City of Fallen Angels

by Cassandra Clare

Overall: YYYYY
Action: aaaaa

Comedy: aaaa4

Drama: aaaaa

Romance: aaaaa

Suspense/Mystery: aaaaa

Tragedy/Tear-Worthy: aa4

Explanation of rating

***VAGUE SPOILERS! But, I don't think, anything too horrible >.> ...But Cassie says SPOILERS so it must be true :P ***

Summary: The story opens with Simon mulling over a cup of coffee about his Vampire Mojo [yes, it does exist]; in the past several weeks since City of Glass ended, he finds himself dating two girls, Isabelle Lightwood [sexy Shadowhunter] and Maia Roberts [nerdy werewolf]. Isabelle meets him at the diner, but their date is cut short when Simon is approached by two blood slaves to a powerful vampire of Manhattan. [Hint: Simon's love-life is pretty much its own blood-sucking demon.]

Camille, a beautiful vampire introduced in TMI's prequel Clockwork Angel, has returned to the city to reclaim her clan that Raphael had coerced from her. She offers Simon a deal to partner with her to remove Raphael - with Simon's Mark of Cain [which comes into action], few vampires would want to go against them. She gives him five days to decide - which happens to be the most drama-filled days of his life [but he's getting used to trouble following him and his friends... kind of]. Not only is Camille after him, but another mysterious power keeps trying to kill him [more than his undead life-style already required].

Meanwhile, Clary has been training to be a Shadowhunter. More than once Jace unintentionally distracts her and [what fans have craved more of from the past three books] several scenes are dedicated Clary and Jace finding it hard to keep their hands off each other [or finding a private room to do so]. With constantly shifting points-of-views, it is learned that Shadowhunters are being killed in Downworlder territories, someone is playing with babies and Demon-blood again, and teenage hormones are becoming trickier. With each of The Mortal Instrument's familiar characters, the past doesn't seem to want to stay in the past, not even for the immortals.

I can't give a jolting final sentence to end this summary, purely because there is no one way to sum up the story. There are so many twists and un-expectations [I was shocked to tears in the last few pages] that you simply have no other choice than to read this book and flail your arms wildly at the end.

"The love that moves the sun and all the other stars.

The kind of love that can burn down the world

or raise it up in glory."

~~~~~~~~~~

Opinion: I have never been so thrown off by an author's answers to questions as greatly as I have with this book. For those of you who follow Cassie Clare on Twitter, you know that she answers fans' questions almost daily - and she answers them truthfully. That's the worst part. Like I mentioned on my own Twitter, she's like a faerie - she doesn't lie to her fans, but she secretly and gleefully enjoys the subtle misconceptions we so willingly fall into. She gave us straight answers, but giggles like a devilish child while doing so. Touche, Miss Clare. Touche.

Was that not enough of an opinion for you? Fine. Here you go:

This book is even more fabulous than Magnus in a sari. With glitter [always with glitter]. Perhaps in South Carolina.

~~~~~~~~~~

For School? (Hey, I'm a teacher, I think about this stuff!) Pretty sure I would make my students read this purely so I can have another hundred people to talk to about it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

For a spoilery review, go over to Mundie Source

WIN from Beth Revis

WINNERS!!!

Yaaaaay! It's over and I want to thank EVERYONE for all the entries and awesome comments! I'm crazy excited that there was so much excitement over this contest :)

(if you missed it, check it out HERE)

Now, on to the winners :D

FIRST PLACE: (winner of I Am Number Four SIGNED by Alex Pettyfer and Dianna Agron)

paperback.pixie

SECOND PLACE: (winner of an I Am Number Four t-shirt from Hot Topic)

firegirlkw

I used Random.org as a number generator to make my choices truly random... all except a special Third Place winner, who had too awesome of a comment not to reward :P She/he is receiving a surprise second Hot Topic t-shirt (donated by my lovely friend Tara):

hugatree9848

The three winners, please email me ASAP at reachforthestarfish@gmail.com with your mailing address so I can send these prizes out to you right away! Warning: if you do not respond in TWO WEEKS, I will move on to a new winner!

Everyone else, thanks again for entering! Stay following for more book reviews and give-aways!

[edit] Oh god... I totally screwed up trying to clean my inbox on this thing. Definitely just deleted a whole bunch of comments! Ugh. I'm an idiots. Let's hope that these three winners get in touch with me... and if they don't... well.... I'll have to make something up quick. [/idiot] [/edit]

TIME'S UP!

No more entries allowed into my contest to win a copy of I Am Number Four SIGNED by ALex Pettyfer and Dianna Agron!

Good luck to everyone! I will announce and contact the winners soon!!!

GIVE-AWAY! Win signed I Am Number Four

All the cool blogs give stuff away. Now it's my turn!

I recently attended an advance screening of the upcoming YA-novel-turned-movie I Am Number Four about a way-too-good-looking alien trying to escape some not-so-good-looking aliens. Long story short: Alex Pettyfer. [oh, and Dianna Agron. But let's face it, I went for Alex to smile at me. Which he did. While lying about the Mortal Instruments... but that's a story for another time!]

The movie is not officially released until February 18th, so what better way to anticipate it than to enter a contest to win the book SIGNED by the stars of the movie? Alex himself seems to be the talk in casting for every major YA-genre movie coming up, so it will be great for you to get your hands on this now!

Here's the details:

FIRST PLACE:



A copy of I Am Number Four, signed by Alex Pettyfer and Dianna Agron





SECOND PLACE:






An I Am Number Four T-Shirt from Hot Topic, featuring Alex Pettyfer! Size Medium [the shirt... not the Alex]



THIRD PLACE:
There is none... [that's all I have lol]

TO ENTER: (only available to people in the USA)

+Follow my book review blog: The Pages of Brooks

+Comment on this entry [yes, I will be making sure you are a follower!] with whatever you want really :)

+DFTBA

+Spread the word about this contest give-away [alright, I can't really be positive that you'll actually do this, but it would be kind of nice!] You can easily copy: http://dft.ba/-pagesofbrooks :and paste it wherever you wish :)

***Winners will be picked at random from the commenters!

Contest ends February 28, 2011 at 11:59pm EST***

To keep up on news you can follow me on Twitter @ByTheBrooks

or you can follow @ThankYou_Cassie for Mortal Instruments related news and topics :)

Room

by Emma Donoghue

Overall: YYYY
Action: a
Comedy: aa
Drama: aaaaa
Romance: x
Suspense/Mystery: aaa
Tragedy/Tear-worthy: aaa
Explanation of rating

Summary: The story opens up with Jack explaining how it's his birthday. Everything is a fact, and Ma (obviously Jack's mother) knows everything. From the jacket summary, the reader already knows that Ma had been kidnapped years early and held captive in the room. Through Jack's simple conversations and observations of his mother, we learn that she had nearly given up on life before he was born from the rape of their captor, Old Nick.

Jack details his daily routine and describes each of the objects in the Room. Everything has a purpose and can be used as a toy - showing the creativity and desperation Ma has succumbed to in order to provide any semblence of life for her son. They run "track" for Phys. Ed. in a small section of Room; they create their own ruler and measure every inch; they play Scream every weekday, when they yell as loud as they can at the small skylight that provides the only section of sky Jack has ever known. While he's learned reading and writing and mathematics, his Ma has him believe that Room is all that's real, and all else is TV (like stores, houses, other people). He's advanced in so many ways, yet limited in an eleven-by-eleven foot room.

The day comes when Ma tries to explain her old life and the world outside of Room, which is almost incomprehensible to Jack's mind. With the memories, the seed is planted in Ma's head that she could try again for an escape, now using Jack (whom she obviously didn't have seven years earlier when she was first kidnapped). The real issues, though, come when Jack is thrusted into Outside and must experience, for the first time, humanity and life.

"The world is always changing brightness and hotness and soundness, I never know how it's going to be the next minute."

~~~~~~~~~~

Opinion: I'd heard incredible things about this book from people who attended BEA 2010. That's a long time to wait before I actually got my hands on it as a Christmas gift from my father. [It's officially the first book I've read in 2011!]

Admittedly it was a bit hard to read at first. The point-of-view being from a five year-old boy really messes with the syntax and vocabulary that I basically set my career on. After I settled into the pages, though, I fell in love with the writing. This story is truly told in the unique voice of Jack that sticks with you in every word.

While I was drawn in to reading the story based on the premises of a young boy living only in one room all his life, it become quickly obvious that the story is not about that confined life. It becomes a narrative about the world and how it is percieved by someone who could never have comprehended the simplicity and complexities of it before. [Back in high school Biology, my teacher had the class go around to different lab tables to look at ordinary objects and describe them as if we've never encountered them before... but our minds could only reach so far. I kept thinking back to that experiment while reading.] I was getting bored with the story before Ma and Jack escaped, which is perhaps a good thing - I could only imagine Ma having lived before Jack and the boredom she had to battle.

Unfortunately, it fell just a little short of my expectations. I was hoping for story that would make me cry... instead it just made me curious, as if it was a case study or something.

~~~~~~~~~~

For School? (Hey, I'm a teacher, I think about this stuff!) Probably not, only because I'm thinking as a high school teacher and I could only imagine the controversy it would cause to teach this book to teens. However, as a study of how to write in a Voice: absolutely.

Hold Me Closer, Necromancer

by Lish McBride

Overall: YYY
Action: aaa
Comedy: aaa
Drama: aa4
Romance: aa4
Suspense/Mystery: aaa
Tragedy/Tear-worthy: a
Explanation of rating

THIS IS A REVIEW OF AN *ADVANCE* COPY! IT IS *SPOILER FREE*
***Hold Me Closer, Necromancer will be released October 12, 2010***

Summary: Sam is a barely-college student making a not-so-extravagent life working at Plumpy's, spending his time playing Potato Hockey and "Guess What I Put in the Fryer" with his co-workers/friends: Ramon, Brooke, and Frank. One day a rogue potato shot hits an expensive car belonging to Douglas Montgomery and Sam's life gets a little complicated. That night he is attacked in the parking lot and left with long scratches down his back.

Back in his apartment with his friends, using his mom's hippy/herbalist medicines to heal his cuts, a package is delivered. The boys open it up to discover Brooke's severed head... her talking severed head (she's none too happy about it either). A note tells Sam to meet at the zoo the next day.

When he shows up next to the panda exhibit, Sam meets Douglas again and discovers his own hidden ability to raise the dead. Douglas gives the boy one week to decide to become an apprentice, or die. Through that week, Sam discovers more and more about his hidden ability and just how much his own mother has kept from him.

All during this[the narration switches most chapters], Douglas also has a hand in the kidnapping of Brid, a werewolf/werehound hybrid who is the heir to lead the pack. He does experiments on her and hints at previous tests on other creatures. Sam is kidnapped as well and is held captive in the cage with Brid [did I mention that she's naked?], occasionally being let out and forced to learn and use his power.

With twists in the classic bad-guy-underestimating-the-good-guy, this is a unique story sprinkled with the undead.

"'So, you see the dead and stuff, huh? How very Sixth Sense of you.'"

~~~~~~~~~~

Opinion: My friend, Dorothy Donne, attended the 2010 Book Expo America and nabbed several books for me (reviews to come, I'm sure). Not having heard any talk about Hold Me Closer, Necromancer, she chose it purely from the title - so the book definitely has that going for it! Other than that, though, this is nothing spectacular.

McBride definitely has talent, however. She present great detail and sprinkles in small events that the characters mention from their pasts - it makes them seem more real and gives a greater dimension to each person. And her sense of humor is evident on every page.

There's so much potential to be greater than it is... And I'm honestly unsure if there will be a sequel or not. The ending leaves us with a possibility, but not a guarantee. If there happens to be a second book to Sam's Necromancy skills, I'll absolutely pick it up in hopes to see its potential filled.

~~~~~~~~~~

For School? (Hey, I'm a teacher, I think about this stuff!) I wouldn't teach it, but I'd recommend it to the more reluctant readers, particularly the boys. The only problem, aside from the whole Necromancy thing that I'm sure many religious families would have a problem with for no real reason aside from never having read a fiction book before, is there is a quick-barely-there sex scene that isn't even described, just alluded to.