Book Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Name: If I Stay (If I Stay #1)

Author: Gayle Forman

Publishers: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated

Summary: In a single moment, everything changes. Seventeen-year-old Mia has no memory of the accident; she can only recall riding along the snow-wet Oregon road with her family. Then, in a blink, she finds herself watching as her own damaged body is taken from the wreck...

Review:  I had heard a lot of great comments about this series and was finally able to go through my stack of books and begin to read If I Stay. I was drawn in right from the beginning. The author does a fantastic job at creating a visual picture of the scenes written in the book. If I Stay has such a deep emotional tie, that it is hard not to want to continue reading!

  The characters in this book are very likable. Mia, the sole character of the book has very fun, hip, supportive parents; I enjoyed reading the sections where Mia would describe her mother and father. During the dialogue it was great to see the difference between her parents personalities and their daughters- Mia may be the oddball, but I couldn't help but feel the warmth, acceptance and encouragement she received from  her family. In fact, Mia has everything any teenager could possibly want; She is being considered into Julliard, Adam her rocker boyfriend has the sweetest personality and who couldn't enjoy reading about her silly younger brother Teddy who always looks up to her. 

Gayle uses a writing style that I don't normally like; she switches back and forth between past events/stories and the present. Sometimes I feel as though that can either be confusing or interrupts the book. But I never felt that way while reading If I Stay; the emotions, feelings that I had while reading transferred over.

I believe this book was a reality check, it makes a person look around and think "Wow! My whole world could easily turn upside down in the blink of an eye." Gayle writes from the patients (Mia) perspective which is something that a reader doesn't always get to experience. The emotions and feelings that Mia has are believable, heartbreaking, and real. She is telling the story how she sees it as an observer of her own life, watching herself lie in the hospital. While watching these events unfold, hearing what her loved ones have to say, Mia has to make some valuable decision- one that won't only change her life but those around her. While reading I could help but put myself in Mia's shoes & wonder what my choice would've been. As well as what path I believe Mia should take-Should she stay or should she go.

Overall, I truly enjoyed reading If I Stay. I am excited to continue onto the next book, Where She Went. I would recommend this book for anyone- especially if you are looking for something quick to read. If you are a sappy reader like myself, then I advise having a few tissues close ;-) 

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Book Review: Divergent By Veronica Roth

Name: Divergent
Author: Veronice Roth
Publishers: HarperCollins Children's Books

Summary: In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.
Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series—dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

Lately, I have noticed that Dystopian reads have been hitting the young adult shelves like crazy. And after reading books like The Hunger Games Series, I had to pick up a few more novels in this genre. What does Dystopian mean? Well, below is a quick definition:
             
 Dystopian is a fictional society; when the conditions of life are   extremely bad due to deprivation, oppression, or terror. In most dystopian fiction, a corrupt government creates or sustains the poor quality of life, often conditioning the masses to believe the society is proper and just, even perfect.
The above is a perfect example of the society in Divergent. At the age of 16, Beatrice is made to choose one of the five factions (a group/society) that the city of Chicago is divided into. Each faction having a their own distinct rules and identity. While reading I couldn't help but wonder which faction I would belong to? On Veronica Roth's blog she explains the first 100 pages of Divergent including a definition for each faction. I put a quick summary of her blog post below:

DAUNTLESS: fearless, undaunted (courageously resolute in the face of danger/difficulty).
ABNEGATION: .to refuse or deny oneself (some rights, conveniences, etc.); reject; renounce.
ERUDITE: characterized by great knowledge; learned or scholarly
CANDOR: the state or quality of being frank, open, and sincere in speech or expression; candidness.
AMITY: friendship; peaceful harmony. mutual understanding and a peaceful relationship, especially between nations; peace; accord.

After reading Divergent I couldn't come to a conclusion of which faction I would choose; but two that I would best be fit for: Candor & Dauntless - honest & brave. Say what's on my mind & a little bit of a daredevil! lol
So, which faction would you be in?
The characters in Divergent are written incredibly well, not to mention I fell in love with a few (who can't love Beatrice & Four ;-) ) I was very impressed. Each character belongs to a different faction, and it was very easy to tell by the way the character talks to one another & their actions which faction they belonged to. Or in some cases which faction they are in but don't necessarily belong there. This isn't always easy to do, and each character had a distinct voice.

One of my favorites parts to this book is that I believe the author, Veronica takes a very relate-able topic, and makes it into this adrenaline filled novel. Beatrice has to make the ultimate choice, continue to be in a faction with her family or chose a faction that best fits her personality. We all have to develop a sense of self: who are we? who we hang around? What do we want out of life? And maybe those things aren't exactly what our parents or family would choose for us or even be a part of. All in all, the messages are clear, you just have to think a little (which I love about books- everyone can take from it what they want). I have never taken so many notes on my Nook before.

Overall, the WOW factor & excitement of Divergent is over the top! This book was a page turner no doubt and will keep you up into the wee hours of the night. I can't wait for the next book- the ending was a bit tortuous I will say- leaves the reader with a bit of a cliff hanger ;-)  ***** Five of Five Stars

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Book Review: Midnight By LJ Smith

Name: Midnight
Author: L.J Smith
Publishers: Hodder Children's Books

Summary: With the help of charming and devious Damon, Elena rescued her vampire love, Stefan, from the depths of the Dark Dimension. But neither brother returned unscathed.
Stefan is weak from his long imprisonment and needs more blood than Elena alone can give him, while a strange magic has turned Damon into a human. Savage and desperate, Damon will do anything to become a vampire again, even travel back to hell. But what will happen when he accidentally takes Bonnie with him?
Stefan and Elena hurry to rescue their innocent friend from the Dark Dimension, leaving Matt and Meredith to save their hometown from the dangerous spirits that have taken hold of Fell's Church. One by one, children are succumbing to demonic designs. But Matt and Meredith soon discover that the source of the evil is darker and closer than they ever could have imagined. .

Midnight is the seventh book in the Vampire Diaries series by LJ Smith.
Unfortunately, it took a while for this novel to get going, which saddened me as I was hooked on the previous book, Shadow Souls.Shadow Souls ended with such a cliffhanger as Damon Salvatore became human, so I was eager for Midnight's release.

I expected Midnight to be a feisty novel but it was quite hard going and at many points I nearly stopped reading it altogether. I don't feel that Damon's emotion was portrayed well at the beginning of the book but, in persevering with it, I did see a lot of improvement. The downside is I wasn't hooked on the novel until nearer the end.

There was lots of new information in this chapter of the series, for example finding out that Meredith's a hunter slayer.How does this fair with Elena, who has a Vampire boyfriend and a lover? What I also liked was the pairings in Damon and Bonnie, when she ended up returning to the dark dimension with him. Damon never wanted her to follow him, as he worried for her safety.
He cared really, nick-naming Bonnie his 'little redbird'.

Matt and Meredith were thrown together in a bid to save Fells Church from the evil kitsune twins who played a huge part in Shadow Souls, only to find out that an unlikely old lady was really the key to the pure evil goings on in the Church. The ever prominent love triangle between Damon, Elena and Stefan was a huge highlight of the book. Even though I consider myself a Damon fan, I did feel so sorry for Stefan when he realised how strong Damon and Elena's love was. But did he realise when it's too late?

I've really enjoy the Vampire Diaries series. Even though this particular novel was tough going, it got there in the end. I'm definitely going to read some more of LJ Smith's work. It's a sad feeling that she'll no longer write any more of the Vampire Diaries series.

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Dead Beautiful Blog Tour: Video and QnA

As some of you guys know who follow us on twitter, we have been filming some scenes from Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon and well here is the final product. If you haven't read the book yet maybe this will make you want to! ENJOY! please lead feedback! we hope to do another scene soon from another awesome book. Also check out the QnA we had with Yvonne at the bottom :)




 How did you come up with the (story, angle, idea)

I came up with the story in different parts. I thought of the lore behind it when I was reading a Descartes book for one of my graduate classes. It got my mind thinking, and Dante and Renée came from that. I went to a New England prep school for high school, and Gottfried Academy was inspired by those experiences. The Latin came to me in the university library. I was doing research for one of my classes, and looked up to see a huge Latin phrase engraved over the door. After that, everything sort of fit together.


What is your favourite scene/scenes in Dead Beautiful?


Hmm, that’s hard. I think the scene I had the most fun writing was the séance, and the Dante and Renée chalkboard scene that followed. I also really enjoyed writing the winter break chapter. It was nice to take a break from Gottfried and explore a different setting—kind of like taking a break to catch my breath.


 When naming your characters, do you give any thought to the actual meaning?


I did. I think a lot about etymologies, and because Dead Beautiful is in some ways a book about ancient languages, I knew that the names had to be specific. I came up with the names Renée and Dante before writing the book, though the rest of the names were made up on the way (or borrowed from my friends and former teachers!).


The ending of the book was amazing, not at all expected. Do you surprise yourself sometimes when you come up with twists and jaw dropping scenes like that?


Thanks! The ending surprised me, too. I actually wrote several endings, none of which really worked or did justice to the rest of the story. The current ending eventually came to me after weeks of brooding, and then I spent a few more weeks tweaking it, including a few elements from previous endings as twists.


Can you give us any clues as to what is going to happen in Life Eternal?


It picks up Renée and Dante’s story, though with a few complicating characters. All I can divulge for now is that it involves a lot of French. And trekking through snowy climes.

 

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