Tag: book review

(Mild Spoiler) Review: Rebel and Reboot by Amy Tintera

Published on by Heart Full Of Books1 Comment

RebootReboot by Amy Tintera
Genre: Apocalyptic, Sci-Fi, Romance, Action
Published by: HarperTeen
Pages: 365
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★.5
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

I’d wanted to read Reboot for a while, but was unsure on the premise, because it seemed like something I perhaps wouldn’t enjoy, however I was pleasantly surprised.

I thoroughly enjoyed Wren’s character development. She was dead for 178 minutes before she rebooted, which meant she was the ‘least human’, however I felt this was sort of forgotten. In the very beginning she seemed to have a wide scope of emotions, perhaps this was because she’d been conditioned by her roommate to be a little friendlier, but it would have made more sense for her to take on a more robotic personality. Wren is supposed to be one of the toughest Reboots, because of her number, but when it comes to training a new Reboot, she picks Callum, the 22, when she normally goes from the highest number available. Without reading the blurb you knew this was where the romance was going to start, and it made for a very interesting dynamic as the pair are pretty much opposites…or so we think.

The majority of Reboot focuses on Wren training Callum to be more resilient, so that he’ll take orders, and therefore not get shot. It’s a brutal life, but then another layer is added to the story in the form of Reboot testing, and one of the characters to receive these injections is Ever, Wren’s best friend. In my opinion this is where the story really picks up, because Wren starts to realize that her life in the containment facility isn’t that great, and so the logical next step is, of course, escape.

Wren and Callum overcome a lot of difficulties in their escape, namely having to trust humans, planning how to get out in the first place, mourning the loss of friends and just generally trying to survive. Reboot ends on a cliffhanger so I made sure to pick up Rebel straight away. Other than learning about the world and the two main characters not a lot happens in Reboot apart from the testing conspiracy and their escape, so I set my expectations higher for the sequel.

15769788

Rebel by Amy Tintera
Pages: 340
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

Rebel is written in a dual perspective, and I have to admit that I didn’t really care for Callum’s point of view, because Wren seemed to have the more action packed sequences.

One thing that did surprise me is how they stick together through thick and thin, and they’re always working to get back to one another. There’s no ‘save yourself, because I love you’ it’s ‘we need to get out together, because I love you.’ They managed to escape to a compound build by Reboots who then help them, but they have their own agenda. Micah, 163, understands Wren’s potential so some panic and Rebellion ensues.

What more could we expect from the title of this book. It was fast paced and answered the majority of the questions that I still had left over from Reboot. More importantly, things were rounded off nicely, and Wren finally came to the conclusion that she wasn’t a monster, and justice was served. On the other hand I do feel that this book was almost like a waiting game. Again, there was a lot of preparation for the next step and then the step after that. More new characters are introduced, such as Isaac, and I’d be really interested to have had chapter or excerpts from his perspective.

As much as I did like this duology, I was expecting more because of the fantastic premise. I didn’t find myself becoming attached to any of the characters in particular, and although I did feel sympathetic towards their situation so me things felt more forced than others, and with a bit of communication a lot of their problems could have been solved. These books dealt with issues like prejudice extremely well, but even so I wanted a clearer, stronger ending. We’re left without any real indication of whether or not the world continues to work after the rebellion. As often is with these sorts of plot lines, it’s the next five chapters after the ending that I’m really interested in reading. Overall, I thought it was a fun, interesting, and definitely different, read that I would recommend to those of you that like more serious characters and situations.

Review: Pivot Point by Kasie West

Published on by Heart Full Of Books3 Comments

Pivot Poipivot point westnt by Kasie West
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal, Romance
Published by: HarperTeen
Pages: 352
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★★
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

I borrowed Pivot Point by Kasie West from my local library and I liked it so much I think I’m going to have to buy it for my own library. I also need the sequel, pronto.

There wasn’t an awful lot of world building, but I got the general feel for the Compound and really enjoyed the sections where we learnt more about the mind powers and the variations of those powers. Although I love the X-Men I haven’t read any YA where the main feature is super powers, but I guess, in a sense, Pivot Point isn’t primarily about the powers themselves but what they are used for.

Addie’s power is ‘Divergence’ meaning she can preempt the outcomes of her choices by looking into her future. The story is split into two alternating futures where she chooses to live either with her Mom, or her Dad after their divorce. I was gripped by the characters on both sides of Addie’s choices, and right until the end I couldn’t decide which one I wanted her to pick. However, when it got round to making the decision I knew which one she would go for, and it wasn’t what I wanted. Alas, I hold out hope for Split Second because I am not willing for Addie to let go of that part of her future.

Dramatic irony plays a very lead role in Pivot Point, because after something happens in one future, it happens again in the other but you get it from the ‘Normal’ rather than ‘Paranormal’ perspective and visa versa. This meant that I was gripping the edge of my seat in the final chapter pre-choice because I knew what was going to happen but Addie didn’t! She can’t say I didn’t try to warn her.

Despite dramatic irony I didn’t manage to guess every plot twist – apart from the obvious ones. I think this is one of the main reasons why I am going to give this book four out of five stars. Not only did I enjoy Addie’s character, although she was slightly annoying in places I forgave her due to circumstance, but I was incredibly impressed at how easily the storied blended together and how easy it was to follow both without being confused. I loved the story as a whole; it was a wonderful break from some other more intense reads and was the perfect thing to get me out of Lola and the Boy Next Door withdrawals.

Review: Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Published on by Heart Full Of BooksLeave a comment

12842115Just One Day by Gayle Forman
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Published by: Speak
Pages: 369
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★★
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

Just One Day by Gayle Forman was a light and easy read. Although I couldn’t quite get my head around the idea of someone just going to Paris with a stranger, I let that slide considering how enjoyable this was. The writing style pulled me in and I was fully immersed in Allyson’s story.

My favourite part was the second section: One Year. I wasn’t all that fussed about her One Day, but the year she had after I thought was wonderful. The character development was palpable, and if there is one thing I love, it’s character development. Allyson went from someone who couldn’t stick up for herself and always had to be in the shadow of someone else – her mother, her best friend – to someone who could make their own choices and adventures. I know this was a result of her One Day with Willem, so I guess by extension I also liked her One Day.

My favourite character you ask? Dee.
Why? Because he was exactly what I wasn’t expecting and exactly what Allyson needed. Plus, he had a good sense of humor.

The way that the Forman tackled the ‘oppressive Mom’ was extremely accurate. I felt that Allyson’s relationship with her parents was beyond relatable, and was partly the reason why I kept reading. I wanted to see how our protagonist dealt with it and if we would get the oh-so classic:
“But you’re giving up on your dream!”
“Not my dream, Mom. Yours.”
Wonderful, I never get tired of those speeches.

I loved the minor characters that were introduced, particularly Wren. Although you didn’t know them for long, you felt like they had been with you for the whole book – and I think that was the point. This novel was extremely poignant, because everything linked back to the beginning. And when that happens you realize how wonderfully crafted the whole story is and you just get lost in narrative. The very first page questions Shakespeare’s ‘To Be Or Not To Be’ and I have to say I forgot that that point was made until everything circled right back to it at the end. I think that’s the true teller of a good book, if it can knock you off your feet because of its profound…ness.

Not being a big fan of travel, I wasn’t sure how much I was going to like the travel element to the book. Travel by yourself just seems like such an overwhelming experience, but all the characters seemed to make light of it and make it sound like a fun and worthwhile experience. I loved the change between Allyson’s first and second trip to Paris because she had come so far in the space of a year. Tracking Willem down was also enjoyable to read, because you felt the pang of pity when Allyson hit a dead end, but apparently life if full of coincidences and the majority of them can be found in Paris, France.

Overall I gave Just One Day four stars, because I did love the narrative, and the characters and development. There is just so much more I want to write about, but I wouldn’t want to spoil the story, because, just like Allyson, sometimes you have to take an adventure of your own.

Review: Burn for Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian

Published on by Heart Full Of Books3 Comments

Bur13406425n For Burn by Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery
Published by: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 358
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

I managed to read this book in a day. It was that gripping. It probably helped that the chapters were short due to the changing perspectives, but something about this book meant that I couldn’t put it down. By the end, I still couldn’t work out which perspective I liked the most. Although, it’s probably a tie between Lillia and Kat, considering Mary faded into obscurity in some moments, considering she was the new girl and was not allowed to be seen with her cohorts in public situations.

I desperately wanted to like the book even more than I did, but my moral compass said that it would be wrong to completely agree with the revenge that the girls were enacting. Yes, the characters may have deserved a little bit of karma due to insane personality defects, but my stomach clenched every time they took revenge because you just know that they have to get caught out at some point.

It’s always interesting to read about the American school system and experience, because it sounds completely different from the UK system. There were quite a few clichés in the personalities and cliques, but that’s just what gives these kinds of books their charm. The social hierarchy is always a ‘fun one’ to experience in writing, especially when you get the ‘insiders view’ – which is never as perfect as you think it’s going to be. But I found it odd that we didn’t hear about any of the other friends that Mary must have made at some point, despite the fact that she’s the new girl surely she would have been able to make at least one other friend – I know she’s reserved, but considering her past I’m sure she wouldn’t purposefully want to be alone.

I liked how the character’s backstories were integrated into the novel, particularly in the beginning where in Lillia’s chapter a lot of names are thrown about and you have to work out who’s who and what relationship they have with the others. Then to find out how Kat and Mary fit in with this little gaggle of the socially elite, was simply wonderful. It was as if the stars had aligned and you knew that these characters were destined for *looks to the stars* great things.

The cliffhanger was exactly what was needed to make me want to read the sequel, and having read the plot line, I’m sure it will be just as good, if not better. I’d heard some mixed reviews about this book, and I think that’s mainly because of the controversial topic of ‘revenge’ and then the subsequent questions of ‘What is right and wrong?’ and ‘Can we really take it upon ourselves to enact justice on those that have done terrible things in the past?’ Overall, this book is wonderful for such philosophical questions, but if you’re not into questioning the meaning of existence or defining rights and wrongs, then it’s the perfect beach read too! Burn for Burn is definitely the kind of thing that I feel in the mood to read when the weather gets a bit warmer, and I want to stay clear of the novels with heavier plots and fantasy worlds.

There is no doubt in my mind that I will continue to read this series, because it was enjoyable, as long as I didn’t think about it in too much detail, and restrained myself from wanting to reach inside the book and punch certain characters in the face.

Review: Glitch: Lost in Time Book One by Brenda Pandos

Published on by Heart Full Of BooksLeave a comment

GlitchGlitch: Lost in Time Book One by Brenda Pandos
Genre: Sci-fi, Romance
Published By: Corgi Children’s
Pages: 300
Format: E-Book
Rating: ★★
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

We received this book via NetGallery in exchange for an honest review.

The first thing I have to say is that this book was nothing like what I was expecting. When it said ‘zombies’ I was instantly reminded of ‘Warm Bodies’ and was expecting something like that – not the zombie love part, but just the zombies in general. It turned out that the zombies were just a myth told by the government as, you guessed it, a means of control. (Or were they?! Spoilers.)

As readers, we are thrown straight into the action, at a baseball game. A lot of world-explaining goes on within the first chapter that could have been slightly smoother in my opinion, but at least everything was explained so the author could get the plot moving forward. Our main character is Abby, and as main characters go, was quite nice. (High praise.) She is your perfect citizen so finds it slightly difficult, as you can imagine, to adapt to the world that’s been opened to her when she looks beyond the watch on her wrist that tells her when she’s going to die.

Generally, I thought there were quite a lot of concepts to the world; dates of death, zombies, Oracles and time travel to name a few, and this led some of the narrative to sound cluttered, but I enjoyed the fast pace of the first 25% and how the perfect world was destroyed quickly.

When Abby is abducted against her will, as she reminds us multiple times throughout the novel, she meets Kaden. Kaden is the love interest, though he and Abby have only had one conversation, if that, before Abby begins to have feelings for him. There is kind of a love triangle with Kaden and his brother Memphis (brotherly competition) but it’s always obvious that Kaden will come out on top.

Abbey is taken to Kaden’s colony, which is kind of ‘The Host’-esque. She is in inner torment about whether she should stay in the colony or try to return. (At least Melanie and Wanda didn’t have a choice – makes for less inner conflict.) This carried on until Abby decided to return and it took her a further 25% of the book to reach this decision.

Abby plays a big part in the destruction of her world. She is the Oracle, who has the power to time travel but doesn’t know how to use her powers wisely…like any superhero in the beginning. When her Complement, meaning her future self, tells her she has to murder someone, I was instantly confused. Time travel happened, it was very back-and-forth and hard to keep up with. A lot was happening and the pace was fast, so this probably didn’t help me to get to grips with what was going on. But, the book sure as heck ended on a cliff hanger.

Now I need to read the second book, to know how the problems resolve and how the future was affected by Abby’s choices. Something tells me, now that we’ve had the first book to explain the world and set up the plot, the sequel is going to be juicy and jam-packed with stuff (more than this book, if possible.)

I’d recommend this book to anyone that enjoyed ‘Slated by Teri Terry’ as it has a similar premise, and the presence of zombies set this book apart from other dystopian series. Overall, I’d give this book 2 stars, as I did thoroughly enjoy the novel, but did have some problems with the extent of the content.

Review: Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin

Published on by Heart Full Of Books1 Comment

Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac 51vf-m3-xol1by Gabrielle Zevin
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Published by: Bloomsbury
Pages: 288
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

It all started with a coin toss. A simple wager on who would have to go back to the school to collect the camera that they had left behind. It was Naomi who lost and subsequently fell down the front steps of her school. The next thing she knew she woke up in hospital. Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac is the story of a girl who has forgotten who she once was and is trying to make sense of who she is now, but not everyone is quite so happy with the change. When she eventually does remember who she is she has to face moving on with the troubles she had previously forgotten, and decide what she is going to do with her life now that she has a fresh start.

      I loved the writing style; it was perfectly formed for a teenage audience. The banter between Naomi and her best friend Will was hilarious and there were some particularly great one liners that I’ll have to use at some point. Even though Naomi was confused and slightly off-kilter when it came to her emotions, as an audience we’re not annoyed by this because it’s understandable in her condition, whereas in other young adult books I will not refrain from shouting at the protagonist until she pulls herself together.

      However, regardless of that fact that she has suffered from some emotional and physical trauma, I didn’t think it was a good enough excuse for treating her friends badly. I understood why she didn’t want to tell them everything now that she was ‘a new person’, and for the most part she did handle things quite as well as I would have hoped, but when it came to Will I just didn’t get how she could ignore him.

      There were moments when she was with James (the boy that sort of rescued her from the fall) when I thought: even if she had lost her memory, surely she shouldn’t have lost her common sense, but apparently so. It was still an enjoyable read.

      The novel is split up into three parts: I was, I am and I will, and my favourite section was definitely I was. Everything was explained perfectly, and Zevin made sure to tie up the majority of the loose ends by ‘I will’, but I couldn’t help feeling slightly disappointed with the ending. I wanted more to have happened and there to have been more character development. I was proud of how Naomi dealt with her family, but with boys she definitely still has some work to do.

Therefore this one gets a 3/5 rating.

Review: Slated by Teri Terry

Published on by Heart Full Of Books5 Comments

Slated by TSlatederi Terry
Genre: Dystopian, Sci-fi
Published By: Orchard Books
Pages: 448
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★★★
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

Originally, I wasn’t going to pick up this book. I’ve already had my fill of stories about girls that didn’t know the world they lived in was an elaborate lie the government produced as a method of control. But, after consulting GoodReads, my trusty reviewing companion, I decided that ‘Slated’ had something to prove.

The idea is that teenagers that have done terrible wrongs in their lives are given a clean slate (hence the newly coined verb: to slate) and are ‘reprogrammed’ to no longer feel anger; their emotions controlled by a device with a death grip on their wrist.

Kyla (beautiful name) is the main character so, as we are reminded many times, is different. She can feel anger. She can remember parts of her previous life. She is unhappy to conform to the world the government is trying hard to maintain and is desperate to learn about her past self, and the horrible thing she did to be Slated.

 One thing I’ve learnt from novels like this: questioning the government ends in your ultimate termination….or the termination of the government, of life as we know it, of the truth. (These books can be a little melodramatic.)

Generally the pace of the book was very slow. I put this down to it being the first in the series, so a lot of explaining had to be done to build the world, but perhaps 300 pages of miniscule plot was slightly excessive. Kyla doesn’t actually get her ‘mission’ until the final third of the book and though the first two thirds aren’t without purpose they could have been more exciting.

There was a love interest, though like a modern Jane Eyre, Kyla was hung up on the fact that he may have been previously dating another girl that disappeared. The love story felt slightly forced, as if romance is a necessary part of all teen fiction, when in some cases it can only distract from the action.

The last five pages were thrilling, though slightly confusing because the pace of the novel rapidly increased, like Teri Terry was trying to sprint to the finish after she’d saved up her energy at the start of the race.

Dark and sinister in places, ‘Slated’ was a captivating read (when the plot was actually moving forward.) I enjoyed the relationships between Kyla and all other characters; there was so much development below the surface.
Overall, 4 stars.

Review: Tape by Steven Camden

Published on by Heart Full Of BooksLeave a comment

18721308

Tape by Steven Camden
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Published by: Harper Collins
Pages: 363
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★.5
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

In 2013, a girl called Ameliah discovers a tape that a boy was recording a diary on. She had no idea who the boy is. She’s recently lost both of her parents to a car crash and illness, meaning she lives with her Nan. In 1993, a boy called Ryan decided to record a diary on tape to help him recover from the death of his mother. He is falling in love with a girl called Eve, who is living with her nan for a while during the summer.

The parallels are definitely obvious, though the identity of Ryan isn’t revealed to Ameliah straight away. Due to the time difference between the two, it was somewhat easy to guess how Ryan was significant to Ameliah butequally enjoyable to be with her when she discovers small things to connect the two of them, for example Nirvana mix tapes and sea shells.

The book is told in two very realistic voices. It was interesting to see how the behaviour of teenagers hasn’t changed much in twenty years. Despite being realistic, the book contained too many obvious coincidences – I know it was meant to, but as said, Ryan’s identity was easy to guess after the first…100 pages or so.

Generally a very quick read due to the big font size and average settings. There are no speech marks; the book is formatted like French novels with dashes to represent a new speaker. Strange.

 The blurb makes it sound like there’s going to be more inter-dimensional discussion between Ameliah and Ryan, which I was looking forward to, having watched and enjoyed ‘The Lake House’ movie, yet there was barely any conversational overlaps, despite Ameliah and Ryan both having the opportunity to speak to each other across twenty years. That would have definitely made the plot more captivating.

Apart from that, there was little fault with the novel overall. Ameliah slightly overreacts at the entrance of a new character, Joe, a 30 year old man who happened to know her dad, but then again, we’ve all imagined stalking someone, haven’t we?

An enjoyable and fast read, lacking somewhat in time travel, or love story as the blurb promised. 2.5/5 star

Review: Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan

Published on by Heart Full Of BooksLeave a comment

17208924Will Grayson, Will Grayson by John Green and David Levithan
Genre: Contemporary, LGBTQ
Published by: Penguin
Pages: 310
Format: Paperback
Rating: ★★
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

Will Grayson and Will Grayson, by John Green and that other guy, you have both failed to impress me. I had such high expectations for this book, after reading all of John Green’s other published works and having sampled David Levithan’s writing when I read ‘Dash and Lily’s Book of Dares’. Perhaps, because of these high expectations, I was guaranteed to be let down.

      Being a co-written book, ‘Will Grayson, Will Grayson’ is a mixture of good and bad. Unlike other co-written books, such as ‘Beautiful Creatures’, it is easy to tell which writer is writing which Will Grayson. I preferred the first Will, who had a fairly robotic way of life until his joints were oiled by love. The way that this Will Grayson articulated his feelings was occasionally beautiful but generally easy to relate to. It was easier to love this Will Grayson, compared to the second one.
      The second Will Grayson was distinguished by his inability to use capital letters. He was suffering from depression and knew that he shouldn’t use his mental condition as an excuse for being a rude and horrible person, but did it anyway. The way he treated his friends and his mother made me want to distance myself from his character, or completely skip his chapters all together. One Will Grayson was definitely enough for me.
      The second Will Grayson was gay. This book did a lot to raise the awareness of homosexuality; the plot is all about a musical production about being gay. But, I didn’t understand why it was so necessary to make a big deal over who was gay and who wasn’t. Isn’t the point of raising awareness about homosexuality to promote that everyone is normal, no matter what? Why did the fact that a character may or may not be gay have to constantly be mentioned?
      Also, one of the main aspects of the book was that the Will Graysons were both meant to meet. This meeting didn’t happen until 100 pages in, yet the I felt the plot in first 100 pages could have been at least halved. Not a lot was happening up until the point they met, and to be honest, not a lot happened after that either. I’d say, out of the whole 308 pages, both Will Graysons were together for 20 pages, max. Not what I expected.
      The ending was abrupt and unsatisfying, but at least one Will Grayson got a happy ending.
Of course, if you’re looking for a book that has a trial and error (or trial-error-trial) attempt at being witty and somewhat insightful then this is the book for you. If you’re dead set on reading this book just because John Green co-wrote it, may I recommend ‘Paper Towns’ instead? The library also has a copy of this and you won’t regret the decision of deciding to follow the story of Quentin and Margo over Will Grayson and the other Will Grayson.

Review: Dead Ends by Erin Lange

Published on by Heart Full Of BooksLeave a comment

Dead Ends by Erin Jadead-endsde Lange
Genre: Contemporary, Friendship
Published By: Bloomsbury
Pages: 384
Format: Paperback
Rating:
Where to Find: Goodreads | Amazon

I picked up this book because a lovely friend of mine said she had mixed opinions on it and I wanted to see if I could come up with a more definitive thought on the novel to share with her. Plus, I loved the colour of the cover.

‘Dead Ends’ is told from a bully’s perspective, though like many bullies, he doesn’t realise what he’s doing is wrong until someone else, in this case a kid with Down’s Syndrome, Billy, points it out. Dane, the bully, is roped into helping Billy around school and their on-off friendship leads to trouble, mayhem and more trouble as both boys try and find their lost fathers.

It was definitely interesting to read a novel told from a troubled perspective. It was a different dynamic that I’m not entirely sure I enjoyed. Dane didn’t seem very anxious about the repercussions of his actions, whereas I’m sure Voldemort might have felt at least some inner turmoil.

The relationship that grew between Dane and Billy was a Marmite relationship – they either liked each other or they didn’t. Dane had a few double standards when it came to Billy – he didn’t like other people treating him differently because of his appearance yet would distance himself from Billy’s company by not wanting to call him a friend. As the novel progressed, I’m sure his outlook changed but it annoyed me that Dane wasn’t completely accepting of Billy like he wanted others to be.

Slightly ‘Paper Towns’-esque when the boys were trying to figure out a trail of clues left for Billy by his dad on how to find him. That was slightly interesting, but not enough to make me turn the pages any faster.

Billy had his own double standards when it came to honesty, though I won’t go into that but it made me feel as angry as Dane at the injustice of his outbursts, which were valid but not at all fair.

The plot progressed nicely, with new things being weaved into the story at semi-regular intervals that helped me to keep reading. My favourite character was probably the love interest, Seely, but it seemed she was only written in for convenience and didn’t hold a bigger purpose other than ‘the girl with the computer’.

Still, it would be wrong to say I didn’t enjoy parts of the novel, though it didn’t contain anything that wowed me. My rating would therefore be: 2.6 stars because I felt, in the end,  I was just reading it to finish it, not to love it.