Review: Resist by Sarah Crossan

Resist by Sarah Crossan
Series: Breathe #2
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Source: Edelweiss
ISBN: 9780062118721
Release Date: October 8, 2013
Pages: 242

Goodreads | Amazon

The sequel—and conclusion—to Sarah Crossan's Breathe. Three teen outlaws must survive on their own in a world without air, exiled outside the glass dome that protects what's left of human civilization. Gripping action, provocative ideas, and shocking revelations in a dystopian novel that fans of Patrick Ness and Veronica Roth will devour.

Bea, Alina, and Quinn are on the run. They started a rebellion and were thrown out of the pod, the only place where there's enough oxygen to breathe. Bea has lost her family. Alina has lost her home. And Quinn has lost his privileged life. Can they survive in the perilous Outlands? Can they finish the revolution they began? Especially when a young operative from the pod's Special Forces is sent after them. Their only chance is to stand together, even when terrible circumstances force them apart. When the future of human society is in danger, these four teens must decide where their allegiances lie. Sarah Crossan has created a dangerous, and shattered society in this wrenching, thought-provoking, and unforgettable post-apocalyptic novel.

Resist picks up where Breathe left off. Bea and Quinn are separated from the Resistance and the rest are slowly making their way to Sequoia, a second rebel stronghold. The story is told from four perspectives this time, Alina, Bea, Quinn, and Ronan. I think this may be too many characters for a lot of people, but I enjoyed each one of them. They all added to the story and each character’s path was imperative to the outcome they all dream about.

Bea and Quinn are apart for most of the book. Neither wants to leave the other, but they know they must split up to support the Resistance. Somehow Quinn became stronger throughout his journey and was willing to step up and lead. This could have a lot to do with his relationship with Bea. He wants to prove he is worthy of her and somehow tries to proves it.

“What does that girl do to people? Bea Whitcraft turns boys into men.”
Jude Caffrey

There are a lot of new characters added to this book. My favourite was Ronan, the son of the previous pod minister. Ronan took part in the slaughter of The Grove. After he returns to the pod he starts to see his world differently. Before he was sent out of the pod Ronan didn’t understand what it was like for the lives of Auxiliaries. He took everything for granted and believed in the lies that the Ministry fed everyone. He truly believed the Resistance were terrorists wanting to destroy the pod, but after the massacre he changes and it doesn’t take a lot for this to happen. Then shortly, after meeting Bea he starts to have feelings for her and like Quinn he wants to prove his worthiness.

“She’s pretty and smart and brave and kind, but Jude’s right—she doesn’t look at me with eager eyes. Maybe that’s why I’ve never let myself be drawn to her. I know it would be hopeless, and hopeless is not the love I want.”
Ronan

Alina was by far my favourite in this book. She outshone the rest. She was tough and determined. You could see glimpses of her vulnerable side at times, which only made you want to cheer for her more.

“We have no food, our air is low, and we have one gun between us, I’m not sure we’re in a position to be saving anyone.”

The last half of the book is filled with action and once I got to this point I finished it in an afternoon. I really enjoyed how Sarah Crossan ended the series. It makes you want to see the hope that they have to continue to survive.

Overall, Resist was a pretty refreshing change to YA series. The sequel is also the concluding book in this series. I liked how there are only two books and not a trilogy as it told the story in the perfect amount of novels instead of filling space with nonsense. Resist was a much stronger book than Breathe. A lot of the issues I had with Breathe were resolved in this book. Bea, Alina, and Quinn are all stronger characters and I was not annoyed once by any of them.

My Rating:

Review: The Shade of the Moon by Susan Beth Pfeffer

The Shade of the Moon by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Series: The Last Survivors #4
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Source: Edelweiss
ISBN: 9780547813370
Release Date: August 13, 2013
Pages: 306

Goodreads | Amazon | Kobo

The eagerly awaited addition to the series begun with the New York Times best-seller Life As We Knew It, in which a meteor knocks the moon off its orbit and the world changes forever.

It's been more than two years since Jon Evans and his family left Pennsylvania, hoping to find a safe place to live, yet Jon remains haunted by the deaths of those he loved. His prowess on a soccer field has guaranteed him a home in a well-protected enclave. But Jon is painfully aware that a missed goal, a careless word, even falling in love, can put his life and the lives of his mother, his sister Miranda, and her husband, Alex, in jeopardy. Can Jon risk doing what is right in a world gone so terribly wrong?

When I heard that there was going to be a fourth book to the Last Survivors series I was excited and worried at the same time. I really liked the first book, not so much the second book, and well the third was a bit of a mess, but I thought well maybe the author will redeem herself. I love the concept of the series, but the execution was lacking.

Jon is Miranda's younger brother. I didn't like Jon in the first or third book. I thought he was lazy and entitled. He never appreciated the sacrifices his family made for him. His mother literally starved herself so Jon could have enough to eat, but he never recognized what his family gave up for him. Jon does not improve in this book. As a matter of fact, he worsens. He was even more entitled, rude, lazy, and weak.

Like in the previous books the world building was significantly lacking. I didn't understand the hierarchy or why the “clavers” hated the “grubs” so much. They acted as if the grubs shouldn't exist and that the grubs should be grateful since they feed them and pay them so much money. Even Carlos, Alex's brother, knows the grubbers are grateful enough for so little (like an 1/8 a bar of soap) they will sleep with them. Rape was common occurrence in this world. Claver boys feel like they are entitled to use the grubbers as they see fit. The clavers seemed angry that the grubbers were allowed to exist or have basic medical care with a clinic. If the grubs didn't exist who would cook and clean for the clavers?

At one point in the book Jon and his friends were going to mutilate a bum grubber just because they could. Did they? No. Because they thought burning down the grubbers high school was a better idea. I just can’t see how are society would crumble so rapidly in such a short time period. It was only four years since the asteroid hit the moon. Only four years and people lose enough of their common sense and humanity to think killing and raping the misfortunate is okay? I just don’t see that happening. And, the one thought that kept going through my head is why don’t the grubbers rebel?

Jon’s relationship with Sarah was odd to me. Jon was mean to Sarah. They would fight and argue and she would tell him that she hated him then they would all a sudden be kissing. Even after Jon told Sarah the story about Julie, yes Sarah was disgusted with him at first, but she didn't hesitate taking him back after she realized it wasn't completely true.

Overall, this book went downhill and fast. Within the first chapter or two I already hated Jon. When Miranda had an opportunity to work as their domestic all Jon could think of was how it would affect him. How it would be awkward having his sister clean and cook for him. (Newsflash she did that for years after the asteroid anyways!) He didn’t think how it would be beneficial for her to be able to live with purified air and feed regularly. No all he could think of was himself and how uncomfortable it would be!

My Rating:

Review: The Sun Dwellers by David Estes

The Sun Dwellers by David Estes
Series: The Dwellers #3
Source: Bought
ISBN: 9781301176496
Release Date: November 27, 2012

Goodreads | Amazon | Smashwords

With those she's closest to dying around her, Adele embarks on a secret mission to the Sun Realm to assassinate the President. Along the way she'll uncover secrets about her relationship with Tristan that she might not be ready to face.

Tristan has a secret, too, one that's been eating him up inside ever since he met Adele. Will he reveal all, and risk the loss of friendship and love at a time when he needs it the most?

At the same time, Adele's mother, General Rose, must lead her soldiers into battle to face the sun dweller army in the hopes of holding them off until Adele can complete her mission. Can she outlast the strength of President Nailin's elite fighting force?

There's only one truth in their world: someone must die.

This series just keeps on getting better and better with each book. The Sun Dwellers picks up after The Star Dwellers, and Adele and her crew are on a mission to kill the President, a.k.a. Tristan's father. Adele has collected quite the eclectic group with Trevor, Roc, Tawni, Ram, and Tristan, each with their own unique abilities to bring to the table. You know not all of them are going to survive, but that didn't stop me from getting attached to them. That is the part I hated the most about this book. I became so connected to all of the characters, even Trevor and Ram, who just joined their group. The entire first half of the book I was like who is going to die?

There was so much action and suspense built into the story. Everything up to this point has been leading to this final stand-off. Tristan and Adele both have secrets that they must come to terms with before the final showdown. Will it change their relationship after they are honest with each other?

Adele's mother dropped a bomb on her at the end of The Star Dwellers that might change her relationship with Tristan. Neither of them knows where the other is at in terms of their relationship. They both know they like each other, but haven't had a chance to put a label on it, which is hard to find time to do during a revolution in the Realms. Both Adele and Tristan are still sorting through their feelings. I love Adele and Tristan together and as individuals. Together they are stronger. Both have their weaknesses that allow them to lean on each other for strength, which they definitely needed to do in this book, because stuff goes down that is game changing. They are strong individuals, but work beautifully together.

I love every single character in their group and even though going into it I knew not all of them would survive it still broke my heart. I knew that the odds were against them, but I was still naïvely believed they would all make it out okay.

There were finally some answers to questions I had that in the first two books, but now I have even more questions! Tristan’s secret was of no surprise as it was hinted at since the first book. Tristan confided in Roc a long time ago about it, but he needed to tell the rest of them before they faced the President. He wanted everyone to know what they were up against before they put their lives on the line. His story made me want to know more about his mother and what happened to her before she disappeared.

Finally the moment that the series has been building up to is here. Tristan and President Nailin face off, and it was everything I was hoping for. President Nailin was sadistic and cruel. I don’t think I even took a breath the entire time I was reading this section. It was intense! Each character had a purpose in the end, even Tawni who isn’t a fighter and went on this mission even after she knew it was a suicide mission. She thought she has nothing to contribute, but that was not true. She may not be a fighter, but even she has something to bring to the table.

I can’t wait to read The Earth Dwellers to see how both series collides. I just have to get my hands on the Country Saga first!

My Rating:

Review: The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau
Series: The Testing #1
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children
Source: Netgalley
ISBN: 9780547959108
Release Date: June 4, 2013
Pages: 336

Goodreads | Amazon | !ndigo | Kobo

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Isn’t that what they say? But how close is too close when they may be one in the same?

The Seven Stages War left much of the planet a charred wasteland. The future belongs to the next generation’s chosen few who must rebuild it. But to enter this elite group, candidates must first pass The Testing—their one chance at a college education and a rewarding career.

Cia Vale is honored to be chosen as a Testing candidate; eager to prove her worthiness as a University student and future leader of the United Commonwealth. But on the eve of her departure, her father’s advice hints at a darker side to her upcoming studies--trust no one.

But surely she can trust Tomas, her handsome childhood friend who offers an alliance? Tomas, who seems to care more about her with the passing of every grueling (and deadly) day of the Testing. To survive, Cia must choose: love without truth or life without trust.

I have been putting off reading The Testing for awhile now. I tried to read it a few times, but it just did not grasp my attention, and it turns out there was a reason for that. This book was just blah. It was very bland. I was reading the words, but did not feel a thing for the characters. I need to feel connected to the story and characters, but in this case it was just a feeling of boredom. My love for a book is purely emotional. If the book makes my heart beat a little faster, make me want to speed through to the ending, leaves my mouth hanging open by the ending, I'm going to love, and when I didn't feel one thing for the book there lies a problem.

There wasn't any one thing that I hated about this book, because I didn't hate it, I just had no feelings good or bad towards it. I think I would rather hate a book than have such neutral feelings about it, because at least I know why I despised the character or plot. But with The Testing I have nothing. It was just another dystopian that just didn't fulfill my love for the genre.

The Testing is a typical dystopian novel. You have your world ending wars/plague/etc, a new ridged government, and a lovely heroine (with a love interest of course). Cia grew up in a world after the Seven Stages of War, which decimated the planet (or at least the U.S. as it isn't exactly clear what the rest of the world is like). The United Commonwealth was put together to govern the remaining survivors. Everyone must have a purpose and those lucky enough to be chosen are picked to attempt the testing. A brutal test that will weed out the weak for the future leaders of the United Commonwealth.

When Cia finally arrives at the testing facilities I had a hard time keeping the characters straight. Her competition all sounded the same. There wasn't any defining characteristics to differentiate between them. I didn't mind Cia's character. She wasn't your typical beautiful heroine, but doesn't realize it. She is practical and ordinary, which I liked about her. The love story with Tomas did feel forced. Less than half way through the book they are proclaiming their love to each other, but I didn't get it. They seemed more like good friends than romantic partners to me. At times I almost wished there was a love triangle so something of interest would happen, but it didn't.

Overall, the book did not impress me. The world building was lacking and I did not have any emotional connection to the characters.

My Rating:

Review: The Star Dwellers by David Estes

The Star Dwellers by David Estes
Series: The Dwellers #2
Source: Bought
ISBN: 9781301963881
Release Date: September 30, 2012
Pages: 278

Goodreads | Amazon | Smashwords

After rescuing her father and younger sister, Adele is forced to leave her family and Tristan behind to find her mother in the cruel and dangerous realm of the star dwellers.

Amidst blossoming feelings for Adele, Tristan must cast his feelings aside and let her find her own way amongst the star dwellers, while he accompanies Adele's father to meet with the leaders of the moon dwellers and decide the fate of the Tri-Realms.

Will Adele be able to rescue her mother and make it back to the Moon Realm before the President and the sun dweller soldiers destroy her family?

Can Tristan convince the moon dweller puppets of the error of their ways?

Was Adele's lost kiss with Tristan her one and only chance at love?

In her world there's only one rule: Someone must die.

The Moon Dwellers was an amazing book and The Star Dwellers is equally (maybe even more) amazing than the first book. It's jammed packed with intrigue, adventure, and action. I have so many more questions about their past after finishing this book.

The Star Dwellers picks up with Adele and Tawni sneaking through the tunnels to get to the Star Realm and Tristan is with Roc, Elsey, and Adele's father in the Moon Realm. Most of the book is split between the two storylines, I loved them both equally. Each had their own struggles and missions to complete.

I liked how in this book the love at first sight wasn't so much love, but Adele and Tristan were crushing on each other. They both realized they just met and didn't know where each of them stood. I found this to be a bit more realistic than in most YA where it's insta-love and the couple can't live without each other after five minutes.

All the characters are so driven and completely devoted to the Resistance movement. Ben, Adele's father, was a great mentor and friend to Tristan. He really needed a nurturing father figure in his life and Ben filled that void for him. Elsey's character could have been so easily annoying, but I adored how she talked and saw the world. She was just this bundle of happiness in the middle of a war.

I loved how the author included a little history of before humans lived underground. The young girl's diary had me in tears. She was one of the lucky chosen ones to live underground before the earth was decimated by an asteroid. You could feel how frightened and young she was and how everything was falling apart prior to the asteroid.

Adele's family is finally reunited in this book and that moment was worth the wait. Adele's family is so close and as you are reading you could tell how much they care and love each other.

By the end of the book so many of the characters have anger building in them and I hope they are able to deal with it. Their next mission will be crucial to winning the war against the Sun Dwellers and hopefully they can control and deal with their misfortunes that happened in the book.

My Rating:

Review: In The After by Demitria Lunetta

In The After by Demitria Lunetta
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Edelweiss
ISBN: 9780062105455
Release Date: June 25, 2013
Pages: 244

Goodreads | Amazon | !ndigo


In this heart-pounding thriller from debut author Demitria Lunetta, one girl must fight for her survival in a world overrun by violent, deadly creatures. Perfect for fans of New York Times bestsellers like Across the Universe.

Amy Harris's life changed forever when They took over. Her parents-vanished. The government-obsolete. Societal structure-nonexistent. No one knows where They came from, but these vicious creatures have been rapidly devouring mankind since they arrived.

With fierce survivor instincts, Amy manages to stay alive-and even rescues "Baby," a toddler who was left behind. After two years of hiding, they are miraculously rescued and taken to New Hope, a survivor's colony built on a former government research facility. On the surface, it appears to be safe. But there are dark and twisted secrets lurking beneath that, once uncovered, could have Amy and Baby paying with not only their freedom...but their lives.

Demitria Lunetta will hook readers with this suspenseful, cinematic, action-packed page-turner, while giving hungry YA audiences a new heroine to cheer for.

Right from the start I loved this book. You are thrown into the action from the beginning. The story is mostly told in the present with flashbacks of Amy's past. I think people who liked Ann Aguirre's Razorland series would love this book. It is action packed with a relatable main character. I read this book in one day, so that pretty much shows how much I liked it.

Amy Harris was fourteen when They first came. The monsters are hideous, snarly, scary predators that are incredible fast with impeccable hearing. The monsters took everything from her, friends, family, a normal life. She has to adapt to survive. In one of the first flashbacks you see her having to venture out of her home for the first time to get food and her looking back thinking she should have died. She has to learn to kill to survive. She eventually finds a toddler in the grocery store and deliberates whether she should rescue her or leave the toddler to die, but saving herself. Luckily, she rescues the toddler and names her Baby.

Baby is sweet, but mysteriously quiet. I enjoyed how Amy still told Baby fairy tales, which gave Baby something to believe in. Even during a post-apocalypse it was nice to think you can still get a Happily Ever After. Since Baby is only three when she is found she has no vocal skills and Amy develops an adapted version of sign language to use with Baby. I really liked that addition to the novel. I though it was something different that I haven't seen in the science fiction that I have read before. This way of communication probably saved them and allowed them to survive in silence for so long.

After three years of surviving she and Baby are rescued and brought to New Hope. To be honest once they were rescued and brought to New Hope I kind of lost a bit of interest in the story. I think this was mostly because I really liked Amy's narrative of survival and it switched from survival to her adapting to society. I also didn't really like the introduction of the love interest. I think the book could have stood on its own without this. It has a great story about survival and adaption. It just always seems a love interest is thrown into YA science fiction.

Overall, I thought this was a great debut for the author. It had a strong plot with interesting characters. There were some points that were predictable in the book. I guessed half the ending, but the other half I didn't really see coming. I can't wait for the author's next book.

My Rating:

Review: After The Ending by Lindsey Fairleigh & Lindsey Pogue

After The Ending By Lindsey Fairleigh & Lindsey Pogue
Series: The Ending #1
Publisher: L2 Books
Source: Netgalley
ISBN: 9780988715417
Release Date: February 22, 2013

Goodreads | Amazon


When people started getting sick, “they” thought it was just the flu. My roommate, my boyfriend, my family…they’re all gone now. I got sick too. I should have died with them—with the rest of the world—but I didn’t. I thought witnessing the human population almost disappear off the face of the earth was the craziest thing I’d ever experience. I was so wrong. My name is Dani O’Connor, I’m twenty-six-years-old, and I survived The Ending.

The Virus changed everything. The world I knew is gone, and life is backwards. We’ve all had to start over. I’ve been stripped of my home, my dreams…all that is me. I’m someone else now—broken and changed. Other survivors’ memories and emotions haunt me. They invade my mind until I can no longer separate them from my own. I won’t let them consume me. I can’t. My name is Zoe Cartwright, I’m twenty-six-years-old, and I survived The Ending.

We’ve been inseparable for most of our lives, and now our friendship is all we have left. The aftermath of the Virus has stranded us on opposite sides of the United States. Trusting strangers, making sacrifices, killing—we’ll do anything to reach one another. Fear and pain may be unavoidable, but we’re strong…we’re survivors. But to continue surviving in this unfamiliar world plagued by Crazies and strange new abilities, we have to adapt. We have to evolve.

And more than anything, we have to find each other.

Overall, I liked this book. It had a good concept and somewhat likeable characters. I thought Dani and Zoe each had a distinctive voice in the narrative, which sometimes with multi POVs they end up sounding the same. I liked how Dani and Zoe wrote emails to each other for most of the book. I did find it unlikely that the power would be down, but the internet would still be up? But this is fiction and sometimes requires a little imagination. The emails were where I felt the most emotion from Dani. For example, when Cam died it just felt like bad acting on Dani's part. She said all the right stuff, but I didn't feel anything for her until she wrote to Zoe and told her about Cam dying.

When you actually think about the concept that 90% of the population is dead it is just saddening. Everyone who has survived has lost multiple loved ones. There were no children in the book, because the young didn't have the antibodies to survive. One of the survivors lost her kids and husband. You can see why none of the survivors wanted to talk about the "Before."

The Crazies were psychotic. You could tell there was something wrong with them even before they did something. They were creepy and unstable. But what kept urging me on reading was what they did. Each Crazy was unique and reacted to the situation differently.

Dani's ability was awesome! I didn't know how I was going to feel about the Abilities spin to this book. It definitely was different, but I think I really liked it. When she was attacked it was amazing how the animals circled around her to protect her. She really was like a Disney Princess.

Even though both women were separated for the majority of the book they overcame similar hurdles and both found a relationship. I liked how Zoe's relationship slowly developed. It wasn't just love/lust at first sight. Dani's relationship seemed sudden as she did lose her boyfriend, and she didn't seem to grieve that much, but that could be thanks to Chris' ability.

I thought the ending was great and I can't wait until the second book is out.

My Rating:

Review: Breathe by Sarah Crossan

Breathe by Sarah Crossan
Series: Breathe #1
Publisher: HarperCollins
Source: Library
ISBN: 9780062118714
Release Date: October 2, 2012

Goodreads |Amazon | !ndigo

Inhale. Exhale. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe . . .The world is dead. The survivors live under the protection of Breathe, the corporation that found a way to manufacture oxygen-rich air.

Alina has been stealing for a long time. She's a little jittery, but not terrified. All she knows is that she's never been caught before. If she's careful, it'll be easy. If she's careful.

Quinn should be worried about Alina and a bit afraid for himself, too, but even though this is dangerous, it's also the most interesting thing to happen to him in ages. It isn't every day that the girl of your dreams asks you to rescue her.

Bea wants to tell him that none of this is fair; they'd planned a trip together, the two of them, and she'd hoped he'd discover her out here, not another girl.

And as they walk into the Outlands with two days' worth of oxygen in their tanks, everything they believe will be shattered. Will they be able to make it back? Will they want to?

When I began reading this book I thought here we go again with another typical ya dystopian book. The first third of the book was pretty unimpressive almost bordering on boring, but something happened half way through and I just got sucked into the book. By the end my mind was saying "I want more!"

Humans now live in a pod after The Switch. The earth's population was in crisis and scientists decided it would be a good idea to plow down all the earth's forests and trees it make way for more farmland. While doing so they depleted the earth's oxygen, so people were dropping dead all over the place.

The earth no longer habitable, humans now must live in pods, which are divided into three castes. The pod is supposed to protect them. There is no longer weather. No rain or snow, and always at an even perfect temperature. Only there are severe issues with the pod as the Premiums have everything while the Auxiliaries work their entire life to just get by.  Everyone is monitored to make sure they don't move too quickly so they don't use up extra oxygen. Equality between Premiums and Auxiliaries does not exist.

I really didn't like Bea at the start of the book. She just irritated me. She was jealous and whiny about how much prettier Alina was, and how Quinn won't notice her more than a friend. She did get better by the end of the novel, but she wasn't really my favourite. I think that might have been the problem with me and this book. I just didn't love any of the characters. They were either okay or the irked me. And Quinn, I just don't think he was strong of enough for a leading guy. He seemed weak willed and bland.

I will probably read the next book in the series and hopefully it will be a bit better.

My Rating:

Review: Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Unwind by Neal Shusterman
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Source: Bought
ISBN: 9781416994961
Release Date: June 2009
Goodreads | Amazon

Connor, Risa, and Lev are running for their lives.

The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child "unwound," whereby all of the child's organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn't technically end. Connor is too difficult for his parents to control. Risa, a ward of the state is not enough to be kept alive. And Lev is a tithe, a child conceived and raised to be unwound. Together, they may have a chance to escape and to survive.

"We have a right to our lives!"

"We have a right to choose what happens to our bodies!" 

"We deserve a world where both those things are possible— and it's our job to help make that world."

This book was simply amazing. I actually slowed down reading it near the end because I just did not want to finish it. Throughout the novel, I had so many questions. Something would happen and I would have ten questions pop up in my brain. But, what is so great about this book that I feel other young adults books doesn’t have is that the author actually answers all your questions as the book progresses.

Ronald was one of my most hated characters, but in a good way. I just despised him. He was a great villain and his character was well fleshed out. He was a bully, but a brilliant one. He didn’t use force (for the most part) to get his way. He slowly manipulated kids into following him. And that’s what was truly terrifying about him. No one had the guts to stand up to him and it took Connor a long time to grow and become the hero to do it.

Connor and Risa had great chemistry together. Even though they may have been thrown together under bad circumstances, they become a dynamic duo. Risa made Connor think before he acted. At the start Connor is rash and reacts to situations without thinking things through. The first time it happens Risa freaks on him and he learns to control his impulses as the book goes on. Connor changes quite a bit during the book. He matures and other kids start to look up to him and rely on him for guidance.

Usually, I’m not a fan of multiple point of views, but in Unwind it really aided in pushing the plot forward and with the character development. Each character who well developed and had their own voice. I didn’t get the characters mixed up (which happens a lot when I read multiple POVs).

My Rating:

Review: Struck by Jennifer Bosworth

Struck by Jennifer Bosworth
Series: Struck #1
Source: Bought
Release Date: April 26, 2012

Mia Price is a lightning addict. She’s survived countless strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life and the lives of those around her.

Los Angeles, where lightning rarely strikes, is one of the few places Mia feels safe from her addiction. But when an earthquake devastates the city, her haven is transformed into a minefield of chaos and danger. The beaches become massive tent cities. Downtown is a crumbling wasteland, where a traveling party moves to a different empty building each night, the revelers drawn to the destruction by a force they cannot deny. Two warring cults rise to power, and both see Mia as the key to their opposing doomsday prophecies. They believe she has a connection to the freak electrical storm that caused the quake, and to the far more devastating storm that is yet to come.

Mia wants to trust the enigmatic and alluring Jeremy when he promises to protect her, but she fears he isn’t who he claims to be. In the end, the passion and power that brought them together could be their downfall. When the final disaster strikes, Mia must risk unleashing the full horror of her strength to save the people she loves, or lose everything.

Struck revolves around a young girl, Mia, who is a lightning addict. After a devastating earthquake tears through Los Angeles, thousands are have died and others are left homeless and starving. The book did make an interesting point about how the government was too busy saving the world to save their own citizens. Two warring cults, The Followers and the Seekers, compete for control over the city. The Followers are lead by The Prophet, a psychotic man who believed God was speaking directly to him that Judgment Day is approaching. The Seekers, while Mia spends more time with them, less is known about them.

Overall, this novel was very cliche and the writing was cheesy at times. I didn’t really feel the chemistry between Mia and Jeremy and it felt forced at times. Mia was frustrating throughout the novel as well. Personally, if I thought someone was standing next to me with a knife, my first thought would not be “Oh I must be dreaming,” and go back to bed. Nope, my eyes would immediately fly open, I would wake in a panic, check all the windows and doors in my house, and then try (unsuccessfully) to go back to bed. She was also naive at times. She thought her mother should be in a psych ward with 24/7 supervision, but in the aftermath of emergencies, I find this highly unlikely. Yes, many will probably suffer from some form of post-traumatic stress disorder, but they will not have the means to receive the help needed. She didn’t seem to know what she wanted at times. She would ask to be saved, but then when she is she was cranky and sarcastic about it.

The book did have some surprisingly good action sequences. The last bit of the novel was pretty much all action, but didn’t end abruptly, which I find a lot of books do.

My Rating:

Review: XVI by Julia Karr

XVI by Julia Karr
Series: XVI #1
Source: Bought
Release Date: January 6, 2011

Every girl gets one.
An XVI tattoo on the wrist--sixteen.
Some girls can't wait to be sixteen, to be legal. Nina is not one of them. Even though she has no choice in the matter, she knows that so long as her life continues as normal, everything will be okay.

Then, with one brutal strike, Nina's normal is shattered; and she discovers that nothing that she believed about her life is true. But there's one boy who can help--and he just may hold the key to her past.

But with the line between attraction and danger as thin as a whisper, one thing is for sure...

For Nina, turning sixteen promises to be anything but sweet.

I read this book for my March Random Reads pick. Going into the book I knew it wasn't going to amaze me. I read a lot of bad reviews on this book, but of course I still forged ahead to make my own decision. Unfortunately, the reviews were right with the one. It had great promise, an interesting plot, but it just wasn't executed eloquently. So my run of mediocre books continues. I feel like I haven't read a solid four or five star book in forever!

Nina Oberon is fifteen, soon to be sixteen. In her world sixteen year olds or "sex-teens" have no rights. They are basically expected to have sex with whomever. One of the problems I had with this book is that the author didn't do a lot of background world building. The End-Of-Wars was mentioned frequently, but what were they? How did this sex-teen world come to be? The concept of the world is interesting, but it wasn't explained very well.

Girls don't have choices in this world. Women's reproductive rights are no existent. If a girl gets pregnant before she is sixteen she is forced to have an abortion and if she is sixteen, she doesn't get to decide, only the guy's opinion matters. Throughout the novel girls were either deemed virginal if they dressed conservatively or whores and deserved what they got if they dressed provocatively. There was a lot of unanswered questions I had by the time I finish the book. Hopefully, they will be answered in the next book, but I honestly don't think I will be continuing with this series.

My Rating:

Review: Requiem by Lauren Oliver

Requiem by Lauren Oliver
Series: Delirium #3
Source: Borrowed
Release Date: March 5, 2013

They have tried to squeeze us out, to stamp us into the past.

But we are still here.

And there are more of us every day.

Now an active member of the resistance, Lena has been transformed. The nascent rebellion that was under way in Pandemonium has ignited into an all-out revolution in Requiem, and Lena is at the center of the fight.

After rescuing Julian from a death sentence, Lena and her friends fled to the Wilds. But the Wilds are no longer a safe haven—pockets of rebellion have opened throughout the country, and the government cannot deny the existence of Invalids. Regulators now infiltrate the borderlands to stamp out the rebels, and as Lena navigates the increasingly dangerous terrain, her best friend, Hana, lives a safe, loveless life in Portland as the fiancée of the young mayor.

Maybe we are driven crazy by our feelings.

Maybe love is a disease, and we would be better off without it.

But we have chosen a different road.

And in the end, that is the point of escaping the cure: We are free to choose.

We are even free to choose the wrong thing.

Requiem is told from both Lena’s and Hana’s points of view. The two girls live side by side in a world that divides them until, at last, their stories converge.

I found the final novel in the Delirium series to start off quite slow. Lena’s friends are on the move and the rebellion is happening. Even though the novel was slow, it was building and building until the final climax of the ending. New characters are brought it. Some I loved. Some I didn't.

The novel was split between Lena and Hana. Usually I’m not a fan of split points of view as I prefer only the main character's point. I think this might have led to why I didn’t love the final book. As soon as it got mildly interesting it switched POVs and then you had to wait several chapters again before anything happened, which had me skimming some parts.

Most of the time I was screaming in my head WHY AREN’T YOU WITH ALEX??? Why? Why? Why? Just stop going off with Julian! Enough already! Which is why I did not like Coral at the beginning of the novel.

The novel had a very sombre tone to it and Lena annoyed me at times. They are at war and she was more concerned about her love life than fighting for her freedom. I was so happy when Raven basically told her to shut up and deal with it because this is war.

"This—what’s happening now—is the only thing that matters. It’s not a game. It’s not a joke. This is war. It’s bigger than you or me. It’s bigger than all of us combined. We don’t matter anymore."

My Rating: