May Reading Challenge: Monument 14 Series

Author: Emmy Laybourne
Rating: an average of 4 stars
Review Contains Spoilers

                                       

May Challenge: Love Letters to the Dead

Meeting an author in real life became a reality for me a few years ago. In 2013 I met Lauren Oliver, Hugh Howey and Jodi Picoult. 2014 has not been as exciting, mainly because I haven't met anyone. I'm counting on June's Fierce Reads tour to change that. Leigh Bardugo, Emmy Laybourne, Ava Dellaria and Jennifer Mathieu will headline the YA tour with their May/June releases.
I challenged myself to read and familiarize myself with these authors and their latest novels in May so I'm ready for the event in June.
I'm one book down for my goal after reading Love Letters to the Dead.
Author: Ava Dellaria
Rating: 4 stars
Review Contains Major Spoilers

"Leaving Doctor Who is the saddest thing that's ever happened to happen to me"

Photo Credit: Cristina Roock

Emerald City Comicon 2014

Contains Mild Spoilers

From March 28-30, thousands upon thousands of people flock to the Seattle Convention Center for Emerald City Comicon. Since 2003, the con has attracted fans of all ages with their activities and panels on comic books, graphic novels, TV shows, movies and more. According to ECCC's website, 2014 was their most successful year. This year was also my first time ever attending a comic con. I have one theory on why this year may have been the biggest yet: Karen Gillan. 

Scotland native Karen Gillan, 26, played Amy Pond on the British show Doctor Who. The show became a big hit in the States during her era as the Doctor's traveling companion. Her last episode aired in September 2012, causing worldwide heartache. Thankfully, Doctor Who isn't the last we'll see of her. Since Who, she's starred the indie flick Not Another Happy Ending and will be in Oculus, her first mainstream horror movie out April 11. Not to mention this one movie called Guardians of the Galaxy, where she'll portray the villain Nebula. 

During her panel, Gillan touched on all of her projects and discussed her costars, family and future as well. Gillan had never visited Seattle before ECCC, she said.  Seattle's weather is much like Scotland and Starbucks was on her to-do list before flying out, Gillan said.

Fans lined up and took turns asking Gillan questions on a microphone. From children to aspiring actors and actresses, Gillan received an array of interesting questions.

.Doctor Who: Getting the role

The saddest thing Gillan has ever experienced is leaving Doctor Who. One bittersweet story she shared with the audience regarded her mother, a longtime Doctor Who fan. After snagging the role of Amy Pond, Gillan traveled to her home with the Doctor Who crew to surprise her mother with the news. Her mom was washing the dishes and started crying, Gillan said.

Matt & Arthur

Gillan and Arthur Darvill (Rory Williams) were both introduced to the Doctor Who fandom around the same time as Matt Smith. All three of them went on a wild ride as the show's popularity increased. "Matt's my best friend and they are both like the brothers I never had," Gillan said. Gillan and Smith would play around all day on set and film scenes in between, Gillan joked. 

Pranks and laughter were common on set. "Arthur once printed a picture of Mrs.Doubtfire and taped it on my trailer," she said. Matt was chatting with a pretty girl and knocked over a light trying to look cool, Gillan said.

When one fan asked if Gillan would ever reprise her role as Amy she replied only if Darvill and Smith returned as well.

The 12th Doctor

When Doctor Who returns next fall Peter Capaldi will be the Thirteenth Doctor. Capaldi and Gillan guest starred in the same Pompeii episode during David Tennant's era. Gillan thinks Capaldi is a good match for the role because he's a huge fan of the series, she said. Capaldi, known for his infamous cursing, might need the TARDIS vortex sounds to bleep out language, Gillan joked.

Time Travel, Memorable Scenes and Desert Islands

Some of my other favorite questions:

When asked where she would travel to with TARDIS if she could, Gillan chose to go as far into the future before the world ends. 

"I would say hi to the Prime Minister and the President of America," she said.

'The Girl Who Waited' was Gillan's most memorable scene to film, she said. When Gillan mentioned how she enjoyed playing an older Amy Pond and filming the last scenes with Rory the crowd squealed and laughed.

Gillan chose the Eleventh Doctor and Clara as the Doctor and companion she'd like to have with her on a deserted island. 

Several audience members were aspiring filmmakers, actors and actresses. Some advice Gillan had for them was to harden themselves to rejection and never give up. She also advised people to soak up all knowledge from first-hand experience in theater, movies and TV show acting.

Guardians of the Galaxy/Oculus

Marvel's 'Guardians of the Galaxy' is out this summer  To prepare for her role Gillan had to exercise a lot and eat way more protein, she said. Filming fight scenes with Zoe Saldana was her favorite part to film, Gillan said. 

Until Guardians is released Gillan fans have Oculus (out April 11) to tide them over. In Oculus, Gillan plays a woman tortured by a haunted mirror and her family's dark past. It looks like fans have plenty of Gillan projects to look forward to.

Photo Credit: Cristina Roock

The Book Thief

5 Stars
Author: Markus Zusak
Review Contains Some Spoilers

Burn

Author: Julianna Baggott
Rating: 4 stars
Review Contains Spoilers

Burn is the last book of Julianna Baggott's amazing Pure trilogy. Each book, especially the ending, always left me fangirling or with my mouth hanging wide open.
If I had read Burn as a hardcover the ending would have made me throw the book against the wall. Luckily I read it on a Kindle, which I threw into a pile of pillows.

The Diviners

Author: Libba Bray
Rating: 5 stars
Review May Contain Spoilers

Perry and Gobi series

Author: Joe Schreiber
Rating: 3.5 stars average
Review Contains Mild Spoilers

       








         

Gone Series

Author: Michael Grant
Rating: 3-5 stars pending on the book
Review Contains Spoilers
Book One (Gone) and Six (Light) Covers Featured

 

Dark Inside and Rage Within

Author: Jeyn Roberts
Rating: 4 Stars-Dark Inside 5 stars-Rage Within
Review Contains Spoilers

The Age of Miracles

Author: Karen Thompson Walker
Rating: 4 stars
Review Contains Mild Spoilers

Being an 11-year-old can be such a fragile thing. A kid's mind is still developing and tender right as puberty is inching closer. School/homework, crushes and arguing with parents are main parts of everyone's puberty. 11-year-old Julia gives readers a special point of view when the world starts ending. First of all, this is not the average apocalyptic novel. The end of the world is slow and never really happens (more on that later). Issues and drama are planted like seeds--slowly budding and evolving before exploding before Julia's eyes.

Earth's rotation is slowing down. Days grow longer. Daytime and nighttime flip flop. Gravity is a memory and the environment suffers. All things people take advantage of every day. Julia and her family live in California and are forced to adjust to a different life. Readers also get to see how Julia's neighbors challenge and adapt to new ways of life.

I don't know if it's just me but survival of the fittest came across as the underlying theme. All the characters--whether they oppose or support the new daylight rules--survived based on their will to adapt to their liking.

Despite the end of world coming undone, Julia grows up and experiences heartbreak and wisdom. She loses her best friend. Not to death or disease but the natural growing apart what happens between friends and cliques. Julia's crush turns into a good friend and somewhat of a boyfriend. Her relationship with her grandfather is also tested as he prepares for a fallout, feeding on his own government conspiracies. Julia and her parents are tested as an affair threatens to break them apart.

As the novel ends, Julia and her family overcome obstacles and stay together. Several years have passed since the rotation slowed down and while things get worse, Julia deals with the new normal as well as she can. I wasn't expecting anyone to be alive at the end but maybe the end is not always so definitive. The end of the world will happen, just on its own time. While Age of Miracles ended on a bleak note, the concept felt fresh to me.

Ender's Game

Author: Orson Scott Card
Rating: 3.5 stars
Review Contains Spoilers

Allegiant

Author: Veronica Roth
Rating: 4 stars
Review Contains Spoilers

House of Hades

Author: Rick Riordan

Rating: 4 stars
Review contains spoilers

Silent Witness (Tony Lord series)

Author: Richard North Patterson
Rating: 3 stars
Contains mild spoilers

Book summary: Almost thirty years have passed since Tony Lord left Lake City. Thirty long years dedicated to putting the past the brutal murder of his girlfriend, Alison Taylor, and his own acquittal of the crime behind him. Married, a father, and a successful defense lawyer in San Francisco, Tony Lord has run as far from Lake City as he can.

But the phone call requesting his return and the circumstances surrounding it is enough to make the ghosts of Tony's past live again. The trigger is the murder of another young woman, 16-year-old Lake City High School track star Marcie Calder, last seen alive with Sam Robb, her coach and Tony's childhood friend.

With this stunning new novel of psychological drama and suspense,Richard North Patterson has done it again. Silent Witness is a drama of rivalry and betrayal, the darkest recesses of love and friendship, and the tenacious grip of the past on all our lives

Every Day

Author: David Levithan
Rating: 5 Stars
Spoilers after summary

Book summary: Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl.

There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.

It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.

Hex Hall series

Hex Hall, Demonglass, Spell Bound
Author: Rachel HawkinsRating: 4 stars average
Contains Spoilers

 

 

School Spirits

Author: Rachel Hawkins
Rating: 4 stars

Like everyone else, I'm a huge Hex Hall fan. I found it really fascinating how the series now focuses on Izzy Brannick,  Sophie's cousin. The Brannicks have been monster hunters for generations, hence why Izzy never had a normal upbringing. Her homework and reading assignments covered how to kill and hunt vampires, witches and other creatures. She knows nothing about dating or friendships. In this spin-off series, we see her tackle a new identity. 
Izzy's older sister goes MIA on a hunt and her mom decides to take a break from their lifestyle to attempt so Izzy can have a normal life. Her mom solely focuses on finding her sister. Izzy hates the transformation until she makes a new best friend and *gasp* falls for a cute guy. She befriends members of a ghost hunters society at her high school and soon figures out an evil ghost or demon might be lurking at school. Not to mention one of her friends, and another possible love interest might not be exactly human..no teenager can escape angst can they?
I thought there was too many plots going on at once at times. Some characters could have been cut out. I loved the idea of a supernatural character going to a "normal" high school. That was never explored in the Hex Hall series although I'm well aware it's in countless other series. And don't think Hex Hall characters are completely MIA either. This series has its own charm. It's not as good as Hex Hall but I'll continue reading.

The Hurricane

Author: Hugh Howey
Rating: 4 Stars

Hugh Howey, an self-published author on Kindle, is well known for his sci-fi novels and series. In this standalone book, Howey tackles completely different topics: technology, teens and nature. With smartphones, the web and video games, technology has shaped and completely changed the way people learn, communicate and insult each other. Daniel Stillman, a high-school senior, is not someone glued to his game console or phone. He's ignored by girls on video chats and ridiculed by his classmates. Not to mention his family ignores each other at meals and his best friend just got a girlfriend.

So by most terms, Daniel feels like a loser. Until a hurricane hits. Set in South Carolina, Daniel's community is used to the threat of hurricanes but has never experienced one full on. So when Mother Nature arrives she takes on the digital age and wins. All it takes is for the lights to go out.

 I won't spoil everything but a few important topics arise:
1. Family- Daniel's family has the capability to communicate but are extremely isolated from each other. They spend breakfasts and dinners watching TV or on their iPads. Daniel's stephfather becomes an important focus when the hurricane hits and especially when Daniel's estranged dad comes back in the storm's aftermath.
2.  Relationships-No cell phone reception or electricity means Daniel, his teen sister and classmates have WAY more time on their hands. Daniel meets a girl in his neighborhood who has impressive survival skills and needless to say, a somewhat cliche but special relationship begins. Reading about a new crush/romance set under special circumstances was nice but predictable. 

This book definitely holds a few obvious important lessons. I wish readers knew the aftermath of these characters but let's hope Daniel teaches readers how people can communicate with each other outside of the tech savvy world.

Sharp Objects

Author: Gillian Flynn
Rating: 5 Stars
SPOILERS IN REVIEW

Bottom line: Some families are very, VERY screwed up.

So this is the first Gillian Flynn book I read. I heard all about Gone Girl but this book's journalism plot got my attention. A reporter returns to her hometown to report on a possible serial killer to keep her newspaper readership afloat. The possible serial killer is murdering little girls. The struggling reporter,Camille Preaker, has some serious skeletons in the closet. I mean actual skeletons. She also self harms and drinks to forget her troubled past.

I became hooked from page one. Most the story takes place in her Southern hometown. We meet her eccentric rich family. I loved reading about how Camille struggled to find sources and interviewed them. Although her ethics can definitely be questioned when she gets involved with not one but two men connected to the investigation. Camille can thank her past for her instability because like I opened with, her family is beyond screwed up.

Readers find out her mother is not only a huge pill popper but she purposely drugged her children, resulting in serious illness and death. Camille escaped her mother's clutches but her younger sister was not so lucky. Camille starts to see scary similarities between her sister's death and the murders. This does not include her other half-sister, who is very much alive, but stuck with her crazy mother.
I won't spoil the twist or ending, but the deeper Camille investigates her hometown's murder the deeper we see her go off the deep end. The ending quickly wraps up too quickly but seemed realistic considering everything Camille goes through. I know everyone is too busy panting over Gone Girl but read this one first if you can! It's still trippy and disturbing I promise.

We Need to Talk About Kevin

Author: Lionel Shriver
Rating: 4 Stars
Spoilers in Review

This book portrayed the delicate and destructive relationship between a mother and her son. We start with Kevin's life from birth to current day. I like to think Kevin's parents (Eva and Franklin) were both wealthy adults who grew bored with life and made dumb decisions but it's so much more than that. Especially since Kevin goes to jail for killing several classmates and a teacher. With most school shootings there's always someone or something to blame for the kid becoming a murderer. In this book 

Kevin grew as a bully and simply hated everyone. Everyone but his mother.

The reader is often faced with the question: is Kevin truly evil? As a baby, he's shown to be indifferent towards displays of affection. As a child he's shown to be the devil, causing the nanny to quit after ripping out her hair. When he grows to be a teenager he remains sullen and placid.
The author seems to focus heavily on how a mother's bond can make or break her son, causing him to grow up and be a serial killer. This book drifts away from Columbine and climaxes with a creepy Hunger Games scene, except Kevin is no likable Katniss. We find out Eva summarized the entire story in letters to her husband Franklin and we later find out Kevin also killed Franklin and his younger sister. Eva was the only major character spared.

Although I enjoyed most of the book I didn't feel impacted until the end. It was fascinating to read how a child can trick their parents so well starting at an early age. However, Kevin's killing scene didn't really get to me. It was moments like the last day his family spent together, and when Eva visits him in jail and resolves to give him her support, which hooked me. In the end it truly seems like Eva realizes she loves her son. Too little, too late. But she goes with the flow and I like that. By the end even Kevin is freaking out after being Mr.I Don't Care for the majority of the book, mainly because he's going to be transferred to a more notorious jail. I like how everyone decides they are only human at the end, albeit really shitty ones. Eva has to take on the public image as the Shooter's Mother which is really heartbreaking but she ends the book waiting for her son to get out of jail. You can't get what you want, but you deal with what you get.