Review: Remembrance (The Mediator #7!) by Meg Cabot

Title: Remembrance (The Mediator #7!) 
Author: Meg Cabot 
Expected publication: 
February 2nd 2016 by William Morrow
Goodreads !  Amazon  
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So I realize you and I don’t know each other, that’s why it’s hard to explain how in love with The Mediator series I am, because if you have met me it would be so obvious. Probably every person I know knows that I love books, and pretty much everyone knows that The Mediator is my numero uno. It’s the series that got me hooked on Young Adult. It’s how I discovered God’s gift to YA, Meg Cabot. I have pretty much memorized each book on the series thanks to the number of times I have re-read the books in the last decade.

This is my obsession.

And I knew that Meg had plans to write another Mediator book for a long looong time. I have been waiting anxiously to revisit my favorite cast of characters and the gorgeous setting they live in. And it’s finally time.

When I started reading I decided I was going to write from the point of view of someone that is not familiar with the story. Just to see how I would enjoy it. But that thought flew out the window with the first sentence I read. I was transported to the golden days of my youth when the feeling of bliss reading gave me was nearly too much for my sanity. I swear it was so good.

Suze’s voice is still so inherent Suze, so familiar and true, that I can’t help but wonder if Meg even realizes it’s been nearly a decade since the last book. It was a big part of why reading Remembrance was so magical.

But then of course Meg seemed to have read my thoughts exactly. I wrote this pre-review on goodreads almost two years ago, when she said she started writing the novel, and every question I had, every thought, was answered to my highest expectations.

It’s not every day you get a wish come true, that’s why I was thankful to have this novel, even if it sucked. It didn’t. It was perfect. It was the same Suze that I have loved forever. The same Ackerman family, that has grown to be the best adoptive family in the world, I was so happy to see Suze’s stepbrothers had turned into brilliant men that I might have shed a tear of two. I knew Jake and Dave had it in them, but even Brad? I won the lottery. And CeeCee and Adam? The same loving, supporting friends. Father Dominic? AMAZING. Paul? He’s still a jerk but still I was infinitely happy to see him! He’s sort of the comic relief too, and I’ve always felt bad for him as a teenager. Now he’s an adult so it made it harder to sympathize with him, though I could never hate him.

Even the ghost busting was turned to the next level. The stories were harder and sadder. The villains ages above the crimes everyone in the previous books ever committed. Which made it easy for me to invest myself in the mystery and not only in the excitement of seeing my old pals.

But that doesn’t mean I didn’t focus a whole chunk of my brain on them. Namely Jesse. Jesse who has been my boyfriend for longer than half my life. Jesse who loves kids and medicine as much as I do. Jesse who speaks softly in Spanish. Jesse who makes every other guy on earth pale in comparison. He was exactly the perfect guy he has been for almost two centuries. I can’t even keep on writing because I’d cry and my mom is watching because I’m supposed to be happy right now (I’m writing this review as everyone else is celebrating that the new year is coming in just a few hours).

So anyway, you see why I am biased and would never write a perfectly coherent review for this book. But what I hope I transferred to you is this… Is not for nothing I have kept this series by my side for such a long time. It’s full of everything that makes Young Adult great. It’s a classic. It’s something you can’t miss.

Review: The One Thing by Marci Lyn Curtis

Title: The One Thing 
Author: Marci Lyn Curtis
Expected publication: September 8th 2015 by Disney-Hyperion
From Goodreads: 

Maggie Sanders might be blind, but she won't invite anyone to her pity party. Ever since losing her sight six months ago, Maggie's rebellious streak has taken on a life of its own, culminating with an elaborate school prank. Maggie called it genius. The judge called it illegal.
Now Maggie has a probation officer. But she isn't interested in rehabilitation, not when she's still mourning the loss of her professional-soccer dreams, and furious at her so-called friends, who lost interest in her as soon as she could no longer lead the team to victory.
Then Maggie's whole world is turned upside down. Somehow, incredibly, she can see again. But only one person: Ben, a precocious ten-year-old unlike anyone she's ever met.Ben's life isn't easy, but he doesn't see limits, only possibilities. After awhile, Maggie starts to realize that losing her sight doesn't have to mean losing everything she dreamed of. Even if what she's currently dreaming of is Mason Milton, the infuriatingly attractive lead singer of Maggie's new favorite band, who just happens to be Ben's brother.
But when she learns the real reason she can see Ben, Maggie must find the courage to face a once-unimaginable future... before she loses everything she has grown to love.

So what's your thing? The One Thing that makes you the happiest?
Mine is easy, it would be reading amazing books. And I am thrilled to inform you that this is one of them.

I had the most magical experience reading this novel. I don't even know what to say about it right now so I don't spoil it for everyone else, just that it was fabulous. I mean is not everyday you find a book that is mainly focused on the relationship between a seventeen year old blind girl and a semi-paralyzed ten year old boy. That alone makes me want to grab the book and read it again, to remind myself of how incredibly beautiful and funny and heartbreaking and uplifting it was.

To me, it is Maggie and Ben's relationship that completely made the book. They were the best pair of mismatched friends I have ever read. But that's not to say I didn't appreciate, and LOVED other aspects of the book. Like Maggie's grandpa, Gramps, who takes her granddaughter to Target and then abandons her at the Feminine Products aisle and talks to her about his swollen prostate. And Ben's mom, who welcomes strangers to her home with bear hugs and saves stray animals. And of course, Ben's brother Mason, lead singer of Maggie's favorite band, reformed bad boy and Ben's biggest cheerleader.

I loved everything about this book that even now writing this makes me want to go back and read it again. If only just for Ben, and his incredibly bright soul, his awkward question and his larger than life personality. He calls Maggie his girlfriend the first time he meets her, he was a ten in my eyes right in that moment. And Maggie, with her dark humor and sarcastic personality that doesn't hide her soft heart and her struggle to cope with her new vulnerability. She went from soccer goddess to a friendless blind kid. My heart swelled for her. That's why my favorite part was the first half, when Ben and Maggie's friendship blossoms.

The second half was harder. If only because of it deals with all the difficult issues that were swept under the rug before. Especially the twist. I found it hard to understand both Maggie and Mason's reactions after that, but I guess I wouldn't know what to make about it either.

In the end I think this was an excellent read. I haven't been so enthralled in a novel in months, and this one awoke me and shook me and practically kicked me out of my reading stupor and reminded me that YA is full of magical surprises.

Review: Beware The Wild by Natalie C. Parker

Title: Beware The Wild 
Author: Natalie C. Parker
Published October 21st 2014 by HarperTeen
YA Paranormal
Goodreads | Amazon

 It was a pleasant surprise to crack this book open and discover one of the best paranormal stories I’ve read this year. The plot-summary was enough to grab my attention, but I never expected this kind of emotional pull.

I liked that the story revolved, most of all, in the relationship between siblings. I really enjoyed reading how much Sterling and her brother Phin cared for each other, it was impossible not to feel a strong pull at your heartstrings every time one of their stories surfaced. I loved Sterling, she was such a strong heroine but fragile enough to be realistic, I loved to see her mature throughout the course of the book.

The whole swamp aspect was mind blowing. I love swamps, my brother and I are obsessed with the wildlife of the Everglades so it hit close to home to see the swamp so vividly come to life before my eyes. Especially having that connection between siblings too. All the extra points go to the autor for creating such a vivid setting. It's exactly like you were there. The stories about the swamp were haunting and creepy and you couldn’t help but be absolutely immersed within the folklore of it all.

Absolutely hit it out of the park. A story like I haven't read before. Completely unputdownable!

Review: Let The Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger

Title: Let The Sky Fall 
Author: Shannon Messenger
Published March 5th 2013 by Simon Pulse
Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depository
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I read “Seventeen-year-old Vane Weston has no idea how he survived the category five tornado that killed his parents.” and was like WOAH I have to read this boy’s story!

Turns out I was wrong and this book is not about a tragic F-5 tornado that hit some town. No. It’s about super-powered people that are made of air or control air or something, and can (and possibly will) destroy the human race.

Like I have stated before, I hate it when a book tries hard at making me believe the heroine is kickass. It’s like, let me decide that for myself and not shove down my throat how wonderful and deadly this girl is. You know, the kind of problem I have with Divergent. I think it’s more important to portray a girl with a healthy amount of vulnerability so we readers believe that maybe, just maybe there’s also force within ourselves that will allow us to become awesome heroines too. The thing is, Audra was too unapproachable to me. Yes, she did have a sad story behind her, and her family situation sucked, but it was hard to believe she cared about it, because she never showed emotions for it, mostly what she talked about were her duties as Vane’s guardian and her oath to protect him and it was hard to believe any teenager would not have a bit of a pity party once in a while.

And then, I am sorry to say, that Vane was kind of dull. I loved that he thought he was human, though so he went through a lot of emotions and struggled to catch on to the new reality of him being an air-elemental. It was a realistic approach to the way a boy would handle the news, and that is what saved the book for me.

But then again, I am not one to be easily awed by new realities and super powers and strange worlds. It is very rare to get a supernatural/paranormal book in my hands that I can say blew my mind or captivated me enough to continue reading the rest of the series.

On a happier note, I am absolutely in love with the cover of this book. Not only is gorgeous but it also makes a lot of sense once you read the story and captures perfectly these two characters.

Review: Pivot Point by Kasie West

Title: Pivot Point 
Author: Kasie West
Published February 12th 2013 by HarperTeen
Goodreads | Amazon | The Book Depo
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So right now is Saturday, I have a huge exam on Tuesday, I just spend the whole night reading this book and I do not regret it at all. In fact, I want to re-read it again right now, it was so good.

I kick myself because Pivot Point spend months sitting in my bedside table feeling all lonely, all because of my prejudice against love triangles. But y'all know I absolutely HATE love triangles, so my heart was against liking this even though I LOVE Kasie West and I should've trusted her better.

Her story engaged me from page one, it was so incredibly easy to lost yourself in the story, even though it's all about future choices and paradoxes and it could have turned out to be a big confusing mess but it doesn't because it relies more in what the story itself makes you feel, in making you care for the characters and what happens to them.

So it was very hard for me to read it because I was so invested in what was happening that I could fantom the fact that what I was seeing might not become reality. And my worst nightmare became true.

I know I am not making a lot of sense but it's because this book made me feel so much that my head is still buzzing with energy. It's 2am and I can't sleep because I keep relieving the story and my heart aches and I figured it was good therapy to write my feelings down.

So here I am trying to make sense of what happened to me while I read this book and I can't, I do not know how to put it in words, I just have to tell you I became a mess of emotions and to me, that's the most important thing when I read.

Pivot Point happens to be a win in the parallel world and in the mortal world and in the realm of Young Adult fiction. It's been a while since I read a paranormal book that managed to be so real that you could almost swear it's a contemporary because for once, the story relies on the characters as people instead that on the claimed awesomeness of their powers. Completely captivating and amazing.

 

 

 

Waiting On Wednesday: Servants of the Storm by Delilah S. Dawson

WoW is weekly meme created by Jill at Breaking The Spine in which bloggers can share books they're excited to get soon :)

 

 

 

 

Servants of the Storm

by Delilah S. Dawson

 

A year ago Hurricane Josephine swept through Savannah, Georgia, leaving behind nothing but death and destruction — and taking the life of Dovey's best friend, Carly. Since that night, Dovey has been in a medicated haze, numb to everything around her.
 
But recently she's started to believe she's seeing things that can't be real ... including Carly at their favorite cafe. Determined to learn the truth, Dovey stops taking her pills. And the world that opens up to her is unlike anything she could have imagined.
 
As Dovey slips deeper into the shadowy corners of Savannah — where the dark and horrifying secrets lurk — she learns that the storm that destroyed her city and stole her friend was much more than a force of nature. And now the sinister beings truly responsible are out to finish what they started.
 
Dovey's running out of time and torn between two paths. Will she trust her childhood friend Baker, who can't see the threatening darkness but promises to never give up on Dovey and Carly? Or will she plot with the sexy stranger, Isaac, who offers all the answers — for a price? Soon Dovey realizes that the danger closing in has little to do with Carly ... and everything to do with Dovey herself.

 

ADD ON GOODREADS

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm really not cut for creepy stuff, you know?

And that cover SCREAMS creepy.

 

 

 

I just know that I won't be reading this at night.

Review: The Rules by Stacey Kade

Title: The Rules (Project Paper Doll #1)
Author: Stacey Kade
Sci-Fi/Paranormal YA
Expected publication: April 23rd 2013 by Disney-Hyperion
Goodreads | Amazon
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It was seriously a long wait I had to go through for this book. I'm a fan of Ms Stacey Kade's Ghost and the Goth series, so my expectations were high and I was super excited to dive into this new book world she created. I was not disappointed.

The Rules is about a girl, half alien half human, that has to follow this series of rules (the name had to come from somewhere) so she people don't realize her true identity and the bad guys who are after her don't find her.

It's really not hard to sympathize with Ariane, she's just a young girl who wants a normal life but the scientists who created her somehow convinced her she's a freak. My heart got all sad for her situation even though she has awesome abilities like levitating things and stopping hearts (not with her dazzling alien looks or anything).

And then there's Zane, tall, popular Zane who no one bothers to understand. He has a pretty messed father who is kind of a huge jerk and treats Zane like garbage. I didn't exactly loved how quickly Zane fell for Ariane but when you think about how bad of a hard time he was having maybe he only needed love.

I think the book did a great job of explaining everything we needed to know about Ariane and the company that created her. However at times it got way into the technical aspect and stuff I'm not sure I cared about so it borderlined boring. But aside from that, i liked the way the layout for the series was spread and I'm really excited to see what's next for our heroes in the next books, there's a lot of unanswered questions and a lot of room for more action.

 

 

Waiting on Wednesday: Charm & Strange \\ Famous Last Words

WoW is weekly meme created by Jill at Breaking The Spine in which bloggers can share books they're excited to read soon :)

 

 

 

CHARM & STRANGE

by Stephanie Kuehn

 

Andrew Winston Winters is at war with himself.

 

He’s part Win, the lonely teenager exiled to a remote Vermont boarding school in the wake of a family tragedy. The guy who shuts all his classmates out, no matter the cost.

 

But he’s also part Drew, the angry young boy with violent impulses that control him. The boy who spent a fateful summer with his brother and teenage cousins, only to endure a family secret so painful it led three children to do the unthinkable.

 

Over the course of one night, while stuck at a party deep in the New England woods, Andrew battles the pain of his past and the isolation of his present. Before the sun rises, he’ll either surrender his sanity to the wild thoughts inside his mind or learn that surviving can mean more than not dying.

 

ADD ON GOODREADS

 

 

 

 

I initially thought this one was a contemporary read, but I later found out it's actually paranormal. But I am not one to discriminate and I will read this book because seriously, how heartbreaking and beautiful and sad does it sound?

 

 

FAMOUS LAST WORDS

by Jennifer Salvato Doktorski

 

Sixteen-year-old Samantha D’Angelo has death on the brain. Her summer internship at the local newspaper has her writing obituaries instead of soaking up the sun at the beach. Between Shelby, Sam’s boy-crazy best friend; her boss Harry, a true-blue newspaper man; and AJ, her fellow “intern scum” (aka the cute drummer for a band called Love Gas), Sam has her hands full. But once she figures out what—or who—is the best part of her summer, will she mess it all up?

 

As Sam learns her way around both the news room and the real world, she starts to make some momentous realizations about politics, ethics, her family, romance, and most important—herself.

 

 

ADD ON GOODREADS

 

I am obsessed with this book synopsis because how awesome does Sam's job sound?!
Now add a story about growing up and family and ROMANCE. Oh dear, I'm sold!

(And then the unthinkable happened and I got offered an ARC!) 

YAAAAAAAAAAY!

 

Waiting On Wednesday: Impostor: A Variants Novel by Susanne Winnacker

WoW is weekly meme created by Jill at Breaking The Spine in which bloggers can share books they're excited to get soon :)

 

 

Impostor: A Variants Novel

by Susanne Winnacker

 

CAN TESSA POSE AS MADISON . . . AND STOP A KILLER BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE? Tessa is a Variant, able to absorb the DNA of anyone she touches and mimic their appearance. Shunned by her family, she’s spent the last two years training with the Forces with Extraordinary Abilities, a secret branch of the FBI. When a serial killer rocks a small town in Oregon, Tessa is given a mission: she must impersonate Madison, a local teen, to find the killer before he strikes again. Tessa hates everything about being an impostor—the stress, the danger, the deceit—but loves playing the role of a normal girl. As Madison, she finds friends, romance, and the kind of loving family she’d do anything to keep. Amid action, suspense, and a ticking clock, this super-human comes to a very human conclusion: even a girl who can look like anyone struggles the most with being herself.

 

Add on GoodReads

 

 

 

 

It's been quite a while since I last featured a YA Paranormal/thriller,

(or anything other than Contemporary, really)

but I swear I love all genres but sometimes I forget, but then other times I see a really awesome synopsis and it's like, why did I ever stop reading these?

 

And this book my friends, sounds really good.

My heart already warms for Tessa, it must be hard, the pressure to help the FBI with those cases, though I can't deny her power is extremely cool!