that she doesn’t deserve. It’s also her last chance—because they’ll be watching to make sure she plays by their rules.

     As Kyla adjusts to her new life, she’s plagued by fear. Who is she, really? And if only criminals are slated, why are so many innocent people disappearing? Kyla is torn between the need to know more and her instinct for self-preservation. She knows a dangerous game is being played with her life, and she can’t let anyone see her make the wrong move . . . but who can she trust when everyone is a stranger?

My Review:

     Slated was a book that I bought nearly on impulse, a book that drove me crazy. The amount of possibility from this book was enormous and that concept is what drove me into the book. The idea that if you are a criminal you can be slated, your memory wiped and given a new life, but with someone hovering over your shoulder. However, what happens if that program has a flaw, and the person starts to question and wonder why they are being slated. The major part that caught my attention though was the underlying moral question, is is moral/humanitarian to wipe someone of their past and give them something in place?

     Kyla starts the story within the facility that all slateds are "born" into, and I found that it's not as sterile or clean as what normal cleansing facilities in any other story would be. She is taught to function like a human and is given information about her family she is being placed with. However, she likes to draw and during part of the exploration she finds out she is better at drawing with her off hand, as opposed to her dominant one. It's subtle hints that Terry gives throughout the book that elude to the idea that Kyla knows she's uncovering her past or pieces of who she was.

     The world isn't like the peaceful oblivion everyone wants to be, a subtle utopia in the midst of chaos is what I would describe it best as. All slated have some support group in which they talk about their assimilation and their overall daily life and how they feel. However, as the story goes Kyla begins to realize that there is a group of rebels that are fighting, the cause isn't sure as of yet. Along with the rebels comes the disappearance of a teacher and some people in her support group that no one wants to talk about and just simply ignores. It's like the slated are being used for something, or those that are speaking out are being killed silently.

     The two other characters that I would note are Ben and Tori. Both directly impact Kyla in different ways, and I have to agree with a fellow blogger. Tori is a complete bitch to Kyla, for the simple matter that she's a Slated and likes the same boy. However, Ben has no interest in Tori, making Tori a completely useless character if not for the fact to bolster the appeal of Kyla. Kyla though does one thing I find completely destructive, and goes all Bella Swan on the book. She doesn't believe Ben's feelings for her are genuine and while he states it time and time again, she just falters. I'm sorry it's annoying, but the romance isn't the focus of the book, and shouldn't detract from much in this case other than annoy you.

     What got me most intrigued through the book was the sense of a governing body trying to control emotions. "Levo's" are attached to the slated and if the device gets too low they shut your system down. It's this principle that drives the book forward and pushes me to continue to read. I want to know what happens when the Levo is tampered with, which we find out in the ending. However, at the same time it gives this possibility that this dystopia can actually happen. I loved that about it, the potential impending doom of our government wanting to control crime and safety through emotion monitoring.

     My major downside was that even though Kyla questions the world she is thrown into, there comes these annoying times where she seems to get premonitions about what could happen. Feels like the world is going to collapse or that something is going to happen. In YA this happens more often than not, and frankly while normally we all feel anxious, that portrayal is just false. It doesn't seem real at all, and twists the story or character's decision in a less than genuine path. It's annoying and I have to ask for any author that does this to stop, or if you must do it genuinely. By that I mean make it seem like she's nervous/anxious, and how she acts reflect that.

      In the end though, I enjoyed the book and while it had some hardships that I found. I wanted more of the romance in this story, and thought there would be about halfway through the book. I was a bit disappointed, but the book focuses more on the Political aspects of a dystopian world more so than the rest of the interactions. The character flaws, premonitions, make Kyla a bit hard to understand and get a bearing on, but makes her mysterious at the same time. If you can overlook a few aspects and are interested in the political workings, I suggest to at least give it a try.

[Waiting on Wednesday] - #54

     Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

See something you like here?
Click the book title to add it to your Goodreads TBR List!


Title: The Girl with the Windup Heart
   Author: Kady Cross
   Format: Hardcover
   Release Date: May 27th, 2014

     In 1897 London, a final showdown is about to begin.

     London's underworld is no place for a young woman, even one who is strong, smart and part-automaton like Mila. But when master criminal Jack Dandy inadvertently breaks her heart, she takes off, determined to find an independent life, one entirely her own. Her search takes her to the spangled shadows of the West End's most dazzling circus.

     Meanwhile, taken captive in the Aether, Griffin King is trapped in an inescapable prison, and at the mercy of his archenemy, The Machinist. If he breaks under the hellish torment, The Machinist will claim his powers and control of the Aether itself, and no one in either world will be safe-especially not Finley Jayne and her misfit band of friends.

     Finley plunges headlong into the Aether the only way she knows how, by temporarily dying. But she cannot parry The Machinist's maneuvers for long. To defeat him for good, Griffin will have to confront his greatest fear and finally come face-to-face with the destructive power he wields.

My Stance:

     Kady Cross is an author that I've been meaning to get around to reading. Her steampunk novels have been an inspiration and part of the reason I read. The unique idea and and precipice of the novels are so great that drives me crazy that I've not gotten into. The Girl in the Steel Corset is the first book, still sitting on my shelf, that caught my eye and part of me as well. The steampunk twist on normal everyday 1890s is the capturing bit that I found fascinating. It's the unique and original factor that gives this book, in my opinion, life and personality.

     The Girl with the Windup Heart is a bit confusing but than again I haven't read the book yet. That explains why I am a bit confused and I don't know many of the characters at all. The girl on the cover is flat out gorgeous, it's girls like that that catch my attention and I am attracted to. The models and skinny pretty girls nowadays drive me crazy; the older fashioned girls that are smart witty and dress to accommodate not show off, are more dignifying and attractive. So for now I have to say that for the covers and the concept, I am still interested and still hoping to get through these books.

[Teaser Tuesday] - #12

Hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading.
  1. Take your Current Read.
  2. Grab 2 Teaser sentences from the book (please be sure to avoid spoilers)
  3. Post it on your blog with the title and author, so other Teasing Tuesday participants can add it to their To Be Read list.
  4. When visiting other Teasing Tuesday participants, leave a link with your current TT in their comments.

Title: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
   Author: Ransom Riggs
   Release Date: June 7th, 2011

     Quote: "'His shoes are caked with filth,' he said. 'Can't have him tracking in mud. The Bird'll have an attack.' As my captors waited, I stepped out of my shoes one at a time, pressing down on the heels with the opposite foot, wobbling and nearly losing my balance without my arms to steady me. Emma grabbed me before I could fall, then yanked me impatiently through the door. "

--- Page 140


[Stacking the Shelves] - #57

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga’s Reviews and is all about sharing the books you are adding to your bookshelf, be it the physical one or your digital one!

     Here is the start of this week, I switched this Stacking the Shelves around, we'll see how it works. I put the newer books first and the older ones at the back. I want to see if this will draw more attention or interest. Either way, I'm happy with where the segment is at. Further, I put myself on a budget again, I can only buy so many books a month now. In the future this means I may have to cut back how many books I add to this segment, maybe 3 new and 3 old or fewer, but total the two pieces will be equal. I hope to do to big segment on The Fault in our Stars this week and play that up and get everyone I follow and those that don't, a look at the movie and my initial thoughts on the movie.

     So without further adieu:

The One
Breakable
Shattered
Ruins
Carrier of the Mark
Shadow of the Mark
Shadows of Glass
Insomnia

Shelf Additions:

Title: The One
   Author: Kiera Cass
   Format: Hardcover
   Release Date: May 6th, 2014

     The Selection changed the lives of thirty-five girls forever. And now, the time has come for one winner to be chosen.

     America never dreamed she would find herself anywhere close to the crown—or to Prince Maxon's heart. But as the competition approaches its end and the threats outside the palace walls grow more vicious, America realizes just how much she stands to lose—and how hard she'll have to fight for the future she wants.

     From the very first page of The Selection, this #1 New York Times bestselling series has captured readers' hearts and swept them away on a captivating journey... Now, in The One, Kiera Cass delivers a satisfying and unforgettable conclusion that will keep readers sighing over this electrifying fairy-tale long after the final page is turned.






Title:  Breakable
   Author: Tammara Webber
   Format: Paperback
   Release Date: May 6th, 2014

     He was lost and alone. Then he found her.
And the future seemed more fragile than ever.

     As a child, Landon Lucas Maxfield believed his life was perfect and looked forward to a future filled with promise — until tragedy tore his family apart and made him doubt everything he ever believed.

     All he wanted was to leave the past behind. When he met Jacqueline Wallace, his desire to be everything she needed came so easy…

     As easy as it could be for a man who learned that the soul is breakable and that everything you hoped for could be ripped away in a heartbeat.






Title: Shattered
   Author: Teri Terry
   Format: Paperback
   Release Date: May 1st, 2014

     The riveting finale of the Slated trilogy—a thought-provoking psychological thriller set in a disturbingly plausible future where the government and its enemies compete to control the minds of the young

     Kyla is in danger from both the government Lorders who erased her memory and the terrorists who tried to use her. So now she’s on the run. Sporting a new identity and desperate to fill in the blank spaces of her life pre-Slating, Kyla heads to a remote mountain town to try to reunite with the birth mother she was kidnapped from as a child. There she is hoping all the pieces of her life will come together and she can finally take charge of her own future. But even in the idyllic wilderness and the heart of her original family, Kyla realizes there is no escape from the oppressive Lorders. Someone close to her may be one of them, and even more frighteningly, her birth mother has been keeping secrets of her own.






Title:  Ruins
   Author: Dan Wells
   Format: Hardcover
   Release Date: May 11th, 2014

     Kira, Samm, and Marcus fight to prevent a final war between Partials and humans in the gripping final installment in the Partials Sequence, a series that combines the thrilling action of The Hunger Games with the provocative themes of Blade Runner and The Stand.

     There is no avoiding it—the war to decide the fate of both humans and Partials is at hand. Both sides hold in their possession a weapon that could destroy the other, and Kira Walker has precious little time to prevent that from happening. She has one chance to save both species and the world with them, but it will only come at great personal cost.






Title: Carrier of the Mark
   Author: Leigh Fallon
   Format: Paperback
   Release Date: October 4th, 2011

     Their love was meant to be.

     When Megan Rosenberg moves to Ireland, everything in her life seems to fall into place. After growing up in America, she's surprised to find herself feeling at home in her new school. She connects with a group of friends, and she is instantly drawn to darkly handsome Adam DeRÍs.

     But Megan is about to discover that her feelings for Adam are tied to a fate that was sealed long ago—and that the passion and power that brought them together could be their ultimate destruction.






Title: Shadow of the Mark
   Author: Leigh Fallon
   Format: Paperback
   Release Date: July 9th, 2013

     Their love could destroy them all.

     Through the ages, Marked Ones have harnessed the powers of the four elements: Water, Fire, Earth, and Air. Much about the elements is shrouded in mystery, but one thing is certain: A relationship between two Marked Ones has the potential to cause widespread devastation.

     Megan and Adam—Air and Water—are determined to defy the risks.

     But the power that swirls inside Megan is growing in twisted ways. And the closer she is to Adam, the closer Megan comes to unleashing a dark force that could spell destruction for the entire Marked line.






Title: Shadows of Glass
   Author: Kassy Tayler
   Format: Paperback
   Release Date: July 23rd, 2013

     Wren's world has changed. The thing that she fought for, escaping the dome has come to fruition, but it's not the paradise she thought it would be. Most of the shiners have died, and according to James, she is to blame for many of the deaths, a burden which sits heavy on her shoulders. Still some have survived and Wren is determined to keep them safe as they fight to establish a home outside while hiding from the rovers who have weapons that can kill from far away. But as long as she has Pace she knows everything will be fine. Still Wren wonders, as she sees the smoke that continually pours forth from the dome, how did her friends inside fare? Will they ever find out if Lucy, David, Jill and Harry, along with Pace's mother survive the explosions?

     Meanwhile, someone else has also seen the smoke. A band of explorers from across the sea arrive in an airship, curious about the dome, and offering help to those who survive. When Wren meets the handsome Levi Addison, she suddenly questions her love for Pace as Levi offers to show her the world from his airship. Does she really love Pace? Or was it just the circumstances that made her think she did? Meanwhile, word arrives from inside via Pip, and Wren is forced to go back inside the dome, a thing that terrifies her more than anything else, to save her friends. Once she's back inside will she be able to escape again?

     Kassy Tayler's Shadows of Glass is a whirlwind of adventure, romance, conspiracy and the struggle to stay alive in a dystopian world where nothing is as it seems.






Title: Insomnia
   Author: J.R. Johansson
   Format: Paperback
   Release Date: June 8th, 2013

     Her eyes saved his life.
     Her dreams released his darkness.

     After four years of sleeplessness, high school junior Parker Chipp can't take much more. Every night, instead of sleeping, he enters the dreams of the last person he's made eye contact with. If he doesn't sleep soon, Parker will die.

     Then he meets Mia. Her dreams, calm and beautifully uncomplicated, allow him blissful rest that is utterly addictive. But what starts out as a chance meeting turns into an obsession; Parker's furious desire for what he needs pushes him to extremes he never thought he'd go. And when someone begins to terrorizing Mia with twisted death threats, Parker's memory blackouts leave him doubting his own innocence.

[Flashback Friday] - #55

Flashback Friday is a weekly event, hosted here, that highlights a past release that we're dying to get our hands on...

See something you like here?
Click the book title to add it to your Goodreads TBR List!



Title: Envy
   Author: Gregg Olsen
   Release Date: August 23rd, 2011

     Crime lives--and dies--in the deceptively picture-perfect town of Port Gamble (aka “Empty Coffin”), Washington. Evil lurks and strange things happen--and 15-year-olds Hayley and Taylor Ryan secretly use their wits and their telepathic “twin-sense” to uncover the truth about the town's victims and culprits.

     Envy, the series debut, involves the mysterious death of the twins' old friend, Katelyn. Was it murder? Suicide? An accident? Hayley and Taylor are determined to find out--and as they investigate, they stumble upon a dark truth that is far more disturbing than they ever could have imagined.


My Stance:

     I was initially looking through the Amazon bargain books like I usually do at the end of the week, and this book popped up, it was a simple cover design that caught my eye. Well a vlogger that I started watching, Kat, that used this book in one of her challenges and it stuck in my head that it was on her shelf. When I saw it, I read the synopsis and frankly I am not sure what to really think of this book. The genre is very hard to tell or even derive from what we're given, other than it's YA. There needs to be more into this, other than when a friend dies two twins investigate.

     Now I was leery on this, and frankly I still am. I went looking on Goodreads at the reviews and without really reading the reviews entirely (I don't like spoilers and won't risk it, I'll read them afterwards) and they were just all over the place. You would have a 1.0 followed by a 5.0 and than a random 2.0 or 3.5 in places. It was just so all over the place, but more than anything it was a resounding negative and that just makes me more interested in the book. I like to torture myself to tackle the books that some won't, and I'll pick it up and read it just so I can understand or see why there is so much negativity around this book. I just hope it's not subtle, slow moving, or extremely boring. We'll see though.

[Book Review] - All the Truth That's in Me by Julie Berry

Title: All the Truth That's in Me
   Series: Julie Berry
   Format: Hardback
   Release Date: September 26th, 2013
   My Rating: 4.5 out of 5.0

     Four years ago, Judith and her best friend disappeared from their small town of Roswell Station. Two years ago, only Judith returned, permanently mutilated, reviled and ignored by those who were once her friends and family. Unable to speak, Judith lives like a ghost in her own home, silently pouring out her thoughts to the boy who’s owned her heart as long as she can remember—even if he doesn’t know it—her childhood friend, Lucas. But when Roswell Station is attacked, long-buried secrets come to light, and Judith is forced to choose: continue to live in silence, or recover her voice, even if it means changing her world, and the lives around her, forever. This startlingly original novel will shock and disturb you; it will fill you with Judith’s passion and longing; and its mysteries will keep you feverishly turning the pages until the very last.

My Review:

    Julie Berry creates a monster that I never saw coming. I picked this book up on a the fly and the only regret I have with this book was that I didn't get it sooner. The book is a beast, and I figure it takes place in an older time in which women are viewed as a property of men, or when they didn't have much rights. That's my only gripe with the book, is that the girls seem to worship men and view their purity far more intently than currently. I'm not saying that those don't crop up now, but they aren't much of a topic now.

     Judith is a girl whose story is far more brutal than what I thought. She and her friend are kidnapped one night and her kidnapper is astonishing. While her friend is killed and she is set free, with the catch that her tongue is partially cut out so she can't talk. When she returns to her village, from years of being kidnapped, she is viewed like a monster, everyone stays away from her or pitties her. Her own mother seems to resent that she even came back. Judith is told to go to school and come home as fast as possible, she does a few chores but nothing that is out in the community.

     When her village comes under attack, she has to entrust in the help of the unlikely person. It comes to a shock to everyone. Most of all is Lucas, the boy whose had Judith's heart, has a lot to learn and accept. Afterward the community is in upheaval and asks Judith to explain what happened to her, they want to know what happened to her, and when she can't they all push away from her. She wants to talk, she wants to get out and explain but at the same time she views herself as a monster.

     Lucas is a character that drove me crazy, he never forgave himself when he found out who kidnapped Judith. Throughout part of the book he seemed to give up on Judith from time to time. He comes and goes, deep inside he does care about Judith, but just never committed to her or stayed around. Lucas was just a washy guy, and I found that in the end I didn't know much more about him other than that he was attracted and loved Judith the entire time. The going in and out of Judith's life was a bit distracting to understanding him.

     The ending to the book is what I sort of expected, simply because it needed to happen. I don't want to give the ending away, but it was just too predictable. However, the rest of the book and how Judith wants to express herself and mold back into her society, but they just seem to avoid her at every turn. The growth of Judith was impressive and how she embraces herself, what she's dealt with, and how she overcomes every tribulation that comes her way, which is what I view the main point of the book.

     Now, this books growth of Judith is what pushes All the Truth That's in Me to the 4.5 rating. Lucas's character flaws (in my opinion) don't detract from the book in this case, but it'd be refreshing to see a companion novel. It's shocking to know what happened and see the affliction that is wrought unto Judith while she's kidnapped, but its almost worse what happens to her in her own village. How Judith rises up above everything else to face the ending, even though it was predictable, shows just how much she's grew.
 
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