Saturday 24 November 2012

Book Review: What's Left of Me by: Kat Zhang

My Rating: ★★★★★
Date Published
:September 18th, 2012
Publisher: HarperCollins
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 343
Do I own it?: Yes



Synopsis: 
I should not exist. But I do.

Eva and Addie started out the same way as everyone else—two souls woven together in one body, taking turns controlling their movements as they learned how to walk, how to sing, how to dance. But as they grew, so did the worried whispers. Why aren’t they settling? Why isn’t one of them fading? The doctors ran tests, the neighbors shied away, and their parents begged for more time. Finally Addie was pronounced healthy and Eva was declared gone. Except, she wasn’t . . .

For the past three years, Eva has clung to the remnants of her life. Only Addie knows she’s still there, trapped inside their body. Then one day, they discover there may be a way for Eva to move again. The risks are unimaginable-hybrids are considered a threat to society, so if they are caught, Addie and Eva will be locked away with the others. And yet . . . for a chance to smile, to twirl, to speak, Eva will do anything.



Review:

I finished this in one day guys... What's Left of Me was SO good, that I couldn't put it down. This book has been sitting under my TBR pile for such a long time. I wanted to read it, but I wasn't THAT interested in it, you know? I got this book as an ARC off of Goodreads, and I was going to wait before I read it, because I had other books that I wanted to read before this one. Well, let me tell you right now that when I was halfway through this book, I had so many feels, that I wanted to just cry.



I cannot express how much I loved this book. It was actually one of the most interesting Dystopian books I've read so far. I thought that the idea was really original (although it does remind me a lot of The Host). The characters were so well put together, especially the ones that are Hybrids, because I think of them as two different people. For example, I like Ryan A LOT better than I liked Devon, and I found him more attractive than Devon, even if they look exactly the same. I actually didn't like Hally at first because I found her incredibly annoying. But she grows on you!
The adults in the facility made me so angry, that I wanted to reach into the book, and punch them out. That's how angry I was at times!

I'm so happy that I won this book on Goodreads, because it was excellent. Thank GOD this book didn't end on a cliffhanger. I would've died if it did, because the next book comes out August 29th, 2013.. CAN'T WAIT!

Friday 23 November 2012

Book Review: The Monstrumologist by: Rick Yancey

My Rating: ★★★★
Date Published: July 20th, 2010
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 434
Do I own it?: Yes!


Synopsis:

These are the secrets I have kept. This is the trust I never betrayed. But he is dead now and has been for nearly ninety years, the one who gave me his trust, the one for whom I kept these secrets. The one who saved me . . . and the one who cursed me.

So starts the diary of Will Henry, orphan and assistant to a doctor with a most unusual specialty: monster hunting. In the short time he has lived with the doctor, Will has grown accustomed to his late night callers and dangerous business. But when one visitor comes with the body of a young girl and the monster that was eating her, Will's world is about to change forever. The doctor has discovered a baby Anthropophagus--a headless monster that feeds through a mouth in its chest--and it signals a growing number of Anthropophagi. Now, Will and the doctor must face the horror threatening to overtake and consume our world before it is too late.

(Short) Review:


This book exceeded my expectations. From the title and the synopsis, it kind of sounds like a joke, right? It's not. The Monstrumologist was one of the scariest books I have ever read. It was so gory! Like, incredibly gory.

I think that the thing that surprised me the most about this book, was the writing. It was excellent! It wasn't childish, and I felt as if I was reading an adult book. At times the writing was a bit dull, and hard to get through, but the action scenes made up for that.

I was actually scared to read this book during nighttime, because it made me super jumpy (My house is right across from a huge forest)....

I cannot wait to read the next one, and I hope it is as scary as this one is. I'm already extremely attached to the characters. Can't wait to pick up Curse of the Wendigo!

Monday 12 November 2012

November Book Haul! Hardcover love (6 books)

Hardcover Love! 

Probably one of the best book hauls!
I've been wanting to get the three Rick Riordan books for awhile now. I read The Lost Hero when it first came out, but I never bought it. When I went down to the States, I went to a local Half Price Books, and found The Son of Neptune, The Mark of Athena, and The Fault in our Stars for really cheap! They were about $15 each.  thought that this was an amazing deal, so I bought them! (The Lost Hero was a gift from my friend)

I have been wanting to buy the Diviners for so long, that i freaked out when I bought it.

Lets all take a moment to appreciate the beauty of The Diviners;
with cover

without cover

without cover

GORGEOUS!
I cannot wait to dive right into this massive book.

Here is a list of the books:
The Lost Hero by: Rick Riordan
The Son of Neptune by: Rick Riordan
The Mark of Athena by: Rick Riordan
The Fault in Our Stars by: John Green
The Diviners by: Libba Bray
The Notebook by: Nicholas Sparks


Saturday 3 November 2012

Book Review: Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by: Ransom Riggs

My Rating: ★★★★★
Date Published: June 7th, 2011
Publisher: Quirk
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 352
Do I own it?: Yes

Synopsis:

A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs. Fiction is based on real black and white photographs. The death of grandfather Abe sends sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, and explores abandoned bedrooms and hallways. The children may still live.


Review:

There was a lot of hype surrounding this book, and after reading it, I totally understand why. So I've been wanting to read this book for a long time, and when I bought it, I was really happy. I was finally about to read it. All of my friends read it, and a lot of people on Goodreads had read it too. I'll tell you right now, that Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar children exceeded my expectations. It was fantastic!

A couple days ago, I was reading a blog that happened to be Ransom's blog (the author) and he said that if you stack all of the books that he sold on top of each other, the height would be higher than mt. Everest. Isn't that amazing? I really think that Ransom Riggs deserves it.

I thought that the book was amazing. The fact that someone can find vintage photographs, and make a story out of it is so fantastic. It really does show that he's an amazing author! The story worked so well with the pictures. Some of the photographs were so scary, it was unbelievable. It wasn't an overly scary book, like I thought, it was more creepy than it was scary, but I think that without the pictures, the book wouldn't be that creepy.

I fell in love with the characters almost immediately after they were all introduced. They were all so lovable and fun, and I really liked learning about all their peculiar talents. All the twists and turns in the book were really well thought out. I did not see any of them coming.

Overall, I really did enjoy this book, and I cannot wait for book number 2!