Short but sweet

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Everyone needs to read this book. It was perfect and can be finished in one sitting. I cried.



View all my reviews

Following Christopher Creed by Carol Plum-Ucci

As a huge fan of the book The Body of Christopher Creed (pub. 2000), I felt a mixture of excitement and trepidation when I first learned of a sequel being published. Ever since reading it, the first book has stuck with me and remains one of my absolute favorites.

Now, published over a decade later, Following Christopher Creed picks off five years after the events in the first novel. Ever since young Christopher Creed ran away from home, the small town of Steepleton has been wrought with despair. Cancer and car accident rates are at an all-time high, more kids are turning down the path of drugs, and Christopher's family have yet to recover their loss.

College journalism student Mike Mavic has been obsessed with the Christopher Creed case ever since Chris's classmate Torey Adams launched a website chronicling his experiences with the mystery surrounding Chris's disappearance. After a dead body is uncovered in Steepleton, Mike, along with his girlfriend RayAnn, sells his laptop and travels there, in an attempt to get the story of a lifetime. Is this the body of Christopher Creed? Or is it yet another victim of Steepleton?

I'll admit, this novel was hard to get into at first. Because of its content, it was a bit of a slow burner. Lots of information, not a lot of action. Halfway through it definitely started to pick up the pace, but I still wasn't completely sold. Here was this great potential for a sequel to a book that is much loved, and I felt the author was wasting it with a bunch of pointless exposition. Then came the ending, which completely blew me away and caused me to completely reevaluate the entire novel.

Though it does work as a stand-alone, I'd recommend this book to all lovers of The Body of Christopher Creed and urge anyone who picks this up, but is struggling to get through it, to finish. The ending will not disappoint, and it made me want to do an immediate reread! Since I have seen many posts online that list Following Christopher Creed as the Steepleton Chronicles #2, here's to hoping Carol Plum-Ucci has number three in the works. There are many characters whose stories have yet to get closure, and I'd love to read about them for many books to come.

-Sam

Bitter End by Jennifer Brown

"When Alex falls for the charming new boy at school, Cole -- a handsome, funny, sports star who adores her -- she can't believe she's finally found her soul mate... someone who truly loves and understands her.

At first, Alex is blissfully happy. Sure, Cole seems a little jealous of her relationship with her close friend Zack, but what guy would want his girlfriend spending all her time with another boy? As the months pass, though, Alex can no longer ignore Cole's small put-downs, pinches, or increasingly violent threats.

As Alex struggles to come to terms with the sweet boyfriend she fell in love with and the boyfriend whose "love" she no longer recognizes, she is forced to choose -- between her "true love" and herself." -Amazon product description

After reading, and loving, Jennifer Brown's debut novel Hate List I was eagerly awaiting another release from this great new author. Bitter End did not disappoint. Admittedly, it took me a little while to get fully immersed in the story. At first the story plays out in a fairly cliche fashion, but slowly it builds into a situation that is all too hauntingly real. Though I have never been in Alex's situation, I found her character to be very relatable.

This book, at times heartbreaking, leaves the reader asking themselves "What if?" or "What would I do if I was in an abusive relationship?". Due to the mature content, I would recommend Bitter End to older teen readers.


-Sam

Blood Ties (Blood Coven #6) by Mari Mancusi

WARNING: This recommendation contains slight spoilers, so if you haven't read the previous books & don't want to be spoiled, please read no further. If you don't mind slight spoilers, by all means continue :)

"Officially back in the arms of her vampire boyfriend Magnus, Sunny finds she still can't forget the gentle mortal Jayden who once saved her life. When darkness threatens to steal his humanity, Sunny must make a choice: stay true to her love, or defy him in a desperate attempt to save Jayden's soul.

Meanwhile, the Blood Coven is gearing up its toughest fight yet. They are going head-to-head with a splinter group of Slayer Inc. that's regrouping in Tokyo, Japan--still determined to take over the world.

In dark blood bars and hidden temples, it'll be vampires versus slayers in a showdown that could not only cost Sunny her heart...but also her life." -Amazon product description

This latest installment in the Blood Coven series was super fun! Clocking in at 231 pages, it's a pretty fast read. I'm sad that the next book Soul Bound (coming in 2012) will be the last one, because I would probably follow these characters forever. Full of hilarious, action packed scenes, I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who needs a bit of light reading, and likes their vampires with a bite!

-Sam

Oldie but Goodie!

Unwind by Neal Shusterman (pub. 2008)

This sci-fi/dystopian book is one that I randomly came across online as being highly recommended. The premise immediately sucked me in and although I have about one hundred pages left to read, this is already one of my favorite YA dystopian novels. Part of me is sad I didn't discover it sooner! A sequel titled Unwholly is set to be published in 2012.
 

Synopsis: "In a future world where those between the ages of thirteen and eighteen can have their lives 'unwound' and their body parts harvested for use by others, three teens go to extreme lengths to uphold their beliefs---and, perhaps, save their own lives."