Room, by Emma Donoghue

It sure looks as though I haven't been reading many books these days. Well, I did finish reading the old classic "Wuthering Heights", which took me weeks to read. But now I've finally got a fantastic book that is worth posting about. My favorite aunt, Lisa, recommended it to me. As soon as she told me about it, I looked it up on the iPad and downloaded a sample from the iBooks app. (I have discovered that reading samples is even better than borrowing from the library, because this lets me know whether a book is really worth reading or not! For example, I got to read a sample of "The Death Cure", by James Dashner, and it's not even out yet! It was just a few chapters, but it is awesome! I can't wait to read it for real!) After getting my first taste of "Room", I knew it was gold, so I reserved it from the library, and it came in surprisingly quick. Now I'm done with it.

What a great story! Told from the point of view of five-year-old Jack, it's the tale of a boy and his mother who have lived in the same small room all of his life. It's where he was born, and he has never been Outside, so all he knows are the things in Room. He addresses all the objects in the room as if they are his friends, like Bed, Wardrobe, Rocker, and TV. When he watches TV and sees all the wonderful shows, he believes that none of it is real, and everything outside of Room is Outer Space. The only real people in the entire world are him and his Ma. Except, perhaps, the mysterious and scary Old Nick, who brings them food and other important things and comes in at night sometimes...

It wasn't always like that. When Ma was nineteen, she got kidnapped by Old Nick and became trapped in Room. Seven years later, she is still in that room, and Jack has gotten so big that it is even more important that they find some way to escape. When she tells her son the entire truth, that there is a world out there, that all things from TV are actually real (except for Dora and Spongebob, of course), it is almost too much for young Jack to comprehend. Even scarier is when she proposes their escape plan, where he has to pretend that he's sick, so that Old Nick will take him Outside and Jack can run to a police and rescue Ma. It is the biggest thing Jack has ever had to do in his young life, but he does it, and the pages turn themselves as you race to find out what happens next.

I loved reading this, because it was so wildly original. The childish narration is incredibly charming with it's many grammatical errors, but you totally accept it, because after all, this is a kid telling the story. Also, this book started out with such a unique idea that really makes the reader stop and think, and look at the world a little differently. You don't come across books like that all the time. I say get your hands on this book right away and get ready to sink your teeth into an awesome story.

Book of a Thousand Days, by Shannon Hale

It's been a long time since I've reviewed a book that I could honestly say I enjoyed. Finally, here is a book that I think is simply amazing. Two thumbs up. Written by the brilliant and poetic Shannon Hale, I dove into this story and hardly wanted to leave it. Wonderful and solid world-building, characters you could relate to and knew were growing as the story progressed, and a happy ending that I could be well satisfied with. ^_^

Basically, it's a book written in a diary format about a girl named Dashti, who is the poor, humble maid of a sort of princess, Lady Saren, who was sentenced by her father to 7 years in a tower, because she refused to marry the man her father told her to. So the lady and her maid are imprisoned together. Luckily there's plenty of food in the tower, so at least they won't starve for 7 years (although they do have rats) and Dashti knows how to write, so she keeps a record of their time in that prison.

About a month of being locked in the tower, Saren's real love, Tegus, visits them, but Saren doesn't want to talk to him because she's scared, so she orders Dashti to pretend she's her. Dashti is quite reluctant to do that, but she does as she's told, and soon she and Tegus become really good friends, him thinking that she's Lady Saren. After a few visits in a row, though, he leaves and doesn't return for the longest time.

With many days, weeks and months skipped, eventually Dashti and Saren manage to escape the tower after nearly 3 years of imprisonment (I won't tell you how they escaped. ^_~). But the world around them has changed a lot. What used to be Saren's home is burned to the ground, so they have to go somewhere else. Dashti decides to take them to Tegus's realm, because she knows they'll be safe there. They get there, but Saren is a bit crazy from years in the tower, and she doesn't want to tell anyone that she's really a Lady, so she works with Dashti in the kitchen scrubbing pots all day.

I won't tell you how, but soon Dashti meets Tegus himself, and they become friends again, him never knowing that she was the one he'd spoken to in the tower. This is when Dashti realizes that she's in love with Tegus, not Saren. He never even met the real Saren, so that means he loves her.

As you can see, it was a really romantic story, and I loved it a lot. ^_^ I don't know why I haven't picked it up before now, but I'm glad I did. I highly recommend it.

Morpheus Road: The Light, by D. J. MacHale

Reading this kind of book really just makes me go... "WHOA!"

I love D. J. MacHale's writing style. I have compared his best-selling book series of 10, Pendragon, to the Harry Potter series a few times before, I believe. But after reading this new book, published just this year, I'm telling you this dude, without a single doubt, is in the stratosphere! He's in the leagues of J. K. Rowling and James Dashner here. I'm now certain that no matter what he writes, even if it's the farthest thing from Pendragon, (to tell the truth, this isn't that far from it 0,o) I will absolutely enjoy it.

I'm kicking myself for ever judging this book by it's cover. When I heard that MacHale would write a new horror series, I already thought "Oh, that's not for me," because as a rule, I don't pick up horror novels. I mean, maybe the books I read have some sort of horrors in them, but I never consciously think "I'm reading horror." Then when I started seeing this book in the store... well, look at it! Looked like a total creep fest to me. No way would I read this.

There where 2 things that gave me the confidence and curiosity to give this book a try. The first thing was Graham's review. He hasn't read as much Pendragon as I have (only the 1st book, in fact 0,o), but he liked MacHale's style as much as I did and he tested the waters for me. He gave it really positive marks and gave me the impression that I'd actually enjoy it. The second thing was the last time I was in the bookstore (this was after I read Graham's review). I saw the book on a shelf and I decided to take a small peek in it, see if I liked the beginning. I read the foreword by D. J. MacHale, which was as great as his Pendragon forewords. ^_^ Then I got to the prologue...

Which really hooked me in! You know why? Because this story actually seems to takes place in the same universe of Pendragon! The main character lives in Stony Brook! He eats fast food at the Garden Poultry! There's even a mention of Mark Dimond! Familiar territory, baby! ^_^ Now I've gotta read this thing. When I got home I reserved the book online, and the next time we go to the library, it's in my hands. Now I'm done with it. (Obviously, otherwise I wouldn't be writing a review for it.)

Where to begin? Well, there's these 2 guys, Marshal and Cooper, who share a similar relationship to Mark and Bobby. One is shy, responsible and likes graphic novels, the other is more popular and outgoing and doesn't care what others think of him. Without giving too much away (you can see more details from Graham's review), Cooper (the wild one) gets in trouble and goes missing, and Marshal (the quiet one) has to save him, with the help of Coop's older sister, Sydney. What's the catch? Well, like I said, it's a total creep fest... but I actually liked that. ^_^

Marsh is an artist and drew this character he calls the Gravedigger (the psycho on the cover). One night, the Gravedigger comes to life and starts haunting Marsh, giving him the creepiest supernatural visions. Scared out of his life, he gets Sydney (who at first is pretty mean to him) to take him up to the lake where Coop is spending the summer. But that's just the beginning. What follows is a chilling, suspenseful mystery and crazy paranormal events that would drive lesser folks over the deep end. But not our heroes, Marsh and Sydney. They may be scared, but they're on a mission: save Cooper.

The whole thing was written like an awesome movie! I could honestly see the action unfolding in my mind, as if a camera was showing everything. I guess it's no surprise, since MacHale also writes for TV. My favorite scenes are when Marsh is being haunted for the first time, in his house, at night, all by himself (Dad is conveniently out of the picture on a business trip) and this bloody wave scene right out of the movie The Shining. Anyone know about that scene? Totally creepy, but a priceless scene nonetheless. A few chapters before it finishes, the mystery is solved and it seems like it's going to be a sad and bittersweet ending (there's a very touching funeral), but then the action comes back full-force. There is plainly a reason why this is going to be a trilogy.

If, like me, you fell in love with Pendragon, I see no reason why you shouldn't feel comfortable curling up with this book. It's just the kind of story that sucks you in on a wild ride you'll never forget!

Moonwalk, by Michael Jackson

Do I really have to say anything about this book? It was written by Michael Jackson. I loved it. 'Nuff said. But this blog isn't just a record for me of what books I've read. When I write reviews, I want to think that I'm convincing someone who has similar reading tastes as mine that they should read the books that I have. So...

Trust me, even if you have only the faintest inkling of who Michael Jackson is, you should read this book. You don't have to like him or his music to enjoy his writing style (though I'm positive it will help a lot if you're a fan ^_^). He covers almost everything. All stages of his life, chronological stories leading right up to when he was almost 30 years old. Hey, it was published in 1988.

The stories, the memories that this superstar has of when he was younger are just so cool. It reminds me that even though he had a lot of talent, he was still only a kid, and nothing he did was ever easy. He had to work very hard with his brothers and family to get so famous. I'm so glad he used lots of details to describe his life. It's just what I was looking forward to when I reserved Michael Jackson's own biography. I gobbled the whole thing up in just a couple days, even though I tried my best to savor his every word.

It's probably plain to see that, personally, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, so I won't say any more. But please, if my review has managed to spark your interest in this awesome star's life story, write me a comment and let me know.

Twilight: The Graphic Novel, by Young Kim

I went to the library today and I happened to find this in the graphic novel section. How can one possibly resist? ^_^ I read the entire thing in one sitting. In one word, it's... incredible. I know the story pretty much inside and out, having read the book and seen the movie a couple times, but reading the graphic novel seemed to give me a whole different experience. I liked it. I really, really liked it.

The artwork is fantastic. The characters are drawn very well, a mix between what they look like in the movie and how I imagine them when I read about them, and the background was very realistic, almost like a photograph sometimes. The style just really appealed to me, and that's good, because when I pick up a graphic novel, if I don't like the way the art looks and the story doesn't hold my interest, I won't read it. But this was amazing.

Really, this book almost made me feel the same things as I did when I read Twilight itself. I was pretty disappointed when I found out it ended smack in the middle. I hope the next volume comes out soon...

Also while I was at the library, I picked up a very special book that I'd reserved not too long ago. Moonwalk, by Michael Jackson himself! I can't wait to read this and share my thoughts about it with everyone! ^_^ This will undoubtedly be a review you won't want to miss.

This is the super-awesome drawing that Michael actually drew at the front of his book. His self-portrait. ^_^ What an artist!

A couple books

Okay, I need to be a LOT better at posting book reviews after I finish them. It would take way too long to write proper reviews for each of these books, so I'm going to do it in one whole shebang. One thing all these books have in common? They receive a hearty thumbs up from me, but for different reasons.
I finished the Michael Jackson biography first, and, since I'm such a huge fan of him, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. ^_^ Funny enough, I got to reading it while I was researching for my Michael Jackson Tribute speech for Toastmasters (see this link). This book had so much! There were chapters about his 2 marriages, a chapter with a list of most of the notable awards he won over the years, even a few chapters that were transcripts of interviews he did, like the one he did in 1993 with Oprah Winfrey. I liked those chapters best. ^_^ I like what people say about him well enough, but anything Michael says just makes me admire him even more. I highly recommend this to MJ fans.

Num8ers was quite a fascinating read too. I found out about it because of a review from the Latiener Gang. They certainly picked a winner, in my opinion. It's about a girl who knows when people are going to die by seeing the numbers of their date when she looks in their eyes. It's a pretty great love story, but (and I'm sorry to spoil it for you) it ends sadly. Like the Latieners say, the ending will really surprise you. I'll warn you though, this book's kind of for mature readers, if you catch my meaning.

Lastly, there's the Elmo book. Now, I'm not a really big fan of Sesame Street, let alone Elmo, but this book was very informative, because it was written by a guy who was right behind the scenes of things. It's mostly a biography of the life of Kevin Clash, the voice and puppeteer of Elmo. His story is pretty sweet, and it made me think about how many people are actually affected by the famous little red muppet monster.

There's actually one more book I wanted to mention. I read it in Borders very quickly the other day. It's a manga graphic novel for Cirque Du Freak. I know a movie of this came out just last year, and I've been slightly curious about the story for a while. I'm not really used to manga, since you have to read from the right end of the book to the left end, but as graphic novels go, I liked it. ^_^ It comes in a whole series, and I look forward to going through all the rest.

And I promise, the next book I finish will get an immediate review. Peace out!

Dull Boy, by Sarah Cross

Originally I'd intended for this book to be a very light read, but I went ahead and sped through it just like I'm usually prone to do. Once again, I dug up another little treasure. ^_^ Mostly the book reminded me of the movie Sky High, because it's about kids with super-powers and the main guy has super-strength and flight. But there are a lot of things that makes this book stand out in my mind as unique, and I really enjoyed myself. The characters "performed" quite well and the humor was pretty clever. A bit of bad language pops up occasionally, but I didn't mind it.

So the first thing that separates Dull Boy from Sky High is that there's no high school busting with super-kids. It's about a few rare teens who discover they have powers (who knows how or where they got them. It's not genetic) and strive to keep them a secret from their parents and society in general, while also trying to figure out how to use their powers for good. The boy, Avery, knows that he has to be very careful with how he uses his power. While strength is great for rescuing a kid from under a heavy car, it's not so cool to break your wrestling opponent's arm. Besides, you can only pass these incidents off as extreme adrenaline for so long. He also has to hide from his parents the fact that most every night he goes out and flies on patrol, on the lookout for crime, or some way he can do good and make himself useful, just like he imagines a real super-hero would. I mean, why would he have those powers if he wasn't meant to use them in some way?

This is where the story really picks up. He discovers that there are others just like him. There's Catherine, a moody cafe waitress with incredibly sharp nails, perfect balance and an affinity with cats, Darla, the proud genius who is the brains behind a modest club of super-friends, Sophie, who can will her body to stick to any flat service (yeah, a little weird, but useful) and Nicholas, whose power seems to be a bit more on the dark side, though he desperately wants to control his power and be good and not just cause destruction. Then there's this icy woman named Cherchette (saying it reminds me of Georgette) who offers to take Avery somewhere where he doesn't have to hide what he is. Better keep your eye on her. Also look out for Jacque, Cherchette's somewhat equally cold son, who seems to infiltrate Darla's super-group by being Sophie's boyfriend. Who knows what he's all about...

And that's pretty much all you need to know. Oh, except for the fact that as Dull Boy draws to a close, it suddenly turns out that the ending is very open-ended, so it very much appears that there will be a sequel. Awesome. Well, it'll probably take a while for the next book to come out, since this one came out just last year, but if I'm looking for another quick entertaining read sometime in the future, and the sequel is available, I'll have my eye on it. In the meantime, enjoy Dull Boy.

Dean and Me, by Jerry Lewis

Well, this was definitely an awesome read. I learned so much from it, so I'm glad I listened to Annette when she recommended it to me. It's not what I usually read, but the story was amazing. These two guys, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, are one of my favorite comedy teams of old, and now that I've read the story behind their beginnings and successes, I respect them all the more. I think everyone should read their story.

Okay, who am I talking about here? Who are these guys, Jerry and Dean? Well, Jerry Lewis is pretty much the king of comedy. He's been in scores of funny movies that he also usually directs and writes, including "Rock-a-Bye Baby," "The Nutty Professor," and "The Disorderly Orderly," and so many more. Those are just some of my favorites. Jerry is one of the comedians my younger brother, Adam, idolizes. His face is made of rubber, he talks like a little kid, and nearly everything he does makes you want to laugh. Dean Martin is also a really funny guy. He was in many movies himself, though I haven't seen many of those. He's more famous for starring in "The Dean Martin Variety Show," which was full of hilarious skits and guest stars, and for being a prominent member of the Rat Pack, a group of handsome crooners that also included Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr, among others.

Jerry wrote this book (Dean was dead by then), so it was all from his point of view. It tells of how he and Dean became such close partners in comedy. They made the perfect team. Dean Martin was the handsome crooner, the straight man, but he still had a very sharp sense of humor. Jerry Lewis was the crazy guy, the monkey, the one who made funny faces and pratfalls. He was like a little kid, and Dean was the older brother he never had. And boy, when these two got together, they caused pandemonium. Everyone loved them! What seemed to separate this comedy team from all the others is that these guys were so spontaneous, they were ready for anything. No matter what the other one did, none of them ever missed a beat. And they loved what they did, which was go on a stage and make people laugh.

I learned so many things about Martin and Lewis in this book. For example, when the two of them met for the first time in 1945, Dean was about 28 and Jerry was only 19. 19 years old! I couldn't believe it... plus Jerry was already married and had a kid on the way! Such a young guy. Anyway, these guys became really close friends and they did shows, movies and all kinds of events together. Man, Jerry told such awesome stories about Dean and his speedy rise to fame.

Unfortunately, their partnership couldn't last forever. When they got reviewed in the newspapers, most of what was written was about how funny Jerry was, with Dean rarely getting any credit. In later years there was a lot of tension between them. They broke up after 10 years in 1956 and never really saw each other after that. They lived their own lives and became super famous in their own right, as I mentioned near the beginning. It's really a touching collection of stories and memories that is in this book. Everyone should know this team's tale, even if they've never hear of Martin or Lewis before. You'll laugh and think about life in showbiz several decades ago, and then when you get curious enough to find out who these guys really are, they have a ton of movies (17 of them!) and collections of their TV shows, plus there's any number of clips you can see of them on YouTube.

Here is a clip I found that demonstrates Dean and Jerry's partnership perfectly. You'll love these guys. ^_^

Shades of Grey, by Jasper Fforde

I've got to say, even though I haven't read a Jasper Fforde book in at least 2 years, I was able to pick up on his style once again, and I very well believe that this was the best novel I've read this month! Most of it is really world-building, but it was really incredible. Amazing how this all came from one person's imagination.

The story takes place in a post-apocalyptic world of some sort, probably over 500 years ahead of today, or Something That Happened. In this world, all the people have, for some reason, evolved so that they're mostly colorblind except for one color. So whatever a person could see reflected their social rank. It's all a rather complicated government with rules for everything, and all centered around color. What job you can do, who you can marry, acceptable behavior. Everything runs on merits and feedback. If you get too many demerits and negative feedback, it means you're up for Reboot, which will set you apparently right. At twenty years of age, a citizen takes a test to see what color he can see, and his life is mapped out after that. Besides the people who can see color, there are a lot of people who don't, so they're referred to as Greys, who are lowest in the social hierarchy.

It's really hard to explain what happens in the story, but there were lots of things I liked about it. An entertaining aspect of this world is that everyone has a color for a last name, representing what color they can see, like our hero Eddie Russet. He's the son of a Swatchman, who is like a doctor in that world, only instead of giving people medicine, he shows them a certain shade of color and they get better. The places are also named after colors, it seems, such as East Carmine, Vermillion, and High Saffron. Another important thing is that night is a total mystery to people. Since everyone can see very little color, at night no one can see anything. Also, certain trees evolved so that they've become carnivorous. 0,o

By making the acquaintance of a feisty Grey named Jane, Eddie starts to question the ways of his world and wonder what exactly happened that led to the Something That happened. He does his best to solve the uncountable mysteries that start to pile up on him, but being curious makes one stand out, so he needs to be really careful about the sort of questions he asks people. Like I said, most of the book is dedicated to building up this world, but somewhere in the second half the story picked up, and then I couldn't turn the pages fast enough! Trust me, the ending is completely explosive, blows your mind. ^_^

The great thing is that at the end of the book it promises that a sequel and a sequel after that will be written very soon, so that means Jasper Fforde means this to be a trilogy. I absolutely can't wait until the next book comes out.

In the meantime, I'd like to add that I've started reading one of Fforde's other books, The Big Over Easy, to my brother Adam. So far he really likes it, which is quite awesome because the first time I tried reading it to him, he thought it was boring. But now that he's older, he can appreciate the humor and style of it. It's quite fun to read aloud. It'll probably take a long time, but I'll let you know if/when we finish this book.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, by Seth Graham-Smith

Man, what a book. I haven't read too many classics in my life, though I have seen movie adaptations of the classics. I've seen David Copperfield, Sense and Sensibilities, and Pride and Prejudice, all very good stories (with more than a few stars in each to tempt us). Pride and Prejudice I saw quite recently, and I thought reading the book would be pretty cool, since I read Jane Eyre last year and hadn't fallen asleep in the middle of it. Then I remembered a book I'd seen on a shelf at Borders once or twice. Yes, the thought was creepy, but I reserved it from the library anyway, willing to give it a go.

Well, here's my verdict: I loved it. ^_^ It's really just the original text of Jane Austen's book with zombies and zombie warriors mixed into the plot. The main character, Elizabeth Bennet, and all her sisters were trained by their father in the ways of fighting and killing so they could battle the unusual plague that has been around for more than 55 years already. That zombies are dealt with so calmly and matter of factly is strange, as if it's a fact of life. Like, say you're at a nice ball and suddenly zombies break through the window and decide to attack. Well, the 5 Bennet sisters will simply jump and kill them all off, and the evening will continue as normal. Weird. Same thing if you're traveling by coach or something. Zombies can pop up from anywhere. It just makes the story more exciting and entertaining.

Anyway, the central plot is much the same, for anyone who knows the story. The characters have the same personalities as I observed in the movie, only some of them are zombie warriors, either trained by the Chinese or Japanese masters. It's a whole complicated love story, but like Jane Eyre, Elizabeth is a confident, strong-willed female who I can totally relate to. And the fact that she can also take down a horde of zombies is a plus. From the look of things, if you come from the point of view of the author, it seems as if this story was begging to have zombies thrown into it. Boy, I never thought I'd write a post that had the word "zombie" splattered all over it. =P To make a long story short, if you want to read a classic but are reluctant to pick it up, check this book out. It's got the language of an old book, but is as entertaining as anything written in this century.

Zenith, by Julie Bertagna

Okay, this book was really quite fascinating! This is the sequel to Exodus, which I reviewed not long ago, so you should remember it. It takes place in the future, not quite the dystopian series, but definitely post-apocalypse. It takes place shortly after Exodus ended, where Mara, the girl that the story follows, has escaped from the New World on a huge ship with a couple dozen of her friends, set for Greenland.

It was a tiny bit confusing, this book, because it was one of those that followed multiple points of view, depending on the chapter. Most of the time it was about Mara, other times, though rarely, it was about the boyfriend she left behind, the cyber-Fox, who now lives under his old city, and then the rest of the time it was about this totally new character, named Tuck, who joins Mara's group of friends later. Tuck's world is cool, because it reminds me of the territory of Cloral from the 2nd Pendragon book, where everyone lives on the water. It's the same thing here. Tuck's lived his whole life on a whole city of connected boats, surrounded by water, and he doesn't believe much in the concept of Land. Weird, huh?

Since I read Catching Fire just before this book, I was still kind of thinking about the set up of that, so I guess I kept getting reminded of it. It isn't a game, but Mara and her friends have to work really hard to survive when they reach land, because it's winter.

An interesting part of the story is that Mara's got a very wide array of love interests. Much more than is fair in just one book. =P She's a heart-breaker. Well, first she has the Fox, who she left behind so she could take all the refugees to a better place, but she still connects with him through her cyberwizz sometimes. Not often though, and eventually her power dies, so that's not good. Then there's Rowan, who was one of her close friends on her home island Wing, but was a slave in New Mungo before getting rescued again. Then Tuck shows up and joins the group, and he falls in love with Mara. He's too much of a stranger though, so he doesn't really have a chance.

It's really hard to describe this book, but I found it an extremely satisfying read. I really liked it whenever one of the characters found an old 21st century artifact, like a digital camera, or a cigarette lighter or something, and the author describes the object so well that the reader knows what it is, but the characters in the book has know idea what the thing is for until they discover the purpose. Also weird is when they discover a strange symbol, what looks like a snake winding around a stick, and they have no idea what it's supposed to mean. Is that a clue that this --> $ <-- will no longer be important in the future? Hmm... Well, I do love books that keep you thinking even after you've closed it. I think there might be a sequel to this, though the release date is unknown, and anyway, it seemed to have a pretty satisfying ending.

Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins

What can I say? Catching Fire, the sequel to The Hunger Games, was just as good as, perhaps even better than, it's predecessor. You just fly through the pages, because it has the same high level of urgency and danger. It's interesting, because I reviewed the Hunger Games way back in February, so it was a little bit hard to remember all the characters, but I think I got by alright.

By now, everyone should know that Katniss survived the Hunger Games, because she's the main character, and there wouldn't be a sequel if she'd lost. However, she also managed to pull Peeta out alive, even though there's only supposed to be one winner in a Hunger Games. Hey, love conquers all, right? So now the two of them are in the lap of luxury. They and their families don't have to starve anymore, because they enough food and money to last the rest of their lives.

That doesn't mean that Katniss and Peeta's troubles are over. Far from it. They have to go on this Victory Tour around the country to celebrate their winning the Games (and rub it in the other Districts' faces, I think), and still pretend they're in love. Well, Peeta is for real, but Katniss is on the fence. At the same time, there's some kind of rebellion stirring up among the 12 Districts. If Katniss and Peeta can defy the Capitol by coming out both winners when it's always been one, couldn't anything happen? Well, I couldn't tell much about the rebellion, maybe they'll discuss it more in book 3. ^_^ Yes, there's got to be a book 3, because the ending to this one was so open-ended! I'll tell you why.

Now the Hunger Games isn't just going to disappear from Katniss and Peeta's lives, because now they get to be mentors for the following Hunger Games. Remember, this thing happens every... single... year! No excuses. It's been that way for 75 years. And every 25 years they have a special version of the Hunger Games, called Quarter Quells. This year, the new rules of the Hunger Games is that instead of having fresh blood in the arena, the competitors are the people who have won the Hunger Games before. Now quickly, do the math! District 12 only has 3 victors who are still alive. Katniss, Peeta, and their drunk friend Haymitch, who was their mentor in the previous book. Now out of those 3, who is the only female in the group, and therefore will HAVE to compete in a game she thought she'd never have to do again, especially not in the following year?!!! That's right, Katniss is back. Man, you should read the scene where she finds out she has to do the whole thing again. She almost cracks! ~,~

My favorite part was when they and the other people were in the arena, which was very different from the one in the original book. It was weird, because to me it kind of felt like the Games were much too short. In the story it only takes a couple days, but the chapters covering it took a very short time to read, I felt. I won't tell you much else about the Games, except that Katniss and Peeta make a lot more alliances than they did in their first Hunger Games.

I really, really, really liked this book! Even when it had been ages since I read the last book, Suzanne Collins had made her characters memorable enough for me to remember them fondly when they were introduced in this installment. And then she manages to stuff a few more cool characters into my head, but I think I'll be able to remember them all when I read the next sequel. You know, I'm noticing more and more how cool it is when an author decides to write in the present tense. Like, not as if it's happened already, but as if the story is happening right now, as you turn the pages. It really gets you into the thick of things, especially when the story is in first person, so it's like you are the person the book's about. It's just funny that I've only started noticing it now. =P

Read this novel! It's a keeper!

Exodus, by Julie Bertagna

Man, this book was excellent! I should just call the YA shelf in my library the Treasure Trove, because it seems that all the books I've read from it so far, Storyteller, The Rule of Won and Stargirl, have turned out to be pure gold! You can add this to the growing pile of winners on my list. ^_^

Here's the basic storyline: It takes place in the post-apocalyptic Earth future of 2100. (Boy, can you imagine what could happen in 90 years?) In this speculative future, global warming has melted the ice-caps and flooded most of the planet. There isn't very much human life, but at least one island has managed to survive so far, called Wing. That's where 15-year-old Mara lives. She's the main character. She loves being outside on the rare occasions that it stops being stormy on her island, she loves hanging out with her friends and visiting her grandfather figure Tain, she dreams of a better future, and she absolutely loves playing with this awesome computer-toy, a cyberwizz. Even on a small, isolated island, technology is highly advanced. (To give you a picture of just how advanced, they called a laptop computer the parents pulled out a dinosaur! =P)

While digitally surfing (you actually are able to surf in your mind!) through this old, abandoned site, called the Weave, she comes across a strange creature. A cyber-fox. He's amazed that anyone else could still be on this network as much as she is, and before she's forced to log off, he tells her he lives in this New World city, New Mungo. With some research, she discovers this New World concept is actually dozens and dozens of cities that are built a safe distance above the water. Filled with hope, Mara convinces her island to move to New Mungo, and it's a good thing, because the island was pretty close to being drowned. There aren't enough boats for everyone, however, so all the old people are forced to stay on Wing. Hey, they're going to die anyway, right? Might as well be in the place they know and love. Needless to say, Mara misses her friend Tain.

So she goes on this great adventure for New Mungo, trying to find a better future for herself and her friends. When her boat gets to the city, they find there's an enormous wall that no one can get through, and all these other boats from different islands that have tried to get in can't either. Mara also learns that her parents and younger brother, who got on a different boat, got drowned at sea and never made it to the city. Somehow though, our heroine manages to sneak her way into the city (I won't tell you exactly how, though. You'd have to read it for yourself), but only into the dark, dank basement of the city. This is where a semi-primitive group of people, the Treenesters, live. Yeah, they nest in trees.

When Mara arrives in the Treenesters' midst, they think she's some sort of prophesied hero or something, because they have a statue that, freakily enough, looks exactly like her! Even down to the scar on her face! (You'll find out how she gets the scar in the book.) Mara's not sure how she feels about that, but she lives with them for a while anyway, never forgetting though about her friends and the other boat people waiting outside the wall. One day, a Treenester friend of hers gets kidnapped by the New World police, (they need slaves for their labor, of course) so she decides to go up top and rescue him. She disguises herself in a dead police-girl's clothes, and manages to sneak her way into this world as well.

Man, this part was my absolute favorite!!! This is where you really get a taste of the shiny, high-tech future that everyone dreams about! It's like utopia! Well, of course you know that this is just a trick, an illusion, to cover up what it really is. It's like the Axiom spaceship in the Pixar film Wall*E. But still, it's really quite an awesome place. And somewhere in Mara's exploration of this amazing city, she stumbles upon the person who was behind her friend the cyber-fox all along! ^_^ My favorite chapter is when the Fox person is showing Mara these famous twentieth century figures that the world has all but forgotten. The references are hilarious. He mentions people like Marilyn Monroe, Elvis, Hitler, Martin Luther King Jr., the Beatles, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, even Harry Potter! Ha, can you believe it?!

Alright, that's all I'm revealing. The rest of this story is yours to discover. I want you to know that the book's writing style was simply phenomenal. I think it's because the author, Ms. Bertagna, wrote the whole thing in the present tense, which is a really exciting and involving format. Like, "Mara looks over her shoulder", or "he says," you get the idea. I'm definitely sure to check out the next book in this series, called Zenith, as well as perhaps Julie Bertagna's other novels. Trust me, this woman writes fantastic.

I love post-apocalyptic stories like this. It pretty much reminded me of the City of Ember, except the difference is that these people still know that they live on Earth, and the old ways aren't completely forgotten. I don't mind saying that all the cool cyber-stuff described in the book certainly did it for me either. Keep an eye out for this!

The Tomorrow Code, by Brian Falkner

This book I reserved and picked up from the library, because I remembered being interested in it after the Lateiner Gang did their own review on it a couple months ago. I was really glad I read this book. The writing style is very intriguing and sucks you right into the story. I liked how the kids in here are really smart, thinking about time travel and all. Plus, I didn't know this when I first started reading it, and it took a while for me to realize it, but I found out that this is a book that takes place in present day New Zealand. I don't know much about New Zealand, but the people there don't really seem that different from Americans. Go figure.

So I really liked this book, because it's got a little bit of romance, thrown in with the anticipation of the end of the world, and a lot of speculative science. First of all, the question is asked, is time travel practically possible? The answer is unfortunately no. Not in this book's universe it's not, anyway. But communication through time? Hmm... now there's a fascinating possibility. Of course, you can only send messages to the past, because it's impossible to skip over time. But if you're going to send messages at all, there needs to be a way for one to receive the messages in the first place. So these brainy kids writes some sort of program... something to do with looking for patterns in gamma rays or something... and eventually they actually get these messages from the future.

Of course, in the beginning it's all just 1s and 0s, as in binary code, but soon they are interpreted and these kids discover that they will become very rich, but also that the fate of the world rests in their hands. And if they can't save the world, then they'll just have to be prepared for it...

The writing was fantastic. My only quip is that the last several chapters got a little confusing for me. There are these fighting scenes with the military involved, see, and really, hardly anything made any sense. Perhaps that was the point... but still, I felt most comfortable and back on track when the view point was brought back to the main characters. Plus the ending was a little funky. Something happened that I felt was highly unlikely, and not quite resolved, but it ended anyway. I can't really tell if this book will become a series or not, but my guess is that this is the end of the story. I'm kind of glad about that. Despite this bump in the road in the final part, the book kept me engaged and my overall reading experience was a good one. So I recommend it.

Another thing I liked was that a couple of the book's characters were chimpanzees. They're originally used for experimentation, since DNA-wise they're near identical to humans (it's still cruel, though >,<), but the kids free one of them and take her along on the adventure. I wish I could meet a chimpanzee. I've not been to many zoos in my life. But I don't just want to be on the other side of a partition. I'd like to say hello and offer him a banana. ^_^ Just one of my fantasies.

Alvor, by Laura Bingham

So yesterday something really cool happened. A friend gave me my own copy of Alvor for my 18th birthday! I thought it was super-nice of them, and that this book made a fantastic present. You may or may not know this, but I really love the author, Laura Bingham's blog. It's how I found out about her book in the first place. Actually, I found out about Laura from the great James Dashner's blog ^,^. He's awesome, possibly my all-time favorite author (sorry, Rowling >,<). Not just because he's a great writer of best-selling books, but because he's reputed as being an extremely nice guy. I believe it too, since he sent me an ARC of his new book, Maze Runner, about a month back. (Neener neener neener! ^_~)

Anyway, back to Alvor. I forget when, but I first read chapter 1 straight from Laura's blog (if you want to see it too, it's right at the bottom of her blog. Pretty conveniant, I'd say!) and I decided I was hooked after that. I knew I had to find out what happened next, and I learned it had been out for a while now, but I couldn't find it in my bookstore when I looked for it. But finally, I got it as a pre-birthday present. How awesome is that? And now I can review it and say what I think about it...

Um, this is really weird and awkward for me to say, but... I, uh... didn't exactly... like it.

I promise that I'm not saying this lightly, or with an easy heart. I've heard nothing but good things about this book. Dashner himself wrote a blurb saying how amazing Laura's debut novel is, how it leaves you thinking a lot by the end. I've read great reviews from other blogs as well as author interviews, and convinced myself that this author and her book were gold. Well trust me, I still LOVE Laura and her blog immensely, and think that she's gold, so this is absolutely nothing against her as a person. But if I'm going to be honest, with myself and with my readers, I have to admit that, for me, Alvor was not.

Now, don't get me wrong. I can certainly step back and see why most people would like reading Alvor. The story is a pretty good one, and I believe it had lots of promise and potential. I just think the way the story was told... it didn't exactly sit right with me. I also completely understand that this is only Laura Bingham's first venture as an author, which is fine! Not everyone has to be a J. K. Rowling, or a Stephenie Meyer on their first try. Still, I must admit that I was a bit disappointed with the result.

So here's the story, for those who still would like to take the chance. (And I thorougly welcome you to, so you can attempt to prove my opinions wrong.) The main characters are a pair of 15-year old boy/ girl twins, Bain and Erin, respectively. Mostly the book is from the girl Erin's view, but sometimes it goes to Bain's side too. One day, these twins go exploring and find a mysterious cottage in the woods that they're sure they've never come across before. After that, the adventure takes off from there.

There's a big underground maze of magical rooms where the twins start training with swords and magic arts. They gain different powers and gifts from these rooms, for example, Erin can tell by a person's aura whether they're telling the truth or not, and Bain can spot things that are magical that normal people don't notice. Also huge differences between the twins is that Erin discovers that she loves to fly (be it on pegasus horse or on dragon) and Bain doesn't, and that Bain seems to like sword-fighting a lot more than Erin does.

So why are they doing all this training? Because they eventually learn that if they keep it all up, they will soon turn into elves. Who tells them all this? Oh, a few fairies (or alvor), their elf teachers, a dragon and their Fairy God Mother. (Who actually used to be Cinderella's own godmother, although she points out that she certainly didn't sing "Bibbidy Bobbity Boo!") I don't know. Perhaps I'm wrong (I often am), and I don't mean to be cruel, but does that sound right to you?

A couple things that I didn't like was how strongly I was reminded of two particular books. I understand that I've said before how books I review reminded me of other books, and that this was considered a good thing. In this case, it wasn't. First off, anyone ever hear of Michael Scott's Nicholas Flamel trilogy? There's "The Alchemyst," "The Magician" and "The Sorceress." I only read the first two, and I've pretty much decided I didn't want to find out what happened in the last book. Anyway, this series is ALSO about magic boy/girl twins, with the girl being the good one and the boy being the one who's kidnapped and led astray by the bad side, and so I didn't exactly like how Alvor seemed almost to mirror that.

The other book series I am forcibly reminded of is the Inheritance Cycle, by Chistopher Paolini. Unlike the Nicholas Flamel books, I am a big fan of all the volumes released in this series so far: "Eragon," "Eldest," and "Brisingr." What Alvor reminds me of here is the fact that Erin makes firm friends with a golden dragon, named Pulsar, in a way that I've only ever associated with Eragon and his sky-blue dragon, Saphira. They can read each other's minds (even at great distances, except on certain occasions), having a dragon helps significantly boost her understanding of magic, and there is nothing that either of them like better than flying high above the clouds with Erin riding upon Pulsar's back. ALL of these things can be found pretty much in exactly the same way in the Inheritance Cycle. I have to admit, that didn't sit well with me at all!

Alright, that's all I'm going to say about this book now. I didn't mean to sound angry with the book. I'm not. But as you can see, certain plot elements did conspire to turn me off from enjoying this particual novel. Not to mention that I occasionally spotted a spelling mistake or two, and this book has already been out for awhile, so there must be thousands of copies all with these same mistakes. That usually helps put me out too. I just wish I could've had a better experience reading this book.

HOWEVER... If I happened to have a rating system in this blog, say 5 out of 5 stars or something like that, you'd be pleased to know that despite my sour attitude towards this novel, I would award the book 4 stars, and not a measly 1. This is because I truly think the author is talented and I support her wholeheartedly in polishing up her craft. I'm sure that the sequel will be a big improvement.

I hope that if Laura happens to read this review, she will not be offended or become downhearted, because that is absolutely not my goal in publishing this post. All I'm doing here is giving some brutally honest feedback and constructive criticism. If this happens to be difficult for you to accept, trust me. It was difficult for me to write, and admit. But I feel greatly relieved having gotten all this off my back, and I'm positive that you will see that my opinions are just as helpful as those who love your book unconditionally.

If you'd like to email me about your feelings on this, Laura, you are more than welcome to. You have my address. ~,~ For the rest of my readers, I greatly apologise for the length and content of this review. Feel free to comment if you'd like your feelings to be known,

Eat-Pray-Love, by Elizabeth Gilbert

Sorry it's been a while for me. I'm glad that Jacoby finally put up another post for me. Now his official count is 2 books so far! =P Hope we see more sometime soon.

But anyway, this book I read recently because I didn't have anything else I wanted to read, and my mom recommended it to me. It's a very nice book, I must say. A little branching out of my comfort zone of Young Adult/ Fantasy fiction, but still one of those really special, satisfying reads. What's even better about this book is that it's supposed to be based on a true story, which is pretty awesome, because the things that happen in the book are just amazing.

Basically the story is that the author experiences some really sad, stressful times when she divorces her husband, and then certain events start a chain reaction that leads up to her deciding to take this special vacation from her old life. She spends an entire year abroad, living in 3 different countries for 4 months each. Italy, India, and Indonesia. Each adventure through these places was awesome in their own right.

In Italy she has a fabulous time. If I had to pick a favorite part out of this book, it would have to be when she's in Italy. Especially because I absolutely love Italian food, and she gets to live there for 4 months, eating real, actual Italian food every day!!! She also learns to speak the language there, which sounds pretty fun, because Italian really is a beautiful language. Most of the time her home base was in Rome (when in Rome =P), but she travels to Naples (apparently they have the best pizza ever!!!) and Venice (I was jealous here. I want to go there! ~_~ I want to see the city that lives on top of the water, with rivers for streets!) and other really famous Italian cities. She makes really good friends there too (including someone with the last name Spaghetti! =P), even spending a lovely Thanksgiving at a friend's house! It was just really, really awesome and fun to be reading someone else's adventures in this European country, and to dream of going there myself someday. Which is what I wanted to do, even before reading this book.

India and Indonesia are kind of a different story, though they were both great to read in their own, different ways. It's where the author goes to "find herself," to meditate and get that much closer to God and stuff. I was kind of reminded of Shirley McClain here. I've only read The Camino by her, but she writes about different spiritual escapades too. Anyway, this author, when she goes to India, stays pretty much in one place, called an Ashram. (Look up the word. It's kind of hard for me to describe.) She makes friends here too and has all sorts of spiritual epiphanies and dreams, and makes lots of big improvements for herself.

Finally she goes to Indonesia, because beforehand she'd met this interesting guy, an old ninth- generation medicine man. (Imagine! That means his dad was a medicine man, and his dad was a medicine man, and so was his dad and his dad... etc, all the way to his Great, Great, Great, Great, Great, Great Grandfather!!!) I really like this character, because he's described really interesting. He doesn't know his age (so he could be anywhere from 65 to 112!) and he's like a dark-skinned, toothless, wise Yoda man. He actually reads her palm and predicts that someday she would come to see him again and live with him so he could teach her spiritual stuff and she would teach him better English. And this was two years previously or, something like that, and when she goes to Indonesia he recognises her and it's really cool and funny.

She lives in this city called Bali, which has a very fascinating culture. It was almost as if I was reading one of those fiction books about alternate worlds or something, because I find it difficult to believe that people live like that somewhere on Earth. You know the people there only really have 4 names to choose from? It doesn't matter if you're a boy or a girl, they're the same names. That's so they know which order you were born in your family. You can decide on your own name or nickname later in life (so you can stand out from everyone else! =P). Pretty wacky, I say, but also cool! Anyway, she makes really close friends here, even saving someone from poverty and finding a new guy to love! Heh heh. The part where she gets a new boyfriend is pretty interesting. I'd say there's even more sex here than in Breaking Dawn. But it ends all happy, which is really good, because this lady so deserved it.

I'm not sure who to recommend this book to. Certainly to adult women, probably. But I think if you've got an open mind, like I did, anyone could enjoy it. It's a great read, and the author's writing style is quite admirable.

In other news... The Lateiner Gang got interviewed by a big book blogger, and they're really happy about it. I am too. ^_~ Also, their Maze Runner and Alvor contests end in a couple more short weeks, so that's exciting. Plus Laura Bingham (who actually wrote Alvor!) is holding a contest herself to give away her own book, and it ends in just a couple days! Better hurry if you want to get a copy with both her and her husband's autographs! ^,~

The Maze Runner, by James (who else) Dashner ^,~

Well, I know how many people were expecting and anticipating this post (including the author himself! ^_^), so I'll just get it over with already. I read 5 chapters the evening I got the book (after I'd finished blogging about how excited I was and everything), and used practically all of yesterday just to finish the much awaited ARC. That meant a lot of reading for me. It was almost too much! But I didn't care. Every minute curled up with that book, turning page by page, moving ahead chapter by chapter, until the very end... I think it was all very much worth it. ^,^

But good-golly-gosh, how on earth can I describe such an awesome book without spoiling it for everyone else?! When I remember that I'm among the only people who knows what happens before the rabid general public even gets a single copy... I find myself smiling extra widely. But then again, this makes it so much harder to say how much I liked this book, because most of you would have little idea what I'm talking about. I'll do my best, though, and I promise I'll do my best not to reveal anything you'd rather wait to read to find out...

From the start, I should say that this book is recommended highly to the young male population. I'm not saying that girls wouldn't enjoy this (because I surely did), but for a long time, almost the entire book actually, all the characters in the story are teenage boys. Except for one girl, who seemed pretty tomboyish. And except for the very end, which I promised I wouldn't spoil. ^,~ Another thing I'd like to say (and I'm congratulating Dashner on his immense creativity here) is that I thought it was really funny how these boys, living in the middle of a giant maze, made up such interesting slang for themselves. Words they could curse with, so that the young boys who read this book won't use real curse words and make parents ban Dashner's book from stores. =P

I really liked the story, because it had such a unique and original feel to it. Like, every once in a while I'd be reminded of certain elements from other books I've read, but it felt very new and cool. I remember thinking, when I was in the middle, "Why does James need to make this a trilogy? I mean, these kids are in a maze, right? If this story is any good, they'll be out of the maze by the end of the book, and then what?" Well, I was half right, half wrong. Around the last several chapters, I realized that as each chapter got me closer to the end, I could only guess at what would happen next, and I knew that Dashner would not fail in leaving me begging for the next volume in the series.

I'm only sorry that I can't bring myself to reveal any more details. In the meantime, I hope this keeps people occupied for another couple months. ^,~ James, what you've written here is amazing! I'm sure that you've penned an instant classic. I'm just tickled that this book gets to remain on my shelf even after I've finished reading it, since I'm usually content with borrowing from my library. You'll be thrilled to know that my younger brother has shown interest in Maze as well. I guess my excitement was pretty contagious. =P I'll let everyone know his reaction when he finishes it (although he usually takes a lot longer to read books than it takes me, so don't hold your breath).

Flight # 6

It's really been too long since I posted about a book. Especially since I'm home and nothing is really distracting me. Well, truth is I'm reading a bunch of books at the same time, but I don't have my heart in finishing them. This Deepak Chopra book (you ever hear of this guy? He's Indian and he's a big spritual teacher, I don't know), and that classic Huckleberry Finn. I don't know, Huck's adventures are much too episodic for my taste. You know the kind? Like, too many pointless adventures and not enough driving plot. I guess a lot of books in those days went like that. That's why I don't really like reading classics, but I look forward to when I find the next Jane Eyre style classic.

But let me get back to the book I'm supposed to be reviewing. I went to Borders yesterday (finally! ^_^) and I was trying to "hunt" for The Hunt for Dark Infinity (ha ha. Play on words). Buuuuut I couldn't find it in the end. ~,~ The first 13th Reality was on the shelf, but not the second. I was disappointed. I really wanted to get more ahead in that particular story. It's sooo good!

So I had to find some other books to pass the time with. I found Fablehaven 2, (which I once started on a library shelf) and I enjoyed reading a couple chapters of it. Brandon Mull's writing style is pretty cool. For some reason, I think it reminds me of my own. Hmm. Well, when I got to Chapter 5 I decided to give Fablehaven a break for another time, and I looked for the graphic novel section to see if I could spot any attractive covers. And I found this! The 6th (last?) edition to the awesomely random Flight series. I can hardly believe that I started reading this series just this year...

Well, I read the entire thing in one sitting, and I loved it! The cartoons were all funny, as always. I really wonder how those comics writers do it, weaving the story and pictures so seamlessly together. My favorite cartoon was the first one, about the fox. Strange that it came in every book after it's debut. I guess because it always said, to be continued..., so they did. Well, at the end of this cartoon, there was no to be continued..., so I guess it really was the end. Maybe that means it's the end of the Flight books too. I hope it's not. But I'm going to assume it is. Since this book came out this year, we'll probably have to wait a long time for the hypothetical Flight #7 anyway. So 6 might as well be the last.

This series is awesome. I read this in just one sitting. All the previous books are just like this. I highly recommend Flight for those who haven't tried it. Since they're all cool pictures and comics, they won't take too much of your time. ^,^

Wings, by Aprilynne Pike

Well, well, well. What a book! I'm really glad I listened to James Dashner when he recommended this brand new book. (Here's the link to that post of his. He's a good friend to Aprilynne. I can't believe that was over a month ago!) I think it's really appropriate that Stephanie Meyer put a blurb on this debut novel, because it's reminded me so much of the Twilight saga. I liked everything about this book and I consider myself lucky that I was able to read it so soon after it came out.

The main character is a 15-year-old girl named Laurel (interesting name for a girl. Unfortunately it makes me think of that old comedy team Laurel and Hardy. Ever heard of them?). I really liked her. Even though it was written in third person and she was a couple years younger than Bella, Laurel managed to make me believe I was in her place while I read her story. Like me, she chooses to eat healthy, just fruits and vegetables. A strict vegan. (I'm not all that strict, but she is.) Also like me, she was home schooled by her parents. Up until the story starts, of course, when she's forced to go to school for the first time. The only different thing is that she was adopted, so I can't really relate to that.

I think if I was 15 again and going to public school, I'd probably have much the same thoughts and experiences as Laurel did. I like how it begins. Immediately she makes friends with a boy named David, who is really a great guy! I was so jealous of her, because this character is one of those guys that are so hard to find in life. He's honestly one of the best supporting male characters I've ever read about. And as a plus, he's human, so there's nothing dangerous about him. ^,~ *coughCullencough*

6 chapters later, Laurel grows something weird out of her back. At first it's like a pimple or a mole of sorts, but it grows bigger and bigger until it... well... "blossoms." She actually grows a flower out of her back! This is where she finds out she's a faerie. I think it could have happened sooner, but I'm not complaining. So to get answers, she goes back to her old neighborhood (sorry, I forgot. She had to move in order to attend school) and in the forest meets a faerie boy named Tamani. He tells her all this stuff, and somehow, I don't know how, it appears they hit it off. So like Twilight, Laurel's trapped in a love triangle, and my money is on the human. I like him better. (Of course, in Twilight the human is also part wolf, but still...)

So David is the only human that Laurel talks to about her flower, and they discover through various experiments that Laurel isn't exactly human, but actually some sort of hybrid plant. Yeah, totally weird. Faeries are intelligent, mobile, humanoid plants that can perform some magic. All I can say for Aprilynne Pike is that she was completely original.

In the middle of the book, the flower wilts away by itself, so that's a shame. But then these trolls are introduced, who play the role of bad guys. They're trying to buy the land that Laurel and her family moved away from, but the faeries can't let that happen, so Laurel has to help stop them. It's funny. Just like Twilight, it was mostly about setting up the romance part first, and then there was action nearer the end.

Honestly, this book is not to be skipped over. It will totally be worth your reading time. The problem is that it's very hard to tell whether a sequel will come of this or not. I'm not expecting anything. It does well as a standalone novel, I suppose, but I pray that Pike is busily thinking about her next installment. (BTW, here is someone else's opinion on Wings. You can bet that it's a lot shorter than my review, but it also gives this book a lot of praise.)

Flight # 5

Man, this Flight series is awesome. The comic stories are funny and cool. Short and simple. My favorite cartoon is the "Rex saga," the one that usually comes up first and keeps continuing? It's been in the Flight series since #2 and it's about this little brown fox character who looks so sweet and has all these strange adventures on this alien planet. There's no dialogue, so the faces say it all. Very cute.

The only too bad thing was that before I finally got the book, I cheated and got a preview of each cartoon in the book from online. The Flight website. Yeah. So I already knew about half of every story. Still, it was nice to see how they ended. But that's a good lesson for me. No cheating if you want full enoyment from a story.

You guys have got to check out this series. Especially if you're comic lovers. They've got all different types of styles of art. I think there's going to be a sixth one sometime soon in the future. I promise not to get a preview of that, so I'll be completely surprised.