Review: Gone by Lisa McMann

From the author's website: Janie thought she knew what her future held. And she thought she'd made her peace with it. But she can't handle dragging Cabel down with her.

She knows he will stay with her, despite what she sees in his dreams. He's amazing. And she's a train wreck. Janie sees only one way to give him the life he deserves--she has to disappear. And it's going to kill them both.

Then a stranger enters her life--and everything unravels. The future Janie once faced now has an ominous twist, and her choices are more dire than she'd ever thought possible. She alone must decide between the lesser of two evils. And time is running out...


I have such mixed feelings on this one. After such a long wait, and a real appreciation for the first two books in this series, I expected more. I love, love, love the writing style and the characters in this series, but this book did not really advance the overall plot and both Janie and Cabel are sort of flat here. They seem to have taken steps back instead of forward, which I understand is part of life sometimes, but it seems a strange choice for the conclusion to a series.

Janie is miserable almost all the time in this book, I get that she has a tough life, but one of the great things about the previous books was her strength and ability to rise above her circumstances.

With the huge trend in YA supernatural series these days, I feel that many authors are extending their stories needlessly, I hate to say that may have happened here.

I also think the style-which I do like-is not very well suited to a series. We get disjointed moments of Janie's life, almost like photographs, and I think that is why for me the introduction of her parents as significant characters in the third and final book seemed odd.

I do love they way she writes the Janie/Cabe interactions though-really good stuff. Overall I would recommend this series despite my frustrations with this one, also reading the two previous books is a must before reading Gone.

Rating: 3

Review: Vibes by Amy Kathleen Ryan

From the author’s website: Nothing is beyond Kristi Carmichael's disdain—her hippie high school, her friend Jacob, her workaholic mom. Yet for all her attitude and her mind-reading abilities, Kristi has a vulnerable side. She can hear the thoughts of her fellow students calling her fat and gross. She's hot for Gusty Peterson, one of the most popular guys in school, but of course, she's sure he thinks she is disgusting. And she's still mad at her father, who walked out on them two years ago. Soon, a school project brings her together with Gusty, her father comes home and drops a bombshell, and a friend comes out of the closet, and suddenly she is left doubting that she can read people at all. Bitingly funny but ultimately poignant and positive, this YA novel is completely on the mark.

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The best thing about this unique novel is the characters-all are multi-layered and more complex that they appear. Kristi is a great character with such an authentic and strong voice. Without giving too much away, Kristi’s psychic ‘ability’ is a really cool metaphor for the teenage experience. The author really captures that mix of being young and feeling like you know it all, along with the intense (often harsh) judgment of oneself and others that is a reality for a lot of young people. There is also a great romantic element to the story, and the school scenario and teachers are pretty hilarious.

I am a fan of the straight-forward writing style. It is a relatively easy read, well-written, and good for a reluctant reader. Looking forward to reading more of Ryan’s work.

Rating-4

Review: Dairy Queen/The Off Season/Front and Center by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

I know that supernatural/paranormal is all the rage in YA right now, so maybe that is why the wonderful Dairy Queen Series by Catherine Gilbert Murdock has not gotten more of the love that is very much deserves.

The best thing about these well-written and well-paced novels is DJ Schwenk, the main protagonist in this series, and one of my favorite young women in all of YA. She is so original and real, I absolutely loved her. These novels are hilarious and heart-breaking at the same time. Such a great and unique voice here. I highly recommend these!

Rating of 4.5 for all three books.

Review: Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

If I could give this book more than 5 stars, I would. It was absolutely brilliant, a remarkable story about loss, grief, redemption, and love. It is a beautifully told story, and is surprisingly funny at times given some of the darker subject matter. A couple of great love stories in here as well. I rarely get emotional when I read books, but I was crying like a baby at the end, it was so moving.

A must read that I am recommending to everyone I know.

I've seen several comments about it starting off slow, but I did not find that. Maybe compared to other YA it is not as action packed at first, not sure. It definitely has a more literary done than most YA out there.

Books Read in 2009

2009 was all about YA for me, the genre is a lot more interesting that people give it credit for! To start of this blog I thought I would do a selection of some of what I read last year and my ratings.

My rating system:
1-Rabbit Feed
2-Not worth the time
3-A fun read, enjoyable moments
4-Very Good
5-Outstanding

Into The Wild - Krakauer - 5
Graceling - Cashore - 5
Watchmen - Moore - 5
Jellicoe Road - Marchetta - 5
Wake - McMann - 5
The Subtle Knife - Pullman - 5
Catching Fire - Collins, Suzanne - 5
The Book Theif - Zuzak - 5
Blood Promise - Mead, Richelle - 4.5
How To Kill a Rockstar - DeBartolo, Tiffanie - 4.5
The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing - Anderson - 4.5
The Absolutely True Diary of A Part Time Indian - Alexie - 4.5
City of Bones - Clare - 4
Lock and Key - Dessen, Sarah - 4
City of Ashes - Clare - 4
City of Glass - Clare - 4
Wondrous Strange - Livingston - 4
Love The One You're With - Giffin - 4
Fourth Comings - McCafferty - 4
Perfect Fifths - McCafferty - 4
Wicked Lovely - Marr - 4
Going Too Far - Echols - 4
The Glass Castle - Walls, Jeanette - 4
Along for the Ride - Dessen, Sarah - 4
Blood and Chocolate - Curtis Klaus, Annette - 4
Fade - McMann - 4
Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac - Zevin - 4
Poison Study - Snyder - 4
Succubus Blues - Mead, Richelle - 4
FrostBite - Mead, Richelle - 4
Shadow Kissed - Mead, Richelle - 4
The Boys Next Door - Echols - 4
Succubus Heat - Mead, Richelle - 4
The Ex-Games - Echols - 4
The Awakening - Armstrong - 4
Wintergirls - Anderson - 4
Dairy Queen - Murdock - 4
Cracked Up To Be - Summers, Courtney - 4
Perfect Chemistry - Simone Elkeles - 4
The Lightening Theif - Riordan, Rick - 4
Let It Snow - Green, John - 4
The Sea of Monsters - Riordan, Rick - 4
Can You Keep A Secret - Kinsella - 3.5
Stardust - Gaiman - 3.5
Bloom - Scott - 3.5
The Queen of Attolia, Megan Whalen Turner - Whalen Turner, Megan - 3.5
Vampire Academy - Mead, Richelle - 3.5
Two-Way street - Barnholdt, Lauren - 3.5
Honey, Baby, Sweetheart - Caletti - 3.5
The Duke - Foley, Galen - 3.5
Scott Pilgrim vs the World - Lee O'Malley - 3.5
Tithe - Black, Holly - 3.5
Ironside - Black, Holly - 3.5
Shiver - Steifvater, Maggie - 3.5
Sloppy Firsts - McCafferty - 3.5
Second Helpings - McCafferty - 3.5
Gingerbread/Shrimp - Cohn - 3.5
Confessions of a Shopoholic - Kinsella - 3
Shopaholic Takes Manhattan - Kinsella - 3
Shopaholic Ties the Knot - Kinsella - 3
Shopaholic and Sister - Kinsella - 3
Remember Me - Kinsella - 3
Marked - Cast - 3
Just Listen - Dessen, Sarah - 3
The Truth About Forever - Dessen, Sarah - 3
The Luxe - Godbersen - 3
Rumours - Godbersen - 3
Charmed Thirds - McCafferty - 3
Stargazer - Gray - 3
Something Borrowed - Giffin - 3
Every Boy's Got One - Cabot - 3
Envy - Godbersen - 3
Major Crush - Echols - 3
Magic Study - Snyder - 3
The Summoning - Armstrong - 3
Glitter Baby - Phillips - 3
Suite Scarlett - Johnson, M - 3
Fire Study - Snyder - 3
Bitten - Armstrong - 3
Tempt Me At Twilight - Kleypas - 3
Splendor - Godbersen - 3
Hush, hush - Fitzgerald, Becca - 3
If you Deceive - Cole, Kresley - 3
Van Alen Legacy - De La Cruz - 2.5
Sugar Daddy - Kleypas - 2.5
Revelations - De La Cruz - 2
Betrayed - Cast - 2
Enthusiasm - Schulman - 2
Shadowland - Cabot - 2
What Just Happened - Linson - 2
Cupcake - Cohn - 2
Chasing Harry Winston - Weisberger - 2
The Theif - Whalen Turner, Megan - 2
Perfect You - Scott, Elizabeth - 2
Uglies - Westerfeld, Scott - 2
At Last Comes Love - Balogh, Mary - 2
Beastly - Finn - 2
Twenties Girl - Kinsella - 2
Evermore - Noel, Alysin - 1.5
Chosen, - Cast - 1
Untamed - Cast - 1
Hunted - Cast - 1
Austenland - Hale - 1
The Host - Meyer, Stephenie - 1
Sundays at Tiffany's - Patterson, James - 1
One for the Money - Evanovitch - 1
I'd Tell You I Love you, but then I'd have to kill you - Carter - 1

Check out my good reads for more info: http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/2132957