Need (Need 1) by Carrie Jones: Review

Need (Need #1)
By Carrie Jones
Published December 23rd 2008 by Bloomsbury Childrens USA
Pick up your copy today at B&N, Amazon, or your local indie!
Synopsis borrowed from Goodreads:

Zara White suspects there's a freaky guy semi-stalking her. She's also obsessed with phobias. And it's true, she hasn't exactly been herself since her stepfather died. But exiling her to shivery Maine to live with her grandmother? That seems a bit extreme. The move is supposed to help her stay sane...but Zara's pretty sure her mom just can't deal with her right now.

She couldn't be more wrong. Turns out the semi-stalker is not a figment of Zara's overactive imagination. In fact, he's still following her, leaving behind an eerie trail of gold dust. There's something not right - not human - in this sleepy Maine town, and all signs point to Zara.

In this creepy, compelling breakout novel, Carrie Jones delivers romance, suspense, and a creature you never thought you'd have to fear.

Darkfallen's thoughts:

Ok so I'll start by saying this...Need was a great read. The only reason it didn't quite get 5 stars from me is because I saw a few things coming. Please don't misunderstand me though, I enjoyed every page and before I finished Need, I went on amazon.com and bought the rest of the series. All in all I would say this is a solid 4 1/2 stars!

So whats it about? Thought you would never ask!

Everything starts with Zara leaving her world behind. She is lost, lonely, and a hollow shell of a person after losing her step dad to a heart attack. 

 "People say my dad's heart attacked him, but the truth is his heart failed him. It decided not to beat anymore, not to move the precious blood around his veins. It seized up and failed."

Her mom sends her to Maine to live with her step grandmother in hopes of saving her. Zara is sarcastic and quirky and hides behind chanting phobias when she is scared. I learned Sooo many phobias that I didn't even know they had a name for. It was Great! lolz Zara also rambles in the most perfect way and you'll find yourself drawn to her almost instantly. I only got mad at her once, and for me that's saying something, lol.

She finds herself thrown into a world where not only does she think she is being stalked, but this creepy guy may not actually be human. She is pretty quick to accept the possibility of Pixies but can't seem to wrap her head around the idea of Weres. (this is when I got mad at her. I mean You find out there is Pixies and your ok, but I tell you there is also Weres and you look at me like I'm crazy? Just saying;))
Zara quickly learns that this small snowy town is being plagued buy all sorts of the paranormal beings at the cost of human lives. Being the humanitarian she is, with the help of her new friends, she decides to put an end to it all. Little does she know that she is actually more a part of this paranormal world that she could have guessed possible.

Maybe her mom wasn't sending her to Maine to save herself from herself. Maybe she sent her away to save her from something else.....

Oh you want to know more you say? Well there is only one way to do it and I think you know what that is....Read it!

O c'mon you should know me well enough by now to know that I am not going to give it all away. That just wouldn't be as fun, now would it?

So if you have been on the fence do yourself a favor and jump right in.

Lymi...

 



The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann: Review

The Unwanteds
By Lisa McMann
Published August 30th by Aladdin
Pick up your copy today at Amazon, B&N, or your local indie!
Synopsis borrowed from Goodreads:

Every year in Quill, thirteen-year-olds are sorted into categories: the strong, intelligent Wanteds go to university, and the artistic Unwanteds are sent to their deaths.

Thirteen-year-old Alex tries his hardest to be stoic when his fate is announced as Unwanted, even while leaving behind his twin, Aaron, a Wanted. Upon arrival at the destination where he expected to be eliminated, however, Alex discovers a stunning secret—behind the mirage of the "death farm" there is instead a place called Artime.

In Artime, each child is taught to cultivate their creative abilities and learn how to use them magically, weaving spells through paintbrushes and musical instruments. Everything Alex has ever known changes before his eyes, and it's a wondrous transformation.

But it's a rare, unique occurence for twins to be separated between Wanted and Unwanted, and as Alex and Aaron's bond stretches across their separation, a threat arises for the survival of Artime that will pit brother against brother in an ultimate, magical battle.

Darkfallen's thoughts:

This book was my first EVER middle grade book.

Yes yes I AM that girl who has never read Harry Potter. While I watched all the movies I just never had a real desire to read the books, but I'll tell this book just grabbed me. From the title, to the synopsis, to the cover...I just needed to see what was behind the cover. And what I found was amazing!

This book takes you the into a sad, gray, bleak world or Quill. From the first pages you can't help but feel sorry for these people. For these kids who get punished for any form of expression. There is absolutely no free will here. And, as if that isn't bad enough, if you get caught breaking these rules the punishment is DEATH....or so everyone thinks.

It's the day of the Purge. The day when all the 13 year old kids are lined up and labeled. You are either Wanted and thus go on to Wanted University. Or your Necessary which means your not really smart enough to be wanted, but you would make a good work horse so they decide to keep you around. Or your Unwanted, and if this is the case it is a hot bus ride to the death farm where you will meet your fate in the lake of boiling oil. Twin brothers Aaron and Alex are the sons of 2 Necessary parents, but Aaron is Wanted and Alex...? UNWANTED!

Alex and the rest of the Unwanteds go to meet the fate, but little do they realize their fate isn't death. Not even close. In fact they got the better end of the deal. Living in a secret magic world where they are not only free to be themselves but it is ENCOURAGED! As Alex and his friends build their magical talents Alex can't seem to let his brother go. That's the thing with twins...it's a bond that just can't be broken. Or so they thought. It's not until the two worlds collide that Alex realizes his brother's true nature. Will the secret land of Artime be able to survive the wrath of Quill? Of will the magical world crumble and the Unwanteds finally meet their fate....DEATH?!?!

Well of course I'm not going to tell you. Your going to have to pick up this book and see for yourself! I will say that I was shocked at how easy I found myself being pulled into the story. I never thought "middle school" level books could reel me in, but I was so wrong. I would love to see this as a movie one day. I kept picturing the Red queen from Alice an Wonderland meets Harry Potter. This is definitely a series to look out for!        

Lymi...





Savannah Grey by Cliff McNish: Review

Savannah Grey
By Cliff McNish
Published Feb 2010 by Orion Children's books
Pick up your copy at Amazon, B&N, or your local indie today!!
Synopsis borrowed from Goodreads:

15 year old Savannah Grey has never felt she's belonged. She keeps her distance, so she's surprised by her attraction to the new boy Reece. Then strange things begin to happen: nature, it seems, is exerting an overpowering force on the world. Birds behave strangely; gusts of wind blow leaves so fiercely they seem to lure people away. And Savannah learns she has supernatural powers. Nature has a purpose for Savannah and her friends. For they are on course to meet the vile and evil Orcrassa, who wants to destroy the world by corrupting nature. And it wants Savannah Grey to help realise its savage intent.

Darkfallen's thoughts:

There is a monster lurking in the shadows...

Waiting for his chance to strike back. Slowly evolving since the dawn of time. While this creature takes on many forms, one thing is certain. It is at war. A constant battle is brewing between the monster, and nature itself....

Savannah Grey as always been a little different. Bouncing from foster home to foster home, always feeling restless. Then something begins to happen with her throat. That's when she meets Reece, who also has something strange going on with his throat. Little does she know that is not the only thing going on here. Savannah is more than a little different, more like supernatural. Nature's answer for taking down the monster for once and all.

Will she be able to accept her fate and BE the deadly weapon that she is destined to be?

Well that my friends you'll just have to read for yourself;)

My thoughts on this book are very torn. So lets start with the most important parts shall we? Yes we shall!

Cliff McNish is amazing. He has wowed me in his ability to paint a picture in such great detail. Leaving no stone unturned, he walks you through an amazing journey. The things he talks about in this story should leave you a little confused, but the DON'T. He just has a way of making you not only understand everything, but believe it to be real.

I fell in love with Savannah right from the start. I like how when she was faced with impossible choices, she did what any teenage girl would do, and made mistakes. It is the way that she handles those mistakes and learns from them that makes you admire her. As for Reece? What can I say he surprised me the most! I don't want to give anything away but by then end of this I was totally hearting him.

McNish has a talent for making you love a character one minute, and them hating them the next. Every time I thought "Oh I see. Now I know whats gonna happen," he pulled the rug out from under me. Keeping me on the edge of my seat, guessing what was going to happen next. It wasn't until the final pages that I finally was able to string it all together, and I assure that was only because McNish decided it was time. While there was some level of well played romance, he didn't flood the pages with it. This is definitely more of a hold on to the seat of your pants, action packed novel.

Now I'll go into why I was torn...I'll start by saying that I am a BIG wimp when it comes to all things creepy crawly. Both of the buggy and microscopic variety. I'm a big wuss. I get it I really do. That being said, there was a lot of that in this book. In such vivid detail that I literally had to take a few breaks/showers. Note that this is not a constant throughout the entire book. It's mostly just the parts from Ocrassa's point of view. Like I said McNish has a way with words that will leave you with a clear picture of every detail, including the evolution of the monster. Please don't let this keep you from reading this book. If me and my trusty bottle of hand sanitizer can make it through it, so can you.

All in all, no matter how much it gave me the hee-bee-gee-bee's, this book was worth all of it. I am so glad I found my "big girl" pants and kept going. The ending alone is an amazing twist that will make you squee!!

Lymi...





Heavnly by Jennifer Laurens: Review

Heavenly
by Jennifer Laurens
Pick up your copy today at Amazon, or your local indie!
Synopsis borrowed from Goodreads:

I met someone who changed everything. Matthias. My autistic sister's guardian angel. Honest. Inspiring. Funny. Hot. And immortal. That was the problem. What could I do? I did what any other girl would do-I fell in love with him.

Zoe's sister darts in front of cars. Her brother's a pothead. Her parents are so overwhelmed; they don't see Zoe lost in her broken life. Zoe escapes the only way she knows how: partying. Matthias, a guardian sent from Heaven, watches over Zoe's autistic sister. After Zoe is convinced he's legit, angel and lost girl come together in a love that changes destiny. But Heaven on Earth can't last forever.

Darkfallen's thoughts:

First I wanna say a special thanks to Jennifer Laurens for giving my this copy for review. I have had Heavenly on my TBR for a LONG time and when she asked me to review it I jumped at the chance...so Thank You!

So like I said I have been wanting to read this for close to forever now, so I naturally wanted to love it. But in the beginning it was quite the opposite of love I was feeling. Zoe is a 18 yr old teenage girl whose little sister, Abria, is autistic. But in the beginning Zoe just came off as mean, and heartless when it came to her sister. The resentment Zoe felt for all the struggles that came along with living with Abria really grated with me. In fact I almost threw the book down and walked away...I just couldn't do it. But like I said I have really wanting to read this so I scoured pages upon pages of reviews on Goodreads, only to find out that 90% of the population LOVED this book. So I thought to myself...why don't I? With shear determination I decided that I was not giving up on this book. I was going to find out why so many people love this story.

And...I...Did!

You are taken through a rough journey about a family that it falling apart. Due to the struggles and the strain of living with someone with autism they all start to unravel. Zoe turns to drinking, and hooking up with guys. Luke, her 16 yr old brother, turns to smoking pot, and eventually selling Lortabs to supply his habit. All the while both of the parents seem to overlook their older children, grasping at straws, just praying for the strength to make it through another day. It isn't until Matthias, Abria's guardian angel, steps in the picture that things start to change. Abria clams down from his touch, making everyone else's life that much easier, but Zoe can see Matthias when no one else can...

The relationship between Zoe and Matthias had me laughing out loud on more then one occasion. Zoe and her thoughts kept getting her in trouble. I also love the way Zoe kept trying to save her brother from the mistakes he was making once she got herself straightened out. I will say that this was a little to clean cut for me. I mean there is definitely some twists and turns you won't see coming and OMG the ending is fantastic in the most tragic way, but the way Zoe stops drinking and becomes the good girl, Luke stops smoking pot, gets a job, does his homework. The way their parents actually start to take stock in their older children's lives and everyone just seems, all of a sudden, So Happy Together, seems a little forced to me. I just don't see it going down that way in the real world. This is very much one of those books that is sending the message Put your faith in God and everything will work out. So if that's your kind of thing I say go for it, you'll prolly love it! I'm just not one of those girls. But overall this was a good read, with the most awesome twist at the end...a twist that made me cry.

Lymi...