Christmas Challenge Day 1: Revenge of the Cheerleaders

Author: Janette Rallison

Release Date:  October 2nd, 2007
Publisher: Walker Childrens
Genre(s): YA Contemporary 
Pages: 256
*2nd book in series (companion)*
*Part of the Christmas Challenge!*

~SPOILERS ARE HIDDEN! HIGHLIGHT THE PAGE TO SEE THEM! :)~

Summary (Goodreads): 
Chelsea's school year has taken a turn for the worse.  After being dumped by her boyfriend and humiliated at the pep assembly by her younger sister's boyfriend, Rick, she's just concentrating on avoiding any other major embarrassments.
 
That's when Rick and his band debut their new album, complete with a whole set of songs bashing cheerleaders.  Chelsea's humiliation has reached a whole new level now that everyone is walking down the halls singing the words to "Dangerously Blonde."  
 
It's time to make Rick pay.  All he wants is to win the High School Idolaudition, so he can be on his way to rock star fame and fortune. But with the help of her best friends, Aubrie and Samantha, Chelsea is going to steal his victory right out from under him. 
 
The characters from All's Fair in Love, War and High School are back, only this time it's payback.

Review: 

Ahhhh this book is sooo cute!! >.<

I absolutely love Chelsea. She’s HILARIOUS!  Oh my goodness, her subtle quips and snarkiness had me laughing like a lunatic the ENTIRE time (which, btw, brought awkward stares from other people in the waiting room… but whateves.  This book was soo worth it ;-)).  I also love the appearance of Samantha and Logan! They’re so adorable, and I’m glad to see their story didn’t end in All’s Fair in Love, War, and High School.:)

I absolutely adore how even though this book is fluffy and cute, it’s also unexpectedly deep.  Chelsea isn’t just some airheaded blonde cheerleader whose seeking petty revenge (okay, she is seeking revenge, and okay, her revenge is a little extreme: training to beat Rick at a competition Rick's spent his entire life preparing for, but that's not the point LOL); she’s a very caring and loving girl (despite her quirks and sarcasm ;), esp. when it comes to her sister.  Her over protectiveness over her younger sister, despite the way Adrian is acting out, is very sweet, and I think that's the heart of the book: family always and forever.  I could relate with Chels so well, being the oldest child in my family as well.  Despite what our younger siblings think, we do care, and we do love them, but we're human too.  What we might think is best for them might not exactly seem like it's the best (or is the best), but hey, we're trying! :D  

And of course, the romance ;).  NO INSTA-LOVE!!!! *squeal!*

(Yep, gonna mention it every single time;)! It’s like a party in my world whenever I stumble across a book with an actual relationship between the main characters!).

 To be honest, going into this book, I thought Chels was going to fall in love with Rick (in my defense, the blurb didn't mention any other guy! And the love interest didn't show up until like 40 pages in! Usually they appear sooner! Esp. in a Janette Rallison book! And I thought he was a minor character! I didn't know what to assume!).  So at first I was like

UM???

BUT THEN.

Clark Kent Romeo Tanner shows up, and

So, my dear readers, do not be deceived like I was.   

IT WAS A FALSE ALARM.

But I digress.

So.

Back to the romance. ;)

There were many sah-woon worthy moments, but the main thing that stood out to me was how both Chels and Tanner, no matter how strong their attraction was to each other, put family first.  So many books I’ve read in the YA category always have the girl revolving her life around a guy (and usually a guy she's just met).   I absolutely loved how family was the prominent theme here, even if that blurb in the beginning made it *seem* like revenge was.  (In truth, it was a little bit, but even revenge gave way to "family first" (the romance was extra! ;). )    

Oh! And how could I forget Molly and Polly? ;) Chels, at first, reluctantly takes them on so her music teacher would help her with her singing. BUT THEN, Chels gets to know the real Molly and Polly, and let me tell ya, their antics are HILARIOUS as well.  (That scene with that guy Joe!!!! Read the book! You’ll understand!!) xD

Final thoughts?  Belly-laughter funny, cute, and deep.  A great read for a “cold” (read: 73 degrees T.T) winter night.

Thanks for reading!

Rating: 3 out of 5

This review participated in the weekly meme hosted by the wonderful Sherry over at Semicolon!

UnWholly

Author: Neal Shusterman

Release Date: August 28th, 2012

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Genre(s): YA Dystopia 

Pages: 416

*2nd book of a series*

Summary(Goodreads):

Thanks to Connor, Lev, and Risa—and their high-profile revolt at Happy Jack Harvest Camp—people can no longer turn a blind eye to unwinding. Ridding society of troublesome teens while simltaneously providing much-needed tissues for transplant might be convenient, but its morality has finally been brought into question. However, unwinding has become big business, and there are powerful political and corporate interests that want to see it not only continue, but also expand to the unwinding of prisoners and the impoverished.

Cam is a product of unwinding; made entirely out of the parts of other unwinds, he is a teen who does not technically exist. A futuristic Frankenstein, Cam struggles with a search for identity and meaning and wonders if a rewound being can have a soul. And when the actions of a sadistic bounty hunter cause Cam’s fate to become inextricably bound with the fates of Connor, Risa, and Lev, he’ll have to question humanity itself.
Rife with action and suspense, this riveting companion to the perennially popular Unwind challenges assumptions about where life begins and ends—and what it means to live.

Ok, after calming down quite a bit and performing a therapy method provided by other reader friends, I revised my original 5 stars to 3.5 stars. I’ll explain why later.

WARNING-Unhidden MAJOR spoilers, and it’s really, really long.

Review: 
Ready? Here we go:
UnWholly is a direct sequel to UnWind, picking up roughly a year or so after the original events. As previous readers know, most, if not all, the characters in Unwind have gone through a drastic change in personality and character, so Lev’s, um, transformation shouldn’t be too much of a surprise. I absolutely loved this book, but there were a couple things I just couldn’t glaze over, as a reviewer, no matter how much bias I automatically have with anything Shusterman. 

Here’s a brief summary of the bad and good things, in case you just wanted a quick pros and cons:


Bad things:The diversion from the plot, The skimping on development then plowing the reader in the face, Risa’s almost romance with Cam, Lev’s almost romance with Miracolina, Miracolina, Cam, Lack of Risa, Lev, and Connor, Snarkey- sorry Starkey, Conner’s 180, Cliffhangers within story


Good things:Deep writing and subtle hints; Great themes on forgiveness, morality, playing God, and especially perspective; Able to stomp your gut for every single character; Cliffhangers within story


Let’s start with the infamous diversion from the plot (at least infamous within my book club). Instead of going with the idea that the war and the Unwind accord was all for the sole purpose of prolife/prochoice, we are introduced to a brand new idea that the Unwind was signed because the government was afraid of teenagers getting power. Yes, teenagers. Um… ok

I liked how it emphasized the power of adolescents and all, but it really made the first book take a back seat- and all the struggles and meanings and emotions in that first book were deflated because of UnWholly’s new plot direction. It makes the power that was packed in that abortion theme just flop and nick your wrist. I wish it wasn’t connected to the themes of the first book- or better yet not connected to Unwind at all. However, I won’t deny that the plot detour works- it just seems a little inappropriate considering all that Lev, Conner, and Risa did because of the war between pro-life and pro-choice. Maybe Shusterman will really use that idea of the Terror Generation to highlight the prolife/prochoice thing somehow in the final book. 

The ending, with the revelation of Janson Reignschild, was also a bit too good to be true and seemed a little rushed. I didn’t like at all how instantly they were able to make connections, and how a total stranger just happens to help them escape. The stranger helping them was a sweet moment, and shows the goodness of humankind and all that, but again seemed a little too convenient. 

Skimping of the development and plowing the person in the face with pretty writing:Ok, so I loved it in the beginning because it gave me a straightforward reason for the character’s actions (most notably Risa’s revelation about Cam and Lev’s self-revelation), and I like straightforwardness- to a point. The first few times, yea I was ok with it because I needed to get a feel for where the author was going with things. But when this happens again and again, it gets annoying and feels like a brick wall of ‘whys’ (this happened because… remember that old sentence from high school essays?) just hit you.

Miracolina:She annoyed me. So. Much. Because of her I wanted to chuck the book at the wall several times. She was whiny and bratty, and frankly wasn't much of a character beyond that. I was holding out for some development- maybe a sudden change in heart or something, but alas, nothing was to be done. Her forgiveness of Lev, no doubt, was important and deep, but I found myself wishing it hadn’t been her who had forgiven him; I didn’t want to have a reason to accept her as a necessary part of the story. 

Cam: He was the one I was the most let down by. Not only because of his weird possessiveness, but because of his lack of oomph. I expected him to be sort of the center this whole book revolved around (after all, the entire cover is devoted to him!), but he wasn’t, and even more regretfully Cam wasn’t really important. There were only a few scenes that even touched on this issue of morality of playing God, and even those scenes seem to be packed with too much stuff (remember the skimping and plowing?). 

Risa’s almost romance with Cam:Ok this was just awkward. She hates him because he’s everything she is fighting against, knows he’s really possessive, but ends up kissing him- AND she’s in love with Conner. Um what the fruit? (Ok, I know she realized it wasn’t his fault and all, and yea it was obvious that she didn’t mean her lovey-dovey actions, but still. It was awkward. )They had absolutely no chemistry, and the way Cam kept thinking of her as something he could possess and make her love him was creepy. (I guess that was the point, but there was this weird last scene where he said he’s going to tear down the Proactive Citizenery. Yay, right? But- the big BUT- he thought right after, “And then she will have no choice but to love him.” Again, maybe that was the point, to make him seem creepy; however, there were several scenes before showing his ‘humanness’ and how he was becoming more compassionate- like the part about his tears, and how he felt they were his own... )I’m glad that’s (sort of) over, because one thing I adored about Unwind was that there was no focus on the romance. 

Lev’s almost romance with Miracolina:WHAT. THE. FRUIT? So, their ‘romance’ wasn’t blunt or directly stated, but there were a few hints that pointed toward it. Thank God that never developed(and I hope it doesn’t) because a) Lev’s too good for her, b) it felt really, really forced- like the author thought every character needed a lover, boyfriend/girlfriend, whatever. I have no clue why Lev was attracted to this girl.

Lack of Risa, Lev, and Connor:Or rather a lack of unity. This was really just a personal thing. I would have liked to see the Dynamic Trio, with all their aww moments, back together and ready to kick some Unwinding butts. But sadly, this was not the case. 

Starkey: He. Was. Annoying. Seriously. I saw no purpose in him, but I kept thinking something big was going to happen because of him or with him, in classic Neal Shusterman style (in Unwind, every character the author gave a point of view had a major role, even if that character was really random or minor. It was awesome, it was needed, and it worked- 3 of my favorite things). So, because of this naive hope, I held out on my judgment of Snarkey. I should’ve unleashed all my fury as I read the book because I just wasted several great moments to blast him out of the Salton Sea. He reminded me of Roland- only because they both wanted power. Roland, though, I wasn’t annoyed with him (he had a huge purpose)- just hated him with a passionate fury and even someone I sorta kinda maybe felt sorry for at the end(that unwinding scene… *shudders*). He was fun to hate; hating characters is fun- being annoyed by them is not. Snarkey was a really big fat jerk, who had no purpose, and had tried to redeem himself in the end only to turn into a hypocrite. 

Connor’s naivety/ 180: Where on earth did this come from?! What happened to the hotheaded turned intelligent guy who kicked butt even before the person realized their butt had been kicked?? How could he fall for Risa’s sudden turn to the dark side after all they’ve been through??! And why on earth does he trust SNARKEY??! And, to make things worse, they explain everything away at the end, blaming Conner’s jaded mind. Um ok….

Cliffhangers: Shusterman really has a way with cliffhangers within stories. I wanted to wrangle his neck one moment and beg him to stop doing this to us (esp. at the scene where Lev was shot!!), and the next I wanted to give him and his editor a 10 page thank you letter for including those cliffhangers. They kept me on my toes, and I wanted to keep reading because I was constantly dying to find out what the heck just happened or is going to happen. It was refreshing for a cliffhanger (or in this case cliffhangers) actually pack a ton of power behind the punch- instead of weakly fizzling out. (The Selection, anyone?)

 Emotions:Shusterman is not just a master at cliffhangers; he is also the father of playing with peoples’ emotions. No one could twist my (recovering) heart into a cardiac arrest for Hayden’s sacrifice(? Last stand?) and Tad and Trace’s death. I hardly knew Trace and Tad, yet when they died, a part of me died too. And that scene with Hayden and the ComBot crew in the plane? Gosh, the strength that radiated from these teenagers was so powerful. This scene makes you really question how far you would go for what you believe in.

Themes: This book is chock full of them. Some were obvious; some will slam you in the back hours after you’re done reading. Themes about life/death (e.g. How do we define life and death? What happens to your soul when your divided? etc) were briefly touched; even though those questions were still in the overall backdrop of the story, I felt they were more emphasized in Unwind. In UnWholly, I felt the most recurring theme here was perspective and playing God.

Conclusion:I really liked Unwind as a standalone, even though I was thrilled (in the beginning) for the sequel. Unwind left me feeling complete, and even though the ending of it was nostalgic, I felt it was perfect because it was not- it ended with a hope that things could get better no matter how grim it was, but didn’t fix those problems, and I was fine with that. Life isn't perfect. And plus, I’m a sucker for those endings. This book, the ending was a little too perfect, and, well, seemed to end the story- even though we all know there’s going to be a third book. So it gave the ending a weird taste of anticipation, but at the same time a brief wave of “Um it’s over? Uh not forever right? I thought there was more, but you make it seem like there’s not going to be more? Hello?”

Still, even with all the bad points, this book merited a 3.5 because as a reader, I have to admit that this was a good story (even if it’s totally irrelevant to the original book and a tad bit too neat at the end), I really did care  about the majority of characters, and the writing was powerful. The reviewer side of my brain… well, let’s just say it wouldn’t shut up throughout the entire book. 


(And despite it all, I am nervously- with some excitement ;)-waiting for that finale.) 

Thanks for reading:)

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

The Eternity Cure

Author: Julie Kagawa
Release Date: April 30th, 2013
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Genre(s): YA Paranormal, Dystopia
Pages: 434
*2nd book of a series*

Summary (from Goodreads):

Allison Sekemoto has vowed to rescue her creator, Kanin, who is being held hostage and tortured by the psychotic vampire Sarren. The call of blood leads her back to the beginning—New Covington and the Fringe, and a vampire prince who wants her dead yet may become her wary ally.

Even as Allie faces shocking revelations and heartbreak like she’s never known, a new strain of the Red Lung virus that decimated humanity is rising to threaten human and vampire alike.

~Spoilers are hidden- just highlight the page to see them!:)~

Review:

I. Am. Dead.

WHY! ARGHHHHH I HATE CLIFFHANGERS! FIRST THE MARK OF ATHENA AND NOW THIS!!!!!!!!

DON'T THEY KNOW OUR FANGIRL HEARTS CANNOT TAKE ANYMORE CLIFFHANGERS?!?!?!?!?!?! 

But, seriously though, you should read it :D

What I love best about Julie Kagawa is her world building.  It feels so real, and the best part is, she doesn't shove the information down your throats.  She actually builds her world with small details and small insights to this terrible world Allie and her friends are living in.  It’s quite fascinating to discover this world piece by piece.

The plot is excellent, as usual ;).   So much stuff happens in this book, and it’s almost impossible to even hint at what happens without giving major spoilers away.  The general idea is she’s journeying to rescue her mentor, and after she does… well, that’s when things get REALLY REALLY interesting. LIKE REALLY.

And the romance.  *sigh* THE ROMANCE!!! ARGGGH!! <spoiler>(it's a good arghh btw) ;) My poor- I mean Allie's poor- Zeke!!</spoiler>   No insta love or love triangles here :)  Zeke is like the perfect guy; seriously, why can't we all have a Zeke in our lives? He's loyal and totally nonjudgmental, andyet we also see he's not entirely the perfect nice guy anymore. <spoiler> He's still reluctant to kill people, but the experiences in the previous book have changed him (of course!), and he has this new coldness/grudge... </spoiler> ( Which makes him totally perfect, duh. ;))

I really loved the overall messages in the book.  Though a lot of people will just pass it off as just a vampire book, it's actually pretty deep.  The author explores a lot of topics through Allie's internal struggle to tamp down her inner monster, like sometimes you have to choose, and even if it's a bad choice, what you do with the choice is what really matters and shapes who you are.

Pretty deep stuff there.

I also liked all the subtle Christian messages within the story. It was a nice touch, and it's one of the few 'future' books I've seen that doesn't portray Christians as psycho maniacs who shove religion down people's throats.  (Because seriously, 98% percent of us are nice people. Really.)

And finally the character developments and relationship.  WOW. JUST WOW.  Every character here is as fleshed out as can be.  We see different sides of everyone , and I love how Julie Kagawa doesn't just portray the characters as black and white people who do things just because they can.  No, they all have motivations (twisted as they are)<spoiler>(like a certain motivation led a certain character to do the WORST POSSIBLE THING EVER AND IT KIND OF DIDN'T MAKE MUCH SENSE BUT MAYBE KINDA WILL WHEN AND IF I EVER CALM DOWN ENOUGH TO PICK THE BOOK BACK UP AGAIN)</spoiler> and hurts they want to avenge. 

And just to put it out there, I thought the reluctant brother and sister relationship between Allie and Jackal was kinda cute ;) Despite all he did in the previous book, here he's kind of ... endearing? I'm not if that's the right word, but he's funny and can be unexpectedly soft (no… I don't think I'm going crazy... why do you ask?). Plus I need my funny to keep from going completely depressed. But I digress. ;) <spoiler> Okay, so Jackal- no James ;)-does sorta not really betray Allie here, but you can tell he does care for Allie in that brotherly way. No? :D </spoiler> We see more of Kanin here, and I love the teacher-student relationship they have.  He's like the father/ mentor Allie never had, even though he does insist he is not her teacher anymore.

So to end this review (more like a rant lol)  READ THE BOOK

SERIOUSLY YOU WON'T REGRET READING ANYTHING BY JULIE KAGAWA.

and yes, that statement merited all caps.

Happy readings!~

Rating: 4 out of 5

Outpost

Author: Ann Aguirre

Release Date:  September 4th, 2012

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends 

Genre(s): YA Dystopian  

Pages: 317

*Part of a Series: 2nd book*

Summary (Goodreads):

Down below, she was considered an adult. Now, topside in a town called Salvation, she’s a brat in need of training in the eyes of the townsfolk. She doesn't fit in with the other girls: Deuce only knows how to fight.

To make matters worse, her Hunter partner, Fade, keeps Deuce at a distance. Her feelings for Fade haven’t changed, but he seems not to want her around anymore. Confused and lonely, she starts looking for a way out.
Deuce signs up to serve in the summer patrols—those who make sure the planters can work the fields without danger. It should be routine, but things have been changing on the surface, just as they did below ground. The Freaks have grown smarter. They’re watching. Waiting. Planning. The monsters don’t intend to let Salvation survive, and it may take a girl like Deuce to turn back the tide.

~ Some Minor Spoilers~
(Highlight the page if you want to see them)

Review: 

 EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!

*Give me a moment here… or two.. or three*

Ok, fangirl moment over;)

      I always, always do this (probably because Fangirl takes over in that moment I finish a book) but I revise my old rating to 3.5  stars.

      I really love this book.  A ton.  (If you can't tell already...;))  Ann is a brilliant writer, hands down.  She describes everything so well, in a few words, and she really has a way of keeping you on your toes.(*laments over cliffhanger*) 

      Deuce's voice is SO clear.  I can still see the remnants of that brutal but naive Huntress from underground slipping through at times, but at the same time, she's changing and learning to be a girl.  She even goes as far to tell us about the girl within her and the Huntress.  I thought this was absolutely brilliant because it's ironic, and a perfect way to show her duality with herself.  And when she finally comes to terms that she isn't just a girl or a Huntress, but just herself, I loved still what she did next.  She didn't accept that right away, even when she's accepted it.  (Weird sentence, I know!)  That was just the beginning, and I know by the end of the next book, we're going to have a different Deuce altogether.   This is credit to Ann's brilliant writing.  She is a master at character developments.  Not just Deuce's, but Stalker, Fade, and Teagan too.  The wound between Stalker and Teagan is healing.  Even though it seems rushed and highly unlikely that the wound would even begin to close,  it is a good way to show how Teagan is healing- though I thought it could have been done a different way. (She’s made peace with her rapist…um ok.  There’s nothing wrong with forgiveness, but I felt them joking around near the end was way too fast for anything that close.  It takes time-especially in something like rape- to truly forgive and build a new relationship.  )

     And Fade's in and out too was just brilliant too, because something would be wrong with that boy (or he’s just really, really perfect) if he didn't change from arriving at Salvation or from that experience with the Freaks.

     Fade's withdrawal, at the beginning, felt like a little like he was going to pull an Edward. I’m soooooooooo happy it wasn't like that at all. Their romance, to me, seems a little stiff, and Fade grew a tad bit overprotective (possessive is more like it), which got a teeny bit annoying because we all know Deuce can take care of herself (understatement!!!!). 

    Ok, and here’s the reason why I revised the rating: the issue with Stalker.  He’s… interesting.  I’m willing to look past his rapist past, because he didn’t know any better, he’s willing to change (though we will never know sure), and he’s sorry. On the other hand, even if he didn’t know any better, it seems like a weak excuse (I mean, come on.  If the girl was screaming and crying, he should have known something was up) and saying sorry doesn’t really make everything all better.  I’m on the fence with this one. 

   I’m also on the fence with how the author tried to explain how Deuce didn’t know any better about rape, as if it explains her nonchalance toward the matter in the first book (mmm not really nonchalance, but more of the insensitive way Deuce dealt with it, especially toward Teagan).  I didn’t like it at all, because it seems to me the author was responding to all the comments about rape in the previous book in this book.  But who knows? Maybe not.  

    The love triangle had me iffy because I generally don't like them, and the way Stalker's portrayed makes me a little wishy washy about why he wants Deuce.  Deuce thinks it's because she's a capable mate-but I'm not so sure.  He seems to genuinely like her like her, but it may be lust.  I’m going to watch and see how this goes in the last book.  I have a feeling he might die or something though. (PLEASE ANN, DON’T GO THIS OVERLY CLICHÉ ROAD TO FIX PROBLEMS!  I will be super annoyed if that happens and will probably throw my kindle across the room- which would not be good.)

    Overall, I adored this book, and the last bit about how they weren’t zombies but mutants makes me even more anticipated for the next book!

Thanks for reading!~

Rating: 3.5 out of 5