Publisher: HarperCollins


Friday, April 25, 2014

Review: The Taking by Kimberly Derting

Posted by 17 Comments

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

Review: The Taking by Kimberly DertingThe Taking by Kimberly Derting
Series: The Taking #1
Published by HarperTeen on April 29th 2014
Genres: Sci-Fi, YA
Source: HarperCollins
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three-stars

A flash of white light . . . and then . . . nothing.

When sixteen-year-old Kyra Agnew wakes up behind a Dumpster at the Gas ’n’ Sip, she has no memory of how she got there. With a terrible headache and a major case of déjà vu, she heads home only to discover that five years have passed . . . yet she hasn’t aged a day.

Everything else about Kyra’s old life is different. Her parents are divorced, her boyfriend, Austin, is in college and dating her best friend, and her dad has changed from an uptight neat-freak to a drunken conspiracy theorist who blames her five-year disappearance on little green men.

Confused and lost, Kyra isn’t sure how to move forward unless she uncovers the truth. With Austin gone, she turns to Tyler, Austin’s annoying kid brother, who is now seventeen and who she has a sudden undeniable attraction to. As Tyler and Kyra retrace her steps from the fateful night of her disappearance, they discover strange phenomena that no one can explain, and they begin to wonder if Kyra’s father is not as crazy as he seems. There are others like her who have been taken . . . and returned. Kyra races to find an explanation and reclaim the life she once had, but what if the life she wants back is not her own?

This is another of those books that are fun and entertaining, but just don’t have that spark that could have made them truly memorable. At least I have plenty of fun during the ride.

With an engaging start, The Taking pulls you right into its plot full of mystery and wonderment. Imagine being blinded by a light, and the next thing you know your world and everyone you know is 5 years older… except you. You’re still sporting a bruise left from a game just that week, your phone is still fully charged, your clothes and appearance are exactly the same, yet 5 years have apparently passed. This is what happened to Kyra as she brings us along into her baffling story that leaves you dying for answers on every page. While it also contains family and romance, the mystery aspect is by far my favorite part of this book. I was salivating with theories, each one more exciting that the last. As the plot moves forward, we get curious developments that slowly reshape it into a completely different story than its contemporary-like beginning. What we uncover is nothing more than what’s revealed in the blurb, but it’s interesting nonetheless.

What disappointed me was the lack of depth. It had so much potential that went unexplored, choosing to focus instead on frivolous diversions. Sure there are passing mentions of Kyra being obsessed with keeping time, but she has a mostly unconcerned attitude towards the last 5 years. Her refusal to consider her dad’s theories is one thing, but she could have been abused or tortured for years, her mind blocking it out to protect itself, for all she knew. Who has time to worry about that with the excitement of a new crush (although they did have great chemistry) and the stress of her ex-boyfriend hooking up with her ex-BFF anyways!? Priorities, guys! More psychological depth would have given the book much more dimension, not to mention realism. The brush off on that angle was rather disappointing. Another thing: when strange things start happening to her, she’s in complete denial each and every time. Dude, accept you’re a mutant already!

Starting with a contemporary feel, The Taking gradually molds itself into a full-out sci-fi novel filled with conspiracies and superpowers. It does have a few forced conveniences, and it’s unfortunate that its potential is mostly left untapped, but it’s a fun story that ends on an intriguing note.

three-stars

3 Hot Espressos

Review: Sleep No More by Aprilynne Pike

Review: Sleep No More by Aprilynne Pike

Posted by on 04/18/2014 • 16 Comments

Sleep No More has some good entertaining content and an interesting Oracle premise, but there were many eye-rolling parts as well. I had mixed feelings even before I started this one. The mention of both Inception which I loved, and the Wake trilogy which I loathed made for an odd combination of expectations. Still, I was intrigued and it was fun while it lasted, but it’s not without a list of flaws.

The Oracle lore is what kept my interest the most. It takes a while to get a clear picture of the Oracle abilities and the history is weak at best, but the concept is fascinating and, in many ways, thought provoking. Changing someone’s fate does not come without consequences, thus giving the ability a very bittersweet feel….

Review: Don’t Call Me Baby by Gwendolyn Heasley

Review: Don’t Call Me Baby by Gwendolyn Heasley

Posted by on 04/16/2014 • 19 Comments

Oooh boy, this book and I did not get along very well at all.  Upon starting it I got really nervous because the first thought I had was that it all felt really juvenile.  Now that I am finished I can safely say that this novel will probably appeal much more to middle grade readers than young adult ones.  Though to be completely honest, I won’t be recommending this book to anyone at anytime.

In Don’t Call Me Baby we are Imogene, a girl who has grown up being blogged about daily by her mother.  Her mom goes by the online monicker Mommylicious and Imogene by Babylicious.  First of all let me talk about this blog of her mother’s, if I was the adult writer of that blog I would…

Review: House of Ivy & Sorrow by Natalie Whipple

Review: House of Ivy & Sorrow by Natalie Whipple

Posted by on 03/25/2014 • 23 Comments

You know those dogs that are so ugly they’re cute? This book is kind of like that. It was so ridiculous, that it became entertaining in its absurdity. I went into this expecting a more Gothic kind of witch read, and what I got was more Sabrina the Teenage Witch kind of fantastical (except Sabrina did it well!). I mean, if you go into this with the right mindset maybe you’d like it better?

The witch lore starts out intriguing with some interesting aspects. I liked how there’s no good vs evil or white vs dark, it’s all black magic and the way you use it is what matters. That’s how far my liking of this book went, unfortunately, as the more pages I turned, the more nonsensical it…

Review: Great by Sara Benincasa

Review: Great by Sara Benincasa

Posted by on 03/24/2014 • 17 Comments

What a weird book this was.  I have to be honest and preface everything I am about to say by letting you know that I have never read The Great Gatsby.  I know nothing of what it is about, all I know is that Leonardo DiCaprio recently starred in a movie version about it that I have not seen.  Naturally I won’t be able to compare GREAT to the source material at all but I can talk about the book for what it is.  So what was it? Well, it was a contemporary tale about richie rich Hamptons kids who use “summer” as a verb and it had little vines of mystery snaking into the story here and there.  I had fun reading it, but I am not too certain…

Review: Split Second by Kasie West

Review: Split Second by Kasie West

Posted by on 03/11/2014 • 28 Comments

PIVOT POINT was a fast favourite of mine from last year so when SPLIT SECOND came out I was quick to run out and get it and make the time to read it. Coming out of it I am happy with the story but I I feel it was missing some elements of a successful sequel. After reading through the reviews of this I see that I may be the only one who had this issue, but I haven’t come across this so strongly before so I feel the need to point it out.

So my issue is this: I was completely lost as to almost all of the references to the first novel. I have a terrible memory and I know this but I can usually carry on pretty…

Review: Ask Again Later by Liz Czukas

Review: Ask Again Later by Liz Czukas

Posted by on 03/06/2014 • 25 Comments

Holy cuteness overload, Batman! I went into Liz Czukas’ debut novel, Ask Again Later, with some pretty high expectations after seeing some love for it from friends of mine. The novel delivered in every way I could have expected it to and then some. This is good ol’ teen drama, fluffy fun!

As soon as we meet our MC Heart her personality starts to bleed off the page. We meet her in a rant about how much she hates her name which leads her into some weird ramblings about talking fish and what it’s like to breathe air/water. I knew from page one that I loved this girl. She was snarky, honest and downright hilarious. Sure she could be a bit oblivious at times but that just made her…

Review: Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens

Review: Faking Normal by Courtney C. Stevens

Posted by on 02/24/2014 • 36 Comments

Rape books are numerous, at least I’ve read my fair share. They come in all shapes and sizes, giving us tragic stories of broken lives and emotionally crippled victims. Faking Normal may be one of the bunch, but it’s one that stands out in its importance in showing one of the worst faces of rape: the one that goes wrongfully blamed, the one with circumstances that make the victim think it’s excusable. He was hurt, he said. Lonely, he said. Since she didn’t straight up say no, does it make it okay? Did Alexi “let it happen”, making it her fault? Even though she obviously was not saying yes? For months, now, Alexi has been punishing herself, justifying the abuse that has been haunting her ever since. Haunting her to…