"Incarceron" by Catherine Fisher

Walls have ears.
Doors have eyes.
Trees have voices.
Beasts tell lies.
Beware the rain.
Beweare the snow.
Beware the man
You think you know.
~Songs of Sapphique

Incarceron is a prison. Built to contain the undesirables of a world, it's huge. Vast enough to contain cities, mountains, oceans, valleys. Built to be a paradise, Incarceron has become a hell, and there is no escaping. Trapped until they die, most of the inmates have given up on leaving.
But not Finn.

In the Outside, time seems to have been stopped at the 17th century. Artificially preserved, Claudia's world is run by computers and protocal. She's doomed to an arranged marriage and tangled with an assassination plot she doesn't support but doesn't discourage either.

When the lives of Finn and Claudia collide, there's no telling what will happen.
Incarceron is everywhere.
Incarceron is everything.

They stared at the dark slit, waiting. She half expected a crowd of Prisoners to burst through.
But nothing happened, so she stepped forward, and opened the gate.
And looked Inside.

This book was rather rare for a couple of reasons. First of all, it's a YA book that I actually enjoyed. Second of all, there were several plot twists I didn't predict, and third of all, I only hated one of the characters.

The setting of this book is very interesting. It's a peculiar mix of Gregor the Underlander, 2001: A Space Oddyssey, Labyrinth, Alice in Wonderland, The Supernaturalist, Doctor Who, and a whole lot of imagination. It was fascinating if only for the setting, and I enjoyed it immensely. Incarceron was spooky, and reminded me a bit of HAL, which captured my interest immediately. If nothing, read for Incarceron!

The characters were interesting as well. It was difficult, but I decided that my three favorite characters were Keiro (Finn's oathbrother), Jared (Claudia's tutor), and The Warden (Claudia's father.). The single character that I truly did not like at all was Attia, who I found to be jealous, petty, stuck up, "holier than thou", and just annoying. But the others were pretty cool, I must say.

Also, the plot twists. I'm usually pretty good at predicting the way that books will go. In fact, some of the earlier twists I predicted immediately, but about three fourths of the book the author threw a twist at me that literally left me sitting and going "Wow. I did not see that coming. Wow. Wow. O.o". The plot is interesting, not very predictable, and has plenty of things going on that it moves quite quickly.

Overall, this was a really good book, and I'm definitely going to read the second one. :)

"The Iron Knight" by Julie Kagawa (The Iron Fey, #4)

(ATTENTION: This review is for the fourth book in the Iron Fey series. There will probably (read: definitely) be some spoilers from the other books. Especially regarding the Iron Kingdom, because it’s not something I can (or particularly want to) avoid in the review. Please beware. If you haven’t read the first three books or the two novellas, I encourage you to check those out: The Iron King, The Iron Daughter, Winter’s Passage, The Iron Queen, and Summer’s Crossing. YOU ARE WARNED.)

First thing: this book, the conclusion to the epic adventure that is the Iron Fey novels, which those who have read them have mostly become rather attached to, will make you cry. Seriously. There will probably be water works. Regardless of your being team Ash or team Puck or team ‘why don’t they both just give up on that crazy Meghan iron fey chick’, you will probably still cry, if you’re the type of person to ever cry during books.

Ash. *sniffle*

Anyway. As the conclusion to this series which I’ve thoroughly enjoyed so far, as well as the first and only book in the Iron Fey series to be from Ash’s perspective rather than Meghan’s, I was almost concerned that I wouldn’t like it as much as the others.

That was naïve of me, I should’ve considered that it was: a) Ash. and b) Julie Kagawa, epic author extraordinaire, wrote it!

It was awesome. Action packed, emotion filled, and beautifully written. I really can’t say more in this review. I want to, but I don’t want to spoil the whole thing which would be awful for everyone else. All I can say is thanks. Thank you, Julie Kagawa, for this awesome series that totally changed my mind about ‘stupid faeries’ and for the crazy roller coaster ride that it was and its epic conclusion. P.S.. thanks for geeking out about My Chemical Romance like twice. Haha!

"Ashes" by Ilsa J. Bick

"It could happen tomorrow . . .
An electromagnetic pulse flashes across the sky, destroying every electronic device, wiping out every computerized system, and killing billions.
Alex hiked into the woods to say good-bye to her dead parents and her personal demons. Now desperate to find out what happened after the pulse crushes her to the ground, Alex meets up with Tom—a young soldier—and Ellie, a girl whose grandfather was killed by the EMP. For this improvised family and the others who are spared, it’s now a question of who can be trusted and who is no longer human."-goodreads

Ashes is one of the best zombie books I’ve read, up there with The Forest of Hands and Teeth and The Zombie Survival Guide, as well as one of the best post-apocalyptic books I’ve read (and probably one of the more ’realistic’ as well). But Ashes is so much more than that. As I was reading it I thought of it as one of those dolls that opens up and there’s another doll and another doll and another doll and another doll. Every page, there were more complicated (but awesome) things going on. Incredibly fast-paced, sometimes things happened so fast that I didn’t understand them right away-- but I don’t think Alex the protagonist did either, so that just enhanced it. Ashes bled fear, anxiety, tension, action, gruesomeness, creepy, scary, psychological stuff, and shock throughout the whole book. It was incredible! Also, it’s perfect for reading any time but I think I picked a fabulous time to read it, right around Halloween.

Alex is an epic heroine for the story. She’s a strong female character that doesn’t let herself totally give up for any reason, even when falling for a guy. She took charge and survived after the EMP, and helped others along the way. Granted, she also received help from several people, including Tom, the mysterious guy they meet along the way, however it wasn’t a *total* damsel-in-distress moment. Alex showed raw emotion throughout the book without being wimpy or anything like that. Tom was pretty cool too, when we got to meet him, and Ellie as well. Characters in this book (and a lot of similar books to these) are integral to me, I think, because you don’t typically see as many characters as often while they’re fighting their way through the EMP ravaged world.

An original thing that I liked about Ashes is that, while some post-apocalyptic (or dystopian) books avoid the actual disaster, experiencing it or explaining it, it started out from the beginning right before and the reader gets to see the whole thing unfold. I think a lot of the time it’s avoided because sometimes it’s hard to convince the reader and have them be like, ‘yeah, this could actually happen. The world really could end this way.’ and even I’m like that sometimes but Ashes convinced me. I’ll be thinking about the horrifyingly realistic (and horrifying in general) world from the book for a long time.
The bottom line: if you’re looking for an epic book, especially a scary post-apocalyptic zombie novel, Ashes is for you. I can’t wait for the next one! 

"The Son of Neptune" (Heroes of Olympus, #2) by Rick Riordan

No description. Why? Because I didn't like any of the descriptions: too long, too spoiler-y, or generally too much. Did I think I could do better for a little summary? Nope.
(This review will probably contain spoilers for the first book. You might want to read The Lost Hero review instead. YOU ARE WARNED.)

The Lost Hero was seriously awesome, and being the first book in a companion series to THE Percy Jackson series by THE Rick Riordan, I didn't expect any less. Obviously I had high expectations for the sequel, "The Son of Neptune" which I impatiently awaited and narrowly avoided totally forgetting about. It was even better than the first though! Really good. So why did I like it?

The characters, as with the last one, were great. This one was told through three perspectives (as with the last one), each offering their own personalities with depth and history. That's one of my favorite parts of the book, actually, there were a lot of flashbacks and back story to the new main characters (of the 7? You'll find out) Frank and Hazel, from different families and *cough*times*cough*. Then, I'm brought to another of my favorite parts of the book, and this isn't a spoiler because the first page opens with him, PERCY. Percy is back and we read a lot of the book (I'd be inclined to say the majority of the book is from his perspective, but I'm not sure) with him. I think everyone's missed him since the end of 'his' series, or at least I have. He doesn't totally hijack the story though, it's still about the new heroes and it's also in third person rather than in the Percy Jackson books where it was ALL from his perspective in first person.

Besides characters, the settings were epic, as they are in the rest of Riordan's books. They cover a lot of ground in "The Son of Neptune", always moving. There's more mythology (duh.) as a lot of the book involves the Romans too as opposed to only the Greeks. The pace was quick too, the 520 pages passed lightning fast (get it? Lightning. Yeah...). The voices of the characters were fabulous, very different from each other which I was glad of, I can't stand it when I can't figure out who I'm reading as or forget.

I did have a few small disappointments, I wish we'd seen the characters we met in The Lost Hero; Leo, Piper, and Jason. I also wish that certain characters had been reunited (finish the book. You'll know what I'm talking about.) but I realize that's part of the cliffhanger thing. Overall though? I loved it and can't wait for the next book installment of The Heroes of Olympus.

"The Throne of Fire" (Kane Chronicles #2) by Rick Riordan

*As usual with sequel reviews, this review may contain minor spoilers. I did not include the summary for the aforementioned reason. You are warned.*
Sad. I am sad. This book is by Rick Riordan. I LOVE his books. I LOVE the Percy Jackson series. I loved “The Lost Hero“, and less so but still mostly, I really liked “The Red Pyramid“. So I had pretty high expectations for “The Throne of Fire”.

This is that part where I tell you why, even though I love Rick Riordan’s stuff so much, a few MONTHS passed between the release date and when I read his new book. Well, here’s a timeline:
1 Week Before the Release Date: HEY. “The Throne of Fire” comes out in a week. I need to get that, I’m SO psyched!
Release Date: I don’t think I went anywhere, so I didn’t buy it on the release date.
1 Week Later: I should really buy/put on hold at the library “The Throne of Fire”.  Didn’t I mean to do that last week?!?
A week ago: *at the library* OHMYGOSHIFORGOTABOUTTHISBOOK.

Maybe it’s good that I didn’t read it right away when I was really excited for it, because then I would have probably been more disappointed. Yes, I said disappointed. Yes, I checked, I was reading the correct “Throne of Fire” by the one and only Rick Riordan, author of many (seemingly always best-selling) novels loved by children, teens, and adults alike.

Sadly, it just didn’t click with me. I felt the same problem I had with “The Red Pyramid” even more than I did before, sometimes having trouble distinguishing Carter and Sadie’s voices. Obviously I could tell, their words are different, Sadie has a huge crush on Anubis, there’s their names at the beginning of the chapters, yadayadayada… but other than that I wouldn’t have been able to tell. Additionally, at times (partially because of the perspective thing, probably) I found the actions confusing and not immediately clear who was doing what and why; at other times, I thought everything was so overly obvious that it was occasionally boring or slow moving.

"Vanish" (Firelight, #2) by Sophie Jordan

September 6th, 2011 - HarperTeen

(The description is a bit spoiler-y to the first book. If you’d like to check it out and find tons more info on the book, visit Sophie Jordan’s website here.)

I really appreciate book series where each new book exceeds your expectations and there’s never a dull ‘middle book’. After reading Firelight, and then seeing the cover and summary for Vanish, I had really high expectations for it. I had a theory about who was on the cover, and surprisingly I was right. (Do you have a theory? Maybe you’re right like me. But you’ll have to read it to find out whether you’re also correct or not!) I liked Vanish even more than Firelight!! (Which I liked a lotttt!!)

As the story continues, it just gets better. There was never a dull moment. Vanish is an emotional roller coaster, but in a good way. The ending of Vanish leaves you craving more (as with Firelight). I also found the characters interesting, as they developed a lot more. They fooled me. People I strongly disliked in the first one, I found liking more in Vanish as they developed more. Also, I was firmly Team Will at the end of the first, and not only am I team Cassian now, I think he’s my new favorite character as we saw more of him. (You’ll probably find yourself at least swaying towards his side!) Almost all of the characters changed for me though, and I found myself feeling even more connected to our heroine Jacinda-- her narrative is awesome.

Same as Firelight, I found the draki element very interesting and unique. It continues to develop and we learn more about how that works. And there’s a new draki in town-- you’ll be surprised who it is. Overall, a great sequel that I doubt will disappoint!! Be sure to look for it when it comes out (meantime, read Firelight if you haven't!)
Thank you HarperTeen for giving me the opportunity to review this exciting sequel.

Mini Review: "Summer's Crossing" (Iron Fey, 3.5) by Julie Kagawa

(This review is of the 3.5th book in a series, its predecessors are The Iron King, The Iron Daughter, Winter's Passage (2.5) and The Iron Queen. My reviews for those are linked. As always with sequel reviews, minor spoilers might be revealed. YOU ARE WARNED.)
"A Midsummer's Nightmare? Robin Goodfellow. Puck. Summer Court prankster, King Oberon's right hand, bane of many a faery queen's existence—and secret friend to Prince Ash of the Winter Court. Until one girl's death came between them, and another girl stole both their hearts.
Now Ash has granted one favor too many and someone's come to collect, forcing the prince to a place he cannot go without Puck's help—into the heart of the Summer Court. And Puck faces the ultimate choice—betray Ash and possibly win the girl they both love, or help his former friend turned bitter enemy pull off a deception that no true faery prankster could possibly resist.
An ebook exclusive novella from Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series."-goodreads


I love these mini-adventures between books. As in "Winter's Passage" the adventure isn't necessary to understand the next book (I imagine, I mean, the Iron Knight isn't out yet, so I don't know for sure) but is a little extra bit for anyone who really likes the series. In this one, rather than spending time with Meghan and Ash, we're with Puck and Ash. That was really interesting because although it's been getting better over the course of the books, they kind of hated each other (for understandable reasons, once we know the story). It's from Puck's point of view, which was different. I enjoy Puck's sense of humor and wit, although I'm still firmly Team Ash. Yes, the ice prince. This novella was really good, but at the same time a bit too much of a tease! I can't wait for the Iron Knight to come out, especially now that I've been back to the world of the Iron Fey for a bit. I love Julie Kagawa's writing!
If you've read the rest of the Iron Fey and want to read Summer's Crossing it's a free novella (like was done with Winter's Passage). You can download it for your respective E-Reader or read it online a the website here.

"Gone" by Michael Grant

"In the blink of an eye. Everyone disappears. GONE.
Except for the young. Teens. Middle schoolers. Toddlers. But not one single adult. No teachers, no cops, no doctors, no parents. Just as suddenly, there are no phones, no internet, no television. No way to get help. And no way to figure out what's happened.
Hunger threatens. Bullies rule. A sinister creature lurks. Animals are mutating. And the teens themselves are changing, developing new talents—unimaginable, dangerous, deadly powers—that grow stronger by the day.
It's a terrifying new world. Sides are being chosen, a fight is shaping up. Townies against rich kids. Bullies against the weak. Powerful against powerless. And time is running out: On your birthday, you disappear just like everyone else..."-goodreads

There are some books that just suck you into the pages, make you want to find the whole story, figure it out NOW, but at the same time, never have it end. They keep you turning the pages and the suspense can become almost unbearable. If you had a day where you didn't have to do anything else those are the type of books that you'd want to just tear through and not WANT to do anything else. "Gone" is most definitely one of those. I mean, just read the description. CAN YOU FLIPPING IMAGINE THAT? Everyone 15&over suddenly disappearing. *Something* cutting you off completely from the outside world?! Kids and teenagers running the town, trying to prevent chaos as all kinds of it presses in on them? (Has anyone read Lord of the Flies? Hello!? Yeah, I think we all know the whole situation is going to turn to heck eventually.) And each of the characters are still battling their own problems, too. Sometimes in post-apocalyptic and dystopian fiction, it seems like the characters are all perfectly content people living in their perfect little world until disaster strikes, but in "Gone", much more realistically, the characters were never living perfect lives and they deal with that as well.

Michael Grant's storytelling is amazing. There was never a dull moment and constantly questions were raised, and surprises thrown in. It's filled with action and suspense, and I could see everything vividly in my mind. The characters were great too, a grand cast of them ranging from likable, and hatred like the type everyone has toward Voldemort. I really liked Sam. While still seeming like how a teenager (albeit a natural born leader type of person) would deal with a crisis, he was complex, thoughtful, and dealt with the situation admirably. Astrid was very cool too, the brains of the situation, but not overly so. All of the characters were realistic in that none of them were able to stay strong ALL the time. They all had their emotional moments that they needed to make them seem human, and not magically immune to their surroundings and conditions.

An awesome book all-together. I see there are four more out in the series and a sixth due next year. I must say, these books are kind of long and I'm not quite sure how the story to span six books, but I could be wrong about that, it is pretty complicated. Looking forward to seeing how the story continues!

"Leviathan" by Scott Westerfeld

"Prince Aleksander, would-be heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battletorn war machine and a loyal crew of men.
Deryn Sharp is a commoner, disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She's a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered.
With World War I brewing, Alek and Deryn's paths cross in the most unexpected way…taking them on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure that will change both their lives forever"-goodreads

Leviathan is the first steampunk book I've read. (Note: I still wouldn't understand what steampunk IS if it weren't for: a) Angela who is awesome and kind of a steampunk specialist, b) to some extent, google, and c) this book.) I now understand the appeal. It's also the first novel by Scott Westerfeld that I've read besides Uglies, Pretties, and Specials (which was ages ago and I REALLY need to re-read them as I hardly remember anything except that they were amazing). If they hadn't proved his genius-- Leviathan would have!

First off, oh my gosh I need to talk about the illustrations. There are these really intricate, awesome, brilliant full page and half page illustrations throughout the book. These were both great to look at and good at explaining things. The 'clanker' machinery and the 'Darwinist' creatures were so bizarre that I couldn't quite picture them, but then the illustrations had me seeing them perfectly. So cool. Then another favorite bit for me was how it's both historical fiction and futuristic fiction seamlessly put together, which is the steampunk element, but it was so interesting to read about a World War II world in an alternate society and universe sort of way. I can't wait for those things to be explored more in Behemouth and Goliath, the other two books in the series (although Goliath hasn't come out yet). 

The only negative thing I have to say about this book is while Alek and Deryn are obviously different characters, genders, and very different personalities their thought processes seemed TOO similar sometimes. Also, something to note, although Leviathan seems to have been marketed as a YA book I'd say it could just as easily be enjoyed by a more middle-grade and younger audience-- it has something for pretty much everyone in a broad age range!

"City of Ashes" (The Mortal Instruments, #2) by Cassandra Clare

*The description for this book has spoilers for its predecessor, City of Bones, so I won't disclose it here. If you would like to read the description or find out more about the book, visit the goodreads page for it here. This particular review is spoiler free.*

My experience thus far with The Mortal Instruments has been wonderful. "City of Bones" was brilliant, and I consider "City of Ashes" even better. 'Better?', you may inquire; to which I would respond casually: "Heck yes."

I think what I like best about The Mortal Instruments, "City of Ashes" in particular, is that they have a little bit of just about every element but it's still done remarkably well. There are vampires, werewolves, and demons. They are a lot like their stereotype, which is actually a good thing because that means NO *sparkly* vampires.Of course, there are also the fascinating shadowhunters, unique to TMI. All of the greatness present in the first book is back for the second, such as great pace, interesting and broad cast of characters, and deep-running emotions; probably even more of a thrilling page-turner than the first. There were more action filled fight scenes than in the first, all keeping you on the edge of your seat. An ongoing theme in the books seem to be that nothing is ever as it seems, and so I've heard, it stays that way.

All-together, an awesome book. I only bought the first two together and now can't wait to get the third. And, related question (please don't answer with a spoiler), to anyone else who has read TMI, isn't Valentine reminiscent of Voldemort? (Granted, I can draw a comparison to Harry Potter from pretty much anything...)

"The Power of Six" (Lorien Legacies, #2) by Pittacus Lore

August 23rd, 2011 - Harper Teen

(The description for this book is rather spoiler-y to the first. If you’d like to read the summary, visit the goodreads page here. This review also probably contains minor spoilers for the first book. YOU ARE WARNED.)

The Power of Six was a good follow-up to I Am Number Four. I liked it as much as the first book. It shared many of the great qualities of its predecessor! Playing out like a really good action movie in your head, The Power of Six unfolded with a ton of surprises and action.

My favorite thing about The Power of Six is that it’s not just in Four’s perspective. You also get to see parts of the story (almost every two chapters, then they get closer together) from Number Seven, Marina. That made the book a bit fresher, because it’s always nice to see things two ways, or see completely different situations going on and see how they come together. That bit was fascinating. You grew to know Marina and we saw a lot more of Number Six as well. Number Six and Sam are my favorite characters. Sam is so dorky and he’s in pretty much the whole book this time. He grows stronger as a character and in the story, learning to fight and not just be the alien obsessed one. He’s so funny.

I felt kind of disconnected with Four this time around. I’m not sure if that’s a result of his not being the only perspective or his emotions in the book, actually. I know he missed Sarah but at times it would be like he’d think of Sarah at in-opportune moments and it could be kind of annoying. I was really surprised about what happened with Sarah--- that was probably one of the biggest shocks of the book. (What happened, you ask? I’m not telling. *evil laugh*)

The Power of Six has a breakneck pace. It’s around 400 pages, yet it’s a SUPER-fast read, reminiscent of the Maximum Ride series (in pace and action scenes!). If you liked I Am Number Four you should definitely read the sequel, The Power of Six is not a let-down.  
Thank you HarperTeen for giving me the opportunity to review it!

"Pay the Piper" by Jane Yolen and Adam Stemple

Not watching some dumb TV show while Mars made spooky commentaries. 
Yet somehow Callie believed Alabas. Believed what he was saying. Believed him down in the urpy part of her stomach. And afraid she was going to be sick, she slipped away and ran out the nearest door marked EXIT.

Callie, a fourteen year old girl from Massachusetts, doesn't expect anything exciting to happen in her town. She lives in the sort of area where the biggest crime is a boy running away from home and hiding in the neighbor's tree for a night.
In fact, even the bands that play in her town are.. well... fairly unknown. None from her top 5 ever get there... Heck, none of her top 20 have ever played in her town.

When the announcement comes that Brass Rat- a band who plays somewhere between folk and rock- is having a show in her town... Callie is shocked. Sure, Brass Rat might not be on even her top 20 (maybe her top 25, though), and she might prefer either straight rock, or straight folk... But it's definitely more than she expects to happen.


But sometimes, things aren't always what they seem... And you should be careful what you wish for. Strange as it might sound... it just might be time to pay the piper.
But what if they can't?


"And one thing I am certain I did not mention..." Gringas spoke calmly as the creature popped the screaming horse into its mouth whole, "is that the guardian is immune to magic."
Sighing, Alabas pulled two long knives from twin sheaths at the small of his back. "You did indeed leave out a few details, my lord."

As most of my friends know, I love retellings of fairy tales. I eat them up. Not quite literally.
So, when my mom gave me a stack of books, and I found out that one has to do with the Pied Piper, I knew I  had to read it. Even if it wasn't quite a retelling. (Not quite.)

So, I read it... And I really liked it!
The characters (particularly Gringas) were very interesting. I found Callie a bit flat, but she was still fairly fun to read about, anyway. Nicky was... Amazing. He acted just like a little brother, and Callie's annoyance at him was spot on.
I also thought the conflict about being the middle child was interesting, as well, if a little bit dramatized. (I know quite a few middle children... They do not seem scarred from life from their birth order.)

I have to say, also, the ending was amazing. At least the one about Gringas. The one with Callie was... a little forced, as was the bit before the ending, but the last few pages? Genius. I loved them. Well. I loved Gringas in general, which might not be good. Oh well.

Either way, I'd definitely recommend this book to anyone else who likes a good retelling of a fairy tale. I have another one of the "Rock 'N' Roll Fairy Tale" books on my book shelf, and thanks to this one, I'm definitely planning to read it.

"Aphrodite's Blessings; Love Stories From the Greek Myths" by Clemence McLaren

"If I were racing against someone as handsome as Milanion," Filomena said, "I'd let him win... by just a little." She gestured with thumb and index finger.

Atalanta, princess, has been brought up to be an athlete. When her father and his advisers decide, however, that she must get married, she is terrified. The fate of married women is clear- to be kept inside all the time, except with their husband.
But it gets worse.
Her father decrees that if any man can win a race against Atalanta, they will be her husband, and rule over Arcadia. But if they lose? Death.
Atalanta doesn't want the men to die... But which is worse? To marry away your life... Or to destroy someone else's?
...
Everyone knows not to boast too much. Say the wrong thing, and the gods will punish you thoroughly.
Well.
Maybe not everyone.
Andromeda's mother is beautiful... And boastful. When she says that she and her daughter are more beautiful than all the daughters of Poseidon, everyone is worried, except for her. Andromeda is engaged to a wealthy (if short and old) man, she's still beautiful, and the gods never really pay attention to mortals... do they?
But, if the myths are true, and the queen is wrong... How are they to be punished?
...
Psyche has been gifted with amazing beauty, but it seems like it won't do her any good. When a message from a god comes, however, telling Psyche's family to wed her to a mysterious "Lord of the Hidden Valley", Psyche is hopeful.
But even when all seems well, trouble comes in the form of a jealous sister. When Psyche unknowingly ruins her happiness, how far is she willing to go to get it, and the man she loves, back?

Everyone admired my courage, yet it wasn't really courage. I simply wasn't as frightened as they expected me to be. I was actually relieved that I would not have to look at my father's solemn face, or listen to my sisters whispering about me any longer. Even in a wealthy family, an unmarried girl is a burden, because of the shame she brings. I was ready to remove that burden.

I quite liked this book. Greek myths fascinate me (heck, all myths fascinate me), and it was interesting seeing them written out in this way, from the girl's point of view. I found a lot of them to be much more emotional this way, and the characters were interesting.

However. The problem I had with this book was mostly about the last story, of Psyche. I like the story, but I did not like how things just seemed to happen in her favor, with no explanation. I know this isn't the author's fault, but what I do credit the author with is saying something along the lines of "I wouldn't know why until later", and then just not explaining it after all.

Besides that, though, I did like this book, and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes the stories anyway.

"Peak" by Roland Smith

"You messed up, Pete."
"Peak," I said.
"Like in 'mountain peak'?"
"Right."
"Weird name."
"Weird parents."

Peak Marcello, as his name suggests, is a climber. His mom and dad, both mountain climbers, started him climbing at an early age, and his mom has encouraged him his whole life.
Climbing is about to get him in trouble though.
Peak has climbers itch- the climbing wall at the gym isn't big enough anymore- so he finds bigger things.
Like skyscrapers.
When Peak is busted climbing the Woolworth Building, he knows he's in trouble. But how much? The court wants to sentence him to three years in jail, but his mom and stepfather, Rolf, aren't about to let that happen.
When Peak's long lost father, Joshua, shows up unexpectedly, Peak is offered a deal by the court. He can disappear off radar for several years, or he could go to jail.
Peak chooses to disappear.
His father takes him to Tibet, where he springs a surprise on fourteen-year-old Peak: Peak is going to try to be the youngest person to ever climb Everest.
With the help of Sun-jo, Peak's new friend; Zopa, a mysterious monk from Joshua's past; Joshua himself; and a whole bunch of other characters, Peak attempts the climb.
But is he willing to put everyone's safety at risk to reach the top?

Yash helped Sun-jo set his rig, and when he got it on we looked at each other and started laughing.
We were going to live.

I liked this book. No. I really really liked this book. I found myself wanting to just read the book, no matter what. My copy got returned to the library in much worse condition than when I checked it out, and I can confidentially say that this is one of the best books I've read in the past two or three months.

The thing that I really liked about this book were the characters. They were well developed, and interesting. I found myself sympathizing with Peak during his experiences... I think the author did a very good job of making Peak human, so you could really get inside his head. On the other hand, he also definitely had his very own voice and personality. I can't think of too many fourteen-year-olds who would be happy to share their birthday with their twin half-sisters.
Besides Peak, the characters I liked the most were Rolf, Peak's stepfather, and the characters who make up the film crew.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys books with tough moral decisions, but who don't mind having adventure in there as well.

"Ashes, Ashes" by Jo Treggiari

June 1st, 2011
"Epidemics, floods, droughts--for sixteen-year-old Lucy, the end of the world came and went, taking 99% of the population with it. As the weather continues to rage out of control, and Sweepers clean the streets of plague victims, Lucy survives alone in the wilds of Central Park. But when she's rescued from a pack of hunting dogs by a mysterious boy named Aidan, she reluctantly realizes she can't continue on her own. She joins his band of survivors, yet, a new danger awaits her: the Sweepers are looking for her. There's something special about Lucy, and they will stop at nothing to have her."-goodreads

There is a difference between Post-Apocalyptic fiction and Dystopian fiction. While they run together frequently, dystopias often being the result of an apocalypse, and apocalypses normally creating at least slight dystopias in the way the world is run. Ashes, Ashes has elements of dystopia but is a post-apocalyptic book for the most part (to me, anyway!) and I liked that a lot. I also believe it's a stand-alone, although it could easily be a series, which is always refreshing (I can't stress that enough, can I?).


Ashes, Ashes is horrifyingly realistic seeming. All of the situations, the survival, the way the plague took over the world-- they're all very vivid, very real situations. The main character, Lucy, often reflects on how at first, when the plague originally started, the news would show happy people, nurses and doctors calmly working at the hospital. She then adds that when her parents died, they were nothing like that. Just dying people, failing medicine. The news reverted to pre-recorded footage. I think that's a really important part of the book, or any post-apocalyptic book for me, contrasting the difference between then and before. It really puts the book into perspective. 


I just mentioned Lucy. Lucy is very cool. She was a very strong and developed character, and she was also likeable. One of my favorite parts of the book is that Lucy is a strong female character. There is no Bella syndrome, and I think that's important. Even books like The Hunger Games, in which Katniss is also a strong female character, along the way, she tended to kind of lose herself in her feelings toward Peeta and Gale. Lucy does no such thing. The book has romance, but it's not like, hey I was really awesome before and defending myself and now there's a guy so he'll be my knight and shining armor. Ha! Oh, and no love triangle. Thank goodness.

Aiden and all of the other characters were great as well. The book was fabulously written, all vivid and detailed. It was really easy to picture the post-apocalyptic New York. It was interesting, filled with action, and just a good book. Also, I'd like to add that I liked the cover before I read the book, and after reading the book I think it's absolutely perfect, a great reflection of the book. (Feel free to judge this one by it's cover, I'd say.)


If you'd like a good book that's interesting, realistic seeming, vividly written, and filled with survival, try out Ashes, Ashes in two weeks when it comes out! Also, this is definitely on my list of 'things to recommend to people that liked the Hunger Games'. 
Thank you Scholastic for giving me the opportunity to review this book.

"Everfound" (Skinjackers, #3) by Neal Shusterman

The description for this book, and the summary I tried to write are very spoiler-ish if you haven't read Everlost or Everwild. For that reason, I decided not to include a description at all. If you miss it and aren't worried about some spoilers, here's the goodreads one.

Heart-breaking, spectacular, bizarre, edge-of-your-seat, unique, bedazzling, twisted, dark, broad, seamless. These are words that are coming to mind now that I've finished Everfound, the last of the Skinjacker trilogy. The ending was heart-breaking, but also spectacular-- it wrapped everything up so that it was good, although notably it wasn't overly happy, unrealistic, or rushed.

The world, Everlost, in the Skinjacker trilogy is bedazzling, broad, and also seamless. I think the world building and development is probably some of the best I've ever read, up there with or surpassing the wizarding world in Harry Potter; which is another 'alternate universe' co-existing with the modern world type of scenario.

While I enjoyed Everlost and Everwild, I think that Everfound was the best out of the series. It was the most complicated, the most twisted, the longest, and at times the most confusing book of the series, everything also seemed to make the most sense. How is that? I have no idea. Possibly because in the first books, a lot of world building was done, a lot of characters developed; but about a reader could pose about a million questions. You could say the same for Everfound-- but a lot of the questions were also answered.

The story admittedly moved a bit slow at times, as it did in the first two, but I think that was necessary. If it had moved at an incredibly fast pace for the whole time I think I would've missed more things and I'm not sure it would've ended up making any sense.

Before I write a review with a length equivalent to the Bible, I should really stop. All I can say is that the Skinjacker trilogy is without a doubt the weirdest thing I've ever read; but it's also one of the best overall series I can think of-- I didn't think any of the books had huge weak points, which I can even say about some of my favorite series like Maximum Ride, at times HP, and The Hunger Games... and one more thing I haven't mentioned before; the covers for this series? Perfect!
Thank you, S&S for giving me the opportunity to review this epic conclusion!

"Runaway" by Wendelin Van Draanen

Well. Stupid me. You should see them now. They're all huddled up arguing like crazy. Maybe they think I'm going to put a curse on them.
I can't believe it. They're coming up here?
Oh, crud. Frankie's got a stick.

Holly has gone from one foster home to another. Each one seems to be worse than the one before it.
The Bender's are no different. After an incident with Mr. Bender, a toilet, and the Sani-Clean in the water, Holly decides that it's time to cut and run.
It isn't the first time she's run away.
Armed with the journal her teacher assigned her, a sheet about poems, a backpack, some food, a watch, and a few other odds and ends, Holly doesn't expect to get far. She hasn't ever made it away before, so why should this time be any different?
But this time, whether it's because of her journal, the stories of the Underground Railroad, or just the knowledge that she can't take anymore, Holly does get away.
Far away.
Traveling from her home in the East/Midwest, she manages to make it to California, all the while calling herself a "gypsy", and trying to pretend that she isn't what she is- homeless.
But how can a 12 year old survive... Even when the 12 year old is Holly?

I can't keep living like this.
I can't even talk about it.
This is no City of Angels.
It's Hell on Earth.

I actually really liked this book. I started reading it thinking that I would- I tend to love runaway stories, stories about survival, and books written in diary form- I got about half way through, thought I wouldn't like it, then at the end I decided that I did like it after all.
Very confusing.

The only problems I had with this book was that I thought that some of the things were just a little too far fetched. That's probably just me, since I bet a lot of these things do happen, but everything seems to just work out too well, or things just go bad at really inexplicable times.

Despite the unbelievability of some of the situations, however, I did find it a good read. Holly was entertaining, and although you start the book thinking "this character is really REALLY two dimensional", you finish the book having a new and better respect for the character of Holly. That's one of the things I like about her... Even though shes all "tough as a nail" and all that, She still acts like a 12 year old.

Overall, this was a pretty good book. I wouldn't recommend it, but I wouldn't not recommend it, either.

I got out of there, found a safe spot on a cliff overlooking the ocean, and ate cold chili. And all I can think about is how ungrateful I've been. I can walk, I'm healthy.... I've got a lot more than I think I do.
Why is what you do have so much harder to see than what you don't?

"Scorpia Rising" (Alex Rider, #9) by Anthony Horowitz

"Scorpia has dogged Alex Rider for most of his life. They killed his parents, they did their best to con Alex into turning traitor, and they just keep coming back with more power. Now the world's most dangerous terrorist organization is playing with fire in the world's most combustible land: the Middle East. No one knows Scorpia like Alex. And no one knows how best to get to Alex like Scorpia. Until now. 
The chases have never been more intense, the fights more treacherous, or the risks so perilous to mankind. And this time, Alex won't get away."-goodreads

I have practically grown up reading the Alex Rider series. I read the first book, Stormbreaker, the first time when I was 8. I love this series. I'm going to admit that I was NOT a fan of Crocodile Tears, the last book in the series. Actually, I was very disappointed with it, for a multitude of reasons. I was hoping that for the last book in the series, Mr. Horowitz would redeem himself. He totally did! Alex Rider is back, for the thrilling end to this amazing series.


This whole series has been fast paced, exciting, surprising, and jam-packed with action in vivid writing that reads almost like a movie (not in the bad way, where it seems like a script or something). The conclusion was no exception. I liked that the writing I liked without the obvious moves and product placement (did anyone else see that every 5 seconds in CT?) had returned. Scorpia was my favorite of the series, so that organization being back was cool.


There is a major character death. It is very sad, but it was kind of necessary, I think. A little bit. I also want to say that the ending wrapped everything up nicely, there's pretty much no way that there will be another one-- I really don't like it when the series ends and it's left open enough that something can happen and there would be another book. I just like the end being the end. 


I really can't say much more, I don't want to spoil stuff from the rest of the books or this one. If you haven't read the Alex Rider series, I do recommend it. If you just haven't read this one-- you definitely should!

"Birth of a Killer" by Darren Shan (Larten Crepsley, #1)

"Before Cirque Du Freak...
Before the war with the vampaneze... 
Before he was a vampire.
Larten Crepsley was a boy. 
As a child laborer many centuries ago, Larten Crepsley did his job well and without complaint, until the day the foreman killed his brother as an example to the other children. 
In that moment, young Larten flies into a rage that the foreman wouldn't survive. Forced on the run, he sleeps in crypts and eats cobwebs to get by. And when a vampire named Seba offers him protection and training as a vampire's assistant, Larten takes it.
This is his story."-goodreads

I love, love, LOVE the Cirque Du Freak series and The Thin Executioner by Darren Shan. This book is the first in a four book series chronicling the life of Larten Crepsley (you know, pre Darren). I really liked Larten Crepsley throughout the Cirque Du Freak series so when I found out that there was going to be four books starring him that come before it I was so excited!


When I picked up "Birth of a Killer" I expected a book that was as good as the Cirque Du Freak series, probably similar, with Crepsley as the main character. This book was way more! I liked it better then I liked most of the Cirque Du Freak series. I'm not sure if this is because I like Crepsley better as the main character or if it is because Mr. Shan has developed more as an author since writing the Cirque Du Freak books, but whatever it is, it's great.


I liked seeing the beginning of what turned Crepsley into the great mentor and overall person in Darren's life. I thought the story was good with surprising turns, and new likeable characters. It was also really interesting to see Crepsley as the 'assistant' rather than Darren. Of course, there's also Darren Shan's amazing writing style which I enjoyed throughout the Cirque Du Freak books and The Thin Executioner before this.


I can't say much more without creating a rather spoiling review, but it was great! If you enjoyed other books by Darren Shan then you'll probably love this one as well! Also, the sequel, "Ocean of Blood" comes out this month!

"The Iron Daughter" by Julie Kagawa (Iron Fey #2)

"Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere. Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron fey—ironbound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her.Worse, Meghan's own fey powers have been cut off. She's stuck in Faery with only her wits for help. Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart."-goodreads

I liked "The Iron King" and "Winter's Passage" but I loved "The Iron Daughter"! It had all of the great elements of characters and writing styles, etc... without half the book setting the plot up as in the first book (which was fine, it was necessary!), this one was a lot easier to get into.

I really liked this book, and it took very surprising twists and turns. THE END OF THE BOOK, PEOPLE!?? It was late and I was reading it and I was like...'what!?'. That was surprising. I can't say what happened, you would all hate me for spoiling it but it was really surprising.

I though Puck got a bit more attention in this book which was nice, but on the other hand Meghan was kind of... obsessed with Ash. The whole time. Most of her thought process in the book is kind of...'something, Ash, something, Ash, Ash, Ash, Puck, Ash, something.' regardless of what is going on. That's fine, because that's the way Meghan's character is supposed to be now. It was cute. It was just kind of weird at times.

Regardless of Meghan's obsessiveness over Ash, I'm still team Ash. He got even more complex in this book. I almost became a Puck fan, I have to admit. I felt bad for him. It's kind of like The Hunger Games, I was almost a Peeta fan just because I felt bad for him... Anyway, the whole book (although a lot of it...) does not revolve around Ash and Puck.

The Iron fae are back. Winter and summer are still fighting! There's plenty of adventure and action to enjoy. Grimalkin the cat comes back in there somewhere, if you were a fan of him.

I would write other things but I'm trying to make this relatively spoiler free. It's kind of hard. Overall, I'll say if you enjoyed The Iron King then you should read The Iron Daughter! :D

Review copy through reviewing program at my library. Thank you!