The Bursting Bookshelf

Chronicling the rise of the Keepers, this is the stunning prequel to Andrea Cremer's internationally bestselling Nightshade trilogy!

Sixteen-year-old Ember Morrow is promised to a group called Conatus after one of their healers saves her mother's life. Once she arrives, Ember finds joy in wielding swords, learning magic, and fighting the encroaching darkness loose in the world. She also finds herself falling in love with her mentor, the dashing, brooding, and powerful Barrow Hess. When the knights realize Eira, one of their leaders, is dabbling in dark magic, Ember and Barrow must choose whether to follow Eira into the nether realm or to pledge their lives to destroying her and her kind.

With action, adventure, magic, and tantalizing sensuality, this book is as fast-paced and breathtaking as the Nightshade novels.

Review:
When I heard there was a prequel to the Nightshade series coming out. I jumped at the opportunity to read it in advance. I haven't read the Nightshade series yet, but I thought the prequel would be a perfect place to start. I went in with very high expectations because of all the hype around the Nightshade series and I am happy to say that I really did end up falling for this book.

The characters were all crafted excellently, though in the beginning their relationships were a tad bit confusing. Ember was great, she was strong and didn't depend on men and she wasn't totally dependent on her family. She wasn't afraid to made the decision she knew she wanted instead of what someone else wanted. She did gradually fall for Barrow, the love interest of the book. In future books, I hope that Barrrow will be built upon character-wise, he felt fairly underdeveloped for such a main character. The secondary characters weren't all that developed, I hope to see more of them in the next book. The writing was truly stellar, I've never read anything by Andrea before, but I want to read the other Nightshade books right away. She clearly has a lot of experience in writing, she plotted it brilliantly and kept me wanting to find out what was in store for the characters.

A strong protagonist, a ton of action and luscious romance, what more can you ask for? I give Rift a 4/5 for being a great start to the Nightshade prequel series. I'd recommend it to fans of the Nightshade series and to anyone who wants to start in on the series, but doesn't know where to start or who want a great paranormal series.

Review:
Everyone has seen the hoarding shows on television at some point or another or they've at least heard of them. This book is a take on the effects that hoarders have on their loved ones, specifically their children. Unlike the TV shows, this book offered a very personal feeling take on the issue without seeming too cliche or falsified.

The cover is a good representation of the book; it features a pile of clothing, which was one of the many things hoarded by the mother of the main character. Also, the pink cowboy boots do have a part in the book part way through, it's nice to see some tie ins on the cover. The bright pinks and oranges are very eye catching and enjoyable to look at; not too harsh on the eyes. The tag line, "How do you come clean when your life is a mess?" is a perfectly suited line to describe the book, tying the entire cover together.

During the course of the book some of the characters grew on me while others didn't. The main character, Junie, had her enjoyable moments, but for the most part I did not agree with her decisions and how she treated others. She didn't treat her mother very well at all, even considering the situation she had put them in and she didn't think of the consequences her lie had on those around her, specifically Tabitha and her mother. I really enjoyed Tabitha, the best friend character, and her mother for being understanding of what Junie was going through, but at the same time trying to get her to do the right thing no matter how Junie treated them.

The writing was one of the parts of the book I didn't enjoy. Something about it was just not appealing to me, whether it was the  unnecessary use of swearing or the way it reflected upon the characters. The way that characters were portrayed just didn't put them in the best of lights, even though they clearly had a lot of potential, and it really showed in some cases, such as the case of Junie. I didn't find Junie to be too like-able, which really didn't aid the plot. In the plot's defense, I did think it was well paced and fairly realistic feeling without ever having too many absolutely unbelievable moments and it had a good ending.

Overall, I truly liked the premise of this book better than the delivered product. If you're looking for a book specifically about hoarding, give this book a try. I give The Opposite of Tidy a 3/5.

Life As We Knew It meets Lord of the Flies in a mall that looks just like yours

A biological bomb has just been discovered in the air ducts of a busy suburban mall. At first nobody knows if it's even life threatening, but then the entire complex is quarantined, people start getting sick, supplies start running low, and there's no way out. Among the hundreds of trapped shoppers are four teens.

These four different narrators, each with their own stories, must cope in unique, surprising styles, changing in ways they wouldn't have predicted, trying to find solace, safety, and escape at a time when the adults are behaving badly.

This is a gripping look at people and how they can--and must--change under the most dire of circumstances.

And not always for the better.

Review:
This book intrigued me from the very beginning. It's summary, on the ARC, talked about it being like Contagion (a biological thriller movie) and Lord of the Flies (a survival story), neither of which I have seen/ read, but it seemed unique in the vast realm of Young Adult books. And when I read it, I found it to be a thrilling contemporary book that should not be missed.

The symbol universally recognized as the one for toxins is featured on this cover. To further the feel of danger, yellow and red were used in harsh tones to call to the curious eye even more. Beneath the toxic symbol you can see the outlines of people trapped in the mall looking stressed and wanting to leave, add that to the rough paper texture and Sharpie marker-like title font and you have a very cool looking cover.

Lately I've been reading a lot of books from multiple points of view and this one was no exception. I loved the diversity shown in the characters; they were all hugely different in personality as well as backgrounds. Some of them grew relationships with each other whilst in the mall, but all of them just wanted to get out. It was this mutual interest that really brought the characters together, otherwise they didn't have very much in common at all. It was really interesting to see how they changed as their stay in the mall grew longer and longer and how they reacted to the stresses that accompanied it. The characters could not have been better written to fit this story: they were like any other person, but they were thrown into the insane and frightening situation of being exposed to a deadly virus and not knowing much about it.

I was under the belief during the majority of this book that it was a standalone book until the very end when it was clear that there would have to be more. The book starts off with a bang (bad bomb pun, I'm sorry) with the discovery of a biological bomb and the lock down of the huge mall. It was very well paced with the exception of a few slow spots where uncertainty over their situation overrode the plot. The writing made everything seem very real; it really was able to draw the reader's attention to it while still remaining fairly elusive about what the outcome could be in the future. The end was one that I will not forget anytime soon; it was a true cliffhanger that both surprised me and made me immediately want more.

I really enjoyed this book, and any one in need of a good thriller will too. I give No Safety in Numbers a 4/5 for gripping me from the beginning all the way to the end. Now, pardon me while I go wash my hands a few million times.

X-Men meets The Breakfast Club in this darkly humorous adventure

The Vindico are a group of supervillains who have been fighting the League of Heroes for as long as anyone can remember. Realizing they're not as young as they used to be, they devise a plan to kidnap a group of teenagers to take over for them when they retire--after all, how hard can it be to teach a bunch of angsty teens to be evil?

Held captive in a remote mansion, five teens train with their mentors and receive superpowers beyond their wildest dreams. Struggling to uncover the motives of the Vindico, the teens have to trust each other to plot their escape. But they quickly learn that the differences between good and evil are not as black and white as they seem, and they are left wondering whose side they should be fighting on after all . . .

With fast-paced action, punchy dialogue, and sarcastic humor, this high-stakes adventure from a talented new YA voice pulls you in from the first page.


Review:
I initally read the summary for the book a short while before I read it; it had me at "X-Men" (in case you didn't know, I am a huge fan of Marvel superheroes!). With the interesting premise of telling a story from a multiple quasi-villain point of view, I read and adored this awesome tale of coming of age under the most unusual of circumstances.

The cover was one definitely designed to draw the eyes of both boys and girls, creating a greater demographic for the book. The color was one that I really liked; it was between fuchsia and red with lighter lightening streaks through it. It also transcended the gender boundaries; it had draw for both boys and girls, rather than just one or the other. The whole thing came together wonderfully, and it will no doubt draw readers to it with ease.

The story was told through five points of view; that of James, Lana, Sam, Hayden, and Emily. They were all very different people, but they were all thrown together when they were abducted by The Villains. Did I have a favorite character? No: I loved them all that much! All of them could be related to on some level and the were very much like-able. The ability to make a reader sympathize with the characters is a great skill and something that I look for in a book, which was achieved in this one. The Villains were also brilliantly written; they weren't just stereotypical bad guys, they had depth and back stories that were very intriguing.

The story was fantastic and quick to action, and the writing was just as good. There were plenty of action packed scenes, but there was also a good mix of emotional ones to bring balance to the plot. It featured nearly perfect pacing along with writing with an attention grabbing style. It was clear in the writing that every character was equally as important, none were favored by the plot or the writing. The author was also able to give every single character a different personality without making any of them too similar; a difficult task considering how many characters were in the book. I cannot wait for more of the history between the characters as well as more of the quick plot in the sequel!

I strongly recommend that fans of superheroes or anyone looking for a unique Young Adult title. I cannot wait for the next book in the series, but until then, I give The Vindico a 5/5.

Eight years after Graceling, Bitterblue is now queen of Monsea. But the influence of her father, a violent psychopath with mind-altering abilities, lives on. Her advisors, who have run things since Leck died, believe in a forward-thinking plan: Pardon all who committed terrible acts under Leck’s reign, and forget anything bad ever happened. But when Bitterblue begins sneaking outside the castle—disguised and alone—to walk the streets of her own city, she starts realizing that the kingdom has been under the thirty-five-year spell of a madman, and the only way to move forward is to revisit the past.

Two thieves, who only steal what has already been stolen, change her life forever. They hold a key to the truth of Leck’s reign. And one of them, with an extreme skill called a Grace that he hasn’t yet identified, holds a key to her heart.

Review:
After reading, and loving, Graceling and Fire, I had been dying to read Bitterblue. I was insanely curious about how she would turn out after growing up since Graceling. I was lucky enough to get an advance copy of it and it was so worth the wait.

Can I start by saying how much I love this cover? The blue-ish and purple colors really appeal to the eye and go with the title. It has a certain old feel to it with the old style keys (where can I get one?) and the darker flower outlines. Back to the keys, they are all beautifully intricate and of bronze, silver and gold. The font of the title also helps to embody the feel of the book, giving it an old world feel, with a nice gold foil. Finally, the girl (I'm assuming Bitterblue) peering through the key ring has a look of curiosity that Bitterblue often had within the book.

Character-wise, the book both excelled and didn't at the same time. I greatly enjoyed reading of Bitterblue, she had matured a great deal since Graceling and was a very interesting character. She wasn't afraid to get into the grit of her kingdom, often going in by herself, to see what needed improvement and what she could do about it. Saf was enjoyable as well, he shared an intriguing relationship with Bitterblue that hooked me into the book further. Most of the secondary characters were great, especially Teddy, making the story flow better than it would have without them. The characters that let me down, were those from previous books. Katsa and Po seemed to lack the fire and sparks that drew me to them initially as well as the depth they had showed previously. Fire was OK, but she just didn't seem as interesting as I recall her being.

My main issue with this book was the fact that it sometimes slowed to a crawl, diminishing my interest slightly. There were times of great excitement which then lead to times of slowness, like when the court politics were being spoken of. The part of the book that I most enjoyed was having many of the characters from previous books all meet, some for the first time, for others it was simply a reunion. Though I didn't necessarily enjoy the characters as much, it was still amusing to have them meet for the first time. As always, Kristin rocked the writing, using her usual style to draw the reader in. By the end of the book, I was quite satisfied by where the story had gotten to and how it ended, altogether I think it will make fans of the series quite content with the closure it provides.

Who would I recommend this to? Anyone in need of a good fantasy or who want to try something different and utterly unique. I give this book a 4/5 for being a well written finale to the amazing series that will leave fans satisfied and happy.

Review:
When I got offered a review copy of this book, I was a little skeptical about it, but I decided to give it a chance. When I actually read it, I was very pleasantly surprised about how interesting and well written the book was. In fact, I ended up reading the book in a single day because I couldn't put it down.

The cover of the book was not one of my favourite aspects of the book. My biggest complaint was that 50 Cent's name was larger than the title. I do however, like the way the colours were incorporated into the title and Butterball's sweater. The font of the title was rough, showing Butterball's past was not smooth sailing. I like how having Butterball leaning up against the words gave the reader a more accurate mental image while reading the book.

The characters of this story were surprisingly deep in characteristics. Butterball was both the the protagonist and the antagonist of this book. He went through huge amounts of growth during the period of this novel, but he started out as a bully; he was his own problem. Butterball's problems stemmed with the fact that he didn't have a good relationship with his father and he didn't have much of a creative outlet, and to add to all of it, he was forced to move from the action of the big city and his friends to a quieter area and a school with few friends. His father, who he looked up to and respected, was a very poor influence, adding to Butterball's issues. His mother was one of his only positive influences, she turned her life around and was finding happiness. Liz was Butterball's counselor and his other good influence, talking to him constantly to find out what made him tick.

Though this book was a celebrity book, which I generally stay away from, I found this one to be very insightful into the bully's mind and home life. I liked the honesty that went into the writing, how Curtis (50 Cent) was able to feed from his own past to give the story and writing life and build a stronger book. With the aid of his co-author Laura Moser, the writing was a great aspect of this novel. It carried the description needed to make the story memorable. The story was told through Butterball's point of view, but the interesting aspect was that a lot of the twists were revealed through his counseling sessions with Liz, giving another layer of depth to the importance of his growth throughout the course of the book.

Overall, I give Playground a 4/5 for being a good book with a lot of insight into it's topic matter. I would recommend this book to any fan of 50 Cent or anyone who wants a good redemption story.

Review:
After reading (and loving!) Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why, I knew I would read anything else he wrote. Skip ahead to this book arriving in my mailbox. I went in with very high expectations after reading Thirteen Reasons Why, but having not read any of Carolyn Mackler's books, and I am very excited to say this book did not disappoint.

The cover of this book is cool because it features cover models, but you cannot see their faces, leaving it to you to think up what the characters look like from the book's description, rather than the cover. Even cooler is the fact that when you hold the physical book, you can see that the entire image on the cover is made up of binary code (a code consisting of combinations of 1's and 0's). This was such a great way to tie in the technological aspect of this book without being too obvious. Another highlight of this cover was the use of the Facebook "F" in the title. That alone would catch the eye of a potential reader simply because of how recognisable it is, and because of how it ties the entire cover together.

The Future of Us is told in the points of view of Josh and Emma in an consistent alternating fashion. I found myself to quite enjoy both points of view thoroughly because of how consistent they both were in terms of alternating and getting equal time. I loved getting to see how Facebook affected these two teens who had barely even used the Internet. Probably one of the biggest things that was interesting about these characters was the fact that they were not accustomed to using the Internet everyday for almost all of their lives previously, it was a new thing for them. I loved Emma's need to learn about herself and her hope to have a good future, and Josh was interesting to read because he was more hesitant about Facebook and he was less of a risk taker, more of an opposite to Emma.

Originality is not something this book lacks. From the idea that generated the book to the writing that brought it to life, this book oozed it in most every way. One of my favourite aspects of the book was the fact that I had never read anything at all similar to this book. It was new territory for me, an empty canvas that was beautifully filled with realistic emotions and actions, creating a portrait of complexity and originality. When you combine the writing with the fantastic plot, you get a unstoppable force of words. The plot never stuck and it was able to stay interesting even when the entire book only covers the span of a week.

Overall, this book was an out of the ordinary, fascinating page turner that clasped the reader until the very end. I would recommend it to anyone, especially if they love Facebook or any social media site. For these reasons, I give The Future of Us a 5/5.

Author: Ally Condie
In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky - taken by the Society to his certain death - only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.

Cassia's quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander - who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia's heart - change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.

Review:
After reading Matched, I was unsure of what to expect for Crossed. When I received a copy, I jumped in and found myself completely absorbed with the complexity of this story and everything inside of it. This book truly was a one of the best sequels I have ever read, to the point it was even better than the first.

The cover of this book is such a great symbol for what the character goes through during the book. It actually symbolises my favourite part of the book; the realization that her world is not perfect, but quite the opposite. I also love how they continued the bubble theme, with changes to colour and outfit. Also, if you look closely, there is a quirk in the second letter of the title, this time it is the "R" is backwards while the first title had an "A" with no cross. Just the beauty of the shattering glass as Cassia bursts the illusion of serenity was enough to get others around me to ask what I was reading, which really proves the appeal of this cover.

Though Cassia and Ky were separated for quite a bit of the story, you still could feel the connection between them purely from how much they thought about each other and through the actions they committed. Cassia went far from her comfort zone in an effort to find Ky, which really highlighted their love for each other, as well as Cassia's growth from Matched. I found that she had become the strong young person that I love to read about in books; strong to their beliefs, but still making mistakes along the way. Ky was also strong to his beliefs, but he was willing to make nearly any sacrifice for Cassia, making him a crush-worthy male lead.

The plot of this book was fairly swift moving, though there were a few times that I found to be a little too slow amongst the swift plot. Apart from those few slow moments, I found this book to have a more favourable plot than I went in hoping for. The writing of this book was very descriptive of the setting and characters, helping the reader form a much fuller picture in their mind. Another strong point of this book was the way the chapters were each either Ky or Cassia's point of view, giving the reader insight into both characters. Personally, I cannot wait for the third book of this series to see what happens to Cassia and Ky in their journey for freedom.

I would recommend this book to those who have read Matched or just love dystopian books. For being one of the best sequels I have ever read and for being a good book altogether, I give Crossed a 4/5.