Book Review: Extras (Uglies, #4) by Scott Westerfeld

Extras by Scott Westerfeld
My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Avg rating: 3.58

Goodreads Summary: 
Fame

It's a few years after rebel Tally Youngblood took down the uglies/pretties/specials regime. Without those strict roles and rules, the world is in a complete cultural renaissance. "Tech-heads" flaunt their latest gadgets, "kickers" spread gossip and trends, and "surge monkeys" are hooked on extreme plastic surgery. And it's all monitored on a bazillion different cameras. The world is like a gigantic game of "American Idol." Whoever is getting the most buzz gets the most votes. Popularity rules.

As if being fifteen doesn't suck enough, Aya Fuse's rank of 451,369 is so low, she's a total nobody. An extra. But Aya doesn't care; she just wants to lie low with her drone, Moggle. And maybe kick a good story for herself.

Then Aya meets a clique of girls who pull crazy tricks, yet are deeply secretive of it. Aya wants desperately to kick their story, to show everyone how intensely cool the Sly Girls are. But doing so would propel her out of extra-land and into the world of fame, celebrity...and extreme danger. A world she's not prepared for. 

Actual Rating: 1.7

BOO. BOO. BOO.

I've heard nothing but bad things about this book so I put it off for a long time. I finally got around to it and I, like everyone else, hated it.

I felt this story was completely pointless and the characters were lame. Aya is didn't grow or change at all from start to finish she stayed the same; shallow, ignorant, and immature. (I know she's only 15 so maybe I should give her a little more credit but I don't feel like it). I didn't buy the relationship between her and Frizz at all and I thought he was rather annoying.

The whole thing with the "extras" was very anticlimactic and again, pointless.

The only good thing about this book was the memories it brought back of the original series.. I appreciated the appearance of the old characters but I still felt their roles were pointless. All in all the whole thing felt very forced. Like the author was just trying to make a little more off a series that should have ended. Thumbs down.

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Book Review: Crash into You (Crash into You, #3) by Katie McGarry

Crash into You by Katie McGarry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Avg rating: 4.30

Goodreads Summary:
From acclaimed author Katie McGarry comes an explosive new tale of a romance forged in the fast lane 

The girl with straight A's and the perfect life—that's who people expect Rachel Young to be. So the private school junior keeps secrets from her wealthy family…and she's just added two more to the list. One involves racing strangers down dark country roads in her Mustang GT. The other? Seventeen-year-old Isaiah Walker—a guy she has no business even talking to. But after the foster kid with the tattoos and intense gray eyes comes to her rescue, she can't get him out of her mind. 

The last thing Isaiah needs is to get tangled up with a rich girl who wants to slum it on the south side for kicks. But when their shared love of street racing puts their lives in jeopardy, Isaiah and Rachel will have six weeks to come up with a way out. Six weeks to discover just how far they'll go to save each other.

Actual Rating: 4.0

For a while I thought I was going to hate this book. I typically hate girls that are into cars and I DESPISE drag racing. It's just so unsafe and stupid! I don't get it, I've never understood the whole rush of adrenaline from going fast aka putting your life in danger.

But of course, Katie McGarry knows how to make two opposite characters fall in love in a beautiful yet expected way.

I came to love Rachel and Isaiah and the way they became each other rocks. They both were in messed up parental situations and I loved watching them find each other and figure out how to better them selves from it.

This wasn't my favorite of the series because I found it a bit predictable. I was just waiting and waiting for some big inevitable car crash knowing it had to come. I also hate how they spent the whole book trying to pay off this thug Eric instead of just going to the police.

Anyways, on to the next. I hope it's about Abbey.

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Book Review: Demonglass (Hex Hall, #2) by Rachel Hawkins

Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Avg rating: 4.16

Goodreads Summary:
Sophie Mercer thought she was a witch. That was the whole reason she was sent to Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (a.k.a. witches, shape-shifters, and faeries). But then she discovered the family secret, and the fact that her hot crush, Archer Cross, is an agent for The Eye, a group bent on wiping Prodigium off the face of the earth.

Turns out, Sophie's a demon, one of only two in the world-the other being her father. What's worse, she has powers that threaten the lives of everyone she loves. Which is precisely why Sophie decides she must go to London for the Removal, a dangerous procedure that will either destroy her powers for good-or kill her. 

But once Sophie arrives, she makes a shocking discovery. Her new housemates? They're demons too. Meaning, someone is raising demons in secret, with creepy plans to use their powers, and probably not for good. Meanwhile, The Eye is set on hunting Sophie down, and they're using Archer to do it. But it's not like she has feelings for him anymore. Does she?

Actual Rating: 4.0

What a cliff hanger! When the book ended I was like what? Really? So much for the epic battle scene I was expecting.

This book was good although not as good as the first one. There was a bit of a love triangle which was interesting and I liked Cal but it was always clear that she'd stay with Archer.

I thought she was being dumb for a while, clearly Archer is "one of the bad guys". I guess this book was supposed to lay out what was going on behind the scenes during the first book and set it up for the next one. Unfortunately it felt like just that.. A bridge between the beginning and end.

Overall I enjoyed the book and I will read the next one but maybe I won't be in as big of a hurry to get to it then I was to get to this one.

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Book Review: Dare You To (Pushing the Limits, #2) by Katie McGarry

Dare You To by Katie McGarry
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Avg rating: 4.19

Goodreads Summary:
If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does....

Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock-with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.

But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams-and his life-for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all....

Actual Rating: 4.0

Warning: I waited a day to write my review so I've basically forgotten everything I wanted to say.

Beth & Ryan were a pretty unconventional couple. Beth with her skater girl clothes and foul mouth and Ryan the immature jock just looking for an easy score. Through meeting each other and falling in love each of them grew up a lot and became a better person because of it. Beth was exactly what Ryan never knew he needed and vise versa.

Beth grew up in a really crappy situation, with a junkie mom who constantly made her feel like everything bad in their lives was her fault. All the drama from her past conditioned her into this hard stone wall of a person. It forced her to grow up and be the adult in a situation that she really couldn't control.

Ryan was Mr. Perfect. Jock, straight A's, handsome; but what people fail to see is who he is BEYOND the perfect. The perfect mold his parents have forced him into all his life.

There were definitely times where I thought the relationship shifted from hate to love too quickly but then there were conversations that had me believing it. I was definitely rooting for Beth & Ryan regardless of all the drama that happened in between them deciding to be together and the finale at the end. I like how it ended and I'm excited to read the next one!

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Book Review: Hopeless (Hopeless, #1) by Colleen Hoover

Hopeless by Colleen Hoover
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Avg rating: 4.42

Goodreads Summary:
Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies…

That’s what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she’s never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried.

Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he’s nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn’t at all who he’s been claiming to be. When the secrets he’s been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky’s life will change forever.

Actual Rating: 3.9

Dean Holder is everything.

Colleen Hoover does it again... total swoon worthy main character. Troubled soul, bad ass, passionate as hell. Sky was an interesting character.. She had a lot of quirks that made her her and reasons for all those quirks came out in the end.

The structure of the chapters was interesting.. I feel like putting that chapter from the middle of the book in the very beginning was necessary. Otherwise it just would have been a "way too good to be true love story." Instead it was like a slow torturous climb as the story escalated towards this chapter you read in the beginning. And you're trying to piece these little clues together and figure it out but BAM you're still wrong in the end.

The way everything wrapped up was perfect. I was surprised about a couple of the revelations but other then that it was all pretty believable.

This wasn't one of my favorite Colleen Hoover book but it was enjoyable none the less.
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Book Review: It's Not Summer Without You (Summer, #2) by Jenny Han

It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Avg rating: 4.20

Goodreads Summary:
Can summer be truly summer without Cousins Beach?

It used to be that Belly counted the days until summer, until she was back at Cousins Beach with Conrad and Jeremiah. But not this year. Not after Susannah got sick again and Conrad stopped caring. Everything that was right and good has fallen apart, leaving Belly wishing summer would never come.
But when Jeremiah calls saying Conrad has disappeared, Belly knows what she must do to make things right again. And it can only happen back at the beach house, the three of them together, the way things used to be. If this summer really and truly is the last summer, it should end the way it started--at Cousins Beach. 

Actual Rating: 4.1

Boy am I glad I stuck with this series! I didn't really like the first one and almost gave up on it but someone told me that book 2 and 3 get even better. That was spot on.

***SPOILER***

I ended up really liking Belly and I was happy to see her starting to fall for Jeremiah. I remember liking him better than Conrad in the last book. He was kinda boring to me, lost my interest. But Jeremiah definitely has it in this book. 

There were some sad flash back scenes that made me tear up but it made me grow to love her and Laurel even more. The scene at the end where Laurel stands up to the boys dad about keeping the house was super bad-ass. 

My heart breaks for Conrad and Jeremiah and what they're going through. I hope we get to see more insight into Conrad's head in the next book. I did really like how we got to see Jeremiah's perspective sometimes.

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Book Review: Allegiant (Divergent, #3) by Veronica Roth

Allegiant by Veronica Roth
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Avg rating: 3.65

Goodreads Summary:
The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she's known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.

But Tris's new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

Told from a riveting dual perspective, Allegiant, by #1 New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth, brings the Divergent series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent.

Actual Rating: 5.0
*WARNING SPOILERS AHEAD*

Veronica Roth what have you done, what have you done!?

I can't believe all the bad publicity this book has gotten... I was on the edge of my seat from start to finish. I didn't see it coming to an end the way it did but now, looking back, I don't know how it could have ended any other way.

People are up in arms because she killed off the main character but DON'T YOU GET IT! That was the plan all along! Tris was head strong and on a mission to change the world..

And what did she do? Exactly that..

I definitely shed a few tears as one of the best YA series I've ever read came to an end. I'm sad to see it go but am so thankful for the life time I shared in. 
"I will forever miss that Tris voice in my head." - Veronica Roth (and me)

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Book Review: Hex Hall (Hex Hall, #1) by Rachel Hawkins

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Avg rating: 3.99

Goodreads Summary:
Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father—an elusive European warlock—only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.

By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tag-along ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire student on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.

As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.

My Rating: 4.5

This has been on my to read shelf for so long.. I don't know why I put it off for as long as I did. The cover is actually very interesting and tells a lot about the book and I've been interested in it since I saw it.

This book was very Harry Potter meets Vampire Academy. I appreciated it for the fact that the magic doer wasn't a human-who-just-found-out-she-has-powers type. I also like that humans know about witches and magic and it's not this big secret thing.

The pace of the book was nice.. It wasn't action packed or too dramatic. It was full of good character building and story. I didn't much like the love story part of it cause I feel like it happened so quickly and dramatically. Regardless of that, I am still pretty shocked by the ending and want to know what happened to Archer!

So with that being said it's on to the next one!

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Book Review: The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Avg rating: 4.21

Goodreads Summary:
The Glass Castle is a remarkable memoir of resilience and redemption, and a revelatory look into a family at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant. When sober, Jeannette's brilliant and charismatic father captured his children's imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Her mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn't want the responsibility of raising a family.

The Walls children learned to take care of themselves. They fed, clothed, and protected one another, and eventually found their way to New York. Their parents followed them, choosing to be homeless even as their children prospered.

The Glass Castle is truly astonishing--a memoir permeated by the intense love of a peculiar but loyal family.

Actual Rating: 3.8

Very interesting.. I'm starting to enjoy non-fiction simply because it's real stories.. It's things that have actually happened and I enjoy the glimpse into a different day and time.

Initially I added this book to my to-read shelf because I heard they were making a movie out of it. I think the movie will be interesting.

Prior to reading this book I had no idea who Jeanette Wells was. I still don't know who she was other than the author of this book. The book itself was well written and enjoyable. Good life lessons tucked in around every corner. Very interesting to see how the children grew up to be after living in such deplorable conditions.

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Book Review: Isla and the Happily Ever After (Anna and the French Kiss, #3) by Stephanie Perkins

Isla and the Happily Ever After by Stephanie Perkins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Avg rating: 4.18

Goodreads Summary:
Love ignites in the City That Never Sleeps, but can it last? 

Hopeless romantic Isla has had a crush on introspective cartoonist Josh since their first year at the School of America in Paris. And after a chance encounter in Manhattan over the summer, romance might be closer than Isla imagined. But as they begin their senior year back in France, Isla and Josh are forced to confront the challenges every young couple must face, including family drama, uncertainty about their college futures, and the very real possibility of being apart. 

Featuring cameos from fan-favorites Anna, Étienne, Lola, and Cricket, this sweet and sexy story of true love—set against the stunning backdrops of New York City, Paris, and Barcelona—is a swoonworthy conclusion to Stephanie Perkins’s beloved series.

Actual Rating: 3.5

All in all this book was pretty uneventful but the characters were great.. The relationship was so adorable and I actually liked reading about them even though nothing huge really happened.

I have liked all 3 of the books in this series just about the same amount. I like seeing how they tie together. I forgot about Josh until this book and it took me a little while to remember he was dating Rachmi in book 1.

The ending was super cute!

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Book Review: Escape by Carolyn Jessop

Escape by Carolyn Jessop
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Avg rating: 3.94

Goodreads Summary:
The dramatic first-person account of life inside an ultra-fundamentalist American religious sect, and one woman’s courageous flight to freedom with her eight children.

When she was eighteen years old, Carolyn Jessop was coerced into an arranged marriage with a total stranger: a man thirty-two years her senior. Merril Jessop already had three wives. But arranged plural marriages were an integral part of Carolyn’s heritage: She was born into and raised in the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (FLDS), the radical offshoot of the Mormon Church that had settled in small communities along the Arizona-Utah border. Over the next fifteen years, Carolyn had eight children and withstood her husband’s psychological abuse and the watchful eyes of his other wives who were locked in a constant battle for supremacy.

Carolyn’s every move was dictated by her husband’s whims. He decided where she lived and how her children would be treated. He controlled the money she earned as a school teacher. He chose when they had sex; Carolyn could only refuse—at her peril. For in the FLDS, a wife’s compliance with her husband determined how much status both she and her children held in the family. Carolyn was miserable for years and wanted out, but she knew that if she tried to leave and got caught, her children would be taken away from her. No woman in the country had ever escaped from the FLDS and managed to get her children out, too. But in 2003, Carolyn chose freedom over fear and fled her home with her eight children. She had $20 to her name.

Escape exposes a world tantamount to a prison camp, created by religious fanatics who, in the name of God, deprive their followers the right to make choices, force women to be totally subservient to men, and brainwash children in church-run schools. Against this background, Carolyn Jessop’s flight takes on an extraordinary, inspiring power. Not only did she manage a daring escape from a brutal environment, she became the first woman ever granted full custody of her children in a contested suit involving the FLDS. And in 2006, her reports to the Utah attorney general on church abuses formed a crucial part of the case that led to the arrest of their notorious leader, Warren Jeffs.

Actual Rating: 5.0

Wow... What an amazing recount of a terrible, horrible existence.

I first became interested in the FLDS "religion" (cult) when I watched the show Escaping the Prophet. I was intrigued and appalled by the imminent control the "priesthood" has over the entire community. In that show a few teenagers attempt to escape the cult by fleeing from the community and taking shelter in a safe house a few hours away. At one point, Carolyn Jessop (author) showed up to the safe house to speak to these run aways. The run aways we're clearly NOT fans of Carolyn. They had been taught that she was an apostate and one of the worst influences to be had on an FLDS member. This really piqued my interest and I have wanted to read this book ever since.

This book was SO good from the prologue to the epilogue and even the interview at the end. My eyes have been severely opened to the beliefs and teachings of the FLDS. I think Carolyn is an extremely strong and brave woman to have overcome everything she has and be fighting to help others do the same. I will highly recommend this book to friends and family and anyone who is interested in having their eyes opened to the terrible things going on just beyond our communities.

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