Parasite by Mira Grant

Parasite by Mira Grant
Series: Parasitology, #1
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: Orbit
Publication Date: October 29, 2013

A decade in the future, humanity thrives in the absence of sickness and disease.

We owe our good health to a humble parasite - a genetically engineered tapeworm developed by the pioneering SymboGen Corporation. When implanted, the tapeworm protects us from illness, boosts our immune system - even secretes designer drugs. It's been successful beyond the scientists' wildest dreams. Now, years on, almost every human being has a SymboGen tapeworm living within them.

But these parasites are getting restless. They want their own lives...and will do anything to get them.

 

I knew that I had become a creator of monsters. I did not know, before I ran out of choices, that I had become a monster myself.
My overall thoughts of Parasite go a little something like this - "ew ew ew gross gross gross scary scary scary surprising awesome still pretty gross but crazy weird and cool". That's kind of the best way to put it. I am thoroughly freaked out by the idea that intestinal tapeworms want to control these people's bodies. I am also thoroughly intrigued by this idea!

Parasite started out on a really gruesome scene - but kudos to Mira Grant, because I could picture it perfectly. Not that some squishy insides were what I wanted to see, but hey. I pictured it exactly the way it was explained, I think that was so good description there.

I figured out that I can't trust my instincts on Mira's characters, though. Because one character that I thoroughly trusted - didn't turn out to be all that trustworthy. Which is sad, because I liked them. It was upsetting.

I thought that the "worms" were chilling. It seems medically plausible to me, and the more I think about it the scarier the idea gets - which makes it a pretty good horror, actually. I liked that all of the explanations (even the scientific ones) were very thorough. It made it relatively easy to understand, but it did make the book quite long. The plot was kind of slow.

I liked the interviews and quotes at the beginning of each chapter - it made it easier to understand things about the doctors who created the worm, and the world who would actually take such a thing. It gave us a bit of backstory.

I figure that I have to talk a little about the characters before the review is over, so I'll tell you that I didn't really identify with Sal. It became obvious later on (as to why I couldn't), but at first it was a little off-putting. In the end, though, I think she was the perfect kind of heroine for this book. I kind of hated her dad, though. Not going to lie.

Some of the supporting characters, such as Sal's boyfriend Nathan, Tansey, and Adam were well done - I actually liked Nathan, but I'm sort of scared of Tansey and Adam's potential. Tansey outright terrifies me sometimes, but Adam seems like a sweet person. I just can't figure out what they're capable of yet!

All in all, Parasite was definitely an interesting read, and it raises lots of interesting questions. Should the parasites that gain control of those bodies be allowed to keep them? Is humanity really stupid enough to get a tapeworm to keep healthy? *neon sign: yes* Just, you know, lots of questions. I hope that the next book in this series helps to answer some of them!

Fun fact: After reading Parasite, I learned something scary - toxoplasma is real. So a lot of the medical terms that Mira Grant used are probably real, even if they have never been used as an "intestinal bodyguard".

Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer by Katie Alender

Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer by Katie Alender
Series: N/A
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: Scholastic
Publication Date: September 24, 2013

Colette Iselin is excited to go to Paris on a class trip. She’ll get to soak up the beauty and culture, and maybe even learn something about her family’s French roots.

But a series of gruesome murders are taking place across the city, putting everyone on edge. And as she tours museums and palaces, Colette keeps seeing a strange vision: a pale woman in a ball gown and powdered wig, who looks suspiciously like Marie Antoinette.

Colette knows her popular, status-obsessed friends won’t believe her, so she seeks out the help of a charming French boy. Together, they uncover a shocking secret involving a dark, hidden history. When Colette realizes she herself may hold the key to the mystery, her own life is suddenly in danger . . .

Acclaimed author Katie Alender brings heart-stopping suspense to this story of revenge, betrayal, intrigue — and one killer queen.

I dreamed of small, curving streets paved with rough stones; and the perfume of flowers and sweet pastries in the air; and of beautiful buildings rising up on every side of me; and of a feeling of magic and history beneath my feet. And my dreams felt as real as a memory.

Before you read this review, I want you to read the synopsis. Breathe it in, think about the awesome premise and the possibilities of Marie Antoinette as a ghostly killer. Then imagine all of those hopes dashed. These are the feelings that I had coming out of Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer.

Colette didn't really have any personality to speak of. She upset me with her constant snobbiness, and her apparent lack of kindness. Shallow doesn't even begin to describe her. At one point in the book, she becomes "friends" with someone, only to tell them that they aren't good enough for her unless she needs something. What a friendship that was - but I can understand where she gets it from. Because her best friends, Hannah and Pilar? They irk me. They're terrible friends too.

I have to say, as much as I disliked her for most of the book, she does grow a bit towards the end. She becomes a better friend, and she does show some bravery; but it doesn't make up for the fact that she annoyed me through most of Marie Antoinette, Serial Killer.

The only truly bright part in this novel was Jules and his family. They brought light and happiness into this novel, which is why I don't get Jules. As a character, I truly liked him. He's not around very much, but when he is, he seems like a nice guy. So...why is he falling for Colette?

But lets move on to what you've all been waiting for. Marie Antoinette and the murders! Writing wise, I feel like the murders were done fairly well, if a little weak. But the ghost of Marie just didn't impress me; I felt like her character was shone too briefly, and that she just wasn't menacing enough. The mystery behind "why" she was murdering them was easily solved, and it was just lacking in the drama department.

So, if you're looking for a chilling book about Marie Antoinette, this isn't for you. If you're looking for a story about a girl in Paris trying to solve a mystery, though, this might be for you. It just depends on what you're looking for.

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.

Doll Bones by Holly Black

Doll Bones by Holly Black
Series: N/A
Source: Bought
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Publication Date: May 7, 2013

Zach, Poppy and Alice have been friends for ever. They love playing with their action figure toys, imagining a magical world of adventure and heroism. But disaster strikes when, without warning, Zach’s father throws out all his toys, declaring he’s too old for them. Zach is furious, confused and embarrassed, deciding that the only way to cope is to stop playing . . . and stop being friends with Poppy and Alice. But one night the girls pay Zach a visit, and tell him about a series of mysterious occurrences. Poppy swears that she is now being haunted by a china doll – who claims that it is made from the ground-up bones of a murdered girl. They must return the doll to where the girl lived, and bury it. Otherwise the three children will be cursed for eternity . . .

Doll Bones was something I just picked up. I had no prior interest in it, and honestly, I don't particularly have any interest in it now. My only real interest in it was the scare factor. How scary could a MG book be? But then I started it. And realized, that, well, yes, as expected, it wasn't that scary. But first, let's get this out of the way-- I am deathly afraid of some of those porcelain dolls. They just freak me out, and that being said, well, this one didn't. Ouch, that's pretty sad.

The doll's story was actually fairly mediocre. That may have just been because I was expecting to have the wits scared out of me, but I can't discount the fact that it just wasn't scary. But I need to move on.

I don't very often read books with male narrators, so Doll Bones was unique in that way. Zach was kind of a funny kid, but the more I read from his point of view, the more I realized...he's like twelve. Maybe 13, and they're playing with "dolls"? That was a slight character flaw in itself. I mean, I realize that some people are more mature than others, but does a twelve year old boy really play with dolls? Not in this day and age. You'd be lucky to find a twelve year old that hasn't already had a girlfriend.

But aside from that, I did enjoy Zach and his friends, Alice and Poppy. Their adventure was awesome, and I liked the way that they were around each other. They were just simply friends.

All in all, Doll Bones was neither creepy enough, mature enough or interesting enough to have me hooked, but it was an okay read.