Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Title: Beautiful Creature
Author: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
Release Date: Decmber 1st 2009
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Pages: 563
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars


There were no surprises in Gatlin County.
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything. Goodreads

Wow. No, really. Wow. Word can’t really describe how much I loved it. It has been reviewed and raved about like mad recently. I’ve read so many amazing review but also a few so-so reviews. It was on my TBR List but I didn’t think about reading it until I saw it in my library. I’m so glad I did. It was overwhelmingly amazing. I can’t say I read it in a few days, it took me about 4 weeks to read it, which I know is a long while. The size of the book scared me slightly. I’m not so fond of books that breach past 400 pages. It automatically doubles, or triples the length it would take to read. It is all up in my head. I have been really busy as well though, so it has nothing to do with the content.

Hmm. Where to start? I loved that it was narrated by a boy. I’ve gotten to a point where I assume the narrator is a girl. I was so confused at first, I was like huh? And then I reread the blurb and saw that it was narrated by Ethan (My advice, read the blurb first to avoid confusion. I’m a little slow sometimes).  There have been a lot of criticisms that say Ethan is too observant to be a boy, and slightly too girly. I disagree on both counts (despite not being a guy). To me, he is just an observant guy, and his parents seem like the type that would encourage being observant.

Ethan was a lovely guy. I loved his dedication to Lena, his support and affection. I can’t say I was immediately fond of him but he definitely grew on me the more he was with Lena. Lena is definitely my kind of girl. I want to be her friend. She was a girl who wasn’t afraid to be herself. She had courage, which I admired. But by far my favourite character was Link. Link is slightly slow but he is just so lovely, and is a great friend to both Lena and Ethan, even when things turn sour. The characterization in general was fabulous. All very three dimensional, with lots of detail so you felt like you really knew them.

The book was full of twists and turns, and I constantly had my mouth open, in pure awe of what was going on. Everything happened too quickly and too slowly all at once, and it was amazing. The pacing was incredible. Towards the end my eyes went into overdrive, trying to double the speed at which I normally read because I was so anxious to read it. The whole book sucked you in and you felt you were right there with them, involved in their lives, caring what happened to them.

Overall, it was just an amazing read. Fast paced, wonderfully written and fabulous characterization. What’s not to love?

5 out of 5

TBR Pile (2)

I shall share some books from my TBR Pile this week :)

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

The cover is just gorgeous to start with. It is about a girl who can sense murdered bodies and with a serial killer on the loose takes on the role of finding him and stopping him. I've never heard of a book like this and I'm so intrigued by it. I've read some amazing reviews of it and the second instalment came out recently-ish I think.

Where The Truth Lies by Jessica Warman

The book looks wonderful.  I love the odd angle of the picture on the front cover.    My knowledge of this book is quite limited but it has something to do with  the main character having nightmares that cannot be explained. As she  begins to understand her nightmares she begins to question all that she has  known. It is a fairly new release (September 2010) and is only out in hardback at this moment in time.

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

I am a HUGE Sarah Dessen fan. I don't think words could even describe how in love with her writing I am. This is the only one of hers I haven't read. I don't know how I've managed to surpass it but I have. There is no doubt in my mind that I will love it. From what I know it is about a girl in an abusive relationship, along with troubles at home, a missing sister if I recall correctly. It is one of her older novels and it seems to be slightly darker than her newer ones perhaps? I do hope there is some happy romance though, because I just seem to expect it with Sarah Dessen. Hopefully I will get it for Christmas this year! (fingers crossed)

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

The  number of  gushing reviews I have read is insane. Words don't seem to exist to describe how amazing this book is.  How can I not have read it yet? The book tells the story of a girl with a  perfect life who is forced to relive the same day 7 times. It deals with the  actions in our daily lives and how it affect things. Sam (the main character) learns that she has the power to change the way things are by slightly altering what she does. It has been likened to Groundhog Day which I have not seen (but must at some point), in the sense of  reliving the same day. Regardless it  looks absolutely superb and is another book I hope to get for Christmas.

Have any of you read these books? Are they deserving of taking up space on my TBR list. I'd love to hear your thoughts :) 

What's Your Status?

What's your Status? is a weekly meme that allows you to sum up your week in reading, saying what books you've read, finished, started, not finished etc.






Finished:


Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

SO AMAZING! I finished it this morning. I don't think I've ever read a book with so much going on. The pace was intense and I was constantly like :O. I should have a review up next week.






Currently Reading:

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Well by started I mean I shall start today. You guys voted for me to read this next and I am so so so excited to read it. I've been waiting with anticipation to find out what happens next!






Added to To Read Pile

Sea
 Heidi R. Kling 

The Karma Club
 Jessica Brody

Weekly Recap (1)

I have no books In My Mailbox this week :( Sad, I know. I've been too busy to even contemplate buying books. So instead I thought I would do a recap of my week, posting links to everything I posted this week, just in case you missed anything. I got the idea from Small Review and thought I would steal it :D

Reviews:
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick
Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Memes:
In My Mailbox (4)
Waiting For Wednesday (2)
Blogger Hop (1) / Follow Friday (1)

Challenges:
Off The Shelf Challenge

Other:
Award Time 

I hope you all had a great week, and I would still love to see what you in your mailbox, though I didn't get anything.

Book Blogger Hop (1)

This is very first book blogger hop which is hosted by Crazy For Books which aims to allow bloggers to find new blogs and meet new people and basically mingle. I absolutely love the idea. There is a weekly question you are and this week the question is:

What is your favourite book cover?

I'm definitely a cover girl. I love them, I crave them, I look at them to cheer me up when I'm sad. I love them, so I can't choose just one. Covers are like my children, I can't pick a favourite. But, for the sake of the question I shall choose one that I really like at the moment. 

I'm a sucker for Christmas. I'm crazy for snow. I'm mad for romance. This cover just screams all three of these things. I get such a magical feel from the book. It makes me smile and I love it when covers do that. I love the signs spelling out the title and the colourful buildings behind. GAH I love it.

I'm sure most of you have probably seen the book Dash and Lily's Book of Dares but I thought I'd choose it anyway because it is just so damn gorgeous.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Title: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Release Date: July 6th 2010 (paperback)
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc
Pages: 374
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars


In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. 

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before--and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that weigh survival against humanity and life against love. goodreads

This was one of the first dystopian books I have ever read and boy, was it amazing. For the past couple of years I've been reading very realistic fiction, from the likes of Sarah Dessen. I read such amazing reviews online and I couldn't any longer. I then found it in the school library and it was like fate, and most definitely love at first read.

The portrayal of the Capitol and the break down of society I found to be very powerful. The whole concept of the Hunger Games is purely psychotic and disturbing. It reminded me of the  coliseum in Rome, and how death and murder was a form of entertainment. The contestants were merely puppets being used by the Capitol.

I loved Katniss. I thought she was a very likeable character, headstrong and passionate. She has a very big heart, taking her sister's place. It was something that wasn't done by people, and it showed a lot of courage. Peeta was wonderful too. I automatically warmed to him, and the way he reacted when in the games was, to me at least, perfect. The characterisation in general I felt was truly remarkable!

There was lots of murder, with teenagers killing each other to keep themselves alive. It was hard at times but there were some very touching moments that humanised the characters, not only portraying them as killers.

Overall the book was fast paced, energetic and extremely enjoyable. It was so hard to put down. I'm very excited to be reading the next instalment!

5 out of 5 stars

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

 

Title: Some Girls Are
Author: Courtney Summers
Release Date: January 5, 2010 (paperback)
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Pages: 256
Source: Bought
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars


Climbing to the top of the social ladder is hard--falling from it is even harder.  Regina Afton used to be a member of the Fearsome Fivesome, an all-girl clique both feared and revered by the students at Hallowell High... until vicious rumors about her and her best friend's boyfriend start going around.  Now Regina's been "frozen out" and her ex-best friends are out for revenge.  If Regina was guilty, it would be one thing, but the rumors are far from the terrifying truth and the bullying is getting more intense by the day.  She takes solace in the company of Michael Hayden, a misfit with a tragic past who she herself used to bully.  Friendship doesn't come easily for these onetime enemies, and as Regina works hard to make amends for her past, she realizes Michael could be more than just a friend... if threats from the Fearsome Foursome don't break them both first.

Tensions grow and the abuse worsens as the final days of senior year march toward an explosive conclusion in this dark new tale from the author of Cracked Up To Be. goodreads

I thought that the book had such honesty in it and the characters were compelling. I think it is a very relatable tale, because most people can relate to bullying in high school whether they were the victims or the victimisers. It isn’t very original in the sense of bulling as it is a subject matter almost overdone. However, it was a completely different spin, with the victimiser becoming the victim. A friend of mine was recently completely excluded from her friends and they turned against her, leaving her feeling pretty broken. Friends have the power to break us the most, and this book does show how the people you trust the most can so quickly dismiss you.

Regina, the main character, isn't someone you feel you should like, because she was such a bully, but I grew very attached to her throughout the novel. Summers makes it very clear that when it comes to bullying things aren’t always black and white. Under the surface things are very different to the surface. Michael was a real sweetheart. He taught me a lot about second chances, and though it is not easy to do, sometimes it needs to be done. The hints of romance throughout the novel were a nice break away from the horror that is high school.

The book was difficult to read at times however completely captivated me. I read it in one sitting, and that is something I rarely do. It really demonstrates the way teenage girls can be and what some will do for popularity. The message is extremely powerful and I became a lot more aware of the repercussions of my actions. I highly recommend it.

5 out of 5