Attention All Teen Writers

So, I know, long time, no post. But, as soon as I'm out of school for the year, I will be posting more. Until then, I figured I would tell all of you aspiring writers about a website I found a couple of months ago. It's called inkpop. On inkpop, you can put pretty much any kind of writing on the site-poetry, short stories, essays, and books-and people can comment on your writing to tell you how you can improve it. It's a really cool site and I highly recommend it if you really like to write, or even if you like to read and help people with their writing. Anyone who loves books will love this site.

Review:Jellicoe Road by Melina Marchetta

Synopsis from goodreads.com:
"What do you want from me?" he asks. What I want from every person in my life, I
want to tell him. More. Abandoned by her mother on Jellicoe Road when she was
eleven, Taylor Markham, now seventeen, is finally being confronted with her
past. But as the reluctant leader of her boarding school dorm, there isn't a lot
of time for introspection. And while Hannah, the closest adult Taylor has to
family, has disappeared, Jonah Griggs is back in town, moody stares and all. In
this absorbing story by Melina Marchetta, nothing is as it seems and every clue
leads to more questions as Taylor tries to work out the connection between her
mother dumping her, Hannah finding her then and her sudden departure now, a
mysterious stranger who once whispered something in her ear, a boy in her
dreams, five kids who lived on Jellicoe Road eighteen years ago, and the
maddening and magnetic Jonah Griggs, who knows her better than she thinks he
does. If Taylor can put together the pieces of her past, she might just be able
to change her future.

My Review:
I must admit that at the beginning of this book, I had absolutely no idea what the heck was happening. I don't know what was so confusing about it, it just was. It was kind of like the author just jumped right into the middle of a story that the people in it understand, but the reader doesn't understand anything that's going on. I guess what I'm trying to say is that it needed more of an explanation at the beginning. Eventually, though, I figured out what it all meant and it seemed like a great story. All of the confusion at the beginning was almost forgotten.

So, maybe it was a little confusing, but Jellicoe Road was a pretty good book. The romance seemed a little rushed at times, but most of the time it was good. The mystery part of the book was somewhat easy to guess. I still didn't know exactly who the people in the story were until the end (the key word here is exactly, like I said, it was pretty easy to figure out and I like a book with surprises).

However, the characters were very well developed and the plot was amazing. Overall, I give this book 7/10. Partly because even though it had its flaws, I couldn't put it down.

Review: Fablehaven: Keys to the Demon Prison

Description from bn.com:

Since ancient times, the great demon prison Zzyzx has protected the world from the most dangerous servants of darkness, including Gorgrog, the Demon King. After centuries of plotting, the Sphinx is on the verge of recovering the five artifacts necessary to open the legendary prison. Facing the potential of a world-ending calamity, all friends of light must unite in a final effort to thwart the Sphinx's designs and find a safe home for the five artifacts. To this end, Kendra, Seth, and the Knights of the Dawn will venture far beyond the walls of Fablehaven to strange and exotic magical preserves across the globe, where the end of every quest becomes the beginning of another. In this explosive series finale, allegiances will be confirmed and secrets revealed as the forces of light and darkness collide in a desperate struggle to control the keys to the demon prison.

My Opinion:

For those of you who don't know (which I'm guessing is most of you) this is the fifth and final book in the Fablehaven series. This is one of those books that I feel doesn't get nearly as much attention as it should. This is one of my most favorite fantasy series ever!!!! Sure, there are parts of it where you feel like some of the creatures described in this book sound a little childish, but you get over it in like a second. This book was so action packed and very fast-paced, which I believe is very good in a fantasy book. Even a couple of weeks after reading it, I still think about from time to time. It's definitely not the best book I've ever read, but it's definitely toward the top of my list. This is one of the best endings to a series I've ever read.

The characters are well-developed and by the time you get to this book, you know them as well as you know your best friend. This can make parts of the book a little predictable, but the book still surprised me in parts (I love unexpected twists and turns in books). Seeing as this is the fifth book, I'm not sure what else I can say without giving away the whole series (which no one would want to happen because everyone is going to run out, get a copy of this book, and READ IT NOW!!!). Overall, you MUST READ THIS BOOK!!!!! It doesn't get enough recognition. I bet no one who read this post even knew about this book until they read this review. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did.

I give it 9/10.

I'm Back

Sorry for not posting anything for a while. I've had a lot going on the past week or two (all the teachers decided to give us projects at the same time), but I'll be posting a couple of reviews soon. I just have to find time to write those because I still have to work on one of my projects and I'm such a procrastinator (though no one would know this because I always get everything done on time in the end). So, I'll stop rambling and get those reviews up soon!

Don't You Just Love Getting New Books?

Okay, so the other day I ordered some books online so it wasn't surprising when I came home yesterday to find a box with my books in it, but it was still so awesome. I absolutely LOVE getting new books(doesn't everyone). I know this post is probably kind of annoying so I'll just show you what books I got. I'll be posting reviews soon.

Fablehaven: Keys to the Demon Prison by Brandon Mull

Synopsis from bn.com:

Since ancient times, the great demon prison Zzyzx has protected the world from the most dangerous servants of darkness, including Gorgrog, the Demon King. After centuries of plotting, the Sphinx is on the verge of recovering the five artifacts necessary to open the legendary prison. Facing the potential of a world-ending calamity, all friends of light must unite in a final effort to thwart the Sphinx's designs and find a safe home for the five artifacts. To this end, Kendra, Seth, and the Knights of the Dawn will venture far beyond the walls of Fablehaven to strange and exotic magical preserves across the globe, where the end of every quest becomes the beginning of another. In this explosive series finale, allegiances will be confirmed and secrets revealed as the forces of light and darkness collide in a desperate struggle to control the keys to the demon prison.

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

Synopsis from bn.com:

Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her "power" to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world . . . and the imprints that attach to their killers.
Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find dead birds her cat left for her. But now that a serial killer is terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, Violet realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.
Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved by her hope that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she's falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer . . . and becoming his prey herself.

The Line by Teri Hall

Synopsis from bn.com:

An invisible, uncrossable physical barrier encloses the Unified States. The Line is the part of the border that lopped off part of the country, dooming the inhabitants to an unknown fate when the enemy used a banned weapon. It's said that bizarre creatures and superhumans live on the other side, in Away. Nobody except tough old Ms. Moore would ever live next to the Line.
Nobody but Rachel and her mother, who went to live there after Rachel's dad died in the last war. It's a safe, quiet life. Until Rachel finds a mysterious recorded message that can only have come from Away. The voice is asking for help.
Who sent the message? Why is her mother so protective? And to what lengths is Rachel willing to go in order to do what she thinks is right?

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan:

Synopsis from bn.com

In Mary's world there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Guardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village; the fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth. But, slowly, Mary’s truths are failing her. She’s learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power, and about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness. When the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, she must choose between her village and her future—between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded in so much death?

This was so awesome for me since I don't get new books very often(thank you, library). Hopefully I'll get reviews up in a couple of days. *disappears into room with book in hand*

Review: Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Description from bn.com:
Connor, Risa, and Lev are running for their lives.
The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child "unwound," whereby all of the child's organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn't technically end. Connor is too difficult for his parents to control. Risa, a ward of the state is not enough to be kept alive. And Lev is a tithe, a child conceived and raised to be unwound. Together, they may have a chance to escape—and to survive.

My Opinion:
How can I possibly describe how awesome this book is in just one review? It was terrifying, beautiful, disturbing, cute, and horrific all at once. Unwind is one of the best books I’ve read lately (if you ask me the whole “girl falls in love with a magical creature who stalks her and may possibly want to kill her” scenario is getting a little too old).
One of the things that made it so good was the characters. Many YA books these days have characters that are hard to relate to (I mean, seriously, has anyone ever fallen in love with a person that quickly before? No, I think not). Most YA books have a main character who only ever thinks about some guy who they just met and are now totally in love with. This book isn’t like that. The main characters have real problems that people can relate to, sure, maybe we don’t have to worry about not being unwound, but we have all fought with our parents. Neal Shusterman made the characters very realistic, that’s part of what made this book enjoyable.
The plot of this book was very interesting, I don’t think I ever guessed any of the twists ahead of time, and if I did, it was only a page before it happened. I think it’s good to be surprised because it makes the book more enjoyable. This book was very fast-paced and kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I only put it down when I had to. It was very, very, very well written.
I found it kind of interesting that Shusterman chose to have the second civil war be over abortion. It made it kind of more believable to me because with all of the debates about it, it could probably turn into violence. Overall, it was an awesome book and I suggest everyone runs to the bookstore NOW to buy it and read it. I give it 9.5/10.

First Blog Post!

I've been thinking about starting a blog for like a month and now I've finally started one! This is going to be a YA book review blog. Because this is just one of many YA book review blogs, thanks for taking a look at mine and I hope you continue to read my blog. I'll give honest reviews of the books I read and try not to bore anyone. So stick around if you're into YA books and I'll try to update soon!