The Host

After my best friend practically forced me to read the Twilight series in high school I decided I pretty much hated Stephanie Meyer. I was not a fan of her conflictless story line, lack of character development and overall sappy unbelievable romance. But once I started seeing movie previews for The Host, I had to admit I was intrigued. When my book club chose this I decided I would go ahead and read it, because what the hell, it couldn't be any worse than Twilight.I was right... and wrong.

Overall, it wasn't a bad book, it wasn't great, but it was compelling enough that I finished it and didn't hate it. Basically earth is a real life invasion of the body snatchers and aliens beings have taken over nearly all the humans. A handful of humans exist in hiding and the alien hosts are trying to find and eradicate them. Melanie, her brother Jamie, and her lover Jared had been keeping a low profile but Melanie is captured by the aliens and one of their kind is implanted in Melanie's body. Melanie has no control over her memories or bodily functions but she is still a presence. Wanderer, the name of the alien host in her body, is a good being and together they work together trying to find her family and lover.

Of course things aren't always as easy as they sound and Melanie and Wanderer find themselves trying to prove their loyalty to the handful of humans that end up capturing them. Can Wanderer betray her kind? Can Melanie?

It wasn't a bad story, it was just anti-climactic. I am anxious to see the movie though and see how it compares. They also recently announced that Stephanie Meyer was making this into a trilogy and that there are two more coming out... we'll see. I don't know if I want to read them. Overall, it was just ok.

Audiobook Review for the Library Journal - Jasmine Nights

Gregson, Julia. Jasmine Nights. 13 CDs. unabridged 14 hours. Clipper Audio. ISBN

9781471200441.

 

Set amid the chaos of the second World War, young Saba Tarcan, an amazingly talented singer performing for the troops in Africa, embarks upon a journey of newfound freedom, first love, and Middle Eastern adventure. She falls for charming RAF pilot, Dom, and together they learn the ups and downs of war, seperation, and anxiety. Saba soon realizes that entertaining the troops and her lover won't be her only mission. Does she follow her British commanders orders or does she follow her heart? Loosely based on stories of female entertainers being turned into unofficial spies, Julia Gregson does a masterful job of weaving intrigue, andventure, and Middle Eastern culture into a powerful tale. Julia Franklin does a wonderful job bringing the story to life using her wonderful British accents to bring the characters to life. Recommended for fans of historical fiction and romance. - Erin Cataldi. Franklin College. Franklin, IN

 

Game

GAHH!! Amazing!!! I loved the first Jasper Dent book (I Hunt Killers) so I assumed I would like the sequel. Wrong! I LOVED LOVED LOVED it! It may even be better than the first one. Seriously so good.

This time around the story follows not only Jazz, but his hot black girlfriend Connie and his best friend, Howie. The three of them all have adventures of their own to deal with it, adventures that are more connected then they realize.

Jazz shoots off to New York where the NYPD have asked for his expertise on the serial murderer, the hat-dog killer (i'll admit at first I was skeptical that NYPD would ask for a teenager for help but as the story went on it did seem plausible). Jazz uses all the knowledge his dad (the worst serial murderer of all time) imparted on him to help out as much as he can. Back in his home town, Howie and his aunt look after Jazz's seriously crazy grandma and Connie starts to get weird texts asking if she wants to join the game.

This book is so fast paced and amazing that you don't even realize it's over 500 pages. You fly through it and wish there was more at the end. Seriously must read. I am eagerly eagerly awaiting the next book in the series. This is hands down one of the best books I've read this year. A real nail biter that leaves you wanting more. Barry Lyga really does his homework and the details, the graphic crime scenes, intricate plot lines, and super amazing characters makes it hard to believe that this book is for young adults.

The Death Cure

I did it! I finally finished "The Maze Runner" trilogy! Overall, it was a damn good violent young adult dystopian series and it kept you guessing til the very end. I highly recommend it!

This final novel opens with Thomas, Minho, Newt, Jorge, and Brenda escaping from the WICKED headquarters and literally trying to find a way to save the world from the flare. As usual however, things are not as they seem. They escape to a safe city (Denver) and soon find out that it isn't really safe after all and the flare is running rampant. Cranks soon take over the city and Thomas and the gang must decide if they want to trust and team up with "right arm" a group supposedly aimed at taking down WICKED. 

Per usual, James Dashner will have you flipping pages like crazy trying to discover what in the hell is really going on. This is easily up there with "The Hunger Games" (albeit more graphic, depressing, and violent). Read it already!

The Buddha in the Attic

This is a story that really resonates with you. But the weird thing is, there is no "story." There isn't any real plot or any characters. The story is written in the "we" perspective and chronicles the journey of many young Japanese women that came to America in the early twentieth century. This book aims to be the voice for all the Japanese women of this tumultuous era. The book traces these women as they journey across the ocean, meet their husbands for the first time, learn to deal with white people, had babies, lived under the shadow of Pearl Harbor, and then were finally carted away by the government.

This book has a certain poetic quality and does an amazing job of voicing what thousands of Japanese women went through. It's tragically beautiful and haunting. A must read.

Every Day

File this under one of the most unique books I've had the pleasure of reading this year. The concept is so bizarre and thrilling that you can't put it down.

A is a gender neutral being who inhabits a different body every single day. He doesn't get to choose who he/she inhabits, it just happens. The bodies A inhabits are always the same age as him/her, but A has no control over who he/she wakes up as. One day he is a wealthy and stunningly beautiful black girl, the next a heroin addict or gay Puerto Rican. A can't stop it, every night at midnight he/she is whisked into another body and has been that way A's entire life.

When A awakes as another teenager he/she is able to access their memories in order to function as that individual for the day. The memories are used to find classes, complete homework, recognize friends, and family, etc. The next day when the teenager wakes up, they have no idea that someone else inhabited their body, they have memories of going about their day (albeit a bit fuzzy). A goes about this bizarre routine for sixteen years until he/she falls for Rhiannon. After that things get complicated.

A uses the bodies of whoever he/she's in to find her, but can he convince Rhiannon to be with him when every day A is in another body? Can love transcend such a complication? Can she love A when he shows up as a fat kid or a goth girl, or a hunky football player? Trust me you will want to read this to see how it ends. A fantastic and unique story that will have you turning pages like a mad man.