SLATED - TERI TERRY - REVIEW

Book: Slated
Author: Teri Terry
Publisher: Hodder Children's
ISBN: 9781408319468
Rating: A

Kyla's memory has been erased, her personality wiped blank, her memories lost for ever. She's been Slated. The government claims she was a terrorist, and that they are giving her a second chance - as long as she plays by their rules. But echoes of the past whisper in Kyla's mind. Someone is lying to her, and nothing is as it seems. Who can she trust in her search for the truth?
This book has been sitting on my bookshelf for just over a year and with a little gap with nothing that had to be read by a deadline I thought I'd pick up Slated. Recently I'm really feeling the dystopian vibe and this just seemed really fitting. Also I heard nothing but good about this and it was just something I knew I was going to enjoy.

The story follows Kyla, a girl in a future world in which young criminals are 'Slated' This means their minds are wiped and they get a fresh start. However Kyle is pretty different, she starts having memories come back to her and she starts to discover who she was. So there's actually a lot more packed into this book but I don't want to give anything away. One thing I love about this book, well actually something I love when any book does it, is that this idea was so unique and hasn't been done in any way before. Sure it's dystopian, but that's just a genre. the overall idea is so brilliant and so well crafted you are gripped for page one. As well as a pounding story it has a good solid backstory and all the science and theories behind make sense and this gives it the realism that makes the book work for me. I feel like Terry has explained this in such a way it seems as thought it could almost happen and the overall storyline and plot is amazing.

The story is set int the future, which always provides for an interesting backdrop but setting was full of surprises. Firstly it was set in England which was a lovely bonus and secondly the future world wasn't actually too different from our current one. I really loved the way that Terry played on the role of terrorism and economical parts of out current society and weaved into this brilliant novel. It definitely left me both satisfied and hungry for more.

The writing was good but nothing about it stood out. I really did like it, I just don't feel like Terry has a distinctive style that would pinpoint her out. The words flowed well and the scenes built us well in my mind but I definitely felt the advantage and bast part of this novel was the idea and story, however the writing did what it was meant to do and I did still enjoy reading it.

The characters. The characters were all really strong and what struck me about Kyla is that whilst she was strong and a good protagonist she still had this kind of weakness and innocence about her witch really brought her humanness, which was nice to see. In fact I loved Terry's character building because I felt like all of her characters balanced each other out with personalties and a few even had hidden agendas/ surprises. I liked how all the couples were almost opposites and yet fitted so well together and Kyla and Ben were just perfect. A characters I feel I still don't much about (and that I feel there is a lot to know about) is Kyla's Dad. With his shed and secrets I want to know what he's really up to.

Overall, yes I loved this. It's that perfect unique dystopian you need to quench your thirst; filled with action, suspense and cliffhangers I'm ready for Fractured. It has a unique story and it ended on such a massive cliffhanger I genuinely think I'm going to enjoy this series which is nice because most series's I follow are drawing to end now so this will be on my list of fresh new series's to start. A killer novel.

ICONS - MARGARET STOHL - REVIEW

Book: Icons
Author: Margaret Stohl
Publisher: HarperVoyager
ISBN: 9780007520831
Rating: A

The first book in a breathtaking new series from Beautiful Creatures co-author Margaret Stohl Your heart beats only with their permission. Everything changed on The Day. The day the windows shattered. The day the power stopped. The day Dol's family dropped dead. The day Earth lost a war it didn't know it was fighting. Since then, Dol has lived a simple life in the countryside - safe from the shadow of the Icon and its terrifying power. Hiding from the one truth she can't avoid. She's different. She survived. Why? When Dol and her best friend, Ro, are captured and taken to the Embassy, off the coast of the sprawling metropolis once known as the City of Angels, they find only more questions. While Ro and fellow hostage Tima rage against their captors, Dol finds herself drawn to Lucas, the Ambassador's privileged son. But the four teens are more alike than they might think, and the timing of their meeting isn't a coincidence. It's a conspiracy. Within the Icon's reach, Dol, Ro, Tima, and Lucas discover that their uncontrollable emotions - which they've always thought to be their greatest weaknesses - may actually be their greatest strengths. Bestselling author Margaret Stohl delivers the first book in a heart-pounding series set in a haunting new world where four teens must piece together the mysteries of their pasts - in order to save the future.

Where do I begin with this. I was anticipating this for a long time and the moment it arrived I read it in a night. This book is crammed full with every single thing you could want. Action, romance, sic-fi, dystopian. Just everything.

The plot was really interesting, because although it was dystopian it had a sic-fi crossover which was really nice. In fact sci-fi is starting to make a break in the YA market and surprisingly I'm loving it! The  story is really unique and is set in a sort of post apocalyptic world, in which aliens have taken over and there are four children with marking that save them. To sum it up it's I am number four meets the host meets divergent. Three of my favourite book so naturally I loved it.
We followed a girl named Dol [oria] and how she is ripped from the safety of the hideouts and plunged into a the governments hands. We follow her as she makes allies and enemies and learns to use her powers.
The plot is so fun. Fun is because i mean it has absolutely everything. It's such a unique idea and so perfect in every way. It satisfied all my needs, with action, tech, dystopia, romance and powers. I couldn't stop reading. Every way through the book i was intrigued and every chapter had me reading the next. Impossible to put down. Every last drop of it. It thrilled me, it made me sad, it evoked everything a book should and at the end I was lost, because an amazing book had ended I had nothing left to do.

I knew that the writing would be different, because this time it was all Stohl and no Garcia. I was not disappointed. The writing held a certain charm about it, whimsical yet hard hitting and fast. It build vivd and crisp images in your mind and scenes which played out easily. The description was so beautiful and because of the focus of the book being on emotions, the emotional description made you so connected. The dialogue was perfect and each characters really shone through.
Stohl handled action scenes really well, because sometimes authors an pace them too fast, but not once did i find me self wanting to go back or pace down. Every single page of this book had me going and drinking the novel up. 

Setting. As for setting the world is overrun and destroyed and thirteen main cities remain, governed my ambassador chosen by the aliens. The book is predominantly set in LA, or what's left of it, but in the government building, not the ram shackled down under city called the 'hole'. Though in the beginning we find ourselves in a rebellion hideout, so the speak. The locations were so perfect In every aspect, that you wanted to be there every part of the way. Just the way Stohl created this world had me intrigued and captivated.

All the characters in this book were created to perfection. I really think the focus of emotion helped us to connect to the characters and become them and although Dol was written in first person, i felt he unique power helped us to slip into the shoes of any of the characters. The charatcers were all built up extremely well, and as the book progressed we knew them better, as they came out of their shells. That's something I loved the Stohl did. She kept the characters reserved and hostile and opened them up as the book opened up. all the characters became my friends and I loved being beside them all the way till the end.

Over all this is a stunning book and a terrific addition to the YA genre.  It was the most amazing exhilarating thrilling unique book I've read for a long time! I Loved it to smithereens and I am raring for number 2.

DIVERGENT - FANART

Just a Divergent movie poster! Yay or nay? Comment!

DELIRIUM - FANART

I read this quite a while ago and recently theres been a lot about this book so heres's a movie poster! Fan made of course.

172 HOURS ON THE MOON - JOHN HARSTAD - REVIEW

Book: 172 Hours on the Moon
Author: John Harstad
Publisher: ATOM
ISBN: 9781907411519
Rating: B


Three teenagers are going on the trip of a lifetime. Only one is coming back. It's been more than forty years since NASA sent the first men to the moon, and to grab some much-needed funding and attention, they decide to launch an historic international lottery in which three lucky teenagers can win a week-long trip to moon base DARLAH 2-a place that no one but top government officials even knew existed until now. The three winners, Antoine, Midori, and Mia, come from all over the world. But just before the scheduled launch, the teenagers each experience strange, inexplicable events. Little do they know that there was a reason NASA never sent anyone back there until now-a sinister reason. But the countdown has already begun...


I hate this guy yet love him. Harstad has written such an epic, thrilling novel that will keep you groping onto the book until the end. IT was such a totally un-put-downable novel and it would have gotten an A+ from me had it not had such a annoying ending. I guess though that's always what makes a book stand out, or at least for me. Having the the ending that no-one expects. No happy ever after, and sad, cruel ending that you hate so much you feel like something in you has broken. This so far has only happened with two novels. Candor, and 172 hours on the moon.


The book was just such an intense roller coaster of craziness. The plot must have been outlined in detail and pondered over for hours, if not days. The research was also so clever. It wasn't all just made up, Harstad took real evidence and twisted to suit the fantastic sic-fi novel. 


The writing is just perfect. It ran at the fast pace and give you a twist every now and then. The twists and turn in this book were just so clever and shocked you so much. The writing was so vivd, though, swell. It made you feel like you were really there, in the book watching the whole thing play out in your head like a movie. 


The characters, well you just got so close to them. They felt so real, like they were friends and I think that was a really good think because when each of them was then killed off it hurt you as well as every one else. It really affected you and made you feel so bad for them. My favourite charter would have to be Mia, because after the whole novel she sticks out because of all the tragedies, hers sticks out...


Overall it was a fantastic book, and I absolutely loved to pieces, just as much as I hate the ending.

ALL THESE THINGS I'VE DONE - REVIEW - GABRIELLE ZEVIN

Book: All these things i've done

Author: Gabrielle Zevin

Publisher: PanMacmillan

ISBN: 9780330537896

Rating: A

Sixteen year-old Anya becomes the head of a mafia family after her parents are both murdered by rival gangs. Although Anya is embrolied in the criminal world, she is determined to keep her brother and sister out of the mafia family, but her father's relatives aren't so keen to let them go. When Anya's violent ex-boyfriend is poisoned with contaminated chocolate – chocolate that is produced illegally by Anya's mafia family – she is arrested for attempted murder and sent to the notorious jail on Manhattan Island.  Eventually she is freed by the new D.A. in town, who believs she has been framed. But this D.A. is the father of Win, a boy at school to whom Anya feels irresistibly drawn, and her freedom comes with conditions. Win's father wants to be mayor, and he can't risk having his ambition jeopardised by rumours spreading that his son is seeing a member of a notorious crime family. Anya knows she risks the safety of her family by seeing Win again, but the feeling between them may be too strong to resist..

Elsewhere is one of those books you hear so much about, I just never got around to reading it so when this popped through the letterbox I decided I would gobble down Zevin's new novel and I really really enjoyed it. It's one of these book where it takes half the novel to get to the point it says on the blurb but you don't really care because the beginning is amazing anyway. I suppose if i were to describe it, it would be 'a Dystopian Mafia Love story with a twist'. No, but honestly the book was a spectacular read. I loved it to the very last word.

It follows Anya, a girl accused of poisoning her ex boyfriend with spiked chocolate, and then the novel commences. The type of novel and the world it is set in along with the type of characters is fantastically unique and I don't think you'll find a thing like it anywhere! A masterpiece? I have no doubt.

The plot is the most unique one I have ever read and to be honest I absolutely loved it! The world it's set it is so kind of silly yet Zevin makes it so real and acceptable, to have a world where chocolate is illegal and caffeine is a drug, and you know what? She makes it work. She twines the mixture of dystopian wonder to create an intoxicating novel.

The writing is something i haven't quite experienced before and for me it was quite weird but the moment my mind adjusted I instantly fell in love with it, from the edgy prose to the deep emotional dialogue, It was all just so wonderful. The detail in the text and those little words that juts make your heart break. As for the scenes, the one at the end... blew me away.

The characters are set to a small few which is always nice when being introduced to a new series so you can get to know them as well as the world around you without lots of characters to make you confused. Also having the same ones means you learn about them in more detail, and almost befriend which i love to do to characters. As for my favorite it is Leo her older brother, because he is so sweet and innocent and you can see him struggling to fight this mental block and it just breaks your heart when he becomes a 'wanted dead' person when he was just trying to help and support his parent-less family.

Zevin is a god in herself, for creating a book so amazing and so brilliant. I loved the deep sodt undertones of the edgy surface of this truly, amazing, novel.

Inside Out - Maria V. Snyder - Review

Book: Inside Out

Author: Maria V. Snyder

Publisher: Mira Ink

ISBN : 9780778304111

Rating: A+

"Keep your head down. Don't get noticed. Or else. I'm Trella. I'm a scrub. A nobody. One of thousands who work the lower levels, keeping Inside clean for the Uppers. I've got one friend, do my job and try to avoid the Pop Cops. So what if I occasionally use the pipes to sneak around the Upper levels? Not like it's all that dangerous - the only neck at risk is my own. Until I accidentally start a rebellion and become the go-to girl to lead a revolution..."

Two Words: Literary Genius! I absolutely loved this book from start to end. It kept me interested, thrilled and engaged the whole time. I have to admit with the first two chapters I was slightly sceptical but soon I was hooked and everything started to make sense.

I hadn’t actually read any of Snyder’s books before this one, but I heard a lot about the ‘poison study’ series, so when I read the blurb of this, it looked good and I was raring to read it and Snyder didn’t let me down.

The book is about a time in the future where there is a system. Upper and lowers. Rich and Poor. There’s this girl called Trella, who knows the pipes of a spaceship and travels around in them. They have been kept inside this spaceship but some people want out. Basically someone convinces herself there is a way out and soon she finds herself head of a revolution against a certain brand of evil uppers.

The book is full of action every chapter and full of unique ideas. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book were someone travels by pipes and I found this book very enjoyable in that way. I think Snyder has really explored a new type of future based on the concept of history repeating itself. I mean when I found out this whole book was based on a dream it blew me away because Snyder must have an amazing imagination!

The plot is amazing and think Snyder kept it just the right size. I think if it had been any longer it would have dragged in which case I wouldn’t have liked it but it was a nice whole size that was well pace and well written. They way it was written was very good as well. The first person style was very different as in there was very little show of emotion, and thoughts. It was very blunt and to the point of what was happening. Surprisingly I like this and this was also good because it is a very complicated plot in general so it was complicated with thoughts and emotions.

My favourite character would have to be Trella. She was just so upfront with everything and so strong but come on... eventually you have to break, right? No, not Trella. She can go through losing her friend, getting outside, hacking into a computers getting injured like a thousand times and still come out of it all shiny and new. She is strong.

Of course there is a love interest, but I’m not giving names. It’s a very intense one and dark and surprising secrets are uncovered, lies are told and a victory is taken. Inside Out was amazing, now I guess its time for me to read Outside In, and I’m sure it won’t disappoint me. Five Stars.

HERE LIES BRIDGET - PAIGE HARBISON - REVIEW

Book: Here Lies Bridget
Author: Paige Haribson
Publisher: Mira Ink
ISBN: 9780778304999
Rating: B


"They say that before you die your life flashes before your eyes. You think it's going to be the good stuff - every kiss, every party. Don't count on it. I was Bridget Duke - the uncontested ruler of the school. If keeping the wannabes in their place meant being a mean girl, then so be it! I never thought there'd be a price to pay. Until the accident. Now, trapped between life and death, I'm seeing my world in a new light: through the eyes of five people whose existence I've made hell. And I've got one chance to make things right. If I don't, I may never wake up again..."

I have to admit this was a good book. From the moment I read the blurb I was drawn in and it didn’t let me down. It’s a very different novel but a better word would be Unique. I mean I did like it, and it slots into the same genre as Before I Fall and If I Stay.

The plot follows Bridget Dukes and she is the most popular girl at school. She is and will stay at the top of the triangle even if that means being the mean girl as well. Basically another girl comes along and she feels threatened and she has a car accident and she gets stuck in Limbo where she has to spend time in the life and mind of five people’s lives she made a misery. It’s a very light plot for something relatively deep. It focuses in on the sort of things that matter to teens and the sort of issues they can have because as well as being worried about popularity the book also focuses on self consciousness about the way people look, bulimia and anorexia and hints on bullying.

The plot was relatively good but I did feel that was slight too much repetition in it, but who cares about that. The point is that I enjoyed the book. I mean after all the mean (some may say EVIL) stuff Bridget does the lesson or message is a good one. I mean the book has some really good messages in it for anyone. Also the emotions are very good. I mean when Bridget is mean to her Step Mum you can really feel her Step Mums hurt.

As far as favourite characters go I liked Michelle. She should’ve have been in Bridget’s Place was kept on being put down by Bridget and the rest of the school after the crush incident. I found that I didn’t particularly like Bridget. I found her very cold and very shallow. I mean was she so apparent she couldn’t she any fault or wrong in her actions. She was horrid until the end where I suppose she learnt.

The writing was very light and airy I suppose. It was very fun and easy to read, and I finished it within a two hour car journey. It’s definitely a debut novel; there’s no denying that. Now you see what I want to know is will there be a sequel, but I wants one! Honestly though this was an amazing book so, go read it!