Down Memory Lane

Since I am about to embark a busy week, I decided to devote today as the day as my first ever Down Memory Lane post where I post a memory I have where I first found an unforgettable book.  


One day I went to the bookstore looking for a happy, easy read after reading the dark survival tale of Oblivion Road by Alex McAulay. I searched  the bookshelves for a realistic fiction romance. My eyes caught onto a bright beautiful cover, look at it, of a girl and a boy. My eyes then wandered to read the synopsis. Ah, a girl in love, dealing with confrontations and heartache. A perfect relaxing read. When I left the bookstore that day, I had no idea I pick up a vampire love story. I knew by reading the first page though. 

What is your favorite book memory? 

The Alchemy of Forever by Avery Williams

Seraphina Ames  is living an eternal life with the consequence provides her with the world's riches but at a very high price: innocent lives. Centuries ago, her boyfriend, Cyrus, discovered a method of alchemy that allows them to take the bodies of other humans from jumping from one vessel to the next, ending the human's life in the process. No longer able to bear the guilt of what she's done, Sera escapes from Cyrus and vows to never kill again. 

Then sixteen-year old Kailey Morgan gets into a horrific car accident right in front of her, and Sera accidentally takes over her body while trying to save her. For the first time, Sera finds herself enjoying the life of the person she's inhabiting--and falling in love with the boy who lives next door. But Cyrus will stop at nothing until she's his again, and every moment she stays, she's putting herself and the people she's grown to care about in danger. Will Sera have to give up the one thing that's eluded her for centuries: true love?

(Synopsis provided by GoodReads)

The cover is beautiful. The shadows are a perfect way to show that Sera lived in many lives as the same person.

Yesterday I reviewed my favorite book with the similar plot devise of having a character pretend to be another character. This book is a definite runner-up.

This is a brilliant book. It starts out fast and keeps getting more and more interesting from there. The prologue is one of the most exciting prologues I have read in a long time. Cyrus's magic is amazing. Sera seeing her mother for the last time was heartbreaking. I felt connected to Sera from the first page; it is rare for me to become connected to characters early on. She is smart and a tragic hero who lives in regret for her life as an incarnate.

The novel gradually got more addicting. William's magnificent writing flowed well and the plot was constantly changing. Sera's mistakes were reasonable and understandable. I sometimes am amazed at how idiotic characters can be in tough situations, but Sera always managed stay tough and levelheaded after she survived confrontations and came into contact with the results of her mistakes.

This book lacked action, but it remained engaging. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys paranormal romance YA books. 

Ambiguous Ending

I completely disliked how ambiguous the ending was and how I am not sure exactly what occured. I have a guess but I will not know for sure if I am right till the next book comes out ages. I hope Williams makes her next book's ending more clearer because I always like to know for sure what truly happened in a book.

Never Have I Ever by Sara Shepard

I am extremely happy today! There are only two more days till the third book in the Lying Game series arrives in stores!

Synopsis Thats Chilling:

One day, Emma was living her normal life as a foster kid. The next she finds out she has a dead identical twin sister named Sutton and that she has to pretend to be Sutton or she will be killed next. In this book, she struggles with falling in love with the only person who knows her secret, two devious twins and desperately tries to find her sister's killer.

Review Thats Bursting:

In the excitement for the next book in the Lying Game series, I decided to re-read this book. Someone pretending to be someone else is pretty much a plot device that makes me want to buy a book. During the last year, I read many other books with this type of plot turner. But this is for sure the best! I will read any books that contains this plot turner because I always love discovering how the characters in these books try to act like someone else. I love reading their funny mistakes and struggling with them to discover who they are playing really is in this type of plot.

Emma and Sutton are dimensional and intriguing characters. Emma is so lovable, funny and creative. What she accomplishes in this book is amazing. I highly doubt I would be able to pretend to be someone else as well as she. She is very caring and smart. I love how much Sutton has changed since she was alive and how well she is learning.

At first, the narrative style of this novel was confusing, but after reading two books I am starting to get use to it. This book is in the first person point of view of the dead girl, Sutton, and the third person view of Emma. Sara Shepard is a fabulous writer. She obviously has been writing for years because her writing is intelligent and cohesive. I love how each chapter only shows the important events and skips through gratuitous chatter. This book is a page turner that I enjoy because the story is constantly changing while new mysterious are unearthed and old ones are solved. I can't wait to find out what really happened between Thayer and Sutton before he ran away.

There is only one reason why this book is not perfect. The side characters are pretty flat. Madeline, Charlotte and the Twitter Twins do have intriguing and influential back stories but have no personality besides fitting stereotypes so far. Hopefully that will change in the next few books.

Overall, I am excited for the next book, Two Truths and A Lie, coming out on Tuesday. I can't wait to find out more about Sutton's and Thayer's history.

4 STARS 

Waiting On Wednesday

This is my first time doing this weekly meme hosted by Jill@BreakingTheSpine

The Book I Am Waiting For...

The Ivy 3: Rivals by Lauren Kunze and Rina Onur 

Released: March 6 2012


Decisions, decisions . . .

You’ve survived your first semester and captured the interest of not one but two of the hottest guys on campus.

Now who are you going to choose?

Callie Andrews returns for her second semester at Harvard determined to do better than the previous fall, where those Bs on her report card seemed pretty good compared to the state of her extracurriculars (F, as in if at first you don’t succeed, you should probably stop trying), friendships (C-minus, since she and former BFF Vanessa are still on thin ice), and love life (D, as in don’t even go there). But various campus rivalries soon threaten to thwart Callie’s resolve. Will Callie ever be a match for—

Grace Lee
the take-no-prisoners managing editor

Alessandra
the gorgeous transfer student

Clint
the guy who might just be too perfect

and Gregory
the guy who may never be perfect enough.

Callie will face some of the toughest choices imaginable: in friendships, in loyalties, and in love. The pressure to pick a side—and a suitor—has never been higher. But will she and her friends choose well?

(Synopsis provided by GoodReads)

Why am I seriously excited for this book?

The previous book in this series was my favorite book of 2011. My review of Secrets explains my reasons for loving that book. I am sure this book will be even more amazing. This series has one of the few love triangles that I do not despise because both boys are cool and have more depth then craving for romance. The plot is constantly changing and each character gets their shinning moment. I am sure that Rivals is going to be as unforgettable as the previous two in this series!

What are you looking forward to this year?

The Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelley

Synopsis

Mattie Gokey promised now dead Grace Brown that she will burn Grace's letters. Curious, Mattie instead reads the letters and discovers the mystery of her lifetime. This novel describes life in the early 20th century as a farmer and student. Mattie is an intelligent student that is struggling with many problems. Including dealing with her mothers death and her father's strict parenting.

Review

This is a remarkable book. I enjoyed this book, despite not usually liking the historical fiction genre, because this novel contains characters with the same feelings and motivations as my generation, except in it's set of a different time period. I can relate to Mattie because she is also a bookworm and cares for her sisters and is unsure what she should accomplish in her life. She is unsure is she should be responsible and stay with her family or do what she wants and go to college. Her fellow characters, especially her father, are against her aspirations to go to college. Mattie has responsibility to help her family because her mother is died, her only brother left and she is the oldest daughter; the one in charge.

I found this book to be pretty normal and not too exciting till the part of the novel where she realizes what really happened to Grace Brown in the present sections of the novel and starts working at Glenmore during the past sections of the novel. The first few times I read this book, I felt confused because the  narrative structure is constantly changing times and every chapter present an entirely new event. Now that I enjoyed this book enough, I figured out the secret to understanding the narrative structure. I am a little embarrassed that I never noticed before this time that each past chapter has a word of the day before it and each present chapter has nothing signally a new chapter besides a blank space.

The buildup of the novel was a bit dull because this novel was following the writing style of establishing the characters for the majority of the novel and less on plot. Still, there are many enjoyable stories in the first part of the novel. I liked the scenes where Weaver and Mattie word duel, Mattie and Royal talking each other and the story of how Mattie's father and mother eloped together. Mattie's parents are amazing foils to the love or hate relationship of Grace Brown and Chester. Sadly, at that point the novel is not amazing because it was slow and all the events blended together. None the events stood out and captured my imagination. The beginning was, to put it plainly, non-rememberable.

In contrast, the last part of the novel is moving and amazing. This part of the novel is why, I think, it won an award. In this part, horrible events take place and secrets to mysterious are revealed at perfect times. The author's writing is spot on and describes vividly all the events that occur. Mattie finally decides to stop listening to what everyone tells her to do, and starts making her own decisions based on what she deserves. I found the ending moving and felt sad when it ended. I was glad, though, because everything was not perfect, but ended well enough. This part includes a brief escape from the serious tone to a funny prank that Mattie and her friends do that is hilarious to read. I love this part because it concluded all the events into a poignant resolution that was plausible. I love how I was able to relate and care about all the characters and understand there pains. This is definitely the one historical fiction novel that should not be missed.

4 Stars!

Feature & Follow

Feature and Follow is a weekly meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read. 

Which book genre do you avoid at all costs and why?

I tend to enjoy most book genres because each genre has amazing features. I only tend to avoid the non-fiction genre because when I read books I want to discover a world that is different from my own. 

  

Everyone's a Critic by Paul Ruditis

School's out, but the drama never stops at the superposh Orion Academy. Hartley Blackstone -- the famous director, producer, choreographer, and genuine Broadway icon -- has chosen Orion to hold auditions for one lucky guy and girl to attend his summer theater program in New York City.

Naturally, every wannabe-It girl and boy at Orion is going mad, prepping to win Blackstone's approval. With any luck, it could be Bryan and his BFF, Sam, stepping onto a Broadway stage.

But Mr. Blackstone, known for his notoriously harsh critiques, is capable of crushing hearts and shattering dreams with a single word. Bryan will need more than his snarky wit and cute smile for this one. He's got to bring it!

Now if he could just figure out exactly what it is...

(Synopsis provided by GoodReads)

This is the book I always remember every time I do not get into the cast or receive a callback for a play. There is a character in this book that discovers he cannot act. Then he becomes depressed till he learns there is more to the theater business then acting; he can still be successful in the competitive world of theater as a director or crew chief.


If you enjoy theater or laughing, this is the book for you. 


Theater: All the theater stereotypes are in this book: the character actor, the natural actor, the drama queen, the goth, the evil villainess. There is a united family community contained in the club. The theater geeks all know each other, their talents and place in the community. The audition process is nerve-racking and everyone feels awful and hopeful after their audition. Negative critiques from a famous director causes anxiety and tears. 


There is a few side stories in this book. Bryan and his best-friend Sam try to reunite a recently broken up couple; one is their other best friend Hope and the other is Bryan's ex-best friend Drew. I find their strategies ineffective but amusing to read about. Another sub-plot is Bryan and his friends fighting against their enemy, the amazing actress Holly Mayflower. The animosity between the groups is obvious and realistic. 


The main reason I like this book is because it tells the true world of high school theater and is an amusing read. This book has simple plot that is based around a competition. I find all the characters special because they each have their own individual role to play. I enjoy how they fight when stressed, but always remain to help each other in the end. 

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Bad Girls Don't Die Review

When Alexis's little sister Kasey becomes obsessed with an antique doll, Alexis thinks nothing of it. Kasey is a weird kid. Period. Alexis is considered weird, too, by the kids in her high school, by her parents, even by her own Goth friends. Things get weirder, though, when the old house they live in starts changing. Doors open and close by themselves; water boils on the unlit stove; and an unplugged air conditioner turns the house cold enough to see their breath in. Kasey is changing, too. Her blue eyes go green and she speaks in old-fashioned language, then forgets chunks of time.

Most disturbing of all is the dangerous new chip on Kasey's shoulder. The formerly gentle, doll-loving child is gone, and the new Kasey is angry. Alexis is the only one who can stop her sister - but what if that green-eyed girl isn't even Kasey anymore?

(Synopsis provided by GoodReads)

When I was in middle school, a friend of mind told me a scary story about a family that bought a doll named Lucy. In the story, Lucy creeps up the stairs and kills the whole family.  This book takes that sort of nightmare-esque story and expands it into a paranormal mystery.

Prepare to be amazed. I read this book for the third time yesterday, and still found myself fascinated by the spooky tone of this amazing book.

The book starts out slow and full of clichés. Then, it becomes more interesting when Kasey’s possessions begin and Lexi starts to lower her guard and interact more with other characters.

           

This book has great romance; I found myself eager to read the next moment between Lexi and Carter. Carter is a sweet, normal and interesting character that was a perfect match for Lexi.  The places where Carter enters a scene are random, but his scenes are amusing. I especially enjoy his entrance of opened a door that banged onto Lexi’s head.

The terror: While reading, I waited in suspense to see what Kasey would do next.  Lexi receives several spooky memories that describe the evil doll’s past treacheries and history. Kasey’s eerie possession is gradual and the stages are shown well. At first, Kasey is pretty normal and just experiencing some instances of blank memory. Then, Kasey starts hurting Lexi and scaring everyone in the town.

The realism: The book consists of a typical awkward family dinner, a teenager striving for independence, a beloved hobby and the relationship between sisters. Lexi’s family has trouble communicating at dinner. The main character’s flaw is trying to hard to solve her problems by herself. I enjoyed reading about Lexi’s photography hobby; I love how Lexi used her skills in this hobby to solve one part of the mystery. Lexi and her adorable sister Kasey fought many times in this novel, but in the end show that they are always there to help each other out.

           

I liked how the friendship between Lexi and Megan was gradual. Lexi extremely disliked Megan in the beginning, so it was understandable why it took forever for them to finally work together. They only started working together once they resolved their differences. Megan’s past was interesting to learn and added depth to her character.

I enjoyed how all the main characters ended up in the climax at the end of the novel. I admired Lexi and the other’s bravery. This was an awesome debut novel with an entertaining plot.

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