River's Edge (Book One) REVIEW

This has been one of the worst books I have read, ever. So many things were wrong with it, where should I start? Whoever her editor and fact checkers are needs to be fired and blacklisted for ever having let this book get through. References are made to how hot Josh Hartnet is, I am so sorry but he is not relevant at this point in time. The main character still has a flip phone, and her plan only allows free minutes on Sunday. I don’t think I have heard anyone mention being worried about minutes in over three years. For a book that was published in Spring 2013, it reads almost like one that was written in 2002 for parts of it.

The main character jumps to a million conclusions and is completely hypocritical most of the time. She not only makes bad choices, but stupid ones and then blames everyone else for her problems.

The plot: After her mother abandons her on her 18^th birthday, Kasia gets a job working as a biologist’s assistant in Iowa. While studying turtle’s, she falls into the River, only to find that she can see, breath and glow. The book followers her as she learns to accept the fact that she is part demon, and what side of the demonic River power struggle she wants to be on. There is a love interests as well.

I will NOT be reading any future books in the series. It was horrible and I give it 1 out of five stars. 

Ship Out Of Luck by Neal Shusterman REVIEW

I love the Antsy Bonano series, and I wish that it had been around what I was in Jr. High. The characters are so much fun to read. Not that I don’t enjoy this series now as a recent college grad, but had these books been published ten years before, they probably would have been some of my favorites.

Ship Out of Luck is the third book in the Antsy Bonano series, the first and most popular being The Schwa Was Here. One of the great things about this series, is that even if you haven’t read all three books, you can still pick up any of them and not be too confused, which is especially nice since they come out years apart. This time, Antsy and his family have been invited, well it has been demanded of them, to accompany Old Mr. Crowley on a cruise trip to celebrate his birthday. As usually, trouble seem to find Antsy before the ship even leaves port, when he becomes convinced that someone jumped for the upper deck and into the water. Of course no one believes him, but he meets a strange girl who breaks into peoples cabins, hides out in life boats, and has been smuggling and storing canned food. There is something mysterious about her, and as hard as Antsy tries to stay away from her, she keeps showing up everywhere Antsy goes on the ship. Even Antsy’s best friend Howie takes to calling her a stalker.

But this girl isn’t the only thing that’s weird on the ship, rumors of a Viking ghost run rampant, and both Howie and Mr. Crowley’s nice start acting weird and hanging out with different sorts of people then they do back home. Could this all be coincidence, or is the Bermuda triangle really starting to affect how people behave?

There are some political messages in this book as well. While in today’s world it is hard not to be hammered with political agendas in books, I still sighed inwardly when it started to come up. I think that is the only thing that I didn’t like about the book. Possibly because it is aimed at a younger audience, Mr. Shusterman felt the need to make is obvious what he was trying to get at, but I think the book and its ideas could have been achieved without being so annoyingly obvious. While immigration is a hot button issue, it didn’t need to be so bluntly put.

Again, this series is such a fun read, I was ecstatic when Neal Shusterman tweeted that he had written another book and ordered it right away. I would recommend this book to people ages 11-15, although it can be enjoyable even by adults. There is a brief moment towards the end with one of the minor character’s questioning his sexuality, and while that topic shouldn’t be ignored, some younger people may not fully understand the struggle. People who have real Neal Shusterman’s other young adult novels will also enjoy this, as will people who enjoy Louis Sachar and Roahl Dahl novels.

Trainspotting (Book) REVIEW

Trainspotting, by Irvine Welsh, tells the story of a group of Scottish youths involved in an endless cycle

or drugs, sex, HIV, death and sobriety. The book moves in a somewhat linear, chronological order, however each section is told from a different persons point of view, giving different understanding to actions, repercussions and inner-turmoil each person feels. The groups main choice of drug, albeit the only one they really have an addiction is Heroin, ergo the title Trainspotting, a Scottish saying for trying to identify and locate a drug dealer or connection. The main characters of the book are Renton, Daniel, Simon, Franco Begbie, Tommy, Rab and Davie (although each has a nickname that they refer to each other as). Each of the characters goes through a personal struggle in the book because of their problems with drugs and alcohol.

• ·      Davie contracts HIV
• ·      Tommy starts off the novel avoiding heroin, but ODs on it when his girlfriend dumps him
• ·      Renton (the main character if one has to be picked) blames himself for Tommy’s death and tries to sober up
• ·      Simon’s daughter dies while he is on an intense heroin binge

    At the end of the book, Tommy has died and the gang heads to London for a heroin deal, unfortunately for the rest of the gang, Renton steals all of the money and flees with it to Amsterdam, leaving the rest behind.

   This book helps to demonstrates a lot of Scottish culture in the 1980s apart from the drug side of life in the UK. It often mentions the rain, and even when the sun is out their clothes are always wet and their trousers and jeans never seem to be dry. There is a lot of racism within the Scottish community depending on what accents people have, the city they reside in, and where their parents are from. There is a lot of distaste for Northern Ireland talked about, and a few times when the characters are on a really big bender or coming down from a high their internal monologue dissects racist remarks that they make about themselves and others (like being lazy, hard working, or how terms that used to be used for blacks are thrown around for Scotsmen now).

Dualed by Elsie Chapman REVIEW

Imagine a future where every person is born with an identical twin or Alt, raised apart, and then one day before they are 18, one of them has to kill the other. That is the life for those humans left living in the safe city of Kersh, one of the only habitable places left on Earth. The system was created so that society would only be populated by the best and the brightest, those who could fight for humanity if the time again came. West Grayer at 15 has already lost two siblings to their Alt counterparts, and her parents to suicide at their loss; all she has left is her brother who has just been activated to find and attempt to kill his Alt.

Unfortunately for West, she witnesses the death of her brother and is all-alone in the world, waiting to be called upon to fight her Alt for her life. Desperate, alone, and semi-skill less, West joins up with a team of assassins who are paid by the rich and famous to kill the Alts. The question becomes how long West can continue killing under the governments nose, and stay alive and away from her Alt.

I loved this book, one of the biggest problems I have with future dystopian novels is that it doesn’t make sense to how humanity got where it is in the book. This book explained why, so I wasn’t left wondering and annoyed. I loved how West’s character developed based on the things she experiences. Things were organic and realistic. I loved watching her grow, not just as a person, killer and adult though. I loved watching her slowly begin to question the city she has grown up in, question her friends and their choices, and even question those who are against the government Alt system. She begins to question all ideas, not just those of the government, but of everyone around her. This is a great book and I cannot wait for a sequel (although, this book can stand on its own)

I would recommend this book to people who love thrillers, and books similar to Divergent and Delirium. I give it 5 stars.

Breaking Point (Article 5) Book Review

Breaking Point, the second novel in Kristen Simmon’s “Article 5” series, continues the story of Ember and Chase after their escape from the Federal Bureau of Reformation. Picking up where Article 5 left off, the Resistance who wants to use Chase’s military skills and Ember’s knowledge to help them take down the government takes in Ember and Chase. The Resistance has an entire underground movement, helping feed people who are being discriminated against, getting people into safe zones, transporting people to safe houses, and keeping tabs on the government at large. But Ember starts to realize that there is a very dark side to the resistance, a Sniper being killing off soldiers, and innocent people are being killed in retribution. Soon, wanted posters featuring Ember are being plastered all over the country, and new Articles are being added, and soldiers are given permission to shoot first, ask questions later. Ember doesn’t really want to be a part of it, all she wants is to find a safe haven for her and Chase, and reunite their friends Sean and Rebecca, but the way both the Resistance and FBR are trying to use her, she may never get the chance.  

I didn’t like the first book very much, and probably shouldn’t have picked up the second, as it wasn’t much better. The book seems to have so many plot holes, and thinks that are never explained. Characters do things without real reason, and go against logic constantly. Often times rather than have character’s work through problems, the answer will suddenly just come to them, for no apparent reason. I give this book 2/5 stars, and only because the idea behind the book is a good one.