The Tyrant's Daughter Review on In The Character's Shadow

From a former CIA officer comes the riveting account of a royal Middle Eastern family exiled to the American suburbs.

When her father is killed in a coup, 15-year-old Laila flees from the war-torn middle east to a life of exile and anonymity in the U.S. Gradually she adjusts to a new school, new friends, and a new culture, but while Laila sees opportunity in her new life, her mother is focused on the past. She’s conspiring with CIA operatives and rebel factions to regain the throne their family lost. Laila can’t bear to stand still as an international crisis takes shape around her, but how can one girl stop a conflict that spans generations? 

J.C. Carleson delivers a fascinating account of a girl—and a country—on the brink, and a rare glimpse at the personal side of international politics.



Rating: 4 stars

I loved, loved, loved this book, and it probably would have received at least 4.5 stars if it hadn't been for the ending. Or, the lack of one. I actually kind of think this book almost deserves 3 stars because of the ending, but I love it too much to give it a measly 3 stars, so 4 it is. But, on the other hand, the ending was absolutely fantastic and really befitting of the character. *sigh* Alright, I warned you up there in the title. This book left me with conflicting emotions, so let me explain.

(Oh, and there will be some spoilers in this post, but I'll let you know with a little warning before I write them.)

To finish reading my review, head over to In The Character's Shadow, a group blog run by Christian teens from the NaNoWriMo forum. :D

Code Name Verity Book Review

 

Summary from Amazon:

Two young women become unlikely best friends during World War II, until one is captured by the Gestapo.

Only in wartime could a stalwart lass from Manchester rub shoulders with a Scottish aristocrat. But then a vital mission goes wrong, and one of the friends has to bail out of a faulty plane over France. She is captured by the Gestapo and becomes a prisoner of war. The story begins in “Verity”’s own words, as she writes her account for her captors.Truth or lies? Honour or betrayal? Everything they've ever believed in is put to the test . . .

A gripping thriller, Code Name Verity blends a work of fiction into 20th century history with spine-tingling results. A book for young adults like no other.

“This is a remarkable book” Daily Mail

I love, love, love, love this book. I love it.

What I Liked:

• Verity's voice. She's so resilient and somehow makes a book about an Allied spy caught by the Nazis almost funny in some places. 
• The characterization. Verity is Verity throughout the book. In fact, I just reread the beginning, and something that might seem a bit outlandish at first is actually just so very Verity. 
• The setup. The way this book is set up is amazing. It's so amazing, in fact, that I can't really tell you anything about it without spoiling everything. 
• The title. I love the title. It fits the book so well, and I can't tell you why without, once again, spoiling the entire book.
• The emotional plot. There is, namely, one big twist in this book that, I think, took every reader for a loop. It's one of the worst (emotions-wise) twists in book history. And it makes this book amazing. 
• The cover. The cover fits this book so, so well. There are multiple covers and they're all awesome for different reasons. 
• The theme. It's not about romance or anything like that. It's about friendship, something that, I think, is a bit overlooked in today's YA books. Most tend to focus on the romantic relationships, and sure, I'm a hopeless romantic, but this was a nice change of pace. 

What I Didn't Like:

There was some cursing in this book as well as some vulgar talk that I didn't really appreciate. That's my only real complaint, though.

In short:

This book is just plain awesome. Elizabeth Wein is so creative with the simple way she tells this story, and Verity is such a great character throughout it all. I absolutely love this book!

"I have told the truth." -Elizabeth Wein, Code Name Verity
*squeals and dances around giddily because I just made a reference that you people won't understand until you read the book!!!!* =D

Crewel by Gennifer Albin Book Review

Oh, boy. This is a hard book for me to review. It's just hard for me to put my thoughts into words, but here goes.

Back Cover Copy:

Incapable. Awkward. Artless.

That’s what the other girls whisper behind her back. But sixteen-year-old Adelice Lewys has a secret: She wants to fail. Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, she’s exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen to work the looms is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to manipulate the very fabric of reality. But if controlling what people eat, where they live, and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn’t interested.

Not that her feelings matter, because she slipped and used her hidden talent for a moment. Now she has one hour to eat her mom’s overcooked pot roast. One hour to listen to her sister’s academy gossip and laugh at her dad’s jokes. One hour to pretend everything’s okay. And one hour to escape.

Because tonight, they’ll come for her.

Rating: 4 stars (liked it, would recommend it)

What I Liked:

Okay, the premise for this is sooo insanely awesome it's not even funny. I mean, how creative does Gennifer Albin have to be to come up with something like that? It makes me, as a writer, a little jealous. XD I liked Jost's character. I don't even know what to think of Erik. Gennifer Albin definitely succeeded in making me completely and totally dislike Cormac. 

What I Didn't Like:

*sigh* Here comes the hard part. I can't really think of anything to put my finger on. I like this book. I don't love it. I think that's maybe just me. There's nothing really inherent that I can point out that led to this. Yeah, sure, I pretty much guessed one of the big plot twists early on, but that didn't necessarily bother me. It actually made me happy that I finally guessed something right because I'm usually wrong. Yeah, sure, I didn't really like Adelice's relationship with one of the love interests (yes, there's a love triangle). Well, I guess that's something that counts as a hard and fast reason for my 4 star rating. Also, yes, I don't want Adelice to end up with either of the guys, but that's not because there's anything wrong with her or with the story. That's simply because I'd rather each of them be with someone else. *sigh* This is a good book, but a hard one for me to review. Let's just leave it at that. XD

Summary:

Crewel by Gennifer Albin is a good book for anyone looking for a creative fantasy/dystopian read. 

Vitro by Jessica Khoury Book Review

Back Cover Copy:

On a remote island in the Pacific, Corpus scientists have taken test tube embryos and given them life. These beings—the Vitros—have knowledge and abilities most humans can only dream of. But they also have one enormous flaw.

Seventeen-year-old Sophie Crue is determined to get to Skin Island and find her mother, a scientist who left Sophie behind years ago. With the help of Jim Julien, a young charter pilot, she arrives--and discovers a terrifying secret she never imagined: she has a Vitro twin, Lux, who is the culmination of Corpus's dangerous research.

Now Sophie is torn between reuniting with the mother who betrayed her and protecting the genetically enhanced twin she never knew existed. But untangling the twisted strands of these relationships will have to wait, for Sophie and Jim are about to find out just what happens when science stretches too far beyond its reach.

Rating: 4 stars (liked it, would recommend it)

What I Liked:
The concept is a very intriguing one. A girl supposedly receives an email from her scientist mother who's been working on an exotic island for a long while asking for immediate help? Definitely a premise that hooks you and pulls you in. Not to mention just how awesome the setting is. A tropical island off somewhere in the middle of nowhere, one that has such a haunting air about it that pilots don't want to fly anywhere near it? Count me in. Then there's the characters. All of them, from Sophie to Jim to Nicholas to Lux, they're all individuals with unique and... interesting personalities. Lux, I imagine, would have been a pretty difficult character to pull off, especially POV-wise for a few chapters. Jessica Khoury did a pretty good job of this, in my opinion.

What I Didn't Like:
For me, the overall story was definitely a good one; it just didn't pull me in completely and have me walking around the house in circles with a crazy smile on my face as I mumbled under my breath after finishing the last page. Maybe that's just me. One specific thing I noticed when I was reading this book was the way some of the characters were constantly in life-threatening situations and kept making it out. This in itself wasn't really all too much of a problem for me until one of these characters was involved in a situation that made the readers think it (using that word to avoid using the more descriptive he and she) was, by all logical reasoning, dead. Then, and this was the part that annoyed me, this character wasn't dead. *gasp* Recently I've discovered that I just don't like this trope. Readers being led into thinking that the character died, and then the author going "HA! HA! He isn't dead after all! Tricked you!" I realize that others might. I'm just not one of them. It's just a personal preference thing.

Summary:
Vitro by Jessica Khoury has an intriguing premise, great characters, and a good plot, with some minor problems that only slightly detracted from my enjoyment of the book. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good sci-fi novel in a not-too-futuristic world with an exotic setting.

Christy Miller Book Review

I'm in the book reviewing mood, so I'm here to fangirl review the Christy Miller series by Robin Jones Gunn. I'm going to give you a quick description of my own:

The Christy Miller series by Robin Jones Gunn follows the high school and college years of Christy Miller as she makes new friends, moves to a different state, and grows in her faith.

Things I Loved:

• Christy's walk with Christ. Some of the difficulties she faced and things she realized really helped me in my own walk.
• Todd- he is so sweet, and he's a surfer. PLUS he's a strong Christian. Seriously. Todd, guys. Todd.
• Doug. Doug is like as close to a perfect friend as you can get. He's funny, loyal, kind, a strong Christian, and probably my favorite book character ever. Seriously.  
• Tracy. She is so sweet and optimistic. This girl is almost always happy and positive. 
• Pretty much all of the characters if you can't already tell. xD 
• Todd's and Christy's relationship- soooo adorable. Squeeee!!!!! 

Things I Didn't Like:
Um, is that even a valid question? NOTHING. Okay, I guess I'll admit that I didn't really like the writing style as much, but that's a very minor problem compared to the awesomeness that is Christy Miller. xD

Would I Recommend It?
Of course. Please, go pick up this book as soon as you can and read it. Please. Then we can fangirl together. xD

I would definitely give this series 5 stars, AND there's a Christy & Todd: The Married Years book out now!!! *happy dances* *runs around screaming* *throws confetti*

Okay, I'm done fangirling (for now). xD