Illuminated - Orloff

Illuminated

Erica Orloff

Callie's about to spend the summer before her senior year in New York City with her Uncle Henry. She thought that being a glorified assistant at his auction house would be the highlight of her three month stay until she meets August and they embark on an adventure to find the owner of an old and mysterious book.

At first glance Illuminated sounds interesting. YA mixed with a bookish mystery that could rival The Shadow of the Wind. Unfurtuneatly all the back cover left me with was broken promises. Illuminated is 99% unbelievable romance, and when I say unbelievable I mean texts in the middle of the night saying "I'm thinking of you" after knowing each other for five hours and dialogue that would make a wedge of cheese cringe.

When Callie, August and her Uncle Henry (who is clearly the best, most believable character) actually talk about the illuminated manuscript that the story claims to focus on there are some interesting moments. Since these frail pages may have belonged to Heloise and Abelard's son Astrolabe the historical exposition is interesting, especially if you don't know much about the star crossed lovers and their less than desirable fates. However, these moments are few and far between. Even the search for proof proves unsatisfying. A trip to Paris that is set up to be rife with danger turns into little more than a typical vacation, with a rarely mentioned villain never gracing the reader with their presence.

Overall I'd recommend you stay away from Illuminated if you are interested in anything but a cheesy teenage love story, because that's really all you are going to get from these 244 pages.

The Hunger Games - Collins

The Hunger Games

Suzanne Collins

I kept putting off reading The Hunger Games. Catching Fire had come out when I just started blogging and the whole internet seemed to be obsessed with these YA books that appeared to be equal parts love story and drama. Of course I was wrong, and of course it took me another three years to finally get around to reading  the series (I'm in the middle of Catching Fire now!) and am totally jumping on the bandwagon.

For those of you who don't know, The Hunger Games is set in a future version of North America called Panem, where the area has been split up into 12 Districts. As a result of a prior rebellion each year the Districts have to send two tributes, A boy and a girl between the ages of 12 and 18 to compete in the Hunger Games as punishment. The Hunger Games are a fight to the death with only one winner. Katniss Everdeen, a 16 year old from District 12 takes the place of her sister Prim when her name is called against all odds. From then on Katniss is a tribute, and even though she's from a District that hasn't won in 24 years that doesn't mean she won't be a fierce competitor.

Like I said earlier, I wasn't sure about this series. Maybe it was because Twilight had made me weary of anything classified as a YA Series, with "Team" shippers, or maybe I hadn't yet learned to trust the amazing bloggers I follow to post honest reviews, but in the end it was my loss. The Hunger Games is short, around 370 pages, and each page is jam packed with a story that is compelling, even if it's easy to see where the book will end.

While I'm not a fan of Katniss as a character I do love Collins focus on character development and how it interacts with the very limited perspective Katniss as a narrator offers. Her fellow tributes are equal parts terrifying and intriquing because she has such limited knowledge of them. Even a character like Peeta can grow from being a mostly dull pretty face to a futuristic romeo figure without it becoming cliche.

I'm glad I finally joined the Hunger Games club, and am crazy excited to see the movie next Friday (okay, I thought it actually came out yesterday and had a minor fit when I realized I was wrong). It's totally worth a trip to your local library if your still not sold on the premise. It's a fast, fun read that you won't be able to put down, and if your like me you'll be running to your nearest bookstore to pick up Catching Fire within the week.

The Looking Glass Wars

The Looking Glass Wars

Frank Beddor

Alice is really Alyss, and wonderland isn't anything like Carrol wrote. Wonderland has been taken over by Redd, Alyss's aunt and Alyss is stuck in Victorian London where nobody believes in Wonderland. Now Alyss must be brought back to lead the Alyssians  who have been fighting in her name and defeat Redd and her Black Imagination.

Now, I was never a huge fan of Alice in Wonderland. I didn't like the book, I didn't like the Disney movie and I get sick of all of the references of going 'down the rabbit hole', but I did enjoy Beddor's interpretation. I liked Alyss's growth. At times the writing was a little to fast paced for me, glossing over major events and relaying on a timeline in the back to give out information about Redd's Reign. For me, the only thing I liked about the original Wonderland was how classic and beautiful it seemed. This Wonderland still has its charms, but this are shinny and new and remind me of futuristic weapons. The story was well thought out. Even when I wasn't enjoying what I was reading I was very interested in how things would resolve themselves. It was an enjoyable enough read, not something I plan on picking up again and not something I would be willing to spend much money on.

My Ratings:

3/5