Stuti's blog for depleting ships

This used to be another member of my MUST-STOP-AVOIDING pile.The reason behind my avoidance isn't that interesting so I shall refrain.When I close my eyes and think of this book, do you know what I see?An endless, desolate sea. Gray waves lapping and lashing out at each other, dark debris of ships and humanity long gone riding it out. A little light in the endless horizon peeking from the roiling mass of the tempetous clouds. And in this infernum, a little fish bobbing up and down and sideways.A rotten spoke of a broken wheel comes to impale her but she escapes. Waves and thunder bring about remnants of something-or-the-other to crush her and yet again she escapes. She escapes into the deeper, darker parts and there's nothing left except the idea of her. And that keeps you going on, because you know she is there, you can't see her but you just know. Then, she comes back and she is thrown about and tormented but she goes on and on and in the end, she reaches that shy sliver of light. And she has her mooment of peace.However, she goes back out for the gray is hers and she yearns for it because in this treacherous world, it is hers and what is yours is always beautiful, even the deeper, darker parts. Especially those.That's what I of think this book.It left me heartbroken.And heartburned.Especially that least chapter.A terrifying, gray beauty of a sea.

Cats fart too.And make Spongebob happy. Which is more than i can say for this book.

3.9 or shucks, four full stars- I can't deciiiiiide! Not like it makes much difference but still. :(Novels are like people.Some of them live in the moment, others in the past and some await the future. Then there are the rare ones that build up to the end. [b:The Shining Girls|16131077|The Shining Girls|Lauren Beukes|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1352227705s/16131077.jpg|21956898] is one of those people books.From the first pages, it hints at the end; from the first chapter, you know when it will end(and am not talking of the last page) and the ending looms over you, constantly giving the reminder that IT WILL END. AND SOON.That's probably one of the perks, or conversely, hazards of being a time travel book.So...Time Travel.Is it Doctor Who? Is it [b:Steins Gate|15704031|Steins;Gate|Chiyomaru Shikura|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1339596332s/15704031.jpg|21365759]? Nope, nope, nope.It just is. No parallels can be drawn here regarding the sci-fi element because guess what? I don't know myself. I don't know nothing.But who gives two shits?It's there and it helps kill and it somehow came to be and that is all you need to know. Because time travel is just a notion, an impression, a true concept that is there in this novel.Instead, this book is more like a character study. The characters study of the girl who shouldn't be alive and the killer who doesn't exist.A man runs away and through various instruments of fate finds himself in a house that opens up, both inside and outside, at various points in the history and future of time. It gives him names, names of shining girls, these girls who deviate from the social norms, who have the hearts and wills to raise the most respectful and longest of their fingers to the world.And thus begins a killing frenzy in a period of time that weaves in on itself, by a killer who crosses his own paths and makes his own way whilst still in the delusion that it's in the stars.But the shine of it, the glory, soon wears off and the man, due to the dangerous creature that is human adaptability and lackadaisicalness, in want of the thrill that is lost, starts to go around in loops.Consequently, there comes a time when he forgets and fails and the girl who shouldn't be alive runs away with her dead dog.And thus starts a hunt.She of the dead dog is Kirby Mazarchi, she who will not rest till she has his head on a platter, she who will tear through grieving and dive into the most grueling of hunts, which will be brought to conclusion by chance. The book is told in episodes of different times that still work to tell the story in a linear fashion. The girls who die leave their shine on you, imprint it. The moments of their endings, rather gruesome should add, become anathema to the shine and steal away the last dredges of it. And each and every one of these unfinished stories they leave behind give you tangled webs of grievance.The killer is nothing beyond a man caught in his own delusions, puppeteered by instincts, failed by instincts, and killed by instincts. This is a man who follows what he's told by a house he knows not shit about, and when he deviates, he pays. He knows not why he kills those girls, he just needs to snub out their shine, the shine that illuminated the house that owns him. He starts out in a bubble of awe, moves into this new role with the a ease of man who's been waiting on it, goes on in a mad and jubilant fervor until. Until the shine wears off.And he can't do it anymore. And he of the runaways thinks to run away for real, except he can't. He goes through the motions, falls prey to his emotions and just gets bloody sick of it all.The girl, by contrast, becomes more fervent, the need to find him digging deeper by every piece of photograph, evidence, cards, toys and wings that shouldn't, couldn't have existed that she finds. On every road, she walks a few but is thrown away and she finds a new road. She won't, can't stop and this need, urge that is so different from the killer's swallows her. But she of the dead dog isn't just she of the dead dog. She is a person who's been through trauma, who grows up before our very eyes, who wants to live but never as a survivor, who is funny, sad, reckless, brave and not just these empty words but so much more. She fears and she braves. She puts on a cloak but never the mask that would mark her as Batman.Then there are the deaths, the gruesome, horrifying killings. They are gruesome and every one of these killees is someone, some person whose fault was that she shined. Going out with the vision of a perverted, maniacal killer as their last.If you look at it a certain way, if you immerse yourself long enough, it even starts to make sense, these killings. He kills them because they were out of joint with the way things were run in their time. The girl who helped others in secrecy from the state, the black widow who dared to earn a living, and the girl who really wasn't and who just wanted love.This is not a masterpiece and it has its faults and an unfair share of boredom and vagueness but all I can do is tell you why I loved it and only you can decide if you should read it much as I hate this fact. Just kidding, all up to you. Obviously. A review copy was provided by the publishers.Cross-posted on Books behind Dam{n}s

4.5So I'm on vacation and I had a horrible nightmare. You don't need to hear about that but suffice it to say that it convinced me to finish all the books I've been avoiding for a looooooooong time.This one was on top of the list.Why?Rather asinine, me reasoning. See, me being an idiot and all the wrong kinds of miserly and inattentive bought ordered the least costly of all editions of [b:A Monster Calls|8621462|A Monster Calls|Patrick Ness|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1356015593s/8621462.jpg|13492114]. And whaddaya know, it didn't have any illustrations! But that's what everyone's read and been talking about, and so I wallowed in the agony of my stupidity before my brain bloacked it all out.And that's the story.If this book were not a book, it would be a big, walloping stick. A stick prancing about and defending us from other sticks trying to stick up our asses.Because aren't sticks the most metaphorical thing out there? And that's what this book is- a big, walloping metaphor.Not that big actually.Having finished the book in under two hours, I have only one complaint: it's too short. It's a perfect fairtale and a perfect story. Wild and untameable as only stories can be, chasing and bititng and hunting. Taking off in unknown direcctions, making me hope.There's a monster and a kid and monster helping kid helping live. So is the monster a metaphor? Who gives a rat's ass? [Interruption: Rats actually have asses? I never thought about that!]It has friendship, bullies, grandmas, mother-dears, loss and love and who gives a flying fuck if it was real?The monster called the boy for the boy called the monster and beyond that, I shan't look.He called, it said, for a monster.The monster tells stories, the wild creatures that wreak havoc wherever they go. The stories help in destruction, help invisble men become more lonely by being seen, but in exchange, it wanted a story. A story that was truth, the boy's truth and then came the end.Here is the end of the tale, the monster said behind him.And it was effing perfect in every way.So why deduct half a star? I didn't cry, like everybody else. I just didn't, couldn't bring myself to. I was sad and hopeful, but my tears were all busy fighting and obliterating wach other.Now to get out of writing anything substantial, I have lots of quotes for those who are idiotic as me.It was not wrong, the moster said. It was only a thought, one of a million. It was not an action.This is why I came walking, to tell you this so that you may heal. You must listen.Because how could a boy beat a monster?[I die everytime I read this. This is too awesome.]And then one day, the invisible man decided, the monster said, its voice ringing in Connor's head, I will make them see.Stories of how I topples enemies,it said. Stories of how I slew dragons.It is what you want from me.And I can tell you, before my eyes betray me, I shall find an illsutarted copy of [b:A Monster Calls|8621462|A Monster Calls|Patrick Ness|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1356015593s/8621462.jpg|13492114] and READ IT, by hook or by crook. Without wasting a penny.

3.7READ THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE PROCEEDING~You will be presented three series of images and asked a question after each one.~Briefly look over each image, do not worry about spoiler-ing yourself. But do worry about teasers.There are no right or wrong answers, only different ways of perceiving.This test will determine the level of the compatibility between you and [b:Linked|14999965|Linked|Imogen Howson|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1350302061s/14999965.jpg|17352171]and me.First series-Q1.Do you feel the urge to pepper spray it all?a. Yes.b. No.Second series-Q2.Are you scared?a. Whoosh!*empty space*b. No.Third series-Q3.Do you see how awesome I am? 'Cause those are instances of my exploits.Q3. Loving it yet?a.*Still empty*b.*nodding head with deliberation*For mostly a's: Carry on, my wayward reader. Carry on. In the other direction, I mean.For mostly b's: I was just kidding. There are right and wrong answers and you are mostly RIGHT-->LIKE ME-->AWESOME!Disclaimer: There are more of the series question I won't present for fear of getting spoilerly. :C So in the rare cases, this test might not be helpful.The few things worth noticing in [b:Linked|14999965|Linked|Imogen Howson|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1350302061s/14999965.jpg|17352171] are its pace, the way it turns its nose at the common tropes of YA action novels and the characters. However, the novel doesn't play around with originality or plot twists; it has a straightforward, predictable story. Lissa has hallucinations, requests surgery, smells something fishy, follows hallucinations, meets twin girl, government conspiracy, race against time and stuffs.Same old, same old.Wrapped it up in one sentence.But then it goes...Lissa doesn't use her brain and asks for help from her parents, which everybody knows you shouldn't do in a dystopian novel. But she doesn't because she hasn't read any and she doesn't know she's in a dystopian novel and thus, trusts her father who's helped her before.Nevertheless, don't you fear for Lin, the other girl, who's had some dealing with this before is there to stuff some sense into Lissa.Thus, this effectively removes any fears of the Missing/Ignorant Parent Syndrome while also ensuring that adults don't encroach upon the action scenes if teenagers and steal the limelight.As a protagonist, Lissa with her over-reliability and trust issues makes for one fine character. From the first chapter, she trusts her instincts and takes action. She does get fucking annoying sometimes, always analyzing Lin, thinking about others... but you can easily connect with her, especially in the beginning. I also like that there isn't anything that special about her. She's your average, screwed-with-at-birth-or-before teenager.The relationship development between Lin and Lissa felt a bit awkward to me as the story moved on. Lin has always been in Lissa's head whilst Lissa has been in Lin's during the worst times in Lin's existence, so a little intimacy is to be expected. The way it starts out and the way they care for each other was comfy and I liked it but some ways into the book, Lissa is either pitying Lin, lecturing her or fearing her. She has her reasons but get the FUCK OVER IT already! I needed some proximity between the two, genuine proximity. The sci-fi and dystopian aspects of the novel were old-school but along with the action scenes, they sucked me in. Evil doctors, secret government laboratory, human-based non-human entities, starships, hyperspeed, secrets and everything else. However, the two are dealt with light years apart. Literally. First, we deal with the world-building, some history, thus your post-apocalyptic theme, the government- look they are coming after us!- so we have the dystopian feature and yada, yada, yada.Then, let's runnnnnnnnnn and what on earth are you, Lin? What were they doing to you? And we have to runnnnnnnnnn!!!!!!!!!So the science-fiction and experiments and fututre transportation means come into play.The action scenes start from the first chapter to the last is awesome, if a bit repetitive in the last hundred pages. It's all runnnnnnnnnnnn(who gets bored of runnnnnnnnnnnn!!! not meeeee!!!! I like to runnnnnnnnnnn!!!). In contrast, the emotions of other characters are only shallowly scratched and they behave rather mildly in tough situations. In fact, the writing is purely action-driven. Moreover, when you read the blurb of the book and it says"Riveting, thought-provoking and utterly compelling, Linked will make you question what it really means to be human."You should ignore the thought-provoking part and the second sentence.There is a feather-light touch of romance and kissing scenes amidst sparking and wiring and crashing(romantic, no?). It's very embarrassing and clumsy. The book would have four effing stars had the romance been snipped out. Cadan is pretty mean to her at the start, in a way that reduced any possibility of fifth grade romance. You know, he pulls your hair and calls you name because he likes you? The thing going around in YA romances? Thankfully, it's not there. Regretfully, it doesn't work anyhow. The ending pleased me and I can envision many other readers applauding it as well. I won't go into detail but suffice it to say, the future governments and the people holding the reins aren't all that screwed up and there's really no need of teenagers jumping in, guns a-blazing.So done! It was a thrilling book, despite the lack of twists and shock-factors, relying on old action values and I immediately wanted to rate it four stars but thinking, thinking, thinking brought it down.An ARC was provided by the publishers for reviewing purposes.Cross-posted on Books behind Dam{n}s

I really wasn't about to review this book but the betrayal I feel wants to be let out.Almost a week ago, just before I read this book, I had been having a real, good-book streak. Truly, every book I read was a four-star read and I either loved them or just really, really liked them all. And I looked at everybody else and they were all having some bad reads on their shelves. So I felt left out and I wanted to read a bad book.[I know that is very screwed up.]Not a deliberate bad read, but an accidental one, where I unknowingly venture out into torture or boredom.Ergo, I decided [b:Keturah and Lord Death|331830|Keturah and Lord Death|Martine Leavitt|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1348326167s/331830.jpg|322381] would be that book. This was going to be the book I would scoff at, dissect with a figurative scalpel.However, that isn't just my style, I realized in the process.I would read and read and think she's just using him. I would do that myself and I like her but she's just wheedling favors out of him and I'm supposed to believe it's love. Look, he's becoming so dependent on her and he doesn't even think twice about everything he's giving to her and doesn't he realize she's just USING HIM?But like I said, this book eluded me. In the end, Keturah also has to make sacrifices, give up her dreams in exchange for her heart's desire and you know, sometimes, it's okay to do that. Give up your dreams at your heart's bidding. Only in those rare cases. And that is all I have to say. Now for serious matters.What must pillowtalk with Death be like? I don't got no clue, does anybody else?Moreover, how can one go on calling somebody Death, Death, Death! espeacally a beloved?Hmph! Need answers, some closure.

3.5[Note: A half star for the fabulous cover. It's so colorful and pleasing. I wants more of it, I does.]I manage to do many impossible things. Suck at Twister, love glitter and detest sparkles at the same time, sometimes force myself to listen to a bit of Taylor Swift when I have nothing better to do, resist going back to [b:Mockingjay|7260188|Mockingjay (The Hunger Games, #3)|Suzanne Collins|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358275419s/7260188.jpg|8812783], have a dream about a dinosaur which is a car and its tongue is the headlights and it also happens to be a yoga guru.But never did I think I wouldn't be able to enjoy a book with rock 'n' roll, drugs, rockstars, sex, demons, deals gone wrong and a music journalist.Moreover, written by [a:Karina Halle|4785031|Karina Halle|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1333997846p2/4785031.jpg].The problem with [b:The Devil's Metal|15784613|The Devil's Metal (Devils, #1)|Karina Halle|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344317634s/15784613.jpg|21502500] is that its being pitched in a completely false fashion. From the blurb, you expect an edgy novel with lots of action, but its more of a road trip and as much as I love road trips[a love born of a lifetime of watching Doctor Who and Supernatural], I have yet to find a book that makes road trips enjoyable and not damned boring. But this is about a small-town journalist finding her place in the world of glamor.It's actually pretty cool, but then there's a loooooooooooooooooooooong stretch of boring.Journalists journalise, monsters don't monsterize, musicians musicfy and groupies groupify.See what's missing?Monsters that monsterize.It's only in the last couple chapters that the paranormal side of the book comes into play and even then it feels rushed and compliant. People get off really easy. Most of the book is spent in striving to be ignorant and mooning after Sage.Speaking of which, Sage never felt like a real character to me. I think he was kept mysterious and enigmatic for a bit too long and all I can piece of him is his absolute, irresistible sexiness and youthful stupidity of a time long gone. Is there another side to him? Is there more to him? If there was, I'm sad to say I didn't find it.In contrast, the relationship between Sage and Dawn was satisfying enough. The gradual development and the tension is delectable. The general atmosphere of '70's rock 'n' roll is perfectly executed and oh so damn cool. There are several music references and withbeing ensconced in pot smoke, the highs of music and the lows of glamor, stuffiness of tour buses and the mayhem of backstages and greenrooms, it's all so fucking real. But then another stretch of booooooooooooooooring. Everything interesting starts way too late in the book.What's also perfectly nailed is the depravity in glamor. It made me think, what is it about stardom, about music, that makes so gratuitous and wanton? What debases them to such low levels? Makes them revel in such fashion as to destroy themselves? It also reminded me how much I wouldn't like to meet Paul Banks. Nope, absolutely not.It bugs me that there are no strong female leads other than Dawn. Would it have been a bit too much to add a woman who was nice and capable? See, it goes this way-Females kill and females die. In the end, Halle leaves you with a cliffhanger that upsets me so because now I just have to read the next book to find what happens next because, before I forget to mention, Dawn was an awesome character and the cliffhanger ties the noose around her neck!Cross-posted on Books behind Dam{n}s

4.5Let's talk about awesomeness.Being very nearly awesome, I can give you some very helpful insight into the world of awesomeness, but I think I should let Celeste Ritsuko and Janus Mikani of the Criminal Investigation Department(CID) help you.Ritsuko and Mikani live in an old, gold world of magic that's gone peek-a-boo, with only a hint here and sometimes more there.It's a world that was drafted, written about ten years ago. Mighty old, thus acquiring awesome might over the years. There is attention and a bravery that comes with age in the lines and words and niches and everything in between. There are splendid buildings and shiny writing, remarkable characters and steampunk hints, expensive oregano and Infernum apparatus, a species of constructed geometrical equipmen used to gruesomely kill young, noble ladies in rituals.Aaand bonus: a humbling cane.Milord, I bow in the face of your shining glory. Minstrels sing ballads of your grandeur behind waterfalls, on days when the sunlight and moonlight clash upon the surface of sacred marshes.Ritsuko and Mikani will now further establish the awesomeness of this book. Ritsuko, oh you sly muffin. She's a woman in the men's world, working twice as hard for a three-quarters of the same wage. She's a no-nonsense hard-working, sophisticated, clinical and slyly funny woman. On the other hand, Mikani is devoted and humorous, with a bit of quixotic nature. He wears a hat and carries the cane, which shall be taken into account, since awesomeness is totally not above this kind of shallow judgement.Co-workers becoming partners becoming friends and hopefully becoming more, they work together and flow into a seamless pattern whilst operating in the midst of dead bodies. There is a subtle romance, very light and fine, like a strand of web, and just as tenacious minus the very disgusting fact of it housing a spiders. Mikani and Ritsuko seem to be engaged in an indefinite shadow dance. There is another character, Aurelia Wright. She has a courtier too, named Theron Nuall. Their dance is much more elegant and just as beguiling as R & M's, for wholly different reasons. I don't predict much of them in the next book, and that saddens me. Hopefully, I'm wrong.Once more, I'd like to expound on the fantastic world-building and writing. Are you, like me, easily distracted by shiny things?If so, I warn you to sit down, practise and get yourself to concentrate on the monotone of cricket narration while there are chimes of glass and silver tinkling behind you.Otherwise, this will make for a very disorienting 336 pages. It's a very shiny world and very shiny writing.See the Agruirres drop stuff like this-...his coat was incongruously well tailored, and his waistcoat shone with gold thread. Yet he has a face like a broken clock.And then, without any consideration for the reader, this-“Inspectors Mikani and Ritsuko, CID. Consider this . . . a civic duty. We have a few questions. Mr. Stokes gives us good answers, and we all go away happy and with the satisfaction of a day well spent.”I was left befuddled and dazzled, still lost in the glaze of bright things but confused by the sudden onslaught of such grimness.My only complaint is that I figured out the identity of the culprit(to some extent) halfway through the book. :c Reader intuition, you sucksss.But it was so sparkly and action-y and magical, it makes me love it so. Such kind of, special kind of creative and refreshing. So was this your kind of awesome? Am I not just the prefect awesome-guru? Do come back for more awesomeness. :DCross-posted on Books behind Dam{n}s

This was a rather easy, breezy read.And let's get it out of the way, already: This is not [b:Angelfall|11500217|Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days, #1)|Susan Ee|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1319887835s/11500217.jpg|16435765].It features angels, Thralls, girls who don't don't kick angel asses, but do shoot them in the face, hunter priests, and wings. Duh.It's been six years since angels started kidnapping people from Riley's town. Hartwich. One year since her best friend was taken.So what she does is, shoot an angel in the face, tie him up and interrogate him.Except there is the teensy problem that all the angel guy, Gabe, remembers isMy baby has a bright blue CadillacShe drives it so fast I think it could flyAnd someday soon we're gonna go to the moonAim that bright blue Cadillac right into the sky.Riley is your typical un-typical YA girl. You know, the one with good grades, nerdy, no fashion sense, one friend, speaks her mind. Blah, blah, blah. Well, at least, she is alright friends with the high school cheerleader; even if they don't like each other that much, at least they are civil. From the beginning.She talks about how teenagers enjoy their stereotypes and don't break out of their assigned molds. Wish she'd apply that one herself as well.She has three of the exact same dresses. And she is a kick-ass shot.So you know, overall, she's pretty cool, for a mainstream YA character. I liked her individual development and the narration was humorous. Gabe was an adorable character as well. Adding humor to unlikely situations, making it tolerable when the plot and narration got slow. he is deemed as a bad boy, I have no clue why. These days, it seems, driving a bike is the mark of a bad boy. Riley herself comments that he acts like a bad boy when he isn't. He does his homework, warns his keep, plays nice to adults, isn't stupid. You decide the rest.However, the rest of the cast, barring a few people, feel like cardboard cutouts, not dynamic enough. No, not really.In fact, they are like those plastic-balloony animals that little kids play with. You know, the ones that you punch and they come right back at you. Fun and enjoyable, but when we come down to it, nothing memorable.The craziness and religious fanaticism that gets a hold of Hartwich was amusing to observe, if a bit unrealistic.The story and writing style has got this quite contemporary-ish feel to it, a light-hearted-ness that's usually lacking in urban fantasies and paranormal romances. It is short and sweet, and goes down your throat damn easily.The plot is simplistic and there are a few unexpected reveals here and there, but like I said, goes down easily. It has a linear storyline that branches out towards the end, leaving with a supposedly killer cliffhanger and lots of threads are left hanging.But I'm hoping against hope that the author drops it, even though I probably will pick up the sequel if or when it comes.Ultimately, this book, while affable and delightful, lacks that somethings and I was a bit let down, for I expected something more.Besides,first I though, it was just a girl on a bike.But I looked closer, and it was a girl on a bike behind a boy.Pfft!An ARC was provided by the publishers for reviewing purposes.Crossposted on Books behind Dam{n}s

Oh my, oh my, oh my.This is scary. Truly.And the graphics are so amazing.I don't have anything else to say except this is truly intense.Plus, after watching the anime as well, I'd recommend it more only because it has music and sounds in the background, giving it the perfect edge that lacks in reading the manga.

3.75 or 3.899992First the darkness came for the othersand I lit my candle.Drowned were the others in the next wavebut I swam it out.Then the others cried their livesand I shut my eyes.And the Silence felled the othersbut I swallowed my howls.Finally, the others took my heartand it was the fifth wave. On the surface, [b:The 5th Wave|16101128|The 5th Wave (The Fifth Wave, #1)|Rick Yancey|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1359853842s/16101128.jpg|19187812] isn't quite different from the multitude of alien invasion books out there. What sets it apart is the subtle way [a:Rick Yancey|3377941|Rick Yancey|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1267926830p2/3377941.jpg] has incorporated the feeling isolation, desperation, the need for compassion and the strife of the last ones, developing them expertly through multiple characters' voices. The story is cool enough, but a bit similar to what we've probably already read but then he also takes the old apocalyptic theme and gives it a new flavor and leaves me, Holy Shizzeballs.From the first line, it is daunting.THERE WILL BE NO AWAKENING.And then Cassie comes in and she's allBecause if I am the last one, then I am humanity.And if this is humanity’s last war, then I am the battlefield.And me goes:The story moves on and people die and birds are the culprits, which is very awesome because they shit everywhere and so they must be conspiring to ruin us humans. Huge green eyes blink and ka-boom! you're dead. And aliens go shoot-em-all and people die some more and they all speak in the language of literacher. This truly was cool. All the sci-fi I've read lately with a few exceptions were crappily written and this was a good change in the pace.Then the fifth wave comes over.It includes killing innocents, suffering consequences and losing your mind in a cunning mental onslaught, where you try and try and try to figure out whom to trust and innocents who could have survived one more day die in the crossfire. Do you survive or let the other person? Must it really come to this choice? Is the strength in numbers more important or safety in isolation?The multiple characters in the book give it a nice edge, especially counting in the book's predictability. You figure it all out and wait for it to happen but at the last moments, it changes the POV's and sometimes, it's feels a bit manipulative, like the author knows subtlety isn't his forte and is trying to surprise you by dropping it on you just when you are finally invested in the incumbent storyline. Sometimes, the writing is abstract and it helps in setting the atmosphere. Sometimes, the same lines are repeated a bit differently and they acquire varied meanings, something which would have been very cool if the repetitions were used scarcely and assiduously. The two main characters, Cassie and Zombie, feel like they are living parallel lives. Zombie's voice is too similar to Cassie's and he reads like her placed in another situation. Strangely enough, after the Zombie chapters started, I felt more connected to him, felt the will to hope crush out of him, mainly because Cassie gets involved in romance and it fucking metamorphoses her.Suddenly, Cassie becomes an annoying, stupid, lovesick teenager. Not the determined, hard girl I felt for in the beginning. I get the romance, I get how it might have come about. After being alone for so long and then somebody comes in and cares for you, you are bound to develop some feelings for him, no matter how puke-inducing they might be, no matter how creepy the love interest might be and you are bound to transform and get giddy. It just bothers me how much she changes and it becomes truly awkward. Especially towards the end of the romantic parts, her voice becomes weird and all over the place. I blame [a:Rick Yancey|3377941|Rick Yancey|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1267926830p2/3377941.jpg] for that, not Cassie, though. I think he needs to work on his annoying, stupid, lovesick teenager a bit more.Plus, he also makes her goHiding behind a tree like a girl.And that makes me go all, Da Faq? da faq? Thankfully, the portion ends and she goesIt isn’t exactly like shooting a can from a fence post.It’s actually a lot easier: His head is closer and a heck of a lot bigger.And I goEvan, Cassie's romantic interest, is just creepy and lemme say it, I hope he dies. He is disturbing and he spies and reads your diary. He loves you before he talks with you and he is the definition a non-Meyer Edward Cullen, especially when he goes“I’ll do whatever you say, Cassie,” he says helplessly. I don't like my men helpless. Speaking of which, Zombie has a friend, Ringer, who is the antonym of helpless. But she is not constructed properly and I hope Yancey takes her up in the next book.The story in targeted towards young adults and so there are kids and they are soldiers. Seven-year old soldiers, which is not plausible but I loved it because ummm... they are kids and they shoot adults. Being a teenager gives you such a mentality. And the plot, mixed in with the sometimes haunting writing is all veryA night sky full of criesHearts filled with lies......Now I've lost itI know I can killBut the book has a rather tamed quality about it. And that's what bars me from giving this book the four stars it very well deserves. I expected a wildness, a randomness, craziness after all the comparisons to the [b:The Hunger Games|2767052|The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1)|Suzanne Collins|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1358275334s/2767052.jpg|2792775] and it failed in the delivery.And I think there's this scene right out of The Hunger Games-I pull off his shirt. He’s looking up into my face; I avoid his gaze. While I tug off his boots, he unbuckles his belt and pulls down the zipper. He lifts his butt, but I can’t get his pants off—they’re plastered to his body with tacky blood.“Rip them,” he says. He rolls over onto his stomach. I try, but the material keeps slipping through my fingers when I pull.“Here, use this.” He holds up a bloody knife. I don’t ask him where the blood came from. I cut from hole to hole slowly; I’m terrified of cutting him. Then I strip the pants away from each leg, like peeling a banana.[b:The 5th Wave|16101128|The 5th Wave (The Fifth Wave, #1)|Rick Yancey|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1359853842s/16101128.jpg|19187812] isn't one I automatically loved; I had to work for it. And despite all the problems I had with this book, I really would recommend it to all, even readers who are ambivalent towards the sci-f- genre. Especially them.Cross-posed on Books behind Dam{n}s

The library took it back :c

Long review ahoy!There are some things you need to savor. Slowly. Lemon tarts, Jonah Griggs and Revelry.[b:Gameboard of the Gods|13477883|Gameboard of the Gods (Age of X, #1)|Richelle Mead|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361308921s/13477883.jpg|19008983] isn't one of them. It's a one-swallow book, IMO. Everybody's already said it so I'm gonna join the parade-[a:Richelle Mead|137902|Richelle Mead|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1270374609p2/137902.jpg] is aiming for the stars. This world of hers is truly ambitious.Now I'm gonna rain on the parade-It has baseless foundation.I do know how that sounds.Here's the thing- I'm not a reader who goes into the background much. I accept weird things that have no back-story. But that's the only thing I accept.Give me a weird story and try to stuff it in superficial boundaries of 'realism', which it will inevitably break out of, and not back it up with established reasons and I get frustrated. Me, a girl who follows the extremely simple logic of it fits or it doesn't.This is what Mead has done here.She has built and built and built this huge coliseum of her futuristic, non-democratic world and in the process many of her ground-level arches have crumbled, inevitably falling upon the story taking place in the arena. The country of RUNA, apparently, is the last bastion of order and peace in a perishing world of Post-Decline. The Decline was an outbreak of a Mephistopheles virus, causing infertility, asthma and damaged skin and hair. That is all.But they say: The RUNA held three things responsible for the Decline: biological manipulation, religion, and cultural separatism.*How does religion come into play?*So they ban religion. For no fucking reason. Banning of religion is an interesting theme but unlike [b:Unholy Ghosts|6261189|Unholy Ghosts (Downside Ghosts, #1)|Stacia Kane|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1359346082s/6261189.jpg|6444397], the introduction of this aspect of the RUNA was just there for convenience. *They blame cultural separatism.*The social structure of the RUNA is heavily based on ancient on Roman civilization. Obviously, there is separatism. However, this one is based on genetic purity/isolation and castes. there are patricians, or castals and there are Plebians.During the Decline, the RUNA found the solution to eradicating Mephistopheles: genetic mix-up. So the RUNA and its sister nation, EA exchanged people and forced them to procreate. But there were some high-classes people, the ones backing up RUNA and providing patronage, who didn't want this. They wanted their genes to remain pure. They formed their castes. Nordic, Irish, Finnish, Swede etc.( and let's even assume for a moment that they aren't races, but castes. give the author some liberty.)Other than the blatant defiance of the RUNA's founding logic(which, very clearly, would lead to the immediate downfall of the government), this is also severely stupid and illogical.In today's world, interracial and international marriages are extensive, not to mention the abductions from third-world countries and the red light districts that flaunt these abducts. There is still racial purity but, I believe, only in third-world countries and developing countries. I could always be wrong but even so, supposing that the story is set ion future, even its past is set in our future, I would suppose that by the time we reach that point, ours will be a world of Nepalese in Guatemala and Serbians in Mexico.I don't believe there will be any nativity in our genes for racial superiority.Even if I let it be, I wish the castes had been expounded on more. Rather than on their supposed superiority and disdain, Mead should have concentrated on clearing the different caste divides. All castes are treated the same and the only difference is in their names and appearances, which is mentioned only once. Once, for fuck's sake!There is also the resuscitation of sexism in the castes. Why the hell? No clue.Castal girls are taught to be hostesses and to follow what they are told. Sports and independence and studies, beyond etiquette and music, is not for them. Well they could if they wanted to but their peeps don't allow it.Da faq?I guess, all these centuries and revolutions are allowed to bow down before an epidemic. I mean, secularism and equality do pale in comparison to money.Beware the future: there'll be devolution.Beyond the RUNA, it's gutter-time. Well, at least in Panama, where sexism is in the very air. Upper class girls, from good family, much like the patricians in the RUNA, are forbidden from so many things. It's even worse the castals', actually. It's Victorian-era separatism of boys and girls. There need to be fucking chaperones if a boy and a girl are left alone(?) or to take a fucking walk.How in the name of all that is sacred to Lumatere women and Quintana does this happen? How do societal groups, albeit secluded ones, become so patriarchal? Where is the spirit of feminism? Even a half-assed excuse, like in so many dystopian novels, would have sufficed. Also, the technological disparity between the RUNA and Panama is unreal.Seriously, all there is to this world is all kinds of bad -ism's.There are three main characters in the book: Mae, Justin and Tessa. They are plausible characters but sometimes, Mae and Justin come across as too similar. They both have addictions and a certain way of thinking. Both reach conclusions too late and get affronted too easily and then feel sorry too much. Tessa, I felt, was a useless character and the story didn't really require anything from her POV. I suppose chapters from her POV were introduced so we could get a better feel of the world, but they were just annoying and distracting from the original plot. The book could have done without her, IMO.The writing has definitely matured from the VA series and flows easily. It's serviceable enough but sometimes(very few) it seemed that the author was trying too hard.There are many lines of plots going on, one on top of the other, that all go on parallel for some time. Towards the end they all converge except one. That one is left hanging. I have no clue why? I mean, it's something you should provide closure for,even if you don't solve it, precisely because it doesn't form a major part of the storyline. There is not even a mention of that in the last few chapters, as though everyone just forgot about it.The plot is fast-paced and though the mystery is easy enough to solve, it's extremely addictive. [a:Richelle Mead|137902|Richelle Mead|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1270374609p2/137902.jpg] does have a way of hooking you in, if nothing else.There is also gods-y, delectable stuff and yummy, yummy potpourri of myths, old and newly-created, which gives [b:Gameboard of the Gods|13477883|Gameboard of the Gods (Age of X, #1)|Richelle Mead|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1361308921s/13477883.jpg|19008983] another cookie point.In light of my review, a three-star rating seems high but what the heck?! It was cool, and managed to distract me from my Chemistry assignment. I still prefer the first three VA books, though, and their kick-ass characters. My copy was an ARC provided to me by a friend. Cross-posted on Books behind Dam{n}s

2.5just a teensy bit better than Nicola and the Viscount.

Jasper Jones has come to my window.I have been in love with Jasper Jones for a long time. Long before I broke the spine of the book. But that is none of your concern.[b:Jasper Jones|8407173|Jasper Jones|Craig Silvey|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1275886753s/8407173.jpg|6560290] isn't really a murder mystery, or thriller, or about separating myths from truths. It's just an instance of racism and small town conservativeness. About what can come of it if you throw a fire and lay-offs and murders and fucking army selection in the mix. It's always the recluse and the different that get blamed.Jasper Jones is an added bonus.It tackles racism in the tiny town of Corrigan but it doesn't absolve anybody of their shit. The wicked aren't punished and the just aren't justified. Shit goes on.What happened in Corrigan happens in Corrigan.Shit luck and chance.Story of life, as they say.Charlie Bucktin, the MC, is a nerd with the nerdy problems of bullies and shyness. Then Jasper Jones comes to his window and boy, does he bring baggage. Charlie was the perfect voice to be the medium of this story. His voice becomes contemplative and unbelievably mature sometimes, but then it's downright dorky and kiddish and thus, as the mood of the book swings, from 'with Jasper' to 'without Jasper normal life' to 'alone in deep shit', it indeed sets the requisite atmosphere.FromJasper Jones speaks the whole truth in a town of liars. ToLife might be easier if you give in a little, but it’s better if you hold on to something so hard you can’t give it up.And “Your reign is over! Pure talent has prevailed.”There are also inner discussions on the world and the crap that goes on in it. Interesting monologues that every kid has had with themself at least on a superficial level, I believe, if not to such depth as Charlie.A world that kills parents and makes orphans of children and kicks away cricket balls and lies through its sharp teeth. That makes a decent person feel like rubbish all his life because he’s poorer and browner and motherless. That hosts three billion folks, each of them as lonely as the other. A world that’s three-quarters water, none of which can quench your thirst.There are not many characters in this story but the ones there actually are, they are paid importance. Even the wife of the president of the town council is given some characterization, some personality, even though she was framed in just a few sentences, a few scenes. Even the people we don't meet in this novel are built up with conversations. So much so that I was able to deduce that this could very have been [b:Please Ignore Vera Dietz|6665671|Please Ignore Vera Dietz|A.S. King|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320541615s/6665671.jpg|6860540] were it written from a specific side character's POV. Heck, Jasper Jones is the title and he's such a complex and real person, and he is there only for 35%(guess-est.) of the novel.And [a:Craig Silvey|341493|Craig Silvey|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1293846559p2/341493.jpg] gets you to care for each and every one of them, even the budding psychopath. Well, except for the ones you don't. The story is set in a hot summer during the Cold War and there's the budding resentment towards Red Rats* and the general stuffiness of the season in the background.Charlie's best friend, Jeffery Lu, is an immigrant and he plays yet another role in demonstrating the bigotry festering in small towns.Jeffrey hops up and shadowboxes, huffing “I’m so pretty, I’m so pretty” under his breath. Whenever there's a lull, especially in the middle of the book, Jeffery and Charlie's idiotic and clinical conversations, somewhat akin to Marco and Stephen from [b:Marco Impossible|12477984|Marco Impossible|Hannah Moskowitz|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1338318525s/12477984.jpg|17462409], more than make up for it.“Pffft! That’s barely your wicket. That one goes down to the Law of Averages. Or the Infinite Monkey Theory. Or both. If enough chimps hurl balls at a master for long enough, eventually he’s going to tire of belting them all over the place and make an uncharacteristic mistake.”“It must be exhausting.”“The belting?”“No, the constant kissing of your own arse.”All that aside, Charlie has problems of his own that have been intruding in his life long before Jasper Jones. Mainly his mother. The ending with her, however, felt a bit cowardly to me. It sure was consistent with her behavior and plausible but something about it just doesn't sit right with me.There isn't a happy ending, per se, for anyone in this book but the last paragraph... That's called a figurative blow to the heart and mind. Or to the gut, more likely.The writing is nothing different but damn, it's beautiful. It keep on gaining momentum with simple and straightforward sentences most of the time, and then dropsIt was the saddest, angriest constellation of words she’d ever traced with her eyes.And fuck, it seems like,"When the fuck did that turn into this?"In fact, it reminded me of [b:On the Jellicoe Road|1162022|On the Jellicoe Road|Melina Marchetta|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1212708945s/1162022.jpg|6479100] very much.But little, insignificant things conspired and ultimately, I can't bring myself to give it five stars. Mostly because it almost made me cry but not a single tear was shed. It is true, though, that I have stone heart and I don't usually cry. It's really just about prejudice and how fatal it can be, how it ruins lives. Innocent lives. How rumors and myths go out of hand. Something that has been aptly described by Phaedra from Lumatere-If your people mean no offense, they should not speak their thoughts out loud in front of their children, Tesadora. Because it will be their children who come to slaughter us one day, all because of the careless words passed down by their elders who meant no harm. Do I recommend this book? Heck yeah! I mean, I have already used three of my all time favorite books to describe it and if you love even of them, go and read it and don't breathe 'til you finish it.Now, lemme go and cry over Jellicoe because this book's brought out the worst and the best nostalgic book memories I have...And Jasper Jones doesn’t come.*which is a very offensive term for Vietnamese, invented by some fucking, dip-shitting asshole and dude, the fuck does it mean? Cross-posted on Books behind Dam{n}s

Is it scary? You bet. But what’s the alternative? Even scarier, believe me.If you are being hurt, find a trusted adult, one that DOESN’T hurt, and TELL.The truth really does set you free. - Emily MurdochA few-about four or five-years ago, I read this short story for school about two wolf-sisters. A reverend once ventures into the woods and finds two little girls living in the midst of a wolf's lair, rolling around with wolf cubs and munching on deer bones. The reverend brings them home but there isn't much scope of adaptation. The reverend and his wife try to rehabilitate them amongst other kids in the orphanage they run, but months later, they'd still be woken up by howls at midnight. There isn't a happy ending here. The girls inevitably die, the younger one sooner rather than later. I believe it was a variation of this unproven account.[b:If You Find Me|15793231|If You Find Me|Emily Murdoch|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1364401872s/15793231.jpg|18670766] could very well be the refined, modern version of the story. Carey, and her little sister, Jenessa, live in an isolated broken-down camper in the middle of a forest. Their mother is a fucked up woman who has a penchant for deserting them for months at a time.She was barely there, the last year, and still not there, when she was. And that’s not counting the times she was there and a person wished with all her might she wasn’t. It's a terrible life, Carey's. But it's all she's known. And sometimes, even when you hate it, the terrifying, intolerable known is miles better than the indefinite. But the shadows-which might not even be shadows-catch up. Always.This time when her mother went, she went for good. And the real world comes to reclaim the two naive sisters, snarfing up beans and wishing they were not snarfing up beans. They are found by their father and opened up to a completely different world of bedazzled jeans, pancakes and toasty toes. And the whole shebang from here on...This tale of Carey's is a yarn so expertly weaved and it captures every butterfly of emotion from pain to grit to little, varied versions of happiness along with a motley crew of other human emotions and gets them across impeccably. It is also extremely dark, dealing with very tough issue that require a lot of tissues(see what I did there? I'm so lame :(). Harsh and tenacious, sad, horrifyingly sad. Carey's transformation as she grows to accept these changes in her life-learning to not let go, but come to terms with her past, watching the trees fade away-is truly astounding, and moreover, believable. Her attitude, her mindset towards the two different worlds keeps fluctuating with every new step she takes towards something that is its own kind of freedom, while still being a cage. The part that remains stuck like a leech on my heart is everything-Delaney. Delaney is the step-sister Carey acquires when she comes into her father's family. It starts out with nonchalance, then vehemence, bitterness and acceptance, that I believe will gradually transform into some form of unbreakable, sibling bond. The relationship between these two girls is rocky to boot, yet there is hope. It reminds me somewhat of June and her sister's strenuous relationship from Tell the Wolves I'm Home, which, not quite incidentally, was also my favorite part of the book. I remain a true lover of conflict.And again, like that one book, this is also a debut novel that is so brilliantly written I have a hard time believing it's the author's first book....the morning not just a vision but a feeling, a scent, a taste that enters your pores and coasts through your veins until it fires up your very soul.In the conclusion, I just wanna leave with this song that reminds me of the book's ending for no particular reason-Mr Raindrop falling away from me now.Mr Raindrop falling away from me now.Mr Raindrop falling away from me now.Mr Raindrop falling away from me now.Do u know how much you mean to meWhy must you leave?I'm just a flower on a treeWhy must you leave?Cross-posted on Books behind Dam{n}s