Tagged: masq1
Son of the Mob 2: Hollywood Hustle by Gordon Korman
(Cover picture courtesy of Scholastic Canada.)
When Vince heads out to sunny L.A. to go to film school, he’s sure he’s left his family and their criminal dealings behind him.
But then Vince finds out the hard way that you can take the kid out of the mob, but you can’t take the mob out of the kid. Soon, his brother Tommy is shacking up in his dorm room, and a steady stream of “uncles” are showing up with his mother’s homemade rigatoni, and a whole lot of trouble, in hand.
Fans of Son of the Mob will enjoy reading more about Vince as he navigates his way through another hilarious adventure, while trying to keep his integrity—not to mention his life—intact.
Most sequels to originally stand alone novels are horrible, but Son of the Mob 2: Hollywood Hustle is definitely a great sequel to Son of the Mob. Gordon Korman fills every page with his usual over-the-top sense of humour that will literally make you laugh out loud in parts. But it does tackle some serious issues and not every part of the book is hilarious, which is partly why I love it. Gordon Korman is one of the few authors I know of that can tackle serious issues with a good sense of humour.
Vince Luca is a great protagonist and is very three dimensional. He is a good guy at heart, but he is definitely not perfect. With his newfound freedom, Vince gives in to the temptation to be lazy, but what college student doesn’t? Despite his faults, readers will cheer him on the whole way through the novel, especially during the climax.
Of course the plot of Hollywood Hustle zips right along in the usual Gordon Korman fashion. It goes along quite quickly, but the pace fits the story without being ridiculous. For young adults who are sick of all the doom and gloom that seems to be the trend in YA literature, this is the perfect book.
I give this book 4.5/5 stars.
*For some reason, Barnes and Noble does not have this book. The link will take you to their home page, so maybe you can find it and prove I’m blind.
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.