Buying Books

I re-discovered my local library this summer.  It has increased my number of books read, and decreased my amount of money spent in bookstores.

Since I started checking books out, I've realized that my buying habits of books have changed significantly. It causes me severe heartburn to buy a book that I haven't read. The only time I do this is when there is a waiting list of 30 or more at the library. (Hunger Games comes to mind). Or, if it's the next book in a series that I know I like. (Catching Fire, Harry Potter, pretty much anything by Shannon Hale).

For me, it's almost like trying on clothes before buying them and taking them out of the store.

But, I'm dying to know what you think? What motivates you to purchase a book you haven't read before? Do you utilize your local library?

The Hunt for the Dark Infinity by James Dashner: Review

The Hunt for the Dark Infinity

(The Thirteenth Reality Part 2)

By: James Dashner

 Description: It's been a quiet summer for Tick, Paul, and Sofia, but the latest message from Master George changes everything. The Realities are in danger and from something more terrible than Mistress Jane and the mutated Chi karda of the Thirteenth Reality. People from all Realities are unexplainably going insane. Worse, some Realities are fragmenting, disintegrating into nothingness. Master George has learned that Mr. Chu from the Fourth Reality is working on a mysterious new weapon called Dark Infinity. But no one has any idea how to stop the weapon or even if it can be stopped. To make matters worse, Tick and his friends have been kidnapped, forced to wink from Reality to Reality, solving impossible riddles in order to survive the deadly traps surrounding them. Mistress Jane and Tick find themselves in a race to reach the weapon first but who will destroy it and who will become its master?

Review: I really liked the first book in this series. And, many of the things I loved about book one continued into book two. It's really refreshing to have active parental involvement in a middle reader/YA book. Often, the parents seem totally out of the picture. In this series, the parents are aware of Tick's role in the realities and support him in his mission, even though it is difficult for them. (Frankly, if they knew half the stuff he had to do, they might be less supportive).

Atticus is a great character. I think a lot of kids (especially boys) can relate to his character. He's a good student, struggles with bullies and self-image. I really liked seeing his character evolve more in this book. He is a loyal friend, and does a good job of keeping the peace between his two friends.

The only complaint I have about the book is that sometimes it's a little technical and long winded. By technical, I mean that James Dashner has obviously put in a lot of effort to make a very complex world/reality. Sometimes the jargon (made up) is a little hard to follow. But, it doesn't take away significantly from the story.

Rating:

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Book-A-Likes: This book would be great for boys 9-12 that like fantasy. It's similar to Fablehaven by Brandon Mull, Harry Potter by JK Rowling, and other books where a group of kids learn their true identities and attempt to save the world.

Profanity: None

Drugs and Alcohol: None

Sexuality: None

Violence: Mild. There is a little fighting.

Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix: Review

Found

By: Margaret Peterson Haddix

Description: Thirteen-year-old Jonah has always known that he was adopted, and he's never thought it was any big deal. Then he and a new friend, Chip, who's also adoped, begin receiving mysterious letters. The first one says, "You are one of the missing." The second one says, "Beware! They're coming back to get you."

Jonah, Chip, and Jonah's sister, Katherine, are plunged into a mystery that involves the FBI, a vast smuggling operation, an airplane that appeared out of nowhere -- and people who seem to appear and disappear at will. The kids discover they are caught in a battle between two opposing forces that want very different things for Jonah and Chip's lives.

Do Jonah and Chip have any choice in the matter? And what should they choose when both alternatives are horrifying?

Review: Man, can Margaret Peterson Haddix write a YA thriller or what? I have no idea where she comes up with these ideas for stories, but they are phenomenal.

Jonah is a great character. He's very much a teenage boy. His parents have worked very hard to make his adoption a normal thing for him. Chip on the other hand has never been told that he's adopted. Frankly, it seems like his parents are pretty disconnected in a lot of aspects of Chip's life.  I was really interested in the two totally different ways these families handled the adoption situation.

The book was incredibly suspenseful. Haddix does a wonderful job of giving just enough information to be clear, but not enough to guess what is going to happen next. This book, like many of her others, is pretty short. I read this book in about two hours.

I wish I could go more into the details of the story, but any further information would really ruin the story. Basically, I loved this book.

Book-A-Likes: This book is good for readers that enjoy modern-day fiction, and science fiction. Frankly, I can't think of another book similar to it.

Rating:
I gave this book 5 stars.

Profanity: None that I can remember
Drugs and Alcohol: None
Sexuality: None
Violence: Mild. At most, there is a fistfight.

The Customary Twilight Post

Yesterday, I wrote out this big long post about how I feel about paranormal romance, more specifically, Twilight.

I decided that publishing that post just wasn't necessary. Here's all you need to know.

Yes, I read Twilight. I don't understand the phenomenon. Maybe for teenage girls, but I can't figure out why 30 year old mothers and wives are totally obsessed with a 17 year old literary character. Or how they can relate to the dullest, sulkiest female protagonist ever.

No, I will not be seeing New Moon.

Review: The Dark Divine by Bree Despain

The Dark Divine

By: Bree Despain

Release Date: December 22, 2009 

Read the First Chapter on Bree Despain's Website

From the Back Cover:

A prodigal son

A dangerous love

A deadly secret . . .

I stood back and watched his movements. Daniel had that way about him that could shut me down in an instant. . . . I kicked the gravel a couple of times and worked up my courage again. “Tell me . . . I mean . . . why did you come back? Why now, after all this time?”

Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared—the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in blood. But she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night really held. And when Daniel returns three years later, Grace can no longer deny her attraction to him, despite promising Jude she’ll stay away.

As Grace gets closer to Daniel, her actions stir the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind Jude and Daniel's dark secret . . . and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it—her soul.

Review:

I think I'm liking paranormal romance more and more. Really, it can be awesome when it's written well and has other plots besides the romance.  I really liked the main character Grace. She was smart, and exceptionally kind.  That was something I think that was really missing from other paranormal romances that I've read lately. Grace has a drive to help those around her, even when it makes her uncomfortable.  Grace has a good relationship with her family, even though they have their problems.

Daniel was an intriguing character. Some of my favorite parts of the book were taking glimpses into his past and what he has done to overcome his difficulties. Bree does an excellent job of taking a problem like family abuse and giving it an alternate explanation while at the same time not making light of the very real emotional disruption these problems bring into a person's life.

I had only two notable problems with the story. First, I wasn't satisfied with the way things ended with the other love interest in the story. It seemed a little hurried and unfinished. The story may have been better without him in it.

The second problem is purely personal preference for me. I'm not a huge fan of the main characters in paranormal romances being teenagers. I know that that's the target audience for the book, but I guess I just don't feel like high school students generally have the maturity to experience emotions like true love.

If you like paranormal romance at all, you'll love this book. In fact, this would be a great Christmas gift for those on your list that are looking for something to read after Twilight.

Rating:

I gave this book a solid 4.5 stars, and rounded up to 5

Profanity: Pretty much non-existent. I mean, the main character is the daughter of a pastor...

Drugs and Alcohol: Mild. It's mentioned I think once in the story.

Sexuality: Extremely Mild.

Violence: Mild. There are a few murders in the book, and sometimes the descriptions are a little graphic, but nothing alarming.

Book-a-like: Twilight (cringe), Hush, Hush, Shiver

Fire by Kristin Cashore

Fire

By: Kristin Cashore

From the back cover: Set in a world of stunningly beautiful, exceptionally dangerous monsters, Fire is one of the most dangerous monsters of all - a human one. Marked out by her vivid red hair, she's more than attractive. Fire is mesmerising. But with this extraordinary beauty comes influence and power. People who are susceptible to her appeal will do anything for her attention, and for her affection. They will turn away from their families, their work, and their duties for her. They will forget their responsibilities to please her... and worse, crush nations, neglect kingdoms and abuse their power. Aware of her power, and afraid of it, Fire lives in a corner of the world away from people, and away from temptation. Until the day comes when she is needed - a day when, for her king, she has to stand against not only his enemies, but also against herself...


Review:
I just now realized that I never did write a review on "Graceling" by Kristin Cashore. I blame the morning sickness. I'll get one up soon. But, it is important to note that "Fire" is definitely not a sequel to "Graceling" and if you read them out of order, it won't really matter.

I loved the characters in "Fire." For me, that was definitely the reason I enjoyed the book as much as I did.  Obviously, I can't even begin to sympathize with Fire's "beauty" challenge. But, I enjoyed the struggle that she had with how to control her power. It seemed very real. It seemed like there were people all around her telling her to use the power to help other people. But, she was the only one who really knew how dangerous she could become.  Just because everyone is telling you something is right, definitely doesn't mean that it is. For me, that was the take-away message.

However, I had a really hard time getting into this book initially. And, after reading the reviews on Amazon.com and Goodreads, it appears that I am the only one who felt that way. I'm not sure if I was distracted, or what the deal was, but the first half of the book was a struggle for me to follow the plot. Once Fire had settled in one place, about halfway through the book, I figured out what was going on, and the second half of the book was FANTASTIC.

If you liked Graceling, you'll enjoy this book as well.  Other readers I would recommend this to would be those who like strong female characters, and warriors.

Rating:
I gave the book 3 stars

Profanity: Mild
Drugs and Alcohol: Moderate. Several of the characters do get drunk. There is also plotting to get characters drunk.
Sexuality: Moderate. Sex is mentioned quite a few times during the story, but is never actually described. Characters will also make sexual advances at Fire, especially while drunk.
Violence: Moderate. People die. And a few scenes in the book mention battles.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner: Review

The Maze Runner

By: James Dashner

Blurb from back:

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.

Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers.

Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.

Review:

This book definitely kept me on my toes. Similar to Jason Borne in The Bourne Identity and other amnesia-plagued characters, you find yourself trying so hard to piece together the little information given to you by the author into a back story for the character.

Post-apocalyptic fiction is some of my favorite to read, because I really enjoy the aspect of human survival. Every book has its own flavor of how people survive when situations aren't ideal. What I liked about The Maze Runner was the many different conflicts that contributed to the story. Thomas is conflicted about his past, he wants to know who he is and where he came from. But, once the truth begins to come out, he is rightly conflicted about wanting to know more. Thomas is also conflicted about the information that he gives to the leaders of the group, and the information he's holding in his thoughts. There are of course environmental conflicts as would be expected with a group of boys governing themselves. This is increased with the addition of a girl to the Glade.

I liked the characters in the books. Even though there were quite a few to keep track of, I felt like they were all easily distinguishable from each other. Each contributed to the story in an important way. I especially felt a connection to Thomas' first roommate Chuck. It gives a little bit of a softer edge to the otherwise hardened life at the Glade.

I only had a couple things I didn't like about the book, and they definitely weren't deal breakers. The first was the made up slang. I also didn't like it in Ender's Game.  I felt like it really clogged up the dialogue sometimes, and regular slang words would do.

Also, I felt like not enough was done with the female character in the story. This can be easily remedied in the sequel; however, and I'm sure she'll make a bigger impact.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. I highly recommend this book for boys, especially ones that don't especially like to read. It's a fast-paced, easy read that will leave you thinking about it for days. I gave it four stars.

Rating:

Profanity: Mild, and it's not actual swear words used in every-day English, but made up slang

Drugs and Alcohol: None

Sexuality: Mildly hinted at when the girl first arrives

Violence: Mild. People do die in the book, but it's not overly graphic.

Books similar to this one: Ender's Game, Lord of the Flies

In accordance with FTC guidelines please note that I received a review copy from Delacorte Press for Young Readers. I was not compensated for this review.