The Infinite Curio - 3.5 stars reads Archive

Retro Friday Review : Being Nikki & Runaway

Published on May 25, 2012 by Kay in 3 stars reads, 3.5 stars reads, Featured

Retro Friday is a meme hosted at Angieville and focuses on reviewing books from the past. This can be an old favorite, an under-the-radar book you think deserves more attention, something woefully out of print, etc. Everyone is welcome to join in at any time!

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Being Nikki : Runaway : by Meg Cabot
Genre : YA, Fiction with a touch of science-fiction
Series : Book 2 & 3 in the Airhead series

On Goodreads : Being Nikki and Runaway

My Thoughts :

Whenever I start reviewing a series on the blog, I feel that I need to review the following books too (if I don’t drop the series, of course!) Which is why today I decided to feature books 2 and 3 in the Airhead series for Retro Friday.

I read and reviewed Airhead, the first book in the series, in 2010 (you can find my review at the bottom of this post). I called it “fun, intriguing and entertaining”, and was captivated enough that I went on to read the following books soon after. Both were one-day-readings, and though the second one definitely suffered the sophomore book syndrome, I really enjoyed it. Meg Cabot is a favorite author of mine, (even though I still have plenty of her books to read!) which is another reason why I really wanted to do this post!

When I look at the notes I took while reading these books, oh so long ago, one of the words that comes up a lot is “twists”. There are many surprises in this story, which took turns I didn’t expect. Yes, the romance part of the story was a little predictable, but that’s usually how they go. I still really liked sweet and down-to-earth Em, although there were a few moments where she definitely would have needed someone to give her a good kick in the right direction! But I also feel it is the burden of Meg Cabot’s characters to often be unaware of what’s happening around them, so in that sense, maybe Em is just what a Cabot fan would be expecting!

If I had to use one word to describe the series it would be : fun. It’s not dark and serious and questioning the world or society, like most YA books do right now with the trend of dystopia. And you know I love dystopian universes, but sometimes, it’s also fun to sit and read something completely silly and light like the Airhead series. If you want a series where you can just turn your brain off and relax, this might be the one for you!

Series Reading Order :

Airhead
Being Nikki
Runaway

Tags: contemporary, fiction, read in 2010, science fiction, Young Adults

1 Comment

Review : Perception

Published on May 6, 2012 by Kay in 3.5 stars reads, Featured

Perception by Kim Harrington
Pages : 275
Genre : YA, Mystery, Paranormal
Series : Clarity, Book 2
My Rating :

What it’s about :

Clare’s life has never been normal: she’s always been the weird psychic girl the other kids wanted nothing to do with.

Things have changed after the events of the last summer though : people who used to whisper behind Clare’s back suddenly make friends with her, and two boys are now trying to win her heart.

Then, secret messages and gifts start to appear on her doorstep, in her locker. As the messages get more and more insisting, Clare feels the danger is real and starts doubting even the people close to her. Can she find her mysterious stalker before it’s too late?

My Thoughts :

Like its predecessor Clarity, Perception was a fun, quick and intriguing read. Clare was still as likable, and I love that she is quite the logical girl with just a touch of snark. She thinks things through and seem to be well aware of her own limitations. Same thing goes for her love interests : while she was having a hard time choosing one, I could relate to the emotions that had her hesitate. I’m grown tired of love triangles over the years, but this one kept things real enough that I actually enjoyed it.

The paranormal aspect of the novel was again very subtle – perhaps even more than in the first novel – leaving more place to the mystery and the characters. The fact that Clare has grown up with her power in the open, perceived as a freak, ironically makes her less of a freak show as a main character. She is such a regular girl, and her powers are almost useless in her situation. She also has a great relationship with her family, even though this, too, comes with a few difficulties.

While I enjoyed the read, I have to say I found the mystery’s solution a lot more obvious this time around. In Clarity, the suspects were numerous and I couldn’t settle on one single ending; I had a handful of suspects I imagined could be the culprit, and though one of them turned out to be guilty one, it was almost pure luck that had me guess it right. In Perception, I had a very strong hunch about one particular suspect. I still enjoyed the book, but it made the ending predictable.

I really liked that Clare had new friends – thought friends isn’t always the word you would use to describe them – and I particularly liked Mallory. She was a tad strange, but her personality felt compatible to Clare’s. She was a great addition and, if there is a third novel in the series (I am still a little unsure about this), I hope we get to see a lot more of her.

I believe fans of Clarity will be pleased with this second story with this sequel to Clarity. While the mystery part was a little disappointing to me, the characters still had a great chemistry, the romance had me guessing and the final scenes had plenty of action. I really hope we get to read more of Clare’s story in a near future!

Series reading order :

Clarity
Perception

Tags: mystery, paranormal, read in 2012, Young Adults

1 Comment

Review : Plague

Published on May 4, 2012 by Kay in 3.5 stars reads

Plague by Michael Grant
Pages : 352
Genre : YA, Speculative Fiction
Sêries : Gone, Book 4
My Rating :

From the back of the book :

They’ve survived hunger. They’ve survived lies. But the stakes keep rising, and the dystopian horror keeps building. Yet despite the simmering unrest left behind by so many battles, power struggles, and angry divides, there is a momentary calm in Perdido Beach.

But enemies in the FAYZ don’t just fade away, and in the quiet, deadly things are stirring, mutating, and finding their way free. The Darkness has found its way into the mind of its Nemesis at last and is controlling it through a haze of delirium and confusion. A highly contagious, fatal illness spreads at an alarming rate. Sinister, predatory insects terrorize Perdido Beach. And Sam, Astrid, Diana, and Caine are plagued by a growing doubt that they’ll escape – or even survive – life in the FAYZ. With so much turmoil surrounding them, what desperate choices will they make when it comes to saving themselves and those they love?

My Thoughts :

This review should have been published long ago! I read Plague (and wrote the review’s outline) almost a year ago and, like the previous books in the series, quickly went through the story. It was a stream of action, terror and twists like only Grant can do it. With monsters and plague and food crisis, there is almost nothing these kids haven’t faced. Stephen King’s blurb on the cover doesn’t surprise me, as Michael Grant has a similar style of writing and world building, with a great cast of complex characters.

However, Plague wasn’t my favorite of the series. To this day, I still have stronger memories of Lies, the third novel, than of Plague. While it was action-packed and full of fantastically gory scenes, I realized that I was getting a little tired of the characters. Sam is always whining one way or the other it seems, and it is time for Astrid to take a good look at herself. I want to root for them, and I love that they are complex, non-perfect characters, but I need to see a little more of their good sides. Even if they are in a very, very dark place with almost no hope left. This being said, they still aren’t the worst of what’s left in the FAYZ, and though human conflict exposes the worst of their humanity, their crisis also forces them in an extreme survival mode that we can only admire.

There was a lot happening and a lot of developments in this book, both for the characters and the story. I felt like a lot of these aspects were bridges between Lies and Fear - which is now sitting of my shelf, waiting to be read. It wasn’t a lack of focus, exactly, but these “bridges” were definitely tracing the way for the coming two books.

The ending was really strong though, and turning the last page, I wanted to read the next book right away. Grant really has a way to keep you on your toes, wondering what’s coming next. I plan on finding out really soon – and I’ll try to post the review a little faster this time!

Series Reading Order :

Gone
Hunger
Lies
Plague
Fear
Light (coming 2013)

Tags: horror, read in 2011, speculative fiction, Young Adults

2 Comments

Review : Glimmer

Published on May 1, 2012 by kay in 3.5 stars reads

Glimmer by Phoebe Kitanidis
Pages : 352
Genre : YA, Paranormal
Stand Alone
My Rating :

What it’s about :

A girl and a boy wake up together in bed. Both are confused and lost; neither of them know who they are, where they are or why they are there. They remember how to talk, walk and use objects, but they have lost any memory that could give them information about their personal life.

After some suspicion on both parts, they decide to work together to solve the mystery that is their lives. Soon they discover that Summer Falls is no usual town, and that their memory loss might be only one of many mysteries…

My Thoughts :

I wasn’t sure what to expect when I cracked open Glimmer; fantasy, paranormal, science-fiction, aliens? Or what? I was kind of in a “meh, whatever” mood and Glimmer looked intriguing enough to pull me out of that bored state of mind. I am happy to report that it did, and with great success!

From the start, the story is intriguing. We do not know the main characters’ names (we learn later that they are Elyse and Marshall), and both are terrified and suspicious of each other. I often complain about dual narratives, but in this case, I felt it worked well enough : it gives us a better insight into each of their story than a third person narration would have. You can see how they react to each other, and though their voices are similar, their personalities are different enough.

Elyse and Marshall quickly bond over their peculiar situation (maybe a tad too quicly?) and as a team, they start to investigate. And then things become even more interesting : not only the two of them have lost any memory related to their identities, but the town where they find themselves is weird. Elyse sees some people where Marshall sees no one – until these people connect to Marshall and blue sparks fly. Summer Falls’ residents are also all a bit too cheery and distracted – so much so that, despite their condition, Elyse and Marshall almost feel like they are the only normal people left.

The beauty of Glimmer is that it mixes a little of everything; paranormal, magic, the town’s strange history, heatnaps, creepy characters, and a mystery that keeps you reading past your bed time. Elyse and Marshall’s quest for truth gets even more interesting when they have to face who they were before losing their memories, their qualities and, most importantly, their faults. And while they both have a complicate family situation, I have to say that Elyse’s broke my heart a little.

In the end, I really enjoyed Glimmer. Though I found the ending a little too rushed and filled with too much information, it had a strong conclusion that answered all important questions. I am also thrilled that Glimmer is a stand alone novel! I read enough series as it is. But I do hope I get to read more stories coming from Kitanidis’ fabulous imagination.

Tags: fiction, mystery, paranormal, read in 2012, Young Adults

1 Comment

Review : The Summer of Skinny Dipping

Published on April 15, 2012 by kay in 3.5 stars reads

The Summer of Skinny Dipping by Amanda Howells
Pages : 295
Genre : YA, Fiction
Stand Alone
My Rating :

What it’s about :

Mia couldn’t be more excited to be spending her summer in the Hamptons with her family; she loves the beach and the sea, and she has always been close to her cousin Corinne. She envisions a summer of fun, secrets and laughs… until she gets there and realize her cousin has changed since the last time she saw her. Stuck with Corinne, her sister and her friend, whose snobby attitude makes her more self-conscious than ever, Mia tries to accept that her summer won’t be as she had hoped.

Then she meets Simon, their summer neighbor. Though she’s at first unsure of him, their walks under the moon allow her to trust him, and their friendship quickly turns into something more…

My Thoughts :

It’s been said by many readers that The Summer of Skinny Dipping is no fluffy read. I can now confirm this; despite its summery cover and premise, this book isn’t one I would qualify as a fun beach read – nor is it really a romance, despite “falling in love” being a very important part of it. It will definitely bring summer to you; I could feel the sand and smell the sea through the pages and it did make me wish I was there. However, there is a lot more depth to Mia’s coming-of-age story, and while the book can easily be read in a day, it’s definitely not one to get you up when you feel down.

As the main character, Mia was an interesting one and one that I could relate to – not as I am in the present, but as I was when I was her age. My first thought was that she was naive, but I really prefer the word innocent to describe her. She is at that point in her life where her perception of the world is facing reality, and the last threads of her innocence are slowly broken. Through the events of that summer, she learns that things are not always as they seem, and that the people she envy might not be as perfect as they look.

Though her outlook on life still has this innocence, Mia is also an over-thinker. She questions everything and imagines the different outcomes, and that’s why I can’t consider her naive. She definitely perceives that something is going on with her family, but she never knows what until she is told. When you read a novel that is narrated by the main character, you are asked to believe their version of the story; in this case, it was interesting when Mia realized that she didn’t know her family that well, because the stories she had fabricated about them – and narrated repetitively as truths – do not match the reality.

The narration felt very intimate and quiet, giving the book a very slow pace. Until the end, the story had very few surprising turns. Mia’s romance with Simon develops at a nice pace (no insta-love!) and I could appreciate that they were friends first. I was surprised by how well Simon’s character was described from Mia’s point of view. I felt the author had a very clear view of him and allowed him to be an individual, rather than just a pretext for romance.

I guessed the ending very early in the book, and I’m still not sure whether it’s a good thing or not. Predictability can be either, really; if we compare to movies, you can enjoy thrillers that are surprising and twisted, but prefer romantic comedies to end with the predictable happily ever after. In this case, I don’t know; I think the ending would have hit me more strongly if I hadn’t seen it coming, but knowing it created a tension that was almost unbearable.

The Summer of Skinny Dipping surprised me in a positive way. While I wish the pacing would have hold my attention a little better, its story is powerful and its narration is full of heart. I also think it offers interesting possibilities for discussions about self-worth, happiness and identity.

Tags: fiction, read in 2012, Young Adults

5 Comments

Review : Trial by Fire

Published on March 6, 2012 by kay in 3.5 stars reads

Trial by Fire by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Pages : 357
Genre : YA, Urban Fantasy
Series : Raised by Wolves, Book 2
My Rating :

What it’s about :

Bryn is barely settling into her new role as pack alpha when an unexpected were visitor steps on her land, close to death. His arrival is a danger in itself : Bryn can’t claim someone else’s wolf, yet she feels the need to protect him. Before she can decide whether he should stay or go, Bryn has to discover the true meaning of his presence, and face some new characters with unexpected talents.

My Thoughts :

In my very humble opinion, Trial by Fire wasn’t as good as Raised by Wolves has been, but it was still a very solid second volume in the series. Unlike so many others, it didn’t feel like a filler between book one and book three, but offered instead an interesting progression in Bryn’s story.

Again, I did feel that the book had a slow start. I’m not sure how to explain it, but it feels as if the author had all the pieces for the first part of the puzzle, but wasn’t sure how to fit them together; so instead of taking the time to fit them properly, she took a stick of glue and just stuck them together. I hope this isn’t too harsh of a comparison, because the author did hook me from the start and I was immediately intrigued by the newcomer, Lucas. Still, some parts of the introduction flow nicely, but some parts are very choppy; it’s a fault I found in the first book that I noticed here again, although not as strongly. Once the story gets going though, the pace is smoother and much more enjoyable.

I like Bryn, I really do. As a new pack alpha, she had a lot of responsibilities and difficult decisions to take, a position I did not envy. But she was strong and knew when to ask for help – and how to do it when laws made it difficult for her to reach out. I have to say I was a lot more interested by this aspect of her life than in her romance with Chase. In some ways, Chase is so disconnected from the pack’s reality that I found it really hard to connect to him. Bryn feels like she knows him in a unique way, because they survived and fought the same things, but for me Chase is still a close book. I don’t get him, and I don’t see how I could.

I really appreciated that the author brought an unexpected cast of new characters to the story, that were not wolves. I won’t say much more about it, because I want to make this as spoiler free as possible, but it opened up a lot of possibilities for future story lines while explaining a lot more about Bryn’s adoptive mother.

Trial by Fire was an entertaining novel filled with action and twists. Barnes delivers not only unexpected visitors but also unexpected turns in a story that kept me guessing. I enjoy to have a paranormal YA series that is focused less on the romance, and I’m hoping Taken by Storm will be available soon!

Series Reading Order :