ARC Review | Some Kind of Magic by Adrian Fogelin

Format: e-ARC
Source: Publisher via Netgalley
Publication: April 1, 2015
Publisher: Peachetree Publishers
Pages: 192
My Rating: 1.5 out of 5 stars

It's the summer before high school starts for Cass, Jemmie, Ben, and Justin, the neighborhood kids readers met in Crossing Jordan. Ben worries the break will be routine, until his little brother Cody finds a hat left by their missing uncle. The hat leads them to a lost house in the woods. They don't suspect the house with a tragic past might nudge them toward the future.

My Review

Something to Note: I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Characters: The boys (Ben and Justin): The guys in the group were my favorite, but that really isn't saying much. They seemed really whiny and I just wasn't interested in with what they were saying or doing throughout the book. Ben was just an older brother, who I get wanted his time with his friends, but he just complained way too much and it was irritating. Justin was okay, I liked how he was his own person (at times), but he was too worried about Jemmie.

The girls (Jemmie and Cass): These girls, my oh my, where do I begin? I get that they are just 8th graders, but they were so whiny. All Cass wanted was love, and Jemmie was just a side character that fell flat. I think so much could have came from Jemmie, but I think Cass over-shadowed her with her complaints and need for Ben.

Cody (yes, he has his own spot, aside from 'the boys'): Cody was my saving grace in this book. Everything he did was so adorable and I enjoyed reading each part from him. He was so intrigued with learning new things and I felt like he added so much to this book (which was much needed). He wanted nothing but to find his uncle and I found every idea that he through the gangs way was better than any other person he had. He was rational (yes, more rational then his older brother and friends), but he was so funny and I just wanted to give him a big hug. Thank you Cody for allowing me to finish this book.

My Thoughts: This book had so much potential. I really liked the plot and the whole idea, but it fell flat on it's face. The characters were lack luster and I just did not get into it very much. Everything was wrapped up so quickly which was so bad because I wanted something more to come out of it. But, on pointless parts there was so much time spent. The descriptions and additional time spent on some areas could have been spent at so many different areas.

I don't really have much to say about this book because I was so disappointed. From above you can see that I only really cared about Cody, and he is the reason I didn't DNF this book. I could go on and on about what I didn't like, but I don't see any use. It was just too slow and didn't really go anywhere for me. 

One Line Wrap Up: An adventurous book that didn't really take you on an adventure.

DNF Review | The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson

 Format: e-ARC
Source: Publisher via Netgalley
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication Date: July 1, 2014
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Girls started vanishing in the fall, and now winter's come to lay a white sheet over the horror. Door County, it seems, is swallowing the young, right into its very dirt. From beneath the house on Water Street, I've watched the danger swell.

The residents know me as the noises in the house at night, the creaking on the stairs. I'm the reflection behind them in the glass, the feeling of fear in the cellar. I'm tied—it seems—to this house, this street, this town.

I'm tied to Maggie and Pauline, though I don't know why. I think it's because death is coming for one of them, or both.

All I know is that the present and the past are piling up, and I am here to dig.I am looking for the things that are buried.

From bestselling author Jodi Lynn Anderson comes a friendship story bound in snow and starlight, a haunting mystery of love, betrayal, redemption, and the moments that we leave behind.

My Thoughts:

Please note that this review is based only on what I read, I DNF’d at 40%.

This book was not what I was expecting….AT ALL. When I read the summary for this book, I was expecting some creepy mysterious ghost story, unfortunately that’s not what I got. I didn’t really care about the characters at all, the plot was too lacking for my taste and I really didn’t understand the whole ghost POV thing.

I hate to say this, but I had a hard time reading this book from the very beginning. Everything was just moving way toooooo slow and I wasn’t getting invested. BUT, I hung in there because I’ve come across books that started out slow like this before and absolutely loved them by the end. However, this just wasn’t the case when it came to this book. I held in there until 40% and I just couldn’t take anymore.

Like I said above I really didn’t care about the characters at all, and since there seemed to be basically no plot, it wasn’t enough to keep me reading. If you’re looking for a thrilling ghost story, then you should probably look somewhere else, because this book isn’t it. But if you’ve read and enjoyed this author’s work before, then you should probably give it a try because you may like it better than I did.

 

 

----Christy

DNF Review | The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Format: Kindle Edition

Source: Purchased

Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers

Publication Date: March 14, 2006

Pages: 552

Goodreads

It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.

Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement.

In superbly crafted writing that burns with intensity, award-winning author Markus Zusak, author of I Am the Messenger, has given us one of the most enduring stories of our time.

This won't be a very long review since I only made it to 14% before I decided to put this book down, I just wanted to share the reasons why I didn't finish this book. 

The Book Thief was recommended to me for January Epic Recs and I've been wanting to read it for a while and I had heard such AMAZING things about so I was excited to get started on it.  Unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations. 

I was expecting to be blown away from the moment I started reading this book and while the writing is very unique, this book was just a little too slow for me.  I'm so disappointed that I couldn't get past 14% because it seems like I'm in the minority, I don't think I've ever come across anyone who didn't like this book.  I just could not get into the story.

Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for this type of book when I was reading it, maybe I'll pick it up in the future and fall in love with it but for right now, it's a DNF for me.  For those of you who have read it, does it pick up? 



Book Review | The Infinite Moment of Us by Lauren Myracle

Format: e-ARC

Source: Netgalley

Publisher: Amulet Books

Publication Date: August 27, 2013

Pages: 336

Goodreads | Amazon

 

For as long as she can remember, Wren Gray’s goal has been to please her parents. But as high school graduation nears, so does an uncomfortable realization: Pleasing her parents once overlapped with pleasing herself, but now... not so much. Wren needs to honor her own desires, but how can she if she doesn’t even know what they are?

Charlie Parker, on the other hand, is painfully aware of his heart’s desire. A gentle boy with a troubled past, Charlie has loved Wren since the day he first saw her. But a girl like Wren would never fall for a guy like Charlie—at least not the sort of guy Charlie believes himself to be.

And yet certain things are written in the stars. And in the summer after high school, Wren and Charlie’s souls will collide. But souls are complicated, as are the bodies that house them...

Sexy, romantic, and oh-so-true to life, this is an unforgettable look at first love from one of young adult fiction’s greatest writers.

This is my first DNF review on the blog and I’m kind of disappointed as I don’t like to DNF books, especially review books, but I will always be completely honest in my reviews.  So since I didn’t finish the book and I don’t feel that I got far enough into the story to give a complete review, I will keep this short and just explain why this book wasn’t for me.  But before I begin, please keep in mind that this review reflects only MY opinion of The Infinite Moment of Us and just because I didn’t enjoy this book that doesn’t mean someone else won’t. 

When I saw the cover and read the summary for The Infinite Moment of Us I couldn’t wait to get my hands on it.  I had never read anything by Lauren Myracle before, but I was sure that I was going to fall in love with this book.  Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.

 After I read the first few pages, I had a feeling that this book wasn’t going to be for me.  Usually, after a few chapters I feel some sort of connection with at least one character, but in this book I didn’t feel anything at all.  And connection to the characters is a big deal for me, because if I don’t feel anything for at least one character, then nine times out of ten I will not enjoy the book.

 Another thing that bothered me was the third person narration, which is weird because normally this doesn’t bother me.  I also found myself skimming paragraphs, I don’t know if this is because I didn’t have that connection or if it was due to the narration, but for whatever reason, I just could not get into the story.