Category: Book Review
Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods by Suzanne Collins
(Cover picture courtesy of Book Infinity.)
With two prophecies fulfilled, Gregor is now focused on the Prophecy of Blood, which calls for Gregor and Boots to return to the Underland to help ward off a plague. But this time, his mother refuses to let him go…until Ripred the rat convinces her that Gregor and Boots need to stay for only a brief meeting. Finally, Gregor’s mom relents, provided she is allowed to travel with them.
When they arrive in the subterranean city, the plague is spreading—and it has claimed one of his closest companions. Only then does Gregor start to understand how the illness plays with the fate of all warmblooded creatures, but he still doesn’t know how he can combat it.
The Underland Chronicles by Suzanne Collins is probably the only series besides Harry Potter that I enjoy more and more as it progresses. Since it is Suzanne Collins’ first series, you can see marked improvements in her writing style, pacing, plot and characterization. Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods is the third book in the series, but it is definitely my favourite out of all five books.
The main reason I love this series so much is the characters. Suzanne Collins has created an unique, memorable main character in Gregor, but it is the secondary characters that I love the most, particularly Hamnet. Hamnet is the son of Vikus and Solovet who ran away from Regalia ten years ago to live in the jungle, but it is his reason for doing so that makes him so compelling. He was once a warrior, but it is the conversation that he has with Vikus that haunts me to this day:
“What do you do here that you could not do there?”
“I do no harm,” said Hamnet. “I do no more harm.” (Ch. 13, pg 161)
When we finally do learn Hamnet’s full backstory, it only cements my picture of him as a tragic hero, much like Lancelot in the Arthurian legends. Suzanne Collins is very gifted at making characters appear cold and hard on the outside, yet highly sympathetic when you learn why they are like that. It is truly her characters that move the plot forward at a fast pace and it is her characters that will keep readers eager to get their hands on the next book—especially with the little plot twist on the last page of this book.
I give this book 5/5 stars.
The Reckoning by Kelley Armstrong
(Cover picture courtesy of Atom Books.)
My name is Chloe Saunders. I’m fifteen, and I would love to be normal.
But normal is one thing I’m not.
To start with, I’m having these feelings for a certain antisocial werewolf and his sweet-tempered brother—who just happens to be a sorcerer—but, between you and me, I’m leaning toward the werewolf.
Not normal.
My friends and I are also on the run from an evil corporation that wants to get rid of us—permanently.
Definitely not normal.
And finally, I’m a genetically altered necromancer who can raise the dead, rotting corpses and all, without even trying.
As far away from normal as it gets.
Just like The Hunger Games, I wish The Summoning had been a stand-alone novel. It wasn’t, so I was stuck reading The Reckoning, a terrible end to what had potential to be an amazing series. Alas, Kelley Armstrong did not take the series to the next level.
My main problem is the cliché factor. Necromancers are definitely new in the YA scene as they don’t have that vampire appeal, but that’s not what I have a problem with. But the rest of the book? Well, it’s pretty cliché. Like a lot of YA books, it involves a huge love triangle, but for whatever reason it just doesn’t work. Some books can pull off love triangles very well, but this is not one of those books. It really ends up making Chloe into a Mary Sue, which is kind of is anyway, even without the love triangle. Not only are the character clichéd, but the whole evil-corporation-genetically-engineers-people-then-wants-to-kill-them premise is old and utterly predictable.
The plot of The Reckoning just drags on and on, as if Kelley Armstrong suddenly had the urge to describe all of the corpses Chloe raises in mind-numbing detail. I have a pretty strong stomach when it comes to gore (or else I would never, ever look up things like this for fun), but I did notice my appetite disappeared after reading this book. This is a YA book, but it is not for the sensitive.
I give this book 2/5 stars.
Extras by Scott Westerfeld
(Cover picture courtesy of Fantastic Fiction.)
A few years after rebel Tally Youngblood takes down the Specials regime, a cultural renaissance sweeps the world. “Tech-heads” flaunt their latest gadgets, “kickers” spread gossip and trends, and “surge monkeys” are hooked on extreme plastic surgery. Popularity rules, and everyone craves fame.
Fifteen-year-old Aya Fuse is no exception. But Aya’s face rank is so low, she’s a total nobody. An extra. Her only chance at stardom is to kick a wild and unexpected story.
Then she stumbles upon a big secret. Aya knows she is on the cusp of celebrity. But the information she is about to disclose will change both her fate…and that of a brave new world.
If you’ve read the first three books in the Uglies trilogy (which was turned into a series with the release of this book), you will get so much more enjoyment out of Extras. You’ll be able to see just how different Tally’s world has become and yet how much it is like our own world. In Aya’s world, popularity rules. The more popular you are, the more credits you get and the better your life is. But anyone who is not popular—which is most of the population—is an extra, a nobody. Does this remind anyone of high school?
What really stands out in Extras (for me at least) is the explosion of new technologies since Specials. Since practically no one over 16 is a bubblehead anymore, intelligence has been allowed to flourish and Scott Westerfeld describes the new advances in spectacular detail. With all of that new technology and freedom, “surges”—or surgeries—have also become popular, especially the extreme kind. It is a credit to Scott Westerfeld’s world-building abilities that he includes all kinds of people who change their bodies to create their idea of ‘true beauty.’ I find it fascinating what people choose to look like in Aya’s world since they are allowed to change themselves into whoever they want.
As usual, Scott Westerfled’s characterization is spot-on. Many readers will sympathize with Aya because she is the voice of teenage insecurity. Surrounded by beautiful people and being nothing more than an unimportant, faceless extra has really taken its toll on her. As a result, many teenagers will sympathize with her insecurities and will cheer her on as the plot speeds along.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
Point Blank by Anthony Horowitz
(Cover picture courtesy of Infinitas Bookshop.)
When an investigation into a series of mysterious deaths leads agents to an elite prep school for rebellious kids, MI6 assigns Alex Rider, fourteen-year-old reluctant spy, to the case. Before he knows it, Alex is stuck in a remote boarding school high atop the Swiss Alps with the sons of the rich and powerful, and something feels wrong. Very wrong. These former juvenile delinquents have turned well-behaved, studious—and identical—overnight. It’s up to Alex to find out who is masterminding this evil plot, before they find him. The clock is ticking—is Alex’s luck about to run out?
You honestly can’t accuse Anthony Horowitz’s Alex Rider series of being completely original. In fact, it has a few allusions to James Bond, which anyone who has watched Octopussy can tell you. Smithers, the man who supplies all of Alex’s gadgets, was named after the man in Q’s makeshift office in India during that movie. The plots of the books take elements from James Bond movies, but Horowitz never strays anywhere near plagiarism. In fact, he puts his own spin on the familiar franchise.
Alex Rider is not a great character by any stretch of the mind, but he is not a complete cardboard cutout either. He really doesn’t want to put his life on the line again after the events of Stormbreaker, but is once again manipulated into spying for MI6. This time, the stakes are even higher and Alex is in more danger than ever before. Anthony Horowitz keeps his descriptions at just the right length to convey this concept and creates an aura of suspense throughout the novel. Really, this is a book that deserves its place at the top of YA literature for boys. It’s basically a less violent, less sexual James Bond series for young male readers.
I give this book 4/5 stars.
Timeless by Alexandra Monir
(Cover picture courtesy of Goodreads.)
When tragedy strikes Michele Windsor’s family, she is forced to move from Los Angeles to New York City to live with the wealthy, aristocratic grandparents she has never met. In their historic Fifth Avenue mansion, filled with a century’s worth of family secrets, Michele discovers the biggest family secret of all—an ancestor’s diary that, amazingly, has the power to send her back in time to 1910, the year it was written. There, at a glamorous high-society masquerade ball, Michele meets the young man with striking blue eyes who has haunted her dreams all her life. And she finds herself falling for him and into an otherworldly romance.
Soon Michele is leading a double life, struggling to balance her contemporary high school world with her escapes into the past. But when she stumbles upon a terrible discovery, she is propelled on a race through history to save the boy she loves—and to complete a quest that will determine their fate.
Have you ever read a book that you couldn’t put down? One that was absolutely captivating? One that literally made you gasp for breath when you finished it? Well, that’s how Timeless was for me.
I know a time travel romance is very clichéd and time travel itself is wrought with problems, not the least of which is the time paradox (more commonly known as the grandfather paradox). But once my scientific instincts were quieted, I really did enjoy Timeless. I must admit that I know next to nothing of America circa 1910, so I can’t critique its accuracy, unlike books about ancient Egypt or ancient Rome. But I think Alexandra Monir did quite a lot of research and her writing really brought the period to life. Her writing is absolutely captivating because she has found the perfect balance between description and dialogue, something a lot of writers—especially the younger ones—struggle with.
In addition to her amazing writing, Alexandra Monir has great characterization. Michele is a very believable character and I could really feel her grief over her mother’s death. She falls in love very quickly, but when you meet someone who has haunted your dreams all your life, what do you expect? She is very sympathetic because in the end she does what she thinks is the right thing, even though it cuts her to the core. And because of her decision, we get a very nice cliffhanger ending that makes me anxious for the sequel, Timekeeper.
I give this book 5/5 stars.