Somebody Up There Hates You, by Hollis Seamon

Somebody Up There Hates You, by Hollis Seamon

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance, Death

Rating: 0.5/5 stars

Publication: September 3, 2013, by Algonquin Young Readers

Format: Hardcover Edition (borrowed)


Goodreads Summary: Chemo, radiation, a zillion surgeries, watching my mom age twenty years in twenty months: if that’s part of the Big Dude’s plan, then it’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? Somebody Up There Hates You.

SUTHY has landed me here in this hospice, where we—that’s me and Sylvie—are the only people under 30 in the whole place, sweartogod. But I’m not dead yet. I still need to keep things interesting. Sylvie, too. I mean, we’re kids, hospice-hostages or not. We freak out visitors; I get my uncle to sneak me out for one insane Halloween night. Stuff like that. And Sylvie wants to make things even more interesting. That girl’s got big plans.

Only Sylvie’s father is so nuclear-blasted by what’s happened to his little girl, he glows orange, I swear. That’s one scary man, and he’s not real fond of me. So we got a major family feud going on, right here in hospice. DO NOT CROSS line running down the middle of the hall, me on one side, her on the other. It’s crazy.

In the middle of all of this, really, there’s just me and Sylvie, a guy and a girl. And we want to live, in our way, by our own rules, in whatever time we’ve got. We will pack in some living before we go, trust me.

Review:

  DNF @ 80 pages.

This was probably one of the worst books I've ever read. No doubt about it. 

   I hated it. "The new The Fault in Our Stars?" Haha, yeah right. This is a childish book with no sense of anything that makes you want to bawl because it was so bad. That's what the book really was fully. 

    I saw this book as fantasy, especially because of the writing. I understand that it wasn't, but the writing was so bad that it made everything seem like a joke and a dream. This was about Richie and Sylvie, who are both dying of cancer. (Wow! There's a TFIOS comparison!) They're basically just living their lives until they die, and that's it.

    ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... That's how I was left from beginning to end.

    I didn't see any point in this book. The writing was hideous, the characters were horrible, and the plot was all over the place. I'd seriously give this book a 0 star rating if I could. It's perhaps the worst book I've ever read. 

    I don't feel like giving a rant here, so I'm going to do a tiny recap, and then end this with a huge blow to a horn.

    I disliked this at page 15. The writing was slow and messed up, and everything was slow-paced and scattered. I think that this book and its premise just wasn't for me. I felt like everything was disorganized and messed up. The idea of death was so wanted and looked forward for! 

    Richie and Sylvie were so... bland. I didn't like them from the start, and if I kept on going, I guess my hate for them would increase even more.

     Overall, I don't recommend this book at all. #SorryNotSorry

Strange Sweet Song, by Adi Rule

Strange Sweet Song, by Adi Rule

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Romance, Paranormal

Rating: 1/5 stars

Publication: March 11, 2014, by St. Martin's Griffin

Format: Hardcover Edition (borrowed, thankfully)




Goodreads Summary: A young soprano enrolls in a remote music academy where nothing, not even her mysterious young vocal coach, is as it seems

Outside Dunhammond Conservatory, there lies a dark forest. And in the forest, they say, lives a great beast called the Felix. But Sing da Navelli never put much faith in the rumors and myths surrounding the school; music flows in her blood, and she is there to sing for real. This prestigious academy will finally give her the chance to prove her worth—not as the daughter of world-renowned musicians—but as an artist and leading lady in her own right.

Yet despite her best efforts, there seems to be something missing from her voice. Her doubts about her own talent are underscored by the fact that she is cast as the understudy in the school's production of her favorite opera, Angelique. Angelique was written at Dunhammond, and the legend says that the composer was inspired by forest surrounding the school, a place steeped in history, magic, and danger. But was it all a figment of his imagination, or are the fantastic figures in the opera more than imaginary? 

Sing must work with the mysterious Apprentice Nathan Daysmoor as her vocal coach, who is both her harshest critic and staunchest advocate. But Nathan has secrets of his own, secrets that are entwined with the myths and legends surrounding Dunhammond, and the great creature they say lives there.

Lyrical, gothic, and magical, Strange Sweet Song by Adi Rule will captivate and enchant readers.

Review:

 DNF @ 75 pages.

First, I'd like to give a shoutout to Lola who also hated this book. We're two black sheep for this book!

   This book was horrible. Disgusting, even. I honestly don't want to diss it too much, but I feel like I just have to. I hated this book and it was so unenjoyable that I want to throw the book out of the tallest building in the world.

      

    I got to 75 pages, and then I realized that this book wasn't going to get anywhere because it's just not for me. It was about this girl Sing.

       **SING?

        Yeah, Sing. She loves this opera called "Angelique," and she's also a talented opera singer. Bam. She's shipped off to some music boarding school and falls in love with some dude named Nathan. That's just about it from what I know of.

         After my horrible incident with this book, I really don't care about what else happened or what was about to happened. I lost so much patience with this book, and I just let it go.

         I didn't like anything about it. The plot was a mess with nothing happening and random stuff developing and confusion. It was slow-paced, and I wouldn't even classify it as a plot. The only way to see something happening is by "imagining." -_-

         Sing was just some random protagonist who was a singer (WOW!) and that's all I knew about her. She was too sunk in her own little world and the author wasn't descriptive about her personality and appearance. By 75 pages, we should know what colour hair she has.

          Maybe you'll enjoy this book. But it wasn't that way for me. It really depends on what kind of things you're looking for in a good YA paranormal. But I'd stay away from it. Thank goodness I didn't get my own copy. 

Mistwalker, by Saundra Mitchell

Mistwalker, by Saundra Mitchell

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Romance, Gothic, Paranormal

Rating: 2/5 stars

Publication: February 4, 2014, by Harcourt Children's Books

Format: Hardcover Edition (Borrowed)






Goodreads Summary: When Willa Dixon’s brother dies on the family lobster boat, her father forbids Willa from stepping foot on the deck again. With her family suffering, she’ll do anything to help out—even visiting the Grey Man.

Everyone in her small Maine town knows of this legendary spirit who haunts the lighthouse, controlling the fog and the fate of any vessel within his reach. But what Willa finds in the lighthouse isn’t a spirit at all, but a young man trapped inside until he collects one thousand souls.

Desperate to escape his cursed existence, Grey tries to seduce Willa to take his place. With her life on land in shambles, will she sacrifice herself?

Review: 

"That was Bill Dixon, who boxed bare-knuckles and wouldn't let you buy him a beer because he wanted whiskey instead. The same Bill Dixon who'd decked his best friend to keep him from jumping into a winter sea; who took a punch from Mal Eldrich like it was a kiss. I'd never met that man. He'd been a legend, a ghost. Right until then."

   If I knew that this was a gothic paranormal read, then I would've put it away the first time my grabby hands touched this book. From the moment I set my eyes on this book, I knew that I wanted it. After reading Saundra Mitchell's story in Grim, (was it Beast/Beast?) I knew that I wanted to read something from this spectacular author. 

    I hate most of the gothic steampunk stuff. It's just not for me. I never really read the summary for this book once I took it out from the library, and that really kept me from wanting to put it back. When I saw the pretty mysterious cover and the fact that Saundra Mitchell has written this, I was in. But after completing this book, I was very disappointed in the outcome, surprising me because there's so many good positive reviews on it all over the place. This really got me thinking: WHERE ARE ALL THE GOOD BOOKS? I'm reading too many books lately that suck.

    So the plot here is that Willa thinks that she's responsible for her brother, Levi's death. Since then, she's been not allowed to ever go onto a boat or go fishing ever again. Her father is fearful of what could happen to her, and with that said, Willa goes all rebel and tries to sneak out anyway because fishing is the life that she imagines. No college, just helping her dad out and get married. A simple life that she hopes will pass on for the next generations to come. But there's a tiny secret that lies behind the fishing village that Willa lives in. There's a legend that speaks about a spirit who haunts the lighthouse (which is supposed to be bigger on the inside, like DW's Tardis.) When Willa goes into the lighthouse, she finds a young man who trapped and forbidden to go out until he collects one thousand souls. Huh, you must be saying. Sacrifice. Sacrifice is what this book's mainly about. Will Willa sacrifice herself in Grey's place?

    

      I really have got enough of paranormal gothic stuff. I have read so many lately, and this is kind of the same like everything else. The idea (Beauty and the Beast, kinda?) forms well with the plot and writing, but a lot of things were missing (and some not needed) in this book. I liked the setting here, though. A fishing village is never seen in a book, and this is a definite first for me by Saundra Mitchell. I can see that she tries to be very unique with her books, and she's kind of done it in some aspects. 

      This book was awesome in the beginning. I could really tell that it was going to get somewhere by the end, but before I knew it, everything went downhill by the middle. A lot of things were too descriptive and not needed. A 100 pages can be scrambled up from all over the book and taken out and it wouldn't make a difference. In fact, it would've been a whole lot better. It was well-written, but many parts were too boring and a little on the dull side of things. I had dreams with this book, but it didn't get to the potential that I knew it could've gone to. It was way too slow-paced for my liking.

       Another positive was the protagonist, Willa. I liked her a lot. She was very strong and believable. She had believable feelings that was normal to find in a person. She was very realistic. She felt guilt, and prickles and temptation. For her, it was difficult at times to deal with these things that bound her to other side, but by the end, she grew up and learned what was right and what was the truth. 

        Grey was really nothing special. His POV was too descriptive and all that he was doing was describing everything that's in front of him. I just felt like I wanted to skip his POV because he was not for my liking. 

        I don't really feel like describing the romance because that went downhill as well. It wasn't needed. But either way, the book didn't really spend a lot of time on the romance, either. It was just something extra that made me want to barf.

        By the end, I was skimming through the pages. I was very disappointed with the outcome, and realized what I was really looking for in a book that deals with this kind of genre. If you like fantasy books that deal that don't really on the romance, then this book is for you. I guess it really depends on what you like in a book.

The Declaration, by Gemma Malley

The Declaration (The Declaration #1), by Gemma Malley

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Dystopia, Sci-fi, Romance, Mystery

Rating: 2/5 stars

Publication: September 3, 2007, by Bloomsbury

Format: Hardcover Edition (Borrowed)




Summary: It's the year 2140 and Anna shouldn't be alive. Nor should any of the children she lives with at Grange Hall. The facility is full of kids like her, kids whose parents chose to recklessly abuse Mother Nature and have children despite a law forbidding them from doing so as long as they took longevity drugs. To pay back her parents' debt to Mother Nature, Anna will have to work for the rest of her life. But then Peter appears at the hall, and he tells a very different story about the world outside of the Grange. Peter begs Anna to escape Grange Hall, and to claim a life for herself outside its bleak walls. But even if they get out, they still have to make their way to London, to Anna's parents, and to an underground movement that's determined to bring back children and rid the world of longevity drugs.

Review:

"She opened the book and began to read. As she worked her way through the first few pages, her eyes widened with indignation. But she couldn't read it all now."

  Well, here's another book that was recommended to me that really ended up sucking. I really expected this book to be good--especially because it's a dystopia science-fiction romance. It definitely sounded like my type of book that I could've end up loving. And for that...

    It's the future, and in 2140 in a post-apocalyptic world, Anna realizes that she shouldn't be alive. Where she lives in Grange Hall, all of the kids are like her, and if she escapes, she will be put down like animals in the pound. Anna has to work for the rest of her life to pay debt to Mother Nature (what the heck) and when Peter, who is just like her, comes into Grange Hall, he has a lot to say about the outside world, and Anna wants to get out to meet her parents.

     I understand that this was published a long time ago. (7 years is a long time when talking about ideas of books revolving.) But the idea wasn't anything special. In fact, I kind of thought it to be immature and boring. The whole book practically was.

     In the beginning of the book and story, I was bored. I was beginning to get DNF thoughts into my head, but I kept on going because I trust recommendations and I didn't want to hate this book. Through the middle, it was great. And then it went totally downhill to the end. The ending sucked and the beginning sucked. Now that's kind of rude to do to us readers. 

     The story wasn't anything special. To classify the whole book itself, I'd say that it's just an under-classified dystopia sci-fi romance. That's all. It tried to build up the potential to become something amazing, but it just couldn't build itself to get up there. But from what it looks like, this book was just the beginning of dystopias and the revolution of the genre. If the author published this today, then that's a total different story we're talking about here.

      I thought the characters were okay. Anna was just a blob of nothingness and Peter was bearable. But I wouldn't classify them to be a good couple. They were both too plain-Jane. I don't have much to say about them because they both weren't any special, but they're the type of characters that you can read about without trying to stick your head out the window for air. 

        Surprisingly, I completed this book. But I ended up skimming through the end because I was barely interested in what would happen to the characters. So don't ask me if I plan on reading the sequel, because you already know the answer. x) But from what I found the ending to be, it was just like the rest of the book, the same old nothingness. Nevertheless, the cover of this book (at least the one I read from) wasn't beautiful for the eyes either.

          Hah, if you're looking for a boring dystopia read with a weird world-development, then this book is absolutely for you!

The Beautiful and the Cursed, by Page Morgan

The Beautiful and the Cursed (The Dispossessed #1), by Page Morgan

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Paranormal, Historical, Gothic, Romance, Mystery

Rating: 1.5/5 stars

Publication: May 14, 2013, by Doubleday Canada

Format: Hardcover Edition (Borrowed)




Goodreads Summary: It was bizarre and inexplicable, and after it happened, Ingrid Waverly was forced to leave her life in London behind. She had to trade a world full of fancy dresses and society events for exile in gothic Paris with her mother and her younger sister, Gabby.

In Paris there are no grand balls or glittering parties, and disturbingly, the house rented by Ingrid's twin brother, Grayson, isn't a house at all. It's an abbey. A creepy, old abbey with a roof lined in stone gargoyles that could almost be mistaken for living, breathing creatures.

And to top it all off, Grayson is missing. 

Yet no one seems to be concerned about Grayson's whereabouts save for Luc, a devastatingly handsome servant who has some deep and dark secrets of his own. 

There's one secret about the city that even Luc can't keep hidden, though: there's a murderer on the loose. And every day that Grayson is missing means there's less chance he's still alive.

Ingrid is sure her twin isn't dead--she can feel it deep in her soul--but she knows that he's in grave danger, and that it's up to her and Gabby to find him before all hope is lost. 

And yet the path to him is more dangerous than she could ever imagine.

Review:

"Whatever the black liquid being injected into his bloodstream was, it was changing him. He should have wanted to help the girls. He should have felt remorse when each girl eventually stopped screaming. But it just wasn't happening. Instead, he found himself smiling. Laughing. Wanting to make them scream louder."

   LOL. That gif cracks me up every time. 

   This book was a flashback for me. It surprisingly and weirdly reminded me a lot of Cassandra Clare's Clockwork Angel, one of my most favourite series, ever. It's weirdly similar. A girl looking for her brother, who mysteriously disappeared? Paranormal, vampire stuff going on? This sounds too much like the NYT bestselling trilogy that took my heart away. And that's a big reason why I disliked this book too much.

   Originality is a key to a reader's heart, I believe. At least, it's one of the things. This book didn't have an original idea. It was gothic and Victorian and paranormal. Does anyone else realize this? o_O This idea has been done with over and over again with. There's an ordinary girl, and there's a guy who's a half monster/human creature. It just doesn't flow well for me.

    I usually never pick up gothic reads. They're usually not my type of thing, but the few ones that do catch my attention are just so hard to stay away from, and I end up needing to read it. This was one of those cases, but I regret it. Don't waste your time reading this novel if you trust my opinion. That's my key line in this review. 

    I was the black sheep, as I am during many other times. Everyone is loving this book, and meanwhile, I'm here wanting to throw it off the balcony. I'm so disappointed with the outcome of this book.

    This is about Ingrid and Gabby, who's brother Grayson suddenly and mysteriously goes missing after they move into Paris with their mother. Luc, a handsome servant who Ingrid has a connection to notes that there's a murderer on the loose and there's a less possible chance that Grayson is alive because of this catastrophic event. The main idea is basically a: What will the protagonist do? moment. 

     Like I said: I hate copying. This was a mixture of Clockwork Angel and Twilight. 

       This plot sucked. I was bored most of the time and I ended up skimming the end of the book because it showed no importance or structure to me. The whole book was bland, especially from the middle to end. The beginning showed some signs of potential, but then it all dropped and ended up making a huge disappointment for me. It was very slow-paced and since the concept wasn't my type, I wasn't interested at all, but I somehow made it through the end.

       The only good thing was Ingrid and Gabby. I liked them, a lot, but not enough for them to brighten up the whole book and make it enjoying. They were a good team, and I loved their loving relationship. It's been a while since I've seen a great sisterly relationship like this.

       Luc was just an ass, and I hated him. He was snobby and thought too good of himself. Ew. I just don't even want to think or speak of him. So think about it, if I hated him, then what did I think of the romance? The choices are: (a) I loved it and I SHIP (b) EW GTFO I HATE IT or (c) IDC IDK. If you guessed B and C then you're right. :)

        Overall, I was very disappointed with this book. It's probably the worst book I read so far this summer that I had no interest in but the characters and plot in the beginning kept me reading until the end. Something made me stay, but I just can't figure out what it was. Not recommended from my eyes.

Vitro, by Jessica Khoury

Vitro, by Jessica Khoury

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Science-Fiction, Dystopia, Mystery, Adventure

Rating: 2/5 stars

Publication: January 14, 2014, by Razorbill

Format: Hardcover Edition (Borrowed)






Goodreads Summary: On Skin Island, even the laws of creation can be broken.

On a remote island in the Pacific, Corpus scientists have taken test tube embryos and given them life. These beings—the Vitros—have knowledge and abilities most humans can only dream of. But they also have one enormous flaw.

Sophie Crue is determined to get to Skin Island and find her mother, a scientist who left Sophie behind years ago. With the help of Jim Julien, a young charter pilot, she arrives--and discovers a terrifying secret she never imagined: she has a Vitro twin, Lux, who is the culmination of Corpus's dangerous research.

Now Sophie is torn between reuniting with the mother who betrayed her and protecting the genetically enhanced twin she never knew existed. But untangling the twisted strands of these relationships will have to wait, for Sophie and Jim are about to find out what happens when science stretches too far beyond its reach.

Review: 

"It seemed an eternity later, though in fact it was just a minute, that he opened his eyes and turned his head to look at Sophie. Her eyes were open, and she was staring directly back at him."

  

   And not in a good way. Jessica Khoury has previously stunned me with her debut novel, Origin. It was moving, it was everything I was looking for in an unique dystopia-science fiction romance book. But in her second book that somewhat relates to Origin's events, I was very disappointed.

    Sophie is living an ordinary life in her home in Boston. She lives with her upsetting father and her stepmother and their children. When Sophie gets a letter from her mother, her biological mother that is studying in an island that is unknown to the world, she is quickly on her way to Skin Island. With the help of Jim, her childhood handsome friend, she arrives in Skin Island, with a crash. She finds out that a dark secret lies in the land of the island: scientists have been creating beings that are perfect except one flaw. Sophie quickly finds out that she has a Vitro twin: Lux. So basically, all it takes is one choice to change everything for Sophie. Her whole life is before her hands.

    

      Yeah... At least that was what the book was supposed to be.

      This book started off great. From the start, I could tell that it was going to be great. I was anticipating for a moving, beautiful plot with awesome kick-ass characters. At least, that's what I got for the first 75 pages. After that, everything went downhill. The plot became predictable and boring, too many characters were added and I got confused, and I was just plain bored. I didn't see any great importance in the book at all and the basic main idea was: for Sophie to decide what she wants. Yayy. Oh, and a dreamy (not really) romance with Jim. 

       The characters were okay, although there were too many. But I really hated Sophie. She was all whiny and so selfish the whole time. She thought that she was having trouble all the time when other people were and their situations were far worse than hers. She was just one of those characters that doesn't understand anything in life. Ugh.

       But I loved Jim and Lux. They were too good for Sophie and WERE AWESOME and total kick-asses. Mmm... I smell the taste of revenge. Sophie used them too much so now it's their time to use her. Gosh, I'm so evil.

        The romance in this book was just something added. It was very ew-ish and not needed. I feel like Jessica Khoury just added it for some more action which couldn't be completed in that aspect. There doesn't have to be romance in every YA book! :(

         Overall, this book really could've been great. It had the absolute potential. The idea was good, but it just didn't make that impact that I wish it did. The romance sucked, the plot sucked from the middle to end, and the protagonist was very disappointing. The things that I was looking forward for the most were the worst. 

Ketchup Clouds, by Annabel Pitcher

Ketchup Clouds, by Annabel Pitcher

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary, Romance, Mystery

Rating: 2/5 stars

Publication: November 12, 2013, by Little Brown Books

Format: Hardcover Edition (borrowed)





Goodreads Summary: Zoe has an unconventional pen pal--Mr. Stuart Harris, a Texas Death Row inmate and convicted murderer. But then again, Zoe has an unconventional story to tell. A story about how she fell for two boys, betrayed one of them, and killed the other. 

Hidden away in her backyard shed in the middle of the night with a jam sandwich in one hand and a pen in the other, Zoe gives a voice to her heart and her fears after months of silence. Mr. Harris may never respond to Zoe's letters, but at least somebody will know her story--somebody who knows what it's like to kill a person you love. Only through her unusual confession can Zoe hope to atone for her mistakes that have torn lives apart, and work to put her own life back together again.

Rising literary star Annabel Pitcher pens a captivating second novel, rich with her distinctive balance between humor and heart. Annabel explores the themes of first love, guilt, and grief, introducing a character with a witty voice and true emotional resonance. 

Review:

"Stop playing with your food!" Mum signed. "They're clouds," Dot replied. "Clouds aren't red," Soph signed. "They are at sunrise," Dot signed back defiantly. "And it's sunrise on my plate, and the sausage thinks it's lovely."She carved a smile onto the sausage with her knife. "You're making a mess," Mum signed. "A beautiful mess." Dot beamed.

   In books, we never really see families that show a lot of importance and potential. Most families are split apart, unequal and uneven. No one cares for each other and it's all background stuff. Ketchup Clouds absolutely is one of those books with beautiful families, although there are some arguments in between. 

      Alright, they weren't that cheesy, but you get the idea. *smirks*

      Ketchup Clouds was mostly flaws, but it did have its good points that made you smile. The writing, family and characters were great. But, the flaws overtook the greatness of those three things above and turned the book into something really unenjoyable, despite my previous expectations.

       The reason that I chose to read this book was because it was "supposed to be the next John Green book." There has been many positive reviews out there that have stated that this is a work of masterpiece, and is similar to John Green's work of literature. When I hear John Green, I'm in, no doubt about it.

        So this was about a young teenager named Zoe who's writing to Stuart Harris, a man currently in Death Row who was convicted of murder. Zoe writes to him about her past experiences, flaws, troubles and worries, and she feels that Stuart is the only one in her life right now who is listening to her although he never replies. But one more thing, Zoe has killed someone she loves. 

          My main problem was that the idea wasn't there. I didn't see a point of this book, or the main idea. Sure, Zoe's voice was great and she sent a nice message in the end, but I didn't see a labyrinth in the book. It was like a book inside a book full of boring letters about a girl's difficult life. I don't understand-- why write to a forty year old guy in jail? She had such loving parents and siblings who would've been able to talk to her and help her out, but instead, she chose to write about her murdering a guy to a guy who's murdered someone and is currently in jail.

           

           ?_? If Zoe read this, she'd be mind-blown right now. Hmmph.

           There really was no concept in this at all, and the plot kind of reflected on that. It was very boring and I didn't feel like there was a lot happening during all of the points in the book. Everything was just simple like bread and butter. The writing style was very vague and simple. It didn't really intrigue me as much as I would've liked it to, but I kept on reading because of my instincts.

             Zoe was an okay character. She had the guts to do something big and to be mature and live a good life while having fun, but she was a little too immature and afraid of being out there. I liked her voice and attitude, though. I liked the rest of the characters as well because they were unique and different. All together they created a great family that you don't see often in books.

              I felt like the romance was very forced and just added some sort of forced thrill. Zoe was just desperate for it and therefore it got me upset because love should just me slow and stunning in a book, not after two people made out because they were completely and heavily drunk. What a way to fall in love. Oh, and did I mention the stupid (but hot) idiot takes a photo of you in your bra and underwear and it ends up posted all over the school? Ew.

               Overall, I'm really disappointed with this book. I know that it could've gotten somewhere better, but I guess the author chose it not to become like that. It had its positives, but the flaws really took over.

Don't You Forget About Me, by Kate Karyus Quinn

Don't You Forget About Me, by Kate Karyus Quinn

Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Mystery, Supernatural, Thriller

Rating: 1.5/5 stars

Book #: Standalone

Publication: June 10, 2014, by HarperTeen

Format: ebook





Goodreads Summary:

Welcome to Gardnerville.

A place where no one gets sick. And no one ever dies.

Except...

There’s a price to pay for paradise. Every fourth year, the strange power that fuels the town exacts its payment by infecting teens with deadly urges. In a normal year in Gardnerville, teens might stop talking to their best friends. In a fourth year, they’d kill them.

Four years ago, Skylar’s sister, Piper, was locked away after leading sixteen of her classmates to a watery grave. Since then, Skylar has lived in a numb haze, struggling to forget her past and dull the pain of losing her sister. But the secrets and memories Piper left behind keep taunting Skylar—whispering that the only way to get her sister back is to stop Gardnerville’s murderous cycle once and for all.

Review:

 Okay so I know that this book has to do with songs, specifically the older ones that are found in our world today, but every time I see this book or think the title, all I hear is the song from The Breakfast Club, you know the 80's or 70's one? 

  ♪Don't you forget about me... ♪

      This book was absolutely horrible riveting. It was supposed to be so good and after reading many reviews, I was totally ready for a 5 star book. All of the reviews were positive and I was getting my jetpack ready so I can fly with this one. But all I got was another horrible book from Kate Karyus Quinn. But in fact, this was the worst one. 

       Reading the summary and looking at the cover of this book just captivated me. This idea is so fresh and so new and adding some paranormalcy into it is even better. I love the idea of monsters and this strange beautiful world coming together. Don't judge books by their amazing-sounding summaries. No, just no. You will be left sad and crying if you don't listen to me right now. 

        This book was taken place in the perspective of Skylar, who lives in Gardnerville where nobody gets sick and everyone is happy... At least they're supposed to be. Every four years, the town takes innocent teenagers and turns them into something deadly, something not believable. Skylar recently has lost her older sister, Piper, to this craze and was locked up somewhere unknown. Now, Skylar has to solve the mystery of this town and the mystery of her sister and what really happened to her.

         Gardnerville seemed like the perfect setting, and it really was. I loved the whole aspect and idea of it seeming to be the perfect town where nothing happens, but inside, it's the darkest place that you can even imagine. That's the gorgeousness of Quinn's settings, and just like in Another Little Piece, the idea was amazing.

           The plot was absolutely horrible. I was so bored and I felt that everything was really messed up. There were no explanations and nothing interesting happening. I didn't feel the urge to read this at all and I was completely bored all throughout, except in the beginning. In the beginning, everything started off well and I was absolutely intrigued. It eventually came off slow, right about until Foote came to become close with Skylar, and that's the way I was left for the rest of the book. Nothing was happening and I felt like I skimmed through it and flipped through the pages because I was lost and confused.

           The characters were pretty boring. I liked Skylar, though. She was kick-ass and hilarious even though she worried about things a lot, but we all get that, right?

            Even though we didn't get to know Piper too well, I liked her from the memories. She reminded me a lot of myself. xD She was the type to take charge and was smart at the same time. 

             The ending was absolutely awesome! Another aspect I actually liked. It left me wanting more and made me wonder what was left in life for the characters.

              In conclusion, this book was pretty bad. But there were a few good things about it that made me smile.