Posts Tagged: ARC

Wednesday, August 19, 2015

Review: Violent Ends by Shaun David Hutchinson and Various Authors

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I received this book for free from Simon & Schuster in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review: Violent Ends by Shaun David Hutchinson and Various AuthorsViolent Ends by Shaun David Hutchinson
Published by Simon Pulse on September 1st 2015
Genres: Contemporary, YA
Source: Simon & Schuster
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four-stars

It took only twenty-two minutes for Kirby Matheson to exit his car, march onto school grounds, enter the gymnasium, and open fire, killing six and injuring five others.

But this isn't a story about the shooting itself. This isn't about recounting that one unforgettable day.

This is about Kirby and how one boy—who had friends, enjoyed reading, played saxophone in the band, and had never been in trouble before—became a monster capable of entering his school with a loaded gun and firing on his classmates.

Each chapter is told from a different victim's viewpoint, giving insight into who Kirby was and who he'd become. Some are sweet, some are dark; some are seemingly unrelated, about fights or first kisses or late-night parties.

This is a book of perspectives—with one character and one event drawing them all together—from the minds of some of YA's most recognizable names.

This book was really interesting. It’s about a school shooting, and told in twelve different POV’s ranging from friends, other classmates, people who knew people who went to the school it happened at, and even the gun that Kirby used. It was interesting to hear about Kirby from people who knew him in some way or another, or about the event from those who didn’t know him. It’s tragic what happened, and to see how things changed with Kirby. How premeditated it was at the end. It was something he thought about, planned, and was somewhat pushed to. In this day and age where this is a topic that people do worry about, it’s a very important book. I think how it was told was equally important too since we get so many points of view.

Kirby is the one who is the shooter. He also takes his own life. No, that’s not a spoiler. You find that out pretty quickly in the book. He is pretty much a loner. He isn’t bullied mercilessly or anything like that, but he isn’t happy. He has friends, but very few. That is how he likes it. I think that how this book is told really does let us get to know Kirby pretty well and see how he was pushed over the edge. He doesn’t snap though, not completely. He is still smart, and mentally aware of what he is doing. It was sad that he does such a thing, and I wanted to feel bad for him, but I really couldn’t. What I did feel was sympathy for his family. The aftermath of what they have to go through. There is no way to justify that Kirby was mentally ill and needed help, or what if something had been different. No matter what, shooting people is a tragic and horrible situation. It does however show that some people are not mentally strong enough to take others not nice behaviors, or personal pressures in life. Everyone should treat every person with respect. You never know what someone might be dealing with.

It’s hard to really say that I liked this book since it’s about a school shooting. It’s not something you can like, but I liked how it was told and I thought that it really told a great story. Sometimes horrible things make great books. It makes you open your eyes to things a little more. I happen to be a person who doesn’t judge, and I treat people well, but some people, especially in school may not realize how their behaviors can affect others. Even if it’s not directed towards the particular person who might snap. This type of suicide story breaks my heart because not only has a young person taken their life, but they have taken other peoples too. And the whole gun control issues is a moot point. If a kid wants to get their hands on a gun, it doesn’t matter if their is one in the home or not. They will find a way. There are plenty of scum out there who don’t care who they sell that shit to. This book was heartbreaking and eye opening. I hope it finds its way into the hands of many people. Especially school age kids who could benefit from reading such a novel.

four-stars

4 Hot Espressos

Review: Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray

Review: Lair of Dreams by Libba Bray

Posted by on 08/10/2015 • 3 Comments

This sequel has been a very long wait to read and I had very high expectations going into it. It was a little slow going at first, but it was so good. Even though it was slow, we get all of the characters we love (and maybe don’t love so much) as well as new ones. As with the first one, the descriptiveness was amazing and I loved seeing what everyone has been up to and what the new danger is going to put them through. By the time I was nearing the end of this book I was reading frantically needing to see what would happen. And the end… ahhhhh!! I sure hope the next book doesn’t take as long as this sequel did to come out. I assure…

Review: The Fall by James Preller

Review: The Fall by James Preller

Posted by on 08/03/2015 • 8 Comments

I feel like I’ve been reading a lot of books about suicide and bullying lately. I suppose it’s a good thing because that means that there are more and more books out there covering the topic. Even though they all cover the same topic, the characters and situations are much different though. In this case it’s told by a boy who was kind of friends with the girl who committed suicide. What I mean by that is that he would secretly talk to her and hang out with her, but wouldn’t admit it out of fear of being judged. Of becoming a victim of the same bullying that she goes through. He is afraid, and after her death he needs to come to terms with things. We get to learn…

Review: The Marvels by Brian Selznick

Review: The Marvels by Brian Selznick

Posted by on 07/30/2015 • 4 Comments

Wow, this book was so cool!! The first 400 pages or so are all just drawings. Gorgeous artwork. It seems odd that it’s just picture after picture, but surprisingly, it tells an amazing story. I have never read 400 pages of a book so quick!! The first part of the book is set in a totally different time period than the second part. The second part of the book is set in 1990 I believe. This one is written, not told in pictures. It is not a seemingly different story as the synopsis explains. In fact, it is pretty easy to see how the two are related, but in a really interesting way. I loved discovering how the second story all fit with the first one and was drawn in….

Review: George by Alex Gino

Review: George by Alex Gino

Posted by on 07/23/2015 • 2 Comments

What a wonderful book!! This is a MG book about a transgender girl and I can not give enough love to this. So many younger kids may know that they are not in fact the gender they are born, and this is the first book I have read that is targeted toward younger kids. George is 10 years old and she is a girl. She knows she is, but no one else does. I know from discussing with people that this may be a book that rubs some people the wrong way due to the targeted age, but I think it’s perfect. For people to say that it’s too young and that kids that age don’t know, I think that is ignorant. No one can tell someone what they feel…

Review: Weightless by Sarah Bannan

Review: Weightless by Sarah Bannan

Posted by on 07/21/2015 • 5 Comments

There are plenty of books out there about suicide, bullying, and mental illness. I am drawn to them and love reading them. I think they are important. I think that it’s great to have books on topics like these for people who may be going through similar situations, know someone who is, or just because you like to be able to spread awareness about it. What makes this one different from a lot of the others that I have read is that it isn’t told from the victims POV. It’s not told through the bully’s POV. It isn’t even told by someone outside of the situations POV. It is told by someone who isn’t quite one of the direct bullies, but also isn’t just a random person. In fact, she…

Review: Loves Lies Beneath by Ellen Hopkins

Review: Loves Lies Beneath by Ellen Hopkins

Posted by on 07/01/2015 • 5 Comments

The main reason why I wanted to read this book is because I freaking adore Ellen Hopkins. Also, it sounded good. This is not YA, and it’s not your typical Ellen Hopkins book. This one is not written in verse like her others. It does however have some beautiful poetry throughout. It still was a good solid story though, and as always, it was a great read. The characters were great and there was a bit of hidden mystery to them. This book is about learning to love and trust and so much more. It was not intense or super exciting, but a slow story that pulls you along making you need to see where things are going.

Tara is a woman who is well off. She’s been married…

Audiobook Review: 99 Days by Katie Cotugno

Audiobook Review: 99 Days by Katie Cotugno

Posted by on 06/29/2015 • 2 Comments

I don’t really know to say about this book since I didn’t really care for it much. The only reason I finished it was because I was listening to the audiobook on the train home from NYC and I decided I might as well finish since I got that far. I don’t really know why I even wanted to read it really. Maybe because I really liked her first book, but I hate cheating so I was bound to not like this one. It wasn’t just that though. Some of the characters besides Molly just really irritated me. Then the romance was just not something I could get behind. The one thing I did enjoy about this was the narrator though. Allyson Ryan did really well at bringing emotion to…