Genesis by Bernard Beckett

Rating: Wide Eyed - 4/5

Release Date: March 24th, 2009

Publishers: McClelland & Stewart

Pages: 185

Source: Bought

Series: Stand Alone

First, a quick summary from Goodreads: 

“‘Explain to us why you wish to enter The Academy.’” 

Anaximander, a young Academy candidate, is put through a gruelling exam. Her special subject: the life of Adam Forde, her long-dead hero. 

It’s late in the 21st century and the island Republic has emerged from a ruined, plague-ridden world, its citizens safe, but not free, and living in complete isolation from outside contact. Approaching planes are gunned down, refugees shot on sight.

Until a man named Adam Forde rescued a girl from the sea.

“Anaximander, we have asked you to consider why it is you would like to join the Academy. Is your answer ready?”

To answer that question, Anaximander must struggle with everything she has ever known about herself and her beloved Republic’s history, the nature of being human, of being conscious, and even what it means to have a soul.

And when everything has been laid bare, she must confront the Republic’s last great secret, her own surprising link to Adam Forde, and the horrifying truth about her world."

Genesis packs quite a large punch for such a small book. Touching upon issues such as Ethics, Morals and what it means to be human, Genesis proved to be a really amazing and insightful read for me.

Anax is a girl with a particular interest in Adam Forde. Continuously, Anax visits a hill side to watch the sunset so she can feel more connected to her idol of the past.  One day, she meets a man up there who also has an interest in Adam Forde and he begins to tutor her for the Academy.

This is the story of - not only Anax's audition for the Academy - but also a re-telling of the story of Anax's hero, Adam Forde.

During the audition Anax has three breaks when she gets to re-collect her thoughts, and the judges converse with each other to see in which direction the questioning should be done.

DUring the questioning periods is when you get to know Adam's story and a little bit of how Anax thinks, but for the most part we get to know Anax during the breaks. Where she came from, why she has a love for Adam and why she wants to get into the Academy.

I think that's what made the ending for Genesis all the more epic/awesome/surprising for me. How completely and incredibly ironic the ending was for Anax.

Genesis is a book I would easily recommend to anyone who likes those reads that leave a big impression on you for quite a while.

Elemental by Brigid Kemmerer

Rating: Wide Eyed - 4/5

Release Date: March 27th, 2012

Publishers: Kensington

Pages: 50

Source: Bought

Series: Elemental #0.5 

First, a quick summary from Goodreads:

"As an air Elemental, 17-year-old Emily Morgan doesn’t have much power. That’s okay—she knows what happens to kids who do.

Like Michael Merrick. He’s an earth Elemental, one with enough power to level cities. Which makes him sexy. Dangerous. And completely off limits. At least according to Emily’s family.

But her summer job puts her in close contact with Michael, and neither of them can help the attraction they feel. When forces of nature like theirs collide, one misstep could get someone killed. Because Emily’s family doesn’t just want her to stay away from him.

They want him dead."

A Mini Review For A Mini Book! 

Elemental was surprisingly edge-of-your-seat worth for such a short novella! The relationship between the two characters was built up really well for the small number of pages. I was glad to see that at least one of the Morgan's wasn't all bad. 

If you're thinking of reading this book before Storm, I would suggest that you wait till afterwards. While it doesn't really spoil it, it does take away from some of the doubt and mystery that Storm aims to achieve.

In the end, Elemental is a short, entertaining read that will help put your Merrick craving at ease. :)

Storm by Brigid Kemmerer

Rating: Wide Eyed - 4/5

Release Date: April 24th, 2012

Publishers: Kensington

Pages: 353

Source: Bought

Series: Elemental #1

First, a quick summary from Goodreads:

"Becca Chandler is suddenly getting all the guys - all the ones she doesn't want. Ever since her ex-boyfriend spread those lies about her. Then she saves Chris Merrick from a beating in the school parking lot. Chris is different. Way different: he can control water just like his brothers can control fire, wind, and earth. They're powerful. Dangerous. Marked for death.

And now that she knows the truth, so is Becca.

Secrets are hard to keep when your life's at stake. When Hunter, the mysterious new kid around school, turns up with a talent for being in the wrong place at the right time, Becca thinks she can trust him. But then Hunter goes head-to-head with Chris, and Becca wonders who's hiding the most dangerous truth of all.

The storm is coming."

One day, Becca stays late after school and on her way to her car she witnesses the youngest of the Merrick brothers getting a pretty nasty beating. Unable to ignore the situation, Becca makes some bad-ass decisions and decides to help out Chris. After chasing the bullies away, Becca sees Chris' state and gives him some water... Little did she know that this act of kindness would completely turn her life around.

Right from there, the plot takes off and never slows down. Often I felt like I barely had any room to breathe the pacing was so fast in this book. But that was something that I didn't mind and really enjoyed about this it. For me, it's the plot that kept me reading, not the characters.

While the characters were admirable, I found that they were a little bit too teen-angsty for my taste and made some pretty stupid choices. Hunter would have probably been the most level-headed and the only character that I continued to root for throughout the book.

If you don't mind a good scrap (because quite a few punches were thrown in this book due to the high levels of testosterone), and fast-paced action with epic elemental powers thrown into the book, I would definitely recommend this book to you. I really liked this book and I can't wait to read the second book in the series, Spark!

Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dennard

Rating: Wide Eyed - 4/5

Release Date: July 24th, 2012

Publishers: Harper Teen

Pages: 388

Source: Won off of Twitter

Series: Something Strange and Deadly #1

First, a quick summary from Goodreads:

"The year is 1876, and there’s something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia...

Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about. Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she’s just read in the newspaper—

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor…from her brother.

Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she’ll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including their maddeningly stubborn yet handsome inventor, Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance."

Eleanor isn't your typical 18th century kind of girl. Not only does she have social status, money and family problems, but she also has to deal with the Dead. That may just happen to have her brother held captive. As a result, Eleanor decides to seek out the help of the Spirit-Hunters despite everyone's talk against the low-class scallywags.

Something Strange and Deadly hooked my right from the start. Once I started, I found it extremely hard to put down, and when I did I couldn't stop thinking about it. Every single character had depth and the plot pacing was fantastic. The only real problem I had with this book was its setting.

Eleanor didn't really seem to fit into her 18th century, high-class role. I don't just mean in the sense that she considered herself a misfit, but I just found her too different right off the bat. And the weird thing is, no one seemed to look down on her for it. While her family was outcast-ed for having to fake their wealth, I don't think Eleanor as a character was really as much of an outcast as she made herself out to be. It may have been better if Eleanor had been from the low-class straight from the get-go. I feel like her character would have fit better there.

But aside from that, this book really was fantastic! The ending wrapped up everything nice and neat for you, yet still had you yearning for the next book in the series. I definitely can't wait for Dennard's next book!

Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Rating: Wide Eyed - 4/5

Release Date: April 5th, 2011

Publishers: Dutton Juvenile 

Pages: 264

Source: Bought

Series: Companion to If I Stay

First, a quick summary from Goodreads:

"It's been three years since the devastating accident . . . three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever.

Now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Juilliard's rising star and Adam is LA tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chance brings the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future-and each other."

Picking up three years after If I Stay, we follow Adam's character and how he has somehow managed to go from his dream life to a life where he can barely manage to make it through each day. Ever since him and Mia broke up, he's had a loss of self, but by either coincidence or fate, Adam gets to see Mia one last time so he can finally get some closure.

It was definitely interesting to see what happened to Adam and Mia after the final page of If I Stay. The book was really sweet and cute and short and I just loved the ending! Unfortunately, I picked this book up right after My Life Next Door and I just couldn't help but compare the two the whole time. As a result, I wasn't able to enjoy Where She Went as much as I could have since I was thinking about Fitzpatrick's debut novel the whole time I was reading this book.

So Close to You by Rachel Carter

Rating: Wide Eyed - 4/5

Publisher: HarperTeen

Release Date: July 10th, 2012

Pages: 313

First, a quick summary from Goodreads:

Lydia Bentley has heard stories about the Montauk Project all her life: stories about the strange things that took place at the abandoned military base near her home and the people who've disappeared over the years. Stories about people like her own great-grandfather. 

When Lydia stumbles into a portal that transports her to a dangerous and strange new reality, she discovers that all the stories she's ever heard about the Montauk Project are true, and that she's in the middle of one of the most dangerous experiments in history. 

Alongside a darkly mysterious boy she is wary to trust, Lydia begins to unravel the secrets surrounding the Project. But the truths behind these secrets force her to question all her choices--and if Lydia chooses wrong, she might not save her family but destroy them . . . and herself.

Lydia has a close relationship with her grandfather. She never turns him down when he asks her to go on one of his search & (hopefully) rescue missions to Camp Hero. Lydia's grandfather - Peter - lost his father at the age of seven, and he's never been able to let it go. Peter is convinced that his father's disappearance wasn't due to war, but rather the "Montauk Project," rumored to have taken place at Camp Hero.

But of course, like everybody else, Lydia believes her grandfather has become a little too obsessed with his search for clues - until she one day forgets her sweater. When she goes back to retrieve it, she makes a decision that will change not only her life, but as well as her grandfather's life forever.

After stumbling her way into a time machine that brings her back six days before her great-grandfather's disappearance, Lydia makes the only decision she can. She decides to find out what happened to her great-grandfather, and stop it.

I had never heard of this book before I entered a contest on Goodreads in hopes of winning myself a copy. And boy, was I happy when I did! So before I get started on my review, I'd just like to thank Harper Collins, Goodreads and Rachel Carter for giving me the opportunity to win this book. Really, thanks. :)

Lydia is a great main character, she describes the differences between our time and the 1940s so well, it's practically tangible. The writing in this book was absolutely FLAWLESS. I'm still awe-struck with how amazing it was. Everything flowed so easily and nothing felt out of place while reading So Close to You.

Lydia's character was completely believable, too. Instead of stepping into the 1940s and everything being fine and dandy, it was obvious to me that she was out of place. Everything from the way that she talked, to the way she was completely blown away by the designs they used to label canned goods back in the day.

Her relationship with Wes, on the other hand, didn't quite sit right with me. I couldn't really understand why Lydia was so smitten with him when she had only seen him a few brief times during the book. I almost feel as if she put him up on some kind of pedestal that he's not going to be able to live up to in the second book (which I can't wait for, by the way!).

The plot was pretty decently paced as well, it wasn't edge-if-your-seat worthy, but it definitely wasn't one of those slow, almost unbearable reads. Quite often I found I was reading the book more for the way the book was written than out of care for the plot or characters. Honestly, the writing was my favorite part of the book.

And the ending! Ugh, the ending! Plot twist after plot twist that I didn't see coming AT. ALL. And I kinda felt dumb for not seeing it beforehand.

Butyeah. This book was absolutely SPECTACULAR and the writing was IMPECCABLE. And I am just in love with the way Rachel Carter writes, and I don't think I will ever get over it, and you need to go out and buy this book as soon as it hits shelves so you can see and appreciate her amazing writing capabilities! Such a great book!

The Selection by Kiera Cass

Rating: Wide Eyed - 4/5
Release Date: April 24th, 2012
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 327

First, a quick summary from Goodreads:

" For thirty-five girls, the Selection is the chance of a lifetime. The opportunity to escape the life laid out for them since birth. To be swept up in a world of glittering gowns and priceless jewels. To live in the palace and compete for the heart of the gorgeous Prince Maxon.

But for America Singer, being Selected is a nightmare. It means turning her back on her secret love with Aspen, who is a caste below her. Leaving her home to enter a fierce competition for a crown she doesn't want. Living in a palace that is constantly threatened by violent rebel attacks.

Then America meets Prince Maxon. Gradually, she starts to question all the plans she's made for herself- and realizes that the life she's always dreamed of may not compare to a future she never imagined."

America is a girl who lives in the Fifth caste - a caste full of musicians - and is more than happy with the way her life is. However, when the announcement of the Selection is given - the chance of 35 lucky girls to win over the heart of Prince Maxon, and therefore the crown - her whole life is turned upside down. Pushed by her family, and her secret boyfriend Aspen, America enters the contest reluctantly, but postitive that she's not going to be picked. What are the odds, right?

But of course, she's picked. How else would there be a story if she wasn't?

I really, really liked the way that Cass wrote the scene of America being picked for the Selection. She wasn't even watching the TV when it happened! It only reinforced her belief that she wasn't going to be picked. And the names of all of the characters? America, Aspen, Kota, and a bunch of other names that were just AWESOME. Loved the names of the characters!

America was a strong main character for this book, and I absolutely loved her. Her inexperience of the world outside of her town was brilliant, and even though she was unsure of what was going to happen next, she had a very strong head on her shoulders and always did what she thought was right without even considering the conciquences.

Her and Aspens relationship was hot and... Brief. But between her and Maxon? Ohboy! I really want more of that. I give Cass a million and one kudos for not making it insta-love between the two of them, I absolutely hate when that happens between characters. Because their love for each other was gradual, and down-right hilarious, the love-triangle in the book actually worked! It wasn't one of those annoying things that just pop out of nowhere, and you actually understand America's indecision between Aspen and Maxon (Although the choice is obvious, Team Maxon!).

And although the ending didn't go out with a bang... It still felt very fitting. I was easily satisfied with the ending, and I can say that without a doubt I am SO eager to get my hands on the next book!

Ps; Thanks for acknowledging the late-night readers, Kiera! I happened to be one of those!