Fire by Kristin Cashore
Graceling Realm #2
adventure, fantasy, love story, mature, period fiction, ya
5/5 - fantastic! multiple reads, own
It is not a peaceful time in the Dells. In King City, the young King Nash is clinging to the throne, while rebel lords in the north and south build armies to unseat him. War is coming. And the mountains and forest are filled with spies and thieves. This is where Fire lives, a girl whose beauty is impossibly irresistible and who can control the minds of everyone around her. Exquisitely romantic, this companion to the highly praised "Graceling" has an entirely new cast of characters, save for one person who plays a pivotal role in both books. You don't need to have read "Graceling" to love "Fire." But if you haven't, you'll be dying to read it next.
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I think this is my new favorite book! I love Fire, she is an amazing character. She is so brave and strong, yet kind and caring; a great combo. And I get all mushy about Brigan.**Who I pictured while reading: Prince William
The Dead-Tossed Waves by Carrie Ryan
The Forest of Hands and Teeth #2
death, dystopia, love story, mature, ya
3/5 - good
Gabry lives a quiet life. As safe a life as is possible in a town trapped between a forest and the ocean, in a world teeming with the dead, who constantly hunger for those still living. She’s content on her side of the Barrier, happy to let her friends dream of the Dark City up the coast while she watches from the top of her lighthouse. But there are threats the Barrier cannot hold back. Threats like the secrets Gabry’s mother thought she left behind when she escaped from the Sisterhood and the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Like the cult of religious zealots who worship the dead. Like the stranger from the forest who seems to know Gabry. And suddenly, everything is changing. One reckless moment, and half of Gabry’s generation is dead, the other half imprisoned. Now Gabry only knows one thing: she must face the forest of her mother’s past in order to save herself and the one she loves.
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It was enjoyable, worth the read. The main character was pretty annoying and always whining.
spoilers.
At first I thought Daniel was the right one. Boy, was I wrong!
I was scared through-out the book that Gabry and Elias were brother and sister. (City of Bones did the to me.) That little fake out had me so worried, but it all works out.
Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman
family, kids books, male protagonist, social issues
2/5 -nothing special
Shawn McDaniel is an enigma and a miracle except no one knows it, least of all his father. His life is not what it may seem to anyone looking at him. Not even those who love him best have any idea what he is truly like. In this extraordinary and powerful first novel, the reader learns to look beyond the obvious and finds a character whose spirit is rich beyond imagining and whose story is unforgettable.
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I think his dad killed him.
The Silent Land by Graham Joyce
adult fiction, death, family, mature
1/5 -I didn't like it
In the French Pyrenees, a young married couple is buried under a flash avalanche while skiing. Miraculously, Jake and Zoe dig their way out from under the snow-only to discover the world they knew has been overtaken by an eerie and absolute silence. Their hotel is devoid of another living soul. Cell phones and land lines are cut off. An evacuation as sudden and thorough as this leaves Jake and Zoe to face a terrifying situation alone. They are trapped by the storm, completely isolated, with another catastrophic avalanche threatening to bury them alive . . . again. And as the couple begin to witness unsettling events neither one can ignore, they are forced to confront a frightening truth about the silent land they now inhabit.
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I didn't really like this. It was a little boring.
It wasn't at all what I thought it would be either. I thought it would be a dystopian thing rather than some purgatory story.
**Who I pictured when I read: Matt Bomer
The Other Life by Susanne Winnacker
The Other Life #1
adventure, dystopia, family
1/5 -bad
3 years, 1 month, 1 week and 6 days since I’d seen daylight. One-fifth of my life. 98,409,602 seconds since the heavy, steel door had fallen shut and sealed us off from the world
Sherry has lived with her family in a sealed bunker since things went wrong up above. But when they run out of food, Sherry and her dad must venture outside. There they find a world of devastation, desolation...and the Weepers: savage, mutant killers.
When Sherry's dad is snatched, she joins forces with gorgeous but troubled Joshua - an Avenger, determined to destroy the Weepers.
But can Sherry keep her family and Joshua safe, when his desire for vengeance threatens them all.
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I don't think this story fit with the size of this book.
It felt very, very rushed and nothing was explained. And the age difference kind of bothered me. If a 20 year old man and a 15 year old girl are going to get together, she could at least choose the right boy.
The Morning Gift by Eva Ibbotson
adult fiction, alternate views, family, historical fiction
1/5 -bad
Twenty-year-old Ruth Berger is desperate. The daughter of a Jewish-Austrian professor, she was supposed to have escaped Vienna before the Nazis marched into the city. Yet the plan went completely wrong, and while her family and fiancé are waiting for her in safety, Ruth is stuck in Vienna with no way to escape. Then she encounters her father’s younger college professor, the dashing British paleontologist Quin Sommerville. Together, they strike a bargain: a marriage of convenience, to be annulled as soon as they return to safety. But dissolving the marriage proves to be more difficult than either of them thought-not the least because of the undeniable attraction Quin and Ruth share. To make matters worse, Ruth is enrolled in Quin’s university, in his very classes. Can their secret survive, or will circumstances destroy their love?
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This was a disappointment! I thought it would be a sweet little romance, but it was not. There was barely any interaction between the two main characters. **Who I pictured while reading: Hugh Jackman
Glimpse by Carol Lynch Williams
family, mature, social issues, verse, ya
2/5 -nothing specials
Twelve year old girl Hope's life is turned upside down when her older sister Lizzie becomes an elective mute and is institutionalized after trying to kill herself.
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Too predictable.