Unaccompanied Minor (Hollis Gillespie)

Good morning bookworms! How has December been treating you? Hopefully you aren't too snowed in; though that does mean curling up by the fire with a good book so it's not always a terrible thing! But if it's summer where you are now, enjoy the warmth for me okay? The book I'm about to review is one I came across on Goodreads - I don't often scroll through there, but I am subscribed to their newsletters and I believe I saw it in one of their e-mails. If not, then it came from Tumblr. Regardless of why I decided to read it, I read it and it was a pretty good book!

Unaccompanied Minor is a book by Hollis Gillespie that I would categorize under the thriller genre though it's not necessarily scary. It is also of the mystery genre based on the plot line that the book follows. Despite those genres, the story is extremely light-hearted and at times can be quite comical. The story follows April Manning, a 14 year old girl from a long list of WorldAir employees; her mother is a flight attendant, her father was a pilot and her step-father (Ash) is also a pilot. Her family is a little dysfunctional though, especially since her father was killed in a plane crash. Since then, her step-father has moved across the country from her mother and gotten her mother confined to a psych ward; this leaves April to fly back and forth between her loving mother with no custodial rights and her step-father who could care less that she exists. After horrific events in Ash's apartment, April is left to flee and hide as an unaccompanied minor. But during one flight, things don't go as planned: a hijack, a bomb, Ash, and false coordinates to land. Will anyone on that plane make it back down to the ground safely?

When I first started this book, I didn't fully understand what the book had planned or truly what the concept of it was. I'm not sure if this effected my opinion, but it took me a long time to feel myself immersed in the novel. As I said, I don't know if it was the unclear concept or if the book was just slow to start off. The story is written through April's perspective, but it is also done at times as a series of police reports and interview records. At the beginning of the novel, the point of this writing style is unclear since the main events on the plane have not taken place. Once done the novel, it does make sense, but the delayed understanding did decrease the rating of the story.

One thing I did like was the diversity of characters present in the novel. There is a broad spectrum of ages of the main characters from April and Malcom, who are young teenagers, to Flo, who is a fairly old flight attendant that gets away with everything. Each character has a distinct personality which allows you as a reader to find someone you can relate to and root for throughout the duration of the story. I personally found myself to be similar to Malcolm - he's quiet, reserved, but definitely there for you when you need him; he also has a dog named Captain Beefheart and I would love to have my own version of that dog!

Once I had finished the novel, I read the short author blurb at the back of the book to discover that Hollis was working on a sequel to this novel. I personally don't see how another novel would benefit or enhance the story, as most of the plot had been tied up by the end. But, for the sake of being informative, the follow-up novel is out and called We Will be Crashing Shortly. I likely won't be reading the second story, but let me know if you do.

Overall I would rate Unaccompanied Minor 3.5/5 because it was good, but it could have been better. I understand that publishers don't like prologues anymore, but I think a chapter at the start that gave a preview as to why the story was written as police reports would be extremely helpful in clarifying a few things. But it was still a very good read and I still recommend it.

Until next time,
Happy Reading Fellow Bookworms :)

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*OTS* Mortal Danger (Ann Aguirre)

Welcome to the second installment of Off The Shelf which started a while ago. To be honest, I almost forgot that I had started that idea so I’m bringing it back and am hoping to do this every 3^rd or 4^th review posted. Just as a refresher, Off The Shelf is a series similar to Strawburry17’s show Something New on YouTube. I don’t have any back story as to why I chose this book but instead simply grabbed it off the shelf. Also, just as a side note: my apologies for missing the upload on Monday - things have been a little busy lately but it's here now so let's go!

The book that caught my eye, forcing me to pull it off the shelf, was Mortal Danger by Ann Aguirre. This novel is of a science-fiction, supernatural genre, and had a pretty unique plot idea! The story follows Edie Kramer, a girl trying to make it through the pain and laughs of Blackbriar Academy - that's not an easy task when the end of one school year leaves you doubting if you want to be around anymore. But there was a change during the summer that gave her confidence to walk through the doors for her senior year: that change was Kian. He offers her a deal, one that's impossible to refuse, especially from a figure like him. However, as usual, a deal can not be done without some consequences. Soon Edie finds herself wrapped up in a game of monsters and temptations, and she soon isn't sure who she can trust.

So why did I pick this book off the shelf? There was something about the cover that was intriguing - maybe it was the monochrome colours with the bright red infinity symbol in blood. There is a great deal of symbolism if you want to delve into that side of literature. An infinite symbol signifies being connected with something for life, either by choice or by force. The blood creating the infinity made me feel a drop in my stomach because it appears as though someones life was decided for them; the one tied forever has no choice in the matter - they will bleed trying to break the forever or they will pump blood and live with it.

The characters in the story, Edie and Kian, are both powerhouse figures: their personalities are strong and often collide. But this adds an element to the book that is irresistible! I don't really know how to put into words anything I felt while reading the story. It was fast-paced, heart-pounding, and almost left me light-headed with excitement. I finished the novel in a couple days, and honestly I would have finished sooner had I had a good chunk of time on one day. 

Alternate Book Cover

When I grabbed this book off the shelf, I didn't know anything about the author or that this is part of the Immortal Game series. This is the first book in the trilogy and there is a fourth side novel from Kian's perspective. The second book is Public Enemies and the third book is Infinite Risk, due to release August 2016. The side novel is out now and is titled The Girl in the Gray Sweatshirt.

Overall I would rate Mortal Danger 5/5 because it left me speechless, which makes it really hard to write a review! I look forward to when I get the chance to finish this series because it is absolutely worth my time to wait for that third one to release.

Until next time,
Happy Reading Fellow Bookworms :)

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Room (Emma Donoghue)

Welcome back everyone and welcome to November – did anyone else find that the month of October flew by extremely quickly? I blinked and suddenly it was Halloween, leaving me concerned that I didn’t really read any books at all last month! But, I’m glad to see others have been reading because in just 2 weeks, we’ve already gained 100 page views! I am so incredibly grateful for all of the support and I’m glad you take the time to read what I have to say. Now on with another review!

Back in September I read a book called Room by Emma Donoghue which is a book I’m struggling to categorize since I personally found it to be a bit “out of the box” genre-wise. It was a lifestyle genre with an element of mystery and suspense. The book looks through the eyes of three year old Jack and his mother, raising him almost on her own. The small family is far from normal since the two of them only ever see the same four walls of the same one room. They don’t see outside. They don’t smell fresh air. They don’t see any other people except this one guy: Nick. Nick kidnapped the boy’s mother and locked her in his shed where the boy was eventually born. For the mother, she is constantly trying to think of ways to get back home, but for the boy this is home because he doesn’t know any better. Will the two escape the shed of which they’ve been forced to call home? If escaped, how does an isolated child react to the world and a single mother forget the horrors of that room?

The book sounds pretty interesting right? That’s what I thought too until I started reading the book. Though the plot line is unique and intriguing, the writing style is less than ideal: it’s written from the boy’s perspective with the vocabulary and mannerisms of a boy. Inanimate objects are suddenly capitalized and described as real beings; this got old very quickly! I also found the execution of the plot line to be slow and at times quite boring. There was no true build of the story, but instead stayed at very much the same level of intensity throughout the entirety of the novel. The characters within the novel left me feeling disconnected because there wasn’t necessarily any personality traits that stood out that would allow me to “build a bond” with them; I like characters that leave me picturing them clearly and relating them back to people I know in my own life. I just felt that a lot of elements were missed with this one.

Upon doing some research, I discovered that Room is now a movie recently released to theatres on November 6. I personally have no intention of seeing this movie, but I would find it interesting to know if the adaption to film adds the missing elements from the book. If you go see the movie, comment your thoughts on how it was. If you’ve read the book and go see the movie, comment about whether or not they kept the view point and vocabulary of Jack.

Overall I would rate Room 0.5/5 because the vocabulary of Jack’s view point made the book excruciating to read. The story also only had a singular level of intensity with poorly developed characters. As always, my poor rating could be reflective of a personal preference so please feel free to try the novel despite my thoughts and certainly let me know yours!

Until next time,

Happy Reading Fellow Bookworms :)

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The Infinite Sea (Richard Yancey)

I want to start off by thanking everyone who takes the time to read my reviews for doing so because we have officially crossed over 2000 page views since starting in March 2014! I really do appreciate each and everyone of you. I look forward to what the future holds for this blog! Now on with the review :)

If you haven’t read the last review, make sure to check that one out first as this is a follow up to that one. As I mentioned in that review, The 5thWave is a trilogy and this book is the sequel. At the time of reading the first book, I didn’t know it was a series and that left me on the wrong foot when starting this one. I didn’t want The 5^th Wave to be a series and I didn’t have intentions of starting another trilogy. But, despite this, I tried to leave those hesitations behind so I wouldn’t affect my opinion of this book. If you haven’t read the first book, I will warn you that a couple lines of this review may be spoilers for that book; I tried my best not to spoil anything, but it’s difficult sometimes! Another warning is that I recently fell into the pit known as "writer's block" so this review is being written far after the reading of the book; therefore, some details are a little hazy. My apologies!

The Infinite Sea is a science fiction novel that continues to follow the lives of the characters you grew to love in the first book. Upon the incredible plan that the characters managed to execute in The 5^th Wave, they must learn to survive once again; however, the stakes are much greater this time around. Having deceived the enemy, the characters now have a large target on their backs: there's no escaping the punishment that awaits such an incredible take-down. After the group makes it to the designated safe house, planned by Evan, they must created a new plan: where do they go if they leave? Should they stay put and wait for everyone to return safely? With the many decisions on the table, the group becomes divided in what is the right course of action. This indecision causes a rift in the group, leaving them vulnerable and prone to be picked off: one by one. 

From what I can remember, the overall plot of the book was pretty well developed and did hold my attention fairly well. The only thing was that I found it to be a little too "typical" for a science fiction/dystopian novel. I really wanted there to be something that side swiped me like getting t-boned by a truck. It lacked a sense of sudden, surprise urgency. For the characters, there was definitely development and you were able to get a deeper understanding of their thoughts and the path that led them to where they are now. 

As mentioned in the first review, there is a third book (The Last Star) set to publish on May 17, 2016. At this moment, I am unsure if I will read and review it or not since it is a long time off: I like to read trilogies close together so that the details and connections are fresh in my mind. Reading the third book would involved having to revisit this novel and The 5th Wave closer to that date and, unfortunately, I don't really feel that this series is a re-read level of book. I will however likely see the movie for The 5th Wave in January 2016 to see how the words transition into images on film.

Overall I would rate The Infinite Sea 4/5 because I found it to be a little more in-depth than the first novel in the series, which left me not putting the book down; however, with that being said, I definitely could still use some more creativity and thought for the plot line itself.  

Until next time,

Happy Reading Fellow Bookworms :)

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The 5th Wave (Rick Yancey)

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving, for those who are celebrating it today! Hope you are enjoying your time and are appreciating everything you have to be thankful for. This book is one I have been meaning to read for a while, after first hearing about it from YouTuber Joey Graceffa. He gave this book high praise and I wasn’t going to pass on this book after hearing about it at that level of enthusiasm. When I first picked up the book, I was not aware that this was set to be apart of a trilogy; I was disappointed when I found out, especially since the third book is not due to release until 2016. But, with that detail set aside, I read the book and I’m excited to share my thoughts.

The 5^th Wave is a futuristic, science fiction novel that follows the stories of several people whose lives become very intertwined as they struggle to survive. The novel is broken into clear cut sections, each following the mind set of another individual trying to survive to the next day; a few of these characters include Cassia, Sam, Ben, and Evan, though there are many other viewpoints you get to experience in addition to those four. The story begins by explaining how the Earth reached “the 5^th wave” and who was behind these destructive waves: aliens who appear to want to exterminate and move in. But, humans, being the stubborn species that we are, won’t go down without a fight, and the characters plan to do just that: fight. Cassia and Sam fight for family, Ben fights for righting past mistakes, and Evan fights for change. Who will come out on top: humans or aliens?

I know what you must be thinking – another science fiction novel? Struggle to survive? – this is just going to be a cookie cutter story of what you’ve reviewed in the past. I too had my reservations about it all as I started, but it has a lot going for it. Though I was worried about the constant switch of perspective, especially since they aren’t clearly labelled as to which character you have entered the mind of, it only slightly distracted from the plot. Each character brings a unique viewpoint of the problem at hand and a unique way of dealing with the pressures of an extraterrestrial attack. Cassia is the sister you would want rooting for you: she is strong and does not flinch when faced with a challenge. Sam is the brother you would want to protect until he’s an adult, though he has grown up so quickly that he is just fine on his own. Ben is the “boy next door” type that you would label as a hard-core guy, but discover he may actually be sensitive behind all the walls. Evan is the mysterious boy that is dangerous and raises some red flags, but also melts you inside so you hold on tight. I really enjoyed the diversity of the characters, especially since they blended together so well.

The plot of the story is slightly cookie cutter “aliens attack Earth”, and I did find myself predicting some of the events that popped up along the way; however, I was very immersed in the novel and struggled to pace my reading. There are a few moments in the story that take you by surprise or leave you yelling at the pages, hoping to get through to the character with your outside perspective. I would have preferred the story be written from only two or three perspectives instead of the upwards of six you go through, but I do understand the author’s reasoning behind doing so. Though the stories of the characters are intertwined, they take place in their own time and space; trying to tie them together without separate perspectives would be difficult.

As mentioned at the beginning, this is the first book in a series of three novels. The second book is entitled The Infinite Sea and the third book is entitled The Last Star, due to publish on May 17, 2016. The first book is also coming out as a movie, premiering in January 2016!

 

Overall I would rate The 5^th Wave 3.5/5 because the multiple perspectives left lags between sections, since it took me a few paragraphs to grasp which character I was following. Also, the lower rating is due to the slight cookie cutter plotline; I would have enjoyed some more creativity, especially with the four waves leading up to the 5^th wave.

Until next time,
Happy Reading Fellow Bookworms :)

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Ready Player One (Ernest Cline)

Welcome to another review being posted within the schedule! Hope you are all enjoying the consistency of my posting, as well as the books I am reviewing; I've been lucky enough to be in a pretty good streak for books at the moment. This next book is one I came across on Tumblr, but it was also suggested by a couple YouTubers that I still watch. After reading the summary for this novel, I was instantly intrigued. I absolutely love books that mess the worlds of reality and virtual reality. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you may recall a book I read called Erobos that did exactly that. Since I'm a fan of gaming, being able to collide the worlds of virtual reality and the real world in a book is one of my favourite things!

Ready Player One is a science fiction novel that follows the lives of real people entering an online world known as OASIS. The main character of this novel is Wade, a teenager whose life in the real world is not desirable and difficult to remain in. Being an orphan, forced to live in a trailer park with his heartless aunt, one can understand the desire of OASIS; especially when the stakes of being in it are so high. The creator of this virtual reality (James Halliday), upon his death, raised the stakes for immersing yourself in his world of OASIS: the first person to claim three keys and clear their three respective gates would win millions of credits and gain immortality and invincibility. Wade, not liking the real world, became a gunter, meaning he spends most of his time in OASIS searching for the ultimate prize. But as the first key is discovered, the challenge becomes increasingly difficult as one corporation tries everything to finish the race first. Who will claim the prize, and at what cost?

Reading this book was both thrilling and unstoppable - I completed this book in approximately three days. The characters in this novel have distinct personalities, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. I never once questioned the real nature of their online personalities in OASIS, though there were a few twists towards the end that took me by surprise! That's another thing about this book that made it so incredible to read: it wasn't predictable. The story had twists and turns that I didn't expect, each with significant tolls on the characters and plot.

One thing that I didn't like was the extensive explanation present within the story. I understand that the details were meant to help immerse the characters in the culture of which Halliday based his contest on. Despite the relevance of the extra explanation, I found them to distract from the main plot line of which I truly wanted to read. Despite this, I found a way to not let it ruin my opinion of the book - I simply skimmed over the parts that were not completely relevant to the plot.

A handful of alternate book covers!

   

Upon completion of the book, I discovered that there are plans to turn this book into a movie! The film is set to release in 2017 and will be directed by Steven Speilberg

Overall I would rate Ready Player One a 4.5/5 because it was absolutely thrilling, leaving me immersed in the world of OASIS. The decrease of 0.5 from a perfect score is due to the over explained aspects of what made up Halliday's contest.

Until next time,
Happy Reading Fellow Bookworms :)

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The Bodies We Wear (Jeyn Roberts)

Hello again everyone! I'm officially starting to get this blog back on a decent publishing schedule and it makes me really happy knowing that. Since it's mid-September, quite a few of you may be back at school and already feeling like you're drowning in work. But, despite that, reading is something I always made sure to make time for and encourage you to as well. This book was an easy read, so it's a good one to start with if you decide to add reading nightly into your routine; I promise you it's a good way to distract yourself from the stressful or tiring day you've had, either at school or work.

The Bodies We Wear is a science fiction novel that follows the life of Faye, a seventeen year old girl who has survived six years past her expected life span. In the world that she exists in, there is a drug referred to as Heam that allows the user to die momentarily and see heaven; however, not everyone has a pleasant experience, especially when you overdose. An overdose is equivalent to painting a target on your back. The moment you've been marked, your ability to live a normal life becomes near impossible. Faye, on the other hand, defies odds to attend school in the hopes of a normal teenage life. Despite her attempt at normality, Faye's activities outside of school are far from normal, due to her plot for revenge that left her marked by Heam. But just as she starts to get going, a ghost from the past seems to want to help her instead of haunt her. Who is this ghost, and what is their purpose? Will Faye succeed in normality, or will her plan for revenge rip that away from her?

While reading this book, I truly struggled to put the book down. I found myself binge-reading the novel, despite my busy schedule, and finished the full story within three days. The reading itself is very easy and required no brain power at all; but I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way. Since the wording was simple, it allowed me to focus more on immersing myself in the characters and plot development. The concept behind the story was unique to me - I haven't read something quite like it yet. Faye is definitely a character that I bow down to and strive to be. She is incredibly strong, knows who she is, and doesn't let her physical flaws (and the society's interpretation of them) define her life; I wish I had her grounded self of being. The other main character - who I referred to as a ghost and am going to keep nameless - is the type of guy I would like to meet. He is caring and truly wants to give Faye a life of meaning and happiness; he knows what's best for her and tries to make her see that too.

I do applaud the author Jeyn Roberts on this story because it could have been a very predictable plot, but I didn't find it to be. After visiting her website, I discovered she has two other novels listed there, set to be part of a trilogy. I might just be adding this author to my list of authors to watch, because both of her books peaked my interest with only a glance at the cover and a skim of the synopsis.

 

Overall I would rate The Bodies We Wear a 4/5 because it was a brilliant story with some incredible characters, but I did feel that something was missing. The plot consisted of several mini climax points, but it didn't have a main climax point. Maybe that's a personal preference, but I really do enjoy when there is a point in the book that sideswipes you and takes you on a roller coaster ride.

Until next time,
Happy Reading Fellow Bookworms :)

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