REVIEW: OMG by Kathy Clark and Bob Wernly

Title: OMG (CUL8R #1)

Author: Kathy Clark and Bob Wernly (BobKat)

Publication Date: November 29^th 2012

Publisher: Createspace

Format: E-book

Pages: 182

Rating: 4/5
Blurb: Young Adult first place winner for 2013 of The Best Indie Book Awards and finalist in the Beverly Hills Book Awards for 2013.

OMG is a fast-paced time travel action adventure about four teens who travel back to the past to solve a mystery and save a life but end up risking their own.

OMG begins when Kelly moves to Fort Myers Beach, Florida to live with her aunt and finds hidden treasures and secrets. She quickly becomes friends with her quirky next door neighbor Scott who has a reputation as the school’s number one geek. Scott’s best friend is Austin, the hot and popular quarterback. He joins Scott and Kelly as they embark on an adventure after Scott invents a way to travel back in time to find a girl who has begged for their help. They solve the mystery, but are then faced with the dilemma of whether or not to right a wrong or to let history stand. The four end up on the time travel adventure of their lives.

Review: OMG was sent to ABookSoFathomless by the authors, Kathy and Bob, but my review has not been influenced by this and so everything below are my own opinions.

When Chami and I were first pitched this book, it sounded amazing- a time travel action adventure- how could you possibly get any cooler than that? I’ll admit that my experience with time travel is limited pretty much to Doctor Who so the idea seemed even cooler because of that. While the time travel in this book is completely different, I definitely wasn’t disappointed with it.

I love Kelly as a character- I liked how energetic and positive she was despite the things that had happened to her. I much preferred reading about her starting to rebuild her life in a new place straight away rather than reading her moping around for most of the book. Scott and Austin were both awesome in their own way- I loved how they are almost completely opposite to one another but they still manage to be best friends. I really liked how they were so accepting of Kelly and how they really helped her to settle in.

Like the blurb says, the book is fast-paced and the plot is so unique and enjoyable that the entire book was very easy and quick to read. I especially liked that the time travel wasn’t just about going back in time for the sake of it but it was actually to solve a mystery and ultimately, to save a life. Though they were able to enjoy the time travel and all, I really liked that they had a higher purpose. The actual time travelling itself was written so differently than what I’d been expecting (no blue policebox here) but again, it was believable and unique therefore making the book even more enjoyable.

As for the writing, though the book is obviously written by both Kathy and Bob, I think it was written so smoothly that you really can’t tell any difference between the two. I don’t know how they organised the writing of the book (whether they took it chapter by chapter or whatever) but for me, it all just flowed into each other so nicely that I don’t think you could tell. The style was so easy to read and despite it being a time travel action adventure novel, there weren’t any terms or ideas that were completely foreign to me or that I couldn’t understand. As you can probably imagine, there’s nothing better than reading a book that has a wonderful set of characters, a good plot and an easy writing style.

The sequel, BRB, is waiting patiently for me to read in August which I am completely excited for now! Obviously I’ll be posting a review up for that too but until then, I would definitely recommend that all of you get your hands on this book as soon as possible- it’s completely brilliant.

REVIEW: The Crucible by Arthur Miller

Title: The Crucible

Author: Arthur Miller

Publication Date: March 25^th 2003 (originally published 1953)

Publisher: Penguin Classics

Format: Paperback

Pages: 143

Rating: 4/5
Blurb: "I believe that the reader will discover here the essential nature of one of the strangest and most awful chapters in human history," Arthur Miller wrote of his classic play about the witch-hunts and trials in seventeenth-century Salem, Massachusetts. Based on historical people and real events, Miller's drama is a searing portrait of a community engulfed by hysteria. In the rigid theocracy of Salem, rumors that women are practicing witchcraft galvanize the town's most basic fears and suspicions; and when a young girl accuses Elizabeth Proctor of being a witch, self-righteous church leaders and townspeople insist that Elizabeth be brought to trial. The ruthlessness of the prosecutors and the eagerness of neighbor to testify against neighbor brilliantly illuminate the destructive power of socially sanctioned violence.

Written in 1953, The Crucible is a mirror Miller uses to reflect the anti-communist hysteria inspired by Senator Joseph McCarthy's "witch-hunts" in the United States. Within the text itself, Miller contemplates the parallels, writing, "Political opposition... is given an inhumane overlay, which then justifies the abrogation of all normally applied customs of civilized behavior. A political policy is equated with moral right, and opposition to it with diabolical malevolence."

With an introduction by Christopher Bigsby.

Review: I’m going to suggest now that you should go and read Chami’s review of this play here, because it is way funnier than this one is going to be (it also contains mild spoilers).

I had legitimately never heard of this book before Chami read it for her Literature class, and then suddenly it was everywhere. Despite this, I managed to avoid it until it came up in my own Literature class. I was studying ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’ by Edward Albee and so for my wider reading of the topic I was pointed in the direction of about ten different playwrights- Arthur Miller just happened to be one of the ones that stuck out for me.

Before I actually started reading the play, I knew a little about it from Chami. I knew that it was about ‘witchcraft’ in Salem and I also knew that it was supposed to represent McCarthyism but that was about it- I didn’t know anything about the actual plot or the characters of the play. This was all interesting to me anyway, so I got interested in the actual play pretty much from page one. There was this part of me which was so desperate to find out what happened in the lead up to the play and what was going to happen during the play. I loved how fast-paced everything was- it’s actually one of my favourite things about plays in general, I feel like it wasn’t filled with any unnecessary stuff but rather that it got start to the point and didn’t slow down until the very end.

I grew to love and hate each of the characters. I just couldn’t decide how I felt about each of them for sure because they were always changing and developing, which was both awesome and aggravating to read. I say aggravating in the sense that I felt like my emotions were just been thrown around and stomped on by all of the characters at once and I didn’t know who to trust and who not to. In Chami’s review, she says how she likes that none of the characters were really heroes or villains; they were sort of in that grey area. I think this created a lot of depth in the play because as I mentioned above, you weren’t really sure who to side with.

I definitely enjoyed this, probably more than I thought I would have- I found it so enjoyable and easy and quick to read.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY! - CHAMI

I know this may be so off topic and random at the most, but today is my main novels birthday! It all started when I got the idea when I was twelve years old. Who would’ve thought that for the years coming up it would consume my mind? Every period of free time I had, I dedicated it to evolving the story. From stolen moments in the shower, to misused class time and bedtime thoughts, the characters dug into my skin and still remain there. This sounds like a love story, doesn’t it? Oddly, it pretty much was. I finished the whole series (5 Books) in my head before I even finished the first book. I mapped out histories, lives, flaws and dreams.

I was even crazy enough to create a Facebook page and a Facebook profile (Which Ely unfortunately found out) for my own personal use of fangirling about my own book. I was mental enough to create a website for the POV of Rose Evermont, my main character: http://flavors.me/roseevermont

Obviously I don’t have a great sense of spelling and grammar still. It’s even on goodreads.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17858979-a-lion-hearted-girl

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17858983-a-rabbit-heart-to-follow

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17859077-a-bird-heart-to-slay

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18046731-a-broken-hearted-fox

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17859070-a-lion-to-reckon-with

I never thought it would impact my life so much.

This book is the very reason I discovered my love for writing and telling stories. The reason I appreciate books. The reason that I met my best friend, Ely. I don’t know what I could ever do to say thank you. Ely probably things I’m some demented child by now for being obsessed by something that is not even tangible. But it’s the only thing I could ever rely on to be there for me. For me to escape to and stay tethered to it. To never forget. I can’t even consider this as a book anymore than it is a completely formed life. It’s just been so much to me. Every single character.

I love you Scarlett Winter Secrets!

REVIEW: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Title: If I Stay (If I Stay #1)

Author: Gayle Forman

Publication Date: May 2010

Publisher: Definitions

Format: Paperback

Pages: 199

Rating: 4/5
Blurb: The last thing Mia remembers is the music. After the accident, she can still hear it. And she can see her damaged body being taken from the wreck of her parents' car - even though she doesn't feel a thing.

All she can do is watch as doctors rush to save her life, as her friends and relatives gather outside her room, as the boy she loves struggles to be near her.

As the next twenty-four hours unfold, Mia must come to terms with what came before the crash - and what would come after. And she knows she must make the most difficult choice of all. If she stays...

Review: If I Stay is one of those books that I’ve only ever heard good things about and in a similar fashion, Gayle Forman is one of those authors that I’ve never heard a bad review of. This book has won so many awards that I felt like it was about time that I finally read it, especially after I’d picked it up and put it down again so many times.

I knew next to nothing about this book. I knew it was contemporary teenage romance and that it had a sequel and that was literally where my knowledge of this book ended. I’d seen it so many times on Goodreads- as recommendations, in the ‘readers also enjoyed similar books’ section and in so many different lists and I’d added to my ‘to-read’ list but I didn’t really know what it was about.

I was expecting a little bit of story setting- the usual life before the big event sort of thing, but it pretty much gets into the main issue of the book straight away. I loved how quickly everything happened and how it was written as it made everything work really well. For a while, the main character Mia (and therefore, you as a reader) is a little bit unsure about exactly what has happened which adds to the tone of the book perfectly. I loved how you weren’t told everything that happened in one go, but how the past and present mixed together to paint a clearer picture.

I loved reading from Mia’s point of view and I especially enjoyed reading about her love of music and how that all related to her family and her relationship with Adam. I loved Adam as well- I was worried that he was going to turn out to be a horrible boyfriend or something but he didn’t. He was honestly the sweetest human being alive and I loved how it was clear to see how much he cared about Mia and how far he was willing to go for her.

I think one of my absolute favourite things was definitely the ending. It just- wow, it broke my heart and had me sobbing. I can’t wait until I can read the sequel- I really hope I enjoy it just as much.

BLOG TOUR + GIVEAWAY: Eva Pohler

Here on A Book So Fathomless, we love Eva Pohler- she's been lovely to us since we met in November last year (Honestly, she spoils us!) and she's an amazing writer (you can find our reviews for the first two books: here and here). So today, we're helping Eva out by supporting her upcoming blog tour for The Gatekeeper's Sons, which even includes a little giveaway! If you haven't yet, you should check out the first book, which you can now find for free on Amazon!

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7/30 Promo Chris Redding Author

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8/1 Review Readin' & Reviewin Book Blog


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8/6 Review The Insane Ramblings of a Crazed Writer

8/6 Review Michelle's Paranormal Vault of Books

8/7 Review Reading... Dreaming


8/8 Review Sharing Links and Wisdom


8/8 Review T B R


8/8 Review Ohana Day Academy

8/9 Interview Pure Jonel

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BOOK DISCUSSION: The Family of Books

Most of these book discussion posts focus solely on Chami and I, but today that's going to change. This post, in fact, is going to include my family and the types of books that they read.

So starting with dad. My dad works a lot and when he isn't working, he prefers to spend his time watching TV and films rather than reading. On top of this, he's an incredibly slower reader (it takes him about three months to read one book). Therefore, the only books my dad ever reads are either sport biographies or travel books, though he does have an extreme fondness for trivia books too, which is why our house is filled with them!

My brother is a very difficult reader to define. Throughout the years he's gone through different stages- when he was younger he used to read heaps, then as he grew older he completely stopped reading and declared that he hated it, but now, at almost twenty-one, he's decided he likes books again. As a child he used to read Harry Potter, Star Wars, Warhammer, Horrible Histories etc. but now he's starting reading John Green's books, Game of Thrones, History books- both fiction and non-fiction, Japanese books and even (to my absolute delight) classics. Surprisingly, he's even started giving me recommendations!

Aside from me, my mum has always been the biggest reader in our household and so she is absolutely the person that I picked my love for books up from. Over the years she's read a bit of everything- when she was my age she used to read a lot of classics and Agatha Christie books (both of which, I love more than anything), then as she got older she started reading books that focused more around Europe and travel (while she was travelling through Europe especially) and now she reads a variety of everything- like me, mystery/crime and historical novels are among her favourite which means we read a lot of the same books. Out of everyone in my life, my mum is definitely the person that I get recommendations off.


I hope you enjoyed this post for something a little different and if you'd like, leave a comment about the sorts of books that you and your family read! See you next time guys!

REVIEW: The Hollow by Jessica Verday

Title: The Hollow (The Hollow #1)

Author: Jessica Verday

Publication Date: September 6^th 2011

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Format: Paperback

Pages: 509

Rating: 5/5
Blurb: When Abbey's best friend, Kristen, vanishes at the bridge near Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, everyone else is all too quick to accept that Kristen is dead and rumors fly that her death was no accident. Abbey goes through the motions of mourning her best friend, but privately, she refuses to believe that Kristen is really gone. Then she meets Caspian, the gorgeous and mysterious boy who shows up out of nowhere at Kristen's funeral, and keeps reappearing in Abbey's life. Caspian clearly has secrets of his own, but he's the only person who makes Abbey feel normal again...but also special.

Just when Abbey starts to feel that she might survive all this, she learns a secret that makes her question everything she thought she knew about her best friend. How could Kristen have kept silent about so much? And could this secret have led to her death? As Abbey struggles to understand Kristen's betrayal, she uncovers a frightening truth that nearly unravels her—one that will challenge her emerging love for Caspian, as well as her own sanity.

Review: This book was suggested to me by one of my lovely friends (in fact, the very same one who’s gotten me into books such as The Princess Bride, Cecelia Ahern and many, many more) and while she was telling me why I should read it, I couldn’t help but think that it sounded amazing- I think there’s always a element of worry as to whether the author is going to present the book in the way you think will work, but fortunately in this case- I really, really enjoyed how Jessica Verday wrote this story.

At the time I was reading this book, I’d never read, let alone heard of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving (though since finishing, I’ve ordered myself a copy). I think because of this, some of the parallels between that book and this one might have been lost on me, though this book does summarise the original story for those who aren’t familiar. It also includes a little bit of detail about the writer, Washington Irving- such as his inspirations for the book and a bit on his life in Sleepy Hollow as well. I do love my historical references in books but even more than that, I love my literary references. Along with Sleepy Hollow, there were other books mentioned within the story (classics, of course) which added to my enjoyment.

Character-wise, I really liked Abbey. I wasn’t sure at the beginning as to whether she would end up getting on my nerves too much but she didn’t bother me nearly as much as I thought she would, in fact- like I said, I really liked her. She seemed quite real, especially her pain and disbelief after the loss of her best friend, Kristen. One of my absolute favourite things was her perfume making- it’s not something that I’ve ever really thought about, but the way in which it was written made it sound so interesting and unique. I also liked Caspian, I mean I really, really liked Caspian. The only problem I really had with him was that I kept imagining him as Ben Barnes (so not that big of a problem, really) which, as you may be able to guess, was slightly distracting. I wasn’t a big fan of Kristen at all, in fact- she was probably the only thing I really had against this book. I felt sorry for her obviously but as the book progressed and we learnt more things about her, I felt sorrier for Abbey than I did for her. Another character aspect I liked was Abbey’s parents but also Kristen’s parents, I thought they were all written really well, and just the fact that they were included rather than brushed off was a big thing.

As for the plot, I really liked all the references to the original book, as I mentioned before. A few reviewers on Goodreads actually criticised the book for not having much of a plot except for romance but I actually think that a big focus of the book was put on Kristen’s death and Abbey gaining the ability to live without her best friend. I mean, I don’t know what I would do without Chami, so I appreciate the fact that Abbey’s thoughts were often drifting back to her friend.

All in all, I really enjoyed The Hollow and would definitely recommend it to all of you. Thank you to my wonderful friend, Laura, for allowing me to borrow the entire trilogy off her so that I can devour the other two books very soon!