Linger by Maggie Steifvater

I’m saying screw it to any of my old rules. I’ll review whatever book I want to review, whether I’ve read the first one or not, and I’ll go at my own pace. I probably read about one book per week, but half of them I don’t feel like writing a review for so the nice system gets messed up anyway. So, here we go for LINGER.

They thought that they were fixed. In a small town called Mercy Falls, Sam and Grace slip back in to the routine of a normal life. But something is wrong. Grace is developing migraines that she’s never had before, and there is a growing feeling that something inside her is trying to break through to the surface. Meanwhile Sam is left to watch over the pack of wolves, waiting for them to shift back into their human forms. Then – Cole, a new wolf enters their lives. As all of their worlds start to fall apart, only one certain thing remains…. but will it linger?

 

Compared to the first one, which I read about two years ago… or something close to that, Linger is a little uneventful. I mean, the first one had a lot more going on, where this one was more dragged out, with less events that made you want to turn the page. It still kept me reading though, these series are interesting and I thought that adding Cole (a new character) really helped out with the plotline.

Other than the fact that there wasn’t much going on, I think that this was a great transition story from Shiver, to the next book. If there is a next one anyways… there should be! I love the writing style used in this book, and the highlight of the book was the relationship that Cole and Isabel had. I think that those were the strongest points in Stiefvater’s writing. She really captured the real of those two characters, especially when they were together. I loved it.

So, all in all, I give this one a 3.5 out of 5.

Here is her website, http://maggiestiefvater.com/novels.php#wolves I see a cover for the third one, so there you have it!

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson

Whew. It sure is getting close to Christmas huh? I went skiing today with my family and the snow was pretty awesome. Winter is one of the most beautiful seasons, and one of the best ones to curl up on your couch with a blanket and read a book. :)

 In a land of BioCromatic Breath and Returned Gods, two countries are on the verge of war. Suri – an Idrian princess –  is sent by her father to marry the God King, while her elder sister Vivenna sneaks into the city and finds ways to disrupt order and cause confusion among the citizens of T’Telir. Meanwhile, in the Court of God’s, Lightsong – the laziest God around – becomes interested in the new Queen, and the politics surrounding the upcoming war. Even with the help of Vivenna and her mercenaries, and the secrets Suri finds out about the God King… will they be able to stop the war against their homeland?

First things first… I LOVED THIS BOOK. It was amazing! Everything was perfect, the beautiful and creative setting, the different religions and controversy between the cultures. It was so well thought out, and it kept me hooked the whole way. As you slowly learn about the world of Hallendren, you become more and more attached to it.

The characters are the most developed ones that I’ve read about in a long time. Especially Lightsong and Vivenna, the way they change through the story and how much they learn is amazing. The whole plot is rich, and full of twists that I didn’t expect at all. I was so surprised at a certain part, and I had to take a break from reading and take a few breaths.

I think the most astounding part of this novel is the logic and creativity that were combined to make the story perfectly balanced. You can’t know what I’m talking about until you read it. GO GO GO. It’s amazing.

5 OUT OF 5

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

Quad by C.G. Watson

I finished this book on Sunday night, but decided to wait on the review for a bit because the next book I’m reading will probably take a little bit longer. Thin pages and tiny writing often do that to a book. Anyways, I think that the deadline thing is helping me out. I do better when put under pressure. :) Well, no more dilly dally.

People of all sorts are gathered together in one place – school. The Choir Boys, Drama Queens, Preps, Freaks, Jocks and Techies have to deal with the many things that come with high school. Each with their own problems and the potential to crack. But when a wild party goes haywire, and the wrong people get pushed around – everybody has to deal with the consequences. Now, the school is in lockdown and being terrorized by somebody whose identity is unknown. Who could it be, who was the one who finally snapped? And why do people have to be so mean?

This is sort of a messed up novel. I don’t really know what to say or think about it… I mean, it wasn’t bad but if you think about what happened in it it’s like ‘Uhm… what the hell was the point of that whole story?’ It’s not what you expect from reading the summery on my book, or even what you might get from my summery. It basically goes in between each of those cliques and events happen that lead at least one person to seem like they might ‘snap’. It’s sort of like Watson was attempting to make a mystery… but then it sort of doesn’t feel like that either.

I don’t know. It’s sort of hard to explain. If you’re looking for more of what the hell it’s about, it’s about bullying in high school, the pressures that students have to go through, and how mean people can really be. I think that it was a good idea and interestingly put together. It was an enjoyable read, so I’m neutral about it – but it was also sort of confusing and made me not know what to think of it. I don’t know…. just… read it if you want to feel what I’m feeling here.

I’ll give this one a 2.5, I think that this is Watson’s first book. http://www.cgwatson.com/

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

Sabriel by Garth Nix

I think that I’m going to have to make a rule, where I have to finish one book per week. Then I can not only get through my pile easier, but I can also actively blog. It’s a great idea, I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before!!! OH, and I have something to show you guys, check it out. http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/at-europe/at-europe-london-closeup-the-amazing-staircase-042543 It’s a staircase/bookshelf! I want it! This is the first thing that I’m going to do when I’m rich and get to design my dream house. The next thing I will do is make a huge bedroom which is just a bouncy and comfortable mattress going all the way to the walls – but that’s irrelevant.

Growing up outside the wall of the Old Kingdom, living the life of a student, Sabriel is whisked off her feet by the news that her father is trapped somewhere in Death. Using all that her father has taught her about necromancy and sending dead spirits to rest – Sabriel travels into the depths of the Old Kingdom to rescue her father and to make sure that the dead are not freed from their bindings. Pursued by evil spirits and taking many crash landings on the way, Sabriel has to face one of the Greater Dead (possibly the greatest) and use all that she has learned from her father to defeat it. But can she do it without using Astarael – the Sorrowful – which when rung would make all who hurt slip into death.

This book didn’t start slow at all, and that made me happy. It wasted no time in the beginning, and went right to making you form in your mind what the hell was going on with the setting. It has magic and technology mixed together, and the way that the author eased you into the world that Sabriel lived in was perfectly done. I enjoyed this book very very much.

The one thing that I would say needs some work is some character issues. I know that in Nix’s writing style character’s personalities are all very simple, but still. I think that he could work on the main character being a little more interesting. She doesn’t really have personality traits and seems kind of neutral about everything. I just wish that there would be something else that made her unique, besides being full of courage just like every other protagonist in fiction books.

The setting was wonderful, I loved the time and the world that Sabriel lived in. This is a great book, and I recommend it. Here is Garth Nix’s website. http://www.garthnix.com/ I give this one a steady 4 out of 5. (The pictures with the stars are on my other computer, Sorry!)

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

Gone by Lisa McMann

Wow. It has been a while. I read two other books before this, both I didn’t think were worth reviewing because I really had nothing to say about either of them. I have lots of books on the way though, as usual. When I finally start to think that my book pile is getting smaller, I walk by a Chapters and I have to go for more. I think that I might be a bookaholic.

 Things almost seem back to normal for Janie, after learning more about her ability to see other people’s dreams, finding the love of her life, and becoming an undercover police agent. Except there is a dreadful nagging image in the back of her mind that haunts her no matter how much she pushes it away. Just when Janie thinks that she’s decided, she’s slammed in the face with yet another surprise, that leads her to a brand new discovery about her dream catcher. But more importantly, will Janie ever be able to make her choice and get out of this Morton's Fork?

 

 

I got excited before I read this book. It’s the third in a trilogy and I read the first two in grade 8. They were both great books, and I loved them, so I expected this one to be a dramatic finish full of twists and turns that will make an excellent end to this series!

Well, I was wrong. This book is just plain boring. Nothing even remotely interesting happens until you’re half way through the book, and even then, the thing that is supposed to make you gasp with surprise isn’t very surprising at all.

Another thing was that I had the previous novels such a long time ago that I didn’t remember some things that happened, and when you start on this one it just dives in right away and I didn’t get some things until the very end, which was nice in a way because it gave some effect, but still. There were some good parts, but overall this was a crappy last book in a good series.

I give this one a 2.5.

To make matters worse, Miley Cyrus is going to be playing the main character in these books which are being made into a movie! http://blog.moviefone.com/2010/06/17/miley-cyrus-will-star-in-ya-thriller-wake/ Yay for bad actors ruining good books!

If you want to check out McMann’s website, here you go. http://www.lisamcmann.com/html/home2.html She has a new book coming out in Feburary if you’re interested.

Later Cheese Graters!

MRR

Fallen by Lauren Kate

Hey, this was sooner than expected, but I think that I can read better when under pressure. I had a book on hold at the library, and it finally was my turn, and I had two weeks to read it. I thought that I wouldn’t be able to finish it on time, but I finished reading it on Tuesday, and kept on sneaking to my room during Thanksgiving to read a couple pages.

All of her life, Luce has seen the shadows. They stay at a distance, until one night everything goes wrong, and she’s blamed for the death of a friend. This wins Luce a one way ticket to Sword & Cross – a gothic reform school. That’s where she sees Daniel, and instantly feels like she’s met him before. Who is Daniel and what did he do to get himself into Sword & Cross? And how will Luce get rid of the persistent shadows that are slowly closing in on her?

As I was reading this book, I was totally into it. The beginning was engaging and it kept me interesting through almost the entire thing. I kept guessing what the prologue meant, and who was who. The characters are fit well together, and the plotline goes at just the right speed. But as I kept reading, I started to get wary. The only thing that Luce was doing in some part of the story was just going back and forth between the two guys. She would finish talking with one guy and then it would go straight to the next one, and over and over again.

Now, the thing about Luce is that her character isn’t that great. She’s a little shy and has some sense of humour, but other than that she has no personality. By the time that things were speeding up in the book, and secrets were revealed and fights were going on… I was expecting that Luce would step up and be a man. Her character should have developed as she went through her hardships, but she just stayed the same! And when she was the only person who didn’t know what was actually happening, she was just a zombie and didn’t even get angry. Her boyfriend told her that she didn’t need to know, so she excepted it and did what she was told like a good little girl.

If you think that that isn’t bad enough, then get this. When the final showdown fight started between good and evil, her boyfriend shooed her away to safety, and let her cower in a room while he fought for her. I know that she wouldn’t have stood a chance, but still… she didn’t question it at all! I also know that some people have personalities like that… but come on! I want to hear a story about the people who are unique, and have some sort of flaw other than being a lovesick pansy.

Overall though, it wasn’t a bad book. Maybe Luce will get better in the next one, I believe that it is called Torment (check out her website and other books there). And I shall give this book a 4.

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR

Tithe by Holly Black

Wow, this went quicker then I thought it would. This book was pretty short, because it had short pages and bigger writing then usual. It was the perfect book to get me back in the mood of reading! I’m currently in the middle of another book, and I feel like I’m on a role!

 Kaye’s life had always been moving and changing, but now the one thing that had remained a solid memory – was turning into something she could never thought it could. Now she struggles to find the truth about the cruel faerie world that she once had thought was about innocent fun. Kaye has to cope as she gets wedged in the middle of two sides that are constantly at a secret war. As everything she knows topples over, and she slowly falls for a brave and confusing dark Knight. How will she ever untangle herself from the Fey world?

 

LOVED this book. It vas very good, yes? Yes. I’ve never really found a book about faeries that I really liked, but this one was wonderfully written. The plot line seemed to on forever, but only because there were so many twists and turns that it kept on going even after I thought it would be the end of things. It kept me on my toes, and it kept me longing and hoping for more romance stuff, because fantasy and romance work well together.

Even though the faerie land was beautiful and very alluring, but the realness of Kaye’s previous life is also something that is really interesting to read about. How she moves around so much, and how bad her mom is at parenting her, it just fits the whole story together very nicely.

I give this book a well deserved 4.

Here is her website, http://www.blackholly.com/ and Happy Thanksgiving everybody!

Later Cheese Graters.

MRR

The Golem’s Eye by Jonathan Stroud

It’s probably been a month! A long month at that. All work work work, no time for reading what so ever – to finish this book I had to just sit down and read until 1 o’clock. And now I have to get over how proud I am to finish that one book and get on to the other 20 on my shelf. I’m sure that I’ve said this all before, about how much stuff I have to read.. but I counted today, and there is exactly 20. Whew man.

Two year after the Amulet of Samarkand was returned to it’s proper place, Nathaniel is growing up quickly. Assistant to the head of International Affairs, and gaining status in the magician world, Nathaniel has got a busy future ahead of him. Hunting down the Resistance and trying to figure out what the cause of all the mysterious attacks that are happening constantly throughout London, Nathaniel finds himself missing his old slave and summons Bartimaeus once again.

Sorry about the crappy summery, I’m just going to go ahead and say that it really has been a while. The first thing that I have to say about this book, would be that it was not as good as the first one. The best part about the first book in this serious was that Bartimaeus’ point of view was so much fun to read, because he was hilarious. His character was the humour in the book, and he was the one who made everything more enjoyable. In the second one, you don’t see as much of him as you did in the first one. There is another character’s point of view that took over… and it just wasn’t the same.

If you just want to talk in terms of the story though, it was really good. Nicely woven together with two opposite points of view, and a even a couple different mysteries in one plot line. I really liked this book, and I would have read it much more quickly if I had the time.

I’ll give this one a 3.5 (one less mark then the first one) And here is the website once again. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kJqygAs2uq4

Now, I have a present for you guys. I made a nice Wordle for the blog at this point, if you don’t know what it is – then check it out. http://www.wordle.net/ You basically give Wordle the URL and they’ll make a little poster of the most used words on that webpage. You can change the font, the colours, and the layout. It’s all really cool.

So there you go! Maybe I’ll see you next month.

Later Cheese Graters,

MRR