Insurgent

Insurgent
by Veronica Roth


One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so. -Back o' the Book

This is book 2 (and I believe it's the last of the series) for the novel Divergent. I really enjoyed the first book but was kind of unimpressed by the main character although I did see much room for personal growth. In Insurgent, I was not disappointed. The stakes were much higher, the plot deeper, and the characters more complex, especially Tris, our heroine. I enjoyed watching her develop a personality and how bad things seemed to pile up on her. Her rise to the call of bravery was also invigorating to watch. 

I thought the ending left a lot of questions but gave you enough to satisfy (if this really is the end). I think anyone who likes dystopian novels would appreciate this series as much as I did. It even has a tad bit of romance in it although it's not riddled with it.

-Recommended

Crack Up To Be

Cracked Up To Be
by Courtney Summers

Perfect Parker Fadley isn't so perfect anymore.  She’s quit the cheerleading squad, she’s dumped her perfect boyfriend, and she’s failing school.  Her parents are on a constant suicide watch and her counselors think she’s playing games…but what they don’t know, the real reason for this whole mess, isn't something she can say out loud.  It isn't even something she can say to herself.  A horrible thing has happened and it just might be her fault.  If she can just remove herself from everybody--be totally alone--then everything will be okay...The problem is, nobody will let her. -Back o' the Book

I was initially drawn to this story because I never liked the cheerleading, popular in school thing (I was a band/drama/art nerd) and I wanted to see why she left her in crowd. I was also curious as to what her big secret was. I had a hard time grasping onto her personality during the first chapter or so because what she was doing was kind of opposite of what she was thinking. After I got a hold of her, I really enjoyed her sarcasm but got frustrated when she continually pushed people further and further away.

The book was riddled with language, but then again, so was High School. It was a quick and engrossing read that had me curious the whole way through because the author did a great job giving you little tid bits of information that you slowly piece together until the final puzzle is revealed.

Hunting Lila

Hunting Lila
by Sarah Alderson

17-year-old Lila has two secrets she’s prepared to take to the grave. The first is that she can move things just by looking at them. The second is that she’s been in love with her brother’s best friend, Alex, since forever.

After a mugging exposes her unique ability, Lila decides to run to the only people she can trust – her brother and Alex. They live in Southern California where they work for a secret organisation called The Unit, and Lila discovers that the two of them are hunting down the men who murdered her mother five years before. And that they’ve found them. In a world where nothing and no one is quite as they seem, Lila quickly realises that she is not alone – there are others out there just like her – people with special powers -and her mother’s killer is one of them…-Back o' the Book

I found this book that was recommend on a blog site I follow and I think overall it was pretty good. To be honest I thought the beginning of the book went by rather slow, but it did pick up towards the end where I didn't really want to stop reading till I found out what happened.

The main character was a little young for me and a little boy crazy, but I'm hoping she will develop and mature in the next book because with her powers, she has a lot of potential to be a strong character. I would say this is a good book for teens to young adults who like some of the sci-fi mixed in (like I do) and I think I'm going to give the sequel of this book a chance and see if it delivers. It has tons of potential to do so.

The Green Mile

The Green Mile
by Stephen King

Welcome to Cold Mountain Penitentiary, home to the Depression-worn men of E Block. Convicted killers all, each awaits his turn to walk the Green Mile, keeping a date with "Old Sparky," Cold Mountain's electric chair. Prison guard Paul Edgecombe has seen his share of oddities in his years working the Mile. But he's never seen anyone like John Coffey, a man with the body of a giant and the mind of a child, condemned for a crime terrifying in its violence and shocking in its depravity. In this place of ultimate retribution, Edgecombe is about to discover the terrible, wondrous truth about Coffey, a truth that will challenge his most cherished beliefs...and yours. - Back o' the Book

I had heard about this book many times over the years and even saw a small portion of the movie. I recently found it for a dollar so I decided to give it a go and boy, was I sucked in! From the very start this book was completely engrossing. The characters were all so diverse and developed, it was like a movie playing in my head. I never wanted to put this book down.

It does have quite a bit of language and some more adult scenes, but I really really enjoyed it. I loved the way King created the language and set the time period so well. I also was very in love with the ending of the book. There are few novels out there that I can say I was completely satisfied with the ending, but this was sure one of them. A must read!
-Recommended (for adults)

Eona

Eona
by Alison Goodman

Eon has been revealed as Eona, the first female Dragoneye in hundreds of years. Along with fellow rebels Ryko and Lady Dela, she is on the run from High Lord Sethon's army. The renegades are on a quest for the black folio, stolen by the drug-riddled Dillon; they must also find Kygo, the young Pearl Emperor, who needs Eona's power and the black folio if he is to wrest back his throne from the selfstyled "Emperor" Sethon. Through it all, Eona must come to terms with her new Dragoneye identity and power—and learn to bear the anguish of the ten dragons whose Dragoneyes were murdered. As they focus their power through her, she becomes a dangerous conduit for their plans... -Back o' the Book

So this is the sequel to Eon, the book I posted about previously. I really liked the first one but I liked the second even better. It kept building and building till the last few pages when it all came together. Like I mentioned before, I liked the way the author created the setting as well as the diverse characters. I loved the way the characters changed over the course of one book, it was very fun to read about their transformation.

Most books I can guess what's going to happen but this one held me in the dark most of the time, which is kind of refreshing, in a frustrating way. If you enjoy fantasy and strong characters, this is the book for you! (But please start with the first book.)

-Recommended

Eon

Eon
by Alison Goodman

Eon has been studying the ancient art of Dragon Magic for four years, hoping he’ll be able to apprentice to one of the twelve energy dragons of good fortune. But he also has a dark secret. He is actually Eona, a sixteen-year-old girl who has been living a dangerous lie for the chance to become a Dragoneye, the human link to an energy dragon’s power. It is forbidden for females to practice the Dragon Magic and, if discovered, Eon faces a terrible death. After a dazzling sword ceremony, Eon’s affinity with the twelve dragons catapults him into the treacherous world of the Imperial court where he makes a powerful enemy, Lord Ido. -Back o' the Book

Again, I bought this because it sounded similar to a book idea that I had but I really did enjoy this. It was a little bit thicker of a book but I thought it was very easy to get into and the time went by quickly. I give kudos to the author for making a plethora of interesting characters, each very different from the next. She also created a whole civilization and social structure. I could see where she got some ideas but her world was unique and fun to explore.

It messed with my head a bit because the main character acted more like a boy and I was reminded a few times she was actually a girl. He (she) makes an interesting transformation throughout the book and I'm guessing she will develop even further in the second book, which I just bought today. Very fun read. I think those who enjoy fantasy, action, and magic will love this book.

-Recommended

The Space Between

The Space Between
by Brenna Yovanoff


Everything burns in Pandemonium, a city in Hell made of chrome and steel, where there is no future and life is an expanse of frozen time. That’s where Daphne lives.
The daughter of a demon and a fallen angel, she wonders what lies in store for her. Will she become a soulless demon like her sisters? Or follow in the footsteps of her brother Obie, whose life is devoted to saving lost souls on Earth? All she wants is to find a place where she belongs.
When Obie saves a bleeding, broken boy named Truman from the brink of death and then suddenly goes missing, Daphne runs away to Earth to find him. But on Earth, everything is colder and more terrifying, and Daphne struggles between her demon instincts and her growing—yet achingly unfamiliar—feelings for Truman. As Daphne and Truman search for Obie, they must navigate the jealousies and alliances of the violent archangels who stand in their way. But Daphne also discovers, unexpectedly, what it means to love and be human in a world where human is the hardest thing to be. - Back o' the Book

So I bought this book and started reading it although I still hasn't finished the other I was working on. But that's okay because this only took me three lunch breaks to read! Quick read and very engrossing. I thought that a book written by the perspective of a demon would be cool (also, I'm writing something similar so I wanted to see how she went about it).

Daphne was very interesting and I loved her mannerisms as well as Truman who I just wanted to give a hug to. I thought the author did and awesome job developing the characters even though the climax was a little lacking (in my opinion) but that didn't matter much because I just wanted to see what happened to Daphne and Truman. I thought the descriptions of things and places and people were pretty good. Not over done like some books where I find myself skipping descriptions. This was a very fun read and I would suggest it to anyone who likes books that are a little bit darker, but not depressingly so.

-Recommended