Borgs before Boys

 Title: The Lunar Chronicles:
                                             
                                                Cinder
 
                                                Scarlet

                                                Cress

                                                Winter

                                         Author: Marissa Meyer
                                         Previous Work: None

                                         Summary: 

                                         Cinder- Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a
                                         second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her
                                         stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But
                                         when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome
                                         Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of
                                         an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction.
                                         Caught  between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal,
                                         she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect
                                         her world’s future.

                                         Scarlet- Cinder’s trying to break out of prison—even though
                                         if she succeeds, she’ll be the Commonwealth’s most wanted
                                         fugitive. Halfway around the world, Scarlet Benoit’s
                                         grandmother is missing. It turns out there are many things
                                         Scarlet doesn’t know about her grandmother and the grave
                                         danger she has lived in her whole life.

                                         Cress- Cinder and Captain Thorne are fugitives on the run,
                                         with Scarlet and Wolf in tow. Together, they’re plotting to
                                         overthrow Queen Levana and prevent her army from
                                         invading  Earth. Their best hope lies with Cress, who has
                                         been trapped on a satellite since childhood with only her
                                         netscreens as company. All that screen time has made
                                         Cress an excellent hacker – unfortunately, she’s being
                                         forced to work for Queen Levana, and she’s just received
                                         orders to track down Cinder and her handsome accomplice.

                                         Winter- Together with the cyborg mechanic, Cinder, and
                                         her  allies, Winter might have the power to launch a
                                         revolution and win a war that’s been raging for far too long.
                                         Can Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, and Winter defeat Levana and
                                         find their happily ever afters?

                                         Rating: A 5. I absolutely LOVE this series.
                                         Awards: 

                                         (For Cinder)
                                         2012 YALSA Teens Top Ten
                                         2012 Goodreads Choice Awards Best Debut Goodreads
                                         Author Nominee
                                         2012 Goodreads Choice Awards Best Young Adult Fantasy
                                         & Science Fiction Nominee

                                         (For Scarlet)
                                         New York Times Besteller
                                         2013 Goodreads Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science                                                                            Fiction Nominee
                                       
                                         (For Cress)
                                         2014 Goodreads Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science                                                                            Fiction Nominee

                                         (For Winter)
                                         2015 Goodreads Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science                                                                            Fiction Nominee

                                         Opinion: I love the Lunar Chronicles. There is nothing like
                                         them. The characters are complex and the author layers so
                                         many of the aspects of their fairytales into the story. For
                                         example, their names are perfectly chosen. Take Cress and
                                         Thorne, who represent the story of Rapunzel. Rapunzel was
                                         so named after a type of lettuce. Cress, similarly, could be
                                         short for watercress, although in the story it is short for
                                         Crescent Moon, a nod to Cress's Lunar heritage. Thorne is
                                         so named because in the original story, the prince falls into
                                         thorns and is blinded. The stories are riddled with such
                                         careful allusions, enough to cause a thrill in the reader
                                         when they find them, but not so much they take over the
                                         story. I recommend this series to any teen girl.

Save Yourself. Save the World.

 Title: Paradox
                                      # of Pages: 240
                                     Author: A.J. Paquette
                                     Previous Work:

                                    Nowhere Girl

                                    Rules for Ghosting
    
                                    Summary: Ana wakes up in a ship with no idea of who she is
                                    or why she is there. Her only clue is a set of instructions
                                    saying she has surgical retrograde amnesia, and her task is to
                                    observe and survive. Ana is confused as to the purpose of
                                    sending someone with amnesia into space, but she sets off
                                    with three other teens anyway. What she finds will shock her.

                                    Rating: This book is a 3. I loved the story, hated the ending.
                                    Awards:
                                    
                                    2013 Cybils YA Speculative Fiction Nominee

                                    Opinion: The story was good, but it was the arrangement
                                    that was interesting. The story was told in the third person,
                                    but you knew all of Ana's thoughts. She also receives
                                    snippets of memories that aren't hers. In addition to those
                                    quirks, the book included newspaper excerpts and three
                                    appendices. These aspects really moved the story along,
                                    giving background as to how Ana came to be on the planet.
                                    The plot was fast paced and amazing, but then it ended. The
                                    story didn't seem over, and there will be no sequel. It felt like a
                                    cop-out in what was an otherwise amazing book.

Summer Romance Reads Part 1

 Title: The Selection Trilogy-
                                      The Selection
                                     The Elite
                                    The One
                                   (There are also three novellas: The Guard, The Prince, and (soon
                                    to come out) The Queen)
                                   Author: Kiera Cass
                                   Previous Work:
                                                   The Siren
                                                    In the Clearing (short story in Brave New Love)
                     
                                  Summary: America Singer has never wanted to be "selected".
                                  To compete for a man she's never met and a crown she doesn't
                                  want,while 35 other girls fight desperately for the same goal. It
                                  would mean leaving her family and her secret love Aspen. And
                                  what if she ends up wanting her new life more than the old one?

                                  Rating: This is a 4.5.
                                  Awards: None

                                 Opinion: I really enjoyed this series. I had been thinking the
                                 whole "love triangle thing" was overdone, but this one worked. I
                                 loved America's personality, and the two guys were great.
                                (Although I have to say, I'm partial to Maxon, the Prince.) I also
                                 liked that the book wasn't entirely about the romance. That can
                                 be tiring. People compare this book to Matched or Hunger
                                 Games, but personally, I think it stands on its own merit.

Pandora's Box

 Title: Doomed
                                     # of Pages: 472
                                     Author: Tracy Deebs
                                     Previous Work: 
                                                    
                                                      Tempest Series

                                                      The International Kissing Club
                                                      (As Ivy Adams with Shellee Roberts and Emily
                                                      McKay)

                                     Summary: With a mom in Alaska and a dad who's been
                                     absent most of her life, Pandora is craving birthday wishes.
                                     So when she finds an attachment with pictures and birthday
                                     wishes from her dad, of course she opens it. This unleashes
                                     a computer virus on the world, which can only be solved by
                                     playing a virtual reality game made by Pandora's dad. Is he
                                     a genius or a maniac? Pandora needs to find out.

                                     Rating: This is a 3.
                                     Awards: 
                                     YALSA
                                     Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Readers Nominee, 2014

                                    Opinion: This book was nerve-racking, romantic, and
                                    really good.  I didn't like that Pandora
                                    didn't carry her own weight. She keeps telling Eli and Theo
                                    that she can take care of herself, but she really can't. I also
                                    disliked a heavy environmentalist message and way too
                                    many characters from Greek Mythology. The author really
                                    needs to get her own monsters. If it weren't for those facts,
                                    this would be an exceptional book.

Love and Loss Part 2

 Title: Legend Trilogy-
                                            Legend
                                            Prodigy
                                            Champion
                                   Author: Marie Lu
                                   Previous Work: She has not written any other books.

                                   Summary: The United States has been split into two countries,
                                   the Republic and the Colonies. June is born into privilege and
                                   Day is a legendary criminal. When they fall in love, can they
                                   work together to save each other- and the Republic?
                                 
                                   Rating: This is a 5.
                                   Awards: (For Legend)

                                   New York Times Best Seller

                                   (For Prodigy)
                               
                                   Goodreads Choice Award Top 20

                                   (For Entire Series)

                                    Best Books of 2013 Kirkus Reveiw

                                    Opinion: This series was amazing. It holds your interest
                                    the entire time and has a wonderful bittersweet ending.
                                    You need to read this series!

Goodnight Moon

 Title: Last Survivors Series:
                                           
                                                 Life as We Knew it

                                                 The Dead & the Gone

                                                 This World we Live in

                                                 The Shade of the Moon (Released September 2013;
                                                 Obviously I won't be reviewing this one ;-))

                                      Author: Susan Beth Pfeffer
                                      Previous Work:
                                       
                                                        Blood Wounds 
                                     
                                                        Portraits of Little Women Series

                                                        Starring Peter and Leigh

                                                        The Sebastian Sisters Series

                                                        Twice Taken

                                                        And many more books!
 
                                      Summary: "They said asteroids hit the moon pretty often, 
                                                         which is how the moon gets its craters, but this 
                                                         one is going to be the biggest asteroid ever to hit 
                                                         it and on a clear night you should be able to see 
                                                         the impact when it happens, maybe even with the 
                                                         naked eye but certainly with binoculars. They 
                                                         made it sound pretty dramatic, but I still don't
                                                         think it's worth three homework assignments."

                                                   Two days later the asteroid hits and causes tsunamis,
                                                   earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and food shortages.
                                                   Miranda, in Pennsylvania and Alex, in New York are
                                                   forced to fight for their very lives.

                                        Rating: 3.5
                                        Awards: (For Life as We Knew it)
                                                2006 Booklist Editor's Choice Award for Books for Youth
                                                (Older Reader's Category)
                             
                                                2007 ALA Best Book for Young Adults

                                                2007 YALSA Best Books for Young Adults/
                                                Teen's Top Ten List
                                               
                                                2007  Andre Norton Award for Outstanding Science
                                                Fiction or Fantasy Book

                                                2008-2009 Truman Reader's Award

                                                2009 Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award

                                                Many other awards

                                       Opinion: I love the characters! The book is also well written.
                                       However it is a young adult book* so you need to think if the
                                       series is right for you. It is brutally realistic and totally
                                       awesome! I can't wait for the next book!

                                     



                                       * The young adult rating is probably for mention of adult
                                          content and bad language.
                                          Plus SPOILER ALERT! People do die in the series.

                                             
                                     
                                     
                                   

                                     

Be Thankful

Okay, so first off, I'd like to apologize for the fact that my last post was over a month ago! I've had a lot of things I needed to do. Secondly, this is a Thanksgiving post! This book shows you really need to be thankful for what you have; it can all be taken away from you. That said, I'd really appreciate it if  my viewers would post a comment on what they were thankful for. That would be great!

 Title: A Long, Long Sleep
                                      # of Pages: 382

                                     Author: Anna Sheehan

                                     Previous Work: 

                                                        None, but the author says a sequel to this book is

                                                        "in the works, but I’m afraid I have no idea when 

                                                         such a thing may be published."(I found this fact 

                                                         on her website if you want more info.)

                                     

                                     Summary: What if your parents put you in stasis (a state of 

                                     sleep) and you wake up 62 years later? What if the world

                                     had a mini apocalypse while you were asleep and everyone

                                     you knew was seemingly gone? What if you were expected

                                     to take over an inter-planetary empire when you grew up?

                                     And to top it all off, what if a crazy human-like robot was

                                     hunting you? Meet Rosalinda Fitzroy- she lived that life.

                                     Rating: This book was a little sad but definitely a 5.

                                     Awards: 

                                                A tie for the 2012 Golden Duck/ Hal Clement Award

                                                (The other winner was A Beautiful Friendship by 

                                                 David Weber, if you're interested.)

                                     Opinion: This was really good, though sad. It has many twists

                                     and turns; plot changes you won't expect. It annoyed me how 

                                     fast Rose fell for a guy, but the reason is made evident at the 

                                     end of the book. Surprisingly, Rose wasn't my favorite

                                     character. Her friend Otto is. He's a half Europan (as in 

                                     Europa) half human test tube baby. He has an amazing power

                                     of talking to people by touching them and speaking in their

                                     minds. He wants to be friends with Rose, but they hit a major

                                     roadblock. I won't say any more, for fear of giving something

                                     away. Altogether this was a great book.