The List

 

 Author: Siobhan Vivian
Series: Standalone
Pages: 332
Challenge: Goodreads Challenge 2013
Genre: Contemporary
Acquired: Library
Rating: ★★★★

*****

Goodreads Summary:

An intense look at the rules of high school attraction -- and the price that's paid for them.

It happens every year. A list is posted, and one girl from each grade is chosen as the prettiest, and another is chosen as the ugliest. Nobody knows who makes the list. It almost doesn't matter. The damage is done the minute it goes up.

This is the story of eight girls, freshman to senior, "pretty" and "ugly." And it's also the story of how we see ourselves, and how other people see us, and the tangled connection of the two.

  *****

 My Thoughts:

The List follows eight girls in high school as they deal with their school tradition of The List. This list every year names the prettiest and ugliest girl in each grade. The list is done anonymously and gets posted a couple of months after the school year starts. This novel follows the girls on the list and how they cope with being on the list and also with their very different issues/problems in their lives because of it.

I related to the characters Lauren, Abby, and Abby's sister, Fern, the most out of all of the characters. I connected with Lauren just because she is a shy and genuinely nice girl and I like to think of myself as being the same. I connected with Abby and her relationship with her family, and Fern and I were similar in our priorities and level of intelligence.

This story gives insight to each girl's unique situation and life while not being a first person point of view novel, it was more third person with insight into each of the character's feelings. I loved that the story was believable and completely realistic. I also loved that the characters faced real-life situations and problems.

Another thing I liked was that you got to see how each girl grew throughout the story and how their lives were when the book ended in comparison to their lives in the beginning. My favorite scenes were actually those scenes where each girl learned their unique lesson from each of their experiences.

I did not really have a distinct dislike for this book so I rated it ★★★★. It was enjoyable and I really liked reading it. Based on the cover, I would give it a rating of a ★★★½. It encompasses what the is about and the horrors of what the list does to both types of the people on the list. I just feel that the cover was perfect for the book.

I did have an issue though with the ending of this book. I feel that it was rushed and could have ended smoother. I went through the entire book learning and connecting with the characters too well for it to have ended so abruptly. I  felt that the ending of the book was summed up too quickly, in like 2 pages.

Also with it being a contemporary, I was not really kept guessing but I will say that I did not guess who wrote the list in the end, but I felt that, once explained, it made since as to why that person would have written the list. In the end, I would recommend this book to contemporary loves who are in the mood for a realistic read that takes place in high school with girls of different ages.

*****

Article 5

 

 Author:Kristen Simmons
Series: Article 5, #1
Pages: 362
Challenge: A-Z Author Challenge/ Goodreads Challenge 2013
Genre: Post-Apocalyptic, Dystopian
Acquired: Library
Rating: ★★★★

Amazon - Book Depository - Goodreads

*****

Goodreads Summary:

New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C., have been abandoned.

The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police—instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior—instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren't always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it's hard for her to forget that people weren't always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It's hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes. And one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings—the only boy Ember has ever loved.

  *****

 My Thoughts:

This novel is about a girl and her quest through a dystopian United States to retrieve her arrested mother back from the government. The main character Ember Miller and her determination to find and get her mother back is inspirational. She never loses sight of her goal of finding her mother and wants nothing more than to be reunited with her. The other main character Chase Jennings was one of those characters that I connected with as the book progressed. I liked how he was determined to keep Ember safe and to live up to the promise that he told her mother. I also loved how he seemed to undermine his own safety to completely devote himself to Ember and her cause.

For most of the book, I was kept guessing and I really liked that. I couldn't really guess what would happen next to Ember and Chase on their journey and I really liked that. My favorite part was the creepy old lady scene in the woods. It was all very weird and creepy and I loved it. I also liked the scene at the rebel base, although it broke my heart, I still thought it was needed and appreciated how the author went about writing that scene.

Some things that frustrated me was the romance between Ember and Chase. I felt that I didn't care if the relationship fell apart and ended or if it survived and thrived, this bothered me a bit because I usually really care about the relationships between characters, whether it be romantic or a platonic friendship.

Also the world building... gets a 5/10. It was original with the idea of the Moral Statutes but I felt that it could have been taken further somehow. Now on the subject of character development... it was ok... I wasn't really invested in the characters. I did not care too much about them but the story was pretty interesting. On the side of annoyance.... EMBER....gah....! I felt that she was a very naive character. I thought her pinned up, confused feelings concerning Chase lasted too long. I was over her being mad then not mad at him... he is trying to help you find your mother... give him some credit!

This book is not exactly a tear-jerker kind of book, but it was gripping and kept me interested. The ending was both happy and sad. I went through a mini-spell of the feels at the ending. The book does end in a small cliffhanger and I was pleased at where the book ended.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book...despite some of my issues with it. As far a recommendations go...7/10 from me. I will be continuing this series because I really would like to know how things end and what will happen to Ember and Chase as they continue their lives in this world.

*****

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Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a very small affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
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Dearly, Departed

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post below are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive a very small affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” 

 

 Author: Lia Habel
Series: Gone With the Respiration #1
Pages: 470
Challenge: A-Z Author Challenge/ Goodreads Challenge 2013
Genre: Paranormal
Acquired: Library
Rating: ★★★

Amazon - Book Depository - Goodreads

*****

Goodreads Summary:

 Love can never die.

Love conquers all, so they say. But can Cupid’s arrow pierce the hearts of the living and the dead or rather, the undead? Can a proper young Victorian lady find true love in the arms of a dashing zombie?

The year is 2195. The place is New Victoria, a high-tech nation modeled on the manners, mores, and fashions of an antique era. A teenager in high society, Nora Dearly is far more interested in military history and her country’s political unrest than in tea parties and debutante balls. But after her beloved parents die, Nora is left at the mercy of her domineering aunt, a social-climbing spendthrift who has squandered the family fortune and now plans to marry her niece off for money. For Nora, no fate could be more horrible until she’s nearly kidnapped by an army of walking corpses.

But fate is just getting started with Nora. Catapulted from her world of drawing-room civility, she’s suddenly gunning down ravenous zombies alongside mysterious black-clad commandos and confronting “The Laz,” a fatal virus that raises the dead and hell along with them. Hardly ideal circumstances. Then Nora meets Bram Griswold, a young soldier who is brave, handsome, noble . . . and dead. But as is the case with the rest of his special undead unit, luck and modern science have enabled Bram to hold on to his mind, his manners, and his body parts. And when his bond of trust with Nora turns to tenderness, there’s no turning back. Eventually, they know, the disease will win, separating the star-crossed lovers forever. But until then, beating or not, their hearts will have what they desire.

In Dearly, Departed, romance meets walking-dead thriller, spawning a madly imaginative novel of rip-roaring adventure, spine-tingling suspense, and macabre comedy that forever redefines the concept of undying love

  *****

 My Thoughts:

This story follows two main characters Bram and Nora through what is a zombie apocalypse set in the future. Bram is a very likable character, but when I pictured him in my head, I wanted him to appear more zombie-like. I pictured him like the main character in the movie/book Warm Bodies, and for some reason I did not like that.

On another note, the novel had varying POVs including Bram's and Nora's separate POVs, which I liked the most and connected with better, and also the other character's POVs such as Pamala's and Nolle's stories. Overall I connected with Bram's story better. I think it was the fact that he was a zombie and I had never read a book with zombies or from the point of view of a zombie, so his story was definitely more appealing than the others.

Although I liked the novel well enough, I was disappointed with the story and its predictability.  I also felt that there was not enough action in the novel considering that it was a novel about a zombie war/ apocalypse. I felt that the story was too calm for a book about a zombie takeover. I wanted more action especially since the book was centered around a military based plot and setting.

I honestly cannot recall any parts that jump out as my "favorite scenes" but I did enjoy reading about Bram's and Nora's stories. They were cute and enjoyable, despite the rest of the book which I found slightly uninteresting and drawn out. Having said that I felt that the end of the book was very rushed and ended abruptly. I couldn't understand this because the whole book felt drawn out but the ending was rushed.

In rating the world building I would give it a 5/10.
In recommending the book I would give it a 4/10, it was a little disappointing for this to be my first taste in reading a book about zombies.

On the author, I felt that Lia Habel was very successful in helping the reader visualize her story. Although I did not like the story as much, her writing was really refreshing.

Will I check out the next book? MAYBE?? I'm really on the fence about this series. I hate not finishing a series so I might end up reading the rest of the books in the series eventually.

*****