Partials (Partials Sequence Book #1)

It's finally here! The New Year has begun! I guess this is my first review of the new year then! As I said in the previous one, I'll be updating a lot more frequently so you guys don't think I went off and hibernated for the winter. Although I wish I could because I don't want to go to school. Just me and my books forever and ever.
As you all now know about me, I somehow read a lot of books about the world ending. I don't know why. It just happens. Because of my now best friend introducing me to Ender's Game and the rest of that series, I began to love science fiction with a crazy passion.
And that's how I got here, reviewing a lot of science fiction stuff just because I like the themes in it and the recurring problems and solutions.

The cover-

During the Isolation Wars, a company called ParaGen provided both sides with the ultimate weapon called the Partials. They were virtually indestructible humanoid robots that only do their master's bidding. They could be outfitted with any human weapon and learn to use it in seconds. Give it a gun and enough bullets and a team of them could kill everyone in a whole city.
But as a side effect of being exposed to them, the Partials supposedly released a deadly virus called RM. It mostly affects newborn babies, taking over their bodies and killing them within days of birth. So the Senate passed the Hope Act. A law where any woman over the age of twenty and still in her child-bearing years had to become pregnant as frequently as possible. And the age limit has slowly been dropping. All in hope that one day, a child will be born immune to RM.

Kira is an apprentice to a doctor at her settlement's only hospital. She's sick and tired of just watching little babies die because they can't handle the disease. There are books and books filled with the names of babies that all have the same outcome. They die between the first day to first week. It's like they're all going nowhere in the battle against RM.
Kira has this very dangerously crazy idea that the Partials are the only hope against RM. Maybe there's something in them that can help in finding a cure. She wants to catch a Partial so she can study it and if not find the cure, learn something new about how to deal with this epidemic.
So she chooses the finest and most trustworthy team- her adopted sister Xochi and her best friend Marcus to come with her to Manhattan Island to capture a Partial and bring it back to Long Island to study.

But there is a force that has been halting their journey and it's not even on the side of the Partials.
There have been the systematic destruction of water towers, power plants and other vital resources that can only be attributed to a mysterious organization called the Voice. They want to scare the settlements into believing that the Partials aren't to blame for RM. And they couldn't be more correct.

When Kira, Xochi and Marcus bring back a live Partial, within a few days he begins to tell Kira that his species is dying too. Partials were programmed sterile, so they can't reproduce. And they were each given an expiration date. Each Partial was to live for exactly twenty years after its birth. This means that the ones programmed at the beginning of the war have already died and the others have probably five or less years to live. This makes her even more determined to find out what is the connection between RM, the Partials and humans. Whatever RM is, it's killing everything.

But once the Senate finds out that she is housing a Partial in the hospital, they give her a hard choice. Either they kill the Partial and she destroys her research or the Partial is kept in custody and they return to the way things used to be. Neither option seems particularly nice, so Kira breaks the rules and goes at it her own way.

Movie Rating- PG-13 for violence, brief bouts of strong language, some disturbing scenes

My thoughts-

The layout is very interesting. I couldn't stop reading it because this is the kind of thing I have thought about time and again. "What would humanity do if faced with extinction?" The Hope Act seems like a very logical choice, but I also would've gone about it Kira's way. Even though Samm (the Partial) would've killed them right away, he was fortunately understanding enough to help her keep both species alive.
It also shows the pros and cons of creating these kinds of super weapons. On one side, it may help win the war, but with something like RM, it could also jeopardize the entire human race.
I had gotten this book for a school thing and within the first night, I had read three quarters of the way through it. Just because the concept was so interesting.
I'm going to try and break away from this particular idea now, just because I want to expose myself to new things and not get hung up on only one idea. And I think I should have left this statement to my next review which is about a book that has a similar idea but a very different approach. And the funny thing is that I didn't even know about it when I picked up the book. I guess our minds always look for familiar things when selecting new books.

((There are two more books in the series. Ruins and Fragments.  There is also a parallel novel called Isolation which I would also like to read.))

Deadly Pink

It's so close to Christmas and I haven't even been posting anything. I got super busy with schoolwork and I had a deadline, so there was no time to blog. Actually, to tell the truth, I haven't even been reading much recently because of an English project that involves tons of reading and a lot of other stuff too.
Now as my goals for 2015, I will read as much as I can, in all genres and blog much more! I know it's kind of early to be thinking about 2015, but I like to think ahead and have a whole plan set out for me. Except, I usually don't follow that plan because there are other complications. I plan to double my number of reviews in 2015 and probably reach 75 if I can!

This book was just screaming Sword Art Online to me while I was reading it. (Okay fine, for those of you who don't know, Sword Art Online or SAO is a television show involving this girl who starts playing this simulation game and gets stuck inside it. There she can either beat the whole game and get out alive or die in the game and die in real life.)
Okay, yes I'm getting way off topic. Back to the book!

The cover-

Grace Pizzelli always wished to be like her older sister Emily. She's just the average one, while Emily is the amazing one. Where she loved video games, her sister loved makeup and looking pretty. When Grace needed it most, Emily was there to make it all better.

But this time, Emily needs Grace's help. She's gotten herself stuck inside one of the total immersion games at the new arcade. But the strange thing is that she doesn't want to come out. She's basically gotten herself totally immersed in a total immersion game. 

The technical team at the arcade has tried numerous times to forcefully pull her out of the game, but no matter what they do, her mind remains connected. It's like she doesn't want to live in the real world anymore. 

Grace is forced to enter the game in hopes that she can convince Emily to come out. 

And when she does, she nearly throws up at Emily's choice for the game she wanted to rot away in. It's a pretty pink world designed for ten year old girls. With fairies and houses made of candy.

With Grace trying to figure out how to play the game, she stumbles across a cast of interesting characters that are all mad at Emily for rigging the game. From little evil sprites to Emily's murderous servants, Pretty much everyone wants Emily gone, but they don't know how to get rid of her.

Upon meeting Grace, Emily spins her tale of shattered dreams and why she tried to kill herself inside the game. All because of good intentions that went horribly bad.

Grace finally convinces Emily to leave with her to the real world. But there is the small matter that they have to beat the game in order to leave. And funny thing is that they don't know how to. The game doesn't seem to have a problem that needs to be solved. And bribing the sprites into transporting them home would not be a wise idea, considering that they already hate Emily. So they plan to forcefully exit the game. Except how exactly are they going to do that?

Movie Rating- PG- for some action and some crude humor

My thoughts-

It was really interesting and kept me hooked for all the time reading it. I finished it in a few days because I just couldn't put it down. There was no way I was going to let go of a book that really spoke to me the way this one did. 

I myself am a little bit of a gamer. I mostly play minecraft and fantasy RPGs. Especially Summoner's War. My best friend introduced me to it and I'm completely hooked. I've been playing for almost a year actually... Only in the free time that I don't seem to have anymore. So when Grace was telling all of her experiences in the game, I couldn't help but connect it to games I've played in the past. Honestly, her expressions made me think of someone who plays Call of Duty all the time playing something cute like Cooking Mama. I'd be as disgusted too. Pink is not my thing at all.

The book is fairly short, but it's really interesting all the way through. There are no parts that seem to drag through. And that's what I look for in a good book.

One thing that seemed so weird to me was that all the male characters in the book were either mute or speaking another language. It's so strange that only the female characters were able to speak English. I'm wondering if this was because of Emily's changing the code or because this game was supposed to appeal to girls. 

What kept me laughing was when Grace entered the game again after the sprites threw her off the cliff and she materialized in a forest. While she was wandering around in the forest, she saw this boy sleeping in a hammock. He seemed fast asleep, so she didn't want to bother him. And then she realized that she desperately needed directions. So Grace woke him up and started talking to him. But he was extremely unresponsive. So since she thought he was of no use, she just tied him up to the tree in case he wanted to do anything to her. And then she felt really bad and untied him from the tree because he was too cute to be tied up there.

((There is no sequel that I know of. If I find out there is one, I will say right away in my next review. And there is a sequel to Blackout! It's called Deadzone! Can't wait to read it. You know what, I'll see if my library has it now!))

Prisoner of Night and Fog (Prisoner of Night and Fog Book #1)

I have been reading really slowly (partially because I'm lazy and partially because I have stuff to do.), but never fear. I have a new book to review.

This one I got because of an event in my school. I thought the book was very interesting and now we had a book discussion with the author. I never thought I'd ever meet someone who does this professionally.


The cover-

Gretchen is the beloved "niece" of the well-respected Herr Hitler. Because of this, she gets all sorts of perks associated with being close to the most powerful man in Germany.
But when she is suspected of helping a Jewish man after he is beat up by her brother and his friend, she catches the eye of the young and handsome reporter Daniel Cohen. He promises to her that he'll tell her what really happened to her father on the day he was killed.
In the days that follow, Gretchen is becoming more and more aware of the real hardship her family is going through. Her brother has become a monster who strikes fear into the hearts of her and mother. Her mother is hiding things about simple affairs that is making Gretchen wonder what their ulterior motives are.
What is her mother trying to hide? And when Gretchen goes to Hitler for support, she is turned away like she doesn't even matter.
The only one left to turn to is her elusive friend Daniel, who introduces her to many more allies who are equally as skeptical about her loyalties as she is. And who knows if he has his own use for her.
All Gretchen can do is hope that something good comes out of all of this and hope she doesn't get caught.

My thoughts-

A very well-written debut novel. Obviously a lot of preparation was done into the making of this. Every detail is so perfect. All the facts are correct. I like the story a whole lot. Although certain parts were a bit too painful to read, it's very detailed.
Each of the nearly four hundred pages is entertaining to read. You don't get bored. You don't feel like leaving it half way. I think this would be close to The Book Thief in my rankings of historical fiction genre. And that's pretty high. As I mentioned in my review of that book, it's my favorite historical fiction. I think this one could be second to that.
I think it's an amazing show of how good an author can be, even if they're just starting out. I think, if one takes their time, they can make a masterpiece.

I did finally get to meet the author. I learned quite a bit about World War II and how Hitler rose to power. I definitely walked out of both the presentation in school and the book club meeting with much more knowledge than I did coming in.
What was very interesting in my opinion was how the author was able to weave in the fictional murder of Gretchen's father with some actual events that happened in that time period. I honestly don't think it's easy to pull something like that off so well. It was very hard to believe.

This is basically an example of a very well-written long prose piece. I applaud the author tremendously for the amount of work she did (as she told us during the meeting.) and for the quality of the end result.

Movie Rating- PG-13 for violence, implied gore

((I love this book so much. The sequel is called Conspiracy of Blood and Smoke and will be releasing on April 21, 2015. I will keep an eye out for it around that time. Happy Reading!))

Variant

Yes, I know it's another science fiction book. Yes, I know I haven't been updating frequently. No, that's not a problem. It's really only because of my really crazy schedule that leaves me with no time to do any of the things I love (including blogging) for most of the week.

It's a book by Robison Wells, the author of Blackout, which I reviewed last month. I feel extremely sad that one of his books was sitting on my desk for nearly four weeks without me bothering to read it. Not what I intended, but I had almost five books to read before it.

Here's the cover-

Benson knows what it feels like to have to start fresh in a new area nothing like what you're used to. It's the drill. Being an orphan, he's used to moving from family to family. Some keep him from a few days to a week and others keep him for a few months. But no matter how attached he gets to his new family, Benson ends up having to move to a new family.
That all changes the year he signs up for a scholarship to Maxfield Academy. It seems like a prep school for smart kids, but Benson realizes that it's far from ordinary. In a school where there are no adults, there are three gangs of kids. One group is called Society, the keepers of the peace. Next is Havoc, the tough guys who think they're better than everyone. And last, Variant. The outcasts who didn't fit with either Havoc or Society. And they're probably the ones who haven't lost their sanity yet.
But soon their days of fun and games are over when Benson's friend Lily disappears and he has a disturbing vision about his girlfriend Jane that probably wasn't even a vision. After the two incidents, everyone is determined to break out. No matter what the cost.
However, there are spies within them and no one is safe. Who knows who is a spy and who is a student. Their last hope is to get out alive.


My thoughts-

Very well written. I'm not sure if I could call it science fiction. The androids could make it be science fiction, but I'm just not seeing it. Anyways, it was extremely well written. I felt like I was there along with Benson, struggling through each day.
I'm just having some after-finishing thoughts, but what happened to Lily? Was she kidnapped? Is she dead? Who knows. That's why there's a second book. And sadly enough, I have no clue what the name of that second book even is. So I have no way of requesting it. That's just horrible.
And also, the part where Benson woke up and saw himself in a well with Jane was a little weird. What bothered me enough was that she was drenched in blood and she pulled out her ear and plugged it in the computer. Not my type of thing. After reading that, I wanted to call it a night and go to sleep, but I kept reading.
And what makes me really sad was that Mason was also an android. He tried to kill Benson and Becky when they got over the wall because that was what he was programmed to do. He was programmed to kill anyone who got over the wall.
And honestly, why did Benson care to bring Becky with him, She's just a stuck up Society girl who is living her life having to suck up to the Iceman and the school. (the Iceman is the only adult in the school who gives out the morning announcements. He's nicknamed the Iceman because he reads the announcements each day in this sort of scary monotonous voice.)
But over all, the story was very interesting. It was full of crazy plot twists and all sorts of unexpected things got thrown at you. Which wasn't a bad thing in this case. Despite all the twists and turns, the story was relatively easy to follow. And simplicity is the best in novels. I honestly don't think anyone can stand reading a novel that has a way too complicated plot to even follow. (Actually, when I was a little younger, I wrote this really interesting story about animal-human shapeshifters that was so confusing even I couldn't follow it sometimes. That's why I know from experience that simple stories are usually much easier to read than very detailed stories with complicated plots. I guess I've gotten better as a writer. That's good to know.)

((I will find out the name of the second book in this series and definitely include it in my next post. Which might not be for a while because the first two weeks of November will probably leave me with almost no time to do anything.))

The Foundling (Monster Blood Tattoo Book #1)

It's been almost a month since I wrote an article. The reason- Life caught up to me and wasn't going to let me go. But I did get to read. Quite a bit. About this book, it's way better than the title sounds. Take it from me.

Honestly, if there's anything I'm really into, it's either monster hunting or alien attacks. Don't know why it appeals to me, but that's just how I am. Hey, I'm also into a few books about necromancy and some of the whole Angel and Demon fad.

The cover-

Rossamund is a boy with a girl's name. For all his years at the orphanage, he was always teased that his parents thought he was a girl and that he was a weakling just like a girl. Until the day where he was requested by the army to be a lamplighter, lighting the candles at night around the army camps.

Leaving the Orphanage is hard enough, but Rossamund is stuck trying to navigate in unfamiliar territory with his only guide, Fransitart the groundskeeper. 

When he is to board a boat that will take him to a town near to his destination, Rossamund meets a girl also headed for a destination in that area. Her name is Europe, a traveling monster hunter. Well, the trainer of a monster hunter. The real hunter is her partner who could be considered part monster himself.

They together make a duo that kills monsters that are bothering humans. They have a job to take care of in a forest in the province where the boat reaches. 

After finishing a fight and Europe's partner dead, Rossamund accidentally finds out her real identity. In truth, she is nothing like a monster hunter. In fact she has a more powerful role than he could have ever imagined. And since her partner has died, Rossamund is in for a very different occupation.

While traveling with Europe on their various quests, Rossamund is in for the ride of his life, finally realizing that "some people can be downright lethal."

Movie Rating- Rated PG-13 for violence and some disturbing scenes

My thoughts-

One of the most thought provoking monster novels I have ever read. The details are a little hard to grasp when you are beginning the book, but once you are probably half way through the book, you start to understand the amazing ways of Rossamund's world. 

And the last hundred pages are all an Explicarium which explains the workings of the land of the Half-Continent, giving answers to most of your questions throughout the book.

Rossamund is a really interesting character. He and Europe really do make the best team. They are pretty much exact opposites and their fights are what make the book very light at times. But the majority of the book was meant to be a scary novel meant for Halloween time with a very deep meaning.

What I must say is that you are provided with illustrations of the characters and the monsters, so it is actually a bit easier to picture the characters the way the author pictured them. Honestly, the monsters look way scarier when they are drawn than what I imagined. And I never imagined Europe to be the age she is. And Rossamund is described to be older, but in his picture, he looks like a little kid. I finally understand the ripping out hair that some authors might feel like doing when they find that everyone imagines the same character differently. That's why some provide illustrations. But never before have I seen a whole world laid out for me in this way.

I can't wait to get the other books in this series, but I put it on my hiatus list for a while because I have a lot of books to read, both for school and outside of school. And honestly, the stack of books on my desk is like a tower now. I don't even think it could be called a stack. And I bought a few more books to add to my library of a room and plan to buy some more tomorrow. More reviews on those coming up when life decides to let go of me (aka, when I actually manage to finish all my homework and studying. Which is just about never. Hey, I often struggle to find time to write during the day).