Tag: young adult book review

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What I’m Reading: The Death Cure by James Dashner

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Young Adult Book Review: The Death Cure by James Dashner

It has taken me a long while to get around to reading the last book of The Maze Runner trilogy by James Dashner. This last book in the series definitely kept me on the edge of my seat as I wondered just how Dashner was going to wrap everything up.

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Earlier this week, I posted a review for The Savage Dawn, which is also a last book in a trilogy. I wrote about how that book had an ending that fit, and that I liked. Now, I liked how The Death Cure ended the Maze Runner Trilogy, but I’m not sure I got enough information. At the end of a series, I like to have a good feeling that I know how the main character’s life is going to be, and with The Death Cure, I feel that I don’t really know what Thomas’ life will be. I feel like there could be a whole new series of books.

Now, I know that there is a novella that might fill in some gaps, and I haven’t picked it up. I’ve also read some reviews that say it doesn’t really answer the lingering questions. Overall though, the ending was solid, and hey, some people really like the unknown.

4/5 Stars

JEH

book review · books · I love books · reading · Young Adult · Young Adult Books

What I’m Reading: This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman

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Young Adult Book Review: This Shattered World by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (Starbound Trilogy #2)

Early this year I reviewed These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner, book #1 of the Starbound Trilogy. I loved that book, so I wasn’t surprised when I feel right into This Shattered World. The second book of the trilogy has two different main characters, Jubilee and Flynn, but the tension, world, and romance were similar enough that I found the transition easy. Because the mystery is bigger than the characters themselves, it is easy to get hooked.

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I listened to This Shattered World as an audiobook. It was nice that the book was ready by two narrators, one for the part of Flynn, and one for the part of Jubilee. Without two separate narrators, I might not have so easily been able to tell the chapters apart. There’s one more book left in this trilogy, and I imagine I’ll be listening to it soon.

4/5 Stars

JEH

book review · books · I love books · Young Adult · Young Adult Books

What I’m Reading: Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep

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Young Adult Book Review: Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep (Mythos Academy #1)

I recently had the privilege of attending a writing conference, where Jennifer Estep was one of the Key Notes. I had never read anything from her before, and I wanted to be familiar with her work before the conference, so I picked up Touch of Frost, the first book in Estep’s Paranormal Young Adult series, Mythos Academy.

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Now, the Mythos Academy name tells you almost everything you need to know to get started reading Touch of Frost. First, it relies heavily on world mythology; Second, the Gods are back (bad and good), and Third, you’re in for a whole lot of fun. The main character in Touch of Frost is Gwen, who’s a gypsy newly arrived to a school full of warriors, most of which are also blessed with some sort of bonus magical power. Of course, as always happens, things go wrong and Gwen ends up attempting to sort things out.

Touch of Frost was a quick, easy read, set in a world that I would love to live in. There were a few weak elements with the plot, but I could overlook them because the pace was quick, and there was never a slow moment. There are currently six books in the series (apparently #7 is currently only going to be release in Germany. But six books is plenty to keep me reading for a while.

4/5 Stars

JEH

book review · books · Covers · I love books · reading · Young Adult Books

What I’m Reading: Exquisite Captive by Heather Demetrios

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Young/New Adult Book Review: Exquisite Captive by Heather Demetrios

Either Young Adult books are becoming more and more edgy, or there really needs to be a new category of book. I vote for the later. There has always been edgy fiction, but these days there is a certain class of fiction that has young adult characters, is shelved as young adult, but has very adult themes. Exquisite Captive by Heather Demetrios is one of those books. Exquisite Captive is a paranormal fantasy that follows Nalia, a Jinn, on her quest for freedom from her captor.

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I listened to this book as an audiobook on a solo road trip last month. I really enjoyed it, but looking at the other reviews out there, at lot of people did not. Their main pet peeve seemed to be the somewhat abusive relationship in the book. Now, in my opinion, and abusive relationship is not a reason to put down at book (unless you’re a really sensitive reader, I’m not). How that relationship is treated may or may not be. As I don’t believe the relationship is glorified in any way, I didn’t find it a reason to stop listening. I liked the book, so I kept going.

For fans of darker young adult fiction (the stuff that is often called New Adult), such as Sarah J. Maas or Laini Taylor, Exquisite Captive may be for you. Of course, there were somethings I didn’t love about the book, like how it things just kept not working out. I mean sure, it’s fiction, that happens, but it was almost like that happened one time too many.

Still, it was a pretty decent book. Exquisite Captive is the first book in a trilogy, the third book of which was release in February this year. Which is great, since sometimes I just hate having to wait for all of the books to be released.

JEH

book review · books · Covers · Fairy Tales · Young Adult · Young Adult Books

What I’m Reading: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

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Young Adult Book Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Cinder by Marissa Meyer had such a fetching cover that I just had to pick it up. The image actually has a striking resemblance to the Twilight Cover, in my opinion, with the same colour palette and the bright red right in the middle. But what does that matter? What I really wanted was to read a Cinderella story set in the future.

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Cinder was probably the most refreshing fairy tale retelling I’ve read in a while. It was still recognizable as the Cinderella story, but it wasn’t weighed down with backstory I didn’t need (like some retelling’s I’ve read in the past year). The funnest part, I thought, was that instead of a glass slipper, Cinder is constantly struggling with her cyber foot, which no longer fits her. I was also very interested in the Lunars, and will read the other books in the chronicles just to find out about them. The other books, however, don’t feature Cinder as a main character, and I’m kind of glad about that, since I feel like Cinder(ella)’s story has come to an end.

4/5 Stars

JEH

book review · books · Photos · reading · Young Adult · Young Adult Books

What I’m Reading: Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery

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A few years back I went on an East Coast road trip. During the trip, my husband and I spent a couple days on Prince Edward Island, so of course I had to go see Green Gables. I’d never read the world renowned books written by Lucy Maud Montgomery, even though I’d spent hours of my childhood watching the CBC television movie specials and tuning in every week to watch Road to Avonlea.

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I bought my copy of Anne of Green Gables at the Green Gables gift shop, with the intent of reading it during the trip, but that never happened. Then, the other week, I heard a radio program discussing the 75th anniversary of Lucy Maud Montgomery’s death (what is with all the death anniversaries lately?). This inspired me to pick up the book and I began reading. Once I started, I couldn’t stop.

Anne of Green Gables was written in the early 1900’s, so the style is much different than books today. But I found this refreshing. There is something so charming in Anne’s page long ramblings that just puts a smile on my face. Not only did the book remind me of childhood and make me long for the days of playing outside, it also reminded me of my trip to the island. And let me say, Prince Edward Island is a beautiful place. Reading this book made me want to go back there. Below are a few pictures from my time on the island, if you’ve never gone, or read Anne of Green Gables, I highly recommend both.

JEH

books · Movies · Young Adult · Young Adult Books

What I’m Watching: Th1rteen R3asons Why, by Jay Asher

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I’ve mentioned a few times how much I loved Th1rteen R3asons Why by Jay Asher. Well, recently this book has found a new reincarnation in a Netflix streaming series of the same name. So of course I had to watch it. So far, I’m only a few episodes in, but I’m hooked. Because it’s been so long since I read the book, and the series has all of those small little changes, it’s like new to me. I like the dark atmosphere, and the sense of foreboding in the Netflix series, and so far, I’m pretty impressed with the cast. There is just something so loveable about this reincarnation of Hannah, played by Katherine Langford. And I’ve always been a fan of Kate Walsh’s tears (Hannah’s Mom). Below you can watch the official trailer as it’s posted on YouTube.

There’s been a fair bit of controversy about this series, since it does deal with Teen Suicide, which is a very difficult topic to talk about it. But at least this way it is being talked about. And not hidden.

I dug out my handwritten review of the Th1rteen R3asons Why book, and you can read it below. It still breaks my heart that Hannah is dead, because she was so full of life. And that is the most difficult thing about unexpected death, it is so very hard to accept. Have you watched the show? What do you think?

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JEH

book review · books · Young Adult · Young Adult Books

What I’ve Read: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

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Young Adult Book Review: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

As I continue to scroll through my book journals from the years before I used Goodreads, I’m pulling out entries and posting them on this blog. Insurgent by Veronica Roth is the second book in the young adult Divergent trilogy. I read this book in 2012 (man, five years ago already!). I think from the review that I really liked this book, see below for my handwritten review.
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Was this book a quick read for you?

JEH

book review · books · Young Adult · Young Adult Books

Books I’ve Read: Divergent by Veronica Roth

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Young Adult Book Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

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As I continue to look through my old book journal, I’m posting about books I read a number of years ago. This week, I’ll be posting my initial “review”, on Divergent by Veronica Roth. It isn’t so much a review as my opinion of the book, and boy was it opinionated. See below:

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This write-up is pretty harsh. It sounds like I hated the book yet I gave it 4.5 stars. I guess that says a lot about a books ambiance, which to me means the general feeling the book generates and my ability to ‘suspend disbelief’. Divergent was a book that I really had to not try to reason out. I mean, the entire population of the city is forced into four groups—FOUR! People are so much more diverse than that. And there are so many more job functions than that. Anyway… Even if I had a difficult time falling for the premise and the choices some of the characters made, I liked the FEELING of the book. The tone. I guess that’s what won me over.

Come back later in the week to see what I thought about Insurgent.

JEH