Quickie Review: The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver

The Demon Trapper's Daughter 

(The Demon Trappers #1)
by Jana Oliver

Demon Trapper Riley Blackthorne just needs a chance to prove herself—and that’s exactly what Lucifer is counting on…

It’s the year 2018, and with human society seriously disrupted by the economic upheavals of the previous decade, Lucifer has increased the number of demons in all major cities. Atlanta is no exception. Fortunately, humans are protected by Demon Trappers, who work to keep homes and streets safe from the things that go bump in the night. Seventeen-year-old Riley, only daughter of legendary Demon Trapper Paul Blackthorne, has always dreamed of following in her father’s footsteps. When she’s not keeping up with her homework or trying to manage her growing attraction to fellow Trapper apprentice, Simon, Riley’s out saving citizens from Grade One Hellspawn. Business as usual, really, for a demon-trapping teen. When a Grade Five Geo-Fiend crashes Riley’s routine assignment at a library, jeopardizing her life and her chosen livelihood, she realizes that she’s caught in the middle of a battle between Heaven and Hell.

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Publication Date: Feb 1st 2011

Publisher: St. Matin's Griffin

Format: paperback trade, 340 pages 

Series: yes

Source: my own copy

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My Review

Riley wants to become a Demon Trapper just like her dad. She lives in a sort of post-apocalyptic world partially destroyed by demonic forces. In this world there are not only demons, but also witches, demon buyers, and creepy necromancers who buy corpses and turn them into 'zombie-like' slaves for rich people.

Riley is the perfect example of the kind of heroine I LOVE reading about. She's strong, she doesn't give up when things start to turn to sh*t, she proves her worth, she doesn't WHINE (that is SO important) and she doesn't think boys are the most important thing ever. Oh, and, come on, guys. She hunts DEMONS!!! Come on, that is awesomeness personified. 

This book was such a trip! There was so much going on! So many rich characters and unbelievably interesting situations! Usually when so much happens in a book, it can get tiring or confusing, but not here! Jana Oliver was definitely on the right track. ;) Just so... incredibly talented. The writing was fantastic, super engaging, and the world-building was... out of this world. LOL. XD

Funny how I can never express myself very well when I'm writing about a book I really liked. But there you go: It's awesome, and worth your time and excitement. Now, excuse me as I have to go get my hands on the rest of the series.

Early Review: If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

If You Find Me
by Emily Murdoch

There are some things you can’t leave behind…

A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Carey’s younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and two strangers arrive. Suddenly, the girls are taken from the woods and thrust into a bright and perplexing new world of high school, clothes and boys.

Now, Carey must face the truth of why her mother abducted her ten years ago, while haunted by a past that won’t let her go… a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasn’t spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down.

Genre: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction

Publication Date: March 26th, 2013

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Format: eARC, 256 pages 

Series: no

Source: Netgalley

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My Review

I have to admit that I chose to read this book because I saw somewhere that it was a survival story. And it was. But not in the sense I thought it would be. I expected to see people having to fend for themselves in the middle of the woods, all Hunger Games-like or something... but it was a different kind of survival. A much sadder and realistic one. Two girls had to survive their own mother and the terrible things she did to them. All the things she let others do to them.

Carey raised her little sister by herself, because she learned a long time ago not to count on her bipolar/meth-addict mother. A mother who only cared about making enough money for drugs, a woman who could not be bothered to bring food home for her children, or clothes, or even NOT bring strange, disgusting men over to rape her 7 year-old (until she finally got her period at 13) for pocket change to buy drugs.

Carey is, not surprisingly, extremely mature for her 14 years-old. She would do anything to protect her baby sister, Jenessa. So when a woman from Social Services and a strange man (who looks somewhat familiar) show up in the middle of the forest looking for them, she's ready to fight. But there's nothing she can do. If she wants to keep her sister close, she has to live with this man. Her father. The one her mother said was the reason they had to run away years ago.

Now the two sisters have to learn how to live with the comforts and novelties of modern life. Clean, comfortable, warm clothes. A nice place to sleep. Food whenever they're hungry. Running water. This is all heaven for them, but this new life won't be easy. There's a stepmother involved. Oh, and a very jealous stepsister. And let's not forget about high school. And boys. If only Carey didn't have so much to hide...

This was such a sad, sad book. I loved the way it was narrated. I could almost hear Carey's voice, with her accent and all the missing g's and es's ('don't it?' 'runnin' '). It was such a melodic, dreamy, sad narration. It broke my heart from the start, because I just knew there was something bad to be discovered. 

I wanted to kill Carey's mother. What a freaking monster! How can someone do those things to her own children? Ok, I get it, she was sick AND on drugs, but seriously? Completely unacceptable. At the end of this book I found myself very mad with the opposite sex. I can't even begin to describe how satifying it was to me to read what she did to that rapist. 

Anyway... it was very heart-warming to see them adapt to their new, love-filled life. If anyone deserved it, it was them. I loved this book. I really did. Even if Carey, a girl who lived in the woods ever since she as a child, without proper nutrients and hydration, with next to no protection from the elements, under constant stress and all, being described as 'OMG, the most amazingly beautiful girl ever, she should be on cover of magazines and movies'. That was completely unnecessary to the story and quite unrealistic, but I'm going to let that go. The rest of the book was terrific, so there you go.

*I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Review: The Gathering Storm by Robin Bridges

The Gathering Storm (Katerina #1)
by Robin Bridges

Published January 10th 2012 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

St. Petersburg, Russia, 1888. As she attends a whirl of glittering balls, royal debutante Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, tries to hide a dark secret: she can raise the dead. No one knows. Not her family. Not the girls at her finishing school. Not the tsar or anyone in her aristocratic circle. Katerina considers her talent a curse, not a gift. But when she uses her special skill to protect a member of the Imperial Family, she finds herself caught in a web of intrigue.

An evil presence is growing within Europe's royal bloodlines—and those aligned with the darkness threaten to topple the tsar. Suddenly Katerina's strength as a necromancer attracts attention from unwelcome sources . . . including two young men—George Alexandrovich, the tsar's standoffish middle son, who needs Katerina's help to safeguard Russia, even if he's repelled by her secret, and the dashing Prince Danilo, heir to the throne of Montenegro, to whom Katerina feels inexplicably drawn.

The time has come for Katerina to embrace her power, but which side will she choose—and to whom will she give her heart?

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Publication Date: Jan 10th, 2012

Publisher: Delacorte Books

Format: Hardcover, 368 pages 

Series: yes

Source: My own copy

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My Review

Let me start this review by stating that I fail to understand why so many people gave The Gathering Storm such low ratings. I really was able to simply lose myself in this book. I read it in one day, secretly turning pages during college classes and everything. Russia has always been very interesting to me, and this was the first book with a Russian main character I've seen. I liked that the author gave a brief explanation about Russian names and prefixes before the beginning of the book.

It was nice knowing more about the historical setting, about the situation of Russian in the 1880's, especially concerning the women's views and their expected roles. I love to see women trying to be more than what they're expected to be. :)

Katerina, our MC, was a very strong character. She managed to stand her ground and follow her dreams and express her opinions even when most people (her mother included) were trying to crush them, to change her, to fit her into the pretty little mold all the other silly little girls were expected to be molded into. She wanted to be a doctor, one of the very first female doctors, one of the very first females to go to college! And, boy, was I impressed with her courage! 

But now that I've stopped to think about it, I suppose most probably didn't enjoy the story as much because of the fantastical flavor of it. Kat is a necromancer. The main love interest is part-faerie. The villains are witches. There are zombies roaming around. Those things didn't bother me at all. As a matter of fact, they fit very well into the story. However, I can see how some of these characteristics could bother some readers.

The Russian society cracked me up some times. It looked like almost everybody was either a prince/princess or a duchess/duke. Or, at least, somehow related to one of those. There was an overload of 'Your Highnessess' and 'Your Majesties' and the alike. That struck me as particularly funny at certain moments, especially during battles in which people were fighting for their lives, trying not to get blood on their pretty frocks while still managing to NOT drop the royal treatment. LOL. 

Or, I suppose, most didn't like the fact that romance was not the main focus for the plot. There were romantic tidbits, but there was SO much more going on that those were delegated to a second plane. But, come on, it was a slow-developing romance (they were mad at each other/did not trust each other for the greater part of the book) and forbidden, on top of that! (a mere duchess who could care less about marriage and wants nothing more than becoming a doctor and a PRINCE who wanted to kill her and now wants to give her the world?).

Also, there were some things that managed to creep me out, like those weirdoes/mean witches and their rituals... that was fun. ;P

I cannot wait to read the next stallment. I'm sure it'll be great. *-* And there'll be more romance, too, I'm certain.

My Thoughts on: Origin by Jessica Khoury

Origin
by Jessica Khoury

Pia has grown up in a secret laboratory hidden deep in the Amazon rain forest. She was raised by a team of scientists who have created her to be the start of a new immortal race. But on the night of her seventeenth birthday, Pia discovers a hole in the electric fence that surrounds her sterile home--and sneaks outside the compound for the first time in her life.

Free in the jungle, Pia meets Eio, a boy from a nearby village. Together, they embark on a race against time to discover the truth about Pia's origin--a truth with deadly consequences that will change their lives forever.

Origin is a beautifully told, shocking new way to look at an age-old desire: to live forever, no matter the cost.

__________________________

Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction

Publication Date: Sep 4th 2012 by  2012

Publisher: Razorbill

Format: ebook, 368 pages 

Series: no

Source: My Kindle

If you're looking for an actual review, let me tell you right away: this is not it. This is more like... my impressions on the book, what kept pestering me after I was finished with it. And this is it:

First of all, I'm from Brazil and I really don't think FUNAI (National Indian Foundation (Brazil)) would agree with Americans installing labs in the middle of the Amazon and sacrificing the indians in a search for immortality. But then again, maybe it's just me. And that IS how Fiction usually goes, right?

Apart from that, have you guys SEEN Brazilian indians??? Let me tell you something, from what I gather, USA's Native Americans have such beautiful faces, with strong jaws and well-built bodies. They have long, wonderful black hair and are just, well, so much hotter than Brazilian indians. Maybe I'm wrong, I don't know. What I DO know is that OUR indians are butt-ugly. There, I've said it. I'm Brazilian and I should know. Of course, maybe there are exceptions... none that I've seen, but let's not generalize. Thing is, most of them look like these...

I get it that Eio is supposed to be a half-breed and super hot because of it, but that was kinda hard to swallow. (and since we're on the subject, those half-breeds don't usually come out looking much better, but I suppose there is such a thing as Genetic miracles). Anyway, I tried to picture him looking like something closer to this:

(see some more hot models here)

Oh, and for someone who was supposed to be SO much more intelligent than ordinary humans, Pia sure was stupid. 

There were MANY characters in this book, and I thought it'd be hard to keep up with all of them, but, surprisingly, it wasn't so. I love it that I was wrong. There were some very complex people there!

The romance was very... tepid. Almost non-existent. However, that wasn't the purpose of the book, and I didn't really miss it much. I like a little romance in books as much as the next girl, but in this one, it didn't make much of a difference. I also liked learning the names of some Amazon fruits even I had never heard of before. LOL

The book was interesting, nonetheless. And the writing was quite captivating. A page-turner, in fact, when I ignored all the things that bothered me first. Oh, and I seriously LOVED the man-eating ants. Just... perfection! XD

Give Origin a try and let me know what you think.

Special X-Mas Review: Parallel Visions by Cheryl Rainfield

Parallel Visions (A Teen Psychic Novel #1)
by Cheryl Rainfield

Visions can kill you. Would you risk your life to save someone else’s?

Kate sees psychic visions of the future and the past—but only when she's having an asthma attack. When she "sees" her sister being beaten, she needs more visions to try to save her, along with a suicidal classmate—but triggering her asthma could kill her. Parallel Visions is the story of one brave, caring girl whose unusual gifts put her own life in danger.

A new YA fantasy from the award-winning author of SCARS and HUNTED.

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal

Publication Date: November 20th, 2012

Publisher: Rain and Sun Press

Format: e-book, 146 pages 

Series: yes

Source: author

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My Review

Parallel Visions is a wonderful, intense, quick read! I chose to post it today because it's very emotional. It deals with family issues and shows the protagonist overcoming obstacles and finding happiness by being herself. If that's not Christmas-sy, then I don't know what is. :) So here it goes:

Kate suffers from asthma. That means she always has to be careful fo her surroundings, always avoiding places with too much dust, pollen, smoke, well, pretty much anything with strong smells or fumes that might trigger off an asthma attack. Because of that, Kate also has to avoid strenuous activities. In other words, she misses a lot of school, and running with her classmates during Phys ED is pretty much out of question... not that THAT would stop her from trying to hang out with Gil, the kind-hearted and yummy guy from her school. Having asthma really sucks, especially when you have an attack in front of the guy you like and your class keeps standing there, staring at you while you try to stay alive. 

But you know what makes it even worse? Having visions while you're trying to desperately breathe in some oxygen while your airways are closing. Visions of the past and the future. Visions you feel bound to avoid happening, even knowing that no one will believe what you're saying will happen. Kate is very much used to that. However, this time it envolves people very close to her. Her own sister, Jenna, who is being abused and controled by her husband, and denying it; and Gil's sister, a depressed homosexual girl who was gang-raped and is now planning on committing suicide. Kate has a lot on her hands, trying to protect the people she cares about... but who'll protect her from those who want to stop her?

As if high school alone wasn't bad enough.

I was sucked into this story immediately! I never met anyone suffering from asthma, but I certainly herad a lot about it. I can't even imagine how terrible it must be, to be always short of breath, or constantly coughing and depending on medicine. How very helpless it must be. But Kate reminds us that it is not the end of the world. She doesn't let herself be dimished by it, even if her sister blames her for being an 'attention whore', keeing their parents all to herself, and when people would overreact everytime she had an attack, trying to keep her sheltered and protected, but failing to notice that they were, in fact, smothering her. Oh, and I have to say it: it was so unnerving when people wouldn't believe her visions, even with all the believable things she kept pointing out! ARGH!!! I just wanted to shake her parents. LOL.

All in all, this made for a fantastic read! My only problem with it was that it was too short! I really can't wait for the next book, I want to see more of Gil!!! ;)

I would like to thank the author, the lovely Cheryl Rainfield. for giving me the chance to read and review her most recently published book. It was just as incredibly intriguing and intense as Scars. *-*

Give this one a chance, Paranormal YA, fans. It's not just another pretty cover (even if it HAS a pretty cover).

Mini-Review: Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Anna and the French Kiss
by Stephanie Perkins

Published December 2nd 2010 by Dutton

Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris - until she meets Etienne St. Clair: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home. As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near - misses end with the French kiss Anna - and readers - have long awaited?

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

Publication Date: Dec 2nd, 2012

Publisher: Dutton

Format: e-book, 372 pages 

Series: no

Source: My Kindle

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My Review

I started this book a couple of weeks ago. It didn't instantly grab my attention, so I put it aside and read a handful of other books until I finally came back to it.

For the first 1/3 of this book I honestly had trouble figuring out what people saw in it. Really. So much fuss for this? >.> Until I realized that I had fallen for Etienne without even noticing.

Yup. I read this one right after finishing Twenties Girl, which means I still had some feelings remaining in my heart due to the PMS and all that (LOL), so I sort of cried while reading this one, too. Embarrassing enough, I even felt my heart tightening when Anna and Etienne kept hurting each other.... very emo, believe me, I am aware. Damn you, hormones!

But I digress. Oh, Paris. Your magic got to me. Suddenly I could relate to Anna (and started to crave a trip to those lovely tourist attractions) and wanted Etienne for myself.

This one was a lovely, light read that, at the same time, managed to approach some very serious issues, such as divorces, controlling and unloving parents, the tale of first love, the difficulty in ending a relationship because it's 'safe', how to forgive your friends and accept your flaws/admit your mistakes, and, of course, trying to find your place in the world. See, I told you my PMS made me sentimental. It apparently also makes me philosophical. But don't get used it to it.

Anna and the French kiss was an adorable read, and now I have to go and look for 'Lola and the Boy Next Door'. I hear it's just as cute. :P

P.S: Totally out of topic here, but don't you LOVE Perkins' blue highlights in this picture??? *-* I so wish I could pull it off.

Mini-Review: The Selection by Kiera Cass

The Selection (The Selection #1)
by Kiera Cass

Published April 24th 2012 by HarperTeen

For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in a palace and compete for the heart of gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself--and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined.

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia

Publication Date: April 24th, 2012

Publisher: HarperTeen

Format: e-book, 327 pages 

Series: yup

Source: My Kindle

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My Review

Oh, man. Will you just look at that cover? I LOVE blue. And it's just so... so... pretty and blue. LOL. And it's a dystopian book! *-* Wow, right? The blurb didn't really catch my attention, but that cover... I just had to read it.

So it took me while to get into the story and warm up to America Singer (Really? That's her name? REALLY?) and her life. Thankfully, things quickly started to fall into palce and settings and situations were better explained and I just started going bananas over her (very unnerving) world and its weird laws.

The plot had this very 'TV Show' vibe to it (which, of course, it sort of was), and America was almost always such an annoying Goody Two-Shoes, which bothered me a lot. However, the love triangle was pure awesome sauce. I gobbled the whole Aspen/America/Maxon thing up and was left wanting MORE.

To me their romance was such an emotional roller-coaster! As soon as Aspen appeared in the book I instantly wished I had him for myself, and then BAM, he goes and breaks my America's heart like that! Literally heart-wrenching, you guys. My chest really sort of hurt. Okay, enough drama.

I got so lost into the story that when it was over I was like 'That's it?'. I forgot to check beforehand if it was part of a series, so it was a bit of a let down to be left hanging like that... but that's the idea, I suppose.

After a lukewarm start, The Selection sucked me in and wouldn't let me go. The story stayed in my mind for hours after I was done, which is kind of rare in my case. But not bad. Not bad at all.

(sort of spoiler ahead)

However, I believe there won't be many difficulties for America to choose. Okay, scratch that, there will be a LOT of drama. What I meant to say was: she just needs to make a decision, because either way all her problems are solved. Aspen, who was from a lowly caste, became part of the Castle's guard. He is now a Caste 2 or 3, if I'm not mistaken. And as America joined the competition, she instantly became a 2. If she chooses him, they'll both be part of the higher castes, which meand their families will also be high castes, and they will never go hungry again. Happy ending. And if she chooses Maxon and becames a freaking princess, she'll be super high Caste and, ditto here, everybody lives happily ever after. That is, Aspen not included. LOL. Oh, and there will be the super plus that she'll be able to make an actual difference when ruling, helping out the lower castes or, who knows, maybe even bringing an end to all that nonsense. But let's slow down here.

The Selection is much better than I expected and I can't wait for the next book. :)

Review: Eve (Eve #1) by Anna Carey

Eve (Eve #1)
by Anna Carey

Published December 1st 2011 by HarperCollins

Where do you go when nowhere is safe?

After a deadly virus wiped out most of Earth's population, the world is a terrifying place.

Eighteen-year-old Eve has never been beyond the heavily guarded perimeter of her school, where she and two hundred other orphaned girls have been promised a bright future in The New America. But the night before graduation, Eve learns the shocking truth about her school's real purpose--and the horrifying fate that awaits her.

Fleeing the only home she's ever known, Eve sets off on a long, treacherous journey, searching for a place she can survive. Along the way she encounters Caleb, a rough, rebellious boy living in the wild. Caleb slowly wins her trust . . . and her heart. But when soldiers begin hunting them, Eve must choose between true love and her life.

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopia

Publication Date: December 1st 2011

Publisher:  HarperTeen

Format: paperback, 318 pages 

Series: yes

Source: my own copy

________________________________

When I first started reading Eve, I had no idea what it was about. I had just reached over to my pile of unread books and it was sitting there, so I grabbed it.

It's not 'Oh, my, this is fantastic, everybody should read this before they die, here's a copy', but it is a good, intense read. A little silly and slow at times, sure, (I mean, this IS YA), but the whole post-apocalyptical situation is so terrifying and aggravating, Eve's world so indignant, and the action scenes so... 'heart-racing', that it becomes well balanced. :)

I'm strange about the books I keep and the ones I trade, but this one... well, this one I'll keep. It's not a 5 stars book on the whole, mind you, but for a few excellent scenes... it gets very close to it. I get the feeling Anna Carey could do so much better, but that maybe she held back sometimes because she wanted it to become a YA book... her violent scenes are so... no-nonsense and clear and disgustingly real, they're blood-curdling in their simplicity. I think she would make an AMAZING Adult writer. Really. Here's hoping, right?

That scene with the pregnant students tied down... yeesh. >.< *shudders* It still resurfaces in my mind randomly. And I've read it over a month ago. O.o I can also still recall the almost-rape scene... the yellowish color of the evil man's teeth... how sweet the the orphan boys were. You see? It's about the little things, the very well-written few parts that suck you in! But there can't be that many of those, because it's supposed to be for young audiences... and, really, JUST 318 pages? I though this kind of books normally could go up to 368 pages, or am I wrong? I am aware this is a series, however, I feel the story could have been slightly improved in those 50 more possible pages... 

The romance was cute and light, not insta-love, which is a certain plus... friendship was also nicely dealt with in Eve, and so was jealousy and betrayal. I can't wait to read Once and Rise. I am really looking forward to learning more about this weird, evil King that forces young girls to study for years straight only to tie them down and get them pregnant until they die of exhaustion and/or childbirth. I mean, seriously? How freaking mean and black-hearted can you possibly be? If you only want them as 'sows' for reproduction, why make them study so hard and hope for the future so bad? Like that'll make better babies! ... Or maybe he does it so they'll have something to occupy their brilliant minds with while they're tied down and knocked-up for the twentieth time, so they won't break so quickly? I don't know.... >.> Like I said, Carey is the boss here. ;P

Have you read Eve? What did you enjoy the most about it? If you haven't read it, do you feel like reading it?

Review: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Pushing the Limits
by Katie McGarry

Published August 3rd 2012 by Mira Ink

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with "freaky" scars on her arms. Even Echo can't remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal. But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo's world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she'll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

Genre: Young Adult, Realistic Fiction

Publication Date: August 3rd 2012

Publisher: Mira Ink

Format: eARC, 416 pages 

Series: yes

Source: Netgalley
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My Review

First line: "My father is a control freak, I hate my stepmother, my brother is dead and my mother has... well... issues. How do you think I'm doing?"

Last line: "Yes, but I'm driving."

Favorite quote: Luke used to give me butterflies. Noah spawned mutant pterodactyls.

Two years ago, there was an accident... and now Echo Emerson is no longer the same girl she used to be. She has to do therapy, which was "strongly encouraged" by Child Protective Services. She can't see her bipolar mom, thanks to a restraining order her father filed for. She's still grieving for her brother, who died in Afghanistan. She can't stand her new stepmom, who is now pregnant, and her father, who seems eager to control her life for her. Oh, and she can't go anywhere without long sleeves or gloves, in order to hide the most horrible scars on her wrists and the inside of her arms. Scars of what happened two years ago... on the night she can't remember. A night nobody seems to want her to remember.

Echo's new school therapist seems like a good enough person, but Echo really isn't interested in therapy. She just wants to fix her dead brother's car and get over high school. But to fix said car, she needs money... money her rich father won't give her. So Mrs. Collins, her therapist, suggests a job. A tutoring job. Sounds easy enough, right? Except for the guy she's supposed to tutor....

Noah Hutchins is smoking-hot, super bad boy material. (Heavy emphasis on 'smoking'). He smokes pot, he skips school, he sleeps with a different girl every night, and his stepparents couldn't care less about him... and now he can barely see his brothers, because the State won't allow him visitation privileges. All because he hit his first foster father to stop him from hitting his own biological son. Go figure. Noah used to be the perfect, popular, good guy jock type, but after a fire killed his parents, life has been very different for him. Now he wants custody of his brothers, but to have that, he needs to change. Starting with his attendance and grades, which is why Mrs. Collins, his new social worker/therapist, talks him into being tutored. Like he has time to sit around and have some stupid brainiac tell him how dumb they think he is. 

Noah and Echo are two opposites... with a lot in common. And now they have to decide what they want from their lives. To either keep ignoring the feelings blossoming between them, or to accept them and fight for their right to be happy, and screw what others think of them.

I've been hearing praise for Pushing the Limits for months now... and I have to admit that neither the cover nor the blurb interested me... however, after getting tired of seeing people gushing over it, I decided to -finally- give it a try. And I really enjoyed it!

Echo is a walking, talking bomb, waiting to explode. I wanted her to just remember everything and be free! I loved how her art and talent were incorporated in the story so perfectly, I loved the mythological references, I loved to see her get over things. What I didn't love was how she just took the bullshit her father and so-called friends threw at her. Oh, and she forgave them way too easily... I'm pretty sure I'd still hold a grudge over her father, stepmom AND that bitch Grace. But maybe that's just my black/nonexistent heart talking. No. She really did forgive them way too soon.

Noah was a delight. Such a complex character! So strong, so self-confident, so grown-up, and, yet, so vulnerable and angry. Understandably so, of course. The State really did help make his life even more miserable than it already was after he lost his parents. It was funny seeing how he lost it everytime Echo was around. Very cute to see such a... hard person soften like that. He really needed some luv.

I like mature YA's liek this one becuase they don't try to pretend teenagers are saints, all pure and nice. No, they freaking fight, curse, drink, use drugs, and, OMG! O.O They have sex. Yup. Echo remained a virgin throughout the book, sure, but this was still a lot more believable than most YA's out there... but I guess that's what parents want, right? To pretend nothing like that is happening. If books don't have those things in them, then surely they don't happen in real life... Yeah, right. :P

Aaaaaaanyway, I digress. I really liked this book, with characters with real-life problems and feelings.... if not for some weak moments and stupid decisions from Echo, of course. I was also surprised to find out this one is a series. From the way the book ended, I would have never expected it to be. Things wrapped-up so nicely... but I might still check the next book.

If you like realist fiction with your YA, then you'll really enjoy Pushing the Limits.

* I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Early Review: Yesterday by C.K. Kelly Martin

 

Yesterday
by C.K. Kelly Martin

Expected publication: September 25th 2012 by Random House, Inc

THEN: The formation of the UNA, the high threat of eco-terrorism, the mammoth rates of unemployment and subsequent escape into a world of virtual reality are things any student can read about in their 21st century textbooks and part of the normal background noise to Freya Kallas's life. Until that world starts to crumble.

NOW: It's 1985. Freya Kallas has just moved across the world and into a new life. On the outside, she fits in at her new high school, but Freya feels nothing but removed. Her mother blames it on the grief over her father's death, but how does that explain the headaches and why do her memories feel so foggy?

When Freya lays eyes on Garren Lowe, she can't get him out of her head. She's sure that she knows him, despite his insistence that they've never met. As Freya follows her instincts and pushes towards hidden truths, the two of them unveil a strange and dangerous world where their days may be numbered.

Unsure who to trust, Freya and Garren go on the run from powerful forces determined to tear them apart and keep them from discovering the truth about their shared pasts (and futures), her visions, and the time and place they really came from.

Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian

Publication Date: September 25th 2012

Publisher: Random House

Format: eARC, 368 pages 

Series: no

Source: Netgalley

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My Review

It's the year of 1985 and Freya Kallas has returned to Canada after her diplomat father died in an accident. Freya has been having very strange headaches all day and even stranger dreams at night. Her dreams feel more real to her than her real life does. Almost everything she experiences feel like it's happening for the first time, and that her other memories are quite... not memorable. It's almost as if they are fake memories. Her sister doesn't feel like her sister. She can see and feel things before they happen. Her life doesn't feel like her own. But how? Why?

When she sees a very familiar guy walking on the street she decides to follow him and try to discover why she feels so deeply like she knows him. Garren Lowe doesn't recognize her and thinks she's completely insane, but when they start to find many strange things in common between them, they agree that something must up. Something very big.

And when they start asking too many questions, the men in black with weapons come for them. Suddenly Freya and Garren are on the run, and they can't trust anyone but themselves. A visit to a hypnotist uncovers much more than they could ever have imagined. They came from the future. A future where technology controls everything and everyone and  ecoterrorism is a great threat to citizens. But why were they sent to the past? And why are people trying so hard to erase that knowledge form their minds?

Weeeell....That has got to be one of the most boring books I have ever read. I was bored out of my mind. It was a struggle not to just put it down. The heroine is absolutely soulless and uninteresting. Things go veeeeery slow, nothing is ever said or explained about the situation, and not much happens at all until the very middle of the book. >.> Everything is do dull. I was expecting a nice, crazy future in a dystopian society, but we see nothing of it until we're over halfway through the book. And even then, we don't see this world. We're just told about them. 

Gah, it really pisses me off when authors do that. I can't even begin to express how much. DON'T TELL, SHOW! This book could have been so much better. Better planned and executed. But the way it is now... it's just a waste of pages. Really, I couldn't bring myself to care about Freya at all. Not even for one moment. I wanted to know what happened, why things changed so much after that very strange prologue and confusing first chapters... but you have to survive over 200 pages until things start to get even remotely interesting. It's exasperating. 

I have to say, that dark, creepy cover and intense blurb really fooled me. I felt like I found the wrong book inside of that cool cover.

If you like slow books that build-up, not very active characters and don't mind being told about what happens instead of seeing it, then you should give Yesterday a chance. The futuristic dystopian world was quite interesting.

* I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*