The Knife of Never Letting Go

Patrick Ness

Summary:

Todd Hewitt is the last boy in Prentisstown. 

But Prentisstown isn’t like other towns. Everyone can hear everyone else’s thoughts in an overwhelming, never-ending stream of Noise. There is no quiet, no privacy, no room for secrets. 

Or is there? Just a month away from the birthday that will make him a man, Todd and his dog, Manchee - whose thoughts Todd can hear, too, whether he wants to or not - stumble upon an area of complete silence. Which is impossible. 

Prentisstown has been hiding something from him, a secret so awful that Todd and Manchee are suddenly running for their lives. But how can you flee when your pursuers can hear your every thought? And where can you run when there’s nowhere to go?

I had a hard time starting this book because I felt like if the book was from the thoughts of the kid that it shouldn’t have misspellings or whatever? But as the book went on it made sense and I started enjoying it. 
And then, I loved it. It was beautiful and wonderful and I just cared so much and I loved the characters and I hated the bad guys and I just was so invested in what was happening. 

There were still times when I sort of didn’t care? But overall, wonderful.

4.5/5

Seeds of Rebellion

Brandon Mull

Summary:

Jason Walker needs to find a way back to Lyrian. Rachel remains stranded there, and Jason has precious information that the friends he left behind must learn in order to have any hope of surviving and defeating the evil empire Maldor. 
When he finally succeeds in returning to the strange and imperiled world, Jason immediately finds himself in more danger than ever as the most wanted fugitive on the continent. Meanwhile, Rachel has begun to discover new abilities of her own that may prove vital against Maldor’s tyranny.

In the aftermath of a failed quest, a new mission arises - to assemble the remaining heroes of Lyrian. Can the necessary allies be convinced before the emperor crushes the young uprising? Jason, Rachel, and their band of battered heroes will face new enemies and demanding obstacles as they strive to launch a desperate rebellion. 

I had a really hard time getting into this book because the whole going back to his own world thing was kind of poorly orchestrated. It felt so pointless, and getting back was kind of dumb, but it’s all good because after that it gets pretty good. 

I wish that I knew a young boy (or girl, of course!!) who didn’t like to read, because this was so tastefully done. I love the way it was written for children but didn’t baby them. As an adult, I enjoyed it, but it was clearly something kids would enjoy too. 

3.5/5

Eldest

Christopher Paolini

Summary:

Eragon and his dragon, Saphira, have just saved the rebel state from destruction by the mighty forces of King Galbatorix, cruel ruler of the empire. Now Eragon must travel to Ellesmera, land of the elves, for further training in magic and swordsmanship, the vital skills of the Dragon Rider. It is the journey of a lifetime, filled with awe-inspiring new places and people, each day a fresh adventure. But chaos and betrayal plague him at every turn, and Eragon isn’t sure whom he can trust. 

Meanwhile, his cousin Roran must fight a new battle back home in Carvahall - one that puts Eragon in even graver danger. 

Will the king’s dark hand strangle all resistance? Eragon may not escape with even his life…

I just really can’t get into this series? It took me forever to read this book. I liked it better than the first one, but marginally. I don’t know. It’s very well written and a good story but something doesn’t click for me. 

3/5

Tuck Everlasting

Natalie Babbitt

Summary:

Doomed to - or blessed with - eternal life after drinking from a magic spring, the Tuck family wanders about trying to live as inconspicuously and comfortably as they can. When ten-year-old Winnie Foster stumbles on their secret, the Tucks take her home and explain why living forever at one age is less a blessing than it might seem. Complications arise when Winnie is followed by a stranger who wants to market the spring water for a fortune. 

I don’t know why this is my first time reading this? It was just as adorable as I figured it would be. I was concerned by its length, and then not a lot happened and I realized the book was almost over, but I adored the ending. I thought it was just wonderfully done, and I spent like the entire last half of the book worrying about how she would pull it off. Beautiful.

4.5/5

Sharp Objects

Gillian Flynn

Summary:

Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, Camille Preaker’s first assignment at her second-rate daily paper takes her reluctantly back to her hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls. As she works to uncover the truth, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims - a bit too strongly. Dogged by her own demons, Camille will have to confront what happened to her years before if she wants to survive this homecoming. 

After how much I loved Gone Girl, I was expecting a lot from this book, and I was really disappointed. It felt like the author was trying so hard to shock us that it sort of missed its mark, and I wasn’t terribly interested in the story. The ending though, was so awesome that it sort of made up for it a little. She’s definitely great at those. 

2.5/5

Odd Apocalypse

Dean Koontz

Summary:

Once presided over by a flamboyant Hollywood mogul during the Roaring 20s, the magnificent West Coast property known as Roseland is now home to a reclusive billionaire financier and his faithful servants. And, for the moment, it’s also a port in the storm for Odd Thomas and his traveling companion, the inscrutably charming Annamaria. In the wake of Odd’s most recent clash with lethal adversaries, the opulent manor’s comforts should be welcome. But there’s far more to Roseland than meets even the extraordinary eye of Odd, who soon suspects it may be more hell than haven. 

A harrowing taste of Roseland’s terrors convinces Odd that it’s time to hit the road again. Still, the prescient Annamaria insists that they’ve been led there for a reason. Just how deep and dreadful are the mysteries Roseland and her masters have kept for nearly a century? And what consequences await whoever is brave, or mad, enough to confront the most profound breed of evil? Odd only knows. Like his acclaimed creator, the irresistible Odd Thomas is in top-notch form - as he takes on what may well be the most terrifying challenge yet in his curious career. 

The Odd Thomas series was my favorite growing up, and I was just so disappointed by this one. It’s lost its lightness and was just difficult to get through. It took me weeks and I really couldn’t tell you much about it now. I dunno, I’m so sad. 

2/5

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

J.K. Rowling

The Dursleys were so mean and hideous that summer that all Harry Potter wanted was to get back to the Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. But just as he’s packing his bags, Harry receives a warning from a strange, impish creature named Dobby who says that if Harry Potter returns to Hogwarts, disaster will strike. 

And strike it does. For in Harry’s second year at Hogwarts, fresh torments and horrors arise, including an outrageously struck-up new professor, Gilderoy Lockhart, a spirit named Moaning Myrtle who haunts the girls’ bathroom, and the unwanted attentions of Ron Weasley’s younger sister Ginny.

 But each of these seem minor annoyances when the real trouble begins, and someone - or something - starts turning Hogwarts students to stone. Could it be Draco Malfoy, a more poisonous rival than ever? Could it possibly be Hagrid, whose mysterious past is finally told? or could it be the one everyone at Hogwarts most suspects…Harry Potter himself?

This book was always my favorite! I was super excited to re-read it, and it totally didn’t disappoint. I loved it so much. It’s just so perfect I can’t handle it. The problem is I feel like I was so excited for this one, I’m having a hard time moving on to the third!

5/5

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

J.K. Rowling

Summary:

Harry Potter has never been the star of a Quidditch team, scoring points while riding a broom far above the ground. He knows no spells, has never helped to hatch a dragon, and has never worn a cloak of invisibility. 

All he knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley - a great big swollen spoiled bully. harry’s room is a tiny closet at the foot of the stairs, and he hasn’t had a birthday party in eleven years. 

But all that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger: a letter with an invitation to an incredible place that Harry - and anyone who reads about him - will find unforgettable. 

For it’s there that he finds not only friends, aerial sports, and magic in everything from classes to meals, but a great destiny that’s been waiting for him…if Harry can survive the encounter. 

I’ve decided to re-read Harry Potter, so here we go! 

It’s been a really long time since I’ve read this one, and it was just as great as I remembered, if not better. It was awesome to see all of the hints about what I now know happens later in the series. It’s incredible how much Rowling had known the story, from the beginning. I just really can’t get over it. 

The other thing I never really noticed was how much fit into such a small amount of book. It all went so fast, but didn’t lose any quality. It’s amazing.

In all, it just really hasn’t lost any of the greatness it had when I was a child. 

5/5

Darkly Dreaming Dexter

Jeff Lindsay

Summary:

Meet Dexter Morgan, polite wolf in sheep’s clothing.

He’s handsome and charming, but something in his past has made him abide by a different set of rules. He’s a serial killer whose one golden rule makes him immensely likeable: he only kills bad people.

His job as a blood splatter expert for the Miami police department puts him in the perfect position to identify his victims. But when a series of brutal murders bearing a striking similarity to his own style start turning up, Dexter is caught between being flattered and being frightened - of himself or some other fiend. 

I’ve seen very little of the show, but what I have seen I did like, so I figured I’d  love the book. I was right. It’s very well written and the characters are awesome and I love the story. The twist at the end was extremely well-played. I just really loved it. 

And for those who are fans of the show, I can tell you what my mom thought: she said that the characters were just like in the show, the casting was spot-on, but she was mega surprised by something that happened at the end that changed the entire show. But she really really liked it. 

5/5

Shades of Earth

Beth Revis

Summary:

Amy and Elder have finally left the oppressive walls of the spaceship Godspeed behind. They’re ready to start life afresh - to build a home - on Centauri-Earth, the planet that Amy has traveled 25 trillion miles across the universe to experience. 

But this new Earth isn’t the paradise that Amy had been hoping for. There are giant pterodactyl-like birds, purple flowers with mind-numbing toxins, and mysterious, unexplained ruins that hold more secrets than their stone walls first let on. The biggest secret of all? Godspeed’s former passengers aren’t alone on this planet. And if they’re going to stay, they’ll have to fight. 

Amy and Elder must race to uncover who - or what - is out there if they are to have any hope of saving their struggling colony and building a future together. They will have to look inward to the very core of what makes them human on this, their most harrowing journey yet. Because if the colony collapses? Then everything they have sacrificed - friends, family, life on Earth - will have been for nothing. 

I feel really really bad about this, but I didn’t like this book. At all. I didn’t like the story. I got bored, fast, of the plot and the characters that I had formally sort of liked? And it was mostly predictable, and the parts that weren’t, I just didn’t care about. At all. Then, the one thing that would have almost sort of redeemed it, to me, she totally stole, and made it really obvious she was going to. (Spoiler) I mean Elder’s death.. because otherwise that sentence made no sense? I just wanted him to actually die, and then have the series end there, like maybe have Amy going up to the guy and saying her whole “we have a treaty to make” thing, and then ending it. But no, she kept prolonging the book, and it was like okay obviously he’s alive just get it over with (spoiler over)

I liked the series a fair amount, otherwise this would be a 1

2/5

Sharp Objects

Gillian Flynn

Summary:

Fresh from a brief stay at a psych hospital, Camille Preaker’s first assignment at her second-rate daily paper takes her reluctantly back to her hometown to cover the murders of two preteen girls. As she works to uncover the truth, Camille finds herself identifying with the young victims - a bit too strongly. Dogged by her own demons, Camille will have to confront what happened to her years before if she wants to survive this homecoming. 

I felt pretty much exactly about this book as I did about Gone Girl. It really wasn’t that great, I didn’t like really anything for most of the story, but the ending completely saved it. I love the way that she ends things. It’s so awful and wonderful at the same time. And it’s like life, nothing is wrapped up in a cute little bow which I seriously adore. If it wasn’t for that, there just wouldn’t really be anything I liked about this.

3/5

Beautiful Creatures

Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Summary:

Lena Duchannes [barcode] small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen [barcode] her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps, and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever. 

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town’s oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them. 

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

I really liked this one. I thought sometimes it could get a little boring and the characters could be pretty annoying and sometimes it was predictable but seriously, even with all that, I really liked it. It was a good story, and the characters were great when they weren’t annoying. I’m excited for the next one. 

4/5