Book Review | 'If I Stay'

If I Stay
Gayle Forman
Dutton Books
199 pg., U.S. Hardcover
Four stars | B



From Goodreads:

In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen year- old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...

A sophisticated, layered, and heartachingly beautiful story about the power of family and friends, the choices we all make -and the ultimate choice Mia commands.

If I Stay was a book that was just kind of "meh" to me. I thought of it sort of as an extension of My Sister's Keeper, in the sense that *spoiler alert* at the end of Keeper, the story's protagonist is kept on life machines and must be unplugged, the same situation that this story's main character is under. The plot wasn't entirely riveting to me, nor was the writing, but I did like the realism and diversity of characters, which many people know is what I really go for. I feel like if the characters were weak, I would have abandoned this book like I did the first time that I read it.

I don't really have a lot to say about this book, hence the short length, other than the fact that it was just average. If you're going into this book, don't expect anything special.

If I Stay is the first in a series. Where She Went is out now.

Beautiful Creatures Casting Change; Ethan Wate now to be protrayed by Alden Ehrenreich

Yesterday, the Caster fandom was shaken and stirred when Kami Garcia sent out a bunch of tweets--retweeted or not--regarding the fact that Jack O'Connell would no longer be portraying the story's protagonist, Ethan Wate, in the film adaptation of Beautiful Creatures, by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.

Filming is still expected to begin April 16.

Sorry for the late news post!

J.K. Rowling announces the title and release date for her next book!

Big news that will no doubt go in history; Joanne Kathleen Rowling has announced that the title of her adult novel will be...

The Casual Vacancy

!!!

Little, Brown provides a summary, as well:

When Barry Fairweather dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is left in shock.
Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.
Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils…Pagford is not what it first seems.
And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?
Blackly comic, thought-provoking and constantly surprising, The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling’s first novel for adults.

The Casual Vacancy will be released September 27, 2012 in bookstores!

Jo has also updated her official website to include an interesting timeline of news over the past few years, including Pottermore and The Casual Vacancy.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS? WE ARE FREAKING OUT!

Leven Rambin Cast as Clarisse in 'Sea of Monsters'

Leven Rambin, Glimmer in The Hunger Games, has been cast as Ares's daughter, Clarisse LaRue, in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters.

Thanks to Variety.

Book Review | 'Carrier of the Mark'

 Carrier of the Mark
Leigh Fallon
346 pg., U.S. Paperback
HarperTeen
3 stars | C



From Goodreads:

Their love was meant to be. 

When Megan Rosenberg moves to Ireland, everything in her life seems to fall into place. After growing up in America, she's surprised to find herself feeling at home in her new school. She connects with a group of friends, and she is instantly drawn to darkly handsome Adam DeRÍs. 

But Megan is about to discover that her feelings for Adam are tied to a fate that was sealed long ago—and that the passion and power that brought them together could be their ultimate destruction.

Carrier of the Mark is a book that I've been wanting to read since August of last year, when I first heard of Leigh Fallon's debut novel. I was undoubtedly sucked in the gloriously, darkly charming cover, which symbolizes so much from the book, which I love--the symbolism, not the book. I was ultimately disappointed by the book, especially it's final 200 pages.

For the first 150 pages or so, I was very off-and-on with my emotions towards this story. The first three chapters I was like, "Hey, this book is really good! I'm impressed!" 

And then I realized I was re-reading Twilight. The biggest thing that turned me off from this book was a scene in which the protagonist, Megan, is being chased by drunk frat boys and is finally saved by the mysterious supernatural love interest. Remind you of anything? There's also a scene where Megan is sitting with her new-best-friend, Caitlin, discussing the socially secluded SUPERNATURAL family. Hm, where have I seen that before? And the main guy's sister, Aine, is very bubbly and sweet (Alice), and his brother is buff, but dark and brooding (a combination of Emmett and Jasper). Oh yeah and his Dad's Carlisle. 

For the longest time, I was worried that my hopes of Irish mythology being in this book would be crushed, but about 130 pages in, I was reprieved! I loved the history of the Carriers of the Mark, and was incredibly pleased with their similarities to Avatar: The Last Airbender, which I was in no way angered with. But I felt like the world-building could have used some more depth, and that a lot of things were rushed and expected to be digested in the first introduction of some idea. In the first few chapters, I felt like a lot was rushed, to the point that there was insanely awkward dialogue that was there just to establish some plot points. It was ridiculous.

Overall, the book wasn't bad. Fallon's writing is fresh and nice, but the plot just dragged throughout the whole book, and was hardly original, which lost me there--and the fact that the characters weren't individuals; they were just mimics of Bella Swan (although Megan was a bit stronger), Edward Cullen, and the whole Twilight bunch, which was not fresh and nice.

Carrier of the Mark is the first in a series. 

Book Review | 'Fear'

Fear
Michael Grant
eBook/ARC
Katherine Tegen Books
Five stars | A+



I think that an explanation is due as to how I received an ARC of this book.

For those who are familiar with this blog, you would know that I received an ARC of Plague back in March of last year and posted an in-depth, spoiler-filled review of the novel, seeing as nobody had read the novel at the time of my finishing the book. Isaac also received an ARC of this novel, but he has yet to read it, even though the pair of us got them in December. I read mine in one sitting, thank you very much. The actual details of receiving our ARCs are top secret, though.

NOTE: The first half of this review lacks spoilers. I will break the page when the spoilers begin in the second half.

The undoubtedly most brilliant novel I have read in a while, Fear provides the shuddering eeriness that Michael Grant has made himself notable for in the years that his Gone series has been on shelves. This book provides perhaps the most realistic look at the situation his characters are in, trumping over its predecessors by a landslide. I will admit, though, that immediately after finishing Fear I was so stunned by the book's innards that I couldn't tell if it was my favorite or not. I needed time to digest the complex plot that is the penultimate Gone novel, and I predict that readers will need that extra time, as well. As always, multiple conflicts are presented in this novel (both internal and external) and--what I love about these novels is that--it is up to the readers to decipher whether or not they are ultimately resolved in the end.

The story revolves primarily around Diana Ladris, something that made me extremely happy, but something that could have been foreseen from the ending of the previous novel. Diana is featured on the cover of this installment, as well as the second (Hunger) and the sixth and final (Light). Ladris's character plays an incredibly significant role in the central plot, as do characters that have played a back seat role recently in the series.

The biggest praise I have for Grant for this novel is his ability to maintain the adoration of his faithful readers through all the horrific, morbid plots that occur. How does Grant do this, though? He deems himself a flawless writer by stringing together complex characters with their intricate plots and creating a Gaiaphage-like story that is so real it's scary. I truly love these books, and they deserve a spot as my favorite series of all time...behind Harry Potter, of course.

The following section of this review contains spoilers pertaining to Fear.

The Kansas City Star Provides Insight on the draw to 'Games'

The Kansas City Star, our hometown newspaper, has provided a rather interesting look at the reason that people, especially adults, are drawn to the concept of Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games.

"I start to question my own excitement about this movie. Why do I want to watch this? Why is it so seductive to see children in peril? The author is critiquing violence, but she's reminding us that we are implicated. It's within us."

Check out the full Star article to learn more about the allure of Panem.

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/03/28/3519270/hunger-games-is-part-of-a-long.html#storylink=cpy