Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books


Tuesday, May 09, 2017

Blog Tour: Spill Zone by Scott Westerfeld

Posted by 1 Comment

I received this book for free from Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Blog Tour: Spill Zone by Scott WesterfeldSpill Zone by Scott Westerfeld
Published by First Second on May 2, 2017
Genres: Graphic Novel, Horror, Supernatural, YA
Source: Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

Nobody's ever really explained the Spill. Was it an angelic visitation? A nanotech accident? A porthole opening from another world? Whatever it was, no one's allowed in the Spill Zone these days except government scientists and hazmat teams. But a few intrepid explorers know how to sneak through the patrols and steer clear of the dangers inside the Zone. Addison Merrick is one such explorer, dedicated to finding out what happened that night, and to unraveling the events that took her parents and left her little sister mute and disconnected from the world.

This was a creepy, weird book, interesting graphic novel.  I don’t tend to read a lot of them, but I do enjoy them on occasion. This one has beautiful artwork and a pretty crazy storyline. I thought that the illustrations really brought the story to life and added a creepy factor to it.  The characters were great too and though we don’t learn too much about them yet, it really makes the anticipation for a sequel almost unbearable.

Addie is the main character. She takes care of her little sister now that her parents are dead. Thanks to The Spill. No one is allowed in the Spill Zone, but Addie sneaks in and takes gorgeous, haunting, and chilling photos of it. It’s super dangerous, but that is the only way for her to make enough money to help her sister. She has some collectors who will pay big bucks for the art.

Lexa is Addie’s little sister. One of the few survivors from The Spill. She also doesn’t talk. None of the survivors do. She does have a doll, Vespertine who she communicates through. It’s no normal doll though. It’s living. It just needs to recharge in the Spill Zone sometimes. Vespertine travels with Addie on occasion and keeps Lexa company other times.

This book gave me the creeps at times. The creatures in the Spill Zone, the atmosphere there, and mostly Vespertine. There’s always that presence of danger, not just in the Spill Zone, but everywhere. In the Spill Zone though, any trip there could be your last. I thought this was a great graphic novel and can’t wait to see what comes next. You need to see and read this for yourself. Get a physical copy if you can because an eraser would not do this beauty justice.

I was also sent a gorgeous photo that was one of the ones taken to use for illustrations. Unfortunately, my iPad thinks the file is too big and won’t insert for me so I will have to add it later when I’m on my computer.

Don’t forget to check out the other tour stops. Click here to go to the fierce reads blog tours page.

Timely and Important: Saint Death by Marcus Sedgwick

Posted by on 03/30/2017 • 1 Comment

Saint Death is one of those books you are going to want to hurl across the room, not because you hate it but because its too painful. Or you could do what Joey does and put scary books in the freezer for another day. The release of the book is so timely and I hope that it will reach the hands of many because it is such an important book. Right now, the conversation surrounding immigration is one of the most politically charged ones. People feel like immigrants are ruining their lives and that the answer is to throw up metaphorical and literal walls between countries. To this I respond with:

I am going slightly off topic and that’s fine because Saint Death is a book that is going to start…

Not really memorable: Freya by Matthew Laurence

Posted by on 03/29/2017 • 1 Comment

I feel pretty let down by Freya? The question mark is there because I am not even entirely sure how I feel, just that Freya wasn’t what I wanted it to be when I was looking for a book with norse myth in it. I love books that are set in the modern world and feature heavy doses of mythology and yet, while Freya-the book-was absolutely adorable at times, Freya as a character was kind of annoying. She was obnoxious and while it sometimes made sense since she was a goddess, it could also get really annoying.

I like the contrast the author attempts with her being badass and feminine at the same time, but I also feel like he wasn’t entirely successful with crafting Freya’s character as a blend of those characteristics. She…

Review: A Darkly Beating Heart by Lindsay Smith

Posted by on 09/23/2016 • 9 Comments

I don’t write in books and have become too lazy to keep an actual notepad by my side while I am reading but recently I decided that I wanted to do a better job of keeping track of my feels so when I write a review two weeks after I’ve read the book, I have something to jog up my memory. Sticky Notes were the answer. And while I did not tab the shit out of this book (or really any book because I am more of a reader than a note taker), I did tab a scene in this book and write OMG!!!

You were probably wondering where I was going with the whole insight into my reading process thing weren’t you? I AM SORRY. I felt like backstory was…

Been Here All Along by Sandy Hall

Posted by on 07/27/2016 • 8 Comments

Review in a Tweet A little more elaboration…

I sometimes struggled with Been Here All Along because the writing style was a little clunky but overall, it was so adorable and gave me so many warm, mushy, feels. I love the two main characters and I love the ways in which they come together. Plus bffs to lovers is one of my fav tropes so YAY!

Song I associate with the book: You Belong With Me by Taylor Swift.

I mean the title of the book is a reference to the song and the book is basically the music video in book format. Also all of T. Swift’s old songs would go perfectly with this book if anyone needed a playlist to listen to while reading.

Continue Reading »

Secret Coders by Gene Luen Yang

Posted by on 05/24/2016 • 1 Comment

Things to know about Secret Coders by Gene Luen Yang

1. It’s for a much younger audience. I didn’t realize this at first but while I was reading it, it become clear that I was not the intended audience of Secret Coders. This didn’t mean that I didn’t enjoy the graphic novel, it just meant that it took me longer to get involved in the novel.

2. It isn’t just about coding and computer science-y stuff. If that isn’t your thing, don’t worry. It isn’t my thing either but I definitely enjoyed Secret Coders. There is a mystery element that makes itself known towards the end of the novel and that is what tied the knot for me. I want more Secret Coders because I needs to know the answers.

3. The illustrations are AMAZING. They…

Blog Tour: NIL On Fire – Guest Post

Posted by on 05/19/2016 • 1 Comment

Hello everyone!! I am part of the NIL on Fire blog tour and I have a great guest post from Lynne today! I really wanted to post my review with this, but I have had a lot of stuff going on lately and so I did not get to read it.  I definitely will be soon though and will post my review at that point.  Anyways, Lynne has given us a fabulous list of books to read if you liked NIL.

Top Five Books to Read if You Liked NIL

 

I ADORE THIS QUESTION!

 

I LOVE to read, and I devour books like chocolate. I’ve got weak spot for fantasy, but I love sci-fi, contemporary, thrillers, and more. Basically…

Saving Montgomery Sole by Mariko Tamaki

Posted by on 04/20/2016 • 1 Comment

When I found out that Mariko Tamaki had a book coming out, I was so excited!  I was curious to see how Tamaki’s storytelling style would differ from This One Summer and it helped that the book had a stunning cover.

Montgomery Sole’s voice is truly unique and stands out. She is angsty like many young adults (in YA novels and in real life) but her way of dealing with her angst is usually not dealing with it at all which explains the title and her need to be ‘saved.’ Montgomery Sole also spends a surprising amount of time searching conspiracy theories and buying rocks we know won’t actually do anything. That’s okay though because Montgomery Sole is a precious child that needs to be protected from the world. All of this…