Maximum Ride: School's Out Forever

Maximum Ride: School’s Out Forever by James Patterson

Release Date: September 1st, 2009
Publisher: Little Brown Books
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 409
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Brave bird-kid Max and her flock fly south on a perilous quest to find their parents, after having rescued Angel and recovered secret documents about their origins. But just when they think they've finally escaped the hungry claws of evil Erasers, they're discovered by an FBI agent and forced to face perhaps an even worse nightmare: going to school. There's no such thing as an ordinary day when Max's "homework" includes decoding documents, deciphering when (and how) she's supposed to save the world, and learning to face what may be her greatest enemy: herself. A clone. Max II.

This sequel to The Angel Experiment did not leave me disappointed. It picked up right where the first one left off and was a great book.

The character relationships grew even more in this book, and it is even more evident why these bird-kids stick together instead of going off on their own. Even more twists are thrown at the reader as they try to figure out who the true enemy is in this book. There would be a moment of peace for the reader and the bird-kids until some new challenge was thrown at them.

This is definitely a series to keep one’s eyes on. It’s a new and original story written in an easy, fast pace way.

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Vampire Academy

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Release Date: August 16th, 2007
Publisher: Razorbill
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 332
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St. Vladimir's Academy isn't just any boarding school; it's a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They've been on the run, but now they're being dragged back to St. Vladimir's, the very place where they're most in danger. . . .

Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy's ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigos, the world's fiercest and most dangerous vampires make Lissa one of them forever.

After the final book in the Twilight Saga came out, I was thirsty (like many Twilight fans) for more books about Vampires. Scouring the local Barnes and Noble, I found this book and was tentative about buy it. In fact, I didn’t buy it until the third or fourth time of having picked it up. And I’m glad that I finally did.

The plot line is highly entertaining. It took the typical school setting and twisted it into a new world where these characters live. I love the true chemistry between Rose and Dimitri even though it’s forbidden. The typical bad boy character is somewhat new since Christian isn’t the ‘loner’ because of his own choices, but because of the opinions of his peers about his parents.

The overall story was great. I can’t wait for Blood Promise to come out.

Reviews for the other books coming soon.

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Catching Fire

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Release Date: September 1st, 2009
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 432
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Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has won the annual Hunger Games with fellow district tribute Peeta Mellark. But it was a victory won by defiance of the Capitol and their harsh rules. Katniss and Peeta should be happy. After all, they have just won for themselves and their families a life of safety and plenty. But there are rumors of rebellion among the subjects, and Katniss and Peeta, to their horror, are the faces of that rebellion. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge.

I received an ARC of this book when a friend sent it to me in the mail after I started my blog. While it wasn’t from Suzanne Collins or Scholastic I was still super excited when I got this book. I have wanted to read this book since I finished reading The Hunger Games little less than a year ago.

Just like The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins threw twists and cliffhangers at the reader left and right. I read this book in one day, staying up until four a.m. simply having to know what happens to Katniss and Peeta. While some questions were answered, she threw out even more questions making the reader beg for an answer before the book is finished. Unfortunately, not all were answered before the book was concluded.

We get a deeper insight into Katniss and her feelings for both Peeta and Gale, which was a big question at the end of Hunger Games. We also see how the two boys respond to her when she comes to cope with her own feelings. We also get a deeper look into characters we thought we had already figured out completely, like Haymitch.

This book was not a disappointment at all. It reached the expectation that Hunger Games left me hunger for, if not excelling it even more. I cannot wait for the next and final book in the series.

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The Spell Book of Listen Taylor

The Spell Book of Listen Taylor by Jaclyn Moriarty

Release Date: September 1st, 2007
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 464
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The Zing family lives in a world of misguided spell books, singular poetry, and state-of-the-art surveillance equipment. They use these things to protect the Zing Family Secret -- one so huge it draws the family to the garden shed for meetings every Friday night.

Into their world comes socially isolated middle grader Listen Taylor, whose father is dating a Zing. Enter Cath Murphy, a young teacher at the elementary school that Cassie Zing attends, suffering from a broken heart. How will the worlds of these two young woman connect? Only the reader can know!

I bought this book a couple months ago when the title of it caught my eye. My first thought that it was some book about witches, even the cover can give that suggestion. However, it was not about witches like Harry Potter was. It was completely different, and yet I was not disappointed.

The characters are completely relatable. I found myself knowing exactly how Listen was feeling as she dealt with the issues of losing friendship of girls she had been friends with her entire life. It was also comforting to watch her overcome the challenges put forth by the book. The other character Cath, helped add a little more purpose to the plot through the added mystery of how she relates to the Zings and Listen’s world.

This book was a fast read. It was fun and lively and it was cool how everything just came together in the end. Definitely a good book.
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