Review: Matched

Title:  Matched
Author:  Ally Condie
Series:   The Matched Trilogy [1]
Rating:  4/5

Summary:

Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her: what to read, what to watch, what to believe. So when Xander's face appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is her ideal mate... until she sees Ky Markham's face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Society tells her it's a glitch, a rare malfunction, and that she should focus on the happy life she's destined to lead with Xander. But Cassia can't stop thinking about Ky, and as they slowly fall in love, Cassia begins to doubt the Society's infallibility and is faced with an impossible choice: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path that no one else has dared to follow.

Review:

This book hooked me in nearly as fast as The Hunger Games did.  But I do say nearly.  The triangle surrounding Cassie, Xander, and Ky is interesting, especially considering we get chapters narrated by all three of them.

It's nice to see the events from other points of view, however I found myself checking the beginning of the chapter a few times to see which character I was reading under because the text wasn't clear.

It also almost immediately starts the triangle and "teams" between Ky and Xander.  Personally, I'm a Ky fan.  What can I say?  Apparently I'm a rebel.

The book overall is well written and not too far out to imagine our society reaching the point it has in this book.

Recommended to those liking: "The Hunger Games", dystopian fiction; and love triangles with a little action sprinkled over.

Review: Chopsticks

Title:  Chopsticks
Author:  Jessica Anthony
Illustrator:  Rodrigo Corral
Rating:  5/5

Summary:

After her mother died, Glory retreated into herself and her music. Her single father raised her as a piano prodigy, with a rigid schedule and the goal of playing sold-out shows across the globe. Now, as a teenager, Glory has disappeared. As we flash back to the events leading up to her disappearance, we see a girl on the precipice of disaster. Brilliant and lonely, Glory is drawn to an artistic new boy, Frank, who moves in next door. The farther she falls, the deeper she spirals into madness. Before long, Glory is unable to play anything but the song "Chopsticks."

But nothing is what it seems, and Glory's reality is not reality at all. In this stunningly moving novel told in photographs, pictures, and words, it's up to the reader to decide what is real, what is imagined, and what has been madness all along....

Review:

The words we get in the summary above are more than the words we collectively get in this book.  The story is a mass of photographs, with snippets of words enough to show where the story-line is heading, but with enough gaps that you can fill in what you think is specifically happening.

Despite the fact that you get no direct dialogue between the characters, they seem to be more real than those of traditional books.

Recommended to someone looking for a quick, yet interesting, read; that won't take a lot of time.

Favorite Authors

Five of my favorite authors, and my top two favorite books they have written (certainly not a dis-positive list).

5.  Julie Anne Peters

By The Time You Read This I'll Be Dead










Rage:  A Love Story


4. Susan Shaw

Black-eyed Suzie

Safe



3. Lulene McDaniel

I'll Be Seeing You

Till Death Do Us Part



2. Jodi Picoult

Nineteen Minutes

My Sister's Keeper



1. Nicholas Sparks

The Rescue

Safe Haven

Review: Paper Covers Rock

Title:  Paper Covers Rock
Author:  Jenny Hubbard
Rating: 5/5

Summary:

At the beginning of his junior year at a boys' boarding school, 16-year-old Alex is devastated when he fails to save a drowning friend. When questioned, Alex and his friend Glenn, who was also at the river, begin weaving their web of lies. Plagued by guilt, Alex takes refuge in the library, telling his tale in a journal he hides behind Moby-Dick.

Caught in the web with Alex and Glenn is their English teacher, Miss Dovecott, fresh out of Princeton, who suspects there's more to what happened at the river when she perceives guilt in Alex's writing for class. She also sees poetic talent in Alex, which she encourages. As Alex responds to her attention, he discovers his true voice, one that goes against the boarding school bravado that Glenn embraces. When Glenn becomes convinced that Miss Dovecott is out to get them, Alex must choose between them.

Review:

This took me a while to read because I was constantly re-reading pages.  That isn't because it's particularly difficult, but because the author packs so much emotion and undertones into every sentence.

I spent the entire book desperately wondering what happened at the river that day and feeling so bad for Alex and all the emotional stress he carries.

This book intrigued me, and I believe it's because the narrator, Alex, was so stuck within his own mind.  Perhaps it's because I have the same habit, but it makes a book like this easy to relate to.  Otherwise how does one relate to a downing incident at an all-boys boarding school?  I certainly don't know what a situation like that is like.

Recommended to all who like young adult literature with substantial emotion and a challenging enigmatic story.

Review: Miracle

Title:  Miracle
Author:  Elizabeth Scott
Rating:  5/5

Summary:

Megan survived the plane crash—but can she survive the aftermath? An intense, emotional novel from the author of The Unwritten Rule and Between Here and Forever.

Megan is a miracle. At least, that’s what everyone says. Having survived a plane crash that killed everyone else on board, Megan knows she should be grateful just to be alive. But the truth is, she doesn't feel like a miracle. In fact, she doesn't feel anything at all. Then memories from the crash start coming back.

Scared and alone, Megan doesn't know whom to turn to. Her entire community seems unable—or maybe unwilling—to see her as anything but Miracle Megan. Everyone except for Joe, the beautiful boy next door with a tragic past and secrets of his own. All Megan wants is for her life to get back to normal, but the harder she tries to live up to everyone’s expectations, the worse she feels. And this time, she may be falling too fast to be saved....

Review:

I LOVED this book.  Not quite as much as I loved another one of her books (Living Dead Girl) though.  The author has a way of crafting her writing such that you cannot step out of the narrator's point of view. The character of Megan sucks you in immediately and the next thing you know you're on a roller coaster ride of emotions with her.

The premise for the story is simple, she has survivors guilt.  But unlike other books with the same outline, this one takes steps away from the physical aspect of such a situation.  We don't know until the end what actually happened to her when the plane crashed.  However by the time we get to that point we know so well what Megan is thinking and feeling that we're not surprised by what we learn.

There were awkward chapters for sure, but lately there hasn't been a book that lacks that.

Highly recommended to those who like to read young adult literature that slides into the dark side of human emotions.