Publisher: Orbit Page Count: 599 Fiction Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Dystopian, Horror, Thriller Dates Read: November 14-16, 2015 Reading Challenge: Alphabet Reading Challenge Topic: #171: A title that starts with the letter "F" Series: Newsflesh #1 Summary It's the year 2040, and a virus has taken over humanity. For the most part, people have adapted to their new environment and learned to deal with the zombies that are roaming around. The news outlets can no longer be trusted because they are controlled by the government. Bloggers are the face of the future for news. They operate without hindrance from the government and can post the truth as they see it. Now that the latest presidential elections are coming up, a candidate is looking at a group of bloggers to follow his campaign around so they can post the honest truth directly from the campaign trail; enter George (Georgia), Shaun, and Buffy (Georgette), our bloggers. Review I want to like this. I really, really do. I feel like I need to go back and read it again so that I will like it. I'm afraid that even rereading this won't fix the numerous issues I had with Feed. first, let me start with the good. Grant created a very vivid image of America in post-apocalyptic America. I appreciated the difference approach she took, that humans can still have fairly normal lives with zombies hanging around. She makes this very realistic and seem totally possible. The way she describes this world, it reminds me a lot of the ending to Shaun of The Dead. I liked that the three main characters names are all connected to a zombie world. George (Georgia) is in reference to George Romero, Shaun refers to Shaun of the Dead, and Buffy (Georgette) comes from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I thought there was a cute dose of nerd humor that Grant slid in here. Most of all, I loved the way Grant ended this by challenging the status quo of characters. She's very ballsy in this area and I give her a standing ovation for that. Though Grant's world building is very well done, terrifyingly plausible, and super descriptive, it was also very repetitive. At least once a chapter, though usually at least 4 times in 20 pages, she would remind us about the extreme security measures everyone must go through to keep the virus contained, that George has a special eye condition that she always tests positive for on a retinal scan, and needs goofy looking glasses when she's in bright light (her eyes don't dilate). She is never neglectful to constantly remind us that George and Shaun must always go through additional screenings because of where their house is; it's for insurance purposes. Yeah, home insurance is still a thing in this world. As much as I was annoyed by the constant repeating stories of the world, nothing annoyed me as much as the terrible editing; misspelled and missing words should not have been a thing. While this is initially an issue for Grant, in the end it falls in the hands of her editors who should have caught these errors. Where Grant excelled at building this world, she also failed at developing her characters. George is meant to be this bad-ass, no fucks given, tomboy who wears sun glasses all the time. But the George Grant shows us is an agoraphobe who believes in honest media and news sharing, and who hates her mother. It is a very thin attempt at character building, because Grant tells us these things, but really does not leave us with anything to believe these are true. George is really just a moody twenty-something that acts more like a teenager. Meanwhile, Buffy is supposed to be the funniest person in this book, but she says a total of 0 things funny or even near funny. She is supposed to be this light-hearted princess who is all about having a good time, but what we actually see is a status obsessed, anal retentive technology junkie. Then there is Shaun. I'm not 100% sure what Grant wanted us to see in him, and I'm even less sure of how to describe him. I struggled with the ages of George and Shaun. Buffy I was always able to keep in mid that she was somewhere near her mid-twenties, but George felt like a 15-16 year old to me, while Shaun felt like a 13 year old. George and Shaun are supposed to be the same age. It's a befuddled mess of character growth. The greatest offense with this book is how Grant build a complete post-apocalyptic, zombie dystopia, but had so very little zombies involved with the story. How do you have a zombie story with practically zero zombies? Who does that? George Romero would be so disappointed in this. When the real zombie action happened, it felt like it was more of an afterthought of Grant's. Like she was sitting at her writing desk, realized that she was nearing the end and thought "oh yeah, this is supposed to have zombies in it. Let's put some here". Also, we must not forget about how completely obvious the plot twist/villain was. Seriously? Was she trying to surprise us, because that was a crummy surprise. Please tell me there is a gift receipt for this one. On the plus side of all this negativity, at least it was a very quick read. While I applaud Grant's ending, it would have been a more emotional affair if I felt event the slightest bit of love for any of these characters. I was so frustrated with this book that I struggled to finish the book. There is no way I will continue this series. Pass on this one. You'll save yourself a lot of time and frustration by reading spoiler alerts and the wiki page. Have you read this book? Leave a comment below with your thoughts about it. Ratings (based on a 10 point scale) Quality of Writing - 4 Pace - 5 Plot Development - 3 Characters - 1 Enjoyability - 3 Insightfulness - 5 Ease of Reading - 6 Photos/Illustrations - N/A Overall Rating - 2 out of 5 stars
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Publisher: The Feminist Press at CUNY Page Count: 64 Fiction Genre: Short Stories, Horror, Feminism, Gothic, Psychology, Mental Health, Classics Dates Read: November 14, 2015 Reading Challenge: Mega Reading Challenge Topic: #158: A book under 100 pages Series: N/A Summary Here is the secret journal of a woman who is slowly slipping into a world of madness. Is the yellow wall-paper the fuel or the refuge of her madness? Review This was an interesting read. At first I had troubles getting into it. It was like reading the diary of a bored housewife that has maids and no hobbies. But then something happened. I cannot recall the exact turning point, but I went from dragging my feet to tearing through the pages trying to figure out what was going on. *CRAZY ALERT* Things get pretty crazy and your heat brakes a little for this woman as you watch her slow and inevitable descent into madness. Beautiful and endearing. You must read this one tonight! Have you read this book? Leave a comment below with your thoughts about it. Ratings (based on a 10 point scale) Quality of Writing - 8 Pace - 6 Plot Development - 7 Characters - 8 Enjoyability - 7 Insightfulness - 9 Ease of Reading - 6 Photos/Illustrations - N/A Overall Rating - 4 out of 5 stars Publisher: Little Brown Books for Young Adults Page Count: 240 Fiction Genre: YA, Realistic, Humor, For School Dates Read: November 11-13, 2015 Reading Challenge: ATW Reading Challenge Topic: #348: A book that takes place in Washington State Series: N/A Summary From the very beginning, life has been against Junior. He's kind of goofy looking, cares about his academics, doesn't have many friends, and has asked to go to school off of the reservation. This decision has pitted him against the people of his tribe, especially his best friend, who is just as much of an outcast as Junior is. Review Dear Mr. Alexie, and other YA authors, Please stop acting like you think your readers are idiots who are just learning to read and think for themselves. Alexie gives us an interesting look at Native American life on a Washington State reservation. He tells a good story, but he flattens out his characters so much that they have as much dimension as a Barbie paper doll. At first I had a lot of sympathy for Junior, and for all the loneliness he felt in school. Later on though, I had nothing but contempt for his whiny self-loathing that was a constant theme in his life. There was a lot that could have been done with Rowdy (Junior's former BFF), but Alexie could not get past the bully label he put on Rowdy. The only realtionship that was truly, though limited, developed was the relationship between Junior and his sister. We never really see them interact with each other, except through email, but you can feel the compassion he has for his sister and her situation. On an unrelated note, the drawings in this book are actually really cute and insightful. Sometimes I feel like I got more out of the illustrations than I got out of the story. I think I have grown tired of just about everything in the YA genre. I look at things like The Hunger Games, The Giver Quartet, and several other books, and I remember how much I enjoyed them. But as I'm reading more and more of it, I feel like it makes me stupider or the author thinks that their reader cannot process complex thoughts. This is how Alexie's book has made me feel; like he believes his readers are too dumb for big words or complex thinking. I am mixed on my recommendation. There were things I liked about this book, especially the look at Native American culture in Washington, but there were many other things that bothered me. I say read at your own risk. Have you read this book? Leave a comment below with your thoughts about it. Ratings (based on a 10 point scale) Quality of Writing - 7 Pace - 6 Plot Development - 3 Characters - 1 Enjoyability - 3 Insightfulness - 3 Ease of Reading - 5 Photos/Illustrations - 9 Overall Rating - 2 out of 5 stars Publisher: Allen & Unwin Page Count: 418 Fiction Genre: Historical, Book Club, Religion, Feminism Dates Read: November 8-11, 2015 Reading Challenge: Mega Reading Challenge Topic: #126: A book recommended by a friend Series: N/A Summary Dinah was just a small character in the Book of Genesis. Not much is known about her or her life, except for her rape, and incidents surrounding it. Diamant explores the possibility of what Dinah's life could have been like, and weaves a colorful story of what they forgot to tell us. Review Let me start this out by saying, "meh". This book wasn't bad. It's very well written, and Diamant paints a very descriptive and beautiful story around Dinah. However, there was just something missing for me. I wasn't hooked on it. I felt like it was mainly just passing time for me. I loved reading about the possibilities of what Dinah's life could have been, and seeing more about this strong and beautiful woman. I cannot put my finger on what exactly is bugging me about this book, but I can tell you that overall I enjoyed it. I could have given this book 3 stars, but it didn't feel right. Diamant deserved a better rating because she is a great author who seems to have this magic ability to vividly broadcast her words as an image into your mind. She is very skilled in her craft. She has created amazing and realistic characters that I could see myself sitting down to have tea with. I say read this book. Maybe you'll find that piece I'm missing. Have you read this book? Leave a comment below with your thoughts about it. Ratings (based on a 10 point scale) Quality of Writing - 7 Pace - 5 Plot Development - 6 Characters - 7 Enjoyability - 5 Insightfulness - 6 Ease of Reading - 6 Photos/Illustrations - N/A Overall Rating - 4 out of 5 stars Publisher: Harper Teen Page Count: 304 Fiction Genre: Realistic, Romance, Mystery, YA, Chick Lit Dates Read: November 7-8, 2015 Reading Challenge: Mega Reading Challenge Topic: #98: A book you can talk about at a bachelorette party Series: N/A Summary It was the night before Christmas, and all through the store, not a creature was stirring, except for the six teens who were held after closing. Chloe makes lists about everything in her life. It helps her feel less alone. She is a high school student who works at Good Foods (aka: Whole foods), and has a crush on her charming coworker, Tyson. Chloe, along with her five other teenage coworkers are held after work when it is discovered that the charity money has been stolen, and the store managers believe these kids had something to do with it. Review I'm sure you've seen The Breakfast Club, or at least one episode of Scooby-Doo. If you have not seen TBC, drop whatever you are doing RIGHT THIS INSTANT AND GO WATCH THAT MOVIE! Top Ten Clues You're Clueless can most easily be related to these two things, but now Velma has diabetes. It seemed like Czukas was trying to write a modern day novel about The Breakfast Club, but it's now a mystery (hence the Scooby-Doo reference) and they're locked in a Whole Foods on a very flimsy premise. I mean, Helen Keller could have seen through this plot. *I make no apologies for that joke* For easier reference of you cultured people who has seen TBC: Chloe = Claire Tyson = Andrew Sammi = Allison Gabe = John Bender Micah = Brian Zania = A new character to the mix (The Breakfast Club, now with diversity) This book was filled with so much needless frustration. First, the lists. Those fucking lists! They were absolutely pointless to the plot development. I seriously believe that Czukas added these just so that she could have a higher page count. During the first chapter or two they were kind of cute, but talk about beating a dead horse; they lost their cuteness very quickly. Next there was the diabetes. I applaud Czukas for developing a main character with this affliction, but I think she might have used a nurses handbook from the 1970's to gather her medical information about Chole's illness. Seriously, she referred to this character as a "brittle diabetic", a term I don't think has been used since the mid-1980s. Any teenager who has T1D, will know how important it is to check your levels, yet Chloe waits 12 hours to check hers, because she's embarrassed by it. What made this frustrating was how much time Chloe spent worrying about her levels, but never once did she think that maybe she should check her levels. SO MANY MIXED MESSAGES! Way to keep a shitty negative stereotype alive, Czukas. I really hope if any young women out there that read this and have T1D, feel they should be ashamed by their illness because of this book. Shame on you, Liz Czukas. Shame on you. Lastly, there was the plot. WTF did I just read? To break this down for you, and this could be considered a spoiler alert, but I don't think this is spoiling anything. This market has a charity box that employees and customers can donate money to, for a local charity during the holidays. During a grand reveal publicity stunt, where the regional manager comes to open the box, it is discovered that all the money that has been raised over the past, almost two months, is gone. Less than $100.00 remain. After a brief meeting between a store manager and the regional manager it is decided that one of these teenagers must have stolen it. That's a pretty large jump to make to that conclusion based on absolutely ZERO evidence, leads, or information. It just seemed like a "we need to point out finger at someone, so teenagers are a great scapegoat". This all leads to two grown adults practically holding 6 teenagers hostage until the police can get there hours later. My brain exploded from the lack of logic and proper plot development by Czukas. So yeah, you can say I hate this book, but you would be wrong. I LOATHE THIS BOOK! Do not read. Just pass on by this one for your own sanity. The only thing good about this book is how quick it was to get through. Read this book at your own risk. Have you read this book? Leave a comment below with your thoughts about it. Ratings (based on a 10 point scale) Quality of Writing - 6 Pace - 7 Plot Development - 3 Characters - 2 Enjoyability - 1 Insightfulness - 2 Ease of Reading - 5 Photos/Illustrations - N/A Overall Rating - 1 out of 5 stars Publisher: Clarion Books Page Count: 272 Fiction Genre: Horror, YA, Paranormal, Dates Read: November 6-7, 2015 Reading Challenge: N/A Topic: #73: Side Piece Series: N/A Summary Daniel and his little sister Erica move from Connecticut to a tiny town in West Virginia with their parents. This is not an ideal move, and everything seems to be going wrong. No one is happy and they all feel like outsiders. Worst or all, they are all fighting with each other when they should be banning together. The kids at school tell the kids the ghost stories about their new house, and about how long ago a little girl went missing from the house and was never found. Things get worse for Daniels family when suddenly one night his sister Erica goes missing. Are the ghost stories true? Is there an old witch that has snatched Erica? Review My brain was on vacation when I read this. There really was not a need for it with this one. I accept that my standards may have been to high. I found Took just before Halloween, surrounded by adult novels. I read the synopsis on the back, but failed to see this was a young kids book until I had started it. Being someone that has to finish what she starts, I kept going with it. I kept trying to reframe my mind that this was not an adult novel, but something intended for a much younger audience. No matter what I found this book to be highly irritating. There was so much potential in this story, but much like Doll Bones, the characters were one-dimensional, and the plot was flat. It was just very painful to get through - horribly predictable and boring. Read this book at your own risk. Have you read this book? Leave a comment below with your thoughts about it. Ratings (based on a 10 point scale) Quality of Writing - 6 Pace - 6 Plot Development - 3 Characters - 2 Enjoyability - 2 Insightfulness - 3 Ease of Reading - 5 Photos/Illustrations - N/A Overall Rating - 3 out of 5 stars Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks Page Count: 397 Fiction Genre: Horror, Fantasy, Mystery, Thriller Dates Read: November 2-6, 2015 Reading Challenge: Alphabet Reading Challenge Topic: #176: An author last name starting with "H". Series: N/A Summary Iggy Parish has lost the love of his life. Merrin was raped and murdered, and the whole town believes he did it. When a town believes you're the devil, you start to become one. Now with some unusual gifts at his disposal, Iggy is slowly learning the truth about Merrin, their relationship, and what happened during the last few hours of her life. Review Let me start by saying, WOW, just WOW! This is the fourth book of Hill's that I have read. My first three were outstanding, and Horns is no different. Hill weaves together another story that is full of beautiful descriptions, heartfelt emotions, and great character development. This is easily Hill's best character development since Vic McQueen in NOS4A2. I hated nearly every character at the beginning of the book. Hill created some of the sickest, most despicable characters I've ever met, and I loved to hate them. But oh boy, did he throw a curve-ball later in this story though. Wait for it, it's worth it. Admittedly solving the mystery was a pretty easy guess form me by chapter 2. However that did not ruin the story for me. Hill immerses you so in depth into the story that you forget about trying to prove your prediction right. Everything about this book was fabulous, the only thing I wish altered is that it would have ended differently, but this ending seems to be a signature of Hill's. I hope that if you have read any of his other books you understand what that means. This book left me with some things to think about. What happens when we let one person consume our entire being? What happens when that person leaves in one way or another? I guess you could call this a dialog on love and happiness. We've all had those relationships and subsequent endings that leaves us sitting on our bathroom floor in nothing but our undergarments, eating ice cream with a plastic spoon, wondering "what do I do now?". Okay, maybe not EVERYONE ... Don't judge me to harshly. When my grandmother passed away 11 years ago, I watched my grandfather struggle with basic things he never struggled with before, like getting out of bed each morning and spending time with friends. My grandmother was his entire world, and when she left it, he didn't know what to do; he didn't know how to continue with his own life. It's painful to watch someone you care about suffer like that, and it's painful to be in that sort of situation, regardless of how long that relationship is. I have gotten WAY off topic here, but I believe this is what Horns gets at. At the deep, dark, musty depths of this story is a character trying to rebuild his world after it fell apart around him. When you love someone more than life itself, your world stops when they're no longer a part of it. This is the story of Iggy & Merrin. The story of Iggy's world collapsing. The story of Iggy rebuilding and starting over. It wasn't over for him, and it's not over for you. Now, go and read this book if you haven't already. If you have, leave a comment below with your thoughts about it. Ratings (based on a 10 point scale) Quality of Writing - 8 Pace - 7 Plot Development - 7 Characters - 8 Enjoyability - 9 Insightfulness - 7 Ease of Reading - 7 Photos/Illustrations - N/A Overall Rating - 5 out of 5 stars |
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