Book Review | 'Looking For Alaska'

Looking for Alaska
John Green
223 pg., U.S. Hardcover
Dutton
5/5 Stars



Alaska is the third book by John Green that I've read (first being Paper Towns and second being An Abundance of Katherines) and his next book, The Fault in Our Stars is released January 10! Thought I'd just...you know...get that out there.
OKAY.
Looking For Alaska was probably the most emotional book I read in the second half of 2011 (Perks of Being a Wallflower was the most emotional in the FIRST half) and it was definitely something I'd been looking forward to reading since I began to watch John and Hank Green's videos on YouTube. For those who don't know what the book's about, it's about AWESOME and more AWESOME and then some TEARS thrown in their to make things interesting. I literally sat curled up in bed with a soft fleece blanket and read this book in three hours. John Green never ceases to amaze me with his perfect character creation and the themes buried in the nooks of his plots. I fell in love with Alaska Young and felt what Miles was feeling and hated what he hated and loved what he loved.
This book is just...gah.
The next six days of my life will consist of anxiously awaiting the release of The Fault in Our Stars.

Book Review | 'Variant'

Variant 
Robison Wells
HarperTeen
373 pg., U.S. Hardcover
4/5 Stars



Variant is the story of Benson Fisher, a boy who moves to Maxfield Academy and learns the secrets hidden in its walls. The book is a very fast-paced quick read that isn't very emotionally powerful but has a strong plot that almost makes up for it. I don't know exactly what to expect going into Variant, but I'm happy I picked it up.
The characters in this book were all very similar, something that factored into the four-star rating. What I mean when I say this is that all the characters seemed to have one goal or one thought on their mind or one opinion, which I didn't see as very realistic. All the kids thought the same way about one another, and there was never any room given to develop these characters' relationships. I did like, however, the plot and its progression as the story went along, and it was a very gripping tale. The ending definitely made me want to return for more.

The sequel, Feedback, does not yet have a release date.

A quick apology

On behalf of everyone here at Potter People, I would like to apologize for some false information that we relayed the other day. The 'tweet' we informed you of turned out to be one tweeted by an imposter J.K. Rowling. Once again, we apologize, and will continue to post new information from the real Jo Rowling when it comes!

Riley Peek

Voldemort Kills Draco

The other day, I was thinking of Draco Malfoy. Not only was I thinking of Draco Malfoy, but I was also thinking of the Elder Wand. I was thinking of the 'Spinner's End' scene, in which Narcissa Malfoy confronts Severus Snape about the 'deed the Dark Lord has ordered Draco to perform'. Then, as I re-watched Deathly Hallows--Part II, Draco came back into my head right before Harry and Voldemort spontaneously decide to go cliff-diving. Voldemort, as in the book, kills Snape because he believes that, in doing so, he will gain possession of the Elder Wand because he thinks Snape was in possession of it at the time of the Battle of Hogwarts. As we as readers know, Voldemort is wrong. Draco Malfoy--at the time of Dumbledore's death--is the rightful owner of the Elder Wand because he Disarmed Dumbledore before Snape could kill him. Now, if Snape's killing of Dumbledore would have been unplanned between the pair of them, then he would have been the master of the Elder Wand and when Voldemort killed him, the Dark Lord would have become the rightful owner. So, knowing what we know, Voldemort planned to kill the previous owner of the Elder Wand. Now, the question I have pondered lately revolves around Draco Malfoy. What if Dumbledore and Snape never planned his death? What if Snape and Dumbledore did plan his death, but Snape didn't get their on time, and something came over Draco and he killed Dumbledore? The answer to this is simple: Voldemort would have killed Draco Malfoy. Did Voldemort know from the moment he assigned Draco this task that he would eventually murder him? I believe that, in the back of Tom Riddle's mind, he knew that Draco Malfoy would die, whether or not he became the owner of the Elder Wand or not. It is not a secret that Narcissa was pained at the idea of Draco being drafted into the Death Eaters and such a young age and being sentenced to carry out such a complex murder, so it can be inferred that Voldemort intended to emotionally destroy Lucius, Narcissa, and Draco. If Draco had succeeded in killing Dumbledore, or if Voldemort's arrogance had cleared, the Dark Lord could have killed Draco.

Your thoughts?

Book Review | 'The Future of Us'

The Future of Us
Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler
Penguin/Razorbill
356 pg., U.S. Hardcover


Wanna know how good this book was? Let's see...I started it at approximately 8:30 on Friday, December 24th. I read 100 pages, so I took a break. I picked it up the next day and finished in a sitting. Yeah. Jay Asher has done it again, folks. I, personally, have never read a Carolyn Mackler novel, but this has definitely inclined my interest in her books.
The book is basically about two kids named Emma and Josh in the 90s. One day, Emma boots up her computer with her brand-new AOL CD-ROM and finds herself on Facebook. But the thing is that the Facebook page is set in 2011, fifteen years in the future.
This book definitely had such a wonderful plot that I definitely found myself raveled into. The authors made the scientifically-debatable topic into one that could be plausible. The characters were also very vulnerable and curious, as any 1990s teenager would be if they stumbled across their future.
I'm sorry this review is so short, there's just not much to say! The book was fantastic and it took my breath away. I definitely recommend it!

Book Review | 'Beautiful Chaos'

Beautiful Chaos
Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Little, Brown
515 pg., U.S. Hardcover



Beautiful Chaos continues the story of Ethan Wate and his girlfriend Lena Duchannes. In the town of Gatlin, things are rather strange. Heat is off the charts, locusts swarm in amount they've never before, and Ethan is beginning to lose his memory. Using the assistance of prophecies and the shady John Breed, Ethan and Lena must uncover a fate most troublesome.
I've got to say, first off, that I was worried going into this book. Worried because I loved the first two so much that I didn't want to be disappointed by this book. This one, though, was definitely the best in the series! The characters are becoming more deep; more relatable, if you will. Ethan expresses anger in this book, as well as the usual easy-going Ethan. That's what I love most about this book: that you can see every side of every character. I used to hate the character Liv, but this book made me love her. I used to hate Link, but this book made me love him. This book made me hate the villains, something I'm not really used to. Many books these days make you want to hug the villain, but Abraham Ravenwood and Sarafine are malicious and disgusting, and I just wanna kick them into a vat of toxic waste.
As far as the plot goes, I thought that it was the cherry on top. I thought that Stohl and Garcia definitely highlighted the darkness of Ethan's and Lena's lives. The highs and lows of the plot were very realistic and revelative, so many of them made me do a little dance. I hardly ever do little dances.
Beautiful Chaos is the third book in The Caster Chronicles. Beautiful Creatures is being adapted for the big screen. The fourth and final book has not yet been released.

Book Review | 'The Eternal Ones'

The Eternal Ones
Kirsten Miller
410 pg., U.S. Hardcover
Razorbill/Penguin

The Eternal Ones is the epic, romantic tale of two lovers who meet as a result of reincarnation. The story follows Haven Moore, a Southern dress-designer who discovers that she is a reincarnation of a woman named Constance Whitman after having multiple visions from the perspective of Whitman. Haven is accused of being full of 'demons' by the people in her Tennessee town, so she flees to New York City and meets Iain Morrow, the reincarnation of her past love, Ethan. But there are some dark secrets behind Morrow, as well as ones about a mysterious group called the Ouroboros Society.
Haven is a riveting, believable character that I loved from the get-go. She's rebellious but sweet, dangerous but loving, and fierce but tender. I admire Haven for her intellect and her cunning ways of figuring out the shrouded history of the Ouroboros Society.
I don't, however, like Iain. I rather like Beau, Haven's friend who assists with the designing of dresses. Iain is, at first, the stereotypical love interest, and even though more things are found out about him, he still just irked me. Although Beau is gay, I would have rather had Haven fall in love with him.
The plot was fast-paced and the book was one of those where you could put it down, but once you picked it back up again you didn't want to stop. I loved learning so much about the people that Haven, Iain, and others were reincarnated from and the characters that existed in the time of the story. I loved and hated Padma Singh, wanted to strangle Dr. Tidmore and Adam Rosier, and wanted to cry for Marta Vega. These are all the things that should happen when reading a book. I should care for the characters, and I did. The plot and the characters had that intimate relationship that is necessary in a book like this, and I'm glad I read it.
The Eternal Ones has a sequel, All You Desire, and it is in stores now.