Review: Crescendo

Crescendo
Becca Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Release Date: October 19, 2010
rating: 9/10

Nora should have know her life was far from perfect. Despite starting a relationship with her guardian angel, Patch (who, title aside, can be described anything but angelic), and surviving an attempt on her life, things are not looking up. Patch is starting to pull away and Nora can't figure out if it's for her best interest or if his interest has shifted to her arch-enemy Marcie Millar. Not to mention that Nora is haunted by images of her father and she becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to him that night he left for Portland and never came home.



The farther Nora delves into the mystery of her father's death, the more she comes to question if her Nephilim blood line has something to do with it as well as why she seems to be in danger more than the average girl. Since Patch isn't answering her questions and seems to be standing in her way, she has to start finding the answers on her own. Relying too heavily on the fact that she has a guardian angel puts Nora at risk again and again. But can she really count on Patch or is he hiding secrets darker than she can even imagine?

Crescendo is the highly anticipated (at least for me) sequel to Hush, Hush. I had high expectations for this to live up to  the first one. I wasn't dissappointed. Crescendo had just as much mystery, suspense and action as the last.

Crescendo picks up shortly after Hush, Hush left off. There is one thing that kind of bothered me. I hope this isn't spoilerish, and I dont think so since it happens in the second chapter, but...

(highlight)

Can we have one book where Patch and Nora are together for the majority of it?

But that's really all I had a problem with. Everything else was just wonderful. I loved all of he characters, the good ones, anyway. There were so many twists and turns I had no clue what was going to happen next. And the ending. Oh. My. Gosh. If there was one reason to wait to read Crescendo it would be the longer you wiat to read this, the less time there is to wait between Crescendo and the next one. Crescendo ended with a huge cliffhanger, and now I'm forced to wait for the next one!

Review: The Eternal Ones

The Eternal Ones
Kirsten Miller
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: August 10, 2010
rating 9/10

What if love refused to die?



Haven Moore can’t control her visions of a past with a boy called Ethan, and a life in New York that ended in fiery tragedy. In our present, she designs beautiful dresses for her classmates with her best friend Beau. Dressmaking keeps her sane, since she lives with her widowed and heartbroken mother in her tyrannical grandmother’s house in Snope City, a tiny town in Tennessee. Then an impossible group of coincidences conspire to force her to flee to New York, to discover who she is, and who she was.


In New York, Haven meets Iain Morrow and is swept into an epic love affair that feels both deeply fated and terribly dangerous. Iain is suspected of murdering a rock star and Haven wonders, could he have murdered her in a past life? She visits the Ouroboros Society and discovers a murky world of reincarnation that stretches across millennia. Haven must discover the secrets hidden in her past lives, and loves¸ before all is lost and the cycle begins again.

I really did enjoy The Eternal Ones. It was suspenseful and definitely one of the better mysteries that I've read in a while.

I really didn't know what to think or who to believe or if Haven should do this or that. The entire thing was very well played out. If there was just one thing, though, that bothered me, I'd have to say that it went back and forth too much. I mean, it's over 400 pages, and about 300 of those are just going to circles. Other than that, though, I loved it.

I felt bad for Haven at the beginning of the book. In the small town she lives in she's branded as possessed when she starts having visions. No one understands her and all she wants to do is find answers. When she goes off to find some answers, what she ends up finding is more questions. This one especially: Who to trust? I didn't know the answer to this myself. Every time I made a prediction, I turned out to be completely wrong; I eventually gave up on guessing.

The Eternal Ones will pull you in and won't let go until you figure out what happens. It's very original and Kirsten Miller did a fabulous job on writing.

Review: Amy and Roger's Epic Detour

Amy and Roger's Epic Detour
Morgan Matson
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Release Date: May 4, 2010
rating 9/10

Amy Curry thinks her life sucks. Her mom decides to move from California to Connecticut to start anew--just in time for Amy's senior year. Her dad recently died in a car accident. So Amy embarks on a road trip to escape from it all, driving cross-country from the home she's always known toward her new life. Joining Amy on the road trip is Roger, the son of Amy's mother's old friend. Amy hasn't seen him in years, and she is less than thrilled to be driving across the country with a guy she barely knows. So she's surprised to find that she is developing a crush on him. At the same time, she's coming to terms with her father's death and how to put her own life back together after the accident. Told in traditional narrative as well as scraps from the road--diner napkins, motel receipts, postcards--this is the story of one girl's journey to find herself.

I was so excited to finally read this one! I've been wanting to for so long. I had very high expectations, and it went above and beyond what I was expecting.

I loved Amy. Her father died three months ago in an accident she was in. Now she hast o deal with moving to a new place and a brother who was recently sent to rehab. She was very quiet and kind and someone I can relate to.

I also loved her relationship with Roger. At first, it's just him driving her from California to Cenneticut, but once they start it turns into more of a personal trip. Roger is trying to find and get back together with his ex. They go to Colorado together even thought the longer the trip goes, the more Amy starts to like him.

Amy has some demons to face, too, on the trip. I won't give away anything, but she starts to come out of her shell and starts recovering from everything she's been through. Through it all her relationship with Roger grow, too.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone and everyone. It was beautifully written and I loved every minute of it.

Anything but Normal

Anything but Normal
Melody Carlson
Release Date: January 1, 2010
Publisher: Revell
rating 9/10

Sophie is starting a new school year. Shopping for it with her best friend should be fun, but nothing seems to fit, which is a major issue to a high school girl. But her biggest problem is the secret she's keeping. And she's about to find out that she won't be able to keep things under wraps for much longer. This page-turning novel explores the tangled web of choices, secrets, and love that all teen girls navigate.

I'm not sure what I was expecting when I started Anything but Normal, but I know I didn't expect to like it so much. This book was amazing, and I loved it. It was very real and honest about what Sophie is going through as a pregnant teen.


I loved Sophie. She was a very genuine character. At times I wanted to yell at her, but I can't blame her for most the things she did. She was sweet and I felt sorry for her. I did not like most of the other characters, but I loved Sophie.

I really enjoyed Anything but Normal. Melody Carlson did a beautiful job writing this and I look forward to reading more of her books.

Winter Longing

Winter Longing by Tricia Mills
rating 9/10
Release Date August 19, 2010

A plane crash in Alaska takes



Winter’s first love away forever . . .


When Winter's boyfriend is killed in a plane crash in the Alaskan wilderness, she's robbed of the future she'd only just allowed herself to believe might be hers. Winter and Spencer had been destined for one another. And after his death, Spencer's presence continues to haunt her.


But when her next-door neighbor becomes an unlikely friend, Winter begins to accept all that she can't change. Can she open herself to a new future . . . and a possible new love?

Winter Longing was a real and emotional read. I really enjoyed it; I thought it was beautiful and mesmerizing.


In the beginning, Winter's best friend and new found love dies in a tragic accident. You never actually meet Spencer while he is alive. You get a glimpse of their relationship from when they were kids at the beginning of each chapter. I like this because A) It didn't take time away from the story and B) it added to the emotion.

I loved Winter, and really felt for what she was going through. She was such a sweet girl, adn you can't help but root for her and question why she deserves to go through this.

Jesse was so sweet, too. All along he was helping Winter, slowly but surely, get through what she was going through.

Winter Longing was a really sweet and amazing read. The writing was really beautiful, and it felt like I was going through all of this right along with Winter. It's one of those stories that you just can't get over. It scars you in the best, most beautiful way.

Harmonic Feedback

Harmonic Feedback by Tara Kelly
rating 9/10
Release Date May 25, 2010

Sixteen-year-old music and sound design obsessed Drea doesn't have friends. She has, as she's often reminded, issues. Drea's mom and a rotating band of psychiatrists have settled on "a touch of Asperger's."



Having just moved to the latest in a string of new towns, Drea meets two other outsiders. And Naomi and Justin seem to actually like Drea. The three of them form a trip-hop band after an impromptu jam session. Justin swiftly challenges not only Drea's preference for Poe over Black Lab but also her perceived inability to connect with another person. Justin, against all odds, may even like like Drea.


It's obvious that Drea can't hide behind her sound equipment anymore. But just when she's found not one but two true friends, can she stand to lose one of them?

I don't know how to start, other than say that this book was fantastic. One thing that makes it so great was how real it was. The caracters, the story, the writing; it was all just something else. Tara Kelly did a wonderful job on this debut novel.


In the beginning, we meet Drea, who has Asberger's Syndrome and ADHD. Even though I can't really relate to either of those, Drea herself was very easy to relate to. Then Naomi comes along and is Drea's first friend in a long time. Naomi has a lot of issues, adn even though she was stupid at times, I couldn't help but feel sympathy for her. Then Drea meets Justin, and can't help but fall for him through the book.

This is one of the better novels that I've read in a while. Once I started I couldn't stop. The ending left me both breathless and speechless.

The Beautiful Between

The Beautiful Between by Alyssa B. Sheinmel
rating 9/10
Release Date: May 11, 2010

If high school were a fairy-tale kingdom, Connelly Sternin would be Rapunzel, locked not in a tower by a wicked witch but in a high-rise apartment building by the SATs and college applications—and by the secrets she keeps. Connelly's few friends think that her parents are divorced—but they're not. Connelly's father died when she was two, and she doesn't know how.



If Connelly is the Rapunzel of her school, Jeremy Cole is the crown prince, son of a great and rich New York City family. So when he sits down next to her at lunch one day, Connelly couldn't be more surprised. But Jeremy has a tragic secret of his own, and Connelly is the only one he can turn to for help. Together they form a council of two, helping each other with their homework and sharing secrets. As the pair's friendship grows, Connelly learns that it's the truth, not the secrets, that one must guard and protect. And that between friends, the truth, however harsh, is also beautiful.

This book is all around beautiful. It's deffinately one of the better books that I've read in a while.


I was sucked in from the first page. The writing was well-formed and wonderful. It was a real emotional read, for sure. Most the book had a heartbreaking, intense tone to it, which only added to the tear-jerking story.

All the characters in this book were very lovable and relatable. I'd have to say my favorite character was Kate. She was so sweet and genial. She's what brings Connelly and Jeremy together, as well as the story.

The Beautiful Between was a truly inspiration story, one that I highly reccomend.

The Secret Year

The Secret Year by Jennifer R. Hubbard
rating 9/10

Seventeen-year-old Colt has been sneaking out at night to meet Julia, a girl from an upper-class neighborhood unlike his own. They’ve never told anyone else about their relationship: not their family or friends, and especially not Julia’s boyfriend.When Julia dies suddenly, Colt tries to cope with her death while pretending that he never even knew her. He discovers a journal she left behind. But he is not prepared for the truths he discovers about their intense relationship, nor to pay the price for the secrets he’s kept.

The Secret Year was an emotional roller coaster taht hooked you from the first sentence.


The writing was incredible. It brought the already heartbreaking tale of the secret relationship to a whole new level. I really felt for Colt, and what he was going through with being with someone for so long but not being able to greive Julia's death because it was all a secret.

I really adored the astounding novel. All the characters were very really, along the Julie, even though we only knew her after she died and from her journals.

Wintergirls

Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

rating 9/10

“Dead girl walking,” the boys say in the halls.

“Tell us your secret,” the girls whisper, one toilet to another.

I am that girl.

I am the space between my thighs, daylight shining through.

I am the bones they want, wired on a porcelain frame.

Lia and Cassie are best friends, wintergirls frozen in matchstick bodies, competitors in a deadly contest to see who can be the skinniest. But what comes after size zero and size double-zero? When Cassie succumbs to the demons within, Lia feels she is being haunted by her friend’s restless spirit.


Wintergirls was a real strong and emotional read. Everything about it was very intense, and there were also some parts that were disturbing, too.


Lia was a very deep character. It broke my heart watching go through everything, and watching her self-destruction. Between the eating disorder and the cutting, it was all very agonizing and hard to handle at times.

I particularly liked the writing in this novel. This was part of what made it so powerful. It ws very comelling, and gave the book a whole new effect.

Overall, this was an exceptional novel. It was strong and powerful and Anderson did a great job, as usual, with all the issues going on in this book.

If I Stay

If I Stay by Gayle Forman
rating 9/10

[close] In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeenyear- old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...


A sophisticated, layered, and heartachingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make—and the ultimate choice Mia commands.



 If I Stay was a real emotional read. It would be anyway, but it was written in such a way that made it more so. The writing was beautiful.
 
I really liked Mia. There was so much to her and I really liked that. With all the flashbacks, there was so much to connect with. One reason she was easy to connect to for me was because of her love for music. There was so much music, it was such and important aspect of the story and I loved that.
 
One thing that was great about this book was Mia and Adam's relationship. It was so real, not the same cookie-cutter love that you always see. They did love each other, but they had their problems. I really appreciated this.
 
If I stay was a wondrous read. It was beautiful and awe-inspiring.

Shadowland

Shadowland by Alyson Noel
rating 9/10

At the start of this breathtaking novel, Damen and Ever travel to Summerland in search of an antidote to reverse a powerful poison. But instead of the cure they seek, they find something far more sinister: the truth about their existence and the fate lying in wait of an immortal’s soul.


Now, with Damen fighting to save them from the Shadowland, Ever turns to magick, hoping to break Damen’s curse. Along the way Ever encounters the mysterious Jude, finding herself drawn to him in a way that will test her love for Damen like never before . . .

I loved both Evermore and Blue Moon, but Alyson Noel has truly outdone herself with Shadowland. There was more twists and turns and there were so many things that I didn't expect to happen, just like Blue Moon. this series just keeps getting better. They are all magnificently and beautifully written. I'm dying for the next book!

Soulstice

Soulstice by Simon Holt
9/10

It's been six months since Reggie first discovered and fought against the Vours, malicious and demonic beings that inhabit human bodies on the eve of the Winter Solstice.


The Vours still haunt Reggie, but only in her dreams-until one night, when an unexpected visitor turns her nightmares into reality.

Soulstice was the sequal to The Devouring. those books are horror books, but I didn't think they were scary. Don't get me wrong, I still like it. It was good, it just didn't scare me. But them again, I'm not really easily scared when it comes to books.

Soulstice's main two main characters were Aaron and Reggie. It had a lot more from Aaron than in the Devouring. Reggie is, in a way, a frightening character. It's kind of scary how far she'll go at times. She's deffinatly a very interesting person.

There were a lot of twists in this book. It was defferent from The Devouring. It ended with a total cliffhanger, and I can't wait for the next book!

Catching Fire

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Rating 9/10

Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.

Spoiler!!! (Don't read if you havn't finished Catching Fire)

I still thought this book was amazing, but definatly not as good as the first Hunger Games. It wasn't what I was expecting, and a lot different from the last one. During the hunger games in this book, it just didn't seem real to me. The entire book went over such a long period of time that at times there would be a lot of deetail and other times there wouldn't much at all. It still kept me wanting to read it and was still very surprising. And to top it all off, the ending was such a cliff hanger and I can't wait to read the next book.

City of Bones

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
rating 9/10

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing -- not even a smear of blood -- to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know. . . .

I've been meaning to read City of Bones for a while now, and I've just now gotten to it. This book was amazing. I loved all the action. It's been a long time since I've read a book like that. It also had so many surprising twists that kept happening. There were a lot of unexpected things happen in this book.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan
rating: 9/10
In Mary's world, there are simple truths.
The Sisterhood always knows best.
The Guardians will protect and serve.
The Unconsecrated will never relent.
And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village. The fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth.
But slowly, Mary's truths are failing her. She's learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power. And, when the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness.
Now she must choose between her village and her future, between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded by so much death?

Even though I've read good reviews about this book, I really wasn't all that excited to start this. Well, I should have been. this book was fantastic. I couldn't put it down. It kept me on the edge of my seat. It even scared me a little, which is not an easy thing to do.

Graceling

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

rating: 9/10

Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight—she’s a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king’s thug.
She never expects to fall in love with beautiful Prince Po.
She never expects to learn the truth behind her Grace—or the terrible secret that lies hidden far away . . . a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone.

My Review: I really liked reading this book. One thing I like about this book is the main character, Katsa. I love how strong and powerful she is. I was really excited to read this book because I've heard so many good things about it, and now I see why.