Sick by Tom Leveen

Sick by Tom Leveen
Series: N/A
Source: Publisher for review
Publisher: Abrams
Publication Date: October 1, 2013

Breakfast Club meets The Walking Dead as a group of unlikely allies tries to survive a deadly outbreak.

Brian and his friends are not part of the cool crowd. They’re the misfits and the troublemakers—the ones who jump their high school’s fence to skip class regularly. So when a deadly virus breaks out, they’re the only ones with a chance of surviving.

The virus turns Brian’s classmates and teachers into bloodthirsty attackers who don’t die easily. The whole school goes on lockdown, but Brian and his best friend, Chad, are safe (and stuck) in the theater department—far from Brian’s sister, Kenzie, and his ex-girlfriend with a panic attack problem, Laura. Brian and Chad, along with some of the theater kids Brian had never given the time of day before, decide to find the girls and bring them to the safety of the theater. But it won’t be easy, and it will test everything they thought they knew about themselves and their classmates.

Sick was kind of a weird read for me. I went into it expecting this awesome, kick-ass crew of people fighting terrifying zombies that are in lockdown with them. But I didn't really get that, to tell you the truth. While there was zombies, and there was a group of people fighting them, most of the story centers around Brian and his problems with that. I felt like Chad (my personal favorite) would have been a better main character, because he was enlisting, and it seemed like he was doing a lot of the planning/fighting.

But since Brian was the main character, I'll talk about him. I didn't actually particularly care for him. He was so... indecisive. I felt like he didn't really know what he wanted, besides getting his sister safe. Which is a noble cause, yes. But once his sister was safe, it was his ex-girlfriend. It's like he didn't really care who got hurt trying to save "his" stuff. (Which it seems mean to call them stuff, but I'm just trying to make a generalization.)

I tried to like Brian, but... I enjoyed his friend Chad so much more! He was sweet, and even if he was prone to being a total jerk sometimes, it's still obvious that he cares. And I love what they start calling him towards the end... "Ten Ball". Like a billiards (#10 is blue stripe) ball, because of his mohawk. (LOVE THAT)

Now, towards the end, all sorts of things started to get weird. I generally like zombie books (gross, rotting flesh eating monsters chasing people is so me), but... I felt like the zombies were kind of shallow-ish. Their part of the story wasn't as... filled out as I would have liked it to be. Not enough action or grotesque-ness, I guess. And to be honest, I never really understood where this "plague" came from. There was some kind of explanation, but I didn't really get it.

This could have been a lot more dramatic, in my mind. And the ending.. don't even get me started. I thought that the ending would be the clincher-- the thing that solved all of my problems with this book... but it wasn't. All in all, Sick just wasn't the read that I hoped it would be. Chad was the absolute best part... and I can't talk about him right now.

Goodbye, Rebel Blue by Shelley Coriell

Goodbye, Rebel Blue by Shelley Coriell
Series: N/A
Source: Publisher for review
Publisher: Abrams
Publication Date: October 1, 2013

Rebecca Blue is a rebel with an attitude whose life is changed by a chance encounter with a soon-to-be dead girl. Rebel (as she’s known) decides to complete the dead girl’s bucket list to prove that choice, not chance, controls her fate. In doing so, she unexpectedly opens her mind and heart to a world she once dismissed—a world of friendships, family, and faith. With a shaken sense of self, she must reevaluate her loner philosophy—particularly when she falls for Nate, the golden boy do-gooder who never looks out for himself. Perfect for fans of Jay Asher’s blockbuster hit Thirteen Reasons Why, Coriell’s second novel features her sharp, engaging voice along with realistic drama and unforgettable characters.

Honestly, I've been looking forward to thins one for a while. So, when I opened a random package and found this, my face immediately went like this: O.O I started it as soon as I could, and in the long run, I really wasn't all that disappointed with it. Yeah, it could have been better, but it also could have been worse; and as a whole I enjoyed it.

I found Rebel to be an interesting, unique type character. She had several quirks that I have too (constant lack of shoes being the #1) and I just connected with her. She was constantly herself, and she was really comfortable that way, which made her rock so hard. She may not have been perfect, but I liked her and that's all that really matters. Also, I love her name-- it fits her personality well. My favorite thing about her-- my absolute favorite-- was her growth. I really feel like she grew throughout the book into a better person.

But for every awesome-I-can't-get-enough-of-you character, there's always one who falls a bit flat. I say this because I know that it is true, and in this case it was Nate, the love interest. I didn't find him to be anymore than subpar, and it surprised me at first that someone as awesome as Rebel would want to be with him. He was such a blank canvas-- typical golden boy. I'm a huge advocate against stereotypes, but in this case he just was one. I didn't particularly care for him, but I loved his colorful family! What kind of a sick joke is that, I ask you?

But let's get to the real heart of the story-- bucket lists. I have always been fascinated by bucket list. The idea that someone somewhere might be completing something on their bucket list at any given time is like the coolest feeling. Kind of makes me wanna do some of the stuff on my...never mind. Anyway, the bucket list-- first of all, I feel like Kennedy's death and the subject of fate were kind of underplayed. Don't shoot me or anything, but that's just me.

I keep getting off subject, but...bucket lists. I liked the idea of completing someone's bucket list after their death, and how it would change someone-- but when I think of bucket lists I think of crazy crazy things, and Kennedy's bucket list was really lacking in that department. She was really white bread, but it was nice to see how doing some of those tasks changed Rebel.

All in all, Goodbye, Rebel Blue really was a good book, and I recommend it if you like bucket lists. Or blue. ;)

Spelling Troubles by Frank Cammuso

Spelling Troubles by Frank Cammuso
Series: The Misadventures of Salem Hyde, #1
Source: Publisher for Review
Publisher: Abrams
Publication Date: October 1, 2012

Salem Hyde just isn’t like other kids. For one thing, she’s stubborn, independent, and impulsive. For another, she’s a witch. Salem acts first and thinks later—which means most of her thinking involves coming up with excuses!

Good thing she’s been assigned an animal companion, Lord Percival J. Whamsford III. This over-anxious cat doesn’t like Salem calling him "Whammy,” and Salem doesn’t like listening to his long-winded explanations as to why she shouldn’t do something . . . like enter the class spelling bee.

Salem knows she can beat all her classmates at spells, no problem. Too late, she realizes the competition is about spelling words, not magic. And there’s nothing like a misspelled spell to cause all kinds of havoc!

All of my thoughts on Spelling Trouble are really short, but I think that's okay, because it's really short. So anyway, let's get started.

To tell you the truth, I didn't really like Spelling Trouble. It was cute, yes. But...it didn't have anything else going for it, and on top of that I'm way too old for it anyway-- but I believe that a good book (no matter what age group it's for) is a good book. So. I read it. And it disappointed me immensely. I felt like it was too convoluted-- it was very hard for me to focus on it and follow the story.

It was also way too short, and the comics left a little to be desired. But on the plus side, I've heard that the final version will be printed in colored ink! All in all, Spelling Trouble was very sweet, but it just didn't click with me as a good children's book. I encourage you to give it a shot, though!

Bruised by Sarah Skilton

Bruised by Sarah Skilton
Series: N/A
Source: Won
Publisher: Amulet
Publication Date: March 5, 2013

When Imogen, a sixteen-year-old black belt in Tae Kwon Do, freezes during a holdup at a local diner, the gunman is shot and killed by the police, and she blames herself for his death. Before the shooting, she believed that her black belt made her stronger than everyone else -- more responsible, more capable. But now her sense of self has been challenged and she must rebuild her life, a process that includes redefining her relationship with her family and navigating first love with the boy who was at the diner with her during the shootout. With action, romance, and a complex heroine, Bruised introduces a vibrant new voice to the young adult world -- full of dark humor and hard truths.

By the time my brother arrives, he can't get to me.

For me, Bruised was an interesting change from my normal reads. The only reason that I read it was because I got it from the SARC. I would have missed out on a fantastic book, to tell you the truth. It was nothing like what I expected. The synopsis made it sound fairly boring, but there was not one dull moment!

The very first scene was the scene. And I don't say that lightly. I loved the mystery behind the shooting-- Imogen is blocking it from her mind, and I really wanted to know what happened. It all unfolds beautifully towards the end, I must say.

Actually, a lot of things unfolded beautifully towards the end.

But let's talk about the beginning. The beginning was intense, y'all. We witness a shooting, then we witness life after a shooting for a black belt. The guilt that Imogen felt was so real and sad that I could imagine why she felt that way.

I loved Imogen, I really did! When we first met her, I feel like her spirit was crushed. But over the course of the story, she starts to really gain it back-- I love that kind of development. It felt so real and natural, but I wish that she hadn't been so hard on herself. I also wish that she hadn't been so hard on Ricky.

For the most part, I really enjoyed Ricky! Sometimes he said or did something that was a little off-color, but he made a great friend, and he was just so sweet and nice. I don't think that I could stress enough about his perfect mix of bad-boy and sweet-heart. He was such a gentleman!

All in all, Bruised was a fantastic read about putting yourself back together after tragedy.

Splintered by A.G. Howard

Title: Splintered
Author: A.G. Howard
Series: N/A
Source: Won
Publisher: Abrams
Publication Date: January 1, 2013
Goodreads||The Book Depository

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

Splintered is one of those books that you read because the premise just sounds fantastic. You read nothing but good reviews, and you wonder, "how will this book ever live up to the hype that they've built for it? How could it ever?" Then you're reading it and you start to think, "hey, it lives up to it. But is it what I really wanted?"

I'm conflicted. Did I like it? Of course! But was it everything I had wanted and more? No. It's nothing more than it claims to be-- it's not the earth shattering book that I've been expecting. It had enough plot turns to entertain me, and sometimes even confuse me, but I could have done without some of those. It's one of those that made me not want to read this book every day for the rest of my life-- see outlined problem in between the brackets. {I wanted  Jeb to remember. It chaps me that he doesn't, because they basically had this epic romance, and she told him things and he told her things, and SHE  gets to remember them, while he doesn't. He should get a choice!} Other than that, IT WAS FAB.

I liked Alyssa, because she was just so weird and out there, and her fashion sense is just to DIE for. I've always loved that kind of stuff. Plus, she skateboards. How cool is that? I can ride a board in a straight line for several feet and do the "flipping the board up" trick, but that's not boarding to me. SHE can really board, dude. Seriously, it was awesome! I also liked that for most of the book you don't know-- is Alyssa really mad, or is she just hyperaware? Love those talking flowers and bugs!

I mean, that just makes the book. What if she wakes up and it was all this weird (albeit out-there) dream? What can she do about it?

Oh, Wonderland. How may I count thine strange and fantastical morbid weirdnessis? I can't-- but just know that it is AWESOME. The Rabid White, the Jabberlocky, and the Netherlings-- demented pixies, Toys that house souls, and elfin knights. Come on, how could I NOT be enchanted with such creatures? I'm a fan of the morbidly weird!

Also, JEB. Where can I get a boy like that? He dresses GRUNGE. He has a lip labret-- and he's SEXY. Seriously, I don't think you get it. I just like him, because he is one fine boy who gets tugged into Wonderland, and he wants to keep our protagonist safe-- I just cannot put my love for him down properly on paper.

All in all, Splintered had FANTASTIC imagery and great characters, but I'm a but miffed about the ending, because it seemed a tad bit rushed.

"Because finding who you were meant to be? What you were put in this world to do? That's what fills the emptiness. It's the only thing that can." ~ Pg. 368