Uglies - Scott Westerfeld

Plot Summary 
Uglies is the first book of the trilogy. It's about a world in which everyone has an operation when they turn sixteen, making them supermodel beautiful. Big eyes, full lips, no one fat or skinny. This seems like a good thing, but it's not. Especially if you're one of the uglies, a bunch of radical teens who've decided they want to keep their own faces. 


My Review
Hmm...I'm not quite sure where to start with this book. I think I am sitting on the fence, not loving it but not hating it. The ideas and the futuristic setting is well thought out and interesting however I didn't like the characters. Especially Tally. I dont know why but she just annoyed me. She was so self-centered that she got on my nerves so much I had to skip chunks of pages to get rid of her. Which was very hard considering she was the main character. 


Also the plot was a bit predictable however I haven't read anything about turning people pretty so far in this genre. But i haven't read a lot so who knows. Anyway you know those books that you absolutely cannot put down? The ones that every spare second you have it spent reading them? Well this one was strange. When I was reading it i didn't want to stop. However when I wasn't reading it I didn't want to start reading it again. I don't know why this was. But I'll let you guys be the judge if you read it.


Score 6 out of 10 


...sincerely, a reader 

Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins

Plot Summary
Could you survive on your own, in the wild, with everyone out to make sure you don't live to see the morning? 

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. The Capitol is harsh and cruel and keeps the districts in line by forcing them all to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the annual Hunger Games, a fight to the death on live TV. 

Sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who lives alone with her mother and younger sister, regards it as a death sentence when she steps forward to take her sister's place in the Games. But Katniss has been close to dead before—and survival, for her, is second nature. Without really meaning to, she becomes a contender. But if she is to win, she will have to start making choices that will weigh survival against humanity and life against love.


My Review 


The Hunger Games is a fantastic novel. It has great description, character development, romance and a full throttle, exciting action filled plot set in the future. The characters are not perfect which makes them easier to relate to and more realistic. Katniss, the main character, has an inner temper and a firer strength that I really loved and that made her stand out to me. The plot was really unique and it was one of the first dystopia books I read. 


The imagery described is really intense and powerful but not confusing. It was like watching a movie in your head (totally corny but so true). The Hunger Games is an emotional ride for anyone who reads it that can manipulate your feelings in ways you never expected. It is action filled and faced paced. There is never a dull moment. 


Score 9.5 out of 10


...sincerely, a reader  

Beastly - Alex Flinn

Hey everyone! I read this as part of my bookclub on goodreads and really enjoyed it! So here is the review...ps sorry i havent posted in a while school started back and i got a bit sidetracked.

Plot Summary 
I am a beast.

A beast!

Not quite wolf or bear, gorilla or dog but a horrible new creature who walks upright. I am a monster.

You think I'm talking fairy tales? No way. The place is New York City. The time is now. It's no deformity, no disease. And I'll,stay this way forever—ruined—unless I can break the spell.

Yes, the spell, the one the witch in my English class cast on me. Why did she turn me into a beast who hides by day and prowls by night? I'll tell you. I'll tell you how I used to be Kyle Kingsbury, the guy you wished you were, with money, perfect looks, and the perfect life. And then, I'll tell you how I became perfectly . . . beastly.

My Review
I really love re-tellings of classic fairy tales. Beastly by Alex Flinn was a great modernized version of Beauty and the Beast. Which is one of my all time favourite Disney movies. At the start I hated Kyle, the main character, he was so cruel and self centered however he redeemed himself throughout the book.

Beastly was a very short novel and I think the ending was rushed and it ended so quickly that when I finished I wasn't really sure about the ending. The book was a great novel just to read and it made me angry, laugh and cry. So you guys can be the judge. The novel had many interesting aspects that I haven't encountered in a book before such as an online chat that was very funny and was well written and thought out.All in all I thought the book was short and sweet but nothing amazing.


Score 8 out of 10

...sincerely, a reader

Twenty Boy Summer - Sarah Ockler

Hey everyone! I got this book for Christmas and i finally got around to reading it so here is the review. Also i have almost finished Beastly so I will be putting up a review shortly. : )

Plot Summary

"Don't worry, Anna. I'll tell her, okay? Just let me think about the best way to do it."
"Okay."
"Promise me? Promise you won't say anything?"
"Don't worry." I laughed. "It's our secret, right?"

According to her best friend Frankie, twenty days in ZanzibarBay is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy ever day, there's a pretty good chance Anna will find her first summer romance. Anna lightheartedly agrees to the game, but there's something she hasn't told Frankie—-she's already had that kind of romance, and it was with Frankie's older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago.

My Review
Sarah Ockler's debut novel is a great read full of love, loss, friendship, overcoming fears and finding out ones true self. Twenty Boy Summer was fun and light at times but also sad and deeply heartfelt. It was very well written and i couldn't put it down. The scenery described and the emotions it evoked was magical. I loved the sense of a journey that the main character, Anna, was on. She felt she had to accomplish things whilst at the same time she had to move on from Matt, but never forget. Anna was a very strong heroine, having to deal with secrets, lost love, deception and above all living her life.


Score: 8 out of 10

...sincerely, a reader

Losing Faith - Denise Jaden

Plot Summary 

A terrible secret. A terrible fate.

When Brie's sister, Faith, dies suddenly, Brie's world falls apart. As she goes through the bizarre and devastating process of mourning the sister she never understood and barely even liked, everything in her life seems to spiral farther and farther off course. Her parents are a mess, her friends don’t know how to treat her, and her perfect boyfriend suddenly seems anything but.

As Brie settles into her new normal, she encounters more questions than closure: Certain facts about the way Faith died just don't line up. Brie soon uncovers a dark and twisted secret about Faith’s final night...a secret that puts her own life in danger.

My Review  

Hmmm I'm not sure what to write about this book. It was very different from what I normally read. The book revolved around religion a lot and even though Brie, the main character, was not religious herself the majority of the other characters were, especially her sister Faith. 

I also think the book was a bit slow in the beginning. After losing her sister Brie is kind of just there. She isn't really living, she is confused and broken. I suppose this is how someone would actually feel but I think the author dragged out these feelings a bit long and readers might lose interest. However I was determined to finish the book and about halfway through the plot became much more interesting and tense that I couldn't put the book down. 

So overall I think this was an ok book to read and if you can persevere I think you will enjoy the last half a lot. 

Score: 5.5 out of 10 

...sincerely, a reader 

City of Bones - Cassandra Clare

Sorry everyone i accidentally got rid of this review so i had to re post it so the date is stuffed up.
Plot Summary:

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder - much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing - not even a smear of blood - to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy? 

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know.... 

My Review:

Let me start off by saying that I love fantasy and as soon as I started City of Bones, the first book in The Mortal Instruments series, I was roped into the world of Shadowhunters. There was no slow build up or boring beginning it just cut straight into action involving a demon, three young Shadowhunters and of course our female protagonist, Clary Fray.

Clary’s character was resolute on saving her mother and finding out why all of a sudden terrifying monsters were attacking her after witnessing a demon murder and being pulled into the world of shadowhunters, vampires, werewolves, other mysterious downworlders and the horrifyingly mutilated Silent Brothers. Clary is not a ‘damsel in distress’ rather she is a strong character who is able to hold her own in this strange world and the Shadowhunters want to know why. How can a mundane kill a demon with her bare hands?

The plot kept twisting and turning and I never knew what to expect next. I loved all of the characters except Simon got on my nerves a bit because he was always just hanging around. All in all City of Bones was a great fantasy novel involving all the mythological creatures we know and introducing us to some new ones. With a love triangle thrown into the plot, many Young Adults would love this read. Cassandra Clare was able to create a beautiful fantasy world with her descriptive writing and unique characters. Once I started it I couldn’t put it down.

Score: 9 out of 10 


...sincerely, a reader