Book Review: Enders

Enders

Lissa Price

Callie thought the nightmare of Prime Destinations and the old man were over.  She was wrong.  Now it seems that the old man is communicating with Callie through a chip in her brain.  At the same time, the other "Metals," those having chips, are being rounded up and captured to sell to the highest bidder.

Can Callie remove the chip? Or will it explode like the other girl? Who is the Old Man?  When Callie meets the son of the Old Man, Callie's world is turned even more upside down than she ever thought possible.  Can she work together with Michael and the Old Man's son to save her brother, the other Starters, and maybe her father?

I will preface this by saying that the first book was significantly better than its sequel.  Unfortunately, this is the case with most series.  There are a ton of plot twists and turns, and Callie's struggle to find out the truth and save those she loves is riveting.  Some of these twists and turns are fairly obvious, but there is so much going on, and so much Callie doesn't know, that the reader is left sitting on edge waiting for the truth to come out.

Callie is a strong, independent female.  However, no matter how many times she is told by no matter how many people to trust NO ONE, she tends to trust every new character in the story without question.  This bothers me; Callie is the character that brought down Prime Destinations.  She saved her friends and her brother once.  She knows the seedy underbelly of this technology, but when she sees sexy son of the Old Man, she wants to kiss him and hold him, regardless of the fact that he is the SON of her arch-nemesis.  If you can get past this part of the story, I think the dystopian idea of older generations using young teens' bodies to live a fantastical life will be incredibly appealing.  

Regardless, pick up this series--definitely start with Starters so you know what the heck is going on!

Combining Great Literature!

Book Review: Cold Calls

WHOAH! Mind BLOWN!

Cold Calls

Charles Benoit

3 Teens, 1 voice-- "I know your secret."

Three high school students, who have never met before, have all received a mysterious phone call telling them he/she knows each of their secrets, and if they do not do EXACTLY as the mysterious voice says, he/she will spill the secret to everyone they know.

When Eric, Shelly, and Fatima get caught bullying three different students at their respective schools, they are all sent to a weekend bullying course.  There, they realize they all received the same mysterious phone call forcing them to bully a student in the same way.

The trio teams up to find out who is behind the phone calls before the last bullying event must take place...but the clock is ticking.

I was unsure what this book would be about simply reading the summary, but I do love a good mystery novel.  The suspense of this book is overwhelming, and I ended up reading the whole thing in one sitting--so if you're hoping to sleep tonight, do NOT start reading this in the evening!

This book is a great take on bullying and secrets among teenagers.  What one student can go through can affect how they react to future situations--it changes them, and when revenge is the outcome, the bullying spreads exponentially.

Benoit did a fantastic job keeping the reader on their toes--we think we know what the secrets are, but they are only slowwwwwly shown, clue by clue.  I really appreciate this book's tackle on bullying, and what teens CAN be capable of, and also the integrity that teens can be capable of, on the other end of the spectrum.

Meow

Book Review: All The Truth That's In Me

NOT what I expected, but pretty darn good!

All the Truth That's in Me

Julie Berry

Judith and her best friend disappeared for two years from her small village.  When Judith shows up two years later with her tongue cut out, the extremely religious community shuns her and sees her as an abomination rather than befriending and supporting her after her trauma.

Judith experienced much in those two years, and finally, she is starting to accept what happened to her, with the support of her brother, and her newly married friend.  The past is not what she thought, and what happened to her murdered friend is not what anyone imagined.

I loved this book like crazy.  I originally read the summary and thought, "oh, that sounds interesting. Might be a murder-mystery."  While it was mildly this, there is a whole back story that is unraveled, perfectly timed by the author.  You are left yelling at the people of the village for ignoring and making fun of Judith instead of showing compassion after having her tongue cut out, and as far as they know, raped.  

Judith stays strong, and dedicated to the boy she loves, and when one young woman finally befriends her, Judith begins to change and realize she CAN speak, albeit strange and hard to understand.  She faces what happened to her in those two years and gains the strength to save her village, and herself.

This book will leave you hanging--you won't stop reading it, if you can help it.

Interesting Facts About Reading

Book Review: A Clash of Kings

I finally finished the second Game of Thrones book! This book is awwwwwesome. Now, I just have watch the TV show...

A Clash of Kings

George R.R. Martin

Goodreads Summary:

Time is out of joint. The summer of peace and plenty, ten years long, is drawing to a close, and the harsh, chill winter approaches like an angry beast. Two great leaders—Lord Eddard Stark and Robert Baratheon;who held sway over an age of enforced peace are dead...victims of royal treachery. Now, from the ancient citadel of Dragonstone to the forbidding shores of Winterfell, chaos reigns, as pretenders to the Iron Throne of the Seven Kingdoms prepare to stake their claims through tempest, turmoil, and war. 

As a prophecy of doom cuts across the sky;a comet the color of blood and flame;six factions struggle for control of a divided land. Eddard's son Robb has declared himself King in the North. In the south, Joffrey, the heir apparent, rules in name only, victim of the scheming courtiers who teem over King's Landing. Robert's two brothers each seek their own dominion, while a disfavored house turns once more to conquest. And a continent away, an exiled queen, the Mother of Dragons, risks everything to lead her precious brood across a hard hot desert to win back the crown that is rightfully hers. 

A Clash of Kings transports us into a magnificent, forgotten land of revelry and revenge, wizardry and wartime. It is a tale in which maidens cavort with madmen, brother plots against brother, and the dead rise to walk in the night. Here a princess masquerades as an orphan boy; a knight of the mind prepares a poison for a treacherous sorceress; and wild men descend from the Mountains of the Moon to ravage the countryside. 

Against a backdrop of incest and fratricide, alchemy and murder, the price of glory may be measured in blood. And the spoils of victory may just go to the men and women possessed of the coldest steel...and the coldest hearts. For when rulers clash, all of the land feels the tremors. 

Audacious, inventive, brilliantly imagined, A Clash of Kings is a novel of dazzling beauty and boundless enchantment;a tale of pure excitement you will never forget.

The TV show is probably fantastic, but this book is incredible and mesmerizing!  The second book picks up right where the first one left off.  You might get a little confused with all the new characters that are introduced in this book, but regardless, it is easy to pick up what is going on and what the overall picture is.  Everyone betrays everyone...and I had trouble figuring out who betrayed who, but man, I was thrown just about every time it happened!

I am very much in love with Arya's story; she is becoming a strong, independent young woman, and she seems older than her actual age because of it.  This book is an adventure, one that will probably last awhile, due to the 750 pages, but if you enjoyed the first book, you will definitely love this one!