16-21
book update:
16 :: Marked by PC Cast and Kristin Cast
rating: 4/5
The start of my current obsession! This is a teen vampire series about a teenage girl who gets gifted by the vampyre goddess Nyx in ways that most, actually all, vampyres are not. Fledgling vampyres are sent to the House of Night school where they learn how to adapt to their new lives as they mature and become adult vampyres. The mythology is a lot different than most vampire stories, and I really like the twists the Casts created a lot. The main character, Zoey, is a really great character. She's very strong and smart and learns from her mistakes. The secondary characters are all also really well written and interesting too.
Inevitably I compare House of Night to Twilight, and HoN comes out on top. For one thing Zoey is way more interesting and likeable than Bella, who I find really annoying. Second of all, as I mentioned before, the secondary characters and villians are also really well written and much more developed than the characters in Twilight. The writing is better and the story as a whole is much more complex and enjoyable to me. I do love Twilight too, but next to HoN it's nowhere near as good in my opinion.
tags: glbt, magic, native american, teen lit, vampires
17 :: So Hard to Say, by Alex Sanchez
rating: 2/5
I love love love the Rainbow Boys series by Alex Sanchez. This is the first book outside of that series of his that I've read. I put off buying it for a long long time, but then I saw it at the bookstore when the teen books were 20% off so I decided to get it. I didn't remember that it was written for 10 year olds though, lol, which was the reason I hadn't bought it before. It was a super easy read, and I liked the ending. I didn't really like any of the characters though, Rainbow Boys was much much better. Overall, it was cute though, and something I would recommend to curious preteens or young teens.
tags: glbt, teen lit
18 :: Betrayed by PC Cast and Kristin Cast
rating: 5/5
While Marked basically introduced the characters (whom I loved) and the premise and mythology (which was interesting), Betrayed delved more deeply into the overall arch of the series. The light hearted teenage tone of the first book takes a darker turn when one of the main characters dies (I totally cried), and someone Zoey trusts is responsible for the death (plus many more). I loved it more than Marked because it really got more into the main story, more than being about a girl and her vampire friends.
tags: glbt, magic, native american, teen lit, vampires
19 :: Chosen by PC Cast and Kristin Cast
rating: 5/5
More troubles for Zoey and her friends when she doesn't know who she can trust. I have to say I love Aphrodite, her character development has been so great. Zoey is such a strong character too, even though she totally messes up everything in this book you can't help but root for her. They just keep getting better and better!
tags: glbt, magic, native american, teen lit, vampires
20 :: Untamed by PC Cast and Kristin Cast
rating: 5/5
This is actually the first book in the series I got, my mom bought it for my birthday. I read the first three or four chapters then bought Marked so I could read everything from the beginning. I'm so glad I did! This one really took everything in a whole new, unexpected direction for me. Everything about the Cherokee myth, Raven Mockers and new bad guy was totally unexpected, a little confusing, and totally amazing in the end! I was not expecting any of that to go down this quickly. It kept me on the edge of my seat!
tags: glbt, magic, native american, teen lit, vampires
21 : The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
rating: 3/5
This was sooo not what I expected. I thought it was going to be something like Memoirs of a Geisha, but it was totally not, it was a lot like 1984. I love both of those books but The Handmaid's Tale wasn't as good, imo. It was good though, maybe I didn't enjoy it as much because it was just not what I expected. The parts I liked best were the flashbacks to Offred's previous life. I was really annoyed with the ending too.
tags: booker winner, canadian lit, governor general winner, nebula winner
And a girl from work lent me her Hunted book, House of Night #5! Woo hoo! I didn't want to buy it because it was hardcover, I'm glad I don't have to wait. The wait until book 6 though is going to kill me. I want them all now!
16 :: Marked by PC Cast and Kristin Cast
rating: 4/5
The start of my current obsession! This is a teen vampire series about a teenage girl who gets gifted by the vampyre goddess Nyx in ways that most, actually all, vampyres are not. Fledgling vampyres are sent to the House of Night school where they learn how to adapt to their new lives as they mature and become adult vampyres. The mythology is a lot different than most vampire stories, and I really like the twists the Casts created a lot. The main character, Zoey, is a really great character. She's very strong and smart and learns from her mistakes. The secondary characters are all also really well written and interesting too.
Inevitably I compare House of Night to Twilight, and HoN comes out on top. For one thing Zoey is way more interesting and likeable than Bella, who I find really annoying. Second of all, as I mentioned before, the secondary characters and villians are also really well written and much more developed than the characters in Twilight. The writing is better and the story as a whole is much more complex and enjoyable to me. I do love Twilight too, but next to HoN it's nowhere near as good in my opinion.
tags: glbt, magic, native american, teen lit, vampires
17 :: So Hard to Say, by Alex Sanchez
rating: 2/5
I love love love the Rainbow Boys series by Alex Sanchez. This is the first book outside of that series of his that I've read. I put off buying it for a long long time, but then I saw it at the bookstore when the teen books were 20% off so I decided to get it. I didn't remember that it was written for 10 year olds though, lol, which was the reason I hadn't bought it before. It was a super easy read, and I liked the ending. I didn't really like any of the characters though, Rainbow Boys was much much better. Overall, it was cute though, and something I would recommend to curious preteens or young teens.
tags: glbt, teen lit
18 :: Betrayed by PC Cast and Kristin Cast
rating: 5/5
While Marked basically introduced the characters (whom I loved) and the premise and mythology (which was interesting), Betrayed delved more deeply into the overall arch of the series. The light hearted teenage tone of the first book takes a darker turn when one of the main characters dies (I totally cried), and someone Zoey trusts is responsible for the death (plus many more). I loved it more than Marked because it really got more into the main story, more than being about a girl and her vampire friends.
tags: glbt, magic, native american, teen lit, vampires
19 :: Chosen by PC Cast and Kristin Cast
rating: 5/5
More troubles for Zoey and her friends when she doesn't know who she can trust. I have to say I love Aphrodite, her character development has been so great. Zoey is such a strong character too, even though she totally messes up everything in this book you can't help but root for her. They just keep getting better and better!
tags: glbt, magic, native american, teen lit, vampires
20 :: Untamed by PC Cast and Kristin Cast
rating: 5/5
This is actually the first book in the series I got, my mom bought it for my birthday. I read the first three or four chapters then bought Marked so I could read everything from the beginning. I'm so glad I did! This one really took everything in a whole new, unexpected direction for me. Everything about the Cherokee myth, Raven Mockers and new bad guy was totally unexpected, a little confusing, and totally amazing in the end! I was not expecting any of that to go down this quickly. It kept me on the edge of my seat!
tags: glbt, magic, native american, teen lit, vampires
21 : The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
rating: 3/5
This was sooo not what I expected. I thought it was going to be something like Memoirs of a Geisha, but it was totally not, it was a lot like 1984. I love both of those books but The Handmaid's Tale wasn't as good, imo. It was good though, maybe I didn't enjoy it as much because it was just not what I expected. The parts I liked best were the flashbacks to Offred's previous life. I was really annoyed with the ending too.
tags: booker winner, canadian lit, governor general winner, nebula winner
And a girl from work lent me her Hunted book, House of Night #5! Woo hoo! I didn't want to buy it because it was hardcover, I'm glad I don't have to wait. The wait until book 6 though is going to kill me. I want them all now!