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.

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