Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld: Review

Leviathan

By: Scott Westerfeld

Description (From Goodreads):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.

Review: I didn't even know that the genre of steampunk existed until about a month ago. I must have been living under a rock or something. But, I've noticed it has become an increasingly popular genre, and this book is a good indication of why.

The illustrations in this book were really neat and one of my favorite parts. There was a new illustration every 5 pages or so, and they really added a depth to the story without being overly "cartoonish." (A reason why I could never really get into Manga). Here is an example of this awesome art:
I really liked the character and story of Deryn. I'm also up for a good story about a girl pretending to be a boy and kicking some trash. Deryn certainly did so. She had a lot of spunk and spirit, but also a good dose of compassion, especially at the end of the book.

Aleksander's story went in a little different direction than I had originally thought. While Deryn's story was pretty predictable, I was never quite sure where Aleksander was going to end up.

Sometimes telling a book from two perspectives really doesn't work for me. However, in this case, Westerfeld handled it beautifully. I wasn't as impressed with "The Uglies" series as I wanted to be, so it was nice to have a book by Westerfeld that I really enjoyed. I think this series is going to do really well. This book got a lot of buzz at the end of last year, and I can definitely see why.

Book-A-Likes:
Alanna by Tamora Pierce (For the "girl pretending to be a boy" story)
City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau (For the machinery aspect, and the boy working with girl story)
If you like other books in the Steam Punk genre, you'll like this one.

Rating:
I gave this book 4 stars.


Profanity: Like all steampunk, the slang evolves into something different from our culture. So, nothing you'd recognize
Drugs and Alcohol: None
Sexuality: None
Violence: Moderate. This is WWI (or an alternate version), so there is a battle that is described.

City of Ember Winner

So, using my highly sophisticated method of making an excel spreadsheet with all the entries, and using random.org, I have selected a winner of "City of Ember."

The winner is......

Kami

I will be getting in touch with Kami and arranging shipping. Stay tuned in the next week or so, because I think I may be getting an advanced review copy of a book to giveaway. Thanks so much to everyone for entering. That was a lot of fun!
 

24 hours left for "City of Ember" Giveaway

Just wanted to remind my readers that the contest to win a copy of "City of Ember" ends tomorrow at 10:30 MST. Details and sign up here.

City of Ember Giveaway!

In the blogging world, giveaways are quite popular. Now, I'm not cool enough (yet) to have a fantastic Advanced Reader Copy to give away, but I think this book will do quite nicely.

This was probably my favorite book I reviewed the first week of blogging. So, I'm offering a paperback copy for you, my fantastic reader(s) to try out for yourself. Here are the rules.

Eligibility

• Open to US residents only with a street address (No PO boxes)
• You must be contactable. Either leave your email address in the comments or shoot me an email.

The Book

• The winner will receive one new paperback copy of the City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau

How to Enter

There are chances for multiple entries, but you can do just #1 and be done if you'd like. But, multiple entries increase your chance of winning, and you definitely want to win this book.

1. Post a comment on this entry stating your interest in being entered. Also, list the last book you read and why you liked or didn't like it. Don't forget to leave contact info!
   
1. If you want more entries, keep reading. If not, thanks for entering!
2. Subscribe to my feed using an RSS reader or by email. If you already are a reader, let me know that as well. After you've done this, post it in the comments. (+1)
3. Follow me on Twitter. Post in the comments your Twitter handle so I know who you are. (+1)
4. Blog about this giveaway and link back here OR link this giveaway on your blog sidebar. (+3)
5. Blog about my review of City of Ember and link back here. (+2)
6. Become a "follower" by clicking the google link on the sidebar. (+1)
7. Comment on any of the other reviews I have blogged about. (+1)
   

So, if you did all of these things, you'd get up to 10 entries! Be sure after you do an entry to mention it in the comments.

Deadline

• The deadline for entries is June 12, 2009 at 10:30 am (MST)

Selection of Winner

• A winner will be selected using Random.org from the comments section of this post. After that time, I will contact the winner to arrange shipping the book. If, after one week you are uncontactable, I will use random.org to select a new winner.

If this giveaway is successful, I may do more in the future. Best of luck to you all!

The City of Ember: Review

The City of Ember

By: Jeanne DuPrau
Young-Adult Fiction

A small metal box made by the Builders not to be opened for 200 years was passed down from mayor to mayor until the chain was broken. Now, almost 300 years later, the City of Ember is running low on supplies, and the lights flicker on and off frequently. Is there a way out of the city?

This book was a fantastic allegorical fiction like the "Giver" by Lois Lowry. Most of Ember is oblivious to the fact that their supplies are running low. Soon, that fact becomes more and more evident as the lights flicker on and off, and some precious commodities can no longer be bought. Many people in the city use different methods of coping. Some hoard supplies, without thinking, of course, that once the generator that makes the electricity goes out, their extra light bulbs will do no good. Some gather in study sessions to talk about what might be beyond the borders of their city and pray. But few venture out to try to find out what there is beyond.

If you liked "The Giver," you'll love this book. It's not a very long book, and it moves quickly. It is pretty predictable, but I don't think the point of the book was to leave you in suspense about what would happen at the end. I gave it 5 out of 5 stars.