Second Chance Summer by Morgan Matson

I loved Amy and Roger's Epic Detour which was Morgan Matson's debut novel. So when I heard about Second Chance Summer, I added right away on goodreads.com. Now that I've read it, it is safe to say that Amy and Roger Epic Detour is still my favorite book by Morgan Matson.

The book has a great start. Taylor who is the main character goes to a lake house with her family as a way to say goodbye to her father. It is their last summer together before he dies. But then memories start to float back to surface. And readers are taken back years ago when that lake house was her life. Where she met her first boyfriend and lost her best friend.

The book is about finding broken parts and collecting them. It leaves you wondering if things can go back as they were. As much as this book was about correcting your past mistakes and enduring the obstacles that many goes through, it was very predictable.

I knew what was going to happen midway reading this book. There were no plot twists. This took away the fun in finding out the ending.

However,  Taylor's family stood out to me. They were strong in the midst of the new changes that they were going through. I hope everyone who reads this book, feels better. And I think this is the aim of the book is to inform its readers that they are not alone.  

Fever by Lauren DeStefano

Release Date: February 21^st 2012

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 341 pages

Source: Library

Series: 2

Fever wasn’t really a book, wasn’t really a novel, wasn’t really what I expected.

It was a piece of art!!! ART!

Haha. I got you there. You know, I made you think that I hated this book but BAM, I actually loved, loved it. but really I felt like I was reading poetry and let me tell you that’s a good thing. Probably fever will be among my favorite books of 2012, just like Wither was.

What I really like about Lauren's style is that she has a style that defines her. If this book had no author name written on it, I would have known it was her book anyways.

Her writing is so unique and the storyline of Fever is magical.

And am I allowed to say that I enjoyed Fever more than Wither? Am I?

Maybe it's because I read Wither during my summer courses, it was my favorite way to escape the lecture that went on for 3 years hours. So the teacher's voice was always in the background. But Fever, had a different taste to it. Because as a reader you got to travel and see a new world via Rhine's eyes.

Rhine is just so poor but strong and amazing. And lots of stuff.

And I promise you that you will be gasping, especially towards the end. 

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Release Date: September 27^th 2011

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 452 pages

Source: Borrowed

Series: 1

Mara Dyer doesn't think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love.

She's wrong.

I think this book is probably one of the most talked about in 2011. It had the prettiest cover. I even had as my picture profile on facebook way before the release of the book. It's really dark (literally) but romantic at the same time.

The whole storyline is confusing at time but that's the beauty of the book. It keeps you wondering, thinking: what is this insanity? What could it be? It kept awake, waiting to finish it. I actually finished it in 2 days which is breaking news because its huge and 2 days is tiny time. It probably takes me more time like a week to read a book like that, adding the complexity of it too. I just felt like I need to know more. I want to finish this book right now, I heard myself repeating.

If you ask me about my favorite character, you will be surprised.

I hate surprises too so I am going to tell you. Daniel. He is the best brother anyone can have. He is so sincere and he always puts his sister first. I love him so much. He should take the award of BEST BROTHER EVER.  Or he can have his own book. I want to know Daniel more. Crazy, I know.

For Noah, I guess I expected a lot from. Maybe that's why he fell flat to me. He didn’t deliver. I don’t know why. I like his British accent and all but it wasn’t enough for me. I am crossing my fingers for the second book.

Mara Dyer, she was daring. And that's all I am going to say about her. 

Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick

Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick

Release Date: October 4^th  2011

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 438 pages

Source: Purchased

Series: 3

The noise between Patch and Nora is gone. They've overcome the secrets riddled in Patch's dark past...bridged two irreconcilable worlds...faced heart-wrenching tests of betrayal, loyalty and trust...and all for a love that will transcend the boundary between heaven and earth. Armed with nothing but their absolute faith in one another, Patch and Nora enter a desperate fight to stop a villain who holds the power to shatter everything they've worked for—and their love—forever.

Patch oh-patch. I am glad you are back in Silence more mature than ever. Love is definitely teaching you that sometimes you need to sacrifice especially if you fall in love with Nora.

Nora is one of my favorite heroines.  She is so brave, powerful and independent (even though she has patch). You're not supposed to be independent when you have patch(ok just kidding). I didn’t look at nora as a teenager girl. She was mature too, just like Patch. She had really grown up in this book. I don’t want to talk about the hots between Patch and nora, its still there.

Now that I am done admiring Patch and nora, I need to confess something. Silence was my least favorite book in the series. It was not as good as Hush, Hush or Crescendo(draw hearts over these titles).

But that’s ok because Silence is not the last book in the series. There is still more to come. You heard me right.  More to come.

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Release Date: March 27^th 2007

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Age Group: Middle Age

Pages: 485 pages

Source: Purchased

Series: Book 1

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder - much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing - not even a smear of blood - to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know.... 

The city of Bones has been out since 2007 and I decided to read just now. I have nothing to say other than I am sorry for taking so long to start the series. Now that I apologized, let's start the review.

The book was huge, more than 400 pages. It was too wordy and full of description of everything. Each word was full of meaning. I enjoyed reading the detailed description. It helped with picturing the unique and original world that Cassandra had created skillfully.

Clary was so cute and witty.  She didn’t mind going through a rollercoaster to save her mother. I felt sorry for her for being caught in a love triangle too.

Jace was amazing. Yea, truly amazing. He was always hiding his true feelings, but everyone has weakness and so does Jace. He was there for Clary every time she needed him. But I really hated the ending. It was too awful to take.  

Basically this book has everything you want in a fantasy book. Vampires, werewolf, Shadowhunters, warriors and demons. So many aspects and so many great stories needed to be revealed by me. So I seriously can't wait to read 'City of Ashes'

Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder

Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder 

Release Date: January 5^th  2010

Publisher: Simon Schuster

Age Group: Young Adult

Page: 412 pages

Source: Library

Restless souls and empty hearts

Brooklyn can't sleep. Her boyfriend, Lucca, died only a year ago, and now her friend Gabe has just died of an overdose. Every time she closes her eyes, Gabe's ghost is there waiting for her. She has no idea what he wants or why it isn't Lucca visiting her dreams.

Nico can't stop. He's always running, trying to escape the pain of losing his brother, Lucca. But when Lucca's ghost begins leaving messages, telling Nico to help Brooklyn, emotions come crashing to the surface.

As the nightmares escalate and the messages become relentless, Nico reaches out to Brooklyn. But neither of them can admit that they're being haunted. Until they learn to let each other in, not one soul will be able to rest.

A quick, captivating book.

Loved it from the minute I started it. It was so sad, so sorrowful.

Nobody would want to be in Brooklyn's shoes. She lost her boyfriend. Her boyfriend's brother reaches to her because Brooklyn's boyfriend haunted Nick (his brother) to help Brooklyn.

Then Brooklyn gets absorbed into Nico's life. She becomes part of it. And I can't tell you anymore because that would be spoiling it.

But seriously, I finished this book in one sitting. I just couldn’t let it down. I wanted to know how it will end even though it is predictable but still.

It was written in verse which helped with the fast pacing. I loved the characters; they were so rounded and well-written which makes them memorable.

This book was scoping over a girl who had changed since the death of her boyfriend. And Lisa did an amazing job building up the story with perfect sequence.

It was just awesome, people. I want to read more from Lisa.

Tata for now  

Small Acts of Amazing Courage by Gloria Whelan

Small Acts of Amazing Courage by Gloria Whelan

Release Date: Feburary 19^th 2011

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Age Group: Middle Grade

Page: 224 pages

Source: Library

 It is 1918, six months after the end of World War I, and Rosalind awaits the return of her father from the war. While it is common practice for British children in India to be packed off to boarding school at the age of 6, Rosalind is unusual because she lives and is schooled in India because her mother insists. The heart of this penetrating story is Rosalind's coming of age set against the hardship of life for the Indian people, Rosalind's daily life in India, the rise of Ghandi and Rosalind's coming to make her own decisions and become her own person

This book is a historical fiction which takes place in India during the Indian revolution. With all the revolutions that are happening now in the Middle East (people searching for their freedom), it was important for me to read about an old revolution. I stumbled upon this book which took me back when Ghandi was trying to free India from the British ruling after the World War I. The journey was fun and very informative and to my delight, the Indian revolution steps were the same as any revolution that is happening in the Middle East right now.

Even though the book is targeted for children, I found it interesting and I think it might interest adults too. This is because it delivers heavy content, historical moments in a simple, easy-to-read way.

I should mention that this book doesn’t only take place in India but it also takes place in Britain too. How exciting was that? It was awesome.

Overall, the book was a great, fun read and Rosalind (the main character) was fun 

to follow along on her journey and see her doing small acts of amazing courage.

Tata for now

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Release Date: March 22^nd  2011
Publisher: Simon Schuster 
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 358
Source: Purchased
Series: Book 1 

Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left.

I will be straight right away and tell you the following:

·         Wither is my favorite debut in 2011 (so far)

·         Wither is considered one of my favorite books of all time

·         Wither is my favorite dystopian

I read Wither based on twitter recommendations but seriously, I wasn’t really excited for it because it is a dystopian. Don’t get me wrong, but I've read dystopian books from before and they were the same. But I was wrong, in fact, I regret waiting that long to start reading Wither.

Wither made me travel… to where might be the future be like. I was introduced to Rhine who was kidnapped to get married to Linden to have babies.

The plot and setting of the novel was unique on its own. I know how it looks. I know every detail of the house, of her room. The writing is nothing like I've read from before. It was so rich of exquisite words. The fact that the book's storyline took place on over a year without me realizing, shows how the pacing was so fast and so delicate.

Each character in this book was fantastic. Even the "bad guy" who destroyed Rhine's life was so real and genuine.  

Hopefully, the world doesn’t turn that ugly in the future. Keep us safe, government.

And please have a look at the cover. Beautiful!

Overall, Lauren DeStefano is a great writer. I will be reading every book written by her. I even read every tweet she tweets. She is fun to follow on twitter. I could see myself reading Wither over and over again and that why I considered it my favorite debut.

Tata for now

P.S. No matter what I say, I will never do this book any justice. Go pick up your copy and you will know why.    

Red Glove by Holly Black

Red Glove by Holly black

Release Date: April 5^th 2011
Publisher: Simon Schuster 
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 325
Source: Library
Series: Book 2 

Curses and cons. Magic and the mob. In Cassel Sharpe's world, they go together. Cassel always thought he was an ordinary guy, until he realized his memories were being manipulated by his brothers. Now he knows the truth—he’s the most powerful curse worker around. A touch of his hand can transform anything—or anyone—into something else.

That was how Lila, the girl he loved, became a white cat. Cassel was tricked into thinking he killed her, when actually he tried to save her. Now that she's human again, he should be overjoyed. Trouble is, Lila's been cursed to love him, a little gift from his emotion worker mom. And if Lila's love is as phony as Cassel's made-up memories, then he can't believe anything she says or does.

When Cassel's oldest brother is murdered, the Feds recruit Cassel to help make sense of the only clue—crime-scene images of a woman in red gloves. But the mob is after Cassel too—they know how valuable he could be to them. Cassel is going to have to stay one step ahead of both sides just to survive. But where can he turn when he can't trust anyone—least of all, himself?

Love is a curse and the con is the only answer in a game too dangerous to lose

From where should I start.

From the awesomeness of the writing or the realistic characters or what exactly.

Red glove didn’t fail my expectations; in fact, it was better than white cat. Ok, so I don’t mean to compare the two books but Holly Black did an amazing job building the curse workers world in book 2. In book 2, the characters were more defined. We got to see more of Lila who is considered one of my favorite female character in the YA world. She is very in dependable and strong but there was a lack of these characteristics in book 2 because she is cursed to love Cassel. Therefore, she is strong in front of others but not with Cassel. And now since Cassel knows for sure that she doesn’t love him for real, he is in agony. He can't be with or without her. Holly Black did an amazing job making me feel Cassel's pain and feel sorry for him.  

In Red Glove, Cassel is more mature and aware of the mysterious world that he is part of. And my favorite part was when Cassel had become familiar with his curse and he uses it more often in Red Glove (which adds to the fun to the storyline).

There is no debate when it comes to the beautiful writing of Holly Black. Anyone who decides to read her books, must know that they will be taken to a breathless journey. Talking about breathless journeys, this series continues with the third book which will be titled Black Heart. All I can finally say is " I cant wait for Book 3"

 Tata for now