You Have Got to Check Out This Book!

I read a series this weekend that blew me away! While looking through Amazon's deals I found Please Don't Tell My Parents I'm a Supervillain by Richard Roberts. I DEVOURED this book! I couldn't tear my eyes away from it and after I finished the first book, I immediately bought the second one and started reading it until late in the morning!

 Penelope Akk wants to be a superhero. She's got superhero parents. She's got the ultimate mad science power, filling her life with crazy gadgets even she doesn't understand. She has two super-powered best friends. In middle school, the line between good and evil looks clear. 

In real life, nothing is that clear. All it takes is one hero's sidekick picking a fight, and Penny and her friends are labeled supervillains. In the process, Penny learns a hard lesson about villainy: She's good at it. 

Criminal masterminds, heroes in power armor, bottles of dragon blood, alien war drones, shapeshifters and ghosts, no matter what the super powered world throws at her, Penny and her friends come out on top. They have to. If she can keep winning, maybe she can clear her name before her mom and dad find out.

While reading I couldn't believe this was a middle grade book- I loved it! And if my recommendation doesn't do it, what about the 4.34 rating on Goodreads ought to convince you! (to put that into perspective, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone has a 4.39) 

The best part of this? You can purchase the first book for only $0.99 today! So do yourself a favor! Go! Buy it! Love it! And if you do try it, come back here and leave a comment and tell me what you think! 

Teaser Tuesday

Hi everyone! And welcome to Teaser Tuesday! This is a meme hosted by A Daily Rhythm (formally Should Be Reading). 

In this meme you pick up your current read and post two teaser sentences from it- but no spoilers! 

This week's teasers are from Bad Girls Don't Die by Katie Alender. 

Alexis thought she led a typically dysfunctional high school existence. Dysfunctional like her parents' marriage; her doll-crazy twelve-year-old sister, Kasey; and even her own anti-social, anti-cheerleader attitude. When a family fight results in some tearful sisterly bonding, Alexis realizes that her life is creeping from dysfunction into danger. Kasey is acting stranger than ever: her blue eyes go green sometimes; she uses old-fashioned language; and she even loses track of chunks of time, claiming to know nothing about her strange behavior. Their old house is changing, too. Doors open and close by themselves; water boils on the unlit stove; and an unplugged air conditioner turns the house cold enough to see their breath in.

Alexis wants to think that it's all in her head, but soon, what she liked to think of as silly parlor tricks are becoming life-threatening--to her, her family, and to her budding relationship with the class president. Alexis knows she's the only person who can stop Kasey -- but what if that green-eyed girl isn't even Kasey anymore?

Using my new Kindle's ability to flip through the book, I decided on a random page in Chapter 7. (Unfortunately my Kindle is giving me locations instead of page numbers.) 

The basement door is right down the hall from the kitchen. I stood outside it for a really long minute, staring at the doorknob. I really- and I mean really- had no desire to open it and go down those stairs. 

I thought I heard something on the other side of the wall.
"Kasey, are you down here?"
Still no answer, but this time I heard a definite sound. 

I just started this book but I was really intrigued by the premise- creepy possessed little sisters? I'm all in for that. 

What do you think of this week's Teaser Tuesday? Do you participate in this meme? Have you read Bad Girls Don't Die? Leave me a comment and let me know!  

Seed Review

I recently had the chance to read Seed by debut author Lisa Heathfield. 

All that Pearl knows can be encapsulated in one word: Seed. It is the isolated community that she was born into. It is the land that she sows and reaps. It is the center of her family and everything that means home. And it is all kept under the watchful eye of Papa S.

At fifteen years old, Pearl is finally old enough to be chosen as Papa S’s companion. She feels excitement... and surprising trepidation that she cannot explain. The arrival of a new family into the Seed community — particularly the teenage son, Ellis — only complicates the life and lifestyle that Pearl has depended upon as safe and constant. 

Ellis is compelling, charming, and worldly, and he seems to have a lot of answers to questions Pearl has never thought to ask. But as Pearl digs to the roots of the truth, only she can decide what she will allow to come to the surface.

I was super excited to read this book! When I read that description, I was hooked! I know we always make jokes about "drinking the kool-aid" or cult mentality. But how would it be to read from the POV from someone who is actually on the inside? Who believes whole-heartedly that what her leader says is law? 

We get that experience with Pearl because she cannot imagine a better place in the world to live than Seed. No one is hungry at Seed. No one is unhappy at Seed because Nature provides everything they need and communicates to the community through Papa S. Papa S leads the family in his loving ways and Pearl is so excited to finally be a woman, to be considered to be his Companion. 

This was such an interesting read! It was definitely not for the faint of heart because the observant reader quickly picks up on the emotional and sexual abuse going on in the background of this utopia. But our narrator Pearl is completely naive. 

I'm not going to lie, at first I wasn't a big fan of newcomer Ellis. He came off very arrogant and I felt like he treated Pearl like she was stupid for her beliefs. But I slowly grew to understand that his attitude was that of a teenage boy who is forced into an unfamiliar territory that goes against everything that he was ever taught.

Other than Ellis's occasional bought of teenage moodiness and arrogance, my only other (slight) problem with this book was how quickly the book seemed to rush to the end. It felt like the majority of the book was building to something that in the end, was over rather quickly. That being said, what happened in the end blew me away and I'm surprised the author went with the ending she did. 

I would recommend this to 16+ readers who are emotionally mature enough to deal with the adult nature of this book. Its a great read and I highly recommend it to readers who enjoy a female protagonist that isn't traditionally "strong". Pearl has doubts, she cries, she is at times naive, she's not physically any stronger than a normal 15 year old girl, but she has an inner strength that pushes her to do the right thing that I really admire. 

*I received a free ARC of this book through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review. This in no way influenced my review.

The Gemini Effect Review

Hi guys! I have a super exciting new book to tell you about- The Gemini Effect by Chuck Grossart!

A single raindrop opens a Pandora’s box when the spawn of perverse genetic research performed during World War II is unleashed on an unsuspecting modern world. By dawn, only a dead city remains, eerily quiet and still, except for mutant beasts that hide from the light, multiply, and await the shadows of night to continue their relentless advance.

Ordered to investigate the unfolding crisis, biowarfare specialist Carolyn Ridenour barely escapes the creatures’ nocturnal onslaught, saved in the nick of time by Colonel Garrett Hoffman, who lost hundreds of his troops to a swarm that neither bombs nor bullets can stop.


As Carolyn and Garrett race to stop the plague, a battered and broken government prepares to release the fury of America’s nuclear arsenal on its own soil and its own citizens.

The Gemini Effect is a wild roller coaster going 100 miles an hour to what you know will be your total annihilation, and you can't wait to get there!

We follow biological warfare expert Carolyn as she struggles to understand the virus that has been unleashed on America, President Smith as he comes to grips with the what has happened and decides the best course of action, and Vice President Allison as she watches her country  come undone. In 4 days, we see America spiral out of control and the end of the world as we know it.

I really did not expect to enjoy this book as much I did but I really enjoyed it! I found myself rooting for some characters, despising others, and terrified of the horde that was sweeping the nation. 

I was able to download this book as part of the Kindle First program as part of being a Kindle Prime member.

The Good Dog Review

As part of my personal young adult challenge I read The Good Dog by AVI. This was the first book I chose off the shelves and the first book I've finished as part of my challenge.

 
When the Wild Calls McKinley, a malamute, is a good dog -- he's reliable and trustworthy. Whether it's watching over the other dogs of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, or taking care of his human pup, Jack, McKinley never even thinks of letting anyone down -- until he meets Lupin. Lupin is a she-wolf and she's urging the dogs of Steamboat Springs to leave their domesticated lives and join her wild pack. And though she scares McKinley, he also finds himself drawn to her and the life of freedom that she offers.

For the first time, McKinley's loyalties are torn. Should he stay with his humans and continue to lead the dogs of Steamboat Springs? Or should he join the wolf and live freely, like his ancestors did? When the wild calls, what will McKinley's answer be?




My thoughts:
I would hesitate to call this a book for young adults. This was more a book for children ages 7-11. That being said, it wasn't a bad book and I did enjoy reading a less well-known AVI book. This book is about a dog, McKinley who has to deal with the struggle of whether is more interested in being a "good dog" or honoring his wolf ancestors. Because the book was more appropriate for a younger audience, the writing was quite simplified and the characters weren't extremely developed. The author did try to put human terms/objects into terms a dog might understand- for example "cold box", "more car place", etc. The book has a heavy message of what it means to be a dog owner and emphasizes kind treatment to animals and viewing our pets as equals rather than possessions.

Overall, this was a simple cute read that I would feel great about giving to any young reader, mostly a young boy who is dog-obsessed or into wolves. I don't think this counts as a young adult book however.

Young Adult Library Personal Challenge

Today I went to the library to return some of the zombie books I had checked out and I was wandering the young adult stacks looking for more books to fuel my addiction, I thought "Huh. I've actually read most of these books. I wonder if I could read all of them." And so my personal challenge was born. 

I have challenged myself to read every book in the young adult section of my public library. Every. One. No matter the subject matter, length, or personal interest. So I started picking random books off the shelves. I'm not going by any particular order. 

This week's books are: 

The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

The Good Dog by AVI

In The Shadow of Blackbirds by Cat Winters

I'll still be reading adult books but my main focus will be on my personal challenge so be on a look out for this week's reviews!

Teaser Tuesday: Masque of the Red Death

So I know I may be the only person who HASN'T read The Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin but just in case you missed the bandwagon too, I've decided to use it for Teaser Tuesday.

Teaser Tuesday is a meme hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. To participate all you need to do is grab your current read, flip to a page, and post 2 teaser non-spoiler sentences from that page!

Everything is in ruins.

A devastating plague has decimated the population, and those who are left live in fear of catching it as the city crumbles around them.

So what does Araby Worth have to live for?

Nights in the Debauchery Club, beautiful dresses, glittery makeup . . . and tantalizing ways to forget it all.

But in the depths of the club—in the depths of her own despair—Araby will find more than oblivion. She will find Will, the terribly handsome proprietor of the club, and Elliott, the wickedly smart aristocrat. Neither is what he seems. Both have secrets. Everyone does.

And Araby may find not just something to live for, but something to fight for—no matter what it costs her.

Waiting on Wednesday and Wishlist Wednesday

Today I'm joining Waiting on Wednesday hosted by Breaking the Spine. 

This is a meme where you post about an upcoming book that you're excited about. 

I'll be joining my Waiting on Wednesday post with Wishlist Wednesday hosted by Pen to Paper. 

This is a meme where you post about a book that you can't wait to get off your wishlist and onto your shelves!

The book that I have been waiting for for more than 8 months that was just released is The One by Kiera Cass. 

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.

I finished book two in this series The Elite back in November when I couldn't find a concrete answer for when the last book was coming out and it drove me crazy! I'm super excited the book is finally out- it was released May 6th but I'm still going to have to wait to get it from the library or find room in the budget to buy it. 

I find myself really enjoying this book- it is kind of a Cinderella tale with lots of women coming to the ball to vie for the Prince's attention but only one is going to come away the queen. I don't really know why I enjoy this book so much though. There is a serious case of insta-love here and now we have two love triangles- one on either side and this is objectively the kind of book I can't stand. BUT I REALLY DO ENJOY IT AND I CAN'T WAIT TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT! I can view this book as an objective outsider and it really isn't a great book- the main plot is who is going to end up with who and the secondary plot is what is happening with the country but somehow it works.

Have you read The Selection? What do you think? Have you ever had a book that you loved that you had no idea WHY you love it? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Teaser Tuesday

Today I will joining Teaser Tuesday- a meme by Should Be Reading- where you grab your current read, flip to a random page, and post 2 (non-spoiler) teaser sentences.

In honor of me being back into blogging (I hate when life interferes with my reading) and posting the Mid Year Wrap Up of my Zombie Reading Challenge, I have decided to post my Teaser Tuesday from World War Z by Max Brooks. Warning, one of the teasers is rather graphic in nature- I think it adds to the Zombie feel but it might be unsettling to some.


The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of thirty million souls to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet. He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. "World War Z" is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years. 

Ranging from the now infamous village of New Dachang in the United Federation of China, where the epidemiological trail began with the twelve-year-old Patient Zero, to the unnamed northern forests where untold numbers sought a terrible and temporary refuge in the cold, to the United States of Southern Africa, where the Redeker Plan provided hope for humanity at an unspeakable price, to the west-of-the-Rockies redoubt where the North American tide finally started to turn, this invaluable chronicle reflects the full scope and duration of the Zombie War. 

Most of all, the book captures with haunting immediacy the human dimension of this epochal event. Facing the often raw and vivid nature of these personal accounts requires a degree of courage on the part of the reader, but the effort is invaluable because, as Mr. Brooks says in his introduction, "By excluding the human factor, aren't we risking the kind of personal detachment from history that may, heaven forbid, lead us one day to repeat it? And in the end, isn't the human factor the only true difference between us and the enemy we now refer to as 'the living dead'?" 

Note: Some of the numerical and factual material contained in this edition was previously published under the auspices of the United Nations Postwar Commission. Eyewitness reports from the first truly global war.

Today's teaser come from page 219-220:

She warned me to stay off it and every other road that crisscrossed the basin. "Roads mean cars," she said, "and cars mean Gs." 

 The first G I saw was small, probably a kid, I couldn't tell. Its face was eaten off, the skin, nose, eyes, lips, even the hair and ears... not completely gone, but partially hanging or stuck in patches to the exposed skull.

I've already read this book and I love the varying view points as you read about the war with the undead and how humans lied to protect themselves or sacrificed it all for the good of others. It was an awesome read and this week I'll be rereading it and posting a review. 

What do you think of zombie books and my teasers? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Review: The Eye of Minds by Jame Dashner

Earlier this week I finished The Eye of Minds by James Dashner. I'm a huge fan of Dashner's Maze Runner series so when I saw he had started another series, I eagerly snatched the book up at the library. I had high hopes for this novel because I know Dashner is a good author and the summary sounded promising. Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy this book nearly as much as I hoped I would. Read on for my full review.

Michael is a gamer. And like most gamers, he almost spends more time on the VirtNet than in the actual world. The VirtNet offers total mind and body immersion, and it’s addictive. Thanks to technology, anyone with enough money can experience fantasy worlds, risk their life without the chance of death, or just hang around with Virt-friends. And the more hacking skills you have, the more fun. Why bother following the rules when most of them are dumb, anyway?

But some rules were made for a reason. Some technology is too dangerous to fool with. And recent reports claim that one gamer is going beyond what any gamer has done before: he’s holding players hostage inside the VirtNet. The effects are horrific—the hostages have all been declared brain-dead. Yet the gamer’s motives are a mystery.

The government knows that to catch a hacker, you need a hacker.

And they’ve been watching Michael. They want him on their team.

But the risk is enormous. If he accepts their challenge, Michael will need to go off the VirtNet grid. There are back alleys and corners in the system human eyes have never seen and predators he can’t even fathom—and there’s the possibility that the line between game and reality will be blurred forever.

My summary: This book is set in the far future where everyone spends as much time as possible on the VirtNet. You access the VirtNet by laying in your "Coffin"- so named for its shape and how you lay inside it. The coffin then inserts metal wires into your skin and you're off to the VirtNet to experience real life- only realer. Through VirtNet you can enter a variety of games- the typical fight zombies, shoot laser beams, go on epic adventures kind of games. But the most popular aspect of VirtNet isn't the adventures but the ability to experience real life online. You can shop, eat, and hang out with friends in the VirtNet. The books begins with our hero Michael hearing some of the villain's exploits for the first time. The next day, Michael is approached by VirtNet security and is quickly entrusted with a state secret and the mission to find the villian in the VirtNet. Michael brings his friends in for the mission and so starts a dangerous, fast-paced adventure to stop a madman.

My opinion on this book:
This book was way too fast-paced for me to truly enjoyed it. In the Maze Runner series it made sense for the reader to discover the world quickly along with the narrator but this kind of fast-paced world building doesn't work for this book.

I wish we could have been introduced to the VirtNet and the culture of the world before all the action began. It also seemed a little rushed that Michael hears of the villain and the next thing anyone knows, he's being threatened by the VirtNet security to find the bad guy. The way the security team approached Michael was unbelievable. The security team basically kidnaps a 16 year old, threatens him and his family, and then entrusts him with a state secret after he promises not to tell? And then sends the 16 year old off on a dangerous mission with only a "We'll be watching. Your friends can help if they want to." It's not believable. It's not even believable in the "It's a weird culture in the future" kind of way. The adventure is strong and interesting and because it was such a fast read it held my attention but some aspects are just too unbelievable to be entertaining.

The hero of this book felt rather two-dimensional to me as well. It seems like all he cares about is reaching a new level in the VirtNet and he feels really self-absorbed to me. He doesn't notice for days that his nanny has been kidnapped? killed? misplaced? He is approached by VirtNet for his amazing hacker abilities but we actually see his two friends do more of the hacking than he does. The characters just all felt two-dimensional and I can't say there was a character I truly cared about in this book.

The ending was over quickly and to be honest, I was a little confused over what was going on. I didn't know what Michael was doing or why he was doing it. The whole ending was just wrong to me. There was a plot twist revealed in the end of the book that seemed to be a bit of a stretch for the reader to believe.

Overall, I just did not care for this book. I hate giving negative reviews but there were too many issues for me to overlook. I loved Dashner's Maze Runner series but it seemed like he tried to recreate the action in a different setting and it didn't work. This was a book that required more world building and character development. I understand that some books require a suspension of reality but parts of this book were just too unbelievable to be accepted. It was an interesting idea but definitely could have been executed better.

On a positive note, the book was fast and hopefully the plot will encourage more teenage males to read. The idea of the VirtNet is quite interesting.

I have read several positive reviews of this book and it has a high rating on Goodreads so please be aware, this could be my personal issues with this book and you may love it to pieces. I cannot in good conscious recommend this book because I didn't enjoy it but if the plot sound interesting to you and you are willing to overlook the above issues with it, don't let my review keep you from trying this book. I am also fully aware that I may have had too high expectations for this book as I am a huge fan of the author's Maze Runner series. I knew the author was capable of greatness so I held him to that standard.  If I pick up the sequel it will be out of curiosity, not any real excitement to continue this series.

In the end, it is up to each individual reader to form their opinion about a book.That doesn't mean book reviews are useless. It is more a matter of finding a reviewer who seems to have the same opinions on books you do and taking every review with a grain of salt. It also means listening to the issues people have with books and asking yourself if it's something that will bother you or if you're willing to overlook it. If you are just looking for a fast-paced adventure novel set in a high tech world- this book may be just what you're looking for. If you're looking for a solid futuristic read with a world you can explore and immerse yourself in, I would not recommend this book.

Have you read Eye of Minds? What did you think of it? What do you think of negative reviews? Should a blog post a negative review or only write reviews of books that the reader enjoyed? How much world building do you need to enjoy a futuristic book? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Teaser Tuesday/First Chapter, First Paragraph Tuesday Intros/Top Ten Tuesday

There are so many awesome memes happening on Tuesdays that I couldn't pick just one. This post is a combination of Teaser Tuesday hosted by Should Be Reading, First Chapter, First Paragraph intro hosted by Bibliophile By The Sea, and Top Ten Tuesday hosted by Broke and Bookish. 

First is Teaser Tuesday hosted by Should Be Reading. For this meme simply grab your current read, flip to a random page, and share 2 non-spoiler teaser sentences from that page! For my Teaser Tuesday, I'll be posting from a book that I got from the library yesterday- Between Shades of Gray by Ruda Sepetys.

Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.

Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously--and at great risk--documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives. Between Shades of Gray is a novel that will steal your breath and capture your heart.

I flipped to page 92 to see:

"Lina," said Mother. "This is serious. The Soviets could arrest you if they saw your drawing."

and

"Is that what you want?" he finally asked. "To blow up the Soviets?" 

For my First Chapter, First Paragraph where you share the first paragraph of a book you're reading or will be reading soon, I picked Crewel by Gennifer Albin.

Incapable. Awkward. Artless.

That’s what the other girls whisper behind her back. But sixteen-year-old Adelice Lewys has a secret: She wants to fail.

Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, she’s exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen to work the looms is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to manipulate the very fabric of reality. But if controlling what people eat, where they live, and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn’t interested.

Not that her feelings matter, because she slipped and used her hidden talent for a moment. Now she has one hour to eat her mom’s overcooked pot roast. One hour to listen to her sister’s academy gossip and laugh at her dad’s jokes. One hour to pretend everything’s okay. And one hour to escape.

Because tonight, they’ll come for her.

The first paragraph of the intro is:

They came in the night. Once, families fought them, neighbors coming to their aid. But now that peace has been established, and the looms proven, girls pray to be retrieved. They still come at night, but now it's to avoid the masses with eager hands. It's a blessing to touch a Spinster as she passes. That's what they tell us. 

The question for this week's Top Ten Tuesday is:

"Top Ten Worlds I'd Never Want To Live In" 

This is an interesting question because usually when we read books we want to pretend we're in that world. But there are some books that I'm just grateful I'm not in their shoes! In no particular order, the worlds I'd hate to live in are:

Panem from the Hunger Games series

America from Steelheart

America from Delirium

America from Maze Runner series

America from The Selection

America from The Chemical Garden series

America from All These Things I've Done

America from The Razorland

America from The Partials Sequence

The Uglies Trilogy

All of my top ten feature a future that leaves something to be desired. They are all awesome reads but a horrible way to live.
That's the end of my teaser, first chapter intro, and top tens list. Do you participate in any memes? Do you like reading about them? What do you think about the teasers I posted? Do you prefer reading a random page in a book or the first paragraph when you're looking at a book to read? Would you keep reading based off that intro? What book world would you hate to live in? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Review: Plague Town by Dana Fredsti

My first book of the year was Plague Town by Dana Fredsti. This was a fast paced, fun zombie book that I laughed out loud to. Read on for my full review. 

Synopsis: Ashley was just trying to get through a tough day when the world turned upside down.

A terrifying virus appears, quickly becoming a pandemic that leaves its victims, not dead, but far worse. Attacked by zombies, Ashley discovers that she is a 'Wild-Card' -- immune to the virus -- and she is recruited to fight back and try to control the outbreak. 

It's Buffy meets the Walking Dead in a rapid-fire zombie adventure!

My summary: Ashley was living a normal life - trying to get over the flu, dealing with an impossible teacher's aid, and  homework until a midnight picnic with her boyfriend adds zombies to the mix. This story follows Ashley as she realizes she is immune to the virus that has taken over friends and classmates and trains with her fellow immunes to fight back against the zombies.

What I liked: This was a really fun, fast-paced read with lots of action. Ashley was a fun narrator and I was cheering for her all along. She is a funny, sarcastic, kick-butt heroine that sasses first and asks questions later. This book is loaded with pop culture reference that make the reader smile and keeps the book fun and fresh.

What I didn't: This book isn't going to awarded for any literary merit awards any time soon. When you read it you're reminded of a good B grade movie. It can be nerve wracking, action packed, and funny- but it's still a B grade movie. I found a couple of the ideas presented in this book a little hard to swallow. Those who are immune to the infection have some kind of superpowers sparked by the infection? They are harder to hurt, have a greater stamina, and gain awesome zombie killing talents. It is also revealed that through history there have been various outbreaks of the zombie outbreak that the government has covered up- think Pompeii, the Black Death, and Atlantis. It's all a little hard to wrap your mind around.

Overview: Overall, I liked this book. It was fast, funny, and full of zombie fun. I thought it approached the situation with both humor and the appropriate gore and horror associate with the Undead. I was cheering for the group of immunes and the last fight of the book was an action scene that would give any movie in the theater a run for it's money. I would recommend this to a more mature audience because of language and a romantic scene but any mature 16 year old should be able to handle this read. I'm definitely looking forward to reading the sequel.

Challenge- This is my first read for the Zombie Reading Challenge!

It's Reading Challenge Time Again!

It's that time again! The time when you have high hopes for the coming reading year and you sign up for 15 reading challenges because you know you can do it! Or..... maybe that's just me.

I've found a few reading challenges that I think look interesting that I'm going to try this year. In my opinion, the best thing about reading challenges is that even if you don't meet the goal, you're pushed to read more, or read more of a genre that you might not read all the time. So some of the challenges I'm choosing are going to be easy, some are going to be more difficult, some are going to be genres I read all the time and some might be a genre I'm not really familiar with.

I'm actually hosting a reading challenge this year! You can read more about the zombie reading challenge here. I'll be reading 11-15 zombie books! 

One that may be difficult for me is the Let Me Count The Ways Challenge hosted by CreativelyCrazed! I'll be participating in the book version at level Silver- 2,001-4,000 pages. That's roughly 15, 300 page, books. I hope I'll remember to keep track!

I love witches in my fiction reading and I actually researched Wicca for about 2 years so I'm joining the Witches & Witchcraft Challenge by Melissa's Eclectic Bookshelf. I don't know how much time I'll have so I'll sign up for Initiate at 1-5 books.

I really love historical romance and I haven't got a chance to read many swash buckling tales lately so I've signed up for the historical romance challenge by Herding Cats & Burning Soup. I'll be trying for level 1: 1-12 historical romances.

The last (for now) challenge I'm joining is the Nonfiction Reading Challenge by TheIntrovertedReader. I don't read as much nonfiction as I should and I would like to change that. Hopefully, this challenge will encourage me to do so. I'm going for Dilettante level: 1-5 nonfiction books!

I'll update this post if I find any other awesome sounding challenges! Did you join any challenges this year? Do you like challenges? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Welcome to New Jersey!

Hey guys! It's been a long time since I posted I know. 

I've been busy moving 14 hours from home and getting ready to start school again. As some of you may know, I've been dating my boyfriend D long distance for 4 years but I finally moved up to New Jersey to him! It's been a huge culture shock moving from South Carolina to New Jersey but I'm enjoying it so far.

 I've also switched majors and I'm working on going back to school after taking a medical withdrawal last semester. I'm now a nursing major and classes will start the 22nd! 

I don't know how often I'll be able to post but I promise to try to keep up with the blog. I also might be extending to blog to a more personal direction. I will keep the main focus on books though. 

I just want to send a huge thank you to everyone who has stayed with me this whole time. You've stayed by me even when I was gone for so long dealing with depression or struggling with school work. I appreciate you all so much! 

Thank you,

Alex

Review: 45 Pounds (more or less)- I loved it!

I recently read 45 Pounds by K. A. Barson and I loved it! This is going to be a rave review because I truly loved this book!

Here are the numbers of Ann Galardi’s life:

She is 16.
And a size 17.
Her perfect mother is a size 6.
Her Aunt Jackie is getting married in 10 weeks, and wants Ann to be her bridesmaid.
So Ann makes up her mind: Time to lose 45 pounds (more or less) in 2 1/2 months.

Welcome to the world of infomercial diet plans, wedding dance lessons, embarrassing run-ins with the cutest guy Ann’s ever seen—-and some surprises about her NOT-so-perfect mother.

And there’s one more thing. It’s all about feeling comfortable in your own skin-—no matter how you add it up!

Plot:
This book follows Ann, an overweight teenager, as she signs up for yet ANOTHER diet plan in an effort to lose 45 pounds before her aunt's wedding. She spends her savings on the first two weeks of an infomercial diet plan. We follow Ann as she deals with losing weight, losing her best friend, and coming to understand her mother and what truly is healthy. We are also with Ann as she gains. Gains a best friend, gains her first crush, and realizes everyone deals with weight problems at one time or another.


Characters: 
I loved Ann's voice in this book! Her personality shined through and as a fellow fat-girl, I found myself really relating to her. She is a typical 16 year old girl- she can be a little whiny, a little self-absorbed, and self-hating. This only added to the authenticity of the book. I felt for Ann as she deals with losing touch with her best friend, as she struggles to fit into her blended family, and struggles to love herself when all the advertisements around her tell her not to.

The reader is left wondering about Ann's mother throughout the book. She obviously cares for Ann but we aren't sure if she can communicate that to Ann in a way that doesn't involve food. By the end of the book I was cheering her on and felt entirely sympathetic to her struggles.

My other favorite characters were Raynee and Liberty.

Raynee shows Ann that even people Ann would consider perfect still have issues with their bodies. Raynee also showed Ann what true friendship feels like. She was a great friend- the kind of friend we all love or wish we had.

Liberty is Ann's young half-sister and she is the catalyst for Ann's desire to promote a healthy attitude about food. Liberty has been watching her mother and Ann as they fight different battles with food and she has no idea what to truly think. I felt for little Liberty and I enjoyed the fact that it was out of love for Liberty that Ann decided to be healthy- not skinny. 

Ending:
This book has a happy ending that feels a little too put-together but the reader is satisfied that all lose-ends are tied up. The reader is left feeling upbeat about the direction of Ann's attitudes and her family life. I will admit, I teared up a little at the end because I felt so close to Ann and I could relate to her so well.

Overall thoughts: 
I loved this book more than I thought I would. It might end up being my favorite book of the year because it was so relatable to me. I have been a fat kid all my life- I could be politically correct but I'm not going to be. I'm fat. I am 21 years old and I have only recently LOST weight to be a size 18-20. I've been big all my life, and so has Ann. She went to her first WeightWatchers meeting at the age of 10, around that age I told the first boy I liked him and he told me "Ewww. You're fat." Ann lives with a mother who is so oblivious to the feelings of a fat girl that she suggests Ann buy a bikini for the summer. I live with a grandmother who suggests similar outfits. This is the life of a fat girl and this book is a snapshot of that.

That being said, IT IS NOT A BOOK JUST FOR FAT GIRLS! I had to put that all in caps because my rambling above might have convinced someone that you can only read this book and enjoy it if you are overweight. This is a book for anyone who is dissatisfied with our image- and who among us isn't dissatisfied with something about our bodies? In fact, this story shows the concerns of someone who is overweight, someone with the "wrong" body type for most clothes, and someone who struggles with anorexia. This is a book for everyone.

This is a young adult read that I would let my 12 year old little sister read and that I would suggest to anyone. Yes, I said anyone. It is a contemporary young adult with a compelling message. "Skinny" girls need to read this to see what it is like to live in a fat girl life. I would suggest it to "normal" girls to see how other people feel. And of course, I would suggest it to "fat" girls to see that EVERYONE worries about weight.

If you feel comfortable commenting it, what is your body image struggles? Would you want to read a book about realistic body image? What do you think about my blanket recommendation? Does this sound like a book you're interested in? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Friday Finds

No I'm not fully back yet though I hope I will be soon! I'm at a friend's house today and I can post a quick something.

Friday Finds is a meme hosted by Should Be Reading where we post about the books we've "found" and added to our TBR pile this week.

This week I've gotten a few books from the library and one review request from an author.
Library:

  

Review Requested:

What do you have in your TBR pile this week? Have you read any of the books in my TBR pile? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Teaser Tuesday

Thank goodness for the library! I'm hoping to get a computer from a friend later this week or next, but as of now I have to make due using the public library's computers. They are a little ancient and don't want to let me compose a blog post the usual way, but it's better than nothing.

I would like to post a Teaser Tuesday from one of the books I'll be checking out today. I haven't started any so the sentences will be as much a surprise to me as anyone else.

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme posted by Should Be Reading. In this meme, you grab your current read and open it up to a random page, and post two teaser sentences from it. I think the first book I'm going to read from this bunch of library books is Shine by Lauren Myracle.

At this time, Blogger (or the library computer) won't let me insert pictures. So, I will instead post the GoodReads summary and the teasers alone. I can't wait to get my own computer!

When her best guy friend falls victim to a vicious hate crime, sixteen-year-old Cat sets out to discover who in her small town did it. Richly atmospheric, this daring mystery mines the secrets of a tightly knit Southern community and examines the strength of will it takes to go against everyone you know in the name of justice. Against a backdrop of poverty, clannishness, drugs, and intolerance, Myracle has crafted a harrowing coming-of-age tale couched in a deeply intelligent mystery. Smart, fearless, and compassionate, this is an unforgettable work from a beloved author.

Because I have 90 GFC followers, I flipped to page 90.

Mama Sweetie had taught Patrick and me about handling bad emotions. If you breathed deep and set your mind to it, you could rise above your anger.

"Yes, that man acted ugly," she told us in plain English. "But throwing more ugliness back at him ain't the answer."

I'm really looking forward to reading this book! It seems to be about prejudice and gay rights and this is one of the issues I get most upset about. I just don't understand why everyone gets so concerned about what other people do in the bedroom. But that is a discussion for another day.

What do you think about realist books on everyday issues? Do you like them or do you prefer to read fantasy to escape reality? Leave me a comment and let me know! I've missed you all so much!

The Curse of the Blog!

I am thoroughly convinced! This blog is cursed! Every time I have the time to sit down and consistently blog, the internet goes away. Every time I have a consistent internet connection, I have no time or my computer breaks. In this case, I had the time and internet to blog, but then my computer crashed. Literally. My little sister accidentally dropped it and the screen shattered. I had my baby for less than two weeks!

My poor computer, blog, and you readers. I hope that I can link my blog to my phone and still post from my phone but until I can get my computer fixed, the blog might have limited content. That's not to say I won't post and that you shouldn't visit and comment (because you totally should) but that it might be longer between posts and replies on comments. 

Have you ever visited a more cursed blog? Do you have any aspects, items, or rituals that seemed cursed? Leave me a comment while I can still use my friend's computer and let me know!

Kiya: Hope of the Phaoroh Review + Giveaway!

I was contacted by Curiosity Quills Press to join the Kiya: Hope of the Pharaoh Blog Tour. I received the book for review and I loved it!

When Naomi’s sisters are snatched up to be taken to be wives of the erratic Pharaoh, Akhenaten, she knows they won’t survive the palace, so she offers herself in their place. The fearsome Commander Horemheb sees her courage, and knows she is exactly what he is looking for…

The Great Queen Nefertiti despises Naomi instantly, and strips her of her Hebrew lineage, including her name, which is changed to Kiya. Kiya allies herself with Horemheb, who pushes her to greatness and encourages her to make the Pharaoh fall in love with her. When Akhenaten declares Kiya will be the mother of his heir, Nefertiti, furious with jealousy, schemes to destroy Kiya.

Kiya must play the deadly game carefully. She is in a silent battle of wills, and a struggle for who will one day inherit the crown. If she does bear an heir, she knows she will need to fight to protect him, as well as herself, from Nefertiti who is out for blood.

This has been such a difficult review for me to write. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and I've even asked for permission to review the second book in the series. I just cannot think of how to write this review. Usually I do a run-down of the setting, characters, and plot and explain what happened and what I did and did not enjoy. I can't really do this with this book. There are so many characters that deserve to be recognized, so many events that I want to tell you about.

The synopsis does a good job of describing the basis of the book to the reader but it cannot tell you how brave and smart Kiya is, how despicable Nefertiti is, how mysterious Horemheb is. And I cannot adequately put this into words either.

I loved Kiya. She was brave and defiant as she made a place for herself in the palace. She was smart but was almost naive as she learned to play the dangerous game played by all throughout the palace. She is forced to consider who is trustworthy, how to make the pharaoh love her, and what it means to learn to live with this strange man she finds herself married to.

The pharaoh is such an odd character and I actually found myself feeling sorry for him. He is touched with madness and at times flies off the handle and hurts those he loves the most but he truly wants someone who he can be honest with and that will truly love him as a man.

Horemheb is truly the Pharaoh's right hand man and will do anything to protect the the pharaoh and his crown. But Horemheb is also a military man who is willing to kill his king but he also treats Kiya with true friendship at times. I spent parts of this book wondering what Horemheb's intentions were for doing something and trying to figure him out.

Nefertiti is such an amazingly-awful character! Jealous not because of love of the pharaoh, but because of rank and power she will do anything to keep her ranking as first wife. She has urged pharaoh to marry his own daughters so if they carry the Pharaoh's son they will be able to take control of the throne. Her ultimate goal is to take the throne from the pharaoh for her own purpose. I had guessed her ultimate evil long before it was finally revealed but I still found myself in outrage.

There are so many other characters worthy of description but for brevity I'll leave my description there.

I read this book in one sitting because I wanted to know what was going to happen next and I was cheering on my characters. This review doesn't do justice to the book but I truly do not know how to tell you how amazing this book is.

This book was definitely amazing and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys intrigue, suspense, drama, or historical fiction. I would suggest it to someone who enjoys strong heroines and to anyone who thinks religious fiction is interesting. This book has all these elements but is not strictly religious fiction or strictly suspense.


Born and raised in Australia, Katie’s early years of day dreaming in the “bush”, and having her father tell her wild bedtime stories, inspired her passion for writing.

After graduating High School, she became a foreign exchange student where she met a young man who several years later she married. Now she lives in Arizona with her husband, daughter and their dog.
She has a diploma in travel and tourism which helps inspire her writing. She is currently at school studying English and Creative Writing.

Katie loves to out sing her friends and family, play sports and be a good wife and mother. She now works as a Clerk with a lien company in Arizona to help support her family and her schooling. She loves to write, and takes the few spare moments in her day to work on her novels.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*All opinions expressed are my own. I received this book for free for review but this in no way has influenced my opinions.

Thin Space Review

I was given the chance to read Thin Space by Jody Casella by Beyond Words publishing on NetGalley and I really enjoyed it. It was a compelling read about grief and learning to forgive yourself. Read on for my honest review.

Ever since the car accident that killed his twin brother, Marshall Windsor has been consumed with guilt and crippled by secrets of that fateful night. He has only one chance to make amends, to right his wrongs and set things right. He must find a Thin Space—a mythical point where the barrier between this world and the next is thin enough for a person to step through to the other side.

But, when a new girl moves into the house next door, the same house Marsh is sure holds a thin space, she may be the key—or the unraveling of all his secrets.

As they get closer to finding a thin space—and closer to each other—Marsh must decide once and for all how far he’s willing to go to right the wrongs of the living…and the dead.

 
Plot:
Thin spaces are places where the barrier between worlds is thin. A place where the living and dead can talk. Thin spaces are rare because they only occur where a soul enters the world and leaves the world. The soul enters the world when the mother first feels her baby kick and a soul leaves the world in death. Marsh and Maddie are in search of such a rare place to speak to the dead. Marsh is looking for his twin brother Austin who died when a drunk driver hit them while Marsh was driving. Maddie is looking for her father who died of cancer when she was young.

While Marsh is looking for a place of death, he must also deal with the world of living and Maddie must adjust to a new town. Marsh slowly begins to leave his fog and learn to live again, with Maddie's help. There are school counselors, fights, and long-overdue relationship discussions.

The end of the book has a nice twist that I had guessed a while ago but a casual reader may be taken completely surprised by. I enjoyed the ending and I was left with a sense of hope for the characters and that Marsh was finally learning to forgive himself and believe the accident wasn't his fault. 

Characters:
Thin Space follows Marsh as he searches for a thin space so he can cross into the world of the dead to talk to his twin brother. Marsh is a compelling character. He is consumed with guilt after a passing thought that maybe he doesn't want to always be a twin. Marsh has been walking around in a fog for the past three months after a drunk driver hits their car and his twin brother Austin dies. Marsh has moments he tunes out and is consumed with the events of the night of the accident. The story is a mix of Marsh's flashback thoughts and the present where he is searching for thin spaces. Marsh is determined to find a thin place and fix what happened to his brother. He walks around barefoot in the hopes that he will step into a thin space. I felt for Marsh and found myself liking him. He is a messed up high school junior who has gone from being MarshandAustin to only Marsh who is missing his twin.

Maddie is the other main character of Thin Space. She is the new girl in town- fresh from Nashville. She has a sweet southern drawl and seems to have her own history she is trying to deal with. She seems a bit too accepting when Marsh explains thin spaces but she has her own reasons for wanting to find a thin space. Maddie quickly becomes consumed with the thoughts of thin spaces and researches where people have died so she and Marsh can explore there barefoot.Maddie is a sweet girl and I found myself liking her openness and honest acceptance of Marsh.

My favorite secondary character was Chuck for being such a good friend to Marsh even when Marsh wasn't giving him a very good reason to be so loyal. 

Overall, this was a solid young adult read. I thought the writing flowed well and the characters were developed. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys young adult reads, supernatural elements, and coming of age stories. You can read more about the book at thinspacebook.com and the author has a mix of bonus materials on her blog. You can find a playlist, a teacher's guide, and other reviews.

What do you think about supernatural stories? Do you find books about death interesting or depressing? Do you like flashbacks in books or not? Leave me a comment and let me know!