The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

Title: The School for Good and Evil
Author: Soman Chainani
Rating: 4 stars
Blurb: The first kidnappings happened two hundred years before. Some years it was two boys taken, some years two girls, sometimes one of each. But if at first the choices seemed random, soon the pattern became clear. One was always beautiful and good, the child every parent wanted as their own. The other was homely and odd, an outcast from birth. An opposing pair, plucked from youth and spirited away.

This year, best friends Sophie and Agatha are about to discover where all the lost children go: the fabled School for Good & Evil, where ordinary boys and girls are trained to be fairy tale heroes and villains. As the most beautiful girl in Gavaldon, Sophie has dreamed of being kidnapped into an enchanted world her whole life. With her pink dresses, glass slippers, and devotion to good deeds, she knows she’ll earn top marks at the School for Good and graduate a storybook princess. Meanwhile Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks, wicked pet cat, and dislike of nearly everyone, seems a natural fit for the School for Evil. (More)

My Review:
Even before starting this book, I knew it would be different. Perhaps I felt this way because of the integration of fairy tales. Can I just say, finally. As a child growing up, I was obsessed with tales of princesses and princes living their happily ever after. Those times were truly magical, and reading this book has brought back the magic in an original and breathtaking way. I was pulled into the fairy tale world the author created from the very first line, and the excitement only grew as the story steadily progressed. I found myself lost in the plot, constantly envisioning the vivid imagery of the world in the story. 

The story line follows two best friends, one pretty, and one supposedly ugly. Sophie, dressed in pink and busy with good deeds, wishes for nothing but to be taken to this fairy tale land where she would acquire her happily ever after. Of course, when her friends Agatha, drab and constantly dressed in black, lands in her dream school, things take and unexpected turn. 

The idea I have to admit is ingenious. I mean, a legend about a fairy tale school the product of which are villains and charming princesses? Nice. Now add in just a touch of romance and mystery and you've got a perfectly wonderful book. 

The characters were, I would say, just right. I especially loved the son of King Arthur, who proved to override the mainstream Prince, though he had his times. The qualities and actions of the characters made me grow fond of them, and I even found myself teary-eyed at their occasional sorrows. 

Like every story, of course, this one did have flaws, the biggest being target audience. The length and vocabulary seemed much too long for a young audience, and yet the characters were aged only twelve and so the dialogue was sometimes tedious. I feel the problem could be easily resolved with an age swap, because frankly, it's difficult trying to picture a twelve year old Snow white, and even harder to picture a twelve year old prince charming. 

That's not to say that the story lost its effect on me. The plot line and world building cast aside my doubts and swept me to a truly enchanting ride. I was once again reminded that no one is ever too old for a fairy tale. 

And the cliffhanger! I will now start pulling out my hair. Oh, and did I mention, I'm loving the cover. 

Thirst no.5 (The Sacred Veil) by Christopher Pike

Title: The Sacred Veil
Author: Christopher Pike
Rating: 4.5/5 Stars
Blurb: In her five thousand years as a vampire, Alisa - or Sita, as she was originally called - has experienced the equivalent of fifty lifetimes. Every moment of her immortal life is seared deep into her being. Every person she has loved, every victim she has killed - their faces are forever part of her.

Yet, strangely, a handful of memories have been lost to Alisa. As she and her friends embark on a search for the location of a sacred artifact - an ancient veil that may hold the key to mankind's salvation - Alisa soon realizes that her own mind may be her greatest enemy.

The memories she is blocking deal with the most horrifying period in mankind's history, a time when she was tortured by a madman responsible for the deaths of millions. But what information did her torture yield?

Review:
Being the fifth book in a series I read a while ago, I was reluctant to pick It up. I couldn't remember much from the first four books, and when I saw this one, I looked over it. Then, just a few weeks ago, I decided to give this book a go because I had enjoyed the first four books, and I absolutely love Christopher Pike's style of writing. It is very professional. Let me begin by saying that I quickly got into the Sacred Veil, and the pace was perfectly set-not too fast, not too slow.

The characters were the same from the previous books, and some new ones were introduced. Aside from the main characters-Sita, Seymour, and Matt-I really felt with the minor characters, and I think this is a result of Pike's very realistic settings and events. He did an amazing job conveying the emotions and feelings our characters went through.

Other things I loved about The Sacred Veil-more like all of the books-were the ideas. I mean, the idea of different worlds and multi-billion organisations that were demonic-all of it was really fascinating. I absolutely love this about his books, especially the idea of beings called the Tellar, and the crazy strong children in the cradle. Just fascinating.

And now, for the ending (no spoilers). Pike decided to throw a cliff-hanger, a major one, and a cliff-hanger involving my favourite two characters! I suppose it's a good thing we can improvise on our own, but I still wish I knew how it would all end...

In all, the book was beautifully written, had a good pace, and had me hooked until the end. Give the series a try if you haven't already!

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher

Blurb
Clay Jensen returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers thirteen cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate and crush who committed suicide two weeks earlier.

On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Clay is one of them. If he listens, he'll find out how he made the list.

**************************************Review*****************************************

Thirteen Reasons why is definitely one of the books with meaning. I meant to pick it up a long time ago, but always looked over it. Seemed like a typical teen fiction, so I didn't think to much until I heard all the praise.... so here I am now. The ideas are put together really well, using voices that really brought out the best in the novel.

Hannah Baker- dead girl- seemed to have a lot to say about thirteen specific people, and there were times when I would be like... ok, that's not THAT big of a deal to die over... but then she said other things. Things such as (not exact words) little things can grow into big things, kind of like a snow ball effect. So I felt for her. She also seems to have a little humour in her voice here and there. Helps escape all the dreariness.

Then there was Clay Jensen. He's a typical teenage boy who has to listen to all thirteen tapes, waiting dreadfully for his turn- while wondering what he did wrong. I have to say, his reactions were kind of unsatisfying. How do I put this? He didn't seem as alive to me as some of the other characters. When he did react in big ways, it seemed like something the author just had to put there, and not something Clay Jenson would actually do.

There's also the setting. The places in the story were well described, and well thought out. I also liked how each tape was matched with a place on a map. It helped to comprehend the tapes better.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book, and I learned a lot from it, too. I learned that pictures aren't necessarily worth a million words. They can be misleading. I also learned to not judge people, and not ignore them either, because that's just as bad. I'm giving this a four stars.

0.4 by Mike A. Lancaster

It's a brave new world. 'My name is Kyle Straker. And I don't exist anymore.' So begins the story of Kyle Straker, recorded on to old audio tapes. You might think these tapes are a hoax. But perhaps they contain the history of a past world...If what the tapes say are true, it means that everything we think we know is a lie. And if everything we know is a lie does that mean that we are, too?

****************Review*************

0.4 by Mike Lancaster is one of those books that put ideas into your head. Ideas about life, and all that we know. This particular book is told in tape form by a boy named Kyle Straker. He tells us about all that he's been through, and his voice is a very memorable one. He and four others, also known as the 0.4, are the only percent of the pouplation that are still human. The rest have been upgraded, like a computer program, and the 0.4 are left behind. Forgotten.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was definitely a different generation of sci-fi then what I've read before. It was well thought out with ideas that make you wonder how people come up with this kind of stuff. It wasn't very long, but by the end, my head was full of thoughts and possibilities about this world. If the author was trying to make people think about the world we live in, then he has succeeded. For that reason, this book deserves four stars.

Shelter by Harlan Coben

Blurb:
Mickey Bolitar's year can't get much worse. After witnessing his father's death and sending his mom to rehab, he's forced to live with his estranged uncle Myron and switch high schools.

A new school comes with new friends and new enemies, and lucky for Mickey, it also comes with a great new girlfriend, Ashley. For a while, it seems like Mickey's train-wreck of a life is finally improving - until Ashley vanishes without a trace. Unwilling to let another person walk out of his life, Mickey follows Ashley's trail into a seedy underworld that reveals that this seemingly sweet, shy girl isn't who she claimed to be. And neither was Mickey's father. Soon, Mickey learns about a conspiracy so shocking that it makes high school drama seem like a luxury - and leaves him questioning everything about the life he thought he knew.

Review:
 I personally thought this books was an amazing piece of work, very original with a little sense of humour in it. The only reason I didn't give it five stars is because it didn't really exceed over my expectations. I knew it would be good, but nothing about the book made me think 'Oh, my, gosh! I can't believe that happened! Over all though, it was well laid out. So maybe a three stars.

The Mum Hunt by Gwyneth Rees

Twelve year old Esmie, along with her brother Mathew, lives in a residence run by a single parent, and and their nanny, Juliette. For as long as Esmie can remember, her dad has been single, and she decides that it's finally time that things changed around here. And so we begin the mum hunt- searching for the perfect mother is harder then it seems.

There were many things that intrigued me about this book- including the characters, their personalities, the plot, the writing style, and the voice. The thing is, I got this book a long time ago, maybe when I was six years old? Back then, I didn't really like reading- wow- so I never really picked the book up. The cover didn't really help either. I mean now, I don't usually judge a book by its cover, but back then, I had a very strict policy. So just a few days ago, I had nothing better to read, and I just saw this lying around on my shelf. I picked it up and read the first few lines, and guess what? I was hooked. I just couldn't resist the witty style.

 The story itself is told by 12 year old Esmie- short for Esmeralda. The girl seems to have a lot to say. You'll find yourself in her shoes and really feeling what she's feeling. Then there's her brother, Mathew. Definitely an interesting character. A little bit of a rebel really. There were times when Mathew made decisions that really made me angry. Like the time he went and got his ear pierced even though his dad forbade him. It brought down the whole mood in the story, and it brought down my mood as well. The nanny, Juliet, is only 20, and you really get attached to her after a while. She's always interfering with Esmie's father's love life, trying to find dates for him. At one point of the story, because of all the times she interfered, you'd think that Juliet and Esmie's dad were made for each other, but boy, things just seemed to go a different way.

That brings us to the plot. When you first read the story, you meet lots of women. One of them being Esmie's french teacher. Apparently, she's single, and you automatically think: It's so obvious that she'll be Esmie's step-mother. I don't blame you, because that's exactly what I thought! The interesting thing is, that phase usually passes and returns, and so you never know who will end up with Esmie's father. It's as if you're walking down a dark corridor, and when you think you've reached a door, there's nothing, so you have to go down another hallway. That was the plot, and it always had me wanting more.

Overall, there was lots of witt in this story, and I am a huge fan of humour. The plot was something lots of people can relate to, and the characters were very realistic. I'd recommend this book to anyone, even though it is a little old.

I'd give this book a four stars.

Timeriders By Alex Scarrow

Liam O'Connor should have died in the Titanic in the year 1912. Maddy Carter should have died on a plane in the year 2010, and Sal Vikram should have died in a fire in 2026, yet just as the three came close to touching death, a mysterious man appeared out of no where and said '...Take my hand...'
They were saved, lucky, call it what you want, but in truth, the three were chosen to play very important roles in a time travelling agency that no one knows exists. Time travel had been invented, and that is why the three were needed. They had special talents that fit the job requirements of time travel, and they find themselves working along side each other to correct history that had been altered by the people from the future. They are the Timeriders, and they are here to protect us. Here to make sure that mankind doesn't go back and wreck the world.

***************************OPINIONS******************

I remember the first day I got this book in my hands. It sounded interesting, the cover looked intriguing, futuristic, and definitely had that sci-fi look to it. Even the blurb was good, but when a classmate of mine read the blurb, he said
'Oh, sounds cool... but also kind of cheesy..'
(me) 'Really, no it doesn't! Explain?'
(him) 'Well, time travel is cool, but it's always the same... something always happens with time, and someone needs to go fix it'
What he said was absolutely true. This is exactly what this book was about. Someone went back in time, which caused a 'sign' that let the Timeriders know something was wrong, and someone went back to fix it. It doesn't take a genius to realise that's what's going to happen, but that's not the point. You see, the thing is, obviously in books such as this one, something bad has to happen to history, but I think what counts is the event the author chooses. Whether it is made up, or something... say, like changing the history of the Germans?
    This story was absolutely amazing in any way possible. The plot was creative, and the characters would really surprise you. For example, the supposed 'bad guys' were actually very good guys who thought they could make a better future. Also, this book may not be under the humour section, but there were parts where I found myself laughing uncontrollably.
    The plot itself was really well thought out, and had me sitting on the edge of my seat. Of course, there were times where I would start to slouch on my chair because there was too much description, and not enough action, but none the less, this book deserves a good:
                      ★★★★