Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Breaking The Spine, to show readers what we are anxiously waiting for!

 

The Archived by Victoria Schwab

Expected release date is January 22nd 2013 by Hyperion

 

Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.
Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.
Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often-violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.
Being a Keeper isn't just dangerous—it's a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da's death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.
In this haunting, richly imagined novel, Victoria Schwab reveals the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable loss and hard-won redemption.

-

I'll be honest with you here, today is the first day I've read the actual synopsis of The Archived but it's been on my list of must reads since it was first announced. What caught my eye about the book? The fact that Victoria Schwab wrote it! The Near Witch was so expertly written that I just want to read more of Schwabs writing. But I have to wait until 2013!!!

Book Review: Between The Lines by Jodi Picoult & Samantha Van Leer

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publish Date: June 26, 2012
ISBN:
Pages: 358
Series: None
Source: ARC from publisher

Goodreads Synopsis:

What happens when happily ever after…isn’t?
Delilah is a bit of a loner who prefers spending her time in the school library with her head in a book—one book in particular. Between the Lines may be a fairy tale, but it feels real. Prince Oliver is brave, adventurous, and loving. He really speaks to Delilah.
And then one day Oliver actually speaks to her. Turns out, Oliver is more than a one-dimensional storybook prince. He’s a restless teen who feels trapped by his literary existence and hates that his entire life is predetermined. He’s sure there’s more for him out there in the real world, and Delilah might just be his key to freedom.
Delilah and Oliver work together to attempt to get Oliver out of his book, a challenging task that forces them to examine their perceptions of fate, the world, and their places in it. And as their attraction to each other grows along the way, a romance blossoms that is anything but a fairy tale.

My Review:

I was so looking forward to reading this book, and had high expectations. Maybe that's what I did wrong. Never expect the unexpected. Mrs Picoult is known for her stories and her ability to tell a story. She is my favourite author, with her talent for writing and creating an unforgettable story. Unfortunately, this didn't happen here. I'm not quite sure what role she had in writing this book, but it didn't seem like she had any. There was nothing in Between The Lines that was screaming Jodi Picoult.

I didn't hate the book, but I didn't love it either. Delilah, the main character was a young girl that I could relate with on some levels. She loves books, and live books. She brings characters to life (literally, in this book!), she lives the stories. Other than those points, I had a hard time with the characters. There wasn't much development with any of them, or between any of them before they fell madly in love and that was unfortunate. I just didn't get it. What I did get, and enjoyed were the different point of views, and the illustrations throughout the story. Both these aspects added a little something to the book.

There was a quote in Between The Lines, "An author makes a house, the reader makes it a home" (quoted from ARC, do not quote me on this) that I loved! It is so true and it really hit home for me. I've said things like that before, that the author is the one to tell the story and it is up to us, as readers to make it more. So to see that this quote was in this book, it was awesome.

In the end, Between The Lines was missing a lot for me. The story just didn't come alive for me, the characters didn't so anything for me. And the writing wasn't what I expected. I was really looking forward to reading this highly anticipated YA novel written by Jodi Picoult and her daughter Samantha Van Leer, but it fell flat for me.

Book Review: Surrender by Elana Johnson

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publish Date: June 5th, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-442-44571-0
Pages: 480
Series: Possession, #2
Source: ARC from publisher

Goodreads Synopsis:

Forbidden love, intoxicating power, and the terror of control…
Raine has always been a good girl. She lives by the rules in Freedom. After all, they are her father’s rules: He’s the Director. It’s because of him that Raine is willing to use her talent—a power so dangerous, no one else is allowed to know about it. Not even her roommate, Vi.
All of that changes when Raine falls for Gunner. Raine’s got every reason in the world to stay away from Gunn, but she just can’t. Especially when she discovers his connection to Vi’s boyfriend, Zenn. Raine has never known anyone as heavily brainwashed as Vi. Raine’s father expects her to spy on Vi and report back to him. But Raine is beginning to wonder what Vi knows that her father is so anxious to keep hidden, and what might happen if she helps Vi remember it. She’s even starting to suspect Vi’s secrets might involve Freedom’s newest prisoner, the rebel Jag Barque....

My Review:

This is the follow up to Elana Johnsons's Possession. And it was just like Possession in the sense that it was confusing at times to keep up with what was going on and things didn't always flow together nicely. But there was enough interest in the book (like #1) that kept me reading. Maybe it was the characters, maybe the plot, I'm not sure but in the end I finished it anticipating the knowledge of what's happening and now awaiting book 3.

Surrender is told though the narrative of different characters for each chapter. It was interesting to see book 2 done like this. We're reintroduced to some old characters but are also introduced to new characters, new characters like Raine, who similar to Vi is a strong independent young lady who is willing to stick up for herself and what she believes is right. If you liked Vi in Possession than you wont be disappointed with Raine. Gunner is another character that we meet and he plays a crutial role in Surrender. He's flagged and because of this, his life as he knew it is instantly turned upside down. He's a strong willed and stubborn guy and adds to the story. We still get to follow Vi, Jag and Zenn so don't worry - our favourite love triangle is still hanging on but with some difficulty (You'll find out when you read this book - remember the cliffhanger at the end of book 1?)

Overall, Surrender was a good read especially if you read and enjoyed Possession. I just think that Elana Johnson has a different way of writing and it obviously works for her, her books have sold like hotcakes. I can't wait for book 3!

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a meme hosted by Breaking The Spine, to show readers what we are anxiously waiting for! 

The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

Set to be released October 23, 2012 by Simon & Schuster

Two days after Mara walks into a police station in Miami at the close of The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, she is committed for psychiatric treatment for what her parents believe is a mental breakdown. But what seems like a hallucination to everyone else is a chilling reality for Mara. Someone from her past has discovered her strange, disturbing secret and that someone wants her to pay. But she's about to discover that the price is more than she can bear.
Dark and thrilling, suspenseful and passionate, The Evolution of Mara Dyer will have readers breathlessly turning pages to find out what will become of Mara Dyer next.

I LOVED The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer and I've been dying for book 2 to be released! 

Book Reivew: Possession by Elana Johnson

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publish Date: June 7th, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-442-42762-8
Pages: 416
Source: Bought

Goodreads Synopsis:
Vi knows the Rule: Girls don't walk with boys, and they never even think about kissing them. But no one makes Vi want to break the Rules more than Zenn...and since the Thinkers have chosen him as Vi's future match, how much trouble can one kiss cause? The Thinkers may have brainwashed the rest of the population, but Vi is determined to think for herself.
But the Thinkers are unusually persuasive, and they're set on convincing Vi to become one of them...starting by brainwashing Zenn. Vi can't leave Zenn in the Thinkers' hands, but she's wary of joining the rebellion, especially since that means teaming up with Jag. Jag is egotistical, charismatic, and dangerous--everything Zenn's not. Vi can't quite trust Jag and can't quite resist him, but she also can't give up on Zenn.
This is a game of control or be controlled. And Vi has no choice but to play.

My Review:
Possession is a book that I had wanted to get my hands on before it came out. Unfortunately, that never happened and because of my busy schedule, I never got around to reading it. It wasn;t until the lovely people at Simon and Schuster sent me a review copy of Surrender, book 2 that I decided to finally get around to reading it.
Possession is a very interesting book. It's a dystopian read that is all about technology and control. Everyone is used to being controlled in these techish ways. There are Thinkers, and Greenies and Goodies and Baddies and so much more. Everyone seems okay with the way they live, except Vi. Vi is the main character and she's strong willed and stubborn. She's been in trouble many times over her lifetime with the head techies, and isn't showing signs of slowing down. In this world, you are matched with your mate, Vi is matched with Zenn. They're best friends and Vi is caught her last time with him.
The first part of the book wasn't what I thought it would be. I found it a little unorganized, and all over the place. Things to me just didn't add up and make sense. The part that really had me was the whole escape of Vi and Jag from the jail. They were both locked in the same cell (which I'm still not 100% sure of why), the Thinkers knew their potential, it just doesn't make sense to lock them up together. And with all of the technology and being able to brainwash people, you'd think that they could guard a jail cell a little better. To me, it just seemed to "they needed to excape, let's write them escaping" instead of thinking of a logical way and explaination for their escape. And was it just me, or did the guards give up completely?
Once I got past that, and more than halfway done the book, I was hooked. I needed to know what was going to happen with our beloved Jag and Zenn. The love triangle between the characters kept things interesting as well. Though Jag and Vi have a knack for getting upset with each other. The characters in Johnson's books are memorable and likable and I think that's what kept me reading.
We are left with quite a cliffhanger at the end of the novel, and I was thankful that I had the ARC of book 2 so that I could jump right into the continuation of things.
Overall, the book wasn't what I was expecting, the writing was a little finnicky for my liking, but the storyline, plot and characters were enough to make up for it.

Book Reviewl: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins **SPOILERS**

Publisher: Scholastic Inc
Publish Date: August 24, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-439-02351-1
Pages: 390
Series: The Hunger Games, #3
Source: Bought

Goodreads Synopsis:
My name is Katniss Everdeen. Why am I not dead? I should be dead.
Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire, has survived, even though her home has been destroyed. Gale has escaped. Katniss's family is safe. Peeta has been captured by the Capitol. District 13 really does exist. There are rebels. There are new leaders. A revolution is unfolding.
It is by design that Katniss was rescued from the arena in the cruel and haunting Quarter Quell, and it is by design that she has long been part of the revolution without knowing it. District 13 has come out of the shadows and is plotting to overthrow the Capitol. Everyone, it seems, has had a hand in the carefully laid plains--except Katniss.
The success of the rebellion hinges on Katniss's willingness to be a pawn, to accept responsibility for countless lives, and to change the course of the future of Panem. To do this, she must put aside her feelings of anger and distrust. She must become the rebels' Mockingjay--no matter what the personal cost.

My Review:
**Please be aware, this is not a spoiler free review, I couldn't write it without the spoilers, Sorry.** PLEASE DO NOT CONTINUE IF YOU HAVNE'T READ MOCKINGJAY YET (or book 1 or 2)
Thank You

So much as happened since book 1, Katniss had so much on her plate and in book 3 she has so much more. Her emotions are getting the best of her and it's too much for her to deal with.
What really bothered me about Mockingjay was that is felt rushed. It seemed like Collins just wanted to get it over and done with, and couldn't come up with an ending that worked for the book. The endng was terrible, and not just because it wasn't what I thought it should have been, but it was just written quickly, and contradicted so much of what the first 2 meant. In my opinion, Katniss and Peeta didn't end up together for the right reasons. I think that Gale and her could have (and should have) ended up together. From the first book, Gale was the guy I was rooting for.Their friendship was so strong and I thought it should have bloomed into so much more. Peeta tried to kill Katniss over and over when he was rescued. Who's to say that he is completely better and wont turn on her once again? To my understanding of the book, Katniss only ended up with Peeta is because he was there, and it was simple to write that into the story. I didn't feel the love between them like before.
The real Katniss would have never let Gale leave like she did. On the other hand, Gale could be considered one of the minds behind the bombs that killed Prim. Oh that's right...the whole reason behind these books, the fact that Katniss went to the Games in the first place, seems like a bit of a waste now that her little sister was killed. And not just killed really, killed and then never really thought of after that it seemed. I seriously would have thought that if the author was going to kill off Prim, it would be a bigger deal to Katniss. Apparently not.
The whole ending just seemed too inconsistent with the rest. Primrose doesn't go to the games because she meant so much to Katniss, and Katniss would do anything for her sister - she dies. Katniss doesn't want to kill people because that's not what she stands for - she kills Coin just like that.
I've had a very hard time writing this book review because of my mixed feelings toward the book. My biggest disappointment was the lack of character depth. These characters that we grew to love or hate just became names in Mockingjay. There was nothing to them, they fell flat and it's really hard to enjoy the book when you know the potential of them. I was disappointed, that's really the best emotion to descirbe what I felt once I put the book down. Will I read it again or recommed it? Probably. Do I wish Collins would have spent more time thinking about the series as a whole? Absolutely.