Carrier of the Mark by Leigh Fallon

Title: Carrier of the Mark

Author: Leigh Fallon

Book #: 1st of Trilogy


Publisher: HarperTeen

Publish Date: October 4th 2011

Pages: 342

Format: Paperback


Date Read (Throwback) : September  2012

Rating: ★★½ / out of 5




Summary:

Megan has lived in America her whole life, but now is being uprooted and shipped to Ireland. Even with this major change, she feels like things are going smoothly: She makes a friend on the first day and even spots a possible future love interest. Little does she know, the dark mysterious boy she has been going after shares a twisted secret that ties into her own past... and her near future.

Review:

I must say what really drew me into this book was the cover and the blurb. This was before I decided that I am absolutely sick of books where one character feels "inexplicably drawn" to another character. From this point on, I declare myself to stray far away from books like that. And I have a good reason to, too.

__________

This book has an elemental powers theme. I went crazy over that idea. I love when people have powers based on the four elements. Why, one of my top-favorite books of all time is the Akasha series by Terra Harmony. 

That was really the only thing I enjoyed about this book, though. I liked seeing Megan, Adam, and his siblings practice with their powers over the elements of fire, earth, water and air. Those scenes where awesome!

But to be honest, I felt like those were the only good parts. All of the other scenes, moments and conversations didn't really stand out and none of what else happened in the book was memorable to the point where I would be thinking about multiple parts of the book in the future. 

The worst part of this book: The insta-love. The book had a really bad case of it. The "I-need-to-barf-out-all-this-sappiness" kind. I mean, that one scene where Megan and Adam meet for the first time, and instantly they are wrapped in each others arms confessing their undying love for each other.

Honestly, if you take the romance part out, what you find is a girl struggling to accept her fate and discovering who she really is and the power she holds- Now, that sounds more like it.

Overall, I would recommend this book to.. anyone who has a stomach for insta-love and loves elemental powers!


On My Goodreads: 

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/481028708

In the After by Demitria Lunetta

Title: In the After

Author: Demitria Lunetta

Book #: 1st of Series


Publisher: Harper Teen

Publish Date: June 25th 2013

Pages: 455

Format: Hardcover


Date Read: September 3rd 2013

Rating: ★★★ / out of 5

Something emerged, turned toward the camera, stared. Still coughing, I pressed PAUSE on the DVR remote and stood.

That was the first time I saw an alien.

Summary:

Amy is watching TV when it happens, when the world is attacked by Them. These vile creatures are rapidly devouring mankind. Most of the population is overtaken, but Amy manages to escape—and even rescue “Baby,” a toddler left behind in the chaos. Marooned in Amy’s house, the girls do everything they can to survive—and avoid Them at all costs.

After years of hiding, they are miraculously rescued and taken to New Hope, a colony of survivors living in a former government research compound. While at first the colony seems like a dream with plenty of food, safety, and shelter, New Hope slowly reveals that it is far from ideal. And Amy soon realizes that unless things change, she’ll lose Baby—and much more.
(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

Review:

Unlike the last book I just reviewed, The Infects, in which I divided the book into three parts, this book is already parted. We have After, New Hope and Guardians. Unfortunately, the last two parts pale in comparison to the first. 

__________

In the first part of the book, we see the MC, Amy, as she discovers that the world has been invaded by "unfriendly aliens". We are there with her as she tries to adjust to life surviving on her own, soon realizing that she definitely lucked out- her house is surrounded by an electric fence and powered by solar panels. While other houses lose power and are scoured by aliens, she is protected. She believes her parents are dead and that she may even be the last person alive on the planet. Then, she meets Baby. The two of them create a silent way of communicating (their own version of sign language) and together they survive in this deadly new world.

Though Amy definitely learns quickly- she soon abandons shoes, for they make too much noise, and only goes out at night, when the creatures are hiding- she is not perfect. She does make mistakes, like not assuming from the start the light and noise will attract attention, taking on a second stray who doesn't seem to understand the survival precautions, as well as following a surviving man into his home. She does, however, learn from her mistakes.

Looking back on that first trip, knowing what I do now, it was a miracle I survived at all (page 27).

This first 150 or so pages were my favorite, and really the only thing I liked about this book. (view spoiler).


Unfortunately, the last two parts were really disappointing. Before, I found myself agreeing with most of the decisions Amy made in order to survive. Not every single one, but most of them. After Amy is taken to New Hope, though, she starts making certain judgments, decisions and opinions that I didn't. One minute, she will be declaring something someone said as propaganda and then next she will so happily believe them. The MC and I just were not on the same page. 

The story, too, just seemed to lose it's luster. It was no longer a fast paced survival, but now a government conspiracy/dystopian? While I do enjoy reading about the latter, it was really dull in this book, especially in comparison to the first part. The pacing seemed to slow, and now Amy's priority went from surviving to disobeying authority because she didn't like being told what to do. Side note: I do agree, though, that this new mini government was corrupt: Required (with partners chosen for you) pregnancies every 3 years and "keeping everyone happy and ignorant" is not the way to run a healthy community.

We also meet a bunch of new characters, each that made no impression on me. From the love interest and forced romance, to the new best friend, to the "bad-ass Guardian" who I was supposed to look up to?, to Amy's mother, and then to the bad-guy behind it all. None of these new characters affected me, nor did the death of one of them. I didn't find any of them as being unique, but rather cliche.


At the very end, we get a big "reveal". I saw that some people claim they knew what was coming, but I didn't. However, instead of finding myself shocked or surprised, I just sat back and rolled my eyes. Really? You think people are that stupid? Well, I guess they honestly are because they believed it (including myself but also excluding because I don't actually live in this world). Did no one realize that it was an art exhibit?! The explanation just seemed like a lame cover-up. Though it did work, because that's what everyone believes, it was still super lame.

__________

Though I don't compare books often, I couldn't help but think of Oupost, by Ann Agguire, while reading this. The "aliens" are very similar, physically and behaviorally, to the Freaks in Outpost. Especially after the reveal: (view spoiler) There is "survival out in the wilderness" in the beginning, "adjusting to life in a survivor camp" in the middle, and then "back out in to the wild" in the end. 

However, Outpost pulls this whole concept off much, much better. 

One thing I did like that these two books had in common, is the elemental question about ignorance. Quoted from In The After:

"Sometimes ignorance isn't bliss. Sometimes it's just dangerous." (page 375)

Overall, I had really high hopes for this book, but, unfortunately, only the first part lived up to those hopes.


Quote:

When I still believed things would return to normal. I no longer hold that hope. Nothing this broken can ever be fixed.


On My Goodreads;

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/527153845

The Infects by Sean Beaudoin

Title: The Infects

Author: Sean Beaudoin

Book #: Standalone


Publisher: Candlewick

Publish Date: September 25th 2012

Pages: 384

Format: Hardcover


Date Read: September 2nd 2013

Rating: ★★★ / out of 5

"Hey, don't act like you're never going to see me again."
"We're never going to see any of us again," she said, and then was gone.

Summary:

Seventeen-year-old Nero is stuck in the wilderness with a bunch of other juvenile delinquents on an “Inward Trek.” As if that weren't bad enough, his counselors have turned into flesh-eating maniacs overnight and are now chowing down on his fellow miscreants. As in any classic monster flick worth its salted popcorn, plentiful carnage sends survivors rabbiting into the woods while the mindless horde of “infects” shambles, moans, and drools behind. Of course, these kids have seen zombie movies. They generate “Zombie Rules” almost as quickly as cheeky remarks, but attitude alone can’t keep the biters back.
(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

Review:

I can easily break this book down into three parts:

The Beginning (about 100 pages): Mostly development of characters and background story. We meet Nick "Nero", his little sister Amanda (So adorable! Loved her, even though the way she talked was hard to get used to at first, she really grew on me) his crush, Petal, and a bunch of other side characters. 

While this part of the book was not particularly boring, it has no zombies. I found many of the conversations the characters had to be pretty funny, but that was really only what got me through reading this part. 100 pages with no zombies for a zombie book was pretty rough. 

The Middle (about 200 pages): This is where we see the action. The outbreak begins, peoples start turning, feasting, etc., and the rest running and trying to survive (but mostly running).

I found this part of the book to be pretty exciting and very similar to zombie games like Left 4 Dead. The author makes things very detailed, and I actually liked it. This is the best part, and would have made it all worth it, except the entire outbreak only lasted about 1 day. All the action ends after just one night of surviving this so-called "zombie apocalypse". After that, (view spoiler). Besides that, we also learn some... disturbing things about Nero, including his girl-zombie fetish? 

The Ending (last 100 pages): After the whole shabang is over, we learn about who was behind it all and what their plans are for the people involved (Nero and all the other side characters we meet).

This is where I got lost. I just had a hard time processing all the information that is dumped on us in this last part. Part conspiracy/Part pure madness- with, what I felt to be, nothing concrete. Even after finishing the book, I still can't recall exactly what the point of it all was. And that ending? Are you serious? Nero, do you think that gives you reason to start another zombie apocalypse?!

(view spoiler)

Overall, while this book does include zombies, it was, in my opinion, not satisfying because of both the way it began and ended. The middle was great for all those hard-core zombies fans. However, the slow zombie-free beginning and info-dump filled ending really make it hard to enjoy this book as a whole.

Quotes:

"Sorry," Nick said.
"Sorry," Petal said.
"Eat me," Ballou said.

"How's he doing, anyway?"
An image of the Dude arguing with the microwave rose in Nick's frontal lobe.
"Fantastic."

"Righteous. Some of the ladies made it."
The girls continued forward.
With mechanical, quivering steps.
One of them moaned.
The other gurgled.
"Dang."
"Never mind."
"I am sorry, but I do not wish your phone number after all," Yelstin said.

It all comes back to the elemental question. The ontology of zombiedom. The first great and most enduring mystery: why are they all so goddamned hungry?

They went another two hundred yards, and then Nero stopped. There was an enormous boulder in the way.
"Great."
"It's completely perfect."
"Way to go, Magellan."

"Ponytail knew what he was all along."
"A mutt."
"A leg lifter."
"An asshole sniffer."

"We lost a few good men on the climb up," Idle admitted.
"What good men?" Billy said.
"Only, so we lost a few men on the climb up."

"The price of leadership is that your raw materials are chosen for you."

"I figure it's not so much being bit, you know? It's the being eaten part. The being torn apart part."

"I say we? Blow it all up and? Start over?"
"What do you mean?"
"America? Humanity? The world's a? Thinly veiled apocalypse? Already?"


On My Goodreads:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/683447699

The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle

Title: The Infinite Moment of Us

Author: Lauren Myracle

Book #: Standalone


Publisher: Amulet Books

Publish Date: August 27th 2013

Pages: 316

Format: Hardcover


Date Read: September 2nd 2013

Rating: ★★½ / out of 5




Summary:

For as long as she can remember, Wren Gray’s goal has been to please her parents. But as high school graduation nears, so does an uncomfortable realization: Pleasing her parents once overlapped with pleasing herself, but now... not so much. Wren needs to honor her own desires, but how can she if she doesn't even know what they are?

Charlie Parker, on the other hand, is painfully aware of his heart’s desire. A gentle boy with a troubled past, Charlie has loved Wren since the day he first saw her. But a girl like Wren would never fall for a guy like Charlie—at least not the sort of guy Charlie believes himself to be.

And yet certain things are written in the stars. And in the summer after high school, Wren and Charlie’s souls will collide. But souls are complicated, as are the bodies that house them...
(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)

Note:

Some might say that they don't mind explicit sex in YA books, and I don't either. But, I do mind when there is explicit sex in YA books. That I don't like, simply because of the age group that reads young adult books (which is normally 12/13+). I don't mind so much scenes that imply sex, but when a young adult book uses very detailed language to describe sexual actions and sex, it bothers me. I've read many young adult books and have never come across such language about sex as I have in this book. The Infinite Moment of Us should be more appropriately labelled as new adult. It includes very detailed scenes talking about sex, partaking in sexual activities and sex, as well as sending nudes. YA books do not need that. No thank you.

Review:

The first hundred or so pages were pretty rough for me. Just read my statuses for this book. I wasn't liking the insta-love, main character, her parents, her best friend, or her best friend's love interest. I thought they were all stereotypical and boring. The only person I didn't have complaints about in the beginning was Charlie, because I could tell he had a very good heart considering all he's been through.

While with Wren, the struggle is definitely real. I feel very much so the same way she feels, only it has nothing to do with my parents. 

"But I want to do something now, not in eight years. I kind of feel like I have to, or I never will."

This is exactly how I feel right now in my life, and it's the basis on which I connected to Wren. Unfortunately, that was as far as it got for me.

Wren, to me, was cliche, winy and (sadly) very realistic. She frets over everything in her relationship with Charlie and never considers things from his point of view. Why can't he spend every second of the day with me? Why can't he not be busy with his work and life so that he can constantly pay me attention? Why can't he leave his family, including his handicap brother, and leave the country to be with me? Why is he choosing his family over me?!

I actually liked Charlie, the love interest. He's very much a young man, and I didn't have a problem with the way he acted or thought, besides the way the author used very explicit vocabulary when doing so. He had a very rough life, and I found it amazing how he came out of it in the end a good person. While Wren complains that he never told her the things he told Starrla, I didn't see why. He knew Starrla for years, and he only just started to get to know Wren the past two months.

The story was probably, if anything, the best part. While it was not the best ever, I felt it had direction. I wanted to see if Wren was going to be her own person, or back down and be the person her parents want her to be. It was the story that eventually grew on me and that ending that almost made it all feel worth it in the end.

Overall, I enjoyed the story, with it's sweet romance and open ending, despite all the problems I had with the characters. However, I am disturbed that this book is labelled as a young adult when it would more appropriately be new adult. 

Quotes:

She yearned to be her own person, not an extension of her mom and dad, and she longed to do something brave, something that mattered, something that helped others in an immediate and tangible way.

"I guess I think the world is more connected than people realize. I think... sometimes... that scientists... some scientists... want to package things up into neat little boxes. Explain, explain, explain, until there aren't any mysteries left. Well... I like the mysteries. I want to understand them, or try to, but I don't want to put them away in boxes. And if there doesn't seem to be an explanation for something, I don't want that to scare me away. I don't want to force an explanation to fit or to throw my hands in the air and give up."


On My Goodreads:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/648576677

DNF: August

Did Not Finish books: August

_________________________________________________________________

1. Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Reason for not finishing: Too many holes in the logic of the story. 

Reason for recommending: Not sure.










Full Review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/683446741

_________________________________________________________________

2. Adaptation by Malina Lo

Reason for not finishing: Annoying insta-love/romance & plot holes.

Reason for recommending: Interesting story!










Full Review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/678325747

_________________________________________________________________

3. Black City by Elizabeth Richards

Reason for not finishing: The characters/romance/world

Pretty much all of the characters in this story are not interesting to me. Ash has a disgusting smoking habit and can't make up his mind between being as asshole towards anything with a heartbeat or actually caring. Natalie, on the other hand, has a snarky side to her like I like, but also lets her self be pushed around and manipulated by her mother and ex-boyfriend body guard. She also seemed like a spoiled brat to me. All of the sides characters, too, just completely unlikable and nothing about them that made me care to know more.

The romance consists of the main characters being "inexplicably drawn to each other" and talk of them being "blood mates" made me roll my eyes. Plus, it ranked of insta-love.

If anything, I probably would have been able to push on if not for the world. It just didn't interest me- like everything else in this story. 

Reason for recommending: I don't know if I would, really.

Review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/406077776

_________________________________________________________________

4. Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Reason for not finishing: Right from the start, it is hard not to pegged this book as being filled with plenty of sexual tension between a girl and a wolf (who the girl does not know can transform into a human).

So this girl Grace is attacked by wolves.. and she just lays there doing nothing. Then, a wolf stares her *meaningfully* in the eyes and "saves her". Everyday since then, they watch each other from the woods, yearning for one another like secret lovers.

The romance is insanely unbelievable. If I have to hear Grace refer to the wolf as "my wolf" one more time I swear- And I was only 38 pages in when I stopped. The way she thinks about this wolf- and she gets distracted for a whole week of school thinking about him- it's almost as if she knows he's part human. Which she doesn't. Considering how much they know each other (which they don't, at all, besides watching each other from a distance) the amount of time spent thinking of one another was too much.

I can just tell I'm not going to be able to connect to either of the characters. Especially not after Grace says that she "couldn't forgive Jack for dying" because he endangered the safety of "her wolf" by making everyone think they are bloodthirsty and dangerous.

And am I just supposed to just sit here and not think it's weird that Grace's dad calls her mom "Rags" and refers to her as "his pet" in front of Grace, without wanting to gorge me eyes out?

Reason for recommending: Would not.

Review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/648987938

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5. Raven Flight by Juliet Marillier

Reason for not finishing: So boring. I will pick this up again later on.

Reason for recommending: This series is still a great, I think.








Review: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/526139868