Twice Upon a Book

I am a 19-year-old bookworm, using this blog as my dumping ground to spill my feelings about books I read. In other words, this is a book review blog. And feelings, I have a lot of. Currently Reading: Feed by Mira Grant

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i hate idiot teenage girls who call themselves “readers” and only read shit like divergent and twilight and hunger games.

i have so much rage inside.

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i hate idiot book snobs who think they’re better than other people because they read different books.

i have so much rage inside. 

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Wow. This made me angry. People are readers no matter what they read. They can only enjoy erotica or middle school books and that doesn’t make them any less of a reader. You don’t have to read the classics, a certain series in YA, all of The Hitchhiker’s Guide, or biographies to be considered a reader. If you’ve read books, then you qualify. We shouldn’t shame anyone for what they enjoy to read. We should applaud that they are reading.

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I love those sleepless nights where finishing the book is the only thing that matters.

[twiceuponabook]

Matched (Matched #1) by Ally Condie

Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Dystopia, Fantasy Published: November 30, 2010 Pages: 369

Rating: ★★★

Dates Read: March 6 to 12, 2013

Note: This is not a dystopian novel as much as it is a love story. If you are looking to read a dystopian book with a love story on the back burner, you will be disappointed.

  Cassia’s whole life is lined up for her. On her seventeenth birthday, she will be Matched to who the Society calculates is the best fit for her. They will marry at twenty-one and then die the day of their eightieth birthday, like her Grandfather. The way Society plans it.

At the Matching Ceremony, Cassia is dressed in a vibrant green dress, nothing like the plainclothes she wears ever day. And her optimal Match is her best friend, Xander. Or so she thought he was. Because for a split second, another boy’s face replaced Xander’s when reviewing information on her Match and she thinks “What could have been?“

The beginning of the book really hooked me. It was a unique story, I thought, and it could have gone interesting places. But then I got to reading the rest and it kind of fell apart for me. Now, you see, I think that with a dystopian story, love is bound to happen. I mean it would be more unrealistic to not have one, like you’re trying not to make it happen. I mean, love blossoms through dangerous situations. But with this book, it’s like the love story was the main point and the dystopian world was just a medium for it to incubate.

What made it fall apart for me isn’t the love story being the main. What did was Cassia’s practical obsession with Ky and her selfish attitude of ‘What does this mean for me?‘ She wasn’t very likable to me. And I felt that the glitch in her Match microcard and the follow-up by the Official was almost too perfect, almost like they wanted her to find a kink in the whole system. I mean if I were trying to facade a perfect society, I wouldn’t reassure a Citizen that glitches happen once in a while; that would mean the system isn’t perfect! I mean, why didn’t the Official just give her the red tablet to wipe out her memory of the whole situation and be done? Then I guess we wouldn’t have a story, huh. I still think that the love story could have developed a different way, not in a way so orchestrated.

This novel could have gone places. I was hungry for more 100 pages in and left unsatisfied by the end. I give three stars based on my initial thoughts on it, because I did enjoy some parts of it and I don’t think a two star would suffice my true feelings on this book. I was going to go ahead and read the whole series, but after thinking it through, I don’t want to force myself to read the series if I didn’t really like even the first book.

[twiceuponabook]

Rebel Heart (Dust Lands #2) by Moira Young

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia, Post-Apocalyptic, Science Fiction, Romance Published: October 30, 2012 Pages: 432

Rating: ★★★★

Dates Read: February 25 to March 6, 2013

Last spring, I reviewed Blood Red Road (Dust Lands #1) and I fell in love with it. I just picked it up on a whim off of the New Books shelf at my library, not even having this book on my to-read. I was practically dying to read the second book and I finally have! Ugh I am just a Marian puddle!

Also the “Better than The Hunger Games…” tagline. That is just coonery. Called it!

Rebel Heart picks up where Blood Red Road left us waiting for too many months. The first chapter is dedicated to Jack’s POV, and his journey into the Lost Cause to tell Molly the news that Ike died. Then in a flash, Molly’s bar is invaded by Tonton, but not the ones Jack excepted. These aren’t the clean-shaven, trained Tonton, but the old-style he faced back in Hopetown. They are no joke like the new ones. These Tonton mean danger.

Meanwhile Saba is in the Big Waste with Lugh and Emmi, stuck for lack of better direction. They were supposed to meet up with Jack in the Big Water after all this time to start their new life. A new life of air that tastes like honey. Until an unlikely messenger comes to tell Saba about Jack. Saba may never see Jack again. Or even want to.

Breathe in, breath out. Okay I just about died with this book. I love Moira Young’s writing style and the voice of the characters. It’s so historical but post-apocalyptic at the same time. I love that feeling these books give; it alludes to the fact that it’s futuristic because of the Wrecker mentions, but reads like a historical novel. One of my favorite parts of the novel is when Saba finds old records and plays them. It’s so eerie and beautiful at the same time. Here she is, perhaps hundreds of years after our time, and is playing records!

And the ending! I wonder where Young is going to take us in the next novel with that ending. I can’t take it!!

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[twiceuponabook]

Beautiful design for Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451.

[twiceuponabook]

You Wish by Mandy Hubbard

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance, Contemporary Published: August 5, 2010 Pages: 272

Dates Read: February 7 to 10, 2013

Rating: ★★★★

I felt this review was very befitting today because it’s my birthday! Last year of being a teenager, woo!

Kayla’s birthday sucks, like mine, not because her family is nowhere to be seen when she woke on her birthday, but a much bigger scale. It’s her sixteenth and her father is nowhere to be found, her grades are on a continual downward slope, and the icing on the cake is the one she loves, Ben, is dating her best friend. Sixteen sucks. Her mother throws her a birthday party right out of ‘My Sweet Sixteen,’ which is anything but what Kayla wanted. Frustrated, she makes a wish on the disgusting cake “I wish my birthday wishes actually came true. Because they never freakin’ do” and flounced out of that joint.

Now she wishes she didn’t because the next day she wakes to a My Little Pony her 6-year-old self would be giddy at the sight of prancing outside her window. The next, a year’s supply of gumballs. Then the Ken to her Barbie comes along with his ascot. It seems like after that one silly wish upon that disgusting cake, all her past wishes are coming true. But they need to stop! Because all the wishes are coming out of order and last year on her fifteenth birthday, she wished Ben would kiss her. Ben, the one she loves. Ben, the one who she counts how many times he brushes against her in math. Ben, her best friend’s boyfriend.

This book was just so fun! You really saw a growth of Kayla’s character through the book. The whole dilemma of what wish is coming next was really comical, I believe. I loved how Kayla wouldn’t betray her best friend even if it was a wish that she really wants. She was a very likable character and relatable. Ben was a very likable character as well. The whole buildup of the story wasn’t too fast or too slow; I felt it was a right, comfortable buildup. This was definitely one of my favorite contemporary books I have read in the past months!

[thegirlandherbooks]

I was born with a reading list I will never finish.

Maud Casey (via thegirlandherbooks)

[twiceuponabook]

March Releases I'm Excited About!

Already three months into the new year. It's going by so fast! This is one of my favorite months (not because it's my birth month) but because it starts warming up and feeling a whole lot like spring! And warmer weather makes me want to take a book and go bask in the sun.

This year has a lot of promising YA releases and I hope the don't disappoint! Nothing worse than a promising plot with a let-down book.

For sure the book I'm most excited for this month is MILA 2.0. Expected release on March 12, MILA 2.0 is "the first book in an electrifying sci-fi thriller series about a teenage girl who discovers that she is an experiment in artificial intelligence." In the past 2 years, there has been a great resurgence of the sci-fi genre in YA. I count this as a good and bad thing because, hey, there is now more sci-fi out there, but then there is also more bad sci-fi. This series sounds like it's promising and is already getting good reviews so I'm crossing my fingers on this one!

Other exciting March releases:

*Unremembered by Jessica Brody; Sci-Fi, Paranormal

17 & Gone by Nova Ren Suma; Mystery, Paranormal, Thriller

*Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger; Fantasy, Mythology, Paranormal

Pretty Girl-13 by Liz Coley; Mystery, Thriller

*When We Wake by Karen Healey; Dystopia, Sci-Fi

*The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett; Paranormal, Fantasy, Magic

Going Vintage by Lindsey Leavitt; Realistic Fiction, Contemporary

Poison by Bridget Zinn; Fantasy, Magic, Fairy Tale

Orleans by Sherri L. Smith; Dystopia, Post-Apocalyptic

*Legacy of the Clockwork Key by Kristin Bailey; Steampunk, Fantasy, Historical Fiction

*Strands of Bronze and Gold by Jane Nickerson; Historical Fiction, Retelling, Fantasy, Fairy Tale

Requiem (Delirium #3) by Lauren Oliver; Dystopia, Post-Apocalyptic

* first in series

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Insurgent (Divergent #2) by Veronica Roth

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia, Science Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic, Romance Published: May 1, 2012 Pages: 525

Dates Read: January 21 to February 7, 2013

Rating: ★★★★

Tensions once glossed over between factions are now coming to light. War rages on as the government violates, by use of simulation, the members of factions to put them at war with each other. In this time of need and desperation, Tris believes she has a vital role to play. Though in the end, not everything is just black and white. Their heartless leaders may just have been protecting the city.

Their problems are bigger than what’s inside the fence, because they’re being protected from what’s outside.

More than the first book, I felt this second installment was more static. I just wanted the pace to pick up! And Tris with her never-ending plot to destroy herself. Like she couldn’t just sit down and let other people fight the battles. That was what annoyed me. But why the high rating? Well I think what made me like the book, really, was the twist of events and the sense that there was no simple evil vs. good. It really made me at war with myself and I liked that this book made me feel that. I like that we got more explanation as to why these leaders were violating these people and putting them against each other, but we weren’t just fed the truth; like we were given bits of the truth at a time. I am overall very excited to read the third installment, set to be released October 22, 2013. I hope that we get to learn more of why they are being protected inside this gate and why everything is relevant. I want questions answered and I hope it doesn’t disappoint!

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Divergent (Divergent #1) by Veronica Roth

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia, Science Fiction, Post-Apocalyptic, Romance Published: May 3, 2011 Pages: 487

Dates Read: January 15 to 20, 2013

Rating: ★★★★

When a child turns sixteen, they are to pledge in one of the five factions: Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), or Erudite (the intelligent). Beatrice being Abnegation-born, she doesn’t feel one bit as selfless as she should; she is selfish. But to pledge in a different faction means to leave behind her family. To help in the choosing of their faction, they are put through a simulation to see which faction suits the choices they made. The results Beatrice got, though, could mean death if ever uttered, for she is not like everyone else.

Beatrice reinvents herself as Tris during her faction initiation but life doesn’t get more simple after that, but now it seems everything is starting to fall apart. Betrayal, romance, and a deadly secret, Tris’s world is falling apart. But she learns that this deadly secret could be used to free them all, or destroy them. There are some things she just shouldn’t know.

I want to bring up the comparison to The Hunger Games. It is inevitable that a YA dystopian book would be compared to this successful book, and the similarities are great. First of all I found the separation of factions akin to the Districts except the factions are separated into morals. That is where the similarities end, I believe. From the beginning you could already tell this was a corrupt system and I like that! We got some back story and introductions before being thrown into the action, and action there was a lot of. Honestly, though, this book was huge and I think could have been edited down some. There was so many descriptions it kind of wandered away from the story at parts. If I were to compare this to THG, I enjoyed THG more, but Divergent was fresh.

But can we talk about this being adapted into a movie? So excited! I didn’t know it until I finished reading this book. It’s fun to see the parts you loved in the book being played out, or even butchered (*cough* The Hunger Games *cough*). And the cast list? Let me just say there are some fine young men in there. Mark your calender! March 14, 2014 is not a day to miss! Read this book and make comparisons with me!

[twiceuponabook]

Reunited by Hilary Weisman Graham

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Road Trip, Realistic Fiction, Music, Romance Published: June 12, 2012 Pages: 336

Dates Read: January 10 to 15, 2013

Rating: ★★★★

1 Concert 2000 Miles 3 Ex-Best Friends

Alice, Summer, and Tiernan are ex-best friends.

Back in middle school, the three girls were inseparable. They were also the number one fans of the rock band Level3.

But when the band broke up, so did their friendship. Summer ran with the popular crowd, Tiernan was a rebellious wild-child, and Alice spent high school with her nose buried in books.

Now, just as the girls are about to graduate, Level3 announces a one-time-only reunion show.

Even though the concert’s 2000 miles away, Alice buys three tickets on impulse. And as it turns out, Summer and Tiernan have their own reasons for wanting to get out of town. Good thing Alice’s graduation gift (a pea-green 1976 VW camper van known as the Pea Pod) is just the vehicle to get them there.

But on the long drive cross-country, the girls hit more than a few bumps in the road. Will their friendship get an encore or is the show really over?

Review

When something was beshert - a coincidence between Level3 and these three ex-best friends – you went with it all the way. And when an interview on TV revealed a one-night-only reunion of the broken up band, Alice decided that this was definitely beshert and she was going with it all the way, even if it meant talking to her estranged best friends. With concert tickets on hold and a newly renovated Pea Pod, Alice is ready to take this 2000 mile journey, that is if her once-friends even agree. Because a few years ago, a split moment impulse ended their friendship on a bitter note. And with a control freak, a popular girl, and a rebel, it’s not easy to see eye-to-eye anymore. But it seems like they all have something to get away from, even if it means to ride cross-country with enemies. By the end they realize maybe Level3 wasn’t the main point of this road trip, but mending broken ties. Alice, Tiernan, and Summer are in for a ride. This book was fun! Who doesn’t like a good road trip? I love how you have these three girls who are just so different but they somehow were friends. And I believe that the whole “middle school obsession with a (boy) band” is totally relate-able for a lot girls! I know, personally, that I used to bond with random girls just because I had an artist on my folder or I talked about this group. That added a sense of realism to me. The thing that didn’t sit well me the worst, though, was the underage binge drinking and the whole irresponsibility of it all. I mean, Summer was walking around an unknown city drunk! The fact that they weren’t carded is unbelievable, too. I was battling between 3 stars and 4 for this reason, but I rationed that the rest of the story was too good for me to give one less star! It was a very light read despite and it was very well-done the development of Alice, Tiernan, and Summer throughout the novel.

[twiceuponabook]

False Memory (False Memory #1) by Dan Krokos

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Paranormal, Romance Published: August 14, 2012 Pages: 327

Dates Read: January 3 to 10, 2013

Rating: ★★★★

Miranda wakes up alone on a park bench with no memory. In her panic, she releases a mysterious energy that incites pure terror in everyone around her. Except Peter, a boy who isn’t at all surprised by Miranda’s shocking ability.

Left with no choice but to trust this stranger, Miranda discovers she was trained to be a weapon and is part of an elite force of genetically-altered teens who possess flawless combat skills and powers strong enough to destroy a city. But adjusting to her old life isn’t easy—especially with Noah, the boyfriend she can’t remember loving.

Then Miranda uncovers a dark truth that sets her team on the run. Suddenly her past doesn’t seem to matter… when there may not be a future.

Review

Miranda wakes in a mall with the only knowledge that her name is Miranda. She does what any person would do and panics, which sends a fear signal to all the patrons in the mall. Mass chaos ensues and Miranda can only watch the destruction she has caused. What is more weird is that a boy, who is supposedly names Peter and her friend, is the only one calm. Miranda learns from him that she is a part of a four-member group and is being trained as a human weapon, to be perfect in combat and release panic signals like Miranda did; they are called Roses. But two of their members have betrayed and one of them is allegedly responsible for her memory loss, her boyfriend, Noah. Having to trust this stranger, Miranda sets out to find out who she was before.

As she regains pieces of her old life, she isn’t so sure she wants to believe in it.  Because the memories she regains  of her old life reveal the future. That is, if there is one.

There is not a dull moment in this book. So much action and little downtime. I felt like I would know what was coming up and be completely shocked at the real outcome. Unpredictable and engaging, this novel was a page-turner. It takes a while for the story to pick up, but when it does, it goes there. In the beginning I was very slow getting into it, but after the first 30 or so pages, it was non-stop action and I loved it! With so many dystopian books coming out now, we are now getting a watered down version in these newer books but this delivered. I also loved that there was science behind everything, something that usually is skipped over in recent books. Absolutely loved it and can’t wait for the next in the series!

[twiceuponabook]

Outside In (Insider #2) by Maria V. Snyder

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia, Science Fiction, Romance, Space Published: March 1, 2011 Pages: 328

Dates Read: December 26 to 31, 2012

Rating: ★★★★

Me?

A leader?

Okay, I did prove that there’s more to Inside than we knew. That a whole world exists beyond this cube we live in. And finding that led to a major rebellion—between worker scrubs like me and the snobby uppers who rule our world. Make that ruled. Because of me, we’re free. I thought that meant I was off the hook, and could go off on my own again—while still touching base with Riley, of course. He’s the one upper I think I can trust. But then we learned that there’s outside and then there is Outside.

And something from Outside wants In.

Review

The Travas family is out of power and now the Committee makes fair decisions for all the people of Inside. At least that’s what their aim was. Riots occur regularly among scrubs and nobody is showing up for work. There is a building resentment toward the Uppers, thinking that they aren’t doing any work while the scrubs toil away. Trella may be free to explore all the pipes of Inside now, but now everywhere she goes, there is a mutual dislike of her.

But then the Big Shake happened. Many injuries and fatalities were a consequence. It was supposed to be a one-time scare, but they soon realize that this might be sabotage, and with sabotage comes saboteurs. One by one, more bombs are going off, trying to create distraction. The Travas’ may not be who the Insiders should fear. Because something from Outside is trying to get in.

Definitely not as good as Inside Out but I felt it satisfied closing up loose ends. I felt like Trella’s character in this sequel deteriorated from the calm and composed Trella of the first book. This Trella was more rash and willing to kill of herself. She also played mopey in the beginning of the novel when she actually could have changed things unlike what she thought. I felt Snyder was trying to make her a less heroic heroine (?) with this attitude and it didn’t work because we saw what she was capable of doing in the first installment. But I do like that we get a resolution in the tension between Riley and Trella, even Trella and Lamont. The growth in the relationship between Trella and Lamont was very heart-warming and I felt that it was a natural progression given the circumstances of Trella’s distrust. Very captivating two-part installment.

[twiceuponabook]

Inside Out (Insider #1) by Maria V. Snyder

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia, Science Fiction, Romance, Space Published: April 1, 2010 Pages: 315

Dates Read: December 25 to 26, 2012

Rating: ★★★★★

Keep Your Head Down. Don’t Get Noticed. Or Else.

I’m Trella. I’m a scrub. A nobody. One of thousands who work the lower levels, keeping Inside clean for the Uppers. I’ve got one friend, do my job and try to avoid the Pop Cops. So what if I occasionally use the pipes to sneak around the Upper levels? The only neck at risk is my own…until I accidentally start a rebellion and become the go-to girl to lead a revolution.

Review

The people of Inside are kept under control by the watchful eye of the Pop Cops, or Population Cops. In Inside there are four levels, all separated into Sectors and Quadrants like a tic-tac-toe board. The upper two levels are occupied by uppers and the lower two is for scrubs. There is a resentment between both separations because scrubs are thought to be dirty and heartless and uppers as pompous and lazy. The scrubs work long, hard hours just so the Uppers can live in luxurious apartments while there is no place for privacy for them. But it’s okay because, according to Pop Cop propaganda  suffering in this life will get you to Gateway.

Trella is a scrub and intends to keep to herself and not get involved with any other scrub except her friend Cogon because scrubs are, after all, dirty and annoying. She works as a pipe cleaner and secretively searches and explores the inner workings of Inside. But one day while exploring Upper levels, a loose vent has her falling into the hands of an upper, a jail sentence to the Pop Cops. What Trella didn’t know is that this encounter would lead the road to spark a rebellion, with the Queen of the Pipes as the head.

There were so many twists to this story! And to find that out in the end… I wasn’t expecting it. I like how the author gave up some build-up to the story before throwing us into the main conflict of the story. We got to learn the characters and how Inside operated. The characters were all realistic and had their own shortcomings. I like how Trella wasn’t a heroine so easily willing to kill herself off. I felt that she had a good rationale and really thought through things before executing a plan. A very likable heroine and an action-filled plot line!

[twiceuponabook]

Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan

Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary, Realistic Fiction Published: October 11, 2011 Pages: 260

Dates Read: December 24 to 25, 2012

Rating: ★★★

“I’ve left some clues for you. If you want them, turn the page. If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”

So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a cosmic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

Review

With her parents taking a vacation for their anniversary, this Christmas isn’t the same for Lily. Plagued by boredom, her brother has the idea of planting a notebook in Lily’s favorite bookstore for a lucky boy to find and follow the instructions. It surely won’t work, Lily thought. But then she gets the notebook back, with a dare from another. And with this begins their swapping of the red Moleskin, challenging each other and sharing their lives. But when they unexpectedly find each other in person, they may realize that the image of each other that was created in their mind is not the same as real life. Maybe they were just bound to pass the notebook back and forth forever and they interrupted fate. What will become of Dash and Lily and the red Moleskin?

This book was cute. Lily was an adorable character. She was that nerdy girl that didn’t really have the “smarts” of a nerd but more of the stereotypical image of one. She had many quirks and shortcomings that made her an overall likable character. Dash is a well-versed… teenage boy. There is really no other way to put it lol But I think that they are so different, that they are alike. The fact that they were so different is what made the dynamics of this friendship work, I believe. They both brought out the good in each other. And they shared a common ground: books! It was overall very cute and a relatively fast read. Good for the holiday season!

[twiceuponabook]

My Top 10 Books (and series) of 2012

I Now Pronounce You Someone Else by Erin McCahan (review) Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr Moonglass by Jessi Kirbi My Fair Godmother series by Janette Rallison The Survival Kit by Donna Freitas (review) Babe in Boyland by Jody Gehrman (review) Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins (review) Restoring Harmony by Joëlle Anthony (review) Amy & Roger's Epic Detour by Morgan Matson (review)

Other favorites: Tankborn, Past Perfect, The Declaration series, Playing Hurt, Epic Fail, The Locket, and The Maze Runner series to name a few.