Book Review: The Blessed by Tonya Hurley

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publish Date: September 25th, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2951-2
Pages: 416
Series: The Blessed, book #1
Source: ARC from Publisher

Goodreads Synopsis:
From the author of the New York Times bestselling ghostgirl series, the start to a captivating and haunting teen trilogy about three girls who become entangled with an enigmatic boy—a boy who believes he is a saint.
What if martyrs and saints lived among us? And what if you were told you were one of them?
Meet Agnes, Cecilia, and Lucy. Three lost girls, each searching for something. But what they find is Beyond Belief.

My Review:
I didn't understand this book. It was strange, confusing and not as enjoyable as I had thought. Though it was thick with chilling and haunting revelations, the characters didn't jump out of the pages. Sebastian, a mentally-ill patient (or is he? We don't really get an answer to that) at Perpetual Help Hospital escapes and targets so to say three young girls who also happen to be at the same hospital in the ER. Lucy, Cecilia and Agnes though completely different are drawn to the same place, the same night and find things they weren't ready for.
Lucy is a high-maintenance, self-centered, up and coming "it-girl" who believes in living in the moment with the hottest trends, places and will back-stab whoever to better herself. She was a bit of an annoyance really. Cecilia, or CeCe is a musician who doesn't care about much else. Her music and fans are her world, that's all she needs to get through the day. Agnes, a romantic with a big heart just wants to be in love. We don't get much else from these characters. And there wasn't much to go on in the first place. I had a hard time with these flat, uninteresting characters. Sebastian, while he seemed like he was going to be something in the book, turned out to be confusing and strange. He never seemed to really answer any questions the girls had and yet they completely fell for him and were willing to die for him. I couldn't get into that whole aspect of the book. These girls had doubts and at points were a little scared, but just continued to be naive and it was just a little surreal.
I'm not familiar at all with Saints and the stories behind them and The Blessed didn't reveal much about them, other than that these 3 saints - Saint Agnes, Saint Lucy and Saint Cecilia - were all horribly mistreated and then refused to die their intended ways. I'm not sure where Saint Sebastian falls into this. The end of the book, when these girls came to terms with everything, the violence and graphic nature was just absurd to be honest. They are supposed to be Saints after all. The Blessed is clearly not a novel for me, but I can see how someone would be intrigued by it's content.

Book Review: Burn For Burn by Jenny Han & Siobhan Vivian

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publish Date: September 18th, 2012
ISBN: 978-1-4424-4073-5
Pages: 368 
Series: Untitled trilogy, book #1
Source: ARC from publisher 

Goodreads Synopsis:

BIG GIRLS DON'T CRY...

THEY GET EVEN.

Lillia has never had any problems dealing with boys who like her. Not until this summer, when one went too far. No way will she let the same thing happen to her little sister.
Kat is tired of the rumours, the insults, the cruel jokes. It all goes back to one person– her ex-best friend– and she's ready to make her pay.
Four years ago, Mary left Jar Island because of a boy. But she's not the same girl anymore. And she's ready to prove it to him.
Three very different girls who want the same thing: sweet, sweet revenge. And they won't stop until they each had a taste.

My Review:
Burn For Burn, overall is a good read. It's a light read, it's heartwarming to see the friendships build, at times it's witty and it's all about getting revenge. Who doesn't like to read a little revenge?

Lillia, Kat and Mary have all been wronged by someone and they are willing to do what it takes to get back at those people. These 3 girls are all so different from one another but they want the same thing so they form an unlikely, secret friendship. Lillia and Kat have a past together while Mary has come back into town to face the boy who wronged her. Each chapter was set up as a different point of view, and this way we got to know the characters a little more personally and see more into their reason for revenge. The girls, being young, and in high school didn't have these big, extravagant revenge ploys. But what they did, it worked, it was more real this way. I mean, they thought their plans to be epic, and in a sense they were.  Jenny Han and Siobhan Vivian didn't stretch this out to be something far fetched. 

The whole idea of the book is great. It's fresh, fun and something we can all relate to in one way or another. What really got me was the paranormal aspect of Burn For Burn. It was so minute that at first I didn't even realize I had just read the part that was paranormal. It was a bit nonsensical how little of this genre we get in this book. It could be that book 2 is going to be full of explanations and have a more paranormal feel to it, but I just didn't get it. Really, there needed to be more or none at all. I can't wait to find out where book #2 will take us.

Han and Vivian wrote this together, and I'm not sure if they each wrote a specific chapter/POV or collaborated together but I thoroughly enjoyed their writing. Enough that I'm eager to read their other works. And the cliffhanger that we are left with at the end of Burn For Burn really pulled me in, and had me wishing for the next book right away. 

Top 100 Teen Books: NPR

NPR made a list, thanks to everyone who voted, and this is what they came up with.

The Top 100 Teen Books
(Bold - books I've read, italics - books I plan on reading)

1. Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling
2. The Hunger Games (series), by Suzanne Collins
3. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
4. The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green
5. The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien (it's on my bookshelf!)6. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
7. The Lord of the Rings (series), by J.R.R. Tolkien (book #1 is on my bookshelf)
8. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury
9. Looking for Alaska, by John Green
10. The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
11. The Giver (series), by Lois Lowry
12. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (series), by Douglas Adams
13. The Outsiders, by S.E. Hinton
14. Anne of Green Gables (series), by Lucy Maud Montgomery
15. His Dark Materials (series), by Philip Pullman
16. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
17. The Princess Bride, by William Goldman
18. Lord of the Flies, by William Golding
19. Divergent (series), by Veronica Roth
20. Paper Towns, by John Green
21. The Mortal Instruments (series), by Cassandra Clare
22. An Abundance of Katherines, by John Green
23. Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes
24. Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher
25. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, by Mark Haddon
26. Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson
27. Twilight (series), by Stephenie Meyer
28. Uglies (series), by Scott Westerfeld
29. The Infernal Devices (series), by Cassandra Clare
30. Tuck Everlasting, by Natalie Babbitt
31. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
32. The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (series), by Anne Brashares
33. The Call of the Wild, by Jack London
34. Will Grayson, Will Grayson, by John Green, David Levithan
35. Go Ask Alice, by Anonymous
36. Howl's Moving Castle, by Diana Wynne Jones
37. Stargirl, by Jerry Spinelli
38. A Separate Peace, by John Knowles
39. Vampire Academy (series), by Richelle Mead (books #1 and 2 on my bookshelf)
40. Abhorsen Trilogy / Old Kingdom Trilogy (series), by Garth Nix
41. Dune, by Frank Herbert
42. Discworld / Tiffany Aching (series, by Terry Pratchett
43. My Sister's Keeper, by Jodi Picoult
44. The Dark is Rising (series), by Susan Cooper
45. Graceling (series), Kristin Cashore (book #1, it's on my bookshelf!)
46. Forever..., by Judy Blume
47. Earthsea (series), by Ursula K. Le Guin
48. Inheritance Cycle (series), by Christopher Paolini (only the first 2 books)
49. The Princess Diaries (series), by Meg Cabot
50. The Song of the Lioness (series), by Tamora Pierce
51. Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson
52. Delirium (series), by Lauren Oliver (Book #1, on my shelf!)
53. Anna and the French Kiss, by Stephanie Perkins
54. Hush, Hush Saga (series), by Stephanie Perkins
55. 13 Little Blue Envelopes, by Maureen Johnson
56. It's Kind of a Funny Story, by Ned Vizzini
57. The Gemma Doyle Trilogy (series), by Libba Bray
58. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, by Ransom Riggs
59. The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros
60. Something Wicked This Way Comes, by Ray Bradbury
61. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
62. Just Listen, by Sarah Dessen
63. A Ring of Endless Light, by Madeleine L'Engle
64. The Truth About Forever, by Sarah Dessen
65. The Bartimaeus Trilogy (series), by Jonathan Stroud
66. Bloodlines (series), by Richelle Mead
67. Fallen (series), by Lauren Kate (on my bookshelf)
68. House of Night (series), by P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast
69. I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith
70. Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlsit, by Rachel Cohn, David Levithan
71. Before I Fall, by Lauren Oliver
72. Unwind, by Neal Shusterman
73. The Last Unicorn, by Peter S. Beagle
74. The Maze Runner Trilogy (series), by James Dashner (Book #1, on my bookshelf)
75. If I Stay, by Gayle Forman
76. The Blue Sword, by Robin McKinley
77. Crank (series), by Ellen Hopkins
78. Matched (series), by Allie Condie (on my shelf!)
79. Gallagher Girls (series), by Ally Carter
80. The Goose Girl, by Shannon Hale
81. Daughter of the Lioness / Tricksters (series), by Tamora Pierce
82. I Am the Messenger, by Markus Zusak
83. The Immortals (series), by Tamora Pierce
84. The Enchanted Forest Chronicles (series), by Patricia C. Wrede
85. Chaos Walking (series), by Patrick Ness
86. Circle of Magic (series), by Tamora Pierce
87. Daughter of Smoke & Bone, by Laini Taylor
88. Feed, by M.T. Anderson
89. Weetzie Bat (series), by Francesca Lia Block
90. Along for the Ride, by Sarah Dessen
91. Confessions of Georgia Nicolson (series), by Louise Rennison
92. Leviathan (series), by Scott Westerfeld
93. The House of the Scorpion, by Scott Westerfeld
94. The Chronicles of Chrestomanci (series), by Diana Wynne Jones
95. The Lullaby, by Sarah Dessen
96. Gone (series), by Michael Grant
97. The Shiver Trilogy (series), by Maggie Stiefvater (they're on my bookshelf!)
98. The Hero and the Crown, by Robin McKinley
99. Wintergirls, by Laurie Halse Anderson
100. Betsy-Tacy Books (series), by Maud Hart Lovelace

Read: 14 (hmm, not sure how I feel about that!!)
Plan on reading: 27

Book Review: Envy by Elizabeth Miles

Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publish Date: Sept 4th, 2012
Pages: 400
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2221-6
Series: The Fury Trilogy, book #2
Source: ARC from publisher

Goodreads Synopsis:
The Furies are back in the second book of a chilling paranormal trilogy where revenge rules the day—and “sorry” isn’t going to cut it. Spring is coming, and the ice is slowly melting in Ascension…revealing the secrets buried beneath.
Emily Winters knows the Furies have roots in Ascension, Maine—but she’s about to discover that they’re deeper than she ever imagined. With the help of her new friend Drea, she vows to dig them out. But it’s hard to focus when she’s desperate to make up with JD, and to figure out why Crow, a mysterious Ascension High dropout, seems to be shadowing her.
Meanwhile, new girl Skylar McVoy is determined to leave her own dark past behind. So she’s thrilled when popular Gabby takes her under her wing, and the stunning and sophisticated Meg offers to give her a major makeover. But everyone knows what happens to the vainest girl of all…
It’s tempting to be naughty. But beware: the Furies are always watching, and their power grows stronger by the day.

My Review:
Envy follows the lives of Em, Drea, JD and others from the first novel in this trilogy, Fury (my review here). We are reunited with these characters along with Ali, Ty and Meg, the beautiful 'cousins', also known to destroy the lives of others because they are Furies. Beautiful girls who wreak havoc on those who have wronged someone. The wrath they dealt out continues when the new girl in town, Skylar becomes close friends with Meg. Skylar moves to Ascension to start her life again and make the most of it. She had a tough life where she was always in the shadow of her sister and now she's ready to become popular and have people notice her. Skylar, being the new girl meets Gabby, the girl who is super nice to everyone and right away the click. They become good friends and Skylar is happy. That is until one of the Furies tries to ruin it all and put ideas into Skylar's head, that may change everything.
Envy is written so that each chapter focuses on a different social group per se, though the all overlap and intertwine. Em, from book #1 is trying her hardest to explain her situation with JD, whom she has finally admitted feelings for. But he feels betrayed and hurt and cannot fathom ever forgiving her for what he thinks happened. Meanwhile, Em is trying to put a stop to the Furies and finds out some things along the way that may or may not be the answer. And this new Crow character, there's something to him that I just cannot wait to read about in book #3. I'm eager to find out more about this mysterious high school drop out.
I really enjoyed Envy, more so than Fury. This book was written better with more character development and more depth. Overall, Envy was just more enjoyable. And I'm happy to see that we are getting some answers and some explanation with the history and background of these ladies who are out to get you. There was definitely a creepy feel to the book. Envy will seep into your mind and haunt you well into the night. It's just that kind of good!