Masque of the Red Death By: Bethany Griffin

Title: Masque of the Red Death
Author: Bethany Griffin
Pages: 400
Level:  Young Adult
Published: April 24, 2012


Everything is in ruins.
A devastating plague has decimated the population. And those who are left live in fear of catching it as the city crumbles to pieces around them.
So what does Araby Worth have to live for?
Nights in the Debauchery Club, beautiful dresses, glittery make-up . . . and tantalizing ways to forget it all.
But in the depths of the club—in the depths of her own despair—Araby will find more than oblivion. She will find Will, the terribly handsome proprietor of the club. And Elliott, the wickedly smart aristocrat. Neither boy is what he seems. Both have secrets. Everyone does. And Araby may find something not just to live for, but to fight for—no matter what it costs her.

Review:

Just from reading the synopsis I was enthralled by the plot. I love this style because it kind of reminds me of back in the 1920s when all the girls were flappers. Anyways,this book was absolutely fantastic. I do not think I will ever be able to get over how much I love this book. Normally when I start a book it takes me at least 25 pages to really become interested. Not with this one, I was interested from the very first page. I don't know what it is with adaptations, but I love them so much. This one did not fail to impress me.

I really liked the plot. I didn't find one boring part of the book, ever. There was one problem that I had with this book though. If there is going to be a love interest, at least make it to where it's plainly obvious. I understand that I might be the only one that cannot clearly see who Araby likes, but it should be a no-brainer. The entire time I had to keep guessing, oh does she like Will? Or wait, does she like Elliott now? The end did not clear anything up either.

Everything other than that was amazing. I loved the setting, I mean who doesn't love dystopian books? Overall the best book I have read in some time.

Cover: 4/5

Character Rating: 3/5

Style: 4/5

Plot Development: 4/5

Overall: *****

Pandemonium By: Lauren Oliver

Title: Pandemonium

Author: Lauren Oliver

Pages: 375

Level: Young Adult

Published: February 28, 2012

Pandemonium continues Lena’s gripping story. After escaping from Portland, Maine, Lena makes it to the Wilds and becomes part of an Invalid community, where she transforms herself into a warrior for the resistance. A future without Alex is unimaginable, but Lena pushes forward and fights, both for him and for a world in which love is no longer considered a disease. Swept up in a volatile mix of revolutionaries and counterinsurgents, Lena struggles to survive—and wonders if she may be falling in love again.

Review: 

Oh lordy, where do I start? When I first read Delirium I was overwhelmed by my love for the book and could not wait for Pandemonium. Once it came out though there was such a length between the two that I forgot that I had been yearning for it. It took me a while before I decided to sit down and read it. One of the biggest mistakes of my life. 

You know when you start reading a book and you’re expecting at least the first thirty pages to be boring before you become enveloped in the book? There was absolutely none of that. From the first page I was mesmerized. You’d think that because it goes from then to now it wouldn’t work…well at least I did. It was so perfect, I loved it. Every time the ‘then’ section ended I would want to get through the ‘now’ section as quick as possible to get back to the ‘then’ , but once I was in the ‘then’ I was thinking about the ‘now’ section.

Gah. I loved this book so much. And I’m kind of sad to say that I liked Julian much more than Alex. 

If you are hesitant to read this book like I was, DON’T. I don’t know how many ways I can convey how much I loved this book. I am going to be waiting for the day the next installment comes out. 

Cover: 2/5

Character Rating: 5/5

Style: 5/5

Plot Development: 4/5

Overall: ***** ( I wish I could award this book more)

The Immortal Rules By: Julie Kagawa

Title: The Immortal Rules
Author: Julie Kagawa
Pages: 512
Level: Young Adult
Published: April 24, 2012




"In a future world, vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity."Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.


Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of "them." The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked--and given the ultimate choice. Die...or become one of the monsters.


Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.


Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend--a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.


But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what--and who--is worth dying for.


Review:


I don't even know where to begin. From the minute I read the synopsis, this book captivated me. It had an interesting plot line, one I certainly hadn't read before.
As I got into the book it surprised me even more because not only was it a new interesting vampire book (I mean come on, how many are out there thousands?), but it was also in a way a dystopian novel. Which really appealed to me.


At the beginning of the book it starts off with part one, when she's human. I knew that she was going to turn into a vampire, but... I don't know it's hard to explain. The first part of the book was like a small story inside of the book itself. As soon as you got attached to the characters they were ripped away and you had to meet  new ones. As well as in the second part. I mean it's kind of appealing because the plot never fails to remain interesting, but I'm so used to having to leave characters behind at the end of a book or series that it left me kind of heart broken considering it was the first 150 pages.


Eventually that stopped though and there was just one solid set of characters. I have to admit I liked almost all of the characters. By the end of the book I was really attached to each and every one (especially Darren), which was surprising because some of them were extremely obnoxious.


The plot also failed to bore me, which is probably the biggest plus out there. The only issue I had, which isn't even a major issue considering it's my opinion, but I hated the ending. You'll know what I'm talking about if you've read the book or once you do. I don't want to give away spoilers, but I'll just leave with the fact that Allison's and Zeke's relationship status at the end disappointed me. I am going to be dreading the wait for the next installment.

Cover: 4/5

Character Rating: 5/5

Style: 4/5

Plot Development: 5/5

Overall: *****

Divergent By: Veronica Roth

Title: Divergent
Author: Veronica Roth
Pages: 496
Level: Young Adult
Published: May 3, 2011


In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris, and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together, they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes-fascinating, sometimes-exasperating boy fits into the life she’s chosen.
But Tris also has a secret: one she’s kept hidden from everyone, because she’s been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly-perfect society, she also learns that her secret might be what helps her save those she loves . . . or it might be what destroys her.

Review:

When I first started reading this, I couldn't put it down, well, I couldn't ever put it down. From the first five pages I was already mesmerized by the setting. I would love to live in a world where you choose a faction, it seems so much more interesting than life now.

Anyways, I absolutely loved this book. It was beyond my expectations. I loved the plot line and actually the only part that I found somewhat boring was the last 20 pages because it wasn't like the rest of the book.

While I was reading this it kept giving me deja-vu of when I was reading The Host by Stephanie Meyer, not because the plots are similar, but because I had the same sort of feeling when reading both. They both made me jealous because I wasn't living in the actual story.

I cannot wait to go and buy the next one, I'm sure it wont disappoint. Seriously though if you want an AMAZING book to read, definitely go pick up this one because it will blow your socks off.

Cover: 4/5

Character Rating: 5/5

Style: 5/5

Development: 5/5

Overall: *****

1984 by George Orwell

Title: 1984

Author: George Orwell

Pages: 266 (my version)

Level: Mature (there's sex)

Published: June 8, 1949

Winston Smith lives in a totalitarian society in which his every move is being watched, his every word being heard, and every flicker of his eyes speculated. You can't trust anyone in this world. Children will turn in their own parents if they suspect them to be traitors. Winston's job is to rewrite the past according to the present. Deleting names from documents, burning old newspaper, anything to keep control of the people. But Winston doesn't like being held down by this government. He wants to live life like he wants to live it. To do that is suicide, but he is willing to risk anything. 

Zhanna Review: 

Let's start at the beginning. No, I did not read this for school. I read this on my own account (well, kinda). My neighbor said I had to read it. She said that this book is the best dystopian novel as it illustrates very keen points that a dystopian novel should have. So I took it and began reading. 

This book took me about 30 pages to get into. It was slow, and it wasn't very clear but I kept on reading and...

This book scarred me for life. 

This book is so scary, I'm not even going to lie. I nearly pooped my pants a couple times. 

But it rocked. 

This book was so elegantly written and the setting was absolutely amazing. 

A few things that bothered me:

1. I felt like women were being downgraded. Orwell portrayed women as weak automatons and I got a little offended, honestly. 

2. Winston was super gullible and trusted too many people for my comfort. I thought he was smarter than that. 

That's pretty much it. This book was disgusting, hard to look at, and I wanted to scream at it. 

It was one of the best books ever. 

I'm going back to my corner to cleanse my mind with YA for now though. I need a break.

Cover: 1/5 

Character Rating: 3/5

Style: 4/5

Development: 5/5

Overall: 

****

The Knife of Never Letting Go by: Patrick Ness

Title: The Knife of Never Letting Go

Author: Patrick Ness

Pages: 496

Published: May 5th, 2008

Prentisstown isn't like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else's thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee -- whose thoughts Todd can hear too, whether he wants to or not -- stumble upon an area of complete silence. They find that in a town where privacy is impossible, something terrible has been hidden -- a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee must run for their lives.
But how do you escape when your pursuers can hear your every thought?

Review:

When Todd is forced to leave his town, the world he knows is flipped upside down. Especially when he finds a mysterious girl in the woods. How is this possible? The entire female race was obliterated by the Spackle, an evil alien race. All Todd knows though, is that people are after him and that he has to outrun them. 

I think I know where The Maze Runner got it's inspiration. 

I liked The Knife of Never Letting Go. It was a good book. The plot was well thought out and kept me interested. It took me a while to get into it though, but it soon became fast paced. 

One thing that bothered me was that the girl refused to talk for about half the book. Seriously, why? Todd is obviously having a hard time, and you aren't making it any better by not talking. 

Another thing that bothered me was Todd's temper. He pretty much lost it about 30 times. I found myself skimming those parts. 

I think the next book will be better, only because I was confused for most of the book. There were many secrets that were revealed at the end that made me understand better and the second book will probably play off those revealed secrets a lot more. 

I'm excited to finish reading this series, and I'm glad I don't have to wait for the next book. 

Cover: 2/5

Character Rating: 3/5

Style: 4/5

Development: 4/5

Overall: 

****

Oh! I almost forgot. This book has a lot of cursing. I'm not opposed to a good placed curse, so it didn't bother me. 

Fever By Lauren DeStefano

Title: Fever

Author: Lauren DeStefano

Pages: 341

Level: Young Adult

Published: February 21, 2012

Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but they’re still in danger. Outside, they find a world even more disquieting than the one they left behind. Determined to get to Manhattan and to find Rhine’s twin brother Rowan, the two press forward, amidst threats of being captured again . . . or worse.

The road they are on is long and perilous—and in a world where young women only live to age 20 and men die at age 25, time is precious. In this sequel to Lauren DeStefano’s harrowing Wither, Rhine must decide if freedom is worth the price—now that she has more to lose than ever.

Review:

This is the second installment of The Chemical Garden Trilogy. When I first started, probably 40 pages in, I hated it. It was not what I had imagined it to be. I did not like the plot line. It was kind of boring, and the "carnival" (you'll know what I'm talking about when you get to it) was so depressing, I was like "is this seriously going to be what the book is about?"

I guess I just wasn't open-minded to what other plots could be since I had already made up my own. WELL, I was wrong. This book was pretty dang fabulous. I LOVED the cover, you seriously have no idea. I want to go to Kinko's and make a giant life-sized copy of it to hang on my wall, yes, it's that wonderful.

I also liked the new characters, they were so fresh and I felt that if I was in the book, that I would be friends with them as well.

The plot line was so quick I had to keep reading to see what was going to happen. I mean Vaughn scared the hell out of me so I was freaking out for them.

The only complaint I have is the ending. I thought that she was trying to wrap the book up so quickly, I guess so that she could have the rest of the good stuff in the third, but to me anyway there could have been another hundred pages.

Otherwise... It was absolutely freakin' amazing.

Cover: 5/5

Character Rating: 4/5

Style: 5/5

Development: 4/5

Overall:

****

Awaken By Katie Kacvinsky

Title: Awaken

Author: Katie Kavinsky

Pages: 310

Level: Young Adult

Published: May 23, 2011

"In the year 2060, everything is done digitally. Kids no longer go to schools. They stay home and take classes online. Adults work from home, too. Even dating is no longer done in person. Why walk on a real beach when you can stroll down a digitally remastered one instead? No bad weather, no seagulls, nothing real to ruin a perfectly fine time. Though she's grown up in this digital world, something about being cut off from everyone doesn't sit right with seventeen-year-old Madeline. Her favorite activity--the only one she does off line--is soccer. She likes the physicality of it and the comradery with the other girls. Then she meets Justin. He, too, prefers life off line. It's all he talks about. He even takes her out to a real coffee shop and an underground club. Maybe it's his attentiveness, or the physical closeness of actually being with someone, or just that he's very good looking, Madie is definitely drawn to him. But there's also something very aloof about him, like perhaps he's hiding something. When Madie uncovers the truth, she's faced with the question: What's more important, fighting for what you believe in or love?"

Review:

I picked up this book probably 8 months ago and I really wanted to read it so I put it on my plan to read list and forgot about it. Man, do I wish that I would have bought it that day. This book was extremely good. I started at about 10PM last night and I could not stop reading it. It was so good, I think I finally finished at 3 AM and I was kind of mindblown.

The plot was so different from anything that I have read so it was refreshing to read something that hadn't already been done 50 billion times. And, I am a hopeless romantic so when I met a sexy,brilliant, mysterious heartthrob, I was even more mesmerized to continue reading it.

One of the characteristics of a really good book, at least to me anyway, is when the book really makes you think or it makes you want to change your ways. The main storyline of this book was about how digitalized everything had become and how no one was interacting with each other or spending time outdoors. It really made me want to go take a walk outside or touch the grass. I was really considering putting down the computer, and even books for a while because I need to spend more time outside. I can't do that though, so whatever.

I also didn't mind the characters either. I really liked Justin, if I had met him in real life I definitely would have been swooning.

I think being that this was her debut novel, she deserves a standing O because it was really good. I do have some minor things that bugged me though.

First off, the main character, Madeline, took forever to chose what side she was going to be on. She was so wishy-washy I was screaming pick a side! Another thing, the romance was so generic, there wasn't anything new to it. And the ending was so cheesy, not the very ending, but the "action" parts. I was laughing at how stupid it was, but maybe that was just me.

Otherwise this book was really good and if you want to breathe a breath of fresh air, this book will make you do it for the most part.

Cover: 4/5

Character Rating: 3/5

Style: 4/5

Development: 4/5

Overall:

****

Article 5 by Kritsen Simmons

Title: Article 5

Author: Kristen Simmons

Pages: 364

Level: Young Adult

Published: January 31, 2012

"New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned. 
The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.
There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back. 
Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren't always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it's hard for her to forget that people weren't always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It's hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different. 
Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow. 
That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings—the only boy Ember has ever loved."

Review: 

I have to start off by saying that I love dystopia books. They are definitely my all time favorite genre of writing. 

One thing that I find with most well written, heart-felt dystopia novels is that war completely destroys. 

That is,war completely destroys, but some things are worth fighting for. 

Another thing that I really love dystopia for is that they all have one thing in common: hope. 

It's really interesting for me to read about; how the characters struggle with fighting for something that can get them and everyone they care about demolished, but they fight anyways because they believe so strongly that it's the right thing to do. 

It's oddly inspirational.  ^.^

Anyway, back to the actual review. 

By reading the inside cover of the book (listed above), it sounds absolutely AMAZING. I was so excited to start reading. I had been on the look out for a book that could possibly beat The Hunger Games and this sounded perfect. 
The first couple pages were good. The author did a good job with a hook and made me want to keep reading for about the first 20 pages, which is about when Ember's mother is being arrested. 
After that, things got a little too girly/needy for me. 
Once Chase, the boy that arrests Ember's mother, is in the picture, the main character, Ember, gets really whiny and annoying. It kinda sucks being stuck in her head. 
    Reason 1: Ember is overly dramatic. 
                   a) "My eyes widened." 
                   b) "I couldn't breathe." 
                   c) "My heart stopped." 
                   d) "My voice shook. My whole body shook."
I felt that these types interjections were on every single page. C'mon girl, you're supposed to be tough. Stop and grow a pair. (please.)
   Reason 2: Ember is stupid. 
               a) So imagine you are being attacked. It's natural to defend yourself, to want to hurt the person who is trying to hurt you. Right? Well, Ember gets angry at Chase for defending her from a guy who was going to rape her. 
Ember: "You almost killed that guy! You would have if I didn't stop you."
Chase: "They were going to hurt you."
Ember: "So that makes it okay?" 
Well Ember, that guy was going to rape you. So, HECK YES THAT MAKES IT OKAY. 
              b)Ember is still stupid. Like running away from safety, stupid. Multiple times. 
              c) Chase: "Hey, are you-"
                   Ember: *slaps him*
                Me: ????????
              d) Ember: " I guess I leave my clothes on, right?"
                  Me: Well, yeah, unless you want to sleep naked with some guy in the same sleeping bag. That's not awkward. 


  Reason 3:  Another thing that bothered me was the writing style. A lot of the sentences didn't make sense.  For example: 
    a) "The ground was relatively flat and not too rocky." Now thats all well and good until I read later (in the same setting) "And though the ground was cold and uneven..."
Wait, what?  But you just said.....??
    b)"One of the soldiers had short brown hair that grayed around his temples, and wrinkles around the corners of his mouth that made him appear too old for his age." Umm, how do you know his age? This is first person, right?


Reason 4: Sometimes, this book seemed cheesy and a little too run down, like the author is stealing ideas from another author. 
         a) Chase: "I promised I'd never hurt you." Hellooooo, Twilight anyone?
I don't know, I'm probably being more frugal that I should be but these things annoyed me. This book was taken over by fluffy romance and totally ruined the potential it had to be a true dystopian book (in my eyes). 

Cover: 3/5

Character Rating: 0/5

Style: 0/5

Development: 1/5

Overall: 

*

It is a sad, sad day. Only one star :( If you've read this book, tell me what you think of it.