[Review] Prodigy by Marie Lu

June and Day arrive in Vegas just as the unthinkable happens: the Elector Primo dies, and his son Anden takes his place. With the Republic edging closer to chaos, the two join a group of Patriot rebels eager to help Day rescue his brother and offer passage to the Colonies. They have only one request—June and Day must assassinate the new Elector.

It’s their chance to change the nation, to give voice to a people silenced for too long.

But as June realizes this Elector is nothing like his father, she’s haunted by the choice ahead. What if Anden is a new beginning? What if revolution must be more than loss and vengeance, anger and blood—what if the Patriots are wrong?

In this highly-anticipated sequel, Lu delivers a breathtaking thriller with high stakes and cinematic action.

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SPOILERS FROM THE FIRST BOOK ARE IN THIS REVIEW SO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

GENERAL
          This book is... interesting. I've looked at a couple other reviews and most of the reviewers appear to have loved it so I was a little surprised when I didn't like it as much. It's possible that the insertion of a [useless] love triangle annoyed me enough that the rest of the book wasn't as fun to read. I remember really, really loving Legend so this is a little unfortunate.

PLOT
          Basically June and Day accept a job with the Patriots in exchange for them healing Day's infected knee wound and helping Day find Eden (his younger brother, remember?). At this point of time the old Elector dies and there is a plan in place assassinate the new Elector. June was someone Alden (the new Elector) appeared be romantically attracted to when he met her as the Republic's Prodigy and so she is sent in to infiltrate his inner circles and gain his trust while pretending she is incredibly sorry for setting Day free and that it was a mistake. She also is supposed to set him up for the assassination. 
          The plot and what was going to happen was really guessable. The author expressed the emotions of the characters in a way that made it fairly obvious what was going to happen (I guess that could be a good thing but it doesn't really leave many surprises). It also had that YA-y type of "surprising" plot twists so it wasn't very surprising. The real surprise lay in wait where I expected the surprises to stop occurring >.>

CHARACTERS

June: She was basically the same old June Ipris with the amazing military skills. Her importance in the assassination plan made her the turning point in this story since so much depended on her.

Day: Day was also basically the same (even though he got a bit confused when a love triangle popped up in his life). He was the amazing, kind-hearted, passionate Runner.

Alden: He's the new Elector and appears to be kinder and more passionate about his country that his father ever was. However, he is the symbol of repression and that doesn't bode well for him.

Kaede: Kaede is a really, super-cool pilot for the Patriots. Although she is not as important of a character as June, Day, or Alden she sticks out with her personality. She might be my favorite character because of all the risks she takes for the things/people she cares about.

LOVE TRIANGLES

These are the three main love triangles. They are numbered in order of importance.








WRITING STYLE
          Marie Lu had an interesting way of writing the book for two different viewpoints. Day's thoughts were fairly coarse and not cleaned up much, while June was very sophisticated and centered. These portray their backgrounds nicely, and I think she did well of the differentiation. On the other hand, I really disliked the color scheme of the text in this book. The light blue was a really weird contrast with the black. It was a light blue for Day and black for June. Also the font was different >.> It was just annoying me a bit while reading =.= There are pictures at the bottom.


THE ENDING
          The ending to this book was pretty interesting and does set up nicely for a third book. The little twist in the end makes me curious about what's in store for the Republic, and so I will probably actually read it.

COVER COMMENTARY
          Ohmygod the cover is gorgeous ^.^ The color scheme and the way the eagle appears to be a stencil type spraypainted thing ♥

WARNINGS FOR ANYONE WHO WISHES TO READ THIS BOOK
          There are mentions of a homosexual relationship between some of the characters. This doesn't bother me, but if you don't like even reading about that or don't want your child reading something like that, you should skim over pages 103-104 (in the hardcover copy).
           I'm actually kinda happy that Marie Lu was brave enough to put even mentions of a homosexual relationship in a popular YA book. YA tends to skirt around the edges of anything that could be controversial. 

All in all, I would give this book 3 stars out of 5.

ALSO:

The next book is supposed to be called Champion and is supposed to be released in 2014. No cover has been released as of this date.

PICTURES OF THE WRITING

Cover Reveal! DARK NEBULA

Hai! This is my first cover reveal, so I'm pretty excited :D The cover looks awesome too so my happiness is complete ^.^ I've read the first book in this series, Rae of Hope, and it's awesome stuff. You can find my review for it here ;)

BOOK TITLE: DARK NEBULA

AUTHOR: WJ MAY

RELEASE DATE: DECEMBER 15, 2012

Book Description: 

Nothing is as it seems anymore. 

Leery from the horrifying incident at the end of her first year at Guilder Boarding School, Rae Kerrigan is determined to learn more about her new tattoo. looks Her expectations are high, an easy senior year and a happy reunion with Devon— the boy she’s not supposed to date. All hopes of happiness fade into shattered dreams the moment she steps back on campus. 

Lies and secrets are everywhere, and a betrayal cuts Rae deeply. Among her conflicts and enemies, it appears as if her father is reaching out from beyond the grave to ruin her life. With no one to trust, Rae doesn’t know where or who to turn to for help. 

Has her destiny been written? Or will she becomes the one thing she hates the most-- her father’s prodigy.

~FACEBOOK~~~~TWITTER~~~WEBSITE~~~EMAIL~~~BOOK TRAILERS~~~GOODREADS~

OH AND GUYS. GUESS WHAT? :P Rae of Hope (the first book in this series) is going to be free to download on Amazon on October 15th... And ladies and gentlemen, guess what? That's tomorrow! ;) You'll find it here.

School >.>

Hai guys. School started today and that means I don't have as much time T_T

September will probably have irregular posts (if any) until I can get used to it... sorry :-/

No one actually reads this stuff though, so I'm probably good xD

That emoticon needs to be changed from "^.^" to "x_x" but I'm too lazy :P

I'm also on a bunch of clubs so... :-/ (i.e. yearbook ^.^)

[Review] Princess Academy by Shannon Hale

High on the Slopes of Mount Eskel, Miri's family has lived forever, pounding a meager living from the stone of the mountain itself. Miri dreams of working alongside the others in the quarry, but she has never been allowed to work there--perhaps, she thinks, because she is so small.

Then word comes from the lowlands: the king's priests have divined that the prince's bride-to-be--the next princess--will come from Mount Eskel. The prince himself will travel to the village to choose his bride, but first all eligible girls must attend a makeshift academy to prepare for royal lowlander life.

At the school, Miri finds herself confronting both bitter competition among the girls and her own conflicted desires to be chosen. Yet when danger comes to the academy, it is Miri, named for a tiny mountain flower, who must find a way to save her classmates-- and the chance for the future that each of them is eager to secure as her own.
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My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was really good. At first, looking at the title, I thought that it would be about all these girls just being shaped up and that the book would be all girly :-/ My first thought was proven wrong, and I couldn't be more happy about that ^.^ This was the first book of Shannon Hale's that I read.

About the characters
The characters were well shaped- especially Miri. They had their own personalities, and weren't copies of each other (which sometimes happens). The more minor characters, such as Peder, Miri's father, and Marda, all had personalities as well.

The names were a bit odd, and I tripped over them at the beginning, but I got used to them.

About the Plot
The plot progressed well, and smoothly which was really nice. The details that were given weren't given in a harsh or rough manner. Basically the prince of their land was told that he had to choose a bride from Mount Eskel. All the girls from the ages of fourteen to seventeen were sent to an academy (still on the mountain) to learn royal manners. They learned a lot, and they also found ways to use what they learned in everyday life (such as they had been trading linder blocks for much less than they should have, even through Mount Eskel is the only place with linder and linder blocks are highly prized). Eventually though, bandits come in order to kidnap whichever girl was supposed to be the prince's bride. The snows block them in, and give the girls time to plan something. Everything snowballs from there.

The Writing Style
The book was written really well, and it didn't seem rough of harsh or anything. I especially liked how they transitioned everything to make the plot link together. I suppose I should have expected this from the fact that this is a Newbery Honor book, though. The poems at the beginning of each chapter were nice as well.

Although this is slightly out of context, I also really liked the font type in this book. It was really pleasant :P

The Ending
The ending made a lot of sense and was a happily ever after ending, so I really liked it. It would work well as a stand-alone novel, but it was left so that a sequel could be written if people wanted (and obviously a sequel did come out (Palace of Stone)

 I can't wait to read it ^.^

It has a different cover type from the first one, so a new cover was made for the first one...

[Review] Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she’s returned—to her old life, her family, her friends—before being banished back to the underworld... this time forever.

She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can’t find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there’s a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he’ll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen.

As Nikki’s time grows short and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she’s forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole’s..

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

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... I really didn't like this book >.< I'm sorry. It was ok, I guess. It was much too dependent on the romance for it to be actually good... The cover is beautiful though ^.^

THE PLOT

Basically Nikki is back in the normal world after she was sucked into an underworld where immortals steal her emotions and feelings. She has 6 months in the normal world until she is pulled back into the Everneath. She and her boyfriend from before start researching the Everlivings (the immortal people) and anything to do with the Everneath to see if she can avoid going back.

I heard this was based on the Hades/Persophone myth... well I am disappointed in that as well. I expected it to be all interesting about Hades and Persephone or even if they just based it loosely, but really... no.

NIKKI (THE MAIN CHARACTER)

She is... weak. She is relying on others for her life and her decisions affect others too much. First she went into the Feed because Cole could take her hurt feelings and bad feelings away. Because she saw someone else come out of her boyfriend's bedroom. During the Feed, right after she vanished, she ripped apart the lives of her friends and family. Then, after the Feed, she would sit all alone waiting for the Tunnels to come and take her again. Originally she Returned so she could say a proper goodbye to her friends and family, but she never actually did- she would've just disappeared again. She also started creating strong bonds with her friends and family, which would hurt them AGAIN to break. I guess her only piece of backbone is that she doesn't want to Feed off others because she knows the pain, and would take the Tunnels over it (where she would become a battery for the Everneath until she completely ran out of emotions and everything, and just... vanished).

LOVE INTEREST #1: JACK

Jack was her boyfriend before the Feed as well and it was because of him she agreed to it. She thought he was cheating on her. When she disappeared it was him that anchored her so that she would remain young and sane, and it was him that sent out search parties and everything. After the Feed, Nikki starts getting closer to him again, and tells him everything. He works with her to find an alternative to the Tunnels.

LOVE INTEREST #2: COLE

Cole is the Everliving that took her down to the Everneath and fed off her. He took all her emotions and everything, and when he found she was still young and sane after it, he offered to make her an Everliving and to make her the Queen. He's basically chasing after her the entire book and ruining her attempts at normal life.

THE WRITING STYLE

The writing is good, but the switching of time periods could be done much better. The first couple times I got really confused, because even though it was labeled, Nikki "sounded" completely the same before and after, although after the Feed she was supposed to be all emotionless and depressed and basically empty.

THE ENDING

The ending was a twist, but a foreseeable twist. The series had to work somehow and so obviously something like that had to happen. What had been given away a couple pages before helped secure what I thought would happen >.>

I suppose I'll read the other books even though I didn't like this one much because I would like to see if it get's better/more interesting (surprisingly enough, that's actually happened before).

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This was written very, very late at night/very, very early... ignore the posting time >.< Please tell me if something is incoherent. I should probably fix anything like that...

Bye now :P

[Review] The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester

VERSION/COVER #1

When homeschooled farm girl Piper McCloud reveals her ability to fly, she is quickly taken to a secret government facility to be trained with other exceptional children, but she soon realizes that something is very wrong and begins working with brilliant and wealthy Conrad to escape.

"Piper decided to jump off the roof. It wasn't a rash decision on her part. This was her plan: Climb to the top of the roof, pick up speed by running from one end all the way to the other. Jump off. Finally, and most importantly, don't fall. She didn't make plans in the event she did fall, because if you jump off the roof of your house and land on your head, you really don't need any plans from that point on. Even Piper knew that. So that's what she did. She jumped clean off her roof. But before we get to what happens next, you'll probably need to know a thing or two about a thing or two..."

VERSION/COVER #2

You just can’t keep a good girl down . . . unless you use the proper methods.

Piper McCloud can fly. Just like that. Easy as pie.

Sure, she hasn’t mastered reverse propulsion and her turns are kind of sloppy, but she’s real good at loop-the-loops.

Problem is, the good folk of Lowland County are afraid of Piper. And her ma’s at her wit’s end. So it seems only fitting that she leave her parents’ farm to attend a top-secret, maximum-security school for kids with exceptional abilities.

School is great at first with a bunch of new friends whose skills range from super-strength to super-genius. (Plus all the homemade apple pie she can eat!) But Piper is special, even among the special. And there are consequences.

Consequences too dire to talk about. Too crazy to consider. And too dangerous to ignore.

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This is a middle grade book. A really good middle grade book. When I first picked it up, I thought it could just be a book that I would read to clear my head of all confusion >.< It did help with that, but it was quite amazing- the plot, the character... EVERYTHING.

Basically it's about this girl that can fly. When her family finds out, they try to keep it a secret, but that just doesn't work so she goes to a top-secret government facility where she has been told she could hone her flying skills and learn other skills necessary for survival. Unfortunately, all does not go as it should and Piper learns that there are lies everywhere and works with her fellow classmates to have a getaway plan. She goes through many trials, and becomes stronger.

Piper, in general, is an amazing character. She's happy most of the time and nice and sweet and all those good things. She's also inquisitive and curious about most things, which gets her into a lot of trouble. I really like her for her inner strength though- although there were many attempts to break her, at the end she was as strong as ever, maybe stronger, as well as wiser to the world around her.

The other characters are well written as well. You get to understand a lot about them, in the short book, as well as watch them grow through out the book. All the characters are quite dynamic xD 

The plot is actually much better than I expected. It's well written and well thought out. It's a middle grade novel and some of the themes are themes of oppression, choices, and two-faced people (people not being what they seem).

The ending is really nice- like a fairy-tale ending. It ends in happily ever after, although because of the way it's written, it seems as if this book should have a sequel. However, this book came out 2 years ago, and I think a sequel would've come out by now.

Also, about the writing style- I liked it. It was written in a way that Piper would've though and spoke when it was in her POV and however the other person would've spoke it it had been their POV, and that was important to me.

If this review does not seem completely coherent, it would be because I wrote it way too in the morning/too late at night... The times are blending together xD... Yay me? Don't pay attention to the time is says I published it.

[Review] Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, the ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl...

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was really hooked onto this book as soon as I started reading it xD Even if you don't read the rest of this, know this: this book is amazing and you should read it as soon as possible xD

Here's the review ;)

About the Plot
I'm doing the plot before the characters because I have a lot of character sections >.> Basically Cinder is part of a world ravaged by a disease called letumosis*. She is "volunteered" by her evil guardian to be part of the cyborg draft (which is cyborgs on who the antidotes are tested on). She is the only cyborg who has ever survived this process, since in all other the disease kills them. She becomes part of the team fighting letumosis on volunteer basis and they are able to use her blood. She is also friends with Prince/Emperor Kai who is the heir/ruler of New Beijing, and she has connections with him. When the Lunars come to meet with Kai to make a treaty (of which their request/order is marriage) she runs into them, and starts learning about her past BEFORE her cybernetic operation, and the Lunar Queen's plan to rule the world. With what she learns about herself, she knows she is the only one able to stop Queen Levana.

This book is based really loosely on Cinderella, and it's probably better that way, because fairy-tale constraints would have hindered the story.

About the Ending
The ending was a cliffhanger, of course, and I really want to know what happens next. Cinder was awesome, and they just left it there D:

About the Main Character
Cinder is a really strong girl, considering that she was able to survive the events of the book xD She survived many things others couldn't, even though she is always laughed at for being a cyborg. Being the breadwinner for the family wasn't easy on her, but it helps that she is the “best mechanic in New Beijing." Also her adoptive family is horrible -_- The man who adopted her died soon after, and his wife is terrible to her. All the money Cinder makes is deposited into the wife's account- she is not able to keep it. Also, because she's a cyborg she can read others ID chips (everyone has one in order to be identified), knows when people are lying because of small signs such as a change in breathing, heart rate, etc. She's also able to do things such as increasing or decreasing how much noise she hears, which is helpful when she's in a really loud or really quiet place.

About the Love Interest
The love interest is Prince/Emperor Kai (depending on what part of the book you're at), and he's pretty cool. His father died from letumosis (more about that below) and he's pretty strong/independent. He is able to (mostly) recover from the Lunar's magic, which is not something everyone can do. He's cool also because he accepts cyborgs, and doesn't think them as below him (which most people do).

About the Lunars...
Lunars  evolved from an Earthen moon colony centuries ago, but so aren't human anymore, and basically rule the moon. They are able to manipulate bioelectric energy (which is the energy that is naturally created by all living things). They can both detect and control another's bioelectric energy. You see what the want you to see, do what they want you to do, and feel what they want you to feel. This is how Lunars keep control. The only people who can ignore the ability are shells (Lunars who cannot manipulate bioelectric energy). Shells are executed while they are still an infant on Luna (the moon, basically). Some parents send their Shell children to Earth to save them, but very few do. The Lunar shells are where letumosis came from- they carried the disease down to Earth and spread them to the humans. 

Letumosis- that disease that keeps on being repeated
Letumosis is a deadly disease that came from Luna. Lunar shells carried it to Earth when they tried to escape Luna, and although it didn't affect them, it spread to "Earthens". There are four stages, and it is also called the blue plague since they turn blue. Symptoms that show the disease are that the skin is marked with bruise like spots.

About the Setting
I usually don't have a setting section.  Here's what it says in one section of the book.. 
"126 years ago, the nightmare and catastrophe that was the Fourth World War ended, and the Eastern Commonwealth was born. It grew out of the unification of many peoples, many cultures, many ideals. It was strengthened by a single enduring belief that together, we as one people are strong. We have the ability to love each other, no matter our differences. To help each other, no matter our weaknesses. We chose peace over war. Life over death. We chose to crown one man to be our sovereign, to guide us, to uphold us—not to rule, but to serve." New Beijing (the place where it the book takes place currently) is in Asia.

The Next Book in this series is SCARLET. It comes out February 5, 2013. 

It is based on Little Red Riding Hood.

The third book comes out in 2014 and is called CRESS. 

It's based on Rapunzel, and the setting is the moon.

The fourth and last book comes out in 2015 and is called White. 

It's based on Snow White, and the setting is the Sahara Desert.