Category Teen Books

May 2 2014
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DNF Review: The Eighth Day by Dianne K. Salerni

The eighth dayTitle: The Eighth Day

Author: Dianne K. Salerni

Series: The Eighth Day #1

Genre: Teen Fantasy… maybe.

Rating: DNF

The Overview: In this riveting fantasy adventure, thirteen-year-old Jax Aubrey discovers a secret eighth day with roots tracing back to Arthurian legend. Fans of Percy Jackson will devour this first book in a new series that combines exciting magic and pulse-pounding suspense. When Jax wakes up to a world without any people in it, he assumes it’s the zombie apocalypse. But when he runs into his eighteen-year-old guardian, Riley Pendare, he learns that he’s really in the eighth day—an extra day sandwiched between Wednesday and Thursday. Some people—like Jax and Riley—are Transitioners, able to live in all eight days, while others, including Evangeline, the elusive teenage girl who’s been hiding in the house next door, exist only on this special day. And there’s a reason Evangeline’s hiding. She is a descendant of the powerful wizard Merlin, and there is a group of people who wish to use her in order to destroy the normal seven-day world and all who live in it. Torn between protecting his new friend and saving the entire human race from complete destruction, Jax is faced with an impossible choice. Even with an eighth day, time is running out.

The eighth day 2

The Review:

I try not to post DNF reviews unless I think something in my reading experience might make a difference for someone else (either a positive or negative influence… pretty much whatever helps the reader out the most). In this case, I actually think a lot of people are going to enjoy this book despite my personal objections. It had an original concept, entertaining writing, and interesting characters – there were just a few things that kept me from fully appreciating it.

It started out with a really cool concept and a mildly futuristic, technological feel. The idea that time stands still for an eighth day of the week – which only a few people get to experience – was evoking, and I found myself engaged in the story right from the start. However, somewhere around 1/4 of the way through the book, the story suddenly shifted from that mildly futuristic feel to suddenly revolving around Arthurian lore… it was really bizarre. Up until that point, there was zero indication that this was where the story was heading. A few drop-in references of King Arthur and Merlin earlier on would’ve gone a long way in marrying these two very different plot ideas together (thereby preventing me from feeling totally blindsided).

I realize if I had read the overview more carefully before requesting this book, I probably could have saved myself a lot of time, as I don’t particularly enjoy reading anything Arthurian. That said, what the author did with the lore had an interesting twist, and I might have stuck with it if not for my biggest issue with the book. You see, by the time I stopped reading – about halfway through the book, the main arc (as in, the purpose of the story) was only just starting to be hinted at. Up until that point, the book had good elements, but no clear direction. I don’t ask much: just a general inkling of who the bad guy is and what danger that bad guy holds for the characters (heck, in this novel I would’ve settled for just one). I think it would’ve been really easy to incorporate early on, and might even have fixed the blindsided effect I mentioned earlier. In any case, I just got tired of waiting to find out what the book was about. As a general rule, the sooner you can bring in your main conflict, the better. I felt this book lacked a lot of organization and focus.

If you couldn’t tell, The Eighth Day didn’t work for me. Aside from the fact that I don’t care for Arthurian lore (a preference issue that probably won’t affect most readers), there were many things that sucked my enjoyment out of what could have been a really cool book – after all, it had interesting characters, a cool basic concept, and Salneri had a great writing voice… for me too many other elements fell short. The beauty of this review is that I don’t think my issues will bother many other readers. If you like Arthurian lore and don’t mind waiting until the second half of the book for the story to really start, give this one go… but don’t say I didn’t warn you. ;)

Other books you might like (better):

by Niki Hawkes

Apr 28 2014
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Book Review: Rush by Eve Silver

RushTitle: Rush

Author: Eve Silver

Series: The Game #1

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Rating: 3/5 stars

The Overview: When Miki Jones is pulled from her life, pulled through time and space into some kind of game—her carefully controlled life spirals into chaos. In the game, she and a team of other teens are sent on missions to eliminate the Drau, terrifying and beautiful alien creatures. There are no practice runs, no training, and no way out. Miki has only the guidance of secretive but maddeningly attractive team leader Jackson Tate, who says the game isn’t really a game, that what Miki and her new teammates do now determines their survival, and the survival of every other person on this planet. She laughs. He doesn’t. And then the game takes a deadly and terrifying turn.

Rush 2

The Review:

Based on the premise of Rush – involving live-action video game battles against invading aliens – I’m actually surprised I hadn’t picked it up before now. I love competitions (I know, you guys are sick of hearing that) and have always wondered what it would be like if the contents of video games were reality. Now, if I were to pick one to bring to life, it probably wouldn’t be a scary shoot-em-up alien game because I’m a wimp, but watching others live it was super intense and exciting!

The sequences that took place in the “game” were my favorite parts of the book. It set a cool atmosphere right from the start, and the way Silver presented it really drew me me into the story. I like the framework behind how everything worked and the rules within the game. It sounded like fun… you know, provided you weren’t actually living it. I enjoyed watching Miki, an ordinary girl, draw on strength she didn’t even know she had in order to adapt and survive. I will say, as much as I enjoyed the action sequences in Rush, I have a strong suspicion the bits found in Push will be even more fascinating. I won’t ruin the plot or anything, but suffice to say Silver set things up strongly for her sequel.

One thing I’m looking forward to in the sequel is going in with more information right up front – which is something that could’ve made Rush a lot stronger. I know you need an element of discovery to keep your readers engaged, but the back-and-forth Q&A in Rush seemed like it went on forever (when you get to the last couple chapters of the book and your main character is still trying to get basic answers – who, what, when, where, why – there might be a problem). I actually think including that information early on and cutting some of the lengthy Q&A sections would have added a great deal to the plot, and perhaps solved some of my dissatisfaction with the reality sequences…

While half of the novel takes place in the game, the rest takes place in reality where teenage drama and romance unfold. I have to say, the teenage drama part was okay, but I didn’t enjoy the love story as much as I thought I would. I hate to admit that I think the problem was an instalove – the sort with no compelling reason why the main character would be drawn to a guy… unless her only criteria was “he was hot.” After the fifth or sixth time she called him an asshole (and meant it), I just couldn’t wrap my brain around why she all of a sudden thought “Ooooooh, I really want to date this guy!”

Now, of course as with any teen drama, the boy she liked was not as awful as the façade he showed the world, blah blah blah, but that doesn’t change his behavior towards Miki, and I didn’t buy in to her sudden fawning, even knowing how these things usually go. Maybe if I was more convinced of their relationship at first, the reality scenes wouldn’t have drug out quite so much, but it is what it is. There is a silver lining though – even though I couldn’t understand the initial attraction, I can definitely see what’s holding the relationship together, so I might be able to enjoy the romance in the second book a lot better.

My rant about the insalove aside (which I swear I’ve never cared about before… I guess the blogosphere is rubbing off on me), the way it was done actually fit in well with the framework of the story, and I can see why Silver presented it that way. All of the story elements worked well together and it was nice to see how one thing built off of another.

Overall, despite a bit of dissatisfaction with the love story, the action scenes were enough to make Rush an enjoyable read. The author left things off in a way that makes me doubly excited to pick up the second book, so there’s hope any issue I had will disappear in the next installment. I’m sure I could find people to recommend this too – it had enough strong points and all the negatives were preferential. It’s definitely different… I think it would be perfect for someone who likes action in books, but doesn’t want all the depressing baggage that comes along with full-blown dystopians/post-apocalyptics.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Apr 21 2014
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Book Review: Abandon by Meg Cabot

AbandonTitle: Abandon

Author: Meg Cabot

Series: Abandon Trilogy #1

Genre: Teen Paranormal Romance

Rating: 1/5 stars

The Overview: Though she tries returning to the life she knew before the accident, Pierce can’t help but feel at once a part of this world, and apart from it. Yet she’s never alone . . . because someone is always watching her. Escape from the realm of the dead is impossible when someone there wants you back.  But now she’s moved to a new town. Maybe at her new school, she can start fresh. Maybe she can stop feeling so afraid. Only she can’t. Because even here, he finds her. That’s how desperately he wants her back. She knows he’s no guardian angel, and his dark world isn’t exactly heaven, yet she can’t stay away . . . especially since he always appears when she least expects it, but exactly when she needs him most. But if she lets herself fall any further, she may just find herself back in the one place she most fears: the Underworld.

Abandon 2

The Review:

As Abandon is by far my least favorite book so far in 2014, I don’t want to spend too much time dissecting it. Suffice to say, even though I was really excited to read it (it was our first Escape Reality Book Club pick), Abandon just did not work for me. I stopped reading it thirty pages before the end. It would have taken maybe twenty minutes to finish it, but I just didn’t feel like it merited any more of my time. If that doesn’t give you a testament to how disappointed I was, I don’t know what will.

It suffered from one of my least favorite tools in writing: withholding information. The story started after everything had already happened, and then proceeded to reveal itself in miniature flashbacks, building up to what were supposed to be climactic scenes of the book that frankly just didn’t live up to expectations. Too much build-up and not enough delivery, if you will. I’m the type of reader that prefers to know everything the character knows – especially if it’s pertinent to the main arc of the story. Also, the way the book was organized took away every iota of suspense and drama, making me feel zero investment in the story. Don’t even get me started on the character dynamics and how ridiculously impulsive and clueless the main character, Pierce, came off…

All things said and done, this is probably the harshest review I’ve ever written because I can’t really pinpoint any positive (yikes!). I just had such high expectations, especially considering this was my first Meg Cabot book. During our book club meeting a couple of my friends (who have frequently professed their love for all things Meg Cabot) revealed that they didn’t enjoy Abandon, either. They spent a great deal of time convincing me that I need to pick up anything else by this author. I probably will eventually, leaving the memory of this experience bar behind. :-)

I should probably mention that, aside from the members of the book club, I’ve actually seen positive reviews of this series from other bloggers, so, as always, take this review with a grain of salt. :)

Other books you might like (… better):

by Niki Hawkes

Apr 18 2014
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Book Review: The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

girl of fire and thornsTitle: The Girl of Fire and Thorns

Author: Rae Carson

Series: Fire and Thorns #1

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Rating: 5/5 stars!

The Overview: Once a century, one person is chosen for greatness. Elisa is the chosen one.  But she is also the younger of two princesses, the one who has never done anything remarkable. She can’t see how she ever will.  Now, on her sixteenth birthday, she has become the secret wife of a handsome and worldly king—a king whose country is in turmoil. A king who needs the chosen one, not a failure of a princess. And he’s not the only one who seeks her. Savage enemies seething with dark magic are hunting her. A daring, determined revolutionary thinks she could be his people’s savior. And he looks at her in a way that no man has ever looked at her before. Soon it is not just her life, but her very heart that is at stake. Elisa could be everything to those who need her most. If the prophecy is fulfilled. If she finds the power deep within herself. If she doesn’t die young. Most of the chosen do.

The Review:

For one reason or another, this book didn’t have much initial cover appeal to me, so I passed it over early on without taking the time to find out what it was about. Foolish I tell you – FOOLISH! It wasn’t until I jumped aboard the Throne of Glass bandwagon that I started noticing the many cross-references between the two series. Then I randomly found and purchased a signed copy of the third book and decided I should probably borrow the first one from the library to see if I even liked it (yes, I’m utilizing the library now for the first time in my entire life… unemployment will do that to you). Anyway, after a massive reading binge, I’ve decided Girl of Fire and Thorns just might be among my all-time favorites – I loved it!!! Books two and three will be telling, but for now, lets suffice to say I’m completely thrilled about how much I enjoyed book one.

It had everything I expect from a great YA novel. Heck, it had just about everything I expect from a robust high fantasy novel, too. Great, relatable characters, a unique world filled with interesting cultures, magic, an epic adventure, and fantastic pacing! I laughed, I cried, I yelled, and I seethed – basically, I was completely invested from page one and felt every victory and loss as if they were my own. It’s always nice when a book is written so well that it can draw you out of reality, and this one did so in a way that will stick with me for years.

Elisa, the protagonist, is definitely what I would call an atypical heroine. Often, champions I’ve read about in other books start out with a solid set of skills, sporting flaws that are superficial or easy to overcome (such as not knowing how beautiful they are, or being too impulsive… you get the idea). I actually can’t immediately think of a female lead with so many things to overcome as Elisa at the beginning of the book. As a heavily protected Princess, Elisa had very few skills that would allow her to be self-sufficient. What’s more, she was also dealing with the emotional damage of feeling unloved, unwanted, and worthless. These feelings caused her to seek comfort from wherever she could find it… primarily in food. Overcoming these things took no small amount of effort, and because of that, Elisa is my favorite component of this book. She was compassionate, smart, courageous, and adaptable and, although she had magic, it was those endearingly human traits that let her do extraordinary things, touching my heart in the process. I truly loved going on this journey with her, and look forward to seeing where it takes her next!

The world building was probably my second favorite element of the story. I love it when authors imagine up multiple cultures, give them some swords and religious convictions, and throw them together and to see what happens. I find it fascinating to see how they develop and react around one another, and I have the feeling I’ve only just scratched the surface of the cultural convictions this series has to offer. And, oh my gosh, the setting! With everything from tropical forests to desert wastelands, the settings were vivid and exciting. I don’t know if this is what the author was going for, but I felt like I was experiencing landscape similar to Central and South America, and it was wicked cool.

Overall, this is one of those books I want all of my friends to read because I’m just bursting to talk about it. I liked Girl of Fire and Thorns so much, I immediately ordered it and the sequel in hardcover for my collection. It has similarities to things I’ve read before, but there were enough unique elements to make me feel like I read something fresh and original. If you need me, I will be devouring the second and third books in the series…

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Apr 13 2014
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Book Review: The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

The TestingTitle: The Testing

Author: Joelle Charbonneau

Series: The Testing #1

Genre: Teen Dystopian

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

The Overview: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Isn’t that what they say? But how close is too close when they may be one in the same? The Seven Stages War left much of the planet a charred wasteland. The future belongs to the next generation’s chosen few who must rebuild it. But to enter this elite group, candidates must first pass The Testing—their one chance at a college education and a rewarding career.

Cia Vale is honored to be chosen as a Testing candidate; eager to prove her worthiness as a University student and future leader of the United Commonwealth. But on the eve of her departure, her father’s advice hints at a darker side to her upcoming studies–trust no one. But surely she can trust Tomas, her handsome childhood friend who offers an alliance? Tomas, who seems to care more about her with the passing of every grueling (and deadly) day of the Testing. To survive, Cia must choose: love without truth or life without trust.

The Testing

The Review:

I had this book lined up next on my reading list until a couple of negative reviews surfaced… and then it got moved to the back-burner. Several months later, Tara, The Librarian Who Doesn’t Say Shhhh! gave it a promising review and included it in her top ten books of 2013 list. As she’s a self-proclaimed dystopian addict and one of my favorite kindred book spirits, I knew I had to give this series a second look. And you know what? I’m really glad I did.

Before I get into it, I need to admit I’m already finished with the second book (Independent Study) and, while I had a couple of issues with The Testing, I loved the second book so much that those issues are nothing but a distant memory. This is a problem because if I had written this review when I was supposed to (i.e., before continuing on in the series) it probably would’ve been a little harsher, but what can I say? My immense enjoyment of the second book has definitely pulled up my opinion of the series as a whole.

In any case, I’ll try and speak to my initial opinion of the first book throughout the rest of this review. Overall, there were several things I liked about it, and a few that I didn’t. First off, I love competitions of any sort, and a bunch of kids gathered together to showcase their mental assets against one another, actively competing for a spot in the University, thrilled me to no end. I love books about people in school, especially the testing sequences (weird I know). Most of this novel focused around the candidates reacting to challenges and problems put forth to them by the testing committee. The creativity and presentation of those tests were by far the best parts of the novel. I found myself hard-pressed to put it down because I was eager to see what problem they would face next and how Cia, the main heroine, would solve it.

I don’t know if it’s just because I’ve been conditioned to expect the worst-case-scenario from Hunger games and the countless other dystopian I’ve read, but I figured out right away that there was something more sinister at play than a mere placement test (as I’m sure most readers will). The problem is, the testing went from plausibly dangerous to ridiculously deadly in the blink of an eye. I’m pretty sure the author was going for shock value, but I found it too clumsy to be really effective. Cia’s reaction to the event emotionally distanced me from it even further. In any case, this is where my rating of the book started to fall and, while excellent testing scenes ensued, it never really gained back my confidence.

That said, I’m actually surprised I picked up a second book at all, but what ever reading god drew me to it, I am immensely grateful. Let’s just say I liked it so much that it’s in contention to be one of my favorite books of the year. I am incredibly eager to get my hands on the third and final book of the trilogy (Graduation Day).

If you are on the fence about this series, I would encourage you to give it a try. There are enough cool elements in the first book to make it worth your while, and who doesn’t love a series that gets better and better with each book?

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Apr 10 2014
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Book Review: Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

Rebel BelleTitle: Rebel Belle

Author: Rachel Hawkins

Series: Rebel Belle #1

Genre: Young Adult

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

The Overview: Harper Price, peerless Southern belle, was born ready for a Homecoming tiara. But after a strange run-in at the dance imbues her with incredible abilities, Harper’s destiny takes a turn for the seriously weird. She becomes a Paladin, one of an ancient line of guardians with agility, super strength and lethal fighting instincts. Just when life can’t get any more disastrously crazy, Harper finds out who she’s charged to protect: David Stark, school reporter, subject of a mysterious prophecy and possibly Harper’s least favorite person. But things get complicated when Harper starts falling for him–and discovers that David’s own fate could very well be to destroy Earth. With snappy banter, cotillion dresses, non-stop action and a touch of magic, this new young adult series from bestseller Rachel Hawkins is going to make y’all beg for more.

Rebel Belle 2

 The Review:

Having read (and loved) Hawkins’ Hex Hall series, I was already more than willing to try any book she decided to publish. I picked this one up without even reading the overview, and therefore had no idea what a wild ride I was in for! Just looking at the cover, I was expecting an angsty “I need to break all the rules to find myself” type of story. What I got instead was a delightful mix of paranormal magic, humor, and action – it was stellar!  I can safely say I’ve never read anything quite like it. Rebel Belle is one of those books I wish had been a book club nomination because I’m so antsy to talk about it!

Hawkins has a unique voice, which is part of the reason I thought the Hex Hall books were so much fun. The writing, more specifically the ways she handled inner dialogue, provided a different light to the characters all on its own. It was cheeky without being immature, and she strikes that balance in Rebel Belle better than I’ve seen anywhere else. The amazing thing is, I’ve seen her do it well twice – Hex Hall’s Sophie had a charming sarcastic voice, while Harper has this delightful bluntness. I find them both equally fabulous and funny.

Which brings me to my next point – this book was hilarious. Everything from the way Harper thought about things to the way she reacted to the not so perfect situations had me laughing out loud. It’s not funny in a punchy trying-to-hard kind of way, but funny in a situational way (which I vastly prefer). Not only did it make for one highly entertaining book, but also made me love the characters even more.

And oh, the characters! I loved them all, especially the heroine. This is weird because I didn’t particularly relates to Harper’s background, high school experience, or love life, but I found her incredibly endearing nonetheless. Everything she did was just so earnest and, privileged social status aside, you could tell she was just trying her best to cope as one weird thing after another was sent her way. Her personal growth throughout the story is definitely one of its best elements. And David… Don’t even get me started on how much I loved David. There’s just something about that unfaltering intelligence, strong sense of self, and all-around compassion that had me hooked from the moment we met him. All I’m saying is I think I just found my next book boyfriend…

The only thing keeping this book from a solid 5 star review was the bad guys. Throughout the story, I just never bought in to their motivations or tactics. Hopefully, that will be cleared up in book 2 (which I am grabbing the moment it comes out… whenever that may be).

Overall, this was a fun book filled with mystery, humor, and love – it’s definitely one I plan to reread one day. This is a major yes for fans of Rachel Hawkins and an equally big yes for people trying her out for the first time. Rebel Belle contained everything I expect from a good teen novel, and just might make my favorites list this year. :-)

Other books you might like:

by nikihawkes