The Juliet Spell by Douglas Rees

***Spoiler Alert***


☆☆☆
Author: Douglas Rees
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Released: September 27, 2011
Pages: 304
Genre: YA, Romance, Realistic Fiction
Source: NetGalley


I wanted the role of Juliet more than anything. I studied hard. I gave a great reading for it--even with Bobby checking me out the whole time. I deserved the part.
I didn't get it. So I decided to level the playing field, though I actually might have leveled the whole play. You see, since there aren't any Success in Getting to Be Juliet in Your High School Play spells, I thought I'd cast the next best--a Fame spell. Good idea, right?
Yeah. Instead of bringing me a little fame, it brought me someone a little famous. Shakespeare. Well, Edmund Shakespeare. William's younger brother.
Good thing he's sweet and enthusiastic about helping me with the play...and--ahem--maybe a little bit hot. But he's from the past. WAYpast. Cars amaze him--CARS! And cell phones? Ugh.
Still, there's something about him that's making my eyes go star--crossed...


As I read this book, I kept thinking, 'Yes! This is going to make four or five stars! I am loving this idea, the characters, the flow!' Then, the book dove...hard. Let me explain.


What a great plot! Girl wants the role of Juliet (what actress doesn't?). Girl casts a spell to get role after bum audition (what girl wouldn't?). Girl gets hot Shakespeare from the past instead (what girl couldn't live with that?). It's a sweet idea!


Miranda was not my favorite female lead character. Her character seemed flat and it was difficult to get a connection. In other reviews, bloggers have suggested that it was the fact that the author is male, so writing this from a female's perspective was awkward. I kind of agree to that. He seemed to put his effort into the male characters more than Miranda's. He did a great job with Edmund! I really enjoyed his persona, his passion, and his spark! My favorite was definitely Drew, though. Such a sweet, head-over-heels in love boy. The best friend that was always there. I think these two saved the book for me.


The biggest downfall was towards the end. I was happy with the explanation of Edmund's time travel to be magic. Bringing into the factor science experiments, battery-water....blah blah blah. It lost me. Then I actually laughed at the whole phone app thing. Really? Magic was more believable. It got way too confusing and too quickly. It was quite the let down.


On the romance-side of things, I did not like the battle of relationships. Edmund was a player. Period. It's the time-period he came from. For Miranda to just take him later on seemed implausible. He's dirty in more ways that just needing a good bath. It was obvious from the beginning that Drew had been in love with her. The way it all played out did not make me happy. Miranda was seconds for Edmund and Drew for MIranda. Ick.


In all, I gave three stars just because this story has such good promise. It didn't make even a fraction more because it just faltered in the end. I would love to get your opinions on this story.

Tankborn by, Karen Sandler

☆☆☆.5
Author: Karen Sandler
Publisher: Lee and Low Books
Released: September 28, 2011
Pages: 384
Genre: YA, Sci Fi
Source: NetGalley


Best friends, Kayla and Mishalla, know they will be separated for their Assignments. They are GENs, Genetically Engineered Non-Humans, and in their strict caste system, GENs are at the bottom rung of society. GENs are gestated in a tank and sent to work as slaves as soon as they reach age fifteen.
When Kayla is assigned to care for Zul Manel, the patriarch of a trueborn family, she finds secrets and surprises; not the least of which is her unexpected friendship with Zul's great-grandson. Meanwhile, the children that Mishalla is Assigned to care for are being stolen in the middle of the night. With the help of an intriguing lowborn boy, Mishalla begins to suspect that something horrible is happening to them.
After weeks of toiling in their Assignments, mystifying circumstances enable Kayla and Mishalla to reunite. Together they hatch a plan with their new friends to save the children who are disappearing. Yet, can GENs really trust humans? Both girls must put their lives and hearts at risk to crack open a sinister conspiracy, one that may reveal secrets no one is ready to face.


This book grabbed my attention instantly. Just the title alone reminds me of the Matrix, humans being genetically engineered and grown in tanks. I didn't even read the synopsis before jumping into this novel. I kind of wish I did, though. It might have prepared me for some of the strange language.
The story itself is pretty amazing. The author weaves a world where the caste system is strongly in place and the selfish quality of humans is well portrayed. Earth crumbles and humans move to Loca where they start over. They don't learn from their mistakes, though. They worsen in their ways. The most important things are status, wealth, and land. Part of that is owning GENs, to abuse and use in whatever way. The GENs have been raised to believe that their god has designed all this and their servitude is a part of the plan. There is some romance, but it does not muddle the plot, nor does it take away from it.
The characters are not as developed as I had hoped for. There is so much action, that it seemed rushed to get to know them. If this was a series, I would have been okay with that as there would be time later, but this seems to be a stand alone novel. What was developed, I loved! Mishalla has such a huge heart, Kayla so courageous, and Zul such an amazing leader despite his handicap.
Back to the language part. Just like most sci-fi books, Tankborn does have its share of slang. For some reason, the words used to replace today's is odd. For me, it did not flow well and it distracted from the whole point. I don't know what to recommend because an author has full liberty in science fiction. It didn't take away to omuch, but enough for me to say something.
In all, I really enjoyed this novel. The struggle of the lower class, the reasoning to explain how the human race got to where it is in the storyline, and the disillusionment of the GENs. I wish the story could have been longer or there was a sequel because I would love to see where Kayla's life could go from here.

Dream Catcher Series #1-2 by, Lisa McMann

☆☆☆☆.5
Author: Lisa McMann
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Released: March 4th, 2008
Pages: 210
Genre: YA, Paranormal
Source: Library


For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie's seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.
She can't tell anybody about what she does because they'd never believe her, or worse, they'd think she's a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn't want and can't control.
Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else's twisted psyche.. She is a participant.


Ok, we all have dreams and remember only a small fraction of them. Some we wish we could forget. While some can be a haze in the back of our minds, others can be so vivid, they seem real and it's hard to shake off throughout the day. In Janie's case, she not only remembers them, she lives them. But, they aren't hers. Janie has the uncontrollable ability to view the dreams of others that are near her.
After reading the back of the book, I still had no idea where it would lead. Dreams in and of themselves are a world of fascination. We can spend so much time trying to dissect the meaning of them. Some are filled with our personal fears: spiders (ugh), monsters, loved ones dying, or even being chased. Our fantastical hopes could be lived: flying, changing into an animal, exploring a new country. Even our erotic desires: enough said! (think of your own examples!)
But for Janie...she witnesses everyone else's dreams. She has no control of it, no way of stopping what she sees or when it happens. That is scary! I could never imagine what that could entail, the secrets one would possess. I think the author does a fantastic job portraying how that would look, the emotional terror one would experience.
Relating to Janie should be easy for any reader. We all have wondered what it would be like to control our dreams or to be more conscience of them as they happen. Is there a meaning to them? Are they a mirror of the past or the future? Or are they just a reflection of the emotional hurricane that is building inside of us? McMann took it a step further. She planted to protagonist inside someone else's dreams. To watch another's embarrassing fear of standing naked in front of their peers and then seeing them the next day without making a single twitch would be extremely difficult. As the reader, I felt her struggle and knew her desire to never have to experience that.
The written flow was beautiful. You fell for the characters and could easily close your eyes and follow the storyline. And of course, in the end you wanted more...

☆☆☆☆

Author: Lisa McMann

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Released: March 4th, 2008

Pages: 248

Genre: YA, Paranormal

Source: Own

For Janie and Cabel, real life is getting tougher than the dreams. They're just trying to carve out a little (secret) time together, but no such luck.

Disturbing things are happening at Fieldridge High, yet nobody's talking. When Janie taps into a classmate's violent nightmares, the case finally breaks open -- but nothing goes as planned. Not even close. Janie's in way over her head, and Cabe's shocking behavior has grave consequences for them both.

Worse yet, Janie learns the truth about herself and her ability -- and it's bleak. Seriously, brutally bleak. Not only is her fate as a dream catcher sealed, but what's to come is way darker than she'd feared...

Talk about a fast ride from page one! I don't feel like I can delve too much into a review without spilling the beans on this one. Just know that what you learn in the first of this trilogy is nothing compared to the adventure that follows these two. Throughout the pages, you will squeal, tear up, and possibly scream as McMann reveals the next stage in Janie's life  as she jumps from dream to dream. It is unpredictable and you will not be able to set the book down. I can't wait to read Gone and Cabel's Story.

The Death Cure by James Dashner

☆☆☆☆☆
Author: James Dashner
Publisher: Random House
Released: October 11, 2011
Pages: 384
Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Dystopia
Source: Library (Pat is Awesome!)
TRAILER: YouTube


Thomas knows that Wicked can't be trusted, but they say the time for lies is over, that they've collected all they can from the Trials and now must rely on the Gladers, with full memories restored, to help them with their ultimate mission. It's up to the Gladers to complete the blueprint for the cure to the Flare with a final voluntary test.
What Wicked doesn't know is that something's happened that no Trial or Variable could have foreseen. Thomas has remembered far more than they think. And he knows that he can't believe a word of what Wicked says.
The time for lies is over. But the truth is more dangerous than Thomas could ever imagine. Will anyone survive the Death Cure?


We have followed closely on the running heels of the Gladers as they fought demonic beasts, survived in the harshest of terrains, and watch parts of their group die. We have survived with them, hearts beating at every turn of page and hoped against hope that they would make it beyond the grips of Wicked.


Here we are again with Thomas and his band of misfits as they try to unveil the truth of their existence. As always, James Dashner has delivered an incredible novel to complete the series. I have yet to be disappointed in his ability to shine every character's personality and to keep us enthralled with them from page one to the final word.


Though the conflict remains the same, the storyline is not repetitive. It's a new adventure for the groups with all new obstacles. Every question of mine was answered at some point, yet nothing was predictable. I think that is a talent that many authors do not have.


Each book has the ability to hold its own, but no one should deprive themselves of reading only one. Pick these books up from wherever you can find them and do not let go until the end of The Death Cure. They will keep your mind reeling for months!


P.S. James is the first author whom I have seen that thanked book bloggers in his acknowledgements. That is just too cool! :D

Delirium by, Lauren Oliver

☆☆☆.5
Author: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: Harper Teen
Released: February 1, 2011
Pages: 441
Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Romance
Source: Bookshelf


Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn't understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the government demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she'll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.


But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.


Every girl grows up waiting until the moment when she falls in love for the first time. For some, it's the first time one lays eyes upon him from across the room. For others, it takes years to develop that sense of loyalty. Our dreams explode with the possibilities and our pillows are stained with our tears. Imagine waking up one day to never being capable of those feelings ever again. For some who have dealt with the grief of losing a loved one, that might be the ideal way to live out their lives. But for the rest of us who cling on to our heartstrings, that seems like a terrible loss of emotions.


Lena has grown to accept that love is a disease that must be treated before it attacks. Schools taught that life with love is disastrous and cruel, no way for a reasonable adult to live. Take out love and you have a world of order where no one risks anything for such a feeling.


It is an interesting idea that love can be cured and I was pleased with how well Oliver thought the deliria through in detail. So many authors have incredible ideas, and then throw the book to shambles when it is not thought out well enough to believe in the possibilities. The problem I had, was the repetitiveness of the explanations. It seemed to drown out the excitement of the storyline and I got lost...and bored...with the book. The beginning was fast-paced, the ending marvelous, the middle slow, slow, slow.


I did like how well the "cured" characters were portrayed: harsh, unyielding to emotions, distant. I really did not want the cure after seeing the relationships between parent and child. It made me sick thinking that was the "normal way". I had a hard time reading it because I see it so often in my students' eyes. The desire for love from their families.


In all, I would recommend this as a quick read. I don't know that I will read the other two books in the series. To those of you who have read the sequels, what do you think?