REVIEW: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Title: Shatter Me (Shatter Me #1)

Author: Tahereh Mafi

Publication Date: November 15^th 2011

Publisher: Harper

Format: Paperback

Pages: 338

Rating: 5/5
Blurb: I have a curse.
I have a gift.

I'm a monster.
I'm more than human.

My touch is lethal.
My touch is power.

I am their weapon.
I will fight back.

No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal, but The Reestablishment has plans for her. Plans to use her as a weapon. But Juliette has plans of her own. After a lifetime without freedom, she's finally discovering a strength to fight back for the very first time—and to find a future with the one boy she thought she'd lost forever.

Review: When I was given this book for Christmas by my mum way back in 2011, I had never heard of it at all, though with a quick survey of the summary I knew exactly what to expect and so this book was shoved into my bookshelves and left on my TBR list until someone borrowed it and kept it for over six months. During this time, Chami decided to read this book and from that moment I was subject to being told about five times a day as to how amazing this book was and how much I should read it. So before I get on to the proper review, I’m going to give Chami a moment to gloat over how right she was about this book.

I’ve read a few reviews who say they hated Juliette, that she annoyed them *cough* Chami *cough* but I actually didn’t have any massive issues with her, which can be quite rare for me when it comes to protagonists in dystopic novels. I, like Chami, really enjoyed seeing both sides of Juliette- the things she wanted to say but didn’t and the things she did actually say, which was probably my favourite thing about this book. I liked how she wasn’t just a one-dimensional character- she wasn’t entirely good but she wasn’t overwhelming evil either, her depth was very refreshing.

Love triangle wise, the whole time through the novel I couldn’t decide who the hell I wanted Juliette to end up with. Adam or Warner, Warner or Adam? Gah, I still can’t decide which of them I prefer. Can Juliette just end up with both? Or even better, I’ll just take both of them for myself. All this being said, James was possibly my favourite character of the entire book- I won’t tell you who he is or why he’s my favourite because it will spoil things.  

I loved the pacing of the novel, it was fast enough that I ended up reading the first 250 or so pages within the space of about an hour without stopping even once. I found there wasn’t ever really a dull moment in the plot or parts where I wanted things to speed up or end quicker.

I absolutely cannot wait until I’m able to get my hands of the second book, I’m so desperate to see how everything works out for Juliette.

You can buy Shatter Me on The Book Depository (Free shipping worldwide), here

Check out Chami's review here

REVIEW: Dangerously Placed by Nansi Kunze

Title: Dangerously Placed

Author: Nansi Kunze

Publication Date: March 1^st 2011

Publisher: Random House Australia Children’s

Format: Paperback

Pages: 288

Rating: 5/5
Blurb: This work experience is going to be killer...

Alex Thaler can’t wait to start her dream work experience placement at Virk, where staff from all over the world mingle in an astonishing virtual office. But when an employee is found murdered, the dream becomes a nightmare – because Alex is the prime suspect. Fortunately, Alex’s friends are willing to brave shark tanks, disgusting pathology specimens and even a nude beach in order to clear her name . . .

Can a hippy chick, a goth girl in a lab coat and two guys with a taste for blowing things up really help solve the mystery – before Alex becomes the next victim?

Review: I read Nansi’s first book, Mishaps, way back when I was about thirteen or fourteen which I adored, though I probably would have never heard of Dangerously Placed without miraculously meeting her at Supanova (a much smaller Comic Con, here in Australia) last year. It was amazing to meet her- getting my book signed and getting a couple of pictures with her were great but the best thing was definitely learning about and buying this book.

Even though it took me just under a year to actually get around to this book, the moment I started it I knew that I would love it, and so I did. I loved the main character Alex from the start, and each of her crazy friends. The romantic storyline was also really amazing in this book- it didn’t distract from the wicked plot of the book and it wasn’t unrealistic or completely obvious from the very start.

However, as much as I did love the characters and the romance- my favourite thing about this book was definitely the world in which it was based. It’s set in Australia, a definitely plus for me, but it also had the cyberspace world of Simulcorp- Alex’s job placement. It is really clear when you read it that Nansi put a lot of work into the creation and detail of this super mind blowing completely virtual world. For me, this made the book even more wonderful and exciting.

Dangerously Placed varies from the usual sort of YA books that you might have on your bookshelf, it’s a contemporary but it also has aspects of mystery, science fiction and thriller which keeps you on the edge of your seat for the whole time. Definitely a worth-while read.

You can buy Dangerously Placed on The Book Depository (Free shipping worldwide).

REVIEW: Destiny Road by Melissa Wray

Title: Destiny Road

Author: Melissa Wray

Publication Date: August 5^th 2012

Publisher: Morris Publishing Australia

Format: E-Book

Pages: 212

Rating: 4/5
Blurb: Destiny Road is about a sixteen year old girl Jessica, who is building up to making a most important decision. One that will affect the rest of her life. It is a story of decision, growth and acceptance.

Jessica is sixteen when she meets Bill for the first time. Six months later she is moved away by her mother, to begin a new life, away from what she knows. Away from the man she is just realising she might have wanted in her life all along, her biological father. So begins Jessica’s journey of living with the choices made by herself and those around her.

Review: The great thing about Destiny Road is that is filled with all the realistic teenage things- starting at a new school, family drama, friend drama, learning to drive and etc. I found it especially relatable due to the Australian setting, though I believe people who aren’t Australian would still be able to connect. The fact that this is based on Melissa’s own experiences, definitely added to the overall feel of the novel and meant that everything was relatable in some way.

 

My absolute favourite thing was the relationships that were in the novel. I loved reading about the building father/daughter relationship of Bill and Jessica, but I also liked how Jessica got along with Janet (her dad’s wife)- I find that usually step-mothers are portrayed as horrible people and whatnot so it was refreshing to see the two of them getting along. I also enjoyed the relationship between Jessica and her mother, Ally, once again it was really nice to see a teenage girl who actually got along with her parents. 

I really liked both sets of Jessica’s friends- her old ones, Claire and Dempsey and her new ones, Mandy and Sam. In their own ways, they reminded me of the friends I made in primary school and then the ones I have now in high school- of course, it made it much easier to enjoy the book with people to relate them too.  I really enjoyed how Jessica and Mandy’s friendship evolved in particular- I wasn’t really a big fan of Mandy at the start but I quickly realised that there was more to her than she was letting on. 

Some of the little details that Melissa wrote about actually got me thinking- one example was a really good discussion about pivotal points and all. It’s not something you usually think about in high school, or in life in general really but the language Melissa used had me thinking about it in relation to my own life. This is only one of the examples of one of these things- others were funny, others more serious but each of them had relevance. This made it so much more connectable and enjoyable for me- sometimes it even felt like Jessica was feeling the exact same way as I did in similar situations. 

I’d like to thank the lovely Melissa Wray for sending us a copy of her book to review. If you’d like to learn more about Melissa, you can check back on Saturday the 16^th for an author interview right here, including an international giveaway!

REVIEW: Rebel Angels by Libba Bray

Title: Rebel Angels (Gemma Doyle #2)

Author: Libba Bray

Publication Date: June 26^th 2010

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Format: Paperback

Pages: 563

Rating: 5/5

Blurb: It's the end of the year, and Gemma's looking forward to living it up in London. Balls, fancy gowns and dancing with the handsome Simon Middleton beckon. Best of all, it's time away from Spence Academy - and from the Realms.

But the lure of the enchanted world is strong, and the magic flows freely. Gemma's visions intensify - visions of three girls, dressed in white, suffering horror and menace. Clearly all is not well in the Realms - or out of them.

Set against the rich backdrop of Victorian London, a place of shadows and light, in a time of strict morality and barely repressed sensuality, this compelling gothic sequel reveals that inside great beauty can lie a rebel angel...

 

Review: Six months or so after finishing the first book, A Great and Terrible Beauty, it was really nice to get back into the world of Gemma Doyle. I wasn’t really a massive fan of the first book, though I found myself instantly enjoying the second. I quickly came to the realisation that I really didn’t like any of Gemma’s friends- Felicity, Ann and Pippa all annoyed me at different times of the book, though I really enjoyed Gemma herself. The other characters were pretty likeable as well- Gemma’s family- her grandmother, father and her brother, Tom, were all interesting to read especially from the biased opinion of Gemma and then to hear what other characters in the novel said about them. I loved both Simon and Kartik and right now there is no possible way that I could ever choose between the two of them.

Despite being a love triangle, I felt that it was actually believable- she wasn’t going between the two of them trying to decide which she loved, she knew that Simon would give her status, power, money etc. but also that she could be happy with him, but she shared a connection with Kartik with their history and through India and whatnot despite their difference places in the hierarchy. For me, this was a definite benefit for the novel and made it much more enjoyable than having to read a teenage girl between two boys all of the time.

Of course, I loved the world both the dark and the classy Victorian London but also the beautiful and terrifying world of the Realms. One of my absolute favourite things about the novel was all the description of the creatures and elements of the Realms, which are present in the first novel though I really enjoyed what we got to see this time around.

Obviously, I enjoyed all of these elements though my favourite part of the novel was the mystery surrounding the identity of Circe. About halfway through I actually thought I’d outsmarted Gemma and had figured out who the real Circe was, though when it finally came down to it I realised how stupid I’d been to miss all the clues pointing at the person I’d completely dismissed.

If you love historical paranormal with a hint of romance, I’d definitely check out this book especially as I believe that it really does have some good messages hidden behind all the awesome paranormal aspects. 

* Fun fact about my copy of this book- the summary reads 'the handsome Dimon Middleton beckon', rather than Simon Middleton...Bit embarrassing there.