~Ali~

Looking forward to more from Christo

Revisado: 06-07-18

I'll definitely be down to read more Alexandra Christo titles. Her take on Little Mermaid was bloodier, darker and much more dangerous. All things that made it an extremely entertaining read. Also loved that we didn't get the silly Disney type ending!

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I hated it and I loved it.

Revisado: 06-07-18

Well.

I've always meant to get around to reading The Bell Jar. It used to pop up on my high school reading lists and each time I passed it up for some other title that seemed less depressive. However, seeing that Maggie Gyllenhaal was narrating this, I thought it was time to take the dive.

Turns out it was more of a wade. There is no diving into the deep end of The Bell Jar. The story stays at a fairly constant and calm pace. Even in the midst of Esther Greenwood's mental breakdown. It was all so odd to me. So anticlimactic. I kept waiting for a big break of some sort and it just never came.

That's not a judgement on mental disorders of any sort, I do realize some work that way. It's not even a judgement on Plath's writing, which was quite beautiful and imaginative. But the slow steady pace just makes for somewhat of a boring book.

Honestly, I had a real struggle to understand Esther at all. Her biggest problem seemed to be some inane thought that she would forever end up under the rule of a man. Which seemed off to me because she was raised by a very independent mother and she was off at college in New York with some fairly progressive women. And her illness just sort of went from strange little musings that most minds wouldn't conjure (but were harmless enough) to full on wanting to die - almost overnight.

I didn't connect with that. I didn't like the way her journey unfolded.

I did love those strange little musings though. Quite a lot, actually.

So - what are my feelings about The Bell Jar? I'm not sure I know. I hated it and I loved it.

I can say that Gyllenhaal was an amazing narrator. A+ on that front.

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A refreshing, exciting, farily clean YA read.

Revisado: 10-24-13

Would you listen to Through the Lens again? Why?

I probably would listen to Through the Lens again. It was a somewhat light read. There is drama but it isn't full of heart-wrenching, soul-breaking turmoil. Yet, there is intrigue and excitement.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I really enjoyed being in Jessa's head. She's a pretty down to earth girl with a good sense of right and wrong. She is not the typical YA chic and it was refreshing. There is a bite of angst but she does not over dramatize every little detail of her life.

On the other hand...I wish she would have had more conversation with Ethan. I didn't particularly like how the relationship between them developed. She was so meek and quiet that I didn't feel the connection until much later in the book.

What about Erin Mallon’s performance did you like?

Erin Mallon gave a good solid read. Proper inflection, enough emotion...she was never boring or droll, nor was she immature.

Any additional comments?

What I loved most about Through the Lens is the air of mystery, the thread of the unknown. Even though I pegged the situation fairly early on, I was still interested in how it would all play out.

Shannon Dermott delivered a mature YA story with a level of responsibility and respect. Giving characters with strong moral convictions and pride. She dealt with a few touchy subjects with great maturity.

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Short but sweet & fun!

Revisado: 05-17-13

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Miranda Puckett is a class A screw up. Not for lack of trying to be something better, she just seems to have the most impossible luck. Ever. Taking on a new job doesn't change her luck. Not even remotely. It does, however, make for quite an interesting and entertaining ride.

Driving Mr. Dead is a very short read, or listen in my case. It was only about 5 hours long and it is listed as 160 pages. More of a novella, in my opinion. Even with it being so short, you get a good feel for who Miranda is and what her life has been up to the point of picking up Collin.

Collin is like an extreme case of anal retentiveness. He's super particular, uptight, starchy and kind of just dickish. At first. But, spend a couple of days with Miranda and her knack of finding herself in the oddest of situations and Collin can't help but loosen the stick in his ass and the cage around his heart.

I had read Harper's Jane Jameson series and liked the humor in it. She delivers once again with Driving Mr. Dead. I giggled through a good portion of it and my only complaint would be the length. I would have liked to see more of the developing relationship between Miranda and Collin.

If you're looking for a super quick, fun, witty read complete with pink boobs, exploding cars and stolen spiced peaches...as well as interesting characters and a sweet romance...look no further.

Quick note on the narrator, Amanda Ronconi, she does a fairly decent job overall. Though her voice for Collin was a tad odd. Yes, he's stiff (ha!) but it was a little much at times.

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Much more than I expected!

Revisado: 05-17-13

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The Darkest Minds was a much more emotional read for me than I initially expected. I went into it thinking it would be a X-Men type story full of action and excitement. What I found was something much more human. Alexandra Bracken evokes so many feelings throughout this book that you almost feel light headed at times.

I can't say what drove Ruby's parents to lock her in the garage and call the authorities to come pick her up. It would really be too spoilerish. But imagine this scenario, if you will. Children all over are hitting puberty and developing strange, powerful and sometimes deadly abilities. Maybe not the most unique idea, it's been done...but not quite like it has in The Darkest Minds. I digress. Parents are being conditioned to fear children and are told to turn them in for 'rehabilitation'. Not all parents go along with this idea, but most do.

Rehabilitation is really no more than imprisonment and the kids with the most dangerous abilities, coded by the colors 'Reds' and 'Oranges' , are quickly disappearing from these kiddy prison camps. When Ruby is picked up she manages to skate by and be coded as a 'Green', one of the least dangerous. However, eventually someone catches on and wants to use her abilities for their own profit and helps her leave the grand daddy of all camps. But Ruby escapes this second custody and hooks up with three other kids on the run. Liam, Chubs and Zu. Eventually, they find a haven for kids like them and a mastermind of an Orange named Clancy who wants to help Ruby develop her powers.

Ruby starts off as a fairly meek heroine. She hides behinds others and is terrified of herself. She eventually comes to use her powers when trying to protect others but still has this fear of them throughout the book. Towards the end I was mentally screaming at her to just let them loose already! Though, you absolutely have to feel for Ruby, she's spent six years at Camp Thurmond and knows really nothing of the outside world or human behavior. She's basically a ten year old in a sixteen year old body. Not to mention she is terrified to even touch anyone else because of her brains powerful ability to force its way into anyone's head and see all their memories, good or bad.

The relationships she slowly forms with Liam, Chubs, Zu and eventually Clancy change everything about Ruby and how she views herself and her life. She comes to realize that there are bigger threats than herself for those she cares about and they aren't all coming from obvious places. She learns how to love, how to be in control, how to be controlled and how much she is willing to sacrifice to protect others like her.

Now, there is some of X-Men type action, it's not chalked full of it, but there are some scenes and they are pretty fricking cool. I'm hoping for much more of them in the books to come, because they really are very exciting and kids kicking ass is just fun. There is also a large amount of humor. Liam and Chubs are both great characters with smart mouths and tender hearts. Zu is a total sweetheart that I dare anyone not to love.

The relationships in The Darkest Minds will tickle your heart, the action scenes will jump start it, the mystery and intrigue may cause it to skip a beat here and there and the ending will threaten to stop it for a second or two.

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Slow and a bit boring

Revisado: 04-22-13

What disappointed you about Amy and Roger’s Epic Detour?

The pacing was just so slow. I realize not a lot of action can happen during a (realistic) road trip, but even the conversation was at a snails pace. They played 20 questions a lot, too. Uh, yeah...no thanks.

Any additional comments?

This is going to be quite a short review, I fear. I am having difficulty coming up with words for my opinion on Amy & Roger's Epic Detour.

Amy Curry was in a car accident several months before the start of this story. An accident in which her father died. With her brother, Charlie, shipped off to rehab and her mother across the country setting up a new house...Amy is alone. She is waiting out the end of the school year then will be transported from California to Connecticut. Transported by a virtual stranger. Roger.

Roger is on his own journey of sorts. Recently the victim of a breakup, he hopes to track down in ex-girlfriend in the hopes of winning her back. Driving Amy cross country is a means to an end.

What they each find on this trip was and unexpected bond, unexpected feeling and an eventual healing. The healing of Roger's broken heart and Amy's broken soul.

Amy & Roger's Epic Detour should have been a great story. It could have been filled with great moments, fun filled adventures and heart breaking confessions. Unfortunately, it was filled more with boredom than anything else. The pacing was entirely too slow for me and the playlists at the beginning of most of the chapters had me rolling my eyes. No college kid would have all those songs on his ipod. I'm being nittpicky, I know. Sue me.

There were a few smiles to be had and a couple of sweet moments but they were far too few. The narrator, Suzy Jackson, did a fine job though...so, there is that.

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Not what I expected, but still good

Revisado: 03-23-13

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Any additional comments?

Listening to the audiobook of Feed by Mira Grant left me with a most unexpected experience. I've read my fair share of zombie books from horror to humor, but none have left me feeling the way Feed did. I'm not even sure how to review it but I'll give it a shot.

Feed is told from the point of view(s) of a team of bloggers after the world has fallen prey to a zombie infestation. The news gets to folks more quickly and effectively through various blogger types, Georgia and her brother Shaun being a fairly successful team have signed on to caravan with a presidential hopeful during his campaign. Along the trail this team of bloggers will fall into the middle of what could be the largest most dangerous political conspiracy ever and it will put all their lives at risk.

Quite a large chunk of the beginning of the book is focused on world building told by both Gerogia's narrative and also by the occasional blog post. It was an interesting approach to writing. The world Grant creates is both fascinating and terrifying. She has put a ton of detail into this futuristic danger zone filled with brain eaters and I love what she has come up with.

Another aspect I enjoyed was the character development. There is a large cast here but it was easy to get a clear grasp of who everyone was. I had heard rumblings about the relationship between Georgia and Shaun being odd and turning some people off, but I didn't feel that. It is a very dependent relationship, they rely on each other for everything (literally) but it never felt anything other than a very close sibling bonding to me. Taken into context of what this world is like, I think it may be natural. I actually enjoyed the relationships all the bloggers had with each other.

Without giving any direct spoilers, I have to say that the bravery Grant showed at the end of Feed was amazing. Not many writers would take the leap she did, straight into the deep end of the pool, it was utterly unexpected and pure genius.

What I did not enjoy was the pacing and the lack of action. This zombie ride is a slow moving vehicle with little flesh eating outbreaks and honestly, that just isn't what I typically look for in Z books. I like the gore and blasting of brains. It's not to say that Feed wasn't a well written and enjoyable read. It is, but it isn't what I thought I was going to get.

I think I will still continue with the series, I will just be hoping Shaun will be doing a lot more poking of zombies with sticks, because that would rock!

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Disappointed

Revisado: 03-23-13

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Rarely do I come across a book that I find very little in it that I liked. Blood Red Road is an exception. There were so few elements to it that I found enjoyable that I still can not believe I made it to the end. Especially, without the loss of hair or my sanity.

I'll start with the writing style. Blood Red Road is a futuristic dystopian, yet everyone talks like it takes place in the 1800's. I was espectin (yes, that is how they would say expecting) some toothless gold miner's to come rushing into the story. It's a lot of fer (for), yer (you're), babbies (babies), britches (pants), afeared (afraid, scared)... I'm sure you get the point.

Now, I understand that Saba and her siblings are raised in a remote setting with the lack of any sort of education or influence. Therefore, it is understandable that they would have some lazy way of speaking. However, almost everyone in this world speaks this way. It was worthy of some pretty major teeth grinding on my part. It felt too contrived, too forced and really unnecessary. I don't think it needed to be such a big part of the book and I felt it took away from the story.

Saba is horrid at first and by the end only slightly better. She's stubborn in the most awful ways, she's rude to damn near everyone, she is plainly the biggest bitch ever to her little nine year old sister and is entirely too obsessed with her twin brother. She would, quite literally, abandon her sister Emmi to get her brother back from his kidnappers. I spent about 75% of the book disliking her, the other 25% scratching my head.

She, somehow, manages to rally up quite the cast of helpers. I'm still confused by what they saw in her at first. But, the gang that helps her out are pretty remarkable characters and I enjoyed them quite a bit. The girl gang who go by Free Hawks were quite fun and I would like to read more about them - assuming they learn how to speak in somewhat proper English.

The villain was not a villain, he was a joke. I don't know where the hell the idea of him came from but I did not get it what so ever. I won't say what is so clown-like about him because I like to be spoiler free, but - wow, just wow, really? He didn't even seem like a threat. I don't know, I'm starting to ramble here. I'll stop now.

As far as the audio goes, if the narrator was directed to make every character sound dull and slow-witted; job well done.

I feel like this is a about as harsh of a review as I ever post and though I am not alone in my feelings on Blood Red Road, I am in the minority.

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Wow. I'll start with that. Wow.

Revisado: 03-07-13

Any additional comments?

Wow. I'll start with that. Wow.

There is just something about a good, or great, fantasy that gets me really excited. Sanderson exquisitely delivers some incredible world building skills in the first installment of the Mistborn series. I was thoroughly transported into Luthadel during each read.

I loved Vin. Actually, I disliked much about her but I think her small character flaws made me love her even more. She starts off so quiet and small and ends up as this bigger than life young woman ready to take on so much. Maybe not everything, but still so so much.

All the characters were wonderful and each so richly distinct. Some caring and humorous, some snobby and cruel, others all too arrogant but all were interesting.

"You should try not to talk so much, friend. You'll sound far less stupid that way.."


Beneath a wealth of wonderful world building and amazing character development is an outstanding story. It's not just a tale of a young girl's journey to becoming a hero. It is that, of course. But there is so much more. It's a tale of friendship and love and lost love and pain and oppression and religion and oh hell, so much. There are some very endearing moments followed promptly by some epic fights, then some profound learning experience.

"Belief isn't simply a thing for fair times and bright days...What is belief - what is faith - if you don't continue in it after failure?...Anyone can believe in someone, or something that always succeeds...But failure...ah, now, that is hard to believe in, certainly and truly. Difficult enough to have value. Sometimes we just have to wait long enough...then we find out why exactly it was that we kept believing...There's always another secret."


I won't spend much time going into too many of the details, this is a large book. A 26+ hour audio. Needless to say, we would be here all day if I gave a thorough synopsis. However, for any fantasy lover it is well worth the time spent. There is a new take on magic that blew my mind, it involves metals and is so exquisitely developed that I actually feel smarter for having read it. Yes, I'm a dork - what? There were action scenes and plot twists that stole my breath, and just a sprinkle of a heart tingling romance...what more could you ask for? Brandon Sanderson is to younger readers what George R.R. Martin is to adult readers, a master of fantasy.

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With all that I hated, I still loved it.

Revisado: 03-05-13

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* Contains spoilers for Shatter Me ~ fair warning *

At the end of Shatter Me, Juliette seemed to be on the verge of taking control. At least, that is what it felt like for me. She had escaped to Omega Point, found refuge with others who have bizarre powers, found a safe place that was willing to help her nurture her abilities. I expected Unravel Me to start with a huge punch of power, of self awareness and control on Juliette's part.

What I found instead was the same old Juliette. Mopey, depressed, self-deprecating and annoying. There were several moments when we would see a spark, a flicker of something...something that maybe meant Juliette was finally ready to be more. All too quickly that little flicker would snuff out.

“I am nothing more than the consequence of catastrophe.”


I understand her life has been ridiculously horrible and hard but come on already. Grow a backbone and use it rationally. That's all I'm asking. I lost a bit of my love for Juliette with Unravel Me. She just got more and more ridiculous, more selfish, more ridiculous...did I say that already? Her decision making ability was non existent, she did dumb thing after stupid thing followed by moronic thing. When she should have been learning and training and working to save lives she was instead dreaming about boys and kisses and touches and ugh....just getting utterly distracted by all things Juliette, Adam and Warner.

Let's move on, shall we? We are finally exposed to the reason Adam can touch Juliette and brings on a whole new set of problems for them. While I can sympathize with the situation, Adam's reaction to it and decisions he makes because of it had me gritting my teeth in anger on multiple occasions. I'm (almost) always spoiler free so I can't go into any detail here but I can say he should be thinking a little more about her than himself at this point. Yet, he is still so sickly sweet and loveable that it tears at my emotions.

“Juliette, please, tell me what I'm supposed to do. How am I supposed to feel? It's one sh*tty thing right after another and I'm trying to be okay--God, I'm trying so hard but it's really freaking difficult and I miss--I miss you, I miss you so much it's killing me.”


I was pretty upfront in my review of Shatter Me that I was Team Warner ~ all the way. I loved him even more after reading the novella Destroy Me which is told in his point of view. However, Warner also has my emotions torn in two now. I still adore him, he's the best character in the series as far as I am concerned. But there are more and more confusing decisions made by him that make me think, yes he's redeemable but not necessarily ever will he be deserving of winning the girl.

Then we have Kenji. Kenji takes a much more prominent role, being a big wig at Omega Point he seems to be everywhere. He too is an amazing character and this book would be missing something horrible if his quirky jabs were not a part of it.

“Are you kidding?” I stop in the middle of the kitchen. Spin around. My face is pulled together in disbelief. “You’ve spoken to me maybe once in the two weeks I’ve been here. I hardly even notice you anymore.”

“Okay, hold up,” he says, turning to block my path. “We both know there’s no way you haven’t noticed all of this” — he gestures to himself — “so if you’re trying to play games with me, I should let you know up front that it’s not going to work.”

“What?” I frown. “What are you talking abou—”

“You can’t play hard to get, kid.” He raises an eyebrow. “I can’t even touch you. Takes ‘hard to get’ to a whole new level, if you know what I mean.”

“Oh my God,” I mouth, eyes closed, shaking my head. “You are insane.”

He falls to his knees. “Insane for your sweet, sweet love!”

The writing style is as strange as it was in Shatter Me, and again I have to applaud Kate Simses for her wonderful job of narrating. She is remarkable at taking me to a place I don't think I could get to on my own.

With all that I hated about Unravel Me, I still loved it. Sometimes I wonder what is wrong with me. Why do I like these train wrecks so much? I love the world, I love the struggles, I love the turmoil of this stupid love triangle, I love that it makes me an emotional puddle of soupy goo. I think I am just as ridiculous as Juliette for wallowing in this misery. Or maybe I am just as insane as Kenji...insane for this crazy emotional roller coaster ride.

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