Unwholly by Neal Shusterman (Awesome)

Okay, sorry that I am like a month late.  I just didn't get around to posting so I have a bunch of really good books to post on but not enough time.  I'll start with this one and move on if I have time before more books come out.

Unwholly was the sequel to Unwind.  I LOVED Unwind.  It really made me start loving Neal Shusterman's writing.  Anyway, it was an amazing book that you should go and read.  It will sound creepy without a doubt but it's worth it.

Without further ado, the cover.

 

I'll be the first to admit this cover is downright scary.  There's a sulking multicolored teenager on the cover and that's it.  I really hated his character, as you are supposed to.  Anyway, I think they could have done a different cover that wouldn't turn people away from the book because it's not that bad.

 

The plot starts soon after the last book ended.  Conner is taking control of the Graveyard, Risa is handicapped, and Lev is under the custody of his older brother, Marcus.  Things are standing to unravel at the seems, though.  The ADR is cutting resources from the Graveyard, Risa is not as safe as she believes she is, and a tragity in Lev's life might leave him as a prisoner.  We are also introduced to some other characters such as Cam and Starkley.  Let's just say that neither will help their cause much.  And the overlying question is: When will the Juvies finally take out the Graveyard?

 

The plot thickens in this amazing sequel to Unwind.  Neal Shusterman, as always, makes a compelling, action packed story, with some very lovable characters and same very dispisable characters.

 

II would really suggest reading this book along with the first book of the trilogy.  The last book will come out eventually and I will be looking forward to it, hopefully along with you.

 

Thanks for reading this!

The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan (So Beyond Awesome)

I've been excited for this book to come out for about a week more than a year.  It didn't disappoint.  In fact, I think it's my favorite book by Rick Riordan so far.  If you haven't read any of the previous books in this series before, then you are in the wrong place.  Without further ado, the cover:

 

 

It shows Percy fighting Jason with the owl, the mark of Athena, in the background.  It's an amazing cover, even if it ended up not being what I expected it would be.

 

Description:  The Argo 2 sets sail for Rome with the seven demigods on it... and a slightly violent satyr as supervisor.  While they wind their way to Rome, a feud rises between the two camps.  Annabeth is charged with the important, yet impossible task of following the mark of Athena, which has the slightest chance of bringing peace to the camps.  With monsters, ballerina-wanna-be giants, and Diet Coke-drinking gods appearing everywhere, getting to Rome might be even harder than expected.

 

This was the most amazing story that I've read in at least two years.  It was suspenseful and sweet and sort of sad and amazing and so much more.  I actually laughed out loud way too many times to count.  This was the most hilarious, touching, and exciting of all of Rick Riordan's books so far.  It was SO amazing!

 

The next book, is The House of Hades.  The title's meaning you can guess once you finish reading it.

 

You may know how there was supposed to be a cliffhanger at the end and a part that Rick "got teary-eyed" writing.  I know now without a doubt what he was talking about.  It was so freaking sweet!  The whole second to last chapter has replayed in my mind so many times since I finished reading it.  About five minutes after I finished the book, I started crying because the ending was just so so so sweet.  You'll see what I mean.

 

I would definitely recommend this to anyone who lives.  Seriously, go read it.  Read the rest of the series first and then read it.

 

On a kinda-sorta related note, I saw Rick Riordan in Charlotte, NC yesterday.  That was super exciting and I listened to him talk about everything.  I made a couple of friends with the people around me and got to be in the third row, so that was awesome.  For the record, he didn't mean for The Mark of Athena to age in its maturity level.  And I officially love his "British" accent.

 

 But, I didn't have a chance to ask my question, so if you are going to one of the events and want to ask a question but don't have one, try to ask this.  "What monster did you feel the most evil about sending after the characters?"  I bet there's a good answer to this.  Write in the comments if you do and please tell me what he said.

 

Sorry that I've been so late, lately.  I'm going to try to post a lot to make up for all of the books on my to review list, soon.

 

PS I'd love to talk about Mark of Athena with basically anyone.  Please, please comment because I don't know anyone else who has finished and I really want to talk about it! 

 

Thanks for reading!



Caught (Missing) by Margaret Peterson Haddix (Awesome)

Sorry that I haven't been posting a lot.  I'll try to get back to posting on Fridays, but right now I'm so behind that I sort of dread thinking about it.  Since I last posted, I've read The Kill Order, The Rise of Nine, Unwholly, and this book.  Anyway, Caught is the fifth book in the Missing Series.  They need to be read in order: Missing, Sent, Sabotaged, Torn, and finally Caught. They are all amazing, so you should go read the first one at least.

The cover:

 

I don't think that I could easily explain the cover.  They rode on trains for a little while, I guess, so there's the train and maybe Jonah racing to catch up?  Whatever the point, it works.  And the title, Caught.  Well, let's just say that it makes sense in more than one way.

Time stops in the 21st century, and Jonah and Katherine are sent back in time because Albert Einstein is thinking about the wrong things and could mess up time forever.  The Einsteins have a missing child, Lieserl,  who is dying of scarlet fever.  The biggest problem, however, is that Mileva, Einstein's wife, knows that Jonah and Katherine are there.  How can they save time when it's as if everything is working against them?

I would recommend you to read this.  Not only once, but twice because it's that good.  I wish I could just talk abut the ending, but that would be a major spoiler.  It's so so so amazing!

I love this book and hope that you will read it.  I'll post again later.

P.S. Sorry this post's a bit choppy.  The "o" key on this computer only works when you stab it, so I've had to rewrite a bunch of words.

Sorry Everyone

Hi everyone.  In my Coming Soon page, I had Antsy Floats coming out yesterday.  It turns out that it comes out in more than a year.  I think it has something to do with the author's mom having a stroke.  Sorry if I got you all excited for nothing.

Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix (Great)

Here's an interesting book.  I was about a second away from returning it to the library because I didn't think I would ever get around to even reading the first sentence.  Then, of course, I felt bad.  Next thing I know, it's 1 o'clock in the morning.  So, don't give it a bad rep. because of whatever. 

Anyway, here's the cover:

                       

 

I'm not a big fan of either of the covers, so I thought I'd show both.  Just so that you'd have options.  The left is self explanatory, but I'll point out that on the right, it says "Happily Never After..." under the title.  I think it changes the whole idea of the cover.

The book is about what happened to Cinderella (Cinders-Ella) after she goes to live with Prince Charming for her happily ever after. The castle is not what she was expecting, full of strict regulations, stiff people, and even the prince isn't as perfect as he had always seemed. Even, Jed, one of her teachers, is easier to talk to than Charming. Ella soon discovers, however, that escaping the castle will be more dangerous than first appears.

This is definitely a chick book, and I wouldn't recommend it to any guys.  But, any girl who is in the mood for a light, yet kind of fast-paced, read will not be disappointed. 

It's definitely something I would recommend.  And I hope you give it a shot.

As a side note: As I mentioned somewhere above, I got my book from the library, and I was about halfway through the book when I saw a bite mark on a page in my book. A human bite mark!  I thought it was worth mentioning, if only to make you wonder why. 

Anyways, I'll probably post mid next week instead of Friday since I'm so late with this post.  Who really knows when I'll finish my next book, so until then comment or whatever else you want to do.

Special thanks to everyone who has commented so far.  I really appreciate it.





Artemis Fowl: The Last Guardian by Eoin Colfer (Awesome)

Sorry I'm late.  I have trouble keeping track of days during the summer.  This is the last book in the Artemis Fowl series, the eighth, I believe.  It is an amazing series, so I suggest reading it.  Guys can read it, believe me.  Even if you don't think it is, based on the description, you are wrong.  I needed to go ahead and point that out.  So, go ahead and read the rest of the series.  I'll still be here when I get back.

Here's the cover:

The cover shows part of the ending, so *GIANT SPOILER ALERT*  Artemis is standing near the gateway.  The wall is there between him and Holly/ Butler.  The cover basically shows Artemis Fowl saying his last words. *SPOILER ALERT OFF*  It's an amazing cover that really wraps it up nicely.

Anyway, I'm going to assume that you read the previous books and all, so I can do the review.

 

 

Artemis has gone to his last therapy session to fix his Atlantis Complex. When he is leaving Haven, he finds that a ransom note has been received by the LEP. The younger Opal has been kidnapped and will be shot unless they release the older Opal. (skipping a part because of spoilers) Artemis, Holly, and Butler race to stop Opal from destroying the whole human race and ruling all the fairies.

 

 

I thought this was the perfect book to end the series. It was just so right in so many ways...

 

 

As always, the humor was perfect. (It had a couple really awesome quotes that I will add to the quotes page later, so check there within a week.)

 

 

And the ending... It's the first time that I've gotten within a football field of crying while reading in a long time. But, so epically perfect.

 

 

*Note for people who have already read it*

 

 

You might not of noticed this, but the thing that Holly said at the end. The thing about how it all began. That was the exact first sentence of the series. Personally, I think that makes an amazing ending, to have the first and last sentence to be the same. *Spoiler for Pendragon* The same thing happened at the end of the Pendragon series. *spoiler off*

*End of Note*

 

 

Once again, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone.

 

 

Oh, and I was just thinking about how in the beginning of the series, I didn't like any of the main characters. And now I think they're all the best. You start to care for the guys you don't like eventually.

 

 

Again, I'm sorry I'm late. I'll probably post again next week. See you then. In the meantime, comment, click on an add, read my posts, or whatever else you want to do.

The Hobbit by JRR Tolken (Alright)

Sorry I'm late posting, and, truth be told, this isn't my normal review (I think I'm skipping the summary), but I figure there's no way anyone will read this because it's a super well known book.  Also, since I'm sure there are hundreds of good reviews out there for this book, I'm not supplying one.  If you don't want an honest opinion, don't read this blog.

I'm sure that you've heard about The Lord of the Rings.  I'd be amazed if you hadn't.  Anyway, a long, long time ago, I gave in and started reading The Hobbit... and I finished it sometime last week.  Thoroughly unimpressed with it.  The first hundred pages were torture to go through.  It got better after that, and I don't think I would have had as much trouble with the idea that I didn't like it if it hadn't had so much hype. 

I really had a problem with all the riddles and songs.  There was one every ten pages, and every time I saw one, I wanted to scream.  One chapter was almost completely riddles.  Personally, I don't find that particularly entertaining.

On a side note, at the end, *SPOILER ALERT* When Thorin died, it wasn't obvious.  I had to re-read the paragraphs before it, before it made sense.  It seemed like he just left instead of died.  *SPOILER OFF*

All together, I wasn't impressed, but I will still probably read the other book with the hope that they are better because #1, The Hobbit is a prequel, which is a sign that it's worse than the other books and #2, I want to understand references to it. 

On different topics:

1. I started watching Burn Notice, a TV show, and am really enjoying it.
2. I re-read BZRK (still amazing the 2nd time) and am psyched for book 2.  (February 26)

That's all for this week.  Sorry again that I was late, and I apologize for all of the awkward sentences above.  My grammer ran out the window tonight.

Feel free, as always, to comment.

The Dark Side of Nowhere by Neal Shusterman (Awesome)

I'm going to get right into it this week, so here's the cover:

The cover shows metal glove shooting lasers out of the fingers.  I really like the lettering on it; it really sets the mood.  And the title, surprisingly not actually depressing, and perfect once you've read the book.

To tell you the truth, I would feel guilty even writing a summary of this book.  The whole thing is revealed as it goes along and you can't summarize it without mention a main point, which would ruin a chunk of the beginning of the book.  I read it without having any idea what it was about (I love Neal Shusterman) and that worked out great, for the best even.  I'll put in a summary at the end of the post, just in case, and I'll make sure it won't ruin the surprise.

It was an amazing story with action, love, random funny bits, and a couple dramatic twists.  I thought I should put in the first sentence because, well, I don't really know.  Anyway: "Ethan died of a burst appendix."  (Random thought, why do Ethans never live long in TV shows and books?  My advice is to never get too attached to a character named Ethan; you'll regret it.) 

I would definitely suggest reading this book.  It wasn't long, maybe 200 pages, but it was definitely worth reading.  And the ending...  Well, if you've ever read a book by Neal Shusterman, you'll know the kind of ending he usually uses.  One that wraps everything up nicely except for one thing, which the reader is almost certain they know how will end up.  It leaves you hanging, not enough to make a sequel, but makes you think about it for a long, long time.  They should give him a prize for his amazing (if sometimes sad) endings.

Oh, random tid bit.  There's this character, Ralphy Sherman, who appears in a whole bunch of Neal's books.  He is a guy who "stretches the truth" a long ways.  Keep an eye out for him, makes it a bit more interesting.

And here's where I'll write my summary.  I'll try my hardest to make it spoiler free.

Jason lives in a nice little town where everything is normal and nice.  Nothing interesting ever happens.  That is, until his friend Ethan dies.  Then strange things start happening.  The janitor gives Jason something that, let's just say, is very unusual.  Jason and Paula start poking around the town and find somethings are not as they seem.  If fact, nothing at all is how it seems.  And it all seems to connect with a problem that happened in Old Town twenty years before and the fact that Grant (the janitor) has his satellite dish pointed in the wrong direction.

Once again, this is an amazing book and I would recommend it to every one.

P.S. I had a realization the other day that the Gone Series has a couple bits that I would feel guilty recommending to anyone under twelve years old, starting in the second or third book.  I mean, most would be okay with it, but I need to point it out just the same.  I think that currently it is my favorite series. (It's amazing, and I haven't gotten tired of it like Harry Potter, yet.)  So don't think I'm complaining.  It's just that, well, there is a little PG 13 content a little later in the series.  (I hope you know what I mean there.  If not, ask in the comments, but that's super uncomfortable, so please don't.)  I thought I'd throw that all out there and hope it doesn't deter you from the series because it is beyond amazing. I mean, seriously, go out and read it.



More Mark of Athena News

As you should all know, the summer solstice was a little while ago.  To celebrate, Rick Riordan did a Q and A thing.  You can see it all here: http://www.rickriordan.blogspot.com. 

A recap, anyway, is that Mark of Athena will have a cliffhanger, has a part that Rick got "teary eyed" while writing, mentioned Percy & Annabeth's grey hair (from holding the sky), has a Percy/ Annabeth reunion, and probably a couple other things.

You frustrated as well?

Divergent by Veronica Roth (Awesome)

The cover:

Sorry that the cover is blurry, it's the best I can do.  It shows the symble for Dauntless over thge city of Chicago. 

Summary: There are five groups of people, in five different factions: Abnegation, Candor, Amity, Erudite, and Dauntless.  They each have a role on society,and when you turn sixteen, you choose where you will live.  Beatrice wants to leave her faction.  She must go through a terifying initiation process to prove that she can make it into her new faction.  But, there is somethingthat's amiss with the leaders there.  She will have to work hard to even stay alive.

This was a great book, one that I would definity recommend.  There is even a love interest, to top things off. 

One thing I would add, though, was that, like always, my favorite character died.  It doesn't really seem fair to me, right?

Anyway, that's all for now.  See you all later.