A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray: Review

A Great and Terrible Beauty
By: Libba Bray
Fantasy, YA Fiction

After witnessing her mother's murder in a vision that turns out to be true, Gemma is enrolled in Spence, a girl's academy. She is snubbed by the popular Felicity and Pippa, and even her dumpy roommate Ann until she blackmails herself and Ann into the clique. Gemma soon discovers she has a power that she's not sure how to control or whether she wants it.

I have to admit that after I finished this book I couldn't quite figure out what it was about. Ultimately, I determined it was about choices. Every character in the book makes a series of choices that have both negative and positive consequences. Okay, so I know all books are about that, and I know I'm not doing a very good job of explaining the point behind this book. Basically, I really liked the conflict that Gemma had within herself on whether or not to use her powers. I think that kind of struggle is very real, and I really like the conclusion she came to in the end. Each character in the book had their own personal struggle that ultimately was resolved. I really liked the way this book ended.

Things I didn't like... I don't really like cliquey, bratty girls. So, sometimes reading about their stupid little fights was annoying at times. And, sometimes I just felt really lost when Gemma had her "visions."

I gave it 3/5 stars.

Awards, Awards!

Over the weekend I was honored with two awards! I'm really grateful to both of these bloggers, and frequent both of their blogs. Thanks again!

 

I was given this award by Natalie at The Book Inn. Many thanks to her!

The Humane Award is in order to honor certain bloggers that I feel are kindhearted individuals. They regularly take part in my blog and always leave the sweetest comments. If it wasn’t for them, my site would just be an ordinary book review blog. Their blogs are also amazing and are tastefully done on a daily basis. I thank them and look forward to our growing friendships through the blog world.

 Now, for the blogs I nominate:

1. Reviewer X
2. Shooting Stars Mag
3. Maw Books Blog (even though I already know she was nominated)
4. J. Kaye's Book Blog (same as above)
5. Angieville
6. I'm Booking It
7. Debbie's World of Books
   
8. Marta's Meanderings
   
9. Haiku Amy
   
10. And my friend Kami. Although she's not a book blogger, she comments on pretty much every post. 

I was nominated for this award by Debbie's World of Books. Many thanks to her. She always has the nicest responses on Twitter. Which is why I gave her the Humane Award as listed above.

Do you like Harry Potter?

How about a Hogwart's Theme Park?  I hadn't heard anything about this, but I've got to say it looks cool. Thanks to Reading Rocks for the heads up on this.

Here are some digital representations of what the amusement park would look like.

 

Hogwarts

 

 

Hogsmeade Village

Be sure to head over to Reading Rocks for their 7 Days of Harry Potter Event. Also go to Universal Studio's website to get official information.

Chains by Laurie Halse Anderson: Review

Chains

By: Laurie Halse Anderson

Historical Fiction

While America struggles for independence, Isabel wages her own war for freedom. Even though she is promised freedom upon the death of her owner, Isabel and her sister Ruth are given to a cruel New York couple, the Locktons. She is offered an opportunity to spy for the American rebels, but soon realizes her loyalty lies with those who will give her freedom.

I don't read a lot of historical fiction, especially on the basis of slavery. However, you can't help but just have your heart go out to this girl. Her mother and father are both dead, and she's left to try to secure freedom for herself and her sister, while a war rages on outside her door. Isabel has a lot of grit and works very hard.  There are other good-hearted redeeming characters in the story that make you feel like maybe someday Isabel will realize her dream of being free. The book is almost like a very real series of unfortunate events.

Although it wasn't the kind of book that I usually read, it was worthwhile. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars.

Sneak Preview: Wicked Will by Bailey Macdonald

I read a post on Shooting Stars Mag done by the wonderful Lauren yesterday. She posted a promo for a book called, "Wicked Will" by Bailey Macdonald. I have to say that I was totally intrigued by the way the post was written, and the premise of the book.

Get this, it's young Shakespeare solving a murder mystery. I think that sounds awesome. At the end of her post she had a contest for the first three people to find the hidden Shakespeare quotes and the play they came from. The winners received a signed copy of the book. So, I of course entered. And I got this email this morning.

You got two out of three!  "The world's a theater" is not from Shakespeare, but from Thomas Heywood's An Apology for Actors.  I'll send you an autographed copy anywyay.
Bailey

I'm super excited for this book to come in the mail so I can check it out. Please head over to Shooting Stars Mag and read the promo. And then watch for my review!

Little Brother by Cory Doctorow: Review

Little Brother

By: Cory Doctorow

YA Fiction

Marcus, or w1n5t0n as he's known on the internet, is only 17 years old, but a master hacker. He's infiltrated his school's surveillance system and knows how to manipulate it. When a terrorists attack the Bay Bridge, the Department of Homeland Security increases it's surveillance on the entire city, and takes Marcus captive. After he is released, he takes on destroying DHS as a personal mission.

I have to say that this book was one of the biggest disappointments I've had in a long time. I loved about half the story. The means Marcus uses to hack the system are absolutely genius and innovative. Also, the methods used by DHS and the police are eerily realistic. It's very apparent that this book was well-researched and thought out. Sometimes the technical descriptions were a little heavy, but I thought they were useful to explaining the story.

Here's what I didn't like. I felt like there was just too much sex and references to sex in this book. If that's something you're comfortable with, that's fine, but it seemed just to overwhelm the story at times. I felt like it was a little too mature for a YA audience. I don't mind romance in a book, but there were passages that were just too graphic.

I gave the book 3 out of 5 stars. Were the sex stuff left out, I would have given it 4 out of 5.

Zel by Donna Jo Napoli: Review

Zel

By: Dona Jo Napoli

Fantasy, YA Fiction

Zel lives with her mother high in the mountains, and all they need is each other. On Zel's birthday, her mother brings her into town where Zel meets a young prince. Zel's mother notices the attraction and decides to take drastic measures to keep her as her own.

The entire book was written in present tense. For some reason I really don't like that style of writing, and it seems like it can be a little hard to follow. Also, the story switched viewpoints, which is something I also don't prefer in a story. I liked the premise of the story, and thought that it was an interesting retelling. I really liked the development of the mother's character and reading about her thoughts and rationalizations for what she was doing. However, I didn't like Zel's character or the Prince's. A word of warning, there is a sex scene in this book, which kind of surprised me in a YA book. I really did feel like it was unnecessary.

Overall, I gave the book 2 out of 5 stars. If you can get past the writing style in the book, you may enjoy it.