Review of "Populatti" by Jackie Nastri Bardenwerper

Populatti by Jackie Nastri Bardenwerper
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Received as a free ARC from Netgalley.

You think Facebook has a play in today's bullying? Imagine if it was private and monitored only by teenagers.

This book is about Livi, a seemingly normal--but insecure--teenage girl who's at the top of her High School's society because she's friend's with the right people.

Jackie has a flair for writing teenagers, and while I was sitting here questioning Livi's choices and self-contradictions on every page, I could still recognize my own adolescent voice in Livi's experiences.

Livi is on the Honor Council at her school, meaning she helps decide if students are suspended or not. It's only briefly explained in the book, but it helps paint the picture of the Main Character. She's a good student, basically.

However, when the adults aren't looking (Not that her doctor parents are much present in the book) she uses her time on the social networking "Populatti". Livi's friend Crystal is a child-genius, and in order to ace her way into a good college, she created this secret network. Completely without adult supervision or moderating.

When Livi's place on this exclusive, invite-only social network is threatened, she has to figure out where the truth ends and the lies begin. She's fed information from her best friend's but over time, she realize that her so-called friends may not be as great as she'd hoped.

What I liked: There was a lot of great teen-angst coming from Livi. That's not always easy to pull off. And I especially liked how naturally the author portrayed Livi's thoughts.


What I didn't like: Unfortunately, there's a few things I absolutely didn't like.

1. I know my version was an ARC, but I sincerely hope the publisher/Author has looked through for formatting mistakes. There was quite a few, along with jumbled sentences switching place. The start of every chapter, didn't really work on kindle on my phone, and it was only a tad better on my tablet.

2. It dragged on. And not in an entertaining way. The middle was too... bland. And my interest faded after the first 30% and didn't pick up until after 60%. The rest of it, however was intriguing, though.

3. I'm a bit sad it ended when it did. After taking a long break from the book, I was just getting into it again, and was looking forward to seeing the aftermath of Livi's choices. However, this opens up a possibility for a sequel, and I guess that's also good.

Conclusion:

All in all. It's an okay book. It tackles issues with online-bullying, and I would certainly give this to my sister to read once she starts going online.

I think my issues with the book has more to do with formatting, and my age than the content of the book, because it's a light read that leaves you thinking.

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Review of "Matched" by Ally Condie

Matched by Ally Condie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

After reading the description, I was like:




But, after reading the book, I was like:



Warning: May contain spoilers. You've been warned.

I absolutely loved the premise of this book. I expected a dystopian novel, with a girl desperately wanting to break free and make her own choices. A thrilling tale of sticking it to the man, while being clever about it. And finally, I expected a sweet romance, about how love is the one thing that can't be controlled.

But what I got, was a poorly executed excuse of a love triangle. The girl was torn between her childhood friend whom she swears she loves, but haven't dared think about in that way and the mysterious quiet kid she barely remembers, but he's so dark and silent--he gotta be exciting.

Don't get me wrong, I love a good love-triangle as much as the next person. But for me to enjoy it properly, I need to be invested in the feelings. And this book didn't really give me that personal attachment to the characters.

The book is about Cassia. She's going to her Matching, where she'll find out who the society wants her to spend the rest of her life with. When she finds out it's her best friend, Xander, she's overly thrilled. She's never thought of him like that, but she knows: she loves him.

She gets a micro-card with information about her Match, and happily, arrives home.

But when she comes home and wants to see what important information the society thinks she should know, something goes wrong. It's not just Xander's face on the screen anymore, now she also sees Ky, the silent, average boy from further down the street. At first, she believes the lies fed from the Officials, but as time goes on, she knows: she loves Ky too!

There was a number of things that bothered me about the book. I'm just going to take it from the top.

The Characters:

Cassia: In the start, I actually liked Cassia. I could relate to her excitement over the Match--I was excited, as well.

But then she started thinking. And by gods, she's annoying! She asks a question almost every other page. Which is good, if it did anything else than to remind the reader that she can't make up her mind between Xander and Ky.

Ky Markham: Again, with Ky, I liked him at first. He was a bit mysterious... But then he started talking, sending Cassia's hormones around the globe--but without actually saying anything. It's a touch that simply sends her over the clouds. I don't know if he just has magical hands, or whatever it is.

Her Parents: "Follow the rules. They work for us.", "Follow the rules unless grandpa asks for a favor." "Follow the rules because Society is Da Bomb!" Ugh. I get the deeper reasoning behind their mood-changes. But, I shouldn't have to be confused about it. Their explanations are so... empty. No feeling, no personal investments--nothing.

The Plot:

The Society: For the most part, I actually liked the way the Society was built up. Some of it, managed to even solicit a reaction from me. Like when Cassia watched the books being burned: It hurt me on a deep personal level, and I kinda just hated everything there.

But, some of the actions just seemed so random. For example: (view spoiler)[At the end of the book, Cassia's Official tries to pass the whole book off as an 'experiment', but it's apparently a lie. However, what then doesn't make any sense to me, is some of the events: like the relocation, or the removal of artifacts. If they're going to spend so much time explaining what horrible society it is, then they should also explain everything when it's time for the big reveal. (hide spoiler)]

The Love Triangle: There was NO chemistry between ANY of the characters. Even Xander and Ky could at any given moment, still have met just five minutes prior, and it would still have made sense. There was no proper descriptions of the past, but just a few memories told in a matter-of-fact way.

The Writing:

This one is something I normally don't comment on at all. I like to write myself, and I know how much hard work that goes into writing a whole book. However, when I pay 10 dollars for an e-book I expect it to be good. Especially, because Penguin has a track-record of being experts of tightening up books. However, some of the filler-thoughts, and awkward phrasings in this book is not what I would expect from Penguin.

I kid you not, at some point in the book, Xander and Cassia is having a simple, bittersweet moment. She leans her head on his shoulder, and then...

Xander bends his head to rest on her.

Let me take that one more time. He bends his head. Not, arches his neck, or leans down, or simply rest his head on top of her. No. He possess the power to bend his skull in order to rest on top of Cassia's head.




However, with all that said. I still enjoyed the premise and the Society. I'm not too keen on the book itself. I won't be reading the next book anyway, but others may enjoy it more than I did.

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Review of "Ocean's Gift" by Demelza Carlton

Ocean's Gift by Demelza Carlton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Take a plunge into a tale of mermaids, global warming and down-and-dirty fun.

"The ocean gave him to me..." These are the first words that meet you when you start reading 'Ocean's Gift', and you are instantly plunged deep under water with a mermaid mourning the loss of someone she holds dear.

With a humor that caused me to both blush and giggle all through, Demelza Carlton, tackles the ever-growing threat of Global Warming. The story features a young electrician as he meets three mermaids, and we follow him through his working holiday as a fisher.

The tone is light, and despite the serious theme of the book, it is an entertaining book.

Demelza Carlton obviously has a gift for writing. At first, I was hesitant because of the first POV. For some reason, I have taken a disliking to stories, where I feel as if I'm a mirror of the character. This wasn't the case with this book, and it took me in total one day to finish all 200+ pages. I simply couldn't put it down.

I strongly recommend this for both women and men, who like to dwell into serious subjects, along with getting down and dirty on occasion.



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Review of "Warbreaker" by Brandon Sanderson

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read "Warbreaker" after it was uploaded for free on Wattpad--and I couldn't put it down again.

Siri and Vienna are siblings, and because of a treaty Vienna has to travel to Hallandren to marry the God King. However, their father changes his mind in the last moment and sends Siri instead. This doesn't go over well with Vienna, who out of spite, travels to Hallandren to save her sister.

While Siri is introduced to the intimidating God King, and he otherwise colorful life of the Court, Vienna encounters a secret rebellion. As time goes on, Vienna meets Vasher who's mysterious and has a really cool sword. All along, Siri meets the Returned, and befriends the God King.

This story has it all. There's magic, action, adventure and romance.

Note: After reading this free work, which is also available at Brandon Sanderson's website, I discovered a greater love for Brandon's writing.

Strongly recommend it for fantasy lovers. Both hardcore readers who has followed Tolkien, but also to new readers who want a great introduction to the Fantasy genre.

It's THAT good.

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Review of "Vampire Academy" by Richelle Mead

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read this book back in 2010 and it helped me realize my love for reading and even writing. This summer--after watching the movie--I decided to binge read all books in the VA series.

I personally like vampire books. They're fun and they have a bit of everything in them: fantasy, magic, action, romance, adventure. And this book added something else: A pretty awesome back story.

Vampire Academy starts with a scream. And then it just goes from there. Slowly but surely we hear about the secret vamp society. How there's four kinds of humanoid beings: three of them more vampire than human.

There's the magical vampires: Moroi, they don't kill. They control element, and they go to school, dealing with pretty much the same issues as any of us--well mostly.

There's the not-quite vampires: Dhamphirs, half human, half vamp. It's cross-breeding at its best, and they have the best of both kinds. Well, except for the possibility of having kids with their own kinds. Nevertheless, they are strong, pretty, and very much alive. They work as protector for the magical Moroi.

There's the evil creature from the deepest pit of hell: Strigoi. The true killers. They burn in daylight, can't be killed and doesn't possess feelings. They're the kind of vampires from your nightmares.

What I especially loved about this back story is that we get a seemingly believable reason for why anyone could ever think a vamp was hot--even when they're ruthless killers. And I personally think separating bad vamps from the good ones was very beautifully done.

Rose Hathaway.. I can't decide if I like her as a character. Sometimes, I think she's a tad over the top, but other times it feels like we could be besties--you know.. If that thing could happen.

<.<

>.>


*cough*

I love her little crush on Dimitri. Normally, the whole student/teacher thing is a turn-off, but I didn't think it was overplayed. They were well aware of the rules, and didn't just jump each other because #YOLO. While the feelings may have been obvious, I respected that they didn't act on it.

All in all, I absolutely loved this book. It had a bit of everything, and I adored how Lissa and Christian came together.

Would highly recommend it to people who want to read about a vampires in an amazing well-crafted world.

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Review of "Flirting Games" by Stella Wilkinson

The Flirting Games by Stella Wilkinson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I was actually quite excited to read this. Both because of the title, the blurb and the fun-looking cover.

Are you tired of having the hot-heartbreaker-guy sifting through your friends? Let him fall for you! It's sure to end well...

Ellie is this book-typical character that's fun, exciting, has any guy to choose from, and is protected by her big brother's reputation.

I liked her. For the most of the book, and while I could add in my own reasoning as to why she chooses to act the way she does, then I found that it would have been more enjoyable if I hadn't needed to.

Nate is the boarding school's resident bad-boy, and he's good at the love 'em and leave 'em approach.

Together, they make up a somewhat sweet duo. I particularly enjoyed their study-sessions.

What I didn't enjoy was the many shifting point of views. I mean, I get that Nate and Ellie was useful for the book, but to have her big brother--who wasn't even in the book, but only mentioned--to appear as a main character annoyed me. Especially since the book was so short.

I would recommend it to anyone who wants a light-fun read.

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Review of "Arousing Love" by M.H. Strom

Arousing Love: A Teen Novel by M.H. Strom
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was actually pleasantly surprised by this book.

Despite the notion that an 18-year-old boy pursues a 15-year-old girl is somewhat frowned upon, the author made it work.

The story centers around Zach, who falls in love with a girl over the summer. She's staying at a camping site with her religious family and they develop a sweet little summer romance. As often happens with teenagers, they do of course test boundaries and while some parents will frown upon the content, I very much appreciated the way it was portrayed.

One of the issues I often have with reading books involving religion is that it almost always come off as preaching to me. This wasn't the case with "Arousing Love". Sure, we did feel the scolding from Joanna's father as he explained his view, but at the same time we also experience how they're willing to give the boy a chance.

I didn't feel like the book was trying to teach me about religion, because if I wanted that, I'd have read something else. But instead, I saw the religious topics as simply being part of the character. As someone who grew up around Jehovah's Witnesses, I could recognize the fact that being religious didn't mean being fanatic.

However, the reason this book didn't get five stars was largely due to the ending. I did wish for them to get a happily ever after, but in a way, I just couldn't feel as connected to the ending as I did with the rest of the book.

I would recommend this as an easy vacation-read about young love.

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