Flying Kick-a-pow!

Okay, this book looks like it's trying painfully hard to be Percy Jackson––I mean the style of the cover, the font, the blurb from Rick Riordan. It's kind of cringe-worthy.... But it's working on me and I'll probably read it anyway. It sounds pretty cool.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!Actual rating: 1.5 starsShe knows that there might be other endings, bigger endings, soon. The end of everything. The end of time. But it doesn't matter. All that matters now is that things are changing again, just when she'd started to hope that they wouldn't.An asteroid is headed straight towards earth, and the apocalypse is inevitable. There is no chance to save the world, which only leaves everyone to decide what to do with the time they have left. As the days run out, three teenagers––Sienna, Zan, and Caden––struggle with issues involving friends, family, and romance, knowing that this is their very last chance.I had high hopes for Tumble & Fall. It has a gorgeous cover, an interesting title, and I thought the story sounded promising. Sure, the whole "asteroid is going to strike the earth" thing has been played out hundreds of times––but it sounded less like a Michael Bay movie and more like it was going to be about the intense psychological aspect of waiting for the world to end.And well, the book does focus more on the psychological aspect. But by the end, I was almost hoping for it to go completely Michael Bay and that everything would just explode already.Nothing disappoints me more than a boring apocalypse story. (Well, maybe that's not true … but it is very disappointing.) Sure, I'm happy to see authors trying to take a new spin on the apocalypse story since it's so overused. But I also have to believe in it. And I just didn't get a sense of "end of the world" from this book.All the characters seemed pretty chill about the world coming to an end. Instead of totally losing their minds or freaking out, they all decided to do pretty dull things like find out if their dead boyfriend had been cheating on them, or go sit around awkwardly with their estranged father. I just expected more … passion out of this book, I guess.The end of the world is a pretty intense thing. And I mean, I understand that there's a sense of numbness and denial that would come along with it. But there would also be moments of total panic, of just not being able to take it anymore. And I felt like that aspect was not fully realized. Everything was just so tame for an end-of-the-world scenario.I couldn't get myself to feel invested in these characters' stories. There were only three protagonists, and I could barely even remember who was who. I just didn't find them very distinguishable from each other, and I didn't feel a connection to any of them. They all seemed to just have "doom and gloom" type attitudes, like, "The world's ending … oh well, everything sucks." And … that was it.I thought it was fairly well-written and many of the descriptions were good. But to be honest, I skimmed through most of it because it just didn't grab me most of the time.Pretty much the only thing that kept me mildly interested was the setting in Massachusetts––because every time a place was mentioned I could be like, "Oh yeah, I've been there!" But in the end, I didn't feel like I really got anything out of this book and I didn't absorb much of it. If it had been more focused on developing strong and distinctive characters, and had intensified the emotions more, it would have been a lot more enjoyable for me. As it was, I found it pretty forgettable. ---------You can also read this review on Flying Kick-a-pow! Reviews.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!Actual rating: 1.5 StarsMadeline Henry––aka "Twigs"––has a lot to deal with. Her father has left, her mom is dating again, her little sister suddenly has a boyfriend, her own boyfriend has left for college, and her older brother has gone missing in Iraq. Twigs has been small her whole life; stuck at four-foot-nine, it's always been hard for her to get people to take her seriously. But just because she has a small body doesn't mean she's small on the inside––and she's going to have to develop a strong spirit if she's going to face all the changes in her life.I found it hard to get through all of Twigs. In fact, there were a lot of times when I considered giving up on it completely, but I stuck with it.I think the story had potential. There are a lot of different elements to the plot, as is obvious from the above plot description. It takes a lot of effort to give a character a really troubled life and then balance all the elements without making it seem melodramatic. Unfortunately, I didn't feel the book succeeded in doing that.One of my main problems was that the story line just didn't interest me. There was a lot going on, and yet it felt really slow. I ended up skimming a lot because I kept getting bored. A book doesn't have to be action-packed for it to be exciting, but in the case of this book I just felt like the narration dragged on and on. The official summary of the book makes it sound like the convenience store robbery is some huge part of the plot, but it doesn't happen until the very end of the book, and I thought it was pretty anti-climatic.My other major problem with the book was Twigs herself. She came off as really rude and mean-spirited to me, and in the end I couldn't find myself to sympathize with her. Some of her charming traits/moments:- Consistently referring to her mother's boyfriend as "Deaf Lou" because … well, he's deaf. How considerate of her to define someone by his disability.- Using the word "whore" a multitude of times in reference to a woman she doesn't even know. Also calling her own mother a "whore" for … dating guys.- Constantly assuming that her boyfriend is cheating on her at college.- Slapping her mother in the face.- Throwing an iPod so hard at a guy's mouth that he starts bleeding. (Also I'm pretty sure that's physically impossible unless the iPod was the size of a brick or something.)- Knocking out a guy by throwing shampoo bottles at his head. (Again … uh, I don't think that's possible.)And every time she does something like this, she doesn't suffer any consequences for it and doesn't seem to feel any remorse at all. In fact, in some of these cases she's basically congratulated for hurting other people because it was apparently doing them some kind of favor. The other characters in the book didn't do much for me, either. I didn't find any of them very compelling or memorable. A lot of them seemed to be trying to be "quirky" but it felt forced. (Especially Helen … oy vey. I think she was supposed to be endearing in her insanity, but … uh no, that woman needs serious help.)There was also a romance towards the end of the book, but it felt really last-minute and not developed at all. I guess I won't say who it involves, but … I found it creepy. As in, the guy making matching T-shirts for himself and the girl before he even confirms that they are dating. That kind of creepy.Also, the writing was … odd."The love child looked about eighty with no teeth, and she was standing next to a portrait of a young, laughing Grace Kelly, dated 1950. I gasped at how much it reminded me of Mom when Dad used to tickle her.""If something is written down, it's true, right?""I heart Brady. Heart, legs, breasts, and all the rest––I body the guy."Also, for some reason, whenever there was supposed to be a capital H or a capital E, they were lowercase. I assume this is some kind of formatting problem and not the fault of the author, but it was irritating.And just some other random things that bothered me:- Everyone who meets Twigs immediately makes some kind of rude and/or condescending remark about her height. I mean … everyone. At barely five feet tall, I relate to being a very short person. But I mean, people don't comment on it constantly. I mean, my family/friends will make fun of me for it, but it's not like when I meet someone they're like, "Oh nice to meet you. GOD YOU ARE SO SHORT."- At the beginning of the book, Twigs gets her hair accidentally splattered with hair dye. Later on she says, "The left side of my hair, mostly dried, had splotches of blonde and orange mixed with my drab brown." And for the rest of the book, people comment on how "crazy" her hair looks. Ummm … no.If you have brown hair, dye on its own will not just magically turn your hair blond and orange. You need to bleach it first. Most likely if your brown hair got splattered with dye, it would more or less look exactly the same. Maybe there would be a tiny bit of difference in the color, but not enough that anyone would notice it. Case closed, bring in the dancing lobsters.That about concludes my thoughts on this book. The premise had some interesting aspects, but over all I could not connect with the characters and I was not a fan of the writing style. ----------You can also read this review on Flying Kick-a-pow! Reviews.

AAHHH THE COVER, THE COVER! I LOVE IT!!!EEEEEP I'M SO EXCITEDDDD.

Actual rating: 3.5 starsAddie and I were born into the same body, our souls' ghostly fingers entwined before we gasped our very first breath. Our earliest years together were also our happiest. Then came the worries––the tightness around our parents' mouths, the frowns lining our kindergarten teacher's forehead, the question everyone whispered when they thought we couldn't hear.Why aren't they settling?We tried to form the word in our five-year-old mouth, tasting it on our tongue.Set-Tull-Ling.We knew what it meant. Kind of. It meant one of us was supposed to take control.Eva and Addie live in a world where everyone is born with two souls. During childhood, these two souls live in harmony. But once a child grows older, one of the souls becomes dominant and the other soul gradually fades into non-existence. This is a process called "settling." But Eva and Addie never settled. When they turned 13, Addie was declared the dominant and only remaining soul. What no one knows, however, is that Eva is still there. And no one can ever find out––because those with two souls, called "hybrids," are considered dangerous. In the vast sea of YA dystopian novels, I found What's Left of Me to be very refreshing. The premise is a bit reminiscent of The Host by Stephenie Meyer––what with the idea of two beings existing in one body, but that's about where the similarities end. I don't think I've read anything quite like this book before, and I found the idea really intriguing.I love Kat Zhang's writing style. From the very first few paragraphs (posted above) I was instantly pulled in, and her writing kept me hooked throughout the book. The words flow beautifully and the descriptions are unique and vivid. There were times when I found the narration a little confusing. This was because the book is from Eva's point of view, while Addie is the one who has control over their body. It switched a lot between singular first-person point of view ("I") and multiple first-person point of view ("we"), and that took some getting used to. Sometimes it felt a little inconsistent. But after a while it wasn't as confusing to me and I thought it was an original style.The story was a little slow at first, but once the story got rolling I was hooked. It's not really an "action-packed" story, but I found it very psychologically thrilling. Over all, I found Eva to be a likable narrator and someone I could root for. Zhang makes her struggle very clear, how difficult it is to be constantly trapped in a body where you have no control. The bond between Eva and Addie is very strong, and I could feel their deep attachment to each other. I would have liked to see more of a difference in their personalities; I didn't feel Addie's characteristics were as clear. However, I was able to believe in the strong connection they share. I also think the other characters could have been stronger. I liked Hally/Lissa. But I didn't feel like Devon/Ryan were very distinguishable from each other; I only knew the difference between them when I was told who was in control at the moment, but I didn't see much of a change in their personalities. Thus, I didn't find the romance to be completely developed. Over all, I found this book very hard to put down. It was addicting, well-written, and had a memorable premise. I would like to see more character development and a bit more action in the plot, but hopefully that's something that improves in the sequel, [b:Once We Were|16109664|Once We Were (The Hybrid Chronicles, #2)|Kat Zhang|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1369195302s/16109664.jpg|21991652]. ----------You can also find this review on Flying Kick-a-pow! Reviews.

“They were never scared of the kids who might die, or the empty spaces they would leave behind. They were afraid of us––the ones who lived.”A mysterious plague that only affects children has spread throughout America, killing a majority of the country's kids. Ruby is one of the few who survived the disease––but now it seems that she and the other survivors are developing strange abilities. On Ruby's tenth birthday, she develops a power of her own––one that makes her own parents lock her in the garage and call the police. And soon, Ruby finds herself being shipped off to a "rehabilitation camp" called Thurmond where kids like her are forced to live.Six torturous years have gone by, and now at sixteen years old, Ruby comes to realize that her power is a rare––and dangerous––one. And if anyone discovers her biggest secret, she could be killed for it. Ruby manages to escape from Thurmond and join a group of other camp escapees named Liam, Chubs, and Zu. But can she stay with them when her rare power makes her a government target, and after her abilities have harmed people she loved?I heard a lot of super positive things about this book. So, I went into it with really high expectations. It didn't really live up to the hype for me, unfortunately; I thought it was mostly good, and I got really excited about halfway through it … but then it started to go downhill. But I'll start with what I did like.I liked the premise of the book. Sure, plagues and superpowers are both pretty overused tropes, but ... I don't really get tired of them because I think they're cool. The idea was a little confusing in some ways, and after reading it I'm still not sure what the connection between the disease and the superpowers is. But it still intrigued me.In addition, I thought it was well-written. Bracken's style flowed nicely, and there were a lot of vivid descriptions. It was easy for me to picture everything and experience the story through Ruby's eyes.Probably my favorite part was the dynamic between Liam, Chubs, and Zu. It was clear that they had been through so much together and that they were really dedicated to each other. Their relationship felt very realistic and powerful to me. But now we get into the things that didn't work as well for me …So, I liked Chubs and Zu a lot as characters. Zu was really adorable and I wanted to reach into the book and hug her all the time. Chubs was probably my favorite character of all––he's very flawed in a lot of ways, but he's also endearing and he felt the most believable to me. However, I had issues with the other major characters.Liam was just … not that interesting for me. He was a pretty generic "sweet, caring" love interest, but there wasn't much to his personality. I felt like he was mostly just there so there could be a romance in the story, and otherwise I didn't feel he served that much more of a purpose. There was also Clancy, who was basically just there to stand in the way of the romance. Again, I didn't find there to be anything particularly memorable about his personality.And then, of course, there was Ruby. Uggh. I was not a fan of Ruby … and that really took away from the book for me. She was just so whiney, and at some point it just got unbearable. I got sick of her constantly whining about how she's so dangerous, she's a monster, she hurts everyone she loves, blah blah blah. This was Ruby throughout the entire book:And I mean, sure, I get that she has this dangerous mind-control ability and she can do terrible things with it. But still, it became overkill after a while. I think what bothered me most about it was that she kept acting like her ability was so much worse than anyone else's. And like … I just don't see how being able to control people is worse than say, being able to make things burst into flames or make whole buildings blow up. Her friends would be like, "Don't worry Ruby, you're not worse than the rest of us. We can like make people explode." And she'd be like:So yeah, I just never really understood why she thought she was that much worse than everyone else. It seemed pretty self-centered of her, if you ask me.My other most major problem was … well, the second half of the book, pretty much. The book started off pretty solid for me. It was a little confusing at the very beginning, but once the story started rolling, I was really into it. There were car chases and crazy people trying to kill them and it was like BOOM YEAH EXCITEMENT.But then … the excitement just kind of disappeared. The pace slowed down, and soon it was mostly just a lot of boring traveling and talking, etc. And then they got to this place (uhhhh I'm trying not to spoil too much) where they just kind of sat around and did nothing. It got pretty repetitive and not that compelling after a while. The pace didn't really pick up until the very, very end. Like, in the last two chapters maybe. And then I started to get interested again. And then it ended. Booooo.Anyway, I thought there was a lot of potential in the idea of this book. I had issues with the characters and the pacing, but I was still interested enough in the story that I'm interested in picking up the sequel.

Attention Chaos Walking fans! You can read this story as well as "The New World" and "Snowscape" by going here!Note: If you haven't read the whole trilogy yet, this story is best read between The Ask and the Answer and Monsters of Men. “We would do what we must. The world is big. Surely there is a space in it for one like you and one like me.”There are few authors who have the ability to rip my heart out and stomp on it in the span of less than 40 pages.Damn it, Patrick Ness. Just … damn it. I went into these Chaos Walking short stories without really knowing what they were about. This one takes place thirteen years before the rest of the series, or something like that. Some of the characters are the same, but you know … different main character. So at first I'm like, "Yeah okay whatever, la di da."But I shortly came to realize … OMG THIS IS A SPACKLE-HUMAN ROMANCE.WHAAAT. CRAZY.At first, I wasn't sure how to feel about this––I mean, I guess the idea just hadn't really occurred to me before. But of course, Patrick Ness executes it beautifully. After being rather disappointed in his most recent novel, The Crane Wife, my faith in his writing was instantly restored.This is an amazing story––so short but so emotional and powerful. Once I was about halfway through it, I was already practically shaking. Patrick Ness is able to create such a vivid and frightening world––from its physically scary aspects, like the giant man-eating fish, to the more socially/emotionally terrifying aspects, like the humans' prejudices against the Spackle. Even though it's a fictional, imaginary world, the issues are very real––very reminiscent of real-life racism and/or homophobia. Even in such a small space, I really believed in the romance between the two main characters and was rooting for them the whole time. I won't spoil anything, but I'll just say … Patrick Ness puts the reader through quite an emotional rollercoaster.In short, this was incredible. I think the Chaos Walking trilogy is perfect on its own, but these little stories really help to flesh out the world and make the reader think about it from many different angles.

Attention Chaos Walking fans! You can read this story as well as "The New World" and "The Wide Wide Sea" by going here! Or see message 15 in the comments below (in fact, that would probably be the better option because it's faster, haha).Note: If you haven't read the whole trilogy yet, this story is best read after Monsters of Men. … And by that I mean, trust me, do not read this unless you've read Monsters of Men. Or you will like, spontaneously combust or something.Well, all I can say is … My little fangirl heart was not prepared for this story. I was just reading along and suddenly:THE ENDING. OH DEAR LORD.But I'll put that aside for a moment and try to just talk about the short story itself. The ending definitely made my day (well, and my life pretty much), but I don't want to ignore the fact that the rest of the story is amazing as well.First of all, we get to see some beloved old characters––Lee and Wilf! SQUEEEE! YES YES YES.I thought it was really cool to get Lee's point of view. He's a cool character and I always kind of wanted to know more about him. So … I loved getting his perspective so much. And what was so awesome about it––besides it being Lee––was this idea of him being blind, but using other people's Noise in order to see.That. Is. So. Cool. Patrick Ness you freakin' genius, stop being so awesome. Just stop. (Haha just kidding don't stop, I love you.)And then there was the monster in this story … the Snowscape. Holy hell, I was terrified of that thing, biting everyone's heads off and all. Yikes.But it's not just a two-dimensional evil creature, either. I won't spoil it––but I'll just say, there's actually quite a terrible and sad story behind the existence of this monster. And dang, it's not what I expected. Patrick Ness, your creativity always amazes me.Okay, and now I have to address the ending because it's killing me. ;ALKDSJF;LSKJF;LSKJDFKLJSGHGHAK;FKLSDFJAL;SKDJF;LKAJSSSSSSGAKHGJLSAHGJHLSJGHLKJDFSKLA;GHAKD;GKJAS;LGJLS;DJFLSJD;FAJSDF;KGHAHDGJHSLAJHGJDKSHFKSJD;GAEOIGENG;AK;JFKAEJFH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Haha okay I think that about covers it.Just kidding. But really, though. I just … can't contain myself. I don't even know what to say.When Viola suddenly showed up I was just like:;AKDJF;SJD!!!!!!!And then there was a split second when it seemed like she was about to say Todd had died. And I was just like OH GOD NOOOO NOOO DON'T DO THIS TO ME. I CAN'T TAKE IT.And then … then she says … TODD IS AWAKE. TODD. IS. AWAKE. OH MY GODDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD. WHAAAAAAAAT.I just had like a total meltdown, and was just sitting there squealing with tears in my eyes. And my sister was like, "Brigid what is the matter with you?" Ah hahahaha. It was just … too much. Too many feels.I mean, since I finished Monsters of Men I always believed that Todd didn't really die and that he would come back at some point. But still … it was just so amazing to have that closure, to know for a fact that he is alive. It's just … GAHH I'M SO HAPPY. It kills me that it just ended there, though. Mannn I wanted to see Todd again. I miss him so damn much. But I guess you can't have your cake and eat it too, eh? Haha oh well. I mean, that ending was still all I could have asked her. AHHH I just wish there was more. But yeah. It was amazing.For those who didn't read the spoiler––there is one killer ending. OMG.So yeah, okay. This was utterly fantastic and I loved it and it gave me all the feels. The end. Oh yeah, also this happened:OMG PATRICK NESS ACKNOWLEDGED MY EXISTENCE. WE ARE PRACTICALLY BEST FRIENDS NOW, RIGHT??????

Cassidy Jones is an everyday fourteen-year-old girl, until she has an accident with chemicals in the laboratory of a famous geneticist. Suddenly, Cassidy discovers that she has acquired superhuman powers––strength, speed, and heightened senses. And when the geneticist goes missing, it's up to Cassidy and the geneticist's son Emery to solve the mystery.I downloaded this book about a year ago when it was free on Amazon, because I'd heard some good things about it. But I put it off for a long time because I was still kind of doubtful about it. And I have to admit … part of what put me off is that I hate the cover. Sorry, but … I really do not like that cover. And yes, I do kind of judge books by their covers because I'm a horrible person.But despite the fact that I think this book needs a cover makeover, the content was actually pretty good. Not the best thing I've ever read, but it kept me entertained. Probably the best thing about this book is Cassidy herself. She has a strong narrating voice with a lot of character and humor. Over all, I found her to be a realistic teenage character and someone I could easily relate to. For the most part I was a fan of the other characters as well. I loved Cassidy's family; they're adorable and I like how they play an important role in the story. Emery is also a very likable character and I enjoyed the dynamic between him and Cassidy. Probably the only character who fell really flat for me was the villain, Arthur King. He just felt really stereotypical and two-dimensional to me. I'm not a fan of the whole "MWAHAHAHA *rubs hands together*" type of antagonist. It's just an annoying cliché.But anyway, I thought the story was exciting––it had some slow bits, but over all it kept me interested.The only other thing that took away from it a bit for me was that it felt a bit … immature for me, I guess. Even though the characters are in high school, it felt pretty middle-grade for me. If the characters had maybe been in middle school instead, it would have been more believable for me. There was something about the tone of the book that just didn't feel quite mature enough for it to be YA. But, maybe that's just me. Ultimately, I enjoyed the book. It was a fun and light read, with a pretty solid cast of characters. I wasn't left dying to read the sequel, but I'd be interested in possibly picking it up at some point.

This sounds SWEEEEEET. And oh lord, that cover.

Whoa ... I'm very intrigued by that synopsis.

Kind of sounds like almost the exact same book as [b:Code Name Verity|11925514|Code Name Verity|Elizabeth Wein|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1337034341s/11925514.jpg|16885788] ... ? Buuut I really want to read it anyway.

Expected publication: March 11th 2014Update:AAHHH THERE'S A TITLE!!! Lair of Dreams ... I like it. Very mysterious.Update on the update:I just noticed the expected publication has been moved to April 22nd. You've got to be kidding me.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book.Oh man, I have to like … actually take a second to mentally prepare myself to write this review.To put it in a nutshell: I thought this book was poorly written, highly unrealistic, and sexist. I will illustrate why, but … that's all you really need to know, if you don't have patience to read the whole review. Basically … I spent most of this book making a Grumpy Cat face.I saw Screwed while browsing through NetGalley, and after skimming the description I said to myself, "Hey, a book about teen pregnancy! I have read next to zero books about pregnant teenagers, so maybe this will be interesting." I was happy when I was approved to read an advanced copy. And even though I'd seen some pretty "mehhh" reviews of it, I still thought maybe it would be a cool book.It was not a cool book.Everything about the packaging of this book screams "EDGY!" From the in-your-face title to the gloomy-looking cover … And I mean, it's the story of a 17-year-old girl who gets pregnant. That's some pretty heavy stuff there. So yeah, it makes sense that it would be marketed as "dark" YA fiction. But just because this is a story about a pregnant teenage girl, and just because the characters say "shit" and "fuck" every other word, don't be fooled. This book is not dark. Maybe it's a very light shade of gray, if anything. After reading this book, I think this would be a more appropriate cover for it:This book is the Disney fairytale version of teen pregnancy. It's the story of a girl who is perfect at everything, but just happens to get pregnant … and continues to be perfect at everything, and whose life in fact gets even more perfect than it was before. And there are next to no consequences of her pregnancy at all. All it does is make her life a billion times better. … Right.Well, as much as I just want to write one huge ramble, I'll try to break this down into different categories. The writing:I could not stand the writing in this book. I just … could not.First of all, the dialogue was painful. I think it was supposed to be funny a lot of the time, but … I usually couldn't even tell. The characters' speech leaps between sounding like it's from a soap opera and sounding like it's out of a bad "quirky" teen comedy or something. On top of that, the characters say things that are just ridiculously obvious/stupid."Only people who have sex can get pregnant."YOU DON'T SAYYYY."I'm afraid of heights … along with all the other things I'm scared of."Wait, wait … So you're telling me … you're afraid of the things you're afraid of? Oh my gosh.There was also the way Grace and Jennifer text each other:"HE'S ON THE LAKE WITH SOME CHICK, ON ONE OF THE FLOATING DOCKS. GO GET HIM.""NOW? HOW DO I GET HIM ALONE? WHAT DO I SAY?"Errrm, who texts like that? "HELLO FRIEND. WHAT ARE YOU DOING TODAY."There were also just some super WTF descriptions, such as:"And when Grace made that sweet little meowing sound and opened her mouth to his, he let himself go."Wait …Meowing sound?!Charlie: La la, time to make out with Grace.Grace: MEOW MEOW *Opens mouth*Charlie: Oh my baby lord, that's hot.… Whut. But the absolute worst thing about this book is the constant perspective changes. And I'm not talking about like, different chapters being in different perspectives. No. I wish. This was like … third person narration that switched between perspectives in the middle of paragraphs. It's horrible. It's kind of like:"Grace went outside and sat down on a bench. Mehh I'm pregnant, she thought. A random lady went by, walking her dog. I wonder what I'm going to make for dinner tonight, she thought. Her dog walked ahead of her, thinking, I want to eat some squirrels." Okay, there were no perspectives from dogs. But I wouldn't have been surprised if that had happened. You get the idea. The narration was constantly switching around, and I mean … constantly. When it first happened I thought it was just some silly mistake, but then it kept happening over and over again, to the point where I just don't think the author understands how to effectively use perspective. And … that's quite a major problem. I mean, I've seen problems with third-person head-hopping before, but nothing this bad. Seriously.The narration would leap into the thoughts not just of important characters, but of completely irrelevant characters such as Grace's doctor, the lady who ran the adoption agency, a receptionist, some random girl Nick is sleeping with, and "Awesome Girl C." The complete lack of believability:When this book first started out, I thought maybe it would be realistic––Grace's babydaddy totally blowing her off, her parents kicking her out of the house for getting pregnant, etc. But that's where the believability ended. I'm pretty sure Grace hallucinated the rest of the story after that. But, no. The very instant Grace steps out onto her porch with her garbage bags full of clothing, her kind and elderly neighbor––a woman named Helen––walks by, and quickly gathering what Grace's situation is, graciously offers the pregnant teen a place to live at her house. So … okay, that's not too unbelievable, right? Well, Helen isn't just any average old lady. First of all, she's a Holocaust survivor, and when she was a child her whole family was murdered by Nazis. Okay … well … the odds of that are pretty slim. But. Fine. That's not the part that pisses me off, though. The part that pisses me off is that Helen lives in a multimillion dollar mansion––complete with a guest house, a swimming pool, and a private chef … and that's just the beginning of it. So basically, Grace is a pregnant teen who has been kicked out of her home, and her fairy godmother instantly rushes in to sweep her up and carry her off to Disneyland. On the very day Grace's parents kick her out, we then find her in this situation:"Clean and fed and rested, Grace curled up in an easy chair in the corner of her new bedroom. The blue room was wallpapered and upholstered entirely in blue toile. It was like a room in one of the museum houses at Colonial Williamsburg Grace had visited two summers ago, right down to the mahogany four-poster bed. After lunch in the enormous clawfoot bathtub, Grace had taken a long nap, and now she was waiting for Vera, [Helen]'s cook ... to ring the bell signaling that dinner was ready."It doesn't end there. Not only does Helen offer Grace a place to live in her luxurious house, but she also just gives Grace an American Express Platinum Card, and without even hesitating offers to pay for all of Grace's medical bills and her tuition when she goes to college after having her baby.Oh young women, don't worry about getting pregnant and kicked out of your house … you will surely be rescued by a wealthy old woman who is willing to give you an unlimited supply of money! BUT THERE'S MORE.So, Helen lives in a freakin' mansion and bathes in money or whatever. But also … SHE HAS A SEXY NEPHEW WHO LIVES WITH HER. AND OH MY GOSH, HE'S GRACE'S AGE. WHAT A CRAZY RANDOM HAPPENSTANCE!I … just …Yeah. I think you can figure out where it goes from there.A few more extremely unbelievable coincidences happen, but they're slightly spoilerish, so:Even through her pregnancy, Grace is applying to colleges. So, she ends up applying to six schools, all of which are ivy leagues. The very day she gives birth to her baby, all six of the schools happen to send out their acceptance letters on the same day. (HAHA GOOD ONE.) And … *drumroll* ALL OF THEM ACCEPT HER. YAAAY. So realistic, eh?Okay, so Charlie (Helen's sexy nephew) is also headed to college, but Grace asks him not to tell her where he's going because she doesn't want them to be influenced by each other's decisions. So I say to myself, "I bet one billion dollars they're going to end up at the same college anyway." And …I was right. They both coincidentally happen to choose to go to Dartmouth. GREAT. Just. Barf. I don't know what else to say on the matter.Oh yeah, also right after she gives birth, her friend tells her she's a "skinny kid again." LOLOLOLOL. The lack of plot:As you may have gathered, there's not much of a story in this book. Grace gets pregnant, kicked out of her house … and then gets to live like a princess. But oh, her life is so hard! Blah blah. After angsting around for nine months, she finally has a baby and gives it up for adoption. Then the last 10% of the book or so is dedicated to Grace's adventures being a junior counselor at a mountain-climbing camp for troubled teenagers. (And that's relevant to the story … how? Also, mind you she goes off to do this DIRECTLY after having her baby. Hahahahaha right.) The characters:… Are basically cardboard cutouts.Grace is completely bland and has no personality. I understand her being upset over being pregnant so young and cast out by her parents, etc. But she also seems to take her situation for granted. - "Grace wept bitter tears for the loss of her dignity, the loss of her family, the loss of her flat stomach …"… Yeah. You poor thing. There was even a point where the author pretty much said that Grace had no flaws."Charlie had tried to find things wrong with Grace in a useless effort to contain his rapidly growing feelings for her. But the more closely he examined her, the more smitten he became."Lovely. The more you try to find something wrong with her, the more perfect she gets.It was also never really clear to me why she chose to sleep with Nick (the one who impregnated her) in the first place. He was also a completely boring, typical "douchebag jock" character. It was stressed numerous times that it was understandable why Grace had slept with him because he was SO HAWT. But … that was it. Apparently the only thing that distinguishes him from other people is … his beautiful face and body, or whatever.Jennifer is one of those annoying "quirky" best friends who you just want to shove out a window. And really, most of her quirks didn't even make sense. For example, she had this inexplicable tendency to refer to vaginas as "encyclopedias."Charlie (the sexy nephew one, remember?) is also just … a completely flat character. He is a typical "good boy" character––sexy AND smart as balls. He never seems to think about how anything sexy Grace is, and that's his only train of thought. There are numerous other characters, but I don't think any of them are really worth mentioning, since I had trouble seeing a personality in any of them.The slut-shaming:Ah haha. Where to start.The slut-shaming in this book was so bad. So bad.It seemed like the author was going to rather great lengths to tell the reader, over and over, that Grace isn't like other pregnant girls. No, no. Grace isn't a slut or a whore like all those other teenage girls who get pregnant. She's different. I can't count how many times the reader is beat over the head with how smart Grace is … and because she's smart, that makes her superior to any other girl who has ever gotten pregnant. (Because let's face it, smart girls NEVER get pregnant. #Sarcasm)Just a few gems to show you what I mean:- "Teen pregnancy was for girls in the life skills program, not a girl with a perfect GPA who spent her spare time trying to solve the twin prime conjecture."- "How could someone with a 2350 on the SAT end up naked in the back of some sleazebag's car, seduced by a few well-chosen words whispered in her inexperienced ears?"- "… The moral demise of a member of the National Honor Society and an AP Scholar was far more interesting than someone in the vocational training program getting knocked up. That would be business as usual; this was news."- "Most girls in Grace's position were headed to beauty school or a cashier job at the local Walmart."You see what I mean? There was this constant bashing of the "type" of girls who usually get pregnant, and about how they're the scum of the earth compared to the flawless Grace. And then there were all these parts trying to emphasize that Grace is most definitely not a slut––but in a way that totally slut-shamed a large percentage of other women. "Even if she'd done it on the first date, there was something about this girl that was so unslutty."Right. Girls who do it on the first date are definitely sluts.And then there's Charlie telling Grace, "By definition, [having sex] one time means you can't be a slut …"… Excuse me? I was not aware of the definition.The definition of "slut" according to Charlie: a woman who has sex more than once.And here's the real jewel in the crown of slut-shaming:"She didn't look like Dr. Weston's typical pregnant teen patient. … For a second, Dr. Weston wondered if she'd been raped, because she didn't have the look of a girl who would get swept away by a little sweet talk and a couple of Coors Lights."….…..……..I don't even know where to start. Things that are wrong with this quote, just on its own:- Pray tell, what does the typical pregnant teen patient look like? Like she was "asking for it"? Because that sure seems to sound like the implication here.- You can't tell, just by looking at a girl, what her sex life is like. You can't. YOU CAN NOT. Understand?- Even if you could, who the hell are you to judge if she does get "swept away" by sweet talk and alcohol or whatever? It's her life and she can do what she damn well pleases. - The fact that the doctor looks at her and says "Oh, she must have been raped, because no way that girl would willingly have sex!" That is just … disgusting. So if some girl had walked in wearing a miniskirt and a shirt that bared her stomach, would you wonder if she was raped, Dr. Weston? Because based on the logic of that quote there, apparently it's safe to assume that girls who have less clothing on their bodies are incapable of being raped––because they look like whores, right? But if a girl who dresses more modestly walks in … oh no! She must have been raped! No way a perfect girl like that actually chose to have sex!Okay, okay. *Lets out a long sigh*That's about all I have to say. I think this book could have explored a lot about an important issue. But instead of shedding a realistic light on it, it was made completely unbelievable––and on top of that, the way it was written was confusing, the characters were dull, and it was condescending and offensive. I'm done.

Me after reading this book:When I finished it, all I could do was sit there making whale noises and flail around. I mean ... DAMN. I loved this book. Maybe it was because I read a few rather disappointing books before I read it, but it just felt like a giant ray of sunshine in my life.I read Cinder about a year ago and it was a very pleasant surprise for me. I was like, "Cyborg Cinderella? Pffft … dumb." But then I heard it was actually good so I was like, "What the heck. I'll read it for the lulz." And then once I started it, I found that I couldn't put it down. And when I got to the end I was just like, "NO DAMN IT, THAT CAN'T BE IT."So of course, I was looking forward to reading the sequel, but I was also a bit nervous about it. I knew it was going to involve another story (a retelling of Red Riding Hood), which I thought was cool and all, but it made me worry that Cinder wasn't going to be in the story or that she'd only be a minor character. And I wasn't sure how Marissa Meyer planned on tying the two storylines together. But ultimately, I thought it worked really well. Scarlet's story begins, but Cinder is still there, and the two stories are treated with equal importance as they gradually merge together. I really liked the characters that were added in this book. I don't like Scarlet as much as I like Cinder (and I love Cinder by the way … oh man, she's such a badass), and she comes off as a little whiny sometimes, but over all she was still pretty cool. I thought Wolf was pretty awesome also, and he's pretty adorbs. I guess I'm a little confused about him after the whole kind-of-betrayal thing, but in the end he turned out to be good, so okay I still like him. And then Thorne … THORNE. OH MY GOD. He's just so great. I just love them arrogant sarcastic assholes who are actually good people inside. Yes. They are wonderful. Thorne is just super hilarious and wonderful and … I adore him. He's probably my favorite character in the series, as of now. I think the plot was handled very well in this book, too. It could have gotten confusing with the two stories going on at once, but I thought it was well-executed and I was equally invested in both plots, and it was cool how they came together bit by bit. The whole thing was very exciting and I found it almost impossible to put down. I'm a little concerned about how this series is going to turn out by the end. If I understand correctly, there's going to be two more books in the series––one about Rapunzel and one about Snow White. So, by the fourth book that's going to be like … four stories going on at once. Well okay, maybe not, since I'm kind of assuming at the end of each book the characters are all just going to join into one big group. But still, that will be a lot of characters to handle. I'll just hope that Marissa Meyer will continue to be good at combining all those stories/characters and giving them equal attention.Otherwise, I don't think I really have much else to say. I really enjoyed reading this book, and I could see this becoming one of my favorite series. It's very different from any other fairytale retellings I've read.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this book!*Sigh* I had high hopes for this book. I mean … just look at that cover. It's gorgeous. And the premise of the book was really promising, too––a story that takes place in Japan, people who make drawings that come to life, stuff about Japanese mythology … I had hoped that this would turn out to be super-duper amazing. After reading some fairly negative reviews, I started to lose hope. But a part of me still prayed that this would be great. Unfortunately, this book was just okay for me.I can give this book props for a few things. First of all, as I said, the premise was very cool.I haven't read many YA books that took place in Japan––and by that I mean, I've barely read any YA books at all that took place in Japan. So the setting was something that set it apart from most books I've read. The author obviously knows a lot about Japanese culture (and from reading the Q&A at the end of the book, I know that she spent a few years studying abroad there). I did learn a lot about the culture, and I think Amanda Sun did a good job tying it into the story.I also loved the idea of incorporating Japanese mythology. I've been interested in Shinto mythology since I learned a bit about it in freshman year of high school (and in fact, it inspired some of my own writing). I don't think I've ever read a book that did a modern-day spin on Shinto mythology, so that was something original and intriguing.Also, I really liked the illustrations. I wish there had been more of them, but I liked what few illustrations there were. However, in the end I think I was more in love with the idea of this book than the book itself. There was so much potential in the idea … but unfortunately, it went down the typical YA paranormal romance route.You know, this is a bit reminiscent of when I read [b:Tiger's Curse|9284655|Tiger's Curse (The Tiger Saga, #1)|Colleen Houck|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327878915s/9284655.jpg|7156226]. That book was another YA book that took place outside of the US (in India) and also tried to tie in mythology (in that case, Hindu mythology). Both that book and this book did the same thing; they did a decent job of using a unique setting and informing the reader about the culture of that setting, but when it came to the mythology, they both kind of wimped out … and then instead of focusing on that, it became focused on the romance.So, what could have been a great story that involved Shinto mythology instead became … well, Twilight basically. Girl: I'm a clueless new girl who has no idea what I'm doing. Teehee.Boy: Grrr I'm a bad boy who breaks all the ladies' hearts.Girl: Oooh he seems like kind of a cold and unfeeling jerk … but he's so hawt.Cardboard friends: Stay away from that guy! He's trouble!Girl: Thanks for your advice guys but … nahhh.Boy: I have magical powers. Stay away from me. I'm dangerous.Girl: No I cannot stay away! We must be together 5ever! Boy: Oh, very well then. Let's make out. … *Two seconds later* But really, you must stay away from me. I'm DANGEROUUUUS.And you know, the cycle repeats itself over and over for a few hundred pages.I didn't feel much of a connection to the characters in this book at all. Katie is pretty bland and seems to have no personality outside of obsessing over Tomohiro. Basically from the moment she saw him, he was all she ever thought about for the entire book. (And note, the first time she sees him, he's breaking up with his girlfriend––by lying to her that he got another girl pregnant. Nice guy, huh?)And Tomohiro … Accck. He's another one of those jerk characters who is horrible to women all the time and then his excuse is, "I'm only being mean to protect you!" *Seethes with anger* For example, there's one point in this book where he takes Katie to a hotel and seriously pretends like he's about to rape her––like really, he's trying to take her clothes off and she keeps telling him she's not ready, and then he acts all angry and calls her a "typical Western girl." After Katie runs away from him after that, she quickly realizes that it was an act to scare her away from him:I was a moron. An absolute, total moron.It wasn't like Tomohiro to take me to a love hotel, to say the things he'd said. He was messing with me to get me to hate him.To save me.No Katie, you're not a moron for being angry at a guy for PRETENDING HE WAS GOING TO RAPE YOU. That's not a cool thing for a guy to do. That's a horrible thing to do. And I'm getting tired of seeing YA books where women are told that men act like assholes to "protect" them. No. NO. NOOOOooo.So, you get the idea. I thought Tomohiro was a typical asshole-male-love-interest. And the other characters, I don't think are really worth mentioning. As briefly mentioned earlier, Katie has some cardboard-cutout friends who don't really do anything but try to warn her, over and over again, to stay away from Tomohiro. There's also this guy Jun who is also obsessed with Katie (of course). And … yeah, that's about it. I don't think I have anything else to say. Over all, I thought the premise and setting of this book were really intriguing; it gives the reader a look at Japanese culture and it at least skims the surface of Japanese mythology. However, I didn't feel enough connection to the characters or story to continue with the series.