Revived by Cat Patrick

Rating: Starry Eyed - 5/5

Release Date: May 8th, 2012

Publishers: Little, Brown

Pages: 336

Source: Bought

Series: Stand Alone

First, a quick summary from Goodreads:

"As a little girl, Daisy Appleby was killed in a school bus crash. Moments after the accident, she was brought back to life.

A secret government agency has developed a drug called Revive that can bring people back from the dead, and Daisy Appleby, a test subject, has been Revived five times in fifteen years. Daisy takes extraordinary risks, knowing that she can beat death, but each new death also means a new name, a new city, and a new life. When she meets Matt McKean, Daisy begins to question the moral implications of Revive, and as she discovers the agency's true goals, she realizes she's at the center of something much larger — and more sinister — than she ever imagined."

When I first read the summary for this book, I knew without a doubt that I absolutely HAD to get my hands on a copy of Revived. Well, I finally have, and let me tell you how much I absolutely loved this book!

The pacing was amazing, it never had a dull moment. The characters were lovable, I was emotionally invested in every single one of them. And it had short chapters! The one thing that I absolutely love about a book no matter the circumstances is short chapters!

Daisy was such a likable character. She had a good head on her shoulders, she had a love for Matt, Audrey and her dad that I felt right along with her. Patrick has a way of taking your emotions, tying them with strings and controlling them like puppets. All throughout Revived my emotions were at complete and utter mercy of Patrick from the first page to the last.

Something that I found somewhat creepy about the book is the nickname that the participants of the Revived program gave to their manager; "God." I don't know about you, but giving someone that nickname who can bring back the dead... It just gave me the shivers.

All in all, Revived is a spectacular sci-fi - that's right sci-fi (not a dystopian book by a long shot!) - that had me on the edge of my seat from beginning to finish that has me marking down Patrick as one of my favourite author's and I can't wait to check out her first book, Forgotten.

My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick

Rating: Starry Eyed - 5/5

Release Date: June 14th, 2012

Publishers: Young Readers

Pages: 395

Source: Bought

Series: Stand Alone

First, a quick summary from Goodreads: 

“'One thing my mother never knew, and would disapprove of most of all, was that I watched the Garretts. All the time.'

The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, numerous, messy, affectionate. And every day from her balcony perch, seventeen-year-old Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer evening, Jase Garrett climbs her terrace and changes everything. As the two fall fiercely in love, Jase's family makes Samantha one of their own. Then in an instant, the bottom drops out of her world and she is suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?"

Let me start by absolutely gushing about how phenomenal this book is. Sam is an awesome girl and completely relate-able. Joel is just the most perfect, understandable, honest and cutest person anyone could ever dream of having. And George. Ohmygoodness, George. George is a marvelous character. I cannot express my fondness of him within this review. He is so cute and so innocent and so awesome that he alone nearly makes the book. And Patsy! Cute little Patsy! I loved her one-liners, she was so adorable for a little baby and I couldn't help but laugh with her whenever she got a big grin on her face.

Now, when I dove into this book, I expected it to be a cute, fun, light kind of read. But holy crap, it was SO much more than that! My Life Next Door is just full of really tough choices and family and friendship and absolutely everything that relates to the life of a teen trying to figure herself out. This book is truly, truly a beautiful thing.

I could keep going, but I'm just going to end up spouting out more gushy reasons why I am absolutely in love with this book. If you haven't read it yet, I would definitely do so right this second. It's worth the twenty dollars it costs in hardcover edition.

Erebos by Ursula Poznanski

Rating: Starry Eyed - 5/5

Release Date: January 19th, 2012

Publishers: Annick Press

Pages: 434

Source: Bought

Series: This is the only one! Hurray for stand-alones!

First, a quick summary from Goodreads: 

An intelligent computer game with a disturbing agenda.
When 16-year-old Nick receives a package containing the mysterious computer game Erebos, he wonders if it will explain the behavior of his classmates, who have been secretive lately. Players of the game must obey strict rules: always play alone, never talk about the game, and never tell anyone your nickname.

Curious, Nick joins the game and quickly becomes addicted. But Erebos knows a lot about the players and begins to manipulate their lives. When it sends Nick on a deadly assignment, he refuses and is banished from the game.

Now unable to play, Nick turns to a friend for help in finding out who controls the game. The two set off on a dangerous mission in which the border between reality and the virtual world begins to blur. This utterly convincing and suspenseful thriller originated in Germany, where it has become a runaway bestseller.

Erebos is about a kid named Nick who's friend Colin seems to suddenly disappear without notice. Once Nick finds out that it's some copied disk that's made Colin hole up in his room for the past few weeks, Nick is determined to get his hands on a copy and eventually he does. Eager to try out his copied CD of Erebos, Nick doesn't waste his time on popping it in his computer and becomes addicted himself. After that, the story truly comes alive as we watch Nick level up his character by questionable means and find out how evil this game really is.

The story or Erebos is so incredibly creepy and yet so intensely captivating at the same time. I really, really, really loved this book! After having read a bit of the book before bed, I couldn't help but close it and marvel at the cover for a bit. But never for too long... The eye would always creep me out after reading it.

Admittiedly, I was a game junky myself a couple of years ago. Addictions like this do happen, and it's really scary to watch it and experience it first hand while still being conscience of what's going on. As Nick ran around in Erebos as Sarius, I felt as if I was the one playing, not Nick. And it was marvelous. The game seems to have a mind of its own, giving logical answers to any question asked of it.

Nick really jumps off of the page for me as well. He's a great character to experience the story of Erebos with. Half the time I felt like I was Nick. I would feel his anger when his parents interrupted him. His indecision when the messenger gave him his new orders. His disappointment when he didn't do as well as he hoped. By the end of the book, I felt like I had been friends with Nick for a long time. Almost as if I knew him inside and out.

Plus, this book is so unique. I've never read anything like this before, and considering how many books I've read in my lifetime, that's saying something. The only issue I really had with this book was the randomness of the ending. The identity of one of the players completely threw me off. I also thought it was kind of random how Erebos was mapped out in terms of the real world. Maybe not random, but just... Odd? I don't know. But all over the good in this book over-shadowed these small details. I was still greatly satisfied with the ending of this book and I would easily recommend it to anyone!

On a side note... This book originated in Germany, so it's kind of expensive for a paperback at $19.95... But believe me, it's so worth the money. And you can always get it discounted if you order it online! A truly unique & captivating story that just hooks you in right from the beginning.