When You Reach Me
By Rebecca Stead
4 Stars
“Book, bag, pocket, shoe.”
It all started when Sal got punched in the face for seemingly no reason. Then Sal starts ignoring Miranda and she doesn’t know why. And she finally has to walk by the crazy, laughing man under the mailbox all alone. Suddenly, the hidden spare key to her apartment is stolen, and she starts receiving strange notes. They are urgent, telling her that a life is in mortal danger. But who’s life? And can Miranda really save a life before it’s too late?
Wow. Yes, I’m starting this review again with wow. This is another fabulous book, with a detailed plot and woven thread of mystery. This author is incredible. The time traveling concepts and world concepts are amazing. I loved this book, and highly recommend it to every reader out there, boy or girl, kid or adult.
1Origin
By Jessica Khoury
4 1/2 Stars
Pia has grown up in a laboratory deep in the Amazon forest, but she has never been out of the fence. Except for a careless thirteen steps when she was young and didn’t know why she could never leave. You see, she has been created for one purpose, creating a super race. She is immortal and will never, ever die. Probably. She is surrounded by mysterious characters that she called Aunt and Uncle, and doesn’t see anything strange about her life. That is, until Harriet comes into Little Cambridge and a hole opens in her fence. Suddenly, her world is flipped when she discovers that the world outside her cage is friendly and nice, nothing like the horrible tales she has heard. She meets a boy, a special boy, and her emotions are thrown out of balance. Could there be a terrible secret behind Little Cambridge? And could Pia, sensible, practical Pia, disobey reason and fall for the only real thing that makes her happy?
Wow. This book is fantastic! As you may have noticed, it’s on my favorite books list, because it is so amazing. I admit I was doubtful at the beginning of the book, but it truly is a great book! It is written brilliantly, and I never expected anything to happen! I thought I could predict what would happen, but this book is not predictable at all. I highly recommend it to everyone who appreciates an awesome book!
1Whisper
By Phoebe Kitanidis
4 Stars
If only I could have a cup of coffee. I wish I knew how many calories were in a bite of muffin. I hope she realizes he hates her. I wish I could kick him out of my life. Joy is used to hearing Whispers. She can walk down the street and hear dozens of desires. Her mother and her agree they can make the world a better place with making people happy. Unfortunately, everything unravels on her birthday, when her rebellious, gloomy, friend-less sister Jessica messes her life up. And then disappears. Soon, Joy is finding out that her Whisper senses are picking up darker desires and that her perfect life is built on lies. Will Joy find her older sister in time, or will everything fall to pieces?
This is an amazing book with usual teen drama mixed with unnatural romance and family relationships. I absolutely recommend it to girls and guys ages 12 and up.
0Matched
Book 1 of the Matched series
3 3/4 Stars
By Ally Condie
Cassia lives in a futuristic world where everything is controlled by the Society, their food, their clothing, the time of death, and even their free time. When she turns seventeen, she gets to learn of her Match. She goes to a special celebration, and her best friend turns out to be her Match. She is surprised, but thrilled. Then when she puts her “card” in to the player, a different boy’s face pops up. Another boy she knows. A boy who shouldn’t have been Matched. Who is this boy? Who does the Society want Cassia’s Match to be? And was a double Match a glitch..or on purpose?
This was a pretty good book, but there were slight pauses and more dull parts in the reading. The Society was an amazing thought, and their way of doing everything was quite incredible. The characters were crafted well, and I like the book overall.
1Sabotaged
Book 3 of the Missing series
By Margaret Peterson Haddix
4 stars
After saving Chip and Alex, Jonah and Katherine thought their job was done. But soon JB tells them that they will be helping Andrea as well. When they are sent back to the past, the Eluminator is lost and Jonah feeks mysteriously drawn to Andrea. They also aren’t sure whether they are in the right time period. When messages appear from “Second” telling them they are doing well, he confuses them even more. Who is Second, and is it too late to save time..and themselves?
This was a thrilling book I whipped through. I recommend it to people who enjoy adventure and mystery.
0Unwind
The second civil war, called the Heartland War, was fought over abortion. The conclusion was no abortion but children could be “storked,” dropped off at doorsteps, and children between 13-18 could be unwound. Unwinding means that 100% of the children’s body parts (hearts, brains, eyes, anything) could be used in other’s surgeries and replacements under the condition that technically they were alive. Risa isn’t talented enough to be kept alive. Connor has become a “problem” for his parents. Lev is a tithe, a person raised to be unwound. Together, they might stand a chance of escaping, and surviving, and maybe finding a way to stop the terrible crime of unwinding.
This was a well written book I liked, but it was kind-of creepy. I would not re-read it, but it was a good, 1-time read. I’m recommending this to science fiction readers.
0The Maze Runner
Thomas wakes up in an elevator, remembering only his first name. When the elevator stops, he gets out into a different world, The Glade. The Glade is made up of only teenage boys and is a very mysterious place, surrounded by the Maze, a maze full of Grievers (monsters) and that changes it’s passageways every night. But just one night after he arrives, another person comes out of the elevator, seemingly dead! That’s not the scariest thing though. The person is a girl, the first girl to arrive-ever! And in her fist she clutches a message from the Creators of the Maze. She’s the last one. Ever. Soon after that, Thomas, the girl Teresa, and three other boys figure out that the end of the Glade is coming. But will they die? Or will they make it back to Earth before disaster strikes?
This was a thrilling book that I definitely liked reading. I highly recommend it!
8Airhead
Em Watts has dark brown hair, and enjoys hanging around in sweats, playing JourneyQuest with her best friend, Christopher. Her younger sister, Frida, is the opposite. Mascara and lipgloss applied, Frida is a cheerleader and has a crush on songwriter Gabriel Luna. Gabriel comes to Stark MegaStore to sell his new album and sign autographs. Frida must go and Em’s mother makes Em go with her. When waiting in line for an autograph, Frida spots her ultimate role-model, airhead Nikki Howard. She is tall, blonde, and beautiful, and pretty much Em’s worst nightmare. But a TV plasma screen toters when Frida is talking to Nikki, and Em saves her by shoving her away. But the plasma screen crushes Em. She wakes up feeling different, and when she happens to glance in the mirror, there is no more dark haired Em. The model, Nikki Howard is staring back at her. How is this possible? And how is Em ever going to be able to hide that her brain is in the wrong body?
This is a great book, and an amazing trilogy. “Airhead” is followed by “Being Nikki,” and “Runaway.” I don’t like models, airbrushes, etc, but I loved this book. It was written very well. I highly recommend it!
5Found
Jonah has always known he was adopted, and knows that it is not a big deal. When his new friend, Chip, finds out that he is adopted and his parents aren’t his birth parents, Chip, Jonah, and Jonah’s sister Katherine, try to investigate Chip’s past. Jonah and Chip suddenly receive a mysterious letter. “YOU ARE ONE OF THE MISSING.” Later, they receive, “BEWARE! THEY ARE COMING BACK TO GET YOU!” They are freaked out and look for answers. Unfortunately, Jonah, Katherine, and Chip get sucked into a crazy series of events nobody can predict.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes mysterious books, or exciting events. It was a well written, fun, thrilling book.
0Leviathan
Written by Scott Westerfield, the author of the Uglies series, this book is thrilling, exciting, and very fun to read. Prince Aleksander (or Alek) is a would be heir to the Austro- Hungarian throne, is on the run from his own people. He escapes to Switzerland, barely surviving the beginning war on the way, and mourns the death of his beloved parents. Deryn is a commoner, disguised as Dylan, the boy. She is an amazing airman, but her secret is in danger of being discovered. Thrown together in the icy cold of Switzerland, they are natural enemies. Though they need to help each other to get out of the ice and survive the cold, they expect to leave each other at the first opportunity. As their paths cross in unexpected ways, they form a bond.
This is a exciting, and a fun read, full of adventures and plots. I enjoyed it, but I didn’t particularly like Alek’s character. He seemed too pompous and a bit wimpy to me. I loved Deryn (aka Dylan) and she was my favorite part of the book. The book is continued with Behemoth and Goliath.
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