Tag: Young Adult (Page 121 of 159)

BOOK REVIEW: Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

March 3, 2015 / Chelsea / 2 Comments

Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
In this lyrical, absorbing, award-winning novel, nothing is as it seems, and every clue leads to more questions.

At age eleven, Taylor Markham was abandoned by her mother. At fourteen, she ran away from boarding school, only to be tracked down and brought back by a mysterious stranger. Now seventeen, Taylor's the reluctant leader of her school's underground community, whose annual territory war with the Townies and visiting Cadets has just begun. This year, though, the Cadets are led by Jonah Griggs, and Taylor can't avoid his intense gaze for long. To make matters worse, Hannah, the one adult Taylor trusts, has disappeared. But if Taylor can piece together the clues Hannah left behind, the truth she uncovers might not just settle her past, but also change her future.

So……this is how I feel right now:

Me. Just me….alone with a majority of people of who LOVED, ADORED, OBSESSED over this particular novel. And oh, dear God please don’t hate me (especially you, my dear, sweet Anna) but…..I couldn’t love this book. I tried. I tried so, so, SOOOOOO hard, but, in the end, I never once did I feel myself drawn back to this story. When I put the book down, it was just that-I put it down. It didn’t exist beyond when it was in my hands. And I know that’s not how it’s supposed to feel.

“What do you want from me?” he asks.
What I want from every person in my life, I want to tell him.
More.

Gawd, you guys I wanted to love this so hard. As I was tossing and turning on this horrible last Sunday night (the depression of not loving this book was a visceral feeling), I came to a crushing realization: I’d rather be fighting my Sunday night demons (I can NEVER sleep on Sunday nights, but that’s neither here nor there…) attempting to sleep even when I knew I couldn’t than reading more of this book. And that kept me from sleeping, as well. I repeatedly asked myself, ‘What’s wrong with me?’ ‘Why am I the only person who didn’t like this?’. And, admittedly, I still hate that I couldn’t find much to identify with.

Being part of him isn’t just anything. It’s kind of everything.

I think Marchetta’s ideas are so profound, but I just hate how she delivers them. She’s lost me in both books I’ve attempted to read and I think I just need to realize that this author is not for me. It doesn’t mean she’s not an excellent writer-she is. But, and this is going to sound so harsh, if the only tears I cried were from boredom? There’s a problem. Just because a book is beautiful and has poetic writing doesn’t mean it can’t be boring and….for me….it was boring until like 60%. Even in the end when it was supposed to all tie together, I finally just didn’t care. I don’t think I would have anyway, honestly. I’m such a bad reader-I really only cared about Jonah and Taylor, and I feel like they hardly had any real, tangible time together.

“What’s with what you’re wearing?” Griggs asks while we stand outside waiting for the others.
“It’s pretty hideous, isn’t it?” I say.
“Don’t force me to look at it,” he says. “It’s see-through.”
That kills the conversation for a couple of seconds.

And, I swear this is the last negative section, that’s my biggest problem. Why does there have to be so many people on each page? It’s confusing, it made it drag, and I didn’t get NEAR enough Jonah…at all. And the territory wars-I’m sorry, but how could this be a main plot point??? It was fun at first, and then I was like…please, please, PLEASE stop-they didn’t make sense. Or, I just was too far gone to care…again.

Though very little worked for me, there were some shining moments. Jonah. Oh my goodness did I love him. He and Taylor together. All of their moments separate from the school were amazing and fun to follow, but it just took so damn long to get there. I loved the way he looked at her and how he was always so protective of her. How he would do anything to make sure she stayed safe. And, most importantly, how they changed each other’s lives forever.

“You care about nothing, you piece of shit!”
I’m on the verge of tears, like I always seem to be these days, and I hear the catch in my voice and I hate myself for it. He throws me off him and I can tell there is a fury in him.
“Never,” he tells me in a tone full of ice, “underestimate who or what I care for.”

Okay, so, I’ve said my piece and it’s clear I’m in the minority-it’s clear that everyone thinks all the things I hated are what make an excellent story, so don’t take my word for it. Just know, this book is beautiful in it’s own right….it’s just not the book for me.

Anyway…now everyone can fight over my carcass…sorry.

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Because Anna told me to.

Her exact words?

Butbutbut…Jonah!

Good enough for me lmao

BOOK REVIEW: Please Remain Calm (This is Not a Test #2) by Courtney Summers

February 26, 2015 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

Please Remain Calm (This is Not a Test #2)
by Courtney Summers
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
In this gripping sequel to THIS IS NOT A TEST, Rhys and Sloane are headed for a safe haven when they get separated along the way. Rhys is determined to reunite with Sloane until he discovers people who might need him more--people who offer him the closest he'll get to everything he's lost, if they can just hold on long enough.

Rhys thinks he has what it takes to survive and find the girl he lost, but in a world overrun by the dead, there are no guarantees and the next leg of his journey will test him in unimaginable ways ...

There’s not much to say that hasn’t already been said in my review for This is Not a Test. But I do think there were some small differences that clearly showed a distinction between the two, so it deserves it’s own review. For instance, if you thought the first book was heartbreaking, you’re in for a whole new world of hurt. And if you thought you saw quite a few zombies before?? Think again.
People aren’t supposed to be able to fathom eternity. It’s an amount of time beyond all human comprehension. But ever since everything ended, I think I’m getting closer to understanding it. These little tastes of it in the way hell stretches around us, making pain endless and moments like this one rare and fleeting.
Making moments like this one everything.

This novella takes place right where we left off in book one. Rhys and Sloane are traveling to the ‘safe house’ because they can’t stay in the school forever….but by leaving the safety of the school, they are putting themselves in grave danger, because each city they come across is even more infested than the last.

“I have to piss,” I mutter.
It takes her a minute and for that minute, my face burns and it all seems too goddamn stupid to be embarrassed about, but it’s what I’m not saying that’s making it uncomfortable. I have to go to the bathroom and I don’t want to die and then come back with my dick out, so…

It’s no secret I was obsessed with Rhys in the last book, so I was ecstatic to see that this novella was in Rhys’s POV. I don’t normally love when authors make the second, or even the third, books in the male POV after being in the heroine’s head because I feel there is always a disconnect and a lack of characterization because the author can’t quite seem to capture both the male and female truthfully anymore. I think it’s because they are trying so hard to give us ladies an insight into the male’s head we so love and adore, but more often than not, they fail. So, I was very excited to see that, in true Courtney Summers fashion, she didn’t let this happen. Her writing was exactly the same and fifty times scarier.

This book, just as I said a second ago, was 50 times freakier to me than TINAT. Don’t think for a second the first wasn’t scary, but being out amid the zombies causes a whole new kind of panic attack moments that I couldn’t help but to lose my breath over time and again. It was very raw and heartbreaking, causing me to cry more than once-and this novella was, like, only 100 pages. I was shocked. But it’s truly not all that surprising, if you think about it-Courtney Summers has a way of getting under your skin and bringing out your worst and deepest fears and making them reality. So, naturally, when she does the thing that no one thinks she could possibly do to us…she does it. That’s my only warning to you. Don’t for a second think this novella, or world, is fluffy because Rhys and Sloane are into each other. It’s not.

Times like these, you go so far out of your way to assure yourself you’re not alone. You memorize the person you’re with: the way they breathe, the way they move, the warmth of their body. All these things, you reach for every second of the day and when they’re gone, you don’t even have to open your eyes to know it.

So, I can’t believe this is as long as it is, but I think I got my point across without being excessive. This novella is wonderful and essential to this series. So, if you have an hour, give this one a try. You’ll most likely really enjoy it if you loved the first.

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AGH SO GOOD AND SO HORRIBLE !!!!! Rhys you are so loyal, ugh ❤️

Review to come :))))

BOOK REVIEW: Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers

February 26, 2015 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

Cracked Up to Be by Courtney Summers
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
When "Perfect" Parker Fadley starts drinking at school and failing her classes, all of St. Peter's High goes on alert. How has the cheerleading captain, girlfriend of the most popular guy in school, consummate teacher's pet, and future valedictorian fallen so far from grace?

Parker doesn't want to talk about it. She'd just like to be left alone, to disappear, to be ignored. But her parents have placed her on suicide watch and her conselors are demanding the truth. Worse, there's a nice guy falling in love with her and he's making her feel things again when she'd really rather not be feeling anything at all.

Nobody would have guessed she'd turn out like this. But nobody knows the truth.

Something horrible has happened, and it just might be her fault.

*I Don’t Know How Many Stars*
Guys. I am so lost for words. This book made me feel things I just can’t even…can’t even. I liked it and I hated it. I loved it but wanted to punch it. I was obsessed with it and I wasn’t obsessed with it. I couldn’t put it down but when I did I felt a little bit lighter. I don’t even know what to say, so how should I understand how to rate it?

Jake should know-well, everyone should know-there’s no such thing as a decent human being. It’s just an illusion.
And when it’s gone, it’s really gone.

I rate based on how I feel….and I just don’t know what I feel. I keep (in my head) going from a 4 to a 3 to a 2 to a 3.5 to a 4. Because, like with all Courtney Summers novels, I felt ALL emotions…but they were different this time. I felt them more intensely. And not necessarily in a good way. One minute I was happy, the next I was sad and aching for more and I just wasn’t able to put a pin on what exactly worked for me. And, in the end, I wanted more for this horribly fucked up character and I don’t know I don’t know I don’t knooooow. I just still can’t express how I feel.

I get caught up in outcomes. I convince myself they’re truths. No one will notice how wrong you are if everything you do ends up right. The rest becomes incidental. So incidental that, after a while, you forget. Maybe you are perfect. Good. It must be true. Who can argue with results? You’re not so wrong after all. So you buy into it and you go crazy maintaining it. Except it creeps up on you sometimes, that you’re not right. Imperfect. Bad. So you snap your fingers and it goes away.
Until something you can’t ignore happens and you see it all over yourself.

I felt like I was underneath a microscope. I felt as if my brain was pried open like a gaping wound for everyone to see, because I just couldn’t put a mask on my displeasure or my happiness or my crying and it was like this raw, ripping open of my soul because poor Parker. Poor, poor Parker. I couldn’t stand how she treated Jake but I understood it. I hated when she pushed him away or made him think she felt less about him than she really did….because that’s what she wanted. She wanted people to hate her, she wanted to fade into the background. And it just hurt me so deeply when she would push people away….because ‘that’s how it had to be.’

I lean against the door. I should be sitting so we can have our weekly session where I pick the lint off my skirt and determinedly maintain my silence while she stares at me, except today I have to break that silence. And all for a boy, too. How degrading.

This book was a lot like Unteachable for me. I gave that book a 4 even though it depressed me 90% of the time because despite all that…I couldn’t put it down, ya know? What does that say?

The writing. Wow, the writing. It always transports me to another world and I adore this author and I guess I should know a star rating but I can’t put a finger on what feels right…and that’s how I always choose. It just feels right when I think of a rating. When I click a star, I release all this built up energy because everything falls into place and fits so perfectly with my review. But when I think of clicking a star here, nothing fits. Not for this story.

“See you tomorrow,” I call after her.
She stops, turns and gives me a hilariously quizzical look.
It could be worth it for this alone.
“What?”
“I’ll see you tomorrow. For the semi-formal? You, me, Chris and Jake.” I force a big smile at her. “I’m really looking forward to it.”
I’m such a bitch, but Becky makes it so easy.

So…this wasn’t a review. And I don’t really care if anyone reads it or doesn’t read it because I can’t give people an honest answer. I loved a lot of parts. But I also hated a lot of parts, as well. I suppose I could break it down a little for you guys, just as an end note?

Loved:

-Jake
-Writing
-Story/plot in general
-The Humor
-Parker’s snark towards everyone, it made me laugh a lot (She’s such a bitch)

Liked:

-Parker
-How she put her walls up
-Her family
-The mystery behind why she is the way she is

Didn’t love at all:

-Animal (That’s all I’ll say on that matter)
-Becky. Annoying bitch
-The conclusion. I really really really wanted more, but I understood it, as well
-How Jake was treated (It was sometimes funny, but other times it broke my heart)

So. You know. There you go.

BOOK REVIEW: Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

February 25, 2015 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Climbing to the top of the social ladder is hard—falling from it is even harder. Regina Afton used to be a member of the Fearsome Fivesome, an all-girl clique both feared and revered by the students at Hallowell High... until vicious rumors about her and her best friend's boyfriend start going around. Now Regina's been "frozen out" and her ex-best friends are out for revenge. If Regina was guilty, it would be one thing, but the rumors are far from the terrifying truth and the bullying is getting more intense by the day. She takes solace in the company of Michael Hayden, a misfit with a tragic past who she herself used to bully. Friendship doesn't come easily for these onetime enemies, and as Regina works hard to make amends for her past, she realizes Michael could be more than just a friend... if threats from the Fearsome Foursome don't break them both first.

Tensions grow and the abuse worsens as the final days of senior year march toward an explosive conclusion in this dark new tale from the author of Cracked Up To Be.

My heartbeat slows to nothing and then, when I’m sure I’m dead, it thumps once. Twice. Three times. Steady and even. I’m still here. I get to ten beats and then it beats faster-twenty, faster, thirty, faster, forty. Do something do something do something.

Explosive.
Mind-blowing.
Intense.
Evil.
Awesome.

Just…..just. Wow. And, ya know, I had never even read a book by this author two weeks ago and now I like…worship her. Every word has gravity to it. Every sentence is a slap in the face. Each page is more shocking than the last. And it’s all so damn simple. There’s no grand use of metaphors shoved down our throats and there aren’t poetic verses on every other page….no. It’s all about the build-up. She builds these simple, every day moments and builds and builds and builds and then all of a sudden you can’t breathe and you’re frantically reading the pages trying to see what happens next and then Boom. It’s so fucking simple. But that’s Courtney Summers, I’ve come to find: She’s the silent killer.

He’s as bad as me, and Kara’s as bad as me, and I’m as bad as Anna, who killed all the things that were good about me before they got the chance to do any good.

I was so excited to write this review and now I’m at a loss for words. How in the world can I do this book justice? It’s not like we’ve never seen the mean girl act before-petty lies, jealousies, fights, and, ultimately, a big misunderstanding. But this is so different. And it doesn’t seem like it should be, ya know? We’re in this girl’s head, Regina’s, and she used to be best friend to the queen bee. What an honor. But then one fateful night at a party, best friend Anna’s scumbag boyfriend decides he wants to get handsy with Regina-violently handsy. I am going to rape you if you don’t say yes, handsy. So when a narrowly avoided escape from a tragic event becomes a vicious, nasty rumor gone wrong, Regina finds herself on the outside of the fearsome five….and their newest target.

We’re the kind of popular that parents like to pretend doesn’t exist so they can sleep at night, and we’re the kind of popular that makes our peers unable to sleep at night.

Think about this a moment, will you? Top of the food chain. Four years of torturing those less than you, those that are afraid of you when you pass them in the halls…and then reverse that completely. All of a sudden you’re afraid to turn the wrong corner and see the wrong people. Every time you turn around you’re getting pushed down the stairs, locked in closets, your things are getting ruined repeatedly-and you never know when the prank will go too far and you won’t be able to recover from it.

When I’m done, I feel empty, but only for a second. Because I get it; I do. I get why Anna was my best friend. Why I couldn’t be friends with Liz and why I couldn’t save her and why I couldn’t eat. Why Kara hates me. Why Michael can’t be around me. Kara lost the weight. It didn’t matter. Same school, same teachers, same classmates, same friends. No chance.

I absolutely ADORED this story. It was SO fun to be on the other side of the token, to be on the inside of a former mean girl’s head. We got to see the vicious side of wanting cold, calculated revenge. She isn’t some girl they are just now deciding to start hazing, she was actually a part of that group-so she knows all the tricks….and she isn’t afraid to use them when they shove too hard. And this is what I loved so much: She wasn’t afraid to be a bitch. She wasn’t afraid to fight dirty. And I wanted her to. I wanted to see her scrape and claw and rip their hair out. I became immediately engrossed and invigorated when she would ‘push back’ and show those bitches what she’s really made of….she’s no delicate flower-that’s for certain. I don’t know what that says about me, either.

In high school, you don’t get to change. You only get to walk variations of the same lines everyone has already drawn for you.
So I should just make the best of it.

I think my favorite part of this story, though, was Michael. Everything to do with Michael, I was a mess. Not only because he was a sudden love interest, though I loved that as well, but because of how the mighty had fallen. Michael-the new kid from years ago who’s reputation she ruined. Michael-the loner who doesn’t care what people think of him. Micheal-the kid who is now an outcast and sits alone at lunch in the back of the cafeteria. Michael…the only friend she might have.

And I think that’s what made this such a finely layered story. Regina was so mean to others because Anna TOLD her to be, and now that she’s on the outside looking in, she has no one to turn to. It was so beyond fascinating to be inside her head and to see how she handled being invisible to everyone socially and to be on the receiving end of vicious rumors and threats. I loved seeing her progression from indifference to fighting back to utter obsession over what’s being said and how she can exact revenge on anyone and everyone that wrongs her. But, even more than that, I loved seeing that vulnerable girl who was sensitive and just wanted a friend.

Hell, I loved Michael. Big shocker there-Summers creates the coolest guys. And Michael didn’t make it easy. I loved that, too. Some days he didn’t even let her sit at the table. But here’s the kicker-he was always there for her. He was a silent defender and friend when she was humiliated or hurt in front of the whole school, he showed up when she needed him most….but he couldn’t fully give himself to her. She was cruel, vindictive, and judgemental without even knowing him, so he wasn’t about to fall for her act just because she was lonely…but what if it wasn’t an act at all? What if she really and truly enjoyed his company? And, worst of all, what would she do when her sudden interest in him explodes in colorful fireworks on the fearsome five’s radar? What would she do to protect him? It nearly tore my heart out of my chest.

Some people will never give up on their lack of belief in you. I’m used to that feeling, but for the first time ever, it hurts.

Lastly, I have to say this: This book was so epic that I. Never. Once. Checked. To see what percentage I was at. NEVER. It was so engrossing, addicting, and mind-boggling that I didn’t even think while I read! I always check because I’m always ready for the next book I’m going to read. But not this one-My mind was fully immersed in the story and nothing else mattered. I loved our main character so much it was a visceral, deep feeling and her life became my life and….well, you get the picture.

Venomous, tortuous, and pulse-pounding, this subtle book sneaks up on you and sinks it’s claws into your soul. I swear, if you pick this up, you won’t be putting it down any time soon-I started it at lunch on Sunday, just wanting to get a sneak peek, and I was HOOKED. Dinner plans??? Lets rush ’em, because this book was all I could think about. The Oscars? Who needs ’em!! I am READING AN EXCELLENT BOOK that has taken over my body. I don’t know why I’d never read anything by Courtney Summers before, but after This is Not a Test and now this one, I will forever be a fan. I can’t get enough and I will shove her books in other people’s faces like a deranged drug pusher from now until the end of time-I’ve succeeded with a few of my friends….now onto the rest of them.

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5 brutal, menacing, tortuous, evil-little-bitch stars

Seriously. I AM SO STOKED AND EXCITED TO WRITE THIS REVIEW IT ROOOOOOOOCKSSS!!! ♥

(Review tomorrow!!!)

BOOK REVIEW: Prince of Thorns (The Broken Empire #1) by Mark Lawrence

February 17, 2015 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

Prince of Thorns (The Broken Empire #1)
by Mark Lawrence
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Before the thorns taught me their sharp lessons and bled weakness from me I had but one brother, and I loved him well. But those days are gone and what is left of them lies in my mother's tomb. Now I have many brothers, quick with knife and sword, and as evil as you please. We ride this broken empire and loot its corpse. They say these are violent times, the end of days when the dead roam and monsters haunt the night. All that's true enough, but there's something worse out there, in the dark. Much worse.

From being a privileged royal child, raised by a loving mother, Jorg Ancrath has become the Prince of Thorns, a charming, immoral boy leading a grim band of outlaws in a series of raids and atrocities. The world is in chaos: violence is rife, nightmares everywhere. Jorg has the ability to master the living and the dead, but there is still one thing that puts a chill in him. Returning to his father's castle Jorg must confront horrors from his childhood and carve himself a future with all hands turned against him.

Mark Lawrence's debut novel tells a tale of blood and treachery, magic and brotherhood and paints a compelling and brutal, and sometimes beautiful, picture of an exceptional boy on his journey toward manhood and the throne.

Hate will keep you alive where love fails.

So, I’m not going to say anything good and I’m not going to say anything bad about this book. This was read solely for the purpose that I wanted to support Anna on her bday read and it doesn’t matter if I loved or hated this book-it wasn’t about me. Now, the reason I can say all this in such an even tone is that it’s all pretty simple: There were parts I was bored out of my mind with, and then others where I was having a really good time reading. Again, in normal Chelsea fashion, I’ll say why I think that is-I don’t like traveling books. Like…ever. So maybe that’s part of it. But it’s more than that, I think. I won’t bash. I won’t gush. But here are the finer points on each end of the spectrum:

The Good:

–Jorg

He was an asshole and, for whatever reason, I liked him about as much as Anna. He was mean, cruel, and he was despicable beyond redemption….but his foul mouth and harsh actions did nothing to deter my love for him. Whatever that’s about…

–The action scenes

Call me a sucker for a perilous situation, but it is what it is. The battles rocked.

–SOME of the flashbacks

I liked what happened in them and how they shaped him as an evil little bastard. He was always destined to be that way, I believe, but seeing all that helped me to understand, a tad.

The Bad:

–The traveling

Just….no.

–All the people I had to remember

Eh. Attention span, yeah?

–The droll, dragged out conversations at times

Sigh…see point above.

The Ugly:

–What he ate at one point in the novel…

Oh, Jorg, you sick little bastard. I about threw up…just…no. Don’t do that again lmao >.<

There was lots of ugly, but that is to be decided at your own discretion for what you, as a reader, can tolerate. I liked most of the ugly-but that’s just me.

The old Jorg would have kept him there forever. I’ve grown, but whatever monster might be in me, it was always mine, my choice, my responsibility, my evil if you will.
It’s what I am, and if you want excuses, come and take them.

Sooooo. That sums up how I decided to rate, a little, without going one way or another. I just wanted more. And maybe book two WILL have more…but for now I will just say it was a fun read with two awesome chicks and I can’t wait to do it again.

Love ya, Frenchy Bug! *Muah*