Daughter of Smoke and Bone

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Karou is a girl raised by a race of Chimera hunting for teeth to help create troops against an army of angels. But when deadly enemies burn the doorways that connect worlds, only a wishbone makes it out- a wishbone and a dire urge to solve the mystery behind wishes and the eye tattoos on her hand. A romance from beyond the barriers of reality, a secret intombed in hope, and a winged monstrosity lightly sprinkled in sugar- all of these collide in the razzle-dazzle, climactic adventures of Karou in The Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

My review of the book is an A+. The descriptions were good, and the veiled suspense was handled well. Also, the romance of the story was at the perfect balance of overdone and relevant so that it felt real enough even me, the hater of Thomas and Teresa in Maze Runner, would agree that the romantic elements of the story were essential to the plot. I would say that it was a bit too PG-18 for me in some bits, but again, the perfect balance so that it didn’t feel like I was in an R-rated movie (if I were, I would want Tina Fey to be in it. And Amy Poehler. Okay, I want to be in Sisters. Sue me.) and more as if the author realized that this was a book about adults and this is how they would behave.The only thing is the flashbacks to Madrigal- They could have been shorter, better, and packed more info into less space. I almost skimmed through them. But otherwise, I'd give it 4.5/5 stars!

Thank you for reading this! Have a good day!

Challenger Deep By: Neal Shusterman

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Caden Bosch is torn. As his friends and family start to notice he is acting weird, Caden is helping the captain plan the mission to Challenger Deep. People start to notice how he walks for hours around town to level the ship so it doesn't capsize. While the people in his life begin to worry, Caden is pulled toward mutiny.

The main thing I liked about this book was the representation of mental illness. It is very illuminating. Also the chapters are pretty short making it a very quick read.

My only problem with this book was that it could have been hard to follow. Then again this may have been intentional by the author.

Overall I would give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

The Giver By: Louise Lowry

The Giver Site Amazon 

The Giver is a fast paced book full of ideas and theories that touch on some of today's most popular topics. These idea’s really grab the reader's attention and is generally the reason I enjoyed it so much. It’s views on the government, what control they should have over the General Population, can translate easily into what is happening today politically. In the Giver the government completely controls what the public does day in and day out it never stops watching and monitoring them. Once one person steps out of line they are killed to keep their opinions from spreading. While in today's government that may not exactly be the case it is close to it we are always watched by the government they monitor what we do on the internet what we post, what we view, they can see it all. Anything we think and want to share can easily be demolished by the government. If we have an opinion that doesn’t match theirs they have the power to take away our means to share it, lock us away, keep our thoughts contained and not let them run wild. 

Another topic the Giver touches on is the importance of emotion. In the Giver emotion isn’t allowed. It is taken away from the public making them emotionless complying robots with no means to express how sad and empty the really are. This is a pressing issue in today's society. Fear of being rejected or showing any sort of emotion toward something causes people to ignore how they feel and hide their true colors. People are so afraid of what someone might think they let them control how they feel, think, and act. It is important to acknowledge this and start expressing how we feel in a civilized matter. We can’t let the fear of others opinions and reactions dictate our right to emotion. If we do we are no better then the robot like citizens in the Giver. Most books have something that always just picks at the back of your mind and annoys you so much but every once in awhile you get that one book that you just can’t find something wrong with and in my personal opinion the Giver is one of those.

I rate this book 5/5 stars.

Don't Look Back by Jennifer Armentrout

www.notyetread.com

This book is mainly realistic fiction, or it could be placed in the mystery genre. It is also a 2016-2017 Gateway Nominee book.

Samantha doesn't remember. She doesn't remember her birthday. She doesn't remember her mother, her
father. She doesn't remember that she had a boyfriend.

She doesn't remember who killed her best friend.

As if she didn't have enough problems, Sam doesn't want her old life back. Everything about the old her simply disgusts her now. How could she have been that person? She was the typical mean rich girl of her school. Everybody hates her, feared her, yet people act like they are happy to see her back. What exactly did she do to make everyone fear her? Not only that, but she seems to be developing feelings for Carson, the 'help,' when she supposedly despised him before all of this happened.

Cassie is still missing, and it is tearing Sam apart. How can she regain her memories so she can help them find her? With that, the police seem to have a new suspect.

Sam better watch out.

What I liked most about this book is that it has a lot of suspense and really makes you wonder who actually killed Cassie.

There isn't anything that I can find that I don't like about this book.

I give this book a 5 out of 5 stars.

The Rook

Myfanwy Thomas is part of a secret government organization called The Checquy, or at least that's what the letter says. Myfanwy actually doesn’t know who she is, only that she’s important, important enough that someone, or something, wants her dead. In a failed assassination attempt, Myfanwy loses her memory, and has to act like her “old self”, except, there’s a problem, one that involves all of Britain, and may lead her to who want’s her dead.

My thinking of this book is that it’s a great book, with having action, mystery, and betrayal all in one. The only things I found hard to read was the beginning, and I often found myself skipping the letters, as they weren’t as exciting. Other than that, I give it 4 stars.

Vango: by Timothee de Fombelle

Vango is a story about a boy named Vango who wants to become a priest in 1935, but on the day where he's going to be a priest, he is framed for a murder and chased by the police. Unfortunately, that is the ONLY notable thing that I can say. It is the only thing I can actually follow in the plot!


Link to Amazon Page [if you want to read it...]

This book was absolutely hard to follow [and I have to create a book report on it... REGRET], and there are a few characters that I can seem to catch...
Vango: The main character(?), the one running from the police(??), and apparently... part of a love triangle????? Or at very least in a relationship?!?!?!
Superintendent Bourland: The main police officer chasing Vango... I think. And I think he's hitting on a girl who's half as old as him... creep.
Ethel: Apparently, IN A RELATIONSHIP WITH VANGO. ?!?!? And Bourland hits on her. But at least she keeps Vango hidden? Not that the police ever get close. They're always in the wrong country. SO yeah.

There are plenty of other characters, but they don't play too much to the main plot. As for the ending [NON SPOILER], it's very open, and makes you wonder what the heck is happening and why it ended there...
Apparently, there is a sequel, but that isn't actually an excuse for just having a really weird ending. ANd note. This is not supposed to be a metaphorical book. It's a historical fiction. I'm not saying that there can't be metaphors in a book, but it's not meant to send the whole ending into nonsense.
I don't suggest reading this book. It might just be me, but it makes no sense. Overall, I give this book a 2/5.

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Mrs. Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children

www.ransomriggs.com

Ms. Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children is about essentially an orphanage for "peculiars" or children born with otherworldly talents. The main character, Jacob, is sent to find the orphanage in an attempt to find out more about his grandfathers murder. However, once Jacob arrives he learns he has the rarest peculiarity;

He can see the monsters

This story has action, adventure, and mystery. It is a great story told beautifully by Ransom Riggs.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a trilogy to dive into.

I give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

The Improbable Theory of Ana and Zak: The most reading fun I've had in a long time!

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Guys. This book is so much fun. This book is read until it's too late to finish your homework fun. It's you forget to text your friends back fun.

Written by Missouri author Brian Katcher, The Improbable Theory of Ana and Zak is a story from two points of view. Ana is straight-laced, and lives with very controlling and demanding parents. her life revolves around her college applications and living up to others' very high expectations. Zak, on the other hand, is a slacker. He'd much rather being playing video games or table-top RPGs than working on school work or joining a club.

When Zak's attempt at plagiarism goes awry, he and Ana are forced to compete together in state Academic Bowl championships-- forcing Zak to miss Washingcon, his favorite even of the year. While Zak does end up being able to attend his nerdy convention, it's definitely not in the way that he originally thinks-- and a very angry Ana is along for the ride.

This book is as fun as it sounds and more. Don't get me wrong-- it has serious moments and moments that will make you upset, but it's definitely a feel-good book. I loved being able to see the two different sides of the story. Zak and Ana have such different perspectives that the book stays very lively and interesting throughout. Books don't often make me laugh out loud, but this one certainly did.

This book is on the list of Gateway novels for 2016-- so there are some places that are a little mature. There's some swearing and a few inappropriate jokes, but it's certainly fine for a PG-13 reader.

I'd give this book a 6 out of 5 stars, but we made the rule last year that 5 out of 5 would be our max.