Black Heart Blue, by Louisa Reid

Title: Black Heart Blue
Author: Louisa Reid
Reading Level: Young Adult
Pages: 274
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Person: first
Tense: Present
Rating: 10 / 10

Blurb:
“‘They tried to make me go to my sister’s funeral today. In the end I had to give in... I’d been walking in her shadow for sixteen years and I liked its cool darkness. It was a good place to hide.’
Rebecca’s twin sister Hephzibah was beautiful and daring. She was the one who always wanted more. The one who wouldn’t listen. Now she’s gone, Rebecca is alone.
While there were two of them, they stayed silent about their home life. But Rebecca, who knows the truth about how her twin died, suddenly finds herself keeping too many secrets. Hephzibah dreamt of escape, but failed. Could Rebecca be the one to find freedom?

Original and unforgettable, Black Heart Blue is not just Rebecca and Hephzibah’s story. It’s a story about all of us: a story about the lies we want to believe, the truth we sometimes can’t accept, and having the courage to discover the difference.”

Opinion:
This novel hooked me almost instantly. It’s a review copy, so I didn’t have much choice about reading it - and to be honest, that is the only reason I picked it up, because this is not the sort of novel I normally read. Though I have to say, I’m incredibly glad of it. Black Heart Blue is a thrilling novel about family abuse; it forces you to think (when you aren’t tied up reading it) about the rest of the world and what could be happening somewhere at this moment. The descriptions and storyline are realistic - I actually had to remind myself it wasn’t a autobiography.
The characters emotions become your own, and you feel their urgency, their fear, their need. The book switches point of view, from one twin to another, which I found to be highly effective - even if a little confusing when it switched from present to past and such. I found myself hating along with the twins, I found myself holding my breath as they struggled to survive.
There were two characters I struggled to understand for a good portion of the book, one being the mother. I found it hard to get a sense of the role she played and where she stood in the story; nevertheless, the characters were incredibly lifelike, and could have been people I knew.
This was an unforgettable, amazing read. I highly recommend it, even if it isn’t your preference.           

Lament, by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: Lament

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Reading Level: Young Adult

Pages: Paperback - 356

Chapters: 22

Genre: Romance / fantasy

Person: First

Tense: Past

Rating: 10/10

Blurb (quoted):

“Sixteen-year-old Dee is a cloverhand – someone who can see faeries. When she finds herself irresistibly drawn to beautiful, mysterious Luke, Dee senses that he wants something more dangerous than a summer romance.

But Dee doesn’t realize that Luke is an assassin from the faerie world.

And she is his next target.”

Opinion:

Okay, so perhaps this is a common sort of storyline – killer and victim fall in love, etcetera, but this is a whole new spin on ‘romance’. Having always been a dreamer, this book has certainly spoken to that inner child of mine that says ‘maybe they do exist…’

This novel was another page-turner, and is yet another of my favourites. This author – my god can she write romance! If you loved her novel Shiver, you’re going to adore this.

Maggie weaves magic into her writing so well, and her descriptions are oh-so-believable. This is a story you won’t want to take your nose out of – I was so disappointed at finishing it!

Highly recommended, especially for faerie-heads.

City of Glass, by Cassandra Clare

Title: City of Glass

Author: Cassandra Clare

Reading Level: Young Adult

Pages: Paperback - 541

Chapters: 21

Genre: Fantasy / Romance

Series: The Mortal Instruments:

1-City of Ashes, 2-City of Bones, 3-City of Glass, 4-Cit of Fallen Angels

Person: Third

Tense: Past

Rating: 10/10

Blurb (quoted): “Amid the chaos of war, the Shadowhunters must decide to fight with the vampires, werewolves and other Downworlders – or against them. Meanwhile, Jace and Clary have their own decision to make: should they pursue the love they know is forbidden?”

Opinion:

I was propelled through this book by anticipation; I could hardly put it down. There were so many pages that had me so involved I lost track of time.

This book is an amazing read, the characters have amazing personalities, there’s humour, despair, romance – everything.

There are so many twists and turns to the story line, you’re constantly asking ‘what next’. It builds so well on the two previous books from the series, the plot is solid.

It has me antsy for the next one.

City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare

Title: City of Bones

Author: Cassandra Clare

Target Audience: Young Adult

Pages: 442

Chapters: 24

Genre: Fantasy / Mystery / Romance

Series: 1-City of Bones, 2-City of Ashes, 3-City of Glass, 4-City of Fallen Angels

Person: Third

Tense: Past

Rating: 8.5/10

Blurb (quoted):

“It’s after dark in New York City, and Clary Fray is seeing things. The best-looking guy in the nightclub just stabbed a boy to death – but the victim has vanished into thin air. Her mother has disappeared, and a hideous monster is lurking in her apartment. With her life spiralling into darkness, Clary realizes that she has stumbled into an invisible war between ancient demonic forces and the secretive Shadowhunters – a war in which she has a fateful role to play.”

Judgement:

First and foremost, I must say I absolutely loved this book, and the only reason it didn’t get a higher rating is because I was incredibly frustrated with the ending, which I can’t go into more detail about without spoilers.

The story line is exactly my cup of tea; it’s got an amazing fantasy aspect fused into the world as we know it, and the storyline is captivating (though I wasn’t sure what genre to class it as…). The plot is well constructed, consistent, and mysterious, though I have to say the drastic twist near the end was upsetting and I am now eager to read the second and pray something is not as it seems…

Descriptions aren’t lacking in this book and it became a movie screen in my mind – definitely a page-turner.

I loved this book, I’m keep for the next, and I definitely recommend it.

Demon in My View, by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

Title: Demon in My View

Author: Amelia Atwater-Rhodes

Target Audience: Young Adult

Pages: 176

Rating: 7.5/10

Genre: Vampire Romance

Person: Third

Tense: Past

Blurb (quoted):

(None)

Summary:

Jessica Alodola has been writing novels about vampires and witches for a few years before one is accepted for publishing and soon comes out under a pen name.

What Jessica doesn’t know is that her ideas that come from her dreams are all real and the vampire’s who’s lives she’s allowed humans to read about aren’t happy about it. It’s not too long before there are bids for her blood and Jessica comes face to face with her favourite fictional character: Aubrey, a decidedly dangerous vampire.

Aubrey is supposed to be hunting Jessica. Instead, he finds himself fascinated by her unexplainable knowledge and obvious ignorance about the world she writes about without a missing a single detail.

But when the attacks start on her life, both Jessica and Aubrey are forced to make some tough decisions – and along the way discover a few new things about both themselves and the past.

Judgement:

I owe a lot of credit to this book; I first read it when I was thirteen, when I was only beginning to discover my book-worm-ish nature, and have since read it several more times. However, this time I found out that the author was around fourteen when she wrote it and decided it would be interesting to reread it, this time in a critical manor, and noticed that the writing style and form is noticeably young-minded, though it sure didn’t affect my enthrallment or adoration of the book.

There are a few poems in the book that were fun and interesting to read and attempt to comprehend, which makes me smile.

The story is a mystery, the puzzle coming together piece by piece as the story progresses, so your mind is continuously flitting around the information to try and figure it out before the author wants you to (which is at the end). The characters have very strong personalities, and there is a bit of development and change by the end.

Though quite typical, it’s an enjoyable read and I loved it – even now, after three or four years and reading it eight times.

It’s a great read probably for more beginner-novel-readers, rather than those who are more mature – though I still enjoyed it, but I might be a little biased because I’ve always loved it.

However, I have to say that the book hasn’t done itself any favours by not including a blurb on the cover.

Shiver, by Maggie Stiefvater

Title: Shiver

Author: Maggie Stiefvater

Target Audience: Young Adult

Pages: 390

Chapters: 67

Judgement: 10/10

Genre: Romance / Fantasy

Person: first

Tense: past

Blurb (quoted):

“The Cold.

Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf – her wolf – watches back. He feels deeply familiar to her, but she doesn’t know why.

The Heat.

Sam has lived two lives. As a wolf, he keeps the silent company of the girl he loves. And then, for a short time each year, he is human, never daring to talk to Grace… Until now.

The Shiver.

For Grace and Sam, love has always been kept at a distance. But once it’s spoken, it cannot be denied. Sam must fight to stay human – and Grace must fight to keep him – even if it means taking on the scars of the past, the fragility of the present, and the impossibility of the future.”

Summary:

Grace’s friends aren’t only humans. The forest behind her house is home to a pack of wolves – home to a yellow-eyed wolf that watches back. Grace loves that wolf in particular – a wolf she feels she knows.

There’s more to Sam than meets the eye. He’s living a double life: in the summers, he is human; but in the winter he is forced to shift into a yellow-eyed wolf. He lives in among the trees during the cold, spending his time watching a girl who watches him.

But when the hunt is on a supposedly dangerous wolf pack, and Sam is able to become human again – and also able to speak to Grace. It’s the one and only time they’ve been together… and if they aren’t careful, it could be the last.

The fight has begun for love to survive in drastic circumstances.

Judgement:

Well… Only two complaint’s, so let’s get those out of the way first:

The blurb irritates me – I’m glad I didn’t base my choice on the blurb, because if I had I wouldn’t have read this book, thankfully it had been highly recommended. The blurb just… It doesn’t do the book justice at all. (Though admittedly, I don’t think my summary is much better).

The second complain is the ending! It’s not really a complaint of sorts I guess, but the way it end is infuriating – there just has to be more. It doesn’t feel like an ending at all. Which leaves me praying that there is a sequel.

Now that I have that out of the way:

I loved this book! It’s a going on my recommended list. It’s descriptive, it’s intimate, it’s everything I love in a novel. It’s not one of those ones that take half the book to get into, it’s just in the moment and it draws you in.

I didn’t sit there for hours on end, unable to put it down, I admit. But I think that has a lot to do with being busy and unproductive. There were definitely times when I couldn’t stop reading  but it wasn’t like that the whole way through – which I think makes the reading more enjoyable in a way, because it’s not the constant desperate for more and enables you to enjoy it in the moment.

Other than that, I don’t have much critique to give.

The story line is pretty original as far as I know; definitely not your average novel!

EDIT: It looks like there's a sequel! Linger, by Maggie Stiefvater.

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

Title: The Hunger Games

Author: Suzanne Collins

Target Audience: Young Adult

Pages: 454

Chapters: 27

Genre: Action / Sci-Fi

Series: 1-The Hunger Games, 2-THG: Catching Fire, 3-THG: Mockingjay (THG = The Hunger Games)

Person: First

Tense: Present

Opinion: 9½/10

Website: http://www.thehungergames.co.uk/

Blurb (quoted):

“Winning will make you famous. Losing means certain death.

In a dark vision of the near future, a terrifying reality TV show is taking place. Twelve boys and twelve girls are forced to appear in a live event called the Hunger Games. There is only one rule: kill or be killed.

When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her sister’s place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.

Quotes from the cover:

“Constant suspense… I couldn’t stop reading” – Stephen King

“Bare-knuckle adventure of the best kind” – The Times

“The Hunger Games is amazing” – Stephanie Meyer

Summary:

Katniss has a tough life, caring for her mother and sister with little to no money. But when her sister is chosen to participate in a ‘game’ where you either kill or die, Katniss feels she has no choice but to take her place, though she sees it as nothing more than a death sentence.

Until, that is, she finds out she and Peeta (the other boy from her home chosen) had a great stylist and her mentor is going to sober up to help, and then hope begins to flicker.

But winning (which means living) seems impossible when some of the strongest competitors have it out for her. Katniss is forced to rely on her practiced hunting skills, knowledge of plants, and cunning wit to surive.

Of course, when she finds herself in love with Peeta halfway through, things start to look bad, but the final show down isn’t until after the Hunger Games have ended.

Is there a chance Katniss will make it back to her family?

Judgement:

This book stole my heart, my breath, my attention. Admittedly, it took a few chapters to hook me, but once it had hold, it had ownership over me. I literally didn’t put the book down until the last page – which left me wanting to pick up the second one.

It’s a compelling story, with action, romance, thrill, adventure and everything in between.

There was a little confusion in parts, with a few too many details, but it all worked itself out quickly enough. The only reason it doesn’t have a 10/10 is because if it hadn’t been highly recommended to me, I wouldn’t have read past the first three chapters – not because it wasn’t good, but because it was a little slow going.

What really made me fall in love was the realism; I could literally see the words playing out in film before my eyes as though it were a movie. It was very believable, highly descriptive and left you unable to tear your eyes away with the almost constant drama and panic.

It’s made my list of recommendation and will just about stop your heart.



Coming soon in movie form!

Die for Me, by Amy Plum

Title: Die For Me

Author: Amy Plum

Target Audience: Young Adult

Pages: 341

Chapters: 40

Judgement: 9/10

Genre: Romance / Fantasy

Person: first

Tense: past

Blurb (quoted): “My life had always been blissfully, wonderfully normal. But it only took one moment to change everything.

Suddenly, my sister Georgia and I were orphans. We put our lives into storage and moved to Paris to live with our grandparents. And I knew my shattered heart, my shattered life, would never feel normal again. Then I met Vincent.

Mysterious, sexy and unnervingly charming, Vincent Delacroix appeared out of nowhere and swept me off my feet. Just like that, I was in danger of losing my heart all over again.

Of course, nothing is ever that easy. Because Vincent is no normal human. He has a terrifying destiny, one that puts his life at risk every day. He also has enemies… immortal, murderous enemies who are determined to destroy him and all his kind.

While I’m fighting to piece together the remnants of my life, can I risk putting my heart – as well as my life and my family’s – in jeopardy for a chance at love?”

Summary:

Kate’s parents have just died in a car accident and now she’s struggling to live something that passes for ‘having a life’ in Paris with her sister Georgia and her grandparents. Everything is as you would expect: depressive, at least until a mysterious stranger steps into her life.

Vincent is not what he seems – in fact, he has a dark secret that no one is allowed to know. Of course, this doesn’t stop him from pursuing Kate as a romantic interest, and who can resist a dark, sexy, mystery man?

But when Kate finds that Vincent is in fact not human, it’s an internal emotional struggle on what to do – not to mention she’s still scared to love and lose. Add to the equation mortal danger – or rather, immortal danger, and this Kate’s life becomes a roller coaster.

Could love possibly beat the odds?

Judgement:  First of all, I have to say that I don’t think the blurb on the book portrays the book very well, because I was not expecting what I found printed on the pages. Never the less, that didn’t stop me loving this book! Yes, it’s another great read I’ve managed to find. Not a bad length either.

On the other hand, it was a bit cheesy and… unlikely? For example, Kate tends to go “Oh, Vincent!” a lot, and it sort of got on my nerves. But hey, if you’re into cheesy romance, this is for you! Also quite sappy, and not a book for anyone opposed to swooning teenagers.

It was well written and the ideas were well conveyed. The imagery is amazing, half the time after reading it I wondered if it was book or movie!

A range of personalities, from the stubborn party-girl Georgia, to the stern and strict ‘Jean-Baptiste’ (J.B.); the book is highly believable.

I recommend for swooning romantics!

Oh, and another note: I love the cover of this book! I didn’t even read the blurb after plucking it off the shelf, I was sold instantly just by the cover and I was not disappointed.

Sabriel, by Garth Nix

Title: Sabriel
Author: Garth Nix
Target Audience: Young Adult
Pages: 496
Opinion: 10/10
Genre: Fantasy
Type: Fiction
Number: First in the series
Series: 1-Sabriel, 2-Lirael, 3-Abhorsen
Person: Second
Tense: Past



Blurb (quoted): "Since childhood, Sabriel has lived outside the walls of the Old Kingdom, away from the power of Free Magic, and away from the Dead who refuse to stay dead. But now her father, the Abhorsen, is missing, and Sabriel must cross into that world to find him. With Mogget, whose feline form hides a powerful, perhaps malevolent spirit, and Touchstone, a young Charter Mage, Sabriel travels deep into the Old Kingdom. There she confronts an evil that threatens much more than her life and comes face to face with her own hidden destiny."
Summary: Sabriel is only a teenage girl, but her heritage and untimely events force the girl to travel ‘across the wall’ from Ancelstiere into The Old Kingdom, a world of magical creatures and ‘the charter’, which makes up all that is. Sabriel is the daughter of the Abhorsen, and upon her father’s disappearance must take his place. The abhosren is a necromancer (someone who may walk in death and return to life at will) who uses the charter (magic) to keep The Old Kingdom safe from evil creatures.

Sabriel finds her father’s house and his talking cat: Mogget, a forced-servant of all abhorsen’s, who helps her to try find her missing father. Along the way, Sabriel comes to learn how to use her new bandolier of bells (magic bells to control the dead) and the danger her life is now in, for The Old Kindom is basically run by the dead! She also happens upon and saves the last remaining descendant of the royal blood line (therefore, the heir to the throne): Touchstone.

She soon finds herself facing a great evil: one of the greater dead, Kerrigor, who happens to be the enemy of Touchstone.

Sabriel, Mogget and Touchstone are forced to face an army of dead – with the help of her dead-but-temporarily-brought-back-to-life father.

“Does the walker choose the path, or does the path choose the walker?”

Judgement:  Well-written and enticing, Sabriel is a great read for all fantasy lovers. Definitely one of my favourite books now, it kept me glued the whole way through and left me desperate for the next book in the series.

The only thing I can complain about is that it has so much detail and factors that it’s incredibly hard to sum up and I don’t like the summary I’ve written. Despite this, the book is incredibly easy to read, remember, and follow – except – for me at least – when it comes to the seven names and uses of ‘the bells’, which I found hard to remember. And I’m very grateful for the map in the front of the books; it is the first novel with a map where I’ve actually used it and found it interesting to follow the characters journey.

It’s a truly magical book that, despite the danger, makes any reader want to visit! The story seems almost real and the writing pulls you into the moment, and the real world around you just seems to fade away.

My favourite aspect would have to be how magic is restricted to The Old Kingdom, and ‘across the wall’, in Ancelstiere and further it is a normal, perfectly average world.

Some may think it’s quite a long book, but believe me, if it were any shorter then it just wouldn’t be as good; there is no way to shorten it and I wouldn’t want to! I wished it would go on and on.

Definitely a favourite book, and one I highly recommend!

Characters: deep, well developed characters are what make a story, and Sabriel sure has it! With a range of personalities, conflicts, dramas, and friendships, it’s a great story. There weren’t too many characters, there weren’t too many details; they were well described and definitely evolved through the story, though perhaps it could have used another character continuously present to antagonize?

Effect: If you want to be emotionless and not get attached, this isn’t for you. The characters seem to become your friends and the storyline lifts and crushes your heart with the ups and downs of the storyline – it’s impossible to remain indifferent.

NOTE: Sabriel MAY be coming soon in movie form!