I totally forgot I had this blog :(
Not into reading so much anymore, busy with school 24/7.
It's taken me almost two months to get through the first Gemma Doyle book, because I've only got time to read at dinner and in the bath lol.
Oh well.

The Hunger Games

Name: The Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins
Rating: 4.5/5

Synopsis:

Sometime after the world as we know it ends a new nation called Panem emerges. Panem is divided into 12 districts, and one Capitol. Katniss Everdeen lives in District 12 with her mother and little sister. Since her father died in a mining accident she has had to fight everyday, breaking laws and risking her life just to keep her family fed. Once a year the Capitol holds The Hunger Games, where one boy and one girl over the age of 12 from each of the 12 districts are thrown into an arena. At the end, only one person is still living, and they are the winner. To decide who goes, each district holds a “Reaping”. At the age of 12 you automatically get one ticket added to the Reaping hat. If you’re poor and cannot get food to eat, you can trade more name tickets for grain. That means you now have a better chance of being called out at The Reaping, and sent into the unknown to fight for your life. After Katniss’ sister is pulled out of the “Reaping Hat”, Katniss volunteers to take her place. The boy that is called out is Peeta, the son of a baker (get it? Peeta? Baking?), and the boy Katniss credits with saving her life after her father died. Suddenly they are hauled away from their family and taken to The Capitol, where the rich people of Panem live. After a week of training, preparations and ceremonies, The Hunger Games have finally begun. Since only one person can win, that means either Katniss or Peeta has to die. Or do they?

Review:

In a world where Twilight is considered the best YA novel ever, I am very happy to see The Hunger Games get so much attention. It is a great example of what a YA novel should be. It is unique, creative, and makes you think long after you’ve finished the book. The plot is gripping; you hate having to picture these kids killing each other, but you also want the main characters to win! Typical of a YA novel is has much gooey romance to win over the stubborn sci-fi readers. The ending is both inspiring but worrying. My only complaint is that the author could have been a tad bit more creative when naming the characters. It reminded me of those celebrities who name their kids wacky things like Zuma and Pilot. But once you get over that, you wont want to put this book down.

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

Name: Living Dead Girl
Author: Elizabeth Scott
Rating: 5/5

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Synopsis:

Three days before her tenth birthday she went on a field trip to the aquarium. This is the day her life ended. Now, five years later she is Alice. Her “dad” is Ray. But she is not a little girl anymore, and Ray only wants a little girl. She knows he must kill her and find a new Alice. The thought excites her. She can’t wait to finally go home. The question is; when is it going to happen?

Review:

Living Dead Girl is both gripping and highly disturbing. Author Elizabeth Scott takes a subject matter that is highly unappealing to other YA authors and turns it into a short but beautiful piece of work. The short chapters and rushed dialog forced you to feel a part of what Alice was feeling. You could clearly picture her sadness, her hopelessness and her greed. Though it seems like the decisions she makes are horribly selfish and cruel, you can understand why she feels this way. The ending was both happy and sad, and leaves you with a lot of things to think about. The story itself reminded me of The Collector by John Fowls, a book that holds a permanent position on my “favorites” shelf. Living Dead Girl will be placed next to it. It is a near perfect novel in my eyes. Due to the graphic nature of the story it is not for everyone though. People who have experienced trauma in their life may be “triggered” by the events that take place. I also think the author should consider publishing a version that has a reading guide at the end, as some teens may not know how to gather their thoughts when the story ends.

Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging

Title: Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging
Author: Louise Rennison
Rating: 4.3


Georgia Nicolson is a pretty normal 14-year-old British girl. She hates her parents, her little sister is insane, her cat wants to eat the poodle next-door, she’s questioning her sexuality, and of course she thinks she will never get a boyfriend (or girlfriend for that matter). Through her journal entries we get all the juicy insight into her life. Georgia suspects her mother of having an affair while her father is away in New Zealand. She also thinks her best friend has betrayed her by going for a coffee with Robbie, the boy Georgia is in love with. She also shaves off her eyebrows and accidentally tears a large clump of hair off her head. Finally, she loses her beloved cat/beast, Angus, which leads her to Robbie, who it turns out is in love with her too. But as soon as they finally do some “full-frontal snogging” Georgia finds out she’s leaving for holiday in New Zealand next week. Will her new relationship withstand a summer apart? You’ll have to read the next book in the series to find out.


Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging is written in diary form. You will either love this format or hate it. I found that for this series it works a lot better than a regular novel; if a part is getting boring (which is a problem I had with this book) you can simply move to the next entry. It definitely wasn’t as hilarious as it’s supposed to be, and as I said it got a bit boring in some parts. I suffered from much second-hand embarrassment, even if the characters were fictional. The situations Georgia gets herself into are not at all un-realistic, which made them more cringe-worthy. This is a British book so some of the language Georgia uses may be unfamiliar to American teens. The version I read had a handy glossary with clever definitions for all the British slang. Overall Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging is a prime example of a great YA novel. It is unique, fun, and highly enjoyable.

Privilege by Kate Brian

Title: Privilege
Author: Kate Brian
Rating: 2.9/5

Ariana Osgood used to be the queen of Easton Academy. But then she accidentally killed Thomas Pearson, the love of her life. For the past sixteen months she’s been locked up at the Brenda T. Trumbull Correctional Facility for Women. She has been plotting her escape the entire time, and on the Fourth of July she finally gets her chance. Once Ariana is free she will do anything to get the life she’s always wanted. And I mean everything.

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I will start off by saying I have not read the Private series that this book was based on, nor have I read it’s prequel Last Christmas. I have no intention of reading them either. I wouldn’t say Private is necessarily a bad or even poorly written book. The author is clearly an accomplished YA novel writer, and her books have quite the following. This story just wasn’t my “cup of tea” so to speak. The plot was extremely un-realistic, and the characters were all insane to the point that it slightly frustrated me. The ending was also pretty ridiculous. At the end I was left confused, I didn’t know whether to love or hate Ariana Osgood and her new identity. I was also a little upset that the only seemingly innocent character in the book turned out to be the bad guy. The sequel, Beautiful Disaster, comes out in June, maybe I will have to check it out.

Coming soon

Hello! Here are the upcoming reviews you will see from me this week:

• Privilege
• Hoppergrass
• Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging
• Stolen

I need to figure out some ways to advertise this thing. Maybe I will become affiliates with other book review blogs?

Kisses and Lies review

Title: Kisses and Lies
Author: Lauren Henderson
Rating: 4.8/5

What this book is about:
Scarlett Wakefield is being forced to build a new life at Wakefield Hall. Six months ago, at a party at a posh London penthouse, her longtime crush Dan McAndrew died in her arms at after they shared a hot, steamy kiss. Since then, the London tabloids have deemed her the “Kiss of Death Girl”. But one day she receives a mysterious letter in her school desk that leads her on the path to finding Dan’s real killer. She finds out that someone stole Dan’s Epi-Pen, an emergency syringe that would have saved his life. As if this isn’t shocking enough, she finds the allergen that killed him- peanut oil. Someone poured peanut oil on the crisps that Scarlett ate. Another clue leads her to Dan’s twin brother, Callum. Could he have killed his own brother? Or, was it his greedy girlfriend Lucy? Scarlett takes a holiday to the McAndrew family castle in Scotland, determined to find the killer.

My Thoughts:
Kisses and Lies is a really fun novel. It actually was even better than the first book; Kiss Me Kill Me. Scarlett is still confident, witty, and a little catty, but this time her personality is even more extreme. The pace really picked up in the second half of the book, when Scarlett gets to Scotland. She meets a whole new group of fun characters, and takes her sleuthing to the next level. When the killer was finally identified, I thought it was a bit ridiculous, as was the last action scene. But the ending seemed to work, and though not everything was tied up, it felt complete.