Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Human in a Vampire World

The Hunt (The Hunt, #1)The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Hunt is about Gene (though it takes a good while to find out that's what his name is), a human hiding in a vampire world--or city--I'm still wondering just how many vampires there are beyond the little city he lives in. Gene hides who he is, practicing concealing emotions, constantly shaving, and avoiding nap times. He has...armpit sex/make-out sessions (which is just weird and made me laugh)...with his love interest and just tries to blend in. Unfortunately, he's chosen to participate in The Hunt, a rare chance to hunt live humans. This immediately draws attention to him, and not in a good way. The big question is, how will Gene, as a human, survive being a member of a vampire hunt?

I honestly couldn't decide how I felt about this book. It was a quick, easy read, which I certainly appreciated. But I also had to ignore a lot of things that just didn't make sense to me. For one, the armpit sex. Two...these vampires have super senses, so could they really never smell Gene? no matter how hard he scrubbed before school, I still have my doubts about that one. I also wasn't a fan of some of his original moral choices, and found him to be annoyingly blind at times, despite how the book constantly went on about how smart he was. Luckily,t he book was fast-paced enough and the concept original enough that I didn't have to suffer through any annoying section for too long.

There were also some scenes that surprised me, and some actions that I wasn't expecting, which was nice. I'm definitely interested in reading the next book, but I won't have the urge to buy it--I'll easily be able to wait till it comes to my local library; hence, three stars. So if you're looking for a quick, generally entertaining read, and you're ok that it's not mind-blowing, then I'd recommend reading The Hunt.

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Friday, July 20, 2012

To Identify or Unidentify...

The UnidentifiedThe Unidentified by Rae Mariz
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I picked this book up out of a vague curiosity--I like dystopians, and it was an interesting idea. And it was an interesting start to the book, but that ended up being my general thought throughout the book, "oh, that's interesting." Not...OMG THATS CRAZY, LOVE IT, HATE IT...or anything like that.

Kid goes to a school sponsored by corporations, where the ultimate sign of making it to the top is being branded, aka, begin chosen as a spokesperson for companies. The book is basically about her discovering that this isn't as a good thing as she's been taught to believe.

My first problem with the book was the overload of new terminology. Terminology in a dystopian takes a lot of finesse to craft right, and Mariz didn't really succeed here.A few things made sense, like branding, but a lot of it didn't. For example, why call school The Game? Just to make it seem fun? What was the "prize" at the end? Never really knew. Never really knew either why sponsors would spend that much money for marketing--they kept saying the whole word was watching, but really, it seemed like everyone in the school was just watching each other. Isn't that how high school already seems right now? It wasn't as if they were constantly on TV or anything as one giant reality show.

[Spoiler in next paragraph]
The surprise ending was a surprise, I'll admit that, but honestly, it was kind of a letdown. Everything was building up for some kind of giant blowup, and then...oh...it was a marketing campaign. *shakes fist at corporations* darn you, evil corporations, how dare you market?? SO EVIL!

*laughs* yeah. ok. Over that.

Anyway, decent read, mildly entertaining...just don't question the reasons behind the world too much. And I'd save it for that day at the beach when you have nothing else to read.

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Saturday, April 28, 2012

The Slums of Mumbai

Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, And Hope In A Mumbai UndercityBehind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, And Hope In A Mumbai Undercity by Katherine Boo
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received this book as a first reads book. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised. The story is a work of narrative non-fiction, but it honestly reads like a novel, which I found more enjoyable and interesting. I actually didn't even look at the back until I was finished, so I was very surprised (but happily so) to see that it was based on Katherine Boo's real observations there--almost like an ethnography.

For some readers it might seem gritty and harsh, the language simplified, or the flow disjointed. But i think the way it was written did a very good job of capturing the mindset and living conditions of the people Boo interacted with. To me it made sense, their focus on self-preservation and getting by day-to-day, despite all the corruption around them.

The ending was a little bit abrupt to me, but it still worked. Four stars for the thought-provoking material and the narrative description-- the lack of the fifth star was mainly because sometimes the book did jump around abruptly or would lose my attention with certain slower scenes where there was more telling than showing.

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Sunday, March 25, 2012

Outside In (the sequel to Inside Out)

Outside In (Insider, #2)Outside In by Maria V. Snyder

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A fast-paced sequel to Inside Out, it was an enjoyable continued exploration of Trella. I can't say I always understood some of her decisions--sometimes they were too easily explained with "that's just what I do" or with a reason someone else gave for what she does.

Trying not to give too much away, I was a little displeased with the way the romance drama worked out in this book--it seemed too sudden, and then too clean a break. Is it bad to say that I wanted Trella to mope a little longer? She's always so ready to get back to doing what she needs to do, which I can't help but find a little surprising for a woman who spent most of her life barely interacting with people.

Other than that, a good story, and it definitely had some surprised to it, which I appreciated. I hate when a sequel's direction is entirely predictable. I haven't checked to see if there's any information about it, but I so sort of half-hope there will be another book dealing with the Insiders, even if it's not about Trella.



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Sunday, March 11, 2012

Inside Out

Inside Out (Insider, #1)Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The Queen of the Pipes is one of those heroines you can't help but like--she's tough and smart, but she has her flaws. She spends too much time alone, hates trusting people, and sometimes makes bad decisions. Despite her wish to isolate herself though, she's going to affect her world, make friends, and find an awesome love interest. This book held my attention, and I raced through it in a matter of days, eager to know what was going to happen.

I gave it four instead of five stars though for a few reasons. Since Poison Study is the first of Maria V. Snyder's books I read, I can't help but always measure up her other books to it, and I liked it better than this one. Trella just seemed a little less complex to me, and the surprises weren't so surprising. That was my general feel for this novel...it was less an adult book and more a YA. Which is understandable, considering it was marketed as YA. But YA books don't always feel young, but this one did on occasion. And it didn't annoy me too much until Trella did things like talk to her love interest though a stuffed animal named Sheepy. That had me rolling my eyes a bit. She also kept informing people she didn't trust easily when her actions seemed to say otherwise.

Still, great book, fast read, and I'm already working on the 2nd one!



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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

The Goose Girl

The Goose Girl (The Books of Bayern, #1)The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


A great re-telling of a fairytale! It's meant for a younger age (probably middle school, I would think) but I still enjoyed it. Actually, it was nice to have something that was a fast, easy read.

The story is of a princess who has always tried to do everything she was supposed to, and honestly, had very little backbone. But circumstances force her to become a goose girl for a time, and while away from the pressures of being a princess, she learns who she is and what she believes in, also learning to stand up for those beliefs.

I really think it's a great read whether you're in middle school or an adult.



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