Review: She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedwick My

She is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedwick
Date Published: 3rd October 2013
Publisher: Orion Children's
Amazon    Book Depository 

Goodreads summary

Laureth Peak's father has taught her to look for recurring events, patterns, and numbers--a skill at which she's remarkably talented. Her secret: She is blind. But when her father goes missing, Laureth and her 7-year-old brother Benjamin are thrust into a mystery that takes them to New York City where surviving will take all her skill at spotting the amazing, shocking, and sometimes dangerous connections in a world full of darkness. She Is Not Invisible is an intricate puzzle of a novel that sheds a light on the delicate ties that bind people to each other.

I was actually hoping to hate this book, or at least be so bored of it that I wouldn’t get past 50 pages but somehow I managed to hit around 100 pages before I realised that it was late and that the book hasn’t bored me to death. I randomly picked this book out of the mass amount of Young Adult books in my local library mostly for the pretty cover and the interesting title. I admit that. So after having the book for about two weeks and my return date being right around the corner I decided to at least give this book a try.

I was so suprised. I mean the writing and the main characters just. Wow. I wasn’t expecting the main character to be blind, and I wasn’t expecting the writing to portray that in such a way. I guess I would have expected the author to make it very clear from the very beginning about the lack of eyesight that Laurenth has but there were only hints I guess is the right word. It took me a while to notice that the author has not actually described what people look like, the colours that were there or anything like it. I guess I was just blind to that (ha… sorry) The amazing thing about this book is how thoughtfully it has been written. All the other senses are heighted and written; like what Laurenth was feeling or hearing at times.

The story follows a 16 year old blind girl and her little brother on a quest to find their father who seems to be missing. Having travelled from England to New York to follow clues that might not actually be there and having to deal with not being able to take care of everything herself the journey is really unpredictable. There was so much that could have gone wrong and nearly did go wrong and I just still can’t get over the writing.

This book was so cleverly written that I’m still in somewhat shock afterwards. By the last page I was mesmerised by the story and how much it meant to me. I wasn’t expecting it to leave any deep feelings or make me sit in my room for a while and think about what I’ve just read.

Marcus is such an underrated writer; I wish that more people would realise how amazing his work is and that his words  are remarkable.

Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
Series: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer #1
Release Date: September 27th 2011
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books
Amazon Book Depository

Goodreads Summary 

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 absolutely loved this beaut! Or at least the first half of this book anyway. It’s haunting and feels like a dream and the words just flow off the page! Until the ending. Where the book literally disappointed me so freaking much, I wanted to gouge out my eyes and set them on fire.

Mara Dyer wakes up in a hospital where she doesn’t remember what happened in the accident where her friends Rachel and Claire along with her boyfriend Jude die, where she somehow managed to get out with only scrapes and bruises. Great so far right?! With the attempt to get away from all the misery Mara’s family decide to move towns and start again in a new school where she meets Noah Shaw; the local unkempt bastard with a panty dropping smile who uses girls and dumps them the next day. Obviously Mara was going to fall for him and he was going to change for her *yawn* but their relationship was super fun! Especially the chase.

“And just like that, I was completely, utterly, and entirely, His.”

 Not only was there a promise of a flirty relationship that would only be fun for about half an hour and then get boring but also the mystery as to what happened to Mara Dyer during the accident and how come everyone is dying all of a sudden around her.

The idea was absolutely astonishing and the art work on the cover was beyond beautiful. A new girl at a new school, a bully, a hot smoking guy and a trail of dead bodies. What’s not to love?

The mystery behind what happened to Mara and her friends was amazing. Or so I thought. I never imagined that the story would take a massive turn to snooze ville where everything turned to crap. Mara was starting to see things that weren’t there, seeing her dead friends amongst other things. Which is fine and was actually a good idea. But then she kills a guy just with imagining him dead?! What.

Up until the death of the dog owner and her teacher the book was absolutely amazing and didn’t have any faults, I could not put it down. I was literally grinning while reading this book. Then confusion replaced my happiness.

I thought the point of Mara not remembering the accident was that she was the killer. That she turned psycho and killed her friends. With her hands. Not her freaking mind. WTF. I can’t even comprehend that. She imagined both her teacher and a dog owner dying and they did. If this happened to me I would be leaving a bigger trail or dead bodies that Mara herself.

Not only that but Noah seems to have some sort of supernatural “powers” as well. And girly ones if I may add. He seems to be able to “fix” people, by healing them I guess. Your guess is as good as mine. I have no clue what the hell his “powers” were.

Everything was going great until Mara’s brother was kidnapped. Noah was somehow able to find him in a shed, in the middle of nowhere. Who then told Mara the truth about him; which I still don’t understand. Where the hell did these powers or whatever come from?!

I cannot fathom why in the world Michelle Hodkin thought that turning this book into a paranormal romance would be a good idea. It was the worst thing that could have happened since Finnick Odair’s death in the Hunger Games. Yes I’ve said it. Yes I’m nearly crying right now.

The shit hit the fan. The shit being the ending of this book. (and the paranormal romance crap)

There are so many things I love with this book! As in freaking in love could not stop grinning like a lunatic screaming at my friends that I’m in love with this flipping book love. I loved Mara. I think she’s a great YA female character who actually has a back bone until she meets Noah. She then somehow manages to forget about all the dead bodies! Erm hello. NO! Noah is a massive douchebag that everyone is meant to love because of his smart mouth and his hot bod. Don’t get me wrong I flipping love Noah and his smart douchebaggy mouth but did he really need to be the poster boy for an STD campaign who wouldn’t keep it in his pants for ten minutes and needed to have sex with EVERY. SINGLE. GIRL he ever set eyes on? Control yourself dude.

What’s with the black, Jewish, bi friend whose also super short Jamie? Okay yes it’s a fact that YA books need more minorities in them but seriously… Sometimes less is more. And sometimes you shouldn’t make just one character be everything that a book is lacking. Spread it out. Share it out. But I freaking love Jamie. The gossip! Oh my gosh, he is a queen bitch of gossiping and I need him in my life. Then there’s Anna. The virgin who somehow ended up on everyone’s dicks. Not only that but she’s the school bully. Go figure.

So the characters are almost great. Yes there are things that would have made them a lot more better and less annoying; I agree with that. But nobody is perfect in real life so why should they be in books? I can overlook the character’s douche baggy flaws.

So to sum up my very bipolar review of this beautiful disaster:

 

• ·        The beginning of the book. GOOD. Oh my flipping god yes the beginning of the book was amazing. 
• The writing. Incredible. I fell in love with Michelle’s writing. Boy can she write!
• The characters. Meh nobody is perfect.
• The fact that Mara somehow decided to lose interest in people dropping like flies whenever she was around Noah and could only think about him? Erm no Mara; you deserve a slap.
• The freakish super powers that make Mara kill someone whenever she imagines it? How about no. How about you go on a killing spree without any paranormal heebiee jeebies.
• The book after Mara’s brother’s kidnapping? Go burn in hell. That was painful to read. 

 The beginning of the book deserves to get a 5. But the ending deserves about a 3... So a 4.5 will have to do.

ARC Review: The Secrets of Lily Graves by Sarah Strohmeyer

The Secrets of Lily Graves by Sarah Strohmeyer
Release Date: May 13th, 2014
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Source: Edelweiss
Pre-Order: Amazon | Book Depository

Goodreads Summary

Growing up in a house of female morticians, Lily Graves knows all about buried secrets. She knows that perfect senior-class president Erin Donohue isn’t what she seems. She knows why Erin’s ex-boyfriend, hot football player Matt Houser, broke up with her. And she also knows that, even though she says she and Matt are just friends, there is something brewing between them—something Erin definitely did not like.

But secrets, even ones that are long buried, have a way of returning to haunt their keeper.

So when Erin is found dead the day after attacking Lily in a jealous rage, Lily's and Matt’s safe little lives, and the lives of everyone in their town of Potsdam, begin to unravel. And their relationship—which grew from innocent after-school tutoring sessions to late-night clandestine rendezvous—makes them both suspects.

As her world crumbles around her, Lily must figure out the difference between truth and deception, genuine love and a web of lies. And she must do it quickly, before the killer claims another victim.

The Secrets of Lily Graves can easily be summed up as addicting. Can I pack my bags and go now? Drat. I have to say more? But I don’t know what to sayyyyy because really, while The Secrets of Lily Graves was fun, it wasn’t anything special. It was a quick read and I finished it in around 2 hours and the ending confused me a little but other than that, I never really thought about it as soon as I put it down.

The author makes use of common tropes but she does it in a way that doesn’t grate on you, so while there are the popular mean girls and there the girls who are bullied by these ‘mean girls’ they also see each other as humans. When Erin dies, the main character is shocked; this person wasn’t nice to her, at all, but a young life was lost and Lily understands the significance of that.

Lily as a character was really fun. She is original, she likes weird things and she is proud of it. She doesn’t want to be normal and it doesn’t matter how much crap people give her, she aien’t gonna change. Hell she dressed up as a normal human being for Halloween because that’s the scariest thing she can think of. I mean doesn’t that make you like her already?

The love interest, Matt is definitely one of the better love interests I've come across. The author takes the jock trope and puts a spin on it. He’s a jock, he probably isn’t all that smart, but he isn’t a complete bully. When one of his friends was bullying a girl for her weight, he started making fun of his friend in a friendly manner to take the attention off of the girl. This also happened before Lily registered on his radar so he gets the brownie point. He isn’t an asshole either! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? He doesn’t pull the passive aggressive shit. He does have depth to him but it doesn’t turn him into a character you pity but instead one you cannot help but like because it makes him more human than his status as a jock does.

I love her family too. They are an odd bunch with her mom being over protective, her aunt being really cool and her grandma just being silly. They don’t play a major role when it comes to the actual happenings but I like that the author attempted at making them seem somewhat normal seeing that they live in a funeral home (which by the way is kind of awesome).

The romance is adorable. It’s almost non-existent but that’s because there is a mystery to solve. These two are not a case of insta-attraction or even opposites attract. They became friends over the course of the summer when Matt asked her to tutor him for a history re-take because he failed the first time around. When Erin is found dead, he is the number one suspect and Lily doesn’t doubt him for a second because she knows him well enough to know he wouldn’t kill her. He hardly had the guts to break up with her, why would he kill her? So over the course of the book, little by little, they become even closer. Don’t go into this book looking for a lot of romance, go into this book expecting a nicely developed romance that is adorable.

The plot is where things get interesting. You have a bunch of amateur sleuths trying to figure out the truth behind how Erin was murdered. The primary suspects are Matt and Lily because everyone assumes they were an ‘item’ and so one of them might have ‘offed’ Erin so the two could be together. Lily, who aspires to join the family business, knows that only a professional could have done it because of the accuracy of the cuts on her wrists. The problem is that no one is telling the whole truth, everyone is hiding something and it’s up to Lily to figure out who murdered her since the police is too busy looking in the wrong direction. Slowly, Lily starts unravelling the mystery.

It’s the twist at the end that kind of throws you off; it’s not so much as unpredictable as it is just… awkward. The author puts hints throughout the whole book so it doesn’t come out of nowhere but at the same time, I am not completely sure how I feel about it. Even after thinking it through I am not sure whether I am annoyed or whether it makes sense. I’ll figure it out one day when my mind wanders to this book again.

All in all, if you’re looking for a quick comfort read, grab this and devour it like I did. It’s fun, it’s got good characters, no slut shamming and the romance was cute. The mystery was pretty fun too and really, what else can you want from a comfort read?

ARC Review: The Lost Sisterhood by Anne Fortier

The Lost Sisterhood by Anne Fortier
Release Date: 11th March 2014
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Source: Netgalley
Buy: Amazon | Book Depository

Goodreads Summary

The Lost Sisterhood is the new novel from the author of Juliet, an Oprah's Book Club Pick published in 30 countries which has been picked up by Universal to be made into a feature film. The Lost Sisterhood tells the story of Diana, a young and aspiring--but somewhat aimless--professor at Oxford. Her fascination with the history of the Amazons, the legendary warrior women of ancient Greece, is deeply connected with her own family's history; her grandmother in particular. When Diana is invited to consult on an archeological excavation, she quickly realizes that here, finally, may be the proof that the Amazons were real.

The Amazons' "true" story--and Diana's history--is threaded along with this modern day hunt. This historical back-story focuses on a group of women, and more specifically on two sisters, whose fight to survive takes us through ancient Athens and to Troy, where the novel reinvents our perspective on the famous Trojan War.

The Lost Sisterhood features another group of iconic, legendary characters, another grand adventure--you'll see in these pages that Fortier understands the kind of audience she has built with Juliet, but also she's delivering a fresh new story to keep that audience coming back for more.

Do you like adventure? Does a good treasure hunt intrigue you? Are you fascinated by ancient history and mythology? Then perhaps you have come to the right place for this book provides you with a good mix of everything I just mentioned above.

There are mixed reviews all over the place about this book and it’s really easy to see why. Some people will love this and some people won’t. One reviewer described this book as the Dan Brown of women’s fiction and that is a very apt comparison because this book does have the same vibes as a typical Dan Brown book and your enjoyment of this book will largely depend on whether or not that sort of thing works for you. If you haven’t read any Dan Brown and are confused as to what I am referring to.. basically, do you like info dumps? Do you mind being stuffed with information? Avoid this if that doesn't appeal to you, but if you don’t mind so long as the topic interests you (which in case it did for me), dive right in but prepared for a couple of unrealistic things that may bother you.

I was in 3^rd grade when I first heard about the lost city of Troy and since then, mythology hasn’t let go of the grip it has on me. As soon as I came across this book and saw the combination of mythology, history and women’s fiction, I knew I had to read it and I was not let down. I went into this expecting a good adventure and that is exactly what I got.

This novel follows the story of two women, namely Myrina, who lived in the Bronze Age and Diana who lives in present day.

Diana is approached by a mysterious man who tells her that proof that Amazons existed has been found. The man proceeds to hand her an image to back up what he is saying. Diana is definitely vary but she is also intrigued because well she is passionate about Amazons and something about the writing in the image seems familiar. It turns out that the notebook her grandmother left her was written in the same language and so begins our adventure as Diana follows the same path Myrina did over thousands of years ago.

Diana for the most part is a pretty decent female lead. She is headstrong and can make her own decisions. She doesn’t let the men make her choices for her but instead does what she feels is right. She’s grown up, she can handle herself… for the most part. Sometimes she may need to be rescued and sometimes her decisions land her in icky messes but really the one thing that bothered me about her is how oblivious she can be. Especially with the whole thing about her grandma. It’s GLARINGLY obvious what’s going on there yet Diana was blind to that for a major chunk of the book.

Also, I do not buy the fact that this chick translated an ancient scripture in a manner of days. Uh.. NO. Even with the ‘translating dictionary’ Diana had (her grandmother’s notebook), it should still take more than a mere 5 days. Remember when I mentioned unrealistic things? Yup, this was one of them.

Myrina was an interesting character to say the least. Both Diana and Myrina get thrown into circumstances that turn their lives upside down, they follow similar paths but their stories are different. Myrina travels all the way to a city to find the Moon Goddess so that her sister can be cured of the blindness that came as a result of a fever. Myrina is a wonderful sister and more than that, she is a brave warrior. She is a hunter at heart and she is a strong female lead and a great leader. In spite of all these wonderful things about her, I never really liked her. I didn’t dislike her, but her story, while fun to follow, was not nearly as enjoyable as Diana’s. Perhaps this is because Myrina’s story has an underlying sadness to it. When you realize that all of this occurred in a past so distant, in a part of history that has been lost and might not ever be recovered, it makes you feel very melancholic.

One of the loop holes in Myrina’s story was her elder sister. I have no idea what happened to her. Perhaps I accidentally skimmed over the part (hey, the book was long!!), or perhaps it was never mentioned.

The world building is were some of the other issues arise. The scholars in this world are constantly looking down on women and I know this happens in the real world. I KNOW. But the extent to which it happens in this book kind of pisses me off. It seems overdone. Then there was also the thing about the female lead being half American and other scholars constantly mocking her for her ‘Americaness’ when according to her she was raised in Britain. Really? Are we really going there?

The author brought some original twists to the tales we know and some of them, well, some of them just didn’t work for me. They were believable. The author didn’t just pull them out of nowhere but sometimes some things don’t work for you and nothing can change that. There were also other things that the author threw into the mix which didn’t sit well with me but I learned to live with those grievances to enjoy the adventure I was on.

One of my other issues with this novel was the romance. No the romances. Neither of the romances were all that well developed. The romance is not the focus of either story (okay so perhaps Myrina’s tale has a tad bit more romance) but I never saw it coming. I mean I knew there was going to be a romance, but there wasn’t enough development in either case to make the romance more believable. They seemed to have popped out of nowhere.

With that said, Myrina’s romance, even with my annoyance of how it seemed random, was so sweet. It really just brought out emotions. Yes I was annoyed that Myrina willingly gave up who she was but then her romantic interest is just so adorable that it’s hard to stay mad. There is so much respect in their relationship and so much love and SO MUCH COMPANIONSHIP. They can tell each other things. They do get mad at each other but they are sweet together.

Diana’s romance was… iffy. Nick is not the best love interest out there. He has been lying to her since the dawn of time and has pulled her inside this complicated web of lies and really I have no idea how she could trust him after everything that he has done. I know I wouldn’t. Pretty face be damned (although I am not sure we know what he looks like exactly).

There are secrets, lies, ancient civilizations and heaps of mythology involved and if you’re looking for an adventure, this book does give you one.

But it’s best not to go into this book expecting to be wowed. Similar to a typical Darn Brown book, the excitement only lasts for the period you are reading the book and once you’re done, everything will fade away. This book makes for excellent brain candy and I’d recommend this to fans of Dan Brown but also to anyone who is looking to lay back and just chill with a good adventure. Don’t let the number of pages scare you off for they go by pretty fast and the book will be over before you know it. 

Review: Paper Towns by John Green

Title- Paper Towns
Author- John Green
Publisher- Speak
Release Date- September 22nd 2009
Buy - Amazon

Goodreads Summary 

Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life—dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows. After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. But Q soon learns that there are clues—and they’re for him. Urged down a disconnected path, the closer he gets, the less Q sees of the girl he thought he knew.

Who's the super big fan of John Green. ME

“As long as we don't die, this is gonna be one hell of a story.”

It’s not a secret that John Green is my all-time favorite author on this planet. So obviously, I was to say the least excited out of my brains to read this book. However, I didn’t think I’d be disappointed with it.

The story is about Margo Roth Spiegelman who lives a very popular high school life living next to the geeky Quentin Jacobsen who is the normal high school boy with a big heart and a massive sweetheart. They have been friends as children and slowly drifted apart as they grew up after finding a dead body in a park. Years later while in high school Margo climbs into Quentin’s bedroom and takes him on revenge cantered adventure before she disappears. Quentin being the sweet boy he is he takes it upon himself to follow the clues that Margo seems to have left behind for him to find her not only missing his graduation day but also dragging his friends along.

The storyline is somewhat childish. It’s the whole shy boy is in love with popular girl and she basically throws him in the friendzone. Yeah, so the idea isn’t very original I guess. The mystery that is Margo Roth Spiegelman is quite interesting but gets boring very quickly. Everything about her seemed so great at first, her weird quirks and thoughts about the world and how seriously she takes her revenge and she just seemed like a great character. But I ended up hating Margo halfway through the book. I felt so sorry for Quentin.  She left him clues to find her, he became obsessed with it, his friends suffered because of it and the “twist” at the end is just stupid. The whole ending was just disappointing and terrible.  Margo is a horrible girl! The whole world was revolving around her and the whole clues and making everyone worry about her being missing never telling anyone anything is just stupidly stupid and selfish. Poor Quentin and his friends wasted so many hours trying to figure out where she is and it was all for nothing. Just ugh! Cannot stand this girl.

Apart from Margo being a massive poop I liked the book. See the word “liked” yeah I didn’t love this book as the rest. I expected so much more. I was prepared to have my heart shattered and then burned but nope. Really disappointed with the fact that I didn’t cry like a baby at this book…

The quotes are really amazing in this book however. Like seriously if I could marry John’s writing I would do it in the blink of an eye. His writing speaks to me so clearly that I sometimes see the world differently (cheesy I know)

“It is so hard to leave—until you leave. And then it is the easiest goddamned thing in the world.”

Review: The Garnet Dagger by Andrea R. Cooper

Title: The Garnet Dagger
Author: Andrea R. Cooper
Publisher: Crimson Romance
Pub date: March 25th 2013
Buy: Amazon 

Forbidden to cross the Elvin barrier into human lands, Brock cannot sate his curiosity. Cursed by a vampyre bite that forces him to feed on the life-essence of others, he is unable to touch another without taking their life. Chained by prophesy, he must find a witch, pierce her heart, and draw her blood for his cure. Celeste must escape the monks who have held her prisoner for years. Her magic has been kept dormant by her captors. An ancient powerful Warloc craves her powers. If he succeeds in devouring her magic, she and the world will die. When Brock falls in love with Celeste before realizing her demise is his cure, will love triumph over his desire to be healed? Will he risk everything to save her from a Warloc, an oath breaker, who also wants her dead?

A massive thank you to Andrea R. Cooper for letting me read this book for my honest review.

So the story follows Brock who is an Elvin living in a land amongst trees who always had a liking to human culture and sneaking away to watch humans and their behaviour. Until one day, a vampyre puts a curse on him turning him into a Vaer. (Still with me) Right so poor old Brock’s marriage to Liana is put on hold after he kisses her and accidentally steals her life essence. Oops.  He is then banished from his land to follow the quest set out by the ancient prophecies of killing a witch in order to get rid of his stealing essences habit. Easy peasy right. Not really.

After being captured by Father Morgan, he finds a witch with healing powers that helps him escape and will not leave him alone. But is she the witch from the prophecy? If so, why does he lust over her? Can he kill her to fulfil the prophecy and save his family?

Quite proud of the detailed description of the book I must say so.

So the book is a paranormal romance filled with mystery and confusion all around.  The writing I need to point out is very grabbing. The language alone is great, the book is set in the mythical olden days where innkeepers had to bring your bath to you and then carry water up to you so I did not expect to really know what was going on half the time. Ms Cooper has done a great job telling the story from a male point of view and making sure that everything was easy to understand.

The idea behind the book is intriguing. However it is not the best book; it’s also not the worst book. 

This little book has a story that fits only certain types of readers and it is an average book. There is nothing extraordinary about the book.  There are good and bad points about the story line, the characters and even the writing along the book.

I love the fact that Ms Cooper let the relationship between Brock and Celeste grow naturally over the months it’s not something authors really pay attention to. But I hate the fact that when Brock does steal the essence from people it’s not explained very well how it feels, what it’s like, ect. There is just a little description on something that I believe should matter a lot.

The book is a good enough read. It’s not something I would have picked up for myself exactly but I’m glad I got the chance to read the book. It’s just an ordinary book about some not ordinary characters and a story line about a quest. 

Review: What She Left Behind By Tracy Bilen

Title: What She Left Behind

Author: Tracy Bilen

Publication date: May 1st 2012

Publisher: Simon Pulse 

Buy: Amazon

“Don’t even think of leaving… I will find you,” he whispered. “Guaranteed.” Sara and her mom have a plan to finally escape Sara’s abusive father. But when her mom doesn’t show up as expected, Sara’s terrified. Her father says that she’s on a business trip, but Sara knows he’s lying. Her mom is missing—and her dad had something to do with it. With each day that passes, Sara’s more on edge. Her friends know that something’s wrong, but she won’t endanger anyone else with her secret. And with her dad growing increasingly violent, Sara must figure out what happened to her mom before it’s too late…for them both.

This book. Just, just wow.

Sara’s dad is violent, her mom does not stand up to him, Sara is terrified of him and she can’t help; and on top of that her big brother is dead.

Sara and her mom are planning on leaving and running as far as they can from the abuse her father afflicts on them. On the day, they are meant to run away and start over Sara’s mom doesn’t show up. Waiting for the whole day at their designated meeting place she returns home to find her dad in complete darkness telling her that her mother went away for a few weeks on a business trip. Wanting and needing to get away Sara decides to stay with her father to find out what really happened to her mother and why she is missing but at the same time not wanting to leave in case her mother does come back to for her.

I love the plot. I haven’t read a book about an abusive dad in detail and it’s such an emotional topic. The book starts off a little dull but after about 50 pages it kick starts and begins to unravel a great and thought-out plot line. For most of the ending I was on my tiptoes scared for Sara about her dad finding out that she’s snooping around trying to find answers about her missing mom. My heart was practically escaping me whenever Sara came close to being caught out by her dad. I was actually scared of a character.

Tracy Bilen can seriously create tension and make every single hair on my body stand up in fear of what would happen next. This book is so realistic that half of the time I was wondering if this was based on a real event or something. Usually I don’t read a lot of realist fiction as it’s far too realistic for my liking but this was great. I loved this book so much!

Sara is a good character. I don’t really like how she doesn’t stand up for herself. I wanted her to stand up to her dad and tell him to stop, or even call someone for help like her grandparents or someone who lives close enough to take her and her mom away. But at the same time I know that there are a lot of teenagers and kids that are in this situation and I guess that Sara’s response is ordinary and it does happen in real life. I didn’t really expect her brother to be the same and just take it when he was alive.

 Alex is a really great character. He’s by far my favourite; with the whole I don’t care about school attitude and always making some kind of joke to his teacher about his hall pass. I just loved him. Plus the name, I’m a sucker for the name Alex. I don’t understand Sara’s and Alex’s relationship though. It’s so random! They have known each other for a long time and Alex randomly decides that he likes Sara? Hmm. I wasn’t really buying this. Spoilers- At the very end when he turns up to save Sara, her mother and Zach I really thought that Alex was going to turn out to be somehow working with Sara’s dad and completely go crazy and help him kill them or something. I really thought that was going to happen…

I’m still really disappointed with the ending. The story has such a massive build up to the end. Throughout the entire book the questions “Where is Sara’s mom?” “What will her dad do?” “Why did Matt kill himself?” fly about. Even the massive plan of escaping the abuse at home and finding her mother somehow was ruined by the very end. Sure the whole cabin experience and what happened was shocking. I’m still shocked, but just the fact that everyone was fine and they somewhat lived happily ever after shocked me even more. I like the fact that none of my favourite characters were killed off. It’s a nice surprise and I didn’t have to keep my breath in wondering whether or not someone was going to be killed but at the same time I wish the ending was more shocking. It was just disappointing compared to the running around and trying not to be caught by her dad and be hit or worse killed. 

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Review: The Calder Game by Blue Balliett

Title: The Calder Game
Author: Blue Balliett
Series: Chasing Vermeer #3
Release Date: May 1st, 2008
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Buy: Amazon | Book Depository

Goodreads Summary

Petra, Calder, and Tommy, the sleuths at the center of the amazing CHASING VERMEER and THE WRIGHT 3, are back with a labyrinthine new mystery to solve.

When Calder Pillay travels with his father to a remote village in England, he finds a mix of mazes and mystery . . . including an unexpected Alexander Calder sculpture in the town square. Calder is strangely drawn to the sculpture, while other people have less-than-friendly feelings towards it. Both the boy and the sculpture seem to be out of place . . . and then, on the same night, they disappear! Calder's friends Petra and Tommy must fly out to help his father find him. But this mystery has more twists and turns than a Calder mobile . . . with more at stake than first meets the eye.

I believe this is the first time in a couple of years that I read a middle grade book. The only reason I even picked it up was because I had read the first two books in the series in middle school and adored them. So I set out to complete the series.

It was such an interesting experience because middle grade is so different from YA and Adult and it was just so refreshing.

But with that said it’s pretty hard to say anything about this book because I have no idea how I feel about it.

While it was different it didn’t induce the same excitement the first two books had for the younger me. Yes you could argue that I’ve grown up since and expect a lot more out of books. The fact that I liked almost every book I read back then doesn’t help either, but the fact that I liked almost every book I read back then could also mean that I had great taste. After all the only book that had angered me was Twilight (there is a story behind that).

I don’t remember a lot about the first two books so I could be wrong, but I feel like the mystery in the first two books was very well developed and a lot more interesting compared to this one. The only thing that was going on in this book was the search for Calder, which didn’t really keep me on my toes. The ending was rushed and I didn’t really understand what had happened. It also bordered on unrealistic.

I realize I shouldn’t be so critical of a middle grade book because it’s aimed at a younger audience who aren't as likely to be bothered by those little things but I AM a reader.

“..Cader the Math Whiz, Tommy the Finder, Petra the Scribbler..”

With that said I really enjoyed the characters. They were such a refreshing change from the angst filled teenagers of YA and the complicated adults of Adult (that sounded better in my head). It was just incredibly fun to read about these characters who always meant what they said. Their innocence was refreshing.

For example Tommy and Petra do NOT like each other (in the beginning). If this had been a YA the author would have played off this hate and made it into a romance, yet there were no romantic feelings between the two. The author actually developed their friendship. I almost cried (tears of joy of course) because I am so fed up of the whole hot and cold shit.

Calder wasn’t there for a large chunk of the book but he was definitely missed. I remember him being my favorite character and I think I would have liked the book a whole lot better had he been there to help solve the mystery. He was always an interesting character. And adorable too. He is always thinking about puzzles and is pretty smart but he tends to misspell words all the time.

Petra can sometimes be slightly condescending the way pre-teens can sometimes be. It always made me laugh when she criticized Tommy in her head and how she said eww so often. She is pretty smart too.

Tommy.. was interesting. He kind of reminds me of a stereotypical pre-teen. Messy and unorganized. He loves collecting treasure and (in my opinion) isn’t as smart as Calder and Petra but he has his own charm.

Mrs. Sharpe, who I don’t really remember from the previous books (I am getting old okay?) was interesting I suppose but I don’t understand why she would so readily help these kids much less pay for the expenses. I am glad that the author actually provided them with a chaperone who was sharp (see what I did there?) but it came off a tad bit unrealistic.

So did Walter Pillay for that matter. While I am glad the author develops a healthy parent-child relationship, Walter’s speech bothered me. He didn’t sound like an adult. He sounded like a kid. Again I realize that this is a book meant for pre-teens and so it would be more suitable to have the father sound like a child but it bothered me.

I guess in the end this book was enjoyable, but the mystery fell flat. I do hope to read another middle-grade in the near future but I honestly don’t know. Maybe if I want a break when I get fed up from reading so much angst in YA, NA and Adult. 

Review: Broken Soup by Jenny Valentine

Title: Broken Soup
Author: Jenny Valentine
Release Date: January 7th, 2008
Publisher: HarperCollins
Buy: Amazon 

Goodreads Summary

Positive. Negative. It's how you look at it. . . . Someone shoves a photo negative into Rowan's hands. She is distracted but, frankly, she has larger problems to worry about. Her brother is dead. Her father has left. Her mother won't get out of bed. She has to take care of her younger sister. "And" keep it all together . . . But Rowan is curious about the mysterious boy and the negative. Who is he? Why did he give it to her? The mystery only deepens when the photo is developed and the inconceivable appears. Everything is about to change for Rowan. . . . Finally, something positive is in her life. Award-winning author Jenny Valentine delivers a powerful and life-affirming story of grief, friendship, and healing that will resonate long after the last page.

Jenny Valentine tells a sad, realistic story of a teenage girl who had to grow up fast. Rowan was forced to grow up within a couple of weeks after her older brother Jack suddenly dies on a trip leaving her family in bits. The book focuses on the struggles of Rowan trying to look after her 5-6 year old sister Storma, dealing with her mother who cannot get over the death of her son and on top of that, she has to lie to her dad about everything that is happening in the house. So a not so happy themed book. However even with the dark theme and the depressing bits, the story is heart-warming and charming (obviously not the depressing and horrible bits), I absolutely love this quote

 “I smiled back and I thought how incredible that was, that they would find the time to smile. There was goodness in the world still, even if you couldn’t always see it.” It sums up the book and the feelings behind it. I was expecting the book to break my heart, to make me sick with feelings and cry my eyes out but I smiled and laughed and even gasped when I read the book because as sad as the story is there was still a lot of things that were really happy and really joyful.

With looking after Storma, Rowan literally has no social life. Until a boy (a cute boy) hands her a negative for a picture and assures her that it belongs to her. Even though Rowan is positive it doesn’t. I absolutely love this part. The negative of the picture, the mystery behind it, not knowing what it is or whom it belonged to. It was great.

The characters in this book put a positive spin on Rowan’s life. I love that about this book. Rowan is so caring and loving that she is the mother figure for her sister even though it must have been horrible and hard for her to adjust. Bee brings a funny side with her almost bubbly personality, Storma is just adorable, sweet and funny; she nearly made me cry when I was reading her letters to her dead brother and Harper helps Rowan get some of her life that disappeared along with her brother.  

The fact that the book was set in England made me happy. It was so much easier for me to relate to it, however after reading so many books based in America it was weird getting used to it. But once I did I was excited.

The book is such a fast read that I finished it within a couple of hours. It seemed so short, it felt like I turned the page and it was over. I am so glad I read this book. The only reason why I’m not “in love” with this book is only because the story was predictable in an unpredictable way. I could kinda guess what might happen and sometimes I was right or just about right but I still liked the little twists. I never saw the last twist however. That shocked me.