Possession by Elana Johnson

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: June 7, 2011

Pages: 416

Rating: 3 stars

Vi knows the Rule: Girls don't walk with boys, and they never even think about kissing them. But no one makes Vi want to break the Rules more than Zenn...and since the Thinkers have chosen him as Vi's future match, how much trouble can one kiss cause? The Thinkers may have brainwashed the rest of the population, but Vi is determined to think for herself.

But the Thinkers are unusually persuasive, and they're set on convincing Vi to become one of them...starting by brainwashing Zenn. Vi can't leave Zenn in the Thinkers' hands, but she's wary of joining the rebellion, especially since that means teaming up with Jag. Jag is egotistical, charismatic, and dangerous--everything Zenn's not. Vi can't quite trust Jag and can't quite resist him, but she also can't give up on Zenn.

This is a game of control or be controlled. And Vi has no choice but to play. [Book description from Amazon]

~My review~

I had mixed feelings about Possession. Don’t get me wrong- it was good, but it just wasn’t *great.* There were parts when I was like, “Oh yeah, baby! This is fantabulous!” and then there were those times when I was like, “Meh. That could have been left out or changed.” In other words, the way I feel about this book is kind of like Jag: bi-polar.

That’s another story: what was with Jag? One minute he was all hot and dark and sexy, and the next he’s crying on the floor. Anyways. I don’t want to give too much away, but Jag’s character just kind of confused me and frustrated me at the same time. I mean, is he a hot rebel or is he a weanie? One or the other, please.

But what am I doing all this complaining for?! Possession really was a good read. It reminded me a lot of Matched by Ally Condie as well as Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi, which is one of my recent favorites (Perry!! Eeee!). The ending was unexpected, and the action in between was fantastic. The romance was worthy of 5 stars (that is, when Jag wasn’t crying his eyes out on Vi’s shoulder) and not to be shallow, but the cover is gorgeous. All white and glittery with the butterfly trapped in a single ice cube. Very symbolic and beautiful at the same time. *nod nod* Though the storyline has it’s pathetic moments (the author didn’t have me completely convinced at some points) and my interest seemed to rollercoaster from beginning to end, it wasn’t considerably all that bad. In fact, it was pretty good. Some minor qualms, but compared to some young adult books out there nowadays *coughTwilightcough* Possession is a keeper.

Quick Content Review:

Language: Mild- Heavy (not too bad, but Vi does have a mouth on her)

Violence: Minor- Mild (not anything too bad that sticks out, as far as I can remember)

Sexual: Minor (A kiss or two; Vi and Jag are put in the same prison cell for a few days, but nothing happens)

Can't wait for the sequel, Surrender! Again, a gorgeous cover for this one as well.

Book review for Elixir by Hilary Duff

Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2010

Pages: 336

Rating: 4 stars

Clea Raymond, 17, lives a charmed life. She travels the world with her best friend, Rayna, partying in countries near and far. Her mother is kept busy by her work as a United States Senator, but she loves her daughter with all her heart. And Clea has a cute guy trailing her every move–her bodyguard/voice of reason, Ben. Everything would be just perfect, except for the fact that her beloved father, a world-renowned surgeon, has gone missing while on a humanitarian mission in Rio. She can't stop thinking about him and his disappearance, and one night she stumbles onto something that might help her find him. Looking through photos she took on vacation, Clea notices a strange man who lurks in the background of every picture. Then, she starts having dreams about him. She's always a different woman in a different time period with him–and she always dies a brutal death. With the help of Ben, Clea travels to Rio to try and figure out the mystery behind her father's disappearance and the identity of the stranger in her pictures and her dreams. This entertaining book has a good mix of romance and suspense with a little reincarnation thrown in for good measure. Clea is caught up between the love she feels for the mystery man and the feelings she starts to have for Ben. Yet she soon figures out that there's more to this love triangle than she realizes. The fast-paced story will keep readers turning the pages until the very end. [Amazon Product Description]

I had never heard about this book until I read a (positive) review for it. I was more than a little surprised to find that Hilary Duff had written a book.  Yes, I thought that ya know, valley-girl Hilary Duff was like, totally too brainless to even like, ya know, read a book, much less like, write one! But despite that fact, I gave it a shot. Before I go on…you know those select books that completely engulf you in the life and problems of the hero/heroine and you can barely stop reading to eat and use the bathroom? Well, for me, this was kind of one of those books. I say “kind of” because, as always, I have some dissatisfaction to go with my praises.

So, first off, this is my take on the characters. Clea’s talent with photography was the one thing that made her unique. And that was about it. She was a completely normal 17 year old… aside from being reincarnated four times all throughout history. I kept thinking of her as a younger version of Hilary Duff, and maybe that’s how Hilary created her to be. I don’t know. Anyways. Rabbit trail over. When she first introduced Ben, I was thinking, “Ok, so Ben will be Clea’s big, strong, hot bodyguard all throughout the book, and in the end, they’ll get together and live happily ever after.” Was that how it ended? Nope. Not at all. In fact, halfway through the book, I began to think of Ben as a weak, wimpy, jealous little twerp. This leads me to… SAGE! Oh my gosh, Sage was HOT. It was so romantic that Sage was destined to fall in love with Clea each time she was reincarnated. Rayna really cracked me up with her little obsession with “soul mates” and all.

But there were some things that didn’t really make a whole lot of sense. First, they portray Ben as a hunk, and then when the real danger sets in, he’s trembling in the corner. Also, he seemed like a pretty cool, chill guy in the first few chapters, and then he becomes a jerk when Sage comes into the picture. I know that he was in love with Clea and all, but to make him so jealous of Sage that he becomes a numbskull; it really upset me and ruined his character. Next, it baffled me that one moment Clea is certain that Sage is some serial killer and is out to get her, killing her time after time. But then the next moment, she’s deeply and passionately in love with him, having a little love fest in Rayna’s car on the side of the road. Will someone please tell her to make up her mind?!? Also, one other thing that bothered me was the unnecessary language. There wasn’t THAT much, but just enough to irritate me. Lastly, the sexuality between Sage and Clea wasn’t needed. It just complicated things and added immorality to a truly captivating novel.

That aside, I enjoyed Elixir thoroughly and was dying for more the minute I reached the back cover. Going off of the way Hilary ended the book, I’m guessing that she plans on releasing a sequel. I’m counting the days till it comes out and cannot wait to see how all this ends. All in all, Elixir was entertaining, suspenseful, and steamily romantic, with only a few unnecessary tidbits of language and disgraceful behavior. If you are hungry for a good romantic paranormal, I suggest you try Elixir.

Quick Content Review:

Profanity- Mild to Heavy (Several words and God’s name is abused many times)

Violence- Heavy (Clea is murdered several times in her past lives, usually violently. Clea, Sage, and a group of other people are brutally slaughtered while trying to protect the elixir. Much description, so beware, all you who are squeamish! J)

Sexual- A mix between mild and heavy. (Rayna’s hobby is flirting with boys, and while in France, she goes home from a club with a guy she just met. Clea and Sage have sex in the passenger seat of his car and in one of Clea’s past lives, in the bottom of a boat. Nothing is described, but there is heavy kissing.)

Other Negative Content- Underage drinking at a club and wild partying on the streets in Brazil during Carnival.

             

Book Review for Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Publisher: Scholastic Press

Pages: 390  

My rating: 4/5

Warning: Spoilers in Quick Content Review

Katniss Everdeen, girl on fire. Survived the Hunger Games. Twice. Still alive. And still rebelling.

Katniss has been transported to District 13 after her second time in the arena. Peeta is in the Capital. Yes, with Snow. Who is doing who knows what to him to get Katniss to crack. The rebellion still rages, and it’s stronger than ever now, with 13’s nuclear power and built-up strength on its side. But it’s missing one thing. A hero. A figure head. Someone to lead them. And Katniss is that person. Will she agree? Will she put aside her feelings, her doubts, to become their Mockingjay?

I was more than a little scared to read Mockingjay. I had heard all bad things about it, and didn’t want it to ruin my view of this trilogy. And now after I’ve read it, I have mixed feelings about it. It definitely wasn’t as good as THG or CF, and took way more effort to read. Some parts seemed to drag on and on and on. But there were some parts I loved and could barely put the book down. Like at the beginning, before Katniss was sent off to the Capital. Some parts, like those, were mind-blowing. Mrs. Collins teased us by making Gale more caring, almost romantic, making our minds flirt with the idea of Katniss + Gale. And in 13, she makes you decide which side Coin is really on.  After Peeta’s hijacking, I questioned whether he was really himself (I know you’re thinking, “Duh, Shelby, he OBVIOUSLY wasn’t himself!”) or whether Snow had made some ballistic, blood-thirsty clone out of him. Those parts just ignited me with anger for the Capital. Towards the middle of the book, I really didn’t feel anything. I didn’t have any opinion about what was going on. It was strange. I just kept zombie- reading. Then Katniss was sent to the Capital. And the war truly began for both me and her. It was so different, in the Capital…everything was so much more extreme. I had always pictured the Capital, even at war time, as a happy place with lots of flowers. Even if the happiness was just a cover for the real maliciousness going on there. But it was not alike that at all. It was worse than in the Districts. It was pure war. Almost sickening, the way they tried to trap Katniss and her team, to kill them in miserable ways. So many different, creative ways of killing people. It was nauseating.

Those were the parts I didn’t like. They drained me. Depressed me. I could feel the weight of the war, the heavy tension, the constant action, the constant fear.  Death was so…prevalent in those parts. And Boggs. Oh goodness. If I was one to cry over books, I’m sure the pages would have been wet. He was so brave. And he died in such a horrible way.  It was like WW3…maybe worse.  Mockingjay was definitely more violent than THG or CF. It’s more of a darker story. And the deaths…they stung so much more.

So now, after saying that, you wouldn’t think that I would say I wished for a more dramatic ending. Yes. I did. I feel like I ( and Katniss, consequentially) missed out on “the last battle.” She’s hanging off a light pole, watching…well, since some of you haven’t read it, I won’t give it away…let’s just say she was watching Prim, then the next minute she’s unconscious. She wakes up on a hospital bed. And it’s all over. The Capital fell while Katniss was out. And after two books and a lot of fighting, she missed it. *sigh* It was quite disappointing. Even for me.

Also, after Katniss wakes up, she doesn’t seem like herself. I didn’t like that at all. I mean, I know she was grieving (who? Oh, you’ll have to read and find out… J) but she doesn’t seem like the type who would go hide in a closet after the Capital was overthrown.

Another thing. I wished I had seen more romance between Peeta and Katniss at the end. They seemed so cold. It was like, “Oh, well, everyone else is either dead or disinterested, so why don’t we get together?” I mean, if they finally realized they truly loved each other and all that, why didn’t we see it? That was another big disappointment for me.

One more disappointment/confusion:  1.) I didn’t like then ending. Have I mentioned that already? It didn’t wrap up the book series very well, and it felt completely dead to me. It wasn’t exciting, it wasn’t romantic, it was just dead.    2.) Did anyone besides me miss the climax? I mean, WHERE WAS THE CLIMAX?!?!? Think about it. It totally wasn’t there. Someone enlighten me please, if you know where it was, because I’m hopelessly lost on that matter.

To sum it up, there was the good, there was the bad, and there was the ugly. Do you want me to be honest with you? The bad outweighed the good. The war seemed much more violent to me in Mockingjay than it was in THG or CF. It was like a futuristic holocaust. I pretty much loathed Mrs. Collins with my whole being after finishing Mockingjay. I wanted to scream in her face, “Why get us all so attached and emotionally invested in all these beautiful characters, then kill them off???” I kept thinking, “How can she do this to us?!” I was waiting for them to come back from the dead or something. But I’m sure she had her reasons for them dying…I still don’t see them, but I’m accepting. J Also, it wasn’t as fast paced as the last two books. It seemed slower to me. But it wasn’t all bad, though. Mockingjay had its awesome parts. J Let me just say, it did change my perspective of what this trilogy is about. I thought it was a story of freedom, rebellion, revenge, and taking back what’s rightfully yours, but no- it’s a story of hurt, death, and healing.

I loved this trilogy to death and will never forget the fight that Katniss, Peeta, and Gale went though. Real or not real?

                                                                 Real.

 P.S.- And I can’t believe it’s finally over!! I could keep the story of Katniss, Gale, and Peeta going in my head, changing the plot, make it end like I want it to, or never end at all. Like a game. J “But there are much worse games to play.”

 Quick Content Review:

Profanity: None

Violence: Heavy (I want to be honest with you. There was more violence in Mockingjay than there was in THG or CF. Districts get blown up, a hospital collapses on the invalids inside, a character steps on a land mine and gets blown up (mention of blood and pieces of flesh everywhere), a character gets caught in a barbed net and dies, character are tortured (no description, just mentions), Katniss shoots people, Katniss gets shot once, you get my gist. Lots of violence- it is about war, so you must expect that. But I can’t tell you not to read this series because of the violence. It’s an amazing trilogy- one of the best I’ve ever read, if not the best. Don’t let the violent content scare you away. But please use your judgment and discretion, though. I don’t suggest that anyone younger than 15 or 16 read The Hunger Games because of the violence. )

Sexual: Mild (Katniss and Gale kiss once or twice, and Peeta and Katniss might kiss once; I don’t remember. Finnick tells about what the Capital did to him after his Hunger Games in order to keep him under control. He was forced to be a prostitute and says he was “paid with secrets” (about Snow and the Capital). He mentions something about Snow’s odd sexual preferences. Nothing explicit.)



Book Review for Matched by Ally Condie

Reading Level: Young Adult

Publisher: Dutton Books, 2010

Pages: 366

My Rating: 4 stars

            Cassia lives in a world where choices are not her own. She is blissfully Matched with her life-long friend, Xander, she will soon hold a position as a top sorter for the Society. She’s innocently happy in a world free of pain or difficulty. That is, until Ky comes along. Ky isn’t like anyone else Cassia has ever known. He introduces to Cassia his world- a world without the Society. And Cassia is curious, no, more than curious, when  not Xander’s face, but Ky’s face appears on her Matching screen before flickering away…

All I’ve ever heard about this book is good, good good. And don’t get me wrong- it was great! I loved the characters and the plot was amazing. The Society that Mrs. Condie created was very Hunger Games-ish. But… (you knew that was coming, didn’t you?)…I had high expectations for this book due to all the praise it’s gotten, and it really didn’t meet them. I didn’t like the beginning very much- I felt like everything started too soon and I didn’t really get to know the characters that well. You see, I’m picky like that. I love to get to know my character before we jump into the plot. The one thing a book needs to do at the beginning is GRAB the reader right out of their seat and transport them into the book. If you can’t put it down, then face it: you’re hooked. Matched didn’t do that for me.

            But I wasn’t completely disappointed with this book. I really did love it at many parts, despite the last paragraph of complaining I just did! Matched reminded me of another book I had read a long, long time ago: The Giver by Lois Lowry. The Societies in both books are almost exactly the same. By destroying all freedom, the Society destroyed all true pain as well as all true happiness. They made the world a feelingless blob of monotony. No one had to make any choices for themselves. They were like babies, waiting for the Society to tell them to breath in, to exhale, to breath in, to exhale, and so on and so forth.

            Another thing I loved about Matched was Ky. He was one of the most interesting male characters I’ve ever read about before. I felt like he was from a poem, or a fairytale. He was so much more beautiful and brighter than Xander. Xander accepted. Ky rebelled. Xander was friendly and brotherly to Cassia. Ky was romantic. Compared to Xander (whom I loved, don’t get me wrong!), Ky was color in a black and white world. J I loved a good romance. Lots of tender kisses and shows of affection. This wasn’t like that. Cassia and Ky didn’t share too many kisses, and they were practically forbidden to really even touch each other. But they shared secrets. Poems. Pieces of their hearts. And that was truly romantic. J

            And the cover. Oh my word. It’s MARVELOUS. The title gives you a futuristic sort of feel, and at first I didn’t really understand why Cassia was in a green bubble, but I get it know. I think it’s supposed to represent the Society and her being a slave, a prisoner to it. The next book in the trilogy, called Crossed (coming late 2011, can’t wait!) has Cassia breaking out of the “bubble” on the cover. It looks so cool!

            To sum it up, if you can get past the slightly boring beginning, I think you’ll love Matched. The way Mrs. Condie writes, in a flow-y, poetic sort of way, is really beautiful to read.  The romance between Cassia and Ky is really amazing and deep, and you can feel the tie between them. I loved it, and although I’ve read better, I really did enjoy Matched.

‘“I couldn’t sleep all night, worrying that I’d gotten you in trouble. I care about you.” Those words are quiet here in under the trees but they sing loudly in  my heart, louder than all the Hundred Songs caroling all at once. And his eyes are shadowed underneath, from thinking about me. I want to reach up and touch that skin under his eyes, the one place I’ve seen any vulnerability in him, make him feel better. And then I could run my fingers there across his cheekbones, down to his lips, to the place where his jaw meets his neck, where his neck meets his shoulder line. I like the places where one part meets another, I think, eyes to cheek, wrist to hands.’ (pg. 211)

Quick Content Review:

Profanity: None

Violence: None ( I seriously can’t think of any. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I can’t remember any at all. I know if there was, it was very, very minor.)

Sexual: Minor (Cassia and Ky kiss a couple times, and Cassia and Xander kiss a couples times.)