"Angel" (Maximum Ride, #7) by James Patterson

Warning. This isn't really a proper review.
My opinions on this book are kind of confused. I'll talk about them.. and you know, the epic Maximum Ride series as whole (even with its flaws).

I love the Maximum Ride series. I've been reading them since the beginning and I REALLY loved the first three books... then along came the fourth book called "The Final Warning". Supposedly, this would be the end. I recall excitedly heading to the book store the day it came out. Upon picking up the book, I was confused. It was small-- first off. I finished it in a day and not simply because I devoured it but also because it was REALLY SHORT. The first three books were pretty long. I was so disappointed. It was short. It seemed like a novel written only to make teens aware of global warming, and in a kind of sneaky way.

Fast forward to Max (#5). I was apprehensive, but picked it up immediately. That was better. Much better. I still didn't feel it was as good as the first three but I was happy and began to feel that Maximum Ride was coming back; the way I remembered it.

And then Fang (#6). Again, happily going to the book store, less apprehensive as I enjoyed MAX. That book took all of my emotions and all of my opinions and ripped them into miniscule pieces. So began the issue of what I'm going to call confused-character-decision-making. In Fang, I felt the characters were all over the place. I don't know if you personally know, but a lot of people, upon finishing Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins said that Gale, Katniss, and many of the other characters just weren't behaving like themselves to the point of it making no sense. It was JUST LIKE THAT. My reactions: WHY? WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO ME JAMES PATTERSON? THIS DOESN"T MAKE ANY SENSE. WHAT IS GOING ON?!? That was in-between all the tears at the end. Which ripped my heart out: Oh my gosh. Like whoa, what is going on *SNIFFLE*.

Now, to Angel. I did not pick up Angel when it came out in February. I didn't like the sound of the summary. I didn't like how Fang left off. I had a feeling I wouldn't like it. Another problem is that it was supposedly "THE END". I don't know if you all know, but apparently now the end is coming out next February. Also, the Maximum Ride books have been advertised as "THE END" since the third book. Yeah. Confused? Me too.
I was in the library the other day and saw Angel. I picked it up. I put it back. I finally decided that I needed to know what happened I wanted to see if it was any better than Fang.

It was better than Fang. It was not as good as the first three. It was better than the Final Warning. I'd probably put it at the same level as Max. I liked it the same way I've liked all the Maximum Ride books; for the breath-taking pace, the action, and Max's narrative which drips with brut honesty, sarcasm, and personality. I did feel that there was more character confusion. I like Dylan more than I liked him before. Really, I would've liked it a lot if it weren't for the character confusion/out-of-character-ness/whatever it's called. That, and there were plot issues because there was really no resolve at the end; and at the same time it didn't really feel like a cliffhanger, along with several other problems.

Supposedly THE END is next February. I'm sure I'll still probably read it. If it's better than this, it'd be quite good! I hope it's the actual end, because the series seems to have been seriously stretched out.

My consensus is that I highly recommend the Maximum Ride series-- just prepare for some turbulence around the 4th, 6th, and the 7th books. And yes, that was a bad, albeit unintentional pun. Turbulence. Flying kids? Yep. Hopefully, all the fans who have stuck with the series even if they weren't a fan of some of the books will be rewarded with an actual, ideally very GOOD ending to the series in February!

"Blood Red Road" by Moira Young

"In a lawless future land, where life is cheap and survival is hard, Saba has been brought up in isolated Silverlake. She never sees the dangers of the destructive society outside. When her twin brother is snatched by mysterious black-robed riders, she sets outon an epic quest to rescue him. "-goodreads

If nothing else, Blood Red Road is incredibly unique and unlike anything that I can think of reading before. Fortunately, there's more to it. But, gosh, it's DIFFERENT. The inside of the jacket flap calls Moira Young's writing style 'poetic... minimal'. I whole-hearted-ly agree. It's poetic. It's unglorious in that it's simple, and very glorious in the way it flows. Which is like water. In a really smooth pipe? Wow. That was lame. Anyway, the point is, the pace is crazy fast and at times I wanted it to slow a bit so that I could soak it in and try to register what just happened-- but at the same time I was hungry for more and I didn't want it to slow down I just wanted to read it until it was over. At first, the writing style is startling. It's hard to get used to. There's no quotation words for talking, all of the speech and descriptions are crazy informal, it's improper, Sabba talks weird... but then all of a sudden that all falls away and you can see the story play out vividly and the writing begins to feel down home and informal but in the way that it's as if Sabba is sitting with you, recounting the story-- laying emphasize on parts that she felt important and glossing over some of the details, recounting like, 'and then he says', you know. That kind of feeling. 


Beyond the voice of the book, it was brilliant as well. It's post-apocalyptic. While most post-apocalyptic line up well with dystopias because the fact that it's post-apocalypse creates a world that IS a dystopia, I'd struggle to call Blood Red Road a dystopia, and if I did call it a dystopia, I'd envision all of the normal dystopias that seem like they're dystopias sitting in a room looking normal and Blood Red Road wearing striped pajamas and singing or doing something else to stand out. Anyway, the world that Moira Young creates is very interesting. It's clearly sometime in the future, the characters often point out things that are 'post-wrecker' and from what they describe we're left to assume they're talking about the current world, now. Yet, the world seems old. The horses, the lack of electronics, the deserts, and the wildnerness; they all yield the impression that you're reading something about the ancient times.


The characters were complex. I didn't like Sabba at first and for her, Blood Red Road is rather a coming of age novel, she grows so much. The other characters were very interesting as well, although we don't see much of most of them and sometimes I wished I could get to know them all more. 


So, overall, Moira Young is a creative genius. If you want a post-apocalyptic novel that wears striped pajamas and sings when it hangs out with the dystopian crowd; with complex characters, a brilliantly weaved world, and writing like nothing you've read, pick up Blood Red Road.
Thank you S&S for giving me the opportunity to review this book. Readers: As always, I promise receiving books for review in no way alters my opinion, and my reviews are honest (sometimes brutally). :)

"Uncommon Criminals" by Ally Carter

"Katarina Bishop has worn a lot of labels in her short life: Friend. Niece. Daughter. Thief. But for the last two months she’s simply been known as the girl who ran the crew that robbed the greatest museum in the world. That’s why Kat isn’t surprised when she’s asked to steal the infamous Cleopatra Emerald so it can be returned to its rightful owners.
There are only three problems. First, the gem hasn’t been seen in public in thirty years. Second, since the fall of the Egyptian empire and the suicide of Cleopatra, no one who holds the emerald keeps it for long — and in Kat’s world, history almost always repeats itself. But it’s the third problem that makes Kat’s crew the most nervous, and that is . . . the emerald is cursed.
Kat might be in way over her head, but she’s not going down without a fight. After all, she has her best friend — the gorgeous Hale — and the rest of her crew with her as they chase the Cleopatra around the globe, dodging curses and realizing that the same tricks and cons her family has used for centuries are useless this time.
Which means, this time, Katarina Bishop is making up her own rules."-goodreads
Uncommon Criminals is my favorite book that I’ve read by Ally Carter so far! It was thrilling, captivating, witty, and interesting sequel to Heist Society! While you could probably read Uncommon Criminals without having read Heist Society-- I definitely recommend that you do though, it was amazing as well!

One of my favorite things about both Heist Society and Uncommon Criminals is that they’re very intelligent books. All of the characters are rather witty, especially Kat. There’s random facts and bits of trivial information scattered over each page, which helps to make everything so interesting.  The settings of Uncommon Criminals (as well as its predecessor) are impeccable. The book takes place all over the world, and it’s written so that you can see all in brilliant depth in your mind.

The voice is amazing. The writing flows at a perfect pace, never a dull moment or a slow spot-- but never so fast that you miss anything major. The characters are great (again)! Kat is very relatable and a grand heroine for the books. Hale is still… HALE. J Very likeable and loyal to Kat and the gang. There are so many surprising elements to the story, and there are even bits toward the end where you, the reader, feels as though they’re being conned-- but not in a bad way-- because everything is not what it seems.

Overall, if you liked Heist Society you absolutely must read Uncommon Criminals. If you haven’t read Heist yet, you have to do that. Now. These books are awesome! I really, REALLY hope that there is a third (or 10. Never enough heists, you know.)  book.

"Red Glove" (Curseworkers, #2) by Holly Black

**I will not be including a summary with this review. The official one, as well as any I can think to make up are very SPOILER-Y for those who have not read “White Cat”. This review will also be slightly spoiler-y as many sequel reviews are at least tiny bit, and one of the main characters existing is a spoiler to White Cat. If you haven’t read White Cat read that review and I suggest you skip this one! You‘ve been WARNED.**

I was very excited to finally read Red Glove after enjoying White Cat so much. Part of me thought that White Cat couldn’t possibly have a sequel that came close to its awesomeness, but I was wrong. I did prefer White Cat, actually, but not because there is anything wrong with Red Glove-- it was great.

Diving back into the seamlessly built word where ‘curseworking’ is the ultimate crime and having bare hands (as in not wearing gloves) is basically equivalent to running around naked, is an epic experience. I love the world that Holly Black has created. It’s magic in a very modern setting, where it’s crime and not whimsy. I loved that in White Cat and it’s just as epic in Red Glove. That being said, world-building is my favorite part of this series so far.

The crime families continue to get more complicated; the death of a patriarch included and the rising of Lila upon her return. Cassel continues to get himself into more problems than he can take bets on. The character development is still quite good and the story still almost seems real. The twists and turns come with every fast-paced page just like in White Cat, with no slow times. Cassel and Lila both make choices regarding their futures that you probably didn’t see coming-- I know I didn’t. Characters are not who they say they are and plans that were working are quick to crumble. It’s one of those books that you don’t want to put down. If you liked White Cat I definitely recommend you continue the series, I highly doubt you’ll be let down.

"The Adoration of Jenna Fox" by Mary E. Pearson

"Seventeen-year-old Jenna Fox has just awoken from a year-long coma — so she’s been told — and she is still recovering from the terrible accident that caused it. But what happened before that? She’s been given home movies chronicling her entire life, which spark memories to surface. But are the memories really hers? And why won’t anyone in her family talk about the accident? Jenna is becoming more curious. But she is also afraid of what she might find out if she ever gets up the courage to ask her questions. What happened to Jenna Fox? And who is she really?"-goodreads


The Adoration of Jenna Fox is a really addictive read. There are constant new developments, character depth always increasing, suspense building, and the all-around mystery entices you to read one more page.... another page... just one more, until you've finished the book. It's not broken up into your average chapters but into parts. Some sections are interrupted by gray pages with free-verse sort of poems by Jenna, which really show her feelings and deepen the connection that the reader automatically has with her. It's brilliant.


Jenna is a really fascinating character. What I felt was probably the greatest aspect of the whole book is that since you only know the story as she figures it out --although sometimes there are hints along the way that she doesn't pick up on and you probably will-- there's a whole air of suspense. WHO is Jenna? WHAT is Jenna? WHY is Jenna? Those are all questions that will keep drifting through your head as you read it. It's another one of those *dundundun* books that make you think. The whole book is basically about her, and gosh I've never thought a character could make up most of the plot successfully, but it did. I felt a real connection with Jenna the whole time as well.


The other characters were also good, well-developed as they could be. Another fascinating aspect was the changing of views of the parents. Throughout the book I saw them as normal, controlling, mean, evil, good, considerate, and caring; some of those at the same time and not in that order. 


The whole aspect of what Jenna was and leaving it for you to decide just as it was for her to decide whether it was 'right' or not was really good. The ending wrapped things up in a way you wouldn't expect, not a cliffhanger. One of those ones where you kind of make your own mind up about whether it was right/wrong/whatever. The whole consideration of science vs. natural order of things is just intelligent in the book. I didn't think this book was a series and I guess it wasn't going to be but there's a sequel, "The Fox Inheritance" coming out in August which I really look forward to!

"Side Effects" by Amy Goldman Koss

I'd left my notebook and everything in the car, or I might have done a drawing of that weird wire thing with the colored beads, which exists only in doctor's waiting rooms. I wondered what was supposed to be fun about it. All I'd ever want4ed to do was get the beads off the damn thing so I could play with them.
Izzy can't find a single book where the person lives. The person with cancer. The patient. In every single one she finds, they all die at the end. The best she's found is one where the kid gets super powers from the cure.
This is a problem.
Because Izzy has cancer.
After waking up one morning to find that she still has swollen glands from her flu, her world turns upside down. She's rushed to the hospital, and stabbed with a bunch of needles. She's soon part of another world, with it's own slang, with it's own people.
This is her book. Her book about traveling down that path to hell, and then traveling back.

Ah! I thought, This must be the mental illness bonus for kids with chemo cards! Feeling the pain before the stab!

I really liked this book. It was funny, well written, and Izzy had her own voice. She seemed very human, and I could find myself believing that this could actually happen.

I don't have a lot to say on this book (don't hate! It's only 143 pages long!), but I'd definitely recommend it.