Monday Mulling #15

3 ½ Stars

Well…it’s been a while. Sorry. But here I am again, and I have not abandoned you all. I just was unable to get to a computer for the past few…2, 3 weeks to write a good review.

But I have returned, and I plan to give you what you were missing.

The latest novel that I was able to read was Becca Fitzpatrick‘s novel, Hush, Hush.

This novel has been getting quite the hype around the book world. It;s one of those paranormal teenagers novels, but this is not full of wolves and vampires and witches…just fallen angels.

The cover caught my eye majorly on this one; pretty in a dark way, the grey-scale angle contorted in mid-air, with the red accents was just lovely.

Overall, it was an interesting novel, if not sickeningly similar to Twilight in some places, which nearly drove me mad. The plot line was done well enough to hold interest, but not so overwhelming that you couldn’t follow it either.

The characters are mostly developed, but I suspect that the questions I had/have will be continued in the next book(s).

What I really liked about this novel was the fallen angel idea. I thought that it was different, and that by being different, it could turn out to be a very amazing book.

However, I admit I did not have any expectations when reading this. There was nothing really I wanted out of this novel, which was rare.

What I did not like about the novel was how some things were random. All of a sudden, things were just…there and gone. Plot points were revealed and things were discarded. It was a very fast paced novel, and I think that the author wanted to keep it that way, thus the fast-ball plot points.

This is shown in the very beginning of the book. When you open the novel and start reading, you feel like you have really missed something. The thing is, nothing has been missed; rather than the author starting off slowly and building something up, she just builds the story up right away.

The only other point that irritated me was Patch and what is going on with him. Firstly, name is a little out of place, but, I can easily deal with that, I have seen stranger names than that. Secondly, the similarities between dear Patch and Edward Cullen killed me a little inside. A plea to all authors is develop your own characters, please. However, it was not too terrible, just somethings were too Twilighty.

Overall, a good novel, but not outrageously amazing. i liked it, but anybody who is strongly opposed to paranormal teenagers running around will not enjoy this.

Nora Grey is a normal, teen-aged girl. Average. Unexeptional in most ways.

That was until she met Patch, who is the opposite in every way. The only thing they share in common is that they are now forced bio partners.

And Nora thinks that Path is different. Dangerous, scary even, considering that somebody has been stalking her, and Patch seems to fit the bill.

But when Nora tries to confront him, she finds herself mysteriously drawn to him; in a deadly way.

In a novel that is fast-paced and frightening, Hush, Hush, is a novel for all who love paranormal YA-fiction.

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Published: September 27th 2009

Page Count: 391

ISBN: 1416989412    (isbn13: 9781416989417)

Mulling On Monday #14

1 ½ Stars (Ew)

This will have to be a quick review, but, nevertheless, it will still be a review. Besides, with this novel, there is very little to say.

So here is a novel that I found on Teenreads. So I went over to Goodreads, and saw the outstanding reviews, and thought that perhaps I would try it.

I hated it. Absolutely hated it. The only thing that saved it from only being a star is the mere idea, and the cool cover.  Everything else was such a turn off for me.

I finished it only becuase I wanted to see if it would redeem itself. But no, I remained disappointed out of my mind.

What I liked was the idea. Ghosts, and a girl who can see one; the mystery of their interlocked pasts. The idea sounded pretty neat.

What I did not like.The entirety of the book, I think.

What really turned me off was the whole ‘sex on top of the stage where a bed magically appears, and to do so while a drama class goes on beneath’. Yeah. That I did not like. And everything just went down-hill so fast from there, it made me sad.

The characters were not as well developed as I would have liked to seen, considering the author had plenty of time to work with, considering the ghost had been a ghost for 130 freaking years. Develop the character please! And the girl was a Disney princess type, with very little to work with, hoping for her prince to save her. Too bad that did not happen.

The characters also tended to be very crude, rude, and while I understand they are supposed to be abusive, there was no need to drop the f-bombs every second word. I not usually strongly opposed to swearing in novels, but it became a little over the top.

The descriptions were also not there.

What was also a turn-off was way things were prestented. It just didn’t work.

Overall, I really don’t recommend this novel, as it is disappointing, and I can’t tell people to read it.

Author: Donna Jo Napoli

Published: October 23rd 2007 by Atheneum

Page Count: 320

ISBN: 0689861761    (isbn13: 9780689861765)

Books On My Growing List To Read: Stolen

Here is a novel that sounds frighteningly great, in one of those ‘so-creepy-it’s-compelling’ ways.

It is Stolen, by the new author Lucy Christopher  (http://www.lucychristopher.com/). This is a novel that I think will be good, becuase it just sounds so strange!

This novel was published May 4th 2009, so it is a newer novel. It was her debut author, and I think that is sounds just strange enough to be worth the read.

I came across this novel on Teenreads, where I go occasionally to find books that are coming out and what books are supposed to be really well done, and great for YA novels. The synopsis caught my eye; a girl stolen right out of an airport? Drugged? Hidden? Strange.

This is a stand-alone novel, and it explores a syndrome that happens when people who are kidnapped start to feel for their captors, sometimes even partly falling in what can be love. It is a frightening truth that does happen to people who do go through this hell.

Goodreads stats? Well, there are 179 ratings, the average rating is 4.23, and there are 64 reviews. So it is flying a little under the radar, considering that it has been out for a year, but we shall try it and see how this turns out.

Hopefully this will turn out to be a good novel. Can’t wait to get to the library this summer and get some books to read!

Told in a letter to her captor by 16-year-old Gemma, Stolen explores the influence that a really wild and remote space can have on the inner development of a young woman.

Gemma, a British city-living teenager, is kidnapped while on holiday with her parents. Her kidnapper, Ty, takes her to the wild land of outback Australia. To Gemma’s city-eyes, the landscape is harsh and unforgiving and there are no other signs of human life for hundreds of kilometres in every direction. Here, there is no escape. Gemma must learn to deal with her predicament, or die trying to fight it.

Ty, a young man, has other ideas for her. His childhood experience of living in outback Australia has forever changed the way he sees things. But he too has been living in the city; Gemma’s city. Unlike Gemma, however, he has had enough. In outback Australia he sees an opportunity for a new kind of life; a life more connected to the earth. He has been watching and learning about Gemma for many years; when he kidnaps her, his plan finally begins to take shape.

But Ty is not a stereotypical kidnapper and, over time, Gemma comes to see Ty in a new light, a light in which he is something more sensitive. The mysteries of Ty, and the mystery of her new life, start to take hold. She begins to feel something for her kidnapper when he wakes screaming in the night. Over the time spent with her captor, Gemma’s appreciation of him develops into what could be referred to as Stockholm syndrome.

-From http://www.lucychristopher.com/books.html

Author: Lucy Christopher

Published: May 1st 2010 by The Chicken House (first published May 4th 2009)

Page Count: 304

ISBN: 0545170931    (isbn13: 9780545170932)

Book of the Week: The Stone Angel

4 Stars

For the book of the week, I had to go through my shelves and find something different. This is what I unearthed. The Stone Angel, by Margaret Laurence.

I remembered reading this a while ago, and I found myself liking it again. So, here it is, this week’s novel. 7

What I like is that the characters are strong, and stay very consistent. There are no weird changes in them that make you wonder where they whipped that out from, so I have no complaints there whatsoever.

The story line is good, the flashbacks essential, even if the tone of the story was a little…heavy.

What I did not like was the strangeness of who Hagar was, is and how she treats others. I mean, at times it was really confusing. I did not like it. I also found the ending to be disappointing, and awfully a buzz kill.

I also did not like that the story was violent, and the way that everything was tied up. But that was just me, and trying to put certain feelings to paper (keyboard) is a little tricky.

Overall? A good, read, but not one to take lightly.

Hagar Shipley has lived through hell, and now her life is drawing to an end. It’s the late 1960′s and Hagar finds herself being drawn back into the past, replaying over the events that made her the bitter woman that she finds herself to be today.

With that, comes the sad consequences and questions that cannot be answered. But there is one last grope at freedom before her ninety years plus years are up.

In a novel that it questioning and deep, The Stone Angel is a book for those who have their own lives to question, and what the consequences might be.

Author: Margaret Laurence

Published: January 1st 2004 by McClelland & Stewart (first published 1964)

Page Count: 344

ISBN: 0771047088    (isbn13: 9780771047084)

Mulling on Monday #11

2 Stars

Late, I know, but here it is, another Monday.

And while I know that I banned myself from any Nicholas Sparks, this is from a while ago, and I just forgot to put it up. So there. Yet another reason as to why I should go on a Sparks boycott for the time being.

Alright, so I am back and have just finished yet another Nicolas Sparks novel, one that I was unsure if I wanted to read because of who it was half inspired by; yes that would be Miley Cyrus.
So this novel gave me mixed emotions. It was overall written well, as in the Nicholas Sparks brand, but it seemed to slug through certain parts, and yet in some chapters you were bewildered as to where the time went.

Then there was the story line itself.

I am not 100% sure of what story Sparks was trying to tell here. The different elements of the story could have been good plot lines themselves. However, they were all put together in a giant, emotional mixing bowl. It felt at times like you were reading three different stories, and you just happened to know the characters.

What was most disappointing for me was the fact that I was able to put down the novel after, and just read another book. It was a “yeah, okay, that books done.” moment, which is something no author should be looking for.

I also found it awfully predictable. I knew what was going to happen chapters in advance.
Overall, it was an okay novel, though I am glad that I only borrowed it and did not buy it as I had originally planned.

Ronnie’s life is a mess, and it just keeps getting worse.

A shop-lifter in New-York, with slipping grades and a blind hate towards her father, things cannot get any worse when she is condemned to spend the summer with him, in a small town. It’s her own personal hell, come to life.

Things don’t get better fast. That is, until she meets a guy. And from there, everything changes into a different angle.

From the award-winning author Nicholas Sparks, comes a novel that tell of the power of summer love.

Author: Nicholas Sparks

Published: September 8th 2009 by Grand Central Publishing

Page Count: 405

ISBN: 0446547565    (isbn13: 9780446547567)

Quick Series Review: Wildflowers

4 Stars

I admit, I am very hesitant to write a review on this series, as most days when I sit down to attempt a review of this novel, I can never really get anything concrete on the page. There is so much to say, and most of it seems contradictory to everything.

The Wildflowers series is by V.C Andrews. She is known to write novels that are a little…different. Because of this, perhaps even in spite of, here is the review.

I like this novel…when I am in a certain mood. The subject matter is a little iffy, so I am going to say that this is definitely an adult book. Then again, it’s hard to say, becuase I have read worse in the young adult section. It is just that it deals with big issues and realistic ones too, specifically dealing with teens. So while I say it is an adult novel, I am also going to say that it is suitable for high-school kids, or mature kids who can handle the subject matter and the graphic scenes, which occur every part.

What I like is the realism, and the way that Andrews gets her point across. Sure, it gets a little graphic for some scenes, but I have a feeling that people see worse on TV every night. It is just becuase it is very strong, I suppose, and that is what makes me wary to share this.

However, it is real in a good way. The characters are rounded out, and you really get into the story when you read it. It can hit close to home to those who have parents going through a divorce. It is also written so that you feel like you have stepped into the characters shoes. The descriptions and everything is well done.

What I could have done without was the graphic scenes. The stories are all quite short as well.

I have also heard that this does not seem as V.C Andrews’see as it was, becuase it was partially (?) written by a ghost writer. I have not had a chance to read any of her originals, as I have also heard that they can be pretty iffy, and a lot worse than this series. (Though I do admit, I also really enjoyed Ruby.)

Overall, good for those who like reading novels with grit in them. This is a good series, it is just different from what people might be used to.

Four girls. Four secrets. And all the worse.

Four girls are in therapy for their school when tragic accidents happen to them, causing concern – enough even to go to a ‘shrink’ where they tell their tales to other scared girls.

But they all bear scars that cut deep.

Misty’s mother does not care about her, only herself and her mission to look young. her father left her mother for a younger woman.

Star is a girl whose mother was an alcoholic and her father out of the picture when he walked out. She and her little brother Rodney now live at their grandmother’s.

Jade is a rich girl who has all she could want. Except her parents, who use her as a pawn in their messy divorce.

Cat has a mother who hates her, and a father who loves her a little too much.

All look normal on the outside. But it’s the inside that counts, and it’s where they harbor deep, dark secrets.

In a novel that has the ability to scar and make you question our society, The Wildflowers is sure to make a lasting impression.

Author: V.C Andrews

Published: May 22nd 2001 by Atria (first published 1999)

Page Count:592

ISBN: 0743437373    (isbn13: 9780743437370)

Quick Review: Dear John

  2 ½ Stars

So I sat down with this novel after being promised that it was an amazing novel and that the movie was superb and that it had everything Nicholas Sparks had offered before.

  I should not have been surprised that after reading The Last Song, that I would not enjoy it.

  Sparks has veered off into a different realm, it seems, than the great novels like A Walk to Remember, and The Notebook.  Those were heart-wrenching romances.

  This was just…dull.

  I admit, the first part of the novel was promising, if not familiar to The Last Song. It seemed like it could work up to a steady, heart-pounding climax.

  Dull.

  Also, the novel promises a ‘life-changing decision’. Okay. Waited for that, and it was not untill I passed a few pages that I had to flip back and realize ‘oh. That was it’. See? So well hidden I missed it.

  And the ending. That was awfully dull too. And so easily foreseen. I guess, though that it was realistic, and therefore, it made the ending a little more down-played than a big shablam ending, but, I wished for a twist. Some sad twist of fate. A long lost-something-or-other. No. Just what he had and what he did. The end.

  This novel really, really let me down. One of my first thoughts after finishing was ‘I’m done with Nicholas Sparks for a while’. Sadly, this remains true, and will for a while. Though I suppose I could visit his old stuff, when it was actually good. But for now, I am going on a Nicholas Sparks ban.

  I liked the characters though. thoughtfully developed, and rounded out by the end, but they can only do so much in a story such as this.

  I think that everything just needs to be re-worked. A bigger climax (eh-ehm.  How about a more noticable one?), and a story that is way more deep than this.

John Tyree is an angry rebel wanthing nothing to do with school, planning or his Dad. And he is half-sick to death with the only thing his father will share with him in his boring, everyday routine; coins.

 So when he gets out of high-school, out of the party zone and into the real world, surfing and drinking is about the most he can see himself doing in this life.

Until two marines jog by.

Without much of a thought, John enlists in the army, with very little regrets. He is fit, he has good buddies, and he gets to see the world.

 But when he returns home from Germany on leave, all that changes when a girl drops her purse in the ocean.

The two young people soon find themselves falling for each other, their lives tangling, and love forming. But that all changes when John’s leave is up, and it’s time to go back to to Germany.

 However, the two write letters back and forth, love sealed into each of them, scalding, hurting, and John and Savannah are counting down the days untill John comes home.

That changes on 9/11.

In a story that is truthful and realastic, Dear John is a novel that seems heart-felt.

 

 

Author: Nicholas Sparks

Published: October 30th 2006 by Warner Books (first published 2006)

Page Count: 276

ISBN: 0446528056    (isbn13: 9780446528054)

Mulling on Monday #8

  1 ½ Stars

 ”Mondays are pothole in the road of life.” – Anon

  Agreed. Mondays are jarring, especially after a busy weekend. But, here I am today, writing about a book I read on teh weekend, squeezing it in at bedtime.

  And, due to my sad collection of library books, it is yet another Jodi Pilcout novel. Songs of A Humpback Whale. And I am wondering why it is even a novel at all.

  No, I mean it. This Jodi novel was not well done. At all. It was messy, confusing, and the plot was all jarbled. One big mess, if you ask me. Just not good!

  First of all, the multiple characters were all right. Matter of fact, they were the only part I could rely on. But to have the story moving in two differnt directions at once…not good. I admire her idea, her creative license, but that was just a no-no that really brought the story down.

  Let me explain how it worked; she had four characters talking like you would usually see in a book; going forwards, the plot progressing. But then Rebecca, the daughter is going backwards. So. You knew the ending of the story before you even really got into it. Hello? Why bother to even finish the novel? I only did becuase I wanted to see how she ended this mess (and trust me, it was not worth it).

  The plot was pointless. Wife has a fight with husband. Wife leaves with kid. Drives across the country. Finds a hot man at her brother’s place. Husband comes. You can figure the rest out. (and no, this is not a spoiler, becuas you learn this almost right away.)

  Whether this novel was just no good becuase it was her debut one, I don’t know what happened here.

  Oh. What I did like. Other than when it ended? (ouch.) It was different than her other novels, which tend to repeat characters and plot lines. But this was just horrible, and not what I was looking for from her. I was expecting the typical, comfortable Jodi Pilcout novel. But this…no.

  Overall? Not good. Don’t really bother.

  Rachel is a survivor. She survived a plane crash with only four others when she was four. She is also a life preserver…she is the glue that holds her parents together.

But when things escalate in the Jone’s household Rebbeca and her mother, Jane,  leave, following only letters that Jane’s close brother sends, bringing them places they have never been, and bringing mother and daughter closer than they have ever been.

It’s not just a journey to get to see her brother though: it’s an exploration of their pasts, of their lives, and everything in between love and hate.

Author: Jodi Pilcout

Published: 1992

Page Count:352

ISBN: 0743431014    (isbn13: 9780743431019)

Book of the Week: The Time Capsule

    4 Stars

  So, again another Monday…and the days are getting nicer!!! Spring is finally here in most of Alberta, and it’s great to see all the snow melting and the themometer hitting double digits. 23 degree Celsius (74 degrees Fahrenheit) today alone. Lets hope it’s here to stay.

  Now with summer on the way, I will have more time for reading!

  So…what book is it today? Well, I was looking through this her blog and was slightly confused when I say that for some unknown reason I have not reviewed very many Lurlene McDaniel novels. Crazy, consider she is partially what lead me to try Jodi Pilcout novels and explore the realm of other teen novels.

  So, while I was thinking about the sun, the cover of The Time Capsule popped into my head. Sunny, summery, a good summer read.

  I have always liked this book. It’s light, but once you get into it, it’s deep, scarring and will make you think.

  McDaniel’s novels have always been like that. They deal with real issues, and it deals with a real topic that most authors either blow out of the water, or make light of. She takes a topic that is either taboo or overdone, and makes it real.

 What I liked most about this novel was the sincerity and the pure honesety that radiates from her writing. It tells a unique story that may have acctually happened to somebody. It is well written in the ominscent tone, but the narrative does not really matter in a story so well told.

  What I did not like was the shortness…with a deep concern such as this, i felt that the story needed to be longer to more thourougly explore the topic. But no. Never happened.

  If you were super close with your twin brother, would you know if he had a secret? Would you know if your entire life was about to change?

Adam and Alix have always been close; after all, they were womb-mates for almost nine months. But their life have never been easy.

When they were young, Adam had cancer. It tore the family at the seams, straining, and continues to do so. And all Adam  wants to do now is have the senior year of his life with his sister and friends by his side.

But will that happen? Or is Adam hiding something that just might cause the family to re-evaluate what’s important and what’s not.

 

Author: Lurlene McDaniel

Published: May 10th 2005 by Laurel Leaf (first published 2003)

Page Count: 224

ISBN: 0553494317    (isbn13: 9780553494310)

Mulling On Monday #6

2 Stars

  Alright. It’s been awhile since I have last written, but that was due to circumstances out of my controll, so, here I am now. Miss me?

  Just kidding.

  Alright, so for my sixth Monday Mulling Moment, I have chosen the book The Last Song. Yes, I know. Yet another Nicholas Sparks book? Yes. Another one. But this one I did not really enjoy.

  Why? Sparks seemed to have issues with choosing a topic and sticking to it. The story veered off in a dozen different directions that could have supplied three other books. Also, the summer in the novel seemed to fly by, by any standards, and by the end of the book, you were suprised that it could even spend that long. I also hated the fact that random things happened that had nothing to do with the story, and suddenly, they became full blown topics.

  What I did like. There was little that I did like, other than it was a quick read. And the fact that it was typical Sparks romance, with a tear-jerker moment thown in.

  Overall, quite frankly, the novel just made me roll my eyes untill I was unsure if I could roll them anymore. I had to slog through the summer flames and turtles and creepy dudes that threaten you, along with a chick who is so out of control and frames you. But whatever. Now I don’t have to see the movie.

  Ronnie is out of controll. A shoplifter with divorced parents living in New York, the ultimate hell would have to be being sent to see her father…who she has not talked to in years. He, after all, walked out on the family. But when her mother gives her the ultimate punishment, she is forced to see her father with her little brother in a dead-beat down where little happens.

That all changes when she  gets run into at a volleyball game. From there, the summer goes down as one of the most troubled and romantic of her life.

Yet another novel from the Award-Winning Nicholas Sparks, this is a light romance with every hint of truth.

Author: Nicholas Sparks

Published:

September 8th 2009 by Grand Central Publishing

Page Count: 390

ISBN: 0446547565    (isbn13: 9780446547567)