Review: Nevermore by Kelly Creagh

Publisher: Atheneum
Publishing Date: August 31st, 2010
Genre: YA, Supernatural
Pages: 543 pgs
ISBN: 9781442402003
Source: borrowed from my local library

Rating: 4 stars

Summary from Goodreads:

Cheerleader Isobel Lanley is horrified when she is paired with Varen Nethers for an English project, which is due—so unfair—on the day of the rival game. Cold and aloof, sardonic and sharp-tongued, Varen makes it clear he’d rather not have anything to do with her either. But when Isobel discovers strange writing in his journal, she can’t help but give this enigmatic boy with the piercing eyes another look.

Soon, Isobel finds herself making excuses to be with Varen. Steadily pulled away from her friends and her possessive boyfriend, Isobel ventures deeper and deeper into the dream world Varen has created through the pages of his notebook, a realm where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life.

As her world begins to unravel around her, Isobel discovers that dreams, like words, hold more power than she ever imagined, and that the most frightening realities are those of the mind. Now she must find a way to reach Varen before he is consumed by the shadows of his own nightmares.





My Review:


I have seen this book around for a long time but the thing that I keep hearing from everyone is that the book ends and you immediately want the next one.  For this reason, I have been putting off reading this book because there is nothing I hate more than waiting.  I can be quite patient with my students, but when it comes to waiting and not knowing secrets, I think I am the most impatient person you could ever meet.  So, when I got a copy of Enshadowed by Kelly Creagh in the mail from Simon and Schuster Canada, I immediately put a hold on Nevermore at the library.  It didn't take too long for it to come in and once it did I picked it up straight away.  I have to say that I was not disappointed at all by this book.  I easily fell into the plot and the writing style was great.  I love when an author can immediately transport you to her world and you feel like you can picture exactly what she was thinking of when she wrote the novel.  This is how I felt when I read Nevermore.  

I immediately liked Isobel and I wanted her to get to know Varen a little more.  I was intrigued by Varen's mysterious air and I kept wanting to know more and more of what was going on.  There were a few things that I found a bit difficult to believe.  I can see how some people may disclude Varen from certain activities or flat out ignore him. I can even see how people may start rumors about him or make fun of him but I had a hard time picturing certain scenes in the book where outright bullying was going on.  I know that bullying happens but the scene in the ice cream shop sticks out.  I find it hard to believe that in public and in front of other people that these teens would throw things around and make a huge mess of the store.  I can see one or two people thinking this would be funny and attempting it but I can't see Isobel being the only one with a problem with it.  I don't know, that's just my opinion but I can remember being in high school and people saying some pretty hurtful things but I haven't witnessed anything quite so rash. 

Other than that I think that the hierarchy of high school is depicted well and that the jealousy between two friends is written well.  I liked the dynamic characters and the dynamic relationships that they have with one another. The story is not just about the relationship between Varen and Isobel but also between parents and children, one best friend and another, brothers and sisters, teacher and student, etc.  

I have to admit that while I love, love, loved the first three quarters of the book, the last quarter was starting to get a bit long.  The last part of the book takes place in this dreamland of sorts and it I found it very difficult to follow. I found myself either re-reading parts of skimming through parts to find out what happens.  (Here is another prime example of my impatience)   I just wanted to know what was going on.  I even found when the book ended that I was still a bit confused about what was happening.  I can see what people wanted the second book as soon as they were done the first.  I can't wait to dive right into the next book but I am hoping that it doesn't end on a cliffhanger.  Overall I give Nevermore 4 out of 5 stars and I definitely recommend that you pick it up.

Giveaway: Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore

So today is my birthday and I wanted to celebrate by giving something away. I recently purchased Kristin Cashore's Bitterblue and when I came home that day I found an ARC of the very same book sitting in my mailbox. Well, I don't need two copies so I am giving away my ARC and passing on the love.

Here are the rules:

- You must be 18 years of age to win.
-You must be a resident of either Canada or the United States

That's it's.  It's quite simple really so fill out the Rafflecopter form below and happy reading!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: The Future of Us by Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler

Publisher: Razorbill
Publishing Date: November 21st, 2011
Genre: YA Contemporary
Pages: 356 pgs
ISBN: 9781595144911
Source: borrowed from my local library

Rating: 3 stars

Summary from Goodreads: 
It's 1996, and Josh and Emma have been neighbors their whole lives. They've been best friends almost as long - at least, up until last November, when Josh did something that changed everything. Things have been weird between them ever since, but when Josh's family gets a free AOL CD in the mail,his mom makes him bring it over so that Emma can install it on her new computer. When they sign on, they're automatically logged onto their Facebook pages. But Facebook hasn't been invented yet. And they're looking at themselves fifteen years in the future.

By refreshing their pages, they learn that making different decisions now will affect the outcome of their lives later. And as they grapple with the ups and downs of what their futures hold, they're forced to confront what they're doing right - and wrong - in the present.

My Review: 

I was very excited when this book came out.  I was in high school during the late 90s and I felt like if there was any book that I could relate to it would be this one.  The book takes place in 1996, (which is when I started my first year of high school), and is about two teens, Josh and Emma, who discover their Facebook pages from the future.  The whole premise of this book is awesome.  I can remember in 1996 the internet was just starting to get big and many people didn't have the internet just yet.  I lived in a smaller town in Ontario and in order to get the internet, we had to download AOL Canada and dial a long distance number to get internet service.  I was one of the first people in my class to get the internet and it was a big deal.  I can remember sneaking onto the internet when my parents weren't around to browse the Seventeen page or to chat with random people I didn't know.  Oh boy, did I get in trouble when my parents got the long distance bill.  

As you can tell, this book was nostalgic for me and I could relate to a lot of the references they made to things like Dave Matthews Band and Green Day.  I loved the book for this and it kept taking be back to different memories from the past.  I also found the concept of seeing your Facebook page from the future so interesting.  How often do we write something completely random on our status and then regret it later.  Imagine your past self reading these messages and taking them seriously.  I also think that in 1996 I hadn't yet met my husband and most of my good friends.  I think that would have been a bit sad to see my Facebook page back then and wonder what happened to my good friendships that I had in high school.  

So, while this book had me reminiscing on the past, I have to admit that the plot line didn't quite do it for me.  I found that not much really happens in this book.  Josh and Emma keep messing with the present in order to change the future but other than that it didn't have a lot of driving plot.  I can see that the message of the value of apologizing and forgiveness comes into play but I think that the authors could have gone a little deeper.  Again, I enjoyed reading the book, but I was left wanting a little bit more.  Overall, I give this book 3 out of 5 stars and I definitely recommend it to all those who grew up in the late 90s. 

WoW: Throne of Glass

Waiting on Wednesday is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and it is a weekly feature where bloggers share what they are excited to read next.

Here is a summary from Goodreads:

After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin.

Her opponents are men—thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the kings council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she’ll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom.

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she’s bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it’s the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best.

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

It comes out August 7th and it sounds awesome.  Happy Reading! 

My Top Ten Summer Reads

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.  This week's edition is a freebie.  So that means I can do whatever I want.  Since I missed out on the top ten summer reads a few weeks ago I think that I will make this my topic. Here I go:

I already started this one but it is a classic summer read.

Well I just finished Nevermore and I have to find out what happens next.

This is a book about a woman losing her memory and then finding out she has written love letters to someone that is not her husband.  Lost memory is one of my buzzwords. 

I have been wanting to read this for a long time but I just recently bought it.

This book just screams summer.

This one just looks like a great book.  Okay, yes I do judge a book by its cover.  Don't lie, you do too!

This looks very beachy.

This is another one I have been wanting to read for a while.  It was on sale for 50% off the hardcover the other day so I couldn't resist.

Thanks to a wonderful blogging friend Kathy, I get to read this one very soon.

Again inspired by Kathy.  This is one of her faves and I feel like I must read it now.

Well, there they all are.  They are not all necessarily beachy type reads but they will be what I plan on reading this summer. Happy reading!

Review: What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

Publisher: Amy  Einhorn Books/ Putnam
Publishing Date: June 2nd, 2011
Genre: Adult Contemporary
Pages: 423 pgs
ISBN: 9780399157189
Source: Borrowed from my local library

Rating: 5 stars

Summary from Goodreads:
What would happen if you were visited by your younger self, and got a chance for a do-over?

Alice Love is twenty-nine years old, madly in love with her husband, and pregnant with their first child. So imagine her surprise when, after a fall, she comes to on the floor of a gym (a gym! she HATES the gym!) and discovers that she's actually thirty-nine, has three children, and is in the midst of an acrimonious divorce.

A knock on the head has misplaced ten years of her life, and Alice isn't sure she likes who she's become. It turns out, though, that forgetting might be the most memorable thing that has ever happened to Alice.


My Review: 

I think that I will read anything about someone losing their memory. I love this type of book because it is just so interesting to think of what may happen if you lose a whole chunk of your memory.  This book is about a woman named Alice Love who wakes up in a gym and believes that she is 29 years old.  She is, in reality, 39 years old and has lost 10 years of her life to amnesia.  10 years is a lot of years to lose. I think back to when I was 19 and I am definitely not the same person anymore at the age of 29.  Since the age of 19 I've lost friends, I've gained friends, I've dating many people, then settled down and married my husband, I've lived in Ottawa, then moved to Toronto, then moved back to Ottawa.  I can't imagine not remembering any of these key things in my life.  Well, this is essentially what happens in this novel.  It is about Alice trying to navigate through a completely different life from the one she remembers. 

I just loved the characters in this book.  The book isn't just told from the point of view of Alice but also in the point of view of her sister.  I really liked getting a different angle in the point of view of Alice's sister and it was great trying to piece together everything that had happened in the 10 lost years.  

The writing style is just great.  It flows really well and it makes you want to know more and more.  You could easily sit down with this novel and not put it down until you are finished with it.  I also think that this book has a cross-over appeal.  It is not about teens but I can see teens being interesting in reading this book.  It does have some heavy parts but it is written in such a way that it doesn't deeply disturb you.  Don't get me wrong, it makes you think about things in a new way but I wasn't left with this deeply disturbed feeling.  

Overall I give this book 5 out of 5 stars because I couldn't put this book down.  It is a great read and I'm looking forward to any books by this author. 

Review: The Unfinished Life of Elizabeth D by Nichole Bernier

Publisher: Crown Publishing Group
Publishing Date: June 5th 2012
Genre: Adult Contemporary
Pages: 309 pgs
ISBN: 9780307887801
Source: borrowed from my public library

Rating: 2.5 stars

Summary from Goodreads:
Before there were blogs, there were journals. And in them we’d write as we really were, not as we wanted to appear. But there comes a day when journals outlive us. And with them, our secrets.

   Summer vacation on Great Rock Island was supposed to be a restorative time for Kate, who’d lost her close friend Elizabeth in a sudden accident. But when she inherits a trunk of Elizabeth's journals, they reveal a woman far different than the cheerful wife and mother Kate thought she knew.
   The complicated portrait of Elizabeth—her troubled upbringing, and her route to marriage and motherhood—makes Kate question not just their friendship, but her own deepest beliefs about loyalty and honesty at a period of uncertainty in her own marriage.
   The more Kate reads, the more she learns the complicated truth of who Elizabeth really was, and rethinks her own choices as a wife, mother, and professional, and the legacy she herself would want to leave behind. When an unfamiliar man’s name appears in the pages, Kate realizes the extent of what she didn’t know about her friend, including where she was really going on the day she died.
   Set in the anxious summer after the September 11th attacks, this story of two women—their friendship, their marriages, private ambitions and fears—considers the aspects of ourselves we show and those we conceal, and the repercussions of our choices.

My Review: 
I had high hopes for this one because the summary just sounds so amazing.  I have to admit though that while I had high hopes for this book, the book fell a little flat for me.  For some reason I just didn't feel a connection with either of the main characters in the book.  It could be because one of the main characters is dead and we are only learning about her through her journal entries. I could see why I wouldn't connect to Elizabeth for this reason but I thought for sure then I would be able to connect with Kate, who is reading these journal entries.  Well, I couldn't connect with her either.  I think it may have something to do with the fact that she seemed so whishy washy about most things in her life.  She can't decide whether or not to take a job opportunity presented to her, she can't decide how she feels about what she is reading in the journals and then she can't decide what to do about what she is reading in the journals.   In the end she finally makes a few decisions and I suppose this redeems her a bit but I just couldn't get into the plot line for this reason.  

I did read the book quickly in one day and I did enjoy certain aspects of the novel.  I did enjoy the fact that the novel kept going back and forth between the journals and present day.  I think it's important not to solely have journal entries as a method of developing plot.  I also liked the way in which Bernier writes and makes us question our mortality a little.  It really helps put into perspective what is important in life and what isn't.  


While I didn't enjoy this book as much as I wanted to, that's not to say that others won't simply love this book.  It is blurbed by many well-known authors and it does have this sense of nostalgia and living life to the fullest.  Overall I give this book 2.5 stars out of 5.