After the Snow, by S.D. Crockett

Title: After the Snow

Author: S.D. Crockett

Target Audience: Young Adult

Pages: 308

Rating: 5/10

Genre: Adventure / Sci-fi fantasy

Person: First

Tense: Present

Blurb (quoted):

“Fifteen-year-old Willo was out hunting when the trucks came and took his family away. Left alone in the snow, Willo becomes determined to find and rescue his family, and he knows just who to talk with to learn where they are. He plans to head across the mountains and make Farmer Geraint tell him where his family has gone.

But on the way across the mountain, he finds Mary, a refugee from the city, whose father is lost and who is starving to death. The smart thing to do would be to leave her alone -- he doesn't have enough supplies for two or the time to take care of a girl -- but Willo just can't do it. However, with the world trapped in an ice age, the odds of them surviving on their own are not good. And even if he does manage to keep Mary safe, what about finding his family?”

Judgement:

I’ve got to be honest, although it was readable (if your tried hard enough), I felt like I was going to drop a few levels in English just reading this. It wasn’t bad writing, in fact it’s actually structured well… But the writing style, which I assume was due to the theme/setting of the actual book, was (what first comes to mind) caveman-style; it was illiterate and improper. At first it made me think of a Texas accent (I’m not dissing on them at all, by they tend to skip the beginning or end of words and such) but it’s just beyond that, and it really got on my nerves, though it fits the storyline perfectly because Willo (main character) has been raised in the wild, without school, and it just makes sense – but it’s irritating.

Other than that, the storyline is easy as pie to follow, and it’s good in that it has multiple settings, and you aren’t stuck in the same place throughout the whole story. It takes you on a journey.

I’d suggest this book to guys – I don’t mean to be sexist or anything, but it is certainly not the type of thing I usually read though I’m sure my brother would enjoy it (if he wasn’t so stubborn he refuses to read anything I suggest).

I found the setting, a sort of post ice-age / apocalypse world, interesting to say the least. It’s quite original in my opinion and written well enough to allow the reader to turn it into a movie in their mind (if that is how they read, like me). And I can’t honestly say there was a dull moment – there really wasn’t.

The characters are definitely individuals, there aren’t a bunch of clones filling these pages, and each have distinctive personalities and skills which help propel the story through the different settings.

Personally, not my piece of cake, but overall an acceptable read.

Eon: Dragneye Reborn, by Alison Goodman

Title: Eon: Dragoneye Reborn

Author: Alison Goodman

Genre: Fantasy

Target Audience: Young Adult

Pages: 529

Person: First

Tense: Past

Rating: 6.5/10

Blurb (Quoted):

“Swordplay, dragon magic – and a hero with a desperate secret.

Twelve-year-old Eon has been in training for years. His intensive study of Dragon Magic, based on East Asian astrology, involves two kinds of skills: sword-work and magical aptitude. He and his master hope that he will be chosen as a Dragoneye – an apprentice to one of the twelve energy dragons of good fortune.

But Eon has a dangerous secret. He is actually Eona, a sixteen-year-old girl who has been masquerading as a boy for the chance to become a Dragoneye. Females are forbidden to use Dragon Magic; if anyone discovers she has been hiding in plain sight, her death is assured.

When Eon’s secret threatens to come to light, she and her allies are plunged into grave danger and a deadly struggle for the Imperial throne. Eon must find the strength and inner power to battle those who want to take her magic… and her life.”

Judgement:

This book is so detailed – that’s the first thing I have to say about it. The descriptions allow for instant mental images, and I think that is the main part of what drew me into this book. I read it in only a few days (faster than I expected), and though I enjoyed it, it didn’t “wow” me.

One thing about the characters is that the main character, Eon (or Eona), was somewhat an empty shell – she has heart and morals and emotion, yes, but she has no favourites or preferences. Also, the emotions are quite empty in my opinion; someone dies and it’s almost like “yeah, whatever – next!” but at the same time it’s not… The author addresses the emotion, but the reader can’t feel/experience it.

A huge theme in this book is a mix of Japanese and Chinese culture. The whole story is based on their customs and beliefs, though set in a fictional place.

I don’t have much else to say about this book. It was fun to read, and the sequel (Eona) is on my reading list, but it doesn’t make the favourites-cut.

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The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, by Michelle Hodkin

Title: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

Author: Michelle Hodkin

Genre: Mystery / Romance

Target Audience: Young Adult

Pages: 452

Chapters: 59

Rating: 9/10

Person: First

Tense: Past

Blurb (Quoted):

“When Mara Dyer wakes up in hospital with no memory of how she got there, or any explanation as to why the bizarre accident that caused the deaths of her boyfriend and two best friends left her mysteriously unharmed, her doctors suggest she start over in a new city, at a new school, and just hope her memories gradually come back.

But Mara’s new start is anything but comforting. She sees the faces of her dead friends everywhere and now she’s started to see other people’s deaths before they happen. Is she going crazy? As if dealing with all this isn’t enough, Noah Shaw, the most beautiful boy she’s ever seen, can’t seem to leave her alone. But does he have her best interests at heart, or another agenda altogether?”

My Summary:

After Mara is left unharmed from an accident that she can’t seem to remember which killed her boyfriend and two friends, she and her family move to Miami, Florida for a new start. But Mara, suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is haunted by her friends’ faces.

When people start dying after Mara imagines it, she’s positive she’s crazy and struggles to discern hallucinations from reality.

To complicate things more, Noah Shaw, the boy with a reputation, won’t leave Mara alone and she’s swept along in a current she can’t control. But when crazy gets dangerous, Mara discovers a shocking truth.

Judgement:

The story line (coming out of an accident / coma and life being different forever) seems to be becoming pretty main-stream and common – but to say that this book is ordinary would be a lie.

First, I loved this book because not only was it addictive, but it kept me grinning the whole way through – and I’m not just saying that, I seriously had a grin plastered on my face for almost every page.

It’s witty, sarcastic, teasing, even embarrassing… Everything to spark interest and keep you page-turning. I wish I could say this book was a comedy for how much I laughed, but it really isn’t in any way – which doesn’t even make much sense. Point is, I was hooked and found myself up late as well as pulling it out at school.

I have to say, it has quite a twist towards the end and just the last few chapters of the book completely changes the story line. It sort of threw me and that made me a little irritated, but didn’t make it any less enjoyable.

There are a lot of questions to be asked throughout this novel: who was that? Was that real? What does it mean? What’s going to happen next? WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON? All of which are answered in due time – well, almost all.

The ending leaves it open for a sequel, though it doesn’t actually hint at one (if that even makes sense?) so there could be another, but I can’t see the storyline for it.

I found this quite an enjoyable read, and I applaud the author as this is her debut novel.

Bleeding Violet, by Dia Reeves

Title: Bleeding Violet

Author: Dia Reeves

Target Audience: Young Adult

Pages: 454

Chapters: 36

Rating: 5/10

Genre: Fantasy / Romance

Person: First

Tense: Past

Blurb (quoted):

“Love… can be a dangerous thing.

Hanna simply wants to be loved. With a head plagued by hallucinations, a medicine cabinet full of pills, and a closet stuffed with frilly violet dresses, Hanna’s tired of being the outcast; the weird girl, the freak. So she runs away to Portero, Texas, in search of a new home.

But Portero is a stranger town than Hanna expects. As she tried to make a place for herself, she discovers dark secrets that would terrify any normal soul. Good thing for Hanna, she’s far from normal. As this crazy girl meets an even crazier town, only two things are certain: Anything can happen and no one is safe.

My Summary:

Hanna is nowhere near what you would term normal. Hallucinations, pills – and purple, everywhere. When she gets sick of her aunt checking her into the mental wards every few weeks, she escapes and makes her way to Portero, Texas, to find her birth mother.

But things aren’t much better here. Her mother doesn’t seem to want her and she’s an outcast in a school of secretive students all in black.

But with a romance brewing as Hanna discovers the town has secrets crazier than her, Hanna may just find she fits in better than she thinks.

Judgement:

Without thinking about it, I would say I enjoyed reading this book – but with a second thought? I really don’t know.

It’s incredibly disturbing in a sense and…. Well, somewhat psychotic – which I suppose is the point of a crazy main character, but it has such a… careless attitude towards murder which doesn’t sit well with society.

Also, it’s quite confusing – towards the end (now I have to try not to give anything away here), it hints that Hanna isn’t crazy at all because one of her hallucinations becomes tangible and affects other people for real…

I’ve read a few other responses to the book and discovered a mass of people gave up before the end out of confusion or irritation. I can totally understand this, but the book still keeps you page-turning.

It was “sort of fun” to read, and kept you page-turning, wondering what was going on or what would come next – but then it also is a scramble of events and ideas. It’s just a mess of scenes and half of them don’t even make sense… I would say there isn’t any structure to this book – maybe that’s the best way to put it.

And then I can’t help but want to say that it was a good read, which just confuses me. I can’t make up my mind about this book to be honest.

In conclusion, if you are a “surface reader” (only interested in words and storyline) you’ll probably enjoy this book, but if your analyse sequence, sense, messages, etc. and really look into it then you might want to steer clear.

I’d say read it yourself and make your own opinion.